Informal Critique

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 04:20:00 +0000

Did you all have a Merry Christmas? We sure did around here! I swear all the grandparents went absolutely crazy this year buying for their new grandbaby. She's only 2 months old, but her toy box is already overflowing. She won't be able to use over half the stuff until next Christmas lol, but they bought it anyway! And oh the baby dolls...she's gotten 6 of them so far...all bigger than she is. I know she's getting 2 more from my Mom, but we're not doing Christmas with her until tomorrow night. I'm afraid to see what else she may get.

Hubby and I both got some pretty awesome presents as well, and we ended up with $125 in Walmart giftcards between the two of us. I also got a couple gift cards to other places that I'm going to love using. I do feel bad because I didn't have presents for half of my family. I mean I ordered them presents, but they haven't arrived yet. Actually quite a few things I ordered ended up delayed, and not all of them were from the same retailer. It's funny how all the bills and junk mail made it through, but the presents got delayed. I even got mail for my sis-in-law wanting her to buy Medicare supplement insurance that said "to be delivered on", and it showed up on time. She has never lived at this address, and she hasn't lived with us in 7 years, but that junk still makes it through on time!

Anywho I know my family and friends understand that their presents were delayed, and most of them keep telling me it just extends Christmas a little if they have to wait, but I still feel bad that I got all these awesome presents and had nothing to give out in return. Hopefully their presents will show up soon. Now I think I'm going to go enjoy the last 45 minutes we have of Christmas day, and I'm going to spend it snuggling with Hubby. He did a great job of putting the baby to sleep tonight, so maybe she'll give us a little couple time tonight.

The Heat Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:39:00 +0000

Hubby and I are still arguing over whether we should install central heating or gas heat. This is a discussion we’ve been having for quite awhile, and I thought it would have been solved before the baby got here, but it hasn’t. I say we should install gas heat. We’re stuck with propane as our only choice in this area, but I still think it would be cheaper than installing an electric furnace. It would definitely be the cheaper option when it comes to installation.

Hubby is dead set on central heat and air. He wants to give me the option to choose whether or not we go with a furnace system or a heat pump, but he’s bound and determined to get something that’s electric. I’m getting to the point I don’t want to argue with him about it anymore, but I know we can’t afford to install a central system like that right now.

I don’t think he takes into account the costs upfront for installation as well as extras you may need such as furnace filters. I think I need to plead my case one more time on why I would prefer to get propane heat installed, and then I'll see what happens. All I know is we're going to need something soon. As much as I love our wood heat I think we do need osmething else.

Just One Of Those Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:41:00 +0000

This has totally been one of those days. I attempted to go shopping for Christmas presents, but it’s just too much of a madhouse out there for me to deal with in my current state of mind. This is one of those days I’d like to pick a place on the map, oh let’s say like the Dominican Republic, and say ok let’s search for puerto plata hotels and get the heck out of here for a few days or weeks or even months!

I’ve been ill all day mostly because it seems like everything I buy lately is either broken in the box, quits working right after I get it home, or doesn’t match the label on the box.

Hubby’s entertainment system I bought him for Christmas died a week after we bought it. It’s an RCA RT2870. It worked fine for days then one day I tried to turn it on and nothing happened. The red light on the power button is on, but when you hit the button or try to turn it on from the remote the blue light around the volume control flashes then nothing happens. Then I started smelling that hot wire smell you get when wires are melting.

I would take it back to the store, but Hubby threw away the box even though I’ve told him a gazillion times never throw away a box for anything electronic or anything that costs that much until I know I’m not going to need to return it. I told him to put the receipt on my desk, but I can’t find that either, so if he threw it away we’re screwed. We can’t RMA it without the receipt! I swear he never listens.

Sigh. I think the issues are just with Hubby’s presents because his other Christmas present didn’t work either. I bought him the installation kit to hook up his stereo in the Blazer, and it ended up being the wrong kit. I didn’t buy the wrong one. The wrong kit was actually placed in the wrong packaging. Luckily I had the receipt for that one and returned it, but not until after Hubby spent an hour taking the dash apart in the Blazer to install the thing. That put him in a bad mood which means it put me in a bad mood, too. When he’s ill he’s going to make me ill!

I seriously need to just take a nap, but with the baby wide awake right now that’s not going to happen. She’s fussy as well, so she must be reading off our moods. Maybe I just need to walk outside and scream real good.

That Time Of The Year

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:47:00 +0000

I hate this time of year. I love Christmas, but I hate the Christmas shopping season. I have such a hard time buying for my family and friends because I don’t know what anyone wants. This year add the fact that I have absolutely no time to do my shopping. Heck I’ve been trying all day to get this post written, and I’ve had to save my draft at least a dozen times. Every time I think I have a minute or two to blog the baby tells me otherwise by waking up screaming.

Anywho, so what do you get for those that are considered hard to buy for? I thought about getting gift cards to favorite restaurants, but I don’t know where half of them would prefer to eat. I could always fall back on the generic gift cards to Walmart or even those prepaid debit cards, but that seems lame to me.

I know my Mom is wanting to replace all her cheap blinds with the nicer faux wood ones, so I may talk to my Grandma about splitting the cost to buy those for her. The only problem with that is she lives in a manufactured home from the 70s, and the ones made back then don't exactly have your standard size windows. She has a hard time finding blinds that fit, so we'd most likely have to have them custom ordered and/or custom cut at the store. That could get expensive. Sigh. I guess I'll figure something out, but I do need to do it quickly. If I don't get my shopping done this weekend I'll never get it done. The only present I've bought was for Hubby, and that one is going to have to be returned to the store because it doesn't work! Yeah it's going to be a busy weekend.

How My Netbook Improved My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:24:00 +0000

I've been wanting a netbook for awhile now because I thought having one would make my life much easier. First of all I wouldn't have to repair my laptop that's seriously outdated anyway. I've had it tucked in a drawer for months needing repair, but I just haven't felt like doing it. I thought having a netbook would be much easier because it would be so much easier to carry with it's small size especially now that I'm lugging around a baby tucked in a car seat and a diaper bag everywhere I go!

Even though I've wanted one for awhile I had decided to put my purchase off until after the new year since we had so much other stuff to worry about with the baby and then the holidays coming up. Then I ended up in the hospital for 9 days laid up in bed bored out of my mind with nothing to do but watch tv and listen to the beeping of my monitors. I wasn't physically able to take care of my newborn, so Hubby was handling that while I was shooting off short little text and picture messages to Facebook and Twitter from my phone. That was the only contact I had with the online world, the only way to share my new baby girl with my online friends, and my only way to contact my bosses to let them know of my emergency hospital stay.

That's when we realized how much easier those 9 days could have been if I'd had my netbook already. I could have taken advantage of the free wifi in my room, and I couldn't have not only contacted everyone I needed to contact, but I could have even kept working from my hospital bed! I could probably say I would have been the only woman in history to go back to work within hours of delivering lol!

Hubby decided he was going to buy me one as my Christmas present, so I picked out the one I wanted, and he ordered it from Amazon on Black Friday. I decided I wanted the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X-BK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook after reading numerous reviews on it. This one has meets all my spec requirements, and it has the 10.5 hour battery life. As it's setup out of the box I'm getting about 8 hours battery life, and that's to be expected since the battery life depends on the computer's power settings.

It arrived Monday, and it's so much more than I expected. I love it, and I'm so glad I chose this one. I'm quite impressed with it, I have to say it has made a world of difference already. For starters I moved my desktop pc back to the office where it belongs which got it out of the living room floor. I can now work on my Netbook in the living room without having to worry about trying to be close to the baby. I was also having to use our tv as my monitor in the living room, and now I can put a movie on for the baby while I work from my netbook. It keeps her occupied, and I get more accomplished. Yep, at 5 weeks she does watch the tv. She's got two movies that totally intrigue her.

Also now I'm not carrying around a huge stack of photos everywhere I go without the baby. Now I'm carrying my netbook, and I can just pop up a slideshow of photos at anytime. Oh yeah, and when the baby's with me the netbook slides perfectly in the outer pocket of the diaper bag.

The best part of all for me is the fact that I can now keep myself occupied at during those late night breastfeeding sessions. I can lay in bed with her, and I can keep myself occupied online so I don't fall asleep without having to turn the tv or lights on which disturb her and make it harder to put her back to bed. When I'm having trouble putting her to sleep I can load up the ambient sound mixer on the Johnson's Baby website, put my laptop near her crib, and let the white noise and various sounds put her to sleep. We've used that technique two nights now when she was fussy and didn't want to sleep!

I never thought a little 10" netbook would make my life so much easier, but it has.

One Month Milestone

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:08:00 +0000

I'm having a hard time believing my little girl will be 1 month old this weekend. It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. We were so overwhelmed with everything involved with being a new parent, and I thought for sure I was going to have a mental breakdown by the end of that first week without the hospital nurses to turn to every time something went wrong.

It's hard to believe we've settled into a routine now, and hours when both baby and I are crying seem to have disappeared. Now I'm not rushing to get my to do list done while she's sleeping, but we're interacting as I get my work done. I sing to her between paying bills and looking up free car insurance quotes as I try to budget for the addition to our family. I'm learning to type with her in my arms, and she watches as the words I type pop up on the screen.

I'm amazed at how interactive she has become in such a short time. My heart skips a beat every single time she returns my gaze or gives me a little smile. One question keeps lingering in the back of my head even though I already know the answer.

Why didn't we do this sooner?

Because if we'd done this sooner it wouldn't be her.

Preemie Diapers: Pampers Swaddlers Vs. Huggies Little Snugglers

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Who knew it was going to be so hard to figure out what kind of diapers we want to use? Of course I would prefer to use cloth diapers, but with a preemie it’s just not going to happen right now. I had planned to use disposables until she grew out of the newborn size anyway, but with a preemie I’d basically have to cut down and sew my own little diapers to fit her. Yeah that isn't happening right now.

Anywho, we’re very thankful that a ton of family members and friends ran out when she was born and stocked up on preemie diapers for us knowing that newborn diapers would be way too big for her. We received a ton of Pampers Swaddlers and a few packs of Huggies Little Snugglers. Both diapers are for preemies up to 6lbs, but unfortunately weighing in at 4lbs 5oz both types of diapers swallow her whole. Pampers does make an xs size of Swaddlers specifically for babies 1-5lbs, but the nearest store that carries them is still almost an hour away. I could have ordered them online, but none of us had our laptops at the hospital and by the time they would have shipped to us she was already grown out of them.

Through trial and error we figured out how to make the Pampers work without leaking all over the place, but the Huggies were benched until she gained more weight. I was hoping to be able to use the Huggies once she hit 5lbs because I love that they have the wetness indicator strip. The Pampers have the strip on the newborn diapers but not the preemie version.

Now that she’s weighing in at 5lbs 3oz I figured I’d give the Huggies another try because I’m running low on Pampers. Plus the Huggies say they’re for “up to 6lbs”, so I didn’t want her growing out of them before we could use them. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that because the Huggies are still huge on her, and I don’t see how they’ll ever give her a no leak fit before she reaches 6lbs. Even the Pampers newborn size fits better than the Huggies, so it looks like the Huggies have become our emergency only diapers until I can get to the store to exchange the unopened packs. We definitely recommend the Pampers Swaddlers preemie diapers over the Huggies Little Snugglers.

Surprise!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:11:00 +0000

Last time you heard from me I was freaking out over the possibility of my doctor having to induce me in a couple weeks due to the fact that I might be developing preeclampsia. Well surprise!

We didn’t make it a couple weeks at all. I ended up in the hospital that very night, and I was induced the next day. Little Miss Elliana Grace arrived on Saturday October 24 via an emergency c-section at 12:11pm. At birth she weighed a whopping 4lbs 5oz and was 17 1/2 inches long.

Of course you know that means I didn’t have time to get any of my reviews together. In fact a lot of things went wrong right there at the last minute, so I actually ended up in the hospital for 9 days.

Until today I’ve done almost nothing except sleeping to recoup and taking care of Elliana, but my doctor cleared me for any physical activity today. That means now that I’m getting into a pattern I’ll definitely be getting back to my reviews, and boy do I have some to write up.

Hubby carried my computer into the living room and we set it back up with my LCD TV as the monitor so I can hang out in the living room all day. I've got Elliana setup here in her bassinet, and it makes everything a lot easier for me. Now I just have to get to work reviewing all these baby items that came pouring in thanks to all our wonderful family and friends. My baby shower just happened to be the day after I delivered, so we ended up receiving almost everything we needed to bring our little girl home. If it weren't for the shower we wouldn't have been ready at all considering we thought we had another month to work with here.

Anywho I’ll try to start taking photos and writing up some of these reviews in the free time I have. That time may be limited, but I’m already starting to see it is more time than I was originally anticipating that I’d have with a newborn.

Definitely Freaking Out

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:23:00 +0000

I think I've totally found a huge appetite suppressant whether I wanted to stumble upon it or not. Just have your doctor tell you your blood pressure is through the roof and she may have to induce you in a couple weeks. Now I'm freaking out because I don't want to have to be induced early both for the sake of the baby being as healthy as possible and because I'm 100% scared to death of Pitocin.

Since I tend to stick to a pretty healthy diet for the most part my doctor doesn't really think my sodium intake has anything to do with it, but I can't help but look at the sodium content on the package of everything I eat anyway. That right there is enough to scare me out of eating anything! Don't worry I'm still eating. I'm just totally freaking out right now over everything that's going on and happening so fast.

I’m trying my best to get all my products I bought recently reviewed and photos taken so I can hopefully get them posted before she gets here. I know there’s a very good chance I’m not going to have time to do it after she arrives, and then you’ll probably be seeing a lot more from the baby department and a lot less from the things I indulge myself with.

Preparing For The Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:20:00 +0000

With the Christmas holiday just around the corner I’ve had a lot on my mind. I know we still have to get through Halloween and Thanksgiving, but with the stores putting out their Christmas stock at the beginning of September it’s got Christmas thoughts running through my head. Seriously I don’t even see why the stores bother taking the Christmas stuff off the shelves since they just put it out earlier every year! They might as well start leaving it up year round!

Anywho, I keep thinking how much different Christmas is going to be this year. I finally have a real excuse to send out photo holiday cards that don't picture the cat and dog! We get to show off our beautiful little girl...no I haven't seen her yet, but she's mine so she's going to be beautiful no matter what! That means I need to have plenty of pretty little outfits so we can take tons of cute little photos for our cards, and of course we need a “family shot”, so I have to buy myself something nice to wear, and I have to force Hubby into a decent shirt that *gasp* actually has buttons.

Ahhhh…so much to think about!

Then we’ve got to worry about presents. I know I’m going to go way overboard just because I can. I’ll finally have a little girl to buy for, and I can’t wait even if she’ll only be a month old for her first Christmas.

Good lord this child is going to be spoiled rotten before she even makes it to see her grandparents. Somebody better slap some sense back into me now.

Ugly Duckling Designs Hot Maple Toddy Pumpkin Tart Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:47:00 +0000

As long as I’ve been purchasing handmade tarts online I’ve been in love with everything I’ve received from Ugly Duckling Designs. I look forward to opening the package and finding a cute primitive looking tart followed by a wonderful smell no matter what the item may be. When I purchase sampler boxes I always know there’s going to be some sort of tart from Ugly Duckling Designs tucked inside, and I’ve never been disappointed with a single item I’ve received from this e-tailer.

This time is definitely no exception. I opened the sampler I purchased to find a Hot Maple Toddy Wax Tart shaped like a pumpkin. It was packaged in a cute Halloween themed bag and ready to be gifted or opened and displayed for the season.

The scent is so nice the maple smell was pouring out of the bag long before I had a chance to open it, and it’s had me craving maple syrup for days. Smelling a sugary scent is definitely tempting me to give up on my search for a quick weight loss after the baby arrives!

This one is just too cute to use in my tart burner right now, but it is the perfect edition to my Halloween and Fall decor.

It’ll be using it as a decoration for a few weeks, and the cold throw of the scent already has my living room smelling absolutely delicious. Hubby has threatened to take a bite out of it a few times, and I’m sure he would if he thought the wax wouldn’t make him sick! I’ve even spotted the dog sniffing at this one.

Ugly Duckling Designs sells these pumpkin tarts for $6.95. You choose from over 60 scents, and you’ll receive a half dozen of them per order. I think that’s a steal considering the scent throw and how huge these tarts are. As you can see one tart takes up the palm of my hand, and I’ll be slicing this one into 3-4 smaller tarts for my burners.

This Hot Maple Toddy scent is definitely a new favorite of mine, and I give this tart from Ugly Duckling Designs 5 stars. I can’t find anything wrong with it.

Holiday Gift Reviews Coming Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:22:00 +0000

Yay! I bought some goodies last week, and I’ve been waiting for them to arrive. Most of the goodies I bought are going to fall into the unique gifts for her category, and I thought it'd be good to start reviewing some gift type items with Christmas just around the corner.

I’ve been impatiently waiting for these goodies to arrive because I knew there’d be some good stuff to share, and I’ve been so impatient that I checked the mail 4 times yesterday before I remembered it was a holiday and the mail wasn’t running! Luckily for me the mail arrived today with my box of goodies tucked away tightly inside my mailbox, so starting tomorrow watch out for the start of my holiday gift guide reviews.

I know we still have Halloween and Thanksgiving to get through, but it doesn’t hurt to start getting shopping ideas ahead of time. I know I definitely don’t want to be stuck waiting to the last minute to do my shopping this year…although with a newborn in tow I’m sure that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Knocking Out The List

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:27:00 +0000

A few days ago I may have been freaking out over the fact that I feel like we’re procrastinating way too much on getting things done before the baby gets here, but I have to admit it’s just another pregnancy freak out to add to my list of memories. Hubby really stepped up this week and worked his butt off to get a lot accomplished. We still have a good bit of stuff to do, but after dropping $250 at Home Depot on supplies we knocked out a ton of the little stuff.

Most of the stuff that was done this weekend isn’t necessarily stuff that has to be done, but it’s stuff I wanted done before she gets here. For instance we really needed to replace all the dingy old blinds in the house. Most of them were broken in some way or another thanks to the cat climbing in and out of the windows. We replaced all the cheap crappy mini blinds with thicker heavy duty ones that Alley has already proven he can’t break. He’s not too happy about it either.

We really needed to replace the light in the kitchen because the actual fixture died on us over a year ago! Hubby replaced it with a crappy little shop light with a pull string as a temporary fix, but I decided I really needed it properly fixed before the baby gets here, so he finally replaced it with a nice track light. He also replaced the crappy fixture in the bathroom that was falling apart. Now I don’t have to worry about feeling like I’m touching a major hazard every time I have to chance that bulb!

He also weatherproofed almost all the windows. Since he’s using the plastic wrap type stuff that shrink wraps to the outside of the windows I asked him to leave the 2 kitchen windows alone for now so I can still open them over the next 2 weeks. He’s also still got to do the one in the nursery because we have to remove the ac unit from that window sometime this week. Let’s see. He also changed out the rest of the door knobs that were really in need of replacing. Now my bedroom door actually locks, the closet door in the nursery actually shuts all the way, and I had him replace the knob on the nursery door with one without a lock. He’ll understand in a few years when we don’t have to worry about her slamming and locking her door when she’s mad…and if she inherits either of our tempers or stubbornness that day is sure to come.

Now we only have a few more household things that we need to do before she gets here, and then we’ve got a list of stuff I’d like to do if we have the time and money to do so. We definitely have to figure out the heating situation next weekend when Hubby gets paid. We’re still wood heat only with floor heaters in the bathroom and bedroom when needed, so we have to do something about that. I don’t want to chance using the woodstove with a newborn baby, but we know we can’t afford to have gas heat or central heat installed right now. My Grandparents are our landlords, and they definitely can’t afford to do it right now either, so we’ve got to think about our options and figure it out now. We’ve talked about getting a couple of the electric Amish fireplaces for the bedrooms, and we've been looking at getting an electric insert like this one for the actual fireplace that we don't use.

We don't use it because the chimney would need to be repaired and it's located in a weird spot in the house. The wood stove sits in the middle of the house, and we've maintained it so it's been the practical heat source until now. We also have the option of electric baseboard heaters, but I really don't like those. Plus I have to make sure whatever we get is going to be cool to the touch and/or out of reach of the baby at all times. I like the idea of the fireplaces because I know a couple people who have had luck with those in apartments, and I like the fact that you can now get the ones that are on casters and portable instead of wall mount. It’d be more practical to roll it from room to room only heating the parts of the house that we’ll actually be using. Seriously we have to really look into our options and figure something out soon. If we can't figure out an affordable quick fix I may just have to talk to my Dad about taking out a loan to install gas heat, but I really don't want to have to do that.

Anywho we do have a lot to think about still and a lot to do, but I’m feeling better about the fact that we will get it done. I guess I just needed Hubby to put forth the effort this weekend to prove to me he’s not going to procrastinate until I say I’m in labor! I think it’s also bothered me because I can’t do the manual labor needed to accomplish a lot of the stuff, and I’m one of those I’ll do it myself kind of people. It sucks when you can’t do it yourself anymore.

Last Minute Stresses

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Knowing we’re in “any day now” mode for the arrival of the baby really has me freaking out lately. Hubby is a lot calmer about it than I am, and that can be considered good or bad depending on the hour of the day and my current mood. One minute I feel like he has everything under control, but the next I feel like he’s waiting too long…procrastinating past our limit. I feel like he doesn’t understand that she really could arrive any day now, and we’re not guaranteed to have until November 26th to finish everything. My acne treatment really is having a hard time concealing my stresses at this point.

We still have a ton of stuff to do around the house, but that’s the least of my worries. What’s getting me today is the amount of stuff we still have left to buy for the baby. We still need a car seat, crib mattress, and bassinet just to name a few. As you can see we’re down to the “big stuff”. Sure I still have a baby shower coming up in a couple weeks, but I’m not counting on people to buy the big stuff. I shouldn’t expect them to, and I feel like waiting to buy these things just incase someone else does is going to put us scrambling to get the things we need at the last minute.

Ahhh the joys…and stresses…of motherhood! She’s not even here yet, and I’m already discovering what the rest of my life is going to be like. With her new beginning comes a new life for me as well full of emotions I never knew existed.

New FTC Regulations For Bloggers

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:34:00 +0000

As most of you have probably already read, as of December 1 the Federal Trade Commission is changing the rules regarding how bloggers write product reviews. The change is simple, and it's a very easy one to follow. It's a change I also agree with, and it has been in the works for months. All bloggers must clearly disclose when they are given a free item and/or paid to review it...in other words bloggers must fully disclose all product endorsements.

I have always tried to disclose when I'm reviewing a product that has been given to me or that I was paid to review. Luckily as far as this blog is concerned I can't really say I've had too many advertisers offer me products to review, and I have disclosed the ones that were given to me.

I just wanted to make it clear that yes I do write quite a few product reviews on this blog, and a majority of the time I am reviewing a product that was either purchased by me or given to me by a friend or family member as a gift. If a company offers to give me a product to review or offers to pay me to review a product I will honestly disclose that within the post. I also refuse to endorse a product or service that I don't personally like. I will always be honest in my reviews no matter how I received the product, and if advertisers don't like that they should know not to send me the product in the first place!

I will still maintain a site wide disclosure as far as all other advertising is concerned. You do see links spread throughout some of my posts across all of my blogs that may link to products or services. I am not endorsing these products. I am only allowing links to be inserted into my posts, so these links will remain just as they are, and my site wide disclosure policy will continue to address that.

If you have any questions or concerns you are more than welcome to contact me by leaving a comment, and I will reply to you as soon as possible.

Lots To Do Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:40:00 +0000

Sometime between jumping up and down thankful my aunt is finally having the dead tree in her yard chopped down and taking my shots (and donating) to the Boobie-Thon I have to find time to pick more grapes today.

We have so many grapes and scuppernongs that we honestly don't know what we're going to do with them all this year. We've had people stopping by like crazy to help us pick them all, but they're still hanging in bunches. I managed to get outside a couple days ago to take some photos of what's left, and we still have tons that are going to rot if I don't do something about them.

I know exactly what I'm going to do with as many of them as I can pick. I'm going to freeze as many as I can, and I'm going to make as much grape and scuppernong jelly as I can. Not only will this help me offer healthier choices to my daughter, but it'll help Hubby and I on our quest to get and stay healthy. I can search out weight loss pills that work for us, or I can take the few extra steps needed to keep us on a healthy diet with the options that are already free and readily available to us in our backyard.

I absolutely love scuppernong and muscadine jelly, so now is my chance to try my hand at making it. I've got my Grandma's recipe in hand, and I'm ready to spend the day picking and extracting juice. I know I don't have nearly enough jars to make my jelly today, but I can freeze the juice and make the jelly whenever I have time.

I keep saying I want to make sure I feed my daughter the most organic foods I can, but I know once she's here that'll be easier said than done. The prices of organic foods in the grocery store is outrageous, and I'm very thankful to have such an abundance of fruits surrounding me. Between the pears, grapes, scuppernongs, pecans, apples, and figs in our yard alone I have no excuse for my I can't feed my child healthy and preservative free foods.

My Camera Is Possessed

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:50:00 +0000

I swear my camera is totally insane! Yes I'm talking about the Kodak v803 I bought in late 2007 that's been giving me problems pretty much since the day I've bought it. Don't get me wrong it gets the job done for a point and shoot, and for a Kodak I was quite impressed. I actually gave the camera 4 1/2 stars when I wrote a review.

My main issue has always been with the battery and the fact that the battery life absolutely sucks on that camera. After I purchased it I vowed to never buy another camera that uses a rechargeable battery. I want to be able to use my own AA or AAA rechargeables so I can carry extras with me or pick up a pack of extra batteries at the nearest store when I need them.

The problem with the Kodak v803 is that the battery life totally sucks. At first I thought I was having problems with it only holding a charge for 2 hours because I bought a refurb camera, but that's not the case. After googling the issue I found it was a problem with the battery Kodak uses. I even ordered myself a few backup batteries that all suck. None of them have held a charge for over 2 hours...until now.

I don't know what happened but I haven't had to charge the camera in about a month! Hubby charged it fully before using the video function on the motorcycle one day, and it's held a charge ever since. It's like the battery has been attached to a never-ending power source! Trust me when I say I'm definitely not complaining, but it does freak me out! What the heck has happened to my camera?

Learned Something New

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Wow I really do learn something new everyday. I've talked a lot about how I'm always searching for cheap insurance. I'm overly anal about making sure we're getting the best possible value out there especially since Hubby doesn't exactly have the best driving record. Let's just say he's definitely caused our rates to skyrocket over the last few years, so every penny I can save is well worth it. I'm constantly requesting rate quotes from various companies hoping I can have us a dime or two, but I definitely learned something new today.

Apparently it does matter who's name is listed first on our policy! Normally I'd automatically request the quote with Hubby listed first and me listed as the spouse, but today I learned that 3 different companies are willing to give us a drastic price reduction just for listing me as the policy holder and Hubby as the spouse. We're both considered primary drivers, so it doesn't really make a difference except for the price! I'm not talking small reductions either. Our current company is willing to drop our premium by $600!

Let that be a lesson to look at things from every angle. Something as simple as whose name is placed in the computer first can even make a difference.

Deborah's Candle Magick Candles And Tarts

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:34:00 +0000

This afternoon the dreary rain that's been falling for a few days and the nice drop in temps has me thinking about fall. The official start to fall is actually less than a week away, so I decided to try a candle that I think is only fitting.

This little votive from Deborah's Candle Magick is scented "Amber". Amber is one of those scents that I can love or hate depending on the season. Amber is known as a soothing and relaxing scent, but I also find it's one of those scents that not everyone can love. This little heart shaped votive is definitely a strong one, but it's one I like! I would definitely say it has been heavily scented. The cold throw is enough to "smell up" my entire office and bedroom without even needing to light it. Be warned if you're not a big fan of Amber you most likely won't like how strong this one is, and I have a feeling my Hubby will come home wondering "what stinks". He's not a very big fan of a lot of the fall scents I tend to choose.

Anywho, this one is probably going to sit on my dresser for a few days before I light it because I'm loving the cold throw. I will eventually light it, but with such a heavily scented soy votive I know the scent will last for awhile, and the candle will burn cleaner and longer. I'm so picky about stronger scents like Amber, so I'm not sure I would purchase this votive in this exact scent again, but it does make me want to try other scents Deborah's Candle Magick has to offer.

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:57:00 +0000

Wow. Has it really been that long since I had a chance to get a post up here? Where did the time go? Oh yeah it went to dealing with a ton of things in real life from baby stuff to personal family issues that have really been getting me down. This is one of those times I'd like to curl up in a nice bubble bath with a book and a cup of herbal tea, but it's hard to do that while you're pregnant. My skin is always changing, and I never know what's going to bother it. As for the herbal tea, that's out of the question, too!

It's been very hard for me to test any of the bath products I've received thanks to the whole pregnancy skin thing. I have to get my doctor to pre-approve a lot of the stuff before I attempt to use it, and sometimes I think she'd rather give herself a colon cleanse than have to wade through my big box 'o stuff.

At least I'm still able to enjoy my favorite scented candles and tarts, but circumstances in the job department had prevented me from purchasing anything new to share with you. Luckily Hubby is back to work full time now, and my business has picked back up. That means I can actually afford to splurge on a few products once again! I also have a nice bath of stuffs that a friend passed along to me full of wax tarts, some handmade soaps, and a few candles. We exchanged a few items due to scents we didn't like, and now we both have some new products to enjoy! Hopefully I can get a few reviews of those written up today, so stay tuned!

Where Did The Time Go?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Wow this has been a long day. It's been a long week in general, but today was definitely a lot longer than I anticipated. Sitting in my doctor's office for almost 2 hours didn't help that any. I had to do the nasty glucose tolerance test. At first I thought the stuff was great because it does taste really good, but the part that sucks is the crash you feel later. Couple that with the fact that I had to get a flu shot that always makes me feel like crap, and I was definitely glad when I finally got out of that place.

Oh well we don't have much longer to wait now. Miss Elliana will definitely be here near the end of November. I can't believe time has flown by so fast! It seems like yesterday Hubby and his bff were standing outside the hospital puffing cigars over the birth of his bff's son. That was in April, and we thought November would never get here. Now Hubby's talking about ordering Padron cigars to smoke with his bff because November is just around the corner.

Heck, I'm talking baby showers with my friends and family members, and that's something that I thought wouldn't happen for another few months. It's shocking to me to realize we only have about 12 weeks left. 12 weeks seems like nothing!

On Location: At The Doc

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:10:00 +0000

Sitting here in the doctor's office bored seems like a good time to blog. I've got to sit here for another 30 minutes before I can have my blood drawn for my glucose test, and then I'm off for food because I'm starving! Cross your fingers and hope time passes quickly! As for the baby everything is looking great, and we're right on schedule. She should be greeting us late November.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Our "Onesome" Time

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:07:00 +0000

As much as I love my husband I can't wait for him to go back to work! Luckily his boss called this weekend and let him know if nothing else he did line up a few small side jobs for him. I know he's got a boat dock to renovate that will take a few days next week, and if all goes well he might be building the skateboard ramps for the small skate park that's being built in the town where his boss lives. We'll see how that goes, and we'll see if I can get him out of here long enough to regain my sanity.

Truthfully I'm very thankful we've been able to spend so much time together over the last 2 months. How many women can say they got to enjoy spending this much time with their husband during their pregnancy? He's been here for every little mood swing, craving, and puke session. He's experienced a lot more than most Hubby's can say they experienced, and he's enjoying every minute of it. This has also given us the time to spend those last few moments together as a twosome before we become a threesome, but we're also getting to a point where we're going to go crazy if we don't get to have what Hubby is now calling our "onesome" time. I know exactly how he feels!

Learn To Use A Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:35:00 +0000

I had plans for today. My plans included making another batch of soup to freeze (I made taco soup a couple days ago), looking up term life insurance cost at Wholesale Insurance, and then I was going to sit down with some of the products I have to review. I still have a lot of products that need to be tried out, but I just haven't had the time to do it.

Today was going to be the day. I had my plan down on paper, but that's about as far as it got. I did manage to drag a ton of stuff out on the kitchen counter, and just as I started to open the first jar of homemade lip balm I heard a knock at the door. Today turned into the day everyone and their brother decided to stop by unannounced for no apparent reason.

Some days I don't mind when that happens, but today was not one of them. It was like someone hung a sign out that said "please visit now!". At one point Hubby's best friend, my soon to be brother-in-law, Hubby's dad, and a guy Hubby used to work with were all here at the same time. I understand all of them are temporarily laid off and bored, but how hard is it to pick up the phone to see if it's ok to stop by for a few?

*Sigh*

Maybe it's just the hormones getting to me again. I have been rather grumpy for most of the day, but then again I bet you would too if people kept stopping by when you weren't in the mood for company.

Chicken Soup For The New Mom's Soul Quick Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:59:00 +0000

Yep, I said quick review, and that's because I haven't actually made it through the entire book yet. My mom gave me Chicken Soup for the New Mom's Soul a couple days ago, and I immediately dove into the book. Anyone who knows me personally knows I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to read anything, and I've always loved the Chicken Soup books.

I followed my usual book reading routine, made a cup of hot tea (decaf), tucked myself into my rocker with a blanket, and I set out on my adventure with my new book. After the first 3 stories I was hooked...and my face was puffy and soaked with tears. If I had read this book prior to pregnancy I would have been ok, but with my pregnancy hormones and emotions I was a goner. I'm now half way through the stories, and each one of them has reached inside me and grasped my pregnancy emotions in some way.

Let that be a warning to any new mom's or expectant mothers like me out there who pick up this book. The valve will be opened, and the tears will flow. Don't take that to mean I don't love the book because I absolutely do. The first time Hubby saw me with tears streaming down my face while reading he asked me what was wrong. Now he walks into the room, sees me all puffy, and says "Honey, did the hormones get ya again?" We both laugh, and I continue with my reading. It has brought out emotions that I haven't felt until this point in my pregnancy, and it has helped to make me even more of an emotional basket case...but I love that. Every story has me touching my ever growing belly, taking in every kick and movement, and storing the memories of pregnancy to cherish forever.

Next on my list...I now have to find myself a copy of Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul. I may make a trip to the library to check it out today, but I better remember to stop by the store for a case of tissues!