Making It Work

I'm Not Here Anymore!

2010-06-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

All my content is now located at http://www.makingitworkblog.com. I hope you'll head over there to check it out! :) (And if you were subscribed to my site via RSS, please make sure to update your feed links so that you don't miss out on anything new!)

I Am Attempting Something Interesting

2010-06-09T18:12:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, I am going to make the attempt to move my site from blogger to wordpress, and I'm not sure how it will affect things ;) So bear with me while I'm monkeying around, and hopefully I'll be up and running quickly!

Don't Worry, I'm Not Dead!

2010-06-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

In case anybody was worried/perplexed/concerned/appalled about the decreasing frequency of my posts, I just wanted to tell you, "Don't worry/be perplexed/concerned/screw you for judging me!" ;) I've changed some medications I take (for very exciting reasons, which I will share later!) but the changes have made me really fatigued and my brain is very foggy. This comes at a frustrating time because I have about 25 posts percolating in my head, but things aren't translating from my head out into the world very well (this post is taking me FOREVER, isn't that utterly pathetic?)

So fear not, once I get readjusted I should begin posting with a vengeance in order to make up for lost time! But for now, I'm going to sit down while J makes dinner because I am too pooped to do anything else ;)

BzzAgent Product Review - CoverGirl Blast Makeup

2010-06-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

** I am a BzzAgent which means that companies send me coupons and items to use and review. This review is my honest opinion of the products given to me.

CoverGirl Blast Makeup - Eye Shadow and Lip Gloss

I really thought I'd hit the jackpot with this assignment, because CoverGirl is such a big name brand, and I love makeup. The product looked cool in concept, and I was eager to try it. Unfortunately, I was incredibly let down.

The lip gloss was the better of the two products, but I'd say that it was average, at best. The gloss was lightweight and not overly slick (you don't always want super shiny lips during the day!) It ended up looking nice, but nice looking glosses are a dime a dozen. You have to have something more than that in order to stand out! They advertise that it has an angled tip that is supposed to be better for application in some manner. The tip worked fine, but I didn't think it was any better or worse than any other applicator I've ever used. My biggest problem with the lip gloss was the amount I ended up consuming. I've got big lips and I smile and talk a lot, so it takes a fair amount of product to keep my lips from drying out. My initial complaint was that not much of the product came out of the bottle, so I'd have to apply the gloss on one lip, re-dip into the tube, and then apply the next lip. That was just annoying. Then I noticed that the gloss seemed to disappear quickly, so I'd need to apply again. As you can kind of see in the picture, there isn't much left in the tube. I used the gloss infrequently for maybe a month or so (I have about four glosses in my purse, and when I needed gloss I'd just reach into my purse and use whatever I found. So I wasn't even CLOSE to using this product exclusively) and look at how much of it I used up! (I should mention that I was given a full size product - that isn't a trial gloss or anything). It was a decent gloss, but it would have to be substantially cheaper than a competitor for me to use it, simply based on how much more of it I'd need to use. What a bummer.

The eyeshadow was an epic failure. I'm a big fan of cream eyeshadows, and I use them enough to expect some degree of creasing when you use them. This eyeshadow went on pretty smoothly and looked just fine (well, I got sent the super blue color, but I'm not evaluating the color here! Just the way they color blended and was able to be used). My issue with this product was that it was too slippery - there wouldn't be an issue if it dried to a powder after it was applied, but while the slipperiness allowed for easy blending, it meant that the moment I left the house, it all ended up in the crease of my eye. It didn't just bunch up in the crease and leave the rest of the shadow in place, either - I think all of the product slid from it's original location and gathered in a big pile. We left the house, went to a restaurant a mile away, and when I went into the bathroom, I had a huge line of blue in the center of my eye and no eye shadow anywhere else. I have nothing positive to mention about this product. In fact, I saved it just so I could take the photo for this post. After I took the picture, guess where it ended up?

I was really disappointed that such a well known brand had struck out in such a massive way. If someone gives you the lip gloss from this line, I hope that it works out well for you, but if they give you the eyeshadow, you might as well toss it in the trash right now.

Attack Of The (Killer) Bumblebees!

2010-06-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me (or has even SEEN me outside at just the right moment to really make a fool of myself!) knows how I feel about bees - I'm TERRIFIED of them! I'm braver now than I used to be, but I still run like a maniac anytime they are near.

This past weekend I went to visit my sister for a few days to do some wedding stuff (for her! I've already done as much planning for my own wedding as I ever wanted to do!) I had planned to be there for a day and a half and then she'd drive to San Diego to visit her fiance and I'd drive farther North to visit some friends. Well, we ended up being AWESOME and getting done in a half a day, so I decided to leave her house early to continue my trip.

HOLY COW, IT'S A GOOD THING I LEFT WHEN I DID! The next day I got the following email from my sister:

So yesterday night, a swarm of bees decided to make a home in the vent leading to our kitchen. This morning there were hundreds and they would get agitated throughout the day and the sound was crazy. We called property management, exterminators, and bee keepers and no one was available until tomorrow. Luckily, they seem fairly docile just annoying. Later today, they started to come in the vent, the light socket, the edges of the window, and pretty much any other opening so we had to duct tape any and all entrances. Brandon killed about 100 while I sealed the kitchen. The war against the bees has begun and so far we are winning... barely. Wish us luck :-)

She attached the following pictures (I get the willies just LOOKING AT THESE! AAAAAHHH!)


Uh-oh, that can't be good.

Better seal up the kitchen, maybe if they can't get in they'll just decide to leave.

Uh, nope. They did NOT leave. In fact, I think that's more!

So the next time I get jumpy and panicky about a couple of bees flying by, I'll just remember that holy moly, it can ALWAYS be worse ;)

Insane Clown Posse - Miracles

2010-05-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

This post is from J - enjoy!

So, there's this new song that's been floating around the internets for about about a month called Miracles. If you've already seen it and been rendered speechless, that's okay, that's the expected reaction when presented with stupidity of this magnitude. Here it is for your viewing "pleasure".

Now, when I first watched this I didn't know how to react. I think I may have been temporarily stupidified for a couple weeks. When I regained my senses I figured it was my moral duty to educate all those morons that thought this was an intelligent and insightful work of art. So, below I've pasted the lyrics, with links to wikipedia articles inserted where appropriate.

If magic is all we've ever known

Then it's easy to miss what really goes on

But I've seen miracles in every way

And I see miracles everyday

Oceans spanning beyond my sight

And a million stars way above em at night

We don't have to be high to look in the sky

And know that's a miracle opened wide

Look at the mountains, trees, the seven seas

And everything chilling underwater, please

Hot lava, snow, rain and fog

Long neck giraffes, and pet cats and dogs

And I've seen eighty-five thousand people

All in one room, together as equals

Pure magic is the birth of my kids

I've seen shit that'll shock your eyelids

The sun and the moon, and even Mars

The Milky Way and fucking shooting stars

UFOs, a river flows

Plant a little seed and nature grows

Niagara falls and the pyramids

Everything you believed in as kids

Fucking rainbows after it rains

There's enough miracles here to blow your brains

I fed a fish to a pelican at Frisco bay

It tried to eat my cell phone, he ran away

And music is magic, pure and clean

You can feel it and hear it but it can't be seen

chorus

Music is a lot like love, it's all a feeling

And it fills the room, from the floor to the ceiling

I see miracles all around me

Stop and look around, it's all astounding

Water, fire, air and dirt

Fucking magnets, how do they work?

And I don't wanna talk to a scientist

Y'all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed

Solar eclipse, and vicious weather

Fifteen thousand Juggalos together

And I love my mom for giving me this

Time on this planet, taking nothing for granted

I seen a caterpillar turn into a butterfly

Miracles ain't nothing to lie

Shaggy's little boys look just like Shaggy

And my little boy looks just like daddy

Miracles each and every where you look

And nobody has to stay where they put

This world is yours for you to explore

There's nothing but miracles beyond your door

The Dark Carnival is your invitation

To witness them without explanation

Take a look at this fine creation

And enjoy it better with appreciation

Crows, ghosts, the midnight coast

The wonders of the world, mysteries the most

Just open your mind, and it ain't no way

To ignore the miracles of every day

chorus

miracles

blah blah blah

magic

blah blah blah

believer

blah blah blah

miracles

After all that work you're probably thinking to yourself, "Hey, self, anyone needing this kind of help is obviously illiterate." And you're right, but I'm just one guy, I can't do this all by myself. This is your chance to make a difference in the world. Take the time to sit down with someone and explain rainbows and dirt, or maybe just smother them with a pillow. If we all put forth a little effort we can make the world a better place.

Grapes = Play Structure?

2010-05-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is a post from my old blog that I made about a year ago. We drove by this park again this weekend, and seeing it made me want to revisit the topic ;) So if this is a repeat for anyone, I'm sorry, but I hope everyone else enjoys it! :)

We were driving around Escondido about a month ago, and drove by something that made me giggle every time I thought about it for the rest of the week. The next weekend, I told Jason we had to go back so I could take some pictures. The place we went to was, of course, the coolest playground I'd ever seen!

Yes, that is a giant bunch of grapes! :) See, doesn't that make you giggle? Who came up with such a thing?

I guess a long time ago, Escondido was really into grapes, and they built this playground to celebrate that. So in that spirit, here are some pictures of me enjoying myself with the grapes!

Gotta love the random fun we have on the weekends (I would be perfectly content to sit around the house, but Jason gets bored. And this is our compromise! We're a great fit!)

This Is What Happens When J Has The Camera

2010-05-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our 1 year wedding anniversary (and 5 years of dating!) so we got all dressed up for a fancy dinner. Before we left, and because we don't get dressed up very often, I wanted to get some pictures of us. J's arms are longer, so I asked him to take the pictures. This is what happens when J takes pictures (and why we have almost no photos of us together!) :)

A Child Friendly Explanation of Autism

2010-05-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

I work with kids with autism, and describing what I do on a day to day basis can be tough to explain to people. I usually end up listing the diagnostic criteria and just saying that we work on correcting those deficits and excesses. The hardest thing, though, is trying to explain to other kids what I do, because launching into an explanation of the DSM-IV criteria won't get either of us anywhere in our quest for understanding. (And anyone who has ever encountered an inquisitive child knows that you won't be going anywhere until you've explained it to their satisfaction!)

So when I got an e-mail from a family member I'd recently visited asking how to explain autism and my job to her daughter, this is what I came up with:

Autism is such a spectrum disorder that I generally just say that I work with kids who need extra help learning stuff - some of them need help learning how to talk, some of them need help learning how to play with toys, and some of them need help learning how to make friends and fit in at school. (The trick is to explain it so that they don't think they have autism if they are having trouble with kids at school). I also usually explain that those things are extra hard for kids with autism, so a lot of times they get really mad at me for making them work so hard, and then sometimes have temper tantrums or yell or throw things at me. Part of my job as their teacher is to help them learn how to do those things so that it won't be hard anymore, but I also have to help them learn how to use their words and calm down when they are upset. So sometimes my job is really hard because kids are angry and don't want to work, but sometimes it's really fun because I get to go to the playground and hang out and play with toys.

That obviously is a super duper simplified explanation, but it's the most comprehensive yet simple definition that I have come up with so far. So if you ever have the need to explain to a child what autism is or what someone who works with them does, feel free to use my definition (and let me know if you can improve it in any way!)

Shout Out To Great Servers!

2010-05-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

The Famous Dave's near our house has a great Wednesday Wing night (25 cents each!!) in their bar area, so we go every week. The first few times we went it was just because it was a great deal, and therefore a fun and economical new date night. The service was actually kind of crummy at first, and then it got to be just decent.

However, after the first few weeks, the bartender started to recognize us and remember what we liked (we order the same thing every time, so it's not THAT hard to do!) Still, when we show up now:

She comes over or asks us from behind the bar if we want our usual drinks (and, after noticing that J always eats the orange off of the rim of my beer, now brings him a beer with two oranges on it! How cool is that?) If she's too busy to do it herself and someone else takes our drink order, she usually adds the extra oranges to the glasses before they are brought to us.
She comes over and asks us for our order in case we want something different this time, but (when we get the same thing we always do) she anticipates the extra changes I will be making (an extra side of ranch and buffalo sauce) and makes sure the order is delivered correctly (if she's not available and someone else delivers the order there's always something incorrect or missing, so I know that she is the one catching the mistakes and making sure they are fixed before the food gets to me).
She comes by at least once to see how we are doing and ask if we need anything else.
She waits until J has been finished for a while and I'm almost finished with my wings (J eats incredibly quickly and I eat incredibly slowly. We're an interesting couple, all around!) to come by and take our dessert order. (**I should note that at the bottom of the Famous Dave's receipt is always an invitation to a phone survey, and if you do the survey you get a coupon for a free dessert. She knows that I always do the survey and that we'll always get the free dessert when we come in!)
The first time J and I ordered dessert from her (the brownie sundae, YUM!) we had asked her if the nuts could be taken off of the brownie, not for any health or allergy issue but just because J doesn't particularly like them. She said that they are baked into the brownie, but she could have them cut off the top of the brownie and put it on the side separately. Months later (and we've never asked her to do it again) she still always remembers that J doesn't like nuts and ensures that the part with the nuts is cut off and put on the plate off to the side. (One time a different server took our order and J forgot to say anything about the nuts. When the dessert was brought out, though, the nuts were on the side and the server said that the bartender had let her know how we would want the order placed, even though we forgot to ask).

Now when we go out on Wednesday, it's because it's our regular date night, a great deal, and a wonderful experience. That kind of attention to detail and the ability to anticipate what we'll want without taking away our right to change our routine or order something different is priceless (and therefore reflected in the tip we leave!)

Most of the time when people remember servers or bartenders, it's because we weren't satisfied with them. Every once in a while it's important to recognize that, just like in any profession, the majority of people will be average or below average, but that there are still some really EXCEPTIONAL employees out there. And those people deserve to be recognized, too. (I think that people who are awful are always noted, but when someone does their job flawlessly, nobody says anything about it. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, PEOPLE! We all need it!)

I think appreciation for a job well done (in a restaurant, anyhow!) is usually reflected via the amount of tip that you leave, but some people deserve even more than that. One time we noticed a Round Table Pizza employee with a really great work ethic (he was probably about 16, and even though the place was pretty empty he kept finding things to clean, refill, or otherwise tidy up. He kept himself busy instead of standing around and gossiping with the other employees the entire time we were there). We left him a tip on the table (even though it's not the kind of place you usually leave tips!) and J even asked the manager to come out so we could commend the boy.

I respond to those surveys from Famous Dave's in order to get the free dessert, but I always make a point to mention what fantastic service we get, and I hope that is reflected positively upon our server. We had a new person helping us tonight, and it really made me appreciate even more the level of attention we usually get (I'm going to have to assume that the person tonight was actually a new employee, because otherwise the number of mistakes he made was pretty inexcusable). I've decided that the next time the manager walks around to see how everyone is doing, I'm going to make a point to bring up how much we love our usual server/bartender.

In the meantime, I'd just like to give a shout-out to Theresa K. from the Vista, CA Famous Dave's, because she ROCKS! And while I'm at it, nameless girl who used to work at the Baskin-Robbins in Phoenix, AZ 2 years ago, the fact that you always remembered us and what we were going to order makes you someone that I still miss, even all this time (and miles away!) later.

A big thank you to all of you who take pride in your work and go the extra mile to make me happy. You are the reason I continue to visit your establishments - I can get food and drinks anywhere, but I return to your location because of you. Keep it up!

Bathroom Commandmants

2010-05-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

When you put the spare roll of toilet paper on the thing (what the heck is that thing called that holds the toilet paper? I sat here for a good few minutes and the best I came up with was, "arm". That can't be it . . . ) you should get a new roll of toilet paper to replace the spare one.

That's all I've got, actually. I've never had issues with the lid being up vs. down (I know that is the obvious bathroom complaint) so I've either been lucky or just don't care too much about that. What other (unwritten, until now!) bathroom laws do people need a reminder of? ;)

And the toilet paper should always hang down the front, like this one does! Why would it ever be done the other way? That's just madness!

Oh Benedryl, You Double Edged Sword!

2010-05-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Every so often, maybe once or twice a year, I inexplicably break out in a teeny tiny rash - small enough so that I can feel it on the surface of my skin more than I can see it, and over a large enough portion of my body that it can't be from something weird that I touched. I usually can never figure out what caused it, but what I do know is that it itches.

And that is why Benedryl is both my best friend and my most hated enemy; it makes the itching stop, but it makes me so very sleepy! I have to stay on a low dose throughout the day so that I can get through work without conking out, and then at night I take a normal dose to try to suppress the reaction as much as possible.

I say all of this not to share new information (*gasp* Shocking! Benedryl makes people sleepy? I'm amazed!) but to explain why my posts are less frequent - I'm working too hard during the week, spending much of my weekends preparing for all the weddings I have coming up in the next few months, and now I spend all my time at home either itching or sleeping. My life is just one big barrel of fun right now! ;)

So have no fear, I'm still up and alive and around, just too brain dead when I'm finally home to share much of anything at all :)

Take a moment for me to enjoy your non-itchiness, and I'll be back more when I can think clearly and stay awake!

Sometimes There's Just No Substitute!

2010-05-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

I've never had truly terrible acne but I've for sure had difficult times with my skin, and for the last five or six years I've been a dedicated Proactiv user (it really does work as well as the infomercials say!) However, with the smack-down I've put on our budget, I've been trying to find a way to slim down my skincare expenses by switching to cheaper and/or generic products. I didn't want to change my whole skincare routine at once (confounding variables!) so I decided to change out one product at a time, wait to see how that works out, and then target a different product after that. I figured the toner would be the easiest thing to find a replacement for, so I kept using the rest of the products and started experimenting with other toners with similar ingredients.

After a few months of experimentation . . . DISASTER! My skin has been an angry mess (for me, anyhow. It's certainly not as bad as it was when I was a teenager or anything, but it was definitely worse than usual). I switched back to my Proactiv toner for two days, and my skin is already calming down and looking happier (yes, skin can look happy!) My plan now is to stick with the toner and look for a face wash replacement. We'll see how my skin reacts to that change ;)

I think that the majority of the time, the generic is just as good as the brand name. Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal versus Golden Spooners (the kind that come in the bag instead of a box) are hardly distinguishable. Generic kidney beans are no better or worse than the name brand, and why should I pay more for fancy herbs and seasoning when it all comes from the same plant, anyhow?

However, there are those few things where the generics just can't compare. Though I've been eating the generic for years (because it's a lot cheaper!) Skippy peanut butter really is more delicious than the store brand. Some generic medications do NOT work as well as the brand name medications (both over the counter and prescription - I've learned this one the hard way!) Charmin toilet paper and Kleenex brand tissues are both IMMEASURABLY better than the generics (some body parts just can't be tricked by substituting the store brand for name brand items!)

Unluckily for me and my weaning myself off of Proactiv experiment, my skin is one of those body parts that can't be fooled! Oh well. My quest to be a tightwad will continue in other arenas, but I always love to save some time and avoid re-inventing the wheel when at all possible. What are some other items that I shouldn't bother trying to cut corners on? :)

Old Kids Movies Are RANDOM!

2010-05-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had a friend over and were watching movies, and for some reason I convinced them to put on Pete's Dragon (there may have been alcohol involved . . . ) I hadn't seen that movie in at least 15 years (if not longer!) and it was so much fun to watch it again and realize I still knew some of the songs and characters (and that movie had some of the BEST songs! Oh man, I've been singing them for weeks now!)

That movie led me to start thinking about old kids movies, and how they would never in a million years get by today. Pete's Dragon has a whole scene in a bar, where you realize that Mickey Rooney is known about town for being a ridiculous drunk, and later, when he and his pal get scared, they start taking swigs from a flask. Then they share some of their drink with the dragon, who gets drunk and starts seeing double! WTF! Can you imagine any new movie coming to the theaters with a scene like that?

Nevertheless, it also got me on an "old fashioned, part-animation-part live-action" movie kick! And what we started realizing once we got started was that although the themes of some of the movies were questionable, gosh darn it, people in movies back in the day were TALENTED! You couldn't land a leading role unless you could sing, dance, and act. It's rare today to find a famous person who can do more than one of those things even adequately (and sometimes they aren't even good at whatever it is they're famous for in the first place!) I have such respect for all of those actors whose names I don't even know, but who can clearly kick butt right and left as an entertainer and performer.

Anyhow, after the first two that we watched I started asking people on Facebook for suggestions of similar movies, and it got so fun that I thought I'd post it here for everyone to see in one place :) Here is what we've done so far!

Pete's Dragon (as previously mentioned)
I really love the songs in this movie (have I mentioned that people in old movies can sing really well?) but in addition to the beer scenes I'd apparently also forgotten how really frightening the villains are! Talk about stranger danger! But all the same, this movie never struck me as odd or inappropriate as a child, and to be honest, maybe parents these days are too sensitive to things that end up going over kids' heads anyhow. (But I'm not a parent yet, so I reserve the right to change my mind in the future!)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Again with the fantastic songs! Who knew that Angela Lansbury, from Murder, She Wrote could hold a tune! I sure didn't! (Until I looked up her filmography, that is, and realized that she was Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast. Mrs. Potts has the best singing voice of any teapot I've ever heard!) It's funny how I went so many years without having watched any of these movies, but the moment the tune kicked in, I started humming along! Such a weird plot in concept, and boy were the special effects awful, but it's still such a classic!

Mary Poppins
Okay, now we're really talking classics! Everyone's seen it and everyone knows it, so I was surprised to realize how much of it I had forgotten! Julie Andrews was absolutely amazing, talk about a triple threat! There's really nothing more I can say about it, except that if you haven't seen it in a long time, it is worth another viewing!

Reader Suggestions
I actually got quite a few suggestions from people who apparently don't read too closely, because when I went to investigate their movies for this post, I found that they had recommended old movies. Period. None that incorporated animation, like I was looking for. What a disappointment! But I do have some astute friends, and here is what they came up with!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Holy moly, I can't believe I hadn't remembered this one when I was making my original list! It was epic in terms of merging animation with live action, and I haven't seen it since I was a kid (that scene where the man is melted in the acid stuff and only his eyeballs remain has haunted me my entire life, though! I think I can handle it since I'm a big girl now, but still, whoa!) This one might also be a fun one to watch with some adult beverages, because I'm pretty sure it had more adult-themed moments in it than Pete's Dragon did!

The Incredible Mr. Limpit
We actually watched this movie a few weeks before I got started on this kick, and when I say "we" watched it, I mean J put it on and laughed hysterically while I did the dishes, folded laundry, and then took a bubble bath (I was that disinterested in it!) Now, some of the parts I did see were actually rather funny, but apparently J grew up watching it, so I think he had a greater personal connection to it than I did. But this one did get a vote from someone I went to high school with (hi Chris!) so it's not only old people like J who enjoy this one! ;)

The Three Caballeros
I VERY vaguely remember this one from my childhood (I think it was one of the first movies we had on VHS instead of beta, and I still sing the title song in my head from time to time!) I didn't remember it having real people in it, but I checked after it was suggested, and Wikipedia says it's the truth! So I guess I need to go back and watch it again!

Song of the South
How could I forget this one! "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah . . . " I don't know that I've ever watched this movie for real, so I guess now I have to!

So that's what I've gotten from everyone else, but I love hearing what other people have to suggest! I'm always open to watching new movies, and I love hearing about the ones I've forgotten, also! Tonight we're having a Will Ferrell marathon, though, so I'm off to watch that ;) But keep the ideas coming, and I'll get to those ones too!

** This post contains Amazon affiliate links. All that means is that if you use my link to access Amazon and buy something, Amazon gives me a kick-back. I don't even think it matters if you buy what I'd linked to in the first place, they're just happy that you ended up buying something from them at all! So if you need to purchase anything at all on Amazon, use my link to access the site, and help me afford a baby, by golly! :) Or not. It's your choice, and I'll love and respect you either way. But it would be cool if you did ;)

Let's Get Nostalgic!

2010-04-24T23:49:00.000-07:00

I was walking to my car last week with my keys in my hand, preparing to push the button to unlock the doors as I approached, when I started thinking about what life was like before car keys had buttons on them! Remember when you had to actually put the key in the door to unlock it???? *gasp* That's crazy talk!

Then I got into the car and, because it was dark and foggy out, I could see that the headlights were on. The car had turned them on for me, and when I got out of the car, I knew it would turn them off! It hasn't been that many years since I've had a car with that technology, but I am now totally dependent upon it. When we get rental cars, I get confused when I remove the keys from the ignition and the car beeps at me. I'm supposed to turn a knob so the lights go off and the battery doesn't die? What???

So that got me thinking about other Remember when . . . items!

Remember when scrunchies were the coolest things ever?

How would we have gotten through junior high without fabric and elastic to hold our super awesome hairstyles in place? (I'm being facetious, of course, because they didn't do all that great a job at holding your hair in place! It was slippery fabric, whoever thought that was going to be effective in the first place?) Normal ponytail holders would have done the job much more efficiently, but they weren't as much fun for the boys to steal and throw back and forth (in place of flirting, obviously). My friends and I (ahem, Becky) even made our own, because we were that super amazingly awesome ;)

Remember when cool computer/video games were orange and pixelated?

Pharaoh's Tomb

We used to spend HOURS playing these games that were so much fun, but looking back at them, wow. It's hard to believe we were that enthralled by such simple graphics. (Although J found this game in his archives for me, and when he tried to play he kept walking into the arrows and dying! Apparently, even though the graphics were simple, the gameplay must have taken some level of skill). You also have to remember that at this time, just having color on the screen was a big deal, so that might also have contributed to why we were so impressed ;)

Remember when Tivo/DVRs/Internet TV wasn't an option?

There really was a time when, if you wanted to watch a TV show, you arranged your schedule so that you'd be on the couch at the appointed time in order to watch it. OR, if you were technologically savvy, you programmed your VCR (remember those?) to tape it so you could watch it later. If you missed it, TOO BAD! You were screwed, no second chances! You couldn't go online to watch old episodes (the Internet? What was that?) And if you wanted to see two shows that were on at the same time, you switched back and forth during commercials and hoped you didn't miss anything else. And do you even remember commercials?? You couldn't fast-forward or skip them, you just had to sit there and watch them (or else you left the room to do the dishes or use the restroom, and then came running back when you heard the show come on). Watching TV was hard work!

Remember when you had to buy whole albums if you wanted to hear a song?

There was a day before iTunes, before Napster, and before mp3s, when if you wanted to hear a song, you had to buy the whole album! You would only know one song, but you paid for thirteen in order to get that one (so you really hoped that the other songs were at least halfway decent! One-hit wonders were the bane of our existence!) If buying the album wasn't an option, then you had to tape it off of the radio! I would leave a tape in my boombox, and when I heard a song that I liked come on, I'd race over and hit record. Consequently, I had a whole bunch of tapes with random songs that were usually missing the very beginning and included bits of dialogue or other songs at the tail end.

Remember when nobody had cell phones?

My first cell phone

This is probably the biggest one, because cell phones have entirely changed the way we now live our lives. I was alive for it, but I have trouble remembering a time when you couldn't call to say you were on your way somewhere, ask for directions when you missed a turn, or let someone know that you were going to be late. Particularly since I have to drive to clients' homes for a living, I rely heavily on my cell phone for all of those things. What on earth did therapists do before there were cell phones??? And what did people play games on while they waited for doctor or dentist appointments? How did people get through the day without being able to check their email? And how did people get in touch during business hours without being able to text? I swear, we used to live in the dark ages!

Remember Lite-Brites?

I don't remember them all that well either, though we did buy one at a garage sale when I was little. It was pretty fun until we poked holes in all the papers and then lost all the tiny pieces. So that didn't make a huge impact on my life, but when I asked J for suggestions, his first two were, "LITE-BRITES! They were AWESOME!" and "playing in the street". The former had better visual aids than the latter, so I went with that ;)

After Lite-Brites, the ideas J and I came up with got pretty lame (it's late, we're tired) so that's all we've got for now :) I'm sure I missed some good ones though, so help me out and let me know what you're feeling nostalgic for!

J Ate The Double Down!

2010-04-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone has heard of KFC's new Double Down, the bacon and cheese sandwich that replaces bread with fried chicken. Being huge fans of cheese, bacon, and chicken, it was only a matter of time until we had to go try it :)

Look, you can see the grease! That's how you know that it's good ;)

I had heard lots of statistics about how many calories were in the Double Down, and at less than 600 per sandwich, my guess was that the thing was going to be the size of a slider ;) Well, it wasn't THAT small, but it certainly wasn't big.

Here it is with a potato wedge, a packet of hot sauce, and a container of ranch dressing to give you a sense of scale. See, not tiny, but also not very big.

I tried a bite, and it was kind of a let down after all the media hype. To be honest, it tasted like chicken (and they've been selling that for years!) The boys said you couldn't taste the bacon at all, and the "pepper-jack" cheese was lacking in peppers. So ultimately, it was fried chicken with a hint of cheese. That's not all that interesting. J and our friend thought it should be spicier, so they added the hot sauce to it. That gave it a mildly interesting taste, at least.

See, look how un-interesting it is to see J eat it! What a bore.

In an effort to prove that the idea could be delicious, J pounded out two chicken breasts, coated them with a flour and seasoning mixture, and then melted spicy pepper-jack cheese on it for our dinner tonight. THAT was delicious.

So while most of the world is shunning the Double Down because it has excessive quantities of ingredients that are perfectly fine on their own, I'm going to take a stand and say that the sandwich is lame because it LACKS the wonderful flavors of the ingredients! Even though our homemade version didn't have bacon on it, I'd recommend it over the KFC one any day! So if you feel like spending $6 on a chicken and cheese sandwich, come to our house and J can treat you right ;)

My Top 3 Underrated Movies!

2010-04-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

I did a post on my top 3 underrated TV shows, so I thought it was about time that I followed up with my top 3 underrated movies! (And my definition of underrated are things I love that nobody knows what I'm talking about when I bring them up. So, as a friend pointed out, they might technically be more accurately termed "cult classics", but if I can't bring it up with people at work and think there's a chance they might know it, I call it underrated!)

The Count Of Monte Cristo

This movie is incredible, and everyone I know who has watched it has been blown away. I actually saw it in theaters with my friend (hi Kara!), so this isn't like the next movie I'm going to bring up that may have just skipped theaters altogether. It is really rare that I run across someone who has watched this movie, and I can't for the life of me figure out why that is. It's so incredibly good!

There are lots of movies that I like for specific reasons, but this movie really is the complete package. It has great actors, a really intense and compelling plot (I've never read the book but it's certainly a famous one, and based on the movie, I can see why! I need to buy that book), and there's no super fancy graphics but it is visually appealing . . . I think marketing just dropped the ball with this movie.

So that's all I have to say, just go watch it. This one, I swear, you won't be disappointed. The next ones might be more subjective, but this one is just all-around wonderful.

Wet Hot American Summer

* Don't close your browser! Yes, I know it sounds like a porno title, but it's not, it's a comedy!

First of all, I don't like this new DVD cover because I feel like it's trying to capitalize on the fame of so many of the stars in it. Look, here is the original cover:

The movie is an ensemble cast, and frankly, I'm annoyed that they cut out half the characters, put the most famous ones on the front, and added that it's from the makers of "Role Models". LAME!

What has always made this movie so cool is that it doesn't try hard to be funny. It's got great comedic actors, a 70's camp movie spoof plot, and the most random one-liners ever. As far as I know (and I didn't bother checking any official movie database, so I could very well be wrong) this is the first movie that really showcased Paul Rudd's comedic chops (and David Hyde Pierce, for that matter! I never thought Frasier was all that funny). This movie is one of those great ones that feels like a bunch of random comedians hijacked a movie set, goofed around for a day, and then put it out on DVD. It's just all around fun to watch, which you don't find much of these days.

I'm guessing that this movie won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I've never had anyone watch it and not find it, at the very least, mildly entertaining. I could watch it a thousand times and never get bored, and with the splash that movies like "The Hangover" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" have made, I think this movie could make a resurgence (or it's first real surgence, at the very least! I swear this movie just skipped theaters entirely). So you should go watch it right now, and then when it ends up being a big deal you can say that you always knew how cool it was ;)

Shaun Of The Dead

Now, I think more people have heard of this film (particularly after "Hot Fuzz" came out and got such a buzz) but I still feel like people give me the blank, uncomprehending stare whenever I try to reference it. (And in case you're wondering, this movie is way, way funnier than "Hot Fuzz" was).

This movie is kind of a zombie/horror film spoof, and it has a very British sense of humor. So it's pretty deadpan, which I don't always find funny, but it works well once you factor in the absurdity of the zombies and how they are portrayed. I don't like zombie or horror films but I adore this movie, so it's not a humor that is based on a love of gore. It's actually a movie that seems to make fun of that gore. There's really no good way to describe the movie or argue that you should see it. You just should, because it's funny! I don't know anyone who has seen it and not liked it. (That seems to be my usual argument, but it's all I have to hold up as proof that I'm not the only person who has seen and liked the movie!)

So those are my top 3, what are yours? If so many people in the world have missed out on my favorite movies, I'm sure there are lots of other movies that I'm currently missing out on as well, and I'd love to know what they are!

Happy Blog-aversary To Me!

2010-04-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

My first post went up on 2/14 (yes, I started my blog on Valentines Day, we are just that romantic of a couple!) I know today is 4/16, but I don't mind celebrating events a few days late!

In any case, I've been up and running for 2 months now and I've had over 400 visits! That's not blog-celebrity status or anything, but I feel that it's a pretty impressive number for the fact that I'm just a regular girl rambling about nonsense! So to everybody who has ever dropped by to visit, thank you so much for taking a moment out of your day to read what I have to say, and for making me listened to :) Whoever you are, you're the best (and come back again, soon, because I can't wait to see where I'm at in another 2 months!)

Recipe Review: Homemade Laundry Detergent and Cheap Fabric Softener!

2010-04-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

So in keeping with the theme of the blog (for once!) I've been going outside of the realm of the ordinary to try to save some money. And the first thing I started with was laundry!
Before I get too far into this, I should say that J and I have always been laundry product snobs - unless we really can't afford it, we've always bought higher end brands of detergent and fabric softener (Tide and Downy are our favorites, though with coupons or sales we might use All or Snuggle). So bear in mind when I get to our reviews of the products that we have some pretty strong opinions when it comes to washing our clothes.

Alright, end of the disclaimer, on to the actual recipes!

Cheap Fabric Softener

An eco-minded friend of mine recommended something to me that I'd read about before but never tried: replacing your usual fabric softener with white vinegar. It's cheap and apparently not only makes fabric soft, but helps brights hold their colors and whites stay white longer.

My initial concern was that then all our clothes would smell like vinegar, and that is a really far cry from the fresh Downy scent we are accustomed to! :) However, I want to make it known that the smell completely dissapates after you put it through the dryer, so don't let that scare you off!

The Verdict
To be honest, I'm still a little bit on the fence with this one. You just put the vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser in the washing machine, so you're using the same amount of liquid but paying a LOT less (I don't feel like doing the math, but my vinegar cost about $1.50 - I've never seen a good fabric softener cost that little!) And I like paying a less, so the vinegar has that going for it!

The first thing I noticed after using the vinegar for a little while was that the clothes ended up being a bit stiffer than I remember them being with Downy, but not in a course or scratchy or uncomfortable kind of way. I actually liked the sheets being a little bit stiffer because they felt really crisp when I got into bed (is that why people like to starch their shirts?) So that wasn't a deal breaker for me.

What does concern me though, after doing this for probably about a month now, is that I feel like the fabric is degrading - the collars on J's polo shirts have more of that "pilling" effect going on (I don't know how else to describe it) and my tee-shirts look like the fibers have all raised up a little bit and gotten fuzzy, which makes the color look dull. I only have a few tee-shirts and I wear them to work all the time, so it is kind of a big deal to me that suddenly all of them look really worn and old.

I don't know that J would have been able to pick the clothes that were washed with vinegar versus softener out of a visual line-up, but apparently he has a super nose (more on that later), so I know the lack of Downy fresh scent bothered him. (He didn't come out and object to my using the vinegar, though, so it can't have been THAT bad).

At the end of the day, I really WANT vinegar to be our go-to fabric softener (it's so cheap!), but I think taking both of those factors into account, we're going to keep being snobs and buying the name brand.

Laundry Detergent

I love making random stuff, so I've been wanting to try this since a friend recommended a book with cool household stuff that you can make yourself years ago. (I love that book, I am fascinated by it!) My issue was that a lot of the recipes called for stuff I'd never heard of and didn't know where to get, so I didn't pursue the detergent issue for very long (I made a great window cleaner, though!)

Stumbling around on the internet a few weeks ago, though, I found the post that inspired me to hunt down the necessary ingredients and give it a go! This recipe is taken from My Frugal Lifestyle and you can read her original post here. This is my version of it!

Ingredients
* The original recipe made a 5-gallon bucket worth of soap, but I only had a 2.5 gallon bucket so I modified the amounts. If you have a bigger bucket and REALLY struggle with math, you can certainly refer back to her post for the original amounts!

1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 bar Fels-Naptha
A 2.5 gallon bucket

As I mentioned earlier, I'd never made laundry detergent because I could never find the ingredients! I ended up buying all of these items off of Amazon.com because, with the exception of Borax, I'd never even HEARD of them before. (Apparently they are all items that are sold as laundry detergent enhancements, so I guess it makes sense that if you put them all together, they'd just enhance one another!) After ordering the Borax on Amazon I did finally see it at a grocery store, but I already can't remember which one. Apparently, all of these ingredients can be found at some store called Winco (that I've never heard of, it might be an East Coast chain), and when I looked online a lot of people said that you can usually find the products at small, locally owned stores. I didn't have time to make a lot of phone calls, though, so since I couldn't find them at Target, Wal-Mart, Albertsons, Vons, or Lowes, Amazon seemed like the way to go!

What I Did
The original recipe said to grate the Fels-Naptha (which looks and feels like a big bar of Dial soap), but again, I didn't have time for that! (Or, come to think of it, a cheese grater either. I think we lost that in a move or something). J just helped me chop it up into small-ish chunks and I threw it in a pot with 6 cups of water and set it to simmer on the stove! I watched a movie, ate dinner, did some dishes, ate dessert, and every so often just wandered back to stir it again a little bit more.

What I'd Do Differently: I recommend cutting the soap into much smaller pieces, unless you are extremely patient and have a lot of time to kill. It took a pretty long time for the soap to dissolve, and I ended up needing to go to bed so there were some teeny tiny chunks left when I decided to move to the next step.

Next you stir in the washing soda and borax and mix it up. Nuff said for that step!

FYI: Even if you think you dissolved all the soap, this is where you see how wrong you are! Adding in those two ingredients thickens up the solution, so suddenly little soap chunks that you didn't even know were there end up floating on the surface. I don't think it matters, (it's all going to the same place for the same purpose, it'll be fine!) but it looks kind of gnarly!

Put the solution into the bucket and fill it up with water. The original recipe said to go until about 3 inches below the rim of the bucket, so I did the same (though it did drive me nuts that I didn't know exactly how much that was).

Then you let it sit for a while and thicken up. As it cools down it does separate a little bit, so before you use it you need to stir it up again. I use a huge slotted spatula (because that's what I've got!) but she recommends a whisk, or better yet, saving up old laundry detergent bottles, filling them up with the new detergent, and then just shaking them really well before measuring out the detergent so it all gets mixed up. (I'm in the process of saving some bottles, but in the meantime, my bucket and spatula just sit in the closet on top of the dryer!)

The original recipe says to use 1/2-1 cup of the detergent (so I compromise and use 3/4 cup at a time) and that it is safe for HE machines (not an issue on my end, but I'm passing along what I've heard - don't hold me to it!) Her 5 gallon buckets makes about 75 loads, so I'm going to round slightly and say that mine makes 38.

The Cost Breakdown (All Prices Taken From Amazon.com)
* Just for the record, I'm no mathematician - let me know if you see an obvious error in my calculations, but if I rounded up when you would have rounded down, or if my unit conversions aren't entirely precise, cut me some slack. I'm just going for an estimate, here.

Using a bottle of standard Tide detergent (as listed on Amazon, because I am not going to the grocery store right now to research prices!) you will pay approximately $0.28 per load.

Using my recipe, the breakdown is as follows:
Fels-Naptha: $4.11 for a bar, 1/2 bar per bucket made = $2.05
Borax: $6.49 for a 76 ounce box, 4 ounces (1/2 cup) per bucket made = $0.34
Washing Soda: $9.15 for a 55 ounce box, 4 ounces (1/2 cup) per bucket made = $0.67
Grand Total For 2.5 Gallons of Detergent = $3.06
Approximately $0.06 per load! That's a great deal! If you tried I'm sure you could find the ingredients cheaper, too.

The Important Part: How It Turned Out!
I liked it quite a bit, actually! I had a blast making it, the bucket of detergent itself smells really nice, and I like to swirl the spatula around the goop just for kicks every now and again. I know, great way to judge a detergent, right?

Here's the thing: J and I don't get all that dirty. We don't have kids, play outdoor sports, or even sit in the grass (we're pretty much just indoor people). So the clothes we're washing have about the normal amount of sweat and grime that a person accumulates as they sit (or in my case, run and dance) around the house all day. I've never tried it, but I'm willing to bet that you could put our clothes through a wash with no detergent at all, and J and I wouldn't realize the difference. So the cleansing factor is good enough that I haven't noticed anything being unclean, and while I have no way to prove this, I feel like the clothes feel nicer when I wear them, like they fit better. I can't explain that (I don't think I lost any weight!) but I'll take it!

The major debate right now has to do with scent. I know, also a great way to judge a detergent ;)

The detergent itself smells like soap - it has a strong, clean, soap-y smell to it. By the time the clothes come out of the dryer, though, the fresh scent is gone. So when I asked J for his review of the soap, he said, "Well, it makes the clothes smell bad". Upon further questioning, it turns out that he was unhappy with the fact that all of the previously scented products we had used on the clothes (I'd done that load with the vinegar) had been removed, and we ended up having to agree to disagree with my statement that, "A lack of scent does not mean that something smells bad".

At the end of the day, J's clothes are being affected by this process, so I want to make sure he is pleased with the end result. So far I have tried:

3/4 cup of detergent and vinegar softener (that was the original load that didn't pass inspection)
double the amount of detergent with vinegar softener (that didn't help anything)
the original amount of detergent with Downy fabric softener (that's currently in the dryer, so I don't know yet how it will turn out!)

I read that you can also scent the detergent with essential oils, but I don't know how well that smell would last through the dryer either (and essential oils are expensive, which defeats the whole point of this recipe!)

The Verdict
For our household, the decision to continue making detergent or return to store-bought detergent will ultimately be made based on how this load smells when it is done in the dryer (ahhhh, the pressure is on for it to smell good! I want this to work, I have fun feeling like a chemist!) If you don't have issues with clothes that smell like nothing at all, and you like to feel like a mad scientist with your bubbling pots and buckets of goo, I totally recommend this!

If anyone has any alternate recipes, suggestions for mine, or just other random stuff that they make at home, I would love love LOVE to hear about it! Otherwise, have fun and let me know how it turns out if you decide to try it yourself! :)

** This post contains Amazon affiliate links. All that means is that if you use my link to access Amazon and buy something, Amazon gives me a kick-back. I don't even think it matters if you buy what I'd linked to in the first place, they're just happy that you ended up buying something from them at all! So if you need to purchase anything at all on Amazon, use my link to access the site, and help me afford a baby, by golly! :) Or not. It's your choice, and I'll love and respect you either way. But it would be cool if you did ;)

Why Didn't This Go Viral?

2010-04-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

For everyone who enjoyed the previous video of a child achieving greatness, here is another! I found it about a year ago, but I still find myself singing the song (out loud) and doing the little dance (in my head!) when I do something I'm proud of :)

Oh, and I think my kids will achieve this level of cuteness as well - J and I had better get cracking on our geography and musical skills so that we can adequately prepare our kids for greatness! :)

New Layout, Yay or Nay?

2010-04-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

So Blogger put forth some new template design options, and I've started messing around with things again. I like some of the new options a lot, but I haven't entirely committed to the new format yet. What do you think, should I continue to pursue this new (more streamlined) option, or go back to the more colorful template? I'm open to suggestions ;)

Why Hasn't This Gone Viral?

2010-04-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

I don't remember how I found this video, but I think it's WAY funnier than a lot of the videos that end up being passed around (and it's a kid being AWESOME, not a kid crying or doing something embarrassing that he's going to look back on later and be depressed that so many people made fun of him for!)

So I just wanted to share it because I giggle and am amazed and fall in love with this kid every time I watch the video (and by golly, my future kids are gonna be this cute, also!) Enjoy :)

Other People Ridicule Color Blindness, Too!

2010-04-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me a link to a video today that confirmed what I had already suspected - I'm not the only one that thinks colorblindness is hysterical! (You can read my previous post on the subject for more details on why colorblind people make me laugh).

I love love love this video because, first of all, they reference PuzzleQuest right off the bat and I've played that, so it made me feel special :) However, J has helped me play that game before without too many problems, so they probably haven't tried to play it with a colorblind person before. (Hexic is the one game that is truly impossible for him, which of course I never remember until I ask him again to help me with it. They should have used that game as an example, instead!)

The best part of it though is that I have heard some of the exact phrases and explanations that the guy in the video uses come out of J's mouth before (almost verbatim, to the point that I kept looking at J while listening to the video to see if he was in on it or something. Maybe he wrote it! Or maybe colorblind people hang out together and rehearse the answers they should give to the stupid questions they will eventually be asked. That would be funny, too!)

So enjoy the video and have a good laugh :) Happy Friday!

Why It Was Vitally Important That I Cut All My Hair Off

2010-04-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in life you can change the direction you're going in without too much of a fight, and sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can muster some upward mobility again.

I think I'm mostly a "hit rock bottom first, and then really turn things around!" kind of girl. That phrase always brings to mind drug addiction and suicide, but I don't mean it that way at all. Before you start worrying about me, let me give you an example that I think everyone can relate to - weight loss and body image.

I'd say that the way I feel about my body tends to ebb and flow from one day to the next; some days I'm convinced I look great, and others I'm convinced it would be an insult to the world to go outside in anything less than a muumuu. However, most valleys are followed relatively quickly by a peak, so I end up just going along with my life like always (i.e., I don't change anything). But every so often, the valley just keeps on going, and it usually has such a gradual slope that it takes me a while to realize how unhappy with myself I am getting.

And then suddenly, BANG, ROCK BOTTOM! One minute I'm moping about the cellulite on my thighs that no swimsuit cover-up will actually be able to cover, and the next moment something clicks in my head and I go, "Wait, why am I spending this time hating myself? Why not do something about it?" And then I have this moment of absolute clarity when I am suddenly passionately and enthusiastically driven to make a change! I have no idea why it suddenly goes from, "I hate the way I look, I will never go out in public again without people laughing at how big my butt is", to, "I'm going to join a gym and make a spreadsheet and then sign up again for Weight Watchers and there will be graphs and I can't wait, I'm going to go start right now!"

I really have no idea why, for the life of me, I can't just decide to whole-halfheartedly commit myself to a difficult task (and let's be honest, change is always difficult!). I can make a decision to do something, but I usually end up with a split personality - half of me is saying, "You want to change your body, so get thee to the gym!" and the other half is saying, "I love me and Jason loves me and I'd really rather stay here with him and watch a movie tonight". In the end, no matter if I go to the gym or not, half of me ends up cranky with the other half, which means I'm just cranky at me, and that just makes me cranky and annoying. So unless I have that big bang moment to really get me excited about the process, it just never works out. And that spark only shows up when I'm in the dark at the very bottom (where all the rocks are, which is why, of course, it's called rock bottom).

And just for the record, before you start thinking I'm a crazy yo-yo dieter, I need to brag for a moment - every time I've made that change, I've followed through. (Okay, I'm technically off the wagon from the gym right now, but I've kept off 10 of the 14 pounds I've lost in the last year! That's not a binge or crash diet, that's a lifestyle change, and I'm quite proud of myself for that one). So while my moods may plummet and rebound at ridiculous speeds, my commitment to the lifestyle changes made during that moment when the dark changed to light doesn't ricochet up and down like a bullet - it remains steady.

So, with that said, I'll get back to "Why It Was Vitally Important That I Cut All My Hair Off".

During my formative years (haha, look how old I am now, apparently! I have formative years!) I always spent a lot of time on my hair (a lot). And my makeup. And my clothes. And my shoes. And my earrings. (You get the point). But over the last few years, I stopped doing all those things (some of them slowly, and some of them very abruptly). I didn't have time, emotional energy, or money. I traded in putting on mascara for an extra 5 minutes of sleep, and putting my hair in a pony-tail for another 30. I got used to buying the cheapest clothing items I could find and owning just enough of them so that I could make it through a work week without too many funny looks.

Before I realized it, what had started off as a time and money saver had become an enforced way of life. Even if I'd WANTED to wake up earlier and do my hair, I didn't own any hair products anymore. My makeup was old, and I was out of practice using it. And so this last fall, I had one of those rock bottom moments.

I realized that I avoided looking in the mirror because I didn't like what I saw there anymore (and this is after the weight loss, so it was something new and different this time). I didn't think I was hideous, but I recognized that all I did everyday was roll out of bed and put in the minimum amount of effort in order to get by - smooth down the frizzies, powder away the shine, and make sure my clothing covered the necessary body parts. I didn't put any effort into myself. I'd lost all of the items and skills that I used to use to make myself sparkle. Now, instead of looking like Carolyn, I just looked like a lump of blah. I used to stand out from the crowd in photos (or I thought I did, anyhow!) and now I either blended into the background or stood out because of my obvious lack of effort.

Now, I do think that I used to place too much emphasis on my appearance, so not all of the changes I had made were negative. I continue to be proud that I can now shower, get dressed, do my hair and makeup, and be out the door in less than an hour (at my peak, it took me 2-3 hours before I'd leave, even just to go to the grocery store!)

So when I had this moment of clarity, it was harder than usual to figure out what action I should take. If you feel fat, you should eat better and work out more. If you feel like blah, you should . . . ??? Well, there are a LOT of things I could have chosen to do, but I focused in on my trademark - my ponytail (I worked in Phoenix for almost 2 years, and I think there was only one person there who ever saw my hair down). When I woke up in the morning, I would put my hair in a ponytail, fix the frizzies, and that's how it would stay for the rest of the day. At the end of the day I'd shower, put it in a ponytail again, and go to sleep. For very special occasions I would sometimes put in the effort to curl it and wear it down, but by that point I was out of practice and it just felt WEIRD having my hair in the way all the time! After an hour or two I just ended up annoyed and anxious to get it out of my face and into a ponytail again.

So at this point I did the only reasonable thing I could do - I made an appointment with a hairdresser, sat in the chair, and said, "I'm having a mid-mid-life crisis and need a big change" :) So we chopped it all off. And it was terrifying, because now people were going to be LOOKING at me when I went to work (you can't hide that kind of change!) Therefore, even if I didn't want to, I had to put in a little extra effort in the mornings because all eyes would be on me. Before I knew it, I was doing a little bit more each day. I was putting on a little bit of eyeliner before leaving the house. Then I was putting on little earrings (if I was going to be seeing clients that day who wouldn't try to yank them out, anyhow!) Then I was putting on a little bit of eyeshadow, and then I realized that I looked funny wearing makeup and doing my hair and wearing my work clothes, so I splurged on a few tee-shirts and some shorts that fit nicely. Suddenly, I was a new woman!

It's been 4 months now, and I'm not going to lie - I'm still trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing with my hair (I've always been good with makeup and clothes, but hair and I have never been able to understand each other). I had to buy all new styling tools and hair products and teach myself how to use everything again. In an attempt to combine effort AND ease, I am now determined to find the magic combination of hair products that will let my hair embrace it's natural waviness without descending into chaos and messiness (it's still a work in progress, we'll leave it at that!) I have certainly not achieved hair nirvana, but that was never the goal I was working towards (though if anyone knows how to get there, please fill me in!). I was looking to break out of the rut I'd gotten myself into, and by making my hair short enough that I couldn't put it in a ponytail even if I wanted to, I made sure I couldn't revert to my old habits.

I still don't spend that much time on my clothing or makeup in the morning, and I don't always leave the house liking the way my hair has turned out, but I tell you what - I always leave the house having at least tried, in one way or another, to put forth some effort and take pride in my appearance.

And I feel good about myself for that.

See, short hair! Now, it was humid as heck and we'd gone on an adventure in the rainforest that day, so my hair is pretty much doing it's own thing in this photo. And while I sweated it all off and you can't see it, I had put on a little bit of makeup before we left the house in the morning. And I was wearing one of my new pairs of shorts, too. So even for hiking, I put in at least a little bit of effort. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself . . .

Attack Of The Killer Iguanas!

2010-04-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

This is an iguana. Notice the spines on his back, the threatening posture, and the deadly claws. AAAAHHH, are you scared?

J was, obviously ;)

Well you don't need to be too afraid, because these ones were pretty tame (not entirely tame, but I'll get to that later!) They had daily iguana feedings on the activity schedule at the kids club, so the iguanas hung around wherever there was sun.

(You have to look closely, but there are iguanas in the bottom left and right corners of the sidewalk).

The thing you have to watch out for, is that (apparently) they like the pool area the most. The first time I went to a chair to set something on it, a huge iguana crawled out from underneath it. (I learned to look underneath them before sitting, after that). Once I was seated on a free (iguana-less) chair, I was enjoying the sun when I looked over to see an iguana climb up on to the chair next to me. CREEPY! That's nothing, though, compared to the woman who was eating her lunch when an iguana leaped up onto her chair to share her food. YIKES!

(This guy is on his way over to claim a lounge chair).

I had wanted to get some pictures of these tame creatures before we left the resort, so we headed down to the pool with my camera before checking out. I saw one little iguana start to head for a lounge chair, and I took her picture.

(See how tiny her head and spines are? Aw, how cute! I think she is a girl).

What happened next took place too quickly for me to capture on (digital) film. That lounge chair must have been the best spot by the pool, because out of nowhere a MUCH larger iguana came charging at her! And so she came running at me! So I went scuttling backwards into J! Who did not go scuttling backwards very far, which is good because we were right at the edge of the pool. Once the (presumably) dominant male had chased the smaller iguana away, she wandered off and they both left us alone. I sure wish we had gotten the whole thing on video, though. That would have been worthy of submitting to a stupid video contest, and I'm down for looking stupid if I get paid for it!

(Look at those cold, cruel eyes! See how proudly he surveys his domain! He was pretty pleased with himself for securing his rightful place by the towels, apparently. Shame on anyone who tries to sit by towels without permission!)

And that is how I risked life and limb to take photos to share, and just barely avoided certain death by falling into the pool (for my camera, that is. Don't be ridiculous! I can swim, so I would have been fine. Sure, I'd look ridiculous, but since that happens quite often, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I'd just be mad I wouldn't be able to take pictures of us in the pool in our clothes with everyone laughing!)

So the next time you see an iguana, don't be scared! If I can survive it, anyone can ;)

(Okay, and try to avoid chasing the iguanas and scaring them, too. J, that was just mean of you!)