Try-em out Tuesdays - Episode 1

*One note before we start...I apologize because I have pictures to prove my findings but unfortunately there was major camera malfunctions today (meaning my camera broke and the Hubs has the other camera with him) so you will just have to take my word for it!

Hey all!!

Welcome to the first episode of "Try-em out Tuesdays"! I am so excited to share with you my first experiment and hopefully make you more educated when you enter the beloved Target (or a similar store)!

Now ladies since it is June, I officially consider it summer and summer means none other than the dreaded (or anticipated) shedding of the layers of clothes and even stepping into a ..dare I say it..Bikini!
We all frantically try to get ourselves ready for this special season and though many of us look forward to vacation, cute clothes, and warm weather...we feel that our bodies are not prepared for the unveiling. Some go as soon as they can to the local tanning salon and pay crazy amounts in order to camouflage the lovely (or pasty) white skin that God gave them. Others go to their local target and stand for hours trying to determine which product will get the job done fairly well enough not to blind anyone without spending an arm and a leg (well a least then it would be less skin to worry about)!
I have found myself in the same situation and had recently seen a lot of commercials for "Nivea Sun Kissed Legs" which promised tan and glowing legs in five days and the need to shave less ...what more could a girl want! And at under $10 was if for real? There has to be some catch so I decided to purchase it and check it out myself.



So here goes the unveiling of the first test....

Now for a little background on my tanning expertise/experience...I worked at an upscale tanning salon in Bako, CA for about 5 years (shout out to EuroTan) and pretty much tried every bed and every product possible during that time. My work experience made me set on the fact that High Pressure "Euro" beds were the only way to go in order to tan safely (don't worry I wont go into my speech but if you want to know more please ask) and if I wasn't up for laying in the beds then spray tanning was the only way to go! However, along with the move to NJ taking me away from the fam it also took me away from my beloved EuroTan. I tried a couple places around here but nothing compared and I really couldn't afford to spend all that money right now (since I had tanned for free when I was working in the salon).

I have tried several "over the counter" tanning lotions but nothing really delivered good results.

Now for the results (and if you are still with me through all that..thanks)!

I give this Product a grade of a B.

I was actually really surprised that it did as well as it did! When I started my legs were pasty white and within 5 days they have been transformed into a tannish golden color that looks natural and isn't streaky! Hot Dog we have a winner :)

The reason that I gave it a B and not an A is that I really didn't see any change in the shaving frequency. My legs were still just as hairy (which is pretty bad) and I still had to shave just as often, but at least I was shaving tan legs instead of blinding white ones :)

I would totally recommend this product if you are looking for a way to spare the innocent by-standers from being blinded as you shed the layers this summer! And you just can't beat the price! I believe it was about $7 and I found that it has worked the best of all the other tanning lotion options presented in your local drug store. I would just forget about the shaving factor because that isn't as promising.

Well i hope this helped all of you fine ladies in your quest to save money and look HOTT :)

And in celebration of the first Try-em out Tuesday episode I am doing my first giveaway!!

All you need to do is follow me and leave a comment (if you already follow me then you can just leave a comment)! This will close Sunday at 2pm eastern time and then the winner will be chosen randomly and announced Sunday night and will receive their own bottle of Nivea sun kissed legs and a few other summer goodies :) Also, If you post this on your own site I will get two more entries into the giveaway! You may only enter once otherwise.

Good luck all!

Oh, and don't forget to tuned next Tuesday to find out if the price actually makes a difference in life of your nail polish!

Have a great Tuesday!

One More Charles Story

So some of you might have already heard this story since it happened a few weeks ago..but for those of you who haven't ...here it goes!

Well a few weeks ago The Charles woke up at about 2am ready to go. I let him out to do his business and then I put him in his crate (which we keep in the garage) so I could get some more shut eye. Now I was half asleep when I locked him in his crate with his cookie (yes I bribe my dog and I am not ashamed to admit it)! I went back to sleep but then I woke up at 6:45 am to a scratching noise coming from downstairs. I was really confused since the Hubs was gone and the Charles was locked up (or so I thought)! I cautiously made my way down the stairs and I heard the noise coming from the garage. I opened the door to an escaped dog and some dirt! Now where did the dirt come from you ask???? I had no idea! I checked out the trash bags, but no holes..I checked all around and I couldn't figure it out! That's when I remembered the potting soil by the garage door..bingo! First I should add that the Charles had acquired this new obsession with eating dirt..eww gross! The Charles had ripped open the soil bag and now there was potting soil everywhere! I appreciate him trying to help me garden but usually you can't really grow things on cement..sorry to break it to you Charles :)
I was steaming mad as I read him the riot act (which i know he didn't understand but at least it made me feel better)! Then I had to figure out how to clean the mess up. We had yet to purchase a big broom or anything that would help in this case. That's when I spotted it...the fireplace tools! Bingo again! Apparently the fireplace sweeper and shovel can double as potting soil pickup tools!

The funny thing is that just the day before I thought to myself.."Wow, our garage is still really clean"!

More Antics from The Charles...

(yeah he likes to show his goods!)

Let me first say that never underestimate the power of a dog or think you have their strength under control (especially when they weigh almost as much as you)!

Before the Hubs left I had really gotten out of practice with walking the dog...if I went I usually just tagged along while Hubby was the one to hold the leash. Don't get me wrong...it was very nice, but once he left it was a whole other ball game! I became a single dog parent for a little bit and with the dominate male out of the house...well...the Charles decided he would take on that role (meaning he would become impossible)! For the first few weeks I was working crazy hours and didn't have a lot of time to walk him and he was spending about 11 hours a day locked up in his crate (which is a no no since labs need their exercise)! I would come home exhausted and unleash the beast from his crate. Since he was getting a ton of sleep during the day I was getting up with him every night at about 2 or 3am! Not fun!

Well since I haven't been working so much I have made it a necessity to take him on one long walk a day and one short walk. We also try to play a lot so that I get out all his energy during the day...there's no daytime napping for the Charles anymore (and now he is sleeping till 5am..yay)!

The walks have been a challenge since he walks faster than me and as much as I have been working with him, he continues to pull (which is really frustrating). I have kept at it though and felt that he had made some progress....until today!

It actually started out as a pretty calm walk but when you add in two other dogs along the way I quickly remembered how strong my dog is when he decides he wants to run! Not fun! So while I am trying to control him as he is running this way and that towards the dog with the mom, toddler and stroller in tow (yeah her dog was just siting there barking...not fair)..I am profusely apologizing to the other mom and try not to scare her with my mad dog handling skills! I am sure I was a site to see! I finally got somewhat control of the Charles and with only one ripped-up toenail on my end (yeah walking in flip flops wasn't the best idea) we continued on our way!

I am just glad that he didn't run because let me tell you...it was a shocking reminder of how strong he is and how weak I am!

*note for future female dog parents...it may not be the wisest thing to start out with a dog that is going to weigh almost as much of you and be way stronger...and if you do...I would highly suggest investing in a few dog training sessions!

Well at least we made it back in one piece..well almost..poor little toenail!

The Hubs, My Hero :)

For those of you who haven't caught on yet, my hubby is on a month (or longer) TDY (which is like a mini deployment and we have yet to know the exact return date). As I was really missing him today I started thinking....I really don't give him enough credit for what he is doing and does for our family on a daily basis! So this post is dedicated to The Hubs because he truly is my hero!

* note to all ... if you don't like mushy stuff you might want to skip this post! Consider yourself warned :)

A lot of times I find myself throwing a "poor me" party for myself because I am the one left behind to hold the fort down and take care of all the stuff that usually takes both of us to accomplish. Um yeah in all reality...I have the easy job! Now, we don't have kids yet so I might feel differently when we do (and I am not saying that it is easy taking care of everything here on my own) but I will say that in our current living situation I have it a lot easier than hubby! I am able to stay in the comfort of our own home...with my own routine...and we really don't have that much to take care of! But The Hubs, well, he has to go to a totally new a different place, lead a bunch of guys that he didn't really know before hand, do jobs that he has never done before (which would totally freak me out)...the list goes on and on...but he never once complains. He has to listen to me whine and complain about things going on here, supporting me in whatever ideas my wacky brain come up with next, all while dealing with all of the responsibilities he has over there! Babe you rock and I don't tell you that enough!! And even more than that he works his cute little behind off everyday to provide for our family and make it so that I don't have to worry about working full time!

He is a wonderful Man of God and he is always such an encouragement to me! He loves serving his country and I really admire him for that. He is so precious to me and never fails to make me laugh whether we are talking in person, over the phone, or through gmail! He constantly tells me he loves me and is honest with me even when it's hard. I love my man more than anything and thank God daily for bringing him to me :)

Babe, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all that you do for our little family. Your rock my world every day ;) I love you!

My First Blog Award :)

So it has taken me a while but I am finally getting to it!!

Thank you so much OceanDreams for the Blog Award :) I can't tell you how ecstatic I was to receive it and very flattered! It is so much fun to get a chance to meet new people like this lovely lady! I am always encouraged by her blog! She is such a sweetie and her heart for Christ and those around her shines through her writing. Check out her blog if you haven't yet!

Now for my award winners...drum roll please...

1. Iva

2. Rachael

3. Lil Miss Tabs

4. Olive Oyl

5. Allison

6. Amber

7. Noah's Mommy

The goals of this award..

1. As a dedication to those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging

2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging

3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it (oops it took me a few days)!

4. Don't forget to mention the person who gave you the award

5. Answer the awards question by writing the reason you love blogging

There are many reasons why I love blogging. I love that I can express myself through writing and talking about what goes on day to day. I love that there are so many awesome people out there that will read what I write and be supportive and accepted. Living the Military lifestyle of moving around a lot makes it hard to form good friendships, which is hard. Blogging and getting to read other peoples blogs is such a blessing and encouragement to me. I am able to connect with many different people in different places, form friendships, learn new things, and be able to encourage others...all from my portable computing device! There are so many wonderful people out there that I would never get a chance to connect with if it wasn't for blogging!!

6. Tag and distribute this award to as many people as you like

7. Don't forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post

You guys are all such amazing people...Thanks for all the support :) Oh and I'm sorry it took me so long to get this out!!

I Survived!!

OMG I survived my first sub job! I had recently signed up to start substitute teaching on base and was originally going to start in the fall (because I had a job at the current time). But as tends to happen in my life, the other job (which was a temp job) ended early and I thought "hey I should just start subbing right now" since NJ schools go through most of June. Well lets just say that after that I freaked and pictured kids gone wild as I try to control them with my feeble attempts at discipline! They called a couple times but due to previous obligations I was unable to accept and was I oh so relieved! The more I thought about it the more freaked out I became...there was no way I would be able to handle a class full of kids let alone TEACH them anything..not me!! I even called the district yesterday to see if I could observe first so that I would have some idea of what to do. They said sure but the lines of communication are usually clogged at some point in the system and I received a call this morning to sub!
I tried to explain my convo yesterday with the district...tried to plead my way out of it....tired to sound as pathetic as possible so they would say never mind...(oh and yes I do know I can just say no but those words don't come easily to me)....But oh no I was their last hope..there was no one else...and as previously discussed about saying no...I said yes! Lucky for me it was for a resource center teacher so I was only dealing with a small group of kids at one time. Thank you Lord! However, although it was only a small group....it was a very special group of young 3rd graders! I survived though and I even had a little fun!
I also had fears of the other teachers disapproving of me and besides being the only one in nice pants and heals (didn't know it was red white and blue casual day and I always have to be in heals) they were all very nice and accepting!
The kids were quite entertaining when I was ready to throttle them (I refrained)! I also have to admit that it was very rewarding when I saw them start to understand what I was teaching them! Also since it is a military school it was neat to see the kids perspectives on moving all the time and the different places they have lived.

I have learned three things about myself today...
1) I really shouldn't freak out so easily about everything because a lot of times the end result is not going to be the end of me!
2) I really need to brush up on my math...it's embarrassing when the students have to correct me but as one student told me "It's okay, everyone is allowed to make mistakes"!
3) I don't really think I ever want to be a teacher....to much stress... but I give them even more props now (i'll just stick to subbing)!

Tag Your It!!

Yay another tag...I think I am getting the hang of it (although I'm not very quick)! The lovely Iva tagged me and I was ecstatic!! She is a total gem and you should go check out her blog if you haven't already :)

Rules

1) Mention who tagged you (yay for Iva again)

2) list 6 unimportant things that make you happy

1) The sun and warm weather (If you can't tell I am not a cold weather person)

2) lazy mornings with my coffee, oatmeal and favorite shows

3) when my hair turns out just right

4) when The Charles makes his really confused face with his head titled to the side (so funny and cute)

5) walking down the ailes of the grocery store (i like food)

6) not having to say my order at y the local Chinese food place (I go there so much they just know it)

That was fun :)

Now in the words of Iva...for more tagging excitement I am going to call to the floor:

Dollface

Olive Oyl

OceanDreams

allibounds

Hols

Have fun :)