Bringing Back the Blog

Yep. I'm going to do it again. Why? Because I love my job. YES! I, Erika Acorn, of Scottsdale Arizona have the best job. I have the best job in Scottsdale! I have an amazing job that I like to talk about all the time. I never thought of myself as a direct sales kind of girl, but I am and I love it!

What do I do? I'm a Thirty-one Consultant. What does that mean? It means that I show people cute purses, bags, and totes that are functional and fashionable that can be personalized. Who doesn't love to get or give a personalized gift?

If you are a mom in Scottsdale looking for a unique gift, check out my website www.mythirtyone.com/elacorn or search for my Facebook group, "Erika Totes Loves Bags." OR check out #wheredoesyour31baggo

I also love to do fundraisers. Yep, that's right. I love to help you help your organization. There is something in the Thirty-one catalog for  everyone- men and children included! So, the next time you are looking for a unique fundraiser in Scottsdale. Look me up!

Anyways... In December there are some pretty fabulous deals going on.

This is the time to take advantage of getting a cinch sack personalized for your son or daughter. If you spend $35 you can get the cinch sack for $10 then personalize it for $7 more. That's pretty awesome if you ask me!

I have no clue if anyone will find this blog post and read it. But if you did find it and read it please leave me a comment!

Here are some more great deals that I can offer you:

 If you are in Scottsdale or the surrounding area wondering how you can make money for your charity or organization, I'd love to donate a gift certificate to a great cause.

See... told ya I love to talk about my job!

again

Once again, I wish I had the words... Maybe sometimes things are just better left unsaid. A girl from my HS commited suicide. We wern't friends, but we had an invisible "bond" if you will. It's truly a sad story. I don't think she ever had an easy life, but she was loved by many. She leaves behind a son...

Again, it's so important that you tell the people who mean something to you just how much they mean to you.

Peanut Butter Noodles

5 Stars

Run out to your nearest grocery store and get yourself some UDON noodles!!! This was my first time cooking with them. They were chewy and soft and soaked up the thick peanut butter sauce very well.

This dish is delicious. It has a rich peanut butter sesame (we added a little sesame oil) sauce. A nice crunch from the red bell pepper (add more than the recipe calls for--they are way good for you raw)... And the cilantro was the perfect addition. This also would have been a great vegetarian dish. Oh yeah, the kids liked it too :)

UDON PEANUT BUTTER NOODLES  thanks www.allrecipes.com

Soup, Salad, Pizza

First things first. I really want a better camera/lighting in order to take better pictures.

 Above is our new favorite salad. I call it "The Green and White" because it consists of: lettuce, sugar snap peas, pears, cucumber, shredded chicken, poppy seed dressing, with the option of goat cheese. I'ts crave-worthy!

Tonight we had this easy/yummy 3 bean chili. It's a total make again for a Meatless Monday. We, with the exception of #2, had seconds.

I was really looking forward to this pizza... Apples, goat cheese, toasted pecans, and arugula. I never did figure out what could have made it better. Blue cheese perhaps?

The best thing we ate this week was lamb burgers, tzatziki, and greek salad. We told the girls the lamb was chicken and they had no problem with it....

Tomorrow we are having Udon Peanut Butter Noodles. I can't wait to try them... new recipe...

Now... what to have the rest of the week? Suggestions, please?!

the letter P

Painting a Purple stem on a Pumpkin

 Painting a Princess on a Pumpkin.

Painted Pumpkins, homemade Pumpking cookies, customizable iron-on Princess monsters.

Picture Perfect.

The Black Swan

Zoe had her very frist ballet recital this past Tuesday. It wasn't the full blown recital, but more like this is what we do when we come to class type of a recital.

Each Tuesday for the past 6 weeks she has looked forward to ballet class. I'm glad we signed up for the next 6-week session.

Dave and Shana came to watch Miss Z. Dave noticed she was the only girl wearing black... The Black Swan... That's our ZoBug!

I wish I was a great writer or totally in touch with my feelings so I could tell you all how life changing this week has been for me.

I know too many people who have lost loved ones too soon; Husbands, mothers,  sons, brothers, a baby.

My eyes tear up and I get a lump in my throat every time I sit and think about the pain they must be feeling. How do you go on? Why do these things happen? I seriously can’t stop crying. My heart hurts so bad.

I feel so fortunate to have the people I love with me. But, I’m guilty of taking them for granted. How could I do that? Life is so fragile. A loss can happen to anyone at anytime. What if something were to happen tomorrow?  

Anyways… I will not take any person in my life for granted. I’m going to slow down, not get frustrated, listen to people, take time for them, and tell them how much they mean to me.

Just think about it for a moment. A tragedy can happen at any time. Please tell the people you love that you love them and spend some quality time together.

Too Much of a Good Thing

I think my website is done.... waiting on my lovely mother to proof read it. I loved this project. I really have to figure out how to incorporate a website or managing website into my career someday.

Check it out and don't be shy. Tell me what you think. 

http://www.public.asu.edu/~eacorn/

Lazy Sunday

More like lazy weekend.  It's officially Autumn and we are still in the triple digits. Today we kind of tricked ourselves into getting in the fall spirit by staying inside all day. One look outside at the brown grass (waiting for winter seeding), reading seasonal recipes (which always apply to everyone in the country except us- who wants to grill in the Summer?), and talking hallowen costumes with the kids it was easy to forget about the 102 degree weather that was happening outside.

We spent our day crafting, cleaning, watching football, and constructing a pillow pile. This was the third weekend in a row that we didn't have any solid plans, it's been fun. But I'm looking forward to the weekends when the temps are cooler so we can enjoy our bikes and parks again.

Weather.com tells me that the high will be 72 on Thursday. Please let this be true!!

What did I do to deserve this? It's 5 o'clock and the girls are playing nicely, the music is bumpin, fritatta is in the oven, and I have a gin and tonic in hand. I even went through the trouble of adding a twist of lime.

School is awesome. in NTR 142 we we made froccocia bread. Other groups made: snicker doodles, cornbread, cream puffs, Indian flat bread, apple muffins, and biscuits. There went my carb intake for the day! Hence the crustless fritatta that's in the oven. I took pictures, because it's rather pretty, but of course I don't have the camera or lighting to make it look as good as it does in person.

Anyways... My other class, NTR 300 is going well too. I hope to be done with my website by Monday. Here is the link. http://www.public.asu.edu/~eacorn/. I've really enjoyed doing this. Meal planning is my favorite!

As I write this, I am being treated to a play Junie B. Jones style. Zoe is being a good sport and I'm glad they have stopped terrorizing Jax long enough to play something else.

I'm going to get this lapotop off my lap so I can clap. These girls are fantastic actresses ;o)

Our new Kitten: Jax

We are the proud owners of a 5 month old, once feral and once-returned-to-the-shelter-kitten. We saw him a week a go, but didn't know if he would be a good fit at our house since his name was Denis the Menis. I went back this weekend and I held him and he was so sweet. A few hours later he was ours!

We went through all the names and Kayleigh even went to CatNames.com (!) all by herself to help name the little guy. We finally decided on Jax. Jax has been wonderful. Just the right amount of playful and a whole lot of good with the girls.

The girls love him so much. Jax must love them too because he sure is good with them.

Broccoli Salad with Recipe 

This is very much a made up recipe, so feel free to give and take on the measurments.

5 broccoli florets, chopped


4 slices bacon, crumbled

3 Tablespoons red onion, diced

½ cup dried cranberries or raisins

¼ cup mayonnaise

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Mix everything together and meld overnight.

Cooking with Acorns

Here we are... Cooking with Acorns!

The girls enjoyed snaping beans for me. They enjoyed eating them raw too.



Broccoli Salad



Green Beans with Bacon and Onion



picture taken on my parents back patio

Ahh it's hard to get motivated this morning. I'm really enjoying having a whine-free household all to myself. Hopefully this newness wears off soon because it's hard to leave the house to get to the gym.

Well, I'm going to finish up my cup of coffee and get back to homework :)

Enjoy the weekend!

 

Family Vaction to Greer, AZ

 Last weekend we made good on a groupon that we were supposed to use this summer, but couldn't due to wildfires in the area. Greer, AZ is really on the road to no where. The population is only 177! But I'm sure the population can more than double in the summer and during ski season.

 We stayed at the Greer Lodge Resort in the Log motel rooms. Their amenities were included in the price and included: kayaking, fly fishing, mountain bikes, telescopes, games, DVD's, and a nightly camp fire.  

 We really enjoyed the two hikes we went on (except Zoe got tired at the end of the first). The first one was by a creek where we met a few people with lots of fish!

 The girls loved the dandelions and the wildflowers. They spent lots of time picking, collecting, and blowing. It was getting to be a bit overwhelming when they wanted to pick every flower they saw so we had to explain to them that we should leave some in the ground because they are living things and other people may want to look at them... Anyways... it was really cute and I was happy to see them running freely and enjoying nature.

 We brought the rain boots just in case, but we didn't find any puddles.

 This was my first time in a kayak. I prefer a canoe.

 The second hike was a bit more challenging. It was lovely to smell the pine and listen to the wind blow through the aspen (reminded me of cottonwood trees at clear lake), and hear the creek in the background.

 Yes, we were so happy to see ponds that we took our picture by every one we saw!

 And what they don't tell you in the brochure is that it's so nice to sit out on the porch drinking beer and wine while the kids can move freely from the room to the outside. Also there is a bar on the property right next door to the hotel rooms with cheap drinks and a patio where you can look at the ponds, mountains, and your kids playing.

Gosh, I, we had such a nice time. I want to go back with my Dad and Katie sometime because they would love it as much as we did. I loved it as much as I love going to back to SD/ND/MN. It made my soul happy.

first days of ballet

Th girls started ballet this week. Different days at different locations. At least the time is the same ;o)

 Zoe was especially excited as it was her first time to experience ballet for herself.



Fun little Zoe story... She was playing with the water table at school and apparently didn't think it through before soaking herself with water. Good thing she had a change of clothes as her dress and leggings were as wet as if she had went swimming. Her change of clothes consisted of shorts and a t-shirt. Poor thing itched herself until she bled. Her teachers were so worried about her skin. I hope she grows out of this skin thing soon!

an update

Whoa! It's been a while. Sorry, sister!

Let's see... September has been crazy. On the 2nd, we found out that Dave's younger cousins were in a car accident. They had been drinking and a brother killed a brother. Completely sad. My heart goes out to Dave's Aunt and Uncle and the 2 surviving brothers.

With that being said, please don't ever forget how fortunate you are every day and hug your loved ones extra tight!

We celebrated Dave's birthday with Dinner (to his favorite spot, Kona Grill) and a homemade lemon cheesecake. (I keep trying to get him to take it to work so it's not in the house. ugh!)

Zoe ordered Sushi (!) and Kayleigh a hamburger. They ended up splitting the fries and K eating the sushi and Z eating the burger. HAHA! And Zoe finally got to go to preschool! She was so excited. We ended up switching preschools a week before it started. I think we made the right choice. So far so good!

Zoe was really really excited. We talked about what we would pack in her lunch for about 2 days prior. She told me that she would suprise me by eating all her lunch and cleaning up her toys. She was happy to report that she did in fact to both. You can see that she was a little nervous at first... Today when I dropped her off a nice mom said that Zoe and her daughter made quick friends. And guess what? Her name is Kate! :)

Kayleigh has been doing awesome at school. She was having a bit of trouble with math at first, but she works at it everyday and actually wants to do math now! I'm very proud of her for working hard at it. She also started Chorus one day a week before school.

As for me, all my free time has been spent on "stumbleupon," (OMG addicting!) homework, and working out. I saved up my $$ to work with a trainer and it was the best money I've spent on myself. It was strength training... I would feel so strong and awesome after I was done, but would be so sore the next day I couldn't imagine doing cardio so I have to figure out how to balance it all.

Classes are awesome! Way better than Chemistry. Every time I open a textbook I get excited. I know with all my heart I am on the right path. I live and breathe for this stuff! In one class I am learning HTL to make a website. Here is the link http://www.public.asu.edu/~eacorn/ it's just in the beginning stages so check back later for more updates.

monday monday

Oh boy howdy. I've got a case of the Mondays. I'm so over the record breaking temps, humidity, and haboobs.

Didn't make it to the gym this morning, but I did manage to drag Zoe to a half a dozen stores before lunch.

School is in full swing, but I seem to be waiting for an underdog. I did drop one of my classes this semester, but I think it's for the best.

The calendar has been so full. It's a bit overwhelming. Lots of confusing days for everyone. I'm here, K is there, babysitter when? I pick up who when? What day does that start? I didn't know that was today... I foresee this happening until mid-September.

Ok Imma stop whining now.

Curried Couscous with Broccoli

Is it sad that you want your kids to grow up so you can make recipes that call for gorgonzola?


I shouldn't complain. Tonight they ate Curried Couscous with broccoli

The recipe calls for feta, but goat cheese tasted pretty good!

things kids say

Grandpa, can I tell you a secret? You're so handsome.

She didn't say it too secretly, so the rest of us heard what she had said. Zoe and Grandpa were sure best buds over the 4th of July.

Some other funny things Zoe says:
Shamish for sandwich
Retangled for Tangled

Some funny conversations:
Zoe, why don't you eat your pizza?
Because it tastes like cup.
Like what?
(as mean as possible) It tastes like crap!

Dave: There is no need to be scared of monsters. They aren't real.
Kayleigh: Yeah, they are all in your head.
Zoe: No! My brain is in my head!

Zoe talking to anybody that will listen: Vitamin C is good for you. If you drink too much soda you will die.

Still talking: I went to a tea party. And I had two desserts. (with a click of the tounge and a tip of the head) And you (meaning me) didn't see me!