Carmex Hand Lotion For Those Dry Days Give Away

Last week the boys and I headed to MN for spring break. While we were there, the dry air seriously affected my hands. When we headed there, I took both of my new Carmex lotions with me: Carmex Healing Cream and Hydrating Lotion.

The Carmex Healing Cream became my go-to while I was out there, using it several times a day. My hands were seriously dying from the dry weather.

I haven’t needed to use the Healing Cream nearly as much since we got home the other day. I think that’s where the Hydrating Lotion came in handy. It’s great for every day use to keep your hands hydrated.

I think if my hands start getting too dry again, like they did last week, I’m going to have to get some gloves to sleep in over night. Slather the lotion on and wake up with soft hands. How much do I love that? =)

When I was praying with Doodle last night, I was rubbing his back and my hand was catching on his shirt. I hate when my hands feel that way! As soon as we got done with our cuddle time, I grabbed my Healing Cream so I could touch things again!

Now you have the chance to win both of these lotions!

*I received this Carmex and an awesome Carmex zip up hoodie for review.

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Wordless Wednesday: Roller Skating

Sorry I’ve been missing Wordless Wednesday. Work is so busy Monday and Tuesday it leaves very little time for any blogging.

A couple of weeks ago, Fred and I took all of our kids roller skating and to laser tag. We had a really fun night and it’s so nice our kids get along! I mean, we’ve only gotten together with them a few times and we only hang out for a few hours at a time, but hey, I’ll take the good when we can get it. =)

And besides, who doesn’t love roller skating holding their boyfriend’s hand. Yea, I just went there!

lol Yea, that’s how Doodle’s night started. “Timber” But it didn’t deter him!

Doodle finding his skating legs (in blue) and M.N. in the white t-shirt remembering how to skate after a couple of years of not skating.

I loved that M.N. and Doodle were willing to try out racing for their age groups even though there were still working on their skills! I was so proud of them!

Yea, he didn’t make it more than 1/4 of the way around before he toppled over, but he got back in there the next time and made it half way around! You go fella!

Not to be outdone, Fred got in on the 18+ group. He made it around the entire rink! And yes, he went out the second time as well. lol Me, no way, no how! He’s actually a really good skater! He did a grand job of impressing me!

Now, Buddy on the other hand went around the rink ONCE! In the 3 hours we were there before they played ONE laser tag game, he went around one time! I mean, it was his choice because I was constantly asking him to go out, but he didn’t want to and not once did he complain that he had to stand around the entire time waiting for us. He’s a stinker for not skating, but I’m thankful he was gracious about the night.

But, the only time he went out was when Fred went with him! I really love this picture. I have one where Fred is only skating with Buddy as well, but I liked that M.N. joined them.

We had some dinner while we were there. And then the kids went to laser tag. Buddy took a bunch of pictures while we were sitting there. Why? I have no clue.

You can see Doodle trying to catch up with me in the background. This was the only photo Buddy could get of me because he kept taking it after I passed him. It’s evidence that I skated, too. And, I’m happy to say, I’m the only one who made it without falling the entire night. lol I have to brag because I probably won’t be able to ever again. =)

Be sure to check out Full Time Mama and her WW post. I’m guessing there will be less words than this one.

Talking To My Son About Purity

When my girls turned 13, they were given a ring and were talked to about their purity and how important it was to me and how I hoped it would be important to them as well. Now, this was quite a number of years ago with them, so I’ll be talking about my experience talking to my 13 year old son on Good Friday.

I really hadn’t known what to get him. He just isn’t a jewelry guy. I wanted him to have something to wear, but didn’t know what and I ended up just putting it off over and over. I did finally find a really cool guitar pick looking necklace that had scripture written on it. I just hadn’t ordered it.

While we were in Minnesota, I went by the Lifeway bookstore to find some books for my youngest son and that’s when I remembered about the necklace. I looked and found a couple I liked, but figured since Buddy is so particular, I needed him with me.

So, on Good Friday, after I picked the boys up from spending the night at their sister’s apartment and we headed to the bookstore. I brought Buddy to the jewelry display and told him I wanted him to pick out something. I walked to the book section with Doodle while he looked.

lol He came back with a keychain. I had been texted Fred and when Buddy showed me the keychain I just thought, I don’t think this is the “reminder” I want him to have and thankfully, Fred confirmed my thoughts. I sent him back up front to choose again.

ha! He came back with this black and white plastic bracelet that looked like it’d last about 6 months.

See, the problem was, he didn’t know what he was looking for and why. I just told him to find something. I didn’t want to start the talk while we were there or before hand. So…back up he went. He finally found a NOTW (Not of this World) guitar pick looking necklace. Whew, acceptable.

As we were leaving the store, Doodle says to me, “Am I going to do the same thing when I’m 13?” Yes indeedy son you are!

When I got back to the house, I found a box and wrapped it in white tissue paper. It was that or Christmas paper. I called Buddy to the table and I started talking. I asked him if he knew what purity was and what it meant. He was clueless. Ugh, I have NOT been doing my job well. I explained it to him and then proceeded to tell him about scripture and what God says about purity.

I explained that scripture tells us that God created Adam and Eve, which he obviously knew, but they were told to fill the earth. It was important for him to know sex isn’t bad, in fact God created it and wrote an entire book about it, but it was created for marriage.

Next I gave him the gift. I explained to him this gift represents the gift of having sex for the first time with his wife. I made sure he knew that kissing, holding hands, and cuddling aren’t bad. It’s just that those things can lead to more stuff. You get into the moment and you’re having all of these good feelings and boom, the next thing you know, you’ve just had sex.

Here’s basically the conversation I had with him:

“So, you get your first girlfriend and it’s sweet and you go a little far a couple of times. I want you to make a couple of tears on the tissue paper. When you make these tears, they are a part of you. You can’t have a relationship and go too far without it affecting you somehow.

Now, let’s say you go out with three more girls and each girl you mess around with. I want you to make a bunch or rips all around the gift. And I want you to make several small rips underneath the gift as well.

Do you see this gift now? Do you see how destroyed it is? So many tears and all of this stays with you in one way or another. And the bottom, things happen in each relationship and we don’t always see how it’s affecting us, but it’s still there; the hurt and the pain.

And then, you meet the woman who will become your future wife. And you have this gift to give to her, but look at the shape that it’s in. Think about how it started out and the condition it’s in now. On your wedding night, THIS is what you’ll hand her. And not only will you be handing her this gift from you, but it’ll have all of the girls you’ve been with attached right along with it.

Is this what you want to hand your wife on your wedding night?”

I was in the moment with all of this, in my groove, so I’m sure I’ve left some stuff out, but that’s basically the gist of our conversation.

We talked about how he may meet someone and she may become his wife and he’ll only date one person. Who knows. It doesn’t change the fact that by having sex outside of marriage takes away the blessing God has for those who wait.

Then I handed him his necklace and said, “This is why I want you to wear this necklace. I want it to be a reminder to you, that purity is the best choice. It’s not going to be easy and you’re going to be tempted. Satan is going to make it very hard for you, and that’s why you need to establish boundaries when you’re dating someone ahead of time. That way you’re not in the moment and you give in to your desires.

I can’t make you make the decision to stay pure. All I can do is talk to you about it. It’s up to you to make that decision. I can’t force it on you.”

Sex, it’s good. It’s a good thing, but within the bonds of marriage. That I wholeheartedly believe. I want all of my kids to enjoy the fullness of giving themselves for the first time to one person.

I won’t ever have the luxury of knowing what that was like. I’ve had my gift torn to shreds. Some pieces were torn by me, other pieces torn by someone else. I’ve heard from those who have given themselves for the first time to the person they married and their sex lives have been extremely healthy as well as their marriages.

Will my kids make poor choices? Possibly. My girls are 21 and 20 and I know for a fact that they are as pure as the driven snow. We had our discussion and then it was up to them to make the choice, and they did. There’s nothing to say that my boys will do the same thing. All I can do is be available to talk to them as they make those decisions.

There’s something to be said for staying pure until marriage. I hope my kids choose purity.

Learning to Change the Cabin Air Filter! #cbias #FresherCar

Ok, so a couple of weeks ago my dad showed me how to change my oil. Then last week I found out Social Fabric was working with Fram and I joined their group! I mean, c’mon, it’s about cars, of course I joined. What I didn’t know when I joined was that they had a “shop” for an air filter!

Ha! Yes! I was going to learn to change the air filter in the car. We’ll come back to this “task” in just a little bit. Let’s just say I had a total girl moment.

My mom drives a 2008 Lexus and I love driving it! So much nicer than my 2001 minivan. I figured her car was a great guinea pig and she was all for it. So, I went to Walmart to find the right air filter for her car.

I started going through the Fram automated air filter finder and searched for my mom’s make and model. I searched through the list and found the right filter number. But I wasn’t finding the right one. This guy from the tire shop came out with someone else and asked me if I was finding everything ok. I told him what I was looking for and he told me the numbers would be the same from one filter to the next.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t right. The basic air filters have one number and the cabin air filters have another. Take note of the word “cabin” for future reference. I found what I thought was my mom’s car model and made the purchase.

The next day, as I was talking to my mom, I said, “You have the GS, right?” and she said, “No, it’s an RX.” Buddy of course was sitting right there and says, “Even ‘I' knew that! Her license plate…” Oh, right.

So, I headed back to Walmart and turns out that the reason I spaced the first time I was there was because the electronic finder didn’t have my mom’s model listed. Thankfully, they also have the Fram catalog right next to it and that had her make and model number. Second time was a charm and I walked out with the right one!

Dad and I headed out to mom’s car to change the air filter. lol Here comes my girl moment! He had the hood up and I was propping the box up to take pictures and my dad says, “Wait a minute! THAT’S not an air filter!” Oh boy, he was right. lol It was for the “cabin”, as in inside the vehicle! He’d never changed that one before so we were both going to learn a new lesson!

He got his manual out as I went inside and pulled up the Fram website to watch the video so we knew how to change the filter. Dad came inside and told me he found it in his manual. He’d never taken the glove compartment off before so he had quite the time trying to figure it out.

Funny thing was, once he got the door undone. he realized that he was just trying to hard. It was much simpler than he realized he was making it. Isn’t that the way it always is?
You should’ve seen our faces once he pulled out the old cabin filter which they had never changed (and we never knew existed). The filter was black, had various leaves on it and a dead moth in one of the grooves! Just gross! We inserted the new one into the holder, tucked it back into the slot and away we went! It was crazy easy! I couldn’t believe how fast it went!


My mom has allergies, but not at all like me and my kids. We all have seasonal allergies and as soon as it starts to warm up, we become the sniffiliest people! I have a feeling changing these out will do us a world of good when we’re out and about! It'll also help since my parents will have to help with baseball game drop offs and pick ups. The boys will be with them a lot!
Right now you can get a Fram Rebate. You can’t beat getting money back! You’ll also be able to see my entire escapade getting the right filter with my Google+ album. =)

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and FRAM #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.

A Walgreens Like You’ve Never Seen

Ok, well, unless you’ve been to one of the other flagship stores, you’ve never seen a Walgreens like the one I went to this past week. I hadn’t done any research about what a flagship was, although Fred did, and even though he read to me what it was, I honestly didn’t grasp what I was about to experience.

I headed into Washington D.C. to check out this new Walgreens. I mean, c’mon, it’s a Walgreens. We’ve all been in them. We know what they look like. lol Oh boy, I was about to totally be surprised.

First it’s a 3 story Walgreens. That should tell you right there that it’s different. When you first walk in, there’s a small ramp you go up and it looks somewhat like a health deli. Actually, the middle floor had SO many people walking around it I feel like I have to go back to get a good grasp as to what’s on that floor. I’ll get back to this floor in a minute.

Our story actually begins on the 3rd floor. The Look Boutique. When I got to the third floor, I felt like I heard angels singing. It was so beautiful. It gave me the sense that I had just entered a department store beauty section. I honestly didn’t feel like I was in Walgreens anymore.

They have a nail salon that you can just walk up to without an appointment! And the price…$12! How amazing is that?! As a single mom, that is SO doable. I felt like I was wide eyed walking through all of the make-up selections. They had lines I’d never heard of before.

This Gosh Cosmetics line is from Europe and is exclusive to Walgreens and DuaneReade! How about a mascara with a light inside the wand? The colors are definitely fun!

While we were waiting to talk with Marcia, I actually didn’t know she was one of the women who had passed me while we were waiting by the nail bar. There was a lady with her who looked extremely familiar, but I had no idea why. I just blew it off to the woman having a familiar face.

Turns out that woman was Vera Moore. She used to star on Another World, a soap opera I used to watch when I was a kid. I KNEW I recognized her! We had a chance to talk with her and her daughter who created a make-up line perfect for any skin color.

We walked around with Marsha as she shared about the different make-up lines and how she chooses who will be in the stores. Some are obviously familiar lines, but others, she sees the potential in and brings them on board.

One of the things that has really sold me on the Look Boutique is that all of the people who work there have been trained by all of the lines.They aren’t there to promote a certain brand. They find out what your needs are and then work with you to get you what you want. I also like that they won’t hover, waiting for a sale! I’m sorry, but it drives me crazy when they do! I’m one of those people who, if I need help, I’ll ask.

I do my best to take care of my eyebrows, but I could use some better tips for plucking. How nice to go Walgreens and have them taken care of for me! I had never heard of this line before, but it’s a make-up line to the stars! Their goal is to have people say “she is beautiful” not “your make-up is beautiful”. (Thanks Fred for remembering!)

Our group then headed down to the main level where you walk into the store. Again, you would hardly believe you’re in a Walgreens. They have healthy on their mind, and the evidence is everywhere.

You can purchase fresh fruit and they have an amazing juice/smoothie bar and, having sampled them, wow, very delicious! We were treated to much of the food and beverages they have available. Trust, me, this is absolutely one-stop shopping.

Unfortunately, or maybe for my waistline fortunately, I didn’t have one of their gourmet cupcakes, but I certainly wanted to try one. Man, they looked delicious!

Look at all of this amazing fresh fruit. They also have an entire cooler of fresh food!

Next we headed down to the lower level where the Take Care Clinic is located and where you’d find most of your pharmacy products. This is amazing and I haven’t seen anything like it in any other Walgreens.

We got a fabulous tour of their cutting edge technology that gave us a better idea of how streamlined the entire Clinic is. When you get to the pharmacy, you won’t see any medication behind the counters. That’s not the impression they want you to start off with. They want the focus to be on the care of the people.

With how they have the Take Care Clinic set up they’re seeing a 4-8x increase in patients interacting with pharmacists. With their studies, they found 1/3 of the pharmacist’s time doing technician duties.

The Clinic has Board Certified Family Nurse Practioners. The can see patients and access them. If someone needs lab work done they can send people to get them done and there in the Clinic they can do a wide variety of procedures. One of the things I liked the most about the Clinic is their “truth in advertising”. There are no hidden costs! The visit cost, any procedures, etc are all listed for everyone to see!

They have a nice couple of rooms to do procedures in and a private consultation room to speak to a pharmacist.They have point-of-care testing which means they can do quick strep and mono tests right there!

I left this Walgreens feeling like I had just found my new favorite pharmacy. Sure, I’d have to drive an hour to get there, but having experienced it, know that it would totally be worth the drive!

Oh, and least I forget, I wanted to thank Fred who showed up and stood around for a very long time while I took a tour and talked with people from Walgreens and didn’t have one complaint at his utter boredom waiting for me. You rock honey! And yes, he totally photo bombed my camera when I wasn’t paying attention! =) This is what he gets for bombing. ha!

Be sure to connect with Walgreens via Facebook, Twitter and Google+!

I also have an entire photo selection (even more than here) in Google+! You'll be able to see more of this awesome day there!

* I was invited to the opening of the Walgreens store opening by Collective Bias. I was compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Walgreens #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.