Last Chance for Dora House

Locals, today I have for you a Dora Magical Welcome Dollhouse and a boatload of furniture and all the key Dora figures. It can all be yours for *two* six-packs of Mike's Light Cranberry Lemonade (available at Target).

I spent $84 on the house and furniture at Amazon before Christmas 2008 and who-knows-what on the figures at Walmart right before the holiday. WC just doesn't play with it much and we are cleaning out our playroom.

Let me know if you are local and interested!

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon referral link.

Thirsty Thursday

What a fun bloggy link-up! Hair Bows & Guitar Picks is hosting Thirsty Thursday and you know I can't resist joining in!

If you've been a Sasha Says reader for long, then you know I'm all about the beer. No wine for me- I turn bright red and get a headache in minutes. The hubs played college football and oh boy, did we drink a lot of beer back in the day hanging with the team.

My drink of choice right now is Mike's Light Hard Cranberry Lemonade. Only 98 calories and so so good! Refreshing!

But stay away from the non-light Mike's drinks.... After some Nancy Drew-ing, I discovered they have 250 giant calories in each bottle! The horror!

What are you drinking these days?

Hoping this isn't indicitative of how my day is going to go

One of my earrings fell down the drain this morning. Damn. The last time I did this my do-it-all dad came up and got it out for us. He had to change out the parts under our sink because they were super-old and did not look at all like the picture above. But he also used some sort of purple sealant to seal it all up so now I'm not sure that we can easily take it apart.

I am sure my dad thought I'd learn my lesson and be more careful.

Yup, he was wrong. Damn!

I Am Taken Aback by my Domestic-ness

I baked that bread y'all. Yup, I sure did. And it was easy-peasy as The Politician would say.

My friend Beth (who I really need to move from Friends in My Head to Friends In Real Life since we've totally text-messaged, and that qualifies us to be real friends right?) has blogged about her love of the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and after reading all her posts about it and wiping drool off my keyboard, I finally decided to take the jump and order the book.

And my family is so glad I did. Nothing tastes better than fresh-out-of-the-oven-and-holy-crap-I-made-this-myself bread.

You can read more info in this blog post the book authors wrote, including step-by-step pictures to help you visualize the process.

Thanks Beth for all the help getting started! I am loving my new hobby!

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Up for Grabs: $100 Chase Bonus

In the mail I got a flyer that offers a $100 bonus if you sign up for a new Chase Checking account and set up direct deposit.

Mr. Sasha and I used one for $125 last year and I set up a little money to go there each payroll as a direct deposit and it worked! We got our $125 just a few weeks later!

This code can be used to set up an account online, so I'll be glad to share this month's code with the first person to leave me a comment with their email address! It expires February 26, 2010, so you'll have to hurry!

Please comment only if you will truly use this code- I'd hate for it to go to waste!

Stipulations:

•First direct deposit must be made within 60 days
•Account must stay open for 6 months
•Must deposit $100 of new money (money not currently held up Chase of its affiliates)
•Limit one personal checking account-related reward/premium per customer per year
•$100 will be deposited in your account 10 days after initial direct deposit is made
•Reward is considered interest and will be reported to the IRS on IRS Form 1099-INT

Toys for Beer

Locals, today I have for you a Dora Magical Welcome Dollhouse and a boatload of furniture and all the key Dora figures. It can all be yours for three six-packs of Mike's Light Cranberry Lemonade (available at Target).

I spent $84 on the house and furniture at Amazon before Christmas 2008 and who-knows-what on the figures at Walmart right before the holiday. WC just doesn't play with it much and we are cleaning out our playroom.

Let me know if you are local and interested!

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon referral link.

Shopping Roundup

Being born in the early '70s, of course I had some little outfits like this when I was little. But I found this OP romper in Walmart on Saturday and snatched it up for WC- I think my mom will go crazy and think it's adorable. I seriously think I had one is this same stripe, so I'm going to have my mom look thru some pics to see. How cute will WC look in that? And it is only $8 to boot.

And my new friend Ashley from Sassy Gal Glamour pointed me in the direction of a new bible for The Politician, who is 6.5, and good golly, I'm learning a lot with him! We had read his first children's bible cover to cover about 5 times, and he was asking some questions about some left-out details, so I knew it was time for something more. I read one of Ashley's posts where she recommended this one, so I picked it up and it is fabulous! Read just 7 minutes a day (it's broken up for you) and you'll be done in a year. Perfect bedtime story!

How was your weekend?


Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon referral link.

Smashbox Cosmetics

Smashbox Cosmetics is coming to Rue La La tomorrow!

Get registered and ready, so you'll get the email when the boutique opens!

Can't wait to see what they have available for discounted prices.... good thing I didn't give up buying makeup for Lent!

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.

My Skincare Routine

Y'all. I'm getting old! I turned 36 in December- hard to believe!

The past few years I've really been trying to take good care of my skin and I've found that I absolutely love Avon skincare products. Let me also get this out of the way and say that I've been purchasing these products I am recommending myself- no free items are being discussed here.

Avon has a line called Anew Rejuvenate that is marketed specifically for women in their 30s. It's made for women experiencing the first signs of aging, including fine lines, uneven skin tone, dullness, rough texture and tone and visible pores.

Right now they have the cutest set of all the products in the core line (pictured above) available for $17 ($58 value) when you spend $10 on select skincare. These products are all the perfect size for travel since they are all under the TSA ounce requirements. The website shows a price of $34 but it will change to $17 once you add another $10 in select skincare to your cart.

The eye cream itself (both a day and night cream in one package) is a full-sized product and is a $28 value.

Really, this is a must buy! In order to qualify to buy the special set, I purchased a full-sized Rejuvenate gel cleanser for $7 and a trial size of each of the day and night Reversalist cream (meant for age 40+) for $1.99 each.

My rep Valeri is always so nice to let Sasha Says readers use a free shipping code! Please follow these steps so you can use the code and give Valeri credit.

1. Visit Valeri's site to make her your default rep

2. Log into ebates to get 5% back by going through them to get to the Avon site

3. Once the Avon site pulls up again, you should see Valeri's name near the top of the site

4. Choose your products and then use code FSANY or REPFS to get free shipping

Happy Shopping!

disclosure: This post contains my ebates affiliate link, but readers will also get $5 if they sign up under my link. Avon links are not affiliate links and I receive no compensation for sales of Avon products.

My New Mascara Combo

I have one million mascaras (practically) yet I still find myself buying more. It's nutty and I can't explain it, but how about if I share some new ones I bought that I really like? Note that I always buy black mascara. At some point my mom probably told me I should get brown so I got black and that's still what I do to this day. My hair's not really blonde you know!

I've been hearing great things about Maybelline Full N' Soft so I picked some up at Target the other day. I'm so glad I did! What a great drugstore mascara! No clumps and it built full, soft, thick lashes just as promised.


Oh, but I didn't stop there. I love long lashes, so I added a coat of Clinique's new offering- High Lengths. Look at that cool brush! I ordered this from Sephora recently and was so excited when it arrived. The curved, fine-toothed comb really grabbed each lash and added some nice length.

I typically don't layer mascaras but I felt quite fancy doing it, and don't we all want to feel fancy?

Disclosure: I actually paid for these out of my own little Coach wallet. Promise.

Where's Waldo?

Can you find me?

Couganns Drill Team 90-91

StarStruck

Will you still be my friend if I tell you that The Politician and I watched StarStruck on Disney last night? And I loved it..... And while we were watching, I saw a commercial for Camp Rock 2 and got super-excited?

These days I almost prefer Wizards of Waverly Place and Sonny With a Chance to adult programming. I think maybe my brain cells are tied up dealing with real-life stuff and it feels nice to watch some brain-candy with my son and laugh together.

We still friends?

Sensory Processing Disorder- Our Story

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD, formerly known as "sensory integration dysfunction") is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses. - SPD Foundation website

You know, I'm often asked how I knew that my daughter (The Wild Child) had Sensory Processing Disorder (also called Sensory Integration Disorder). How did I know that something was off?

That's a loaded question. It wasn't something that just "hit" me. And honestly, we didn't get to that diagnosis quickly.

WC was born with a hemangioma, which ulcerated after a few weeks. This wound was open for about 2 1/2 months, and she was in great pain. So from the beginning, there was rage and we were unable to comfort her. You can read more about that here.

Of course the hemangioma did eventually heal, but we were left with what we thought were behavior issues. She became a biter (others and even herself!) and was quite aggressive around 18 months. There was a one-week suspension from daycare and many many many phone calls and meetings.

Right after her second birthday, I stumbled into a biting workshop at our local county health department and they mentioned SPD and it absolutely snowballed from there. Evaluations, more meetings, referrals, and we found our dream OT who finally helped us reach and slowly get a handle on our girl.

It's been about 2 years since our diagnosis, and we've come a long way. We're still doing maintenance listening therapy and seeing a behavior therapist that offices with out OT, but WC has become so much easier to be around- her teachers even describe her as delightful at times!

Many, many books were recommended to me but one that hit home on our journey was The Out-of-Sync Child. I checked it out from our local library and flipped through it on my way out the door. After a few seconds of flipping, I felt my eyes fill up with tears and I moved towards the wall so I could lean against it for a second.

I found it. I found a paragraph that I should print out and give to everyone that knows WC.

From page 193:

A mother wrote me this letter: "By the time Rob was two, I felt he had a special need, but I couldn't figure out what it was. He required constant attention. Time-outs didn't work because I couldn't contain him. He was defiant, disobedient, disrespectful, and demanding. He was always busy, always talking (great verbal skills!), strong willed, contrary, and easily frustrated. I felt blessed to have Rob, and wouldn't trade him for the world, of course, but he constantly tested and rejected me."

And more on the next page.

"What was the reason for his behavior? How could I regain control? What method of discipline would get through to him? If his behavior was an attempt to get my attention, how could I supply it in a way that would satisfy him? How could I help a high-energy child channel his energy in a positive direction? I was desperate for answers."

If you replaced Rob's name with WC's and switched out them hes and hims for shes and hers, I could have written that, word for word.

You don't know how good it feels to know that you are not alone.

To read more about our Sensory Processing Disorder journey, click here.

In addition, here are some other books I have found helpful.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

I Don't Know Where Your Luggage Is

Last night at bible study one of the ladies shared a story that really hit home for me. I try to live my life as someone who can be described as "non-judgemental", but sometimes I hear those voices in my head saying things that don't quite qualify.

Her story:

On a cruise ship to several small remote islands, she couldn't help notice a group of young ladies swimming in what could only be their undergarments. They were certainly "covered" but what they were wearing was NOT swimwear. She was appalled that they would wear that in public!

The next day she saw them again and couldn't help herself- she leaned over to the stranger next to her and said, "I can't believe what they are wearing! I would never allow my daughter to swim in that!"

The stranger leaned back and said "I believe their luggage was lost....."

She said she was dumbstruck. She realized they were making the best of the hand they had been dealt, enjoying their vacation the best they could.

So the next time you find yourself judging, remember,

You don't know where their luggage is.

My Affair With Red Velvet Cake Continues

Hungry Girl told me about the new Yoplait Light Red Velvet Cake flavor and I am on the lookout for it. How yummy does that sound?

And I told myself about the new Little Debbie offering- Petites Red Velvet- when I saw them at the grocery store last night and they jumped into my cart. Debbie almost didn't catch my eye because she didn't put anything about 100 Calories on the package and I was a little scared to look because sometimes her yummiest stuff has a zillion calories.... but turns out, they *are* 100 calories.

Have you tried either of these?

Link to The Most Fabulous Giveaway Away

What in the world are you doing reading MY blog?

Get over to Elaine's Semi-Homemade Life and enter her 1st giveaway- she's giving away one of those gorgeous candy apples up there, plus nail polish, tulle, BBW soap, and some other fun stuff. Deadline is the 10th- so hurry!

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Saturday night was the local Daddy/Daughter Dance and look how cute/handsome my pair looked!

WD even let me paint her nails and curl the ends of her hair under! I had so much fun getting her ready and she was so excited all day.

I am so glad my little tomboy likes getting dressed up too....

Oh how I wish I was artistic

because WC would love it if I could paint her face like this everyday!

Friday night was Family Bingo night at P's school and they had a face-painting artists there and she was fabulous.

WC and I were sad to wash this off before bed that night!

Toys for Beer: Rose Petal Cottage

Up for grabs I have a completely assembled Rose Petal Cottage along with oven, washing machine, sink, changing table and cradle.

Believe you me, that took a while to put together one Christmas Eve and I'm not able to take it apart!

Anyone local interested? I think I'll need at least a 12 pack of Mike's Light for this one... and maybe some chocolate! :-)

Edited to add: Claimed by a friend on Sunday afternoon!

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Show Us Your Life Friday: My Nail Polish Routine

Now, you and I both know that I don't have a lot of free time. But I've found that if I follow this routine, I can paint my nails at 9 pm, go to sleep at 10, and not have any sheet marks at all. Plus, my mani will last 4-5 days with no chips- I usually just have to repaint because of new growth.

So without further ado, my nail routine:


1. Sally Hanson Instant Cuticle Remover. I apply this all around my nails, wait a bit (you can wait longer that it says), then use the thumbnail of my opposite hand to push back/scrape the cuticles. I typically do this twice.

2. Wash your hands and dry them well.


3. Orly Bonder. This is fab- takes any oily residue off your nails and gives your polish something to stick to. Key to a long-lasting mani.

4. Sally Hanson Nailgrowth Miracle in the gold bottle. Love this basecoat. Watch for CVS to have their BOGO or BOGO half off on Sally products and stock up.


5. OPI polish (2 coats). In my non-professional opinion, the best polish there is. One of my faves is I'm Not Really a Waitress.

Or my all time fave, Chile O Caliente (discontinued, of course!)

6. Seche Vite top coat. I won't use any other top coat. This is a super-fast dry topcoat with a fab shine. Expensive, but worth it!

Now why don't you let me in on your nail or beauty secrets!

So Far Today

I started a roast in the crock pot before I left for work. The hubs picked up a 2 pound pork loin at Wal-Mart last week before the ice hit, and we hadn't used it yet. I flipped through my new crock pot cookbook and found a recipe called 3 Packet Pot Roast that looked pretty cool, and somehow, hold onto your hats, I had all the ingredients in my pantry. Crazy! Things like this just don't happen to me.

So I was all proud of myself for getting that started and I headed out to load up the van for the day. I was getting my flavored water, my Vitatop muffin, Lipton Diet Iced Tea and a Lean Cuisine out of the outside fridge to take with me to work, and I noticed that the headphones the kids use for their listening therapy were still in the van. I was headed to the other side to get them..... when I took a spill and landed head-and-shoulder-first into the fridge.

I laid there crunched up on the garage floor for a few minutes, planning what to do if there was blood..... the hubs was in the shower and the kids were asleep.... so I thought I'd call a coworker to come get me to go get stitches.

That's how crazy I was being.

But turns out I'm fine. It's only been 26 minutes and I'm already a bit sore, so I'm for to take some Motrin. My coworker promised not to let me fall asleep for fear of a concussion. :-)

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

For the Love of Chocolate

I think you guys know I have the biggest sweet tooth ever and my love for chocolate is unparalleled.

So I was so excited when Sucre, a New Orleans-based confectioner, sent me a box of chocolates to try!

The box I was received was the For Love of Chocolate Collection. These were rich dark chocolate ganache blended with sweet red raspberries in a shimmery heart shell. Not only were they gorgeous, they were absolutely yummy!

The box above retails for $30 and I think it would make a fabulous Valentine's Day gift. Of course, there are many other flavors available to suit any tastes.

Disclosure: I was sent this box of chocolate from Sucre for review purposes. However, the opinions stated in this post were my own and I was not compensated for this review.

Recommendation: Avon Gloss Gorgeous

Last week I got a nice little surprise in the mail from my Avon rep, Valeri. She sent me a few of the Gorgeous Lip Glosses to try. These glosses are so cute and are on sale, 3 for $9 right now. I've got Bloom stashed in my purse for when I need a quick swipe of gloss over my lip stain.

Valeri is always so nice to let Sasha Says readers use a free shipping code! Please follow these steps so you can use the code and give Valeri credit.

1. Visit Valeri's site to make her your default rep

2. Log into ebates to get 5% back by going through them to get to the Avon site

3. Once the Avon site pulls up again, you should see Valeri's name near the top of the site

4. Choose your products and then use code FSANY or REPFS to get free shipping

Happy Shopping!

disclosure: I was sent this product by my Avon rep to try and review. The value of the product I received was $9. This post contains my ebates affiliate link, but readers will also get $5 if they sign up under my link. The Avon link is not an affiliate link and I receive no compensation for sales of Avon products.

Toys for Beer

If you are local and happen to have a 5 year old who is dying to have their own computer, I'd love to trade you this basically brand-new VTech Nitro Notebook for a 6 pack of Mike's Light. P has no interest in it and the reviews aren't all that good, so I'm not going to press it with him. But it might be the perfect thing for your child, so let me know if you'd to trade! (Ours is grey, not green.)

this post contains an Amazon affiliate link