Life In Technicolor

Review - Uni-Ball Vision Needle Fine Point Pen

2014-02-19T07:45:00.001-08:00

I received a pack of Uni-Ball Vision Needle fine point pens in my amazon order. I have always LOVED needle point roller ball pens, and these do not disappoint! Pilot and Uni-Ball have always been the go to brands for needle point pens. The only thing I wish is that these were ultra fine because they seem kind of thick for needle point pens. There are 8 pens in this set and I'm pretty sure the colors are Black, 2 different Blues, Purple, Red, Green, Orange and a Pink/Magenta. I absolutely love the way these feel while writing and would not hesitate to order more when they are gone. They do not bleed through the paper and I believe that they are also waterproof and fade-proof.

Review - Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pen

2014-02-19T06:28:00.002-08:00

So I received these Paper Mate Flair felt tip pens with my Amazon order, and while I really REALLY like them I just wish they were fine tip but I ordered medium tip ones. That aside these are super awesome pens and I cant believe how many colors they come in. I bought a pack of 12 pens in 12 different colors and they are so much better than I expected! The pictures showed the colors, especially the yellow and light green as being SUPER light, but they are not! They are dark enough that you can easily read anything that is written, even in the light green and yellow! I recommend these for anyone who enjoys medium size felt tip tens. And they don't bleed through paper easily!!!

Review - Amazon.com Order Part 2

2014-02-17T09:34:00.002-08:00

So today is 2/17/14 and I thought I should update you on my Amazon.com order so far. I still have only received one delivery so far from Amazon and it only included the Paper Mate Liquid Flair Pens that I ordered. I have so many things coming and I'm really hoping stuff starts getting here soon. Everything now says it has shipped except for one shipment that includes - Mr. Sketch, my 2 art sets, Paper Mate Flair Ultra Fine Point Pens, and Pilot Precise V5 stick rolling ball pens. These say that they are supposed to be delivered by next Monday the 24th but haven't even shipped yet, so I hope they ship sometime soon! I actually can not believe how long it is taking everything to get to me. These shipping times are making me think twice about ordering through Amazon ever again. I will update you when I receive my next order or when the status of my final package changes from preparing for shipment to shipped, whichever comes first.

Review - Amazon.com Order

2014-02-14T06:36:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I figured that I could write a review of my current Amazon.com orders. I have not received any yet but i can tell you about my order up to this point. I am also going to review all the products in my order once I receive them.

Let me tell you about my first order. I am a pen FREAK!!! I don't ever get to buy nice pens during the rest of the year so since we have some extra money from taxes I decided to place a pen order. My first order was placed on February 11th 2014 and I ordered the following - Paper Mate Flair Point - Guard Porous Point Pens - 12 colored pens, Sharpie Pen Fine Point Pen - 6 colored pens, Uni-ball Vision, Stick Needle, Fine Point Roller ball Pens - 8 Colored Ink Pens, 8 packs of Paper Mate InkJoy 100 Stick Medium Point Advanced Ink Pens - 8 Colored Ink Pens, 3 packs of BIC Round Stic Grip Ball Point Pen - Purple Ink, Medium, Dozen Pack Pens, Paper Mate Liquid Flair Medium Tip Felt Porous Pens - 8 Colored Pens, Sharpie Fine Point Pen - Assorted Colors 12 Pack, Sharpie Permanent Markers, Assorted Ink, Fine Point 8 Pack + Free 8 Pack. The reason I bought 8 packs of the Paper Mate InkJoy was because they were under $2 a pack and you just couldn't beat that! Now after the fact I've done some reading up on them and I'm worried that I might have bought a bunch of crap pens. Most of the reviews are not too good.

Now, after I placed my order it got separated into 3 separate orders / shipments, I imagine because they must be coming from different places. Anyways the first order was marked as shipped the night of the 11th, the second part was marked as preparing to ship that same night but didn't actually ship until yesterday the 13th, and the third part of my order from the 11th still has not shipped but last night it did get changed from "not yet shipped" to "preparing for shipment." Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the second part of the order that just shipped yesterday is supposed to be delivered today already! It was shipped from right here in New York so it only needed a day I guess.

Now on to my second order that I placed yesterday the 13th. The order includes - Mr. Sketch Scented Water Color Markers - 18 Color Set, 2 sets of Darice 68-Piece Art Set, Paper Mate Flair Porous Point Pens, Ultra Fine Point - Assorted Ink 8 Pack, Pilot Precise V5 Stick Rolling Ball Pens, Extra Fine Point - 7 Pack Pouch Assorted Color Ink, and 2 packs of Paper Mate InkJoy 300 RT Retractable Medium Point Ball Point Pens - Assorted Color 8 Pack. I purchased the Mr. Sketch and art kits for my kids because they LOVE to color and draw. My son had one of there sets last year that he got for Christmas and he absolutely loved it and thought it was the coolest thing ever to have everything in its own case. This shipment has been broken into two orders / deliveries, one is marked as "not yet shipped" and the other is marked as "preparing for shipment." Every single part of both orders say that they will be delivered by Monday February 24th, that's like a week and a half away so I would hope they would be delivered by then!

So I should let you know that Amazon uses numerous shipping methods. My first shipment that was marked shipped on the 11th was sent FedEx smartpost and says that my scheduled delivery day is the 19th even though its in PA right now and should only take a day to get here. The second shipment that was shipped yesterday and is already supposed to be delivered today was sent UPS and for some reason was sent UPS 2nd Day Air even though it came from right here in New York. So I'm really interested to see how the other shipments are sent.

I guess that's it for now, now to just wait for more to ship and for them to start showing up!

Review - Roku 3

2014-02-13T09:23:00.001-08:00

Okay, so probably about a year ago I received a Roku 3 to product test and then do a survey for the company. The survey consisted of questions asking how I liked it, ease of use and if there were any bugs. As a thank you for doing this I was able to keep the Roku 3 for free. Now I have been using it for about a year and I feel very confident about giving it a proper review.

First let me list the features the Roku 3 comes with. This Roku is for use with HD tv's ONLY. There are other Rokus that can be used with both so if you are not using it with a HD tv or are not sure yet what kind of tv you will be using it on i would suggest getting one of the other Rokus. You are able to access 1000's of Roku specific channels but don't be fooled by that number, most of them really suck. A lot of the channels I think are made by a person and not by a company such as YouTube or Netflix (both of which ARE also channels on the Roku) so a lot of the channels have uninteresting content or are almost never updated with new content. I use it mainly to stream from Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. There is also a channel called My Media which will allow you to stream & play videos, pictures and music directly from your computer which is a amazing feature to have if you like to download movies and such. This Roku comes with built in wireless so that you don't have to run a cord to hook it up, which makes it that much easier to set up! It is also dual band wireless compatible. This Roku plays both 720p & 1080p video. The remote for this one is pretty cool, it has a motion sensor in it so you can play games like Angry Birds Space. Yes, i said games like Angry Birds Space! The Roku has a few neat games that you can play on it, not a ton of them yet but they are always adding new ones. The remote has a headphone jack and comes with a set of headphones. This feature is really cool but I don't see you needing it unless this is in your bedroom or maybe dorm room and someone is trying to sleep. It also has a spot for a ethernet cord, a USB port for maybe a hard drive full of media that you want to watch on the tv, and also a micro SD slot.

I honestly LOVE my Roku 3 and will always own one for now on. For about 6 months we did not have the money to pay for a TV service like Dish Network or TWC so we paid for Hulu and Netflix and those were all we used. They were life savers and it wouldn't have been possible with out our Roku. All you need is internet service and either wireless or a eithernet cable and you are all set. There are other paid channels like Netflix and Hulu such as Amazon prime, Redbox and Vudu that let you rent movies and stream them to your tv. I would recommend this to EVERYONE, we even bought one for Christmas for my husbands parents because we felt that they should have one. I will never go without one again! Oh, and all of you wrestling fans, the new WWE Network that is coming out will be available as a Roku channel!!! And its only going to be $9.99 a month! We will be subscribing to the WWE Network the minute it comes out so be waiting for a in-depth review, probably right before or right after Wrestlemania!

I hope this review helped someone see the light and buy a Roku!

Enjoy!

Garnier "I love my BB" Rewards Program Review

2013-09-24T08:15:00.001-07:00

Ok, so earlier this year Garnier was running a special rewards program on their Facebook page which I was lucky enough to take part in. They had everyone do different things each day to earn points (answer questions, post pics, invite friends and more). You earn points for each thing you complete and then you are able to trade those points in for a prize. The prizes ranged from a keychain to t-shirts to single bottles of BB cream to a year supply of BB cream to a raffle entry for a Vespa. So, after a few months I earned enough points to get a one year supply (6 bottles) of BB cream. I ordered them back in May and I didn't get the email saying they had shipped until September 5th due to a overwhelming amount of reward redemptions. Today is September 24th and I still have not received my year supply that I ordered. Garnier's support team is working with me to get me out a replacement box since I never received mine. I will update when I receive it, if I ever do...

Review: Loreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifier B.B. Cream In Fair

2013-09-10T11:43:00.001-07:00

I was sent this Loreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifier B.B. Cream in fair from SheSpeaks for free to test and write a review on their site. This was a few months before I was able to try the Garnier B.B. cream but I just now decided to write a review about it on my blog. I really quite like this BB cream, not as much as the Garnier, but if I couldn't get the Garnier this would be my backup. When you squeeze this out into your hand it is white but has tiny color balls in it. When you work this onto your face those little color beads burst and release color that auto corrects to match your skin shade. I really like how it Doesent have full coverage so I really don't need to use any kind of blush because this will let some of your own natural color come through. Also, this Doesent irritate my acne that I suffer from. All in all this is a very decent product that I would purchase on a regular basis if I wasn't already in love with the Garnier BB cream.

Review: Luster NOW! Instant Whitening Toothpaste

2013-06-28T10:54:00.001-07:00

*** I received this for free through Influenster in my Something Blue VOXBOX ***

I received the Luster NOW! Instant whitening toothpaste from Influenster in a Something Blue VOXBOX. When I saw that it claimed that there would be instant results I was very skeptical but upon trying it I was very pleased with the results. It wasn't a major difference but it was noticeable. This is something nice if you are going to be spending the night out on a date and you want your teeth to be a little whiter. Or if you have some other special occasion or an event to attend. I don't know yet if I would use it every day or just special occasions.

Review: Disney, Daily Renewal Naturals Hair & Body Baby Wash.

2013-06-27T14:59:00.001-07:00

Hello! So for a few years now I've been using the Disney themed Daily Renewal Naturals hair and body baby wash, and I decided that its about time that I write a review about it. First off some info about it. It's hypoallergenic, sulfate free, paraben free, dye free and tear free. It contains oat extract, Shea butter and aloe and it's lavender and chamomile scented. It cleans so well and leaves my children's skin so soft! It washes out/off way faster than normal baby wash which is a plus when you have children who hate to get their hair washed. I also use it for myself! Not as a hair or body wash but to remove makeup, especially eye makeup. Because of it being tear free I can scrub mascara and eye shadow off of my eyes without my eyes burning or stinging. My daughter has super sensitive skin and so do I and this is super gentle! I give this a 5 out of 5 stars!

Coppertone water moms! Coppertone product review.

2013-06-26T07:53:00.001-07:00

Hello! I don't remember if I ever told you that last year I became a Coppertone water mom thanks to BSM Media and Maria Bailey! The basic idea behind the Coppertone water moms group is finding moms who are passionate about being protected and safe in the sun. Coppertone and BSM media provide us with free samples of coppertone products to be able to distribute to family and friends and others that could benefit from learning about being safe in the sun. I live right next door to a town playground and swimming pool so I have plenty of opportunities to share my samples, knowledge and experience.

So this year is my second year being a water mom and I just recently received this years package of goodies. I will share with you what all I got but first let me share with you what I received last year. I will include pictures of what I have left from last year. So, last year I received a full size 8 oz bottle of Coppertone Water Babies pure & simple. I don't have any left from last year but I received more this year so I am able to provide a picture. The water babies pure & simple is SPF 50, year free and oil, fragrance and dye free. This is what I use on my daughter because she has very sensitive skin.

Next I received a package of 1 oz sample tubes, those were to give out at the park and other places where I could strike up a conversation about sun protection. These sample tubes were also the Coppertone water babies pure & simple.

Next I received a can of Coppertone water babies delicate foaming lotion. This is broad spectrum UVA/UVB and has a SPF of 75+. It works well on my son but my daughter was highly allergic to it. Her eyes swelled shut even though it wasn't anywhere near her eyes. Her face, arms, next, and back were covered with red welts. A good dose of Benadryl and a cool bath helped a lot but it took a few hours for it to go away.

Besides the sunscreen I received a very nice Coppertone Water Moms beach bag that I use as a diaper/travel bag for the kids. It's big enough that when we leave the house I can pack it full of diapers, wipes, extra clothes, a bag for dirty clothes, snacks and my extra bottles of Coppertone.

Ok, so now it's time for what I received this year! First I received two 8 oz full size bottles of Coppertone Water Babies pure & simple.

Next I received two 4 oz bottles of Coppertone Ultra Guard, broad spectrum SPF 50. Water resistant for 80 minutes. This is the sunscreen I use for my son because he loves the smell of it.

Next I received two 4 oz bottles of Coppertone Sport. It's broad spectrum SPF 30, stays on strong when you sweat so you won't just sweat it off, plus antioxidant defense (not exactly sure what they mean by that).

Next I received two 4 oz bottles of Coppertone Kids, broad spectrum SPF 50, again this sun block and all the others I received are water resistant for 80 minutes.

Next I received two 0.6 oz Coppertone water babies sunscreen sticks. These are so wonderful for applying to your squirmy child's face! It makes it so I don't worry about them turning their head fast and getting sunscreen in the eye. The water babies sticks are broad spectrum SPF 55 and water resistant for 80 minutes like the lotion.

The last of the Coppertone products I received was two 0.6 oz Coppertone Kids sunscreen stick, broad spectrum SPF 55 and water resistant for 80 minutes like the lotions.

Now I didn't get a bag like last year but I did receive a Coppertone beach towel! It's very cute and both my kids love how soft it is!

I'm so lucky to be able to be a Coppertone Water Mom, thank you Coppertone, BSM Media and Maria Bailey!

Garnier BB Cream, Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector, for Combination to Oily Skin

2013-04-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

i just tried this garnier BB cream for the first time... mine is skin renew miracle skin perfector, made for combination to oily skin... i must say that i LOVE it!!! i have very big pores, and any kind of facial makeup / foundation i try looks really nasty and fake, it cakes into my pores and looks gross so i usually dont wear any kind of makeup besides lip and eye makeup... this is the first facial makeup that looks pretty natural, not 100%, but the closest ive ever gotten... i will be buying this in the future... (the product i just tried i recieved for free to sample and write about from bzzagent, because i am a bzzagent)

Pinypon Mommy Party!

2013-01-04T13:47:00.001-08:00

Hello! So i haven't posted in a while, there have been loads of things going on and i just haven't had the time to update you on the latest happenings like i should. So today I'm writing about the Pinypon Mommy Party i hosted a couple months back that was hosted by Mommy parties also known as mom select, who you can find at momselect.com. these toys are actually quite adorable, or at least i thought they were. it seems like the girls at my mommy party thought they were pretty cool for a little while and then got kind of bored with them. there were a few aspects that they thought was cool, such as the hair, body parts and accessories all being swappable, but they got kind of bored with that fast. There were also a few arguments over girls swapping accessories and then wanting them back. The girls were really excited to play with the bus but then a lot of them noticed that they were pretty cheaply put together. The "shower" leaked all over and it didn't work properly, the little figurines wouldn't stay in place when put in the front of the bus and they all said that they wish the top of the bus connected somehow so that it wouldn't just fall off all the time. the girls were quite unhappy with the baby dolls that were sent too, they didn't like that they were made of hard plastic so that you couldn't cuddle them, also they didn't like how you could only feed them the bottle/sippy cup if they were sitting on the potty because they would leak all over. the parents also weren't very fond of the babies, and they stated that if they were going to buy a baby that went potty that they would find one that wasn't hard plastic and was maybe put together a little better. All in all the kids and parents weren't that thrilled with these products, they had fun for a while but then it just ended up being a bunch of fighting and cleaning up tiny parts left all over after the party. Also, if you have small children in the house, DO NOT PURCHASE THESE PRODUCTS! I have a daughter who is about to turn two, and she kept getting the pieces and they would go right to her mouth, these toys come with a bunch of choking hazards! The Pinypon dolls themselves are choking hazards due to the fact that their hair comes off, their head comes off, and then it also splits in half at the torso, which makes every party of this doll a choking hazard. Here are a few pictures of the products i received.

Here is the baby doll that i received along with the sippy cup and potty.

Here are the Pinypon figures...

Here is another one of the baby...

The figures in the package as you would find them in stores.

And here is two of the caravan...

In conclusion, I don't think i would ever go and purchase them, but they were all right for being free.

Influenster

2012-10-13T07:57:00.003-07:00

Hi everybody! Wow the temps around here are dropping, this morning there was a hard frost outside and everything looked so pretty and sparkly! Anyways I have been given another opportunity through another company to try some products! I am fairly new to this site, and this is my first time getting something through them so I am REALLY looking forward to seeing what I get and trying out some cool products. The site I'm referring to is called Influenster, their site is http://www.influenster.com/ you just go and sign up, and then sign up for badges for things that you are into, such as makeup and beauty, food, home improvement and so on. I just got chosen to get whats called a Beauty Blogger VoxBox which will contain a bunch of different beauty items for me to try out and then write reviews of. Now I should mention that the site just got a makeover and looks awesome! Its really easy to use and very informative. You all should really go check it out! And while you are there you should sign up so you to can try some cool stuff. Ill be back in a few days to start posting about my new products, I'm really excited to get back to you guys! Have a good day everyone, Ill be enjoying my coffee for a little bit longer before there are kids to play with and cleaning to do.

Leapfrog "Rock n' Learn" Touch Magic in-home Party

2012-09-05T11:42:00.002-07:00

OK so i haven't had much time to update you guys recently because my whole family is taking part in a wedding next weekend and my son starts school Friday! but Ive finally got a few moments so that i can fill you guys in on the wonderful opportunity that i was given by momselect.com to host a Leapfrog in-home party for a group of children. the toys that we received were TWO of the Touch Magic Rockin' Guitars and ONE of the Touch Magic Learning Bus. Here are some pictures of the products so you can see exactly what we received.

it was an amazing party and the kids did have fun with the toys, but i noticed some of the younger kids having a really hard time with the bus. i think kids are used to seeing and feeling the buttons that they are supposed to push and so they automatically catch on, but kids were having a hard time with this because there are no "buttons" to press, so it just looks like a colorful piece of plastic to them that has pictures on it. i DID notice that they caught on to the keyboard quickly but they got confused with the rest of it. in my opinion, i love the fact that we received these toys for free to host a party with, but i would not go and buy them myself.

if you are interested in becoming a mommy tester or interested in hosting in-home parties, please go to momselect.com and apply! tell them amber mcmyne sent you!

in about 2 weeks i will be posting about how my newest house party presented by fisher-price went. i was selected to host this upcoming party through houseparty.com which is another great company to sign up with. don't expect to get a bunch of house parties because they are a BIG company but every once in a while i get selected and its awesome!

have a great day everyone!

Esio beverage system product test

2012-08-27T11:14:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone!
So remember I told you that I was part of some product testing sites? Well one of the ones that I've been with for probably a year and a half just had me test a new product for them. The product was a Esio beverage system that has been developed for the counter top. It makes both hot and cold drinks at the touch of a button and can make a wide range of drinks from coffee and tea to sports drinks, vitamin water and lemonade. The drink mix comes in little pouches that you insert into the machine very quickly and easily and you can remove and switch to another kind just as quickly and easily. I will include the link to the website for this product along with the link to sign up for the product testing site momselect.com at the end of this post. Now some info about the machine. It should be released for sale at walmart stores in October for $199.00 (or that what I've been told). The pouches right now are available online and retail for $5.99 each. They just released word that they have teamed up with V8 to create V8 brand drinks in pouches for the machine. I do not know how much the pouches are going to retail for in stores but i hope not $5.99, I'm hoping that they will maybe be priced in the $3.99 range which i believe is a fair price. OK now the link to the Esio website is http://www.esiobev.com/ and the link to the mom select website is http://www.momselect.com/ more posts to come! Up next is my review about the Leapfrog "Rock N' Learn" Touch Magic guitar and school bus toys. And remember, you will not be able to find this Esio counter top machine in stores until after October.

Hoya pictures

2012-08-09T13:45:00.001-07:00

ok as promised here is some pics of my hoyas...

H. acuta 'varegata'

H. australis ssp. australis brookfield

H. bella pundicule

H. bella

h. cv. iris marie

h. cv. mathilde

h. cv. minibelle

H. Cagayensis

h. carnosa

H. chelsea

h. cumingiana pundicule

h. cumingana pundicule

h. cumingana

H. DS-70 (purple)

H. DS-70 (green)

H. diptera

H. fitchii

H. Fungii

H. heuschkeliana

H. javanica

H. lacunosa (speckled leaves)

H. lacunosa

H. macrophylia

H. memoria

H. merrillii

H. micrantha

H. myrmecopa

H. nummularioides

H. obscura (green)

H. obscura (red)

H. oreogena IML- 1073

H. pallida

H. pentaphlabia

H. polyneura

H. pubicalyx 'red buttons'

H. rotundiflora

H. sipitangensis

H. subcalva

H wayetii

H. aldrichii

H. lacunosa 'ruby sue'

H. pubicalyx 'black dragon'

i have more pics to post soon... a few have pundicules that are getting close to blooming i think...

up coming product testing? and sporadic posting...

2012-08-01T07:18:00.002-07:00

OK, I'm SO SORRY!!!! about my sporadic posting, i really need to get this under control. i have pics of my hoyas uploaded to the computer and i will load them onto here soon, that's not why I'm posting right now though. so Ive joined a few sites today that are specifically for mom product testing, and I'm waiting to hear back from a few of them to see if I'm even accepted. i don't want to post the name of the sites yet because i don't really know if they are legit or not. i would hate for you to go spend your time on a site to find out you never get a house party or a box of stuff to try. so for the time being I'm going to keep the names of the sites to myself until i know for sure that they are legit product testing sites. i just wanted to post oh here quick and let you guys know whats going on... now time to get the kids breakfast! have a great day everyone, hopefully ill get back on here later today to upload pics!

Beginning my Hoya journey

2012-07-02T20:18:00.001-07:00

ok, so ive been messing around on here trying to figure out how to get other pages and stuff. i wanted to make a seperate page for hoyas and the another for my other house plants but after i made the pages for some reason it wouldnt let me post anything under anything different than the intro page. so i guess im stuck on here for now with everything. ok so in this post ill list all the different hoyas i have right now, some are rooted plants and some are cuttings that i have rooting right now. heres my list:
H. Carnosa 'Krimson Queen'
H. Carnosa 'Krimson Princess'
H. Compacta
H. Compacta 'Varegata'
H. CV. Iris Marie
Dischidia 'Geri' - this is not a hoya but is closely related
H. Carnosa (green)
H. Lacunosa (4 different looking ones so im guessing 4 different kinds)
H. Wayetii
H. Fungii
H. Pubicalyx
H. Cagayanensis
H. Rotundiflora
H. Memoria
H. DS-70 (green and purple ones)
H. Polyneura
H. Bella
H. Cumingiana
H. Obscura (two different ones, one stays green and one turns red in high light)
H. Micrantha
H. CV. Minibelle
H. Sipitangensis
H. Myrmecopa
H. CV. Mathilda
H. Diptera
H. Pallida
H. Merrillii
H. Nummularioides
H. Pubicalyx 'Red Buttons'
H. Pubicalyx 'Black Dragon'
H. Pubicalyx 'Pink Silver' (this one is questionable)
H. Lacunosa 'Ruby Sue'
H. Australis ssp. Brookfield
H. Aldrichii
H. Heushkeliama
H. Pentaphlabia
H. Subcalva
H. Macrophylla
H. Acuta 'varegata'
H. Oreogena IML-1073
H. Fitchii

yes i know... its a HUGE list, im one lucky gal. ill post tomorrow all my info ive collected over the last few weeks on how they are coming along with rooting.

a coming change

2012-07-02T19:32:00.001-07:00

ok, so ive been thinking that i might change the whole feel of my blog since i dont get on here that much. im thinking that im going to turn it not only into a blog about my personal life but also about my plants, so that i can document how they are coming along. Ive begun collecting Hoyas and have quite a lot of cuttings now. i think maybe i should start keeping an online journal of everything i do with them and see what happens. ill start tonight in the next post that will be all the info that ive collected so far, and ill figure out how to post pictures too! im hoping to maybe get some more people checking this out if i have some specific topics on here. be back in a bit with some of my hoya info so far!

Potty Training...

2012-03-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

wow its been a long time since ive posted anything on here... i lost my computer probably 8 months ago and we just got one back so i am able to start working on my blog again as well as working on some other things... ive decided to start major potty training with my son. He turned 3 back in november and is still in diapers, when asked why he wont go on the potty he says its because he doesent want to be a grown up. Pre-school is coming up very soon and while i havent made the decision on weither i should send him or not i would still like him to be potty trained, since at least 50% of boys are by now. the fact that he tells me right out that hes not going to potty train cause he doesent want to be a big boy, or that he doesent want to be a grown up is a real pain. i know its because of the fact that hes not the baby any more now that we have his little sister too, but im trying to work with him and let him know that being a big boy is a very special thing and that he should be excited to be a big boy. ok well im going to go for the night, still gotta make dinner for the little people that run my life (i dont mind... much, haha) im going to be posting soon about our experiance buying a house and how we went through USDA, how it was awesome and terrible at the same time... it really is a wonderful program, you just gotta expect closing to take longer than it usually does, i believe we closed around 6 months after our initial interest in the home. enough about that, it will all be explained soon enough. have a good night everyone!!! ~Amber~

Angel's Wings

2011-07-03T10:39:00.001-07:00

You say you’re down on your luck
Hey baby It’s a long, long way up
Hold back now, hold back your fears
You say you’re really down and out
And you feel like there’s no way out now
Let go now let go of your tears some more

How many times have you asked yourself?
Is this the hand of fate now that I’ve been dealt?
You’re so disillusioned this can’t be real
And you can’t stand now the way you feel

I don’t care about what they say
I won’t live or die that way
Tired of figuring out things on my own
Angel’s wings won’t you carry me home?

And when you’re down on your luck
Hey baby It’s a long, long way up
Hold back now, hold back your fears
And when you’re really down and out
And you feel like there’s no way out now
Let go now, let go of your tears some more

I triumphed in the face of adversity
And I became the man I never thought I’d be
And now my biggest challenge, a thing called love
I guess I’m not as tough as I thought I was

I don’t care about what they say
I wanna marry you some day
Gonna wake up, it’s a brand new day
Angel’s wings gonna carry you away
Angel’s wings gonna carry me away
Angel’s wings gonna carry us away

Gonna carry us away
Gonna carry us away
Gonna carry us away

new pictures of the family

2011-07-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

ok so i thought i should post some new pictures of the family....

here is kayleigh when she was born, she dropped so fast and had her face pressed against my pelvis during labor and ended up with a black and blue face for a few weeks. I gave birth to her with a push and a half, she was 7lbs. 3oz when she was born, my son was 8lbs 9oz so she was so easy to birth compaired to my son.

cayden and mommy holding new baby kayleigh

Below : here is kayleigh in her easter outfit, she is so adorable

here is kayleigh at the hospital... we were there for a week while she had RSV, she is a few days shy of being 2 months old in this picture. she had to be on oxygen for a few days because she wasnt getting enough on her own.

here is cayden is his easter suit... what a hansom man...

cayden and kayleigh enjoying tummy time, kayleigh got to roll over to take a break from being on her tummy and cayden wanted to lay with her.

this pic below was taken before we moved... he was being so cute with our cat milo.

and now just a few pictures of myself....

Update on Everything, Continued....

2011-07-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, so let me tell you a little about this USDA Direct Rural home loan that we first applied for in January and are again applying for in August. Its really a great program, its for low income families to acquire a home in a rural area, the most your family can make in a year is like a little over $40 k. First you apply with the pre-qualification, which we did in January and got turned down for. we got turned down because we had items on my husbands credit that were in collections, so we had to pay that off and have 6 months good credit before we could re-apply, that's why we cant reapply until august because it will be 6 months from when we payed off our debt. now we were told that with most places it would be a problem to pay off all our debt and not get a credit card because then we would have no credit history at all, but they told us that they really don't look at a credit score, they just look and see if there is anything on your credit report and if anything that is on it is paid up to date and everything... if there is one thing in collections on your credit report even if its $1 you will get denied. they told me that because now we will have no credit history at all that all we have to do is supply them with all of our bills to show that they have been paid and are up to date and rent receipts to show that our rent is up to date and that will establish credit with them. So August 1st i will be mailing in a bunch of stuff, such as bank statements, cell phone payment history, rent receipts, a letter from our landlord saying that we pay our rent on time every month and so on... I'm so excited to re-apply... the man that i recently talked to at the USDA home office in Cortland said that as long as i supply all of that information and our credit is recent and clean that we should have no problem qualifying for this loan, which means that hopefully by the end of the year we will be in our own house!!! OK so i little more about this loan, you need NO MONEY DOWN!!!! you don't need to pay any closing costs or anything like that and because of our income we will start off paying 1% interest, the house will close at the current interest rate, that is somewhere in the high 4% but until our income increases we wont pay any higher interest than we can afford. It really is a great program for low income families. Now I feel I must at least mention the other USDA loan that is the USDA Guaranteed Rural loan, its for somewhat higher income families that have better credit and the income limit is like around $75k. Its still from the government but you go through a mortgage broker where with the direct loan its a government subsidized program that's directly between you and the government. I will look later today for the website so that you can read up on it if you want. well i need to go for now and get some lunch for myself and my son, ill try and post that website later today, ill post the phone number and address too for anyone who is interested in looking into this.

Update on Everything

2011-07-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

hi to anyone who reads this, which is no one... lol. I just wanted to update everyone on whats been going on lately. Back in January we found out that the house we were living in was full of lead and that when my son went to have his blood work done for a lead test it came back a level 15, which is high. So we decided that we needed to move, for the health of our son and our little girl who was due in February. Well we ended up finding a place out in Whitney Point that is just a wonderful place to live, and we moved in a month after Kayleigh was born, on March 15th. Kayleigh was born February 16th and is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. it is now July 1st and we are going to be reapplying for a loan August 1st for a home. well, Kayleigh just woke up so ill continue this tomorrow.... night everyone...

UPDATE!!! ELF Order...

2010-10-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Okay so I haven't been on in a while so i figured I should get on and update you on everything that's going on, both with my ELF order and not... I got my ELF order this last Tuesday, it wasn't supposed to be here until Thursday but their shipping is excellent, plus they are only in New Jersey. When I got it though some things were broken so I called up ELF and they sent out replacement items right away, and when I say right away i mean RIGHT AWAY!!!! The replacement items shipped out like 2 hours after I called!!! Now it said it wasn't supposed to be here until the 12th, which is Tuesday but I have been tracking it and its already at the post office which means ill get it tomorrow morning, which is the 9th... if I get broken stuff again I wont be too upset, their customer service is fantastic and I am now a loyal customer. Ill post pics up of everything I bought once I get in the new stuff tomorrow... now besides all that our whole family has been sick with a nasty head cold. My poor son is so stuffed up it makes me so sad to see and hear him struggling with a stuffed up little nose... Our computer decided to be dumb yesterday and I'm not sure if it had a virus or what but i had to use my back-up discs to just reboot the whole thing cause it was being so damn slow... Okay well Ive gotta go, hopefully ill be back soon to fill everyone in on my order and take some pics...