A little bit of everything.

Just wanted to post a post because I felt like it. No reason. No objective. Just..randoms. 

Just came in from the mailbox, and I got junk. A Red Bulletin magazine, Pioneer News Extra, and the electric bill. No samples. Womp. :( I'm expecting a bag of sugar free candy from Swaggable and should have gotten it by now. They want my feedback on it, but I can't give it to them. :( 

Not sure what I'm doing for dinner tonight but I have some ideas. I want to cut up some chicken breasts into strips, marinate them in something delicious and exotic, then flour and egg them, then deep fry them. The BF is mad at me right now, and I think this is a direct line to his soft spot for me. Lol. I don't know what to make to go with them though. I have some rice packets, but I don't like the way they turn out. I like my cooked rice to be kind of dry..not creamy. Idk. I'll figure it out. Might just do some mashed potatoes or fries. 

Jazz is sleeping right now so I was able to grab a shower. Rizz is at school, and it is unnaturally quiet around here without her fighting with her brother. Even the neighbors upstairs are keeping it to a dull roar. It's really nice. Oh..wait..there goes the stomping. Nevermind. 

The temperatures here have been absurd. Last week we were in some kind of nuclear winter vortex, then saturday it's freakin 50 something degrees, and today it's back to freezing our asses off. I'm so over this shit. Spring, move your ass. I'm ready for flip flops and capri pants and fishing. 

I found out today that I can't even start planting my herbs until March. Grr. This year though, my shit is going to be AMAZING. I'm gonna do basil, cilantro, dill, rosemary, chives, and all sorts of stuff! It's going to be a big deal this time. All I had last time was basil, and yes, that was awesome, but it's all I had. I want more. Much, much more. We're coming up on a year in the apartment now, and this spring and summer are going to be EPIC. More trips to the park, cooking out, gardening. The kids are going to have so much more fun this year than they did last year. I can't wait for this wintry bullshit to disappear. Lol. 

Well, I'm about done you guys. I need to do a few dishes, get my Rizzle off the bus, and assess the day she's had. Then there's those chicken strips..mmm.. Yeah, I'm outta here. Lol. 

Eat up, y'all!

BzzAgent Kroger TimeSaver BzzCampaign

I opened my email a little while ago and saw that I had an email from BzzAgent. An immediate "Oh Boy!!" escaped my lips as I opened it. I've been invited to yet another BzzCampaign!!

This one is sponsored by Kroger, and it's called the Kroger TimeSaver BzzCampaign. It's for those who shop for non-food items at Kroger while shopping for food items all in the same trip. I accepted the invitation of course, and got directed to the site where it shows me what I'll be getting in my Bzzkit. And can I just say, OH MY GOSH!

I will be getting SEVERAL coupons for all kinds of non-food items. The coupons include:

A $6.00 coupon for any brand of laundry detergent
A $5.00 coupon for any brand of bath tissue
A $2.00 coupon for any brand of facial tissue
A $5.00 coupon for any brand of paper towel
A $4.00 coupon for any brand of household cleaning product
$2-off pass-along coupons to share with family and friends who also shop at The Kroger Co. Family of Stores


We're going to save so much money!! We'll actually be able to get the good detergent this time, and the good paper towels!! So damn excited! I love this program! It doesn't start until February 7th, but I'll get the coupons before then. This is such a rush!

PinchMe Samples

Remember when I mentioned that website PinchMe? Well, I got an unexpected sample from them. Stuff I didn't order. Well, half of it anyway.

Saturday I got a sample box from PinchMe. It's always exciting getting that big blue and white box in the mail. It's really a big deal. I opened it and found a sample of U by Kotex that included two U by Kotex Extra regular mini-pads and two U by Kotex Curves Liners. I remember ordering that with my last box, but I ordered some lotion with it too. However, that's not what came with the pads.

The other sample, conveniently, was a chocolate bar!! I got a chocolate bar and pads in the mail in the same box! It was like "Here's your period kit, have a good week!" Literally, couldn't have been timed any better.

The chocolate bar is made by Wild Ophelia. They make a whole line of chocolate bars with crazy flavors and all natural ingredients, no preservatives, and they're gluten free. They've also partnered with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and have released a line of chocolate bars to coincide with the movie. Several of the bars have district numbers on them for where the ingredients to make the chocolate bar came from. It's REALLY freakin cool. Seriously, check out their site. They have a smokehouse bbq potato chip flavored chocolate bar that I'm dying to try.

Anyway, the bar I got was New Orleans Chili dark chocolate bar, made with 70% cacao and Louisiana Cayenne Chili peppers from Bayou Country, Louisiana. It's dark chocolate with a warm, zinging hot spice and underlying tones of earthy red pepper. It's so exotic for a chocolate bar!!

Now, I haven't tried the pads yet. When shark week rolls around, I usually have to use two different means of period protection (tampons AND pads) at the same time. I just recently bought a big package of store brand pads, so I'm using those first. I don't like to use my samples until I run out of the full size products themselves, so I'll have to get back to you guys on this one.

However, the chocolate bar was definitely interesting. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate, never have been. I don't like the bitterness of dark chocolate or the fact that you can't taste any sweetness at all. This chocolate bar was a little different. I'd definitely call it gourmet. The chocolate was definitely bitter, but there was a hint of sweet to it. It didn't much melt in my mouth and I actually had to chew it instead of letting it melt and savoring it. I spit it out momentarily to examine what exactly was inside. You could see little tiny chunks of cayenne pepper in it. I put it back into my mouth to finish off the piece, and a few seconds later I could really taste the heat of the peppers. It wasn't overpowering and it didn't burn my mouth, but there was definitely some warmth on my tongue and down my throat.

I tried it some more today, and I gotta say I like it. I like the hint of sweetness, and the heat. I like crunching those teeny tiny pieces of cayenne. It's really quite wonderful.

I forgot to mention the packaging. It's made from %100 recycled paperboard, and not only is there stuff on the outside of the package, there's also all kinds of cool stuff going on inside.

I would definitely recommend this chocolate bar, especially if you love dark chocolate. These are sold at Walgreens, Meijer, and several other places. I plan on buying whichever ones I can find. Lol. 

PinchMe

Some of you may have heard of a website called PinchMe. It's a sample box website, and it's free of charge. Periodically (and for a very limited time) they offer new samples to try. If you log into the website on the day and time certain samples are released, you can order the high-end and more coveted samples, but they're snagged very quickly. Most other times you can log in and order the less fancy ones. Once you receive your samples in the mail, you provide feedback about the sample on the website.

So far I've ordered a gevalia coffee k-cup, a lotion sample, and a kotex sample. Unfortunately I've only received the gevalia sample. However, I was able to log in today at noon and snag a Montagne Jeuness spa mask, maxwell house coffee, and another lotion sample. I wont hold my breath for this, but HOPEFULLY they actually send them to me. I reeeeally want that mask.

Influenster Staymatte Brand Badge Prize

Back in October I was chosen for the Influenster StayMatte Rimmel Voxbox. If you don't remember, read this post. I had to review a tube of Rimmel Stay Matte liquid mousse foundation, and do lots of other things. All badge holders for that product would receive a badge prize of:

-Stay Matte Primer

-Stay Blushed! Liquid Cheek Tint

-Scandaleyes Shadow Stick

-Glam’Eyes HD Eyeshadow

-Retro Glam Mascara

-Moisture Renew Lipstick

-Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eye Liner

It's a pretty impressive haul. I've been anticipating it for a loooong time..and here it is.

That's right. 7 high quality makeup products. All free. Didn't cost me a dime. Got them just for being such a dedicated influenster. Hells. Yes. It's got me skippin' around like a school girl. Lol. Stuff like this really gives me a rush. Like couponers, only it's better because with couponing, you still have to spend a little bit of money. With Influenster, you don't spend a dime. Just be active on the site. There is no better program out there than this. Freakin love this website. 

*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for completing the Rimmel London StayMatte Brand Badge*

Ken's Steakhouse Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing.

If you've ever eaten at subway, I'm sure you've heard of the sweet onion chicken teriyaki. It's a fine sandwich. I've ordered it a couple of times, and really enjoyed the sweet onion sauce they use on it. However, I'm not a big fan of chicken sandwiches per se. I'd rather have turkey. It's much healthier, and it tastes better. So, when ordering from them, I get the turkey breast on honey oat, various toppings, and I always get the sweet onion sauce slathered on there. Heavily. I could drink my weight in the stuff. 

Unfortunately, Subway doesn't sell their brand of it. They wont even sell you a bottle of it at the store, nor will they tell you what's in it. They just say "we make it here at the store" and that's all you get. I crave this sauce on everything. I've looked at lots of copycat recipes online, they're all different, and in the comments section under each one, someone says something to the effect of  "this isn't the right recipe, tastes nothing like subway, etc." So It's a little discouraging. However, I've found a dressing that tastes a lot like Subway's. No, it's not exactly the same, and there's more of a vinegar kick to it. But it's wonderful. I use it for almost everything. Sandwiches. Salads. Dipping sauce. It's really quite fantastic.

It's Ken's Steakhouse Lite Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing. I've only tried the Lite kind, so I don't know how the regular stuff tastes, but this is darn good. My only issue with the dressing is the large chunks of onion in it.. I bought a condiment bottle (just like the condiment bottles at subway) so that I could get a decent amount of dressing on my sandwiches and not have to pour it straight from the dressing bottle because it's thin and tends to make a mess. But the onions in the dressing get clogged in the nozzle of the condiment bottle, and it's really more trouble than it's worth. Of course, if I had an emulsion blender I could just dump it into a bowl, puree the onions, problem solved. But still, the dressing itself is fantastic. There are some other brands that have the sweet onion dressing, and I will be trying those soon. But as of now, this is the closest thing to Subway's sweet onion sauce.

Eat up, y'all!

Freebies!

I got an email from Influenster today with tracking info on my Rimmel Brand Badge prize. It is currently in Louisville, and I will probably get it tomorrow. Hopefully the bf checks the mail before my goodies get frozen. :/

Anyway, here's my snail mail freebie haul for today.

John Freda Frizz-Ease Samples.

And my free one-year subscription to Martha Stewart Living. W00T!!

I don't remember when I signed up for either of these things, or how I managed to get a free year subscription to the magazine..but I can dig it. Lol. 

Snow day!

I've been up since 6:30 when I got a text notification from Shepherdsville Fire Department's twitter account saying Bullitt County Schools were closed today. I'm ok with that. It's actually snowing right now, and the field behind the apartment looks like a winter wonder land.

Normally, I'd have gone back to sleep upon seeing that text. But something magical happened last night, and both the kids stayed asleep, so I didn't get woken up 3-4 times and I actually got some rest. Who the hell wakes up at 6:30 AM feeling rested and refreshed? Apparently me. My 10pm bedtime really paid off last night. But anyway, here I sit, blogging, sipping coffee, and only one child is awake (the good one). At some point today I have to bundle them up and let them go outside in it. Jazz is the only one who has a problem with this, because he screams his head off when it's time to go back in. Not crying, or whining, but straight up screaming.

And the bf just came back in the door. The roads are horrific, and he can't get past all the accidents to get to work. Apparently traffic is at a standstill all the way from Preston in Shep to Commerce Crossings, and there are several cars off the road on Conestoga Hill rd. Nice. See what happens when Louisville doesn't plan accordingly, or call off businesses for the day? Smh. Just another reason I'm glad we moved to Bullitt County.

Officially balls deep into coffee #2. Yum.

Btw, this is my most favorite mug ever. It holds like 3 cups of coffee. 

Well, this was pretty much a nonsense post. It doesn't have anything to do with anything. It just feels right I guess. I'm really wanting some breakfast, but not interested in making it at all. I'm hoping someone delivers a bacon, egg & cheese mcgriddle or two to my door. Ha. 

I guess I'll start some reviews. My Bzzagent campaign starts today, so I have to start with that. I'm going to my mom's with the kids tonight to do laundry, but will be back home tomorrow. Hopefully the bf does his taxes while we're gone so we can get that sweet refund back. New washer and dryer, here I come!!

Lol. I'm out you guys. 

Marlboro freebie.

A while back (I don't remember when, I'm terrible at remembering sample order dates) I ordered a seasoning sample from Marlboro. It was only available to a certain amount of people at a certain time of day over a certain period of days. I was expecting one of those flat packets of seasoning you get at kroger or walmart for a buck. But that's not what I got.

(This photo can also be found on my Freebies post)

I got a FULL SIZE bottle of the stuff!! It's Weber Kick'n Chicken Seasoning. And the bottle lid is shaped like a little grill lid. It's so cute! Plus I got a recipe with it. W00t!!

Now, I haven't tried it yet, but a friend of mine says it's great. When I do use it, I promise I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Weber is a great brand, and I'm sure it wont disappoint. :)

Eat up, y'all!

Schick Hydro SIlk Sensitive Care Razor Bzzkit from BzzAgent

As some of you may know, I am involved with a number of websites that send you products to try and review, all for free. I got an invitation recently from BzzAgent to be part of their Shick Hydro Silk Sensitive Care Razor BzzCampaign. The kit was to include a Shick Hydro Silk Sensitive Care Razor, and several coupons. The campaign doesn't start until the 17th, but I got my bzzkit yesterday! 

I love the bumblebee packing tape they use. It's so cute!

So, I opened the box and here's all the goodies they sent me!

(This photo can be found on my Freebies post)

The kit included a card saying what to do once you receive your bzzkit. I still have to wait for the campaign to start before I can start bzzing about it though. It also included a coupon for a free can of Skintimate shave gel, which is AWESOME! Also included were four (4) coupons worth $4 off each for Shick Hydro Silk Sensitive Care razors. I plan to hand these out to friends and family.  And lastly, a Schick Hydro Silk Sensitive Care razor with three blades included, and a travel cover. A helluva haul!

I love the razor. It's really impossible to cut yourself with this thing. It glides smoothly, and gives you a super close shave. I used to use mens Gilette disposable razors until I started using this because those were the only razors that gave me a close enough shave. But with this, you get a close shave and you don't have to feel weird for using man razors. Lol. The handle makes it easy to shave as well because it fits my hand better than a mens razor would. Their razors aren't meant to be used on legs, so it's shape is for guys to hold up to their faces--not legs. Hehe. I really like the moisturizing strip, too. It's so moisturizing in fact, that you almost don't even need shaving cream or shave gel. I would definitely recommend this product. 

Folgers Gourmet Selections - Vanilla Biscotti

I am a serious coffee drinker. I drink coffee at least twice a day, and more on the weekends. I'm pretty partial to Folgers. I've tried many other brands, but they honestly just don't measure up. Cafe Bustelo smelled and tasted like fish. Seattle's Best wasn't much better. I refuse to drink Maxwell House. And I can't afford over-hyped and over priced Starbucks crap.The best I've tried other than Folgers is Gevalia, but who the hell can afford to buy that all the time?

I recently got a sample of Folgers Gourmet Selections in Vanilla Biscotti flavor.

(This photo can also be found on my Freebies post.)

It is literally the most delicious coffee I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. Each drink is just like that first sip. I pair it with International Delight's Cinnabon creamer and it is wonderful. I bought a bag of it for $5, but used the coupon pictured above so I got it for $4. It is pricey, but it's really worth it. I probably wont buy it all the time, but when I'm able to splurge, you can bet your ass it will be on this coffee. It's ridiculously good. Plus, when I brew it, it makes my entire apartment smell like a coffee shop..and I'm ok with that. Lol. I'd like to give this a good review on Influenster, but it's not listed in the reviews section. :( Oh well. I'm gonna head over to the Folgers website and let them know how incredible it is. 

Eat up, y'all!

Ponds Cleansing Towelettes

Back at the end of September, Influenster had a virtual voxbox badge from Ponds. It was the Ponds BB+ BFF sweepstakes. There were three tasks for the badge, and the grand prize was a trip to the bahamas or something. I can't remember. But there was also a prize for 800 badge holders chosen at random to receive a package of Ponds makeup removing cleansing towelettes. The badge was available to all influensters, but as I said only 800 badge holders got chosen for that prize. And guess who won. :)

Me!!!

(This photo can also be found on my Freebies post)

I got them in the mail a couple of days ago. I was so freakin excited! I got the email December 17th saying I was a winner, but I didn't get any tracking info, so I didn't know when to expect them. So it was a nice treat to find in the mailbox. Good thing I checked the mail right after the mail truck pulled off, otherwise they'd have been frozen. We've had sub zero temps here, and everything freezes in a matter of minutes. 

I have tried them already, and I LOVE them. They're not harsh at all, didn't break me out, and they smell lovely. Plus, they clean my face even better than washing with face wash. I dyed my hair a few days ago, and apparently I'd had some leftover dye behind my ears and these cloths took it right off. A+ Ponds!! Great product!!

Snail Mail Goodies.

I've recently signed up on another freebies website called PinchMe. It's kind of like influenster, but the samples/products are kind of a first come-first served basis. If you get there when the samples become available, then you can order a box of them. If not, you're just SOL. If you do get one, you have to review it. The more products and activities you participate in on the site, the more points you get, and the more levels you gain. I'm still at level one, but once I reach level 2 I am automatically entered into sweepstakes daily. So far, I've gotten one box with a Gevalia coffee sample.

(You can also find this photo on my Freebies post)

It took a pretty good while to receive it after I ordered it, which was kind of annoying. The product itself was good. I like caramel coffees in general. It just didn't exactly pair well with the cinnabon creamer I always use. 

I've ordered another box already with a lotion sample and a kotex sample. There's not really a limit on how many boxes you can order per month, it's just hard to snag the samples when they become available because apparently there are a ton of people signed up on the site and the majority of them make damn sure they get the samples before anyone else has a chance to. Nonetheless, I always love getting samples in the mail and am anxiously awaiting my next set. :)

Eat up, y'all!

Untitled.

Sooo sorry about the lack of posting, y'all. With the holidays and everything going on, I haven't had a chance to post or review anything. Plus, there's the connection issue. Anyway, I'm gonna post some things, reviews, freebies, influenster stuff, etc.

At the moment, I'm extremely nauseous. When I got up this morning, there was a soapy wet spot in the floor next to the fridge. I was half asleep and had no idea what it was, but cleaned it up. A half hour later, there was more. I looked to see if there was anything leaking from under the fridge, but couldn't see anything. I searched all around, opened the door to see if anything was coming from inside, nothing. I looked on top, and noticed that the bottle of bubbles sitting on top of it had a small puddle around it. I lifted it up, and it began to leak heavily. Then I opened the freezer door, and saw that the puddle had leaked around the seal of the freezer door, down the seal of the refrigerator door, and was dripping onto the floor. So, I threw away the bubbles, and cleaned up the mess. Then I realized, "Hey, there's probably an even bigger mess under the fridge." So I pulled the fridge out, and sure enough, there was a soapy, dusty mess under there. Along with a book, a puzzle piece, some magnets, and several shards of glass from random broken bowls and glasses. I started wiping it all  up with a kitchen rag, and when I'd rinse out the rag, little bits of whatever I picked up were getting clogged in the drain. I picked up one of the little bits, tried to mash it with my fingers to see what the hell it was, and it was a dead bug carcass.

For those of you who know me, my biggest fear is bugs. Any kind of insect. Cockroaches, beetles, roly-poly's, house centipedes, waterbugs. The list goes on and on. I nearly vomited immediately after the thing crumbled between my fingers. I'm trying to talk myself out of puking, but it's not really working. So I'm sick to my stomach, haven't eaten, and I CANNOT eat anything crunchy for the rest of the day, and possibly some of tomorrow. There goes my yogurt and almonds. Blech. At least the fridge is clean underneath, right?