Quick Note - March 19, 2011

Thank you to everyone who clicked on the link I posted to learn more about Purex Complete Crystals (as part of my being a Purex Insider). I won $25!

So It's Monday Again - March 14, 2011

• I finished two books over the weekend - Matched and On a Dollar a Day. One I liked until about 3/4 of the way through, one I didn't much like at all. I am trying to get up the passion and energy to actually write a review of one or both. In the meantime, can you guess which one I give a solid B+ to and which one was a disappointing C-/D+?
• Daylight Savings Time has begun. Surprisingly, the kid went to sleep very easily at her regular bedtime according to the clock. Well, maybe not that big of a surprise - she skipped her nap. I still haven't decided if I like that tradeoff. People keep telling me that she'll give up her nap completely soon but I don't see that happening - if nothing else, she'll be expected to "nap" or at least rest at preschool for another two years. If she does stop napping, though, that means that she'll be pretty much almost completely but not quite weaned. And I'm so OK with that. 
• I had a long to-do list for today and did...some of it. One big thing I did was toss out all my expired coupon circulars. I had a lot. A lot lot. Nothing to do with hoarding, I'm just lazy. I'm going to try to do this every three months from now on. I waited quite a bit longer than that between the last cleanout and today and it was not pretty. 
• I also broke my "no international sales" rule for my Etsy store and set up a listing for someone in Australia. This is a test. If it goes smoothly, I may consider doing more international sales. The trickiest part is getting to the post office, which can be a giant pain in the ass. The shipping cost isn't as much as I thought it would be - or at least, that's how it appears on the USPS website - so it's more of the hassle factor. We'll see. This person ordered ten breastfeeding buttons - so basically they played to my softer side. 
• I didn't make it to a blogging meetup on Saturday because I just couldn't figure out the logistics. Instead, there was lots of time at the park - it was in the high 60s and low 70s - and walking around outside. Disappointingly, we ran into a mother who could not understand why I might not like her son climbing a swingset (not a climbing structure) and then dangling right near my child's face. I thought that it was a universal understanding that if one mother is uncomfortable/feels that her child is in danger, particularly if she expresses it in a as-polite-as-possible-while-being-concerned manner, other people back off. Alas, no, apparently sometimes it leads to a lecture instead. 
• I also got to go to an art gallery to see an incredibly provocative installation/show called My Sweet, Sweet at Agnes Scott College. (It closed yesterday - we saw it in the final half hour of it being up.) It felt good to look at art, take in meaning, and even talk to one of the artists himself. Go me, doing a not-mommy thing.
• So now it's almost time for lunch and then preschool pickup. I've got to find my groove for the week. Today it feels very elusive.

Friday Four - Four Freebies from the Mall Last Night - March 11, 2011

1. I went to Aveda and scored a sample pack of their Smooth Infusion Hair Care line. (Freebie seems to be gone from their site, but the store may still offer this deal if you ask.) It's a nice little set and I look forward to trying it, as my hair is kind of out of control right now.
2. I used my LUV<3BBW CLUB card (no longer available, sorry) at Bath & Body Works to score two free candles (the small ones) in yummy fruity scents. I wish I'd gotten to use this before - it gives you one freebie a month, but only on a Thursday. Still, the hoops I had to jump through were worth it, as the free candles were worth $7.
3. I used my Godiva Rewards card to get a free dark chocolate truffle. (I believe you can still sign up for this deal in the store/online - you get one free chocolate a month, plus specials and shipping deals.)
4. I tried to get my free Haagen Dazs Midnight Dazzler (freebie on Facebook) but the shop had some complications with their ice cream order, so I need to go back and get it another time.

This week flew by. My kid had two nights where she was up screaming for hours and then two nights where she slept for 9 hours straight (unheard of). She went to school in underpants every day and did really well, with only a few accidents. And she said my cat's name - just once - loudly and clearly. I'm off to my second consignment sale of the season, and I'm hoping to hit a third tomorrow. Happy weekend!

Well Hey There, Kroger, Thanks for the Freebies - March 10, 2011

Hello Kroger, hello gorgeous. I know, I know, we've had our differences in the past. I'm still crabby that you didn't give me my free soda. Your little brother is really rude about my coupon usage. Your parents don't care about me or you. You're expensive and you're inconsistent and I just don't understand you sometimes.

But when you give me $19 worth of paper towels for free, throw in a free shampoo, and then give me a giant pack of TP for $2.99 (alongside the free TP and Tide detergent you gave me earlier), well, I kind of forgive you. For now, anyway.

Thank you very much to IHeartKroger.com for tipping me off that the free Bounty coupon I loaded onto my card a few days ago had no size limit. My paper goods closet is now fully stocked for a while. I probably won't be home for today's freebie, but I'm thrilled at what I have scored from this promotion so far.

However, the truth is, I'm still a Publix girl. Shhhhh.

PS PLEASE help me win $500 by clicking here and learning about Purex Complete Crystals. All you have to do is click, you don't have to do anything else. THANK YOU!

Purex Complete Crystals Update - I used, I liked - March 7, 2011

I finally had a chance to try the sample of Purex Complete Crystals that I was sent. And my verdict is...I like it. I used it in one load of laundry and found the end result to be fluffy, lightly scented towels that were a pleasure to use after a shower. I used it in conjunction with my regular laundry detergent and didn't add anything else in either the wash or the dryer (although I did use dryer balls).

I think it's fascinating that the first ingredient is sugar. Sugar! Go figure. Here's the complete list of ingredients for the scent I was sent (haha, see what I did there?): Sucrose (Sugar), Bentonite (Clay), Peg Disterate (Blending Agent), Fragrance, Sanolin Blue (Colorant). Nothing too weird or wacky at all. And I could just dump it into the wash and forget about it. I liked that too.

I don't like how strongly it is scented right out of the bottle - it stunk up my small laundry room. Not a fan of that. I don't think it's a necessary product - white vinegar is chemical free, cheap, and just as effective in softening clothes. But as I said earlier, I do like my towels to be fluffy and to smell good, so I probably will buy Purex Complete Crystals in the future to use in those laundry loads instead of using a dryer sheet or a liquid product that could gunk up my washer and reduce the effectiveness of the towels. I don't see myself using it on my clothing on a regular basis, but perhaps I'd use it in loads of just jeans or just certain other pieces.

I wish there was an unscented, color-free version - it looks to me like it could just be sugar, clay, and peg disterate and it would work just fine. But yes, in general, I liked this product and felt that it did what it promised. I don't know that I would've tried it at all without being sent a free sample, so the marketing also worked. Sneaky sneaky.

Learn more about Purex Complete Crystals (and if you click that link, you'll help me win $500! Thanks!).

Connecting - March 5, 2011

I feel like lately I'm doing a lot of...connecting.

• There's the local Twitter-mama Tweet-up (I know, it sounds silly, but it is what it is) I went to a few months ago. I really liked the women I met at it and have continued to be in touch with them, mostly on Twitter.
• There's the local Twitter-lady Tweet-up that I've gone to twice. Some mamas, some not, all interesting. Plus I get to learn about wine.
• There's the Moms' Council that I'm a part of - at least for now. I had a nice dinner/drinks night with other moms from across the board one night.
• Today I went to the Supportforspecialneeds.com IRL event and met other parents of kids with special needs (and the list I made previously about not fitting in didn't really come into play because those topics just didn't come up - sometimes because I deliberately didn't bring them up, heh - yay!). 
• Next weekend there's a blogger meetup I'm considering going to.
• In a few weeks is the monthly Kid Lit night in town. I don't technically have a reason to be there - I'm not a YA author and I don't work at the bookstore anymore, but I read YA, I used to work at the bookstore, and I love children's literature. Plus I like the people who run it and who go.
• And I am technically on the PTA - there's a meeting coming up. Wheeeeee.

It's a lot of being social. It's a lot of energy. It's interesting. I'm not necessarily making new besties, but I am learning a lot from people all over the place. I guess it's part of reclaiming my brain. Figuring out who I am now. Trying to be a better listener and to not necessarily always default to some of my soapboxy type ideas. (Although I still do sometimes.) I have no grand conclusion for this, I just wanted to make a note of it.

Oh look, an Etsy order came in as I was typing...

PS PLEASE help me win $500 by clicking here and learning about Purex Complete Crystals. All you have to do is click, you don't have to do anything else. THANK YOU!

Learn about Purex Complete Crystals Softener & Help Me Win! - March 3, 2011

Purex Complete Crystals - shiny!

I'm a Purex Insider, which means I get to try new laundry products, often before they hit the general market. Yesterday the FedEx man handed me a package with a generous sample of Purex Complete Crystals - their new fabric softener. I am really looking forward to trying this on my towels - the formulation of Purex Complete Crystals promises to not coat my towels with oils that will make them less absorbent and not to mess with my kid's flame-resistant sleepwear. Also it smells really good.

I'll post again when I've tried it - likely in the next few days - to let you know exactly what I think. But for now, if you could click and learn more about Purex Complete Crystals, you'd be doing me a huge favor - the blogger with the most clicks wins $500, and I could really use that right now. Please click! And then if you really want, share the following link on Twitter, Facebook, or wherever you want, and encourage others to both learn about Purex Complete Crystals AND help me win a great prize:

http://www.purex.com/MXTQEPZOXYOMU5360AXODMQMFIYLHZ

I believe in transparency in things like this, which is why I'm sharing the actual link with you and telling you exactly what's at stake. I also really think this product is interesting and that you might like it - I wouldn't bother talking about it otherwise. I also will tell you that my fabric softener of choice is plain, white vinegar - chemical free and super inexpensive. But there are times when I wish my clothes had a nice scent to them (I love scented candles, scented bodywash, scented oils...) and I do sometimes use a dryer sheet (scented or unscented) with my towels to make them softer and smell fresher. I hate that it can reduce their absorbency though, so I'm hoping I've found a new solution that works.

Thank you in advance for clicking, sharing my link, and learning about Purex Complete Crystals!