October Ipsy Bag Reveal, 2017!

One thing I've started doing is REALLY getting into my makeup!! I mean, I'm 45 and am discovering a whole new side of myself.  I'm going lower carb and higher protein diet-wise, and although I've not lost much weight, I've gained muscle tone and I'm healthier (or so it feels, who knows lol).  But with the makeup fetish I have now, I joined Ipsy a few months ago.  It's so much FUN getting the goodies every month!! I want Fab, Fit, Fun quarterly subscription box, but I'm such a cheapo, grrrr.  Maybe during tax time, I'll splurge and pay for a year's worth? hmmm...possibly possibly....anyhoo!!  Here is my YouTube video of my October 2017 Ipsy Bag Reveal...it's very humorous, it's at midnight and I ramble with, well.....it's just ME, all out there lol  It's who and how I really am in person.  If you want to see past reveals, just go to my YouTube channel once you click the link, and you'll be able to see the others.  Subscribe to my YT channel and you'll get updates whenever I post a new video!!

If you don't know what Ipsy is...it's a monthly subscription box of deluxe beauty samples or full sized items (depending on the product) and it all comes in a new cosmetic bag (so you'll get 12 new cosmetic bags every month), all for just $10!!!  Then, as an Ipsy member, you get to score so much more!  Each month, you review each product for them (super fast on their app), and you get points.  Collect those points and trade them in for MORE free beauty products.  I LOVE Ipsy!!  If you're not a member, head here and check it out and feel free to join to give it a try!! No wait lists and you can cancel at ANY time, as there's no minimum month agreement you have to sign up for.  And, once again, it's not letting me insert the link for some reason....sooooooooooo weird!!  So, here's my Ipsy link to check it all out!

Let's 'catch up!'

I've been gone for awhile, but I plan to change that :)  Work has me going to and fro like crazy, feeling like non-stop, BUT, I'm realize I need to take time for myself, and blogging is going to be my go-to for that.  I've blogged for well over 10 years, when freebie and deal blogs were new....they're a dime a dozen now and with work being so time consuming, I made the decision a few years back to let Thrifty and Frugal by Debbie go.  It was hard to do!  I worked so very hard on that blog and building my relationship with hundreds of brands and PR reps, but I didn't feel I could give them the time their product and my professional work ethic could provide.  So I said farewell to them all for awhile, with intend to return eventually.  I still get emailed from some asking if I'm back yet lol

Catch up....

I have a 2 year old grandson, Blake Isaac Ryan, and he is the not-so-secret love of my life.  Friends would tell me the love for a grandchild is like no other and I didn't believe them until he entered existence in our lives and on our planet.  LOVE LOVE LOVE this little guy:

Next: College and Kids, oh my!!

My youngest graduated high school in the spring and is now in college.  My oldest has decided to go back and finish her degree after taking a break.  And now they have me thinking of going back for my Masters....OHHHHHHH myyyyyyy :) Lord, please help us all lol

Work:  ugh.....MUST I?!  

I was working 5 days M-F at up to 60 hours a week.  Now, I work three 12 hour days a week and can work from home if I want, but still work upwards of 40-55 hours (depending on what's going on).  So, yeah, not much changed with work other than the actual days my personnel file says I work.  Oh, my shift is 6pm to 7am, so I have to deal with the resident office ghost quite frequently, and whatever it is can really get wild some nights, to the point that I've said 'peace out Olive!  you succeeded and you're now ON YOUR OWN!'  

I now volunteer as board member on a couple of charity organizations in my county (as if I don't have enough to do in my life lol)

And, with that thought process, I'm now a member of a paranormal investigation group called St. Louis Ghost Hunters Society.  We have all sorts of great investigations under our belt and always looking for more, so if you live in the St. Louis area and have a location that you live in or own that you feel has some mysterious things going on that can't be explained, give us a call; you can find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/slghs/ (I tried inserting the link, but for some reason, it's not letting me insert ANYTHING, grrr).

That's all I can really think of right now, other than I get very little sleep, still single, no time to date anyway, OH my house hates me....yeah.  I bought it 3 years ago and so far I've spent well over $10,000 on things that I shouldn't have, I'm in a lawsuit with the previous owners AND my inspector regarding my leaky roof that they said was only 5 years old but turns out is actually no younger than 20!  I've had a basement flood, so now my kitchen is stacked with boxes and boxes of stuff that I should've gone through when I moved in, but had and currently still have NO time to do so.  Yeah, live hates me....I suck at humaning things days, grrr
   

Life has changed DRASTICALLY over the past couple of years!

I know, it's been a very long time.  I'm sorry for that.  Where should I even begin?!  Here's a start...I saved some money and was able to buy a house.  My very first house.  ALL on my own :)  I'm very proud of this accomplishment.  BUT, alas, I was NOT expecting that being a single homeowner would be so crazy and EXPENSIVE!  I call my house a money pit, but in truth, it's not.  It's just old, and there are a few things that need to be taken care of.  I spent almost $900 fixing plumbing problems last year.  I need a new roof that the previous owners said was only 5 yrs old, that actually turns out to be over 20 years old, so there's 2 lawsuits I have going on.  And now, I've learned the sewer pipes in our backyard have collapsed.  They're 30 feet out and 10 feet down! The cheapest I've found anyone to do it for me is $3000 and that's with the contractor feeling sorry for me, knowing that if it stays that way for long, the City can actually condemn the house for not meeting occupancy code.  SO....they start on it this Wednesday.

My oldest daughter moved out 2 years ago and had my first grandchild, Blake Isaac Ryan, on October 22, 2015.  He's an awesome and adorable little guy!! his giggles and smiles can melt the worst worries of a day away in a second. She also got married.  My youngest is now a Senior in high school, almost has all of her Freshman college credits completed also.....holy cow, where has the time gone?!  My golden retriever is now 10! (I know my followers remember that girl!) her face is very white now, but she still acts like a very anxious and busy puppy, she's still very young at heart.

I still work long hours and put in a lot of overtime for my job as a child abuse and neglect investigator for the State.  It's one of those careers that is a love/hate kind of thing.  We love helping those in need, whether it's a child in turmoil or being abused/neglected, a parent or family that is struggling and just needs a little help, or seeing justice served for the itty bitties.  But we also hate the feelings we feel sometimes, not being able to help when we so desperately want to, laws that keep us from doing so, when we're 'too late,' or when we see and hear some of the horrible things that we do. Love.....Hate!

But....ahhhhhh, to LIVE.....THAT is the adventure!!!

Wow, has it REALLY been THAT long??

I know, it's been forever and a month since I blogged.  If you only KNEW all the shit I've been dealing with in my life, you'd totally go, 'OOOOHHHHHH, ok, nevermind' lol.  First, divorce.  Second, moved.  Third, new 24/7 w/overtime and on-call rotation job.  Life's been a wreck of a roller coaster over the past 8 months or so, it seems. Not much of a fun wreck, either.  It seems like when it rains, it pours for me, seriously. I'm trying, though. If folks believe in 'kharma's a bitch,' the way I usually do, then I'd be trying to figure out why it's attacking me the way it is.  I'm getting SOMEone's bad kharma and I don't even know why! which pisses me off even MORE! grrr

Thrifty Finds Thursdays! Here's what I found this week!

You know me, I'm always out and about, looking under rocks, fallen trees, and such, lol for a great deal or bargain.  Here's a few more that I've picked up over the past couple of weeks that I thought I'd share with ya'll:

Ok, this one is about 15" tall, & the most expensive at $17, but I still thought she was SOOO worth it (oh, that's a leaf down where the hoo-haw would be, lol...just sayin', in case you think it's something else)

OMG, I LOOOOVE this one...I only paid, get this....39 cents for it!! seriously!! It's about 6" tall, ALL hand painted, including the 14 karat gold, I couldn't believe it was only 39 cents, but yep, that's all I paid for it!!

I paid just $1 for this 3 pc set of vintage prints with wooden, gilded, vintage round frames...I'm a sucker for vintage prints, lol

Ok, this one, you just may NOT believe...can you guess what it is??? it's McCoy!! not one of the oldest, but still McCoy. It does have one small 'character' chip on the rim...but I picked it up for a SONG at our church rummage sale...can you guess how much I paid for it??? all out of guesses...25 cents!! lol yep, only a quarter!!

now, my FAVorite piece!! again, I picked it up at our church rummage sale last weekend.  A very old print.  Wavy glass, old, gilded, carved frame...just $2!!  that's it, 2 bucks!!

Ok, it's Thrifty Finds Thursday...what great thrifty finds did YOU find this week???? share with us, we'd LOVE to see!

Yet another frog in my garden pond...grrrr!

Every year, without fail, I find a frog or two...or 5, living in my pond at any given time.  Now, I love the aquatic living world that my pond creates, that's not the problem...the problem is, frogs eat fish.  I stock my pond with feeder fish, some make it to a couple inches, some die or get eaten before then.  But my poor poor fish, I know whenever a frog has been in the pond, they'll have part of their tail fins gone, lol.  Well, yesterday morning, I took the dogs out and looked over and saw a frog just as he dived into the pond.  Oh boy, there goes my fish, lol.  I had errands to run, so I didn't have time to fish him out.  On my way out the door to run errands, I saw THIS:

Can you see him???

here's a close up of the lil' turd!! lol

Pretty big frog, eh???  yeah, that's what I thought too.  He's just sitting on my water lettuce, like it's a lily pad lol  enjoying the trickling water, fish swimming beneath him, living it up on MY dime...sounds just like a teenager, lol.  Well, I haven't seen him today, but I'll be keeping my eye out, need to fish him out with the net and walk him back to the creek and toss him in...which will leave my pond frog-less, until he figures out how to make it from the creek to the little pond again, lol, but it might buy my fish some time.  So far, I still see 2 fish, 1 is always hiding, so I don't know if he's made it away from the frog or not...time will tell!

How about a 'GREE'N' Giveaway??! Book Giveaway: 'practically green', Your Guide to Ecofriendly Decision-Making!

I picked myself up one of these books, and thought, 'hey, my readers might like one too,' so grabbed another.  This giveaway is sponsored and offered by ME, myself, and I lol.  It's full of great ideas and 'green' tidbits that you may not have even thought of.  Includes instructions for USEFUL crafty things, reusing things, and really brings in the Reduse Reuse Recycle thought process.

This book contains:

• Essential information to help you make smart, green choices for your family
• 30+ easy, earth-friendly DIY projects and ideas for when you make instead of buy
• copy & clip guides to simplify shopping

excerpt taken from Amazon, where it's listed for purchase for $7.60:

Practically Green takes the guesswork out of reading labels and will show you how to make smart, healthy purchases for your family without spending tedious hours researching the pros and cons of all of the products available on the market today. Each chapter is broken down into "Buy It" and "Do It" sections. The "Buy-It" section provides key information about everyday purchasing decisions and includes clip-out checklists for you to reference while shopping. The "Do It" section gives DIY ideas for how to make things that are good for your family and good for the environment, such as simple sewing projects, non-toxic cleaning products and luxurious, homemade beauty products. Plus, the author shares some of her favorite recipes that are sure to please the entire family!

Interested in winning this book?  Great!  Entry is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY please, no entries from other countries allowed (sorry, but I'm the one shipping it, and I can't afford the extra postage, I hope you understand), age 18 and over!  Giveaway ends Sunday, July 8, 11:59 EST!  

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Disclaimer:  This giveaway is in no way associated with Amazon, or any person/entity that is associated with the book.  The prize is offered and provided by myself.