Going outside my (shadow) box!

Now, if y’all know me, I don’t really do shadows. (Frankly I kind of suck.) But I watched an amazing SeneSister do this eye look yesterday and she is so fun and genuine (sidenote I totally want to be her new bestie) that I was compelled to comment. When I said if I tried this look I’d end up looking like I have two black eyes…she challenged me. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED, Joyanne Boggs!!

I then totally fangirled over her and she graciously agreed to come to my group and do a demo for us (coming soon)!! But first today. Today I attempted this (minus the fake lashes because a girl can only do so much) and Joy had faith and showed up for emotional (and technical) support. And guys? It was a blast and I didn’t totally suck!

There was an unexplained Lapis Glitter incident 🤨 😂 plus I learned I still really need practice (I’m definitely not at her level!)…but overall, I’m really proud of myself for stepping outside my box!! #senesistersrock

Purple hair trio!

I saw this super cool colored hair wax advertised online and went directly to Amazon to buy it. My hair has been fading and Katie has wanted more color than the pink shampoo I have been using on her. And this was very temporary—as in comes out in one wash. So we tried it! I did it Live on Facebook…which the kids thought was great fun (they are always intrigued when I do my Live LipSense demos so they liked being part of a video).

Here are our results… The kids loved it! Owen’s was much easier as it’s shorter, thicker, and much heartier. Katie’s was a mess because it is so fine and snarls easily (I’ll have to try hers later when it’s wet). But as something fun to do? I highly recommend it.

PLEASE be that one person for someone.

“One person can instantly make you feel unalone, uninvisible … like you belong.”

This is the one thing I hope for with every. single. move. Sometimes it happens more quickly than others. Sometimes it never happens at all. But when it does, life is SOOOO much better. PLEASE be that one person for someone.

Am I invisible? One mom’s pain-relieving response to being excluded

Naturally Slim, Round 2

When it’s time to get serious about Naturally Slim again. Plus I already have my walk in for the day. #icandothis #ididitonceicandoitagain #failureisnotanoption #facebookaccountability

Lunch!

20 minutes later

I posted the above on Facebook and within minutes, a friend suggested we support each other by checking in via text message. I knew a bunch of my friends were all wanting to reboot as well, so asked who would be interested and quite a few were so I decided to start a Facebook group where we can all post and commiserate and help each other out. I think by the end of the day we had maybe 25 people and a week later we are around 50!

My first birthday fish sage!

I was originally planning on meeting a girlfriend halfway for a girls night out and we would do a joint live Facebook LipSense sale while having a few adult beverages in the hotel. She had to bow out due to work commitments, but I still wanted to try the sale myself so that’s just what I did! Of course, I kept with the adult beverages because, hey, that’s who I am and it was my birthday after all. :p

So why did I call it a fish sage? Well, in the initial planning stages with my friend over text, my phone autocorrected bad typing of live sale to fish sage and the rest is history. We both thought it was hilarious and I thought it might draw in more people’s attention if I was advertising a FISH SAGE. The result was…meh. A few people were intrigued, but it didn’t have the rousing success I had envisioned. (The fish sage joke only lasted for the first two days of the advertising. I quickly let people in on the joke.) The advertising was also proof you can pretty much google any two words and find appropriate pictures!

I was a bit nervous but once I got started it went well enough. I had about 4-7 people watching for the hour and a half I was on (I didn’t plan for it to go that long but oh well!) and although I didn’t sell anything during the sale as I had imagined, I sold quite a bit afterwards! So it was a success!

Here are some screenshots of the live video just because. There were some hilarious parts where I really didn’t know what I was doing with some of the makeup but I rolled with it and it was all good. (Keep in mind before this gig, I really didn’t wear lipstick or makeup more than a few times a year. I mean, ever since I stopped working nine years ago—and even back then I had no idea how to apply makeup—I just winged it. So I’ve worn makeup and eye shadow more in the past month than I have the past five years. And I’m still learning.)

And this was the full end result of the makeup demo. It was only a semi hot mess. And yes, the two different color lips were on purpose. 💕

It was definitely an interesting way to spend my birthday!!

Don’t Buy My Kids More Toys. Try This Instead.

Don’t Buy My Kids More Toys. Try This Instead. From ScaryMommy.

Hallelujah and Amen.

Let me give you some advice of what you can do instead: Just spend time with them. Take them out for ice cream, or a date to the zoo, or even to the park down the street. They will love that more than any toy, I promise. They will remember it longer too.

Our kids just had a birthday party and got lots of gift cards. The plan is to let them but one thing and then trade them experiences for their cards. Would you rather go to Target and get a Barbie or would you rather go to the zoo? A new Lego set or a baseball game? Fingers crossed my plan works.

It’s that time again…Katie has started ABCMouse!


So, Katie has been doing “homework” lately—we bought her a workbook like Owen gets for his Summer Slide and she has fun with that, plus she also has a few educational iPad apps that she enjoys. She saw a commercial for ABCmouse.com the other day and asked if she could have it on the iPad again.

First, huh? She remembers? It hasn’t been on the iPad for probably two years now!

Second, well, why not? Owen really enjoyed it and if she wants to do it…it certainly can’t hurt! (And in the back of my mind I keep wondering if maybe that’s one of the reasons why Katie is a touch behind as compared to Owen—even though I know I shouldn’t compare the two.)

So the thought was in my mind but on the back burner since we’ve been busy. So imagine my surprise when out of the blue I get an email from someone at ABCMouse saying my site came up as one that linked to them and—long story short—would I want to become a full-fledged official referral source. Well, sure, why not?

So Katie was EXCITED to start her “homework” and she kept asking to do it. Before I knew it, she was 14% done with the pre-k level. Hopefully her excitement continues! And hopefully I make some money off referrals!

Time for a panic attack: Purge Treasures

So, we just completed the pre-move walkthrough with the moving company guy. Consensus? We have too much shit. I know this comes as no surprise to people who know us… We NEED to purge but it’s SOOOO hard. So I decided today was the day to clean out the bulk of the four-drawer file cabinet. We just keep stuffing crap in there and never use any of it—and it’s about 200 pounds we can easily get rid of. Of course, I have to quickly sort through everything because there’s stuff I know I’ll want to keep, but I came across so much old junk that made me laugh or cringe that I posted some to Facebook.

CMU line dancing class coursebook. Because you know I still need a list of 60 line dances. #purgetreasures #recyclebin

A whole folder of song lyrics. Notice the year? #purgetreasures #recyclebin

A real stock certificate, circa 1995. #purgetreasures #keep

/sniff

A friend’s senior picture. #purgetreasures #recyclebin

#purgetreasures #keep (But I’m sending it to Dana to keep!)

How many of my Grayling peeps remember these report card folders?! #purgetreasures #keep

Kindergarten

From September 11, 1995 Central Michigan Lumber ad. #purgetreasures #recyclebin

Isn’t the limit for keeping taxes 25 years? 😆 #purgetreasures #shredder

#purgetreasures #recycle #roommatefromhell (I had quite a few roommate from hell pages!)

I’ve definitely needed to move this from Michigan to North Carolina to Michigan to North Carolina to Virgina. #purgetreasures #recyclebin

#purgetreasures #recyclebin

#purgetreasures #keep #nolongerexists #weddingreception

From the first time I saw it with my mom, circa 1992? #purgetreasures #unsure

Ahh. Taking out a $2500 loan to pay for uniforms. #purgetreasures #keep #usmc

My friends made me happy cry!

I was hosting an online Facebook party for this cool new lipstick and had included people from all times of my life…and the consultant was posting fun games for them to earn raffle entries. This one she did was so sweet and the responses made me happy cry. 🙂 I’m posting it so I can look back on it when I’m having a bad day. 

  

This sums up my feelings on the election entirely.

I debated writing anything and just letting this pass but I feel like I have to say something, even it’s just for me.

Where to start?

I don’t do politics. I don’t understand most of it (never have, never had any desire to—and still don’t LOL) so consequently never talk about it. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I hate it, but I lean strongly that direction. I know the general climate of what’s going on—things just happen and life goes on. Status quo. That said, I do try to vote in major elections, but I don’t think I’ve voted in every presidential election that I’ve been able to.

So this last election has been a real eye-opener. Without going into detail (because, remember, I don’t do politics and hate talking about it even more), I will just say that this past election has been an unbelievable disappointment for me and most of my friends. And, truthfully, it’s been an even bigger shock to learn who has voted opposite me. It shouldn’t matter because it’s never mattered…but it’s different this time. You have to admit that.

I feel like my safe little world is turning upside down and inside out and being destroyed piece by piece and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Everywhere you turn every minute of the day there’s something disheartening happening. I have read more political news in the past month than I have my entire life. I am not an activist by any stretch of the imagination, but I have been a bit more politically vocal by posting (or reposting) news articles on Facebook. I was invited to the Women’s March but that’s just not my thing—you all know how much I hate crowds and people and going into DC (though I honestly have had a few regrets).

I try to remember that the people I know who did vote for him are intelligent people who thought he could achieve some type of good. And while we haven’t seen any of that yet, there is still a slight chance of it happening. Truth be told, I am not terribly hopeful after the first nightmarish week, but there is a sliver there. And this post I ran across on Facebook pretty much sums up everything I’m feeling.

As seen originally on Facebook.

So my fingers are crossed we don’t crash.

Cue major travel anxiety

I’m always a little anxious about flying—not the actual flying but the timing of things and getting through security and getting to the right place, etc. So I just really looked at my flight info so I could find my gate on the map (yes I’m that person) and I find out that I’m leaving from (apparently) THE MOST FUCKED UP GATE IN THE KNOWN WORLD: DCA 35X. Google it. Or read some of these FourSquare comments:

Down an escalator at which point there’s no room to sit and then hopefully you hear your announcement for your plane and then you are SHUTTLED out to one of the many commuter planes where hopefully there’s no weather happening because you’ll be outside.

Seriously? 

My Facebook friends tried to assure me I’d be okay (though they admitted it was confusing) and I kept my fingers crossed and told myself I was an intelligent 43yo and I could surely manage an airport gate. 🙂

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.  🙂

P.S. I’m flying to Michigan because my dad is having an aortic valve replacement. It’s nothing we’re seriously worried about (it was planned and not an emergency procedure) but it is surgery so I want/need to be there.

This Year I’m Decorating For Christmas Early, Because The World Needs Some Sparkle (Subtitled “Stage 1, complete.”)

After reading this article—This Year I’m Decorating For Christmas Early, Because The World Needs Some Sparkle—I decided I really wanted to put up our Christmas stuff just a bit early…and since Tom loves me, it actually happened. :heart:

  

Learning about Veteran’s Day

From the school’s Facebook page:

Halley 2nd Graders are buzzing this morning, thanks to some very special visitors at school today. Our students are learning about Veterans Day, and today, several Hornet staff and family members shared their experiences with us about what it means to serve in the military. We learned so much, and we are looking forward to commemorating all of our nation’s currently serving military and veterans in our ceremony tomorrow! Thank you, Ms. Demers, for these pictures!

Can you find Owen?

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How about now? 🙂

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The live Facebook Q&A with Naturally Slim!

So the Live Facebook event was actually going to take place at the combined offices of Holmes Murphy and ACAP Health, both new partners of Naturally Slim. I was VERY anxious about the event, but Marcia assured me I would do just fine. I was put a little more at ease when she told me it would only be about 20 minutes long—I had thought it would be an hour or something! Phew!

We got there early and Marcia showed me around the offices and introduced to many, many people…most of whom were all like “Oh, wow! I know you! You’re Jennifer Hudson! I recognize you!” It was VERY surreal. They were just as excited to meet me as I was to meet them! The offices were super fun and trendy, with named meeting rooms like the Vineyard (with a wall of bookcases and wine racks) and the Bead Room, which is where we ended up filming—yes, a “room” in the middle of the office space with floor-to-ceiling hanging beads encircling four chairs and a table!

Getting ready to start!

Our view during the event:

And then we were off and running…

Live Q&A with Marcia Upson, President of Naturally Slim
[iOS users, if Safari isn’t showing the Facebook video below, try Chrome]

And suddenly it was over! What?! Already?! Wow that went fast! I had a lot of fun and the time just flew by—I probably could have answered questions for an hour! Of course watching the video later I noticed things I didn’t like (like my roll of belly fat and a few strange looks I made) but overall I think I did pretty well!

And then on the way out, I got to meet Todd (Todd Whitthorne, President, ACAP Health—he’s in quite a few of the program videos)!! And just like Marcia, he was just the same as in the videos, too. And boy was he tall (I’m 5’9″ and you see how he towers over me)! 🙂

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What a memorable way to spend my 43rd birthday!!

What’s a birthday celebration without a burnt cake, sloppy joes on the ceiling, and a toddler tantrum/early bedtime?

For a special treat, I decided to make a Tres Leches cake for Tom’s cake—I’d never made one before but it didn’t seem too hard and it was a Pioneer Woman recipe so you know it’s fairly easy and should be delicious. I’m talking from scratch here, people. Like whipping egg whites and making my own whipped cream. I set the cake timer for the minimum stated time…and it was obviously too long and the edges were burnt. GRRR. I always set the timer for 10 minutes EARLIER than the minimum just in case but not today. I trimmed them off and hoped for the best.

One of Tom’s favorite meals is sloppy joes so that was an easy dinner as well—and they were delicious. After dinner I got out the cake and poor Tom lit his own candle. 🙂

2016-09-05tresleche

And then I excitedly tried the cake and MEH—it was nothing special. I think the cake was just too dry from being overcooked and I had only put the suggested two cups of liquid into the cake when I should have tried for more because of it being overcooked. Oh well. Tom liked it and the kids loved it but now I want to make it again and try for better!

So then we were clearing off the table and loading the dishwasher…when suddenly Tom trips and I see something flying through the air. WHAT THE…?! Turns out, it was sloppy joes. Yes, sloppy joe meat was all over the place. Tom’s flip flop caught on the edge of the gel floor mat and he tripped. The dishwasher door was fully open so he was violently trying not to fall into that so while trying to catch himself, he slammed his hand down on the kitchen island/stove…RIGHT on the spoon that was still in the sloppy joes on the stove…which sent sloppy joes catapulting across the kitchen and then, as Owen noticed minutes later…on the ceiling as well! Keep in mind we have like 10′ ceilings in the kitchen.

2016-09-05sloppyjoe

Maggie cleaned up all the chunks off the floor and I wiped up after her while Tom got out the ladder and wiped down the ceiling. Then it was a matter of looking around and discovering all the tomato sauce speckles all over the place…on the cake, on the stove, on the refrigerator, on the wall… Hoo boy. I’m sure we’ll be discovering them for days to come.

Of course, I posted about it on Facebook…and I love our friends:

2016-09-06sloppyjoerating

So we got that cleaned up and then it was time for the kids to Skype with Uncle Rob (which had been temporarily postponed to clean up the mess). Well, Owen asked if they could put on their Halloween costumes to show Uncle Rob. GRRR. A simple request, right? Except they’d both been asking me ALL DAMN DAY to wear their costumes and I had already told them at least four times that I’d let them wear them before Halloween…just not today. So of course I was annoyed but agreed. Well, Katie had taken hers off like a kid does so it was completely inside out. She knows how to fix it, but she didn’t want to. I was still busy in the kitchen so was talking her through it—but it wasn’t good enough for her. She actually had it about 95% of the way fixed when she started stomping her feet at me. That’s never the answer, so she got a warning that she would be going to bed if she continued. She continued. So she got taken up to bed and she was a HOT MESS. (She really needed an early night—she hadn’t caught up from the late night when we had friends over for dinner plus being at the pool for three hours…)

So…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM! Burnt and dry cake, a kitchen mess, and a tantrumy toddler. What better way to celebrate, right? :heart: