Walmart Haul Using The Grocery App

Okay, so this was so easy to use and I will continue to buy my items from Walmart this way for as long as I can. They don’t have everything in the store available for purchase to bring out to your car, but it is close enough to wear having to actually go inside should be rare. I bought snacks, baking/cooking ingredients, and a ton of household stuff. The app was super easy to use to order, then I just let them know that I’m on my way, and pick up my order. Easy peasy. I actually had Martin pick it up for me. I 100% recommend this app if you hate going into the store to shop. I have used this app multiple times and I am still in love with it. Unless I need something that isn’t on the app (like grip socks for Dean), I don’t go in the store anymore. It is really great for budgeting and staying within how much you want to spend that week. I always have my shopping list on my phone, when I am doing my groceries on the computer. I will make a set amount that I want to spend on household things and then up to how much I want to spend on groceries.

I have been slowly stocking up our pantry with spices, baking supplies, and things you don’t use very often but is nice to have on hand. It’ll be a few months, I think before our pantry is a pretty good size with many options to make different kinds of foods. Also, Dean is going to be going to daycare and I’m on the wait list for discounted child care for 8 to 10 months. So, I am looking at $100 or less a week for 2 full days of childcare for Dean. That will also slow down our pantry shopping as well. I am also building a reserve for backup money (School loan money (extra) and my company’s reimbursement for classes), so if Dean’s daycare becomes a financial strain some weeks, there is still a reserve of money to buy groceries. Since, we are looking at a maximum of $400-500 a month on childcare.

I don’t use the app to order the groceries. I just use the app to “check in” that I am on my way to pick up the order, which Martin usually does on his way home every Sunday. I highly recommend trying this app out or even logging into the computer to make an order (like I usually do). Like I said, I stay within budget now and get everything that I want every week without breaking the bank. Do some things have to be prioritized? Yes, but this makes that way easier than getting to the checkout line and seeing how far over your budget you went… I love that I don’t do that anymore.

With Love,

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January Series Part 3

The Walking Dead Season 2

I know I have been spamming my blog with a lot of series reviews this month, but I have been doing a lot of watching and rewatching preparing for the new season that is coming up. I’ve had a lot of time on my hands since I stopped going to school and I haven’t been much in the mood for reading. I probably should try to read, but for now, I am just enjoying watching a lot of Netflix. I am also thinking about getting Hulu simply for Paw Patrol, because my son would die without it. I won’t be getting cable when I move. I will just be keeping the WIFI. Season 2 was really good, what I remember of it. Again, people die. No one that was my favorite died though, so I was fine with the major deaths in this season. I will probably be reviewing all of the seasons up until 8. Season 9 is the current season and is not on Netflix. Hopefully, it comes on during the summer, so I can watch it before 10 starts! 4 out of 5 stars for this season. Some of the elements were redundant and it wasn’t as good as the first season.

With Love,

January Series Part 2

Cloak and Dagger Season 1

This was a terrific season 1 for this show and I don’t know how it is going to get better. I enjoyed the fact that they wrapped up the whole story line at the end of the series, but also left room for another season to pick up from. I give this a strong 5 out of 5. I am very invested in this show and I am looking forward to the next season. I hope to continue to see plot line stories that end every season, because it ties everything up so nicely. I have never seen a show do this before and it is very refreshing. I don’t like to say too much about what happens in the show, because I don’t want to give the plot away. People do die and I have to say that it is one of the darker shows that I have seen from Freeform. They seem to be maturing their content a bit, which is nice.

With Love,

January Series Part 1

The Walking Dead Season 1

This is a series that I have been watching for a while now and I am just getting around to reviewing it. I got behind and haven’t watched season 8 yet (still finishing season 7), because college took a lot of my time. However, this is a fantastic series and I highly recommend it if you are into survival, zombies, post apocalyptic worlds, and a splash of grotesque horror. I personally don’t like most horror shows/movies, but this show is really different and interesting. I love the characters and I cry when my favorites or innocent ones die. I am so invested in this show and it really surprised me by how good it is. This season also gets right to the point and we don’t spend half the season wondering what has happened. I hate when shows take forever to tell you that. I give this show and specifically this season, a 5 out of 5. The commercials for this show do not do it justice.

With Love,

Manicure Saturday

I painted my nails this pretty periwinkle blue color last week and I really love the color of this nail polish. The formula isn’t the greatest though. I need three coats to make the color opaque. Even though, I did my nails in the early afternoon, the next morning, some of my nails had imprints from the sheets on them. It dried fast in between coats. I would say that it takes 2 to 5 minutes for this polish to dry if you try to do thin coats. This nail polish is the Sinful Shine with Gel Tech in Alfresco 1219, so it lasts about 5 to 7 days without chipping. It is a good nail polish if you want it to last the whole week. I will be keeping this nail polish in my collection.

With Love,

January Movie

Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour

Throwing aside my personal distaste of Taylor Swift, I do enjoy her music and this was a good concert. And by good, I mean, I listened to it while painting my nails, swinging my son in his swing, folding laundry, exercising, etc. I didn’t really watch it. I mostly just listened to it and it was a good time waster. I give it a solid 2 stars, because I don’t find it particularly enjoyable. It’s 2 stars for good music. If you want to just listen and pass the time, this is good for that. I’m sure others who actually like Taylor Swift will want to watch it, but if you just enjoy the music, its still a good listen.

With Love,

5 OUT: Product Reviews

So, I have uncovered more old reviews that I have written and never reviewed on my blog. I thought that I would share another 5 of these today. I am happy to see that my drafts on my blog are getting smaller in numbers. I mean, I always a few in there so as to not forget to write about them like my Monthly Reads, Movies, EI, ABA, Semester, and Project 200 pan posts. I always have a draft with the titles in there for those. Other than that, I am free to write whatever posts that I would like. It is a great feeling. I used to have a ton of posts that I planned in there. I have greater freedom now to do what I feel like doing and not feel guilty about it. I still plan on doing some cooking/baking posts now that I have a camera! I am looking forward to those posts!

New England Coffee in Blueberry Cobbler

This was just terrible. I usually enjoy coffee from this brand, but this flavor tasted terrible. Not even coffee creamer could redeem it. I love trying new flavored coffees and would buy from this brand again, just not this flavor. I’m very picky when it comes to my flavored coffees. It has to be just right and hit all the right notes. This coffee just tasted burnt to me, even though it was never burnt once or left out too long. I brew by the cup, so no chance of that happening. There was definitely no “juicy, berry flavor” like they claim. This did not taste like fruit at all. I figured it would taste good like fruit and chocolate but no.

Yankee Candle Tropical Island Breeze

The candle scent was so good that I burned through two of these that I bought at Marshall’s. It is sweet and light and perfect for those muggy summer nights. It smells like summer. These are huge candles and I burned through them so fast, because the scent was always there but never overwhelming. The candle itself burns clean and there is very little wax left in the jar. I would repurchase this if I saw it at Marshall’s again and I am going to be keeping an eye out for more Yankee Candles at my local store. $13 is such a steal!

Gerber Sweet Potato Puffs

Dean really enjoyed these puff snacks, but he had to be in the mood for them. They are kind of bland, so I am going to see if there is any healthy adult cereal that he can try with more flavor to it. I would purchase these again, but he is over them. He loves strong flavors.

MJCARE Snail Sheet Mask

I was really afraid of trying this mask, but I had nothing to fear. It smells light and perfumey. I didn’t notice anything but more moisturized skin and a more plump appearance. I find that all sheet masks do the same thing, but I love the experience when I have the time for it. MJCARE masks are also really basic and a dollar a mask. I’ve tried Tony Moly masks and I feel like they only perform a little bit better, giving me a little more glow or a bit clearer pores. I will repurchase on my next Amazon order and I don’t buy very often from them.

Avon Advance Techniques Keep Clear Anti-Dandruff Treatment

Anytime I had a bit of dandruff, this leave in scalp treatment did the trick. I can no longer find this on Avon’s website. I’ve had this for a very long time. I no longer shop Avon, because they are not cruelty free and that’s a big thing that I am trying to stick by now when it comes to beauty products. Avon is also a big pyramid scheme but that is a story for another time.

There you have it. 5 more reviews of products that are no longer part of my collection (besides the other MJCARE sheet masks). What have you used up lately? I still got a ton of reviews that I need to write and share on my blog. I am very backed up. Doing this 200 pan, I am using up stuff faster than I can review it and with school, I don’t even try anymore. I need to start writing these at least twice a month. I know everyone says that they are busy, but I mean, I really am. I’m not sitting here watching Netflix. I am blogging and getting my papers edited to upload for school that’s due today. Speaking of which, I should probably get those done now before I start another procrastinating blog post.

With Love,

September Movies

I don’t get to watch movies very often and when I do, it is thanks to Netflix after Dean goes to bed at night. I would love to do this series monthly, but I just don’t watch that many movies in a month. I have collected some movies that I have watched over the past several months. For the most part, I enjoyed all of them. I really do love Netflix, because even if I only watch one movie a month, it pays for itself. I also now have an Amazon Fire Stick, which is great to watch movies as a family on the 40 inch living room screen. If you have any movie recommendations, please leave them below and I will add them to my Netflix to watch list. It is HUGE like my goodreads list that I am still editing. I managed to finish two seasons of my favorite show and I am on the last episode of the last season. I don’t want to watch it, because I don’t want it to end. Does anyone get the same way?

Beautiful Creatures

This movie had so much potential after reading the book. This movie was so good for almost the whole thing. They really messed up the ending though, so I didn’t end up enjoying it as much. Also, there is no wolf dog and I would have enjoyed that part of the movie. That dog was such a presence in the book and there were other small but important details missing in the movie. It was a major let down to be honest. They butchered such a great book and I will be reading the rest of this series. I am so glad that they aren’t making anymore of these movies.

2 out of 5 stars

Lost Girl: Season Three

OMG! So much stuff happened in this series and I am totally hooked to the show. I have been watching this every night instead of reading and I just cannot get enough. My fingers are itching to watch season three, but I know that I should get some reading in while I can. I knew a few things were coming, but the show twisted just enough that the reveal was still shocking and slightly different than expected. I love all of the characters and I am invested in all of the story lines. Bo is such a cool kick ass heroine and so far, she has been on the good side or the “light”. Based on how the last episode of the season leaves off, I think her time with the “light” has past and her more evil, sinister side will take over. I think that fairy tail series took there note from this series, because both of their main leads turn “bad”.

5 out of 5 stars

Finding Dory

This was such a cute movie and I loved it so much. I watched this while Dean was napping. My dad was like “Why you watching a kid’s movie?” I told him to shut up. lol. Dean doesn’t watch movies like this yet anyways, unless it is Paw Patrol. He doesn’t understand plot and there were no songs either, unless you count “just keep swimming”. It was super cute to see baby Dory and learn that she was living at like a “zoo” the whole time…aquarium, that’s the word. I totally enjoyed this sequel and really miss this movie. It was the rare sequel that was just as good as the movie.

5 out of 5 stars

Lost Girl: Season Four

I cannot wait to start Season 5. I have never cried so much than during Season 4 of Lost Girl. Two big moments happen and it is just heart breaking. Season 5 is the last season, so I hope that everything ends neatly and all of the loose ends are tied. I have never loved a series more than this one and it was all fun and games until this season. Stuff got real and a show has to be really good to get me to cry. I am so happy that I didn’t do my makeup today. I just watched the finale episode. I don’t want to give anything away, because it is such a great series. I highly recommend it if you are not sensitive to violence or sexy scenes. Honestly, I am going to miss it when I watch season 5.

5 out of 5 stars

Christian Mingle

This was a cute if at times cringey movie about finding God through a dating website. If has the feel of a Hallmark movie, but I think this is a racier element for Hallmark. I don’t think it ever premiered on tv or else, I would have seen it by now. It has my favorite Hallmark actress, but the male lead didn’t really go with her. I just found the whole movie really awkward and a little uncomfortable to watch. It wasn’t too much of a preachy movie and I did enjoy it. It could have been put together a lot better though.

3 out of 5 stars

That is everything that I have managed to watch on Netflix since I lost wrote my movie post. I am very happy with my selection and I am glad that I watched all of them, even my low rated one this time around. I have tons of movies that I want to watch and will probably watch one tonight. I try to make time every Sunday and Monday to watch one movie, even if I watch half one day and the other half the next.

With Love,

August Listening

Once again, I have nothing read in the month of August, but I have been reading. Going to school full time is really not leaving me with much me time, never mind reading time. I am hoping to take an hour to read every week and sticking to that plan. I have been listening to my audiobook when I exercise and I have listened to it at work as well when I am working on something boring and repetitive like writing procedures. I also like listening to my audiobook the last 30 minutes of work, since I’m just wrapping up and ending the day. I am enjoying Audible a ton, but I did put my subscription on hold for 3 months. I have purchased two other books that I would like to be done with before buying another audiobook.

I thought that I would share with you the two other books that I have bought from Audible and will be listening to next. Yes, both of these books are from authors that I already love and enjoy. These books were on my to-read shelf and I cannot believe that I forgot about them. I hope that I enjoy them, but I know Audible has a great return policy.

I have had this book on my to-read shelf since 2011. I believe it is a more adult Meg Cabot book and I love romance with a mix of supernatural elements. It is 16 and a half hours of Audio which the other book was only 7, so it is more than double in length. I am hoping it will be a good story from one of my favorite authors. I want to read all of her books. I think I will read this one next. I have been looking forward to it for so long. I still need to cut down my to-read shelf. I’m down to 663 from like 750. I am getting there. It is just super tedious. I make sure to only mark things that I want to read now. I only want to do this once. Maybe, by Christmas, I will have gone through all of my picks and can have the final count of the books that I want to read.

Danielle has turned me onto this author. I love her Sophaholic series and this seems like a cute stand alone. This one is 10 and a half hours. It will be a nice, humorous read and a break from dramatic stories. I have a vast taste in books and I love trying out different ones. I enjoy thrillers, but I don’t like gushy horror stories. I love chicklit and young adult books best. Danielle, if you haven’t read this one yet, you should, because it sounds amazing! I love stories that are a little racy. Keeps things adult and interesting.

If you have any recommendations on Audible, please leave them in a comment below. I’d love to check out what other people are reading. I have these two waiting in the wings, but my Audible account goes active again in November. I feel like two backups are a good number for me and will put Audible on hold again or cancel it temporarily. $14.99 is a good price, but not when I am stockpiling books every month. I have enough REAL books waiting….and my virtual kindle ones now that I think of it.

With Love,

June Reads

I am so happy to have two books off of my to-read shelf at home this past month. I currently sit at 30 books to-read from my personal library. I don’t tend to reread books, so these are all books that I bought or were bought as gifts for me brand new that are sitting on my to-read shelf. I am still working on my to-read Goodreads shelf, which currently stores 700 books. I know that I cannot read all of those and I might not be interested in them anymore. I have been slowly going through it book by book, page by page and have found that some of them I have read and just forgot to switch it from to-read to read. Others, I am no longer interested in. I think I have currently combed through 120 titles to keep on my shelf. I am happy to have two physical books out of the way that I did very much enjoy.

Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don’t read that many adult books. I have been sticking to the YA novels, because I really love reading most of them. However, I have been getting into adult books lately and this one was the best mix of YA and Adult together. The book occurs in flashbacks from middle school and high school and goes back into the reality of being in your 30s. It was a quirky book with so many layers to it. It is very much a coming of age story and you get to play detective to see why two best friends from high school drifted about over one event in their lives. I did not see it coming and I don’t want to spoil it. This book goes DEEP without giving you all of the details. I won’t say that I was invested in any of the characters. The book doesn’t go deep enough for that. It just skims the surface of every character and no one really has that much dimension. It was still an enjoyable book and I do recommend it for those days that you just want to read a book without feeling guilty about it being chick lit.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. It only took me 16 days to read this book. I was obsessed with reading it. From the first chapter, Dessen hooked me right in and her familiar story arc didn’t seem old and tired. I really enjoyed the characters and how the story flowed. I stopped watching Netflix, because I enjoyed this story more. It takes a really good book for me to chose it over my current obsession Lost Girl. I could relate to the main character Em with her daddy issues. I have a similar tale with my own biological dad. It might have been the familiarity that got me hooked, but it was the way Dessen made her main character so human that kept me reading. She didn’t state every few pages that Em was “beautiful” or “smart”. It is implied in the way she goes about finding solutions and her attitude towards her brother. Dessen doesn’t need a “beautiful” man character that all the boys in the book flock to. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much. Em is such a real girl, a real character that I didn’t feel like anything was forced about her. Yes, there were some cringe worthy moments that I wished she would have reacted differently, but it made her more real that she didn’t react in the most ideal way. She is for sure one of the more reserved characters in Dessen’s novels.

View all my reviews

I am unsure of how many books I will be reading in the future with school occupying a lot of my spare time. I think I will either be reading or watching my shows on Netflix and only binge watching my Youtube shows once a week. Youtube has been a major time suck recently and I need to cut down on it. I have never been obsessed with social media before and Youtube seems to be the one that I enjoy most. If I cut down on that time, I believe that I will be able to read a book a month. I am also subscribed to Audible now and I am enjoying the last book in the Meg Cabot series Airhead as I walk on my manual treadmill. Combining reading and exercise is keeping me motivated to workout at least twice if not three times a week at 30 minute intervals. I am already looking through my to-read list for the next book that I should listen to. $14.99 a month is not that expensive for an audiobook if it is also your exercise program.

With Love,