Monday Minute

And now for, Monday Minute, brought to you by Daily Dose of Reality.



1 - Aside from your armpits, what body part of yours sweats the most?
My face, especially my forehead.  I hate it.

2 - You have two slices of bread. You can add one additional ingredient to make a sandwich, but as much of it as you want. What are you putting on it?
Peanut Butter & Company White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter, YUM!!!!

3 - Can you put your entire fist into your mouth?
Hell no, my mouth is small. 

4 - Open your email. How many emails do you have in your 'Inbox'?
I am very embarrased about this one, but easily over 1000, someone needs to take time to delete her emails.

5 - If an adult male is taken for ransom, is that considered kidnapping?
Absolutely.

Product Preview: Clarisonic Mia

I have always suffered from acne, ever since I was about 13 years old.

I've gone to a dermatologist for nearly the last 20 years.

I hate acne.

I hate that as an adult I still suffer.

Did you know that asshat insurance companies sometimes won't cover acne medications if you are over 30?

Why you ask?

Because according to the nice customer service rep, reading from her script, "people over 30 don't get acne".

Funny.  I laughed at her.

And she had to laugh back, she knows that is bullshit.

They will cover it if you get a letter from your dermatologist though.

Lame.

I've done it all, pills, retin-a, you name it, I have used it or currently use it.

In fact, I started using Retin-A in my teens, I do credit my constant use of Retin-A products to my youthful looking skin.  Really, I do.

But, even with all the prescription meds, I still breakout.

Painful, cystic breakouts.

To look at me you would say, Jill, your crazy, you have great skin.

But underneath my makeup, I don't.

I've been wanting a Clarisonic for a while, but just couldn't get over the fact they cost over $250.

Enter my sister.

Beauty product guru.

This girl knows her beauty products.

If you ever want to test something out just hop over to her apartment, she is bound to have whatever you want in her closet.

She is the queen.

I love her.

I get all her rejects.

Whenever she cleans house my mom calls me up and says "I've got a bag of goodies from Jodi's apartment"

It is like Christmas!!

My sister has a Clarisonic and loves it.

Last weekend she told me about the Clarisonic Mia.

It is technically their travel sized Clarisonic, but she thought I would like it and it is totally affordable.

It retails for $149.99, but I don't pay retail for anything.

I found one brand new, in the box on Ebay last night for $118, including shipping.

I cannot wait to get it next week!!

I promise a full review.

Who knows, maybe you will want a Clarisonic Mia too!

Another Connie-Ism

My mom was running errands with us this afternoon and we spotted one of the 8 million people we have standing at our expressway off ramps begging for money.

She proceeded to tell me about the one she gave money to last year that was waiting at the stop light by the local TJMaxx.

My sister was with her.

My sister yelled at my mom for giving the guy money, claiming all he was going to do was buy drugs.

My mom said to my sister, "Who cares, let him go get high"

I'm NEVER Going Back.......I Mean It This Time

The last 3 times I have gone to our local indoor playland I have sworn that it is the last time until Davis understand or gets over this stage.

I went today.

Thinking, he might not be that bad.

Last time it was soooooo busy.

That is why he had a 2 hour meltdown after we left.

Yeah, that's it.

Today it wasn't crowded, he did fairly well.

He did hog the roller coaster toy and scream at every other kid that came near it.

He does this every time we go.

We have one at home.

He uses it like once a week.

Could care less.

We go there and it is the BEST mother effing roller coaster toy ever invented.

Today when he wasn't looking I hid the damn car behind the playhouse there.

Out of sight, out of mind.

It worked, he forgot about it and we moved on.

After that he was pretty good.

Bouncing in the bounce houses, making friends, having a grand old time.

Then it was time to leave.

Shit.

All hell breaks loose.

I'm trying to carry a very strong, very pissed, 2 year old along with his coat, shoes and my bag.

I ended up losing his shoes under a freaking mini van.

Couldn't get him strapped in his car seat.

Finally got him strapped in.

Retrieved said shoes.

I'm now sweating my ass off and it is only 50 degrees outside.

I get in the car, he is screaming, hitting himself, hitting the window of the car.

I say to myself, THIS IS IT, THE LAST TIME.

Because the last three times I said it, it didn't sink in.

So unless that place starts selling booze and rent-a-nannies to play with the kids while the mommy's drink, you will not see me there for about 9 months, when Davis turns 3.

On the way home he managed a new trick.

Escaping the car seat.

Fuck.

It is only noon and I need a drink.

Connie-Ism

My mom's name is Connie and she says some random shit that just makes you say to yourself, "Did she just say that?".

I'm going to try to blog weekly about them.

Yesterday my mom went with me to look at a couch and then go out to my part, part, part time job to pick up the mail.

As we drove by the adult book store she says, "Wow!! What a nice adult book store!!!"

What???

What Would You Do??

Every day I clean something out, a drawer, closet, anything that only takes a few minutes because I have a 2 year old running around and it is hard to really take 5 hours straight to get rid of things, so I do a few small things at a time.

Today I found the lease agreement on my 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

We leased this Jeep in the Fall of 2008 for my husband.

In 2009 he got his "dream" car, well, not really a dream car, but he always wanted a so called "luxury" car.

So when the lease was up on my beloved 2007 Honda Accord SE V-6 (old body style), that I so dearly loved and still dream about, he got an Acura TL.

Yes, I'm a dork.

Yes, I love my Honda Accords.

Yes, I miss it every day.

Red with Tan Interior.

Ahhhhh, the beauty of the Accord.

It was my 2nd Honda Accord and what great vehicles they are.

I'll admit it, we like Hondas.

When the Jeep lease was up we were going to get a Honda Pilot or another Acura, but an SUV one.

Anywho, I found that lease agreement on the Jeep today.

The buyout from US Bank is only $7200.

I know from experience that banks typically will take less than that if you offer them less.

Why?

That Jeep is just going to go to auction.

It is easier and probably more cost effective for them to just sell it outright to the person leasing it.

I think we are going to offer the bank $4000 in August which is a few months before the Jeep is to be turned in.

We are hoping they will come back to us with $5000-$6000 for it.

I've done this before with my leases and the bank always takes less, always.

We will pay cash for it and not have a car payment.

Did I mention that said Jeep only has 17,000 miles on it?

We'd be idiots to not buy it for the $7200 they want for it.

So here I go, probably buying my Jeep.

But oh the freedom of no car payment, it makes me cry.

We want to move so badly, to a bigger, newer home, but the market is so shitty and we hate to lose money, but the money we will save with only 1 car payment might make that loss not as bad.

I always lease and always have a car payment, I won't know what to do.

Even if we just drive it for a year, I'm sure we can re-sell it for what we paid or more.

I looked the Blue Book up on it today and it said $17,000, for FAIR condition.

Mine is in really, really good condition.

What would you do??

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm.......

I am a fan on FB of our local "couples" hotel.

It is called Belamere Suites.

The entire city basically goes there after they get married, to celebrate anniversaries, you get the idea.

Free Porn.

Hot Tub.

Some suites have swimming pools.

Private garage so you can cheat on your significant other, if you are into that.

They have recently began posting photos of their guests.

All couples of course.

Except for one guy last week, he was alone.  Weird. Wonder what he did all night with access to free porn??

What bothers me is that these people allow the Belamere Suites to take their photo and post it on FB.

Why would you let them do that??

So all their fans can picture you having sex to free porn all night??

What if you saw your parents on their FB page?

Here is Joe and Linda, celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss.

Ewwwwww........

I'd die.

**disclaimer, my parents names are not Joe and Linda, I made them up, to protect the innocent**

People

Someday I'm going to spend a week hanging out at our local mall, zoo, park and grocery stores (particularly Wal Mart) and I'm taking my camera and I'm taking pictures.

Why?

So I have proof that these people do exist.

Exhibit 1: 15 year old chickie at the mall last week, now I get that "holes" in jeans are back, but when they extend from your crotch all the way down to your ankle, not so in honey.  Nobody wants to see your underwear or your gigantic knee.  Put some pants on.

Exhibit 2: The 3 year old child I observed at the zoo, she was wearing what appeared to be a very sexy top meant for a much older woman to wear, yet her trashy parents put it on their 3 year old and said, oh look, a "dress"   Unless your child is going to be on Toddlers and Tiaras this is not appropriate attire for the zoo.  Actually, I'm not sure it is appropriate for Toddlers and Tiaras.

Exhibit 3: Colored hair.  Not colored hair like my colored hair.  I mean COLORED hair.  Like Crayola crayon colored hair.  Honey, nobody has that blue of hair unless your my grandma or hair that is as red as the lacing on a baseball.  It looks cheap, it looks fake and your 40 years old, not 12 years old.  No wonder you are still single.

Exhibit 4: I have no problem with people who have a little extra weight or junk in the trunk, but please don't dress like you weigh 105 lbs.  It isn't attractive.  No matter how much you love that tight fitting top and tight fitting jeans it leaves me with no words except, please look in the mirror next time you leave the house.  I get so tired of going to the stores and seeing these teenagers dressed so inappropriately, where are their mothers?

Favorite Things - Spring Edition

I have a lot of favorite things, but at the moment these are my most favorite.

Blue Moon beer, YUM!!!  

I sweat, a lot.  I hate that I am such a sweaty person.  Nothing helps my underarm sweat like Secret Clinical Strengh.  This is worth every cent.

Redken Clear Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner.  I love this stuff!  It makes my hair feel so light and airy.

Smashbox Photo Finish Light Makeup Primer.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.  My makeup goes on so much smoother and lasts much longer when I use this stuff.   It is a must for the warmer weather.

Tide Stain Release In-Wash Booster.  We are outside more often and I wouldn't be able to live without this.  Davis' clothes are always dirty because he loves dirt, not to mention he is a messy eater.  This keeps clothes looking like new, no more stains!  It even gets spaghetti sauce out.   

 Wholly Guacamole.  Mmmmmmmm.  I have a slight love affair with this stuff.  I buy it at Costco.  I put it on everything, eggs, sandwiches, you name it.



This and That

I have lots of random thoughts and updates since I've been really bad about blogging in the past month.

1. My husband was awarded Administrator of the Year for his Region, Administrator of the Year for his District and he just found out he is Administrator of the Year for the entire company!!!  He is only the second administrator to ever get both the regional and district award and is the first administrator to ever get all three.  I am very proud of him.  If you are wondering there are a little over 260 facilities in his company.  He is also up for a national award and he will find out about that sometime in June or July.

2.   As much as I love our dog, Maizy.  She drives me nuts.  She is very neurotic and is always barking at nothing.  After a while, it gets really old. 

3.  It was 70 degrees here yesterday, which really, is nothing compared to our 90-100 degree days with 100% humidity but I think because we always go from winter to summer it is a shock to our systems.  We went to the zoo yesterday and met some friends, I was so sweaty and hot and miserable.  Davis was too.  He started getting fussy because I think he was hot so we left, when we got in the car I took his shoes and socks off and he looked at me, grabbed his feet and said, ahhhhhhhhh.  We came home and I got his baby pool out and we had a swimmingly fun afternoon.

4.  Jeff is taking me to Ikea and Homegoods in Canton, MI tomorrow, I cannot wait!!!!!!!  

5.  Our bathroom remodels are at a standstill as Jeff who relieves his days of HS baseball through men's softball has had tournaments for the past 3 weekends.  I know he loves it, but I just want the bathrooms finished.

4.  I'm really looking forward to Bunco tonight.

5.  I pulled the trigger and purchased the 2011 BOB Revolution SE in black, but it is on backorder until May 23 because black is the most popular color.  Go figure.  I can get another color, but they are all ugly, except for the purple and I don't think purple will go over well with my husband since we have a boy.

6.  I'm just going to say it, I'm really close to finally being under 140 lbs.  I haven't seen a number in the 130s since I was pregnant.  I still have 15 lbs to go to get to my goal of 125 lbs (my weight when I got pregnant), I'm hoping to be there at the end of summer, if not sooner.

7.  I'm really sad that my husband doesn't want another baby, like really, really, really sad.  It makes me cry.  He just shuts me down whenever I bring it up. 

8.  Davis has his 2 year photo shoot on Wednesday!!  2 years!!!  Where does the time go????

9.  I put my Maclaren Techno XLR on CL the other day for $190.  Which in my opinion is a good deal for a stroller that is less than a year old and used 20 times, if that.  I had a lady offer me $120.  Really??  I hate CL.  I think I am just going to keep it. 

10.  I have an order of cake pops next week, some of you know I quit making them, but I kept one order and honestly the thought of making them makes me feel sick.  I don't even want to do it.  How sad is that?  Something I loved so much, I now dread.  It was soooooooo time to take a break from it.  I just have to tell myself, one more order, one more order, you can handle 5 hours for just one more.

Stroller Whore

That is right, I never thought I'd be a stroller whore.

I am though.

I have 3 strollers.

Bugaboo Frog, Maclaren Techno XLR and a Combi EX.

I really only use the Bugaboo though.  The Maclaren is superb and ranks up there with the Bugaboo but Davis likes the Bugaboo.  Snob.

I've decided to add a 4th to my collection.

The all new 2011

Wait for it

BOB Revolution SE

Why?

I'm going to start running again.

I used to run before I got pregnant

It keeps me in the best shape

And you asked what BOB stands for, well it stands for Beast of Burden.  You know, like the Rolling Stones song.

I'm really pumped.  I've been saving up for this for a while.

6 Week Pictures

I'm so proud of myself for finally doing something about my 2 year post baby weight gain that I wanted to share some pictures.

I'm sure you will recall the one photo.

It was taken at the end of March and it is the photo that made me realize how much weight I have put on.

Taken March 26, 2011

Taken 6 weeks later on May 8, 2011

Not a huge difference, but you can tell, especially in my face.  I always lose weight there first.

Losing It

Weight that is.

I can finally cross that "Lose 10 lbs by Davis' 2nd Birthday on March 20, 2010" over there on my list of goals.

I haven't just lost 10 lbs.

I've lost 12 lbs. in the last month.

Thank you Weight Watchers.

My goal is to lose another 10 lbs. by the time Davis has surgery in June.

I would eventually like to take another 5 lbs. off by Fall and if I am feeling spunky, maybe 10 more by fall.

We will see.

I'm pretty happy with myself, I finally woke up and realized how horrible I have been eating since I had Davis and it is time to get back to my former body.

Extreme Couponing - Jill Style

I used to coupon all the time and saved quite a bit of money doing so.

Then March 20, 2009 rolled around.

No time for couponing when one needs sleep.

The show "Extreme Couponing" on TLC re-inspired me to be better about saving money on things we use.

Don't worry, I'm not going to be buying up 30 bottles of Maalox just because it cost. .30 a bottle or 1000 rolls of toilet paper and then insuring my stash of goodies because it is worth so much that if we had a fire I'd be devastated if I lost it all.  Nor will I spend 6 hours each week mapping out my deals.

Those people have mental issues.

I need to be better about saving money on the things we do use regularly though.

Today I went to Giant Eagle.  This week is super double coupon week which means a coupon that is anywhere from $1 up to $2 is worth $2.   They always double coupons up to .99.  They had a few of the things we use regularly and I happened to have coupons.  Yay Me!!

Here is my rundown:

4 Bags of Chex Mix - sale price $8, with coupons $4

3 Packets of Old El Paso Taco seasoning - sale price $2.25, with coupons $1.05

3 Packages of Old El Paso Flour Tortillas - sale price $3.75, with coupons $2.55

2 Speed Stick Deoderents - sale price $4, with coupons $2

2 Ultra Palmolive Dish Soaps - sale price $4, with coupons $1

4 Packages Pillsbury Toaster Strudel - sale price $8, with coupons $5.60

2 Tubes Colgate Toothpaste - sale price $2, with coupons +$1 (yes, i got paid to buy these because I had 2 coupons worth .75 each and they doubled to a $1.50 each which means I got $3 off for items that cost me $2)

2 Bottles Irish Spring Bodywash - sale price $6, with coupons $4

12 containers of Yoplait Light Yogurt - sale price $6, with coupons $4.40

Total Cost of Groceries and other Items before Coupons - $44

Total Cost of Groceries and other Items after coupons - $23.60

I saved 54% off my total bill just by clipping the coupons I receive in my Sunday paper, in mailers during the week and from coupon website.

This is all stuff I would have bought for the sale price anyways because the sale prices were good, but with coupons I did even better!!!!!!