"I'll do anything for free stuff" ~ Sandra Bullock

I got my latest Vox Box - Influenster box in the mail and was uber delighted with all the goodies that came in it!
 
 


first thing that came out of the box was the Red Vines fruit vines. I'm sure these little rectangles of goodness were in deed good... but I wouldn't know... Makenzie took claim over them and before I knew it they were gone and mommy didn't get any! I think I was too enamered by all the other goodies I got...

Like McCormick Gourmet All Natural Thyme, and guess what... it was a full size bottle... no little packet of seasoning to try and then never buy... nope, McCormicks and Influenster got that one right... give me a full size product, let me truly fall in love and then it becomes a staple in the seasoning department. smart marketing.

Next up was an Rimmel London eyeliner... not sure if I ever mentioned this or not on my blog, but I'm not much of a makeup wearer... I'm trying and even joined a makeup subscription... but none the less I had to get on Youtube just to figure out how to put it on... and I actually really liked it. I youtubed for people with glasses and they gave some pretty easy pointers. Thanks Youtube University! lol.

And to go perfectly with that eyeliner was eye-make up remover. Also from Rimmel... they must be a pretty kick A company to give out two full sized products. I liked the eye make up remover and think it did a good job, but I fear I wasted most of it, as I was my face in the shower and this product is pretty watery ... if only I had a cotton ball in the shower. The very best thing about this product was it's marketing (have I ever mentioned I have a degree in marketing... and not even a youtube one, a real card-carrying degree!) on the bottle bold as can be it says "Let it Go" ok seriously, I giggle every time I see it, and of course I sing a little Frozen while I'm at it... what can I say, I am a mom to a five year old!

It must have been a makeup kinda day when the deciders of the Frosty Vox Box sat down, because we also got a lipstick from NYC. I like lipstick well enough, but it just doesn't seem to stick around long enough... and unfortunately the color I got was a Katy Perryesque pink... you can picture that color just based off that vision right? how about early Britney Spears? Is that better. Needless to say this lipstick ended up in Kenzie's play make-up.

Remember how I boasted about a full size sample?! well that wasn't the case on the Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Serum and to be quite honest I think it's in my toothbrush/brush/bobby pins/spilled eyeshadow/bracelet that's missing a part/and sample size product drawer, never used. so I can't tell you I liked it or loved it... but I'm pretty sure it was an anti-aging thing and I'm still in my 30's so I was a little offended... as if they could see the grey I just had covered up yesterday or something. oy.

we also got some Celestial tea. Not being a tea drinker my self... with the exception of a Dutch Brother Chai tea with a shot of expresso... I brought it to work and put it next to the tea stuff for my co-workers to try. I haven't heard a review from them, and don't even know if they tried it or not...

I saved the best for last... or so I thought... we got a hair brush! I know right?! so cool! my old one had lost all those nobby things so it was time. we got the eco-tool brush which they say causes less damage... then why oh why am I losing my hair? I don't know if I just really notice it because I have dark hair and the brush is light colored or if something is going on... but I'm still losing it... perhaps I am growing older and Boots No. 7 was right to send me an antiaging serum.
hmmmmm  they are afterall pretty good marketers.

now I'd like to talk about the title of this blog... as always I go out and find a quote that has a little whit to it and still says what I'm feeling... and this quote is no different except that I want to point out that Sandra Bullock does not need free stuff, that B makes $684730543054135403540635465468409849084 dollars and hour! I sure hope she's not stealing my campaigns from Influenster!

Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. ~Author Unknown

It totally boosts the Cinderella in me when we constantly hear how clean our wood floors look and how shiny. Up until recently I used a recipe I found on Pinterest.. it was awesome!!! I would have continued using this super easy recipe until I got a mission from Smiley360 to try their newest product: Bona Floors. and guess what?! I love it too! so much so that we went out and bought the entire Bona line of products! the mop is awesome! love. how can one be in love with a cleaning product? I am. Call that addiction show, submit me for crazy weird addictions... it's ok. I'll tell the world I love the product and maybe I'll get a few $s out of the deal. Thanks Smiley for the chance to try a cleaning product that I can stand behind... literally... with the mop.

Gotta write about Pepcid from Smiley360 too http://h5.sml360.com/-/cs3

Sleepnumber has a bed called P5... thats no coinsidence

write about smiley360 and the sleepnumber experience
http://h5.sml360.com/-/hzc

"I'd luv to kiss ya, but I just washed my hair." Bette Davis

Ok, so this is the second time I am writing my blog review, as I just deleted the one I had already written without pushing submit. This makes me less then thrilled… but do you know what does make me happy?! www.influenster.com makes me a very happy momma, especially when they send me a Vox Box with THREE free products! Love. Free. Stuff!

   This time I was chosen to product test for Suave… they most know that I have model beautiful hair. Really I do have pretty hair. Except for the white sprouts near my forehead. Those little bastards have got to go! The really cool thing about this Vox Box was that I got to share with Matt and Kenzie!  So I was a little nervous to try Suave products because my sister in law who is a hair dresser to the stars (and when I say starts, I mean me) told me that in beauty school they used Suave to strip the wax off the floor! Ew! But I’m willing to try anything, and if it was disastrous, I’d just go beg for forgiveness from her.

 
 
   Matt got this sexy body wash that makes me think this is how Taylor Kinney from Chicago Fire smells  24/7… don’t tell my husband. They are my fantasies, they are private, except for with you, stalker.









Which reminds me of this funny comic my buddy , Stacy over at http://scottandstacysadventures.blogspot.com/ sent me…. See below. Anyways, got sidetracked thinking of “Kelly Severide”.

 Kenzie got a detangle spray which totally brought me back to the 80’s when my mom would use “no more tears” or something like that spray on my hair so I wouldn’t cry when she brushed my locks.  Kenzie’s hair isn’t quite to my thickness yet, but the spray does lessen the “ow”s I hear every morning! They say you can use the spray on dry hair, but I haven’t tried yet… I am concerned because product usually makes my hair look greasy, and I worry about this for her too.

  You know how I just told you product can make my hair look greasy?! Well not the product I got to try! I got this Moroccan hair mask that totally reminds me of the old school Aussie 3 minute miracle that I totally loved and can’t find anymore… fear not, Suave has come to my long awaited rescue and brought me a 5 minute miracle but… it smells  646846846% better! One of my favorite smells comes from Bath and Body works: Sensual Amber, and the Moroccan leave in conditioner smells just like that! it’s a little piece of 5 minutes of heaven. My hair is super soft after I use it, and I don’t have to worry about product build up, because I only use it 1-2 times a week per the instructions!

So overall, I am very pleased, and I have even more beautiful hair, I get to fantasize over Taylor, and Kenzie cries less…. Win win win!

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone? Bertolt Brecht

I started a new facination with a website: www.influenster.com all from reading my friend Ashley's blog at http://lovejunebug.blogspot.com - she is one creative spend thrift!.  As you may or may not know, I have started couponing again... oh how I love the thrill of a good kill! Just since August 1st I have saved $494.22 out of pocket by couponing... we shall save my how to's for another blog entry... but then again if I tell you how I do it, you may go buy all the toothbrushes at Riteaid for .19 each and then I wont get any. let me re-think this...

back to Influenster.com... after I earned a few badges by taking surveys, loading my photo, completing fields, etc, I was finally chosen to receive a free product to review! OH MY GOSH! Free is better then couponing! My oop is zero... OOP? out of pocket... later stalkers, later.... ;) I was given the chance to review Sargentos...  this probably wasn't a fair review because we are already Sargento cheese customers. I love their creamy wonderfulness that comes well packaged, with little slips of paper in between each slice... so they don't stick together, of course. I can just picture a I love Lucy-esque lady in her hair net pain-stakingly putting each of those little squares of paper in between my creamy wonderful cheese. please don't burst my bubble by telling me it's done by a machine, just let me have my vision, people.

so in my Influenster box came a free (FREE) coupon (COUPON!) for a Sargento product along with a string cheese container... lined with that silver stuff that keeps things cold.. how freakin' cute is that! so I was inspired to purchase string cheese this time... and my 3 year old... yes, she is 3 now, almost 4... sigh. loves the heck out of string cheese! she doesn't like when it's half yellow, half white... so we went traditional. Sargento proved to continue their excellent quality with these little sticks of wonderfulness. and Kenzie approved too! win-win-win! I got to coupon, I got it free and my kiddo was happy! win-win-win!

Until next time...


"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Life is to short for ordinary food. ~ unknown

    Imagine this: 13 Traegers (smokers), 13 teams of people cooking... and 12 of the teams are fire fighters.  Yes, girls you read that right. 12 teams of fire fighters.  So who was the odd team? Me and my friend Stacy (and our mascot, Kenzie).  The annual Traegerfest is put on by one of our Captains and you must be an employee of the fire district in order to compete.  Stacy and I work for the fire district thus making us eligible to compete.
 
  

I hate to cook.  However, there is a difference however between cooking and BBQing.  Usually Matt does all the BBQing, but since last weekend was a duty weekend for the air base here, that left me to compete in the annual Traegerfest.  Me and Stacy that is (and kenzie).

    This year there was no "theme" and we were open to cook (smoke) whatever we wanted! We chose to do wings!

During practice (into the wee hours of the morning) it took us 3 hours to make these little beauties... however, when the temperature is tipping into the 90 degrees during the middle of the day, this apparently makes these tiny wonderful meaty greatness cook a little faster... like 2 hours faster! oops.  They were a little dry, but they still packed a pretty good punch... besides we were there for the best dressed anyways....did you see our half naked fire fighter aprons? hee hee.
we didn't win (meatloaf did), however from what we understand, we placed in the top 5!!! not too shabby for a couple of girls competing against a bunch of fire fighters - who should know their smoke...get it? smoke? fire fighters? ha! I kill me.  

What's a good blog post without a cute photo of Kenzie?