Facebook Marketplace

I feel like ever since my son finished his last day of school, it has been non-stop crazy at my house. And when it's not crazy, I'm so exhausted I just want to lay around. And that's how my house became a freaking disaster! Ah! It's so frustrating! Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Well, after cleaning a little, we realized we just didn't have enough space for everything. And coincidentally, our neighborhood's bi-annual garage sale was happening on the first weekend of June. We got everything prepared and it turned out we had a ton of stuff! And some big things, too! I was excited. With so many big things, we were sure to get rid of things and make a little money.

The day of our garage sale came, and the weather was beautiful! I had high hopes for the day! Unfortunately, I didn't sell most of our big stuff, and we ended the day with just over $100. It didn't feel like a failure, but I definitely didn't feel like it was a huge success.

Since we did have so many big items left over, I knew I wanted to try to sell them still. My husband suggested Facebook Marketplace. I'd never sold anything on there before so I was a little nervous. And I definitely had no idea what I was in for. In the end, I sold everything that I wanted to in less than 2 weeks and made $221.

Here's how you start. Go to Marketplace (located at the left hand side toward the top on your desktop). Again, on the left hand side, click on “Sell Something” and fill out the prompts. They make it very easy! Make sure you add some great photos of the item you have for sale. The thing that sells your item the most is the photos. It's best to have them from every angle.

Tip 1: I only put 6-8 things for sale at a time and that worked great for me because even with just a few things for sale, it can get hard to keep track of all the people messaging you. I love how they keep your item for sale at the top of each conversation to help you keep everything organized.

Tip 2: Don't consider anything sold until you have agreed on a time, place, and amount. I had so many people ask “Is this available?” and when I said yes, they never said anything else. There were also plenty of people that asked questions about the item, seemed like they were going to buy it, and then just never said anything else. So I started replying “Yes” whenever anyone asked if an item was available until I considered it sold. I only had 2 people (out of probably 50) that got upset because I sold it while they were still thinking about it. And that's just how it goes. You can't miss out on potential sales while someone takes forever to reply that might not buy your item.

Tip 3: Don't feel bad about moving on. I had someone set to meet and then they messaged me a couple hours before that they wouldn't be able to meet until 2 hours later. That's fine. I'm flexible. Then, they messaged me again that it would be better for them to do the next day. Ok, starting to get annoyed, but again, I'm flexible. The next day, they message again, that they would really appreciate it if we could meet the day after that. That was enough. They offered to pay through Facebook to show they were serious about getting it, but I was annoyed. So I told them it wouldn't work for me and I relisted the item. Lucky for me, I had it sold and delivered with cash in my hand within 24 hours. The point is, move on if people seem like they're just there to make your life more stressful.

Tip 4: If you feel uncomfortable meeting with people at your house, it's perfectly ok, if not expected, to meet someplace public. I met at our local police department multiple times! But I was also flexible with my meeting location. I also met at Sam's Club, the library, Wal-Mart, and a couple other places. I only had 2 people pick up at my house and it was only because my trunk was too small.

So if you've ever thought about getting rid of stuff, definitely try Facebook! It costs nothing. It's super easy to set-up. And you have the opportunity to make some money without the hastle of a garage sale. I'm still glad we had our garage sale and in the end, with everything combined, we made about $330. And that's not too bad.

Recipe: Homemade Lemonade

I took a couple weeks off, but now we're back at it! My summer has started off great! With lots of things going on. I don't know about you guys, but having my son at home all day, I feel like I need to plan at least 1 fun activity every day to make sure we're not just sitting around. Don't get me wrong, I have a list of things we do each day including reading for 1 hour, working out for 30 minutes, and cleaning for 30 minutes each day. As a reward for these things, I put a limit on phone use to no more than 2 hours.

Here are some of the things we do to fill our time:
1. The Library
Ours has some great public activities and even when there's nothing going on, they always have pages to color, books to read, computers to play on, toys to play with, and fun displays to check out.
2. Berry Picking
There is a fun little berry patch within half an hour of our house that we like to visit from time to time. 3. The Zoo
We have a small local zoo, but beyond that, there are 3 other zoos within an hour. Plus, 2 large named zoos within 3 hours. 4. Paint Your Own Pottery
These places are becoming more and more popular. We have a fun little place in town. We try to only visit once every couple of weeks because while fun, it can get expensive.

We also do lots of crafts and projects. My son has been getting into cooking lately, so I thought as a quick little project, I would teach him how to make homemade lemonade.

You Will Need:
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
Enough lemons to make 1 cup of juice (we used 5 large lemons)
7-8 more cups of water

First, combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan and heat on medium until the sugar is completely dissolved (your water will appear clear again). You have now made your simple syrup. It only takes about 5 minutes. Take your pan off the heat and set it to the side to cool.

While your syrup is cooling, you can juice your lemons. If you don't have a juicer, you can squeeze the lemon while twisting a fork to get every last drop out. Make sure you strain the juice to get rid of seeds and most of the pulp.

It's time to mix together your lemon juice, simple syrup, and 7-8 cups of water. I put a rough estimate on the amount because it's all about your personal preference on taste and how strong you want your lemonade. After everything is mixed together, place it in the fridge to cool. Cold, fresh lemonade is the best. Something about making it from scratch truly makes it taste better!

If you have any other suggestions on fun, small projects I can try with my little 8yo, please, let me know in the comments below. We're always looking for new things to try out.

Summer Bucket List

Every summer, my son and I like to make a list of things that we want to do before school starts back up. We got together and pooled all of our ideas and came up with this list of 50 things we want to do this summer. Here is our summer bucket list for 2018!

Click here to view a PDF and download.

Pictures to take while you're in Universal

Like anything else that has to do with our vacation, I did a lot of research about what pictures we should take while we're at Universal. I used a mix of some ideas I saw online and things I remembered from when we visited 3 years ago. That is how I made our list to take with us. It served useful as we wanted to bring home some special photographic memories to display at home. Here's our list:

Click here to view as a PDF and download.

Pictures to take while you're on vacation

We just love to take pictures! And I love finding lists of things to take pictures of and then challenging myself to do them all! So my son and I decided to come up with our own list before we left for vacation to see if we could do them all. Here's our list:

Click here to view as a PDF and download.

Legoland Florida

Legoland Florida We decided absolute last minute (less than 2 days prior) that we were going to go to Legoland. We arrived shortly after opening (mostly due to the parking situation – it took us FOREVER to get through that line) and there were already a TON of people.

After we waited in the super long line to get in, we made our way to the photo counter to buy the photo package. I always think it's worth it for the ride photos. You can take as many pictures as you want, but you'll never be able to get those ride photos without buying them individually or just splurging to get the package and getting as many as you want. There are currently 5 different rides that have offer on-ride photos. Plus, there are multiple meet and greets. Times are posted in a pamphlet given to you when you first enter. However, they don't tell you who the meet and greet is with. We also saw a photographer at the very front before you enter to take a picture with the Welcome sign and one right after you enter. I'm not really sure what he was taking a picture with, but we were paying for those pictures, so we got them!

We walked straight to the back to Lego City where Tom and Owen rode the flight school ride. They seemed to really enjoy it and there was absolutely no wait.

Next up was Ford driving school. We waited about 15-20 minutes. They take your (kids only, aged 6-13) picture while in line for your license. Then you go into a room (with benches! Woo!) to watch a video about 'how to drive.' Then, you go outside and the kids get in their cars to drive. Owen loved it. And afterward, he bought himself a drivers license! Plus, it came with a lanyard. You get a couple different options for which kind of license you want. My son chose a firefighter license. It's pretty cute.

Also located in this area is junior driving school for younger kids, boating school, and Rescue Academy.

Then we headed over to the Lego Ninjago World. It's very neatly themed in this part of the park. There are a lot of cool Ninja training things you could do. We headed straight for Lego Ninjago The Ride. There was practically no wait which was nice. It was a really fun ride, but it was kind of weird because you use your hands and arms to shoot energy balls at things. I just couldn't seem to make it work, but Tom and Owen did. And we also looked like total doofuses in the picture!

Later in the day, this is also where we did the Kai meet and greet. That was fun, too. But I always think it's fun to take pictures with characters.

In the Land of Adventure, Tom and Owen rode Coastersaurus. They had a ton of fun. It's like your normal wooden coaster. Their picture turned out really well. They probably had to wait about 20-30 minutes in line.

We also really enjoyed The Lost Kingdom Adventure. We just love this ride. Apparently, we're big fans of shooting rides. It's so much fun.

Also in the part of the park are Beetle Bounce and Safari Trek.

We decided to walk over to the Great Lego Race and check it out. The line didn't look THAT long so we went ahead and got in it. Well, after we'd already waited about 20 minutes, they told us it was a 2 hour wait. Really? I mean, I understand that this is a brand new ride, but that just seemed crazy. But after we talked about it, we decided to go ahead and wait it out. After all, we'd never been on a VR ride before. We really missed those Express Passes from Universal though. We made the most of our time by having Tom get out of line to go get food and then bring it back. I know that's bad line ettiquette, but we were starving and we forgot to bring snacks. Luckily, there were also a couple places in line that had Legos to play with. The 1st time we rode, Owen's VR went black and the very beginning and didn't work so they let him go again. I decided I only wanted to go once so Tom and Owen went by themselves. The VR ride was so cool! You were completely immersed in the ride. It was a little freaky because you couldn't always tell where you were going next, but I understood why everyone was ok with the wait. It was a very slow-loading ride.

We walked over to Lego Kingdoms to ride The Dragon, but unfortunately, after about 5 minutes in line, they told everyone the ride was closed and they weren't sure when it was going to open. Also in this area is Merlin's Challenge and Royal Joust.

Those were all the rides we rode since we had a very limited about of time to spend at Legoland (only about 5 hours).

The rides in DUPLO Valley are DUPLO tractor and DUPLO train.

The only ride in Imagination Zone is Kid Power Towers.

We were disappointed that we didn't get to try Mia's Riding Adventure in Heartlake City.

The only ride in Fun Town is The Grand Carousel.

The only ride in The Lego World of Chima is the Quest for Chi. You will probably get a little wet on this ride.

In unspecified areas, there is also Technicycle and Aquazone Wave Racers.

We love visiting Legoland. And hopefully we'll be able to make it back at least one more time before Owen gets too old to really enjoy it.

Islands of Adventure

WARNING: Just like my post about Universal Studios, this one about Islands of Adventure will be long.

Jurassic Park

Attractions:
1. Jurassic Park River Adventure – Shoot the Chute – Over 48” or over 42” with adult
I was a little concerned at first because the posted wait time was 130 minutes and I heard people say that with Express Passes, you could wait up to half the posted time, but we only ended up waiting about 20 minutes. I loved this ride. I thought the story was fun and the theming was great. It was a little dated, but Jurassic Park is a classic!

2. Pteranodon Flyers – Suspended roller coaster – Over 48” or over 36” with adult/over 56” with rider 36”-56”
We didn't ride this one this time because we were on a tight time-frame and it doesn't have an Express Pass line. I want to say we waited about an hour last time and while it was fun, we'll only ride it when we have plenty of time to spare. Plus, you can only ride if you have a child with you so one of us has to just sit out and wait (they won't let you go through the line if you're not riding).
3. Raptor Encounter – Character Zone
If you want to be first in line (like us, apparently), you only need to show up 15 minutes before it starts (which was 10am while we were there). Definitely have them record your experience. We love having our video with Rho to watch whenever we're missing Universal.

4. Jurassic Park Discovery Center
We had heard plenty of people telling us to check this out. And to be honest, it's so not worth it unless you're going to see the egg hatch. I mean, we walked around and checked stuff out, but it was a little boring. Some of the stuff seemed broken and it was just a little dated. But the hatching dinosaur was by far the coolest part. The 'scientist' talked for a couple minutes and then she asked if anyone had a name suggestion for the newborn raptor. My son shot his hand up and suggested 'Penny' when the scientist asked and that's how my son got a certificate saying that he named a baby raptor. Now, whenever we go back, we can ask a scientist to check on her and when we give her name and the date she was born, they'll give us an update on her. He thought that was super cool.

Dining: 1. Pizza Predattoria
fresh baked pizzas, meatball subs, chicken Caesar salads, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $8
This was by far the longest line we waited in all day (at 3pm)! It actually took us from ahead of schedule to behind schedule! It was slightly infuriating. Plus, it was pretty difficult to find a table with all those people sitting at them that weren't eating and just resting. Besides that, I thought everything tasted great! Even my son, who is a very picky and light eater, ate an entire pizza to himself. The meatball sub was very tasty. We also got some breadsticks and salads. We were all full when we left.
2. The Burger Digs
burgers, garden burgers, chicken sandwiches, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $8
3. The Watering Hole
hot dogs, wings, chili, nachos, beer, wine, cocktails and frozen beverages, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $6
4. Thunder Falls Terrace
BBQ ribs, rotisserie chicken, smoked turkey legs, soup, salads, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $9

Shopping:
1. Dinostore
Owen bought a fun little toy here. I didn't really see anything that was great with Jurassic Park theming. It was mostly just generic dinosaur stuff. That was a little disappointing.
2. Jurassic Outfitters
They have all the same stuff that the Dinostore has. This is at the exit of the Jurassic Park Ride.

Skull Island

Attractions:
1. Skull Island: Reign of Kong – Dark ride – Over 36”
This was our longest ride wait of the entire day with a mere 30 minute wait. But that's nothing compared to posted wait time of 110 minutes. It looks really scary from the outside. I know that a lot of people say that you miss out on great line theming when you use express, but I'd rather miss a little than wait that long for a ride. For the ride itself, you're in a huge safari-like truck. We were seated toward the back and it was seriously amazing! This is one of the coolest rides! Kong and the dinosaurs could be a little scary for young kids, but our little dare devil thought it was insanely cool.

Toon Lagoon

Attractions:
1. Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls – Log Flume – Over 48” or over 44” with adult
I chose not to go on this one, but there is a test seat out front so I'm not entirely sure I would have fit on it anyway. That being said, my son and husband did go on this and they said it was a lot of fun. I believe my son's exact words were, “That was awesome!” They came of a little wet after sitting in the last 2 seats. They only waited 10 minutes with Express Passes.

2. Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges – River rapids ride – Over 48” or over 42” with adult
We chose not to ride this one because it seemed like you got wet just for the sake of getting wet.
3. Classic Comic Book Characters – Character Zone – Betty Boop, Popeye, Olive

Dining:
1. Blondie's: Home of the Dagwood
sandwiches and subs including the famous “Dagwood”, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $9
2. Cathy's Ice Cream
sundaes, shakes and waffle cones featuring Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $5
3. Comic Strip Cafe
fried chicken, fish & chips, hot dogs, burgers, and even Asian & Italian dishes, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $6
4. Wimpy's
double cheeseburgers, chicken fingers, chicken wraps, chili dogs and fries, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $6

Marvel Super Hero Island

Attractions:
1. Doctor Doom's Fearfall – Space Shot – Over 52”
This is one of the few rides we've never ridden.
2. Storm Force Accelatron – Teacups – Over 48” or with adult
Think spinning tea cups, but themed in a much cooler way that you're battling bad guys! It's so much fun! And of course, with my husband and son, we have to try to spin as fast as possible! The posted wait was 25 minutes, but with our Express Passes, we only waited 7 minutes.
3. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – 4D motion based dark ride – Over 48” or over 40” with adult
The posted wait for this ride was 70 minutes, but with Express Passes, we only waited a very fast 15 minutes. This was one of my favorite rides. It's so much fun. This is definitely the most rollercoaster-like ride of the 4D ones.
4. The Incredible Hulk Coaster – Sitting Coaster – Over 54”
My husband rode this last time and thought it was great, but since he's the only one that can ride this (I'm too big and my son is too small) he decided to skip it this time.
5. Meet Spider-Man and the Marvel Super Heroes – Character Zone – Spider-Man, Captain America, Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Doctor Doom, The Green Goblin
6. Spider-Man Appearing at the Marvel Aternivurse Store – Character Zone
We waited about 10 minutes to meet Spider-Man, which wasn't bad considering he spends a good 2-3 minutes with each kid. He really takes the time to talk to them and then signs an autograph for every kid. Plus, in the end, you get this really cool picture that looks like the cover of a comic book.
Dining:
1. Cafe 4
Italian eatery with pizza, spaghetti & meatballs, fettuccini, meatball subs and chicken Caesar salads, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $7
2. Captain America Diner
all-American menu of cheeseburgers, sandwiches, chicken fingers, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $8

Port of Entry

Dining:
1. Confisco Grille
Italian, Asian and Greek dishes, Casual Dining, Starting at $10
2. Cinnabon
cinnamon rolls, caramel pecanbon rolls, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $4
3. Croissant Moon Bakery
savory deli sandwiches, paninis, freshly baked pastries and cheesecakes, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $3
4. Starbucks Coffee
Quick Service Dining, Starting at $2

Seuss Landing

Attractions:
1. Caro-Seuss-el – Carousel – over 48” or with adult
2. Oh! The Stories You'll Hear! – Live show – No height requirement
3. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish – Flying Fish – Over 48” or with an adult
4. The Cat in the Hat – Dark ride – Over 48” or over 36” with adult
5. The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride – Powered train ride – Over 48” or over 40” with adult
The wait was only 12 minutes (whether you had Express Passes or not). We thought it was ok. Great for little kids!
6. Seuss Character Zone – Character Zone – The Cat in the Hat, Sam I Am, Thing One & Thing Two, The Grinch

Dining:
1. Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous
sweet snacks, frosty cold drinks and wholesome nutritious meals, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $8
2. Hop on Pop Ice Cream Shop
sundaes, sundae on a stick, waffle cones, and root beer floats, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $4
3. Moose Juice, Goose Juice
juice, frozen juice, fruit cups, churros, pretzels & cookies, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $4
Shopping: 1. Honk Honkers
This is at the exit of the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride to the right. It's a cute little candy store. But the highlight here is clearly the cotton candy. They have a couple different flavors (my son chose Jolly Berry) and a couple different things you can add to the layers (like sprinkles!). And it is HUGE! They give you a bag to put it in which makes transporting it around much easier (especially on a windy day). But they leave it out of the bag when they give it to you so you can get a fun picture of just how large it is! Plus, it's seriously delicious. I'm not joking when I say it's probably the best tasting cotton candy I've ever had!

2. Snookers & Snookers Sweet Candy Cookers
This is at the exit of the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride to the left. This has all the other candy you could imagine!
3. Mulberry Street Store
You will find everything from shirts to mugs to wigs and everything in between that are Dr. Seuss character related.
4. All The Books You Can Read
You guessed it! They sell books! Plus, some other goods like clothes.
5. Cats, Hats & Things
This is at the exit of the Cat in the Hat ride. It sells pretty much anything you could think of in Cat in the Hat fashion.

The Lost Continent

Attractions:
1. Poseidon's Fury – Live action show – Over 48” or with adult
2. The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad Stunt Show – Live action show – No height requirement
3. The Mystic Fountain – Comedy Show – fountain that loves to tell riddles and jokes that will get you wet if you answer its questions incorrectly

Dining:
1. Mythos Restaurant
rock formations, waterfalls and ancient figures, Casual Dining, Starting at $10
2. Doc Sugrue's Desert Kebab House
beef, chicken or vegetarian kebabs and Greek salads, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $7
3. Fire Eater's Grill
grilled gyros, fiery chicken stingers, chicken fingers, hot dogs and salads, Quick Service Dining, Starting at $8