From G to B

Have you switched to Bloglovin from Google Reader yet? How are you liking it? Any dislikes or changes you would like to see?

A lot of you used Google Reader and so did I but after my V-Blate with Kaitlyn and Samantha I decided to become more organized and make the switch (this was before Google Reader decided to make their big announcement)

Now everyone is basically being forced to use Bloglovin or make the switch to another reader.

I wouldn't freak out or start a riot! Bloglovin is very simple and easy to use!



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Go ahead and sign into Bloglovin or create an account.

If you are new to Bloglovin here is a major tip you need to know:

To import all of your blogs from Google Reader to Bloglovin in about five seconds or to download the cell phone app to gain instant access to Bloglovin, Click here!

Who has the time to sit and search each one of your blog reads and enter them in manually? Not I said the bloggy girl with no time on her hands!

You can then begin separating each blogger into their own category (fashionistas, chefs, mothers to be etc.) You can then mark each one you have read as “read” and leave the ones you want to come back to as “unread”.

Almost like a readers inbox!

Now I want to make sure all of you sweet, sweet friends continue to read my posts so please go and add me to your readers list!

I as well as yourself do not want to be lost in the shuffle!

Click on the icon below or the matching icon to the right by my other social media icons to start following me on Bloglovin!

I am ever so grateful to have you following along in this little journey of mine!

I have noticed that I have a lot of readers but no comments being left. Are you one of those people? You like to read but don’t like to leave a comment or message? I get in the habit of doing this also.

Don't become a silent reader! Let’s work together on dropping a little note by each other’s blog so we know each other stopped by! I love getting messages from all my readers and I am sure you do as well!

High 5 2 Self!

It’s always so much easier to pop right out of bed on a Friday isn’t it? There is something so relieving about making it through another work week and getting some time off! It has been a couple of weeks since I have linked up with Lauren for High Five For Friday but I have had such a good week that I feel the need to share my “high five to self” moments!

 

1. I paid off my car!! A long awaited announcement that I loved sharing! What an accomplishment!

 

I love paying it forward so Madison and I went and got two dozen donuts for the co-workers and she snagged her own little goodie bag!

 

I put together Madison's Easter basket! I won't spoil the surprise just yet! More details on this later :)

Madison & my niece Skylar at Easter last year
 

Froyo! Spur of the moment we went and grabbed some dinner with Nana (Madison's grandma, my mother in law) and visited Orange Leaf. The bomb.com peoples!

 

I received my first Influenster Vox Box and loved every minute of trying the great products included! I cannot wait until next month!!

 

It has been an awesome week! How about yours? What are your plans for Easter weekend? Stay tuned for my Easter weekend recap!

 

The Greatest Wave

Maybe you have seen one of these commercials? Maybe you haven't? If you haven't, take a looksee and be intrigued :)  If you have, watch it again because this is an amazing product and it never hurts to watch again!

I like many people watched this commercial and thought what can that do for me? I never went out and bought The Wave. Then I had a conversation with Chelsee who knows all about beauty products and she recommended it to me. Wow was it the best $7.99 at Target I ever spent! Yes you heard me $7.99. Now for those of you, like me, who dream of having a Clarisonic but it just isn't in your budget right now then this is the product for you! Neutrogena also offers the Wave Sonic seen in the video below. I'll show you that commercial and then tell you a little about The Wave which is the one I purchased.

The Wave was the first Neutrogena product to come out then the Sonic followed. Here is what The Wave, the packaging and the pad looks like:

They have different color options as well. Target only had two left and they were both teal.

 The packaging seen here offers a $2.00 coupon off of the refillable pads and includes 14 foaming pads! The refillable pads cost around $6.

 These little pads have the best smelling cleanser packed into them! There is an off switch and then two power speeds. One for daily cleansing, morning and night and then one for deep pore cleansing.

 To use, you wet the end of the foaming pad and turn on The Wave to whichever speed setting you prefer. It gets pretty foamy which I love. The more foam the more I feel like it is working.

First I pin all of my hair up

Then I bobby pin my bangs back

 This was the first time I used The Wave. I used the high setting for a deep pore cleansing.

It was really hard to capture the foaming aspect of it so I changed the filter and you can see my forehead and nose is covered in the foam. It really improved the look and feel of my skin.

This was the end result. Very gross huh? I even cleaned by face before and this was what was left afterwards. It really goes to show that a deep pore cleanse really works! The following morning my skin wasn't oily or greasy either which usually happens after I use certain products. I highly recommend The Wave!

Here are some more pros to purchasing this product:

Fits into the palm of your hand so you can throw it in your makeup bag or luggage no problem.

It is wireless! It runs on a single battery so no need to let it sit and charge. Just make sure you have an extra AA battery on hand. 

It is waterproof! You can use it in the shower or bath if needed!

Easy to use. Just attach a pad to the cleanser, wet with water, turn on and cleanse your face.

Refills contain 30 pads so only need to purchase them once a month.

I love to try out new products so if you have any suggestions or a favorite product leave me a message!

A Long Awaited Announcement

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Have you ever had such great news that you wanted to share it with everyone?
Shout it from the rooftops, hold a sign above your head saying you did it or jump up and down doing your little happy dance?
I know Kaitlyn was feeling this emotion before she shared her baby news!
Well today that time has come for me! To share my LONG awaited announcement!

I received this little note in the mail!

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I paid off my car!!!!

I know, most of my friends and family were rooting for another little one but not this time! In my little corner of the universe this is epic!! How many of you have a car payment right now? How many of you wish you didn’t? That was the feeling I’ve had for ten years! Yes people ten years I have been paying a car payment! I bought my first car, a Ford Focus when I was sixteen and not long after totaled it in a car accident (it was the other person’s fault). I then replaced it with the same car and kept that for two years.

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I then got tired of the car and decided to look into something a little larger. I had moved in with my husband, we spent a lot of time in the car and thought we may or may not be having babies soon. So I traded the Focus in for a Ford Escape. That lasted about two years also. It seems I have this trend going on. Jobs and cars usually lasted about two years before I was off to a new one. (This has obviously changed as I grew older).


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I then traded out the Escape for my new and now paid off Pontiac G6. I was in love with this car.

Leather heated seats, black interior, blue exterior and the best quality it drove smooth and fast! I felt like I was driving a go kart speed racer! I have loved my car every day since and I have no regrets spending all of the money I put into purchasing the car. I feel very proud of myself that I stuck this one out and now I am able to save $450 a month!! With the roll overs and accident my payment skyrocketed! Can’t you tell. I mean seriously half of a house payment for one measly car? Yep I must have been in la la land to have made that deal. But I did and now I can say I am back to the title of Mrs. Money Bags :)

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(I do still have other debt so don’t let me kid you, for the next six months I will be paying off my ovarian surgery bills) I’m just one step closer to becoming debt free! One thing ends and another begins. Such is life.

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Sugar N' Spice and Everything Nice!

I received my very first Influenster Vox Box and I’m so excited to show you what’s inside!
I hadn't heard of Vox Box until Kati shared her box and sent me an email invitation to join!
The box I qualified for and received is called Sugar n Spice.
First off, I just love the way the products are packaged. Full size products that are shipped in this wonderful orange decorated box! When you receive a package in the mail that is a couple of pounds you can't help but get excited!
I’m one of those people that love getting things in the mail. Between Ipsy, Birchbox and now Influenster I have had the chance to try out some of my new favorite products! I highly recommend linking up your social media, writing some reviews and scoring these amazing boxes!!

 Let's see what's inside!

Wow! Is this not impressive! Such great quality products to try!

First off we have my three favorites of the box:

Colgate Optic White

Mouthwash: $2.99 (8 oz)

 Toothbrush: $2.99 

Toothpaste: $2.99 (4 oz)

 

I am always on the lookout for whitening products without using the gel strips. Colgate is a winning product when it comes to turning teeth into pearly whites! After five days of using the toothpaste I could definitely see a difference! The mouthwash is a bit minty and very foamy which I am not a fan of but it is tolerable. The toothbrush has medium to soft bristles and really massages the gums leaving your teeth clean and feeling good!

Here we have a product that I have been debating to buy or not to buy:

Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer

$7.99 for a 6.5 oz can
You just never know how spray on products will work out, especially lotion. Man was I shocked when I use this product! I tried it out on my hands to begin with and it smelled wonderful! It was non-greasy, went on easy and was dry within 20 seconds! I will be using this from now instead of the daily lotions. My skin is super soft and smells great! It's a win win!

Anytime I receive food samples I am a little hesitant. You just never know how they will taste and who wants to experience something that tastes like crap? Not this girl.

belVita Breakfast Biscuits

$3.69 for 5 pkgs. (4 biscuits)

I read the packaging and it sounded great but would it taste great? Yes! Cinnamon brown sugar! Yummo! It was basically the same flavor as those cinnamon graham crackers! An energy bar that is good for you and tastes great, I could eat these every day for breakfast or for a snack!

I have been very happy with all of my contents so far until I opened this:

Dickenson's Original Witch Hazel Oil Controlling Towelettes

$5.99 for a 20 count box

I could not review this product because I couldn't get past the smell of the towelettes. I am not a fan of the scent and I could not bare to smother these all over my face and smell them all day.

 

Here we have the sweetest product in the box:

Nectresse 

$6.99 for a 5.9 oz container

$3.99 for a box of 40 packets

 

I love adding sweeteners to my tea or coffee rather than sugar any day. Nectresse is 100% natural and really adds a great taste to your drink.

 

For those of you who might not know about Influenster, in a nutshell, it is an online site for people who like to try new products and talk about their experiences.

After you sign up you can gain badges (and influence) by completing surveys, writing reviews, creating videos and engaging with Facebook and Twitter. The higher your influence the more exclusive discounts you can earn on products and services.  Plus, you can get invitations to try the newest products before anyone else! It is like being a part of the cool kids club :) Go request an invite today and join the club!

 

 "I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

 

 

No Regrets

There's always something great about Monday. I'm not talking about work or school or the daily stresses of life. I'm talking about Monday's Coffee and Conversations link up! As a newer blogger I always hope that one day I will experience a Blate of my own! Until then I link up with Kalyn and Lauren for Coffee and Conversations. We basically grab a cup of coffee and spend the morning answering a real life serious question that hits close to home. We share our stories and experiences and get to know each other better. Sound fun? Great! Join in and let's have some fun!

Today's question:

What would you regret not fully doing, being or having in your life?

I would regret not spending enough time with my family and friends. I use a lot of my time and effort put into the people around me. If I didn't do this I would be unhappy. I find that a lot of my happiness

comes from making others happy.

I love spending time with my girlfriends shopping, having coffee dates and sending them little surprise packages in the mail.

I spend a lot of my nights on dinner dates with my mom which I value very much. You never really truly appreciate what a mother does and how much she loves you until you have one of your own. You never know when the people closest to you will be gone in a blink of the eye, cherish them.

 

I have cut out an hour each night for MomMeHour with my daughter. When did technology become a priority over our family and children? Samantha really helped me put this into perspective. I love Madison more than life itself and I want her to always remember how great her childhood was and how much we love and adore her.

 



 

I expect many things out of others because I spend so much time and effort put into my relationships. I love leaving little notes to brighten someone's day. I love sending a morning text to make someone smile or laugh. I love seeing their eyes light up when they feel the joy and happiness in their hearts.

I put 110% into my relationships with everyone that I love. If I didn't do this to the best of my ability I would be failing many people and I don't want to be one of those people. When I die I want to be remembered for the love, positivity and happiness I brought into people's lives. No regrets.

 

How about you?

The Hook Up!

Do I have a great thing to share or what!! The hilarious, sweet and beautiful Lizette over at Northern Belle Diaries is hosting a giveaway that you must take part in! Why you might ask? The lovely ladies below along with the lovely Lizette are giving away ad spaces! Hello is that not awesome or what!! So click on over now and score yourself some new bloggy friends!!

 

Who's giving away what:

1// Lisette - 200x200 "Northerner"   2// Samantha - 150x150 "Specialist"   3// Sara Elizabeth - 300x300 "Pearl Kinda Girl"   4// Elizabeth - 200x200 "Sweet Tea Ad "   5// Stephanie - 300x150 "Large ad"   6// Amy - 200x100 "Little Mama"   7// Jessa - 200x200 "Home Run"   8// Shana - 300x300 "The Big Time"  9// Rachel - 200x150 "The Postcard"  10// Nadine - 200x200 "Regular"  11// Melissa - 200x250 "XL ad"   12// Gayle - 200x200 "King Triton"  13// Amberly - 150x150 "The Simple Life"  14// Marquis - 150x150 "Small ad"

 

You must be a follower of Lizette to enter!