Pumped For the Weekend

And on this gorgeous Friday morning, we will have yet again another random blog post day. I actually just really like writing whatever happens to come to my little noggin' and then calling it "blog-worthy." I mean, it's nothing that's winning me any writing awards or anything like that, but it'll do for this little space of mine on the internets, right?!

So first of all, how awesome is it that Instagram now has video? I mean, I just recently jumped on the Vine wagon, but by that point, everyone else seemed to have already jumped off of it. So it felt kind of like a sad ghost town, even though I was mildly obsessed with it. But now - now! We can make even better videos on Instagram! They're about twice as long, and you can view and edit your clips before the final posting, which rocks. I of course had to test it out last night, so you can check that out here. And if you wanna follow along with my randomness, my username is HalieRenee88.

Tonight around 6, Jeff and I are going to look at a cute little duplex to see about renting it! (I will be moving in wherever we find first, then he'll move in after we get married.) It's in a great part of town (exactly where I want to live), at a great price. I am so stoked about it. Can't wait to have a look-see at it!

I grabbed some new snacks at target the other night to try, and they've both been delicious. I got two different kinds of Chobani yogurt - the little 'Bites' and one of the 'Flips.' I got coffee with dark chocolate chip Bite, and peach with pistachio and chocolate Flip. And I really enjoyed both of them! Will definitely be grabbing more of these next time I'm grocery shopping.

This morning I stepped on my scale to see a surprising 183.6! Just Wednesday I was at 185.6. I stepped off, waited for it to reset, and then stepped on again to see the same thing. So I don't know if this will last, or if it was just some fluke this morning, but I'm really hoping that it's real and that I only go down from here, not back up to 185 again.

Jeff is taking the boys to the beach today, and he's trying to convince me to make it half day at work and go with them. And I'm reallllyyyy torn about that. Because of course I want to go so bad, but I also feel bad about just skipping work for no 'real' reason at the last minute. I don't know though - if my boss get's here soon I'll ask her and see. And then maybe I'll get to spend the afternoon soaking up some sun and play time, rather than planting my but in front of my work computer. I'd much prefer the sunshine.

(*Update: before I even finished writing this, my boss got here, I nervously went in to ask her, and she said it was fine! So now I'll be headed to the Gulf Coast for a bit this afternoon! Hooray!)

I got a new Influenster VoxBox earlier this week, and so I've started trying out one of the products - a new whitening toothpaste! I'll be writing a full review on this and all the other products later once I test them all, but for now, I'm just giving a little teaser.

Well, now I'm just too excited about officially going to the beach this afternoon to really write anything else. So this blog post turned out to be kinda lame. Can y'all let it slide this time, and I promise next time I'm here trying to write something, I'll come more prepared, or try to keep my head on straight the whole time. And then maybe I'll end up being able to produce some better content. For now though, I gotta get scootin' on some actual work-work, so that I can have things done and ready by noon! Because then I'll be tryin' to run outta here so fast there might be a whirlwind of papers in my wake.

So this afternoon is the beach, then checking out a potential house for Jeff and I. Tomorrow will be spent pool-side with friends and other little ones for the boys to play with - followed by a cookout and a sleepover for them. Then Sunday is Wild Adventures day! (Jeff & I have season passes, and it's bring-a-friend day, so the boys get in for free! Score!) So much fun going on over the next few days I can hardly stand it. Obviously I'm just super Pumped For the Weekend!

Happy Friday to y'all! Hope you have a good day, a great Friday, and an awesome weekend!

Potato Chips & Veggie Chips from Green Giant

Guys, I gotta be honest here - one of the things I love about blogging, is there are definitely some perks that go along with it. Well I've found a new (to me) perk, that I'm loving after only my first go-round of it. I'm now a BzzAgent! This means that they send me things to try out and review, and then I give my honest opinion of the product to people in my real life via word-of-mouth (and by letting them try it too), and also via my social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and this here blog! And that's all I have to do. Try a product, talk about it, review it. And then I get to do it all again when they send me something else to try out ;) Pretty awesome deal, if you ask me.
The first thing I've gotten to try out has been the new snack from Green Giant - veggie chips! I was sent two flavors, and I love them both. I got to try Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips in Zesty Cheddar flavor, and Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips in Sea Salt flavor. And they were both delicious! 

The chips are really light and not greasy at all, (unlike some other "regular" potato chips). And the taste of both of the flavors is actually really good. I also gave them to a couple other people to try as well, and they all liked them too! My aunt didn't know that Green Giant made snacks or chips, and so she was definitely interested in trying them out, and she really liked them! My fiance also really liked them too, and ended up eating quite a good portion of the big bag at the beach last weekend :)  

I took all of the smaller sized bags to my office, and they made a great afternoon snack at work once my lunch started to wear off a bit. They tasted great (as I've already said), but the best part for me was that they didn't make me feel heavy or weighed down right before my workout, (which is always right after work). I could still run a mile and shake it at zumba, without that awful feeling of food sloshing around in my belly! (Sorry if that was TMI...)

I have one bag left, and I want to experiment with that bag a little bit. I want to try dipping them in some hummus or guacamole, or maybe crushing them up a bit and using them as a salad topping! And remember back in the day when you used to put chips on your sandwich? Well, let's be honest here people, Jeff and I still love to do that :) And I think these would be so yummy on a sammie too!

And since y'all know I'm trying to eat really healthy these days, and I count every single calorie, let's not forget to look at the nutrition facts. Only 110 calories for the little snack-size bag. That's a great deal in my book. And all the other stats (sodium, carbs, fat...) aren't bad either! Check 'em out for yourself below...

So yes, I was given these chips to review for free, but I honestly liked them, a lot. And now that I know they exist, and that they're delicious, I will definitely be buying some for myself in the very near future. I think they're a great little snack, and they sent me coupons for more, so I might as well use them, right!?! 
Have y'all ever tried these chips? Did you even know that Green Giant made snacks, and not just "actual" veggies? Are you interested in trying these? I think you should, because I think you'll like them! Let me know what you think :)

Price Tags, Workouts, Shopping & Food

Dear Body: We're about to step it up again, and really get to working out 5-6 days a week. We took off about 10 days to recover from feeling like death, but that's over now, and it's time to get movin' again. We're feeling a little sore from doing the 30 Day Shred for the first time in about a month, but that's a good sign. And you did great running a mile and going to zumba last night! And today we're gonna do two miles on the track after work. Oh yes we are.

Dear Enell Sports Bra: You rock. And you keep the girls securely in place while I run and when I jump and bounce all over the place during zumba. After ordering a size too big and having to send it back to exchange it, I'm glad I'm finally getting to try you out this week. Well worth the price tag for that baby.

Dear Polar Watch: You are freaking awesome. And I really super like knowing my heart rate and calories burned while I'm working out! I'd say you were definitely a good investment. Also well worth the price tag.

Wednesday's workout: 30 Day Shred and at-home circuit things for arms, booty, waist and thighs.

Thursday's workout: 1-mile run in 14:03 and 60 minutes of zumba. And "Glee" on my running playlist :)

Dear Mama: I'm excited to go shopping with you tomorrow! Hopefully we both find some pretty dresses that we can wear for Megan's upcoming showers, and you can find one for your Mother-of-the-Bride dress for her wedding!

Dear Fiance: It's fun working out small wedding details with you! And we're doing such a great job so far of talking through everything and trying to make our decisions together. Let's make sure we keep that up over the next seven months, OK?! I think that'll make our lives together a whole lot better if we can do that :) And I'm looking forward to reading some of these wedding books, and learning and growing together before we get married.

One of my old roommies made me that penguin blanket over 5 years ago!

Dear Chick-fil-A: You are sooo delicous. Thank you for offering super yummy food, and keeping it healthy too. So when the boy wants to eat fast food, I can still make good choices and watch my calories! The chargrilled sandwich is definitely one of my favorites, and that wheat bun is delish.

Dear Blog-Friends/Readers: I'm not even going to pretend like I don't notice all of you. It is incredible to see that there are nearly 500 of you right now!! Seriously - it's hard for me to believe it sometimes. And I am so so grateful that you stick around and hang out with me here in this part of the giant blog-world! Thanks for that :) And thanks for being awesome. I am seriously LOVING chatting with some of y'all, and making real friendships and connections through this adventure. It's just so much fun!!

Dear Weekend: I'm real glad you're almost here. Let's have a great time together, shall we?!

Happy Friday my lovelies! Hope y'all have a great work day, and an even better weekend!!

Palmolive Fresh Infusions

Soooo, this post has been neglected for far too long, and it's finally time I get myself in gear to write this review! Remember a couple months ago when I received my first VoxBox from Influenster? Well, I was sent my second box not too long after that, and received some dish washing soaps to try out and review! I was sent a box of three bottles of Palmolive Fresh Infusions dish soap!

At first, I was like, 'Oh yay - my second VoxBox and all I got was soap!' But then I smelled them, and it definitely made me happier - because these babies smell so lovely! The three scents we got were: Ginger White Tea, Lime Basil and Lemon Thyme. They truly are fresh-smelling scents for dish washing. 

I immediately put the Ginger White Tea on one my sink at home, and we started using it right away. Myself, my Mama and my sister all like the way it smells, and decided it was our favorite one. I like that it is a light, floral smell, but still so nice and fresh! If the scent of your dish soap is very important to you, then I would definitely recommend this brand, and this particular scent! The Lemon Thyme scent came in second for us (and it smells just so clean!), with the Lime Basil in third place, scent-wise. However, we really did like them all, so I guess really they all win!

And as far as the actual cleaning properties of the soap - all seems great to me. I don't really have any type of scale or ratings to give for soap, other than it indeed does the job it's intended for, and got our dishes nice and clean! The other aspect of this stuff is that it is aesthetically pleasing. It's got pretty designs on it, the bottle is a nice shape (easy to hold as well), and it doesn't look bad sitting on your counter-top.  Some bottles aren't so nice looking, and end up hidden away out of sight. This one on the other hand looks nice enough to be left out all the time!

Oh, and Palmolive didn't just send me three giant bottles of the stuff - they also sent me a handful of coupons for when I run out and need to re-purchase! (Can be found at Walmart, BTW.) I'm quite sure I'll be using those. Maybe I'll buy a ton of it as part of a house-warming gift for my sister and future BIL, who will be moving into their new house in March! Sounds like a good plan to me :)

I'd say this was another great box from Influenster, and I'm so glad I get to be a part of this fun community! And you can check out the Influenster review page as well for more info.Can't wait to see what my next box might hold, and what fun new products I'll get to try out in the future! Oh, and if you want to get in on this action, I've got five invites to join the site available to be sent out. So let me know in the comments if you'd like me to send you an invite! (And if so, please make sure you're not a no-reply blogger!)

*I received this product complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster. However, my review is based on my honest opinion.*

Pilot, Venus, Ghiradelli and B&BW

A couple of months ago, I signed up to be a part of the Influenster team, and now I finally got my first VoxBox! Just so I don't confuse any of y'all who may not know what it is, this is directly off their website:

"Influenster is a free-to-join community of invited trendsetters who live to give opinions of products and experiences. Influenster creates links between brands and members to reward participation and influence future products."

The awesome thing about their program? You receive these boxes for free! That's right - they give you awesome products to test and review, all complimentary. There are similar companies out there for reviewing new products and stuff, but some of those can cost $10 a box. But Influenster boxes are always free! They send you a box of complimentary products to test and review, and you get to reap the rewards :)

I waited for my turn to come around, and was so psyched when I found out I was going to finally get one! The first box I received was a good one for me. I got the Cosmo VoxBox, and there were some excellent goodies in there. Here's a rundown of what I received:

Venus Embrace Razor

Venus Olay refill cartridge

Pilot FriXion pens (red & black)

Forever Red perfume from Bath & Body Works

Ghiradelli Sea Salt Escape chocolate bar

And here's what I thought about these products...

Product Trial

Lately, I've been noticing (through pictures and things) that my teeth aren't quite as white as I thought they were. Maybe they went through a phase where I was actually using really awesome toothpaste and so they shone a little brighter before. But no longer. So, after seeing a pretty convincing TV commercial - I shelled out twice as much money for some fancy toothpaste.

Usually I buy some pretty standard whitening Colgate or Arm & Hammer and spend about $2.25 for probably 7 oz of paste. Last night I broke the bank on some Crest 3D and spent a whopping $4.75, for 5 oz. of paste.Crest 3D claims that you will have visibly whiter toothies in just 14 days. We'll see. I took a picture this morning. I plan to take another picture on Day 7, and then finally on Day 14. Then we'll compare them all and see how it worked.

Confession though - I'm not the kind of girl that remembers to brush my teeth every. single. night. Embarrassing admission, but it's true. Oh well. But for the next 14 days - I'm gonna be very vigilant about it. I figure for this to work, I gotta follow the directions! Hope the extra $2.50 I spent last night pays off and I end up with some super pearly whites....