My daughter is super excited and is (window) shopping for custom outdoor equipment  for her first camping trip in AUGUST!!!! Everytime we cruise the mall/supermarket she has a mental checklist that she must go through and show me all things we need for our trip such as camping chairs, flashlights, fishing poles, coolers, and LOTS of marshmallows... etc. As for me, my list would go something like this; bug spray, first aid kits, sunblock, cleaning supplies and food. Camping seems to be much more fun from a 3 year old's perspective :-).

While shopping for some essentials at the supermarket on monday, my daughter decides she NEEDS to make cup cakes. Ofcrouse, I gave in and we bought all the necessary ingredients. As promised by my 3 year old, she would help make the cupcakes (I should have known better, lol). Vika was excited to first help me, but that faded quickly and she just sat back eating cake batter while I did all the work. The next time around, I should just buy her some promotional cupcake shaped cases with candy fill and call it a day!

Recently, my husband and I took our daughter to see her first movie theater film. My expectations were to see a fun and entertaining children's film for Vika. The movie turned out even better, "The Lorax" was very educational and great way to teach our children about saving our trees and planet. Everyone knows about recycling and caring for our environment, but this movie had a stronger message for all of us to really get involved and make a difference and a positive change for our home (planet earth). Recycled promotional products put a positive spin on promoting your company and helping save our trees. "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. - Dr. Seuss

Recently I had one of the best weekends ever with my one and only beautiful baby girl. I really shouldnt be calling her a baby anymore, she is growing up right before my eyes. For the past 3 1/2 years, she has been riding a plastic Dora tricycle which comforted me since there was no way for her to tip over. My husband and I finally gave in and bought her a brand new bicycle (with training wheels ofcourse). We got all sorts of new gear for her, such as; a lady bug helmet, barbie gloves, knee and elbow pads, and barbie bell and last but not least, our promotional quencher bike bottle. When I saw her get on that bike it felt a little sad that she is growing up so quick but it deffinately was a special moment for me. So with all tears aside, we grabbed all the gear and headed to the park! A couple hours later... bike riding was a success despite the fact we had one fall but Vika got back up on that bike with out crying and kept peddling.

This weekend I had dinner with my cousin, just to catch up in between our busy lives. I made reservations at Monsoon in Babylon for friday night at 7:15pm (busy place since this was the only seating left for the night). We were very pleased with the food, drinks and service from our waiter. But what really put it over the top for us was when a waitress came over and said we have to leave our table because another party was coming in, we thought that was fair since we were done and just sitting their chatting, but then she proceeded to apologize and sent us to the bar for some free drinks. The drinks at Monsoon are a bit pricy, so we couldn't turn down a free drink. This place had great music, freindly staff and I noticed tons of promotional items that they use such as pens, promotional coasters, and logoed wine glasses. It felt great to be appreciated and I would reccomend this place to everyone.

Popcorn! With many seating changes in the office, my cubicle is now closer to the break area. Which is great for a few reasons and not so great for many. I like to take my lunch a bit later in the day so when everyone goes to lunch I can smell the delicious food from the break room and it drives me crazy with hunger. Microwave promotional popcorn is a popular snack around here and the smell surely doesnt go unnoticed. I dont mind the smell, but when that popcorn gets burned, thats a whole other story. On a brighter note, when we celebrate birthdays and there are treats in the break room, I am just two cubicles away from a sweet treat!

Lately I have been trying to save a few bucks here and there by bringing lunch to work from home, instead of buying everyday. Since I have yet to purchase a lunch/cooler bag for myself, I like to use my customized tote. Depending on what I have for lunch, my tote isnt always the best to carry all foods. For example, a cup of soup and a tote bag is just a disaster waiting to happen, but you have to work with what you got. So until I purchase my very own promotional lunch bag, it will be just me and my elm tote bag.

My typical everyday routine is making myself a cup of coffee, I am useless withouth it. (I'm sure most of you would agree!) With a 3 year old in the house, mornings tend to be very busy, so I'm always on the go and I use styrofoam/paper cups with a lid as a one time deal and throw them away. Shame on me! This is such a bad habit and wastes valuable resources, through this whole time I could have purchased a promotional ceramic mug and reuse it without throwing out 365 paper cups within one year. The cafe ceramic mug is a perfect substitute and looks similar to the plastic cup that I have been throwing out daily. As of this moment, I vow to do better for mother earth!

I dont know about any one else but my desk has tons of different items scattered all over the place. I wanted to introduce you to my latest find this week and it is the promotional multi-function "Desk Buddy Highlighter". This is one of my favorite items and it is great for keeping my desk tidier. My desk buddy has 4 neon highlighters, a retractable brush for cleaning the key board and a computer screen cleaner. Not to mention, the desk buddy looks alot like two of my co-workers, what do you think?  :-)

With yesterday being Valentines Day many treats were going around the office, and ofcourse many are hesistant on eating that 2nd piece of promotional chocolate, trying to hold onto their New Years resolution.  Well not my daughter! She indulged in Valentines Conversation Sweethearts, , chocolate truffles and cupcakes. What was even better is that she wanted to share these things with her little cousin, ( I believe that was partial to me telling her about the dentist and what happens when you dont take care of your teeth). All in all, we had a great day! We learned to share, try delicous treats, and learned about the dentist.