Junior Needs Glasses

I have been reading a lot of good things about Zenni Optical lately. It seems a lot of people are turning to them for their eyeglasses, and have been getting some pretty good deals. Now, I have read up on them a time or two in the past, but have never ordered from them personally.

Yet.

You see, Junior needs eyeglasses, though he is slow to admitting it. I have a feeling that even if I can get him to an eye doctor, he will be hesitant about spending money on himself for a pair of glasses. We are both that way, though. I would rather spend money on something for the kids than on something for myself. But, sometimes, you just have to shell out some cash to take care of yourself. It's the amount of cash you shell out that makes a difference, though.

At Zenni, you can get a great pair of glasses for only $7. This is just the starting point, as they also have different prices for different types of glasses. They don't sell name brands at discounted prices; they sell glasses they make themselves. But hey, Junior has never been one for fashion, so I am sure that as long as he can see out of them, he isn't going to care much what they look like. The important thing is that they are made well, and will last a while.

I read this article, and also spoke to some of my blogging friends who have ordered from Zenni, and they have all been satisfied with what they received. It is so nice to know that you can get good quality glasses at reasonable prices.

I Refuse To Be Bullied!

I wrote a post on my other blog about a situation that has come up with a purchase I made on etsy. You can read about it here. To sum it up, I ordered something that had free shipping, and now that the seller has mailed it, she wants me to reimburse her for the shipping. Patrice left a comment on the post I did, advising me not to pay. I was thinking the same thing, but was afraid I would come off as the bad guy. Having had time to think about it, I have come to the conclusion that this seller is pretty ballsy. She is trying to guilt me out of money, because she didn't price her merchandise properly. I know it's only a dollar or two, but that isn't the point. If she agreed to free shipping, then I shouldn't have to pay.

And I'm not going to!

Finding A Fun Way To Exercise

The time has come. I am ready to get into an exercise program and lose some of this weight. For good this time. I am so tired of losing only to gain it right back. The 42 pounds I lost last year are still lost. Well, at least most of them are. I gained back four pounds during the move because we were eating out so much. But, I am now determined to lose them again, plus some.

I have tried all kinds of programs in the past, from low fat to low carb. By trying everything, I know what works for me, and that is exercise. It doesn't matter what program; I use if I don't exercise I won't lose weight. This leads me to my current problem, finding an exercise that is fun, and that I will want to do. I can Jump Away The Pounds, which sounds pretty fun. I even found coupon codes for Trampolines Plus, which I can use to buy one of those mini trampolines. I used to have one, but when we moved from the house two years ago, it somehow got left behind.

I am hoping that I can lose more weight before it is bathing suit season. My mom's new house has an in ground pool, so you know where I will be spending a lot of my time. Swimming is also good exercise, so that's a bonus, too.

Adorable!

Check out this mommy and baby. These two were hanging out in Clay Creations etsy shop, just waiting for me to buy them. They are tiny...only 1 1/2 inches tall. I am sure they will fit in just fine with the rest of my little guys (or girls).

Now if I can just get all of them unpacked...

I Need The Assistance Of Los Angeles SEO

I have grown tired of my blogs lately. I love blogging, and can not wait until I can get back to it full time again. I am tired of the way they look, and how I hardly have any page views most days.

I need to find a way to fix this. I can use a service like Los Angeles Seo, and let them do all the hard work for me. They specialize in SEO, and to be honest, I do not have the patience or the time to devote to getting my blogs ranked high enough to show up in search engines. They also offer Pay Per Click management services, where I would only pay for advertising if someone were to click on my advertisement to visit my site. This is something I couldn't do on my own, and is something probably best left to the professionals.

I also want to take advantage of Los Angeles Web Design, and maybe do an overhaul of my blogs. I use the basic templates available, and I know there is so much more out there that I am unaware of. I want things like an "about" page, and maybe a "contact" page. In fact, I can probably come up with a pretty long list of things I want, but have no idea how to do for myself.

I guess my husband was right when he said I needed professional help.

Too Cute!

Here's another little elephant I found on etsy. This one was in Fluttering Flower's etsy shop. She has the most amazingly creative sculptures and buttons. I love her little mushrooms. In fact, I think I might just have to get one for myself. She has a purple set that I would love to display in my home.

Oh, and did I mention I bought this little guy, too?

Vacation To Florida?

I want to go to Florida. I want to take my kids to Disney while they are still young. I was in my early twenties the first and only time I went, and I loved it. But, I imagine I would have loved it more if I had gone when I was younger. I have a grandmother who lives in Florida, as well as an aunt and a few cousins, so I am sure I can stay with one of them for a night or two. I just hope I don't end up needing an Orlando Auto Accident Lawyer while I am down there. It would really stink if we got into an accident and needed to hire an Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer. I mean, we had enough excitement on our last vacation when Kasi fell onto the fire pit. I am hoping this time we can just enjoy ourselves, and not have to make another trip to the emergency room. I would hate to have to find a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer if something bad were to happen, and things were handled badly.

Maybe we'll just skip the whole thing and stay home.

Purple And White Elephant

How awesome is this? I absolutely love it. I found it in InSearchOf's etsy shop, and I bought it for myself. It only cost me $3.50. I am not sure how tall it is, but I am assuming it is not too big because it is sitting on the bottom of a bowl.

I can not wait until I find it in my mailbox!

Capital Protection Group

Are you finding it hard to pay off all your debt, and have you fallen behind on your payments? Are you receiving all those lovely collection calls from people who do not care about your current situation? If so, check out Capital Protection Group. It is 100% private and discreet to call, and you can know in 10 minutes whether or not they can help you. They offer a four step system that stops those collection calls, and helps to clean up your credit. They may even be able to eliminate your debt.

I know times are hard right now for a lot of people. Junior and I had a rough year last year, and luckily we are starting 2010 off on the right foot. If you want to get on the right track like we did, check out Capital Protection Group. They may be able to get you going in the right direction.

The Best Part Of The Circus

We went to the circus the other night, and the elephants were my favorite part (of course). They did all kinds of tricks, like sitting up and sitting on each other. We were really close to the rings, so we had a terrific view. The clowns had the kids laughing, and I think I even saw Junior crack a smile once or twice. I can not wait to go again next year.

Cell Phones

Junior and I finally broke down and got another cell phone. The last time we had one, we had a pretty hefty monthly bill to go with it. This time, we went with the pay as you go phone, and it seems to be working out a lot better. In fact, we got the same phone that we got Ryan for Christmas. Of course, he knows a whole lot more about it than I do, and loves "fixing" it up for me. For instance, I had a picture of Brandi as my background, because it was the only picture on the phone. Ryan got his hands on it, and now my background is a slide show of pictures of all three of them that he took.

I have no idea how he did it. That seems to be the way of the world these days, though, with the kids knowing more about electronic devices than their parents. Let's take CinemaMob, for example. Apparently for a low monthly fee, you can watch videos on your cell phone. It sounds like a cool feature, but I would have no idea how to work it, and would have to have him explain it to me. How sad is that?

It's a good thing I am not too stubborn to ask for help.

Exhausted

I am beyond wore out. This past week has been crazy with moving, and then my sister being down from New York. I have been trying to unpack when I am not spending time with her, which means I am losing a lot of sleep. Last night we took the kids out to the circus, and we were really late getting home. This translates into a cranky brandi this morning, which was no fun. She had a good day at school yesterday, but there were tears again this morning, but I think they were mostly because she was tired.

Now that I have a few moments to myself, I thought I'd throw up a quick post. I am hoping to have pictures of the new place soon, but I want to wait until we are all unpacked. I guess that means I should get up from here and get cracking...

Renting A Vacation House

Junior and I are trying to decide what to do for vacation this year. He is all for another year of camping, and as much as I love it, too. sometimes it's nice to do something a little different. I would love to look into vacation rentals, maybe on a beach somewhere. Of course, there would have to be fishing close by, too. I know getting a hotel rooms for all of us for any length of time is going to be expensive, and I think I would rather stay in a vacation rental. I know I would have to cook for us because there wouldn't be room service, but with the diet we are going to start, it is probably better that I cook anyway.

There are so many luxury vacation rentals available this time of year, and we live fairly close to the ocean. I say fairly close, because we could probably see the ocean in about five hours. I also know for a fact that vacation homes are available all along the coast, because my sister and brother have both taken advantage in the past. I bet they will have some great recommendations for me.

Lylah And Me

Carson took this picture last week. Not bad for a three year old! My other sister is down visiting from NY, and she has a little guy who is about 5 weeks older than Lylah, and I am convinced he hates me. Every time I hold him, all he does is cry. But, he is super cute, so I keep trying! Hopefully he will learn to like me a little before they head back up north.

Renewing Our Vows

In June, Junior and I will celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary. There are days that I can not believe we have been together this long. Then there are days when it feels like we have been married forever.

When we got married, we did the whole court house thing. I never had a real wedding, and sometimes I wish that I did. It is during those moments that I plan what kind of wedding I would have liked, and think that maybe one day I can actually have it. Not with another guy, but with Junior. I think one day I might want to renew our vows. This time around I can send out wedding invitations and hire a DJ and photographer. When I did get married, I didn't let anyone take any pictures, which is kind of sad. I do not have one picture of Junior and I from that day.

I think that maybe our 20th anniversary, in five years, will be the perfect time to renew our vows. I remember when my grandparents did it, and it was a beautiful ceremony. Our wedding invitations will have to say "renewal of vows" instead of wedding. The kids can be a part of it too, as flowers girls or bridesmaids. Ryan would be the best man, I'm sure.

Now I just have to save up enough money to make this happen. I doubt I can hit my dad up twenty years late.

My Birthday Brownies

It seems like I have been posting about my birthday for weeks, but I just have to share one more food picture with you. My mom made these brownies to go along with the crumb cake she made. They had peanut butter in them, as well as two different types of nuts.

I love that my mom made me all the things I love for my birthday. I am one lucky girl.

My Name Is Jennifer, And I Am A Chocoholic

Do any of you watch Disney Channel? If so, you know who I am talking about when I say the name Selena Gomez. She is Brandi's favorite actress/singer these days, and I have to admit that I like her a little bit, too. Tonight while we were watching her show, we saw a commercial she was in, along with other Disney stars. They were asking people to help the people of Haiti, in any way that they can. How awesome is that?

There are so many ways we can donate to the charities that are helping these people, and I have found a pretty sweet one. You see, I am a chocoholic. I admit it freely. I especially love Dark Chocolate. I love it even more when it has nuts in it. So imagine my delight when I found out that between now and Valentine's Day, Intentional Chocolate will donate 100% of their profits to charities helping the people of Haiti.

That's right. I said one hundred percent. So before you head to your local store to buy a box of chocolates, check them out and make your money count.

A Cookie Cell

Kais had to do a project for science class, and she had several options. She could choose between a written report, a power point, or an edible creation. Of course, she chose the edible one. She told me last week that she wanted to make cookies. All she had to do was draw a cell on the top of a sugar cookie with icing. Sounded easy enough.

Until the night before last, when she showed me the picture of the cell she needed to draw. It was insanely intricate, and there was no way she would be able to draw it on one cookie.

So Junior helped her figure out how to make a 3D version using several different sizes and colors of cookies. I have to admit, it came out pretty awesome.

She took it to school today, and came home proud of the 100 she received on it. As usual, I am so proud of her!

Getting Booted While Dropping

I have excellent internet service, most of the time. There have been a few times when I have been doing something semi important (like playing games) and all of a sudden I am booted offline.

I hate that!

Just last week, I was dropping ecards, and all of a sudden, I was booted. Now, for those who drop, you know how frustrating this can be. I had several tabs open, and I was chain dropping. This means that most of the tabs that were open, I got to through someone else's blog. When I got back online, I had to start over again, and click through the same blogs to get to where I was. Not only was this a waste of my time, but it was really annoying. Dropping usually takes me about an hour and a half on a good day. Getting booted and having to get back online takes even more time. It had me wishing that I had satelite high speed internet that was reliable. It's so much easier to drop when I am uninterrupted.

Dropping is also really boring, especially when the blogs you are dropping on haven't updated in a while, and you have nothing new to read. I think there should be a rule or something, that if you don't post at least once a week, you should lose your ecard widget. Maybe that would make dropping a little more interesting.

Aw, Man

I missed the Survivor special that was on tonight. In fact, I didn't even know it was on until I put on CBS after reading with Brandi. I caught the last 30 seconds. I wonder if I can watch it online? I guess I should check the CBS website. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

I had a great time tonight at my dad's. We had a delicious supper followed by the elephant cake (there's a picture of it a few posts down, or you can just click here to see it) I wish we could have stayed longer, but it started snowing, and we wanted to get home before it started sticking on the roads. My dad's wife was going to show me her wii fit and biggest loser wii games, because I am still undecided about which I want to get. It's a toss up between those two, or EA Sports active (I think that's the name).

What do you guys recommend?

Here's A Tip For All The Guys Out There

Okay guys. And by guys, I mean all you men out there. Are you looking for the perfect Valentine's gift for that special lady in your life? Why not give her a beautiful magnetic necklace?

Check out the design on the one in the picture. Doesn't it look like little X's and O's? What girl wouldn't love wearing hugs and kisses around her neck? I know I would love it.

You can check out the other Titanium Magnetic Necklaces because you might like a different one better. They all have very strong magnets, so whichever one you choose, you get free shipping, no matter where you live, which is pretty awesome.

I know sometimes it's hard for you men out there to shop for the girls in your lives, so let me make it easier for you with this one little piece of advice:

You can never go wrong with jewelry.

My First Birthday Cake

Every year, my dad's wife makes me an elephant cake for my birthday. This year was no exception. Underneath this cute little guy was devil's food cake, my favorite. It was yummy. Thanks again Elaine!

Pampering Myself A Little

Today is my birthday.

I had a wonderful day full of family and love. My kids made me wonderful cards, and gave me lots of hugs and kisses. I tell you, I love the homemade stuff. I am going to get some pictures of all of it tomorrow. It's kind of late right now, and I just don't have the energy.

Last year on my birthday, my sister came over and put highlights in my hair. I haven't done anything since, so I think it is time to do it again. Only this time, I think I want to pamper myself and have it done at the colony salon. I also want to get a pedicure, which I have never done before. I wonder if I can have both done simultaneously?

That would be awesome.

January Top Droppers

I have got to get better at dropping for this blog. I am grateful that there are people who still drop here, considering I have not dropped back in a long time. I promise once we get settled after the move, I will put more time into this blog.

For now, I want to say a HUGE thank you to those who still come by and drop:

My gypsygoods
Ruth's Creations
My Opinion Counts
The Soap Seduction
Crazy Mom
Alterity Art
My Art and the Mom in Me
Cornella Palsa
Renaescraftycorner
Crafts and cooking

Thanks again to all of you!

I Found The Coolest Yoyo

Ryan and Brandi both have birthdays right before Christmas. Most years, if they get money for their birthdays, we have them put it up until after Christmas, that way they can wait to see what Santa brings before buying anything for themselves.

Christmas has come and gone, and they are both itching to spend their money. Ryan is going to buy a laptop, and Brandi wants a yoyo. Last year there was some guy who came to their school to do magic, and one of the things she liked best were his yoyo tricks. She said that she wanted to learn how to do some tricks herself, but all she had to practice with was an old yoyo from a gum ball machine. As you can imagine, the thing was a piece of garbage, so I promised her I would find her a real yoyo to play with.

Up until last week, I totally forgot. She reminded me of my promise, which led me to an online search, because I just don't know what store around here carries good yoyos. I ended up finding this pretty cool looking red one, and she said she really likes it. It is an intermediate yoyo, so she should be able to learn some pretty neat tricks with it. I will also save some money, because the site I found it on, yoyoshop.co.uk, offers free shipping to everyone.

The only thing holding me back from buying it now is the move. Once I know our new address, I will be placing my order. I can not wait to see if Brandi can figure out how to do all the tricks she wants to.

Riding In Cars With Boys

I keep forgetting how many movies Brittany Murphy is in. I remember watching this movie a long time ago, and when I caught it on one of the premium networks, I sat down and watched again.

And realized that I didn't remember a thing about the movie.

It's about Beverly, Drew Barrymore, a 15 year old girl who ends up pregnant in 1965. She marries her boyfriend (reluctantly) and spends the next ten or so years of her life trying to live the life she thinks she deserves. She is an awful mother, and treats her kid more like an equal, and he ends up taking care of her most of the time. There were seriously times I wanted to reach through the screen and slap the crap out of her.

Her best friend Fay, played by Murphy, finds herself in the same situation, and the girls vow to raise their daughters as best friends, only Bev has a boy. You can use your imagination and figure out how the movie ends.

A chick flick, most definitely, but it will probably be another few years before I sit and watch it again.

Become A Member Of The Green Police

Did you read what I wrote yesterday about the Green Police? If not, let me explain again what they are. The Green Police are basically environmentalists who want to educate the public about the benefits of taking care of Mother Earth. They wear green jackets and hats, and patrol festivals, cleaning up littler, and asking others to do the same. I joked that we need the Green Police here in the US.

While reading a little more about it today, I discovered that the Green Police are ordinary citizens, out to make the world a better place. There is no special training. All you need is the desire to help make the world a little greener. So, America, the next time there is a carnival or festival in your area, throw on a green jacket and hat, and become your own Green Police.

Snow Devil

Brandi attempted to make a snowman yesterday, but the snow was more ice than snow, so it wasn't packing together properly. After a few minutes she gave up and made this little guy, who is basically just a head. He has two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and horns. When I asked her what kind of snowman has horns, she said it was a snow devil.

I worry about her sometimes....