Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Arbonne Giveaway!!!

This entire month I have been using various Arbonne products. And I have to say, the products are awesome!! I do have some favorites.

My first favorite is the night creme. I will say I never used night cream before. I just washed my face with soap, brush teeth, and put chapstick on. That was my nightly routine. I have easily added Arbonne's night creme to my routine. It is very lightly scented and makes your face feel soooooo soft. LOVE! I have been using the trio set, but the night creme is my favorite out of the three.


Next favorite is the make-up primer. Just one pump goes a long way. Another product that makes your skin feel silky without feeling oily.


Third favorite are the protein shakes. The vanilla tastes like liquid cake batter. I added a banana to it and it was DELISH and filling.

All the products were great. The only product I wasn't able to try was the diaper cream because it's not cloth diaper safe. I'm sure it is still a wonderful product though!

Enter to win HERE! Winner will be chosen randomly on March 1st. Good Luck!!




Saturday, February 23, 2013

Tax Bubble

...no, I didn't mistype. You probably thought I meant tax bracket, right? No. I put bubble because I am in one. I kind of knew I was in a tax bubble, but now I know I am FOR SURE in one. I absolutely know nothing about doing taxes. Nothing. 

My mom claimed me until I was 25, so she handled them every year. Then, I got married when I was 25, so Jason has handled them. Not once have I gone to an H&R block or used Turbo Tax. I knew they existed, but didn't pay much attention. Basically, I am spoiled and have lived in a bubble my entire *almost* 28 years of life. Wow. 

This year I asked Jason if I could watch him do our taxes. Not because I wanted to, because I thought I need to learn. This was our little convo:

Jenn: "Can I watch you do our taxes this year?"
Jason: "ALL of it?"
Jenn: "Yeah, why...does it take a long time?"
Jason: "Are you serious? How long do you think it will take?"
Jenn: "I don't know, a couple hours? 2?"
Jason: "Are you serious!? *laughs*
Jenn: *super confused* "What? How long? It looks so easy on T.V"
Jason: *shakes head* "Google the average time it takes to do taxes."

So I googled it. Some site said it took an average of 37 hours! What in the world!? Heck no am I going to watch Jason do taxes for that long. And I wouldn't do them myself either like he does. 

This was just shocking to me. Shocking because I had no idea, but I am also super thankful I have had nothing to do with it in my entire life. They seem boring and take a long time. 

I plan to stay in my tax bubble, thank you very much. And thank you, mom and Jason for knowing how to be an adult...I clearly am not one.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Minestone Soup

I found this soup on Pinterest, of course. I should've taken pictures because it was super tasty. I followed the recipe almost exact, except added smoked sausage and didn't garnish with Parmesan cheese.

I would definitely recommend it! I put the sausage in because the hubster "needs" meat. Such a carnivore. I liked it because it had SO many veggies. It has carrots, onion, celery, spinach, zucchini, squash, and diced tomato. I mention all these veggies because I really don't eat them as much as I should. Veggies are rabbit food and don't taste that great. Not the case in this soup.

This picture is from GimmeSomeOven and since I copied the recipe, I had to give it credit. Thank you GimmeSomeOven for the awesome soup recipe.

Friday, February 15, 2013

be happy.

This past week I've been in a little funk. The weather is still cold, Jason has been traveling a lot, and Nate hasn't been sleeping well. Oh, and don't forget February is no sweets month. Lack of warmth, husband, sleep, and sugar will put you in a funk.

Today I woke up happy. Nate slept from 9-2, Jason comes home tonight and has 3 days off, and I had a cheat day yesterday full of Oreo eating. It's still cold, but 3 out of 4 is AH-MAZ-ING!

I know someday I will be in a funk again. That's just a lie if I said I was NEVER going to let myself go into blah state of mind. All I can do is try. I can choose to be happy and look at the little things that are great. And I have SO MANY great things in my life. Way more than I could have ever imagined to be honest. I have a husband that loves me and provides for me and Nate. I have a son that makes the silliest faces and "talks" to me. I have lived in 5 states in 4 years. I have an education. I have friends. I am healthy (for the most part). The list goes on and on.

So today will be a good day. Tomorrow will also be a good day. Choose to be happy and look at the great things you have in life. And laugh.


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Last Minute V-day Treat

Did you know Valentine's Day is tomorrow? It really sneaks up on ya, doesn't it? Jason and I don't really celebrate the holiday...a nice dinner and time together is enough for us. Flowers are too expensive and die too quick. We can't have sweets this month, so chocolate is out. I would LOVE to get some Tiffany's, but I don't wear jewelry that much anymore and it's overpriced. Man, I am seriously getting cheap in my old age.

Anyways...now that Nate is here, I have Valentine get-togethers with other mommas. I wanted to bring a treat. And I wanted it to be cute. And I wanted it to be bite-size. I made chocolate covered pretzels.

Here is what you need:
1. Pretzels. I used nuggets so they would be bite size.
2. Candy melts, red and pink
3. Wax paper
4. Sprinkles (optional)
**It costs $7 total and about 35 minutes of my time**
 Steps:
Step 1: Put candy melts in separate bowls. Heat in 30 second increments until melted completely.
*Melt one at a time so the other color doesn't harden.

Step 2: Dunk the pretzel in melted chocolate and place on wax paper. This will get a little messy. 


Step 3: Once all the pretzels you want are covered, melt the other color. 
*you choose how much of each color you want or just do them all one color.*
Step 4: Using a fork, go back and forth, drizzling over the dunks pretzels.
Here's what the drizzle will look like...

Step 5: Add sprinkles.
Step 6: Let chocolate set. Only takes about 10 minutes.
Here's the pink with red drizzle...


Step 7: Place in bowl, container, or package them up to give away!


I made them to take to a get together and then I set the packaged ones with Jason to his work. They are super cheap, super simple, and super festive. If you need to make some treats for tomorrow...there is still time!! Go, hurry!!

What do you like to do on Valentine's Day?

Oh...Nate says happy Valentine's Day and gives kisses!!



Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Arbonne review! *giveaway*

The giveaway will be on March 1st. Thought I needed to say that before I wrote anything else.

I am trying a couple products from Arbonne. Ever heard of the company? It is a company that is "pure, safe, beneficial". There are SO many products, such as, skin care, cosmetics, anti-aging, fragrances, and even a baby line!
I have the opportunity to try a couple of the products to review and do a giveaway! That is the reason for the giveaway being on March 1st. I will try the products and give my honest opinion. I get the privilege to try some shampoo, conditioner, protein shakes, baby lotion and rash cream, and make-up primer!

I am going to make a shake right now!

If there are any questions about Arbonne, please leave a comment or contact Michelle Crawford! If you are interested in joining the Arbonne team, check out what they have to offer! Click here for info.

I will be trying these products starting today, so look back for the giveaway on March 1st!

What product do you want for the giveaway?

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Bedtime Routine

I *think* Nate is starting to have a bedtime routine. Sleeping through the night has definitely not happened, but last night I got a 4 hour stretch, 2 hour, then 3 hour. Way better than EVERY 2 hours. Yes, I wish he would sleep a tad longer, but what can you do...the kid wants to eat.

He gets tired around 8:30. I (or Jason) put on his night time diaper, jammies, and "worm him up (swaddle)". I put on his white noise maker, then nurse him for about 20 minutes. Burp, then lay in bassinet and start to rock him away to dreamland. Side note: What do you think babies dream about? Milk? toys? Anyways, I rock him and he is asleep around 9:15-9:30. That hour sometimes go really fast or really sllooowww...depending on the night. It's usually pretty fast. One thing I have realized is I need to start putting the bassinet cover down. There are 2 little bears that hang from it and Nate has made friends with them. He will babble and smile at them until I completely turn off the light and he can't see them anymore. Note to self: no toys when he's older or he'll never go to sleep. I feel like I can already tell he might like to stay up late...we'll see.


Last night I changed 2 things in his routine. One: I pulled the cover with hanging bears down so he couldn't have a late night convo with his besties. Not okay, son. Two: I read some books to him. Normally, I read to him every other day in the day time. I want him to have a love for books and to start hearing the language. I also want him to have bedtime stories. Does any kid not like being read to at night?

I read Time for BedNighty-night, and The Going to Bed Book. They are super short and cute little books. I got Nate in his jammies and sat him on my lap and read to him. I don't know if he was actually listening or paying attention, but he acted like it. He sat on my lap with his little cute hand resting on my arm. He didn't wiggle (which he does A LOT now). It was just a really relaxing little 10 minutes with him. I also enjoyed it because I haven't had much time to read myself, so it was nice to read in bed like "the good ol' days". No, it wasn't an adult book, but when he starts sleeping better I'll get back to my own books. For now, reading about animals going to bed is just fine.


When did you start reading to your kids? Is it something you enjoy? Let me know what your favorite story is (children's or adult)!