Friday Favorites #6

It's Friday Favorites time!

Oh yes it's time to pay homage to all the things that got us through
the week, and give credit where credit is due!

I have missed a whole bunch of Friday Favorites in my absence, but I am back and even though this week has been hell, there are some things to be thankful for. Here are my Friday Favorites this week....

My   friends- You know who YOU are. If it wasn't for you, I don't know how I would have gotten through this last week. Thank you for being there when I needed you.

90's Music - If I am feeling down, all I have to do is turn on some 90's and I'm bobbin my head and singing along!


The Red Velvet Art girls - They are such an inspiration!

My friends & family. Thank you for making my birthday special.




I'm not sure if Janna Bee is still doing the Friday Favorite's right now, but head on over to her blog and say hello anyway!

Product Review - Eco Store

I was recently contacted to review my choice of products from Eco Store USA. Yes, I did say "products" meaning they gave me the choice of not 1, but 2 of their products to try out. I decided to go with the Naturally Antibacterial Spray Cleaner & the Soothing Hypoallergenic Shampoo (for pets).

Here is a little information about the products sold by Eco Store USA from their website:

Our eco friendly, plant-based household cleaning products are as effective as the leading supermarket brands, and our body and baby care ranges are gentle on your skin and are simply beautiful to use. Our pet care products let you spoil your pets with our nourishing, rich blends of ingredients and show them how much you care by reducing their exposure to unhealthy chemicals.

All of our products are made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint.

They also offer FREE Shipping for ALL Orders of $25 or more

On to the products.....


Naturally Antibacterial Spray Cleaner

Eco Store USA has the following information about this product:

Ecomommas can go room to room with this product. Simple to use yet high performance, ecostore Lemon Spray Cleaner is the ideal alternative to conventional, toxic products. This citrus based solvent will work wonders on almost any household surface. Have black kitchen appliances?  We've been told via many testimonials that it is just awesome.  And, of course, if it’s an Ecostore product, it contains No nasty chemicals™.  For your health, for your family and for the planet. (17 fluid ounces)

I was so excited when the package came with my new products. I immediately opened the box and was ready to get to cleaning. I pulled out my new products to find that they were sealed with this very stretchy tape of some sort. It took a knife and 2 pairs of scissors before I was able to get enough off to open each bottle for use. At least the liquid had no chance of leaking before it's arrival.

I chose this spray because I cannot stand the scent of the product that we are currently using to clean our kitchen. It just plain stinks. According to the website, this is a citrus based solvent, so I was expecting it to have a nice clean citrusy smell. It didn't, but it still smells better than what we were using before.

I have a little bit of OCD when it comes to streaks. I cannot stand them on my appliances, fixtures, or even my counter tops. This spray does not leave streaks at all. Even my stainless steel appliances were streak free after a quick cleaning with this spray. I was happy dancing around my streak free kitchen after using this!

 Pro's

• Green - Good for the environment
• Non Toxic - Safe around my family and pets
• Scent - Does not stink
• Streak free
• Antibacterial - not just a cleaner, but a germ killer too!

Con's

• Price - $9 for 17 oz. seems a little high to me for antibacterial cleaner
  
•  Sealant - I was at war with the bottle just trying to get the tape to come off so that I could use this.

Overall - Besides the price being a little too high for my budget, this product did everything that they claimed it would do and more. If you are thinking about going green, or already have this is a great product! 


Soothing Hypoallergenic Shampoo

Eco Store USA has the following information about this product:

Gentle on itchy, sensitive skin, our Herbal Fresh Shampoo is expertly designed to penetrate safely into the skin where it is most effective.  Mild enough for frequent use.  Safe for dogs, cats, puppies and kittens over 6 weeks of age.

I had the same problem opening this package as I did with the antibacterial cleaner, but after I finally did get it open I was ready to give Sasha a bath.

I had used Hartz some type of flea control product on her a few months earlier and her hair started falling out in clumps, she was dry and itchy all over and had a horrible scent to her body no matter how many times I washed her. I tried a couple of other products that seemed to irritate her itchiness more and did nothing to help the stench.

The first thing that I noticed after opening the bottle was the smell. (Yes, I am kinda OCD about smells too) It smelled soooo good. How do I explain it? Heaven in a bottle. Yes, that's it.

Here I go, ready to pour the sweet smelling goodness onto my dog. I tip the bottle and it just starts pouring out like niagra falls. It has the consistency of water and I was not expecting that at all. So, half a bottle of shampoo later and we are done. The dog smells excellent and is still half bald.

I continue using the shampoo on my dog once a week for a month and I notice that her hair has started to grow back. Yes! I am not going to have some freakazoid half naked labrador. The itchiness and stink have diminished quite a bit too. Almost 2 months after I received this and my dog is completely back to normal. There are no signs of the bald, foul smelling dog that once was. Thank you Eco Store!

Pro's 

• Green - Good for the environment
• Non Toxic - Safe around my family and pets
• Scent - Heaven in a bottle
• Itchiness - Sasha was itch free after using this
• Made all of Sasha's hair grow back
• $13 - Higher than I would normally pay for shampoo, but this stuff did wonders!

Con's

• Sealant - I was at war with the bottle just trying to get the tape to come off so that I could use this.
• Consistency - Too much like water and not enough like Shampoo

Overall - I have never been happier with a product for my animals. This shampoo worked a miracle on Sasha and it is definitely something that I will be purchasing again in the future!

 Head on over to Eco Store USA and get yourself free shipping with a $25 purchase.

Wordless Wednesday

The Father He Never Met.....

My son has had a "Dad" since he was 2 years old. He has had a stepdad since he was 6. But he just recently met his father for the first time at the age of 13. I have always been honest with Andrew about the situation concerning his father and me, and knew that one day he would decide it was time to meet him. Even though I knew this, I was not prepared when it happened. For me the entire situation was very awkward. I have had a lot of resentment towards his father for the past 13 years and then BAM! here I am welcoming him into my home and allowing him to spend time with MY son. Fortunately, I have a wonderful support system with Keith and he was able to talk me through the emotional roller coaster that I was on. For me, it was easiest to remember that I am doing this for Andrew, and not for his father.

I have since come to terms with the situation and have accepted that from this point on, I will be sharing my son with another family. Andrew has 3 new half-brothers and also a step-mother. I have had the pleasure of meeting all of them and am very happy that they are now a part of Andrew's life. Our families recently spent the day together and it was quite enjoyable. We have plans to get together again soon and then I will have some pics to share with you.

"Be careful or your face will stick that way"

My Grandmother used to tell me that ^ when I was a little girl. I didn't believe her at the time, but I was going through pictures of me earlier today and now I think she may be right.



Do you have a "photo face"?

Silly Hookers In The Rain pt. 2

.....continued from this post.

The last stop of our rain filled hooker-photoshoot was in some random cow pasture. Photoshoot was briefly interrupted when someone pulled me out of a window and then landed on top of me. I was still pulling glass out of my elbow days later.... Then there was the half naked man that came out of no where and told us we could stay there but not to disturb the cows. <<<Creepy! All in all, we had fun and got some good shots!



Fun times!

Silly Hookers In The Rain

We aren't hookers but we are definitely silly, and some people probably thought that we were hookers! At the end of this post I told you that there were 2 more postworthy days in Orlando. This is one of them.

First stop, Lollicup for Bubble Tea. Don't know what Bubble Tea is? I didn't either. My favorite crafter Elsie Flannigan talks about it all the time, so Kelly & I decided to give it a try.


Kelly wasn't too fond of the Bubble Tea, but it is something that I definitely want to try again. Unfortunately, they don't have any local that I have found yet :(

Next Stop: Lake Eola Park (aka Lake Areola) where we danced in the rain.....


Next Stop: Random Cow Pasture - See next post.....

Poems, Fights, Sexting & Tequila

My sweet son was abducted by aliens and his body is now inhabited by a moody, sneaky, dramatic, depressed, liar. I do hope he returns soon, I miss him.

It all started when the first girlfriend came into the picture. I noticed here and there that he was being dishonest about small things. I would catch him, we would talk about it and he would get grounded or whatever and we would move on.

POEMS
A couple of weeks before school let out, I received a call from the guidance counselor that I needed to come in and speak with him. He sounded quite concerned so I raced into the school to find Andrew in his office. Turns out Andrew was writing in a notebook during class and was caught by the teacher. She took the notebook away from him,placed it on her desk, and went back to teaching the class. At some point she noticed the notebook was gone and upon taking it away from him again (he had snuck up to her desk and took it when she wasn't looking) she decided to read it to see what was so important. Inside she found some very disturbing poetry and song lyrics and turned it over to guidance. The stuff inside the book was definitely all negative. It talked of cutting, burning clothes, drugs, etc... According to Andrew, most of the stuff was song lyrics (which I confirmed with google) and some were poems that he had written when he was angry. The guidance counselor did a suicide test on him and the test came out good. It showed no signs of him being suicidal. I was told to keep an eye on him and to try to get him to open up about whatever it was that was bothering him. Now, I know for a fact that he doesn't cut himself (he walks around in just shorts most of the time) and I am also pretty sure that he's not doing drugs or burning his clothes but this still upset me greatly. I tried talking to him but he wouldn't talk back.
FIGHTS
A few weeks later, I again received a call from the school. This time from a very upset principal that claimed my son "attacked" another student and that I needed to get down there immediately. So, I show up to the school and am taken to the School Resource Officer's office where he proceeds to question my son regarding the incident. What happened was that this other student, *A* had spit in my son's face 2 weeks earlier and then had been suspended from school for 2 weeks for a different incident. My son didn't tell anyone what happened because he figured that *A* was gone for the rest of the year. They let *A* come back for the last day of school, and when my son saw *A*, he said he just flipped and socked him in the jaw. When *A* didn't fight back he walked away instead of trying to continue the fight. The S.R.O. explained that because the spitting incident had happened on another day, my son was being charged with battery. *A*'s parents wanted to press charges. He could have been arrested on the spot and hauled into jail. Fortunately since my son is an honor roll student who had never been in trouble before, the S.R.O. decided that instead of arresting him, he will have to go to Youth Court. On Aug. 3, my son will sit in front of a jury of his peers and go to trial for his crime (OMG Do you know how it feels to type that? Horrible.). The judge is a local attorney that volunteers to do this to keep first time offenders out of jail and without a criminal record. Once my son completes his punishment, all records will be disposed of and his name will be cleared. This opportunity is only given 1 time, and if he messes up again he goes straight to jail without passing go....   
SEXTING
My son does not have a cell phone that he is allowed to carry around with him. He has one in case of emergencies that he is only given when he goes somewhere or stays home alone so that I can contact him. At times, I let him use my cell phone to chat with his friends/girlfriend. One night he was using my phone and as I was getting ready for bed, I sent him a  text message from Keith's phone that it was getting late and he needed to bring my phone to me. He replied back with a real snotty message about how it wasn't a school night and he didn't see what the big deal was. This pissed me off. Tremendously. I went to retrieve my phone from him and he seemed real nervous, like he didn't want me to get my phone back. As I came back into my room and checked out the conversation that he was having, I then knew why. Sexting. On my phone. As if we hadn't had a million talks about this. Needless to say, he's not using my phone anymore!
TEQUILA
4th of July party at my Dad's house. (Also a party for Dad & my sister Kelly's birthday). Keith & I watch as my dad hands Andrew an open beer. We think he's joking around and Keith takes the open beer from him and hands him an un-open one to go put back in the fridge. Dad asks why we won't let him have a beer. "It's a private party and he should be allowed to drink one" says Dad. Keith & I both explain to dad why we don't want him to have a beer (Like we should really have to explain this to a 50 something year old man) and how we don't think it's funny that he even suggested this. A little while later I am informed that standing directly behind me, my dad give my son a shot of tequila.  I am pissed. Are you fucking kidding me? I can't believe that he would seriously do that, (still thought he was joking about the beer because he can be a real ass sometimes) and I am ready to leave. Keith tries talking to Dad about the situation but he won't listen and claims he is trying to get him to "open up" about whatever has been bothering him. Seriously? For real? Let's get the kid drunk so he can open up? I don't friggin think so. (If you can't tell, I am still pissed) Finally, we leave. 12 days later and I still haven't spoken to him (he hasn't tried to contact me)

So, this is the crap that I have been dealing with..... My son is a good kid, that gets good grades in school and will do anything to help out around the house or with his sister. I don't understand what happened all of a sudden to cause such irresponsible behavior. This is why I believe he was abducted by aliens.

Seriously, for those of you that have already raised your teenagers do you have any advice? I don't have any idea what to do other than to lock the kid up in my house and never let him leave again.

Orlando Trip - Part 2

***Continued from this post***

Day 2 of our trip to Orlando was Kelly's actual birthday. Amber & Kelly set off for Disney....


and came back with some great pictures.

While they were off visiting enchanted castles, Kelly's boyfriend (Patrick) took Andrew & me rock climbing. I had to take a training class before they would allow me to climb, and I hate to admit this, but I got frustrated because I couldn't remember how to tie the knots and was ready to just forget about the whole thing. Fortunately, Patrick was able to talk the instructor into just letting us go. (How safe is that?) Luckily, no one was hurt and we made it out of there alive. Sore, but alive.


We then went to Chipotle's for lunch. If you have never eaten there, I highly recommend it. I was very disappointed to find that they do not have one locally. If you like Burrito's, Taco's or Fajita's you have to try this place out. It is Y-U-M-M-Y!

While in Orlando we also did some normal stuff like reading,

Laundry,

Taking care of the pets,

and staying hydrated.


There are a 2 other postworthy days from my Orlando trip. I gave you a hint in this post what they were and will be posting them within the next couple of days. Keep an eye out....