Sugarless 2011 Update

I just realized that there hasn't been an update for a while on Sugarless 2011. In a nutshell...

I REALLY missed my sweets.

And I mean like the sadness you may have experienced as a kid when Mom told you that you couldn't hang out with Sally anymore because she's a bad influence.

I'm sorry, Sweetie, but she's a Mac user.

I'd walk down the aisles of Wegmans and shed a silent tear for the cookies that were getting the cold shoulder, and try to shut the tantalizing scent of pie out of my nostrils. All that gung-ho "Sweets? Who needs sweets??" in January has melted away to openly pining for my long-lost loves. Speaking of which...

I cheated a few times.


The first time was in fact pretty funny. I had been having a horrible day-- this was in the midst of the post office drama, so I was annoyed over that; and I was suddenly feeling lonely in our new town, and Oscar was acting up, and I just felt tired. Nothing too horrible on its own, but for some odd reason, it was all just overwhelming me. There was only one thing that would appease my cranky, tired self. So I marched up to Adam and told him, "We are going to get ice cream. NOW."

So I suggest you find that coupon.

We went to a Dairy Queen down the road, where I ordered a nice chocolate ice cream cone dipped in extra chocolate. It was delicious, but I had just broken a successful four-month streak of no sugar. What on earth would possess me to need chocolate that much?

And the next day, my period returned from its 18-month hiatus. I used to be really skeptical of so-called PMS symptoms, but now I'm not so sure. :-P

The other cheating instances, I just realized, were on holidays-- a cupcake on Good Friday, an Orangina for Mother's Day. I'll have to be a little more vigilant about that.

I lost weight.


Last week, when we were visiting the brother- and sister-in-law, we pulled out the scale just to see how much Oscar weighs these days. My eight-month-old clocked in at 27 pounds!!! Good grief! Equally exciting is that I'm tipping the scales the other direction-- I have finally shed all the pregnancy weight and ten more pounds beyond that!! I don't know if it's the breastfeeding, cutting sweets, or the calories burned from hauling a freaking 27-pound baby everywhere, but there is officially less of me to love these days.

I took advantage of the Bread Challenge loophole.

It was always an Easter family tradition growing up to have cinnamon rolls for breakfast. So this year, I found this Clone of a Cinnabon recipe and baked the single most delicious food I have ever made. If you are looking for a good cinnamon roll recipe, look no further! It was so good, I totally forgot to be sad about not getting Eater candy, and I spent the day alternating between euphoric sugar highs and deep sugar comas. Monday was a sugar withdrawal day, but oh, was it ever worth it.

So that's what's going on with the sugar. I haven't fallen off the train yet!

A Blogger Meltdown Exercise

If you use Blogger as your writing platform, you may have noticed the two-day-long Blogger meltdown, wherein nobody could write posts, comment, or even see their dashboard. This was a problem for me. Not because I had anything particularly important to say, but I'm AMERICAN, dagnabbit, and need my freedom to express any and all thoughts whenever I want!!!

The First Amendment is THAT awesome.

After about a day of bloggy limbo, I was pretty fed up with Blogger and itching to write something, so I made a WordPress blog. This was a good opportunity to play around with WordPress and see if I liked it enough to switch platforms. I immediately ran into a problem, though-- every single name I could think of was already taken! Downright Domesticity was available, but I want a new, less chunky name that's still representative of my blog. Where all the words are real. ;-) Obviously, I was going to have to get really creative!

So for a little blogging exercise, I opened up a Word document and started typing a stream-of-consciousness list of words that represent my blog. I was really surprised by what came out.

The very top of my list was heavy with words like green, crunchy, and hippie. Mid-level was family, baby, housewife. As my stream-of-consciousness slowed down, I became increasingly more hesitant to put down things like cooking. When was the last time I blogged about food? (or better yet, when was the last time I cooked? Ha ha) Christian. Perhaps I'm shallow, but I really struggle with articulating my faith. Also glaring was what I didn't put on the list at all. Cloth diapers. I never intended to get so gung-ho about diapers, but I was so shocked by how much space they get on the blog that I didn't have the heart to put it down.

So it was a very good exercise. It helped to see what the blog has been, and what direction it should head in the future. It also helped me find an appropriate blog name! I finally settled on The Happy Hippie Housewife, which is a pretty accurate description, because- let's face it- I am a hippie.

But not THAT much of a hippie.

So we'll see where this WordPress thing takes me. I did write a post, if you want to see the best six-second video you will ever view. 

Have you ever done some sort of blogging exercise? WordPress folks-- what do you like about your platform?

An Open Letter to Dr. Sears

Dear Dr. Sears,
I would like to take issue with you about a suggestion you put in your book about babies-- appropriately, if laconically, titled The Baby Book.

Alternately titled: BUTTS!!!

I love your book and am thankful for all the times it saved my new-parent self from having full-blown panic attacks about completely normal occurrences. It's a valuable parenting resource, chock-full of wisdom!

Unfortunately, Dr. Sears, there is one piece of advice I don't consider to be very wise. In the 6-9 month chapter, you suggest in several places that a great way to stimulate baby's brain is to give them a bowl or tray of cooked spaghetti noodles and let them smoosh and poke and pinch and revel in the sensory stimulation to their heart's delight.

A food and a toy? Happy Meals will have one tough act to follow. 

Recently, I decided to give this a go. This was going to be fun! This would be new! And most of all, this would make my child a genius. I could just see him, crawling up to his baby friends. All the other babies would look at him and say, "Dude! Nice brain cells!" After which my son would adjust his monocle, harrumph, "Indubitably!" and impress the crowd with a dazzling display of pincer grasp maneuvers.

So what is my problem with this piece of advice? Well, Dr. Sears, it seems that you, and the editors, and I overlooked a little fact.

Eight-month-old babies love to put things in their mouth. And possibly eat these things.

I cooked up some noodles, placed them in a bowl before my kid, and waited for this sensory safari to begin. No sooner was the bowl on the ground, then he grabbed a giant handful and stuck it in his mouth. Okaaaaaaaay, I thought, maybe he's just mouthing it--  and then he shoveled in another handful with a giant slurp. This was no finger play! No poking and pinching and reveling in the sensory part! No, the only thing he was reveling in was the fact that his Italian genes kicked in at that moment and he couldn't shovel pasta into his little body fast enough.

We won't say which side he got that from.

I tried to get the noodles out of his mouth, but there was no way he was giving up his beloved pasta. He had already swallowed a handful of noodles, and the damage had been done. So I referenced your Baby Book to see when babies could safely start eating pasta.... 

Twelve to eighteen months?! 

So, Dr. Sears, I think you are awesome, but I'm trying to figure out how exactly it's a good idea to suggest letting grabby, chewing babies play with food- food!- that they're not even supposed to be eating for another half a year. That's like giving a ten-year-old a cigar to play with. Or a teenager a margarita. 

A sensory experience of an entirely different sort

Of course, it's ultimately my fault for blindly letting my baby play with food without bothering to check if it's actually safe for him to eat, but I'm a bit surprised that you, a seasoned health professional, would suggest an activity like this. Oh well, it turns out that Oscar didn't suffer any ill effects, and we all lived happily ever after. But I'm on to you, Dr. Sears, and your dealings with Big Noodle Companies. Now please excuse me, I have to go chase that child in the linguine bag.

Linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

My Acceptance Speech

As the saying goes, "Every dog has its day," and it turns out today is mine! Even if I'm not actually a dog. Bitterroot Mama has awarded me the Versatile Blogger award!

I've been following Bitterroot Mama's blog for a while and have enjoyed reading about delicious recipes, book reviews, and the unusual things Montanans do. ;-) So thank you, Bitterroot Mama, for the bloggy love and for your enjoyment of my goofy graphics! Sometimes it's hard to tell whether people think I'm funny or plumb crazy off my rocker. 

In a much, much less scary and bacteria-free version of Amish Friendship bread, I get to pass along this award! Here are the acceptance rules:

The Rules 
If you accept this award you must: 

~Thank the person who awarded it to you.
~Post 7 tidbits about yourself
~Award 5 other bloggers this award.

My seven tidbits:
1. I like to do woodburning when I'm feeling creative and want to see my hands in bandages for the next couple weeks.
2. My husband and I honeymooned in Banff, the heart of the Canadian Rockies and the most beautiful place on earth!
3. I'm a boss at Scattergories. Apples to Apples, not so much. :-(
4. My first words were "poo-cat" (my baby rendition of "puddy cat").

Say it right, or not at all. >:-(

5. I never had a dental cavity in my life until I went to college and started drinking juice every day. True story.
6. My college job was working at the university library.
7. I loathe dachsunds.

My Versatile Blogger Award recipients:
- That Married Couple: I love reading her amazing, thoughtful posts on natural living, parenting, and NFP!
- My Country Cupboard: Miriam is super skilled at saving money with coupons and gardening. I want to be just like her when I grow up. :-P
- Are We Still Cool? : Cool Mum and Cool Dad are always making me laugh with their tales of life in NYC.
- My Favorite Things: Ani makes the cutest crafts and has a wealth of great holiday projects!
- B is for Bissonnette: Laura and I have been close friends since our preschool days. We may be on different coasts, but I just love reading about her little family and all the creative projects she comes up with for her toddler!

You don't have to accept the award if you don't want to- I mean, what the heck is a Versatile Blogger supposed to be, anyways?- but I thought this was an excellent opportunity to highlight some of my favorite blogosphere folks. Thank you for your presence on the interwebs!

Seven Quick Takes Friday: Rants and Raves

Yes, I realize it is late Friday evening, but better late than never, right? So here are seven things I'm currently ranting or raving about:

1.  Rave. This year marks my first official Mother's Day! I'm excited!!! The paychecks from Adam's new job haven't quite kicked in, so we'll be celebrating on the cheap, but if I just get out of doing dishes for the day, I'll be happy. :-D

2. Rave. Our three-year wedding anniversary is coming up! From what I've read, the traditional three-year gift is leather. So what would be a good leather gift item? So far, I can't think past buying him an actual cow.

The joke may be cheesy, but I'm going to milk it for all it's worth

3. Rant. We have absolutely idiotic cats. For whatever reason, one of them (or maybe even both of them-- I can't pinpoint the exact criminal) has started peeing in various places on our brand-new carpet. I don't know when this occurred, because I never noticed any wet spots on the carpet, and only discovered this a few days ago when it started to smell! Okay, now that I've ensured that nobody will ever want to visit our house, I'm asking you if you know of any good way to get that smell out of the rug! I'm more interested in ideas for room-wide treatment as opposed to spot-cleaning, but I'll try anything as long as it works.

Meanwhile, it's PUNISHMENT TIME.

4. Rant. Have you heard of that flats-and-handwashing cloth diaper challenge happening at the end of May? It's a week-long event the cloth diapering community is doing in response to a news report about babies in desperately poor families getting infections from sitting in diapers too long or reusing disposables. You may be surprised to learn that I am NOT participating. In fact, I'm really not thrilled with this at all. Don't get me wrong; I am absolutely convinced that cloth diapers save a lot of money, and during my handwashing days, I was SO thankful to not have to worry about buying diapers, when we were having difficulty just affording groceries. My main problem is this: most people who don't cloth diaper choose not to because, well, they just don't want to, and they probably won't give a hoot about this event. As for the impoverished folks who DO want to use cloth diapers? They would be benefitting a lot more from this challenge if the CD community were taking that money they're spending on special five-gallon drums and plungers and rubber gloves- and flats for THEMSELVES!!!- and donating it to something like the Cloth Diaper Foundation instead. You know, so that the struggling families who actually DO want to use cloth diapers can get access to them? I don't know; call me an evil, joy-sucking curmudgeon, but to someone who has been in a situation of need before, the whole thing sounds more like a cloth diaper activist crusade than a real effort to improve people's lives. Hopefully I'm missing some key point and someone will set me straight. :-P


5. Rave. Okay, before I get labeled a heretic, here's a real good case for cloth diaper advocacy:

As you can see, we're all ready for that cow.

I've been waiting forever to unpack the props!

Just try to tell me these are not the cutest pictures you've seen today. :-)

6. Rave. Make It and Love It, one of my favorite crafting sites, just published a list of things you can do with fabric scraps! This is very good news, because, well... let's just pray that Adam never finds out how many boxes of fabric we brought in the move.

7. Rant. The price of gas. Oh. Em. Gee. Last I looked, it was $4.05 per gallon here! Chalk another one up for the cow gift idea...

Cowabunga, man!

What is the price of gas in your area?

For more (and much more lucid) Seven Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary!

We have a winner!

Congratulations to the winner of the Earth Day giveaway, Heather M.! You will be receiving an email shortly!

You've Got Mail!... FINALLY

Today, in overcast Virginia, it's raining cats and dogs-- and mail! Evidently, those yahoos at the post office decided I could get some of my mail now.

Wouldn't you know it, I still didn't get that cloth diaper package. :-P

Earth Day and GIVEAWAY!

Today, the blogosphere is abuzz with either Earth Day chatter or Good Friday ponderings, which, as a friend on facebook pointed out, really makes today feel kind of like an epic face-off. So I am feeling like a total heathen as I write an Earth Day post for you.

I'm pretty sure I've professed my love for reusable feminine products here a time or dozen. They are tons more comfortable, and last for years, saving you money. In fact, these are what got me started with cloth diapering-- after experiencing for myself the drastic comfort difference between plastic and cloth, I thought, Shoot! I bet cloth is way more comfortable for babies, too! Oh yeah, and that thing about saving the environment is pretty cool, too.

I bought some cloth pads and a Moon cup from GladRags, and have never looked back. Actually, I kind of missed using my pretty pads when I was pregnant, and sewed a few of my own-- why exactly a pregnant, soon-to-be-breastfeeding mom thought she had to make pads is beyond me (although they were great post-partum), but that's crazy nesting for you.

You ladies who don't use cloth pads, I can totally sympathize with the dread terror of that cloth leaking! This is why cloth panty liners are a good way to test the waters, so to speak-- you can use them when Aunt Flo has transformed into a much more manageable Aunt Dot. :-P

So in honor of Earth Day and my love of all things cloth, I'm going to give away three custom-made cloth pantyliners! Made from thirsty, trim microfiber sandwiched in between cozy 100% cotton flannel and fastened with a durable metal snap, these are an easy little way to be a little more "green". 

I'll get a picture up as soon as I can of an actual pantyliner. Funny how things get misplaced when you move! Meanwhile, take a look at your selection of fabrics! You can get all three in the same print, or get three different prints! (sorry for the wrinkles, I'm still in the process of unpacking my fabric stash).

From left to right:
Ladybug, Pink Plaid, Heart Rows, Plain Pink, Heart Argyle

From left to right:
SpongeBob, Groovy Brown, Brown Squiggles, and Orange

From left to right:
Pale Green, Blue Hibiscus, Green Dots

And of course, if you can't wait to get your hands on these or don't win, email me (maria.the.uncommon[at]gmail[dot]com)and I will put up a custom listing for you in my Etsy shop at special price of $3.50 apiece through the end of April.

HERE'S HOW TO WIN!
Leave a comment telling me about something you do to be a little more "green". If you wrote a blog post about Earth Day, then by all means, leave a link! I love seeing who is leaving comments!

Giveaway will end 11:59 P.M. EST on Saturday, April 30th. Winner will be drawn by Random.org and announced on the blog as well as emailed. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, I'll be forced to do a redraw! Don't make me do that! ;-)

A Sad Tale of Incompetence

1. Before we left Oklahoma, we did the change-of-address thing.
2. At the end of March, I won a few giveaways and ordered some cloth diaper supplies.
3. I gave my new address in Virginia for all said items.
4. We moved to Virginia. And I waited.
5. And waited.
6. And waited.
7. I haunted the leasing office, where packages are dropped off, for two weeks.
8. In that time, we got ONE piece of mail. Period. No bills, sales flyers, or anything.
9. On Thursday, after watching me come in and out for two weeks, the landlady finally decided to let me in on a secret: UPS leaves packages, but the USPS doesn't. I would have to go to the post office itself.
10. Since it was 4:40 P.M., I jumped in the car and raced down to the post office.
11. I dashed in and breathlessly asked the woman working if I had a package. She wanted to know if I had one of those brown "Delivery Attempted" notes. I told her I never received one. She said something snippy and disappeared into the back for a few minutes.
12. She came back empty-handed and said something to the effect of, "It's probably in limbo because forwarding things takes a while, you dolt." Never mind that I told her repeatedly that these packages were addressed to our NEW address.
13. Yesterday morning, I called the merchant I ordered the diaper stuff from. She gave me a package tracking number. Evidently, the USPS attempted one delivery on the 5th, and my package had been sitting in the post office ever since.

The new uniform of the USPS

14. Armed with this new-found knowledge, I called the post office. I got to hold for a while as the employee searched for the package. Not finding it, she then referred me to the Delivery Manager.
15. I tell him the situation. He says he'll search for it and call me back.
16. I wait.
17. And wait.
18. An hour and a half later, I call him. He informs me that he was waiting till the end of the day so he could talk to the person that delivers my route. Would it have killed him to communicate that, instead of leaving me hanging??

You wouldn't like me when I'm out of laundry.

19. At the end of the day, he calls me with the answer. Are you ready for it?

20. They have been forwarding our already forwarded mail to the people who previously lived at our new address.

21. Yes, you read that right.
22. And here's the kicker:

23. That diaper package? It got forwarded that very morning.


24. Which means it was totally there when that rude employee "searched" for it.
25. So let me get this straight: they attempt ONE delivery, don't leave a notice where I can find it, don't try to follow up with the second or final notice, and then let it sit around for two weeks--in a place that can't be found when someone halfheartedly tries to find it.
26. And this is just one package. I'm not even talking about all the bills and other goodies we've been missing.
27. Meanwhile, some random stranger is getting all our mail.

28. (BANGS HEAD ON WALL REPEATEDLY).


29. There, I feel better.
30. The Delivery Manager said the package "might" come back in a few days. That's scary.
31. Meanwhile, I am stuck using primitive methods to deal with Oscar's transition diapers because my flushable diaper liners never arrived.
32. Yeah! I totally started Oscar on solids! I'm hoping to write about it soon.

33. I think the most annoying part is that I can't take my business elsewhere. No matter how badly they blunder, I'm forced to do business with them anyways. What's a girl to do?

34. Blog about it, duh.

35. And maybe try to revive the alternative delivery industry...

Carrier Pigeons Express:
more reliable than those OTHER bird-brains. 

Highlights from our crazy cross-country move!

It was an interesting trip to Virginia. We were too cheap to get the cats properly sedated, so we opted to dump a mountain of catnip into each cage and hope for the best. And it actually worked-- Meatloaf and Mel were so high, they had a trip within a trip, kind of like Inception for cats. My folder of carefully selected CD's somehow got packed into the U-Haul trailer, so we endured the 24-hour trip with two CD choices: Phantom of the Opera or some album by Muse. I'm pretty sure we deserve a medal just for that. Somewhere in Arkansas, we hit a sparrow, but we didn't realize it was lodged in our grille until halfway into Tennessee. According to Adam, that poor little bird had "a 700-mile funeral procession".

But we made it here in one piece, and I am in *love* with Virginia! Or, more accurately, I'm in love with the washer and dryer in my apartment. It's been quite an adventure. Wait... what? There's no slot for quarters? The machine will fill with water even if the lid is up?? What is this new-fangled "clean-rinsing" detergent? Needless to say, our clothes are the cleanest they've ever been while I try those babies out! I've actually been having some stink issues with the cloth diapers since moving here, so that's not cool, but I have some Rockin' Green samples coming in the mail and am planning a nice long soak for them soon.

So that's about it. I moved to Virginia and got a washing machine. Life couldn't get any better! At any rate, it feels good to get back into blogging and to wade through my giant mass of unread emails. And maybe unpack a box or two.

I leave you with a picture of Oscar (on the right) and his cute little cousin...

Yeah, she's totally grabbing his ear. You'd better watch out, little guy, because I hear that those Virginians can be pretty crazy. :-D

So what did I miss this week? What's going on in your neck of the woods?

*Happy Dance*

ADAM IS HERE! ADAM IS HERE! ADAM IS HERE!

*dances a jig*

We will now resume our regularly scheduled broadcast.

I gave up staying awake for Lent.

You think I'm joking, but I'm not. I debated whether or not to write this, because I'm all for keeping hush-hush about fasting, but curiosity to see if anyone else shares my problem won out.


I hate to sleep.


Ever since I left for college, I have bemoaned and fought against the fact that humans have to spend an entire third of their lives sleeping, when there is so much to see and do! Why oh why would God give us a life and then require us spend a huge part of it with our eyes shut? This was what I thought, and so for the past five years or so, I have slept as little as I possibly could-- staying up until my eyelids were drooping, and then going to bed and instantly crashing. Rinse and repeat. I can count on my hands the number of times I've gone to bed before midnight these past few years. If you've ever gotten a 2 a.m. comment on your blog from me, yep, that was me just staying awake.

So when Lent rolled around this year, I racked my brains for something to give up. Obviously, giving up sugar was out of the question. :-P Cigarettes? Never smoked. Blogging? I don't feel like that's something I struggle with. My defiance against God's natural law? Uh oh, I'm in trouble.

So my Lenten sacrifice this year is going to bed before midnight. It's an unconventional sacrifice, but it has led to some unexpected things already...

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Seven Quick Takes

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post that was bit of a downer. Okay, I'll just come right out and say it was whiny. :-P. So to mix things up, I'm going to write about a few things that I'm thankful for!

~*~

1. We have a date for Adam's return! He is planning on leaving Virginia on Monday, and ending up here in Oklahoma by Tuesday-- making it exactly five weeks that he's been gone. (Dramatic pause for your gasp) I have infinitely more appreciation for military moms after this month! Adam's kind of worried that Baby D won't remember him, but I keep saying that even if he doesn't, Adam will be his BFF in like five minutes anyway. That kid is a daddy's boy!

We do what we can with substitute father figures.

2. And he's bringing help! Adam will most likely be bringing his sister to help us move. This is very good news, because I just realized yesterday that I have a week to get everything done (our lease is up on the 31st). Eep!

~*~

3. The beginning of a new life for us. I've noticed that when people stay in one place for too long, they tend to get entrenched in stupid habits or acquiesce to substandard elements in their lives. About a day after Adam landed in D.C., he told me, "Oh Maria, this is where we need to be!" Since we got the ball rolling for the move, many things have happened to infuse some freshness back into my life-- and I'm not even out of Oklahoma yet! I'm very much looking forward to the better things to come- a washing machine in the apartment (!!!), a car that is not a death trap, proximity to relatives... just those things that I gave up on in Oklahoma.

~*~

4. The end of an era for Baby D. In a few days, we will have had seven successful months of exclusive breastfeeding! I meant to delay starting him on solids until we got to Virginia, but Baby D was recently very sneaky. The other day, when I let him taste the banana I was eating, he instantly bit off a big chunk, gummed it up, and swallowed it right there! Looks like someone is raring to go on those solids! ;-) So, to go along with this growing up thing, I've decided to start calling him by his real name on the blog. I realized the other day that he's not going to be a baby forever, and it might get kind of weird when he's twelve and I'm still calling him Baby D! :-P

Evidently, our ghetto playpen is delicious!

5. Diaper providence. I had been squeezing... Oscar into too-small diapers for a month, until two exciting things happened. First, we got a much larger tax refund than we were expecting. Adam allotted me an exorbitant sum to spend on cloth diapers, but being the die-hard penny-pincher, I just bought the bare minimum needed (and they were one-size diapers-- after going through two sets of diapers in six months, I've learned my lesson). Now for the second exciting thing! I have been entering online diaper giveaways for at least eight months without winning a single thing. However, this past month- hold onto your seat!- I won not one... but four diapers!!! Something tells me that a Higher Power was tweaking random.org. :-P

~*~

6. My friend Marie. Marie, whom I've known since freshman year at college, has always been a great friend, but since Adam left, she's been a downright lifesaver! Car rides, meals, Oscar relief, company for some of those lonely days-- she has been a tremendous blessing. Of all the things I'll miss in Oklahoma, she will top the list!

Here's an OLD picture (2004) from a college "Roommate Date" event,
where a person asks someone out on behalf of their roommate.
Marie eventually married some other guy at the event who was
NOT her date, and my date turned out to be extremely creepy.
Just in case you were wondering.

Spring break 2005-- on the train at Disney World
with some of my my favorite ladies!
Marie is on the far left.

~*~

7. Purging. Packing is taking me forever because I'm asking, "Do we really need this?" for every item. It is wonderful to see all the clutter melt away! It is not-so-wonderful to realize that I've been hanging onto some of this stuff for three years, so it has been a good wake-up call about taking inventory of what I allow to take precious square footage in my house. I've thrown out or craigslisted most of the furniture-- including a bookshelf to a Scentsy saleswoman. Why oh why did I not think of asking her to pay in Scentsy products? ;-)


There is a lot of exciting stuff going on around here! To read other's 7QT, head on over to Conversion Diary.

Sugarless 2011: What About Snacks?

I am approaching the end of the first three months of Sugarless 2011! In many ways, it's been easy-- after three months, candy is actually starting to look gross. And in some ways, it's been hard; I die a little inside every time I drive past Krispy Kreme. But above all, it's been successful! And I can't say the same about my other resolution, but we won't talk about that.

*wipes away a tear*

Cool Mum asked me a while back what I do for snacks. Truth be told, aside from pregnancy- when I consumed everything in sight like a crazed hippo- I've never been much of a snacker. It's probably for this reason alone that in spite of not working out much, I've stayed pretty much the same shape since high school. If I have snacks in the house, then I'll usually eat it, so I don't keep much snacky stuff around. But when I do, here is some of the resolution-approved stuff I eat...

-Nuts
-Bananas with peanut butter
-Popcorn
-Hummus on crackers
-Cheese sticks
-Oatmeal
-Chips with salsa/sour cream
-Sliced avocado
-Plain yogurt (sounds yucky, but after you eat delicious homemade crockpot yogurt, there's no going back)

And sometimes I'll eat the bad stuff, too, like Cheez-its or Pringles. I'm just limiting the sugar, not going eco-vegan-health-crazy. Cool Mum has a recipe for faux ice cream that I've been meaning to make, and I'm always on the lookout for new things to try. So tell me... what are your favorite sugarless snacks?

This post is linked with Work For Me Wednesday.

We Have a Winner!

Oh my gosh, the best part of this week was opening up the comments and seeing the ridiculous Mad Libs you made! I seriously wish I had diapers to give to all of you. :-( But there's hope, because I am definitely going to have to do another Mad Libs giveaway again. But enough of the chit-chat! According to random.org, the recipient of the two fitted cloth diapers is...

#12!

• 
  Terri BabinCollapse

  Lady Gaga showed me how to Jump a diaper! It`s made out of Boys and Dogs, so my baby will have to wear a(n) Bikini over it-- it`s not Round like a(n) Fluffy diaper or an All-In-13! If I win, I will jump in the House, clap my Hands, and shout, "Stop farting!!" These diapers will look so Bumpy on my baby Dad!

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  • 5 days ago

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Time To Go Shopping!

Our tax refund finally came in. HALLELUJAH, and not a minute too soon. These have been the three leanest months of my life! Since Baby D finally started earning his keep around here by getting us a nice tax deduction, I thought it would only be fair to buy him some new diapers. :-D I'm really excited because this is the first time I can stop asking, "What can I get for the absolute cheapest?" and ask instead, "What do I want?" I'm going to stick with my homemade fitteds at home, but we need some additional babysitter-friendly and super-portable diapers, as well.

So here's what I'm putting in my virtual cart!

Yes, I'm getting the cow one!
So cute!

Another Best Bottom cover and various inserts. This will be my out-and about diaper system. Since the covers are reusable as long as they don't get soiled, and the hemp inserts are super thin (like, disposable thin), these are great for the diaper bag.


One bumGenius 4.0. I don't think I will ever feel like I have had the complete cloth diaper experience until I get a bumGenius! This diaper came recommended to me by Maria at Fitteds, Pockets, and Snappis, Oh My! Maria is simply a diaper goddess, and she was SO helpful when I emailed her with questions. Baby D is large and chubby, and he has a high rise to boot, so I've had issues with him looking like a little plumber, if you know what I mean. ;-) According to Maria, this diaper has a nice, high, rise, as does the next one...


A Thirsties Duo Diaper! Size 2 is supposed to fit up to 40 pounds, so Baby D might be able to wear it for, oh, a couple weeks. :-P In my experience, Thirsties runs a bit small, so I doubt he'll make it 40 pounds in this. I loved the Duo Wraps he used as a newborn-- with the additional leg gussets, I had ZERO blowouts or leaks (actually, we've only had a couple poop leaks EVER, and that's been recently because the gDiapers are too small for him now), so I have high hopes for this diaper.

Here it is in Blueberry.
Am I the only one who thinks
 that naming diapers after food
items is kind of gross?

One Tots Bots Easy Fit AIO. I'm really intrigued by the design on this all-in-one- an attached soaker that you stuff inside the diaper- and I've always wanted to experience the renowned softness of a bamboo diaper. Plus, Tots Bots gets rave reviews everywhere-- it was even declared "Best Overall Diaper" at Babble.com. Of course, the print I want is the ONE print not offered at the website I'm buying from. Oh well, all the more excuse to get another later, right?

Two Knickernappies Super-Do Inserts. Baby D is sleeping longer at night, and that means a sopping wet diaper in the morning. I've been double-stuffing, but it makes his diapers fit funny and more prone to letting moisture escape. Maria suggested I try one of these inserts-- with two layers of microfiber and six layers of hemp terry, this thing is more absorbent than double-stuffing with less bulk. I hope it works!


I'm buying from the company that gave away my Best Bottom diaper (everythingbirth.com) for a few reasons: their customer service was awesome with my questions and special requests; every purchase earns you loyalty points towards free merchandise; and they also sell birth pools and midwifery supplies, and I like supporting that sort of thing. :-D I actually have an affiliate account now, so if you ever decide to buy from them, click first on that little button on my left sidebar, and you'll be supporting me, too. :-)

Sorry if I bored you to tears with this post! I promise this is the last diaper post for a while. I'm just really excited to finally get some of the diapers I want, and thought I'd share it with you. :-P Has anyone tried any of these products yet? What did you think? Is there anything else you've really got your eye on?

Hi, my name is Maria, and I'm a blog giveaway addict. (Pt. 2)

You can read Part 1 here.

So I've discussed how to enter giveaways; today, I'd like to talk about where.

And no, it's not under a rock.

There are several approaches to finding giveaways: blog link-ups, giveaway blogs, review blogs, search engines, and social media.


1. Blog link-ups
There are many blogs that host a weekly link-up, in which bloggers everywhere can post a link to their giveaways.

Pro: You have a zillion giveaways right there at your fingertips. You can pick and choose what you'd like to enter!
Con: You have to search through the long lists for the things you'd like to enter. It can get tiring!

Here are some of the blogs with link-ups I like to look at, and the days they're posted:

Tuesday: Mrs. Nespy's World
Wednesday: Busy Mommy Media
Friday: Fitteds, Pockets, and Snappis, Oh My! (this one is mainly for cloth diapers and baby carriers, but other bloggers will link up other stuff, too), The Cloth Diaper Report




2. Giveaway Blogs
There are blogs out there that exist solely to be your eyes-and-ears for giveaways going on.

Pro: If you're interested winning in a niche item, like cloth diapers or knitting materials, this is a good one-stop way to see what's going on around the internetz.
Con: Since this type of blog usually makes multiple postings in a single day, it will clutter up your blog reader horribly if you subscribe (a better option is to subscribe via email, which will deliver all the day's posts in one lump email).

A couple niche giveaway blogs I check:
Etsy Giveaways
Cloth Diaper Giveaways

3. Review Blogs
These are blogs in which the author reviews and gives away items herself, usually with the help of sponsors.

Pro: this is a great way to discover new products from up-and-coming companies. Also a good way to find products for your niche.
Con: Along with giveaways for products you want, there will be lots of giveaways for items you don't want. Also, these blogs often require that you follow them in order to enter a giveaway.

A couple review blogs I frequent:
A Mom's Take
Cloth Diaper Addiction




4. Search Engines
Sometimes, if there is a specific item I am looking for, I will turn to my good friend Google it to see if it's being given away anywhere. This was how I won my Best Bottom diaper, which I had been coveting for quite some time. I googled Best Bottom giveaway February 2011 to see what blogs were giving it away that month, entered the ones I could, and hoped for the best.

Pro: helps you find giveaways for a specific item.
Con: You have to read the taglines carefully,  because Google will sometimes put up links to old giveaways.

Must... enter... more... GIVEAWAYS!

5. Social Media
Rachel (who is coincidentally running a mineral makeup giveaway right now!) brought up a good point on my previous post: social media can be used to find giveaways, too! If you "Like" a certain company on facebook, chances are that they will post any giveaways of their products. Also, many companies will have special facebook-only giveaways when they reach a certain number of followers. I personally don't follow too many because it clutters up my facebook feed (can you tell I'm really big on streamlining feeds? :-P), but it's valuable for those certain products I absolutely want to win.

Twitter is also a good place to find giveaways. Use hashtags (#clothdiaper, #giveaway), and search for companies (@Ergobaby, @bumgenius). Often, tweets will have a link right to the giveaway page. In this way, twitter is even better than Google-- tweets are arranged chronologically, so you can see at a glance what is going on right now in the blog giveaway realm.


So now you know all my secrets for entering giveaways. Let me know if you found this little series helpful!

Hi, my name is Maria, and I'm a blog giveaway addict. (Pt. 1)

Since the subject of giveaways is still fresh in my brain, I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk more in-depth about them. A little backstory: I enter a lot of blog giveaways. Not surprisingly, I win a lot of stuff, as well. Here are some of the cool things I have won in the past few years:

-A Best Bottom diaper (just came in the mail today! I'm SOOOO excited to try it out!)

-$100 gift card to The Vintage Pearl

-$25 for Groupon (I am just WAITING for a massage deal to show up! :-D)

-A pair of stylish Crocs. 

-Two Little Scholastic board books-- Baby's D's favorite!

-A wet bag, a reusable Swiffer wand filler, and 4 handmade bars of soap, among other things!


There are some amazing prizes to be had out there! So, as a veteran giver-awayer-enterer, I thought I'd share some tips on how to maximize your giveaway endeavors and minimize wasted time.

-Enter only for items you really want. This probably goes without saying, but sometimes, it's easy to get so caught up in playing the bloggy lottery that suddenly you find yourself entering contests for mechanical pencils and wart remover. Ask yourself, "Do I really need/want this? Can I just buy this fairly inexpensively at the store? Will I actually use it?"

-What would YOU do to win a Klondike bar? Most giveaways give you a plethora of ways to gain extra entries: follow the blog, like something on facebook, follow on twitter, subscribe by email, etc. Sometimes these are mandatory entries. You'd be surprised by how seldom I do them! And that is because I have a problem with selling my loyalty to win junk. I can see how offering free stuff should entitle a blogger to demand a following in return, but the little voice within me asks, Don't you want to know that people are following you because they genuinely like your blog, and not because they just want to win crap? So I don't follow blogs unless I love their content. I don't "Like" things on facebook unless I've actually tried the product and truly do like it. Actually, I usually follow after I win something, as a thank-you. But otherwise, if a giveaway requires that I follow in some way, I just walk away.

My one exception is Twitter. Maybe I'm just dumb, but I don't understand Twitter, so I never use it. But would I for the chance to double my chances of winning? Heck, yes! So I opened an account for the sole purpose of following sponsors and regurgitating tweets. And that is literally all I do with Twitter. And somehow, even with my limited and horribly abusive use of Twitter, I have nearly as many followers there as I have for this blog. Hmmm, maybe I ought to rethink that whole well-crafted and thought-out blog post thing. ;-)

All this to say, think about what you're willing to do for a couple extra entries. If you have no problem with spamming your friends' facebook feeds or having a cluttered blog reader, then be my guest! I hope it wins you something!

This came up in Google Images for "giveaway".
Who wouldn't want to win candy?

-Enter only giveaways that will email you if you win. Since I rarely follow these particular blogs, it doesn't make sense to enter a giveaway that will announce the winner on the blog itself. I don't keep track of the giveaways I enter, so one of the first things I look for is whether or not they will email the winner. 

-Leave an email. Make it ridiculously easy for the giveaway host to contact you. Even if the comment section has a slot to enter an email, I always additionally leave my email in the comment itself. Spammers like to pull email addresses from giveaway comments, so I enter my email in this format: myemailaddress at gmail dot com. And then don't forget to check your email! Most sponsors give 24 or 48 hours for the winner to respond, so be on the lookout-- even in your spam folder. I actually almost missed a prize recently because I wasn't checking my spam folder.

I love Picnik.com.

So now you know how to do giveaways the smart way; I talk about where to enter them in Part 2!

(you should start here... with my very own fitted cloth diaper giveaway!)