Celebrate National Watermelon Day with Sparkling Ice!

Today is National Watermelon Day, and Sparkling Ice has a few cocktail recipes to help you celebrate the occasion!

Watermelon Ball Margarita 

INGREDIENTS

Watermelon

1.5 oz of tequila

1 lime (halved, one half cut in two wedges)

0.5 oz on Conintreau

1 oz of Sparking Ice Strawberry Watermelon

How to make watermelon shot glasses:

Scoop our watermelon balls with ice cream scooper. Cut slice on bottom to make flat. Use a melon baller to scoop out insides.

DIRECTIONS

Add one scoop of watermelon to shaker using a melon baller. Add lime wedges and Conintreau. Muddle together. Add tequila, juice from one-half lime, and ice. Shake and strain into measuring cup. Add Sparking Ice Strawberry Watermelon. Pour into Watermelon Shot glass.

Sparkling Watermelon Vodka Lemonade 

INGREDIENTS

3 cups seedless watermelon pieces

3 lemons, juiced

½ cup vodka

¼ cup fresh mint

2 cups Sparkling Ice Classic Lemonade

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, puree the watermelon and lemon juice, strain through a sieve into a drink pitcher. Add mint, vodka, and Sparkling Ice Classic Lemonade- then stir. Serve over ice and garnish with fresh mint.

Strawberry Watermelon Refresher

INGREDIENTS

3 oz.  Sparking Ice Strawberry Watermelon

1.5 oz. Vodka

½ oz. Peach Schnapps

Watermelon slices and strawberries for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Pour vodka and peach schnapps, then Sparking Ice Strawberry Watermelon over ice.  Stir gently to mix. Garnish with watermelon slices and strawberries. 

#oldladyproblems

My friend Cali from college is so drastically different from me that I can't believe that we are friends. I try to lean on the apprehensive side of life, and she went through college swinging from the chandeliers...and from boys. This is why I was surprised to hear that she had some of the same anxieties as me in regards to our upcoming college reunion.
"I don't really do crowds like that," she said. "It's going to be crowded."
I had just been thinking the same thing earlier that day.
We attended college in New Orleans, so naturally, much of our spare time was spent on Bourbon Street. For those of you who don't know what Bourbon Street is like, it is essentially a claustrophobic hot box from hell lined with bars, dance halls, and strip clubs. At 22, I could literally stay on Bourbon Street all night. At 32, the idea of going down there at its least crowded hour for lunch makes me want to hide under the bed.
We can now add a fear of crowds to my ever-growing list of #oldladyproblems.
Something happens after you turn 30. I call it IDon'tWantToness. Others would call it becoming more cautious or knowing better what you want. For me, it just boils down to things that I don't want to do.
For instance, I no longer desire to wear shoes. My feet have to breathe! I have shoes, of course, but I often look them over for a cheap, raggedy, worn-in pair of blue men's flip-flops that I got from Walgreen's.
I also try to limit the time I am going to spend places, like movie theaters and malls, where I know that there are going to be teens. I find that socially, they are just too much to deal with, so I'd rather go see a movie at 9am while they are in school to ensure that I will not run into one. I know that that sounds horrible, but the reward in waking up that early is not having to deal with their unruly behavior and crazy clothes.
In college, I also wore many an outfit that was uncomfortable so that I could look cute. Today, I would rather be comfortable than cute, even if that means wearing the hugest, ugliest house dress to the grocery store that you have ever seen. I hate standing in lines. I hate standing period. I need advance notice to mentally prepare to go out with friends. I NEED naps. This is non-negotiable.
The trick to having #oldladyproblems is not allowing them to make you a recluse who no longer cares about her appearance. I'm working on it.

Your Summer Skin Fix: Sand & Sky Brilliant Skin

You may recognize Sand & Sky's Brilliant Skin from social media. All the influencers are in LOVE with this new Australian product that includes Australian Pink Clay. This formula is non-drying, and helps to shrink pores. A deep cleanser, Brilliant Skin also helps to brighten your complexion. It also serves as a skin detox. 

Need more info? Visit the Sand & Sky site here.

The Bible Theory

In the Sex In The City movie, Sarah Jessica Parker told Jennifer Hudson's character that your 30s are for the hard lessons. Carrie girl, you ain't never lied! Through talking to my friends, there are some lessons being learned out here in these streets that are outright BRUTAL. In my life, the lessons over the past years have been downright DEVASTATING. But every now and then, you like to hear about someone else's screw ups to make you feel a little better about your own.

I talked to my friend Amelia who informed me that her college ex recently got divorced 😞 It seems that he cheated on his wife, who now gets Juanita Jordan level alimony from him😍 I was never the biggest fan of this guy. He has always been mildly douchey. But I was happy to hear that he was learning one of those killer 30s lessons: it's cheaper to keep her. However, what was even more interesting about this story was Amelia's take on it all.  

"His ex-wife is Christian, and I know that it is wrong that he cheated on her, but in The Bible, men had like ten wives at a time. Men fell in love many times and had many women and everything was all good. I'm just saying."

Oh no. My friend has become one of those girls. 

I don't know where I fall on the Christianity scale. I believe that there is a God, but I hate waking up early on Sundays. Yet it never ceases to amaze me how people will use The Bible to justify any and everything. First, it was slavery, not it's group relationships! 

I do not believe that God would want you to allow yourself to be disrespected to fulfill some dude's misogynistic fantasy of having a whole bunch of women at his beck and call. Furthermore, we as women can not drink this Kook-Aid that He would. We all have to be in one accord on this before we all wake up one day as sisterwives, wondering how we go to this place. I believe that there is one person for everybody, and when you find them, appreciate it, and demonstrate a little friggin' self-control and try to be committed! Because a lesson that I have learned in my 30s with men is this: you better stand firm on your morals with them. Letting silly stuff slide like cheating makes it hard for the next woman to have a committed relationship. We can not settle for less, for ourselves, and for the next sister's sake. 

I explained this to Amelia and she said that she agrees, although I don't see how you can fall on both sides of the fence with this. One of those lessons that you probably learned in middle school applies: stand for something or fall for anything. A least stand for respecting yourself and knowing your worth. I know, easier said than done. Let's work on it together. 

Sickles Goes Farming

I don't know if any of you remember Sickles. He was a guy I met a little over four years ago and, since then, we have been in a non-serious renothingship. Once upon a time, I thought that we could potentially be going somewhere. Then he stopped talking to me for a year and popped up randomly to let me know that a woman he was seeing had just given birth to his son. Again, I had imagined that I was on my way somewhere special with a man while he, apparently, was on his way to the maternity ward.
Since then, he texts me quarterly just to make sure that I am still single so he can keep me on his list of backup girls. Like a fool, I always respond to his romantic texts, which usually say something like, "Hey, you don't have kids now do you?" I know, I should let this guy go, but I like the twinkle of attention that I get from him, seeing that my platonic male friends have friend dumped me because of how needy I am. That's another post.
Anywho, he texted me this quarter to let me know that he is going to be living on a farm in California for a month. I was sad, thinking that "farm" was some euphemism for jail. But it really is a farm where he will be learning new and innovative farming technology.
My excitement for his news was very quickly followed by my hater voice. How was Sickles making more career moves than me? Not that I want to live on a farm, but this is a guy that has beat more possession charges than Gucci Mane!
He said that he fully expects his time on the farm to be a life-changing experience; an adventure. Now I am really jealous. Am I the only one out there that wants an adventure? I see all of you on Instagram, taking pictures of your feet on the beach, and that seems cool, but I mean a real adventure; something that changes your life for the better. Something that gives you new, fresh perspective. At the risk of sounding optimistic, I think that something like that could totally change my trajectory.
Sickles leaves in September. I told him to bring me something that he grew. He won't. Hopefully, when he checks in around Thanksgiving, I will have something exciting to share with him.

Level 0

My girl Roma was updating me about her life, and she said that she talks to our mutual friend, Jamaica, on a regular basis. This made my eyebrow raise, seeing that I am hard pressed to get Jamaica on the phone, and further satisfied a suspicion that I had that she has been avoiding me.
I think it best that I remind you all, before I go on, that I have a habit of taking clues that may not exist to solve issues that aren't real. I make things up in my head and run with them, especially in regards to my friends, because I am insecure, especially when it comes to my friendships. I know, I know, it's not an attractive quality.
One of my insecurities stems from not being where I want to be financially in life. Friends like Roma and Jamaica are stacking paper over my head by leaps and bounds. When I heard that Roma and Jamaica were in touch, I assumed that this is why. As silly as it may sound, you get hip to the way that people view you, for real, when you are broke, especially as broke as me.
People do not take brokeness well. They treat it sort of like a deadly flu they can catch from something as small as just hearing about your financial issues. There are also sub-issues that travel with brokeness, such as sadness, depression, anger, and self-pity. Low and behold, I suffer from ALL of these illnesses! Understandably, this makes me self-conscious, especially when interacting with my richy rich friends.
If you have lived a somewhat full life with females as friends, you should know by now that there are levels to friendships. I fear that for some, including Jamaica, that know what I have been through, I have plummeted to level 0. And I get it, like attracts like. I have always said that if I ever lose weight that I will dump my old, supportive friends that love me for superficial ones.
I digress.
As my friend talked, I used my Ghost Writer skills to put together a quick case. There could be a number of reasons that I have not heard from Jamaica. She has a high-pressure job; she could be busy. She has just moved; she may be tired. This made me feel better until I remembered that Roma had just told me that she and Jamaica talk all the time.
Before you ask yes, I am aware of how childish this is. There is no real proof, other than my emotions, that any of this is real. But to be honest, I have been waiting on Jamaica to friend dump me for some time. Brokeness is also the trigger for strife and negativeness. These are things that I suffer from that we ALL know are contagious.
As Roma spoke, I kicked myself for being so needy and emo. But, as needy and as emo as I often am, I am also often right. Call me psychic.

IT is coming!

When I heard that there was going to be a remake of the movie IT, I have to tell you, I was STOKED! This would be funny to my childhood friends, who can tell you that this movie scared the pants off of me when I was younger. It also is the reason behind my fear of clowns.
 I am eager to see how much scarier this movie is going to be with all of the up-to-date special effects. I can't wait until Sept. 1! 

For more info on IT, click here.