Sweet Catastrophe

It’s love! I don’t like wearing typical nail polish colors– pinks and reds just aren’t me– so when I saw the display of the new Sally Hansen line of course I stopped to go through them. All your typical shades are there, but they had some really fantastic shades that you just don’t see. Definitely a more adult take on wilder colors. You can check out the whole line here, and the color on the website is pretty true to how it comes out on your nails. Ignore the ’shine’ in the middle, but in my experience so far, the color to the right in the image is what I get with a single coat and the color to the left is what I’ve gotten with two coats.

This is base coat, strengthener, growth treatment, color, & top coat all in one bottle. I was skeptical at a price tag of $6.50, but I gave in and bought Commander in Chic which is a fantastic brown/gray color.

I’ve gotten quite a few compliments on both colors I’ve tried.

Unlike some higher priced polishes, you’re still getting the typical .5 oz bottle. I was impressed right off with the brush shape. It’s flat, with a great curve to it and a more exaggerated slant to one side. This made my polishing session much less messy.

Of course the color came out great with a less-than-typical dry time, which is always a plus.

The true test, though, was working the next day. Because of how much I use my hands at work, even with an amazing top coat the polish at the tips of my nails is always killed after a shift. After two shifts, it’s demolished enough that my nails already look like they need to be repainted. It’s a pain. Two coats of the Sally Hansen– over a week later I’m barely seeing the slightest amount of wear on the tips and no chipping!

I can say this with confidence as I’ve now painted my nails with this stuff 3 times and gotten the same results each time. Currently I have Commander in Chic and Gray by Gray but I’m absolutely going back for more colors. $6.50 may be more than what I usually spend on a bottle of polish, but it’s more than worth it considering I’m not wasting more polish with touch-ups two days later and I’m not wasting my time completely re-doing my nails every few days.

I definitely say give this one a shot.

I purchased Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure on my own and received no
compensation for this review.

I haven’t kept it a secret that I sort of love Buy.com, but I had another experience with them this week that cemented my love even further.

I’ve been shopping around for a new FM Transmitter for the Jeep. Despite being almost 5 years old, my Belkin still works great, but the position of my cigarette outlet puts it in an awkward spot. It sits right behind the shifter so when I’m in park, it’s touching the screen. I didn’t even have any minor scratches on the face of my dear Ripper until I moved to the Jeep, and now I have three. =( I can’t see the screen when it’s in park either so I can’t watch The Office in my Jeep during breaks at work, and that’s super disappointing. And the positioning is awkward enough that I can’t comfortably reach the “Next” button when Shuffle isn’t being friendly.

So two weeks ago I found one of the transmitters I’ve been looking at on the Weekly Sale page for a really great price. It was regularly around the $50 range, but it was on sale for cheap enough that I didn’t even have to think twice about buying it. I could skip fast food one night and justify buying it.

I couldn’t tell exactly how the hookup was set up, but it came with a remote, so I knew it was guaranteed to be better than what I already had.

I was sorely disappointed when it arrived. I immediately hooked it up and found that the remote just wouldn’t work for me. It had to be pointed directly at the unit, and needed to be within 3 inches. Pointless? Yup. And at times, the buttons would change functions– I’d be pressing “Next” for the next song and it would just start fast forwarding. I thought maybe I had pressed it a certain way to make that happen (no instruction booklet since it was mostly a self-explanatory unit) but then it started changing the FM station, which was supposed to be controlled by a completely separate section of the remote! I was annoyed, but the unit itself sat much closer to the dash and thus pulled my iPod away from the shifter so I decided I’d keep it and just chalk the remote up as a loss. I didn’t pay that much anyway, ya know?

And then the next day I got nothing out of it. I got so frustrated flipping through stations and when they’d sync up the station would go clear like it normally does but it wouldn’t transmit the iPod through. When I parked I just started trying random things with the remote and eventually I turned it off. The screen on the unit even read, “Off” and lo and behold, my iPod started coming through the speakers.

At that point I packaged it back up and jumped on Buy.com to start the refund process. When I pulled my order up, I read that since my item was purchased through a Marketplace Seller that I needed to contact them directly. I don’t know why, but this automatically put me in defense mode because I expected them to hassle me. I’ve never had a problem with Buy.com providing assistance so I don’t know why I was worried, but I was. I emailed them and kept it factual until the end when I told them I thought it was a, “glitchy piece of crap from China.” Oops.

Anyway, I was prepared to argue with someone about paying for the defective item to be returned and waiting two weeks for a refund, but I was shocked to find that within 24 hours I received an email from Buy.com letting me know that a refund request had been issued. I was confused because I hadn’t spoken with anyone about sending the item back! But moments later I got an email letting me know that they’d issued a request for a refund to me, they apologized for the (maybe) defective item, and told me I didn’t need to send it back.

I was pleasantly surprised by that! My email was pretty clear that the unit’s basic functions were working, just that it was being awfully quirky, so I’m surprised they told me to keep it! I’m leaving it in my kit in the Jeep to have as a backup if/when mine gives out.

So of course Buy.com and their Marketplace Sellers have solidified my love for them. I just wasn’t sure how picky they were about who they allowed to sell on the site, but now I see their sellers offer just as great customer service as Buy.com does.

So now I’m looking at this transmitter so I can raise the iPod above the shifter and turn it towards me. It also charges the iPod, which is an absolute must for me in a transmitter. I already know the shape will hold Ripper in place safely, I’m just not sure if I’m ready to try my luck with another remote control. I also can’t shake that, “you get what you pay for” vibe so the low prices are scaring me a little. lol I mean, I paid almost $100 for my current transmitter and it’s still going strong– I really want to find something like that again with an updated style to fit my new needs. What do you think?

I buy packs of boneless chicken breasts, cut off any fat and freeze them individually to eat later.

I hate doing this. In fact, I hate doing it so much that last time I bought chicken I kept putting it off until I forgot and wasted the chicken. I can’t afford to do that!

So last week when I picked up chicken I saw a box of individually wrapped, boneless, skinless chicken breast. They’re all-natural with nothing added and I don’t really care about that. They were all of $1 more than the chicken breasts I normally buy so I figured I’d give them a shot!

I wasn’t disappointed!

The box advertises 5-7 breasts, I suppose they fill the boxes by weight.

They’re about as big as my hand frozen and they don’t lose much size at all when cooked. In fact, they’re much bigger than the breasts I normally buy.

I just threw one in a pan in some foil, covered it with my favorite chicken marinade, in this case I used Caesar Vinaigrette w/ Parmesan, and tossed it in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes. The box suggest 45 minutes if frozen, 30 if thawed.

It came out just as delicious as any other chicken, but, like I said, bigger. It’s a thicker cut than what I’m used to.

The price sign didn’t suggest that it was a sale so I hope they were regular price so I can continue buying them!

I have a ton of music, and I honestly don’t listen to everything when I get it. I’ll find an artist I like and acquire their whole discography or a good chunk of it and it may be another year or so before I truly listen to it all. I just have to be in the right mood for something new. I like it though; this way I’m always discovering new favorites within my own collection.

“What Sarah Said” became one of those new favorites just a few days before Willow got sick. Talk about timing. Anyhow, it’s an absolutely beautiful song done in true Death Cab fashion with no-bullshit-lyrics. It’s just all laid out.

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And it came to me then
That every plan
Is a tiny prayer to Father Time
As I stared at my shoes
In the ICU
That reeked of piss and 409

And I rationed my breaths
As I said to myself
That I’d already taken too much today
As each descending peak
On the LCD
Took you a little farther away from me
Away from me…

Amongst the vending machines
And year-old magazines
In a place where we only say goodbye
It stung like a violent wind
That our memories depend
On a faulty camera in our minds

And I knew that you were a truth
I would rather lose
Than to have never lain beside at all
Then I looked around
At all the eyes on the ground
As the TV entertained itself

Cause there’s no comfort in the waiting room
Just nervous pacers bracing for bad news
And then the nurse comes round and everyone will lift their heads
But I’m thinking of what Sarah said
That love is watching someone die…

So who’s gonna watch you die? (3xs)

I love this song for a few reasons– for one, it just sounds great, but I really love the meaning I pull from it. It makes me think of when you’re in a relationship and you just accept things for what they are and assume that there are times when you just have to settle. There are things about this person you don’t particularly like, but no one’s perfect, right? The relationship ends and eventually you move on and (if you’re lucky) find someone who’s actually right for you. Of course there are things about them that remind you of the old relationship because they have the traits you gravitate to in a person, but they seem to lack all those down sides and you realize that maybe in love, you really don’t have to just ’settle.’

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I met her in a room of strangers
Laughing as I painted her with mind
Now we meet in darkest places
More sacred than any place
You and I could find

Just like you, only sweeter
Just like you, but more refined
Just like you, without the bitter
Unlike you, she never lies

It’s a fresh touch, a new way
A language of our own brought to life
A slow serenade to the broken
Drowning out the years
Holding back the tide

When she turns in the shadows
She calls to me
And seems to me
Like you from time to time

(She’s) Just like you, only sweeter
Just like you, but more refined
Just like you, only deeper
Just like you, but more alive
(She’s) Just like you, but I can feel her
Unlike you, she never hides

The soft pulse
Shakes the whole room
Quiets the sound of the crowded mind

And then she comes in the shadows
She feels to me
Like it used to be
Before we had to try

(She’s) Just like you, only sweeter
Just like you, with more inside
(She’s) Just like you, without the bitter
Unlike you, she never lies

Ressurrections just a whisper from your lips
And it’s coming through
Hard to think of even one thing that I could miss
When it comes to you

Just like you, only sweeter
Just like you, but more refined
Just like you, without the bitter
Just like you, with nothing to hide
Unlike you, she never lies
Unlike you, she doesn’t hide

Just like you, only sweeter
Just like you, with more inside
(She’s) Just like you, only deeper
She’s just like you, but more alive
(She’s) Just like you, but I can feel her
Unlike you, she doesn’t hide
Unlike you, she never lies
Unlike you, she’s always right here..

Wow! I can’t even begin to tell you how impressed I am with this cleaner!

Our apartment is old, and hasn’t been professionally cleaned in probably more than ten years. We’re not in the typical setup where people move out, the landlord sends someone in to clean and repaint, and then someone new moves in. These apartments have been passed down– sometimes switching out one roommate at a time. For the past 6 years it’s been primarily boys so only mild surface cleaning has been done.

Our bathroom was the worst. (I can’t tell you how excited I am to put that in past tense!!) Every crevice of the shower floor and wall was covered in a gray or yellow sheen of years of impacted mildew and soap scum. It was bearable only because it had been there so long that it was pretty much just a part of the tile, ya know?

In the time I’ve been here I’ve tried multiple things only to spend over an hour scrubbing to get maybe a square foot looking clean….yeah I just can’t do an entire shower like that– who could?

I saw this Arm & Hammer in the store and I had been looking for something with a bit of bleach in it to give the shower another go. I completely ignored the ’scrub free’ part since that’s NEVER true. It was only a few dollars so I threw it in the cart.

I’m still at a loss for words for how great this worked. I sprayed it on, expecting some scrub time but it was never needed! Most areas I never touched at all! The most I had to do was wipe a sponge across the major problem areas with very minimum pressure. At first I thought I’d have to scrub with the rough side of the sponge through each of the crevices between tiles, but I soon realized that if I let the product sit for the suggested amount of time, it took care of it!

I don’t have a before picture of the shower because I wasn’t expecting these miraculous results, but you can see now that my shower walls are totally white again and the window in the shower– I honestly always thought the glass was frosted. I’ve wiped it down many times before with no different results so I had no reason to believe otherwise until now!! I’m only partially done with the ceiling so you can see the differences there with just spraying and you start seeing the results by the time you start on another section!

My bathroom is almost spotless now! It’s ridiculous, but I’ve been stopping to look at it often. It excites me that much….

Anyhow, the only downside really is that it is a bleach cleaner and comes with the strong smell. Because of my asthma, I’ve been having to do it all in sections to get away from the fumes for a bit.

The smell lingers, but not in a way that makes it hard to be in the bathroom, and in my experience it’s been gone by the next day.

There’s a lemon-scented version without the bleach that I came across a few great reviews of as well, so I’m definitely going to look for that one to try for maintaining this cleanliness without the bleach smell.

I’ve got some staining on the kitchen counters as well so I want to try it out there and see if it can stand up to that. I’ll let you know!

If you try one new cleaning product this year, I highly recommend that it be this one.

When Henry meets Claire, he is twenty-eight, and she is twenty. He’s a hip, handsome librarian; she is an art student with Botticelli hair. Henry has never met Claire before; Claire has known Henry since she was six…

Henry has a genetic disorder which spontaneously sends him through time– mostly to the past.

This story is absolutely incredible. I found myself amazed by the amount of detail that could be included and all still make perfect sense. I kept waiting for a slip-up or something contradictory to happen with such an elaborate setup, but it was total perfection.

You follow the story more or less in chronological order for Clare, with the story coming sometimes from Clare and sometimes from Henry. When I first started reading, I thought it would all be terribly confusing as there are random moments out of order, but it all comes together to serve a purpose and make sense.

I don’t know what to say about the book other than to give it my enthusiastic recommendation. I could barely put it down. It’s one I think I’ll be soon re-reading to look for more connections that I know escaped me the first time around.

It’s also been made into a motion picture but there’s some red tape to take care of before it’ll be released. Essentially, there are those who worry that it will be thought of as too similar to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but of course, they’re entirely different stories, but I suppose it’s hard for some to ignore two stories involving someone ‘old’ meeting their future love while she’s still young.

Anyhow, this one gets my total seal of approval. I’m so glad to have found it.

S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

The “Good Parts” Version Abridged by William Goldman

I’ve loved the movie adaptation of The Princess Bride practically my whole life. It’s always been cherished. I picked up the book….well I don’t even know how long ago and finally decided to read it.

Apparently S. Morgenstern put a great deal of Florin history and satire in his story, such as spending 56 pages on the Queen packing, traveling, and unpacking, meeting with a princess of Guilder, her packing, them traveling back and unpacking. Well, William Goldman has cut out all of this and just included the ‘good parts’. Call me silly, but I was probably a good halfway through the book before I went to look up something online and discovered that S. Morgenstern only exists as a sort of pseudonym/literary device for Goldman. It’s entirely his creation. Hooray for me not knowing what’s up! Anyhow, I thought that was incredibly interesting and pretty brilliant of him!

I LOVED this book and will certainly be reading it again. I always knew I would.

Inigo and Fezzik are just as they are in the movie. Most of my favorite lines are there such as, “I only dog paddle” and “Inconceivable!”

Of course some of the story details are a little different, but nothing so much as to really change the story for me.

One big difference is that we really see how Buttercup goes from not caring at all about Westley to what we see in the movie. The transformation is fantastic! I loved that extra insight into her character. There’s a bit more development to Inigo and Fezzik as well =)

I don’t really know what else to say about it other than if you enjoy the movie, you’ll absolutely enjoy the novel as well!

I would very much love to see if Goldman delivers on finishing his ’sequel’ Buttercup’s Baby. Supposedly it was set to be ready for the 35th anniversary edition in 2009. The first chapter is included in the book edition I own and I hate cliffhangers!

From IMDB:

Set on a colorful Greek island, the plot serves as a background for a wealth of great ABBA songs which are used in remarkably appropriate ways. A young woman about to be married discovers that any one of three men could be her father. She invites all three to the wedding without telling her mother, Donna, who was once the lead singer of Donna and the Dynamos. In the meantime, Donna has invited her backup singers, Rosie and Tanya.

The short of it– Nope.

Okay, so I didn’t watch expecting to love or even truly enjoy the movie, but you know sometimes movies like this are just worth watching once for simple entertainment.

Notsomuch with this one.

There’s really not a plot here, just some vague storyline pieced together weakly just as a setup for the next ABBA song. Unfortunately, you can’t even skip the songs since you never know when they’ll break for dialogue.

And Meryl Streep’s character spazzes out and reacts to everything as a teenager would and it’s just awful trying to watch someone her age act that way.

The only thing I enjoyed about the movie was watching Amanda Seyfried in a role that was really cute for her. I enjoyed her character– she played the part well.

And of course the three possible fathers were fun. Other than that it was just painful.

So if you think you might as well succumb to the hype ’cause it’ll probably be cute and somewhat entertaining, don’t bother ;)

Coming from me– the picky eater, the girl who shies away from just about anything that could possibly be considered healthy– this may come as a shock. Quaker Oatmeal Squares is by far my absolute most favorite cereal.

It’s got such an incredible taste! It just has this subtle sweetness to it that’s so unexpected.

And of course it’s completely filling as well!

They’re great in a bowl of ice-cold milk, or just by the handful as a snack. In fact, I think I should go have a bowl now.

Edit: Oh hey! I have a terrible habit of forgetting I have cereal here when I run out of milk. I waste a lot that way, unfortunately. I just found that I had a box in the cabinet that has a sell-by date for the beginning of November and I know it was opened at least a month before that. You won’t believe it, but they weren’t stale! Lasting-power in a cereal! That’s a definite plus!