Sunday, July 12, 2009

a new farmers market

I took my daughter to a new farmers market on friday. (not new, but new to us) It turned out to be a really nice one- I'd like to go back again next week. There was another one on Saturday that we weren't able to get to that is supposed to be very nice as well- maybe next week for that one too.

Friday's haul consisted of one head of red lettuce and 3 cucumbers for $3.50. There were blueberries that smelled/looked really yummy, but were a little more than I wanted to spend. I also considered getting a flowering plant, but I was carrying a baby and didn't think I could juggle a plant as well.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

a good deal

The cashier at Rite Aid was more excited than I was about this deal.. and he was a guy. He even got out a calculator to figure out how much I paid for each box.

- 4 boxes of 28+ count always infinity (reg 9.99?) on sale for 6.99. and I had a $4 off coupon for each one.
- 4 packages of carefree liners on sale for $1.00. and I had a $1 off coupon for each one.
- PLUS I had a $5 off $25+ purchase coupon.
TOTAL: $6.96

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

ah, my daughter..

I take care of her all day, wake up with her at night, feed her, change her, hold her, hug her, read to her, watch endless noggin/sprout/pbs/nickjr with her, comfort her, dress her, bath her, play with her, clean her, wash her clothes, take her out, buy her things, wipe up her drool, cut her nails, put orajel on her gums, keep her out of trouble, and on.

And that's sort of "fine" with her.. but the second dada comes home it's squeals of delight and crawling all over the room following him around. Mommy who? Kind of breaks my heart- a bad way.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

$2.50 ruined my day

I woke up early enough that my husband hadn't left for work yet and I actually got to take a shower without worrying that my daughter would wake up.

There were hardly any cars out when we got out for the day (10am!). I kept getting green light after green light on the way to Target.

When we got to Target the parking lot was about 1/4 of what it normally is like on a Saturday.. the same for inside the store. I found everything I was looking for and had a mountain of coupons. My daughter was super good in the store- didn't cry or fuss at all. AND the cashier actually asked if I had a bag to use when I checked out..

But then when I got into the car and looking at my receipt I realized the cashier had missed scanning $2.50 worth of coupons I had given her. And that just ruined my entire day.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

the things my daughter does..

A couple of days ago she was as close to crawling as you can get without actually crawling, but now she has started moving her legs independently of each other.. so I guess that makes it official! 

She has also started pulling herself up to a kneeling position in her crib and looking like she wants to vault over the side of it. Suppose that means it needs to be dropped again.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

trying to get a job at bzzagent

I've spent quite a LOT of time over the past few weeks trying to get a job at bzzagent. They are running a contest of sorts. The first 8 weeks of it are very contest-y, but not in a random way.. then they will legitimately select (based on resumes, etc) one person out of the 8 for the job.

The first week I was literally about 2 minutes away from winning. I was first, first, first for so long. I stayed up til about 2am on the finally day. (the "winner" for the week was the top person at 9am) Then I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I decided to take a little nap and set my alarm for 6am to keep going with it. Well I bolted awake at about 8:36am.. swearing! 

I "fought off" the number 2 person for about 20 minutes, but they were just posting links way way too fast and when I reloaded the ranking one final time at about 8:58.. she had passed me! Needless to say I was unbelievably upset.

I'm trying again this week.. but they have so many new rules each week, I don't know how much patience I have left with it. 

Sunday, May 31, 2009

busy, busy, busy

I have been so busy with my daughter and just life in general that I haven't had much time to post here.

But.. there is some great great news for me. I FINALLY got a new computer. It's mine mine mine and I LOVE it!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

i am reading..

Now I am reading I'd Trade My Husband For a Housekeeper. I saw it at BJ's, picked it up, and laughed at the "you need this book if.." on the back. ("You spend more time with Mr. Potato Head than your husband," "You rank sex below clipping your child's fingernails, calling your in-laws, and showering," etc) So, I had to buy it.

I don't know if it's totally for me, but there are some good points made within it. For instance.. "Being happy means making peace with your life, and not blaming your spouse for your losses. The harder you try to hold on to who you were before you had kids, the harder it is on the relationship."

And although it came first, I am looking forward to also reading I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

more on mother's day

If you want to know more about why my mother's day was the "worst mother's day ever"- I will elaborate only a little.

I got a card "from" my daughter and a framed picture of her. I tried to explain to my husband how much this first mother's day meant to me and how much I had been looking forward to it (and maybe a little show of appreciation for all I do and all I went through to bring said daughter into the world). The response I got made me more sad. So..

I took my daughter to the park and we watched the ducks for a little while, but it was a little too windy and we left. The woman at the drive thru at the bagel place (where I got my breakfast from) was the only person that day to wish me a happy mother's day.

Etc.

However, my parents sent me a card. And there cards from my grandmother and sister (and her family) waiting for me at the post office on Monday.. and that was nice.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

mother's day

worst mother's day ever. 

that's all i'm saying.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

more love for people

On my way home on Friday, a woman in a dark green car cut me off. I was going straight through a green light; when I got to the middle of the intersection.. this woman suddenly decided she was going to go left in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and the car behind me almost hit me. The woman in the dark green car flipped me off as she sped on her way. So.. ya, that's a new one.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

i don't understand..

There's been a few church signs here and there that I wished I'd had my camera ready for.. but this one is definitely the best! I drove around the block again and held up traffic just to get a good picture of it.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Thursday at Target: I am a sucker for a red sticker

Well, not quite as good of a deal as some of the ones I've gotten at CVS, but pretty good for Target I think.

- Lysol disinfectant spray 19oz. was $4.64, marked down to $3.94. Used $2 off coupon.
- 2 SoBe life waters. was $1.27, on sale for $1 each. Used BOGO free coupon.
- box of 20 gallon size resealable bags. was $1.12, marked down to $0.95
- package of 2 Rubbermaid 'easy find lids' 1.25 cup containers. was $3.39, marked down to $2.37. Used $1 off coupon
- 2 Huggies natural care wipes, 72 ct each. $2.39 each. Used 2 $0.75 off coupons.

Total: $8.92

Thursday, May 7, 2009

can you tell?

These are both medium dark roast coffees from dunkin donuts. Can you tell which one is "regular" (aka 2 creams, 2 sugars) and which one is "one cream, two sugars"?

Am I going to have to start asking for "half of a cream"?

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

no artic mocha today?

Last week I went to Cosi for lunch. I looked at the menu for a minute on the way in- but why? I always order the same thing. A woman in the back called hello to me- they are so friendly there. 

I decided to try a raspberry mojito lemonade and I went up to the register to order. "No arctic mocha today?" she asked. She completely caught me off guard and I was a little embarrassed. Do I go to Cosi that often?? I laughed a little and said "naw".

Saturday, May 2, 2009

cvs this week: day 3

- 4 2-liter bottles of Sierra Mist....on sale 2/$3.00 (2 BOGO coupons)
- 2 All small & mighty 3x 32 loads(?).... BO(@7.49)GO(free) (2 $1.00 off coupons)
- 4 2packs of batteries (2 C + 2 D).... on sale for $2.99ea ($1.00 off x 4)

USED: $2.01 giftcard
I also had a $5 off $25 and I think I accidently gave her a $2 cvs coupon for stuff I didn't even buy. Somehow my coupons totaled $21? The cashier was on the phone, so.. I think maybe she was overriding things and perhaps not 100% paying attention to what she was doing. And I..
PAID: $2.64

Friday, May 1, 2009

here's some hand sanitizer in your eye!

My daughter would not take a nap and was doing "backflips" and "somersaults" in her crib, so I figured she must need her diaper changed. I checked. Yup, she pooped. 

I took off the dirty diaper and cleaned her up. Then, before I put the new one on I went to get a little sanitizer for my hands. There must have been a little dried up on the spout because it shot a stream straight towards my eye. 

I stood there for a second with my right eye closed. Nothing. Thank God I shut my eye in time, I thought to myself. Wait. No. OMG that hurts! I half keeled over on a nearby chair. That lasted about 5 seconds.. then I ran to the bathroom. 

I washed my eye out until I was finally able to open it. I went back to my daughter (who was in her crib this whole time.. don't worry) she was having a fantastic time in her crib playing with the new diaper that hadn't been put on her yet. She was also having a great time rolling around in all the pee she had let go while I was washing my eye out. SO much pee in fact that it ran off the crib mattress and onto the floor!

TGIF no?

cvs this week: day 2

- 2 packages of cvs almonds.... 99¢ ea ($2 off 2 coupon- printed out in store)
- 1 Axe bullet 4 pack on clearance.... $1.50

PAID: $1.55

Thursday, April 30, 2009

cvs this week: day 1

- one package of 6 plastic easter eggs.... 12¢
- six Command hooks.... on sale for 2/$5.00 ($2.50 off x 6)

PAID: $0.13

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

parrot walking

Last week I saw a man and woman taking their parrot for a walk- I almost ran off the road.

The parrot was sitting on the man's right shoulder and flapping its wings all around enjoying the sun and breeze. If I hadn't had my daughter with me, I might have stopped to take a picture. Oh well, maybe next time.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

on monday

On Monday afternoon Husband insisted on shampooing the carpet. Why? And why all of a sudden? I have no idea.

So Daughter and I left.. even though we had nowhere to go. I got some lunch and she watched me eat it. I got the mail at the post office, I got coffee, and we walked around Target for a little while. 

When I got back to the house everything smelled disgusting.. like when my parents dogs would have a bath at the kennel before they came back home. Semi-wet doggy having just had a bath with kennel strength soap smell- yum.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

one red paperclip

I decided to buy One Red Paperclip by Kyle MacDonald. And I was lucky enough to find a 25% off coupon online for Borders.

I bought this book yesterday afternoon, spent time with family, drove home, did home things, and then sat down to read around 10 or 11pm. Before I knew it I had read over a hundred pages. And when I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and I had to go to bed, I stopped reading at 142 pages. 142 pages! With a baby no less. I haven't read 142 combined pages in the last year, never mind of one one thing in one sitting!

Needless to say I am really really enjoying the book. The story is so interesting and it's so well written. Each page I read I have to turn to see what happens, and then what happens, and then what happens, and then what happens, etc.

It all started on Craigslist I guess. There is a barter section? It all seems so easy to start.. and yet I'm a little wary of Craigslist currently.. and I'm sure many people are too. Not that I am a "masseuse", but still..

Thursday, April 23, 2009

tresemme savings at cvs

One of the offers at CVS this week is on Tresemme products; they are 3 for $10.

I had a $4 off $20 beauty coupon and then a combination of ECB and coupons totaling $10.99. So I paid $5.29 for one 32oz bottle of shampoo, three 32oz bottles of conditioner, and 2 bottles of styling spray. If you are keeping track that works out to about 88¢ an item! Plus I got $10 ECB back.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

what to do with $3.16

Shopping trip at CVS on Tuesday..

- ACT mouthwash $4.99, get $2 ECB ($1 off coupon)
- Claritin 24hr 10/15 ct $9.99, get $2 ECB ($7 off coupon)
- 2 Oral-B dental floss $2.88 each, get $2 ECB each
- Edge Infused shaving gel $2.89, get $2.89 ECB
- 1 issue of Good Housekeeping $2.50

USED: $5 off $25 coupon and $10 in ECB (plus the $8 in coupons)
PAID: $3.16

Sunday, April 19, 2009

How to stretch 10¢

How to stretch 10 cents on a Saturday night..

CVS #1
- 2 Sobe at BOGO with BOGO coupon
- BOGO Purex raincheck
- "free" toothbrush raincheck
PAID: 0.10

CVS #2
- 2 Sobe at BOGO with BOGO coupon
PAID: 0.00

CVS#3
- $3.99 toothbrush (got $3.99 in ECB)
- $0.75 starbucks chocolate
- BOGO Purex raincheck
USED: "4.49" in ECB (it said 4.49, but it seems the value was 4.99)
PAID 0.00

Friday, April 17, 2009

and today at the park..

Daughter and I went to the park today. And every SAHM in a 20 mile radius took their kiddies to the park too. I had to drive around looking for a spot for 10 minutes just to take a 20 minute walk. Arrg. Who knew going to the park was so stressful?

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

did you know..

1. I had rats as pets for a few years. Lexicon (Lexi), Cheesecake, and Anna- all girls. They were very interesting little creatures- really clean, organized, and cute.

2. I lived in an apartment that my neighbor set on fire (and destroyed) while I was at work one day. The fire department chopped down my door and ripped open the roof. Thankfully my cat survived.. just scared and smelling like he had been at a barbecue all day.

3. I won a car when I was 17. It's true. It wasn't brand new, but that is still pretty cool for a 17 year old.

4.  I saw The Ramones in Connecticut.. a few years before they broke up for good. They played with White Zombie.. actually I think they opened for WZ.. which seemed weird to me. I was so close to the stage, if I had reached my arm out I would have been able to touch it.

Monday, April 13, 2009

so it's come to this has it?

Soo.. I have a baby. And I signed up for pretty much every reputable offer I could find before she came (and a few after).

What this means is that I get coupons and offers in the mail many times a week. A lot of it is for brands that I am not using. For months I was just throwing them out.. but then I started to wonder how I could find someone else to use them. For example, I decided to go with Similac, but I was also getting Enfamil coupons (one was for $11 off).

[Amusing side story: When I say "I decided to go with Similac" I mean I picked a brand without too much knowledge of the differences. Then, when I was recovering from surgery, drifting in and out of consciousness, and the nurse told me my baby was hungry and asked me which brand I wanted her to be fed.. I could hardly remember my own name never mind what brand of formula I wanted my baby to eat. She rattled off a list, I said something like "what's the difference".. the response was "nothing", so I guess I repeated the only one I could remember.]

And apparently it has come to this..

I signed up for some baby coupon swapping nonsense. Ya, that's right. I seem to now be collecting coupons and trading them with people via the usps. 

But it's kinda neat if you think about it. I've already gotten a few emails and at least one woman wants to send me $7 worth of similac coupons for a couple of Johnson's and Pampers coupons I know I'll never use. Spend 42¢, save $7.. sounds good to me.

First it was being inspired by families of 4 and 5 with insanely low grocery budgets. Now it's collecting and trading baby coupons with strangers. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Or something.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

how did you find this blog?

I think having a counter on one's blog is kind cool. What's even cooler though is if the counter company you are using can give you all sorts of other info too. For instance, the one I use tells me about the search terms that brought visitors to my site. 

I wrote a about how I came to know The Ting Tings not through the radio, Apple advertising, etc, but through watching Yo Gabba Gabba with Daughter. I called it something like "how to promote your band".. well many people were probably disappointed that they didn't learn anything about promoting their fledging bands by reading my blog.

There was "Animated Tazmanian devil avatars"- and before right now I have not ever used even one of those words in this blog. Ug.. now I'm going to get 100 animated tazmanian devil avatar fans reading my blog. Well, that's alright.. welcome ATDA fans!

The best one that I've seen so far is "do they use skullcandy headphones on ghost hunters". Yes, yes they do.. and that was confirmed for that searcher when I talked about my history of desire for a pair one day. A pair of skull candy headphones that is, not ghost hunters.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

seriously?

I was watching an episode of Oprah recently. (I can't believe I just typed that. Oh well.) I am trying to remember what it was about..

Recession proofing you marriage, I think?

Anyway, Dooce was on briefly. I swear she said she makes $40,000 a MONTH from the advertising on her blog. Maybe I misheard, but I'm like 90% sure that's what she said. She went on to say that her husband quit his job, and that her blog is the "family business."

I wish I had a blog that was the family business and we didn't have to worry so much about financial things. I'd be ecstatic if I made $40K a YEAR from a blog, never mind a month.

Friday, April 10, 2009

or not

I emailed someone with a couple of questions I had about the potential job. The email address of mine I used was in gmail. 

If you have a gmail account, you know how you can see the first line or so of the email even before you open it? Well, the response I got started with the word "unfortunately".. so you can figure out the rest of how that went.

I was a little sad, I'll admit. Okay, more than a little. But on the bright side, I'll still get to spend all my days with Daughter. For now anyway. Too bad no one sends me a paycheck for doing that.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

money not spent

I have come across some crazy blogs recently where people have committed to only spend $1200 or whatever on groceries (food, toiletries, diapers, etc) for their entire family for the entire year! Seriously. And I mean crazy in a nice way, I think. I say "crazy" because as a general concept it seemed impossible to me.  But once I started reading more and more of the blogs and the endless lists on them of the sales, coupons, and savings.. it actually seems possible. And I'll admit it.. I've gotten a little swept up.

While I'm miles away from committing to any budget, never mind a $1200 or $1500 one, I have started scouring the Sunday flyers for deals and sales.

I found a buy 1 get one free coupon for Kleenex at Walgreens- so I bought two. A couple of days later, I received a register coupon for 50¢ off Target brand tissues (which are normally $1.29 or something). So now there are 3 boxes of tissues in my stockpile.

This week I bought some shampoo at CVS that was on sale for $4.99 and the brand was also promoting a "try it for free" mail in rebate. While I was at CVS I got $25 worth of baby products (diapers and wipes) that were on sale and got $10 back in CVS Extra Care Bucks. But I didn't really spend $25-  I had a $5 off $25 CVS coupon, $4.50 in ECB, $1.50 off diapers coupon, and 50¢ off wipes.. so I actually only spent $13.50 (for 80 size 3 Huggies diapers and 216 Huggies wipes). There was a pretty good deal on iTunes cards too.. if they had had the $5 versions available, but seemed to not- oh well.

I don't know, is CVS crazy? On one of the $1200 budget blogs I came across (midgetmomma), the woman gets such good deals with Extra Care Bucks, coupons, and sales that when she shops she very often gets gift cards back with the difference on them (as well as her bags of products)! Please take this 63 cents and $50 worth of products, have a nice day.. geesh.

At Target on Thursday I had a coupon for 50¢ off a Grande Pike's Place coffee at Starbucks. It wasn't really supposed to be for iced coffee, but the girl was nice enough to hook me up anyway. I also got another pretty good deal.. something like buy two of product X and get a $5 gift card, but then I also had a $1 off 1 manufacturer coupon and a Target coupon for $1 off 2. It was for a product I like, but wouldn't have bought otherwise because it's a little expensive. You gotta be careful of things like that.. you end up spending more money just to save. I guess it usually works out in your favor in the end though.

What a nerd.. I am looking forward to Sunday all week now!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

well, it's a job

I had a job interview this week. Well, I actually had two.. at the same place. I was called back for round two.. that's good right?

This is the first interview I've had since Daughter arrived in my life, which makes it 100 times more complicated. At first I was somewhat looking forward to playing"grown-up" for a few hours, but then I realized I didn't actually have any interview clothes that were in the house and not packed in boxes lost forever in the garage. Oops. 

Eventually I managed to put together a fairly decent outfit.. but when they wanted me to come back.. I had to go buy new everything.. and that was so much harder than I thought it would be having to drag Daughter along. Poor thing, but she did pretty well.

Anyway.. the initial sort of excitement started to go away after the first interview. And then it reeally started to go away as I prepared for the second interview and I realized having this job would mean not spending all my time with Daughter. And that started to upset me. 

I thought about spending 40+ hours a week at some office. I thought about driving for 10+ hours a week back and forth to some office. I thought about all the stupid grown-up clothes I would have to wear all week at some office. I thought about how this job was sounding more and more like the job I left a year ago for many reasons, including that I hated it and everyone I had to be around during it. 

I thought about all of that as I walked really really slowly back to my car after the 2nd interview. When I got into my car.. I just sat there for awhile. I thought about all that.. and then how much time I wouldn't be spending with Daughter.. and I was so very very sad.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

new bag!

ah! I finally, finally got a new bag. I have been carrying around the same (wintry) bag for like 2 years now. Don't get me wrong, I really really like it, but it is wool.. and that seems a little weird for the spring/summer. I also noticed recently that the bottom corners are starting to wear out a little bit.

Daughter and I went to Target on Friday (after her check-up) to buy her first jars of baby food! And on the way by the bags at the front of the store I saw there were new (Spring?) colors of those canvas Converse bags they rotate around for the last year or so. I have been looking at them for awhile.. every time new colors come out.. I have to look. I almost bought a blue one once, but when I saw the striped one, I had to have it- and now I do. It is a little lighter weight than the ones they have had previously, but I think that's another reason why I like it. Actually, I almost didn't buy.. just because.. I don't know.. that's the way I am. But then I was unsnapping the inside and I looked at what was imprinted on them.. and I took it as a sign. It said "orion" all over them.. my cat's name! He was sending me the "just buy the G**damn bag already mom!" message.

Friday, April 3, 2009

update: coupon contest

Okay, okay.. since the response to the coupon contest has been.. absolutely zero, I am changing it slightly. 

Leave a comment on THIS post (not the one from 3/29) saying something about why you would like the coupons. Anything is fine- like.. you love candles, it's so-and-so's birthday, you like saving money, whatever.. I'm just nosey. And I'll pick one person at random to receive all 4 $3 off coupons (I don't have them in front of me at the moment, but I'm pretty sure they're good for awhile).

Leave a comment by the end of the day on Monday, April 6.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

dragging daughter

When I drag Daughter all over the place - in and out of the car/carseat over and over.. I wonder if she hates it or loves it. Somewhere in between or a combo of the two maybe?

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

babble

I get emails from BabyCenter each week about where Daughter is in development, etc. I got one recently  that said "At this age, about half of babies babble, repeating one syllable — such as ba, ma, ga, or other consonant-vowel combinations — over and over. "

Yup, that is exactly where we have been for the last few weeks. Daughter is into one that sounds like a combo of "da" and "tha".. very cute.

Monday, March 30, 2009

i won!

Ahh! I am SO excited.. I actually won something on the Ulimate Blog Party run by 5 Minutes For Mom.

It would have been really amazing to get my hands on that fancy mixer (even though I bet I wouldn't ever use it- not a baker). I won the most selfish of prizes from what I selected as things I wanted- gift card to Old Navy. 

Actually, I used to shop there a lot for myself, but the last 6-8 months has pretty much been 100% for Daughter. Oh well.. maybe she'll let me get one thing for myself.  : )

Sunday, March 29, 2009

coupon contest

I saw someone on another blog doing this, so I figured I could do the same thing..

I've gotten to try a bunch of things through the bzzagent program and this is just another example of a great one- The Fragrance Collection by Glade (reed diffusers and soy based candles). I received a large 10 oz candle- Currants & Acai.. which smells really nice, a little like cranberries. 

Scents include: 
Currants & Acai- tartness of red currants combined with tanginess of the acai berry
Sheer White Cotton- blend of floral, fruity and woody notes, including freesia and lime.
Lotus Bamboo- lotus with a touch of citrus gives way to a creamy and rich bamboo base
McIntosh Apple- crisp scent of fresh picked apples, crisp and juicy, yet slightly tart.
Earthly Awakening- blend of nature-inspired fragrances for a mellow and soothing scent
Orange Vanilla- blend of fresh oranges with a rich, creamy vanilla
(the currants & acai and earthly awakening are my favorites so far)

Anyway.. Since I have so many coupons (and I don't need THAT many candles) I'm going to share. I will pick two people, at random, to each receive 2 of the $3.00 off coupons. All you have to do is comment on this entry- tell me what scent you think you might use the coupons on, what you will do with it (for yourself, someone else, give as gift, etc), and if you want to try the candle or diffuser.

AND I also found out that Walgreens has a $2 off coupon on these candles in the coupon booklet available in their stores that is coming out tomorrow. They normally sell the small candles for $5.99.. with both coupons that comes out to only 99 cents a candle!

Comment by the end of the day on April 4.. and I'll pick the winners on Sunday.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

something I learned on Tuesday

The front brakes on Daughter's stroller do NOT work.

How did I come to learn this you are wondering? Well..

Daughter and I went to the mall, since we hadn't been in several weeks and it can be a decent place to walk around, while protected from the "elements", for awhile. I got Daughter's stroller out, set it up next to the car, pushed down one of the front brakes, and crawled into the back of the car to get Daughter out of her seat. I crawled back out of the car holding Daughter only to discover that the stroller was not right next to me anymore. Where was the stroller? Taking off across the parking lot along with much gusting wind. Thank God the stroller was empty (no bag or child inside) and I was already holding Daughter. I started to run after it, but stopped about half way to it as it was about to run, full speed, into a car that was backing up. 

"Oh shit!" is I think what probably came out of my mouth. Then, I don't know why, but about a foot away from the car the stroller came to a dead stop. The car drove away (ya, thanks for the help), I finished my crazy run across the parking lot, retrieved the stroller, and headed back to the car. Obviously somewhat embarrassing, but also pretty funny. 

Friday, March 27, 2009

more gabba

Yeah.. more Yo Gabba Gabba coming my way! Uh, I mean more YGG coming Daughter's way. Although.. we haven't even seen the new episodes from this year yet. : (

Thursday, March 26, 2009

frappuccinos at starbucks

The coffee frappuccino is good- but not as good as the mocha frappuccino. Not worth saving 45 cents.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I love dunkin donuts. oh wait..

I love Dunkin Donuts. Oh wait.. no I don't. I hadn't really eaten anything yet- I was with Daughter and I knew she wasn't going to let me actually make anything when we got back to the house, so I decided to stop for a very unhealthy bagel sandwich.

Wait wait wait at drive up.
- Would you like to try blah blah blah?
- (ignoring whatever she said) Do you have any onion bagels?
- fsdfloiiusndm onion bagels.
- (sounds like yes?) Can I get an egg and cheese on an onion bagel?
- Blah blah go to the window.

At window. Wait wait.
- What kind of bagel did you want?
- Onion?
- (long pause) With just plain cream cheese?
- No. Egg and cheese.

Different girl comes back to the window. 
- We don't have any onion bagels.
- (You liar!!) Okay, just plain then.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

newest songs

new songs.

Social Distortion- Story of my Life
I already have this, but I couldn't find the mp3 when I looked- and the CD is probably lost forever in the 8 million boxes in the garage.

Loudon Wainwright III- Daughter
Playing during the credits of Knocked Up which I caught the end of the other day. I really didn't like that movie, but the song was nice.

The All-American Rejects- Gives You Hell
Keeps getting stuck in my head from the few times I've heard it on the radio.. so I just finally gave in and bought it.

Monday, March 23, 2009

me = worst

I guess I am pretty much the worse sister inlaw ever. I've never bought my brother/sister inlaws anything for their birthdays or christmas.. Husband does that.. and then it's from "us".

So.. I tried to change that this year. First birthday of a sibling inlaw came around and I went to 6 different book stores looking for a present. (Do you know how not easy it is to drag a sleepy/grumpy baby in and out of the car all day?) I had a general idea of what I wanted, but ended up with a great big nothing. There was one book(Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field) I almost bought, twice. I thought it might be a good book for him to have in his "library", but it was way more text filled and way less visual a book than I had wanted to find and therefore not a good birthday present.

If he and I had a better relationship, or any relationship at all I guess, I could have explained how helpful it might be for him to read/look at the potential book.. but I don't know how I could have explained it (given our current state) without sounding foolish.

And I didn't even wish this BrotherInLaw a happy birthday. Ya, I know! (again.. me=worst) I didn't go out of my way to see him on the actual day. I was busy not buying him a present, taking care of daughter, blah blah blah. And then he was with his friends so I didn't want to be stupid sister inlaw butting in all of  sudden. And I kind of wanted to tell him in person rather than just sending a text or email.. only saying "happy birthday". And then he'd reply "thanks".. and that would be the end of it. 

So with all my good intentions he has no idea about.. basically I just look like a jerk. Oh well, he probably didn't even notice and/or care. Maybe a week from now, when I run into him, I can say "happy birthday", he will look at me like I'm an idiot, say "thanks", and I will walk away feeling like an even bigger jerk. It will be great.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

car seat search part two is ON

Daughter is on the verge of outgrowing the height limit of her carseat. I have mixed feelings about this.

Mostly I am excited I guess- I'm getting really tired of hauling her around in that infant carrier. BUT one of the things I like about her infant car seat is that it fits in her stroller and it faces me so I can babble to her when we're walking around. Outgrowing the infant carseat means no more facing mommy when in the stroller.

So next up is the convertible carseat I guess. And while I am not looking forward to paying (up to) another couple of hundred dollars on one, I guess the convertible one will be with her for a few years and not 5 or 6 months like the one we have now (I wish I knew more about this stuff when we bought the first one). I don't have too much info on the safety and crash info, but the first one I saw online was one from Britax in cowmooflage. Cute, huh? 

I suppose "cute" isn't really a good reason to buy something that is designed solely to keep your child safe. BUT when I looked at the Britax models at Target, I saw that they are made in the USA. And then when I found two sentences of (free) info online, the Britax's are apparently on the top of a lot of lists. So now I can say the "cute" is just an added bonus.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

YGG live??

Yo Gabba Gabba live??! --->http://www.babble.com.au/2009/03/20/win-tickets-to-yo-gabba-gabba-live-in-concert/

When are they coming to this country???

I guess it's better that they are not starting in the US, because although it seems like Daughter already really likes this show on tv.. I don't know how much she would appreciate the live version at this very early stage in her life.

How about in 6 months or so? Come to a city near me and we'll be there.

Friday, March 20, 2009

it's a blog party

Ultimate Blog Party 2009I just found out about another interesting blog thing going on. Lots of interesting blogs, lots of prizes being given away.

It would be amazing to win #58.. a Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer! But any of the Target gift cards (19, 21, 22, 26, 91) or the Old Navy gift card (118) would be really nice too.

Check it out when you get the chance.. you don't have to be a mom, or even a parent to enter.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

talking to myself

I got this in an email recently. It seemed all too appropriate for me.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

on tuesday

Daughter and I went to Target on Tuesday (surprise).

And even though I left 2 feet of space on the belt between Daughter's diapers and the items of the person in front of me, the cashier still asked the woman if they were hers. She looked at me and Daughter, then back at the cashier and said-"I ain't doing no diapers!"

A) I love the English language
B) could not a simple "no" or "no they are not" have sufficed?

Sunday, March 15, 2009

regarding cats

Anyone that says cats cannot be vindictive has never owned a cat.

I could list many personal examples, but I will spare you.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

when a bad day leads to starbucks

When I go to Starbucks and I'm having a bad day, sometimes I order a grande mocha frappuccino. It's like drinking coffee and eating a big bar of chocolate- and sometimes that can make you feel better.

Friday, March 13, 2009

favorite places to eat

I think this is my current top ten restaurants in no particular order..

- Tokyo (sushi!)
- Hard Rock Cafe (I have only been there once, they have a yum version of mac and cheese)
- Cosi (the TBM melt is the only sandwich I've ordered, but I've ordered it many many times)
- Red Robin
- Au Bon Pain (mozzarella with mayo and lettuce on baguette)
- The Melting Pot
- Not Your Average Joe's (I recommend the sauteed green beans)
- Outback (best garden salad and baked potato with butter)
- Fire & Ice
- Colombo's (their mediterranean salad is excellent)

Thursday, March 12, 2009

the binky daughter

Daughter used to have so many binkies, but the green ones were always her favorite. Husband first gave her one when we were still in the hospital and it's been a binky, binky world ever since.

But this week I've noticed we were down to two green binkies.. and then only one. I explained to daughter not to throw the last remaining precious green binky on the floor because then it would be a "dirty binky". How is it your child has the ability to melt you brain and make you instantly sound like a dope to all non-parents to said child?

Anyway, this afternoon I watched daughter take the last green binky out of her mouth, throw it through the bars of her crib (hitting the floor), and then start screaming hysterically. I rushed over to her to say "ya, I saw that!" She stopped crying instantly, having forgotten that most of the time "mommy sees all".

Well I couldn't very well leave the poor kid without any binkies at all, so I moved everything out from under her crib and slithered under it on my binky recovery mission.

And I am happy to report that the mission was extra successful. I recovered not one, but TWO green binkies! The daughter was pleased.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

songs from itunes

The last two songs I bought from itunes were..

1. "Happy Birthday" by The Ting Tings
2. "Here it Goes Again" by Ok Go

The first one is cute and catchy, and when listening to the second one, all I can think of is "dancing" on treadmills.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

spring fling!

woah, how cool is this? The Secret Is In The Sauce has 307 (at last count) links to blogs that are giving stuff away today. And all you have to do is comment on the the contest offerer's blog.

Go here: http://www.thesitsgirls.com/2009/03/spring-fling.html

last tuesday

Last Tuesday, a BrotherInLaw walked around the corner of the garage into the darkness. He came back into the house 20 minutes later. Within the hour cops, fire truck, and ambulance arrived and he was taken away. 

I'm still not really sure what happened. (But he did come back)

Monday, March 9, 2009

a brief history of my skull candy desires

I can't remember where I saw them first, but..

There were some funny moments on Ghost Hunters between two of the investigators while they reviewed some of their ghost hunting footage- regarding one guy's red skull candy headphones that the other one kept calling pink.

Shortly after that, I saw a kid walking around the grocery store wearing the same red skull candy headphones. I almost wanted to make a comment to him regarding them and the previously mentioned funniness on GH, but I kept it to myself.

Around the same time, I realized one BrotherInLaw of mine also had a pair, I don't think they were the red ones, but I can't recall what other color they were.. black or silver maybe.

So I kind of wanted some. I think the design of them is cool and they are supposed to be pretty good quality as well. I started to find the bigger, bulkier design of them a nice change from the direction of the smaller ipod (+ etc) versions that seem to be so popular now (don't get me wrong though, I LOVE my ipod).

Anyway.. the biggest DJ type ones were the most appealing, but let's me honest they probably weigh 10 pounds and I can't see myself sitting around the house wearing those.. nevermind the $$$ price tag. The Lowriders are nice enough for me.. the price is not going to cause any piggybank breaking and they come in so many colors now. The blue family of colors are my favorite I think- I've got a little bit of money left from a tax return so maybe there really will be some skull candy in my not too distant future!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

no ting tings for mom

The Ting Tings are going to do a performance and signing at the Newbury Street location of Newbury Comics on March 18 at 5pm.

Initially I was really excited. I became the opposite of excited when I realized me being there was not going to happen- was I seriously going to bring daughter to a "concert" at Newbury Comics? Even if I somehow convinced myself it was okay for daughter to be there, parking would be an impossible nightmare. This would lead to thoughts of the T, which is an idea that would never get past husband. 

Maybe if it were earlier in the day, at a location with a parking lot, or later in the day when husband could take care of daughter..  But, none of those things are the case.. oh well. That's life as mom I guess.. you miss out on the Ting Tings when they come to town.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

new yo gabba gabba?

I keep reading that there are new episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba. Tony Hawk even Twittered that he was watching them with his kids! 

But, where are they?! I have my DVR set up to tape all YGG episodes (for daughter I mean, not me - ya right) and I haven't seen any new ones on it yet. Hmm.. I wonder what's going on. Does Tony just have a special DVR that can tape into the future?

UPDATE: I adjusted the DVR to tape YGG on all channels, not just the one.. maybe that was the problem.. we'll see.

Friday, March 6, 2009

movies

I watched 21 earlier this week. I had been wanting to see it for awhile, but never got around to it. It was good.. I enjoyed it.

On Tuesday I watched I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK. It was a Korean movie with subtitles. I watched it based on reading that it was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest South Korean style(and with much more laughs)." An "imaginative comedy-romance, set in a mental institution" depicting a "loopy love story of a kleptomaniac who falls for a delusional woman." It was weird, but better than the "review" and I enjoyed it. I think one of the patients used to be on Margaret Cho mid 90s show All American Girl. I told a BrotherInLaw that I thought he would like it, his response seemed to indicate he didn't care what I had to say.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

jimmy fallon

I never ever liked the news portion of Saturday Night Live until Jimmy Fallon started hosting it with Tina Fey. He was definitely my favorite cast member ever, except maybe for Tina Fey.

SO you can imagine how excited I was when I learned he was to take over hosting Late Night. And then you can imagine how much I was looking forward to his first show on Monday. I DVRd it and watched it on Tuesday afternoon.

What did I think? I was disappointed. Watching most of it was really, really uncomfortable. You know what I mean? I wanted to fast forward because it was so uncomfortable to watch. I really liked the intro theme song, the set was so-so, the monologue didn't seem to go that well, the licking game was ridiculous, the "interview" and skit with Robert DeNiro were both awful, Justin Timberlake picked things up a bit (the two seemed to have a good repertoire), and the Van Morrison performance didn't change my opinion of anything else that had happened.

I don't remember much of Conan's start except that he had Andy, but I assume he wasn't as great as he was in the end.. so all I can do is hope that with time Jimmy will improve.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

gold diggers

I don't normally watch Oprah, but I caught a few minutes of it on Friday. Steve Harvey was on giving some dating advice. I had to laugh out loud when he said (regarding men)"We created the term 'gold digger' so you won't ask us for nothing." I don't know, it just struck me as funny for some reason.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

pick it up

I LOVE this video that was on Yo Gabba Gabba. It is Gogo13's "Pick It Up"

Monday, March 2, 2009

the power of (un)observation

I had six inches of length cut off my hair on Sunday (8 days ago). . my husband still hasn't seemed to have noticed.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

chocolate fortune cookies

There was a bunch of chocolate I had to eat this Valentine's Day, so it wasn't until a few days ago that I got to the last box of it- Emily's milk chocolate covered fortune cookies.

I had only planned to eat one, then I was only going to eat two, and then I ate three. But I couldn't help it, they were really really good.. and I ate all six. Maybe I will order more. I think the best deal is the 9oz box for $12.99.

Some of my fortunes: "Like Chocolate, the love in your life will always make you feel good", "You and a loved one will soon develop a new interest", and "Your love will overcome the test of time".

Saturday, February 28, 2009

daughter is beautiful

Daughter and I went out to buy husband/daddy some birthday cards on Thursday. For some reason the card store was way too hot and after a few minutes daughter had had enough of it. I took off her hat and then her socks.. she seemed amused by that and quieted down.. even smiled.

When we got to the back of the store, one of the women working came up to us and told me how beautiful daughter was. I already know this of course, but I said "thank you". She went on and on about how beautiful she was ("the cutest baby to come into the store"), how round her face was, commented on her cheeks and asked what she was "hiding in there", etc. It was nice to hear. Daughter smiled widely and sucked on her fingers.

Circuit City is going out of business. I went to one of their stores today- a woman there also wanted to tell me how beautiful daughter was- several times. Not only that, but she also told me I looked good (after she asked how old daughter was). Then we briefly commented on the lack of sleep one gets during constant baby feedings.

Friday, February 27, 2009

tokidoki and the moofia

I discovered the Tokidoki blog today. I don't know, I have probably discovered it before but just forgotten about it. I came across it while on the search for the Moofia. I've looked at them for a few years, but still have yet to purchase any. They are $7 directly from tokidoki, but there is a store locally that sells them for $6.99.. so I could save a penny AND not pay for shipping.

I also found on their blog that there is a tokidoki capsule store opening in New York City on March 7th. This was somewhat exciting to me as I seem to find myself in that city about once a year now.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

I went to passive-aggressive notes online after coming across the book version on amazon while I was ordering a ridiculous book for my husband's birthday. Not that I wanted to buy him a ridiculous book.. he thinks lolcats are funny and I do not.

Anyway.. passiveaggressivenotes.com is actually really funny. I love this kind of thing.. reminds me of Found. Except maybe Passive Aggressive notes is better because it's all just notes. Funny weird notes.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

i am eating lunch

For lunch today I am eating the Mediterranean Pasta from Healthy Choice's All Natural Entrees line. It is my favorite so far from their new and updated meals- it's really good (I add just a little salt to it). Orzo, rice, beans, apples, cranberries, spinach, onion, tomato, cheese- yum.

The first one I tried was one my husband bought and cooked for me. It had something to do with portobello mushrooms. It was good, but when I went to buy another one, I dared to read the ingredients- I was really disappointed to find that it had chicken fat in it. Gross- that was the end of that.

I've tried the pumpkin squash ravioli (just like Grace did), but I found it a bit bland and I actually really dislike asparagus. The tomato basil(?) pasta was good, but the potstickers meal was a little too spicy for me.

So the moral of this blog story is that I recommend the Mediterranean Pasta meal and if you aren't a vegetarian then the Portobello meals are pretty good too.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

for those that say honesty doesn't pay..

Sometime around Christmas I received an e-gift certificate addressed to someone I was not from someone I did not know. There was no email from the purchaser included and I wasn't sure what to do. 

I had a few options. One, I could just ignore it- but someone did spend $50 (I think it was $50) to buy it and it would therefore be wasted. Two, I could use it myself (so the money would not be wasted) although that felt pretty dishonest (for obvious reasons). Three, it was a shot in the dark but I thought maybe the retailer would be able to refund the person's money due to the error.

I went with option three and contacted the retailer via email. Customer service responded a few days later asking for the certificate, which I then supplied them with.

About a week later, I was contacted again with an update from the retailer.. they were working on tracking down the original purchaser to work out a refund. Well that's good I thought.. and figured that was the end of it.

Over a month later, I received this email..

"We have contacted the customer who had purchased this item and let them know to contact us and we could forward them or the recipient the gift e-mail at an alternate address. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. We value your honesty and have included a code for $25 for an online purchase below. The code is case sensitive and is not valid for tax or shipping costs. Thank you again for your assistance in this matter."

See that? My honesty was valued!

Monday, February 23, 2009

how to make an impression at Target

I don't really get out of the house as much as I would like to with my daughter- it is the middle of winter and she is 4 months old. Sometimes we go to Target and walk around. It's a nice big store, they usually have interesting stuff, and some of them have a yummy Starbucks inside them!

On Friday, daughter and I went to a Target. Mainly we went for more drop-ins for her bottles, but the added bonus Starbucks coffee certainly helped get us (I mean me) there.

Daughter was fine for the getting of the coffee, but as soon as we started to on our way into the real part of the store, the screaming started (not me, daughter). 

At first it was sort of "cute" while I looked for a sweatshirt for her as she bit on one of her toys. But it started to get a little less "cute" when we entered the toy section. A few Yo Gabba Gabba toys got a smile out of her as we played around with them for 10 minutes in the way of all sorts of other customers, but as soon as we walked away the screams started back up.

It didn't take me long to figure out that shaking the Brobee (YGG character) one I was carrying with me and having it play its music quieted daughter down for the duration of the sound. But then I started to think how silly I must look shaking the weird looking furry green striped toy at my baby. And of course playing it and playing it and playing it was sort of difficult to do while trying to push a stroller. 

I tried to keep sticking the pacifier in her mouth, but she didn't want it and it would just fall back out again- this was also difficult to do while trying to push a stroller. 

At this point I gave up on shopping. With screaming daughter I just wanted to buy the stupid bottle dropins, the sweatshirt I kept dropping, the weird looking furry green striped toy, and the smaller blue cat dragon YGG toy that daughter was getting (but was really kind of for me).

I kept hearing "blah blah baby blah blah" the more she screamed and the more people I walked by. A few people that passed me actually turned around to look at her, to see what horrible thing I had done to my child to make her scream like a maniac banshee- I wanted to hide. Why was the front of the store and those lovely registers so very far away?! Was I actually running through the store to get to them? 

I had to shut out  every person in the store because daughter just would not stop her screaming/crying. Stopping every other step to try to jam the pacifier back in her mouth was just making the journey to the registers take even longer. Shaking and making the toy play it's music was just drawing more attention to us- was that even possible?

Of course almost as soon as we got into line, she stopped all noise making.. and fell asleep. Daughter wins again.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

how to promote your band

You can promote your band by having Apple showcase your song (Shut Up And Let Me Go). Or you can play a song on Yo Gabba Gabba (Happy Birthday).

I heard The Ting Tings on the Apple commercial awhile ago and I thought about buying the song, but I decided I didn't like it that much. Then while watching an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba with my daughter a few days ago, a kind of catchy rendition of "Happy Birthday" came on. Who was singing this? The Ting Tings. And that's why I ended up buying "We Started Nothing" on Friday, even though that song isn't even on the cd. (But it IS on itunes, so I plan to get that one as well.)

"That's Not My Name" is the song I'm liking the best on the cd so far, but I actually didn't get to listen to the entire thing yet. I bought it at Best Buy and only listened to it as far as it took me to drive home. 

I would have bought this cd at Newbury Comics since they are sort of my local independent music store, but when I checked the prices online, Best Buy won out by two dollars.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

it's not me, it's you

I bought Lily Allen's new cd (It's Not Me, It's You) the day it came out- February 10.

I listened to it over and over- which is what I did when I bought her first cd. At first, I thought it was okay and it grew on me little by little the more times I listened to it. (When I bought Alright, Still I loved it almost instantly.) The first cd is still my favorite.

My favorite songs so far are probably "Fuck You" (how can you not love a song with lyrics like "fuck you. fuck you very much.")and "The Fear".

Not that I know her personally, but from what I take away from her music, how I've seen her perform on tv, and a couple of things I've read about her.. I think Lily Allen is charming.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Ugg

I am now the proud owner of a pair of Uggs. My first pair- black Knightsbridge. They are nice.. and warm.. but not usually overly warm. At the moment I don't regret having them.

However, I am a vegetarian. For health or for the animals? For the animals. Then why do I own boots made out of animals if I do not want to eat them? The short answer is.. it's complicated. The long answer has to do with having mixed feelings about meat eating. 

Do I think in a perfect world that animals shouldn't be eaten? No, not really I guess. I understand there can be benefits to animal consumption. But, I'm very, very against the conditions that I think most meat raised animals live in. Against how they have to live, how they are killed, the disrespect they go through (does that sound weird?), and on and on and on. And of course at this point in my vegetarianism, I can't really imagine eating a dead thing that used to have thoughts, feelings, fears, and happiness. When I see chopped up dead animal carcasses hanging out on shelves at the grocery store I find it almost gory- like it may as well be chopped up people.