Cold But Cute!

For me, dressing for the cold is so much more fun than dressing for the heat.  I mean, let's face it, in the summer, you have camisole, or t-shirt.  T-shirt or camisole.  Or if it's not too dreadfully hot, you can wear the camisole, over the t-shirt.  Boring.

Take the temperature down, and more clothes are required, making coming up with outfits profoundly more fun and interesting.  Layering in and of itself, brings countless possibilities.  There are cute tops, trendy vests, sweaters of all shapes and texture, crazy scarves which make the combinations endless.

There are so many fun and stylish trends out today, with my personal favorite being the vests and scarves.  There are long vests, fitted vests, vests with ruffles, ragged looking vests, structured business type vests and best of all, they look great on everybody!

I love the comfy cozy feeling of all the soft layers.  I love being comfortable with the lose shape on my body, unlike summer, where I feel so exposed.  And I love the added control of your body temperature.  Too cold?  Add more layers.  A little warm?  Remove a layer.  It's the perfect time of year for dressing to me.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was
compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

Cheap Shoes or Expensive Shoes?

There is the old adage that you get what you pay for, and when it comes to shoes this certainly rings true!  Having five daughters, I'm sure I can't begin to tell the number of hours spent shopping for shoes.  When they were so young, it was a matter of getting them all in shoes.  This involved the balancing act of handing down shoes, timing the seasons, because outfitting five daughters with shoes for school, athletics, church, and various other events is not small task.  In the beginning, it was a matter of the cheapest shoe we could find... but I grew wiser.  In some cases, this was best.  If for example, one of them needed sandals for the summer, which would undoubtedly be lost, cheap was good.  But if they needed winter shoes or a pair of dress shoes, I soon found that if I could find the more expensive shoes, on sale or clearance, then they would last much longer and therefore be able to be handed down from one daughter to the next.

This philosophy continued when the girl's feet were done growing.  Cheap shoes were a quick fix for the pocketbook, but inevitably I would be right back after a month or two, purchasing another pair because the previous cheap pair had fallen apart.  Now my girls and I thrive and hunt for the expensive shoes that look so great, feel so good, and last so long.  This is my favorite feature of the expensive shoe is that when you find one you like, it will be with you... not just for a season... but for a long time.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog for handmade shoes
and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

There is Such a Thing as Too Clean

Both of my parents are very festidious.  Anything they possess whether it be a piece of clothing, a kitchen tool, or even a car is treated with the utmost care.  In fact, everything they own is in mint condition, again, including their cars.  We never had a problem selling any of our cars.  Anyone who knew my family and knew my Dad, also knew that they would never find a used car that was taken care of as carefully, or as meticulously.  My brother and I were both given regular chores.  Mine was always the cars.
Every weekend I was to clean each of our cars.  Now when I'm talking clean, I mean wash every single inch, both inside and out.  The whitewalls of the tires were to be scrubbed with an SOS Pad.  And every car was to be waxed.  The inside doors rubbed down with Armour All.  The car floor mats were scrubbed clean and dried.  Windows were washed, streak free, on both inside and out.  It seems a bit overdone, to do this weekly, but again, our cars were emaculate.

I can't say that now as an adult I complete this routine weekly, but I have learned the proper way to clean my car... from years of experience.  I do enjoy having a clean car and work very hard to keep it this way.  Just recently, I was working magic with the Armour All and went a little too far.  I decided it would be nice to have my car floor mats shine.  I took the Armour All and went to town polishing and cleaning them.  They turned out beautiful!  I couldn't figure out why my Dad had never instructed me on this incredible way to clean the mats!  I put them in my car and they were maginificent!  And then... I tried to get in the car.  I nearly slipped straight out onto the garage floor!  My kids have slipped getting into the car!  I have tried to pick up friends, only to have them slip there way into the car.  Yes... you can take clean a little too far.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated.  However, the views and opinions are my own.

Unbelievable! The Internet Knows Me?

Every year when I receive my Christmas bonus I am very responsible with 90% of it.  The other 10% I use to buy something perfectly frivolous.  I figure I have worked very hard for the entire year, and it is time to reward myself with something that I just want.  You'll notice I said "want", not "need".

This year I gave myself an e reader.  To be specific, I purchased a Kindle.  I absolutely love it and it has been a fun prize that I am using all the time.  Now here's the weird part:  Ever since I purchased the Kindle... every time I am on the internet... I am bombarded with items that go with a Kindle.

I did buy it online.  And I did shop around via the internet to figure out what type of e reader I would prefer.  I didn't even notice it at first, as I busied myself with other things on the internet..... answering my email, checking bank accounts and now there is no mistaking that the internet is keeping track of me!

Every advertisement.  Every little side bar.  They are all Kindle covers.  Kindle lights.  Kindle protective shields.  I must admit it has been rather helpful.  And the ploy to tempt me to purchase further items has no doubt worked on me.  I now have a protective shield over my touch screen.  I have a fun and decorative skin over my Kindle.  And I have a dependable cover to protect it.  All ideas given to me by the internet.

It's a shame, I can't see food dishes that I would like and could purchase them to be delivered to my door.  But then again, maybe the internet would know what foods I enjoy if I first started making a few purchases.  This could get awfully expensive though.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog for an seo company
and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

Oh... The Beauty of A Smile

I have been very blessed.  My family has always been complimented on our beautiful smiles.  Yes, we are all very "toothy" with big, wide, happy smiles.  I was blessed with parents who both have beautiful smiles.  And our greatest blessing has always been that we have always had a reason to smile.

As I grow older, teeth have moved, enamel has yellowed and some have even begun to appear longer than they once were.  I now understand the expression of being "long in the tooth".  Apparently, as you grow older, your gums recede, making your teeth appear longer.  Thank goodness for the advancements of cosmetic dentistry.

There are clear trays that are virtually invisible that will straighten your teeth.  They truly do work wonders particularly if you are just trying to make slight adjustments to where they once were before you quit wearing your retainer.  An added bonus is that with these type of braces, you can not eat with them in, and if you do eat, you need to clean your teeth thoroughly before putting the tray back on.  Losing weight is very common.

There is also countless ways to whiten your teeth.  There are again, trays for this procedure.  There are whitening strips.  And there is the in office whitening that your dentist can perform in a single visit.  The options are many and this single cosmetic advancement works miracles.  I was so happy with the whitening, that I didn't even feel the need to do anything further.

For those who are "long in the tooth" it is a little more difficult.  I was told by my dentist that he could file the ends of my teeth slightly in order to make them appear.  This is a painless procedure but I didn't like the risk of messing with my older enamel.

All in all, there are so many cosmetic procedures to keep you smiling and believe it or not, my Mom and Dad still have two of the best smiles I've ever seen.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog for cosmetic dentist NYC and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

How Fun is The Shaving Brush?

So I went to my daughter's play which was set back in the time when men still used shaving brushes.  I have always been fascinated at how much fun it looks when the brush is foaming up the soap in the mug and then slopped onto the face.  So much fun, that I wanted to look into it.

Everybody who knows me, knows I hate to shave my legs.  In fact, I do not shave in the winter, ever.  I see no point in the ritual seeing how my legs are covered with long thick socks, pants, and/or tights.  But now that there is the fun of using shaving brushes, I must admit I have been tempted to shave this winter.

In exploring the advantages of the shaving brush, it seems that it not only softens the hair, but actually lifts the hair in preparation to shave it.  When you apply shaving cream or soap by hand you end up matting the hair down and therefore do not get as close of a shave.  The use of a shaving brush eliminates the need to press the razor to your leg in order to get a close shave.  Besides these advantages, it is most importantly, super fun to apply this way.

When I was a small child, I had so much fun with an empty razor and pretending to shave my legs just like Mom.  Here I am, over 50 years old, and I fill like a little kid with my big bushy brush and painting the foaming lather all over my legs.  It's winter so I don't do it often, but this summer, I'm going to have a blast!

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.

Frozen Pipes? We're Wasting Water!

It’s that time of year again.  I grew up in San Diego, where we conserve water.  Always have for as long as I can remember. I also know that when it comes to things of Utah winters, I am always caught a little of guard.

In San Diego, I spent Christmas wearing a T-shirt and maybe riding a new bike or skateboard.  Not so, in Utah.  Riding your new bike is not something you see often on Christmas morning.  But the one thing that really threw me off guard was one winter night when it was supposed to get extremely cold.

It was actually on the news.  It was going to be so cold that everyone should be sure to leave their water running, so the pipes wouldn’t freeze.  Leave the water running?  All night long?  Frozen pipes?  What are we talking about?  After further explanation from a neighbor who has lived their entire life in Utah, I was even more confused.  Just live the faucet dripping.  Dripping?  All night long? And if you don’t leave it dripping the pipes will freeze and burst.  Burst? This is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard!  So you’re telling me if I turn my faucet on so the water will drip, just drip this will be enough to keep the water from freezing?  And don’t understand, but I certainly do not want frozen pipes… so I do it blindly.

During the night, all I could think about was that I need to get up and turn off the faucet.  I’m wasting water.

I am participating in a blogger campaign for Bucks2Blog and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own.