Adulting is Hard to Do

A friend of mine is just starting out her own blog and this first real post (after the introductory post) is an honest and vulnerable monologue about the insecurities of making friends once you enter adulthood.

If any of you were the first in your group of friend to get married or have kids, you can relate. It is almost as if as soon as one of those life events happen you are jettisoned to a different "planet" for that phase of life. All of a sudden your group of friends don't want to hang out because the spouse wants to be included, or they think you might (and rightly so) be too busy with your kids. Next thing you know, you are left to go it alone until your friends can "catch up".

I often times think to myself "How come no one ever told me making good friends after reaching adulthood would be so hard?"

And so without further ado, here is

Things that Clog the Mind from Clarity of Mind and Life.

All of my life I have had random thoughts and feelings of inferiority.   I’ve never felt quite good enough.  Never felt I had enough to offer people.  Always missing… something.  Lately this evil lil minion of self doubt has been prancing around the living space in my head.
I’m older.  I’ve learned that as I age, the friends in my life have dwindled. A lot.  I try to make new friends.. and it never seems to work.  I have people in my life that I love, dearly.  But, they are so so far away.  Life just does that, ya know?  Moves you and others around and around in a whirlwind of events that can leave us all misplaced. We set our roots when we finally land… and the people who were there along the way end up wayyyy over there.  Its just life.  And I accept that.
I feel that this ebb and flow is constantly fighting against me. I miss having friends.  I miss having a social life.  I have moments when I am reminded of its like to be social.  And I miss it.  Life’s obligations, family, work, dishes, laundry.. everything.. its drains me and I’ve lost myself along the way.  I miss having a strong sense of who I am and loving myself.
It feels like I annoy those around me.  Like, right now, I’m at work and there are people all around me.  I’m usually quite friendly, but lately it feels like I’m just getting on peoples nerves.  I have tried over the past year to pay close attention to how I am perceived by others.  Trying to pick apart how I come off.. how people react to me being based on my mood.  I often wonder if I try too hard? Or expect too much from others?  All I want is to make friends, and I seem to just bug people.  How do you get past that?  I miss the days when I didn’t care about the opinion of others, but this seems to be a pattern.  I make a friend, start incorporating them into my life, only for the friend to suddenly disappear.  Is it me? Or is it just that ebb and flow?
Days like this I wish I didn’t think so much.

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As always, comments, questions, feedback, and suggestions are always welcome. Please remember to follow the blog and register your email at the top of the page to have new posts delivered directly to your email inbox and never miss an update.

Also please check out the new blog by my friend, Clarity of Mind and Life. She gives herself a hard time but she is actually a decent writer and one of the most 'real' people out there. :)

Chirstmas is Coming Fast!!

It is now December and that means we are about 3 weeks away from Christmas. Time to get those presents is quickly flying by. I have found two more items that are going to be added as great gifts.

The first one is a set of toy dinosaurs. Minion Number 3 is hard to shop for. At 20 months he doesn't have the communication skills to just tell me what he wants. So I took him with me when I went to Toy'R'Us in search for their new diapers. (You can read about how I feel about them after using them here.)

While we were at Toys'R'Us we happened to walk by a set of dinosaurs and the reaction that he gave was just too cute to ignore. He pointed to the dinosaurs, looked at me and said "rawr". In that moment I knew I had to get him some dinosaurs for Christmas. I have found two different brands of dinosaurs that are made out of the traditional hard rubber/plastic material of the figurines that I remember growing up with. Both the Kids Imaginative and the Oriental Trading Company have great sets. Both sets feature 12 different dinosaurs without any duplicates. They are both between 5-7 inches in length and are brightly colored. There is a nice mix of both herbivores and carnivores. As an added bonus, minions Number 1 and 2 also like the figurines and all three will play together with them. Easily the best purchase I have made in a long time. I will definitely be looking into expanding their collection this holiday season.

The second item that I have found is for my hard to shop for husband. I ask him what he would like and he either shrugs and says "I don't know" or states "some peace and quiet would be nice." Since the latter will not happen until minion Number 3 is much, much older I have settled to getting him a beautiful copper Moscow Mule Mug.

This Moscow Mule Mug comes as a gift set with its own box and wooden coaster. I know this is probably going to sound weird but I like the smell of the wood used to make the box and the coaster. It smells like it is made from a premium hardwood and it reminds me of log cabins. The mug itself is bright and shiney polished copper. The handle is soldered on to the body of the mug for an attachment that does not mar the design with an obtrusive screw. I can't wait to see the look on my husband's face when I present this gift to him.



As always comments, questions, feedback, and suggestions are always welcome. Also, please remember to follow my blog and register your email address at the top of the page to have updates sent directly to your inbox so you never miss a post.

Disclaimer: and product mentioned in this blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed above are my own regardless of how the item was acquired.

Toys'R'Us Diaper Performance Review

 So big corporation Toys'R'Us and more specifically their brand line that caters to maternity and babies, Babies'R'Us (BRU), is now doing more than just stocking major brand name diapers for us to purchase. They have designed their own line of diapers.

Thanks to Influenster, I was recruited to try a pack and write a review. It was with a little hesitation that I accepted this assignment remembering back to the catastrophe from our household's pre-Huggies days.  You can read all about that funny/terrible experience here.

Influenster sent me a coupon to where I would be trying them for free. So I thought, 'Why not? They can't be as bad as Luv's and we have survived that.'

So minion Number 3 and I packed down to the Babies'R'Us store. I used this time to stroll through the aisles of toys to see what grabbed his attention for ideas as to what to get him for Christmas. We finally located the diapers with all the others. Their display area was no more or less than the other name brand diapers. It was refreshing to see that the store was not 'pushing' their brand harder than the others.

Minion Number 3 and I checked out and headed home.

 After getting home, I opened the pack to check them out and compare them to the Huggies that we normally use. In comparison, the BRU diapers feel thinner than the Huggies and the outer material feel like thin paper. The outside of the pack boasted that they could stand up to 12 hour protection, but just from my initial inspection I was highly skeptical.  Furthermore, the shape of the diapers did not look like they would be very form fitting. However the elastic at the back and around the legs provided a decent fit.The designs on the diaper are generic but light and whimsical. To be honest, I don't particularly care which cartoon face they put on the diaper as it goes in the trash a few hours later.

With Huggies, it takes a lot of liquid before they start to look a little saggy. After a few hours minion Number 3's diaper had already begun to sag almost to his knees. 

 I decided to give the BRU diapers the benefit of the doubt and blame the older minions for giving Number 3 extra cups of water, milk, and juice. So I changed his diaper. But much to my surprise, he had barely peed the diaper. With these kinds of results, there is no way I am going to have him wear these through out the night. 

Now here is a concerning note. We have been trying these diapers off and on for about two weeks now, and minion Number 3 has broke out in a really bad diaper rash. It is so bad that he is going to have to spend tomorrow without a diaper to let his abused skin air out a bit. I am not saying that this is due to the BRU diapers, but to be honest, minion Number 3 hasn't had diaper rash this bad since Luv's. I suspect that the absorbent material of the diaper does not have a barrier to keep the moisture away from minion Number 3's skin. 

The bottom (heheh, you see what I did there?) line: While the BRU diapers are not good enough to win me over from my brand loyalty to Huggies, I think they are better than Luv's.

Kitchen Tools Thanksgiving Round Up Edition

Who doesn't eat on Thanksgiving?

The Turkey, because he is always stuffed!!

As I cleaned up from our Thanksgiving meal, I realized that the whole ordeal would have been a lot more difficult without some of the tools I have in my kitchen. 

While my knives and my pots and pans along with my KitchenAid mixer are my favorites (and most likely always will be), I have found some new kitchen tools that also helped make the dinner a success. 

I have recently tried out products from a company called Sunsella and since then have become a big fan of theirs. Their products are practical multi-tasking tools that in my experience are well made and take care of a wide variety of tasks.

The Sunsella dough cutter and scraper proved invaluable out on the Thanksgiving field this year. This dough scraper has a sharpened edge than can cut through almost anything. While it will not replace my knives it is great for cutting through small vegetables and more importantly dough for those delicious dinner rolls. The stainless steel blade is stamped with inch measurements so I can be better about making all my rolls roughly the same size. The handle is made out of a durable rubber material that is shaped to fit comfortably in my hand. It is definitely a contender for MVP in my kitchen!!




The  vegetable steamer that Sunsella makes is useful for more than just vegetables. This Thanksgiving when stove top space is at as much a premium as a well located apartment in down town New York, turn over has to be completed quickly and efficiently. This steamer aided in that especially while I was hard boiling a dozen eggs for my deviled eggs tray. The steamer allowed me to pull all of the eggs at once and get them into their ice bath in a fraction of the time it would have taken me to pull them individually. This freed up that space on the stove top for other dishes to begin cooking.  Like Sunsella's other products this steamer basket is 100% stainless steel and the flanges of the basket are a little thicker than other steamer baskets I have seen making this one more durable. Probably the best part is how small it is when it collapses down. It really does save space.



The next big challenge after cooking a Thanksgiving meal is storing the left overs. In the past I have stored each dish in its own container and then some of the left overs would get eaten quickly while others would linger in the fridge until eventually I would have to throw them out. This year, I decided to take a different approach. I decided to try Sunsella's bento-style buddy boxes. These containers have three compartments allowing me to store a full meal in each one.

Each compartment seals individually preventing food from one compartment from spilling over into the others and "contaminating" them (words from my picky eater who cannot stand to have food touching). These boxes have made packing lunches for work a breeze as now all I have to do is grab one and go and I know that it is a full meal all in one go. 

And the MVP award for this Thanksgiving's preparation tool goes to........

The Sunsella Bento-Style Buddy Boxes!!!

The buddy boxes may have made left over storage a little more time intensive but having the ability to just 'grab-and-go' before work has proven invaluable. They also seem to be holding up really well to the abuse of the dishwasher without warping.


As always, comments, feedback, questions and suggestions are welcome. Don't forget to follow the blog and register your email address at the top of the page to have updates sent directly to your inbox so you never miss a  post!


Disclaimer: Items mentioned in this blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed above are my own regardless of how the item was acquired. 

Happy Turkey Day!!

Greetings Everybody! I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels for those who took to the roads to visit family.

Tomorrow begins the mad dash to finish shopping for Christmas gifts for loved ones. If you have a girlie girl like my minion Number 2, or just like nail polish yourself, then I have a great insider tip for you. 

Del Sol, the company who makes the super cool color changing nail polish is launching a HUGE Black Friday sale starting 11/27 and lasting until 11/29!! 

Everything on the site is 50% Off with the exclusive coupon code WHOA.

Del Sol Nail polish make excellent stocking stuffers!! 

They also sell more than just nail polish, Del Sol also sells other color changing apparel and accessories.

Click HERE to visit their site to see their entire selection and don't forget to apply the coupon code WHOA at check out to take advantage of their Black Friday Super Savings!

Newcomer to the Great Diaper Debate

Did you know that Toys'R'Us has started their own line of diapers?

I just found out. I have a pack to try courtesy of Influenster.

Stay Tuned to see how they stack up against the other diaper brands! Updates to come!

A Good Night's Rest

A good night's rest, I don't even know what that is anymore. I don't recall having anything close to a good night's rest since about the 2/3 mark of my pregnancy with Number 1 almost 10 years ago.Every once in a while I can get really close though, but it requires the aid of a few things and quite a bit more preparation than just falling down on the bed (like I could have done before kids).

Things that help me get a good night's rest.

Preparation!

The night before, I set up everything to where the older kids can get up and help out with the younger ones. For example: I will set out the things they may need for breakfast (ie: bowls and cereal from higher shelves, make sure that the milk is in a manageable container for them to pour). Another thing I do as part of the preparation for the kids to be self sufficient when they wake up bright and early is to go ahead and line up quiet entertainment. That usually means cartoons and books for the older two and truck and cars for Number 3.

Over the years I have found a few products that have enhanced my sleeping experience.



I don't know why but great smelling laundry helps me fall asleep faster. I guess it doesn't trigger that ever growing To-Do list and keep me awake. For me the best thing in the world that I have found for keeping the laundry smelling fresh is Downy's Unstoppables. I especially like the Dreams scent. To me to smells like a light mixture between Lavender and Sweet Pea. The scent will keep your bedding smelling fresh in the closet for up to 12 weeks. In my experience, it will keep it smelling fresh on the bed for up to 2 weeks.






Other items that help get a good night's rest, after you have kids, is investing in a good sleep mask. I have tried a few  but Dream Essentials has been my favorite so far.

Dream Essentials Sleep Mask 

This mask and ear plug combo are awesome for blocking out unwanted stimuli while you are trying to get some sleep. The mask itself is soft and completely opaque. The nose form fits my face perfectly and helps to block out any light that tries to creep in from the tent my nose creates in non-formed masks. The elastic on the mask is also top notch. It has a Velcro attachment in the back to make it fully adjustable which is great because I seem to have a head radius that is smaller than average. 

(*Hint Hint* If there is anyone in your house or family that you know could use a little help in getting a few extra Zzzzs, this makes for a great, yet inexpensive gift.)

Disclaimer: Any product mentioned in this blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed above are my own  regardless of how the item was acquired. This post contains Amazon Associate links. The links help connect readers to the product on Amazon.com and a portion of the sales completed through these links are given back to the blog to help support it. 

As always, feedback, comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome. Please remember to follow the blog and register your email address at the top of the page to have new posts emailed directly to you so you never miss an update!

The Skinny on Diet Supplements

Ever since child Number 2, I have struggled with my weight. Those maternal fat stores are so stubborn and hard to get rid of. What makes things worse for me is that my day job is so sedentary, and I work long shifts so I am sedentary for long periods of time.

I can't tell you how many times I have just wished for a "magic pill" that would 'melt the fat right off'. But this is not a fairy tale, and things just don't work like that in real life. So I usually take the claims of diet pills with a healthy dose of skepticism.

I recently got to try out two diet supplements. The results were of course less than amazing but like I mentioned above, I always read these with a considerable amount of skepticism.

The first one that I tried is labeled as the "Best Weight Loss Pills to Lose Weight Fast for Women". It is made and sold by Petite Plus.

This diet supplement makes a lot of bold claims. I have listed them below.



• Lose Weight
• Suppress your Appetite
• Relieve Stress
• and Boost your Energy ALL in one supplement

After taking these as outlined (twice a day for at least 7 days), my results were minimal.

I did not lose any significant amount of weight. My appetite was decreased but that was in part to the weird tasking burps the ingredients gave me. (I don't  want to eat a cheeseburger when my burps are leaving a weird sweet/herbal taste in my mouth.) I did not notice any significant reduction in my stress, but then again I am on antidepressants. As far as having increased energy, it did help me feel a little alert in much the same way a cup of coffee would have but it did not make me want to go run a marathon or anything.



The second diet supplement was labeled more as a Detox diet cleanse. It is made and sold by Justified Laboratories.





• Support and Mains Appetite Control
• Detoxify and Digestive Support
• Natural Weight Loss Aid
• Natural With No Stimulants Added







Justified Laboratories has made this product from Green Coffee Bean Extract, so naturally it contains some caffeine. This product is only intended to be taken twice a day for 14 days at most once a month. When I took it is described I did notice a decrease in my appetite with out any additional side effects. The energy boost was minimal. It was about that of a cup or two of coffee (made from coffee so go figure). While taking this my body did *ahem* eliminate waste more frequently, but other than that and the suppressed appetite, there were not a whole lot of other noticeable effects.

Please note that herbal supplements much like with any medication will perform differently for different people. My results from taking this may be different from anyone else's as we are all unique.

As always, comments, feedback, questions and suggestions are welcome. Please remember to follow my blog and register your email address at the top of the page to have new posts emailed directly to your inbox and never miss an update!


Disclaimer: Any product mentioned in my blog may have been received for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions stated above are my own regardless of how the item was acquired.

The Difference Between Well and Good

Proper grammar has always been important to me.

I grew up in the deep south but I have extended family far above the Mason-Dixon line. I remember the first time I went to go visit them. I was ten years old and when I uttered the southern hallmark colloquialism "y'all", it felt as though time stood still. All conversation stopped and I almost heard a robotic creaking as all heads turned to me in disbelief. I could have died on the spot.

Of course this is an exaggeration, but this is how it honestly felt to my fragile pre-teen self. Right then and there I vowed to neutralize my southern accent, and grammar and pronunciation became my obsession.

Since then, this compulsion for accurate grammar has haunted me and has become almost second nature to the point where I mentally correct the grammar of what I hear.

 Two weeks ago my best friend from high school shared an article from MentalFloss.com called The Top 10 Grammar Myths. She stated that there was one point on there that she did not quite agree on. Number 8 to be exact.


8. IT'S INCORRECT TO ANSWER THE QUESTION "HOW ARE YOU?" WITH THE STATEMENT "I'M GOOD."

Wrong! “Am” is a linking verb and linking verbs should be modified by adjectives such as “good.” Because “well” can also act as an adjective, it's also fine to answer "I'm well," but some grammarians believe "I'm well" should be used to talk about your health and not your general disposition.

I have to agree with her. There are many reasons why 'good' and 'well' are not interchangeable.


About a week before my friend shared the article, I was trying to get minion Number 2 to fall asleep. This usually entails laying down with her in the complete dark and just waiting for her to wind down. (She usually goes to bed pretty easily.) We had been laying thusly for about 15 minutes. Everything in the house is quiet. I was sure she was almost asleep as she was also laying very still.

"People taste good."

That one little statement uttered without warning and without further elaboration cut through the silence. Many thoughts swirl through my confused brain. I have to admit the statement did have cannibalistic/zombie under tones.

Then I remembered that Number 2 is still working on grammar structures and finally realized that this was a perfect moment to emphasize the difference between well and good.

What my daughter meant to convey was that people have a great sense of taste. (i.e. - They can taste well.) Instead she said that they taste good implying that the taste of people pleases her. She also got a brief age appropriate lesson on cannibalism.

Furthermore, I always see the differences in good vs well in answer to 'How are you?' to be pretty distinctive as well.

For example: How are you doing in school?

I am doing well. -- To me this implies that you are learning and completing work and other assignments and generally earning decent to good grades.

I am doing good. -- To me this implies that you are doing feats for the greater good as if you are attending a school for super heroes.

So if in the future you begin to wonder if the difference between well and good is as big a deal as it is made out to be, Just remember, it could come down to whether or not people have a great sense of taste and cannibalism. 

As always, feedback, comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome. Please remember to follow my blog and register your email address at the top of the page to receive updates in your inbox and never miss a post!

Quick Little Thought

The other day number 3 pulled one of my favorite drinking glasses off my desk an onto the floor. It of course shattered.

Goodbye Gentle Domo Kun.

It always feels as though no matter how carefully I pick up the glass nor how many times I sweep the area, I always manage to find little shards of glass in the most painful ways possible. Usually with my awesome glass detecting feet.

Digging glass out of any part of your skin can be tricky and painful. Thankfully I had matured past the days of trying to dig it out with my fingers while crying incessantly.

I have found a set of tweezers that makes the process much easier.

They were designed by Majestic Bombay to be the ultimate precision tweezers. They are made from two solid pieces of metal. The tips come to a point and meet up perfectly. The grip area is wide enough for a secure hold during any extraction exercise.

In addition to glass removal, they would be perfect for the removal of splinters as well as ingrown hairs.


Disclaimer: I may have received this product for free or at a discount in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed above are my own regardless of how the item was acquired.