Things I Learned This Weekend

Happy Monday, Ya'll!

We had a crazy weekend in our house.

If you were on Facebook at all this weekend, you are fully aware of how crazy our weekend was. 

I would apologize, but I enjoyed all the posting, so ehh...not so much feeling sorry about it.

But in the craziness there were a few moments for me to make some relatively novel observances.

Just thought you would be interested in them too...

1.  Apparently, Wal-Mart carries $.97 panties.... 

But apparently, I wear the most common size known to man.

Because it took me almost 30 minutes to dig through and find this pair in my size.

Are they comparable to my faves?  Hardly.

Are they cheap and comfy.  Yes.

Consider me satisfied.

2.  My man considers himself a stud.

Don't believe me?

I have proof.

3.  I have a climber on my hands.

Um, yeah.  And not just on top of stuff...

IN stuff....

4. Techy can build!!!!

 
5.  Despite my best efforts, I gained.

And I should care.

But I don't.

Or I don't RIGHT NOW.

And finally,

6.  It is absolutely possible for me to run 5 miles at less than a 10 minute pace.

Not much less than 10 minutes, but you won't hear me complaining.

Hope your weekend was as productive/educational! 

Friday Fog and a Giveaway

For some strange reason, I am still operating a little "off" this week.

You may have sensed that from almost every post I have posted this week.

Thanks for not commenting on it.

But for now, I am going to blame it on the weather.

Since I don't drink and therefore cannot blame it on the a-a-a-alcohol.

(In reality, I should probably blame someone who kept me up until 11:30 last night because he wanted to spend time together after his side job kept him out late last night....  Yeah.  Thanks for wanting to spend time with me, honey....)

Today I woke up to my backyard looking a little like this....

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And alot like this...

Except without the sidewalk, street, streetlamp and random strangers walking....

You get what I'm saying, right?

So yeah, the weather has me a little off-beat.

And we won't talk about my negative success on the scale this week.

Which was none too surprising, considering my 4 day weekend of food binging.

Funny how negative success equals a positive on the scale when really what I wanted was a negative on the scale, which leaves me feeling a little negative today. 

But then I went home at lunch to find a little surprise in my mailbox.

Purex sent me a sample of their new Purex Crystals Fabric Softener.

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First of all, I am COMPLETELY thrilled because despite how many times I have put fabric softener on my shopping list, I have forgotten it for the last 3 months.

Which means that for the last 3 months, my jeans have felt like this....

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And now thanks to Purex, I get to remember what it was like to have fresh smelling and SOFT clothes again.

I am really excited to try them for other reasons, though.

Like the fact that it is made of natural materials

And isn't oil-based, which means techy's shirt won't end up with that grody residue after 3 washes. 

Woo to the Hoo!

My initial concern was that it would not be compatible with my front-loading, high-efficiency washer, but leave it to Purex, who solved my vacation laundering woes this past summer with their Complete 3-in-One Sheets*, to ensure that they are indeed HE compatible. 

Here's where you come in. 

Since we all love doing laundry...

Oh wait, did I really say that out loud?

Clearly, I misspoke.

What I meant to say is, "Since we all love anything that will make doing laundry better, cheaper, fresher-for-longer..."

I am offering one of my lucky readers the opportunity to enjoy a free FULL-SIZED bottle of Purex Crystals along with me.

The catch?

You have to be a follower and you have to comment below.

Here's where I explain that to follow me, you have to click on that button way up at the top of the page.

It looks like this.

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 And then comment below.

I will draw for a winner on Monday, February 28.

Now get to clicking and commenting people! 

Free stuff is waiting on you!

*Flying to a remote destination with a baby and a limited supply of clothing equals about 10 loads of laundry in one 7 day time frame.  However, flying also equals no transporting liquids, meaning that the only laundry detergent I could buy on vacation that I could take home with me would be a messy powder or Purex's sheets.  I was skeptical at first, and then I fell in LOVE!  Thankyouverymuch, Purex, for making vacation laundering EASY PEEZY.

My Honest Opinion: Orange you Glad I Give Opinions?

I love, love, love fruit. 

Surprising, right?

A dieter finding solace in fruit?

Yes, I know.

Almost as rare as a vegan finding satisfaction in hummus. 

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Or Carrie Bradshaw taking refuge in shoes....

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So yeah.  A little unsurprising.

But I do.

And I happen to have a very strong liking for oranges....

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Even more shocking, considering all that pulpy fiber goodness, right?

But here's a question for you, why on earth are there so many varieties?

Sending me to shop for oranges at my local grocery store is like sending Techy to shop for a pair of jeans in the Gap.

Seriously.

What size?

What color?

What style?!

So many to choose from.

The clementine.

The navel.

The tangerine.

The tangelo?!

The valencia.

The BLOOD!?!?!?!

So.many.decisions.

For the sake of my sanity (and yours...) I am only going to comment on my most favorite and my least favorite.
 
Because, someday I may give you a quiz on how much you know about me, and this is sure to be a question on that quiz.
 
Not that anyone would ever take that quiz.
 
Or is even still reading this.
 
But in my mind, you would ALL be reading this and passing my "Quiz about Me" in flying colors. 
 
WITHOUT having to "cheat" by looking back at my blog.
 
Knowing things like my current weight, current running pace, current favorite fruit, and most embarrassing moment would be as important to your psyche as it is to mine.
 
Yes, sometimes I do see unicorns flying over rainbows, why do you ask???
 
Sorry.  Tangent.
 
Back to fruit.
 
Err, Oranges.
 
And my favorite.
 
My personal favorite is the clementine for its distinct lack of seeds and its concentrated deliciousness.

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Not to mention it's distinct lack of calories.

Yes, my friends, the average clementine has approximately 55 calories.

(Don't you love how my approximations are so precise?  I am sooooo Type A....)

And I love the ones in the crate.

Not the bag.

The ones in the bag stink.

And mold really fast.

The ones in the crate are awesome.

And not just because of their cool crate. 

Although, I am envisioning a way awesome craft for a clementine crate.

Anyone have one on hand?

Am I talking too much?

Ok, I'll move on.

From my clementine love.

And crate obsession....

And tell you my least favorite orange.

Most definitely, The NAVEL.

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Ugh.

Annoyance that it is.

I mean seriously, you lose like 1/4 of the orange to the stupid navel.

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All.that.waste.

And seriously, there isn't much I hate more than waste.

Except maybe a pantiliner gone awry.

But that's a story for another day.

All that discreet leg crossing to try to get comfortable....

So yeah.

Time for a recap.

I am on a diet.

And enjoy fruit.

Specifically oranges.

Of which the clementine is my fave.

And the navel is my least fave.

Falling just above free flying pantiliners on my list of annoyances.

Feel better about your day, now?

I know I do!

I am linking this post to Serenity Now's Weekend Bloggy Reading Party! 

Helpful How-To: Shopping for a Rug

As we all know, I pride myself on my shopping abilities.

And as we all know, I pride myself on my decorating abilities as well.

Among many other things....

And since I think I am finally getting a grasp on a time slot for building my breakfast nook, I happen to be shopping for a rug....

Because I have cold, cold tile.

And let's face it, no kid wants to sit at the table with their feet on cold, cold tile while eating cereal, right?

So I have been shopping.

For the record, usually don't like to spend more than $100 for a rug, no matter the size. 

Allowances MAY BE MADE for natural materials, however.

So I have been shopping.

And according to my calculations, I am guessing I will need at least a 3' x 5' area rug to cover the space.

Which, truthfully isn't large enough for me to want to spend more than $50 on.

Armed with my budget and my head knowledge of rugs and such, I started my quest.

My first stop is almost always JCP.com.

Because they have a clearance section.

And I can almost always score a good deal.

And I found this one...

 But I didn't LOVE it. 

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And it was $79 before shipping.
 

Undaunted, I continued my quest...and found this one....

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Which was more in line with what I was looking for...

The colors fit....

But still an olefin fiber....

And still $89 before shipping. 
Remember the key to sucessful shopping of any kind is to comparison shop, though...

So on I went. 

Because that was pretty much all that JCP had to offer, and I happen to know that their shipping rates are not the best. 

And very rarely do they offer free shipping to store.

(These are all tips for those of you who are note-takers....)

On to my next discount-bargain utopia, I headed to Ikea.com....

Just for some price checking.

One thing you should know about Ikea, they almost have better supply in the store than online.

But their sizes are still limited.

And their prices are merely comparable when it comes to natural fiber rugs.

Again, more tips...Just because it's from Ikea doesn't mean it's an amazing deal.

But I did fall in love with this little number.

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 The colors would work.

But the size wouldn't.

5' x 7' would be just too big.

And the price tag is about $100 over what I want to spend at $159.

Doesn't mean I don't want it, though.

But being a good ole neutral-loving girl, I batted my eyes at this baby for about half a second.

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Until I realized again - it didn't come in my size.


Definitely a pity since it was $29.99

One more stop at Ikea.com took me to this rug.

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Can I stop you for a moment to discuss how in love I am with natural/grass rugs?

I know that Techy would never understand, but I just love them.

The texture, the comfort, the natural beauty.

Oo La La....

But yet again, size and price hold me back.

Making Ikea a complete disappointment for this bargain-rug-girl.

Now imagine my surprize when by chance, I happened to open up a Pottery Barn catalog to find that their natural jute rugs are actually not that expensive?

AND they carry them in my size.

My hope was renewed!!!

Another tip: never discount high quality stores because you are afraid of the price tag....

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This natural jute rug would be perfect, and for Pottery Barn quality, the $99 price tag would be worth it, even if more than I wanted to spend.

But then I saw this pretty little thing....

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And I just knew I had found what I was looking for.

As long as she came in red.

Which of course she doesn't.

Such a pity...$49 pity, at that.

So, I finally traipsed over to my tried and true, HomeDecorators.com.

Where, lo and behold, this greeted me...

I took it as a sign.

And began my search.

Within minutes, I found this gorgeous braided jute rug.

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And don't you know, it comes in my size?!?!?!

At this point, I was barely able to contain my enthusiasm....

And for just $59 with FREE SHIPPING....

There was only one thing holding me back....

It was this picture over in the corner of the page...

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So, being brave (and at the end of my rope...pun intended...insert laughter here...)

I clicked.

And fell in love.

$49.

Chenille AND Jute.

ZIGZAGS....

And before you know it, the order was placed and my delight could no longer be contained.

Final tip of today's HHT: trust your tried and true.  It should never be your last resort.

Because who knows but that YOUR stars may also align and offer YOU free shipping too?!

Am I Crazy???

It's been a while since this little guy ...

Took up residence in here...

And way back in those days, I actually remember wondering what he would look like. 

Would he look like this?

Or like this?

Like this crazy Pop-pop

Or this one....

And then he showed up looking like this...

And they brought me this....

And I had a panic attack that they had brought me the wrong child.

Because other than the patch of auburn hair, he looked nothing like either of us.

And then he got a little older, and I thought, well, maybe....

But then he lost all his hair, and sprouted a patch of blond, the likes of which I have never seen.

And it continued to become more and more blond...  (is it blonde?  or blond?  blondER or MORE blond?..)

And now, I have the most adorable little boy I have ever laid eyes on. 

But part of me still wonders if they gave me the wrong child in the hospital.

Because he really doesn't look a thing like either of us.

Anyone else see something I don't?


Good luck getting him away from me though.

Cause this kid seriously has a hold on my heart. 

What a Bad Picture and Poor Posture can do for your confidence...

Hello, Marshmallow Man....

Looks eerily similar, huh???

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Yep.  Scary.

Hi, Jackie Warner?  It's me.  I need HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*NOTE: THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF ME...I PULLED IT OFF OF THE INTERNET.  SEE CREDIT....  Also, thanks for your momentary panic at the thought that I may have posted a topless picture of myself.  Tell me you didn't....