Why isn’t “the living end” a phrase anymore? It’s like “dreamboat”. I wish we still said both of those.

Anywhoo.

Remember my Ode to my Lands End Swim Suit last year? I have literally been a Lands End evangelist since then. And since I added my giant hide-my-face-and-shoulders hat to it, I am easily the best dressed mom at the pool. OK, I’m at least the most modest AND the least sunburned. (My hat is black, but this is the one I really want! It’s purple!)

Roxy By The Sea Hat

This year, I wasn’t going to get a new suit. My Lands End from last year still looks brand new. It’s still comfy, it’s not stretched out or out of style. It’s adorable. (I’m still not taking a picture of myself in it. Don’t hold your breath.) But when Lands End asked if I’d like to try a new suit out this year I said, “HOLLA!” Just kidding. (Isn’t Holla! kinda out now?) I actually said, “Yes, please!’

So, for right at $100 I got a really cool adjustable tankini/tunic top. It is the COOLEST. The sides are adjustable so it can be short or long. I love this because it can move with your comfort level. I tried it down low and up high. I like it both ways. Plus, I love the strings hanging down. (Did you click to see the picture?) Oh! And the straps are removable. (Which I will never remove, but that’s cool.)

My husband suggested I get a regular bikini bottom instead of a skirt. *blush* So, I compromised and GOT BOTH! The skirt is adjustable (like the top!) and I think it is adorable. Even when you’ve got it hiked up to the highest, it still covers up the important parts!  The bikini bottom is not exactly like a bikini–it’s got a little more coverage and makes me not feel like I’m falling out of 2 strips of fabric. But because it’s the tummy control version, it’s a little tight around the legs. Not sure how much I like it, actually. (::whisper:: maybe I need a bigger size…::)

Now, with my suit from last year, I can mix and match and come up with SIX different bathing suits! I’m so excited!

When was the last time you had a suit you loved? Here’s some tips to finding one that you actually WILL love!

Land’s End is the LIVING END is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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source: herbstkind

Every morning I wake up and check my email. (Not first thing, of course.) I look to see if any amazing emails have come my way, delete the random newsletters that I’m pretty sure I’ve unsubscribed like 1200 times and then I click on my DEALS! folder. And this my friends, is where I get excited. I have about 10 emails from all the deal sites–Groupon, EverSave, GroopDealz (the handmade crafty one!), Mamapedia, Tippr, Crowd Cut, Half Off Depot, Juice in the City (for moms!), Zulily (CUTE kids’ clothes), Living Social and Living Social Getaways.

I’m not a shopper, so this is my kinda shopping–someone sends me a specific {awesome} item to buy that is like 50-90% off! And I don’t even have to take a shower to buy it! And on top of that, if I share the deal with someone else, I usually make money (or credit) to buy more stuff. I mean, this is how shopping should be!

So, you know it’s coming…there’s a NEW site that’s launching in Atlanta (and some other little city…uhm…oh, yeah, New York). It’s called little birdie. Isn’t that sweet? It’s like twitter and the sisterchicks all rolled into one!

little birdie is different in that it has deals for all the fun stuff you wanna do with your kids–children’s museums, pottery classes, ballet lessons, gymnastics, camp, nature centers, skating rinks, restaurants, shops, theatres and more. {MY FAVE!} I’m totally hoping for more Center for Puppetry Arts and some swimming lessons for Lydia!

Anywhoo, if you sign up for little birdie (which launches in a couple of weeks) you will be entered to win a crazy (as in awesome) $4500 dream kids’ room makeover from celebrity decorator, Sherri Blum! And a $1,000 shopping spree.* {To learn more and enter, please visit here.}

And if you’re twitter-ific, you need to check out the little birdie Twitter Party on Thursday! There’s going to be 3 prizes from Sherri Blum (personalized wall art) and 3 from little birdie ($25 credit).**

When: Thursday, February 17^th from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. ET
Where: #littlebirdie tag on Twitter
How: To participate, follow hostess @ResourcefulMom, sponsor @littlebirdieUSA, @littlebirdieATLand @littlebirdieNYC and special guest @SherriBlum.

So, what email do you get excited about reading?

*No purchase necessary.  Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18 or older who are expecting a child (pregnant or in the process of adopting or surrogacy) and/or have a child or children 12 or younger.  Sweepstakes starts 3:01pm ET 2/15/11 and ends 11:59 p.m. ET 3/31/11.  Void where prohibited.  For complete details, see Official Rules at http://bit.ly/fcy6hQ, which govern.

**No purchase necessary.  Must be a legal resident of the 50 U.S. or DC, 18 or older.  Ends 9:00 p.m. ET 2/17/11.  Void where prohibited.  Winners will be selected on a random basis during the party by ResourcefulMom.com and will be notified via @resourcefulmom. Failure to claim via an online form within 48 hrs of notification will result in prize forfeiture.  Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible participants.  Credit is subject to terms and conditions specified by little birdie. Sponsor of Door Prize Giveaway: ResourcefulMommy.com.

why this post is awesome: I’m not sure if it is. I was excited to share this sponsored post with you because I really do love all those group deal sites. And this one is a family-friendly site in Atlanta! I’m not opposed to sponsored posts, but I did commit to this before The Awesome.

I Actually *Heart* My Inbox! is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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photo by Greg Mooney

We went to the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta to see the theatrical version of Disney’s Mulan. And can I just say that it was like every single thing I loved all wrapped up into one?

Family time? CHECK. Theatre? CHECK. Musical Theatre? CHECK. Puppetry? CHECK! Cool Kids’ Activities? CHECK. Disney? CHECK.

The Alliance Theatre is one of my favorite places in Atlanta anyway. It’s part of the Woodruff Arts Center and it just feels metropolitan and swanky and Atlanta-ish. I love it. It’s a cozy theatre that doesn’t have a bad seat.

Our seats were row A. We walked straight down to the first row and felt a little stupid because we could not locate seat 130. We walked up and down the front row at least 3 times. And the whole time all I could think was, “Oh my goodness, we’re going to sit on the front row with a 1 and 4 year old. A 4 year old who hates loud noises, surprises and scary costumes.” Finally we realized our seats were row A on the BALCONY. Oops. But much better for our little girl who needs to be eased into new adventures.

However, I did not need to worry about the scariness. Every scary part was handled with such creativity! Let’s rewind a bit…in case you don’t know Mulan is the story of a Chinese girl who poses as a man to join the army and fight for the emperor. Mulan’s anscestors play a big role…but how do you show ghostly figures in a play?

How ’bout by using puppets?! The actors had huge backpack puppets that waved and glided above their heads while they spoke and manipulated the arms. I love this type of puppetry and love seeing it in theatre.

Each of the actors (except Mulan) played at least one other part. In fact, the entire show was done with just eight actors! EIGHT! They were are all very funny and great at jumping from character to character. Lydia’s favorite was Mushu and Mulan, of course. Because Mulan is basically a princess. And princesses are always a fave.

The show had some original songs in it that don’t appear in the movie. And they had to change some of the story line to make it work on stage. But I think it really added to the story. There was a whole male-female-yin-yang thing that really worked. And that’s not even my thing—but it kind of fleshed the story out even more.

It was a 70 minute show with no intermission but Lydia and Asa were mesmerized. (OK, I had to give Asa some pretzel sticks and a cup of milk to keep him quiet.) We laughed and I may have even had a tear in my eye when Mulan’s dad said, “The greatest honor is having you as a daughter.”

Then the best part came afterwards–since it was the opening day they had a huge Chinese celebration in the lobby. We got a passport and then had it stamped at every station. The Center for Puppetry Arts helped us make a shadow puppet dragon. The Atlanta Zoo let us pet a snake. The Atlanta Symphony let the kids try out any instrument they wanted. They had fan dancers, sword fighting demonstrations, face painting, animal balloons, actor autographs and more. We had an absolute blast. It made the story come even more alive for Lydia. And it totally made me want to have a Mulan birthday party!

If you are in Atlanta, you will want to take your kids to see Mulan. It’s a great story, told with such creativity and being at the Alliance Theatre will make it an adventure in itself!

Disclosure: Complimentary tickets were given for the sake of reviewing the play.

Alliance Theatre: Disney’s Mulan (Reason #842 Why I Love Atlanta) is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Did you hear about the Ringling Brothers Circus zebra that took a walk down the streets of downtown Atlanta yesterday? No, that wasn’t a lead in to a joke. Apparently he escaped from the circus and the police had to chase him down! Wouldn’t you have loved to be the one who called that in?

We actually got to see that zebra when we went to the Ringling Bros’ Zing Zang Zoom show in Atlanta last Saturday with Mandi and her family (read her circus recap to see a good pic!). We ended up having complete nosebleed seats (really we were in Row J on the 3rd level) but even still we could see everything—including the holding area for when the animals were about to come on stage. Our kids would see the animals and start pointing and shouting (or signing in Asa’s case) “ELEPHANT! ELEPHANT! LOOK, MOMMY! ZEEEBRAS!”

The animals (including the zebras) were definitely a high point for the kids (and for me, too!) The elephants are majestic, the zebras are breathtaking (how creative is God on that one?!), the dogs were hilarious and the tigers were frightening and beautiful at the same time! I have to admit (especially after seeing the zebra run down the highway) that zebras aren’t the smartest animals in the circus. Apparently zebras are un-tamable. So anything the trainers can make them do is a miracle. The rest of the animals were jumping over hurdles, standing on their heads and growling on demand at their trainers. The zebras were just running in a circle. But hey–it was still entertaining!

This menagerie isn’t even including the women getting shot out of a cannon, the acrobats, the hanging-upside-down couple, the magicians AND the clowns! The circus has come a long way, baby. If you haven’t been you should definitely check out Ringling Bros circus website and see when they are coming to your town.

They will only be in Atlanta for THREE MORE DAYS! So, that was really the whole point of this post (I kinda got carried away by the zebra)…I’ve got a coupon code for Zing Zang Zoom: use MOM to get $44 for a 4 pack of tickets Monday through Friday or $4 off Friday night & Weekend shows! It was well worth it—even with the zebras!

I am a Family Field Activator for the circus. We received three free tickets to the show in Atlanta. I am not required to blog about this. I was only asked to share the coupon code with my community—and my blog is one communities. I registered to become a Family Field Activator through Mom Central. You can do it, too!

Zing, Zang, Zoom! Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Cirucs Comes To Atlanta is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Did I ever tell you about the time I met Harry Connick, Jr.? Yeah, well, it’s because it hasn’t happened. YET. I have a long time crush on Harry and his music. I can’t remember the first time I heard one of his songs but I do remember the first time I ever saw him…

My husband surprised me with tickets to Harry’s Come By Me Tour. We are big conert go-ers. Well, in college we were big concert go-ers. And most of those concerts were for indie bands that no one had ever heard of and were driving around in a 15 passenger van and getting excited because there were more than 50 people at the show.

So, when we got to Harry’s show, it was a little different. They were serving wine. No one was pushing their way to the front. I didn’t see any band shirts or tattoos. Everyone was just sitting in their seat quietly talking and sipping their wine.

I, on the ther hand, was sneaking a peak at my neighbor’s program. You know, the giant full color book composed strictly of Harry’s face? Yeah. The girl finally said, “Uhm. Would you like to look at it?” *blush*

The concert started and I’m pretty sure I never moved. Except for that one time that Harry said, “Hey, you guys are far away. I know you all paid different prices to sit where you are, but does anyone care? Come on down to the front!” All the single girls (including my neighbor) ran down to the front. She asked me if I wanted to go, too. I almost did, then remembered I was with my husband. You know, dance with the one who brung ya.

When the show was over my husband (the music snob) said, “Harry has more talent in his little finger than all the bands I listen to combined!” And it’s true. Harry is a writer, composer, singer, pianist, arranger—musician! And he ain’t hard on the eyes either. Just sayin’.

I think I own all of Harry’s CDs. I especially love Songs I Heard (perfect for baby showers, by the way) and When My Heart Finds Christmas. His new album, Your Songs just came out last week and it is divine! I got a preview copy from One2One Network (another great company that anyone can hook up with—they just start buzz for companies and how could I not buzz about Harry?) and am excited to pass another copy on to you!

In case you haven’t heard (or seen—Harry was on Oprah and I missed it!), the album is Harry’s version of some very famous songs. I have to admit, I didn’t know a lot of the songs but here are a few of my new favorites:

Can’t Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis
They Long To Be Close To You by The Carpenters (oh, I think this one is my fave!)
Besame Mucho (wait till you hear Lydia sing this one. it’s a hoot!)
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack
Your Song by Elton John

Not to mention about 12 more hits. The entire album is kinda slow (in a good way!) and not heavy on the big-band/jazzy thing I like best. But hello, it’s Harry! He could sing the phonebook and I’d buy the album.

So, wanna win a CD? Or know someone who might like it? It would make a great Christmas gift! If you’d like to win your very own YOUR SONGS cd just leave me a comment below telling me your favorite Harry song, cd or story.

For an additional optional entry feel free to leave me a comment when you:

1. Tweet this: Win Harry Connick Jr’s new cd YOUR SONGS @oohamanda’s blog: http://tinyurl.com/ohharry
2. Share this post on facebook.
3. Become a fan on Harry’s facebook. (I already am!)

I’ll random.org a winner on Friday night!

(My CD and my winner’s CD were given to me for free by One2One Network. I was was asked to post my review of the CD. I accepted because I love Harry. I am paying for the postage to mail the CD myself. Does the FTC give kickbacks for that?! Thought not.)

HARRY CONNICK JR: YOUR SONGS *a giveaway* is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Remember my TJMaxx Spendervention Challenge? I was given a $25 giftcard to TJMaxx and a $25 giftcard to Marshall’s. I gave the Marshall’s card to my husband. Then I challenged him to save more money than me. If you remember I saved between $78 and $102. THAT IS PRETTY STINKIN’ GOOD.

My husband is a better shopper than me, so I was hoping I had done good enough to beat him. Well, after I gave him the ultimatum of using the giftcard or I was giving it away on my blog, he finally headed over to Marshall’s. (Stinks for yall, huh?)

So, this is what he got:

First up is a sweet pair of O’Neill shorts. These look really slick and still have the original price tag of $49.50! And Les did pretty good because he got these for $15!

Les is into surfer brands. So, when he saw this Ezekiel shirt he knew $9.99 was a score. But too bad for Les, this must have been one of Ezekiel’s least popular shirts. It was only $18.99. What’s that? A savings of 47%? HA!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the final amounts:

TOTAL RETAIL PRICE: $69
TOTAL SPENT: $25
TOTAL SAVED: $44*

WHICH MAKES ME THE WINNER by a good $30! Thank you! Thank you!

Now, to decide what my prize should be….

*ps: if my math is wrong, I don’t wanna know…

Stuff I Keep Forgetting To Tell You Part 3: TJMaxx Marshalls Spendervention Challenge is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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