The Life

Just a little inspiration

Ever have one of those days when you just need a little inspiration?  When you don’t feel 100%?  When your dreams feel light years away?

Regardless of if those dreams are career related, fitness related, relationship related.   Sometimes life just feels, well…tough.

If today is that day for you, I’m sure you will appreciate this little collection.

Sometimes all I need is to take a look at these and I get the little push I am in need of.

Enjoy.  And cheer up!  It’s FRIDAY!

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Oh…and that hot babe at the top.  That’s me.  Before I got pregnant.  I’m trying to inspire myself to get back to that place.  Wish me luck!

The Life

From spendaholic to severe cheapskate.

I was 4 months pregnant.  Bored.  My husband works a billion hours a week and usually most nights.  I worked a 9-5.  There was a lot of downtime/alonetime/boredoutofmypregnantmindtime.  It was January 2011.

Before then I was a spendaholic.  Whatever-whenever.  $100.00 for dinner on a Tuesday.  Is it a special occasion?  No?  Who cares.. $100+++ at the grocery store.  Whatever.  Don’t get me wrong, I always loved a bargain.  Always.  I would look at the BOGO’s in the grocery store and grab a few, but still spend a million dollars on oreos.  I digress.

Back to being pregnant and bored.  I googled couponing one night.  For the love of god I do not know what made me do this.  I call it fate.  I stumbled upon a site called The Krazy Coupon Lady.  Now there are a ton of coupon sites.  However, these 2 girls just struck me.  Their story made sense.  Why spend the money if you don’t have to?  I immediately bought the book.  Trust me, I made the $11.99 back in one trip to the store.  Heather and Joanie taught me the basics.  And I loved their story.

If you use dish soap..and you better, why spend $1.69/bottle.  Wait for a $0.50/1 (50 cents off of 1 bottle) coupon to come around.  Wait for a sale making them $0.99 and score it for $0.49!  You save over a dollar on each bottle.  Buy 5 bottles and you saved over $5.00.  Plus you wont need to buy dish soap after the sale ends and they return to full price.  You will probably have plenty to get you through to the next sale!
The idea is to create a stockpile.  Buy larger quantities of the items that your family goes through on a regular basis or items that don’t expire when they are on sale and you will never have to pay full price again.

It’s not rocket science people.

When I first started couponing I was a touch skeptical.  I averaged $75.00 in the grocery store weekly.  For a family of 2.  That’s a lot in my opinion.  PLUS I bought all my beauty/cleaning/paper products at store like Target, CVS and Walgreens.   Spending roughly an extra $100.00 weekly.  However, after learning the couponing ropes I found that I was still spending roughly $75.00 in the grocery store.  However, I was getting double or triple the products that I would usually get.  I built quite a nice stockpile throughout my pregnancy.
Yes I weighed 191lbs and waddled through the stores with my coupon binder scouring sales.  Make fun of me.  I don’t give a shit.  I laugh every time you wipe your pompous butt with overpriced toilet paper.

Follow my lead.  Coupon your little heart out.  And never pay full price for toilet paper again.

The Life

Holy Honeymoon

Ok so I know we are roughly…ummm 2 1/2 years late to our own honeymoon.  Let me explain why…

2009 — Engaged

2010 — Planning our wedding..pregnant with the Minster..Married in the courthouse.  No big white dress when I was a big preggo

2011 — Mini is born..We finally have our DREAM wedding on our exact 1 year anniversary  12/3

2012 — Hellooooo I had a baby… I couldn’t plan a honeymoon!

And so, 2013 was the year of the honeymoon.  Mike was mortified that I told everyone in Cancun we were “just married”.  I got such a kick out of it!  It WAS our honeymoon.  Regardless of his bitching that it was “just a vacation”.  Everyone deserves a honeymoon.  ESPECIALLY after being married 2 some-odd years. 😉

And my { Honeymoon } was FANTASTIC.

We like to start our vacations asap, so we began with a DIY airport mimosa.  Mike definitely needed a drink after Spirit airlines was done charging us for everything they can imagine.  Mimosa’s were definitely in order.

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Ok so this next part is unfortunately a true story.  I could not embellish this if I tried…

So upon landing in Cancun we had to take a short cab ride to the hotel.  The hotel…what can I say?  It was incredible.  We stayed at the Sun Palace Cancun.  It is an all-inclusive adults only resort.  We were greeted with cold towels and champagne.  By name.  Think Ritz Carlton style.  We checked into our suite, threw our bathing suits on, and went downstairs to enjoy this paradise..

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Now let me state that my husband CANNOT sit still.  Not even in paradise while drinking a Mojito.  So, that being said, after 30 seconds of relaxation, while my drink was still full and I was still on the first chapter of my book, my annoying, impatient husband needed to go into the water.  I am not such a fan of the ocean.  I don’t know what’s in there and everyone can see me in a bathing suit as they sit and relax and say to their husbands..”omg am I as fat as her?”.  I mean I don’t do that..but you know 😉

We walk into the water and it’s gorgeous.  There is a sandbar that goes out so far, it’s great for hesitant ocean goers like myself.  I had a few drinks in me and was not nearly as nervous as usual and kept going a little deeper…and then a little deeper.  We were having a blast.  There were a bunch of people around us and Mike was 3 feet away from me.

Then I felt it.  It was like a snake slithered across the back side of my right knee and it felt like instant fire.  Almost as if I got whipped with a flaming jump rope.  (Ok, that’s a strange comparison but I am trying to get the point across here..)  I knew immediately something was wrong.

I look to Mike and I’m screaming that something bit me.  Of course, he’s like, “Danielle seriously, you probably stepped on a rock or a shell, relax”.  But by now, I am in full panic mode, because the back of my leg was ON FIRE.  So I scream at him, “Get me the *&%* out of the water, I am not $%*&ing around!!!”.  Still nothing from him.  He is looking at me like I am insane.  So I turn around and waddle my fat ass out as fast as I can and go back to our chairs.  He follows of course telling me I am crazy and nothing bit me.  Well within minutes the back of my knee was red, puffy, and swollen.  If I wasn’t so freaked out I would have stood up and done a victory dance.  I TOLD YOU SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THERE!!!  Mike takes me to the lifeguards, who speak barely any english.  They proceed to tell me that I got bit by a Medusa.  A Medusa fish to be exact.  My anxiety is in full force.  I am going to die.  The medusa is poisonous and I am going to drop dead on my honeymoon and be all over CNN and FOX news…Does anyone in Cancun have a Xanax because I needed one.  Desperately.  Mike sensed that I was about to have a nuclear meltdown all while trying to keep my stomach sucked in as I sat on the steps so I didn’t look like a fattypants, so he asked…is she going to be ok?  I kid you not they responded…..

“It’s……a….Normale….”  (pronounced   NOR-MA-LAY)

Which it was definitely not.  Thank goodness for some strange vacationers benadryl pill in the hotel elevator.  Here’s the proof.

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It did start to feel better by the night.  Thank goodness.  Ok so now that we are 1 hour into the vacation and I’ve already been bitten by a medusa…Here’s the rest of the trip 🙂

People say that the drinks are weak and the food is sub-par at an all-inclusive.  However, at the Sun Palace I found that we had a lot of great meals and some just ok ones.  Either way, they were all excellent in the fact that I didn’t have to cook them.  As for the drinks, if the drinks are weak you could just order another.  And another and another.  That’s the beauty of it.

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Our concierge level suite came with all sorts of goodies.  We had a HUMONGOUS balconey, stocked mini-bar, top of the line espresso machine, CHI hair products, an in-room jacuzzi, and a pillow menu.  What, might you ask is a pillow menu??  It is actually a menu with different aromatherapy pillows.  Mike thought it was ridiculous.  I ordered a lavendar chamoimille pillow every night and snuggled with it so tight you would have thought the pillow was on it’s honeymoon.

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We ventured into town one day to go on a shopping spree.  You know, because we can only visit Zara in Cancun…there is none in the states.  Ha, all kidding aside, we really don’t have a Zara near us, so this really was exciting 🙂

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We swam with the dolpins which was such an incredible experience!!  Mike was apprehensive about it but after the fact said that it was his favorite part of the whole trip!

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All in all the trip was amazing.   I got to go to paradise with my best friend for 6 whole days.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

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I would get bit by the Medusa right now if I meant I could go back to this place.  The medusa afterall, is just a jellyfish.

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{ Sun Palace Cancun paid me absolutely nothing for writing this review.  In fact, I paid them a lot of money.  And I’d do it again }

Dear Mini The Life

Dear Mini,

I am your parent, you are my child
I am your quiet place, you are my wild
I am your calm face, you are my giggle
I am your wait, you are my wiggle
I am your audience, you are my clown
I am your London Bridge, you are my falling down
I am your Carrot Sticks, you are my licorice
I am your dandelion, you are my first wish
I am your water wings, you are my deep
I am your open arms, you are my running leap
I am your way home, you are my new path
I am your dry towel, you are my wet bath
I am your dinner, you are my chocolate cake
I am your bedtime, you are my wide awake
I am your finish line, you are my race
I am your praying hands, you are my saving grace
I am your favourite book, you are my new lines
I am your nightlight, you are my sunshine
I am your lullaby, you are my peek-a-boo
I am your kiss goodnight, you are my I love you

You are my wild,

To the moon and back,

Mommy

Author: Maryann K Cusimano