So now that Black Friday is over and done with I would love to know how you did? I have never gone out in to the stores on Black Friday because I have always found I could get really great deals online either on Black Friday or on Cyber Monday. I have to say that I love that companies are realizing they have a whole segment of people who will never go to the stores on Black Friday but who would love to shop online on this day. I spent a lot of time checking out the deals on Friday and I found some that couldn’t be passed up. I found that some of the stores put up the same door buster deals as in store online. They were of course limited availability but so were the ones in store. Tell me, what would stores have to offer on Black Friday to get you shop online instead of in store? For me it is as simple as offering the same limited availability items with free shipping. Couldn’t ask for more if you ask me. What do you guys think?

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I love this time of year. I am not a person who enjoys shopping in brick and mortar stores. I walk in and immediately feel overwhelmed. However, usually you can only find the really good deals by going in to stores. Well all that changes at Christmas time. You can find so many great deals online. Some of the best deals can be found using reward sites, onecall coupons, and signing up for emailed newsletters from your favorite stores. Best of all you can get these great deals in conjunction with Free Shipping on many occasions. If you can combine reward site cash earnings with coupons and free shipping you are truly scoring the trifecta of savings. I love the challenge. I also love that I can do it all while in my pajamas in front of my computer. Who wouldn’t love to shop like that??? Let me know some of the best deals you have found this season.

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I am now in full Disney planning mode and I realized today that I really need new shoes to wear. I have found from past experience that the shoes I wear in everyday life do not really work as well for my Disney vacations. So now I am on the search for some new shoes and I need them ASAP because I have to wear them a bit before I go on my trip October 1st. I know I need new athletic shoes because I always like to start the day off with those. My last ones were Asics and they worked well for the first week and then all of the sudden started giving me blisters. I also had some Nike walking shoes but those made my toes cramp. I guess I need to go out and actually try some on this time. Usually I buy them online and never have to step foot in a store…I hate shopping in actual stores. Do you guys have any suggestions on brands I should try? Any particular type that works better than others? What about inserts? Should I just try getting some new inserts and seeing if those will make my old shoes feel and fit better? Wow, so much to do and so little time to do it.

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I have been looking at the book stores lately trying to find some idea books that I can use to remodel my bathroom. I recently replaced the floor and now I am looking at the paint and accessories. I just don’t know where to find good books with ideas I can actually replicate. Most of the books I am finding are outrageously priced and have design ideas that I can’t really do myself. They have these huge convex mirrors and crazy colors. They have these amazing build outs that just wouldn’t fit in my little bathroom. I would love to know where you guys get your ideas. Have you found books that have doable ideas? Even better would be a book that gives you the brand and name of the paint samples. Nothing aggravates me more than to see a design and have no idea what the color is. Give me some advice, ideas, anything you have! Thanks!

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I realized this weekend that I am getting old. I don’t mean assisted living old just past the days of being young. I always thought I would grow old pretty gracefully. I mean I have always been pretty active and I was thin and beautiful and healthy for most of my life. Well that was 9 years and 3 kids ago!

Now I find myself trying out samples of anti wrinkle cream, buying stronger glasses, taking more and more vitamins and supplements and yelling out the front door at 10pm when the neighbors are playing music! When did I become the mean old lady down the street?!?!? I am not elderly by any means. I am only 38 but I swear I act older than any person my age I know. I can’t handle silliness like I used to.

I am hoping that my vacation in October will help me get my youthful spirit back. I haven’t been on a trip in quite a while and I think maybe if I get away from the everyday stresses of life and immerse myself in to a week of Disney that I can once again be the youthful 38 year old I once was. Sigh…where does the time go?

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I seem to be really focused on beauty products this week. I usually go for months without considering new products and then something hits and I end up changing things all at once. This weekend it was mascara and now I have been looking at new foundations and powders. I was thinking about my upcoming trip and remembering how horrible my Clinique foundation held up in the Florida heat and humidity. My face literally melted off each day and by the afternoon I looked like a red hot mess. I actually am beginning to question my loyalty to Clinique at all since it seems that none of the products have been giving me the results I want. I don’t know why I am so loyal except that  I have used Clinique from the very beginning.

My question now is what I should change to? My first issue is that when I try new make-up, even just changing foundations between the Clinique line, I tend to get break outs so I need the best acne face wash that you guys can recommend. It is key to making sure that I know whether or not a make up is working or if I am just breaking out because of the change in products. I also need suggestions on foundations that won’t "melt" away when I am in the heat. I am in Louisiana but typically if I am going to be outside I won’t wear foundation. I can’t do that in Disney because there are photographers all over the place and I don’t want to be immortalized in vacation photos as a hot mess. I like a matte look but I don’t want to look "caked up". I am counting on you guys to give me some ideas so I can start trying them now and be ready for October.

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One of my "online jobs" is as a BzzAgent for Bzzagent.com. I love this because it is an opportunity for me to try out new products and let my friends, family and readers know about the products and how well they work. It is fun and interesting and best of all I get free products to try. I also love that unlike most product test places BzzAgent truly wants to know what you think. They don’t care if you like or don’t like it they want to know both equally. I like that I can be totally honest and that I don’t have to try to push an item I don’t like. With that said I got so busy during the school year that I didn’t get to do many campaigns. Now that it is summer I decided to give it a shot again.

My campaign this time is for Cover Girl Lashblast Fusion Mascara. I am kind of a stickler when it comes to make-up and mascara in particular so I was going out on a limb with this one. I got the mascara in and decided to try it on Sunday when I was going to church. I figured it would only be an hour so if the mascara didn’t work well with me I could go home after and remove it. I was not disappointed. This mascara was easy to apply and I love that the brush is so "fluffy" and full. It made it easy to get good coverage and not get mascara all over my face. I also loved that it did not clump or make my eyelashes stick together.

While application is important to me one of the biggest things I look for is that the mascara doesn’t smudge. I have had so many issues in the past with mascaras running or ending up on my eyelids or under my eyes. I wore this mascara all day long and at 9pm it still looked like it did when I put it on. There were no smudges or marks on my eyelids and I didn’t look like a raccoon. I had people comment several times throughout the day how much the liked the look of my eye makeup and asked what I had done differently. They couldn’t tell it was the mascara but they definitely noticed a difference.

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with this mascara and I will be continuing to use it over the next few months. I will let you guys know what I think after I have been using it a while. I am especially interested to see how it will work for our trip to Disney in October. Typically I can’t keep mascara from running while I am there because of the heat, humidity and water rides so I will be the happiest girl on earth if it works as well in Disney!

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I didn’t think I would ever say this but I have been SO bored today! My life has been so crazy since last August when my kids started school that I don’t know what it feels like to have nothing to do. All three of the kids went to visit my mother in law and the weather was nasty today so I found myself sitting around not knowing what to do. First I tried to watch television but the shows aren’t very interesting on a week day and the commercials are even worse. If they weren’t trying to sell vacuum cleaners, stain removers or juicers they were hocking the best weight loss pills you could ever use. Then I decided to try sewing for a while but the weather was bad and I didn’t like the idea of using a sewing machine in a thunder storm! Finally I decided to lie down and read only to realize that I don’t have any books in my stack right now. I went online looking for something but I just don’t see anything that interests me. This is where you guys come in. What are you reading? What are you hoping to get to? I need ideas because I definitely have book readers block!

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I have such a love for books that often I find that I have to find ways to come up with funds for new ones. I don’t like to take money from my family’s budget to pay for extras that don’t benefit the family so usually my books are the first thing to go. Sometimes I will sell the books and make money off of them for buying new books. Often I will trade books online with others through websites that accept your old books and in exchange you get to pick new books that you want to read. Sometimes I only have to pay shipping and I get a whole new set of books to read. Occasionally I can’t do any of these so that means I have to find ways to save money so that I can purchase new books. I have tried clipping coupons but honestly I find that they never have the coupons I need for the items I want. While I am anal with most things and planning I don’t have the time or patience for the serious couponing it takes to really make money off of grocery shopping. However, I have found a way to get coupons for the things I already buy and I don’t have to do anything other than shop for my groceries. I stated paying close attention to the coupons that are given to me when I check out at the grocery store from the receipt printer. I had never paid much attention to these before but found that they are often for products I am already buying or for a product that compliments or is similar to what I am buying. I also began to notice that at least one of the coupons was always for a dollar amount of my next purchase of a certain dollar amount. The last few were for $10 off a $50 purchase. I never spend less than $50 so this was making $10 for not doing anything! I began to put these in my checkbook for safe keeping and to be sure I would see them when I went to write the check for my groceries and wouldn’t forget to use them. I have saved at least $40 in the last month by doing this and it didn’t cost me anything. $40 will get me a couple new books to read and it doesn’t have to come from my family budget!

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Hi guys! I know it has been quite some time since I posted and I apologize for that. It has been a rough couple of months and my keyboard broke and I just couldn’t get it together. I am very excited to get started back up with blogging. I am going to start with a review of the DaVinci Code Series that I promised you guys back in October. I have read 2 of the books and I am in the process of reading the third. I am also placing an order this week for some new books so that I have new material for us to discuss. If you have any suggestions of books or series to read I would love to hear it. Please not vampire stories though. I know they are so popular right now but I just can’t get in to them. I think I have been scarred for life by Twilight LOL! Anyway, I am looking forward to reconnecting with my readers, please let me know if there is anything you want to discuss and I will be posting a preface and some initial questions for discussion on the Da Vinci Code series in the next few days!

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