Announcing the winner of the giveaway .....

...   But first ...


Yesterday was Gianna's appointment with her specialist. Unfortunately, I was extremely distracted while driving, and didn't realize I had went the wrong way. To get to her pediatrician, I have to take one exit (we'll say Exit A), to get to her specialist, I have to take another (Exit B). Because I was talking to my husband about the appointment we had with her pediatrician on Monday, I took Exit A and didn't think much of it. About an hour and a half into the drive, I said to him "Wouldn't it be funny if we weren't going the right way??" ... and then I realized we weren't. Oops.

I called, they said if we could get there around 1, or shortly after (meaning 1:15), we would be okay. We got there at 1:05, and they the receptionist turned us away. I realize it was my mistake, and I take full responsibility for it. We did reschedule for today. And made it there on time today! WOOT! Her doctor said everything looked great. Her spleen is slightly enlarged, but it's not large enough to warrant any concern. We return in a year, unless something happens that requires emergency care.

I also had my second interview today at a children's clothing store. I was still incredibly nervous, and honestly considered not even going. But I didn't. I went to Old Navy earlier to buy some new clothes for my interview, so I HAD to go. It turns out, I know the hiring manager. She said she has 3 other people she needs to interview still, but I am still hoping that I get hired. I'd love to work there. I love their clothes, so I can see myself spending much of my check on new clothes for the kids! Maybe getting hired there isn't such a good thing. Hmmm




And now, to announce the winner of the $5 Amazon Gift Card:

CRYSTAL H!!!
Look out for that email! And congrats!!


Thank you all so much for all of your excellent advice!

Quick Giveaway! Give me your best tip!

I had an interview yesterday, and though I was incredibly nervous, I did well enough that I was invited back for a 2nd interview Friday evening. I am still nervous! It's been SIX years since I've last had an interview, and I am unsure what to expect.



To celebrate, I'm going to have a little contest. Give me your best advice for someone going to an interview. Anything at all! From suggestions on how to dress, to questions that might be asked, even your most embarrassing interview stories! One lucky person who comments will win a $5 Amazon Gift Card!!





Contest will run until 10 PM, EST.
Fine print: Contest is sponsored SOLELY by me. Please be sure to leave your email address in the comment box below so I may contact you in the event that you win. Winner will have 24 hours to answer my email, notifying them of being the winner, or a new winner will be chosen. I will use random.org to chose a winner. First comment is #1, second is #2, and so on. Sharing the post on either FB or Twitter will give you an extra entry. To claim your second entry, submit another comment that says "Shared on (Facebook/Twitter)". Only comments on the blog will count. GOOD LUCK!!



Ready??


Set.


GO!!!

Pure Raspberry Ketones *GIVEAWAY*

This opportunity couldn't have come at a better time. I have been meaning to actually start my journey into weight loss for a while now, so when this opportunity presented itself, I drove in head first.

Raspberry Ketones are a fat burner and an appetite suppressor. There are no artificial ingredients, and it is made in the USA. 

The pills are rather large. Luckily for me, I've never had a problem with pills, so this was not a concern of mine. My husband, on the other hand, has a hard time taking pills, so he would not be able to take these. I am not sure if it's okay to break them apart and sprinkle them on something, but again, it wasn't an issue for me so I didn't look into it.

While taking these, I noticed a drastic decrease in my hunger. You must take these half an hour before eating, which was somewhat of a struggle for me. I'm used to getting up and eating breakfast right away, so I had to resist eating for a while. But once that half hour (or so) passed, I noticed I wasn't as hungry as I was before taking it. The recommended dosage is 1 capsule twice a day. I take 1 capsule three times a day, otherwise I'm a heavy snacker. I love my snacks, and it's really had an effect on me.

I also noticed that I'm a little more active while taking these. I may not be running around, but I'm definitely not content to just sit around. I have more energy to play with my kids, more energy to get things done around the house, including catching up on laundry.

For more information, or to order your own bottle, please click HERE.







a Rafflecopter giveaway






I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

**REVIEW** Pet Urine Stain Finder UV Light

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.


Having a male cat, I'm always afraid that he might spray somewhere, and I wouldn't be able to find it. Fortunately, we haven't had this problem. He is neutered, so I'm not expecting it to happen. However, we have quite a few stray cats outside who HAVE marked up our porch and items we've had out there. Chairs, car seats, even our kids' toys have been marked. Those items, while not super easy to clean animal urine/spray out of, they are still cleanable. The porch and the outside of the house, on the other hand? Not so easy to clean if you don't know exactly where they sprayed! Enter this handy little UV light. It illuminates where the animals marked so that you know where they have been.

It's a small flashlight with 12 (very) bright light bulbs. Since it is UV, it emits a bluish light. Upon shining the light on a spot that an animal has marked, it turns the area a yellowish color. Unfortunately for where I used it, the carpeting made it incredibly hard to actually see where there was urine.

Top of the UV light

It has with 3 AAA batteries included, though I recommend putting new, better quality batteries in. If not, then you may have the same experience I had- flickering, varying strength of the bulbs, etc. Once I put new batteries in, it shone nice and bright. Still wasn't able to capture a picture of it, but it was definitely brighter.

I tried it on my front porch, and saw quite a bit of spots where the local strays have marked- my 'Welcome' mat, right under my mailbox, my husband's chair, random places on the floor and the wall of the porch. I then walked around the perimeter of my house, and noticed spots on the side of the house and on the sidewalk leading to the back. When I stepped onto the back porch, I saw just as many, if not MORE, spots back there. I also saw a large spot on the back door.

A friend of mine mentioned trying it inside the house for human urine as well. Since we bedshare with Gianna, and I know she's wet my bed a few times, I gave it a try. Nothing showed up. However, I do use my carpet shampooer when she's had an accident, so that might be why. The one room that REALLY lit up, was the bathroom. My son still has not perfected his aim, and we have lots of proof of that on the walls. Shining the UV light on those marks was repulsive! I knew it was gross, I just didn't realize HOW much he's missed the toilet. Unfortunately, we have textured walls, so cleaning them is kind of out of the question.

I've also used it on the carpets just to see what they look like. If you live in an apartment, or anywhere that others may have lived prior to you, I suggest NOT using the light! While I couldn't see anything on the carpet under a regular light, there was a lot to see with the UV light. It really made me wonder what exactly that could possibly be on my carpets. Although I'm sure I don't honestly want to know.



Overall, I really do like this light. Some of our outside toys that were sprayed came clean because I knew exactly where to focus the majority of the cleaning. No nasty cat spray smell lingered. If you have pets that like to mark their territory, this would come in very handy. You can purchase your own handy UV light by going HERE.




I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

**REVIEW** ADOVIA Dead Sea Salt Soap

Usually, I am very reluctant to use bar soap. I've heard all the claims, "Won't dry your skin out!" or "Super moisturizing!" and so on. For me, they've always dried my skin out terribly. But when I saw this soap available for review, and read about it, I decided to give it a try.

Before trying it, I was expecting the same result as every other bar soap I've ever tried. I was expecting my skin to feel tight, itchy, and dry. But I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it's all the minerals in the soap, maybe it's the Dead Sea salts that are exfoliating my skin, but it felt amazing!

There is something familiar about the scent that I just can't put my finger on. I recognize the smell, I am sure that it's the same scent as soap that I have used as a child, but I'm not exactly sure. It's not unpleasant, however.

Excuse the horrible picture of myself. This is before using the soap. My skin is really dry, and oftentimes, it's flaky and peeling. Even with lotion, it's constantly dry. 

The first thing I noticed about Adovia Dead Sea Salt moisturizing soap is that it doesn't create a lot of lather. As much as I appreciate not having excessive bubbles, it was kind of hard to think of it cleaning my face without the lather I'm used to. The second thing I noticed was that, while using my hands to wash my face, it felt like my skin was tightening and drying out. My hands kind of "skipped" over my skin, indicating that it was taking grease and oils off of my face. But I couldn't help but think it was overly cleaning- removing ALL moisturization from my skin. The last thing I noticed was that my face felt lighter, more airy, if that makes sense.

Not a lot of lather. Made me think it wouldn't clean my face as well as it claimed to.

When I rinsed it off, again my hands "skipped" over my skin. I started to think that maybe I made a mistake by giving this soap a try. I didn't have high hopes, despite really wanting to believe that it would feel good. However, once I fully rinsed it off, and pat dried my face using a wash cloth, I noticed immediately that my skin felt different. It felt lighter. Really clean. My skin looked amazing, as well! Nice and clear, smooth, no rough, dry patches, no flaking skin. Within 5 minutes, the feeling of tightness went away, and it was super soft! I did not use any other lotions or moisturizers after using this soap.

My skin seriously looks so much different!!

I absolutely love this soap, and have used it twice daily since receiving it. Every time I use it, my skin feels softer and softer. I don't see any dryness any more, and my complexion is much more even. The only warning I have for this soap is, make sure you don't get any of it in your eyes!! I made the mistake of not rinsing it off all the way before opening my eyes, and man did it burn! Keep a towel or wash cloth right next to you so that you can wipe your eyes before you open them. You can purchase the Adovia Dead Sea Salt soap on Amazon.

Have you ever used Dead Sea Salt soap? If so, what did you think of it? If not, would you consider it?

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

**REVIEW** Shandali UltraSport Travel Towel

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

The Shandali UltraSport Travel Towel is an interesting product. It is a microfiber towel that is extremely lightweight, yet extremely absorbent. I was excited to try it out as part of my two towel showering system. I, honestly, did not have high expectations for it. Once I took it out of the package (from Amazon, so you know it was excessive!), I thought it was way too thin, and way too flimsy to do any good. Also, I was always told that microfiber should not touch the bare skin as it could potentially cut you, due to the sharp fibers. However, this towel is incredibly soft and smooth. It feels great against my skin!

While it is incredibly thin, don't let that fool you. I ordered the Medium size (24" x 48") because I have long hair. I was hoping the towel would cover my hair completely so that I could make this my permanent hair towel.

My original designated "hair towel" is thick, and would take forever to dry. Sometimes, it'd still be damp when I took a shower the following day. Which would then lead to it smelling musty, and my hair if I forgot to bring a new towel in the bathroom with me. With the Shandali towel, I don't have to worry about that. It dries very quickly (usually no longer than 30 minutes, in my experience). I hang it right on the back of the bathroom door.

My only real complaint thus far is the fabric loop. The first time I hung it up, it started to rip a little. While the towel was wet, it still wasn't heavy enough to cause the loop to tear like this. My guess is that it likely came like this. I failed to check it directly out of the package, so I can't say for certain. While some people may consider the loop an important piece of the towel, to me, it wasn't a big deal. It wouldn't stop me from recommending it to someone.

It held up well in the wash, with very minimal shrinking, if any at all. The color didn't bleed, and it didn't fade with one wash. Washing instructions say to wash in cold water and tumble dry low. For some reason, my washer doesn't wash on cold, so I washed it on hot. I also used the high setting on my dryer.

Overall, I really do love this towel. While I don't find it to be big enough to use as a beach towel, it's perfectly acceptable as a shower/bath towel. It would likely be perfect to dry a car after washing it. Though there are cheaper options.

You can purchase your very own Shandali UltraSport Travel Towel here.


Already own one? Tell me what you think about it!







I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.