Punch Drunk Hummers

Our hummingbirds are back. We usually have two nesting couples in our yard. One pair we fondly refer to as "the drunks". They always go for the feeder that gets fermented the quickest. It gets hot here in the summer and like milk going sour, it doesn't take long for the sugar water to turn.

The alcohol would probably hit them fast.
I imagine them tipsy off the nectar. Cartwheeling through the air. Terrorizing neighborhood cats and squirrels.

vacation and deals

I've been on vacation. We went to Hot Springs, AR again. This time with the kids. We went to the Josephine Tussaud Wax Museum and the Mid-America Science Museum. Not to mention some local restaurants.

Speaking of restaurants, I have a great deal for you today!

Save 70% Off with every order of $25 Gift Certificates. Use code SAVE and pay $3 thru 3/31/09.

I have used Restaurant.com vouchers several times with no problems. Just make sure you read the stipulations for your choice of restaurant.

Travel Deals

My husband and I like to take weekend trips. We especially enjoyed staying at Wildwood, a bed and breakfast inn in Hot Springs, AR. The hosts were very accommodating and helped me plan a very special surprise birthday vacation for my husband. Another b&b that looks fun is Prospect Place. Do you like to travel? Well now I am offering you, my readers, a special discount offer good on travel through BedandBreakfast.com. Buy for yourself or give as a gift.

Save 10% on The Getaway Gift Card from BedandBreakfast.com
(Click on link above)

Make a gift card purchase of $150 or more

Complete order by midnight December 15

Enter reward code: TRAVELGIFT10 at checkout (reward code is case sensitive) This is a special code!

Hot Springs, hot Frog

Frog is sick again. She came home from her friend's house and promptly spiked a fever. The horrid cough is back too. Arrgh!

Here are some pics from Friday and a few misc. thrown in. Remember I went to Hot Springs? My grandparents rented a big Lincoln Towncar(?), a glittery plum with yummy cream colored (heated) seats. That would so not be happening around here. The kids would turn the seats multicolored (trash chic) or a lovely dishwater gray so fast!

Hot Springs Part 1

My hubby, the kids, and I went to Hot Springs, AR over the summer.

A Little History

Hot Springs is an old spa city and one of the first national parks. The first bath house was built by John C. Hale in 1854. It has quite a colorful history having been a favorite of several gangsters and presidents in the late 1800's to mid 1900's.
Some of these were Frank and Jesse James, Al Capone and other mobsters from Chicago and NY, Harry Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Babe Ruth. Owney Madden the proprietor of the Cotton Club in Harlem retired here, Billy Bob Thornton frequented Oaklawn (the race track), and Hot Springs is also the boyhood home of former president Bill Clinton.

The Scout Trip
This time we didn't hit any of the spas. I had gone there with my Girl Scout troop in the spring and we camped at a girl scout camp, took a yoga and Zumba class, and toured the Bathhouse Row Visitor's Center located in the Fordyce Bathhouse. Our troop took a tour and watched a movie.
One of the things the vistor's center and movie touches on is the role of African Americans in the bathing industry. Our troop was primarily AA and this little known part of history was of interest to some of them.

Another place we visited on our Girl Scout trip was the Nurture Day Spa and Yoga Studio. Our girls took Zumba, a fitness program inspired by Latin dance, and wound down (several girls even fell asleep during the relaxation part!) with a Yoga class. The instructors were very welcoming and I think the girls had a lot of fun. I did the Zumba class and was able to sneak a facial in as well ;)



The girls had a "spa" day at the campground. Here are Monkey and Frog w/their face masques. I won't post any pics of the rest, most are middle schoolers this year and may be traumatized. Disclaimer: Monkey is too but I am allowed to traumatize her!