You may have seen this post and wondered if I've started homeschooling our little Olive. With everyone quarantined inside their home (you are staying home, right?), now is an opportunity to expand your mind. 

This is a list of Free Homeschool Resources for all ages, including adults - you're never too old to learn something new! Think of your time spent sheltered from Coronavirus as time spent transforming inside your cocoon. When things return to normal (and they will) and you emerge back into daily life, you will be improved.


Stay home. Let's all get through this together.  Free Homeschool ResourcesWhether you're homeschooling your child or yourself, there's a free resource available for any topic of interest. Instead of resorting to home remedies to fight COVID-19 (no, Emergen-C is not going to stop it and yes, I've actually read this on Facebook), expand your medical knowledge with free Ivy League online classes in Health & Medicine. Law, science, engineeri…

You've surely seen the coffee whipped cream that is trending, popular for whipping equal parts instant coffee, water, and sugar into a thick glob. It's neat, but you can improve it's flavor with 4 easy modifications:
Instead of very hot water, use very hot coffee. (Or liqueur! See the bottom of this post for ideas.)Instead of white sugar, use brown sugar.Add a generous pinch of your favorite coffee spices, such as Pumpkin Pie seasoning, cinnamon, and/or cardamom.Instead of a whisk, use a milk frother so it combines fully. Coffee Whipped Cream
So, how do you make coffee whipped cream? It couldn't be simpler. In a coffee mug, add equal parts instant coffee and sugar.Add a pinch of your desired seasoning.Pour in a small amount of very hot coffee. (Example: If you used 1 Tbsp of instant coffee and 1 Tbsp of sugar, you will all 1 Tbsp of very hot coffee.)Whisk everything with the milk frother. It should come together in only about 10 seconds, like magic!
This recipe is so foolp…

We're home from our Las Vegas getaway and had an amazing time. Let's begin with the highlight of our trip - the food! We booked a hotel package that included two Buffet of Buffets passes. 

That's right - 24 hours of nonstop Vegas buffets! My goal was to eat at all 6 that are included with the Buffet of Buffets Pass. 

Unfortunately, we didn't factor in the heavy surcharges (on top of the already expensive pass?!) required to dine at 2 of the 6 or the absurdly long lines. Unless you're extremely patient and are okay with paying at least $50 more per person, you're not going to make it to all 6 buffets.
Buffet of Buffets PassQ. What is the Buffet of Buffets Pass?
A. The Buffet of Buffets Pass provides unlimited entry to 6 Las Vegas buffets, including Flavors The Buffet, Le Village Buffet, and Spice Market Buffet, for 24 hours.
Q. How much is the Buffet of Buffets Pass?
A. $59.99 per person Sunday-Thursday and $74.99 per person Friday-Saturday. Entry to the Bacchanal Buf…

We would never visit Washington, DC without including a meal at our favorite Steakhouse, Medium Rare. In fact, if we had a long enough layover, Sexy Nerd and I would have to leave the airport and dash over for a quick plate of Steak Frites. It would be wrong not to.
Make that two plates. The best thing about Medium Rare is that when you finish your steak, another plate of Steak Frites wonderfully appears. The steak even comes pre-sliced for you, making it all the easier to shovel greedily into your mouth. Surprise!
I wish we could go there right now. C'mon, Medium Rare. You need to expand to New Mexico. Medium Rare DC On our most recent trip to DC, we ordered Steak Frites as part of Medium Rare's brunch menu. As if a big plate of the best steak ever is not enough, all brunch meals also include the most scrumptious, crustiest bread and a choice of a vanilla yogurt parfait with dried fruit and granola, a fruit salad, or a mixed green salad. 
Sexy Nerd and I both opted for the green s…

I thought Pica was bad, especially when she had tapeworms and earmites, but she can't compare to Biscuit. I have a funny dog story to outdo all the other funny dog stories.

Actually, it's just plain gross.

I was petting Biscuit and noticed a bump on her side. It looked like it might be a gross, doggy zit. Sexy Nerd thought it might be a tick, so we decided to try to remove it. We got the tweezers and held Biscuit down. 

Well, we were both wrong.



Trigger warning...you may not want to read the next part...don't say I didn't try to stop you...
It was some sort of creature that had burrowed into her skin! We pulled out a big, grubby, stretchy, still-squirming WORM! 

Yuck, yuck, yuck! Luckily, Biscuit is just about due for her rabies shot, so we're going to bring the worm with us to her appointment to make sure there isn't anything else we should be concerned about. Poor Biscuit!

She actually didn't seem to notice at all. I did give her a scare though when the worm was…

Sexy Nerd and I love cruising. Here is a recap and review of our Sea of Cortez cruise on one of our favorite ships, the Holland America Veendam. It was actually two cruise itineraries back-to-back, taking us all the way from northwestern Canada through Mexico. 
Visiting the Sea of Cortez is a bucket list item we've already checked off...but would love to do again!


Holland America Veendam, Day #1 - Seattle







After flying to Seattle from Albuquerque, we took the light rail to the Amtrak station, where we were able to check our luggage. Next, it was time to explore the waterfront. Who can resist having their photo taken with a giant penguin? Not me.
We walked to the mall. Sexy Nerd found a more manly penguin for his photo.
Downtown Seattle seemed a bit rough so we made sure to be back at the Amtrak station before dark. The station was undergoing a huge restoration project.
The Amtrak station started with a beautiful, intricate ceiling. Some time during the 60s, someone had the "brillia…