Stuff I Have Tried Recently

I have been intending to write this post for several weeks because I have several new (to me) products I have tried recently and I wanted to share them with my lovely readers.  I also want to hear about any new stuff you have tried recently that you have loved or hated.

First up is Erase Paste from Benefit Cosmetics.  I needed a new concealer once I found out Prescriptives had closed up shop and I had tossed my last tube of concealer. On a trip to Ulta, I saw this advertised as one of Allure Magazine's top picks so I figured I would try it and I am glad I did. This stuff works.  I don't look like the over tired mom I really am.  My only complaint is that it is a little too creamy for my liking but I think I just need to blend it a little better.

Also from Benefit Cosmetics is Lemon Aid.  I have actually had this product for awhile but I forgot about it and just started using it again recently. I have really dark eye lids.  So dark that it changes the color of the eye shadow I wear.  Lemon Aid helps to offset this discoloration while acting as an eye shadow primer.  It's a win win in my book.

Are we starting to sense a theme here? This product actually showed up in my December Birch Box.  I was pretty excited to try it but I wasn't overly impressed with it.  I can't say I hated it but I didn't love it.  Truth be told I couldn't tell a difference when I used it and felt like it was an unnecessary extra step in my makeup routine that I just don't have time for in the mornings.

I was super excited when I saw this Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes mascara. I have always like Great Lash and I love the plastic bristled wands that help to separate my naturally clumpy lashes.  So I just knew this was going to be my perfect mascara.  Alas, it was not so.  The head on the wand is too small and I felt like I had a hard time reaching all my lashes.  Also, the formula of this mascara seemed different and would make my eyes itch by the end of the day.

GAH! I am really bad at this

OK...so the whole posting my photo each day thing has really fallen by the wayside.  I blame it all on my nephew, Blake, being born Saturday.  He had all of us so wrapped around his tiny little finger we were too busy to do anything but hang out with him.  So here are my much delayed pictures from last week.

Day 17: Water

I will admit it.  I don't drink enough water.  That's bad I know but I get tired of drinking something with no flavor.  Crystal Light drink mixes helped with that a lot when I was pregnant.  So I knew I wouldn't have any water to take a picture of so I took a picture of the water fountains in my office instead.

Day 18: Something You Bought

Guess what! It's Girl Scout Cookie time.  I actually bought my cookies on this day so it was the perfect time to snap a quick picture of them.  Of course I got the Peanut Butter Patties and the Caramel Delights because those are my favorites.  Does anyone else remember when they were called Tagalongs and Samoas?  My coworkers thought I was crazy when I told them I remembered trying to sell cookies the year they changed all the names.

Day 19: Sweet

I took this picture for two reasons.  One because it's chocolate and it is sweet.  Two because this was part of a Christmas gift from one of my program managers at work and I thought it was very sweet of him to think of me and let me know he appreciated the work I had done for him all year.

Day 20: Someone You Love

This was an easy one although I really wanted to get a picture of Jackson, Maverick, and Chris but getting all 3 of them together proved to be impossible.  So instead you have my grumpy looking baby who hadn't gotten enough sleep that day and was fighting it at that point.

Day 21: Reflection

I snapped this picture as we were leaving Galaxy Cafe on Saturday.  We were waiting on news of Blake's arrival and when we could see him at the time and decided to get a quick bite to eat in order to kill some time.  I thought it was pretty cool.

Day 22: Your Shoes

I have a lot of shoes.  I used to have more but I have parred down the collection quite a bit.  Chris would joke that my army of shoes was going to take over and attack him.  At one point there were two of these racks in my closet full of shoes.  Not anymore.

Crappy Day Gift Exchange

This post could also be titled "Reasons I love the Internet."  

So, I mentioned about three months ago that I was attending The Blathering.  I filled out my 13 Things and I never mentioned it again.  Shame on me.  What I should have said is that while I missed out on some of the fun because I had to work and I didn't stay at the hotel, I did get to meet some wonderful women with amazing stories to tell.  I was humbled by the fact I complained so much about Jackson's difficult delivery but still was able to bring home my beautiful boy while I listened to stories of miscarriages and deaths of children.  I realized that these were women I respected because they had been through rough times and they lived to tell about it and had grown stronger because of it.  As so many said that weekend, these were my people.

Since that weekend in October, the friendships I made that weekend have grown thanks to Twitter and our blogs. I look forward to the conversations we will have each day as they help me get through the long work day.  I know I can turn to my friends for advice on how to raise my child or comfort if I am having a rough day.  I am starting to feel closer to many of these people than I do to some of my IRL friends and I can't wait until we get the opportunity to hang out again.    

A little over a month ago, Andrea posted about her crappy day gift exchange box she had received.  I had seen a post about this a while back but hadn't signed up because I didn't feel like I knew anyone well enough to participate.  I commented on Andrea's post and the next thing I knew, this arrived in the mail:

My very own Crappy Day box! I was so excited and so very touched by her thoughtfulness that I could barely contain myself.  So I knew I had to sign up for the next exchange when I saw one.  Well, that opportunity came up a couple of days ago and now I get to shop and send a gift to someone and hopefully make some of their crazy days a little better and a little brighter.

 

The Latest from Me

So I thought I could make this a combination post with my photo-a-day pictures and a couple of other updates.  I'll start with the pictures.

Day 15: Happiness

I couldn't think of a better picture to take for happiness than one of Jackson laughing.  Chris often says that there is nothing in the world that will bring a smile to your face more than a baby's laughter and he is right.  No matter how crappy my day has been, hearing J laugh always makes me smile.  I had a hard time getting a good picture because he wiggles around so much when he is giggling.

Day 16: Morning

It was pretty dreary on the way to work this morning.  It was drizzling and it is supposed to be unseasonably warm today.  The morning already started out about 10 degrees warmer than when we went to bed last night.  I snapped this picture at the stop light outside of my neighborhood on the way to work and it turned out pretty cool.  I didn't realize I was getting such a neat shot until I looked at it on my phone at work.

In Other News

We bought a new car this weekend. The clutch in Chris's car went out earlier in the week and, upon further inspection, it was determined that the car wasn't going to last us much longer.  So despite wanting to wait until the car was paid off next year, we had to bite the bullet and take the plunge on something new (to us).  We opted for a 2011 Camry with low mileage and we are pretty excited about it although I wanted to rip the people at USAA a new one when they started giving us problems with our loan.

I've I mentioned my love for Pinterest recently?  If not, then I really should.  I have found so many wonderful recipes and ideas on that site.  I am just trying to figure out how to use all of them.  I did make a new recipe from there last night: Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti.  This is definitely one we will make again.  It was very easy with the hardest part being boiling the noodles first and made a ton of leftovers.  I made a couple of modifications to the recipe and will probably do a few things different next time.  For starters, I used full fat everything just because we don't like the way low fat/fat free tastes.  Second, I left out the onions and green pepper because those are things we don't eat.  I also used the mild Rotel to save on the spice for Sean's sake and I didn't think the dish was spicy at all.  Next time I will use my oval crockpot instead of the round since this makes so much.  It was hard to stir in the round but will work if that's all you have.  I am also considering adding another can of chicken and cutting back the Velveeta a little.  All in all, it was good and filling so I am going to play with it a bit to get it perfected to our liking.

Lastly, I have to leave you with another sweet picture of Jackson hanging out on my bed this morning while I got ready for work.

Maybe I Should Rethink This

I am doing pretty good at this whole photo-a-day thing on twitter but I not doing so a good job at posting the photos to my blog as well. So here are a few more days to get you up to date.  Maybe I'll have more luck this week getting my photos over here as well.

Day 11: Where You Sleep

Chris has been sleeping on the couch on the nights he's been home this week because his sinuses are acting up and he doesn't want to keep me awake with his snoring.  For that reason, there is one lonely pillow on my bed instead of the normal three.  Also, I am usually cold at night while Chris isn't hence the blanket on half of the bed.

Day 12: Close-up

I opted for a close-up of one of the cutest things I know: Baby J's tiny feet and toes.

Day 13: In Your Bag

Here are just a few things that can be found in my purse on any given day: my datebook that keeps track of all the important details of my life, my Alabama pen, my keys on a houndstooth key chain, cough drops, my houndstooth wallet, sunglasses (houndstooth on the side of course), my makeup bag, and a toothbrush from my trip to the dentist on this particular day.  Missing is my cell phone because I had already taken it out of my purse and the millions of receipts that end up shoved into my purse regularly.

Day 14: Something You're Reading

I just started The Help last night and I really can't wait to get further into this book.  I have heard so many great things about it and the movie.  I have had the book since my mom's stay back in September but I've had no time to read so I am working towards my "read 24 books this year" goal.  Hopefully I can finish the book instead of setting it aside and forgetting about it.

A Few Days Behind

Day 8: Your Sky

It was pretty dreary around here on Saturday so that's what our sky looked like.  Cloudy and overcast and waiting for the rain to come.  It was a great day to stay home and snuggle with my baby.

Day 9: Daily Routine

Here's a little glimpse at my daily routine.  I try to keep my counter this neat and most of the time it is.  I like to be able to find exactly what I am looking for without a lot of trouble.

Day 10: Childhood

I came across these little guys when I was cleaning out my closet last weekend.  This is Teddy and Leppy (OK...I wasn't a super creative child).  Teddy was the first stuffed animal I ever owned.  He was given to me by my parents' neighbors the day I came home from the hospital. My dad got my Leppy when I was about 2.  These were two of my favorite stuffed animals growing up.

Fear the Tide, Honey Badger!

So there was this little football game last night.  I don't know if you heard about it.  #1 LSU versus #2 Alabama. The big rematch.  Yeah...that one.  I have spent the last month listening to people complain about Alabama being in the big game.  No one thought we deserved a second chance to play LSU.  We had already had our chance and we lost.  It should have been Oklahoma State or Stanford or anyone other than us.  Alabama went into the game with a chip on the shoulder. They had something to prove and prove they did.

Alabama played a great game led by starting quarterback, AJ McCarron (a Mobile boy!), and the #1 defense in the nation.  LSU's offense came across as overly excited, never settling into a rhythm, while Alabama's team seemed as calm as could be given the stage.  The game ended with a score of 21-0 and Alabama had sealed the championship with the first shutout in BCS history.

To say I am proud of my team would be an understatement.  Of course I heard a  mixed bag of comments today related to the game.  But in the end the only thing that matters to me is this: We played a good game. We won that game. And today we woke up the champions again.  Roll Tide!