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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Mommy Redefined - In Full Swing

Ok, I am bored with my Top 10 Product count down. Any ideas?

Mommy Redefined is in full swing. Why? Because I got a massage today. I treated myself. And let me tell you. I am about as tight as a mo' fo.

Are mo' fos tight?

And then after that I drove out my friend's house with the kiddies to pick up their beloved Radio Flyer wagon. The wagon has been sitting in her garage for over a year while we try to sell our darn house. Sigh of relief. Those are the things that weigh heavily on me. Taking up her garage space.

Yup, that's sad. I need to drink more. She has plenty of garage space.

And after a night of relaxation, removing the weight from my shoulders. Literally and figuratively.

I leave you with this. Yes, another picture from my new camera.

But it screams summer. And summer is well, bliss.




Random Picture - FROM MY NEW CAMERA!



Wednesday, July 29, 2009

#6 Best & Worst

#6 Best: The Keurig Single Serve Coffee Maker.

I admit. Moment of Truth. It's not as great as my beloved latte from Starbucks. AND saying Goodbye has not been easy. In fact, I have frequented the establishment from time to time.

But I digress.




The Keurig is great because it brews one cup of coffee at a time and it is actually super good coffee. We used to have the Tassimo, and I would rank the Keurig higher in terms of taste (as would Smiles, hands down). Not only does the coffee taste better with the Keurig but it also lets you brew a smaller cup of coffee or select a larger size ... which actually fills a coffee mug. Nice! The Tassimo was always short of a cup.
The best part is that we don't waste a half a pot of coffee and there is little to no cleaning up. Double nice!


#6 Worst - The Can Cooler
Speaking of beverages.... The 80's called and they want there freakin' can "koozie" aka can cooler back. What the heck are these things and honestly do they keep your beverage any cooler? Its just a piece of foam to stick your beverage in. Not only does the can cooler serve no purpose - but they are almost always plastered with annoying phrases or company logos. No thanks. The day I own a koozie will be the day I sport a mullet. And that ain't going to happen. =)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Take It Off Tuesday

I am not seeing much progress on the weight loss front. Holding steady at -11 lbs.

There are many things that are motivating me to change my lifestyle and become more fit. There are even things motivating me beyond my rapidly approaching 30th birthday.

So what motivates me?

Well, first of all, there is no better feeling than being healthy, right? Who likes the nagging feeling of your pants being too tight? Let's not even talk about the awful feeling of my Front Butt giggling as I exercise. The memories of my younger years when I could run 8 miles and still feel okay the next day. Being fit gives you confidence and you just feel good.

We are finally digging out of our hole. Where the world passes you by because you are so busy taking care of your children's every basic (and beyond) ... The early years.

I was always described by others as an athlete. A serious athlete. Smiles was also always defined as a serious athlete. Know around town for his athletic accomplishments. I look back at some recent pictures taken while vactioning in Mexico for Smiles' sister's wedding... and gasp! Most of those pictures will never see the light of day.

So last night armed with my motivation and pictures of me in Mexico floating through my head, I ran. And I ran. At least for me, I ran.

Don't laugh.
I ran 1.5 miles.

So there you have it.
It's the new me. Or rather me, again. I am a runner.

Monday, July 27, 2009

#7 Best & Worst

#7 Best: Your local Farmer's Market
It's not really a thing but an event rather. This weekend, I met up with one of my dear college friends downtown for the Farmer's Market. It has been years since I last visited a Farmer's Market, and I will be going back more often. Not only did I leave loaded down with fresh veggies for really low prices ... BUT I bought myself flowers. $5 for an enormous bouquet of super bright flowers. How could I pass that up? Besides LP and LC went nuts when I got home and helped put them in the vase. They were thrilled and so was I.
#7 Worst: The Wipes Warmer

It's a warmer for your precious baby's bum wipes. Good idea, right? Those wipes are cold and make for unhappy babies. I thought it was a great concept and LP & LC seemed to like it. Guess what? I followed the damn directions and they broke out into major diaper rash. MAJOR - as in massive yeast infections. So after appropriately medicating (doctor's orders) my children's private areas with Monistat. I went on-line and read the horrific reviews of other mothers who had the same experience.
I don't care how careful you are in changing the pad in the warmer... buyer beware. It was the worst freaking two weeks EVER. Well okay, RSV was worse. But it was awful - thank god they won't remember it.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

#8 Best & Worst

#8 Best & Worst: The GoGirl

This product takes the #8 spot for the Best & Worst. It is just plain weird. But for some odd reason, I find it super interesting. So it wins both Best and Worst (or rather most interestingly weird). I first saw this in the back of a magazine but had forgotten all about it until I saw it on MckMama's Blog when she had a product giveaway....

So what is this exactly? Its a FUD!


The GoGirl is "is the way to stand up to crowded, disgusting, distant or non-existent bathrooms. It’s a female urination device (sometimes called a FUD) that allows you to urinate while standing up. It’s neat. It’s discreet. It’s hygienic."


I hate germs which is one reason why I find this product so interesting and potentially helpful. But what do you do with the thing after you have peed through it? Do you go to the bathroom sink and wash it out?


Still need to think through the logistics on this one.



Wednesday, July 22, 2009

#9: Best and Worst Products

#9 - Best Product - My beloved camera... The Canon. I am happy to report that today I purchased a slightly used Canon 40D. I took the plunge. I can't wait for it to arrive. Since budgets are tight, I went with a slightly used model and the 40d vs. the 50d. Start small. Happy Birthday me.


#9 - Worst Product - Honestly, I don't need to say much more than this video. The SNUGGIE.


Someone over at Target picked up this freakin' product and they have it on an end cap. I can tell that they are not going off the shelf fast. Its a freakin' blanket with sleeves and anyone who would wear this thing would look like a tool.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Mimi's Things

Every day for the next 10 days, I, Mimi, will sprinkle little bits of wisdom upon my cast (read: small following) of readers. Not only will I share with you my most favorite things but also the things that really make me question - who the hell is in product development for these companies AND who the hell buys this crap.

# 10 Most Favorite Thing -St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I am liking the Renew and Firm Scrub.

Why? It's simple.
1. It's budget friendly..... Less than $4.


2. It makes my face feel super soft.


3. For some reason, I heart the smell. I have thought of eating it but it's probably one of those things that smells better than it tastes - kind of like regular drip coffee.




#10 Most Questionable Product - The Flat D




What is this, you ask? Here is the product description from their website.



" Bodily odors such as feminine odors and flatulence are a delicate issue that you probably don’t discuss or address. However, the word is spreading “Testimonials” — solutions to feminine odors and the odors from passing gas do exist! Flat-D specializes in Flatulence Deodorizer™ products, including choices designed to neutralize feminine odors. "














Photo from the Flat D Website.


Um, so in a nutshell its a "pad" that neutralizes your farts (and other unmentionable odors). Great, I wonder what happens to the SOUND of your farts. I mean, seriously.... You have super bad gas so you slap on the Flat-D (don't worry ladies they have a thong version) and head out to the market. As you walk, your ass sounds like a machine gun but DON'T worry at least no one can smell it.




Talk about not getting to the root of the problem. Maybe it works for some people. God bless the people at Flat-D and their work to help neutralize the unpleasant odors of others.


Take it off Tuesday

I can't believe it's Tuesday already. I lost an entire pound this week. Wow . So unless I do colonics (sp?) or cut off a limb - I am not going to hit my target by my birthday. I am okay with that. I am not about to have a tube shoved up my butt and crap extracted to hit an aribitrary date of my birthday. Speaking of which, I wonder what they do with the waste. I mean ... do they throw poop bags in the garbage? How would like that job?

I often think about crap (pun intended) like that.... On my way home from work, I thought about the stupidest products ever evented. More on that later.

I know what you are thinking...

No, I am not entirely random in my thought process. One of my top products is fart related.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Vacation & Random Thoughts...

There is nothing better than a vacation.... I am winding down from a 4.5 day weekend and I have discovered that I need to do this more often. We spent the weekend up at the lake. Um, hello? What's going on with this global cooling thing - it was under 60 degrees in July. Oh well, that didn't stop us. It was way to cold to swim in the lake so Smiles and I took the kiddos to an indoor water park about 20 minutes from the cabin.

I was a little embarrassed in my swimsuit but as my dear sister-in-law reminds me .... LOOK AROUND! "There is always someone who looks worse than you". So sad, yet so true. I find comfort in the obesity of others. OK, not really but yes, it does make me feel a little bit better. Call me whatcha want.

We went out to eat, LC and LP fished off the dock, they took turns riding in mommy's kayak, we went for walks and lounged in the fresh air.

Now that I am back in town my organizational crusade continues. I am itching to have a garage sale (if only it was a moving sale) and get some of the excess crap out of the house. Unfortunatley the house being on the market is throwing a wrinkle in my garage sale plans.

The stuff keeps piling up.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Take It Off (or stay the same) Tuesday

Ok, late in posting and seriously slacking on posts in general. What's my problem... more on that later. Well, I had a goose egg this week. I stayed the same. 11lbs to go and the birthday is fast approaching. I think it is my stress eating. So what am I stressed about?



Lots of things but primarily our house. I know, I know. Everyone is feeling the squeeze in some way with this economy. It's depressing that our house is listed for less than what we bought it for and we have dumped tons of money into it. But it's more than that.



Now is the time for us to make a move before the kids start school (two years and counting). I have this deep "need" to settle into a community. I don't like the 'burb that we live in. People just go to their house and go to work. There is no sense of community. I grew up in a burb and there were not many kids around to play with. Smiles grew up in a smaller town and he is still great friends with the "gang" that roamed the streets. He has so many great memories of growing up and walking to the bakery to buy a donut, causing trouble around town, tenting in the yard, swimming at the local pool or college, etc etc. I am jealous.



And I want my kids to experience those things. I feel as though we are ...... totally screwed. We can't afford to drop our price more and the market just continues to drop. Someone will buy our house. Please.



At the same time, its hard to complain. We make our payments, we have jobs, we have our family. It could be a lot worse. BUT I WANT TO MOVE. End pouting.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Take it Off Tuesday - Hello?

It's hard to believe that this week went by so fast. I clearly took a break from posting. But progress has been made on the Take it Off Challenge. I have 11 lbs to go. It will be a serious challenge to take off the remaining 11lbs by my birthday - which is less than 1 month away. But still, progress is good. And what are you punks doing? I had one joiner - and she has not reported back. Yup, that's right neighbor.

On to other accomplishments, the 4th of July was not only fun and exciting but productive. We did really festive things like clean out the cars. There was an entire meal stuck under the car seats. Anyone hungry?

And I am both happy and embarrassed to report that I have finally completed LC and LPs baby books. That's right, they are three years old and I just finished the first year. But I am going to be honest with myself and give some credit... You should see my baby book! I have a few scribbles, a hospital bracelet, one or two pictures (not her strong suit) and some greeting cards shoved in a book. Thanks, Mom. I guess she was tired by the time #4 rolled in.