sharondashariee

Building a Raised Garden Bed

May 4, 2020May 4, 2020 sharondashariee

Let the growing games begin!

This has been a thought in my mind for a few years. After taking in gardening content for the purposes of growing food, attending classes, and stalking the amazing gardeners of Instagram, I am finally jumping out there with what I know to see what happens.

I ordered this raised garden bed on Amazon. It was super easy to put together. If I can harvest just one thing that is edible, I will be a happy woman.

As mentioned, I purchased this garden bed from Amazon. This raised bed is not available directly through Amazon anymore, but there are a ton of options to choose from.

The pieces were packaged nice and secure. Every piece was cut precisely, to allow the groves to slide into place. There are no tools required to build the actual box. You will only need a screwdriver to screw in the screws that attach to the decorative pieces on each corner of the raised bed. I used a battery pack drill to do this, easy, but you can use a hand screwdriver with a little elbow grease.

The total build time took 22 minutes, from start to finish. I built it alone, in my dining room. No help is required.

This bed seems to be a great product and it gathers great reviews. I paid $99. The current cost of this specific raised bed at the time of this post is, $109.

This is where you can order the garden bed directly: www.bestchoiceproducts.com

Added bonus: Free shipping, no minimum.

Do you have a home garden? If so, what are you currently growing? If not, what would you like to see me grow in my garden?

I hope you follow me along this journey.

Dining Out, Food Opinion

Bruster’s Real Ice-Cream

March 11, 2020May 4, 2020 sharondashariee

You can never fail with a trip to the ice cream shop! Well, if they’re lactose intolerant, you can but Bruster’s Fresh even has non-dairy treats like Freezes.⁣
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Even when it’s raining, like it is in Phoenix today, eat ice-cream and talk about how cold you are. Who does that? I do.

Bruster’s Real Ice-Cream in the Arrowhead area is a quick and easy ice cream stand with walk-up ordering and benches for outdoor seating. You know what I say, everything tastes better when you eat it outside. You can even grab your ice cream to-go thru the drive-thru, if you’re on the go.

Rich, creamy and lots of flavors to choose from! They even let you sample if you can’t decide what you should go with.⁣

Grab your kiddos and even your fur babies. Free ice cream to children under 40” and doggie sundaes for your non-human friends.
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What’s your favorite ice-cream flavor. Here I have Rocky Road on the bottom and Cookies ‘N Cream on the top. (Sugar-free options are also available.)⁣
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FUN FACT: I DO NOT eat chocolate ice-cream, but I eat Rocky Road.

Location visited:
17115 N 51st Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85308

Things-to-Do

VIP Airsoft Arena

February 17, 2020February 17, 2020 sharondashariee

One of my sons hates pain, he plays defense in tackle football so he can hit and not get hit so he wasn’t that excited about trying out the @VIPAirSoft arena when he realized he’d be getting hit by airsoft pellets. I instructed him and my other son on how to dress so the possibility of feeling the airsoft pellets hit them would be minimal.

They were dressed in two layers on the top and bottom. Hoodies to protect their neck and head, in addition to their rental helmets and chest vests. Gloves are also an added barrier (you must bring your own) that most didn’t have on, but my boys said they were clutch.

I registered them online and signed a waiver, so the process was short and simple once we arrived. The referees take time to explain the rules of the arena to ensure safety while the front of the house staff explained how to use the airsoft rifles properly. They were all set.

My boys had a 4-hour session that included gear, 1000 pellets, and a rental rifle. The boys spent an hour in the arena, which equated to two arena games and they were ready to go. As my husband and I watched we thought it be a great date-night activity even for the adults. Give @VIPAirSoft a visit for kid and adult outings. The boys said their experience was cool, but they’d prefer if one thing was added.

Airsoft rifles, magazines, and airsoft pellets.

My kids love their cousins. They said next time they’d want all their cousins to join in on the fun to make the arena teams more competitive. They both agreed the team vs. team would have been better if you know the people who you are fighting with and against because there would be more talking i.e. trash talking, strategy and the overall experience would be more personal.

Consider going with a squad for a more personable experience!

VIP Airsoft Arena have two locations:

3841 E. Baseline Rd., #K-133
Gilbert, AZ 85234

10870 N. 32^nd St.
Phoenix, AZ 85028

Website: vipairsoft.net

arizona, Arizona, Exploration Guides, Practical Guide

Inside the Children’s Museum of Phoenix: Is It Worth It for Older Kids? A Parent’s Field Note

November 21, 2019February 2, 2026 sharondashariee

My daughter is always game without question, so I ran the idea of checking out the Children’s Museum of Phoenix by my 11-year-old son and when he heard the word “museum” he said, Muuuseeeummmmmm!? Where there are statues and pictures hanging on the wall every where and we walk around and just look at them, he asks? I assured him it wasn’t that type of museum.

I knew he may me on the cusp of being too old to really enjoy the museum, but I thought what better way to gauge the proper age group for this outing than to get his opinion.

I gathered my two youngest kids, my sister, nieces, nephew, my best friend, her daughter and our Groupon and arrived at the museum in the early afternoon.

Admission to the museum was $14.95, but the Groupon allowed 2-person admission for the cost of $14.95 (1-year and under are free).

When we first walked in, to the left was an enormous jungle gym and the kids took off running. The climbed all over the jungle gym and played at the nearby air-shoot.

In the same area they had soft toys and blocks for the toddler-aged kids to explore. My nephew was immediately drawn to this area.

They would have stayed in this area the entire time, but I set the timer and told them we had about 15 minutes remaining after being the area for about 20-minutes.

Next, we headed upstairs to the tricycle car wash area and the kids rode the bikes around the area for about 15-minutes. There were several other exploratory activities along the way.

Headed up to the third and final level of the museum and the kids played on the rockers and nearly got kicked out of the foam maze for running.

The younger kids of the group found the play supermarket and kitchen entertaining and stayed in there while the older kids made friends and played walk tag in the foam maze.

Lastly, we spent time time in the gift shop checking out all the fun toys that were available.

We spent about two hours in the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. As the parents, we felt that was an adequate of amount of time.

Click below to hear the kids give their review of the museum and if they’d go back again.

The kids sharing their favorite part of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix

Groupon frequently has the Children’s Museum of Phoenix deal going on, but if not, the $14.95 per person cost is still worth a kid-outing for the day.

Check your local area to see if there is a children’s museum in your area. Don’t forget to check for discounts. Parents, you’ll love the discounts and the kids will love the museum outing.

Location visited:

Children’s Museum of Phoenix
215 N. 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034

Uncategorized

Keto Sandwich

November 8, 2019 sharondashariee

I have made a few things, and thought to myself, this is Keto. Wow!

That’s how I feel about this sandwich. It’s SO delicious.

Have you heard of Outer Aisle Gourmet Cauliflower Thins? I hadn’t either until I was on the hunt to find a bread substitute that was “Keto Approved.”

I didn’t think I’d find something pre-packaged, that would make my Keto journey easier, so I first looked for bread recipes, but lo and behold, plant-based bread to the rescue.

The Outer Aisle thins have 1g net carbs per thin, 1 serving of vegetables.

We have made all kinds of sandwiches. Pastrami and turkey. Just pastrami. We’ve even sandwiched a hamburger in between them.

This sandwich has mayo, provolone cheese pastrami, and a fried egg. The trick to taking Outer Aisle’s Sandwich Thins to the next level, is toasting the bread prior to assembling your sandwich. Just for a few minutes.

Fried Egg and Pastrami Sandwich with Cauliflower Thins

Outer Aisle has a product tracker on their website, https://www.outeraislegourmet.com/pages/store-locator to make them easier to find.

I’ve picked them up at Natural Grocers. You can also find them at Whole Foods and AJ’s Fine Foods. They are about $6.99 for 6 thins.

The thins are available in original, Italian, and jalapeno flavors. Outer Aisle also makes pizza style crust, which I must try.

Website: www.outeraislegourmet.com