Daily Mess

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.