The best laugh you will have all day

The best laugh you will have all day

Ok so I am a huge fan of finding different fun hairstyles on youtube/pinterest, then trying them out on myself. Usually, I have great success and I fall in love with the technique, and then I do my hair the same way over and over.

Take for example the simple french braid. After showering at night, I do my hair in french braid pigtails, and when I take it out the next morning before work, it looks like this:

 

(Old picture, I just miss my long hair!!)

Another example are the Bantu Knot curls. I found the video on YouTube, tried it out and LOVED it!! You should know that my hair doesn't hold a curl for anything (the joys of pin straight, paper thin hair) so the fact that it curls at all is wonderful! Here is a picture of the Bantu curls:

Based on these 2 styles, I figured, what the hell! Let's try something new! I found a video on YouTube about how to make your hair into a beautiful afro. The technique looked super easy, and I mean, come on, how fun would it be to have an afro for a day!?! The answer to that question? Not fun. First I will show you the instructional video--super easy to put in, no problem to take out, and everything looks smooth and sleek when finished:

 

Adorable, right? Ok, so a little scary-spice-ish, but still...a super fun hairstyle to try out. Now I am going to share with you my version of the hairstyle. By the way, I fully anticipate the laughs and hilarious comments and I will be completely understanding. And just so you don't feel bad about almost falling out of your chair laughing, I will tell you that my hubby almost died when he saw it. Like, I literally thought he was going to drop the phone from laughing so hard. Not that I blame him...Good times.

Seriously..that's my hair  

I'll give you a minute before I continue...

Ok so first of all, I don't know what went wrong. Did I wrap them too tight? Was it the fact that I fought with the rubber bands for 25 minutes to get them out? (My hair is so thin that I had to put a rubber band at the bottom of each bobby pin to hold it in place). Is it just simply that afros are not made for poker-straight hair? Whatever the reason for this monstrosity, I will never again attempt this style. I can officially say that this was a fail. Like, not even "oh maybe I'll try again to see if it will come out different." No. This is absolutely horrifying and I will never put my poor hair through this torture again. Lesson learned. Oh, and as fun as it would have been showing up to work like this, the ONLY way that I could semi-fix this was to put my head under the faucet and soak my hair. Awesome.

I hope that I was able to give everyone a good laugh today and please feel free to share this...if I can help out even one other person then I have done my good deed for the day.

Linked With:
GYPO
Tres Chic Thursday

Germaphobia--- You touched WHAT?!

Germaphobia--- You touched WHAT?!

I once read somewhere that the first stall in a public restroom is the cleanest, statistically speaking. The reason? The first stall is closest to the door, so less people use it! Since most people enjoy just a touch of privacy while hovering uncomfortably over the toilet using the restroom, they tend to go alllll the way to the back, to the furthest and most remote stall possible, just to ensure minimal amounts of passing traffic. But think about it for a second. If most people are doing this, then that means most people are skipping right on by the first stall. Less people = less germs & bacteria. I will gladly endure the constant traffic outside of my stall door if it means that I will come in contact with less germs. Hell, I'll wave at the people walking by if it means my tush is just a little cleaner than theirs!!

On top of the "first stall" technique, I am a complete germ FREAK when it comes to public restrooms! On our trip to Philly this year I held it as long as possible to avoid as many germs as I could. Seriously, bathroom breaks are like my least favorite part of road trips. You are literally dropping your pants in an unknown gas station, with god knows what growing on the underside of the seat and hoping for the best as you turn the door handle to leave! Just thinking about it skeeves me out!! I figured I would share some of my bathroom tips with you--a few things to avoid on your future potty trips. And if nothing else, at least I can gross you out for a few minutes on this Monday morning.

1. Never touch the door knob/door handle when leaving the bathroom. Think about it--you've already washed and dried your hands, now you are going to touch one of the germiest surfaces in the whole place! Sure, you washed your hands, but remember the lady who was grunting in the stall next to you?  She probably didn't wash hers. And she touched that very same door handle all of 10 seconds before you. After washing your hands, always grab another paper towel and use it to open the door. ((And if you are a huge freak like me, you can always use it to shut off the faucet too.))

2. Never ever ever put your purse on the floor!! I can not stress this enough!! You know how sometimes the purse hook is missing from a stall? Or you are in a big huge single bathroom where the only place to put your purse in on the floor? Resist the urge!! Why is that such a big deal, you ask? It's not like I eat off of the bottom of my purse. This is true. You do, however, sling your purse onto your counter/kitchen table/dresser at the end of the day. You also hold your purse in your lap while you are searching for your car keys/lipstick/birth control. I don't know about you, but I feel much better knowing that I am not smearing particles of someone else's bodily fluids all over my kitchen table. Trust me, just hold it while you hover!

3. Don't talk on your cell phone in a public restroom!! Sure, it's rude and loud and it may disrupt your neighbor's concentration, but that it just the tip of the iceberg. Unless you are using a hand's free Bluetooth headset, chances are you will need to adjust/move/touch your phone at some point throughout your bathroom visit. Even a quick, careful trip includes closing and locking the stall door, touching the TP holder, unlocking and reopening the stall door and anything associated with washing/drying your hands. Even if you use the first stall, flush with your feet and use a paper towel to shut off the water, you still run the risk of a few germs making their way to your hands. Remember that electronic thing you are holding against the side of your head? More than likely you are going to have to grab it, shift it or put it in your purse at some point. All of those germs are now transferred from your hands to the mouthpiece that will soon make its way just inches from your mouth. Lovely thought, right?

Here are a few more obvious ones that I hope everyone is already following, but I'll put them out for good measure:

4. Don't sit on the seat. There are so many germs lurking here--countless amounts---just waiting to jump up and grab on. And I'm not talking about high school "crab" rumors (we've all heard them)..I'm talking about legitimate bacterial infections and diseases! E. coli, Streptococcus, Hepatitis A and even certain STDs can live on a toilet seat!!

5. Don't flush the toilet with your hands...use your feet!! Public restrooms are used for all sorts of things, including the expulsion of bodily fluids from several orifices, top and bottom. While your aim may be spot on, the drunk girl who puked in the stall 30 minutes ago may not have been so lucky. And considering the short distance between the toilet and the flusher, I can almost guarantee that a few splashes made their way up.

6. Wash your hands. Seriously, I hope I don't have to explain this one any further. If you don't wash them, not only will your hands be covered in bacteria and germs, but everyone in the bathroom is going to be talking about the "gross lady who didn't wash her hands!!" You don't want to be the gross lady. We've all talked about her before.

7. Always rip off the first few inches of TP and throw it away! Just think about it for a second. The TP that is left hanging has the opportunity to A: Touch the floor or B: Come in contact with someone else's germy hands. You walk in 2 minutes later and use the hanging TP, transferring all germs to your body.


Now that I've ruined your lunch hour and given you a few more reasons to be a germ freak, I will wish everyone a happy Monday!! I hope your weekend was fabulous!


Linked With:
Manic Monday
On the Daily Express

3 Tacos? Count me in!

3 Tacos? Count me in!!

I don't need to lose weight. I'm not saying that to rub it in to anyone, or to make people hate me, I am simply stating a fact to introduce today's post. For whatever reason I have a wicked fast metabolism and I can't gain a pound to save my life. I know, skinny girl problems, right? I tell you all of this so you don't think I am one of those girls who starves herself and survives on water and lettuce. (If you haven't read this post, I invite you to check it out...I promise it will make you hungry....) I eat. I eat a lot, and I eat often. I try to eat a bagel with butter every morning for breakfast, then I either bring something from home for lunch or I end up ordering a medium pepperoni pizza and eating half most of it by myself. By 3:00 I am starving again, which is usually when I head upstairs and unload my change purse into the vending machine, buying 3 bags of salty goodness to hold me off until dinner. It's a vicious cycle that is only satisfied when I am actually shoving the food in my mouth.

Anyway, back to today's post. Every time we go grocery shopping, I try to pick up a few boxed meals to bring for lunch. One of my favorites is Stouffer's Fettuccine Alfredo, but to be honest, I normally just grab a few of whatever brand is on sale. This week it was Lean Cuisine. I grabbed a few different kinds--Ravioli, some chicken dish, Alfredo--and figured they would be just as good as Stouffer's. Umm, seriously? Couldn't have been more wrong. Let me be clear. The raviolis were really good. Like, surprisingly good considering they came from a box. They had a tone of flavor and the sauce wasn't half bad. Unfortunately, I barely got to experience the flavor due to the fact that the box came with 6 ravioli. You read that right, S-I-X.  I thought maybe there was some mistake--surely 6 ravioli could not be considered a meal? I sat down and started to research, and it turns out, there was no mistake. The serving size is 6 ravioli. Ok, I get it, Lean Cuisine is normally eaten by someone who is on a diet (as evident by the "Weight Watchers" point values on the back), but come on now. 6 ravioli wasn't even enough to take the edge off, let along fill me up!! I'm not saying that there should be a pound of ravioli in the box, but at least give me 10. Ten is a nice round number, and honestly, how many extra calories would 4 little raviolis add? (153, apparently...)

(cred) 

Just for fun, I am going to compare the nutritional information in 1 box of Lean Cuisine Ravioli with some well known food items, just to see the difference in portion sizes:

Here are the items:

Taco Bell Crunchy Taco

(cred) 

Lean Cuisine Cheese Ravioli

(cred) 

 

Domino's Medium Thin Crust Pepperoni

(cred) 

Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger

(cred) 

Calories:
Lean Cuisine Ravioli- 230 calories
Wendy's Jr Bacon Cheeseburger- 330 calories
Taco Bell Crunchy Taco- 150 calories
Domino's Medium Pepperoni Pizza- 170 calories per slice

Fat:
Lean Cuisine Ravioli- 5 grams fat
Wendy's Jr Bacon Cheeseburger- 22 grams fat
Taco Bell Crunchy Taco- 10 grams fat
Domino's Medium Pepperoni Pizza- 9.5 grams fat per slice

Sodium:
Lean Cuisine Ravioli- 640mg
Wendy's Jr Bacon Cheeseburger- 870mg
Taco Bell Crunchy Taco- 310mg
Domino's Medium Pepperoni Pizza- 380mg per slice


I don't know about you, but if I had the choice between 6 itty-bitty little raviolis or 3 crunchy tacos, I'll take the extra 200 calories, 290 mg sodium and 25g of fat! It might be in my best interest to skip the medium pizza for a little while though...(1360 calories, 76 grams of fat and 3000 mg of sodium in one pizza!?!)

I hope everyone had a fabulous week!!

Linked With:
High Five For Friday
That Friday Blog Hop
Sincerely Paula's no Rules Weekend
Little Friday Link Up

Sometimes it's the little things

Sometimes it's the little things

Sometimes the little things are all I need to get through the day. There are days when I feel like the world is against me, and no matter how hard I try, nothing seems to go right. Then I stop to think about all of the little things that make me happy--those teeny tiny blips on life's road map--and I realize that I am one lucky chick.

 *That first sip of Red Bull each morning

 (cred)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 *Climbing into bed after putting on clean sheets

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 

*Hearing the Backstreet Boys on the radio

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 

*Getting lost in an amazing daydream

 (cred)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*The smell of Hyacinth

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Getting my hair brushed

 (cred)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Watching low flying airplanes

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Taking off my bra at the end of the day

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*Random "just because" surprises from my hubby

 

(cred)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 *Soft Lips Chapstick

I know, staring up at a low flying airplane while listening to The Backstreet Boys and drinking Red Bull is not going to solve the world's problems, but its a damn good place to start!

Update on my momma-in-law: She is finally out of the ICU!! She is making amazing progress every day and she is getting closer and closer to coming home!!!! If that doesn't brighten up your Wednesday I don't know what will!!!


Linked With:
Because Shanna Said So
GYPO

Being a homeowner sucks

Being a homeowner sucks

This is my "being a homeowner sucks" face...

This is also my "I am a spitting image of my mother" face

And since I wrote this post 2 weeks ago and I am just posting it now, I figured I could use an old picture too...sounds good to me

Owning a home comes with tons of perks. You can paint the walls whatever color you want. If you feel like knocking down a wall or ripping a door off of the hinges, more power to you. And the best part? When you decide to move out, you get to sell it and keep the profit. Win win, right?

How about when the air conditioner stops working in June---in Florida? How about when your house is 87 degrees at 7:00 at night, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. Let's say we were renting our house. We walk in after a long day of work, realize that our house is an oven, and don't think twice before calling the landlord. Since no A/C in Florida is considered cruel, either the landlord or the HVAC company would be over that evening or the next morning, no charge, and everything would be back to peachy-keen in no time. Let's compare this to the realities of owning our house...That same relaxing evening of waiting on the landlord turns into 45 minutes of pouring burning hot water onto a frozen-over A/C unit. Following this excitement would involve replacing the filter (again), wiping down the vents (again), and spending the remainder of the night sweating and cursing at the fact that neither your warranty company or HVAC company are open at 9:30 pm. When you finally get a call back the next morning, you learn that it will be an $87 service charge to come fix it. The best part? You already paid the same company $87 last summer for the same repair, which was "Sure to fix the problem."

You know what makes the situation even better?? To avoid a heat stroke, we spent a few hours outside, enjoying the cool summer air. The cool summer air that was filled with approximately 400 mosquitoes, only about half of which landed on me for a feast. You know the second best thing aside from sleeping in the heat and sweating your ass off all night? Being covered in mosquito bites from head to toe. Awesome.

So what have we learned? Owning a house sucks. Let's compare, shall we?

Price to fix a broken air conditioner
Renting: $0
Owning a home: $87 (per year, apparently!)

Level of frustration at the ice chunks that are sure to form again just as soon as you melt them off
Renting: 0
Owning: Are you kidding me?!

What you can do when your A/C breaks
Renting: Freak out on the landlord and demand that he fix it immediately
Owning: Abso-freakin-lutely nothing
 

Family Ties

Family Ties

 (cred)

If you have noticed the lack of posting recently, I promise that there is a reason. Last Thursday morning my mother-in-law was rushed to the hospital. Without delving too much into the personal details, it was one of the scariest experiences of my life. The past 12 days have been filled with fear, hope and most of all extraordinary love. With every passing day she has grown stronger, and I know that this will continue until she can finally come home. We have witnessed a quicker and more amazing recovery than we could have ever imagined, and I have watched in awe as she has overcome hurdle after hurdle. My mother-in-law is a fighter, and she has proven her strength to us time and time again in the last week. She is fighting for my father-in-law, her 6 amazing children and her 5 grand babies, all of whom she would do anything for.

The road to recovery will be long, and it will be far from easy. One thing I know for certain--she will keep on fighting. As for me? I'll be standing on the sidelines, with the rest of the family, cheering her on the whole time.

A message to the nurses and doctors: 
Although you will not read this post, and your lives will continue on as they were before, there is something that I would like to say to you. Because of your dedication, my husband was laughing with his momma yesterday. Because of your persistence, my father-in-law was holding the hand of his high school sweetheart this morning. And because of your selfless compassion, you brought hope to a family when we needed it most. For that, I am forever grateful. 

Turning in my Yankee card

Turning in my Yankee card

So, this happened this morning...

As I snapped this picture I realized that he was parked perfectly in between the two lines. Ummm, hello, someone drove their tractor to the gas station and my first thought was how straight he was parked? Seriously? So that got me thinking, and I realized that I am officially fully southernized. Being born and raised in Philly, it was a HUGE adjustment moving down to Florida--It took a few years before I really felt at home. Although I have now crossed over and become a full-blown Floridian, there are still things, every now and then, that cause me to stop and think "Did that really just happen?" For today's post I decided to share with you all some of the things that come with living in the south. You know, aside from all the "bless your heart's" and "fixin's."


For example:

It's not everyday you have to stop your car for one of these...

Is that a drive-thru? At a liquor store?

 

There are no sidewalks...anywhere. 

And how often does your sky look like this?

And heaven forbid you need directions! "Yea, just down the road you'll see a dirt path, up yonder a little ways.."

There is no such thing as soil...if you want to plant flowers or dig a hole, you better get ready for a long day and a helluva lot of sand and red clay.

In the mood for fast food? No such thing down here. It usually takes between 7 and 10 minutes to get your food from a drive-thru, however I once waited for 15 minutes...and there were only 2 cars in line

(cred) 

 Ever hear of a hurricane party? Me either, until moving down here. What's that you ask? Pretty much exactly what it sounds like..Hey, there's a huge hurricane out in the Gulf, want to grill up everything we have in the freezer , buy tons of liquor and ride out the storm?! Sure, sounds like a plan!

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Some of this may sound strange and crazy to you. And believe me, it is. BUT---small town living has some huge perks...

 Everyone, young or old, is referred to as sir or ma'am. It was a refreshing change from the "hey you's" and "yo's" I was accustomed to in Philly.

I have been here 5 years, and I have been in ONE traffic jam that lasted longer then 10 minutes. ONE! And not to rub it in, but the speed limit down here is 70

(cred) 

If you get a flat tire, run out of gas or the couch that you are carrying in your truck falls off, have no fear. 14 cars will stop to help you in 30 seconds flat.

 

When I was in a car wreck a few years ago, the woman who hit me took off without stopping (whaddabiotch, right?). A random person saw what happened, FOLLOWED the hit-&-runner 2 miles down the road and pulled into a parking lot behind her. She got out and said "I have your license plate number, if you don't go back I'm calling the police!" Then she followed her all the way back to the accident!! Love me some Southern hospitality!

Everyone talks to everyone. No exceptions.
Walking down the street? Stop and chat with a passer-by for a few minutes.
Driving past a random stranger on a street you've never been down? Might as well wave.
Standing in line for 30 minutes at the grocery store? Don't worry about it, just turn around and strike up a conversation with the person behind you.

 

Every have one of those days where you don't feel like getting out of your pj's and slippers, but you are completely out of tampons and red bull? (no, just me?) Have no fear, the dress code at most places doesn't require a shirt, let alone proper shoes. A pair of paint-covered-hole-filled sweatpants with a too-big tshirt? Pretty much an everyday wardrobe staple down here.

If this post hasn't convinced you to turn in your Yankee card and head for the beaches, I guess I haven't done a good enough job. And while you enjoy the polluted, bumper-to-bumper ride home today, I'll be smooth sailing...right over this...

 

Y'all enjoy!! :)

Linked With:
I would so rock this
Style Sessions