The Journey To California: Los Angeles Bound & Big NEWS.

If you read this today, November 28^th, 2014, then you are probably reading it while I am on a plane high up in the sky. Hopefully I’m taking a MUCH needed nap. I might be watching a movie on my laptop relaxing whilst on my travels. What you might be wondering is what am I doing on a plane today? It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to blog and boy am I WAY behind. So while I have an hour to wait til I board my flight, here’s the update….. (Be prepared it’s A LOT. So this is going to be just a part of what’s going on)

I am flying out to Los Angeles today. The day has come that I have dreamed about for over two years. I have hoped this day would come again in my life that I would be able to go back to the place I love, the city I thrive in, the place I left a part of my heart the very day I left in 2012.  I wanted to do this move the “right” way though. Last time I moved, I literally packed up some suitcases, hopped on a plane, crossed my fingers the room I was renting via Craiglist would work out and prayed I would get a job within a month. It was pretty carefree and in the end it all worked out. This time is different though. This time I have someone more important to think about than anyone or anything in this world and that is my beautiful baby girl.

I needed a job secured this time around. A job that would pay rent, pay for my daughter’s childcare, pay for a car and all the necessities of life on a single income. Not to mention being out of work for two and a half years makes the job hunt a scary place. Who is going to want me? Will any company see value in me? Can I find something that pays what I need to survive alone?

Well, the amazing news is I did! I accepted an INCREDIBLE job offer doing exactly what I was looking for in a CAREER. Not just a job but somewhere that I see myself staying, growing, moving up, taking names and kicking booty the way I know how. A modern, innovative company that I am beyond thrilled to join and quite frankly still a little shocked I have the position I was hired for! I’m not going to mention the name of the company here in my blog publicly, but if you are my friend on Facebook then you will be able to see I have indeed updated my “work” info.  

Now moving across the country with a toddler is no easy feat. I’ve discovered we had a ton of stuff to move, more than I anticipated. I found an affordable way to ship all our belongings in two pods from the company Door-to-Door moving and storage. Good news is I have everything I need already to start up a new apartment with my little girl, so once my containers arrive, I’m all set. I don’t really need to be spending extra expenses buying items necessary for our own place. Just a bed and couch really which I’ve scouted out serious discounted prices this sales weekend already. J  So that takes care of our belongings.

Here comes the hardest part. To make the transition easy on a two year old, the BEST decision was to go out to LA on my own at first to secure an apartment, setup a preschool and setup all of her belongings, bed etc so she is walking into a new life ready to go! I start work Monday morning so I have a lot to get done. As I’m typing this in the airport, I keep fighting back my tears of just having to have said my “see ya laters” to her. Anyone that knows me knows I have never left my daughter. In her almost two and a half years of her entire life I left her for one brief overnight with friends and got her bright and early in the morning because I missed her so much! That was it. Beyond that it’s been her and I her whole life. We aren’t ever apart from each other. I’ve been fighting back bawling and having a royal meltdown over this part of the journey for a few weeks now, especially this week and I’m sure once I hit LA, I’ll be a hot mess and I’ll cry it out at some point. The reality of it is I know this is the best way to go about it for her. I have and always will do what’s in her best interest. It will be a priceless time for her to get to spend quality time with Grandma and Abuelo before she comes back with me to Los Angeles. I know she will have a blast…..she just better not forget about me!

I know this is long so I’ll try to sum it up and write another post this weekend to update more about this whole journey. I will say this, I know very well that some people don’t understand, won’t understand and can’t understand why I am doing this. Why do I want to go back to California? How dare I move my daughter across the country away from her Grandparents? I have been told I am selfish and only thinking about myself. To that this is what I have to say. My daughter is always and WILL always be my number one priority.  Reality I HAVE to work. I am a single parent household so while some have this great idea that I can stay home forever, I’m wondering if you all are going to continue to pay my bills as well??? I am not looking forward to leaving her in childcare but I know deep down she WILL be ok, she will thrive, she will probably be stoked and run away from me to go play with friends. She asks me all the time to go play with boys and girls. She runs on the playground and loudly announces to everyone, “HI! My name is AUBREY ROSE!!” This is the little girl I’ve raised that I know will be ok. She is smart, caring and has her mommy’s outgoing and independent personality that will make this all work out.

What I do know is this, I can provide for her there and I can take her to all the incredible family events that happen ALL year round. No more stuck and stranded in the house for 6 months+ due to the cold air or bad weather. We can hit the beach in December, January, February…..anytime she wants! We will be two miles away from the Pacific Ocean. I also believe that when a parent is happy, their child is happy. I am not selfish because I also want to be happy. If that makes me selfish in some people eyes, oh well. I know my dream is not everyone’s dream and that’s ok. We all have different dreams, different goals, and different likes. We all have different answers of where our ideal vacation would be so when you don’t understand why I’m doing this, it’s probably just because you wouldn’t do it.

I hope my daughter realizes that she can do whatever she wants to do. She can accomplish and chase any dream she has. This has not been easy, this has so far been the hardest thing to do and get together but I’m doing it. I’m making it work. I’m not giving up and I will be the role model to my daughter that she should have.

Never settle. Never give up. You want something, go after it. If you’re not happy, change something in your life and BE happy. We all deserve happiness, we all deserve to go after our happy endings. It may not easy. Following your dreams are not always easy but you can’t stop because you have hard times, bumps in the roads. There are always going to be obstacles, people who try to stop you, people who don’t believe in you.  Believe in yourself, believe in the power of positivity and great things can happen. I’m doing it….I’m following my dream again. A dream I have not just for me, but for me and my daughter. I am excited, overwhelmed, anxious, thrilled, sad and scared shitless.  I have faith, I have family support, I have the drive of my daughter pushing me to be the best I can be and I thankfully have the good Lord above watching out for me.

….I’ll check back in with you all once I’m in sunny California. Time to get ready for boarding.

If you want to continue to follow my journey, go “like” my blog fb page, “Life’s A Beach Mom” for all the latest updates I’ll be posting. Love you all. Follow your dreams.

*I apologize for typos, grammatical errors. I don't have time to edit! I need to board my flight now!*

You Took Night Time Cold Medicine Mom? Let's Stay Awake All Night!

So I woke up Saturday morning with swollen lymph nodes and an incredibly dry throat along with a lovely headache. After a quick investigation at my throat with a flashlight and seeing lovely white bumps all about, I have self diagnosed myself with some strep.

Never the less the day wasn't bad, but I was feeling pretty crappy later on. So before bed I took a multi-symptom NIGHT time medicine. I wanted night time to help me get a solid night of sleep since I am often a restless sleeper lately. (My brain hasn't been able to shut off apparently with so much going on)

Took the  medicine, got the kiddo to sleep, did some online research for a bit until I felt really tired. I probably went to sleep a little after or around 10:30. Well apparently some evil curse must have been placed on me because my toddler decided to give a night more restless than any other when I was in a zombie mode....

11:30 pm - Toddler gets out of bed and crawls into mine. This is no surprise, happens quite often still but not quite this early in the night usually.

11:30pm - 2:30am - An extreme amount of toddler rolling about in bed and kicking me. You are already taking up 90% of the queen size bed kid....like just get comfortable and GO TO SLEEP.

2:35 am - "Mommy I want juice." The juice is far far away in a land called the kitchen which is down the long hallway, down the long stairway and into the still even further far away fridge. I offer water since that's what I kept up there for her. She doesn't want much. If you don't want much water, you aren't that thirsty....go to sleep.

4:11 am - "Mommy I want something to eat." -- "It's 4am, everyone is sleeping, it's dark outside, go back to sleep, close your eyes, you can have breakfast in the morning with everyone else, you're fine."

[Thoughts occurring in my head at this point...YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TONIGHT. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???!!!! Ugh my throat hurts so bad, I need some water...how does she take up so much room in the bed?]

4:32 am - "Mommy I have to go pee pee's." - In the almost two and a half years of your lovely little life, you have never once in the middle of the night woken up and asked to go "pee-pee". Never once. But tonight CLEARLY is the opportune time to try it out. Clearly.

No matter how sick you are, when your toddler actually asks to go pee pee, you give it a shot. Although I should have known it wasn't the full truth.....

Sick mommy takes toddler to the bathroom and praises the lord that at least it is located IN the bedroom and we don't have to go far. Toddler asks to put the light on. HELL NO. (I just said no, I don't actually swear, I just think those words in my head) We can see fine. If we put the light on, I'll go blind and lose my way back to the bed and it will probably only wake up the toddler even more. Cries because she doesn't want to go potty. Crazy how quick that changes in a matter of 60 seconds. Change pee soaked diaper because clearly that's where she decided to empty her bladder. And back to bed. Now it's about 4:45am "GO TO SLEEP." "We can snuggle, but CLOSE YOUR EYES."

5:33 am - "Mommy I want something to eat." Again?! Really? No, it's still too early GOOOOO TOOOO SLEEEEPPPPP. EVERYONE IS FAST ASLEEEEEP in the world. EVERYONE.

Ugh I'm gonna have to actually wake up in an hour with her. What happened to my night of sleep?

7:09 am - "Mommy, WAKE UP. I want something to eat. Get up. Take it off! (in regards to my eye mask as she pries it off my head)" I guess I have no more excuses and have to get up now. "Give me a minute to stretch Aubrey, just give me a minute to get up ok? I'll make you some sausage and eggs for breakfast." (Pretty nice breakfast offer I think considering how crappy I feel)
Response from toddler....let's jump on Mommy. On her stomach, on her legs and let's plop our little butt directly on mom's face multiple times.

I must have been cursed from the moment I took that night time medicine. Like the universe thought it was hysterical I actually wanted to sleep. Some moms I know are up more than that. And I completely understand...my darling baby girl never slept a single night through until she was 15 months old. Yup. She was up pretty much that entire span of her life every two hours. On a good night, I would get a three hour block of sleep.  But never in her toddler life have I had SO many requests in the middle of the night and so much tossing and turning that kept hitting, kicking and plopping on top of me. And normally I wouldn't even care that much but I felt like CRAP. Plus this is the downsides of single motherhood, there is never anyone else to get up even when you're sick, in a cold medicine coma and not wanting to move. I'm crossing my fingers tonight is better. Send your sleepy vibes to the both of us tonight!

Evenflo Recalls Embrace 35 Infant Child Restraints

Evenflo Company is recalling 202,346 Embrace 35 two-piece, rear-facing infant child restraints equipped with an AmSafe QT1 buckle.

The restraints were manufactured at various times from December 2011, through May 2013.

Over time, use of the seat can make the harness buckle difficult to unlatch. A buckle that does not release easily, or possibly at all, may make it difficult to remove the child from the restraint, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a vehicle crash, fire or other emergency in which a prompt exit from the vehicle is required.

Evenflo will notify registered owners and provide a remedy kit, including a replacement buckle and instructions for easy consumer removal of the AmSafe buckle and installation of the newly-designed replacement buckle. The recall is expected to begin on, or about, October 22, 2014.

Owners may contact Evenflo's toll-free number at 1-800-490-7591.

The affected model numbers include:

• 30711365,
• 31511040,
• 31511323,
• 31511400,
• 3151198,
• 3151953,
• 31521138,
• 46811205,
• 46811237,
• 48111200,
• 48111215,
• 48111215A,
• 48111218,
• 48111234,
• 48111235,
• 48111235A,
• 48111462,
• 48411391,
• 48411391D,
• 48411392,
• 48411504,
• 48411504D,
• 52911307A,
• 52921040,
• 55311138,
• 55311238, and
• 55311292.

The Journey to California: Headin’ South Y’all.

So it’s been no secret I have been working my way to get Aubrey and I back to Los Angeles, CA. It’s been quite a difficult journey trying to make it work out the right way to get back. Not to mention moving back with a toddler and all her lovely belongings is so much harder than my first move there. That consisted of me hoping on a plane with some suitcases, crossing my fingers that the room I rented off craigslist was going to work out and just figuring it all out day by day. The “why” I am going back will be a whole other edition of “The Journey to California” since SO many people can’t seem to stop asking that ever so annoying question. So believe me I will give you some answers and I never want to hear it asked again!

Back to present day. What is happening right now? Well I was really hoping to have everything figured out to have been back in CA already but clearly I’ve been stuck in Massachusetts and it’s only getting colder which is a very scary thing to me. (I HATE the cold. HATE.) There was a phenomenal work opportunity that I just slightly missed getting the position after three weeks of interviewing but there is still a potential opportunity with that company once I am physically out there. So that is good, I stick with the positive side of things. Finding somewhere to temporarily stay to solidify housing has proven a difficult feat and that is pretty important. My parents have known for months that they are moving to Georgia. It’s an amazing opportunity for them with my Dad’s job and it is truly for the best! Besides I would SO much rather visit them in the warm Southern weather than cold MA. The house has been on the market, my Dad is already in Georgia and it’s time to move. There is this beautiful new house waiting for my parents in Georgia….so what are Aubrey and I to do?

We’re heading South. Going to get some sweet tea, some peaches and practice our, “Hey y’all !!” BUT this is all temporary. It’s not permanent but it’s just another phase of our journey. It will save me some money too. Cutting out about 700 miles of shipping a pod to LA cuts costs. The Atlanta airport has non-stop, cheaper flights to LAX. Anyone who travels with kids, especially toddlers can totally understand how critical a direct flight is over layovers, even more so when you are a single parent juggling all your items plus your child through an airport and on a plane. EXHAUSTING. Gives me more time to sell my car here because let’s be real, the gosh darn shipping costs are more than my car is worth. So I’ll sell it and use that towards a used vehicle in CA. It all just makes financial sense which is very important to me. 

It gives us a bit more time with Grandma and Abuelo too. I know how hard it is going to be to eventually do our “see ya later” flight back to CA but some time in Georgia will be nice. I can finally have someone to help watch Aubrey so I don’t have to pay for childcare the month I’m there and be able to work. That’s been a huge burden figuring that out. I don’t mind being a single parent household, I’m fine with it, but it just has made things like that really, really freaking hard to get sorted out. 

So that is the update. I’m out of here in two weeks. Literally after trick or treating on Halloween, that is it. I say goodbye to the house I grew up in since I was in fourth grade. If the walls could talk, oh the stories they would tell !!! The forts we made in the woods, the pond we would ice skate on, a pool with tons of memories of laughter, soaking up the sun and wiffle ball games. My mom’s beautiful gardens that all have a meaning or dedication to someone or somewhere. But we’re not really leaving it behind, we are taking it with us. That’s the great thing about memories. You can’t leave them behind, they follow you, they are in your mind and more importantly in your heart. It’s just a house. Just a backyard. Now it’s time for new memories, in a new house with a new yard. It’s literally a clean slate just waiting for the laughter, the grandchildren that will visit, the new family members, husbands, wives that will come along. And the best part…..when everyone up North is complaining how cold they are and how tired they are of the snow….my parents and I will be posting a picture of a nice drink, the sun and the temperature in the 70’s whether it be in Georgia or California…. ;D 

Here we go! 

Target's "Frozen" Heart

So the other night, Saturday October 11th, 2014, I went to my nearest Target in Windsor, CT for a quick run. I was really just going to get the in-store special of the newly released special edition Sleeping Beauty. Because Lord knows Disney doesn’t let much out of their vault and when it’s finally out of there and on sale, you grab it. So while in there I meandered over to the Halloween costume area because their paper had stated Halloween Costumes for kids were Buy One Get One Free. Thought that would be a GREAT deal for Aubrey, she could have two costumes if she wanted and then continue to hold onto them for dress-up!

The Musical/Light Up Version of Elsa

I see a whole bunch of Elsa Musical/Light Up dresses. And one Anna. I press the buttons on both thinking these are pretty flipping’ UH-MAZING. At the same time I’m wondering how many button presses before this singing dress drives me absolutely NUTS. It was $34.99. At buy one, get one, I figured great deal, let me grab them now and show them to Aubrey, she will be PSYCHED. Take note as this is important that there were tons of other Elsa dresses there, especially the musical kind. Anna was practically all gone in all styles.

So I show Aubrey who was walking with my parents across the store. Um, PSYCHED for them was an understatement. She LOVED them! Get to the checkout, and the lady tells me my total is $100 and change…wait…what? Come again? I was buying a $22 DVD and $4.50 clearance toddler water shoes, $1 pink plastic pumpkin, plus two $34.99 dresses, one of which was free. Calculations in my mind don’t add up to $100. I asked if it took off the free costume. She said oh no it didn’t. These aren’t part of the special, they are Disney Licensed, they are dress-up, not the Halloween costumes, these are definitely not included. I was pretty in shock and confused. I told her that didn’t make sense because I specifically got them from the Halloween Costume area where there were a whole bunch of them there…..I didn’t see any exclusions listed. (WHAT THE FLYING FUDGE IS THE DIFFERENCE ANYWAY BETWEEN DRESS-UP AND A HALLOWEEN COSTUME?!?!!) Why would they be there if they weren’t part of the deal. All she could say, was to ask if I was going to get them or not. Wide eyed, I confirmed that there way no way I could afford that, so no. But I was still really confused. 

NO EXCLUSIONS mentioned AT ALL. Notice
it says's ALL KID'S costumes & accessories.

I told my mom there were other Elsa dresses in the back, non-musical that were cheaper that I could grab and another costume to get the deal. So after I paid I said let me go run back there to check. I booked it back there, it was getting late and I wanted to get home and get my daughter to bed. No sooner was I there looking and DOUBLE CHECKING the posted signs for any exclusions, NONE of which were listed, was there suddenly a manger looking Target employee right at my side who clearly ran there too. Guess what he did next, TOOK ALL THE FROZEN DRESSES. ALL OF THEM. I said, yea I was the one who tried to get the musical style, look at all of these. They are all here, it wasn’t just the two I took. Not only did he take the musical ones, he took every single Elsa dress left. I said well that one is part of the deal, can’t I get that one? He sternly told me no and that Elsa is “done”, “gone”, no more left…. Apparently people I must have gone blind of the at least 15 dresses in his hand that “qualified” for the buy one get one free. He then looked away from me, and went about on his work phone or special target price, inventory machine thingy. I was stunned, completely taken aback. I walked away, trying to “Let It Go.” But as I was thinking about it, I was only getting more upset and annoyed by the way Target handled the whole situation.

First of all, when I got to the front, my mom told me as soon as I walked away, the cashier got on her walkie-talkie to tell someone what happened and to go take the dresses. Not only did she say this over the walkie-talkie but she made it clear a “customer” was headed back there now. Oh, so that’s why you seemed in such a rush Target man….trying to race me? Your customer who was willing to spend some money at your store?

Second of all, I have worked in customer service A LOT. I have tons of experience. How you naturally handle a situation like that is simple. Honor the mishap. The customer is right, the store was wrong so you give the deal THEN you go take away any “un-qualifying” dresses that YOU put in the wrong spot. Simple. Happy customer, happy experience, no BS. 

Third, don’t be rude to your customers. To treat me like I was in the wrong is not cool. To take away all these dresses in front of me and say there were none left…totally NOT COOL. Not only that, but they are toddler costumes, not adult, so thanks for crushing my daughter’s Frozen dreams. Way to go, toddler dream crusher. I don’t have $70 for two costumes. Have a heart. Have a soul. Try to be helpful to your customers. 

When I got home, I hopped online to see if maybe I could get the deal on Target online. The musical dresses were showing they were not part of the deal. Ok, no problem. So I choose one Anna dress and one Elsa dress that were part of the sale. Put them in my cart, chose the “pick up from store” option to get the deal and they were listed “IN STOCK” at what surprising location? Windsor, CT.  Ironic, I just was and was told there were no more available. Hmm, how crazy is that? So I put my order in, everything confirmed. 

8:50 a.m. the next morning, Sunday, I receive an email from the Windsor Target saying that these dresses are suddenly unavailable at that location and I need to update my order or cancel it. Who wants to call BULLS**TTTTTT???!!?? I can pretty much guarantee whoever is running that store decided to try to screw me over AGAIN. Guess my order was “Frozen.” Because when I went to attempt to “update” it, the Elsa costumes were now sold out online. So it wouldn’t allow me to get that sale. It wouldn’t go through. Once again I’m left with nothing. Costumes are now 40% off this week making it close to that deal. But that is still not the point, this has come down to principle for me. I can’t seem to “Let It Go” because of the way everything was handled.

I’m fully aware that right now I am the crazy Mom getting all worked up over a silly costume. I keep telling myself this whole thing is silly. But I don’t like poor customer service. It really bothers me when people just don’t do the right thing. Not to mention I’ve had a few problems with Target this year. They actually cancelled my pre-order of a movie which was none other than…Frozen…yup, because they said the charge didn’t go through. I have a big credit line with them and my bill was paid off like it is every month….I think because I used a gift card on part of the transaction that it messed up that way. But all they did was blame Red Card, no Target, no call this department, etc. Just pointed the finger at everyone else and didn’t do anything to resolve the problem. I went and bought my copy at Wal-Mart. They also owe me two $20 gift cards from diaper purchases where a cashier and an online transaction for pick-up did not give me the gift card I was owed. So needless to say, Target and I are NOT on good terms. Not at all. For a company that had terrible press due to a serious security breech this year, you would think they would keep up with their customer service. All I can say is this…disappointed. Very, very disappointed. For goodness sakes, I wrote a blog on 12 Reason's Why We Love Target and one of my only "Mommy" times away all I wanted to do was go shopping at Target and I posted about that. Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll be going back to the Windsor, CT location. You know what they say in “Frozen" Target? “An act of true love can cure a frozen heart.” Maybe your team can act a little warmer in the future….

*Update* - I ran an errand Sunday in Enfield, CT. So I ran into a store there to check out their stock of Elsa dresses. I bought the Elsa dress not from the Halloween costume section but the doll area with the “dress-up” costumes. Guess what? The regular dress-up options that are there everyday are cheaper than all the other options set out in the Halloween section. The dress is also much nicer! I also found an Elsa tiara on serious clearance. Aubrey had to try it on as soon as she got home and was so happy! She was smiling from ear to ear and twirling around! She kept saying she was, “Queen Elsa of Arendale!” <3 Ugh my heart. See now how a Mom can get upset over the tiniest thing because you know how what seems so small puts such a big smile on your little one’s face. :D

*Sidenote: The funny thing about all this is I had a costume for Aubrey I got almost two months ago! But due to moving literally right after trick-or-treating I can’t go all out with a group costume like I wanted to. So I decided to table that costume idea until next year. Figured she loves Frozen so much, might as well get that costume out of our system. Us and the 4 million other Elsa’s I’m sure will be out there! 

#momproblems #targetfail

Don't Be Pregnant On Craigslist & Other Online Sales Tips

I am going to blame a silly mistake I made a few years ago trying to make a sale on Craigslist on pregnancy brain. I had purchased a scooter earlier that fall and then bam found out I was pregnant and no longer had any use for it. There was no way I was risking my safety on such a thing. Since I was moving back east, it only made sense to sell it and get my money back. 

So where do you go when you need to sell something? Craigslist. Seemed like a no brainer to me. So I had made a listing to advertise my scooter and here’s where I made a silly mistake….I mentioned I was pregnant in the listing. In hindsight now, trust me I know what a ridiculous, “too much information”, dumb move that was. At that time I think I worded it that I was moving back east to have my first child or something like that, but basically I was insinuating that there was nothing wrong with the scooter but that it was just an inconvenience and wasn’t working with my new life. I didn’t want people to think I was trying to get rid of a scooter because there was something wrong with it, I was selling a solid item. 

I got normal responses to it, asking questions about the scooter, setting up times to see it and then the usual lowball offers. Then I got a few responses that made my jaw drop, eyes wide, “WHAT THE…?!?!!” type of reaction. Someone wanted to rub my pregnant tummy. Yup. Did I just read that? 

Last thing I expected when trying to sell my scooter was an offer from someone willing to step in and I suppose be a father to my child if I was single and take care of me the rest of my life. Well I’ll be darned….I miss where exactly I said I needed that in my ad….

While this happened online. This actually happened in real life too. Pretty similar to this guy's statement above, a man approached me at the bus stop with the same type of offer. I was waiting for the bus to go back home after a routine doctor checkup at the hospital and he hit on me like I was the hottest girl in the club. While I was rocking my huge belly. He even invited me to a Hookah lounge he worked out...just what every pregnant women wants to do. Go out at night, surrounded by smoke. Um, no thanks, I have a date with me and my sweats and Bravo. Guess there is a weird pregnancy fetish out there! MEN....

Never the less, lesson learned. I edited my posting right away and the additional items I was putting up for sale, I made sure not to drop any hints of pregnancy or any hints of anything personal!! This leads me to some basic online selling tips:

1. Keep it simple. State the information you need to. Item, price, condition, location, environment is helpful (smoke/pet free) and quality pictures. Is your price “firm” or are you willing to accept “OBO” (or best offer). Make it clear. 

   

   
   

2. Know your low. Everyone has the lowest offer they are willing to accept. Make sure YOU know what that is. I always post knowing that I will get less than what I put something up for. So I allow that wiggle room. Although on occasion you just get your asking price!

   

   
   

3. Avoid drama. I have seen way too many postings on public forms that get out of hand from crazy comments, people looking to stir up trouble and the usual ridiculously low ball offers. Stay out of it. If one of those really low ball offers pops up, I like to respond with a simple, “Sorry I can’t do that.” 

   

   
   

4. Exchanging information. When it comes to Craigslist, they use an automated, anonymous reply email which is great. I personally prefer email over anything else to communicate. Most, not all, people have smartphones nowadays so it’s almost as quick as a text, it goes right to your phone without having to dish out your private phone number. You never know what crazies are out there. If you are going to post in groups on Facebook, please go to your settings and double check all of your privacy settings. You can use the “view as” tab to see if you have protected yourself enough. ALL of my information is only visible to my friends. Anyone else can only see my cover photo and profile picture. Random people WILL click on your name if you post in these big groups to try to look into your background. You really don’t want that personal info out in the open.

   

   
   

5. The meet-up. So you’ve made it to this part. Don’t meet at your house or go to a stranger’s house. It sucks to have to think the worst, but in this type of selling format it is best to be as safe as possible. I meet at my local police department. If someone has a problem with that, then I probably don’t want to be selling or buying an item from them. There you have full surveillance cameras, emergency help if something goes wrong and you will weed out any people that could only be looking to cause harm to you or steal from you. There are too many stories of people showing up with cash to buy something and they get mugged, or someone comes to “buy” an item and they just take off with it. Homes have been burglarized shortly after a sale from thieves checking out potential targets. These people will most likely NOT want to meet you at a police station, in broad daylight, in public. You can even get there a bit early, poke your head into the police station and let them know what you are in the parking lot for if you want to feel safer. Make sure you let someone close to you know where you are going and when your transaction is done.

   

   
   

6. Payment. Just do cash, in person. Honestly it’s the best way to go. Checks can bounce. Not worth taking the chance. If they can write a check, they can get cash. If you are selling, write them a receipt. If you are buying, request a receipt. If you have email exchanges about price, any guarantee from a seller, etc that in essence counts as a contract in regards to the transaction. Another reason why I like communicating via email, you have everything in writing. Know the terms of your sale. 

   

   
   

I hope everyone has smooth, non-creepy, safe transactions from online sales and maybe learned a thing or two from this. The internet and the people in our world will never cease to amaze me!


Do you have any crazy, creepy or down right outrageous online sales experience like this? Please comment below! Would love to hear about it! 

FREE Jason Aldean's "Night Train" Album

Head over to Google Play to download Jason Aldean's Night Train album for free in MP3 format. From that page where the music is downloaded in your Google Play music, you can easily download the entire album to your computer which will put it into your iTunes. This offer could end at anytime so take advantage of the deal while it's still free!!

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE!!!

Praying Mantis VS Stink Bug

Nature is awesome. Living in the country, I’ve seen some interesting animals, bugs and other creatures I have no idea what the heck they are. This specific Saturday afternoon I saw a Praying Mantis on our back porch. I’ve always thought they are a pretty cool bug. So I kept my eye on him throughout the morning as I was out there. I noticed him climbing up the back of our grill and there was a stink bug on top. Knowing they eat other bugs, I was wondering if he was headed for some lunch! So naturally I pulled out my phone and I captured the attack! He ate the whole thing! I wonder if he had “stinky” breathe after eating a stink bug….

Our Big E Adventure: Grizzly Bears, Big Potatoes, Getting Peed On And Cats In The Circus!

I always look forward to Big E season. Who doesn’t around here? But having a kid makes the Big E all that MUCH more exciting!! Why? Because everything is suddenly a million times cooler than before. Big cows create shock and awe, the toddler rides in the carnival area just make a kids eyes HUGE in amazement and you bet I’m suddenly knocking people over with my stroller to wait an hour and 15 minutes to get into the circus for my princess. 

Some people that live nearby get season passes to the Big E but my family opts for the discounted Big Y pass that we get before the fair starts and we spend an ENTIRE day there. That means one day of parking, one day of food and not going back to spend any more money! Cost effective plan. My goal for the day was to make sure we got to see the Grizzly Experience show and the Big E circus. That alone makes the ticket to get in all worth it. Besides, I saw they listed that there were cats performing in the circus. CATS?! SOLD. I’M THERE.

We headed straight for the Grizzly experience and luckily snagged a seat in the bleachers so Aubrey had a great view and she loved it! She thought the Grizzly was “SO CUTE,” of course. They went over every safety tip you need to know if you encounter a bear, especially if you hike and I was happy to say I knew all of them! I’m alway prepared when out on hikes with Aubrey although I did learn they actually make a product called bear spray if you need it….who knew? 

Tried to get into the circus and it was already full so we would have to try again later. But we went over to spend a lot of time in the farm building with all the animals. Aubrey LOVED it there. She had full on conversations with all the sheep and couldn’t get over all the cute baby cows and goats there. She just keep going up and down the aisles all over to make friends with every animal. It was pretty adorable.

We ran into the Big E “Biggie” Bear and I was in shock at that love encounter. I thought she might be afraid of him, but ran into his arms and didn’t want to let go! We literally had to usher her away and she kept lingering, waving good bye to him, saying, “See you soon bear!” Definitely tugged at the heart strings. I’m gonna have to bring multiple changes of clothing for the day we hit Disneyland because I’m confident she is gonna poop herself multiple times encountering those characters in person if she reacted this way to a simple bear!

At the Midway, I let her pick one ride. Carnival rides are expensive $$$. So of course she begged to go on the “Magic Horsey’s!” (That would be the carousel) She was delighted!

Now time for food. Now I know many people hit up the Maine building for the potato but we have been going to CT for a few years now. Apparently this year we weren’t the only people that discovered how much better the potatoes are at the CT building. It’s our big meal of the day and lasts us all day while there so we aren’t spending money on food all day. They have a HUGE potato with all the fixings AND you can add pulled pork or chili on top. So I get a potato with the fixings and the pulled pork for $8.50, that feeds me AND Aubrey AND I still couldn’t finish it all. It’s AH-MAZING. 

After filling baby girl’s tummy, it way way past her nap time and I finally got her to sleep in the stroller. Gave my arms a break and some quiet time which meant I hit up the Chevy area to check out the new prospective SUV that may be in my future and determine how much I need to save. Ahhh that new car smell. We went browsing around all the shopping booths and unfortunately missed the parade since Aubrey was sleeping still. She was still asleep but we headed over at 5:40 to check out the situation at the circus for the final 7pm showing. If you haven’t tried to see the circus before, it FILLS UP FAST. You HAVE to get there early to try to get in. We made it in line and were guaranteed to get in. She woke up from her nap as they were finally letting us in around 6pm. I parked the stroller and here’s where I made a mistake that I will revert back to in a bit….

She did great waiting for the show and we had phenomenal seats. She was a little scared of how loud it got in the beginning with the whole tent cheering and clapping and made me put my hands over her ears. But she thought the clown was funny and was simply in awe of the lights and everything going on! There was a juggling act that was out of this world and then this cute dog act came out. During this act I suddenly felt a warm liquid in my lap that was soaking into my jeans. Am I getting peed on right now? AM I GETTING PEED ON?! Yep. That’s how exciting the circus was. Aubrey peed ALL OVER MY LAP. A LOT. 

Let’s revert to that mistake I made earlier. I parked the stroller to get into the circus after she just woke up from a nap. She pees a lot during a nap and in the rush to get a seat at the circus I forgot I should have changed her diaper. She didn’t have one of her “good” ones on, it was a brand that can soak through and boy it did. Luckily she had a change of pants I brought so she got a dry diaper and dry pants and me….well I got pee soaked pants and bottom of my shirt for the remainder of the night. And it was humid out so that wasn’t drying AT ALL for me like I hoped. Oh well….she was loving the circus so what’s some pee? Welcome to parenthood. As for the remainder of the circus she truly loved it. I loved the act with the cats. Because I love anything with cats and I apologize in advance to my cat, Cali, for all the tricks I’m planning on attempting to teach her. She keeps telling me about the funny clown, the cats, the dogs, the motorcycle, all the acts she saw at the circus. It's so cute!

I PEED ON MY MOM!

It was a great day. Ended it with some soft serve for Aubrey, more visits with animals like the elephants, zebra and camels. She was happy to bring home some free mardi gras beads too. I will definitely miss the Big E when I move. It’s been an annual visit for so long but there will be plenty of other fairs, carnivals and circuses to look forward to throughout the year and I can’t wait! The Big E experience changes when you become a parent but as every experience changes, I’ve noticed one thing, it’s always a change for the better. There's nothing like seeing everything you once knew through the eyes of a child again.

PLEASE Register Your Child For A FREE Amber Alert Child ID !!!

*UPDATED: Apparently I was misinformed and the Big E is not doing the Amber Alert event in the CT building this year! But you can still use the following information to get this down at your local police department!

I wanted to make everyone aware of the Amber Alert Child ID Project. Bring your child to your local police department or Amber Alert Event and register them for FREE and receive a free child ID card. If you would like any additional cards, it is $2.00 each and that money is a donation that goes directly into the Amber accounts. I have been doing this with Aubrey the past two years and it is an amazing service that I will be using again soon to update her information.

• There are 159 non-family (stranger) child abductions per day. That is 1 child, every 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
• 74% of children were abducted and later found murdered were killed within 3 hours.                                                                                                               (Source - United States Justice Department) 

As parents, we NEVER want to ever have to use this service. No one wants anything bad to happen to their child. Yet it is important to take any steps necessary to put the appropriate measures in place ahead of time. (Just in case) God forbid anything ever happened to a child, if they were already registered with this program, by a simple push of a button, their information would be out everywhere, INSTANTLY.  That is incredible and could save a life. Time is everything in these cases.

Aubrey's First Card at 2 Months Old!

I keep Aubrey's Amber alert card on hand and in a lockbox I have an additional safety kit filled out with her fingerprints. I pray to God nothing happens to anyone's child or mine everyday but please be a proactive parent and take these precautions. You would be doing such a great thing for the safety of your child.

At an event/police station you will fill out a pertinent information form, your child will be measured and weighed, and a digital photo will be taken of them. This is the only program where you can hand over the card with your unique ID to law enforcement as soon as a child is discovered missing.

Please share and pass this information along. I'm sure there are many parents that do not realize this service exists! Please make it a point!

What is the AMBER Alert Safe Child ID Project?
It is a voluntary program for all children under the age of 18. Parents/Guardian of participating children receive a wallet sized, plastic card with a picture of the child, a unique AMBER ID number and only minimal, yet essential information needed to identify the child. This information is stored in a secure data base. This card can be presented to law enforcement in the event a child is abducted. The information can be transmitted to law enforcement and to the public via Television, Radio and Traffic Signs. This assists law enforcement by providing additional eyes of the public to look for the vehicle and occupants listed in the alert.

Curious about an event near you? Please visit this link to find an Amber Alert Event near you! AMBER Alert Events

To Us, It's Hair, But To Women With Cancer, It's HOPE.

Anyone that knows me knows how frugal I am. Cheapskate, bargain hunter, whatever you want to call it, I simply don’t like to spend my money frivolously. If I ever make a “big” purchase it’s usually an investment item. So obviously this crosses even into the beauty department. I rarely get my hair cut. RARELY. I am a hair stylist’s worst client because I won’t be booking another appointment to see you in 6 weeks….it’s gonna be a minimum 6 months realistically…minimum. I don’t get my nails done, cause I have nail polish at home and two perfectly capable hands that can apply polish to my nails, why would I go pay $20 for someone else to do it? I envision buying a pack of diapers in my mind instead. I know, I’m a little bit of an oddball when it comes to pampering myself. Although by all means this makes a great gift if anyone ever needs an idea! (hint, hint, Christmas will be here soon) Nonetheless, it’s a fact that I also have an attachment to my hair. I love it long, always have. I’m a simple client in the chair, just re-layering and cutting off dead ends is usually my request. But this time was different, this time I did not just cut off the dead ends…

The last time I saw my hair stylist Kristine was at the end of October LAST YEAR. Whoooops. I made an appointment because I knew I desperately needed a cut. I should be back in the work force soon and I couldn't imagine dealing with my hair at it’s length, (and lack of any style lately), getting it ready to get out the door with a toddler early in the morning. Last thing I want is to be the woman at work with her hair always in a bun. I want to be slightly cooler than that. So I felt like this was a legit request for my first official “Mom” cut. That day I took a blow dryer to my hair to prep it for the cut while my daughter was napping and it took me 20 mins to dry it all. TWENTY MINUTES. JUST FOR DRYING. #aintnobodygottimeforthat So I needed a practical, easy to style, manageable but in a hot mom way, not soccer mom, I made that clear. I’m still 26 for goodness sakes, I want to have some edge to me. 

Before

After

My hair is long, so very very long. Almost down to my bootay. At first I only wanted to cut maybe 6 inches, maybe. Then I thought well if I’m going to cut that amount I might as well cut a few inches more and donate it to charity. So I googled some charities, “Locks for Love” and the “Pantene Beautiful Lengths” programs specifically to see what their requirements were for length in the donated ponytails. Locks needs a minimum 10 inches and Pantene a mere 8 inches. No problem. I have that. I have “virgin” hair as they call it. Never processed, no chemicals, dyes, highlights, bleach, etc. I have naturally healthy and thick hair. The last thing I wanted was to get my hair cut and see that swept away into the trash when it can actually do some good and help someone else going through a rough time. I did this once before in high school. My first ever hair cut in a salon and I donated to Locks of Love then. So this would surprisingly only be my second time…but certainly not my last.

Kristine is amazing and practically the only person I would trust to do this, she’s not just my hair stylist but a friend. So my hair was in her hands….literally. She separated it into four ponytails and snip, snip, snip, snip….suddenly all my hair was in my hands! I already felt like I lost 5 lbs. My hair had been seriously dragging me down lately from the sheer weight of it. We put it in a plastic ziploc bag and she continued on with washing and then cutting my hair. I was surprised my anxiety level wasn’t higher after the initial cut. But when you know you’re doing it for a good cause, it definitely lowers that. 

As my style was being blow dried, I had a minor panic attack on the inside…I haven’t had my hair this short in…EVER. Never EVER in my life. (Except for my birth when I was practically bald but that doesn’t count) Thankfully Kristine gave me the style and edge I was looking for. I fully let her know it will take me a couple days to a week to fully get used to this new cut but I did love it! It was a major change for me. Showering is gonna be so much easier, I’ll be saving on the amount of shampoo and conditioner I’ve had to use and I’ll be out the door in no time now. But most importantly someone out there will have a wig of  healthy hair to boost their confidence as they go through cancer. As one breast cancer survivor stated on the Pantene website, “It was very hard when my hair started falling out. It really takes away who you are when you look in the mirror.” Putting on a wig made of healthy hair helps make these women feel like themselves again. For that cause alone this made my cut so worth it. I couldn’t imagine going through such a terrible disease and on top of that lose your hair. 

So my hair will be mailed off to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program with a note and a pic of me sporting my new short style. So far, they have donated 24,000 free real-hair wigs to the American Cancer Society’s wig banks which distribute wigs to cancer patients across the country. It takes at least 8 to 15 ponytails to create one wig so I highly recommend that if you have ever considered donating then please do. Or grow your hair out some more so that you can donate it to such an incredible cause like this. 

To top it off when I walked in the door, Aubrey reacted to my hair by saying, “It’s so cute!” while referring to me as Rapunzel. If she thinks it’s cute, then it’s definitely a win! A big thank you to Kristine Bodman at Hairworks in Southwick, MA for my new amazing cut! Check out how the cut went down in the salon below!