Review: Kiss Stick-on Nail Strips

I know, I know... I've been MIA. In my own defense, I've been super busy with school and two littles in school. BUT! There are 6 weeks left in the semester and I'm currently sitting with 3 A's and one B. I haven't made grades like that since... ever. So I'm very proud of myself for that! Aside from school, I'm going next week to get a diagnosis for my tummy troubles (Yayyyyy... not.) I've had an endoscopy and a hydrogen breath test (sucked!!) since my last post, so hopefully my doctor will be able to figure out whats going on.

Now, on to my review for Kiss Stick-on Strips.

I bought these on a whim two weeks at at Family Dollar for $3. They were considerably cheaper than the Sally Hansen counterparts, which are almost $10!! The Kiss Stick-on Strips come 18 in a pack, which is enough to do your nails and even your toes, if you are careful.. which is a great deal in my book!

So the two designs I bought were "Bustier" which was a really pretty, classy silver and black flower pattern that had a little bit of texture on it. There were three designs in that pack, two plain silver/black flower designs and one that was black down the sides with the silver/black flowers in the middle.

So "Bustier" was the first design I used.. the package boasts that these last "Up to 10 days!" but in reality, mine started peeling after 5 days... which still isn't too shabby when you consider that was 5 days of showers, hand washing, hair washing, dish washing (by hand! oh the horror!) and baths for the kids in those 5 days.. again, not too bad! I put a clear topcoat on the night I put them on, so they probably would have lasted a bit longer if I had kept up with putting the topcoat on, say, every other day or so. Either way...

Here's my first attempt... I think they turned out pretty good and took way, way less time than it would have to file/paint/design.. I definitely do not have a steady hand enough to do any designs.

This week I am sporting my second selection, called "Book Smart" (how ironic.. lol) Unfortunately, I couldn't find a stock photo of this design to put up, but it's a white-kinda pearl- background with a pretty neon pink/orange peacock feather design complete with the green/blue "eye" on the feather also. So gorgeous! I put these on last night, and what do you know.. Here I am at work, blogging, and I was assisting a guest and she commented on how pretty my nails are.. lol. Here's a pic right after I got finished applying them.

I don't know if you can tell so much from the pics, but my nails are a bit longer this week! With these Stick-on Strips, I don't bite them at all so it's a good way to grow your nails out also without having to paint/remove/paint again or having acyrlics put on, which we all know is terrible for your nails anyways.

Before I put them on, I do wipe my nail down with regular old alcohol and let that dry before applying. I use a cheap nail file to file the ends off, then I apply the topcoat, which helps in my opinion.

I honestly do not even want to try any of the other more expensive brands. I am seriously so stuck on these. I plan on picking up a few more packs this week. I think eventually though, I will end up scraping the bottom of the barrel and putting whatever is left over on my nails... lol.

Oh! And from last weeks batch, I also put the biggest one on my big toe nail.. you can paint the rest of your toenails with a coordinating color or cut the small strips into pieces to go on your smaller toe nails. Endless options, I'm telling ya! If you are looking for an easy, inexpensive way to fancy up your hands, this is certainly the way to go!

It's Friday.. Friday.. Gotta get down on Friday!

Ah, long time no blog, huh?! Sorry about that. It's been a cuh-raaaaazy couple of weeks.

On the 13th I had a CT scan on my liver and kidneys. The procedure wasn't bad at all, but the prep for it was borderline miserable. I had to drink two bottles of Barium to get ready. It was like cold, chalky, milky Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil.

After I was finished, I seriously felt like there were radioactive rocks in my tummy.

The next week, on the 18th, I had a ummm gastro procedure done as well. That was a blast, as you can imagine! I was extremely terrified but everything went well. I go on the 8th of October to get the results from both of those, so hoping for the best! Then we will see what the next step is.

School is going pretty well so far also! We are almost half way through the semester and I'm pretty sure I have 3 A's and one B.. I haven't made grades like that since the beginning on high school. I'm hoping I can keep my grades up until the end of the semester and get on the Dean's List or even the President's List. That would be amazing, and I would be so proud of myself.

Anyways, this morning I had court for child support. Always a fun way to spend the morning! My ex is $19,000 behind and has only made just over $200 in payments (July of this year) and we have been split for 5 1/2 years. This hearing was for his "failure to comply with a court order" (gee, ya think?) He had the option of making a lump sum payment, or going to jail today. I was almost sure he was going to go to jail, because if he can't pay his ordered $375 a month then I was sure he wouldn't have a way to make the lump sum payment. But no! Bank of Mommy came and made the payment for him! Wasn't that such a sweet and thoughtful thing to do for her 33 year old son? I thought so too. So the lump sum payment was $960 (5% of the current arrears.) Either way... I don't care where the money comes from, or who pays it, or how it gets paid... but someone needs to do it. I will just say, it would be a cold day in hell before I paid my childs' child support payment, but hopefully I will never have to cross that bridge because I'm raising my babies to be respectful, responsible citizens.

Besides that though, that's all that's new with me!

oops.. fell off the blog wagon.

Sorry, it's just been a super hectic few weeks. Both kids are in school full time now! It's amazingly quiet in the house in the mornings now.. I can drink my coffee or get ready for work/school in peace without being bugged a hundred and sixteen times to change the channel on the tv, put Netflix on, get a snack, get a drink, blahdy blahdy blahhhhhh. Carter man's birthday was yesterday! He is FIVE years old now. It's so crazy how my little baby is so big and smart now.

Here's a "first day of school pic" which is actually Carter's first day of school and Ava's sixth day of school. Carter is in preschool and Ava is in first grade this year.

And a birthday picture for my Coco!

I printed out a little "I'm 5 today!" graphic from google and pinned it to his shirt. He liked that a lot. He brought cupcakes to school yesterday also.. he picked out Toy Story but no pics of those. Apparently it was a hit.. why wouldn't it be, for 15 4 and 5 year olds?

All the important stuff aside, I did finally get into all my classes and everything there is going smoothly. I take 10 credit hours, which is considered to be 3/4 time. Three online classes and one campus class. So far, so good there though. 

a little overdramatic

I just want to have the biggest cry of my life. Everything is falling apart.. maybe for the better, maybe not. No way to tell until it's all said and done. I'm so lost.

A good day!

Today is actually a GOOD DAY!

My babies and Steven left Sunday morning to go spend the week in FL with his dad. They are doing tons of shopping and going and eating out and all the good fun stuff I always miss out on. Oh well, I've got a ton of stuff going on this week anyways so I guess it's better that way.

My classes started Thursday and I'm STILL trying to get my financial aid stuff situated so I can (finally) pay my tuition and get my books. I have assignments due on wednesday (tomorrow!) at 11:59 p.m. that I need to get done. I have to go to the DMV to get my license (well, switch it from one state to another) so I can get my in state tuition. Then I can get my books and all will be well in school-land.

Speaking of the DMV.. I went yesterday first thing in the morning to go get my license. The first guy I talked to was super nice, told me I had all the documents I needed and I was all set, just listen for your number and blah blah blah. Great! So they finally call my number (Ah, I say it like it was a long time but the wait was really only 10 - 15 minutes, and for anyone who has ever been to a DMV you know that's pretty good!) So I get back to the desk to start doing my tests (vision, signs and written) and the guy there was a complete and total asshole! He told me I needed proof of insurance for this state, which I guess makes sense but the state DMV website says they are able to issue a license without proof of insurance, but there will be a restriction on the license. No biggie, I guess. So this man is so hell bent on proving me wrong. He gets up and starts looking all over for a handbook. "Didn't you read your handbook?!" he asks me in a disgusting tone. Well no shit I read the handbook... I'm here to take the tests, right? I told him to just give me my shit back so I could go.

At that point I was beyond frustrated.. I was ready to just say "FUCK IT!" and drop all my classes and just wait until spring. I couldn't get a hold of Steven on the phone and he's usually my voice of reason since he's so, so much more level headed than I am. So I go home and start looking on the computer to see what I can do to just go ahead and get it taken care of so I can get my in state tuition and get it over with. Then I had the brilliant idea to call my dad and see if he would be willing to add me to his insurance so I can get this stupid license. So I called the DMV again and the lady I talked to said that would be fine. So he went this morning and added me on his policy and faxed me a copy to my work. So that is all done and I'll go back to the DMV first thing in the morning again to try to get my license. Hopefully I can get my books tomorrow because I really, really need to get these assignments done ASAP.

Other than that, today has been good! I had an interview this morning at 11 and a home visit from Carter's teacher at 10:30. I thought to myself, "Oh shit, I'm cutting it a little close." but explained to the teacher yesterday that I had an appointment right around the corner from my house and I needed to be there at 11. She understood so we whirled through all the paper work and information she had for me and they were on their way. I brushed my teeth and went to go run out the door... and the phone rings. It was my mother. Awesome. So I picked it up and told her really quick that I was on my way out the door for an interview that I'm on the verge of being late for and I would call her back as soon as I was done.

So I get to my interview JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME (whew!) and it went amazing! She told me I was very qualified and we talked a bit and she told me she couldn't "officially" offer me the job yet since all the paper work has to be completed within 3 days of an offer being made... but we discussed my (crazy!) schedule and pay and everything and she told me to come back Monday to do paper work and training. She is going to hire me as a keyholder which is really exciting! It pays better than a regular employee and the shop is 5 minutes tops from my house. Since the "boss lady" lives 45 minutes away, she said she needed someone close who could come in in the evenings if someone called out or if they needed to shut down the shop for the night. She told me they are a VERY family oriented place (which would almost be a given, if I told you lovely readers the name of the place, haha) Closed on Christmas, close early on Christmas Eve, close at 6 on Saturday's and only open a few hours on Sunday.

I was seriously so, so close to not even look for another job anymore. I mean, the job I have now is a cake job and it does pay the bills but there isn't much left over after everything is said and done. I've been looking for months and have gone to probably a dozen interviews and been either passed over or just never heard back. That will really take a toll on someones morale after a while. I guess this whole "be persistent" thing is really working out for me and I am getting a lot more done by being proactive rather than sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I think I have changed a lot in the last few months, and for the better.

Hopefully this is the beginning of something good!

Feeling very PROUD today :)

TODAY!!! was the first day of classes for me! I'm taking three online classes and one on campus class. I work (on campus) after 1 p.m. so I took a M-F 12 to 12:50 p.m. class. It gives me just enough time to haul ass across campus before I have to be at my desk. So far, so good though!

I still need to work out the specifics on my in state/out of state tuition. As long as I can get an in state license ASAP I will be able to get the in state rate which is 1/4 of the out of state rate. *pick jaw up on floor* $670 for 10 credit hours vs. $2610 for the same 10 credit hours. NO THANKS! So I'm going to go tomorrow I guess and see if I can get a license. Then all will be smooth sailing!

Today I'm going to go pick up my books after I get off and get my student ID. Two of them I'm going to order through Amazon because they have great deals on textbooks. The other ones need to have an access code for parts of the class so I'm going to just buy the books at the bookstore on campus.

So basically today I feel amazing and accomplished and like I'm on my way to doing something great with my life. Baby steps, of course. But baby steps are better than no steps at all. It will be sooooo worth it in the end.

Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute.

This is totally me. Sure, I have known for months that fall semester starts in August and everything HAS to be done before then. I did my FAFSA back in January and it was all processed and ready to go... or so I thought. I went to go register on Friday after being "deathly ill" all week with a man cold. Picked out my classes, got all ready and then BAM!!! That wall I'm always running into? Yeah. There it is again.
Come to find out my school has me classified as an out of state student (paying 4 times the tuition of an in state student) AAAAAAAND on top of that, no financial aid! Awesome. So today I went with another girl in my department and she got me seen quick fast and in a hurry when it would have been impossible to be seen. My financial aid was in suspension from when I was 18 and I had asked months ago to have it appealed. Instead of appealing and reinstating... they just left it "on the list" of appeals. What? Luckily that was a relatively easy fix and is now taken care of.
I turned in my appeal packet for residency so now I'm just waiting to hear back from that. I have called the assistant registrar twice this afternoon to see if it's going to be possible to get it taken care of today. If I don't get my residency taken care of then more than likely I will not be taking classes this semester :( The difference between what my Pell covers and what the total costs not including books is anywhere from $400 to $600 depending on how many credit hours I take. I really just don't have that kind of money to just give away. Soooo.. we wait and see.

Anyways, about my man cold. I was down and out completely for THREE DAYS with a fever and chills and a demon cough from hell. Took Monday off work to not infect anyone else in the office with me. Finally back to normal now except this terrible demon cough. Ugh... if only Ava hadn't dumped the rest of my cough drops into a bottle of water and shook it out all over her bedroom floor.

Down & Out

Ugh. I have been miserably sick since Friday. Well, it started Friday. I felt "off" but was well enough to come into work. Saturday morning I woke up and felt like I had been run over by a bus. Spent all day sleeping and downing Tylenol and cold medicine and bottles of water. Sunday wasn't much better but we did the usual lunch with my dad at my house (grilled bbq ribs, potato salad, yum!) I slept the rest of the afternoon on Sunday also. Monday I woke up and STILL felt terrible. I called into work and slept all afternoon again while still taking meds and drinking water. Woke up and felt a little better. Laid around on the couch for the rest of the evening.

This weekend was Tax Free weekend here so I had anticipated going and getting the kids some stuff for school but of course, no dice. Oh well.

I realized before I came to work that I haven't eaten since Sunday. I'm just not hungry and don't have a flavor for anything.

Putting on that CAN DO attitude :)

Another uneventful weekend gone. Had dinner with my dad on Sunday like we always do. Carter ate like a horse and Ava didn't do so bad herself. I called it a few weeks ago.. I told Steven when Carter was eating like a bird, "Watch.. in a few weeks he will eat up everything in the house. It's a growth spurt." Good thing we haven't done out school shopping yet. It won't be long though, only three weeks until my babies go back to school! Bittersweet for sure.. I will miss them in the mornings before I go to work but it will be so good for both of them. This will be Carter's first year of school at all and I'm sure he is going to do well and enjoy it. It will be Ava's second year, and honestly I think she needs the structure. She is so out of sorts right now, and I'm sure she misses being a social butterfly.

Tonight we are going to try a new recipe for dinner.

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats from Skinny Taste. It definitely does look delicious so I can't wait to see how it turns out. I follow her on Pinterest and she has tons of amazing (and healthy!) recipes. I want to try them all.. seriously! I'll be sure to report back on this one :)

OH! Our feline house guest went home.. finally!! Steven dropped him off Saturday afternoon, after he completely attacked him! I felt so bad for the poor guy (the cat.. haha) but he needed to be someone elses problem. We spent the afternoon cleaning out his cage and getting him all ready to go then cleaning off the patio where he was hanging out. However, Steven's right hand is swollen and a little bit red/warm but not toooooo bad. He kept asking me for advice about what to do, if I thought it was infected, etc. I told him to take some Tylenol to reduce the swelling (which helped immensely) and if he was really concerned to either go to the ER or call up the nurses line and see what they say. He has some scratched further up on his wrist/forearm and a few very small puncture woulds from the bite. He (the cat) held on to Steven like a tree branch, it was definitely a sight to see. I tried my hardest to not giggle, really I did.

Hopefully by the end of the week I will be all registered for school.. I hope. It seems like every time I have tried to enroll, something always backfires and I end up saying "next semester..." and "next semester" never comes. I feel like I'm ready to take on some regular curriculum classes this time around, thanks to the pharmacy tech course I took last year/earlier this year. (It's not what I feel a passion for and do not plan to pursue it but it did give me a lot of information that is helpful in day-to-day life, especially with kids!) I figure, if I'm still only working part time and there are no full time prospects on the horizon, then the absolute least I can do is take some classes and work towards something. So, wish me luck!

Can I do a favor for you?

WARNING!! RANT AHEAD!

So this past Sunday night, I started "cat sitting" for a relative of a friend. It's a male cat and he is neutered so I didn't think it would be a huge deal. It has ended up being so much more and it has snowballed into such a bigger situation. And now... now I am just fed up with it.

So the cat stayed in the house Sunday night. Abbie sleeps in her kennel at night and Breezy sleeps with Ava in her room at night so I wasn't worried about any fights or anything. I wake up monday morning to the pleasant aroma of cat piss wafting through my house. Wonderful. So I ended up taking the day off from work to stay home and clean all the floors and everything hoping like hell to get the stench out. It helped a lot, but I'm not totally convinced it is completely gone.

So I kick the cat to the porch, inside his big wire cage. He's hanging out in the shade with food and water and has been there ever since. I have to scrub down the whole patio with a broom and some kind of cleaning agent (bleach? Dawn? vinegar? all of the above, maybe?) to get the cat smell out... that's not an overly huge deal though.

So Steven calls cat owner this morning and tells them that he will be bringing the cat back to them tonight. They proceed to ask Steven if he will register a car in his name for them... absolutely not. Mom got a DWI about 3 years ago and is not even close to getting her license back. Daughter can't get a license even though she is 16 because she dropped out of school almost a year ago and they won't grant her one. Why do unlicensed drivers need a car and even more than that, why does it have to be in mine/his/our names? Absolutely not. Moreso, "if" Steven were to put the car in his name, he would need to get insurance on it. Even if "they pay it", if they don't then they will suspend Steven's license. Not to ask anyone to go out on a limb for them or anything.

So I get to work in the afternoon and cat owner texts me to ask if she can come (with her chihuahua) and stay the weekend at my house. I told her we weren't going to be home, so no. Then I told her we are taking the cat back to her tonight.. then she asks if I can send her some cat food because they don't have any. I already know this, because they didn't bring any cat food on SUNDAY when they brought the cat over anyways so it has been up to me to feet this monster. I agreed to send some cat food for him.

The cherry on top was when cat owner/daughter texts me AGAIN and asks me if I can bring her a pack of cigarettes too "because she's in a bad mood." You wanna know something, sweetheart? You are putting me in a bad mood with all these favors you are asking of me. When I do something for her, I don't even get a thank you or anything out of it. Last weekend she texted us on sunday asking if we would pick her up and take her to Walmart to get a card for her phone. Whatever, we had to go to Walmart anyways and to 2 other stores in the same strip mall so it wasn't a big big deal. We are all loaded up in the car (Me, Steven, and 2 kids in carseats) and she texts asking if I am coming alone. STOP BEING PICKY! You are getting a free ride after I go out of my way to pick you up. She said she had like $6 and would give it to us for taking her. Cool, a couple of bucks in the pocket for our effort. Do you think she thought to give it to us before she got out of the car? Of course not! So Steven texted her later that night reminding her about the $6 and she told him she forgot and bought a pack of cigarettes with it instead. Real. Fucking. Nice.

So basically the jest of the story is that I'm DONE being taken for a ride by these people who don't want to do shit for themselves. I'm done trying to take care of MY family AND theirs. It's not my responsibility and it's not up to me. NO MORE. I am completely fed up with the way some people can  have such little disregard for other people and their belongings.

Get your own fucking ride from now on because this gravy train won't be returning.

whoooo whoooooo....

Did you hear that? That's the sound of the new nightowl we have in the house!

Ava stayed up ALL NIGHT last night with her bedroom light on, playing with the cat, playing with her dolls, reading her books and sight words... argh.

I can't even begin to think of how many times Steven told her to turn the light off and go to bed.

Crazy child.

Another weekend down

The weekends are way too short and the work weeks are way too long. "They" should balance it out more like 3 day weekends and 4 day workweeks.

Anyways, this weekend was pretty uneventful. We stayed home and hung out, the kids played outside, my dad came over and we cooked on the grill. I took a nap :) The dog got loose TWICE and it's always a frenzy to get her back home ASAP. People like to fly around the curve at the end of our street and besides that, Abbie will jump in a car with pretty much anyone. Which is exactly what she did.

A neighbor on the street behind our house brought her back because Abbie jumped in her car as she was getting ready to go to the bank. She asked around and her neighbors pointed her in our direction. She pulled up and asked if we lost our dog and Abbie poked her head up from the back window. Ava invited the girls 5 year old brother over to play so we all talked and hung out. What a weird way to meet someone though, no?

I have been "cat sitting" for two days now... shoot me now. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cats, we have a cat (kitten) but this one... ohhhhhh this one. He is an outside cat and is VERY unhappy about being made to stay inside. He terrorized Abbie and Breezy then proceeded to piss all over my house. OMG YES. I woke up to cat piss smell wafting through my house which made me less than ecstatic. I ended up calling into work and spending the whole day cleaning trying to get rid of the smell. I put the cat in his wire cage and put him outside on my covered patio/porch area with his food and water bowl. I switch the food out with a small litter box a couple times a day. When I left for work the bastard had knocked his water over, mixed with the little bit of litter that was in the bottom of the cage and it was a huge mess. I told Steven that we were going to have to put a collar on him and walk him around the yard while we clean the cage out. Ugh. The cherry on top is that I am more than sure there won't be a "thank you" or anything uttered from the owner. I also told Steven "NO MORE FAVORS" for these people. I am tired of going out of my way for them and not even getting a thank you in the end. No more.

Aside from that excitement, I'm still waiting for my financial aid to come through. Registration for fall is next monday and tuesday so *fingers crossed* that it works out. I will be so sad if I have to miss out on this semester... but that seems to be how it usually works out.

Another weekend gone, another week here too soon.

Blah! It's just been too hot to do really much of anything. I've been dying to go to the beach but it's just entirely too hot and to deal with the parking and the crowds... no thanks. Maybe we will make it out there one afternoon after everyone has packed up and gone for the day. One can hope! This weekend we did set the kids' pool up in the back yard. It is extremely lopsided so one side is like 6" deep and the other is like 2' deep. We will fix that later though.

We got a grill a few weeks ago... a steal of a deal if I may say so myself. Things like that happen in a military town though :) We cooked a pork loin on it one night last week and it was pretty good! Can't wait to throw some mojo chicken on there and some kabobs too. I've been dying for some kabobs for what feels like years but we never get around to it.

This week I have been focusing on getting everything lined up for school in the fall. If I have to sit out this semester because of financial aid, I'm going to be devastated. On top of that, I've been trying to tie down a second job but no dice as of yet. I'm going to keep at it though.

Speaking of school, the kids go back in a little over a month! I can't believe it. I will have two going to two separate schools and neither ride a bus so getting the schedule ironed out should be a lot of fun. I suppose we will start the back to school shopping soon. The kids and Steven will be going back to FL the week before school starts to do some shopping with his dad down there. The man hates me, but he does treat my kids rather well.

Anyways, nothing new here. Going to truck through this week and can't wait for the weekend to get here :)

on to the next.

No dice on the job. Of course. I have decided to just give up on trying to snag a FT here. I'm going to focus on my school in the fall and attempt to get another PT job to supplement.

I'm really excited about finally getting back into school. I took a pharmacy technology course last year/earlier this year and I really enjoyed it... but it's just not something that I want to pursue. It was my first online course and it was a lot smoother than I thought it would be. I'm considering taking one campus class and one online class just to start. I'm going to try to expand and get a degree that will match my past experience and add to that. Hopefully it works out.. if not, there's always next semester :)

On another note, I left my phone at home today and I just sat down at my desk and broke off my thumb nail. For an ex-mostly reformed-nail biter, that is traumatic! So instead of chewing the nub off, I just filed it down. *sigh* I would ask "What else can go wrong?" but I'll save myself the grief and just leave it be.

Bitch, whine and complain.

If you don't wanna hear it, feel free to skip.

At what point do you give up on the company you work for? I have been working PT since September of last year at a school. I like my job alright, it's really easy. However, I do dislike the pay and the fact that there are no benefits at all for PT employees. I've been trying to get on FT for a few months now. In that time, I have had TWO interviews for FT positions. I thought both interviews went OK, nothing spectacular but nothing terrible either. Both times, I have been passed over with no reason and no explanation at all.

It hurts. More than I would like to admit. I am very experienced as far as working in an office goes as well as customer service. My resume is beautiful and is formatted nice and easy to read.

I'm so over it. I'm to the point that I don't feel like I can just stick it out because I've been here for so long. I can't be loyal to people who have the inability to look out for their own. I don't feel like I can turn in another application or go to another interview for this place. I am sick of being here and not going anywhere. No where at all.

I think I'm going to try to get back into a restaurant somewhere. I have several years experience working various restaurant positions and I enjoyed it for the most part. When the economy tanked a couple of years ago, I left the restaurant business to get back into the office business for more consistent hours and pay.

"Knocked down seven times, stand up eight."

Happy 5th of July?!

Haha here I am again. Steven and the kids got back on Sunday. We relaxed and hung out at the house all day.. it was nice. I worked my usual monday and tuesday and had wednesday off for 4th of July. We cooked out at my dads and did some fireworks with the kids. We stayed out late then came home and crashed.

My dad is on a new diet.. he is diabetic and has high blood pressure and all kinds of other issues but he's trying to get off some of the many meds he has been taking for years. He changing his way of eating has inspired me (again!) to clean up the way we eat at home. Buying fresh produce is SO EXPENSIVE so I think we will make an effort to hit up the farmers market at least one of the two times they have it during the week. I will try to add more healthy protein like chicken and tuna and try to stay away from beef and sausage and stuff like that. I want to start trying to do this 30 day ab and core challenge with the kids at night and see what happens. After Ava was born I bounced back pretty quickly. With Carter, not so much. Plus being in a very comfortable relationship for going on 4 years has not helped at all! Way too many Reese's cups and bags of chips between the two of us! If I ever successfully land a FT job I plan on hiring a personal trainer to at least help me out in the beginning so I can get myself on the right track. I don't mind walking and I live in a decent neighborhood where walking is possible, but it seriously kills my high arches. Better shoes will go on the list along with a personal trainer. I'm too young to be this out of shape.. it's sad, really.

Other than that, Ava lost TWO teeth in less than 24 hours! First she lost the one on the bottom after being overly dramatic and crying that "it huuuuurts", Steven finally got it out. It seriously didn't even bleed. Tooth Fairy left her $1.95 in random, loose change under her pillow but she was totally stoked. For her front top tooth she got $2 paper dollars and was even more excited. And she still has one more that is loose! This child is seriously going to break the Tooth Fairy, she's going to start writing IOU's. On the other hand, Carter has only lost the one that he knocked out on accident about 2 years ago.

Anyways.. nothing else exciting going on. I need to get on the ball and get my admission stuff for fall semester finished up but I'm waiting to hear back on a few things before I do that.

It's Friday :)

Here I am again :) It's Friday! So excited. My babies will be home on Sunday so I will probably spend most of the day tomorrow cleaning house and relaxing. I have missed them immensely for the last 2 weeks, I really can't wait for them to be home again.

So yesterday I stopped by the mall before work. There is an Ulta there, and I had never been, plus I had a coupon.. so that was the first store I went to. It. Was. Amazing. Nothing at all short of my expectations. It was like, girlie heaven with all the hair products and makeup (and testers!) and clearance racks. I must have walked around in awe for like an hour. I picked up a bottle of Redken Supple Touch with my 20% off coupon, which came highly recommended from the cashier. Then I got a little bottle of Antisnap to try out and some Heavy Creme also to try out. And I got a package of macadamia nut conditioner, which was also highly recommended by the cashier. I picked up a clearance body spray too because I'm too addicted to smell good stuff. So that was a fun trip! I will definitely be going back asap to get some more junk!

After I left Ulta I went to B&BW because my supervisor had a lotion that smelled REALLY good so I wanted to pick some up. The body washes were only $3! So I got 2 of the one I came to get (Paris Amour) and 1 Be Enchanted and a shimmer body cream thing. I am definitely smelling yum now ;)

So for now I just wait for the work day to be over... blah.

First Post! So excited :)

Here I am, back into the blogging world! My name is Lindsay and this will be my little place where I can throw my thoughts around in word form. I used to blog a lot about 5 years ago or so but have since fell off, but I'm really excited to get going again!

First, a little about me and my life :) I am 25 years old and a mother of two awesome kids. Ava turned 6 this month and Carter will be 5 in September. I have a fiance named Steven and we have been together for going-on 4 years. Together, we have Abbie who is our 2 year old Chihuahua/Doxie (chiweenie, haha) and Breezy who is our newest addition.. she is a 3 month old white kitten! So we have a pretty full house!

Currently I am working part time at a college and also getting the ball rolling on taking some classes this fall while also seeking a full time job. Steven is disabled so he stays home with the kids and does the whole "stay at home parent" thing. He does so much for us and we are so happy to have him in our lives. We moved to NC a year ago from FL, where we met. He is originally from MA and I'm originally from NC. My dad retired last year so we chose to move to be closer to him. I wanted him to spend some time with his grandchildren. They do ♥ their PeePaw!

In our free time, we like to just spend it together at home. We do movie nights and go outside and ride bikes and scooters and play T ball (Ava just finished up her first year, it was a lot of fun!) and just run around and be crazy. I love, love, LOVE the beach but it seems we don't get there nearly enough :( I'm a total bargain hunter at heart and love seeking out awesome deals. I love to cook also and I'm always trying new recipes, most recently was crab rangoon criossants (which were YUM!). Other than that, we are your average little family.

I am really excited to start blogging again so I will do my best to keep this relatively updated, even if no one reads it :P