Fabulous Friday: Olay Moisturizing Body Wash

Confession time: I'm not a fan of showering.

I'm not opposed to personal hygiene--I hate sweat as much as the next girly girl--but showering is just such. a. process.

When I get home from the gym, all I want to do is plop on the couch...and eat, let's be honest. But I can't go to bed sweaty and gross, because besides the fact that that would be disgusting, I'd be known as the smelly girl at work.

So, in order to not offend my coworkers' olfactory bulbs, I dutifully drag myself in the shower every night (after as much procrastination as possible). And then I dread getting out.

Wanna know why? Because slathering on lotion takes so much time! [Note: It actually only takes about 2.5 minutes, but when you're cold and about to miss the start of your show, it feels like a really long time.]

And you can forget about simply skipping the lotion process. I get ashy seconds after drying off and would be itchy all night if I didn't moisturize.

Enter my favorite product (well, one of many): Olay Moisturizing Body Wash, specifically in soothing cucumber.

Go get some. Like now.

This stuff is liquid gold in my world. It's so amazing I don't even have a bottle of super-hydrating lotion for alligator skin on my bathroom counter anymore.

I don't mind paying a couple extra bucks for body wash if it means I get to step right out of the shower and into my PJs. Well...after the important step of drying off, of course.

This has almost made showering enjoyable. Almost. I'd still rather not do it most nights.

Oh, and an added bonus: even hours later my bathroom still smells so fresh and so clean clean.

10.11.12

You know today is 10/11/12, right? I hate math, but I love numerical patterns and things of that nature.

So in celebration of this momentous date, I give you: 10 of my favorite things, 11 of my favorite posts, and 12 of my favorite pictures.

10 of My Favorite Things:
1. peanut butter
2. fuzzy robes
3. being right
4. zumba
5. spending time with my amazing family and friends
6. massages
7. awesomely bad TV e.g. "The Bachelor"
8. laughing until I cry
9. bright-colored nail polish
10. getting to wear jeans to work every day

11 of My Favorite Posts

1. Those (Sometimes) Simpler Times
2. Are You My Doppelganger?
3. 365 Days Later
4. Anniversary: Take 2
5. It's So Hard to Say Good-bye
6. Fabulous Friday # 8: The Smell of Uncooked Rice
7. Doggy Don't
8. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler
9. Kids Really Do Say the Darndest Things
10. A Tale of Six Cavities
11. A Day in the Life of a Hobby Lobby Copywriter

12 of My Favorite Pictures:
1. Randel and I made this sad-looking gingerbread house just a couple months after we started dating. I love this picture because it reminds me of the fun memories we made.

2. You all know by now that Deuce is my furry child, and this picture makes me smile every time I see it. He loves riding in the car, and you can tell by his "smile."

3. Besides the laughter, amazing food, shopping, and time spent with two of my favorite girls (Shawna and Laura), the gorgeous Spanish moss trees were one of my favorite things about my Mardi Gras trip.

4. This picture is of a rose Randel brought me one day when I was home sick, along with an icee and  a Baby Ruth (my favorite candy bar at the time). What a guy!

5. The only time of the year my family is together is at Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. We have so much fun playing games, laughing with (and sometimes at) each other, and of course, eating. I have the best family ever!

6. This is my best friend's adorable two-year-old, Reed. He makes me such a happy aintie. I just had to capture his mischevous look.

7. This picture makes me laugh because of how many people thought it was underwear when I posted it on Facebook. I just thought it was pretty. In case there's any confusion this time around, this is a picture of the bottom of the shirts hanging in my closet. I was on the floor doing crunches (my closet is the only carpeted area in my house) and noticed how pretty they were, all color coordinated and wavy like.

8. The day I met Serge Ibaka was one of the happiest days of my life. I was like a starstruck teenager. I mean, the man is gorgeous and famous and a great basketball player and speaks several languages...and I got a picture with him. Swoon.

9. I rarely think to take pictures of nature (probably because I'm not very good at it), but I took this picture of sunflowers when my friend Laura and I picnicked at Lake Hefner one evening.

10. Speaking of Laura, this picture cracks me up. Inevitably, I have my eyes closed at least once when I'm trying to take a picture with someone. My facial expression combined with the closed eyes makes this a sure favorite.

11. It always takes Randel and I about 17 tries to take a decent picture of ourselves. For this reason, we have very few pictures of the two of us, and even fewer ones I like. But I think this one is pretty good. It was taken at Thunder Alley...the night the shooting happened. So there's that.

12. My bestie, Jennifer, and I treated ourselves to dinner at our favorite restaurant (A&E) many many times in college. This is a picture from one such evening. In other news, I miss my long hair...

Happy 10.11.12, everyone!

What's Up Wednesday

I'm milking this weekly feature thing for all it's worth this month. So from now on/until I forget to continue this, you can check out "What's Up Wednesday" to find out what's up with me.

Books: Confessions of a Shopaholic and Deja Dead. I haven't gotten far enough into the latter to give a good verdict, but from what I can gather from chapter 1, Kathy Reichs is awesome with description. And while I can see people being annoyed with Becky Bloomwood of Confessions of a Shopaholic, I find myself identifying with her justifications, because I've used the same excuses many times. Not necessarily pertaining to shopping, but I often binge on Sundays because I'm "starting a diet" Monday. I'm sure I'll have more to say next week.

Food: Well, I haven't made it yet, but dinner tonight is sausage/potato burritos, topped with a mountain of shredded cheese and wrapped in a crisped-to-perfection tortilla. This is one of my favorite meals. Not only does it feed me for about three days, but it could not be easier to make (simply saute diced potatoes and Polish sausage until they're kinda crispy, throw a tortilla in a skillet and crisp it up on both sides, and voila) and it's slap-your-mama good. No lie.

Clothing: Today I was a walking Maurice's ad. I was clad in Maurice's brands from head to foot--shirt, vest, jeans, and boots. Maybe they should start paying me to shop there...

TV: "Modern Family" and "Criminal Minds" are on the agenda for tonight, of course. Thank goodness my fall shows are back. I've missed Jess and the guys, the Dunphy family, Derek Morgan (oh, and the rest of the agents), and Leonard and the gang.

And that's all, folks. Check back next Wednesday to find out what else is up with me.

The Push-Up Challenge

Last night, a friend of mine (a personal trainer and fellow Zumba instructor) posted a push-up challenge on Facebook. Before really thinking about what I was committing to, I commented “I’m in!” Exclamation point and everything.

The goal: 100 push-ups a day
Approximate number of push-ups I can do at one time without collapsing: 3

Herein lies the problem.

Nevertheless, I’m going to stick with it. I’m not actually sure how long we’re doing this challenge—my guess is through October—but I’m going to do 100 push-ups a day for at least the next 22 days.

I actually started last night around 9:00. As soon as I pressed “send” on my comment, I was all, “You got this, A-Dawg (college nickname; don’t judge)! Your arms are gonna be so toned your legs are gonna be jealous! Let’s do this right now. Fifty push-ups…and go!”

After two push-ups, I was all, “Curse your over-ambitiousness, Ash! Dawn (challenge issuer) is a trainer. She probably tells Walmart cashiers to drop and give her twenty when they're moving too slow. What were you thinking?!” Multiple punctuation (otherwise known as an interrobang) necessary.

What I was thinking was that every time I shimmy in Zumba, I’m disgusted by how my “hello, good-bye” arms continue to wave even after I’ve moved on to the Wop.

And with that in mind, I cranked out my 50 push-ups last night (10 at a time) and 30 before work this morning.

And every routine task was made more difficult. I could barely hold my arms up to fix my hair today. Several times I even had to rest my arm on top of my head to give it a rest. Reaching my purse down from the shelf above my cubicle? Embarrassingly difficult.

And forget about stretching. While normally relaxing and calming, stretching today was a form of torture.

I just have to keep telling myself that super-sexy arms are worth a few days of pain.

So when I got home from work, I put my stuff away, greeted Deuce, and dropped to the floor to bang out another 10 push-ups. And I'm pretty sure I pulled a pectoral muscle on push-up numero uno.

This doesn't bode well for the rest of the challenge, but I won't let something like a possibly imagined muscle tear stop me from getting the arms of Michelle Obama.

Photo courtesy of gawker.com

Ooh...maybe then I'll be invited to do push-ups on stage with Ellen...

Miscellaneous Monday

I came across something in Walmart yesterday that made me stop in my tracks. I literally did a double take because I thought, Surely I didn't just see what I think I saw.

I tawt I taw a Buty Pant. I did, I did taw a Buty Pant.

Uh...what the what is a buty? Does it rhyme with "duty," or is it supposed to be pronounced like "beauty?" In an effort to find out more about this ridiculous yet intriguing product, I Googled it and found some reviews. For your reading pleasure, I have a few of the best ones:
 

"I bought the Buty Pant at Walmart today to try to help my poor sad flat bum in jeans."
 

"My 16 year old tried them on and was laughing because her regular butt is hanging out below the fake one!"
 

"The pads are pretty high up or maybe I am just used to having my butt so low."

Here are my observations about these reviews:

1. There's some terrible punctuation--or lack of, more accurately--happening here. (I'm still an editor at heart.)

2. Much to my dismay, people have actually bought the Buty Pant to try to "fake it til they make it."

3. Clearly, these people have never heard of TMI.

4. Will I ever be so derriere desperate as to purchase a product that hides the fact that my bum has disappeared...until I am forced to undress? Dear Lord, please no.

I'd like to give a shout-out to the makers of the Buty Pant. It was an entertaining find on an otherwise uneventful grocery shopping trip.

*If you or someone you know has been the unfortunate victim of Buty Pant fraud, please contact me immediately. I could use a good laugh. 

 

My Week in Review

Last week was a busy one (as all weeks have seemed to be lately), but it wasn't particularly eventful. In fact, I almost did more things than I actually did...

Monday: Some friends and I almost went to the Wedge. I'm a Wedge virgin, so I was excited about finally trying their apparently fantastic pizza. But none of us really communicated the plan well, so dinner was cancelled. Guess I'll have to experience the amazingness of the Wedge some other time. Hopefully soon.

Tuesday: I didn't get specialty pizza with fancy toppings like figs on Monday, so Tuesday--date night--I made a homemade pepperoni pizza (Randel's fave), watched "New Girl," and played a fun new game that I almost wrote off as lame.

Favorite "New Girl" quote of the week: "Are you spelling it right? Two Gs, silent B." -Schmidt, explaining how to spell his made-up name of Tugg (or should it be Tuggb) Romney when the girls he's trying to impress can't find him after Googling him.

Gotta love that Schmidt.

Wednesday: I almost decided I seriously needed to learn how to crochet after seeing a gorgeous crochet necklace for a kit HobLob is working on. Then I remembered how complicated the patterns look and how much time of my already free time-lacking schedule such an undertaking would require.

Thursday: I almost had a moment of panic when I learned my youngest brother, Kendall, would be undergoing a fairly routine procedure but would be anesthetized for said procedure. But my mom assured me that he would be fine and let me know shortly thereafter that he was already in recovery. Worry-wart big sister (or "lil/big sis" as he so adorably refers to me) was thoroughly relieved.

Friday: This one hurts. We played a game at work where the person who first correctly identified the people who don't work in our department (from a list of over 100 names) won $89. I almost won, but I missed two. The $10 Subway gift card I won for a different game almost made up for it. (Wondering why the seemingly random prize of $89? That's how many people are in our department.)

Saturday: I've had the shopping bug for several days. Now that it's getting cooler, I'm pretty sure I need a new wardrobe. Throwing a cardigan over a short-sleeved shirt didn't exactly work for me last year (I didn't particularly like the style of cardigans I bought), so I want new sweaters, hoodies, boots in every color and style, scarves, jackets, etc. When my best friend texted me about a great sale Old Navy was having, I knew I needed to capitalize on it. I almost spent lots of money I don't really have right now--except for the fact that crew necks are apparently unflattering on me, as is the color yellow. So of the 9 items I brought into the dressing room, I left with three: two long-sleeve shirts and a skirt (not fall wear, I know; but it's cute and comfy).

Sunday: Today I almost made an apple pie. Then I got lazy and instead made taco soup (easiest meal EVER) and finished a book. Maybe next weekend...
http://alwaysmanylaughs.blogspot.com/2012/10/sharpshooters-on-date-night.html

A Day in the Life of a Copywriter

I've been a copywriter for almost three months now, so I guess I can finally tell you what that really means.

When I took the job, I was under the assumption that I'd be writing project sheets all day every day...or for the most part, at least.

I've written four or five. So what have I been doing the rest of the time? I'm glad you asked. Let me break it down for you.

1. Baby memory books: My second week on the job, Kelly (the other writer) and I were approached by a team leader who needed us to write some baby memory books that already had cover designs. There were six altogether. Kelly was basically playing catch-up (before I entered the picture, she was the only writer and had LOTS to do), so the task of writing the books fell mostly on me. I can't go into much detail since the books aren't on shelves yet, but this has turned out to be my favorite project so far. We got to proof the books a couple weeks ago, and they turned out so cute! I'll probably buy one of each when they're finally in stores.

2. Naming jobs: We've gotten a few naming jobs since I've been around, and these are so much fun! I got to help name a new candle, a new line of Sunday school-type materials, and a Hobby Lobby name for a puzzle mat so far. These types of jobs involve making gigantic word lists and putting those words together in different combinations. I don't know yet which names got picked, but I'll be sure to let you know when I find out...if any of mine are chosen.

3. Packaging and instructions: I've done lots of these. These jobs aren't as creative as the first two, but they're still fun. Basically, a team leader will come to us with some packaging for a different company's product, and we'll rewrite the instructions and fluff-type material for Hobby Lobby. Most of these have been for our bakery line, Sunny Side Up, so I write about decorating cakes and cookies a lot. It's no wonder I've been in the baking mood lately.

4. Crochet kit instructions: I think I need to learn how to crochet, because we've got a lot of crochet kits coming out, and yours truly gets to help write the instructions for them. For these jobs, I spend lots of time Googling "how to crochet" and watching YouTube videos that show me how to yarn over, change colors, crochet in the round, etc. I'm still just as clueless as I was when I started.

5. Anything else that needs written: Every day really is different, and I love that. We really never know what we're going to get to work on. Some of the miscellaneous projects I've had a hand in have been: writing instructions for Christmas craft kits, coming up with verbiage for our corporate Christmas party invitations, writing job-recruitment materials, interviewing employees for the recruitment packet, editing the department manual, and so much more that I can't even remember everything. I'm never bored, because even when I don't have a deadline to meet, I can always research trends for upcoming project sheets, browse copywriting blogs, familiarize myself with different craft techniques, bulk up my buzzword lists, and so much more.

So there you have it: my job in a nutshell. I'm having a lot of fun at my new job, so I'm sure you'll hear more about it and the fun new projects I'm working on. Until then, go browse HobLob's project sheets, bakery items, and line names. I just might have done some of the writing for them.