If you read my blog regularly, you know I’m a very hands-on person. I love doing everything myself (except washing and cleaning, of course ). Heck, I’d grow my own pasta and bacon if I could!

So like I said, I cut my own hair sometimes and I cut my kids’ hair when they were little. Just the basic cuts because I’m not a trained hairstylist and have never attended any hair schools in Wichita or anything.

So now that my kids are older and want different styles, I have no choice but to take them to the salon and let the trained professionals do their thing. If I could learn how to style, I would too !

Like I said I’m not a big TV fan. You can hardly find me watching more than 3 hours of TV a year. But here, I’m totally hooked on Food Network. It’s a never-ending parade of chefs whipping up meal after meal after meal.

My favorite chefs to watch are Rachael Ray, Sandra Lee and Tyler Florence. I love how Rachael Ray has 2 or 3 dishes going on at the same time. That’s very real for me because that’s how I cook, I multi-task .

I love Sandra Lee’s tips too on saving money and using both fresh and prepacked items to save time. Again this combining fresh and storebought is very real for me. So it’s great to watch and learn.

And Tyler is very interesting because he talks about being hungry and can’t wait to eat what he cooks. That’s me too!! I’m an impatient person and his pace of cooking is pretty similar to mine – dancing back and forth and getting everything quickly together.

Do you watch cooking shows? Who’s your favorite and why?

If you’ve been reading my tweets, you know I’ve been taking these early morning strolls to the bus stop with Steev. He needs to catch the bus to class and since I’m up early and enjoy stepping out into the cool, crisp morning air, I love to tag along and chat with him as we walk to the bus stop a short distance away.

Indeed these few mornings with temperatures in the 50s and 60s are just gorgeous and remind me so much of spring. With the sun already up at 6:00am, I can step out in short sleeves and shorts by the time we leave just after 7:00am. It’s a little chilly out but that’s the way I love it !

The thing about gift-giving is it’s often so difficult trying to figure out something that’s presentable, practical and priced just right all in one! I usually end up with white hairs just trying to buy a gift .

Gone are the days when my grandmother would give a gold coin as a present. These days, that would be considered a luxury and reserved only for close family members to give and receive gold.

I actually prefer receiving gold as a gift because it’s a good investment no matter how you look at it. Then again, if it’s gold jewelry, chances are I won’t wear them.

So we decided to drive to the premium outlets and have ourselves a shopping spree. And just for us, the insane 100+ degrees dipped to 82 for us yesterday. Thank you, Mr Sun! See, not a cloud in the sky!

Forget the term life insurance for now! Here we are at the landmark of happy shopping. A clock tower, a reminder to waste no time in whipping out the cash!!

Steev and I dashed around like a couple of crazed kids at a candy store. We only stopped for a half hour lunch at Togo’s. A 6 inch sub, chips and soda for only $5! We had to go cheap so we’d have more money to shop !

After lunch, we quickly got back to “work” and this, I’m happy to report, is our haul from 4 hours of shopping. They’re most clothes and bags for my 2 princesses…

… but I couldn’t resist grabbing this Nine West shopping tote for myself. Pretty neat, huh! And I got it for a steal too !

You know what? I thought I would have lots more photos to share but I’ve been mostly car-less and housebound, hence not many photo opportunities. Anyhow, here are a few. Hope you enjoy them and have a great weekend!

Flowers growing near Whole Foods where we had a simple healthy lunch. Amazing how these flowers remain so pretty and fresh in this scorching weather. I’m all wilted and dried up the minute I step out into the sun!

We spent half a morning wandering among the giant shelves of Costco wondering, if I buy this 96-pack of granola bars or 20 lbs of coffee, will we be able to finish eating everything by the turn of the century ??!!

Seriously, you would need a document management system to track everything you see in a store this size! And after checking the giant bags of gummy bears and M and M’s my daughters wanted me to bring home, we were starved and stopped for this.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being here though it might take me a while to get the hang of the peace and quiet of being home alone. Anyhow it’ll only be for a few weeks.

What’s exciting is Steev coming home with stories about college. I can’t believe we’re still charting those ‘firsts’ even now that he’s in college! He’s grown up so much since we got here a week ago. Things like doing a budget, writing checks, worrying about me when I take the bus alone. I’m watching these transformation happening right before my eyes.

And my girls, I miss them. I’m talking to them back home every single day, eager not to miss a beat. Looks like they’ve got things pretty much under control especially in the cooking department. Yup, my girls have taken over my kitchen and are cooking up a storm, wow! Who knows, I may have to retire as family chef sooner than I thought and  thumb through healthcare job listings to find a new “job” .