Countdown!

I only have ONE more class for my first graduate course! SAweeeett!

Here's my checklist for the end of the class (including some things I got done tonight):

• Meet with grad group to go over stuff for our final project
• Make list of action items to do between now and our last class
• Write and turn in third reflection paper
• Write and turn in reflection paper on the group project
• Finish final presentation
• Finish final project packet
• Finish last minute touches to our educational game

I am SO close!

I can't believe I'm a grad student, and I'm almost one class down! Yessssssss!
 

Tomorrow is Monday already?!

Yep.

Making Dirty Hair Look Clean!

 

So I have dabbled with different kinds of dry shampoos and ways of making that second or third day of not washing my hair look less icky.  

I have tried:

• Johnson & Johnson Baby powder - too white looking - can make your hair look gray 
• Oscar Blandi powder - eh, it was ok, but if not put in properly, can also leave white marks on your hair
• Tresemme dry shampoo - I bought this two separate times, and both times the sprayer on the can broke on me! PLUS it didn't work that well at all.
• Just putting my hair up and using a little amount of hairspray for the flyaways...later on in the day the hairspray can end up looking greasier than before. Yuck!

So anyways, this one, the Redkin one is AWESOME! It smells great, doesn't leave white marks and actually made my hair look fresh and clean today! (I ALMOST just typed "so-fresh-and-so-clean-clean" oh boy.  Anyone remember that song?)

Have you tried any dry shampoos before? Any luck?

Back to PT I go...

So a week or so ago, on the way from Dunkin Donuts to the Heart Walk, I hurt myself.  All over a bagel! Yes, a bagel!

I promised my best girl friends some DD before the Heart Walk in DC, so I stopped there on the way to B's house.  When I started driving away, the bag of bagels was too top heavy and it fell on my seat.  When it fell down, the bagel in the top of the bag went flying to the floor in front of the passenger seat in my car.  When I was at a stop light, I reached over to go and grab it from the floor.  Immediately when I reached, I felt a big stinging pain in my shoulder, trapezius muscle, and upper arm.  It was the exact same pain I felt right after my car accident in April.  The same pain that put me in physical therapy for a month and a half. And it hurt the whole rest of that day!

The feeling of instant regret for reaching for the bagel came almost as quickly as the pain itself.  When thinking back to it, I really didn't do anything crazy as I reached for it, and after talking with my physical therapist I realize that it might have just happened another time anyways because there's a good chance that my original injury from the accident didn't heal completely.

That's one of the main spots I hurt!

Anywho...I'm REALLY not happy about this.  This injury happened the day before I got a call from the insurance saying they had a settlement number for me.  The call I had been waiting for, the settlement that would finally end this accident mess.  Ugh. 

I know that I should look at the positive in this, and realize how grateful I should be that I didn't settle yet, which means that any of my physical therapy from here on out is covered by my accident claims. And to be clear, I am grateful.  

However, I'm nervous that it's really bad this time.  When I went for my re-evaluation after this injury last week, EVERYTHING they did to test me hurt soooo bad!  Last time I was in physical therapy it was more about building the strength in those areas, because I didn't really have any pain other than a few days right after the accident.

THIS TIME it's all about the pain.  Oh my gosh, I felt like such a baby, wincing and whining every time they lifted my arm or pushed on it or asked me to do certain exercises.  I mean, I still did them, but I was not happy about it!  I have pain in my arm, upper back, and trapezius (which by the way, what a funny name for the muscle!) every day! UGH.

So I'm back to twice a week at physical therapy.  There's no way of saying how long it'll be for, but I know from experience that after twice a week, it goes down to once a week, and then a re-evaluation from there.  So personally, I see it being at least two months this time, considering how much pain I'm in.  

I'm determined to do this the right way though.  I'm working on my posture daily now (she said that it could really help me out - and actually could have made my injury worse), and I'm also doing my home exercises several times a day.  

Sorry for such a long post that mostly includes whining.  I don't think it's even the pain or annoying-ness of scheduling PT twice a week again that really bothers me.  It's the not being done with this whole mess that bothers me.  That accident was by far the most horrific experience I've ever had and I am still struggling with driving at night without serious anxiety.  

I have been relying a lot on my faith to get me through this, and pray all the time that my anxiety will get better, and that I stay safe.  It's hard to keep the faith that it will all be ok, when I know how little control anyone has on deer-related accidents, ESPECIALLY during mating season which just recently started.  OH and so did hunting season.  Even better.

I'll get there, I know I will.  It's just hard.  :-/

Have you ever heard this? 
"You can have faith.  Or you can have fear. You can't have both." 

I heard it on TV and I was really interested in this idea.  I don't necessarily believe this, but I think it's a great notion.

So for example,  I should have faith that I'm a good driver and that I am more aware of my surroundings because of the experiences I've had with car accidents, and therefore not have fear that a deer will pop out at any moment and put me in another accident. 

But it just doesn't work like that.  I feel like there's too much gray area in between faith and fear for me.  I have faith that I know how to drive well, but I don't have faith that deer will stay away from the road or not run into traffic because I've seen first hand that they do exactly that.  

What do you think? Can you have both faith and fear? Or do you just have one or the other? I'm so intrigued by the thought of only having one, but I just can't imagine it.

Small Buisness Saturday

Free Shipping all day today if you order Thirty-One with me through my email! Just email me your order and payment information.  For every order that is submitted with me today, you will be entered to win a littles carry-all! It's a great gift idea! You could fill it with bath items, candy, or mini-bottles of wine! 

Happy Small Business Saturday! Email me with your order or with any questions you have: thirtyonejstrunk@gmail.com

Have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a great holiday! 

xoxo,

Jess

I'm back!

Wow it's been a while!

I'm just going to post in list style, because I love lists so much and that's pretty much how my brain thinks, so that's how this blog post will go.

• Work - This school year has been great so far.  Other than some a little drama with the background politics in teaching, my year has started off really well.  I have a great class and compared to last year, they are a breeze to deal with! In addition to that, I am a mentor teacher! I have a student teacher that I am mentoring twice a week right now in the Fall, and then five times a week in the Spring. It's pretty exciting and I'm really grateful to have an extra pair of hands in my classroom (in addition to my co-teacher and her intern too!)
•  Grad School - Eh. It is what it is.  The content and projects involved (not including the 60 page articles that I have to read) are actually pretty interesting.  Here's the thing...I just don't care to be a student right now, so I'm not fully into it.  I'm doing my best of course, but I'm honestly only doing it because I have to.  If I didn't have to get a master's degree, I doubt I'd be doing this now. Ah well.  Gotta do it sometime! 

haha!

• My Man - We're doing really well. We celebrated our five year anniversary a few weekends ago by going to Alexandria, Virginia.  We walked around and explored the boutiques and shops and then had a tasty dinner at a cool Irish Pub.  It was really nice.  We also have our holiday gifts figured out too!  I found this great Living Social deal that was perfect for us.  It included two nights at a cute Bed and Breakfast, and a wine tasting at one of our favorite wineries in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a really good deal, but because it wasn't what I could call "cheap" we decided we would just do that this year instead of gifts.  Plus we always go pretty big on our birthdays, so I feel like doing something fun together for Christmas is a great idea.

D and I at the VT game at Fed Ex Field in October

• Make-up - So the BB cream I was all excited about in the post below? Yeah, totally returned it.  I LOVED how it looked, however I didn't love how much it made me break out all over my chin and jawline after using it for a week!  Luckily Sephora is really great about returns, so I just took it back.  Currently, I am trying a new one that has been reviewed by acne-prone individuals.  I haven't been using it every day, I guess because I'm apprehensive I'll break out again.  But so far, I really like it.  This is it:

Skin79 BB Cream

•  Thirty-One - WOW! I'm overwhelmed with how busy I am right now! I currently have 11 parties right now! (that's including online/catalog parties and house parties).  It's awesome, and I'm still loving it. This weekend I have a party on Friday night, Saturday night, and on Sunday afternoon.  Whoa! 
• This time of year - I am so happy during this time of year!  I'm not happy about the declining temperature, but I am happy about the little things that I love about Fall.  Things like pumpkin flavored foods/beverages, apple cider, boots, getting cozy in blankets at night, holiday gift shopping, and Thanksgiving.

I know I have been busy a lot and some of you who still read this like to do so to keep up to date.  I will do my best to try and update this when I can.

Have a great night!  Happy Election Day! It's such an exciting day for our country! I'm interested in seeing what will happen!

Fast Update

Ok I am so tired and don't have a lot of time to do this, so this will be fast.

School- Just started back last week with the kids.  So far, so good.  Of course I already have some kids with red flags as far as behavior goes.  Ah well, story of teaching.

Thirty-One- Last month I was the top seller of my team! (Team - 195 members) Yay! I'm starting to get booked up for September and October, and I had my first recruit join under me last month! Woo!

Grad School- Started today. Ugh.  I have a syllabus as a student again! *By the way, the teacher kept referring to the syllabus as the syllabi, which bothered me because syllabi is plural and she was talking about THE syllabus, which is not more than one.  Anyways...I'm excited about the content of the classes and the group projects, but I'm not excited about teaching and doing this at the same time.

Other- The new fad in the makeup world is BB cream, otherwise known as Beauty balm.  It's wonderful! I have been using Dr. Jart's BB detox cream, and it's amazing.  It is cover-up, sunscreen, antioxidants for your skin, amongst other things all into one! It only comes in one shade because it matches your skin when you put it on (it ACTUALLY does this, sometimes when makeup companies say this it doesn't really do that.  But this one does!) It's really light and it doesn't feel like I'm wearing foundation at all (because it's not foundation!)  So I just use that, and then dust on mineral wear bare minerals to soak up any extra oil since my face is really oily.  My skin finally looks clear and awesome, and not like I put on a ton of extra makeup.  It's great!

Ok that's it for now.  I'll try and write more often again.

Peace out!

Motivated!

So what they had said about the Thirty-One conference was true!

• I got LOTS of free stuff! I counted up the value of it all, and it's over $400 worth! Awesome!
• There were a TON of women there! About 14,000 of them, believe it or not!
• After going, I am super motivated for my business. Wanna know how motivated? I had a thirty-one party the very next day at my house and sold over $1,000 for just that party! Then I had another party a couple days later and sold over $600! Sweet! 
• I've already booked some more shows, done some email things here to some customers, and in a couple weeks I plan on mailing out some new catalogs to get the buzz going on the new products and prints.   
• Being there was so exciting, and completely worth it! I am so glad that I decided to go, although I still don't like to fly.  Ah well. 

Seeing the salary scales that are possible with this company was so surreal.  There is a lady who made $943,000 in commission last year! Holy crap! This company is the definition of the pyramid idea, and as you make your way up, the people under you help you make even more money.  It's pretty great, if you ask me.  I couldn't be more excited about that, because I have two girls who want to sign up under me in the next week or so! I really hope they do, because when they do (and qualify with a certain amount of sales) I will start making 2% off of each of their sales, in addition to the 25% of my own sales that I already get.

 I just love this job!

Atlanta Bound!

...or should I say HOTlanta! It is August!

Posts to follow when I get back!

:)

Oh Hello, New Favorite Lip Stuff!

Covergirl NatureLuxe Gloss Balm

This stuff is AWESOME!  I just finished my first one, and went to Ulta immediately to get my next one!  The colors are all pretty sheer, but still have a bit of color which is great.  It's so feminine and pretty looking!


The best part: it's the most moisturizing and silky smooth lip balm I've ever used! It literally feels like lotion or shea butter for my lips!  I just can't stop using it!


I'm in love!

27x27

I know a lot of bloggers do this, and I've always thought it'd be kinda cool to do.  So I'm doing it...

I'm hoping that I can get these things done by October 7th, which leaves me about 4 months.  I already have a few of them under way.  Wish me luck! :)

Burger Destiny?

So I had some time yesterday in between walking at the lake after school (it's a 2.5 mile walk!) and my physical therapy appointment, so I decided to get something little to eat and drink.

I drove to McDonald's with the thought in my head of "Oh maaann a cheeseburger would be great right now!"  But since I'm trying to be good, I decided to go with a fruit and yogurt parfait instead.  So I order my small drink and parfait, pay and get my bag.  I drive away, open the bag only to find...a cheeseburger!  

I checked my receipt just in case I said cheeseburger on mistake, but I didn't! I did say parfait! 

Apparently it was DESTINY that I have a cheeseburger that day!  Well, I can't just waste a perfectly good cheeseburger! And hey, if the Gods want me to have some meat, I will have some MEAT! 

*Oh and don't worry, it wasn't a big mac or anything,  just a regular ol' little cheeseburger.

:) Gotta love fate!

LOL I googled "Destiny" and this picture came up! Ha! 

Giving In...and feeling relieved!

So I'm giving in!

I have been resisting the serious urge to go buy a bike because we really don't have anywhere to put it...except for the dining room.

But here's the reality: we rarely sit at the dining table.  And although it looks nice, if we're not using it for the time being, and need the space, why not just use the space for what we need?

So we're going to push the table to the side of the room and use it more as counter space (with chairs around it still for seating if we need it)

Dining Room as it is now

And then we can use the other side to hold our bikes! Woo!  I haven't been biking in such a long time, and have been really wanting to do so.  I am really looking forward to doing that!

We still haven't fully decided whether or not we will be moving in October or not, but for now I'm glad that we can make better use of the space that we have.

:)

Yo

So let's see, what's new:

• School is out
• Summer School starts on Monday
• I have spent the past 2 weeks relaxing, doing a lot of 31 stuff, and sleeping in. It has been glorious.  I also got to spend some time with Baby Fin and also Kins and Parker! :)
•  It soooo flippin' hot outside! I'm a bit worried that if it's this hot in June, that we will all be melting by the time August rolls around.
• I am teaching 6th graders for the first part of the day for Summer School and then first and second graders for the second half of the day.  It will be interesting! And exhausting!
• I'm going to try and walk around the lake every day after school with two of my co-workers.  One loop around is around two miles, so I'm hoping that a lot of that will help me lose some weight! 
• Tomorrow is wine day with Chris and Erin!  The 4 of us are going to a couple wineries in Northern Virginia tomorrow all day!  We are bringing snacks along and we're making a whole day out of it.  I'm really excited about it.
• 31 has been going really well.  I did really well last month (I sold over $2100! Bam!) but of course there's always room for improvement.  In the next couple weeks I plan on reaching out to my neighbors with some mini catalogs and my business cards, starting some more catalog parties, talking to my summer school staff, and also trying to find some vendor events to do.
• I start my master's this Fall! OMG.  Ok, that's enough about that.  I don't want to think about it yet!

 Ok, well I know that was incredibly sporadic and random, but that's me for right now!

Enjoy the weather and have a great weekend! :)

Salon Effects

So many prints to choose from!

I tried Salon Effects today, for my nails. This is the stick-on kind of manicure that you can buy at the store.  Here's the one that I bought:

Pink Glitter

And here's how it turned out:

Sorry if it's a bit blurry...apparently the sparkliness created a reflection! I got a sparkly metallic pink color and I love it! It was a bit difficult to figure it all out, but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't so bad.  I think next time I try it, I'll be a pro at it! 

I saw another on that had words on it, like a newspaper, but in cursive font.  I loved it! I might try that one next.  Or maybe a crazy animal print! 

OMG...I was looking online for images for this, and look what popped up!

Um yeah, I think we know which one I'll be trying next! SAweeeeeet! 

Scrapper's Delight!

So I'm teaching a scrapbooking class this Summer! Yessss!

I haven't scrapped in forever, so I figured a trip to Michael's was in order.  I went and got a new scrapbook, some great stickers, and cardstock paper. 

To narrow it down a bit, for right now I'm just sticking to travelling with my man.  So I will be making some pages about the places that we have taken vacations together (and I'm only counting the vacays that we have done alone...the ones with family don't count for this).  So I will be including Boston, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Florida.  I'm very excited about it!

The class is called "Scrapper's Delight" by the way...LOVE it!

Miracle Worker

So I used to use the roll-on eye concealer by Fructis and thought it was amazing.  Boy, was I wrong! I was shopping on Sephora online a little while ago, and decided to look for some new concealer.  I had read some great reviews about this "Erase Paste" by Benefit so I decided to give it a whirl.

This stuff is AMAZING!  It covers my darkest of dark under-eye circles and worst blemishes! SCORE!  It's literally the consistency of paste, hence the name and takes a second to rub in, but the concealing powers of this little pot are phenomenal. 

The little white wand that comes with it is useless and stupid...not really sure why they decided to add that.  I usually just use my fingers or my concealer brush. 

I literally don't think I'll ever go back to anything else for under-eye circles though, this stuff is just magical.

I'm baaaacck

Wow, it's been a long time! Sorry about that.

A lot has happened...

1. 

I was in a really baddddd car accident.

 2. I got accepted into Grad School!  I will be starting my STEM master's program this Fall.

3. Thirty-One is officially my new favorite hobby. 

My flip flop bin! I know you're jealous :)

4. I have two SUPER stinkin' cute nephews...

 

Baby Finley

Baby Parker

5.  There are only 24 school days left.  The kids are driving me crazy, but still making me laugh...

This is supposed to be "toothache."  Ha!

6. I got a new car! Wooooo! I feel much safer in this car, now that I'm sitting up higher! I LOVE it! 

2010 Honda CR-V :)

Gotta go to bed...I'll chat more later :) Night!

Lots of Updating to do...

I'm a list lover, so let's make this post list-alicious :)

Bf Update:

• D and I are still doing well, living together.  However, this house is much too small for us.  We need our own office space.  If he scoots his chair back, he runs into me.  Hopefully the next place we move into will have more room for us.
• We're about to go to Puerto Rico tomorrow for a week! We're really excited.  I had to go to the Minute Clinic this morning and it turns out what I thought was just my usual allergies, is a sinus infection that I've had for a little while. Yuck! At least I have some meds to help me get over it, to take with me on our trip.

Thirty-One Update

• I LOVE this company!
• I am going to the national conference in Atlanta this Summer and I'm so excited about it! I'm a bit terrified of travelling by myself and sharing a room with 3 people that I have only communicated with online, but I'm still so excited!  I also think it's crazy that I'll be in Atlanta in August (holy hotness) but that's ok.
• I just earned two incentives! I earned the March incentive and also my Startswell for having 3 parties within my first thirty days as a consultant. 



This is what I got for the March incentive - I LOVE that giant rolling tote! Perfect for travel!



This is my startswell incentive that I got - skirt purse with fitted skirt, thread swatches, catalogs, and nail files.

School Update:

• Report cards are due the day after we get back from Spring Break! Ugh, whose idea was that?!  Well to make sure that I didn't have anything to stress about when I get back, I did them a week in advance.  It was a lot of work, but completely worth it!  I'm glad that's out of the way. 
• I can't believe that when I get back, it'll be 4th quarter already! This year has flown by!
• I got hired again for Summer School :) I'm excited, I love teaching in the Summer - more pay, less kids, and I'm done at 1pm! Sweet!
• So apparently not enough people have signed up for my Master's program, so they have moved the start date from this Summer to this Fall hoping that more people will sign up.  Either way, it looks like it's still a go.  I really hope so, because I'm really interested in this program and I really need to start my master's degree sooner than later.
• We just went on an awesome field trip to the Newseum in DC.  If you've never been before, you should definitely go! It's awesome.  I keep meaning to go back when I'm not chaperoning/teaching so I can actually focus more on the exhibits instead of the kids.

I am loving the weather lately! Flip flops are officially in full swing! Yessssss.

Anyways, have a great week! When I return, I'll have lots of pictures from Puerto Rico!

Teacher by day, independent business woman by night!

**Do you have any words that you chronically spell incorrectly? I have two.  One is business and the other is environment. You would think that as a teacher that uses both of those words pretty frequently, I would get the hang of it, but apparently my brain is full of spellings and just doesn't have the room for those two.  Go figure.

Anywho...

Thirty-One has been going great!

I had my first party last weekend at my house.  So I was the hostess and consultant and it worked out really well.  I was nervous, but since it was my family and friends, it wasn't that big of a deal.  The party had a really great turn-out, shopping wise, and I was able to split it into two parties when I put them in, so that I can earn this company incentive easier (when I have three parties within my first 30 days as a consultant, they send me free products!)

I had my second party this past Friday and it was really fun.  It was for a co-worker who is pregnant and just started telling people about it.  So of course having a thirty-one party with lots of bags that would be great to use as a new mommy was perfect for her!  AND even though there were only 8 or 9 guests there, I booked 3 parties that night with her guests! SCORE!

I also just registered to go to the National Conference for Thirty-One in Atlanta, Georgia in August.  I'm really nervous to travel alone, since I'm not a fan of planes but I'm excited to go.  Girls that go get a TON of free products, lots of training on how to make your business (there's that word again!) more successful, and you get to meet lots of women who do this all over the country. 

It's going to be SUPER hot.  I can't believe I'm going to Atlanta in August! Goodness! It's a good thing that for most of the time, I'll be inside an air-conditioned building for meetings and conferences!

I'm so glad that I started doing this, I absolutely love it and can't wait to start seeing a true monetary benefit from it! (I haven't earned a lot so far, and what I have earned has gone right back into the business to keep it going)

<3

Love this

No wonder I love this new job!

Mini Zipper Pouch



All-In-One Organzier

I get to sell cute bags like these...and when I buy them it's great marketing for me, since everyone sees them and asks questions!

Score!

I'm using the top one as a pen holder for when I do 31 parties (I figured it would be good because then everyone is passing it around and admiring it!)

I'm thinking of using the pink one as a (cute and stylish) car trash can. 

:) 

I'm so excited -- my first Thirty-One party is tomorrow and I'm hosting it at my house.  This will be the first time we will have a lot of people over at once since we've moved in.  I LOVE hosting and having people over, so I'm excited I can finally do it!

Why does it always have to be about money?!

"Show me the monneeeeeyyyy!!"

I hate that money is involved in EVERYTHING.  I can try to be all positive about love and life and relationships, etc. etc...

But the reality is that money is on all of our minds EVERY day.

It's so annoying!

I don't want to think about it all the time, and I wish it wasn't such a stresser and constant thought on my mind.

This month alone, I have my regular bills (rent, BGE, verizon, gym, student loan, cell phone, gas, food).  I also had my huge 6 month car insurance payment (over $500), and I'm getting a lot of maintenance done on my car too (about $550).  Not to mention the money I have put into starting my own business (Thirty-One).  I feel like every time I feel good about money, there's always a random other bill or expense that pops up!

I wonder if my wallet/bank account are traitors! Maybe they tell everyone that I have some "extra" non-used money in my account, so that's why I get random bills/expenses?!

I have my master's degree program coming up as well.  For the first semester, I need $700.  I know that that is a severely discounted rate, considering the fact that the rest of it has been reimbursed by the county.  I reaaallllyy didn't want to, but I think I will be taking out a student loan for my master's.  My hope would be to pay some of it myself initially and then use the loan for the rest, so that when I finish my master's, it won't be for the full amount of the degree.  We shall see.

Do you ever feel annoyed that it's always all about money?!

Business Cards!

I took out my phone number for this picture, but on the real thing that is included.  Aren't they so cute?! I LOVE the pink and black, the polka dots, and just how Jessie they are! This is definitely my kind of business card!  I'm so excited for when they get here!

I even ordered a business card holder that is personalized as well!

Can you tell that I'm really excited?

I'm a 31 Consultant!

I just became an independent consultant for Thirty-One gifts!

I'm so excited!

I am in love with all of their products, and I'm already a frequent customer.  So now as a consultant I can sell them and make some extra money!

My kit just came today, and it makes me even more excited!

I even have a website!

http://www.mythirtyone.com/jstrunk/

PR here we come!

We bought our tickets and hotel reservations last week for Puerto Rico.  April cannot come sooner!

I can't wait!  I'm really excited to have a fun vacation to look forward to :)

Happy Wednesday!



Source

 I'm gonna be all teacher-y on you and make a personal glow on/grow on list for myself, based on how I've been doing in the New Year.  (In case you didn't figure it out...glow on is thinking about the positve things that should be praised, and the grow on are things that could still use some improvement -- we use this model a lot when we do parent/teacher conferences). 

Glow On:
*I have been much better about washing my face every night!  I used to awful at it, but now with a new skincare line (more on that later) and the results that keep me going (mostly clear skin! woo!) it's easy to stick with it.
*I have been maintaining my consistent gym routine - 3-4 times a week no matter what. 
*I have been more productive at work during the day, so I don't feel the need to stay late/come early anymore.  Sweet!

Grow On:
*I want to try and make sure Dan and I have more couple time together during the week.  I thought moving in together would mean that we would see each other automatically all the time, but in reality we really don't, given late night gym workouts, babysitting, tutoring, meet ups with other friends, dinners with parents, etc. 
*I still need to get better at saving more money, and more consistently.  I wouldn't say that I'm bad with my finances; I always pay my bills and I don't usually splurge a lot with my credit card.  However, I really want to figure out a way to save more each month, especially for retirement since my retirement benefits are pretty crap-tastic.
*I need to eat more veggies!  I have been on a fruit crave for a while now, so I'm covered with that, but I have been slacking on my veggie intake!  I hope to start packing some in my lunches from now on, whether it be a salad or some carrot sticks with hummus, or just some cut up bell peppers (Mmm!).  

I know I said I wouldn't do a New Year's Resolution post, but I guess these things can be sort of like a resolution...or just general day-to-day goals for myself.  :)

Organizational Tips and Tricks!

I got this AWESOME email from one of my bests, and I'm pretty much obsessed with it.  I LOVE finding out stuff like this.  (duh! organization is one of my favorite hobbies!)

I found the original source: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/blogs/135499623.html

Enjoy! Let me know which one was your favorite!  I love all of them, but especially the magnet strip for bobby pins, and pillowcases full of matching linen sets! So smart!

Hull strawberries easily using a straw.

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes.

Remove crayon stains from tvs or computer screens with WD-40.

Stop your cut apples from browning in your lunch bag by putting a rubber band around it.

Store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone & iPod in a bowl. The concave shape amplifies the music.

re-use a wet wipes container to hold plastic bags

Use baby powder to help get sand off your skin.  Take it with you to the beach!

Store soft toys by putting a velcro strip on the wall



Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the floor.

 

Find tiny lost items like earrings by putting a stocking over the vacuum hose.

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid.

FINALLY! How to fold a fitted sheet!

Forever losing your bathroom essentials? Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins, tweezers and clippers, behind a vanity door

Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes. And you can find them in just about every hotel.

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy. Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.

Bread tags make the perfect cord label.

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones, so much more fun and easier for kids to eat.

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper bag. Much healthier and cheaper than the packet stuff.

Install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles.

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila, you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream.



Freeze Aloe Vera in ice-cube trays for soothing sunburn relief.

Create a window veggie patch using gutters

Use egg cartons to separate and store your Christmas decorations.