Puppies Vs. Babies: Whose Cuter?

This post brought to you by Puppies vs. Babies. All opinions are 100% mine.

This is one of those “classic” debates where everyone wins. They each have their pros & cons but can you tell me which is cuter …Puppies vs. Babies? It’s a tough one isn’t? This is why Animal Discovery is asking this ever important question. We need an answer and what better way than to give the winning baby OR puppy $5,000? I think this is going to be an interesting contest and you have until Nov. 23rd to get your votes in on who YOU think is cuter!

 

When I visited the Puppies vs. Babies online contest page I thought I knew who I wanted to win, but after looking at all the photos and videos I was torn. I mean babies are cute I know this but they have their moments where I’d prefer to send them to the zoo. You’ve all seen photos of not only O, but my beautiful nieces as well. They are clearly adorable, yet on the other hand I’ve seen some adorable puppies as well. Plus the positive side is those puppies can’t back talk you. But they both have their negatives as well. You have to clean after both parties when they use the bathroom, they both cry A LOT and lets not get start on how needy they can be. They really are full time commitments. If you’re the brave soul to have a babay AND puppy at the same time you’re either a saint or a crazy.

 

Where do YOU stand on this issue? I know it’s a tough choice for me and I can’t wait to see how this plays out. So what are you waiting for? Head over to the Puppies vs. Babies website and vote today! s you know the voting ends on Nov. 23rd. Who are you voting for? Let me know in the comments!

Mama’s Got a Job sike

You spend hours online, around town, going store to store, or worse a combination of the above hoping that out of the hundred job applications at least ONE person would call back. You spend your days GLUED to your phone because heaven forbid you miss the most important call ever. Quickly shooing family and friends off the phone as to not tie up the line …. even though you have call waiting.

Then one early morning your phone rings, you jump out of  bed so quick your husband thinks he’s been having an affair with Flash. Of course you try to calm yourself down AND wake up at the same time as to not sound groggy or anything other than eager, happy, and calm on the phone. You answer and hear the words you’ve been waiting MONTHS to hear “We’d love to schedule an appointment with you.” Calmly you schedule the interview, double check to make sure you’ve hung up the phone, and scream excitedly as you do your ultra cool celebration dance (so what if it’s only ultra cool to you) of course waking everyone up in the process.

Next comes the VERY important task of what to wear? You of course can NOT find the entire outfit at the same time. You’ll have your best dress shirt found but can’t find your pants. ‘Don’t panic’ you calmly tell yourself and start to politely pull out all your drawers one at a time to see if you can find them. When you do you’ll next be looking for the lost dress shoes since you can’t very well show up to the interview in your favorite worn out Chuck Taylors. This causes a panic and while you’re thrashing around your room like some crazed animal the offspring will of course need SOMETHING. This causes you to start howling like a jungle animal that you have to do EVERYTHING and just can’t pause until you find your shoes. Which in the end you know you’re going to have to suck it up and buy new ones, only to find your others AFTER the interview.

Interview time comes and you’ve got everything you need. So excited you end up 60 minutes early to your interview. Of course this causes you to panic and you start arguing with yourself (In your head of course you wouldn’t want to look like a crazy lady). After what feels like an eternity you’ve passed enough time to show up a few minutes early. You ask where you’re suppose to go and blindly walk around the building trying to remember the directions you received from your (hopefully) future co-worker (while silently cursing at yourself for not coming in sooner since you’re obviously lost). Finally you find the office and are relived to find out you are still a little early. Waiting .. waiting … ready … ready .. finally someone comes out and says you’re next. This is where it gets ugly.

You hear the words NO unemployed person wants to hear … “Um … hm … uh Please excuse me for not having your paperwork or anything I didn’t know we were hiring and just found out I had to do your interview” Did you hear that? Listen a little carefully. Yup you are correct that is the sound of my heart sinking faster than the Titanic. You talk to yourself into calming down enough to not reach over the ridiculously long table and throttle her. At this point you’re ready to just go home but of course they have to act like they are going to consider you for a position they didn’t even know needed anyone. You answer awkward questions, explain your work history looks like crap because you’ve been raising your beautiful offspring. Which no one cares about or even takes into consideration. Don’t they know what kind of skills they are missing out on as they turn their noses up at us Stay At Home Mothers? We’re referees, personal chiefs/drivers, we have to manage our time wisely to get everything done all the while multi-tasking so good it would make your head spin. But no when they hear those words you’re choking on they think of one word LAZY.

Of course they have to end the interview by walking around the store showing you everything for when you get hired. All the while you know they are pulling your leg just from how they are talking, why not call it a day and not waste anyone’s time and be done with the interview? Well because they are getting paid to waste your time. Why else would someone call up someone for an interview and conduct it while walking around the store? The store isn’t that big so obviously what ever I looked like wasn’t right for you. I’m sorry if I’m not preppy enough, tall enough, or what ever it is you’re looking for but what you’re missing is that I’m still a PERSON not just a name, number, and reference listed on a paper. Do you get kicks out of stringing people? Getting a job is just like getting in a relationship. You have a few bad apples that nearly kills it for the whole bunch. But when you find that one good apply you hold it because you know how special it is …. even if you’d rather gouge your eyes out with a rusty spork.

I Heart My Kitchen

(c)beastiegirls breaking (bad)

If I had to pin point my favorite place in our apartment it would have to be the kitchen. I just enjoy cooking as it is something fun O and I can do together. I can use it as a learning tool to teach him what are healthy foods and what needs to be ate in moderation. For example, I’ve decided we both need to expand our fruit taste buds and see what we do and don’t like. So I decided that a fun thing to do was make our own jam or jelly.  This would be great cause well I always wanted to make our own jam/jellies and I can help eliminate some of those excess sugars and preservatives. I figure what goes better with jam and jellies than using our awesome toaster to warm up some toast and bagels. O loves helping in the kitchen and I know he’d love to be able to spread on his own breakfast toppings.  Plus it’d be an extra special treat as we can share some giggles and talk about what- ever is on his mind.  I think that’s what makes this my favorite room in the house. O gets lost in what he’s doing and doesn’t realize he’s opening up to me. I love it because I know we’re heading down the path where he doesn’t want to talk much about his day or problems and that makes me a sad mama.

Though after all that talk about what I love most about my kitchen I have to say that the worst part is the clean up. I really love having a dishwasher and it makes life a lot easier. I’ve decided that no matter what when we get our own house I’d just got to have a dishwasher similar to the hotpoint dishwasher.  It just looks like it can kick some dirty dishes butt doesn’t it? I am lazy when it comes to dishes. Next to laundry that’s probably my most hated ‘chore’. But I realized that having a good dishwasher really helps because if I’ve got to pre-rinse or what-ever to my dishes before I load the dishwasher up I might as well do it the ‘old fashioned’ way and hand wash them right?

So what is YOUR favorite room in the house?

*I was given a free free product and/or was paid for this review. Any opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way.

Captain America + Jason

Take A Seat Up At The Counter And Enjoy The Comfort And Style

Maybe you want to remodel your kitchen to include a counter top table that doubles as a breakfast nook, and are not sure where to start. A good carpenter can make recommendations about how high a counter needs to be in order to work as a table. Perhaps the builder will suggest that the counter top overhang the side of the cabinets it rests on to give diners some leg room when they belly up to the breakfast bar.

When it comes to choosing seating for your kitchen tabletop arrangement, you’ll probably want to select bar stools rather than more traditional kitchen table chairs. The main reason for forgoing more standard seating with back rests and perhaps arm rests, too, is the height of your new breakfast table. It’s likely going to be much too high to accommodate standard chair sizes. Countertops are usually set at a given height to make it easier for the cook to work, and that’s normally higher than your standard kitchen tabletop.

Bar stools have at least two advantages over standard chairs: they’re available in tall sizes that are perfect for countertop tables, and they take up less space in a kitchen than do standard kitchen chairs. It’s easy to move them out of the way in the event that you want to use the countertop table to chop vegetables, or perform any other kitchen task.

In addition, bar stools are often quite comfortable seats, despite the fact that some, but not all, lack backrests. You might expect that sitting on a stool for extended periods of time might be tough on the back, but it’s amazing how easily you can adapt to perching yourself on these kinds of seats. After all, punters at bars and pubs are known to sit on backrest-free seating for many hours without strain. And if you’re planning to use your new countertop dining area for breakfasts, no one is likely to be sitting at the counter for such a long time.

Stools are popular with many because they come in many different styles and are made from an assortment of different materials. You can find them with cushioned and upholstered seats, or plain tops. They can be constructed from metal or wood, and can be painted or stained any color imaginable. They are flexible to use in places where there is limited floor space, and they’re often light enough to be easily picked up and moved.

They can be elegant or rustic, and you can use them not only in your kitchen, but also at your home bar or workbench. Those with bars in their home often choose seating constructed from good-quality wood and stained a becoming shade that goes with the décor of the room in which you wish to place them.

Many will have armrests and backrests, but you can also find simpler models that that have paired down features, especially if simplicity is more your style. Some bar seating for the home is constructed from light-weight but sturdy aluminum, which is particularly easy to move, and can take a lot of abuse without showing scratches or dents.

There is a world of different choices available to you with bar seating, so have a seat and try them out, and you’ll likely find the design that’s just right for you.