Long week finally over

This was definitely a long week, or at least it felt like it.  I hated that Shannon had to go out of town for training.  However, in the end, the "certificate" will look good on his resume.  He will receive a "certificate of completion" but there are more hours he needs to complete before he receives an official certification.  He came home early on Wednesday, Thursday and today. 

He goes back to work tonight.  We hope he will be given more hours this week since he went about two weeks without very many extra hours. 

This week, I stocked up on toilet paper from Walgreens.  Their store brand (Nice!) was on sale for 2 (6 rolls) for $5!  Plus, you earned 250 points when you bought 2.  250 Points = $0.25.  Which equals to $2.38 each.  I ended up buying 2 on Wednesday and went back on Thursday and bought 2 more.  The rolls looks like Charmin too.  We have a pack of Angel Soft (a name brand) and the rolls look so small compared to the Nice! brand. 

Every Friday of this month, we had to pack a lunch for Kyle.  It seems they are practicing/participating in the Special Olympics!  The first two weeks was basketball and (I think) bowling.  This week was track & field.  This morning, I could tell Kyle wasn't feeling good.  He was coughing, but he seemed well enough to go to school.  Today he came home and he's coughing more.  I think it will be a long weekend of him getting better.  Hopefully he will be better by Monday because next week is a short week.  He is off Thursday and Friday and the rest of the week after that for Spring Break.  

Earlier this week, it seemed I received at least 4 or 5 boxes a day!  That only happened Monday and Tuesday.  By the end of the week, it was less boxes.  I am receiving so many pitches for skin care products that I am adding a reviewer to my blog.  Thankfully, the person I added is already a fellow blogger, so I am excited.  She also does reviews and I told her she could do the reviews on both her blog and mine! 

So much done!

It isn't even noon and I have done so much today!  I am doing my last load of laundry (I did two loads earlier).  This morning, right after I put Kyle on the bus, I threw away all of the boxes that were taking up our kitchen.  As a blogger, I get a lot of packages.  I also cleaned our floors and washed our mats.  Our sheets have been changed and our towels are being washed. 

In between all of that, I wrote two product reviews.

This weekend, I received a frame and my two salt lamps that I purchased from Walmart.  My poster is now in a frame and it looks gorgeous! 

Since we are moving in May, I am saving every big box we receive.  So far, I have three boxes from Walmart orders that I am saving. 

Shannon called to let me know that he will be working until 8:30pm or so tonight.  There was a call off so he's going to cover another site after he finishes his 8 hour shift. 

Blog is working again!

My main blog, Beauty Brite was not allowing me to post or edit posts and pages.  Essentially, I was unable to update my blog.  I couldn't post reviews, giveaways, paid/sponsored posts, etc.  In January, I earned $260 in sponsored posts on my blog, it may be more that from other sites that I haven't reached payout yet. 

My blog was down from Wednesday mid-morning (I was able to post early in the morning) until Friday early afternoon.  I called my hosting company yesterday and today and finally had them walk me through how to restore my blog.  I ended up restoring my blog from January 2, 2013.  After the restore, I was able to post again and everything seemed to be working.  As I was updating plugins, I realized my blog was back to not letting me post.  I realized it was the plugins, so I had to remove each one to see which one was causing the issues. 

My blog is back and fully functioning! 

Thankfully, I did not miss out on two more paid posts.  One was due tomorrow and will earn me $15.  I just wrote another one tonight that will earn me over $20. 

While my site was "down" I typed up my reviews in WORD so they were ready to paste on to my blog. 

Two more products

I received a delivery from FedEx and UPS today.  They literally stopped by within 5 minutes of each other.  It was pretty funny!  I received two more products to review, plus a book to review. 

I also wrote two product reviews tonight.  I am trying not to get behind on reviews and make time for other things.

More review products

Over the holidays, my pitches and package deliveries were pretty dry.  I barely received any pitches from PR companies wanting me to review their products.  I also did not receive any new packages.

Today, I received a total of 4 packages.  One of the packages contained my casserole dish.  The other three are products that I need to review.  I still have a few more reviews to do.  I keep a list of products that need to be reviewed and write them in the order I receive them.  Today, I received the Soda Stream, lip balm, and skin care products to review. 

New blog opportunities and waiting

I am axiously waiting for my casserole dish to get here!  I don't know when it was or will be shipped but I hope to get it soon.  I am looking forward to using it. 

I am also waiting for my Jillian Michaels' DVDs to get here.  I can't wait to try her workouts!  I love my current workout program but to add something new will be a treat! 

I have not heard anything more from the credit union, so I don't know if I was approved or will be approved.  I just want to start out with a savings account and then apply for a credit card or even a secured credit card to rebuild my credit.

We are doing better financially with Shannon working two jobs.  He has a separate bank account and his own credit card with another bank.  He has his security job paychecks going straight to that account.  He uses that account for his own spending money, such as gas, food, etc.  He just switched his Best Buy direct deposit to our joint account.  I will be using that to pay our bills!

I ended up pitching a PR firm that represents Soda Stream and I will be receiving the "genesis system" to review!  I am excited!  We don't drink a lot of soda, but this sounds like a healthier alternative since it uses water to make the soda! 

I am still on schedule with my new workout program: Les Mills Combat!  It's a little difficult but very motivating and fun!  Once I receive my Jillian Michaels' DVDs, I may add them here and there.

Rental car update

Shannon returned the rental car this morning.  I also blogged about our experience with Enterprise's customer service here.

The great thing is that we have our car back!  It looks nice.  Although, we have to bring it back in two weeks for a "touch up" on the roof, the trunk, and on the gas flap. 

New Blog

I started a new blog about 3 weeks ago and it's going good!  I found a whole new world of blogging and it's been fun so far.  I found blogs that offer giveaways and host "blog hops."  I've been entering giveaways that look appealing to me and I have joined blog hops and will start hosting blog hops too.  Blog hops are a way to make new friends, network, gain new followers, and gain more traffic to your blog. 

Since I want to host more giveaways on my blog, I was contacted by a fellow blogger and she gave me a short list of companies that are looking for bloggers to host giveaways or do reviews of their products.  I contacted a few companies and one of them gave me a $35 discount code for their site.  I used it to purchase a food processor.  I will be doing a review on the product on my blog.  I chose a food processor because I want to start making homemade energy bars! 

Product Reviews

I posted some product reviews regarding Mineral Girlz products that I have tried! So if you are interested in trying mineral makeup but unsure if it's for you, please read my reviews. Or if you are curious, definitely visit my other blog.

Please check them out HERE.