Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Slowing My Pace Down

March 29, 2012

This week I resolved to slow down a little bit. Monday morning I decided to take our school break a week early – I really needed it. That and I’d been awake since 2 am!!

On Tuesday these books arrived:

Amish Peace by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Amish Values For Your Family by Suzanne Woods Fisher

No, I’m not becoming Amish, but I see that they have a way of life I value and would like to have too. Even just a little bit. Some things I already do – a close knit family, simpler life with less things than most people – but I still have a way to go. So I’m reading these little stories and at the end of each one there are some questions to ponder in your heart and see what changes you can make in your own life.

So this evening I went outside to walk in the backyard – something I haven’t done in a really long time. I just don’t go outside much and not sure why. While I was outside I touched a tree branch – okay, it may sound weird but, when was the last time you touched a tree branch or a leaf or a flower?? For me it’s been awhile! The wind was cool after another warm spring day. The wildflowers are springing up and spreading their fragrance around too. So much beauty to take in! Why do I stay inside so much?

Then, Maggie came up to me with a treasure map and I went inside while she hid the clues :-). I went back outside to search and it was so fun! At the end of wandering the yard finding the clues was a little note with a purple violet wildflower and the note said, “I love you Mom”. Oh yes, let’s slow the pace down and discover what delights await us each day!

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Cats Cooking

March 26, 2012

A picture of the cats in the house cooking drawn by Maggie – she says they are making tuna pancakes. I guess this is because WE are having pancakes for lunch. :-)

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Saturday Fun Day

March 24, 2012

Oh right, right – I think it was “I wish it was Sunday, ’cause that’s my fun day” (bonus if you can guess the song AND the group), but anyway…

Today is a beautiful day – Yep, no clouds in the clear blue sky, the green on the trees and the grass is brighter than I’ve seen in awhile, and the air is warm and wonderful. It’s springtime in Oklahoma! We had a lot of rain this week – 4 days plus in fact – and now that we’ve had all that water, the plants are just so gorgeous! I love spring – except for tornadoes and starting next month that will probably ratchet up unfortunately. But today I will revel in the beauty of late March.

I’m already pulling out my 80’s summer songs – And because the weather is so nice, and it’s almost April, my spring and summer music is being played on my cd and mp3 player :-). What did I listen to today you might ask?

“Photograph” – Def Leppard

“Cruel Summer” – Bananarama

“Waiting For A Star To Fall” – Boy Meets Girl

“Vogue” – Madonna

And many more, but you get the idea. REO SPeedwagon Hi Infidelity will be next – oh yeah baby!

Diet tip from a gal I saw at the store – The funny thing was, we were both at the same store last week too and struck up a conversation. She was going to make cornish hens so today I asked how they were. She said they were great and told me how she made them – she watches alot of the food shows on tv like I do. We got to talking about weight issues, and I asked how she lost her weight. No Weight Watchers or anything like that, just watching what she ate and exercising. She also said she stopped eating carbs after 2pm and only ate fruits and veggies for snacks. Hmmm – now I like that idea – I wonder if I could do that too? Anyway – I hope she is there again next week because I’d love to exchange email addies with her and maybe make a new friend.

So anyway, that’s my Saturday so far. I really want a mocha coconut frapp from Starbucks but it looks like they don’t have any…yet. Although I see they have Peppermint Mocha frapps – really will have to get one of those soon. However, I’ll just satisfy my coffee tooth with a cup of Donut People Coconut Mocha coffee from my Keurig. Cheers and enjoy your Saturday!

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Sonia Kashuk Makeup Review

All righty so, let’s talk about my makeup haul from the Sonia Kashuk line at Target. First off let me say that her products are amazing! I had several of her brushes including an awesome eyelash comb that was metal and worked like the plastic ones can’t. Then I lost it all on that trip to Florida when I left my cool makeup bag and all it’s contents at a hotel somewhere. I’ve not found the eyelash comb at a store since but I think she still makes it. The quality of her makeup is fantastic for a less expensive line so don’t hesitate to check it out. Here’s what I bought:

I bought the Luminizing Foundation, concealer, eyebrow pencil, and a lipstick. I really wanted either a cream blush or the blush tint, but they were out of the colors I was looking for. Hopefully next time I can score those.

Let’s talk about the Perfecting Luminizing Foundation first. I bought the Vanilla shade and it’s just about perfect. I was afraid that the Bisque shade would be too light, so I went one shade up and it really is good. This foundation feels fantastic – it just glides on in an almost soothing manner. The coverage is excellent as well and I find that I am making do without the concealer so far. I do not put any powder on over it, but I think I could and it would still be okay – remember that aging skin and powder don’t always go together. It is a matte finish and while I haven’t seen luminizing I do feel my face looks fresh and dewy and, best of all, no flaky patches! At $10 it works like high end but for way less.

Here we have the Take Cover Concealing Stick in Dawn. I’ll be honest – I haven’t used it much at all so I really can’t review it properly yet. It seems a little dry, but that’s just a first impression. I don’t usually use much concealer so I’m not really adept at it either. The color seems okay but maybe a little dark – again, I really haven’t played with it much. Anywho – I’ll let you know how it is if I really get to using it.

This is the Brow Definer pencil in Taupe and it is fantastic! It goes on very easily and looks natural. This color gives definition to my brows without making them a completely different color from my hair. You can now see my eyebrows and that is a plus!

Last but not least we have the Satin Luxe Lipcolor with SPF 15 in Nude Pink and that is indeed what the color looks like – a browny nude pink. It’s very natural looking, but gives a nice sheen to the lips and I really like it. It comes in a good variety of natural as well as “glamour” colors so there is something for everyone. I just tend to stay at the natural end of the spectrum now.

So, there’s my makeup haul – hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully I’ll be able to get the blush I want and I’ll be back to review that too. In the meantime you may want to check these products out – the quality is great and the prices reasonable. Thank you Sonia!

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Review Time!

March 22, 2012

As I’ve said here, my skin is aging and getting dry and flaky. I think part of it is age and the other part is not using the correct formulas for my skin type. Well, last week, I was watching one of Sonia Kashuk’s how to videos on her website and she mentioned Yes to Carrots. Now I have to say, I have seen it before in stores and couldn’t figure out what it was all about. So, I never really looked into it. The fact that she mentioned it was enough to get me to their website and research it. Natural – check. Made in USA – half check (some products are made in Israel). Made for drier skin – check. Good reviews – check. It passed all my “tests” so I went out the next day and got the cleanser and day cream. While I was in Target last week, I found the night cream and shampoo added those in. So here’s what I think so far.

So, here’s the cleanser. It is creamy and has an interesting fragrance which I wasn’t sure I was going to like, but it’s okay. Once it’s on your face or rinsed off you don’t notice it anymore which is also interesting. Anyway, it takes makeup off fairly well and leaves the skin feeling comfortable. I also noticed that it is calming my rosacea just a little and that’s a great thing. All in all, I am pleased with it. Oh, and it’s low to no suds which is another way to know that it’s not harsh.

And here’s the Yes to Carrots Daily Face Moisturizer With SPF 15. I really like this moisturizer/sunscreen! This is the product that Sonia Kashuk recommended in her video series and that recommendation led me to try this line. Anywho, the sunscreen agent is zinc oxide which is a physical instead of a chemical sunscreen. That means it physically blocks out the UVA/UVB rays instead of using chemical sunscreens to do it. That is good news for sensitive skin like mine which is often reactive to chemical sunscreens. It goes on easily and moisturizes without being greasy – that’s a plus especially since we’re going into spring and summer which means higher humidty levels. All in all a great day “cream” if you will.

At night I use the Repairing Night Cream. This is a luxurious face cream, smells lovely (the smell is the same as the other Yes to Carrots Nourishing line), and makes my face smooth and moisturized without a greasy feel. It totally absorbs into my skin and in the morning it (my skin) feels really good. I also put it on my neck and decollete area because that place will give away your age faster than anything once you hit 40. So, don’t neglect that area! It is also supposed to firm the skin, and that might be true, but I haven’t really looked for that yet. Mostly I was more concerned about getting my skin’s moisture levels up and this does the trick!

I also bought the shampoo because – like everything else – my hair is also drying out. The fragrance is the same as the other products in the line, and, like the others, it doesn’t linger so it’s pleasant to use. My only problem is the bottle design – for the life of me I can’t figure out how the heck that lid is supposed to work so I just unscrew it. That is not really convenient in the shower, so I may get a small bottle that has a pump or squirt lid and use that instead. How does it make my hair and scalp feel? Very good! Again, non drying but not heavily moisturized either – it leaves my hair just right.

Since I’ve been using the face products a week, I thought you’d also like to know that the dryness and flakiness has diminished greatly and my skin looks and feels so much better!

So, that’s my take on my new skin and hair care. I’m still looking for a good eye cream and there is a Yes to Carrots, Yes to Cucumber, and Yes to Blueberry eye products so I may pick one of those and try it out.

I’m not done reviewing just yet – I’ll be back in a day or so with my Sonia Kashuk product reviews! I’m also very happy with those too. I feel like I’ve got a new face :-).

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I’m Baaaccck!

March 16, 2012

Yep, I’m back from my boys’ place and Matt had his Lasik surgery yesterday morning. Jeff and I were going to shop while he was in because they said it would take 2-3 hours. Okay, we went in and they called him back to do the paperwork – that took around 30-40 minutes! I thought it would be about 10 minutes, but I’ve been in the hospital a few times and should have known better. So, after the gal delivered him back to us, they took him back to pre-op and that’s when we made our escape. I thought we’d have a little more than an hour and that’s barely what we had! It was the fastest trip through Target with a quickie Starbucks stop as we exited and then back to get Matt. Luckily the Lasik place and the Target were barely 5 minutes from each other and at 8 in the morning there’s not a lot of traffic either. He was already waiting for us in the waiting area when we returned.

Now, he was supposed to keep his eyes shut, but he insisted on getting to the car and up into his apartment without help. I don’t know whether it’s because he’s a man or young but whatever. After we got inside the apartment though I made sure he let me help him with stuff. Like writing this blog post – hehehe. He wrote it, but I had to click in the boxes for him since his eyes were pretty much shut. They also gave him a sleeping med at the eye doctor’s and so he was feeling very relaxed in a short time, then I really had to help him. And it’s okay because that’s what I was there for. I would have stayed through last night and this morning, but Mike’s job is really busy right now and since Chris works days there’s no one to take care of the littles. Ah, well, I think Matt can make it and Jeff can help if needed.

I did my makeup and skin care shopping yesterday and will take photos and post that tomorrow. I will say, however, that I really like the Yes to Carrots products! And this morning I get to try out my new Sonia Kashuk makeup – so stay tuned!

At any rate it’s back to the grind today – school and house cleaning and all that fun stuff. It was nice to have a small break though and I enjoyed the time with Matt and Jeff. I’d like to go back in the summer and spend a little longer for a real vacation. Think they’ll have me back? :-)

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In Other News

March 13, 2012

While I’m recovering from my emptying nest, I thought I’d fill you in on other things going on in. For starters, tonight I’m making a fancy shrimp dinner because my two shrimp haters are now out of the house :-). Yes, I’m making shrimp alfredo and using real raw shrimp (that I had to shell no less), and real Fontina cheese for the bechemel sauce. Yes, that’s right – over the years I’ve learned to make seemingly fancy meals thanks to all those cooking shows I’ve watched. It’s good because the kids get a taste for new foods, and I get to try out my cooking skilz. I’ve also got asparagus in the oven to roast and that will round out this elegent dinner. Oh, and I shop at Aldi so it did not cost an arm and a leg. Thank you Aldi!

Matt is having Lasik surgery this week and I’m going to go down for a day or so to help out. Since I’m going to the big city, I also plan on shopping!! Target is one of my favorite stores and it’s been months since I’ve been to one so I’ve got my list and I’m ready to roll. Mostly, it’s going to be another makeup haul. I also have to get some new skin care because my aging skin is flaky and not much seems to be clearing it up. I also need newer makeup to go with this newer skin. SO, the plan is Sonia Kashuk makeup and I’m going to try out Yes to Carrots face care. I’ll let you know how it works out.

I finally used my birthday Amazon gift card to buy the “Catholicism” dvd set and it’s supposed to arrive tomorrow! I’ve seen some of it on EWTN and knew immediately that I’d want to have it. Not only will it be good for me, but the kids will benefit from it too. Also, the price at Amazon couldn’t be beat (it has since gone up) and after my gift card and my trade in money I only had to pay $14 out of pocket. Well now – who’s the frugal mommy?!

One of these days I need to tell you about my frugal finds of late – a $5 shirt, a $3.50 book (brand new mind you). I’ve been having so much fun buying what we need but also staying on budget.

And I almost forgot – I started taking my vitamins this week! I started with my B50 Complex and added my Daily one in today. I have to say I’m already feeling better.

So, that’s today’s news. I’ll be back later this week with Frugal Finds and of course tell you all about my makeup and skin care hauls. :-)

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My Second Son Leaves Home

March 11, 2012

SO, I am pondering all of the last 23 years as my second son, Jeffrey, leaves home today. He is packed and ready to go – we just need to load up the van and hug him and wish him well and let the tears flow as I watch him fly on his own.

Of all the things I remember about any of my children’s lives, it is the day of their birth that is most vivid in my memory. With Jeff I had a month of false labor and down at the end I had a ritual of The Dating Game, m&m’s, and a Pepsi Slurpee while sitting in front of the window air conditioner (he was an August baby). When he finally arrived, I ended up with a c-section and he screamed for most of the time afterward until they got him in his bed I think. After we got him home though – quiet as a mouse. He was so very different from Matt and still is to this day. At 3 months old he was a night owl. He woke up at 3am every morning and didn’t go back to sleep until 6am or so. And yes, he is still a night owl too.

Jeff has always been more of a thinker and introvert than Matt and Chris and his passions range from writing stories to biology to making up new versions of pies. He is also a gamer and has almost a complete collection of Nintendo handheld systems – that impressed me and I’m encouraging him to complete it. That is a collection to be proud of in my book!

He also is compassionate and loving and I think it’s a great way to be. Most men do not let their feelings be known, but he is more sensitive and it shows and I know it’s not the way men are taught to be or think they ought to be, but truly it’s okay. This is one of my favorite moments in HackFam history and I want to tell this story to let you know the kind of children I have (yes, bragging coming up – I’m allowed).

In 2008 I had my meltdown and that was also the beginning of our financial meltdown too. It was looking like a no Christmas Christmas that year and as the weeks went by I was wondering what I was going to do. One morning, I went downstairs and in the living room was a huge Christmas tree with a Santa hat on top. I cried quietly so no one would hear and I knew who it was who had bought it. Jeff wanted to make sure we at least had a tree even if that was all we had – we needed some Christmas in the house. That was so much fun decorating that tree and to this day I get teary thinking of it. That Christmas turned out to be one the most precious we’ve had because even though we had little money we had each other and the hope of better days ahead.

When Matt went to college, Jeff and I spent more time together and our relationship grew even more. I’m glad for every moment we’ve had – even the not so good ones. We’ve had many opportunities to relate experiences and talk and grow. We’ve also more than our share of fun times and.

As I write this, he and his dad have left and we had our goodbyes. All I could do was hold on and cry before he left as if to hold on to that baby he used to be. It was like the years just slipped through my fingers in those short moments all coming down to this letting go. There are so many stories and so much we have shared through the years but it all comes down to this: I am SO proud of you Jeff – proud of the man you’ve become and proud of just who you are! I know that you will find your passion and you will excel at it when you do! We’ve had so much fun together and I’m thankful for every moment we’ve had!! I love you Jeff!!

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Another One Leaves the Nest

March 8, 2012

And yes, I am considering writing a parody just for the occasion :-). For now I’ll just tell you that tomorrow another boy of mine – Jeff – is leaving the nest to go live on his own. Okay, so he’s not totally going to be on his own since he’s moving in with Matt, but mostly on his own. How do I feel? Well, it’s a little easier the second time around, but still emotional. Again, I’m feeling like I didn’t do all that I could have or should have but that all has to be left now and I have to say, I did the best I could. I think we always have to do that when our children leave home. But I digress.

Jeff started packing a few weeks ago and today some time he’ll pack the last of his stuff up – his computer and computer desk – and tomorrow we’ll pack it all up in the big van and move him out. Also, they are moving to a bigger apartment so not only is Jeff moving but Matt is moving too. It’s going to be a busy day and someone will need Tylenol or Advil by the end of it all I’m sure. Probably Mike – the others are still young yet :-).

Anyway, I’m going to put my thoughts together for a send off post tomorrow complete with pictures – bwahahahaha. Be afraid Jeff – be very afraid!

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My Almost 50 Makeover Year?

March 6, 2012

Well, well, well – I had this interesting thought the other day. Maybe I should get myself pulled together this year so I can be a hot tamale when I celebrate being 50 next January. Yes, that’s right – CELEBRATE! I know I’m going to be 50 so why try to hide it and instead celebrate my age. Doesn’t it mean I’ve attained some amount of wisdom anyway? So, maybe this is the plan for me this year and heaven knows I’m way overdue for a makeover. Not to mention, I think I’ve earned one.

I took a book out of the library called “The Grown Up Girl’s Guide to Style” by Christine Schwab and it is good. It talks about what clothes you can and cannot (and should not) wear now that you’re older. We have to shake off the juniors department because, let’s face it, we can’t pull that look off anymore (don’t worry – I don’t shop there at all)! However, it’s not time to give up and throw in the towel either – we need to dress our age which is somewhere in between. I realized this awhile ago and the shorts wearing stopped when I was 40ish – I just couldn’t pull that look off anymore and I knew it. I’ve also watched enough What Not To Wear to know what I should and should not be wearing anyway. So, maybe it’s time to really find my style.

In reading about skin care, and looking at my drying out face, I think that maybe it’s time for a different regimen. I’m looking at some different products that address aging skin concerns and will purchase some new items soon. The skin around my eyes in particular is getting tissue papery and I need something for that now! My makeup needs to change too – time for the powders to go away – including blush – creams are going to be much more forgiving.

My hair already had a makeover last year and I do need to keep that up. I got another haircut before my modeling debut last September but it was awful! The stylist I had gone to in March wasn’t at that salon anymore and I didn’t have much of a choice seeing as how I picked the day before to cut my hair. I’ve let it grow out and now that it’s been a year since that first fabulous style, I need to get it done again. One thing I am not going to do as I age is color my hair. It’s too much expense and upkeep and rarely looks natural unless you spend beaucoup bucks to have it done right. I’m just going to let it do its thing naturally.

The book also talks about attitude and moving forward into new realms as well. Yep, it’s time to branch out – well, to a point. I still have young ones at home to care for so I have to still be mommy for a few more years yet. I can (need to?), however, find new avenues for meeting people and stretching myself in that way.

Obviously, the weight is the biggest issue and it’s time to get healthier now that I’m approaching 50. The weight needs to come off and I also need to get strength in my muscles and bones since I am a woman and osteoperosis is a huge concern. So, I really need to work more on those issues.

So, that’s something for me to think about and plan out this month because I’ll be 50 (God wiling) in 10 months! I’ll keep you posted :-).

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