Posts Tagged: "experience"

The Gift of Song | Singing Lessons

Queen Darlene - July 28, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day

Is there something you have always wanted to learn to do? I love to sing. I just couldn’t carry a tune so I decided to take singing lessons.

I found a voice teacher at a local university who gave private lessons. She was surprised when I told her my request.

“I want to learn how to sing one song – Fever.”

I’ve heard it all my life on the radio and in live musicals.

Peggy Lee made the song famous, and my favorite rendition is by Michael Buble.

It is one sexy song!

Never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that’s so hard to bear

You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night

High Caliber Entertainment at Gun Range

Queen Darlene - June 16, 2016 - Anniversary, Birthday, Business, Experiences, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Mother's Day, Retirement

Ever celebrated a birthday or retirement at a gun range? My girlfriends and I did both! One had a birthday, and the other two were retiring!

Our friendship has spanned for 40+ years and we have celebrated many life events with various experiences, but I must say going to the gun range was a first! What an exciting thrill!

I hired an instructor for a private lesson to train us about safety, how to hold a gun,and how to aim and shoot. There’s a proper technique as you can imagine, and knowing it made us feel more comfortable handling a gun.

A gun range date night or group package is a unique gift idea for a beginner, intermediate or advanced shooter.

I highly recommend it for a different kind of experience for a date night, a celebration, or just bonding time with friends and family.

Invite Mom to Afternoon Tea

Princess Diana - May 3, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Food & Drinks, Mother's Day

More than anything, mothers love to spend quality time with their children.

So when thinking of gifts for her birthday, Mother’s Day or Christmas, a memorable bonding experience for the two of you to do together will always make her happy.

Consider inviting your mother for an Afternoon Tea Experience at a nice hotel, tea room or tea restaurant.

Can you hear it? The sound of a dainty china cup clicking against its saucer.

Can you feel it? The mood of stylish elegance and luxury.

Treat your mother to a lovely and charming afternoon tea with tea trays and service. (At some places, they even have tea butlers!) You and your mother can enjoy sipping tea from delicate teacups while sitting in a room filled with beautiful ambience.

Together, share in meaningful conversation while dining on delicious scones, freshly made sandwiches, and petite pastries!

Glamour Shots Fairy Tale Portraits

Queen Darlene - April 21, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Kids

Growing up my brothers and I played dressed up. Don’t tell the world but many times they would allow me to dress them up as the sisters I never had!

We loved playing dress up and make believe.

One of my favorite memories was when I played a princess and my brothers were warriors defending my kingdom, protecting me with their swords and riding through the pretend forest on their stick horses.

Sadly, I do not have a single photo of that memory.

What to my surprise, Glamour Shots offers Fairy Tale Portraits! Kids from ages one to 12 dress up in flowing fairy dresses and woodland warrior costumes. Continue Reading

Boys Love Shopping for New Shoes

Princess Diana - February 17, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Kids

Most boys don’t get excited about new clothes. So when they receive them as gifts they don’t oooh and aaah over them like most girls do.

As a mother who loves fashion but who doesn’t have any daughters, I’ve come to accept this. But I have found an exception to the rule.

Boys LOVE to shop for new shoes.

My teenage brother-in-law, Sean, is obsessed with Vans shoes. For my son, Aiden’s, second birthday, Sean and his mom took him to the Vans shoe store at the mall to get his very first pair of Vans shoes.

After narrowing them down to three pairs, they let him pick out his shoes. He decided on a cool pair of Star Wars shoes.

Aiden was so very proud of his Vans shoes because he knew they were like his Uncle Sean’s Vans shoes. In fact, he started calling his new pair of shoes his “Sean shoes.”

Since they went to the mall and picked them out together, it made shopping for new shoes a fun and memorable experience.

Plan a MEGA Date Night

Princess Diana - February 9, 2016 - Anniversary, Birthday, Experiences, Valentine's Day

My husband and I planned our first MEGA Date Night and it was legen…wait for it…dary!

A MEGA Date Night involves two or more date nights combined into one. My husband and I enjoy going on dates to see an Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game or to dinner and then a comedy club.

During our MEGA Date Night, we combined both date nights! We went out to dinner for some seafood, then attended a Thunder game, AND then attended a comedy club show.

Because I love to dress up, I even changed outfits between the basketball game and the comedy club show.

We had an amazing time doing some of our favorite things back-to-back-to-back! We felt like we were in college again we crammed so many fun experiences into one night.

Limousine Ride to Look at Christmas Lights

Princess Diana - December 2, 2015 - Christmas, Experiences, Kids

Every year when I visit, my nieces look forward to my gift of an experience. They know not to expect wrapped presents from me.

One year, I took them to a Renaissance Fair complete with a live jousting match, and another year I took them to a child-friendly version of the play “A Christmas Carol.” Last year, I surprised them with a limousine ride to look at Christmas lights.

I rented the limousine for three hours. During that time, we rocked out to the radio on full volume, sipped on sparkling white grape juice, snacked on cheese and grapes, snapped group photos in front of pretty Christmas light displays, and ordered food at a Wendy’s drive-thru.

Experience Being a Stunt Pilot or Fighter Pilot for a Day

Princess Diana - May 19, 2015 - Experiences, Gifts for Him

I traveled to Las Vegas and didn’t gamble one single dollar. Instead, I gambled with my life.

stunt-fighter-pilot-experience-thoughtful-gift

Stunt Pilot for a Day

A Hummer pulls up in front of my hotel and drives me to an airplane hanger on the outskirts of the city. Once I check in, I step into my flight suit and zip it up all the way from my crotch up to my neck. Then I flip up the collar because that’s how I roll.

Every stunt pilot has to have a nickname so guess what mine is? PSYCHO.

My flight instructor picks it out, and he gives me me a cool patch that attaches to my flight suit. I guess he thinks that a woman foaming at the mouth to go up in the world’s most advanced aerobatic plane – the Extra 330LC – to do the same stunt moves they do in airshows must be psycho.

So be it because I love my nickname! I’m glad he didn’t nickname me Tinkerbell or Goose. Remember, Goose died in “Top Gun.”

I receive a brief training on what to expect up in the air and an explanation of the types of wild maneuvers and stunt moves I will be doing. The maneuvers have crazy awesome names like hammerhead, barrel roll, and tailslide.

Queen for the Day | Photo Shoot

Queen Darlene - May 7, 2015 - Birthday, Experiences, Mother's Day

My mother loved taking pictures of her three kids, her family and friends. She also loved being in the pictures too. She would have loved Selfies!

When Mom’s health began to show signs of dementia, I wanted to get her out of the house to do something fun. I decided to make her Queen for the Day!

I brought over one of my sequin gowns, long black gloves, jewelry and a tiara. I explained we were going to make her Queen for the Day and her grandson was going to take pictures – in essence a photo shoot while we visited Bricktown in Downtown Oklahoma City.

Mom loved seeing all of the new changes in Downtown OKC – the canal, the larger than life bronze statues, beautiful waterfalls and botanical gardens. She enjoyed using these as backdrops for her photos. Continue Reading

Give the Life-Changing Gift of a Summer Camp Experience

Princess Diana - March 31, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Kids

Every kid who goes to summer camp always comes back with stories to tell.

At summer camp you do things you never get to do at home or at school, and it feels like one big slumber party at night! Everyone makes new friends and bonds from doing all sorts of fun activities together.

I treasure my summer camp memories of sitting around the campfire making s’mores, dressing head to toe in black to play Capture the Flag in complete darkness, and exploring the woods to see what I might discover whether it was a cave or a secret wigwam!

Going to summer camp is a life-changing experience that creates life-long memories.

I went to the traditional summer camp that provides first-hand encounters with nature but there are all sorts of summer camps that tailor to specific interests. There are sports camps, drama camps, leadership camps, band camps, church camps, academic camps, arts camps, and the list goes on!

What they all have in common is how they shape the characters and boost the self-esteem of children by exposing them to experiential education that allows them to learn by doing.