This is a year in which I am trying to be efficient. Efficient with money, but efficient with other things, too. Like food! Gone are the days of throwing out containers of sour cream or bushels of green onions that went bad because they went unused. I’m making more stews and casseroles and am even getting creative and adventurous with things like ricotta cheese pancakes (instead of sour cream pancakes) in order to make use of these foods. Tonight we are going to have a bunch of leftovers for dinner, rather than making a new meal. If we did that, then the leftovers would most likely wind up being tossed in the trash tomorrow, and who needs that waste? Certainly not me. Years ago I swore off merchant cash advance, after seeing my mother get herself into a huge mess with them. And this is the year I swear off the rotting of food in my refrigerator and the purging of leftovers. We’re going to use up everything instead. 
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The kids are off from school tomorrow because of Martin Luther King Day. Fair enough – Martin Luther King was an important figure in our history, and deserves acknowledgment each year (I did take the time to explain Martin Luther King to Alyssa and Ryan today, since they asked). But then the kids are off from school again on Friday, due to Friday being a school in-service day. What the eff? Why can’t tomorrow be the in-service day? Why must the kids have two 3-day weekends and just 3 days of school in between? Alyssa gets bored, Ryan gets antsy because of the disruption in routine, and I go crazy with sproglets underfoot.
But I’ll make the best of the time at home with the kids. We’ll do some organizing and cleaning. I may enlist Alyssa’s help in bagging up some of the things we’ll be donating. And if I go ahead and purchase the GG collection, I’ll also ask Alyssa, and perhaps Ryan, to help me carefully package up the dishes so I can donate them.
What will you be doing this week?
EdenFantasys has recently started carrying makeup, and one of the items I purchased for myself (as an early Christmas gift) is the Bella in Bloom Eye Shadow Palette. This palette, which is available in three different color shades (I have all three – Annabelle, Lola, and Peony) features eight different eye shadows in a range of colors and matte and shimmer finishes, all of which complement one another (which is always nice if you like to layer or blend your shadows). Unless I’m sick of have been medically required to not wear makeup (in preparation for surgery), it’s a rare day that I don’t wear some kind of makeup, even if it’s just a light shadow paired with a quick layer of black mascara.
Cosmetic goodies from EdenFantasys!
The shadows in the Bella in Bloom Eye Shadow palettes are gorgeous, and they’re just the right shades that they’ll work with just about any outfit, any occasion, and any season. The shadows themselves are hard-pressed, but easy enough to gather on a small eye shadow brush (I didn’t bother to use the included applicator, as I’ve become a bit snobbish in terms of how I apply my eye makeup – applicator brushes just don’t cut it, unless you’re using the tip of one to apply pressed or cream shadow as an eyeliner). The colors easily pop out, and can be applied dry for a sheer finish, in layers for a more opaque finish, or wet for a bright, color-popping finish – your choice! The colors last quite a while, and I didn’t notice any flaking or creasing.
Bottom line? For $13.99, this 8-piece shadow kit is worth picking up. Psst… use coupon code ES2 to save 15% on your order.
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Saturday 9: I Know I’m Losing You
1. Have you ever still been in a relationship that you knew was ending, but you hung in with it anyway? If yes, why?
No.
2. Tell why people around the world should be completely enthralled by you.
Because I’m sparkly. 
3. Other than where you live, what’s your favorite city and why?
Pittsburgh, because it’s where I lived with my husband for about two years, and that city holds a lot of great memories for me. Plus, it’s just an all-around awesome city, and one that I hope to live in again someday!
4. What is something you are really passionate about?
I am really passionate about a lot of things… animal rights, breastfeeding, glitter (heh), blogging, photography…the list goes on.
5. What has been your most exciting prize that you’ve won?
It’s a toss-up between an Apple iPod Touch (December 2010) and a $500 Kmart gift card (December 2008).
6. Do you think there was there a second gunman behind the grassy knoll?
What? I have no idea.
7. What was the silliest, most fun, crazy or impractical gift that you received?
None, that I can think of.
8. What was the most practical gift that you received?
I’ve received several practical gifts, including kitchen appliances, and more recently, a Shiatsu heated massage pillow (a joint gift for my husband and I).
9. What blogger has been in your blogroll the longest? How did you discover them?
Probably Amanda. We met on Kiwibox back in 1998!
Thursday 13: 13 things I want to do with the kids this year
- Go to the YMCA indoor pool at least once a week
- Go to our local outdoor pool (the one that is only 10 minutes away instead of 15; and has an active diving board that kids are allowed to use) at least twice a week
- Go rollerskating (I hope to do this before the end of January)
- Go to Chocolate World in Hershey
- Check out The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia
- Go back to The Please Touch Museum
- See a cheap matinee
- Have a movie & games night one Saturday night
- Teach Alyssa how to make hamburgers (she already knows how to make scrambled eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches)
- Go bike riding and picnicing in the local park
- Tie-dye some old t-shirts
- Visit my dad
- Go to the New Jersey aquarium
Ryan’s Saturday started out well enough. He had some anxiety in the morning about having time to eat toast and play after taking a quick bath, but he settled down quickly and held mostly still while I wet and lathered and rinsed him. He enjoyed it when Dan’s grandparents came over to visit, and when we all went out to Applebee’s for lunch. He didn’t mind waiting in the car with my 16 year old brother while Alyssa and I went inside Target to pick up a pack of soda, some provolone cheese, and a prescription for my brother. And when we first arrived at my mother’s apartment building and headed into a small community room for my 14 year old brother’s birthday party, he was okay.
But it all went downhill after that. We left the party by 4:30pm, because Ryan just couldn’t handle it. It wasn’t loud, there weren’t a lot of people (besides him and Alyssa, my two brothers, my mom, and myself, it was my mother’s ex-husband’s wife and her six year old son, and my mother’s friends B and M and their three teenage children), but he kept flipping out left and right. Meltdowns galore. Nothing could really soothe him, other than me quietly playing some reading and word games with him on his iPad – and then the battery died. I carry a spare iPod cable in the car, but no wall charger. Gah.
Tomorrow I’m going to purposely make it a quiet, at-home day, so Ryan can have a chance to settle down in time for school on Monday.
Last spring my husband came home to tell me about Comcast’s offering of mobile 3G service for laptops. I had been using Sprint for the last few years, and jumped at the chance to not only consolidate my bills (we already have digital cable, home telephone service and broadband internet from them), but to save about $25 per month.
Unfortunately, the service has been on the slow side, and tonight? It just sucks. It took me SEVEN DAMN MINUTES to post a few tweets, and just about as long to load a text-only site containing tungsten ring info, and two WordPress (mostly image-free, with the exception of a few icons) dashboards. What the heck, Comcast. Are you for real?
To add insult to injury, when I called to complain and request troubleshooting, I was informed that there were no problems with the 3G service showing on their end; but in the next breath, in response to my request for some type of troubleshooting ticket, the guy said there’s no way to track 3G usage/coverage/connection strength. Excuse me?! Either it is, or it isn’t. Assholes. :/
As soon as I get home and on a reliable internet connection I’m going to see if T-Mobile is offering mobile wifi service, since we have a family plan with T-Mobile. If they do, then I’ll switch to them. If not, then I’ll go crawling back to Sprint and beg them to take me back.
Having planned and successfully (for the most part, anyway) executed approximately one dozen birthday parties, I’ve got it pretty down pat in terms of what all needs to be organized and purchased prior to the birthday party.
First, pick out the date of your birthday party, its location, and then the theme. With these three choices made, you can proceed to making your very first birthday party purchase: birthday invitations. You’ll want these on hand right away so you can fill out the necessary information, then get them mailed out to the invited guests.
Once you’ve taken care of that, here are the basic birthday party essentials you’ll want to purchase:
- Paper or plastic plates, bowls (if needed), cups, flatware, napkins
- Tablecloths (plastic is preferrable – and cheapest!)
- Decorations
- Balloons (don’t forget the helium tank!)
- Party favors
- Food, snacks, drinks
- Birthday cake (don’t forget the candles!)
If you’re planning a Mardi Gras party, other than purchasing Mardi Gras invitations instead of birthday invitations, this list stays basically the same. Good luck with your party!
For the last two years Ryan has enjoyed playing Little Big Planet. From last spring onwards he got super into playing it, and over the summer and into the fall he alternated between Little Big Planet and Little Big Planet 2, not only exploring and beating game levels and user-created levels, but creating his own unique, innovated and incredibly detailed levels. Then, out of nowhere, in early November, he up and quit playing Little Big Planet out of nowhere. Total cold turkey. It was weird, but whatever. He took up other activities, in particular coloring and note-writing.
This morning, for some reason, I woke up right around 7:00am, wondering why Ryan no longer played Little Big Planet, and what do you know? He was playing it! He was busy building a pineapple for a Spongebob level when I came out to get him set up with breakfast. Silly boy.
My name is Jenn, and I'm 27 years old. I'm happily married to my best friend and soulmate, Daniel. Together we have a six year old daughter named 
Name: Alyssa
Name: Ryan
