Friday, November 21, 2014

Bad Luck Bre

I've been busy, busy, busy!!  Unfortunately, it's not really been with fun stuff either.  Two years ago we bought Sabrina a used Chevrolet Cavalier and it's been nothing but trouble ever since!  Every time we think it's running good, it goes right back down.  I have a friend who's a service technician for Chevrolet and we had him look over her car and fix what the biggest issues were.  We get it back and the very next day:


- a kamikaze deer decided to attack her car in the middle of the night.  It ended with her having a small crack in her windshield and her driver's side mirror ripped off.  The next day, in the pouring rain, her car cut off while she was driving it to work and she couldn't get it to start back up.  We found out that she has a short in her wiring which was draining everything we had just replaced; alternator, battery, starter, etc.  Her car now needs a whole electrical wiring job, which is going to have to wait a little while.  

Only having one vehicle and two adults working and in school means I'm constantly behind the wheel of our car.  I start my day driving at 7 am and don't stop til 9:30.  My housework has fallen behind and my poor projects are almost nonexistent.  Every few days, I get a little break though, like today.  I don't have to drive until 4:30 this evening, woohoo!!  Projects, blog post and housecleaning on my list!

Now Bre has had some exciting things happen lately as well.  She went from blonde to auburn hair and absolutely loves it.  I think it really makes her stand up and look more mature.  She's always looked young for her age and it does make it difficult when she's in classes with adults.

Before:


After:


The blonde picture was taken in July and the auburn picture was taken this week.  Huge difference and she obviously prefers to take selfies in the car :D.

She also became adult and infant CPR certified last night and received her AED and First Aid certification as well.  AND she did her first blood collection almost perfectly! The new hair color and all the certifications really make me wonder where my baby went?  She's really growing up but luckily she's still living at home while she gets her schooling and career started, I don't mind one single bit!!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Taste Test: Betty Crocker Salted Caramel Cookies

I'm not a fan of pre-packaged cookies but my hubbie is in love with anything salted caramel. So when I saw these I decided what the heck? 


They were really easy to make requiring only one egg and 1/2 cup of butter. Stir, bake for seven minutes and ta-da you have cookies!

Surprisingly, these were really, really yummy! I mean I was totally amazed at how these pre-packaged, one egg cookies turned out. Hubbie was in love and with 15 minutes tops for yummy cookies, I was too! Needless to say they didn't last long at all. 


I will say though, I'm now excited to find a "from scratch" recipe. But overall these were an exciting thumbs up find, so go get ya some!

*I was not reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, which as always are completely my own*

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Super Happy Days

Wow, I swear I'm not regressing to my teenage years.  I really don't know why that phrase is fitting but I can't explain it any other way.  Fridays and Saturdays are super happy for me.  Even when I was going through the really bad depression, Fridays and Saturdays were still relatively good.  Everyone loves weekends but I really LOVE weekends.

Friday and Saturday mornings, there's no need for alarm clocks for the most part.  Both hubbie and I wake up without an alarm and we get snuggle time.  Just laying there waking up together starts my days off so much better.  Fridays are also my weekly lunch dates with my father-in-law.  He's diabetic and has lost a leg due to diabetes.  As of yet, he doesn't have a vehicle he can drive so I run him to his weekly diabetic appointment and then we grab lunch somewhere.  We usually eat in the car just because it's easier for him than running in everywhere as he's in a wheelchair whenever he has to go more than a few feet with his cane.  Just being able to talk with someone familiar outside my household is really nice for me.  Every other Friday, we also pickup Shalyn to have her for the weekend.  Having the house full of kid stuff, laughter and yes, childish bickering just fills my heart.  I also try to find fun stuff for them to do over the weekend so that they're entertained by more than electronics.

Saturdays are nice sleep in days and full of fun, household chores and family time.  Yes, household chores make me happy.  We have a small house full of a lot of people which makes it so hard to keep everything in its place.  So getting the house back in order after a busy week makes my OCD self very happy.  We snuggle on the couch in our jammies, we bake, we clean, we watch movies as a family.  There's just nothing better!

I'm off to fold socks that we've been throwing in a sock bin all week, in my jammies of course!  Have a terrific weekend.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Beauty Review: Vasanti BrightenUp!

Oh look!  Better pictures :D.  Okay, you know the drill.  Birchbox is a monthly beauty subscription for $10/month.  I love my Birchbox samples.  One of these days, I'll do a Birchbox vs. Ipsy with the finer points because each are important to me for different reasons.  If you'd like to read more about Birchbox click here.  Below is the October 2014 box I received:

My October 2014 Birchbox
So today's product review is on my 20 g sample of Vasanti's BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator.  It's an exfoliating cleanser that I'm absolutely in love with.  I'm so in love with it, I gave it to Sabrina!  WHAT?!  Yes, I love it so much that I gave it away!  Sabrina, Dustin and I all suffer from horrible cystic acne.  You can't tell so much with me anymore, I only really get those wonderful monthly breakouts now.  But Sabrina has serious scarring.  We've tried everything including ProActive and prescriptions, they haven't worked.  I tried BrightenUp! and my first reaction was that it wasn't going to be able to do much to my skin.  Then I started scrubbing and ouch!  Be careful with this stuff.  The formula isn't powerful (that I noticed) but those micro-crystals, oh yeah, they do the job!  They are micro, they feel like very fine grain sugar but they work.


The smell is usually the first thing I comment on and there's not really anything outstanding about this one.  Not great, not bad, it's face cleanser, I can stand it.  Especially for the amazingness of this product.  I used it for the first time yesterday morning and my skin is still silky soft and smooth.  And I only needed a tiny bit but like I said, scrub softly, don't go all power massage like I did!

$34.00 for 4.23 ounces

Okay so the details.  A 4.23 oz. tube sells for $34.00.  It's very worth the money and I'm putting my November subscriptions on hold for both Ipsy and Birchbox to get Sabrina a full tube of this.  I have a $40/month self-given budget for beauty supplies so that's going to eat it up this month.  But once again, it's worth it!

How it works:

"This powerful exfoliator mimics the results of professional microdermabrasion, minus the potential for redness and sensitivity. First, papaya enzymes break down dead cells while evening out your skin tone. Next, dermatologist-approved microderm crystals fade the appearance of fine lines and acne scars, leaving skin smooth and free of imperfections. Finally, aloe vera, coconut, and vitamins B and E nourish fresh skin to keep it free of irritation."


How to use:

"Three to five times a week, wet your face and massage a pea-sized amount of product into skin, concentrating on trouble zones. Rinse away. Used consistently, a single tube will last you four to six months."

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Aluminum Oxide, Cetyl Alcohol, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Propanediol, Panthenol, Emulsifying Wax NF, Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice, Tocopheryl Acetate, Papain, Parfum, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol

If you'd like to try Vasanti's BrightenUp! for yourself you can order directly through their website.

***I am not reimbursed in anyway for my product reviews. Opinions are completely 100% my own***

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Halloween Happenings Part 2


So months ago I found this picture on Pinterest and fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I can't find the original page this was actually posted on to give credit.  Shalyn, being a 9 year old girl, loves Hello Kitty and I knew she'd absolutely go nuts over it.  After explaining to her that it wouldn't light up, it was a go.


We started off by spray painting with a white semi-gloss.  I think she may have had more fun playing with paint than she would've scooping out pumpkin guts.


The hat, eyes, ears, whiskers and nose were all cut out of felt.  I made the bow out of ribbon.  I used a hot glue gun to put dots of glue on the pumpkin and then she placed the pieces.  I did the pressing to make sure they stayed cause that glue is hot and I didn't want her burning herself.


She absolutely loved the end result.  She took it back to her mom's house where friends and neighbors went nuts over it.


Of course, I couldn't let her get away without getting all goobery!  She helped Sabrina and Dustin empty out another pumpkin.  Zakk was sick this day, so he didn't join in.  He stayed home from school for three days, trying to get better before Trick or Treating.


We worked on his pumpkin Friday afternoon while everyone else was at school and work.

Curiosity almost gets Tye a bath

Tye had to get involved as well after I joked about putting him into the pumpkin for pictures.  If I thought I could get away with not having to bathe him afterwards, I would've done it!  Zakk's pumpkin finally finished.  He drew on the face and I did the cutting.




Every year, the older two say they're not going to dress up and then the day of they change their minds.  Every single time.  Of course, this late in the game, they can't find anything decent so they end up creating their own costumes.  I prefer them to make their own so I love seeing what they come up with.  Sabrina cut ears out of the felt we had leftover from Shalyn's pumpkin.


Dustin pretty much just dressed normal, lol.  The only difference was he carried his guitar around all night, playing the entire time we were trick or treating.


Zakk choose to be a ninja warrior and had a great time trick or treating.  He brought in quite the haul tonight.


Shalyn went as a Monster's High skeleton.  I'm so glad she choose something other than the Mermaid costume.  Even though we're in the South and 66 degrees may not be cold to some, it's cold to us!


Us adults even managed to get some treats of our own.  I'm pictured here (no makeup again, after two miles of walking in what I see as freezing cold) with my husband's cousin and his sister, holding our treats.  I had to fight zombies to get to that wine dang it!


I hope everyone else had a wonderful Halloween and now I'm off to sleep off this sugar high.  Tomorrow night, I'll enjoy my wine, I think I've had enough sweets for one night!