In My Bag

Whenever I see the terms used cisco, I think of Crisco, and get disgusted at the thought of somebody wanting to buy used shortening! But then, you never know. I’ve heard stories of many dog and cat food companies collecting used cooking oil from restaurants for use in flavoring their relatively bland, empty calorie and little nutrition containing cat and dog food. The idea of that is a sick one, and just one more reason why my mom and I switched to a brand of cat food that uses fresh, REAL ingredients - no additives, no preservatives, and certainly no used cooking oil from McDonalds and the like!

Going Christmas shopping is enough to give anyone a migraine. So tell me, where do you prefer to do you general Christmas shopping at? What store is the easiest to get through? I’ve found my best luck with Target. I have loved that store ever since I set eyes on it in Pittsburgh. I have worked at two different Targets. I worked as a checkout chick at a Target in Pittsburgh, and then in the photo lab and guest services at the Target that opened up here two years ago. I still shop at that Target as often as possible. I ♥ Target!

But back to the subject at hand: what is your preferred store? KMart? Target? Wal-Mart?

You know what’s funny? I always scoffed at the idea of owning a luggage set. After all, who needs a luggage set when you have a perfectly functioning duffel bag? But the other day I had to write a sponsored post for a company, and that post required making a video that was travel related. Let me tell you, I thought up the *perfect* scenario that involved luggage. But I had to scrap it, because I don’t own luggage. Maybe one of these days I’ll buy a set. I can’t see myself using it any time in the near future, but you never know…

Nubius Organics is an online company that is environmentally conscious, and strives to make sure that all of their apparel products are eco-friendly. The company was generous enough to send me some onesies to try out with Ryan, my seventeen month old son. Or so I thought. Alyssa, my three year old daughter, insisted on trying out the “cute bunsies!”, so we squished her into one as well. Although I must say, it wasn’t as much of a squish as I thought it would be. Despite being marked 12-18 months, the onesies are slightly bigger than Ryan’s Carter brand 24 month onesies, and being organic cotton, have great stretching power. For reference, Ryan is 33″ tall and 29 lbs., and Alyssa is 37″ tall and 32 lbs. Even after being washed, there was minimal shrinkage, so the onesies still fit wonderfully (if a bit snugly, particularly on Alyssa). For a quick photo shoot, we dressed both kids in the onesies tonight after their bath:

The three onesies arrived in a stylish cotton sack, and are so cute with their slogans (Perfect Peach, Apple of My Eye, Sweet Pea) that I didn’t know which one to put on Ryan first! My husband suggested Sweet Pea, and Alyssa snatched up Apple of My Eye.

Bottom line, I really like these onesies. In addition to being eco-friendly, the off-white color of organic cotton is a nice change from your basic, everyday white. The onesies are incredibly soft, high quality, and very reasonably priced. In addition to baby clothes, Nubius Organics has men’s and women’s apparel, bags and other accessories, so be sure to check them out.

Every month we have several insurances to take care of. There’s our car insurance, our dental insurance, our health insurance, and our mortgage life insurance. The cost of these insurances each month adds up to quite a bit, but of course it’s well worth it in the event of an accident or injury or damage.
This year our health insurance has already paid for itself. Between my contacts, Dan’s glasses, his various doctor’s visits and blood tests, and now my wisdom teeth surgery, we have racked up several thousand dollars in bills that I am SO thankful we don’t have to worry about!

A little bit ago I received a set of goblets and tumbler from The Green Glass Company. This company takes beer and wine bottles and turns what would otherwise be trash clogging up our landfills into gorgeous, one of a kind, functional glasses, goblets, tumblers and more.

Looking at the set of goblets and tumblers I received, I would never imagine they came from dark brown and icky green beer and wine bottles! The goblets are particularly interesting, because according to The Green Glass Company’s about page, the goblets are always made from the top half of bottles, while the tumblers are made from the bottom half, without any waste left over. All of The Green Glass Company’s glass products are made in Wisconsin, with all of the glass products coming from waste streams and special partnerships with other companies. The unique process of turning trash into gorgeous, one of a kind glasses is free of hazardous by-products, and the glasses themselves are strong and durable. I should know - I have already left one in the fridge, another in the freezer, put all four in the dishwasher, and my daughter already dropped one on the floor!

I really like the glasses and tumblers. I only wish I had more to pull out for parties and the Christmas lunch we are busy planning!

Two weeks ago I received a Mom Agenda from Mom Agenda. I have been using it almost non-stop since getting it. I meant to blog about the Mom Agenda much sooner, but I wanted to take a few days to try it out first. Then I got sick, then I got busy with Christmas portraits and shopping, and then I had my wisdom teeth removed. Anyway, back to the Mom Agenda. It is described by the master behind this handy masterpiece as an upscale day planner that provides a way to track the multiple schedules that many moms are responsible for managing … the planner looks and feels like a gorgeous new accessory.

So true! I am in love with my Mom Agenda, and have been taking it with me everywhere, referencing it as often as devout Christians reference the bible (no offense to any devout Christians who may be reading this blog). What I love most about the Mom Agenda is the rows reserved for up to four children (or in my case, two children and a husband who often qualifies as a child himself!). Normal planners and organizers become cluttered with daily notes such as “Alyssa - doctor - 10pm” and “Ryan - doctor - 2pm” squeezed in with my appointments and tasks and those of my husband’s. I love being able to separate everything with the Mom Agenda. I’m a very organized, neat freak person, so being able to keep my planner neatly organized with every child’s needs and schedules categorized is very awesome indeed.

The Mom Agenda is a brilliant creation thought up by the very people who benefit so greatly from it - a busy mom of four! I highly recommend this agenda to any mom who is looking to get a little more organized while still keeping tabs on the schedules of all of the people in her household, including herself!