One More Day Closer to Friday

Princess Ivi is a great kid.  I have her picture posted on my wall at my new job.  It is attached to a slip of paper that says the following:

Promise Me You'll Always Remember:
You are Braver Than You Believe,
And Stronger Than You Seem,
And Smarter Than You Think.

This little note is a perfect example of how she can always say the best things to people and they get cheered up, motivated, etc.  Of course, the first time she gave me this note it said "Stranger Than You Seem."  She changed it because it is displayed at work but hey, stranger fits me too.  

Before lunch, I read an article from the National Psoriasis Foundation that said that women with psoriasis have a 62% chance of being diagnosed with diabetes.  Yikes.  Since I have had psoriasis since I was 13 and there is diabetes in my family history, it kind of makes me nervous.  I am so bad about taking care of myself.  Yesterday, for example, I did not drink anything except coffee until 7:30 p.m.  Umm,  that is not good.  I went to Big Lots for lunch and I bought the best Rubbermaid water bottle that I can keep at my desk so I can drink more water.  It is a 20 ounce bottle and it doesn't taste like plastic.  I also want to really get my act together and start moving a little bit more.  Although, I have to do a lot of walking at work, I know it is not enough.  

I just visited the Operation Christmas Child website and got the drop-off dates and the location.  We will definitely be putting some of these together this year and you should consider it too.  Princess Ivi and I don't have much but we know that we do have more than others so we try to do what we can.  The shoeboxes are a good idea because they don't cost much to fill and since we usually donate to the age group that Princess Ivi is, she gets to choose what she wants to go in the boxes based on what she likes.

I actually saw a sign for Christmas Trees on the way to work this morning.  It is hard to think about Christmas when it is 90 degrees today.  But it supposed to be 75 tomorrow which will be nice.  Princess Ivi has no school so she is going to hang at home until late in the afternoon and then my mom is going to take her to the main library which is huge and has a great selection of books.  Then I will pick her up when I get off work and we are going to the mall.  The mall is torture for me.  But we are running over there to get a new costume for Princess Ivi.  She is going to be Alice from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.  She will look adorable.  

I have been knitting away on Princess Ivi's Clasica Coat.  I am slogging away on the back.  I have no idea if it is correct because I can't see the pattern in the magazine (one of the drawbacks of having such bad vision) but we think it still looks nice.   

Clasica Coat

Marquise Guantlets

I also started on the Marquise Gauntlets.  The are coming along nicely.   Of course, I should be knitting every spare second so I am ready for Christmas but it seems to not be happening.

My mind has been pretty stuck on Thanksgiving for a while.  I am doing Thanksgiving for the first time ever at my house.  Right now it looks like it will just be Princess Ivi and my mom and me but my brother and his kids might come down.  We'll see.  Anyway, I am brainstorming about what I want to cook for Thanksgiving so I can get nice and organized.  I will keep you posted. 

Have a happy Thursday!!!

10 Ways to Celebrate Halloween

1. Trick-or-treating, of course.
2. Haunted Houses
3. Jack O'lantern carving contest
4. Costume Halloween party. 
5. Halloween dance
6. Events at church (great for those who don't celebrate Halloween) -especially good if the church has a good youth group for teens
7. Pass out candy.  Especially fun to dress in costume while doing this so you can optimize the embarrassing effect on your children.
8. Hide in your house with your lights off because you didn't buy candy/forgot to buy candy. 
9. Go to your mom's house which is in the middle of the woods to avoid passing out candy. 
10. Make your fave snacky food and watch movies. 

Carmex® Healing Lotion and Carmex® Healing Cream- Review and Giveaway

I recently became a member of the Carmex® Blog Squad.  I was really excited by this opportunity because I love Carmex®.  I love the smell and the way it makes my lips feel.  But I learned something new.  Carmex® is now making lotion.  I was recently asked to review two products, the Carmex® Healing Lotion and Carmex® Cream. 

Carmex® Healing Lotion 

Carmex® Healing Lotion is made using a patent pending process that delivers healing and moisturizing without a greasy feel.  Use anywhere skin feels dry.  Daily use will help protect skin and keep dryness away.  Rich healing ingredients, including Aloe and Vitamin E, nourish and moisturize.  Absorbs fast for a non-greasy feel; has a light, pleasant scent. 

I was asked to address the following questions which I have done below. 

• Does it work?    Absolutely.  I have seriously dry skin on my hands due to yarn, washing dishes, and psoriasis, among other things.  This lotion worked so well to keep my hands soft.  I could feel it throughout the day without having to reapply it hundreds of times.  The little spot of psoriasis that I have on my knuckle which was normally bright red looks like normal skin now. 
• Scent of Product I love the scent.  I am sure some of you are now scared that the lotion smells like their lip products but it doesn't.  I think the scent is subtle and clean smelling.  Not medicine-y and definitely not too overpowering. 
• The quality & feel of the product  This is very high quality lotion in my opinion.  It is not too thin.  It may be a bit "slippery" feeling but I think it has to do with the way it works for your dry skin.  To me, I don't feels "greasy" but I can definitely tell that I have lotion on. 
• Thoughts on packaging  I think the packaging is nice.  It is very easy to tell from looking at it that it is a Carmex product and for those of us who love Carmex, it is great.  But it is also great for those people who may not "love" Carmex but are familiar with the brand.
• The cost  I was not asked to specifically address this point but I wanted to add it in here. As I have previously mentioned, I am a frugal shopper.  I tend to use coupons, shop sales and try to get the best deal.  The cost of the lotion is $5.99 for a 5.5 ounce tube.  Now that may seem high to some but the thing to keep in mind is that a little of this lotion goes a long way.  Both my daughter and I have been using the lotion and it hasn't even made a significant difference to how much is in the bottle.  So because this is a great lotion and it goes so far, I think it is a great bargain. 

The verdict:  I love this lotion.  I have already mentioned to a lot of people in passing that I have been using it and what a difference it makes.  I would definitely continue using it and recommend it to people. 

Carmex®  Healing Cream

Carmex® Healing Cream is made using a patent pending process that delivers concentrated healing and moisturization of your driest, roughest skin.  Use on your driest skin - especially hands, feet, elbows and knees.  9 healing ingredient penetrate and help repair your very dry, rough or cracked skin.  Concentrated - use a small amount.  Absorbs fast for a non-greasy feel; has a light, pleasant scent.

• Does it work?    Absolutely.  I have been using Carmex® Healing Cream on my hands and feet before bed and I can feel a huge difference.  I have also been making it a point of putting it on my elbows and knees which have large patches of psoriasis on them as well as a palm size patch which is on my forearm.  These patches of psoriasis were very dry, scaly, painful and itchy before I started putting Carmex® Healing Cream on them and now they are much softer, don't itch so bad and are not painful at all.  The redness has also decreased.  I know that Carmex® Healing Cream is not going to "heal" my psoriasis but it is nice to have found something strong enough to soften the scales from my psoriasis and something that makes my day more comfortable. 
• Scent of Product Carmex® Healing Cream smells just like the Healing Lotion.
• The quality & feel of the product  This is a very high quality product.  It works so well to help with severely dry skin.  It is the right consistency, not greasy feeling, and again, it is concentrated so a little of this goes a long way.
• Thoughts on packaging  Again, the package is very distinctive to the Carmex® brand which is great.
• The cost  The Healing Cream also costs $5.99 but for a 4 ounce tube this time.  However, since this product is concentrated and you only use it on your "driest" skin, I think it is a great bargain because one tube will likely last for a good amount of time.  

The verdict:  This is great stuff!!

As part of Carmex® Blog Squad, I received a wonderful kit filled with all of Carmex's line of product.  The total value of the kit is $52.32 and it contains:

    * Traveling case with two clear pouches.
    * Three lip balms in original, cherry and strawberry.
    * Three lip in original, cherry and strawberry.
    * Two pots of lip     in original and cherry.
    * Three tinted moisturizers in clear, peach and pink.
    * Two lotions, one full size and one travel size.
    * One healing cream.

The most amazing thing is that Carmex® also sent me an extra kit t give away!!!!  Woo-hoo!!

To enter the giveaway, you MUST  follow me through Google Friend Connect and leave a comment telling me you have done so no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) EST on November 16, 2010.  If you already follow me, you are automatically entered.    

If you are not familiar with Google Friend Connect, to follow me, just click on the "Join this Site" button on the right sidebar.  

10 Things In Your Freezer Right Now

1. Frozen bananas.  I always freeze my bananas once they start turning brown so then I have them for banana bread or muffins.
2. Ice cream.  A staple in my house.  I think the flavors we have this time are vanilla and coffee.
3. Potato soup.  Homemade and really yummy.  These will be used for lunches or quick dinners.
4. Shrimp.  A necessity in my house for Princess Ivi.  I can buy these buy one, get one free for $8.99.
5. Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Ice Cream Bars.  These were disappointing but I can't bring myself to throw them away. 
6. Chicken soup. Homemade.  Tasty.
7. Homemade chicken stock
8. One frozen pizza, 5 months old.  Given how old this is, I probably shouldn't eat this. 
9. Waffles, chocolate chip and cinnamon sugar.  Great since we don't have a waffle iron. 
10. Broccoli.  Green giant with cheese sauce.  Yummy. 

Been Busy

I haven't posted lately because I have been busy because I started my new job!! 

I still work in the legal field but instead of working for a personal injury defense firm, I now work for legal aid.  I started on the 13th so I am still learning what I am supposed to be doing and stuff but I think it will be a very rewarding position. 

Non, je ne regrette rien or No, I regret nothing

We watched La Vie en Rose last night.  For those of you not familiar, it is a move based on the life of French singer, Edith Piaf. 

It was a good movie but it left out a lot of her life like when she was singing for the Germans in occupied France when she was allegedly working for The Resistance.  (I say allegedly because there is no proof as of yet.)  The line above is the title of a song which she sang. 

Edith Piaf was an avid knitter until she was physically incapable of doing so.  When asked what she did when not singing, she responded “I knit.”  Sounds like my kind of girl. 

I became interested in Edith Piaf when watching Saving Private Ryan when Upham is translating the words of Tu Es Partout while waiting for the Germans to come to the Bridge and fall into their trap.

I enjoyed watching La Vie en Rose except for the fact that due to having to read the subtitles, I was not able to knit. 

Our Netflix activity is starting to get pretty busy since our cable is disconnected.  Up next, December Boys with Daniel Radcliffe, followed by Downfall.  I like foreign films, obviously, and I like movies about World War II.

Are you geeking?

Just stumbled upon GeekMom.  Where they define geek as “a person so immersed in an interest that he or she is out of the mainstream.”  I like it. 

Movies and Weirdness

We watched Remember Me last night.  It was sad.  Both Princess Ivi and I wound up in tears at the end.  But it does make me wonder…what will I be remember for?

On a less serious note, Robert Pattinson is a weird actor in this movie (or maybe in all movies?).  In Remember Me, there was one scene where he looked like Cedric Diggory just walked into the room and then there is another scene where he is all serious and intense and he looks like Edward Cullen (Princess Ivi and I actually thought that he looked like he wanted to take a bite of the girl’s neck).  I wonder if he will ever be able to escape those two roles. 

10 Things To Love About Fall

• Oranges, browns and other fall colors.
• Being able to wear “real” shoes with dress socks.
• Turning off the a/c and opening windows.
• Cooler weather for after-work walks.
• Halloween
• Being able to wear long-sleeve shirts and sometimes, even a sweater.
• High school football games without heat and bugs.
• Homecoming.
• Leaves changing color.
• Pumpkins (although not to eat..blah)