My Favorite Things

Here's a list of a few of my favorite things. (Disclaimer: I get NO money from these companies). ;o)

1. Oil of Olay creme ribbons body wash. In the past, I've NEVER been a body wash type of person. Soap works just fine for me. But I tried some of this body wash once last summer and became addicted to it. I take 1-3 showers a day (not because I am OCD, but because I shower first thing in the morning and then again after each class). I am used to being sweaty and stinky but I found that I smell SO good when I use this body wash and MUST have it all the time now!

2. Liquid fabric softener. I've tried every fabric softener: liquid, dryer sheets, etc. and nothing does as good a job as liquid softener. My favorite is Lavender Vanilla by Downy. They have a whole "Simple Pleasures" line that I like but my favorite is in the purple bottle. I've recently been buying Snuggle because it's a little cheaper and they have similar scents. Unfortunately, Snuggle doesn't seem to work as well as the Downy...I guess you get what you pay for. (Not pictured: I also love the 'magnolia and orange blossom' scent in the orange bottle).

3. Flushable wet wipes. Since my youngest is six years old, we are well beyond our diaper changing days (yea!) but I'm SO glad that someone finally came up with the idea of flushable wet wipes. I keep them in both bathrooms for the kids to just "keep things fresh and clean". I'll admit, I have been known to use them myself at times. They come in especially handy for me during a certain week each month...I know, too much information.

4. Crest Pro-Health mouthwash. OK, in general, I don't like mouthwash. And I have to say, I don't particularly care for this mouthwash either but here's the thing: when I use this mouthwash, my taste buds are numb for almost 6 hours. Weird?! You know how some things taste weird (orange juice) after you use any kind of mouthwash? And you don't want to partake of those things immediately after using mouthwash, right? Well, my mouth is like that with ANY kind of food or drink for HOURS after using Crest Pro-Health mouthwash. So why is that a good thing? Well, it's not a good thing on your birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other day you really want to enjoy (or at least taste) your food. But on other days, if I see something yummy: chocolate chip cookies, Doritos, ANYTHING, I have no problem turning it down because I can't taste it! And believe me, I've TRIED. I call it the mouthwash diet. Hopefully it won't have long term effects...
By the way, they have a Crest Pro-Health toothpaste. This did not have the same effect AND it tasted AWFUL.

5. Haagen Daz ice-cream. I know my Texas roots are shuddering by blaspheming against Blue Bell ice-cream but I've completely converted to Haagen Daz. (Hey, we can't GET Blue Bell or Braum's up here; what can I do?) Haagen Daz is SOOOOOOO creamy. It's ruined all other ice-creams for me. Unfortunately, it's ridiculously expensive so I don't buy it unless it's on sale and even then I try to eat it sparingly to make it last. Probably a good thing...or I'd have to swish with MORE mouthwash. Notice which picture is bigger; the ice-cream or the mouthwash?

6. Kleenex with lotion. Remember all those years as a kid/teenager/young adult when you had a bad cold and the area between your nose and upper lip felt as if it was on FIRE from all the rubbing and nose blowing? I'd like to kiss the man/woman who thought to add lotion to Kleenex. It's the best thing ever when you have a cold. It's more pricey, of course so we use the cheap stuff and I only break out the Kleenex with lotion when someone is sick.

7. Not-from-concentrate orange juice. Of course, fresh squeezed is always best, but who gets that everyday? When my dad was visiting last Spring, he bought Tropicana orange juice in a carton. My kids LOVED it and then I had to start buying it because they wouldn't drink any orange juice from concentrate anymore! (Thanks, Dad). It's much more expensive so recently I bought a can of concentrate, mixed it up and snuck it into the Tropicana bottle. Peter said, "What's wrong with this juice? It doesn't taste right." And he wouldn't even drink it! Aargh! I agree with him but we're trying to pinch pennies, here, you know? By the way, I prefer the 'lots of pulp' variety. The more, the better. Makes it more like fresh squeezed, in my opinion.

8. Smucker's sugar-free strawberry jam. I LOVE it. I used to make jam all the time; when I was more domestic. Nowadays I settle for the store-bought stuff but it's so sugary I can hardly stand it. Which is ironical for me, I know, since I love sweets. But when I eat jam, I just want to taste the fruit, not the sugar. Cue the Smucker's sugar-free line. My favorite is strawberry but blackberry is a close second. I buy them in the extra large size at the wholesale warehouses!

9. The Swiffer swivel sweeper. Say that 3 times fast. Anyway, I remember using sponge mops galore back in the day. You had to dip them in a bucket, wring them out, etc. It was all such a pain AND messy. Now I just use the Swiffer wet mop and my life is much happier. And I don't have a fancy Swiffer, just the cheap one they first came out with years ago. The wet wipe disposable pads I use are actually Wal-Mart brand so they are cheaper and work great.

10. I'm sure there's more but I'm going to stop at ten with the Mr. Clean magic eraser. I don't know how this thing works. It's an unsolved mystery but I will tell you this, it has saved my behind on more than a few occasions. It WILL remove black permanent marker from any hard surface! (Why has it never occurred to me to hide the permanent markers in the attic)? Most recently, it removed permanent black marker from the face of our flat panel computer screen. If you missed that post, you can find it here. One word of warning, it will remove the paint finish off your walls. I still use it, anyway, to remove fingerprints, etc. from the walls but if you have a satin paint finish, expect it to look like flat paint once Mr. Clean is done with it. He packs a mean punch! Oh, and for those of you who have been worried about recent rumors regarding the magic eraser, have no fear and click here!