Mommy is in Timeout

As our family claims to be the outdoors’ish type, we’re starting to judge our weekends based on how much laundry we (read: I) have to do on Sunday night.

If there are full loads, with preschool and toddler sized shorts caked with dirt, we know it was a successful weekend where we got dirty from the burbs…

…to the city.

Happy last month of summer, all! Soak up every last ounce of it.

Local peeps: A few of my favorite things to do in summer are shown above.

In the burbs, hike the Paint Creek Trail and stop off at some of the spots along the Clinton River. Awesome for wading in the water, catching tadpoles and cooling off on a hot day.

In the city, hop on your bike or walk the Riverwalk downtown Detroit. Take a ride on the carousel, run through the water sidewalk or tour it all by renting a Segway.

If you need any more info on either spot, send me a tweet or ask me on facebook.

We all know that a night out, sometimes several, is truly a necessity. Time to get out of the house, wind down and relax with friends. There’s truly nothing better on a summer night. That’s why I’m so excited for my giveaway today – 2 complimentary tickets to Drink Michigan’s Sip of Michigan event in July.

If you haven’t heard of Drink Michigan yet, you should definitely take a moment to check them out before you continue reading. Go now, I mean it. I even gave you a link.

As you can see, since I know you all clicked over, it’s a site built to specifically celebrate and promote all of the great beer, wine and spirits that are made right here in Michigan.

From recipes made with local beer to Michigan wine tour itineraries to an extensive events calendar, even an annual cocktail contest, the ladies of Drink Michigan, Audrey and Trisha, have you covered.

Right now they’re busy planning a very special evening in July that will feature so many great, local products. I couldn’t be more excited to be able to share 2 tickets with a lucky reader.

Your prize pack of tickets will include:

• An evening filled with a sampling of the fantastic beer, wine & liquor that Michigan has to offer
• A night out in downtown Detroit overlooking the Detroit River at The Rattlesnake Club
• Heavy appetizers to munch on while chatting with your friends
• And, my favorite part, Live band karaoke where the Vanilla Ice in all of us busts out

I’ve already started brainstorming the list of songs I want to sing. That fact is truly worth the price of admission alone. But, for my lucky winner, you get to experience all of the above for free! If me singing is deterring you from possibly wanting to win, well, just strike that part from the record then.

It’s good to note that your ticket is also giving back to charity. Drink Michigan has partnered up with First Step in Wayne County, where their mission is to reduce the incidence of domestic and sexual violence and to provide services to individuals affected by these crimes.

I can’t wait to attend this year, as it’s a running joke between Trisha and myself because I’ve yet to make it to one of their events. For someone who rarely travels anymore, somehow we’ve been out of town each and every time they’ve hosted a party. I’m excited and I hope to see you there as well.

It’s very simple to enter the contest – leave a comment, follow the rules & regs of this giveaway below and you and a lucky guest will enjoy a night out in Detroit. And, since we all can’t be winners, even if you’re not the one selected, I highly suggest considering purchasing tickets to this party. It is sure to be a phenomenal, not-to-miss summertime event.

Be sure to give DrinkMichigan a follow, like or visit. They have some wonderful things to offer, even if you’re not local.

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Giveaway rules: You must be 21 to enter this contest. Comments will be open from Sunday, May 12th – Friday, May 18th at 5pm EST. At that time, random.org will select a winner.

You get 1 entry for your comment below telling me why you are in need of a night out. You receive additional entries for the following: a tweet (I even wrote it for you below) or a mention on either your personal facebook page or your facebook fan page (please include the link to the event http://goo.gl/G2HzV).

Please note in your comment if you mentioned this on FB or twitter. Good luck to you!

Tweet option: I just entered to win 2 free tickets to @DrinkMichigan’s #SipOfMi party. You can too! http://goo.gl/G2HzV via @ElenaWollborg

Disclosure? None necessary. I was not compensated or given complimentary tickets in order to host this giveaway. I just love the girls at Drink Michigan and was more than happy to support their event.

Last week I read a post where my friend Julie referred to 2011 as The Year of the Blog.

Well, 2011 was The Year of the Blog for me and one of my blogging besties, Jessica, as well. One year to date for both of us.

I want to talk about what I learned in my first year of blogging, the adjustments I’m going to be making here and the wonderful friends I’ve made, but I’m going to wait and do that over the course of the next few weeks.

For now, I’m somehow still stuck in 2011. I’m choosing not to believe that Ryan Seacrest was telling the truth last night and that it is in fact 2012.

Here is my last ditch effort to believe that it’s still 2011. Here are some of my favorite moments from this past year.

Happy New Year and may 2012 bring you a big smile.

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Thanks to Jessica and Ashley for co-hosting such a fun linkup. I know I cheated and did 2 for September, but I guess I’m subscribing to the baker’s dozen rule.

When I was a kid, I used to love going to the circus. You would think since I have a major fear of animals, this might not be something I enjoy. But, oddly enough, I do.

I remember my favorite event was always the trapeze and tightrope. What they did up in the air always amazed me.

Whenever I had a chance, I would always pretend that I was a tightrope walker. Since I often fell off the balance beam in gym, those career aspirations obviously flew out the window right around age 6.

But, that doesn’t mean that I can’t still love it. It’s just limited to being a spectator; not a participant. I’m excited to have the chance to not only go to the circus again, but to also share the experience with my boys.

Today I’m happy to be sharing with you information about Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey bringing their Barnum 200 show to Detroit in November.

Here is a bit of information from the press release.

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Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® Presents

BARNUM 200^SM Roars into Auburn Hills Nov. 9-13

Nov. 9-13 at the Palace of Auburn Hills The Greatest Show On Earth just got Greater with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® Presents BARNUM 200^SM. Featuring 130 performers from six continents, almost 100,000 pounds of performing pachyderms, cowboys, pirates, and mermaids, BARNUM 200 is a super-sized spectacle so massive you just can’t miss it!

This monumental, once in a lifetime event celebrates The Biggest Birthday Bash in Circus History and can only be experienced at The Greatest Show On Earth^®, Barnum’s living legacy!

Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson invites the audience to leap aboard the Ringling Bros. Express and go on a family FUNtastic adventure to meet exotic characters and witness thrilling performances that attempt to answer “What special wonders create The Greatest Show On Earth?”

Step right up and see the Flying Caceres attempt to complete the elusive quadruple somersault on the flying trapeze; a feat that hasn’t been mastered in over three decades. Watch the Puyang troupe from China dazzle with a stunning display of dexterity as they bounce, flip, and twirl to new heights on a two-tiered trampoline.

Be amazed as you witness the impossible contortions of the body benders who fit three humans in a cube the size of a milk crate. Enjoy the wondrous ability of the Mighty Meetal, the strongest man in the world, as he lifts over 1,200 pounds.  And savor the stupendous skills of the hand balancers featuring Duo Fusion, a married pair of performers with a twist; the wife does the heavy lifting. 

And one hour before show time, families can meet the performers, get autographs, and see an amazing elephant that paints at the All Access Pre-show –FREE with a purchased ticket!

Performance Schedule  Nov. 9-13, 2011

Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Friday at 11a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Saturday at 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Tickets are $82 (Circus Celebrity), $57(Front Row), $35 (VIP), $21 and $13. All seats are reserved, and tickets are available through Ticketmaster. For more information on Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® visit www.Ringling.com.

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I’m very excited to be offering a 4-ticket package giveaway to the Greatest Show on Earth!

To enter, please leave me a comment below and tell me what you love about going to the circus.

Entries (comments) will be taken through Friday, October 28th at 4:00pm. At that time, the winner will be drawn by random.org. Comments will be closed after that point.

The show is taking place in Auburn Hills, Michigan, so you must either live in the Detroit area or be willing to travel here in order to attend. The vouchers are not good for other Ringling Brothers show at different locations.

Homepage photo credit: Google images

Update: Thank you to all who commented. Comments are now closed since the giveaway is over. The #2 was selected by random.org and the winner is Staci.

Before we get to today’s post, I have an entry in Drink Michigan’s cocktail contest. If you like my recipe and then would be so kind to throw me a vote, I’d love it. Comment on my specific recipe post=vote. Thanks! I’ll make you one if you come visit.

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Today for VlogTalk I’m facing my fear.

I’m facing my nemesis.

The roaming peacocks at the Detroit Zoo.

Don’t worry, I stared them in the face and showed them who’s in charge.

Not really.

If you decide to face your roaming peacock fears at the Detroit Zoo, I highly recommend Dora & Diego’s 4D Adventure. Not only for the benefit of being safe indoors, but it’s also a really cool movie. I may have tried to grab the floating bananas several times. Definitely worth the price of admission.

An exhibit not to miss is the Arctic Ring of Life. It’s pretty awesome to be completely enclosed in a glass tunnel far and have a polar bear walk over your head. It’s safe. I’ve checked the thickness of the glass numerous times.

Be sure to check out the other great vlogs linked up with us today. We’ll see you for our #VlogTalk twitter chat Tuesday night at 9pm EST. We even have a giveaway for a lucky winner that links up with us and joins us for the chat.

What do you do with your kids that makes you face a fear? If you say peacocks – we’re forever best friends.

Disclosure: I was not compensated to discuss my fear of peacocks or mention the Detroit Zoo in any way.
Homepage photo credit: Google images.

There are 3 things I know to be true in life:

(1) Justin Bieber’s hair can’t be real because nothing in nature is that perfect.

(2) I can’t join Pinterest because that would ultimately guarantee that I would never get up from my computer chair.

(3) McDonald’s has some sort of secret ingredient in their Diet Coke that you can’t find anywhere else.

I’m now ready to add a 4th.

(4) You should always drive a car that is smarter than you are.

That’s what I realized after driving the Cadillac SRX Luxury Edition for a weekend.

For those of you who follow my blog and twitter closely, you know the mad love I have for my minivan.

However, when Charlie and I took our anniversary trip up north, we were giving Grandma the keys to the minivan for the weekend. It just so happened to also be filled with our two kids.

We wanted something fun for our road trip. The wonderful and trustworthy folks at the Suburban Collection gave us just that with giving us the use of a Cadillac SRX.

From the moment I picked it up, I fell in love. An associate from Suburban Cadillac Buick gave me a thorough tour of the car, showing me all of the extensive features.

It had everything imaginable. Bose speakers. Keyless access and push button start. Touch screen navigation. Bluetooth capability. Rearview backup camera. Ultraview moonroof.

Come to find out, it also handled perfectly. It was a blast to drive windows down, moonroof fully-extended, radio cranked, along Mission and Leelanau Peninsula.

It was luxurious, but still felt sporty. It was beyond smart, but still let you feel like you were the one in control.

In one word: It. was. awesome. Yes, that was 3 words. The whole reason why I need a car that is smarter than I am.

I was very impressed driving this crossover. In my opinion, it gives you a perfect marriage between an SUV and a sedan.

I love the fact that you are sitting up high like an SUV, but you can still take corners like a sports sedan. Best of both worlds for this mom who likes a car that can handle the road.

Another favorite feature was Bessy. That’s what we named our smart little navigation friend who talked to us over the speakers.

She set out our routes. Told us exactly where to go. Notified us of any type of traffic that was going to get in our way. She even got a little upset with us when we took driving into our own hands, deviating from the path she suggested.

We explained it to her, had a small family meeting at a stoplight and fortunately she forgave us.

For the rest of the trip, it was just the three of us enjoying the beautiful roads of Northern Michigan.

Then came Monday when I was returning the car.

I may have shed a tear. I considered laying in the back cargo space just to stay close, but I figured at some point my family would miss me. Most likely when they were looking for their next sandwich.

Bess, we miss you. Making a right turn without you telling me just isn’t the same. We’ll meet again someday. I promise.

I was extremely impressed with the Cadillac SRX. I have put it on my short list for when I decide it’s time to move beyond the minivan.

If you’re in the market for a Cadillac, or one of the other numerous brands Suburban Collection holds, give them a call.

They were great to deal with when we’ve purchased cars with them and for this extended test drive. Be sure to also follow their very active Twitter and Facebook page.

Happy driving.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this review. However, I was given a Cadillac SRX for a 4-day extended test drive. All opinions, as always, are my own.