Archive for March, 2009

It’s not like I have THAT many polishes, yet I sit here debating on what to use.  I think I already have the color picked out for my toes, but my tips are my issue LOL!  Part of me says to not even bother… I mean, I did really good last week about changing my polish daily for the first time ever.

And as for my weekend housework… Neglected!  I cleaned the bathroom, and I’ve probably cleaned the kitchen 3x now.  Alas, I’ve yet to start on laundry and I seriously don’t want to.  I do need to at least do towels.  I should be doing that now instead of babbling here.

Oh, and let me tell you.  My oldest DD is obviously becoming addicted to the Style Network because she’s been watching it all weekend.  Guess who might have a new fave show?  Yeah, that would be me.  Clean House is pretty cool to watch.  IDK if it’s the makeover part, or the cast from the show.  It’s pretty funny watching people refuse to get rid of random items too LOL!

So yeah, that’s my randomness for today.  Oh, and hopefully I have a new feature I can add to my site.  I won’t say what because I need to wait on approval.  I’m praying I get it, and if so, then game on!

I was looking for a way to make chicken tenders one night and came across this recipe on Recipezaar.  Seriously, they’re almost addictive enough to be heroin, but they’re not bad for you and don’t cause you to OD! 

50 min | 20 min prep

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs chicken tenders
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 TBSP dried parsley
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP paprika
1 TSP salt
1/2 TSP pepper
1/2 TSP butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all dry ingredients.
3. Line a shallow pan with foil.
4. Melt butter in a shallow dish.
5. Dip each piece in butter then roll in seasoning mixture and place in pan.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Okay, so I decided I would do some window shopping this morning, and guess what I found?!  OPI Lilac I Care!  Except it was by their other brand, Nicole by OPI.  I plan on getting this bad ass polish ASAP!  I saw some other colors I’m lemming to, so it’s all good!  I shall own this color!  

What I find funny is I’m currently ALL about blues!  WTH happened to my greys?!  I seriously want Essie Sag Harbor.  Another blue I want is Essie Starry Starry Night… Seemingly HTF, but I so love the name as well as the color!  And yet another blue I want is OPI Blue Moon Lagoon.  Cry with me another night? (Pics below courtesy of Scrangie)

Essie Sag Harbor
 

Essie Starry Starry Night
 

OPI Blue Moon Lagoon

I honestly don’t know what caused the sudden surge in my nail polish addiction.  Part of me blames Scrangie (as much as I truly love her) for her blog and gorgeous pics!  Alas, I’ve recently come across pics by Nail Juice (starbrightsparkles on MUA), and she makes me want to cry and hate OPI at the same time!  I seriously wish I had gotten this obsessed AGES ago!  I’m missing out on some wonderfully fantastic colors!

OPI Blue Jeans (Japan Exclusive from 2001) – This color shall forever haunt me now…

OPI Pick Me Up Purple – Again, a color haunting me…

OPI Lilac I Care – Yet more proof of a haunting…

So, it remains that I shall cry myself to sleep until the day I happen to hit the nail polish jackpot and have these polishes in my possession.  Oh, and trust me, there’s MANY, MANY more polishes which haunt me.  These just haunt me nightly right now… Not even nightly, I see them prancing and haunting before my very eyes even while I’m wide awake!

And, though these colors are not haunting me (yet), Scrangie has tortured me into having even more lemmings with these gorgeous OPI polishes:

OPI Breathe Life – Supports the New Lung Cancer Foundation of America

OPI At First Sight – Fairytale Bride: Soft Shades 2009
 

OPI Who Needs A Prince? – Princess Charming Collection
 

OPI Your Royal Shyness – Princess Charming Collection
 

OPI My Daddy’s The King – Princess Charming Collection
 

Yeah… It’s an obsession… But with this, I leave you my very own NOTD (pre-clean up w/ a crappy camera in crappy lighting): OPI Friar, Friar, Pants on Fire!
 

Have you ever had a day or a moment where you just felt overly irritated, but didn’t have a real reason?  And you’re not PMSing, so that doesn’t count either!  Yesterday I just felt seriously irritated, and for some reason I blamed John.  Goodness knows the man didn’t do anything either… I just felt like it was his fault!  LOL!  I know, it sounds crazy and makes NO sense!

Today’s irritation was DEFINITELY caused by the kids!  How an 11 y.o. and 4 y.o. decide it’s time to fight over a PC is beyond me.  I’ve told my oldest to just drop it and move on… Be the bigger person… NOPE!  I’m in the car waiting on my MIL, and hear screaming that I realize ISN’T the radio!  I go flying in the house to find my little one in the kitchen throwing a fit because her sister is calling her a “baby” over the PC… Seriously?!  Seriously!  Ugh!

I continuously say I come to work for my weekly 40 hour vacation LOL!  It might not be peaceful and quiet, but it’s definitely not listening to kids fight all day!  Sheesh!

This is almost a staple in our house now.  I make it for my birthday, and whenever the mood hits me.  Very easy to make, and oh so yummy!

Hands-On Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings: Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Ingredients:
Cake
1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant lemon pudding and pie filling
4 large eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Glaze
1/2 cup Duncan Hines® Creamy Home-Style Frosting, favorite flavor

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan.
2. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour into pan.
3. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto heat resistant serving plate. Cool completely.

For glaze, place frosting in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power 10 to 15 seconds. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

SOURCE

Product: 5 of 5
Packaging: 5 of 5
Quality: 4 of 5
Price: 4 of 5
Overall: 4 of 5
Would I repurchase? I’ll definitely purchase this again!  Although, I might opt for the foaming type instead.

::: The Product :::
Philosophy describes Purity Made Simple as “…an award-winning, one-step daily facial cleanser that removes makeup, cleanses, tones and lightly hydrates the skin. this facial cleanser rapidly dissolves dirt, oil and makeup to deep clean pores while maintaining the skin’s proper moisture levels. purity made simple is gentle enough for the eye area and even for the most sensitive skin.”

Purity Made Simple is recommended for anyone who has experienced/wants the following:

• you’ve tried a lot of cleansers but never found one you loved
• you crave deeply cleansed skin
• you want a cleanser that will multi-task for you
• you wear a lot of makeup
• your skin is congested

As with all Philosophy products, the product name followed by the product philosophy on the front of the bottle.  The back of the bottle contains information about the ingredients and usage.  Purity Made Simple is available in a 3 oz. (Sephora only), 8 oz., 16 oz. and 24 oz. bottles.  The bottle is clear with a black top.  Philosophy products are available on their website (philosophy.com), Sephora, drugstore.com, and QVC.  Purity Made Simple is one of many products you can also buy as part of a set.

::: The Ingredients :::
Water, Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Coco-Glucoside, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Guaiacum Officinale, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Rosa Damascena Extract, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil, Cinnamomum Cassia Leaf Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Piper Nigrum (Black Pepper) Seed Extract, Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, Hexylene Glycol, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Alcohol, Polysorbate 20, Glycerin, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Imidazolidinyl Urea, FD&C Yellow No.5.

::: My Experience :::
I needed a new facial cleanser as the Clean & Clear I was using was too drying for my skin.  I didn’t really want to go back to Garnier as they changed the formula for the cleanser I was using.  Not to mention, I wanted to try something else.  I had heard great things about Purity Made Simple, so I wanted to try it out.  Needless to say, I didn’t want to drop the money to find out I was allergic… And Sephora’s too far away to drive for just a sample when I don’t need anything else.  Luckily, I was able to get a brand new bottle in a swap from a lovely person on Makeup Alley.

The first night I used Purity Made Simple, I noticed immediately my face felt a lot smoother and almost felt moisturized.  I had heard Purity was great for removing makeup, even without using eye makeup remover first, but I decided I’d give the product more time in case I did have a reaction.  About three nights later I decided to give Purity the “ultimate” test – removing my black eyeliner and mascara without using eye makeup remover first.  Did it pass the test?  It most definitely did!

You seriously only need a nickel size amount to clean your whole face.  It doesn’t foam up, so I’d really consider this to be a cleansing milk.  Unfortunately, my only “issue” was that one night some apparently got in my eyes and kind of clouded my vision for a few minutes.  I’m not too sure if there’s a difference or not, but I’d love to try this in the foaming version to see if I prefer it or not.

::: Overall :::
I will most definitely be buying this again and again until it otherwise quits agreeing with me!  You can get it cheaper on eBay than anywhere else, but there are quite a few retailers who sell Philosophy products (drugstore.com, Sephora, and QVC).  I’ve noticed as I’m aging, I’m more interested in skin care, and this product is definitely working well for me.  So far, I’d have to say it’s worth even $20 for the 8 oz. size!

I’m so horrible about keeping up with this site/blog!  I need to get back on the ball with writing.  I’m not sure what my issue is honestly.  I can’t say it’s a lack of followers because I’d have more followers if I wrote more often, right?

I can safely say there isn’t too much going on personally outside of work.  Just really tired.  I did find out recently my asthma has decided to flare up for the first time in like 15 years, so I’m on Advair for it now.  WTH?!  I’ve lost about 9 lbs. that the damned Depo caused me to gain, but I still have at least 11 lbs. to get back to what’s been “normal” for me since having kids.  To get to where I’d *love* to be would be 21 lbs.  I’m not pushing for it though LOL!

Outside of that, nothing new!  SSDD around here!  Maybe I’ll revamp my look and post a review for you tonight… Add some new fave links too