Deleting the naughty...with So What Saturday

Here are this week's excuses:
- I have had a nagging headache at the base of my skull for 3 days. I was, and am, stressed so I took a hot bath. Unfortunately, I don't have an amazing larger than life soaking tub so my neck was turned funny. I want a huge tub.

-I am having an open house on Sunday. This place needs to sell. Ugh.  I have nothing but cleaning and vacuuming to do today and I'm not happy about it. Just keep plugging away I guess.

-Easter is coming! Have I had a conversation with the Easter bunny yet? No.  And I need to. It seems that my children remember last year vividly. The cousins were in town. They were staying at our house. The Easter bunny gave them big huge baskets with lots of stuff.  They got an ice cream bucket with a few treats and a couple toys.  They don't understand why the Easter bunny gave them less than their cousins. How do I explain that?  Tell me, readers...what do I do?  Go overboard this year and say that Easter bunny ran out of money last year?  Sister of mine...I know you read this. You will not stay at my house ever again if I have to compete with gi-nor-mous easter baskets, lol. If you do, we need to do better planning and top notch communicating...or I will one-up your easter baskets right in front of you, hahahahaha!  "Oh look kiddies, see what the Easter bunny brought Monkey and Peanut?"

-Have I mentioned I am sick of winter?  I want this snow to be gone. The bad news? We are yet again under a major flood watch/warning/whatever you want to call it. The good news? Our home is out of the flood plain and we have a brand new sump pump with a battery back-up. Now tell me this...who wouldn't want to buy this house knowing they will not have to deal with the flood and/or flood insurance???

-I also need winter to be done because I want my children to go outside and play. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I am tired of being house-ridden with them. I need some damn fresh air. I am lucky in the sense that both the kids LOVE to play in the snow. My son adores winter. But, I think I need them to go out a little longer each day. :)

-I hate Virgin Mobile today. A lot. Their finance department can bite me for not returning phone calls and leaving me without telephone contact with my husband over what we can't quite figure out is fraud. Really? Been a customer for what, 6-7 years? And all of a sudden they think that because my husband ran out of minutes we are committing fraud? GRRRRR. I am so angry about this. Virgin Mobile, I am ready to fire you.

Deleting the naughty...with a little heat.

I am having an affair.

With a heating pad. And, yes I actually said that out loud as I typed it. And no, it's not my first.

I have a really hard time staying warm. My feet often turn white, sort of numb and icy cold. Crawling into bed at night on cold sheets makes me shiver and feel stiff and I just hate it. Husband decided one day to put an old heating pad on my side of the bed under the covers for me...and it changed my life.

My first affair was with Heating Pad the First (HP I). HP I had to have been close to 20 years old or more. In fact, I think he had a previous relationship with Husband's mother, to whom he belonged. He was a pale aqua colored cloth full of little pills and snags that had no cushion, the bottom plastic was completely poked through and I was actually afraid he would start on fire. I felt it was time to move on. I deserved a new heating pad, one of my very own.

Now, Husband is very supportive of my relationships with HP I and HP II. He agreed that HP I was just too dangerous for me. He wanted me to be with something more stable, modern and younger.

This is how I met Heating Pad the Second (HP II). Husband gave him to me either for Christmas or my birthday one year. He is a sky blue color with three heat settings and a timed auto shut-off. He is my companion through the winter, PMS, sore muscles and illness. Sometimes we just hang out while I read a trashy novel or type.

With my husband living in Nebraska I am finding it very hard to stay warm in a bed with an enormous amount of real estate. I love my king size bed, but not having a warm body on the other side leaves the sheets cold and no legs to shove my frozen feet on to keep them from going numb. I fill some of the void by keeping a load of pillows piled next to me..it gives me the illusion he is present without all the twitching.

But I miss our night time ritual nearly as much as I miss him. Almost every night, Husband comes into the bedroom because he finishes getting ready before I do. He turns on the lamp, turns on my turbo fan for white noise, puts HP II in his place of honor and pulls the bedding back over it so my side is nice and warm before I crawl in. So HP II,now I turn you on. You don't turn me on, but you are keeping me warm until I can be cozy by Husband's side again.

Deleting the naughty...with Love With Food March

Love with Food, the sub box with a great cause is giving us a "New twist on classic favorites" for the theme this month. As always, with every box you buy, they donate a meal.









Dark Chocolate Orange Good Fortune Cookie from Emily's Chocolate:
Exactly what it says it is. And my fortune? Yeah...if you follow my blog, you know what this means...

Ola Foods Granola:
100% natural handbaked granola. I got the flavor Vanilla Almond. Made with whole grain oats, pure maple syrup, non GMO canola oil (which yes I know is bad if you are trying to be Paleo..I am failing on all fronts right now, but at least I am eating healthier), vanilla extract and cinnamon. Whole almonds in this to be clear.

Chocolate Covered Wasabi Peas from Chocwasabi:
Milk chocolate covered horseradish peas. I tried one. I did not like them. Sometimes you get a miss.

Salted Caramel Baked Corn from Cosmos Creations:
These are puffed corn coated with a salted caramel. Like the kind my mother-in-law makes every Christmas, you know the stuff I am talking about. This bag of goodies could rival the homemade. It is very close to the real stuff, I have to say.

Revolution Tea Green Tea Infuser:
I received a bag of the Acai Green Tea. I like tea. I don't drink soda or drink mixes so a nice clean tea hits the spot for me. I am looking forward to trying it.

Mary's Gone Crackers Wholesome Snacks:
I got the Sticks & Twigs Pretzels variety. Organic, vegan, gluten-free...I really liked these. This was my late night snack the other night and it filled me up.

Fruit and Veggie Juice from Kids 50:
Made with water, carrot juice, apple juice, acerola juice, it also contains Stevia.  I am not prepared to jump on the Stevia bandwagon just yet, I need more info. But, I think the kids will like this, now I just need them to not fight over who got more.

Wild Berry Flat Fruit from Wacky Apple:
I always give these to my kids. They share one bite with me and then it's gone in a matter of seconds. I know they will love it because they love all things fruit.

Deleting the naughty...with Graze March

Graze is the box I subscribed to some 2 months ago, when the UK subscription service launched in a small roll-out in the U.S.  It has taken off and has slowed down the influx of new subscribers, hence my code not working anymore. I am hopeful it will open up again soon because I want to order another one for my kids. The value is amazing - $5 a box, and you can now get it weekly, twice a month or monthly. You can also push back weeks if you are on vacation or can't get one once in a while.

Since I lost my SD Card, there is no actual evidence of the snacks I have received thus far. I have eaten every morsel and I will continue to do so.  I will start with sharing photos of Box #4 and Box #6.  Somehow, it arrived before Box #5, but I have high hopes that it will arrive this week yet :) 

In previous boxes, I have enjoyed most everything with the exception of 2 items that I "trashed" on their website.

Box #1
Orange and Ginger Flapjack- My first favorite. I loved every bite. Flapjacks are the U.K.'s version of kind of a granola bar I guess. Made from rolled oats, oranges and a little ginger, soft and chewy. Photo from their website at graze.com

Florentine- pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate buttons and dried cranberries. I liked the chocolate and the cranberries but there were just too many pumpkin seeds, and the seeds were plain. That isn't a problem, it was just too many.  I trashed this one.

Peking Dynasty- peking cashews, baked soy bites and dried black beans. This wasn't my thing either and was also trashed.  I didn't mind the cashews..yum. Or the soy bites. But the beans were nasty.

Chili and Lime Pistachios- I didn't get to try this one. We were visiting my husband at his apartment so I thought he needed a little treat...pistachios are one of his favorite. He said they were awesome and now I regret sharing. Hopefully I will get them as a repeat and have a chance to taste them.

Box #2

Vanilla Cherry Frangipane- dried cherries, almonds, vanilla pumpkin and vanilla sunflower seeds. I like this one ok, but it wasn't a wow for me. I did enjoy the flavor of the vanilla though. I left it as a try once in a while.

Pomodoro Rustichella- cheese croutons, tomato, basil and oregano almonds and mini tomato breadsticks. I loved this one. I am finding that I really like the savory mixes a lot. Great flavors!

Toffee Apple Dipper- sticky toffee sauce with granny smith apple slices. Their version of dried apples is different than ours. They are more chewy and soft, but I really liked it. Even though I am trying to cut back on sugar, I figure this is a better option than sitting down with a bag of chips or a big candy bar.

Sticky Chocolate Pudding- milk chocolate drops, jumbo raisins and green raisins. I left this one as a try also. It's not terrible, it didn't knock my socks off and I guess I would rather continue to try new things and find favorites rather than eating something I am meh about.

Box #3

Summer Pudding- yogurt coated sunflower seeds, blackcurrants, sponge pieces and cranberries. This one was good. I would take a bite of the yogurt seeds with a bit of cranberries or currant and sponge and chew it all together and it would have a wonderful flavor. A little sweet but still good.

Olive and Rosemary Bruschetta- mini tomato breadsticks, rosemary and garlic cashews and kalamata olive crouton.  YUM! Again, the savories are the way to go for me. I throw a package into my purse and always have a little something just in case. Photo from their website at graze.com.

Mississippi BBQ Pistachios- roasted pistachios with BBQ seasoning. Love them and so did my daughter. Not spicy, not sweet, just a good flavor with a kick.

Marvelous Macaroon:  This box had the macaroon, but I just ate it today. See pic and review of it below

I will try to remember to update the offerings as I eat them!

Box #4
Super Berry Detox- blueberries, green raisins, goji berries and cranberries

Fruity Mango Chutney- fruity mango chutney with black pepper dippers . This was ok. The dippers were not the greatest but the chutney was good and was spicy sweet.

Marvelous Macaroon- originally in Box #3. Bits of coconut, almond slices, mini meringues and white chocolate buttons. I really liked this one. Mix and match the bits in each bite and get a little bit different taste each time.

Honeycomb Crunch- milk chocolate coated honeycomb, raisins and almonds

Cheddar Gorge- cheese cashews, baked herb bites and salsa corn sticks

 

Box #6

Black Pepper Pistachios- roasted pistachios with black pepper

Pina Colada- pineapple, coconut flakes and mango

Banoffee Pie- fudge pieces, almond slices, pecan nuts and banana coins

El Picante- jumbo salted corn, hot chili peanuts and mini paprika breadsticks

UPDATE

Box #5 - MIA - officially arrived as of  3/16, a little beat up but all the food was still sealed and intact!!

Honeycomb Flapjack- rustic rolled oat flapjack with honeycomb and milk chocolate 

Hickory Smoked Nuts & Seeds- smoked almonds, smoked cashews, roasted pumpkin and roasted sunflower seeds 

Bounty Hunter- milk chocolate drops, coconut flakes and cranberries 

Smoky Gazpacho Dip- smoky gazpacho relish with wholemeal crisp bread slices. This was actually pretty good. It's almost a sweet BBQ with a little tang, like a smoked tomato marmalade. I like it but I needed a couple more of the little bread crisps to finish off the dip.

Deleting the naughty...with PopSugar Must Have March

The March PopSugar Must Have box arrived in record time. I actually stayed spoiler free this month, and I am glad I did. I ended up being more excited about it and didn't have any biased opinions on the contents.  This worked for me, but I don't know if I can do it again next month!

The Laundress Specialty Washes:
The full size item I received was "Delicate Wash". This blend is for silk, synthetics, lycra spandex, bras, hosiery and lingerie, etc.  This was a good one for me because the other options would be useless: Wool and Cashmere (not a whole lot of that) and Denim Wash (frankly I don't care how my jeans are washed - I don't by the $100 ones). The bottle is 16 oz. with a 3x concentration so a capful should go a long way. Non-toxic, biodegradable and allergen free. The fragrance is Lady and is very light and floral. I need to take better care of my unmentionables so this will be a friendly reminder sitting on my dryer :)

Hollywood Fashion Secrets Sweater Saver Brick:
I have never heard of this. I usually use a battery operated pill shaver. To use you just lightly rub on the clothing and it removes pills, fuzz and knots. Not recommended on fine knit or silk.  I have read other comments that it leaves little black chunks everywhere, so we shall see if this is useful.

Hollywood Secrets Fashion Tape:
I am slowly gaining a complete repetoire of useful fashion items, and I like to have them around even though I don't go anywhere fancy anymore.  But, just in case... now I have fashion tape to keep my shirt closed! Whew...I have always had a problem with that..NOT. I am going to throw these in the drawer with my new backless, self-adhesive bra, the strapless bra, the spanx, the piller and my foot petals. I am prepared for the Oscars.

Heather Belle Signature Tassel Necklace:
According to the card, tassel necklaces are the hottest trend of the season.  I have had a couple of these for over a year now, so I must be a trendsetter, hahaha! I have hardly any gold toned jewelry in my armoir so I am excited to have this piece, as I wouldn't have picked it out for myself. I already know what I can wear it with...Summer, get here, please.

Corkatoo Corkscrew:
This is my second corkscrew this month...I am starting to feel some peer pressure, and that I should be drinking more. I got the red Parrot one and it is super cute. I love it, and all things beachy and vacation-y. It doubles as a bottle opener on the beak.  How can you not enjoy cracking open a cold one while thinking "Polly wants a beer".

The New Black Nail Polish:
The duo I received is Pardon My French, in a sort of periwinkle blue and a pastel leafy green. I was just thinking about going through my polish drawer and throwing out the stuff that is almost 8 years old anyway, so it will be nice to refresh with the smaller bottles. Plus it is almost flip flop season... UPDATE: I believe the combo I got is the Pardon My French set in "Havoc"

Buxom Sculpted Lash Mascara:
The card says a girl can never have too many kinds of mascara, but I think I am mascara-ed out. This stuff only has a short shelf life and I wear it once a week maybe.  I need to get out more...really. But since I am over the hill, I noticed my eyelashes have thinned out and are not as long as they used to be, so maybe this a silent message that I need to do somethign about that. The S-shaped brush is supposed to acheive thick lashes and shape curl, to get the both the inner and outer lashes.  I will give it a try. I have also been looking for a reason (other than my husband saying we are moving get rid of shit) to throw out old mascaras too.

Peeps:
Enough said.  I've been to the Peep Store.  Happy Easter.