Proactive

Have you started Christmas shopping yet?  I've tried to get a head start, and I feel like I'm both ahead of and behind in the game all at the same time.  I finally got over myself and put together Amazon wish lists for the kids and myself.  I can't really say why I haven't done it before now.  Maybe it felt a little bit like giving my family a menu and telling them what to get me, and that makes me uncomfortable.  But it's been surprisingly helpful so far. 

I've found a couple of sites/gadgets/widgets/whatchamacallits that have been incredible helpful in making sure I'm not throwing away money, and I'm sharing them here.  I vastly enjoy saving money and getting a great deal, and I love it even more when my people do, too.  So here's what I've been using this season to achieve those goals.

Honey - this is a Google Chrome add on that will tell you when the item you are considering on Amazon is at the best available price.  Right there on the description page.  If you have the best deal, it says so.  If you don't, tells you where it is. Maybe it's just a no sales tax listing, maybe it's a lower price altogether, but it's all money in your pocket.  Nice.

Camelcamelcamel - you add your Amazon wishlists (the URLs for any and all you've created and want to watch), and CCC will send you an email when the price drops.  Just this morning, CCC told me that an item on each of the kids' lists dropped by 50%, so I snapped them up.

Wikibuy - another Chrome widget (or iPhone app) that tells you alternate places to find your Amazon cart items cheaper.  This one can be a little glitchy, but it just might direct you to a site that hadn't come to mind or showed up on a Google search that can save you a ton.

With the help of these little gizmos, I'm feeling much more relaxed about my shopping this season.  I'm getting to spend a lot more time sitting down, having the deals delivered right to me rather than hoofing it from store to store.   Now if could just remember to look for gifts for my family and friends instead of myself...

Things I'm Liking Lately

I'm sitting here, staring at a blank post window, feeling exactly that: blank.  It's been a rainy, relatively quiet day without a to do list a mile long (or at least one I can't really attack without a husband and 150 uninterrupted project hours), and I haven't been motivated to use my brain cells too strenuously.  It's been lovely.

So I suppose I can talk about some things I've been using lately, mostly (OK, all) in the realm of personal care. (Is there are better phrase for this?  Toiletries?  No.  Beauty product?  Ugh.)  Anyway, here's what's rocking my boat these days.

CND Vinylux Weekly Polish

Laura recommended this, and she is an expert at this sort of stuff, so I followed her lead.  This is a polish system comprised of 2 parts, the color and the weekly top coat, and it's supposed to last chip fee for 7 days.  I've never made it a chip free week per say, but it's definitely more chip resistant than just about any other brand of polish I've ever used.  I've even made it through hair washings, which usually chips the heck out of my manicure.  It dries really, really fast, too, so you're not waiting around not touching things forever.  The trick is shaking the color bottle A LOT.  Like a lot, then a lot more.  Or it will brush on thick and chunky.  Also, look on eBay or just Google to find it cheaper than the retail price.

Giovanni Conditioning & Styling Hair Elixir

I found this in a clearance bin (I think because they changed the packaging) and decided to give it a shot.  It doesn't weigh my hair down, and greatly reduces the frizzies and flyaways I get with my kinky/wavy straightened within an inch of its life hair.  A little goes a long way.

Neocutis Lumiere Eye Cream

My dermatologist recommended this when I asked about my under eye area.  Now that recommendation could have been born from his selling the line through his practice, but I came home and bought it on Amazon instead.  I firmly believe it has smoothed out my under eye area significantly.  It's somewhat spendy, but you use a dot the size of a grain of rice (according to the dermatologist's PA), and my bottle lasted an entire year with daily use.

I've also started using the Peter Thomas Roth anti-wrinkle peel pads that are all the rage on Twitter, but I've only been at it a few times so I can't report on my mileage there.  I'm very hopeful though.

So now, your turn.  What have you been loving lately for your skin, hair and nails?  Or loving for any reason, really.

Best Weekend Ever (and Lots of Hotness)

Well, it's been quite the busy weekend, what with weddings,births, and graduations.  I'm so happy for all of you, and I can't say that strongly enough.  There has just been a bounty of joy and love and happiness concentrated over the past few days, and it's wonderful.

My weekend was pretty darn awesome as well, even though it didn't include any life-changing events.  Well, maybe it did.

It's no secret that my entertainment of choice is television.  I've probably devoted way too large a percentage of my brain to TV trivia, my own personal TV history, and housing a veritable IMDB inside my head.  I know about shows, past and present and even ones I haven't watched.  It's just my thing.  So when I heard about the ATX Festival  - a weekend celebrating all things TV - I knew immediately that I needed to be a part of it.  Not that I bought my ticket 3 seconds later.  Oh no, that would have violated my intensely frugal nature (duh), my tendency to procrastinate and stew, and my penchant for putting everything possible before myself.  But I felt it call to me (or maybe that was just the voice of Jennie urging me along), and I hit purchase on a full access pass.  In October.  For June.

And then I waited.

Finally, the day arrived, and Jennie and I made tracks for the festival, where we met up with Erica (seriously, if you're going to a TV festival, there are no better 2 people to tag along behind - they are awesome).  This being only its second year, I really had no idea what to expect.  I had visions of long lines and huge throngs of fans and maybe getting to see an actor from a distance through binoculars.  So imagine my surprise when we moseyed our way into the theater for our first junket of the day, the Friday Night Lights cast panel, and sat right on down in the front row (Hey, Bob Uecker, look at me!).  Right before they released this hotness onto the stage.

And then I fanned myself.

They started the panel even though there were a couple of open seats at the table, but I figured (all I dared to imagine) that there was a couple of no shows.  Anyway, they showed up a favorite clip of the two lead actors, Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler, doing what they did (do) best, and I was just charmed.  Again, daring not to hope, but maybe, maybe, hey, there are 2 empty seats, what if -

GAH! HERE THEY COME! KYLE CHANDLER AND CONNIE BRITTON ARE 10 FEET AWAY FROM ME! 

And with that, the whole thing was made for me.  I could go home happy.  Wow.

Seriously, it was the best moment of the entire kit and kaboodle.  And only partly because I now had someone age appropriate to drool over.  They - all - were charming and funny and gracious and clearly appreciative of both the series that gave them this experience and this particular moment itself.  My only regrets were 1) that I did not have a single tissue to hand to the lovely Louanne Stephens (who played Grandma Saracen to perfection) when no one from the festival could produce one, and 2) that I didn't hang around to take pictures after the panel was through.  I would have loved some shots without a giant table in front of everyone.  But now I have goals.

Despite that being a crowning, heart attack inducing moment for the ages, it was only the beginning.  I got to see panels that included the never-aging Scott Wolf from Party of Five (and his equally darling co-stars Paula Devicq, Wilson Cruz, and Lacey Chabert, all growed up), Scott Porter (yes, again) and Wilson Bethel from Hart of Dixie (seriously with the hotness), and finally a cavalcade of talent (and hotness) from actors across the channels and years, whom I could list, but instead I'll just show you a picture so I can share the hotness:

Yes, I realize that I could be most of these whippersnappers' mother, but I can appreciate hotness and give it its due.  Nice job, actual mothers.  And also: Kyle and Joshua, we of slightly enhanced experience can hang out anytime.  We'll drink margaritas while the rest of them get carded.

By the time this final panel drew to a close, I decided to get over my inner timid mouse and make something of the moment.  I did now shrink out of the door and just stood there until I could make this happen:

And this:

I'm kind of proud of myself for not giving into my fear of people and of myself a fool of myself in front of said people and just going for the moment and the memory.  I mean, I probably did make a fool out of myself (at least to Jennie and Erica, but they didn't run screaming from me so I couldn't have been that bad, but then again, Jennie did need me to get home), and I still don't have the perfect line to make a celebrity instantly decide we should be the bestest of friends, but I'm not going to let that bother me.  I got to hug Joshua Malina and Scott Porter.  Kyle Chandler - next year, I'm coming for you.

Thanks to my husband for agreeing to my crazy scheme to make plans and pay money toward something that wouldn't happen for 8 months.  Thanks to Jennie for bringing this whole thing to my attention and actually encouraging me to join her in the marvelous madness.  Thanks to Erica for providing the best snarky comments and not calling security when I decided I was getting a picture with someone famous come hell or high water.  Thanks to security for not tackling me when I did just that, or for any one of the 243 pictures I took while flagrantly disobeying the no photography disclaimer (and also, ha, no photos - that's funny, 2013 TV conference).  Thanks to Natalie for sharing her home and family with us for a weekend (I'm pretty sure the coffee talk was as entertaining as all the TV bizness).  And thanks to the ATX Festival for existing.  Full stop.  

Excuse me while I go pack 14 boxes of Kleenex in my luggage for next year.

I’m Thinking Surprise Car Next

While Hub & I were off on our long-planned vacation, my parents watched the kids & our house. At some point, I asked my dad to pick up a loaf of bread & stick it in the freezer so I’d have something to make sandwiches with when I got home.  I did not realize what this request would trigger.

We have a bright, shiny, fancy new freezer in our garage.

When Dad brought the bread I requested over, he took 1 look inside our freezer & probably rolled his eyes so hard they nearly popped out.  See our freezer has a lot of ice buildup in it, so it looks a little bit like a snow cave with a bunch of food stuffed inside it.  There are many reasons for this. One, I am too lazy to bother with a proper defrost (as I have nowhere to go with the food during said process).  Two, there have been a couple of instances when the freezer has tried to defrost itself (also read as: some other member of this household forgot to close the door properly and things started to melt), but I was able to catch it in time, which led to drippy water refreezing into blocks of ice, trapping food inside forever & ever. And three, I am a notorious sale shopper, so when I find a good deal, I will buy it ALL & shove it in the freezer until I remember to use it (also read as: a cold day in Hades).

It just so happens that my folks were in the market for a new freezer, & since my kids think the hardware store is just as much fun as an amusement park, they all went appliance shopping. Dad found a model he liked, & somewhere in the conversation he had with the salesman (& manager & whoever else was there, maybe the delivery guy), he made a deal to buy TWO freezers at discount & have 1 delivered to my house.

Well, OK then.

I really had no intention of getting a new freezer since the 1 I had still, you know, freezes things, but I’m not going to turn one away, especially when it’s coming right to my door & the old one taken away with me lifting nary a finger.

OK, I had to lift a finger.  There was a lot of food to shuttle between freezers.  Hello, my name is Julie & I’m a food hoarder.

The delivery guys (& my dad) were in my garage when I got back from dropping off Sabrina & had already started unloading the food into coolers (thank you, Delivery Guys, because I’m pretty sure that wasn’t part of the deal).  I got quite a lot of ribbing for having so many waffles (hey, it’s 1 of the few food groups I can consistently get in my kids; therefore, I have WAFFLES) & a 2X4 in the old freezer. Yes, a 2x4 made of wood from a tree.  No, I did not intend to cook it (although if my kids would eat it…).  It was holding up a shelf that I broke trying to bust some of the ice buildup off with a giant mallet (I am both inventive and stupid). But they kindly took the old freezer off to the farm where it will live out its days and now I have a brand new HUGE freezer that I can stuff full of MORE FOOD. Hub will love me for saying that.

The new freezer beeps if the door has been left open too long.  I love this feature, at least going forward, but hey, Freezer, chill out with the chirping every coupla minutes while I’m trying to get all the food in you. I do not need passive aggression from an appliance, thankyouverymuch.

Truth is, I’m giddily excited to have a new toy. I’ve lost count of how often I’ve gone out into the garage to see what the temperature gauge tells me.  I can see everything that’s inside, & I don’t have to chip away at an ice block to get anything out.  SO MUCH SPACE. Yes, I am a suburban mom cliché. But I love it.

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for this unexpected but oh-so-useful gift.  I promise to fill it with healthy things to feed the kids & to hide the leftover Halloween candy in the back.

Outside the Box

This will come as a shock to my parents: we went out to dinner last night. All of us. To a restaurant. That requires money for food. This will shock absolutely no one: I had a coupon. But that’s beside the point. Me, High Priestess of Tightwads, the Empress of Frugal Land, the Queen of Cheap, made the decision to forego home (read: cheaper) cooking to let someone else do the job of feeding us for a reasonable (read: still more than I’d like, but oh well) wad of cash (er, plastic, whatever).

Our afternoon was full of surprising behavior. I, not the Hub, took the kids to the park solo. I honestly don’t know how he does this willingly, repeatedly, and still manages to come home with both children and without someone bleeding. He says that’s his workout. After an abrupt end to the excursion (is it even legal for parks to close their only restrooms for 5 days?), we did a little shopping at the sporting goods store, where Sabrina displayed quite the interest in pellet guns. Oh, joy. Then, at dinner, Sammy voluntarily requested – and ate – broccoli, in addition to the pizza, tacos, and pudding available. I mean, sure he usually eats broccoli when it’s put in front of him, but he chose it even with all the other (and more) kid favored options. This is a huge improvement over the boy who summarily dismissed a dinner of chicken and rice (come on, what’s more kid oriented than that?) with nary a sniff 2 days ago. Sabrina, for her part, wolfed down carrots and zucchini, then stole mushrooms off her dad’s plate.

And then I woke up next to Bob Newhart.

Not really, but I half expect to see a very worried bunny running across my lawn today.

Just Gimme My Award Already

Friday afternoon, my doorbell rang, and there stood a lady I’d never seen before, well dressed and obviously not selling anything. Upon further inspection, I saw behind her my 2 children. Outside the house. As in not in the playroom or the gated backyard at the very least. As the woman explained that she lived across the alley from us, my son sheepishly tried to hide behind her, and my daughter merrily and obliviously pushed her broken baby doll stroller up and down the sidewalk. Our neighbor had found them playing in the alley. Oh, goody.

I just know that puts me on the short list for Mother of the Year.

Man, I feel awful. It’s always such a line to walk between helicopter parent and allowing for independence, and obviously I didn’t come down on the right side this time. But gee whiz, I didn’t even know Sammy could open that gate, seeing as it’s a push for me to do it. But kids, my kids, they are crafty. And apparently dexterous.

These are paltry excuses. Parent fail, plain and simple.

After Chris got home, I marched Sammy over to the neighbor’s house, to thank her for helping them and promising never to do something like that again. I could tell but his, ahem, extreme reluctance for the task that it had at least a little impact. And since I hadn’t caught her name, I thought it would be a good way to make her acquaintance and show that even though I’d blown it earlier, I do my best to clean my messes up. Turns out she’s a grandmother with granddaughters close to my kids’ ages who live in the area and visit all the time (she moved to be close to her daughter – millions of grandma points to her). She invited us in and immediately gave Sammy a snack (which I graciously accepted even though dinner was on the stove). She was charming and lovely and gracious, and I can’t believe she’s lived behind us for over a year and we hadn’t met (this is both a combination of my crippling inability to get over myself to meet new people and the weird nature of our neighborhood not to hang out outside and meet each other). But I’m so glad we did. Not under these circumstances, but still.

As a housewarming gift, I offered up my husband for any handyman duties she might need. I know, I’m generous like that.

The Newest Member

This morning, my brother, my sister, and I all woke up as parents of daughters. My newest niece, Lucy Jane, was born yesterday afternoon, and has received rave reviews from everyone who has met her thus far, including the nurses and doctors. The family is, admittedly, a little biased.

Even though I haven’t gone through the Oh My God I Have A New Baby What Am I Going To Do moment in over a year, I remember it with Waterford-like clarity, and I feel it today for my sister. The lovely drugs (if you had any – you badasses who do it with nary a multivitamin are just incredible and way beyond my comprehension) are starting to fade, and this thing you’ve been anticipating for 9 months is here, and it’s not going away. Nurses are bugging the ever-living stuffing out of you every 10 minutes it seems, people are coming in and out and oooing at the baby (often without really looking at you as if there’s a gigantic piece of spinach stuck front and center), and you’ve just been told you have to do WHAT to get discharged. It’s a bit unnerving, to say the least.

And the first 6 weeks, they are killer, period. I love my kids, and I loved them as babies, but that first 6 weeks, ugh. That’s a little bit of hell right there. This wriggly little thing needs a schedule, but you have no idea how to figure out a schedule or if that schedule will fit the little creature, and why is she crying I just fed her and changed her, and you haven’t eaten food that didn’t come in a paper bag since you were pregnant. All topped off by 2 words: sleep deprivation. Torture. Having gone through it with kid #1, I would have gladly forsaken it with kid #2. It’s fine to go through it once, trial by fire and all, but for anyone going on to kid #2, #3, or more, they should get a pass from the universe.

But the official motto of every parent is This Too Shall Pass. And you get through those first weeks, and you realize there were wonderful moments going on then, too, and there will be even more wonderful moments to come. So welcome to the club, sister of mine. And welcome to the club of Oh HI Here’s Labor What Do You Mean It’s Time For A C-Section Well OK If It’s Best For The Baby And What Do You Mean I Have To Do WHAT To Go Home club. The water’s fine.

(Someday I will have pictures, but the task of sucking them off my camera and organizing them is just a little too daunting for the moment and I have to get back to the hospital to check on the girls.)

The Frickin Chicken

My sister-in-law started a foodie blog called the Frickin Chicken, and she graciously asked me to contribute. So please, check it out, and see what sounds good for dinner.

Sacrifice

This morning, when my dad was here picking up Sammy for their grandpa-grandson day of frivolity, he told me that as part of Lent, I should do something that makes me happy. This struck me because the whole concept of Lent is built around sacrifice, and at first, that didn’t sound very sacrificial to me. When talking about Lent, most people mention something they give up individually for Lent, chocolate, going out to dinner, television – usually some luxury that you can do without but don’t particularly like to. And that’s on top of the whole no meat on Fridays thing. So that’s all about forgoing things that make you happy, not the other way around.

But it got me thinking, about what he meant and why he said it. I can’t deny that it’s been a rough few months, and I wouldn’t describe myself as happy most of the time. I’m sure pretty much everyone I know would probably agree with me to some extent. It’s a vicious cycle in my head, feeling, well, unhappy, for lack of a better word (I’m always looking for that elusive better word), worrying that being around me is making other people miserable, feeling even worse about making other people miserable, lather, rinse, repeat. I know Dad is one of those people picking up on that, and he’s trying to make me feel better. Or rather, help me feel better. Because he’s not the one operating the switches and levers in my brain. He’s telling me to work the vicious cycle in reverse.

Doing something to make myself happy doesn’t have to be decadent, so I won’t be working my way through a box of chocolates every night (although wouldn’t it be awesome to just strap a Russell Stovers box to my chest and go to town?). But if can find a little something that makes me smile for a minute, it’ll be that much easier to deal with all the other minutes. And maybe I’ll be easier to deal with as a result. Don’t laugh. I’m not going to be Mary Sunshine tomorrow, but then again, most of you aren’t either. Now don’t be heading off to the Social Security office to change your name and prove me wrong, OK?

My plan is to write something here 5 days a week, with the option for more. It can be a challenge to find the time, and more often, a coherent subject. While I always think what I write can be much better, I do get a little tingle whenever I hit the publish button, so it can’t be too bad to do that with a greater frequency. And it’s not a bad habit to acquire anyway, and I can’t gain weight by typing (double points). At the same time, I’d like to thinking I’m giving back by providing some entertainment (OK, entertainment may be a stretch, but then again watching my sanity quickly crumble through intense navel gazing) or at least activity to whoever reads my claptrap. No? Them’s the breaks, I suppose.

So, Day 1. Done. I have no idea what I should write next, but I’ll come up with something. Even if it’s 6 straight weeks of every meme I can find on the internet.

I’m still gonna hedge my bet and give up ice cream, too. Care to place a bet on which one I’ll cave first?

Finally

After spending far too long (ahem, 6 years) not-so-secretly wanting to join these here Internets, I've actually stopped dipping my little toes and decided to cannonball into the pool. This isn't all that difficult, and I feel like a complete idiot for waiting so long, I can only chalk it up to my special cocktail of neuroses that I'm now sharing. Anyone care for a beverage?

I can only suspect that I'll come down with a raging case of writer's block now.