Suave Professionals Sleek Conditioner

This would be a great product for someone with coarse or textured hair. It was a little too heavy for my fair hair, but I would definitely recommend this product to someone with more ethnic hair.

My hair was left a bit heavy, but I did read a great review from a (i don't know what is the current non offensive term: black, African-American... this is my attempt to not offend, so sorry if one of those is offensive) during my research. She had great results that made her hair more manageable and gave it more movement without being too heavy and weighing down volume.

I should get Ashley to try this. She is a crazy mutt mix and the Cuban is very prevalent in her coarse thick curly hair. That's her on the left with the very long hair.

Again, I totally recommend this for someone with more textured hair. The suave professionals line is chock full of three dollar products that I am stoked about. Damage Control is in my shower now and I'm loving it so far, review to follow!

Lady Gaga

Dave got me a ticket to see Lady Gaga next week as an early Christmas present!!! If your not familiar, watch a couple of her videos. LOVE LOVE LOVE her.

The ladies I'm going with are dressing for the concert, so I'm trying to come up with Gaga style... Today I'm altering a dress I own. Hopefully it works so I can spend more on accessories. Her fashion is fearless and I'm a bit intimidated trying to create something.

Turkey Loaf and Chunky Potatoes

Dave and I have gained some weight over the last year and we are trying to make better decisions on what we eat. Last night we tried ground turkey instead of ground beef.

Begin Potatoes by bringing large pot of water to boil and add potatoes. While potatoes boil prep turkey loaf:

3lbs ground turkey ($1.99/lb)
2tbsp ketchup
1tbsp Guilden's brown mustard
1tsp horseradish sauce
1tsp wasabi mustard
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 small onion chopped

Pour all ingredients in large bowl and mix with clean hands until well blended. Place in baking dish and form into loaf shape (once I did heart shaped for valentines day and per Dave's request have even made a penis shape before). Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or so.

3lbs potatoes
2tbsp chopped onion
1 stick of butter
1cup skim milk
salt
pepper

While loaf is cooking prepare potatoes. They are ready to come off the stove if you poke one with a fork and it starts to fall apart. We like the skins on for the vitamins. Also you don't have to burn your hands trying to peel hot potatoes.

I love onions so i kept a couple of tablespoons of onion aside and chopped finely with my food processor. Add half the stick of softened butter to onion in processor and combine. Put onion mixture, other the rest of the butter, milk and potatoes in large bowl.

Normal people have either a hand masher or an electric mixer. I don't have the hand masher and my mixer broke a couple of months ago and this is the first time I had use for one. Dave and I took turns with a normal fork, hence the "Chunky Potatoes." Salt and Pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Free Entertainment

This is more bragging than suggestion. I am a Dallas Cowboys Football Fan. This season I worked every Sunday and between keeping up with the house and my friends and family I sadly have not been able to follow closely.

Dave's best friend Sam is a season ticket holder for the Philadelphia Eagles, the supposed home team. Sam called on Wednesday and offered us hit other two tickets to the Dallas v. Eagles game (he has four).

Yesterday magic happened and dreams came true as we sat in the first row of the second level on the 43rd yard line. My happy Cowboys won and are now #1 in the division!!!

Thanks again to Sam and Stef. Everyone needs friends like them!

Recessionista fashions for the severe budget

Old Navy and Gap sale racks.

• Cream wool/poly blend sweater $15 Gap after christmas sale rack (last year)
• Red wraparound sweater with tie $10 Old Navy after Christmas sale rack (last year)
  
• Carmel wool long button down cardigan with tie $15 Gap after Christmas sale rack (last year)

Your prime shopping time is coming up. After Christmas the sale racks are swollen with returns at severe discounts. Old navy always has "business casual" for ten dollars or less in January. Pants, sweaters, button down shirts. I can refill a wardrobe for $150 at Old Navy this time of year.

The Gap is also a great sale spot. Christmas returns are marked down to pennies on the dollar. My favorite cream sweater gets worn twice a week minimum and I got it at a steal.

T arget.com is also amazing. I bought $50 in clearance items from the website and got free shipping. Shirts for three dollars, dresses for seven, and a wrap sweater for under ten dollars.

Shop late. save early.

45$ window treatments

Two white panels $5 each, two red panels $5 each, rod $11, tiebacks $10. Target seems to have bette quality than Walmart and surprisingly lower cost. The red accents in my neutral colored living room really gave new life to our used furniture. The tan love seat, black recliner and black lacquer panther table got a breath of fresh air against our gray walls.

We plan on replacing the seating and have an amazing micro suede sectional picked out, but other obligations have offset our plans.

Dave's uncle Ray and his Fiancee Amy (sp?) donated an oriental rug that is not pictured. She hoped it would match her vibrant red couch, but it perfectly matched our wine colored sheers (which they didn't know). It has grey, tan, and other great colors that perfectly compliment what we have. Thanks again for another amazing freebie.

Grandmom's secret to stain removal

Soak immediately in cold water. If your not home and cant take the article of clothing off, dab generously with a wet paper towel and make a nice big wet spot. Even if your stain is still visible when it dries, the cold water stops it from setting in so when you wash it comes right out.

Warning, if your a woman in a white t-shirt maybe be more spot specific. This isn't a wet t-shirt contest. Last week at work I got a little too close for comfort...

Arm and Hammer 2x Concentrate Laundry Detergent

I grew up in a Tide household and when Dave and I moved in together it was a shock to see how much we spent on laundry soap. I tried a couple options and will say DO NOT buy the Shoprite brand generic detergent. It left grease stain looking spots on all of our clothes. For some unexplainable reason two years later I still have that bottle, full in my basement.

Then I found Arm and Hammer. Its just shy of $7 for a 150 fluid ounce bottle that advertises 96 loads. The Clean Burst scent is my favorite. It leaves your laundry smelling fresh, with a hint of orange zest. It also has great stain fighting capabilities.

Neutrogena Body Clear Body Wash

I have very mild body acne, primarily on my upper arms. Dave has more moderate body acne and when we started sharing a bed it was almost contagious. So like any normal woman I freaked out when I found the first and then many more breakouts on my legs, torso, etc.

I started out using the Body Scrub, but then had trouble finding it and switched to the Body wash. I stopped getting the "new" breakouts and the familiar upper arm problem stopped as well. I bullied Dave into using it and he had a big reduction in breakouts.

A few weeks ago I bought the Pink Grapefruit version and I would say its my favorite. Its just as great on body acne, but also has an energizing scent that wakes me up and energizes me in the morning.

The body washes are great because they also double as face wash. Its only about $6 at Shoprite of English Creek and lasts about a month to month and a half in our two person household.

Clorox Cleanup

Clorox clean makes even the most disgusting caked on crud come off in the swipe of a sponge.

When we bought our home the kitchen was coated in thirty years of deep frying residue. All of my cabinet handles were sticky with grease and the wall behind the stove was well caked. I tried many products and LOTS of scrubbing.

Then my mom gave me a bottle of Clorox clean up. It took a squirt and a swipe. Now I use it everywhere. I bought a refill bottle for about $4 at the grocery store and have refilled the bottle three times.

Toga

I have again been neglecting my little blog here. We are having a Halloween party Saturday and I am making Togas for Dave and myself. I cannot sew. I am making my poor sewing skills work. With all the draping and pleating it covers up my mistakes and I have been double stitching the seams because I'm scared they will fall apart. These are my sketches, I'll post pictures when they are done.
Last year we had a terrible time finding Dave a costume. Did I mention he is 6'5. I was a nurse and the doctor costume fit him like a not so sexy belly shirt... so we returned it, bought a gunshot wound and he was my patient.

Our first halloween together he went as Chris Farley in that SNL chippendale skit which required his black pants, a t-shirt and bow tie. It was a last minute costume for me and believe it or not I just happened to have this in my closet...

I guess I need to get better at this seing thing before next year.

Oh, if you dont know me you cant come to my party, but I strongly recommend you look into the Henry David Ball in Philly, PA. It's $25 in costume and $60 without and it seems to be the inspiration for the gay pride costume ball in "I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry." This kid was a blast, but Dave had to flag him a taxi, because taxi drivers are douches and wouldn't stop for him :(

Got 2b Glued Freezing Spray

Uses: extreme styling, all day hold, hurricane proof hair.

I bought this stuff buy one get one free at Kmart for $3.99. The hold is INTENSE, like rock solid, but it doesn't make your hair look plastic. As a blond I find hairspray that holds darkens my color (temporarily), but this product does not.

I'm a hair down kind of gal, but i prefer to drive to work with my windows down. Blow dry, style and spray all over. My hair does not move as I cruise down Delilah Rd at sixty mph. When I get to work I brush it out so I don't have a hair helmet. Even after brushing my hair stays in place all day and can still move. Warning: after brushing out you are no longer hurricane proof.

Healthrite

I have had a cold for the last few days that was only getting worse, so yesterday I tried to find a doctor that could see me. I haven't seen a general family doctor since my pediatrician and had a lot of trouble finding someone who would take a new patient same day.

Atlanticare has a hot line (888-569-1000) that helps you find local doctors so I gave them a call. They set me up with a new patient appointment for January and suggested that I go to Shop Rite in Somers Point to the Healthrite Nurse Practitioner. I will tell you I was very skeptical about seeing someone in a grocery store, but I couldnt find anybody that could see me before work.

Note: Below is what was prescribed for me. If you are ill please see a professional, I reccommend Healthrite if your in a bind.

Nurse Dawn Gadon, APN, diagnosed me with Bronchitis. She prescribed guifenesin (Mucinex), dextromethorphan (shoprite generic cough syrup), codeine-promethazine (cough syrup w/ codeine), prednisone, and azithromycin (a z pack). The first two are OTC and the last three were prescription. She printed a visit summary that included instructions for the medications, info on bronchitis, and a list of reactions that would require emergency care.

Nurse Gadon was very sympathetic and kind. Turns out her location in shop rite was great too. Her office is at the end of the pharmacy counter and across from the first aid isle. At the conclusion of my visit she gave me a $5 Shop Rite gift card and then walked me down the isle to show me the two generic OTC medications she prescribed.

This was a bit of an emergency given my time frame and needs. The service provided was great, I was able to sleep through the night last night, and it was just very convenient overall.

Bowling

King Pin Lanes in EHT, NJ is always a fun night out. I am the worst bowler, EVER. If I break thirty its a good game. You can have as few as two people and have a great time. The food at the snack bar is great deep fried bad for you goodness and the sports bar is a great place to hang before or after a game for drinks.

Features: snack bar, sports lounge, private parties, pro shop, bumper bowling, billiards, bowling

Hibiscus update

I think it got worse after I planted... Maybe I need to find a good fertilizer to blog about.

Nivea Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs

This product is a shave minimizing gradual tanner. I love the two in one, having previously used two different products to accomplish the same results.

Caution, I purchased "dark" looking for color to develop faster on my fair skin. The shave minimizing aspect makes me want to use it everyday, but because i went with the darker shade my fair skin starts to look orangey after too many applications.

That was fine on the single function product that i used once or twice a week before. Gradual tanners are great because they dont last long if you mess up and its not a lot of color all at once. Stay true to your natural coloring on this one if you do daily use.

To be honest $7 is a lot for the size of the tube but the product combo is worth it.

Suave Humectant Conditioner

Behold, amazing conditioning for $3.24. Suave Professionals Humectant Conditioner is a thick rich conditioner with an abundance of uses.

Between coloring, blow drying multiple times daily, curling iron and an insistence to not cut my hair my ends had been getting ragged. This conditioner leaves my hair super silky and really camouflages my sad ends.

I have stopped washing my hair daily and have taken to just conditioning with a good rinse. Now I wash once a week.

I look forward to reviewing my next Suave Professionals product. Sleek conditioner is in my shower now!

Other Uses: Deep Conditioning (wrap in a towel, blow dry to add heat and open cuticle), daily conditioning rinse, spray de-tangler/leave in (add a few drops to water), co-wash.

appologies for my hiatus

This has been a long week. On top of losing my best friend I have had some back pain and a nasty cold. Thanks to friends and family who have done so much to support us this week. Special recognition goes to Mom, Sam and Steph S., Jay, Carol, Kelly Jo, Ashley and The Shields family for sharing our wake on Wednesday 10/14.

Wednesday we took Miss Quinn to the beach forever.

R.I.P. Miss Quinn

Today was my day off. Dave and I had planned to spend the night in a comp room at a casino and a lovely dinner and comedy show. Dave is Mon-Fri 9-5 and I'm nights and weekends, so I'd planned to take the kids to Malibu beach. Its the Dog beach in EHT and Miss Quinn loved to run free up and down the beach in the surf.

The parking lot is under construction so we had to park at the fishing beach across the street and walk across a relatively busy highway. There was some confusing directional signage that caused us to have to walk back onto the shoulder and Miss Quinn slipped out of her collar.

I felt slack on the leash and looked back. She was smiling back at me in defiance and freedom as I watched her run under the back tire of a massive pickup with a lift and three foot high tires. I screamed a scream that was animal and stood there shrieking for what seemed like hours but was less than a minute.When I ran over she was howling and I was shaking, gripping tightly to the leash still attached to Axle Rose. It seemed like thirty people appeared out of nowhere and three men scooped her up as I frantically and rudely screamed "help me," "pick her up," "your not moving fast enough."

I drove her to the nearest animal hospital and no doctor was on duty. I was directed to Linwood, NJ to RBVH (i only know the V is for veterinary and H is for Hospital).

On the drive she was responsive and stubborn as usual and I thought maybe it was a broken leg or two. We got there and two vet techs got her onto the stretcher and took her in for x-rays.

I was promted with the question "How aggressive do you want to be with treatment?" This was followed up with the explanation that she had a broken back and diaphragm. After two very short years I was required to make the decision to save her life with thousands in medical bills and be immobile from the waist down.

She was an athletic muscular dog with little need little other than your heart, dog food and cold filtered water. She was a spoiled girl. Waiting in a treatment room even Axl wouldn't drink the tap water, but I do. My kids drink filtered water, I drink tap.
She hadn't been at the Beach in a while because Axl was a recent ly adopted stray and needed to learn his name. She had been so excited in the car she was running in circles in my little two door coupe.

I was so distraught that I was not of the mind to make a decent decision. I knew what I needed to do, but I called Dave for support in the right decision. Today I had to give up my best friend in a selfless decision that prevented her from suffering.

We bought a house with a big fenced in yard for her. She loved to frolick without restraint and we got her little big brother, Axl Rose, to keep her company.She lived the best two years with us a dog could have. Save a life, give them the best you have. Save a life, rescue a best friend from a shelter.

Quick and easy toilet

My mom gave me a pack of Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubbers when she sold our childhood home. It is a toilet scrubbing wand with disposable Brillo pad like scrubber.

No hands in questionable sanitation. A plastic wand attaches to the disposable Brillo style scrubbers with built in cleaner.

It's yuck free, hands free toilet cleaning in a minute or two and is environmentally friendly at minimal cost and maximum convenience.

Bargain Basement Family

Dave had a husky named Queenie who we had taken to be put down at the shelter, She was his best friend. But she was very old, a friend from his childhood, who needed a rest.

Last year we adopted Miss Quinn from the AC animal shelter a few moths after Queen passed. She was a two year old shepherd mix who
was sitting in the corner of her cage with bones protruding from malnourishment. She wasn't being underfed there, she just needed love. I took one look into those big brown eyes and fell in love.

We lived in a small apartment at the time and she was the perfect fit.

I Knew I wanted a companion for Quinn, but I needed to find someone special for Dave too. After we bought the house and had the fenced in yard I knew the time was right.

Axl Rose, our boxer, is a shelter "Stray." He is a new addition to the family who we adopted from the Atlantic City shelter after we bought the house. He is still learning, and he's not very quick. But he had a massive head full of love and harmless teeth and love.

Adopt a shelter pet, save a life. The donation is about $150 and includes a donation, spay/neuter fee and a lot of shelters chip your baby so if they get lost you can find them.

The Driving Range

Ye Olde Masters in EHT, NJ charges $9 for abucket of balls. A bin of clubs is available at no additional cost for those of us (me) without a set of clubs.

Our drier is died, so the last time Dave and I had a day off together we put a few loads in the driers and went up the street to the driving range.

I am not an athlete, Bowling I'm lucky to break fifty! My fist time at the range I consistently hit 100+ yards straight out. Being the girl picked last in gym class I was stoked.

It doubles as stress relief. Call the ball by the name of a hated co worker or in-law adds yards and decreases tension!

Ammonia is for lovers

I was raised in a home of three girls and man do I miss the help cleaning. My mom used ammonia for EVERYTHING! A gallon costs a dollar or two. Sometimes elbow grease is a requirement, but its a great return on investment.

Did you know that the active ingredient in Windex's streak free shine is ammonia? You can do an entire bathroom in thirty minutes by filling the sink with warm water and cap-ful of grocery or dollar store brand ammonia. The bathroom mirror and your wallet will thank you.

Loreal Color Experte Compliment worthy at home color

I am honestly and admittedly a bottle-blonde. When I was twelve it was natural, but nature changes.

I have been in love with Loreal Color Experte for the last six years. It's advertised at $13.99 on the Ulta website but can be found cheaper on sale in the store. The last time I went it was buy one get one half off so my twin sister was able to take care of her much needed root job as well.

I get frequent comments and compliments on my at home dye job. My hair is LONG and at a bargain salon 12 foils is about sixty bucks.

The kit includes base color AND higlights, two steps. It takes about two hours including processing and rinsing time and dishes. I need entertainment while processing! There are also three seperate tools, a spatula, mascara wand type tool, and this crazy furry tweezer looking thing for application.

If you color at home and are looking for dimension amazing! No one ever believes I fake it, let alone an at home job.

(bad myspace pic, but you can really see the different shades in my hair)

It's not for everyone

I am not afraid to acknowledge that I am a lucky girl.

I have been the fortunate recipient of a free air conditioning condensing unit. Dave has some very blessed friends who happen to think of our low budget when they are experiencing excess. One of his friends is doing a remodel on an amazing home and is replacing his FOUR condensers. They are five years old.

For you without such fortunate and generous friends I recommend construction and estate sales. A barely used condenser can be bought for maybe half price leaving the cost of installation and unit at one third less than retail. When we are speaking in terms of thousands this is a massive savings. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

P.S. thanks Team W!

dollar store teeth whitening

One of my favorite beauty secrets is Peroxide. After brushing i rinse with Peroxide. It's a dollar store staple and for one dollar you have a mouthwash that is not abrasive and whitens magnificently. I am an avid smoker who loves her Bacardi and diet and has a brilliant white smile. A couple of rinses a week equals months of whitening for a dollar.

gardening before work

We did some landscaping ourselves and with the help of some friends. Rototilled the front yard, planted shrubs, etc. It turned out beautifully not that you could really tell from this picture (I'm very new with this technology thing).

Unfortunately, we did not decide on a spot for the Hibiscus. That was in July, maybe... I planted the Hibiscus today before work.

Really?

I went to Target in Mays Landing yesterday to grab a few necessities. Dave uses Irish Spring soap, that would be in the soap isle, right? No. Because who uses Irish Spring? Shocker, Irish Spring is in the Men's Grooming isle.

The Corn Maze

One of my favorite fall activities is pumpkin picking. The farm we went to offers a hay ride with a stop in a pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, we did not realize this until after we had purchased some pumpkins at the farm stand. It was only about twelve (12) dollars and there was a really cool variety to choose from.

There were even a few, uh, "adult" novelty gourds. My boyfriend, Dave, of course had to have one that looked like male genitalia. Notice that it is not pictured because one of our doggies chewed the twig off the berries...

The farm also had a corn maze which doubled as a flashlight maze at night and a haunted walk. We went in the afternoon and I managed to drag Dave through the maze because his best friend's wife was also enthusiastic.

The maze was accompanied by a Halloween themed crossword puzzle with the questions on dead end signs throughout the maze. By the time we found the first sign the guys were racing to be the one who found the next. For six (6) dollars per person we spent about an hour running around like little kids. The only thing that would have made the place better is a liquor license.