Daily Mess

I have caught a few episodes of Jon & Kate Plus 8 and all I have to say is Jon sure is a whiney little bitch.  Seriously!  It is like his manhood panties are all in a knot because his wife is a take charge kind of woman.  Boo Hoo you don’t like the press, well I have news for you, that horse has already left the barn and there is no going back.  Embrace WHAT popularity has given you,  such as the means to insure the financial future of your entire family, the means to travel and see and do things you would never have the opporunity to do.

Be PROUD of your wife who is flourishing and is the woman you would be proud to have your girls grow up to be.  I get the fact you want to play “Me Tarzan, You Jane” and go hunt and forage for your family in the IT world, but truth be told, your job would not provide the means to give your children the life they are having now, so suck it up!

“I can’t be Jon, I have to be Jon & Kate Plus 8″  No kidding Einstein.  Who in the hell has time to be themselves with 4 kids let alone 8 kids and just in case no one has told you, fatherhood and marriage is about sacrifice so step up to the plate and stop making this all about what YOU want.

Now I don’t know what you did, but whatever it was, you messed up.  Not only did you mess up, but you sat there during your show and had attitude.  You did not seem sad or sincere about what you had done.   You would think, since YOU messed up that maybe you would be falling all over yourself trying to make things better, but you gave everyone the idea that you didn’t give a damn.

Watch your Hawaii show where you renew your vows and you both talk about how you want your children to know you will be together.  How you will weather the storms and make things ok, for them.  What a crock of horse shit.  What I got out of the show is “I’m not a happy boy because people recognize me and it makes it harder getting into trouble without Kate finding out…and I love and adore my kids, but damn, would rather be at work doing IT for a pittance of what the wife is doing for the family….after all it is ALL ABOUT ME!

Cry me a river.  As for Kate I applaud her.  She is a strong woman, who makes mistakes, is militant in her beliefs and the running of her household.  To remain sane she HAS to be militant.  She is thriving!  She has become the woman who children can look up to.  She has embraced the children, the hectic life…she thought she was safe, she thought no matter what, their family would always be intact.  Poor dear.  All I can say is this, if Jon BOY wants to step up to the plate and become a real man his kids can be proud of, give him another chance.  If he wants to walk, then let him, but know in your heart you have the strength, talent and business sense to take care of yourself and your children on your own.

Men can be such asses.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I find as I get older I get more cynical and usually with good reason.  I found that I spent the majority of my life trying to please others  and the harder I tried, the less people were pleased, the more they wanted the more critical they were of me.  I am starting to find out that in the end, you need to please yourself, give yourself some slack and take care of YOU because usually, you are the only one that will.  At some point we have to let go of the guilt, tell ourselves we deserve to be happy and do things that make us happy and finally allow ourselves to be happy.

We need to stop seeking approval or permission to enjoy ourselves and have fun and to stop giving ourselves the short end of the stick.  You are a valuable person, you are just important as everyone else, you deserve to enjoy this short life you have.  Do something every day just for YOU.  Whether it is a quiet corner to read for an hour, donning the gardening gloves and enjoying the garden or taking a hot bubble bath.  Every one of us deserves at least a few moments per day to reflect on their lives, reflect on the future and be happy with the person we are.  So what are you going to do today JUST for you?  For me, I ate dinner alone on the patio in the fresh air.  No noise, no interruptions, just a relaxing 20 minutes that made me feel refreshed.

In a plaza not too far from our house there is a little pet supply store we purchase our higher end dog food from.  An elderly lady owns the store and she has a friend of hers help out at the store when she can’t be there.  We have shopped there for approx 7 years and although we may be able to buy our brand of dog food slightly cheaper elsewhere we go there to show our support for small local businesses and also because the ladies are so sweet.

When I went in today to pick up some dog food I noticed that each time I go in the store there are less and less products on the shelf.  There are empty spots and where there was once 10 bags of each kind of dog food now there is only one or two.  The owner and I started talking about the economy and how difficult things were.  Many of her customers had down graded the dog food they buy from the pemium brands she sells to the cheap dog food sold at grocery stores.  She said that 2 of her customers had already come back because they found that the cheap dog food was full of fillers and their dogs ate more to get the same nutrition so in the end, the cheap stuff wasn’t as cheap after all.  The problem was, most of the people that had left hadn’t figured that out yet.

Personally I would go without something in order to keep my dogs on the food they now eat simply because they are all extremely healthy and well, I don’t want to take a risk of a sick dog.  The owner said she wasn’t really making anything at the store anymore and they had cut back on stock drastically simply because she could not afford to keep much stock on hand.  I was deeply saddened and hope that she can make it through this economic down turn without closing her store.

I think it is important for people, even in tough times to try to support the little guy.  Yes, you may have to pay a buck or two more for something and money is tight, but sometimes it pays in the long run to cut money from something else in an effort to keep the little guy in business.

Now I may not be able to personally keep this small pet supply store in business, but I have decided that I will make an effort to support local small businesses more, and through my articles and blogs, try to convince others to do the same.  If we all make an effort we can save these mom and pop stores, the stores that actually care ab9out you as a customer.  Stand up and be counted as a supporter of local business.

Recently I had a conversation with a group of people about the intelligence of this generation and what they felt future generations would be like.  At first, most people said we would get more intelligent, we would solve many of the medical issues, and make great strides in knowledge.  Then someone said “studies show the smarter you are, the less children you have.  Those with the least education tend to have the most children.  Since intelligent people keep having fewer children, and the rest are having more than their share, would not the world end up increasing the number of people with less education and/or intelligence?  Would not the smart people die out?”

I have to admit it was an interesting idea and gave me a great deal to think about.  The first thing I thought was “I’m smart and had 4 kids, I did my share” and then I thought, maybe this is a possiblitiy, the world will get dumber.  How do we avert this potential disaster?”  I guess the answer and solution is actually simple.  Education.  Make education a priority for all income levels, all races, and all ages.  Get the kids when they are young and teach them how important learning is and instill in them a thirst for knowledge.  I believe that is the answer.  Keep everyone education and an education wihtin reach of any person at any point in thier life.

I have always had a thirst for knowledge.  Always searching, learning as much as possible and spending every waking moment in pursuit of a better life.  I’m not sure it can be taught, but I am sure it can be encouraged, and all it takes is reaching out to someone and showing them that knowledge opens doors and gives you a better life.  We all want that don’t we?

So grab a book, read to the kid next door, tutor that child who is struggling with match, spread your knowledge and your love of it.

In this day and age of economic woes it amazes me how little people are paying attention to their finances.  They live paycheck to paycheck, have no set budget, have no idea who they owe let alone how much they owe, and no financial planning.  I personally believe they should spend time teaching people right from primary school about personal finance and parents should set a good example and help explain the family budget to the children.

Make going to the grocery store a learning experience for your child.  Show them the entire process from setting a budget on how much you can spend, how you plan your shopping around sales and how you use coupons to make your dollar go a little further.  If you don’t do this and just go to the store and shop, then you owe  it to yourself and your children to start and do things properly.

I have enoucntered grown adults who don’t even have one dollar in thier bank account.  Or those who have said “I had $1.03 in my bank account, bought something for $1.00 but didn’t figure in tax and so I got charged an overdraft fee”. People go through hard times and I understand that, but when you find out the $1.00 was spent on something like a chocolate bar then I shake my head in disbelief.

Don’t get me wrong, I have been through hard times myself, but I WORKED two jobs until I got on my feet.  During the time of financial hardship, if it was not a necessity, we didn’t buy it.  But there are so many people who always seem to be in financial hardship because they don’t have a plan and they do not spend their money wisely and most of all, they do not live within thier means.  I am sure people who live like that live far more stressful lives than they need to live.

If you are one of those people, it is time to get your life in order and teach your children how to handle their personal finances.  If you don’t know where to start, then hop on over to Ready To Save  a website that doesn’t cost a penny and offers loads of advice on how to save money, make more money and get more bang for your buck.

Sometimes you wake up to what you consider to be just another day and then an event happens that changes your entire life.  You know it will never be exactly the same, and you know that you have to hold on tight, hold your head up high and face the music.

Today was one of those moments in my life.  It will define who I am and so I am trying to face things part with my heart and part with my head, knowing full well that how I handle this situation will determine my future relationships with several people.

I am trying to remember my own advice, and that is when bad things happen, it can draw people closer together or pull them apart so it is important not to over react and to remember not to do anything in haste or out of anger or hurt.

I am going to take this opportunity to show the people I love just what kind of stuff I am made of.  I am going to show them how strong I am and that I will be there when they need me.  I will show them that my love is unconditional, and never ending.  I will be that person that I wished I had in my life when I faced hard times alone.

My smile was not looking as white as it used to, no wonder with all of the Diet Coke I drink.  So I headed on down to the drug store and picked up a box of Crest White Strips for $60.  Of course, looking back I could have got them a lot cheaper on eBay, but I was far too impatient for that, so I over paid.

Well, I put those slimy pieces of plastic on my teeth and left them on the required 1/2 hour.  Besides drooling profusely and not being able to swallow, I felt like I was going to gag.  The thought of using these things 1/2 hour twice per day for the next seven days was not all that appealing to me and decided I needed another solution.

Well today I headed out to the mall where they have a teeth whitening store front.  Although the place did not say “Zoom Whitening” (a term most are familiar with) it look like something similar.  Much to my surprise, the place was kind of slow and they were willing to bargain a little and they charged me $100 tax included.  I proceeded to sit down in a comfy chair whilst they put a tray of gunk in my mouth, put a light on the teeth and told me to open your lips as wide as possible for 15 minutes.

Well, this blog is all about honesty, and I have to admit, it was not the most pleasant 15 minutes of my life.  I thought I was going to have lock jaw from keeping my smile so wide, and it was uncomfortable because it is such an unnatural position, but looking back, I would do it again in an instant.

Prior to whitening they compare samples of fake teeth to yours and once whitening is complete, they compare your new and whiter smile to the tooth chart again to see how well it worked.  Well, they promise 3-8 shades lighter, and mine ended up being about 10 shades whiter.  I was more than pleased.

So todays tip is, bright white teeth look so much better on a person and while Crest white strips may work for some people, I believe that the professional whitening is far better for several reasons.  It is far quicker than the white strips, it whitens your teeth more and in the end I think it is a good bit cheaper than the strips because one treatment usually does it compared to perhaps doing 2 boxes of strips.

Now I must run and check the mirror again, I can’t believe my bright white smile!

I am the first one to call out a company when I feel that they are not taking care of their customers. After all, it is customer that is keeping them in business. However, I also give props where props are due and this entry is all about Fruit of the Loom.

Ok, so Fruit of the Loom to me at least is known more for their underwear, panties and bras that are more utilitarian than high end fashion. They fill a niche and fill it well. I am busty, and like all busty women, we can have a very difficult time finding bras that not only fit and support us, but hopefully look nice and not look like something grandma would wear.

On a recent shopping trip I happened to spot a bra that much to my surprise was my size. This happens here and there, but usually when you try it on it does not fit well and delight soon turns to disappointment. Must to my surprise though, this bra not only fit me perfectly, but was downright sexy. I hastily exited the dressing room desperate to get my hands on several of these beauties, in every color I could find.

My delight soon turned to disappointment when I saw they only had one more, and not only that, but they where not going to get any more of that style in. I went home, saw that the brand was Fruit of the Loom and thought that since it was such a common brand finding additional bras would not be a problem. I called stores, I searched the internet including auction sites and came up empty. In desperation I contacted the companies customer service telling them I loved this style of bra and asking them if they knew of anywhere I could purchase it.

Well, it ends up that the bra is being discontinued but they did have some good news. Checking their warehouse, they found 2 of the bras in my size still left and they were shipping them out to me free of charge in hopes they could tide me over until I found another style that fits as well.

I am stunned! After fighting tooth and nail with some companies to fix products under warranty, Fruit of the Loom was going out of their way to help me out. This type of customer service is unheard of these days. So it is with much gratitude that I write this post and let everyone know that WE the consumer determine which companies do well. If we find a company with the right products, at reasonable prices and good customer service, then that is the company that should get our money and we should also tell others. We should also make sure companies that do not have good customer service or who’s products do not live up to expectations are outed to everyone we know.

In this way the companies that are doing things correctly do better financially and continue providing us with what we want and the companies that suck, either have to improve and gain our trust again or fail.

So the next time you are at the store, and need some underwear or panties for yourself or your child etc. remember that Fruit of the Loom IS doing things right and deserve your business.

I am so sick of winter.  We have had more snow around here than we have had in years, and it has been such a dreary winter that I am afraid I am coming down with cabin fever.  I keep looking out for signs of spring, like buds starting to form on the trees, but it seems it is to no avail.  I’m starting to worry if spring will ever arrive.

I look outside and crave to get out in the garden on a warm spring day, to walk the trail and see the flurry of activity as people brush the cobwebs off of their bikes and roller blades.  I want color to come back to the lawns and the trees and the feeling of renewal you get in the spring.

Maybe that is what I am missing most of all, that sense of renewal, the feeling that anything is possible, of being reborn, of feeling the fresh air and the warmth of sun kissed skin.

Mother nature, if you are listening, get to work, it is time for spring to be sprung.

If you are like me, you probably have at least 5 - 10 different body and/or hand lotions around the house. You use them occasionally, but not on a regular basis. The main reason you don’t use them is beause they don’t work.

I think we can all agree that dry, flaky skin is about as sexy as a corpse and the general idea is to be soft and silky (this goes for guys too believe it or not). Well, this really hit home recently when I started going to the Electric Beach (a nice way of saying a tanning bed). I noticed this tanning was really drying out my skin and instead of getting a sun-kissed sexy look I was starting to look like a corpse. Easy solution, start moisturizing! I first tried the baby oil trick. When you get out of the shower instead of drying off with a towel, while you are still wet you sort of rub baby oil on yourself. Doing it while wet, gives you a hint of oil, without the feeling like you are covered in goo. That didn’t help at all.

I then started slathering body lotion on myself a coupe times of day, and that didn’t help either, so I tried a couple of brands, all to no avail. Just when I thought I would look like a shriveled up old prune forever, someone told me about Olay Quench Therapy. They said their hands were so dry they were almost bleeding and within 3 days they were soft as can be. Impossible I thought, but hey, I was desperate, so off to the store I went and bought some. The first thing I noticed was that it went on different. The product had a more creamy texture. It seemed to soak in and really moisturize, but at the same time, it was almost like a barrier was left on your skin protecting it.

The next day I woke up and my skin was not dry. I couldn’t believe it. Not only did this product work but it worked so quickly I was stunned. I am so impressed with this product that I will have a couple of bottles around to use daily.

Thinking about how amazing this was reminded me of a few things. First of all, how many products that are out there that don’t work and how much money we waste buying them with the hope that they will do what they promise. Another thing I thought about was how the best advertising a company can possibly get is the recommendation of someone who has used their product. Just take this instance as an example. Someone had great success with Olay Quench Therapy, they recommended it to me, I bought it, and then went on to not only recommend it, but make a post about it telling everyone that this product works!

So, the moral of this post is, if you find a product that works, tell your friends, and when you find a product you don’t like, tell them that too. Perhaps if more people did this, then there would be less products that don’t work on the shelves and more that do. If you have problems locating Olay Quench Therapy you can purchase it through the link below.