First VoxBox - Palmolive Soft Touch!

I don't normally do stuff like this, but I get jealous seeing other bloggers get to try stuff for free.  I liked the sound of the Influenster program, so I requested an invite.  A few days later, I was invited to join...and about a week after that I was selected to receive my first VoxBox!   I already have a second VoxBox on the way.  Too fun!

My first VoxBox is for Palmolive Soft Touch dishwashing liquid.  I received two full-size bottles (unfortunately one was damaged in the mail...but Influenster is sending me a replacement) of soap, plus five $1 off coupons to share.


I received the Vitamin E (pink) and Coconut Butter (white) scents.  They both smell SO good.  The coconut scent reminds me of lying on the beach, being able to smell tanning lotion in the breeze.

Because I love a freebie, I began using them right away, and not only are my dishes nice and clean...but my hands are soft too!  Normally after I hand-wash the pots and pans, my hands and nails feel very dried out.  But after using this soap, they don't!  Awesome!

I received this product complimentary from Influenster, but my opinions are my own!

If you are interested in giving Influenster a try, let me know...I have a few invites to share!!!

No paragraph breaks...ugh!

Oh Lord.

Once I publish a post, I hardly ever come back and look at my blog.  I was horrified today, when I noticed that despite proper formatting when I compose my posts, my blog has not been including paragraph breaks.  Ugh.  Holy "walloftext" posts.  Sorry about that.  Sheesh.

Finals, Traveling, and Mother's Day...oh my!

So phew...it's been a few days, I mean WEEKS, since I posted. Good heavens.

The good news is, I'm on summer break now! Woot! (That sounded misleading...there isn't actually any bad news!)

Studying and finals was intense, but I'm happy to report I got A's on all my finals, and A's in all of my classes. For the month of May I'll be studying for the HOBET test, which I'm assuming I will be taking in June. Also in (I assume) June, I will interview for admission to the Surgical Technology program. Here we go! I'm nervous!

I just got home from six days in Ohio, visiting my best friend as she graduated from college! Oh I love spending time with her and her family. We did fun girly things like manicures and staying up late chatting. We went out for delicious meals, and had a graduation party with her extended family. I rode a motorcycle for the first time! So many good times and amazing memories. Why oh why do we have to live 8 hours apart???

Shannon's had a few busy weeks, with Spring Theatre Showcase, Spring Chorus Concert, Theatre Banquet, her EOCT tests, the opening of The Great Gatsby movie (that she attended in costume, lol), and her upcoming AP test. Girl is BUSY, but of course we wouldn't have it any other way.

And now, here it is the eve of Mother's Day. I feel very blessed to live not only with my sweet daughter, but my sweet mom too. So much love under one roof.

Anxious

My anxiety is pushing back today. I'm not sure why, although I can think of a few reasons.

I haven't been feeling great, we're coming into finals week, my dad's health isn't great, the month is ending and the money's tight, I'm going on a solo road trip next week. Any one of those can cause me anxiety, so all of them together? I shouldn't be surprised. But still I don't like feeling this way.

I don't like over analyzing every feeling I have to try to identify if it's legitimate or not. That's exhausting.

Patrick's head is really hurting today (I mean...it hurts everyday, but today it's really a bad one), so his demeanor is "playing" right into my anxious feelings. My psyche sees his demeanor, and I feel myself thinking "see? he's nervous about XXX too." Ugh. So. What to do?

I've been studying some for finals, and doing some house-cleaning. But I find myself pretty distracted. I should probably work out. I should write in my journal. I guess those are two good places to start.

Study-for-Finals Friday

I can't believe this semester is nearly over. It has flown by, and with it, my first "year" of college and all of my pre-requisite classes, end too.

As you might remember, I finished my computer class early, so I have three finals still to take. One of them will be online...as in, take at home. I can take it any time between 4/28 and 5/2. The other two (which are also the hard two) are on Tuesday. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend???

I haven't felt very well this week. My allergies fired up in full force, and I've been exhausted with sore throat and ears all week. My head has also been very "swimmy," which I hope is allergy related, too. Because of how rotten I've been feeling, I haven't worked out. Boo. And when I don't work out, I don't eat quite as well. Nothing horrible to report, just not as careful as I was being. And probably related to allllll of that, my anxiety has been acting up a bit too. Again, nothing major...just there.

Some things that have brightened this week relate to my wonderful friends. I have one new friendship blossoming, and two "old?" friendships that are just such a blessing to me. I am a lucky girl.

Shan is ushering for a school play tonight, and then is having a friend sleep over. My house is as clean as it gets and dinner is in the crockpot. I guess it's time to hit the textbooks again!

Sad heart

I don't want to rehash everything that happened, but yesterday was so hard.

My dad, in addition to having small-cell lung cancer and COPD, suffers from Alzheimer's Disease. I think in his mind he still feels 40 years old, and thinks he can still do the things he used to. This just isn't the case. It's not safe for him. Yesterday was a day when it all boiled to a head again, and there was lots of yelling, crying, etc. It was awful. And now, I just feel...empty and numb. I'm still sitting on the couch in my pajamas, and it's 1:45 in the afternoon. I have no classes today, so I slept in after a pretty sleepless night. I got up, ate a HB egg, started dinner and ran the dishwasher.

And now, here I sit. I'm just...sad.

What Should Cindy Do?

I've been making better choices the past several days. It feels good. It feels responsible. It feels like I'm doing right by myself. I've been procrastinating less. The house is cleaner. We're eating home-cooked meals (made by me). I'm exercising every day. How am I doing it? I'm listening to myself. Radical! When I walk through the bathroom, and see hair on the floor...I think "I should sweep that up." So I do. When I sit on the couch, I think "I should exercise." So I do. When I see messy kitchen counters because no one has emptied the dishwasher, I think "someone should empty that." So I do. I'm not sure how well this will represent as you read it. But, it's a shift in thinking from procrastination, which is ruled by the "someone should do that," or "I'll do it later." (Which never comes.) Now when I hear my brain say "should," I'm now turning it into an action item. And that feels better!