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Some Fantastic Finds At Getting Gorgeous
Apr 27, 2013 What's Going On 4 Comments
Today I had the pleasure of attending Getting Gorgeous, a fantastic event put on by my friends Audrey and Vera. It’s a place where bloggers can meet with brands large and small and discover new products. I found some new favorites that I’m thrilled to share with you.
I had a long conversation with the owner of Love Jac Cards, and was very impressed by the fact that this Brooklyn mom takes all of the photographs and makes the cards herself! I walked away with a gorgeous Brooklyn card, but they’re not all about Brooklyn. She has a huge selection of beautiful, handmade cards for every occasion. She has a card-of-the-month club, and even does custom design cards.
Foster Grant is a well-known sunglasses company that I knew very little about. The main thing I learned today? That their gorgeous glasses are really affordable! They have a huge selection of sunglasses on their site for under $30. I went home with this cute plum-colored pair, which are my new spring sunglasses! You can also find them on Amazon.
I stopped by the New Balance booth and fell in love with their new Ballet Flats. Not only are they adorable, they also have a reversible innersole with a massaging texture on one side, and cushiony foam on the other!
I brought home a couple bottles of Dial Kids Body & Hair Wash for Fiona, in Watermelon scent. It’s a no-more-tears formula, and I love that she only needs one bottle for body and hair. There’s also a Peachy Clean formula for younger kids, 2-5.
The ladies at the Downey booth gave me a sniff of the new Spring Scent of their Downy Unstopables. If you know me, you know that I have a bit of an Unstopables addiction. If I don’t have at least two extra bottles at all times I start to panic, thinking about the loads of laundry that might get done without Unstopables! Ahhhhh! No, seriously, I love Unstopables. And the new pink one smells really good. I’m told it goes well with the Downy Infusions Honey Flower fabric softener that I brought home from the event. Can’t wait to use it!
And my last great find of the day, Haute Tags! They’re cute metal tags surrounded by Swarovski Crystals and engraved with whatever you want (@SelfishMom, maybe?). They come with two bag tag-style ball chains that can be cut to size, so you can wear your tag as a bracelet or a necklace, or put it on a bag strap.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 1 (Love Jac, Foster Grant, Dial, and Downey). Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Another 3 Pounds Gone: Doing The FastDiet While Sick
Apr 26, 2013 What's Going On 4 Comments
Last Tuesday (ten days ago) I woke up starving. It was a FastDiet fasting day, so I expected the hunger to subside by about 10am. I’d gotten into the habit of not eating at all on fasting days until about 5pm, which made it feel like I was only fasting for breakfast and lunch – I could have a somewhat normal dinner and go to bed full and satisfied.
But last Tuesday, I didn’t stop being hungry. Finally around noon I had a snack, then another around 3pm, then the rest of my calories around 6pm. By then I had a fever of 101.5.
The next day I still had the fever, and was still ravenous. I ate almost constantly all day, more than usual. The next day – Thursday – I was still starving and still had the fever, but went ahead with fasting. I basically only left the couch that day to get food or water and to use the bathroom. My fever got up to 103.1 before some Tylenol and Advil brought it down. On Friday I woke up with a fever of 103.4 and finally admitted I needed to see my doctor. My husband stayed home from work to take me.
The verdict? Pneumonia. I was given two weeks of antibiotics. My doctor also mentioned that the fever was probably suppressing my appetite, but that I should try to eat a little to keep my strength up. I couldn’t help it – I laughed in her face! I told her how starving I’d been the entire time.
I was so hungry after my doctor’s appointment that I went across the street to get Subway before calling my husband for a ride home.
I didn’t feel any better or worse on the fasting days while I was sick than on the other days, when I ate a ton. I’m glad that I carried on with the plan. I could have easily used the sickness as an excuse, but didn’t. This is huge for me, because by this time in an eating plan – almost two months – I’m usually ready to quit, looking for any excuse. But because this plan is so easy to maintain, I have no desire to quit at all!
By Monday I was feeling pretty good. I went ahead and did my fasting day, and everything was back to normal – I wasn’t really hungry all day and ate a good dinner (an Amy’s pizza – a great way to break a fast). Same on Wednesday.
I finally had a chance to weigh myself this morning for the first time in ten days – the first time since getting sick. I’ve dropped another three pounds! This was a big relief. I was worried that between the massive amounts of food I ate while sick and barely leaving my couch for almost a week, I would have held steady or even gained. But that didn’t happen.
I’ve also been curious about how much exercise was contributing. I’ve been exercising three-to-six times per week, but they’re small workouts. Twenty to thirty minutes. I don’t know when I can start exercising again – some people have said it took them months to get over pneumonia, which would really suck. But I’m happy at least that apparently I’ll still be able to lose weight while I’m resting.
Another contributing factor could be the Fucothin I’ve been taking three times a day. It takes from five to sixteen weeks to see any effect, and I’ve been taking it for more than seven weeks now. Everything else is still going as planned: the water, the sleep, the apples, the salads, the dessert with breakfast (today is was an Entenmann’s donut - yum!).
I’ve lost a total of 11.6 pounds in 7.5 weeks. If I take away the large loss from the first week, I’ve lost 6.6 pounds in 6.5 weeks – right on track for one pound a week! I’m thrilled with these results, and am going to continue on for as long as it all keeps working.
Previous FastDiet posts:
A Great First Week on the FastDiet
FastDiet Update: A More Reasonable Loss
Another Pound Gone; Why Is The FastDiet So Easy?
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Stenciling With Disney Paint
Apr 25, 2013 Paid/Sponsored Post 6 Comments
[The following post was commissioned by MomTrends.]
In my first post about Disney Paint I chronicled how Fiona and I checked out Disney Paint by Glidden online and made a plan, before I headed out to Wal-Mart to buy the supplies. The next step, of course, was to do the painting!
I ordered wall stencils online for some fun shapes: crowns and hearts. Fiona had originally wanted stars as well but I made her narrow her choices to two, since that’s all I wanted to pay for. Well, what Fiona wants Fiona gets, apparently, because the company mistakenly sent us a crown and a star, and told us to keep the star while they rushed us a heart. Score!
I watched this video several times so that I was sure of the technique for applying the Magnificent Metallic paint.
Next, with the help of a tape measure and a level, I taped the stencils to the walls. Since the Magnificent Metallic paint needs two coats with overnight drying time in between, you have to remember that you can only use each stencil in one location at a time – you absolutely don’t want to move them between coats. You will never get them back on in the exact right place, don’t even try it. Build in enough time.
Next I opened the paint and gave it a long stir, and poured it into the tray. I saturated the brush like the instructions said, and was very careful to roll the roller in such a way that the stencils stayed in place. [I should be specific here: after saturating the brush to ensure that the paint would go on evenly, I made sure it wasn't going to be drippy; the last thing you want is for paint to drip down under your stencil!]
The heart was easy, the crown was easy as long as I only rolled downward, and the star was manageable thanks to the little pieces of tape I slipped underneath some trouble spots. How did I know they were trouble spots? I did a dry run before I put any paint on my roller! I highly recommend doing this – don’t be surprised after you start applying the paint!
After painting the star on her door I’m planning on putting her name on there somehow, like it’s her dressing room. Not sure how yet. Thinking maybe I’ll print it out and put it in a small frame. If I can find some sparkly letter stickers, even better. I might also add some kind of jewel stickers to the top of the crown, but I’m not sure yet – I don’t want to overdo it.
The paint went on very easily and smoothly. The second coat was a little more involved since it involved two rollers – applying a bit of texture over the second coat with a sponge roller to ensure that you can’t see any lines where the paint overlaps. It was very easy to do.
It still needs to dry a bit more before I can take the stencils off, and I can’t wait to see how it turned out! Fiona’s friends are coming over when it’s all done to see it, and she’s really looking forward to showing it all off.
I’ll make sure to post pictures of the big reveal!
Disclaimer: Compensation and products for review were provided by Glidden via MomTrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Glidden.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 2 and 13. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
FINALLY Fixing My Teeth With Invisalign
Apr 24, 2013 What's Going On 2 Comments
I’m excited to announce that I’m starting treatment with Invisalign very soon. I’m a member of the Invisalign Moms Advisory Board, and will be receiving complimentary treatment. Invisalign are those clear plastic trays that fit over your teeth and straighten them just like braces do, but with one major difference: I can take them out when I want to eat or brush my teeth!
I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. When I tell people I hate my teeth they think I’m crazy. And if you just see me smiling, they don’t look that bad:
Pretty straight, right? Well, the things that are wrong with my teeth are hard to see when I’m smiling like that. For one thing, one of my front teeth overlaps the other one. This used to be a lot more obvious, but in my twenties – with no money for braces – I had my dentist file them down so that the overlapping isn’t as obvious, especially from the front.
When I start to talk, though, it’s hard not to notice just what a train wreck my bottom teeth are (please excuse the hideously dry lips – I’m recovering from pneumonia!):
Yeah. Not so pretty. The big semi-OK top teeth that hide all the bad stuff go away when I talk, and pretty much all you see is that, up there.
Enter Invisalign.
My first step was checking out the Invisalign Smile Assessment tool, and using the doctor locator. My initial consultation with Dr. Hung was exciting, but also a little disconcerting. He spent a lot of time discussing with me just how little time those aligner trays can spend out of my mouth. He told me that they need to be worn at least twenty-two hours a day in order for treatment to be affective.
After that all I could think about was how much time I spend eating. Sure, on a normal day I don’t think it would be a problem. But if I go out to eat with my husband we’re easily in that restaurant with food in front of us – from bread at the beginning to dessert at the end – for two hours. What about a movie? I munch popcorn during the whole thing! And that would be it, for the entire day!
But I really want my teeth fixed, and I know that I can follow the rules. It will be tricky at times, I’m sure, but I want this to work. And hey, at least I can have things like popcorn – a huge benefit over regular braces.
The next step was getting my mouth scanned. I’ve compared notes with some other people whose orthodontists didn’t have a scanner, and I’m very glad my office did. (The alternative is using some kind of goop to make impressions of your teeth.) The scan took about twenty minutes, and was only uncomfortable a couple of times when I had to fight my gag reflex. Other than that it was a piece of cake.
The iTero scanner
Having my scan done took about 20 minutes
Yesterday I met with my doctor and he showed me my treatment plan, which is so cool! Remember that scan they made of my mouth? Well, here are the before and after shots of my bottom teeth – twenty-six aligner trays, roughly a year. I’m giddy.
Now I’m just waiting for my aligner trays, which should be here in about two weeks. I’m trying to get myself ready for this mentally, not only for what the trays will feel like in my mouth, but the logistics of keeping them in there as much as possible. As I was making my son’s lunch this morning I almost licked the knife, and then I thought about what that would entail two weeks from now: taking my aligners out, licking the knife, brushing my teeth, and putting the aligners back in. I don’t think so! Many knives are going to go unlicked, many free samples will go untaken.
I think I’m going to tape that last picture up in my kitchen, to remind me of why I’m doing this. :-)
I am a member of the Invisalign Moms Advisory Board. I am receiving complimentary Invisalign treatment as part of this program. All opinions are my own and based on my own treatment experience. Full disclosure can be found here: http://shout.lt/ggGP
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 1. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
How Hilton’s Loyalty Program Is Honoring Teachers
Apr 21, 2013 Paid/Sponsored Post 5 Comments
[The following post was commissioned by Hilton HHonors]
Yesterday, as I sat on the couch fighting pneumonia, my son sat next to me for much of the day. I was watching TV, and he was watching videos on a laptop. I could hear classical music coming through his headphones for hours. And it wasn’t just as accompaniment to something else; he was watching orchestras play the music. Finally I asked him what he was doing, and he shouted (because he was still wearing headphones), “Trying to hear the flute parts!”
This from the kid who just a year ago rolled his eyes every time I put on classical music in the car. From the boy who ignored the flute that’s been in my life far longer than he has. How did this happen? Because a music teacher at his middle school told him he’d make a great flute player. And that was that. He went at it full-speed, catching up with the other band members in a matter of months. He’s going to bankrupt me with sheet music purchases, but how can I refuse him the money when it’s for something so awesome?
That’s what great teachers do: they inspire. They show kids a bigger world and help them see their potential in it.
The Hilton HHonors guest loyalty program knows this, which is why they’re helping fifteen teachers take educational trips through their Teacher Treks Travel Grant contest. Hilton HHonors understands how important it is for teachers to be able to experience their area of expertise in another culture, and then bring that knowledge back to their classrooms and inspire their students.
The field has already been narrowed to thirty finalists by a panel that includes teachers and education experts, and now it’s our turn to help pick the winners! You can see the finalists’ applications here and cast your vote. With locations as diverse as Korea, South Africa, Zanzibar, Italy, and the Galapagos Islands, these teachers have some amazing trips planned and exciting reasons behind their dream destinations. The fifteen winners will each receive a $6,000 grant to make their dream trips come true. All thirty finalists will receive a $2,500 grant for their schools to use for cultural activities.
And the best part for you? Hilton HHonors is also giving away ten $250 gift certificates – each vote gets you an entry!
Reading through the entries was truly inspiring – those trips are going to be amazing. And the ripples of cultural knowledge and understanding that the trips will produce in the thousands of students affected will be profound.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 13. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Renting Citibikes In NYC: What You Need To Know
Apr 17, 2013 Around NYC 3 Comments
I’d never understood short-term bike rental programs until my husband and I vacationed in Montreal last summer. I thought the only option for a bike was to rent from a bike store or a resort for a day. And why would someone want a bike for just half an hour? That’s crazy! When I take my own bike out I’m gone for hours!
I really didn’t understand the pluses of short-term bike rentals until I used them. I’m so in love with the concept that I actually squealed with delight last week when I dropped my daughter off at school and saw this out front:
Bonus: the stations are solar-powered!
I’d read something about this coming to NYC years ago, and had forgotten all about it. Then, out of the blue, wham!
Over the next few days I passed four more citibike stations in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Urban kudzu.
Intrigued, I went to the citibike site a couple days ago, and signed up for a one-year pass for $95 (the bikes won’t be in until May, but the year doesn’t start until you activate your key). The other options – better for visitors – are $9.95 for a 24-hour pass and $25 for a 7-day pass.
Here’s how it works:
You go to a citibike station. Where are they? Everywhere! At least, if you’re below 60th Street in Manhattan or in a small-ish part of Brooklyn (Brooklyn Heights, Downtown, Fort Greene-Clinton Hill, a little bit of Bed-Stuy).
Having a ton of stations is key to this working, and if all of these planned stations actually go in, I think the program will be a success.
When you get to a station, the unlocking process is different depending on whether you have a yearly pass or a shorter one (with the shorter passes, a $101 hold is put on your card in addition to the fees). With the yearly pass you get unlimited 45-minutes rides, with the shorter passes you get unlimited 30-minute rides. Going over those times racks up more fees. You can read more on the citibike pricing page.
But here’s the key: you don’t ever need to take these bikes out for longer than that. You should never be incurring overages. If you’re close to your allotted time, you just check that bike into a station and take another one, starting the timer over! This is why having a lot of stations is so important.
The only scary parts of the rental agreement are the charge for a lost bike ($1,000) and the charge for keeping the bike for more than 24 hours ($1,200). And this is why you should never be leaving this bike anywhere other than safely checked in to a citibike station. Don’t lock it outside of a store, don’t lock it in a park. It doesn’t come with a lock anyway. It is meant to be locked into a station. I don’t think anyone would really want to steal these bikes – they’re clunky, utilitarian three-speeds – but I don’t understand why most people do the things they do, so why take chances?
You should know that you can also be charged for damage to the bike. And what’s to stop someone from vandalizing the bikes sitting in the stations? Here’s what I’ll be doing to protect myself: when you check a bike in, a light and sound lets you know that the bike is checked in, and then you have the option to also print out a receipt. Do it, then grab your phone and take a picture of the undamaged bike with the receipt in the foreground of the picture. Just a little extra insurance against troublemakers.
So what if you get to a station and there’s no open spot to put your bike? You can press a button to get 15 minutes added to your time, and go to another station. What if you want to rent a bike and there are none available? Each station has a map that can tell you in real time where the nearest stations are and if they have bikes or empty spaces available. Brilliant!
For round trips I will undoubtedly continue using my own bike. But there are lots of times where I don’t want to show up somewhere all sweaty and gross, but don’t care once my meeting or appointment is over. I could take the subway there and a citibike back! Or, if I’m out and about I could take a bike between stops – quicker than the subway or walking for short trips, cheaper than a cab.
The one thing that bothered me about renting similar bikes in Montreal was that I didn’t have a helmet. I was terrified that I was going to wipe out. I will be taking my helmet with me when I anticipate grabbing a citibike. Or maybe I’ll just buy one of these:
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
There’s No Sense To Be Made, So Here Are Actions You Can Take
Apr 16, 2013 What's Going On 3 Comments
It didn’t seem right to put up the post I’d written for today. Do you know how often I write a post in advance? Pretty much never. But it’s not going up today, while I’m still glued to the TV and reading about the people who died and lost limbs yesterday in Boston.
When things like this happen, I mostly just feel helpless. I’m not even going to try to make sense out of what happened, because there simply is no sense to be made. But there are always things that you can do.
Hug your kids.
Hand over your Boston Marathon pictures and videos to the FBI. From their website:
The FBI has set-up 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), prompt #3, for anyone who has information, visual images, and/or details regarding the explosions along the Boston Marathon route and elsewhere. No piece of information or detail is too small.
They really want to stress that something you think is inconsequential could end up being very important. Don’t judge, just send your pics and vids in, no matter when they were taken. They could show someone actually placing the bombs.
Give blood. Doesn’t matter where you live, it’s almost always needed and appreciated.
Volunteer. It will make you feel better.
Hug your kids again.
Make yourself some good, homemade comfort food. Never underestimate the power of mac & cheese or a really hearty soup. I’m serious.
Clean your bathroom. It will distract you. And you know it needs it. (Just mine?)
Go for a run. Or a swim. Or a bike ride. Whatever exercise that makes you feel less stressed. Plus, it will counteract the mac & cheese.
Hug your kids again. Even the big one who rolls his eyes and whines “MOM!” when you do.
Forgive your husband for the stupid thing he did this weekend that you’re STILL mad about because really, life is too short.
Say a prayer, send a good thought, light a candle, whatever it is you do to send waves of goodness towards badness. I have no idea if it helps, but it sure makes me feel better when I’m in trouble to know that other people are thinking of me.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Brooklyn, Baseball, and Racism: My Unintentionally Sheltered Children
Apr 15, 2013 Kids 2 Comments
One of the reasons I love my Brooklyn neighborhood is the diversity. No, I don’t love the occasional shootings, I don’t love the graffiti, I don’t love the garbage. But I love my neighbors. I love my kids’ classmates. I love the playgrounds. I love the feeling.
From the time my kids were tiny, they were surrounded by people of every shade. Race was just not an issue. And if the rest of the world ran the same way, that would be an awesome and perfect thing. But with the absence of racial awareness comes an ignorance of what the world is really like.
Our neighborhood is not some kind of utopia. There’s plenty of racism, classism, and socio-economic stuff going on, and being white people who moved into a gentrifying neighborhood many people probably see us as a problem. But these are grown-up issues, and all the kids know is that white, black, and mixed-race people are our neighbors and friends. So when I told Fiona that we were going to go see the movie 42, I knew I needed to give her some background on just how bad things used to be for black people in the United States in what is very much recent history – just not her history. I was afraid she would be completely confused, and maybe even think the movie was fiction.
I explained to her about Jim Crow laws, and the more we talked the more I realized that except for one single instance – Rosa Parks on a bus – she knew basically nothing about what’s gone on between slavery and now. We talked about how if we lived in the 1950s, we wouldn’t have black neighbors, she wouldn’t be in school with black and mixed-raced friends. And then Fiona said something as hilarious as it was surprising: “And I wouldn’t have been born.” Confused, I asked her why. “Because you and daddy wouldn’t be together…Daddy’s black, right?”
Let me just take a moment to laugh hilariously, since I managed – somehow – not to laugh at the time.
My husband is Turkish, so he’s a bit darker than I am. He’s the same shade as many of her friends who are mixed race. I can see her confusion. And I love her for it.
So we all went to see 42 yesterday. It’s a solidly good – not great – movie, but it is a great story. The problem is that the characters are all rather one-dimensional, and I have to blame that squarely on the script – the acting is uniformly superb. But in terms of my kids, I just wanted them to get a sense of what people went through – not just a superstar like Jackie Robinson, but average ordinary people – and I think the movie does a great job of getting that across.
The things that Robinson had to endure still happen today – post-racial my ass. But what the film showed was how common and normal they were back then, and how it took bravery on both sides to change the norm.
I highly recommend this film. Be warned that there is a lot of harsh language, but it is in no way gratuitous – it’s completely necessary for the story.
I can explain things to my kids until I’m blue in the face, but nothing can compare to them seeing it portrayed on a big screen. This morning I asked Fiona what her favorite part of the movie was, and she said “How some of the white people were friends with Jackie Robinson, even though other people might not like them because they were.”
She got it. The movie did its job.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
