Memories

I put on the 80's channel this morning because after yesterday's post it's apparent where my psyche is headed and silence is never helpful.

It's a very bizarre thing to be able to get depressed over being too happy. I know that. I also know that it is obnoxious to complain about my situation when it is so light and bright but this is how Im feeling and by writing and putting it out there it helps. If I could stop feeling the anxiety and fear, I would. If I could stop from appearing to be an asshole, I would. But this helps too much.

So the 80's channel is on and my mind travels back to my youth. The majority of my memories as a child are from our family vacations to Canada. Every two or three years my parents would pack the four girls into the van and we would drive up to NY, drive onto the ferry, then continue the van trip up north.  It would be 3 days by road and water each way and I guess we would be there for about a week or longer. Airfare for 6 was too steep. My dad was in the Air Force and the sole income provider so he would sacrifice never taking time off so we could take those long trips to Canada and Oklahoma (his childhood home). Now that I think about it my mom and us sacrificed too but I think it was worth it. One of my sisters has memories of everything but for me its those family trips I remember and thank God we had them or my whole past would be a blur.

To this day the most comfortable and at home that I feel is on the road. When it's the four boys (husband, 4 yo, 2 yo and dog) and me confined in that small space it makes me feel like there is nothing else in the world. No other cares. We are safe. Together. Taking journeys and making memories.

This past weekend from Saturday to last night we took the boys to my in laws lake house. My husband works 6 days a week so we get very limited family time together. I feel like the boys got some memories like mine from my past.

It took about an hour to get the four of us ready to go out into the snowonderland. This is how I kept warm:

Husband's waders

My mind transported the second I stepped into the snow, heard the crunch and felt the sensation traveling through my father in laws snow boots up my legs. For a split second I was back on top of a shed in Goosebay with my two older sisters jumping off into at least four feet of snow. I remember thinking back then it was odd that my mom was being cool enough to let us do it. I also remember how happy my dad was. Actual joy. I think that's probably the first glimpse of them being human, and not just parents, that I had. I must have been around 5. My oldest is almost the same age.

I used to think it was wrong for my parents to love each other more than they did us.  I felt like we were all getting jipped.  But now that I'm repeating their history I realize how important it is for me to be around my husband because he makes me a better mom.  And just because I love their dad more (jk, kind of, wait) just because I love their dad differently doesnt mean I love him more.  I get that now about my parents.  Just like the love one feels for their spouse, the love one feels for their child, no matter the birth order, is incomparable to that of anyone.  I promise to make it a point that all my boys know that.

Fear

Projecting into the future a lot lately. I am grasping the full scope of just how beautiful and innocent life is. Now.

The boys arent in school yet so I get to spend tons of time with them. Im still smarter than them (give them a couple years) and can teach them things. No matter what, my husband and I are in charge.

They will be independent and I want that. I just have to give them everything they need now so they can grow into boys and men that know how to make the right decision. How to be good. How to always trust their intuition and help when they should and flee when it's dangerous.

I want them to know that their mom and dad became better people because of them.

The older and bigger they get the more fearful I am of the darkness.

Right now our lives are playdates, legos, puzzles and lamby. So innocent, simple and pure. Soon it will be 9-3 in a classroom with influencers and peer teachers.

The unknowns are terrifying so I grip them tighter and pray for the strength to keep growing and centering.

Bonus

Our Small Business Office of 6 was led by a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) in the Army.  At 19 I was at least half the age of all my female civilian office mates.

It was November and I started working there in August.  We were sitting in the common area having our weekly staff meeting.  Our meetings always followed my boss's Chief of Staff (COS) meetings.  Instead of sitting at the conference table in our formal meeting room, we were always casually strewn around the office.  Often my boss leaned on the copier across the row of cubicles so everyone could see him and he everyone.  This time he instead sat at the first desk in the cubicle row while the three ladies were in their seats at their cubicles next to him.  The deputy was on the couch to my far left between the boss and me but separated from him by a wall.  Since my desk was against the perpendicular wall at the front of the office I could see him and he could see me but everyone else could just hear him and see me.

During the meeting he stated that everyone needed to submit their requests for time off for the holidays.  Once he approved them he would submit them to the fourth floor for COS approval.  Thinking about the upcoming time off everyone visibally got excited.  Not me though because I didn't have much leave accrued.  He was about to wrap up and asked if anyone had anything else. 

Since none of the ladies appeared to have the brass to ask, I ask the question I thought was on everyone's mind.  "When do we get our bonuses?"

8 eyes and 4 mouths in the room open real wide.  Not mine, because I asked the question, and not my boss's, because he was an LTC and father so he wasn't phased easily.  All of the ladies in the office couldn't see him so waiting for his response with their dramatic body language made me kind of nervous.

After finding the words, my boss said, "Marcia, the federal government doesnt work that way.  There are cost of living adjustments (COLA) for everyone in January based off of what the president decides.  The amount is typically around 3% and is supposed to offset inflation.  You will receive the increase in each check."

I register that to mean that the COLA would make me and the govt even stephen.  Plus, it came after the holiday season so this wasnt a feel good moment for me.

I asked, "Well can I get a bonus?"  This really got the ladies going!  At first they were shocked by my naivete but this forwardness was intentional.  There were gasps, face palms and hanging heads.

Without searching for the words this time my boss says, "Sure, just fill out an eleven oh eight with all of your accomplishments and I will review it and sign it if I agree."

Honestly, I wasnt trying to be daring or put my boss on the spot, I was just coming from industry jobs where they always gave Christmas bonuses.  Having my dad's work ethic I knew I was going above and beyond what was expected of me.  The LTC also told me this often.  Even if I hadnt received that sweet cash monies I still would have learned the life long lesson of learning "What do I have to lose?".

If you do your job well and you want some extra cash, just ask for it.  Know that you'll have to back it up, but if you have proof that you are deserving and you present it at a good time, you may be surprised.  At the very least you'll get some laughs and free drinks at happy hour!

Wall

Last month's Fly on the Wall segment, organized by the amazing Karen at Baking In a Tornado, was very fun for me so I decided to invite you into my home again this month.

Have you ever thought about what people might think if they saw what goes on behind-the-scenes at your house? Do you ever wonder what it would be like to catch a glimpse of someone else’s daily life? Here’s your chance. Today 13 bloggers are inviting you into their homes to be a fly on the wall.

During my mom's visit last week she mentioned she never really decorated our walls, other than family photos, because she thinks someone really has to love something to want to look at it constantly.  I think she may have missed out on some very special feelings by not connecting with art.  I also think she might mistakenly think my dad is a work of art. ;)

If you were a fly on my wall you might land on one of the many personal pieces of art that we have acquired through the years.  All of art have their own stories and I will share some with you now:



This painting is the first I ever bought.  Not sure of my age but know it was purchased from The Bombay Company.  It caught my eye in the window and for some reason I went in to check it out.  I flipped it over for the price and saw that it was a red poppy flower.  Poppy is what my maternal grandfather was called.  I remember feeling very odd when I purchased it because it seemed so grown up and unlike me.  I'm so grateful I bought this.



This balloon print was recently given to us by my husband's parents when our oldest son (4 yo) graduated to a big boy room.  It's the first artwork they bought for my husband's (also their first born) room when he was a toddler.  Like us, they had to use my husband's room as a guest bedroom.  How's that for some history!? 




This marker artwork is in the baby boy's (2 yo) room. Whenever I sleep with him (which has been happening too often because of $@&&$@& molars) I wake up and see this and it warms my heart. This picture was in my room as a child and I would spend endless hours dreaming of that guy and that dog. When I'm woken up by a kick in the head, or finger in the ear, and see this I am instantly reminded that I got my dream (<== click to read).





Last year I found this little girl and her dog at an antique shop in my parent's town.  This was shortly after finally coming to grips with having no more babes.  No more kids meant I was accepting that I would be the only permanent girl in our home. This is the softest girliest thing I have on our walls.  (And it is right by the front door, say something!).  I also have a soft pink toile throw that I purchased around the same time.  Both the picture and the throw dont go with our color scheme but they make me feel warm.  In addition to my tangible girl items I also wrote the Daughter post (<== click to read) which assisted greatly in accepting my testosterone filled fate. 



I purchased this sketch from eBay when my then boyfriend was on the brink of proposing to me.  I knew the ring was purchased but didn't know when he was going to bite the bullet.  When I came across these hands and the simple engagement ring, I knew I needed it as a remembrance.  When I submitted the payment I mentioned in the notes to the seller I was about to be engaged and that's why I was drawn to the piece.  Enclosed with my sketch was a heartfelt congratulatory letter from the artist.  She was the first person I told, and the first to congratulate me.  A simple kind act from a stranger.  It makes an impact people.  Even 10+ years later. 


As I mentioned with my poppy painting, I felt very odd when I purchased it.  Odd enough that I can now feel that same feeling I had back then.  I knew I would display the painting but I didn't know how to explain the connection, because I didn't quite understand it.  Back then I was very self conscious, sensitive, and vulnerable.  I wondered what kind of fun I would be made of by people who saw it.  Or worse, that I would take offense to an innocent comment made about the painter's skill.  I knew this piece would be a visual reminder of my Poppy who had recently passed and wanted to display it but didn't want feedback.  I remember feeling like by buying that painting it was letting people in, and that was something I tried very hard to prevent.

Now if someone asks about something I gladly share it's history, rather than feel vulnerable or awkward.  With age I have realized that art is a very personalized and powerful thing that's stories should be shared (with interested folk, of course!). 

I hope you are surrounded by artwork in your home that makes you feel peaceful, happy, and reminiscent. 

Click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

www.BakingInATornado.com
http://www.justalittlenutty.com/                       
http://followmehome.shellybean.com                  
 http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com/            
http://sadderbutwiser.wordpress.com/             
http://menopausalmother.blogspot.com/               
http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/   
http://hypnoticbard.blogspot.com/                                   http://mybrainonkids.net/                                                                      
http://smn0409.blogspot.com/
www.therowdybaker.com
http://caramelliving.blogspot.com/

Tips6

Welcome to the sixth segment of our weekly:

Tuesday's Threefold Tips, aka The Trip T's

Instead of the ole fashiony way of telling someone once a tip moment presents itself, let us prepare in advance and make some new, and hopefully useful, brain wrinkles.

The Trip T's for this week are:

Are you aware of the Starbucks* rewards program?  If you receive, or buy yourself, a giftcard you can register it online at Starbucks.  Every time you use the giftcard to buy a drink it counts as 1 star.  After 12 stars you get a free drink or food item (loaded onto your account).  There is also a smart phone app you can download so the barista can scan your phone.  I have my phone and my husband has my card so we always get a star.  If you receive additional giftcards (thanks Beastie!), you just transfer the funds through the site.  You can also transfer your own monies to the card.  My money goes to a venti bold no room coffee ($2.32).  My free drink choice is a venti soy vanilla latte ($4.80+).  It's so simple to register and results in free deliciousness. 

Picture it, I'm on vacation (pretty sure it was the same vacay that I ran out of eyeliner <== click) and start to paint my toenails from the pinky toe inward.  Of course, I ran out of nail polish with my big toenails undone!  The tip is to add a couple drops of nail polish remover to the almost empty bottle and shake.  Make sure it's just a couple.  The remover loosens up the nail polish on the glass and let's you stretch it a bit.  Thanks Sarah for saving me from embarrassment on that one!

Those are panty hose.  I'm not sure why I fashioned them into a heart.  Maybe to be ironic?  Panty hose were in my top 3 least favorite parts of being a professional.  I hated panty hose.  I would get runs in them all the time.  Do you know to stop a run just put clear nail polish at the top of the run and it keeps it from spreading more?  I used to keep nail polish (and a back up pair of hose for the unrepairable runs) in my desk drawer.  


Now is the perfect opportunity to share that time/money/earth saving tip your mama, bestie, boss told you that you have wanted to shout to the world.

Why do this?  Because sharing is caring! 

Please send your tips via email findmyfelicity@gmail.com, DM on Twitter (@findmyfelicity), or message on Facebook.  Please add in the message how you would like your web cred (name, website, handle, picture, whateves). 

The Trip T's for week 1 (shoe recycling, red wine, liquid eye liner)
The Trip T's for week 2  (freecycle.org, rice sock, baby wipes)
The Trip T's for week 3 (windshield anti frost solution, frozen fruits, Target recycling)
The Trip T's for week 4 (sock sorting, washing machine tip, fruit cleaner)
The Trip T's for week 5 (greeting cards, natural deodorizer, bathroom cleaning kit)

*As stated in the mission, all opinions are my own and no cash monies are accepted for endorsing any products and/or companies.

Swap

Welcome to Take Two of March’s Secret Subject Swap. This week, 13 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

My subject is “Most embarrassing moment of your adult life?”.  It was submitted by adventuresinhickeyland.blogspot.com

Here goes:

Let me be clear with you, this was a very difficult subject for me.  Not because I don't like speaking of the embarrassing moments in my life, but because I am inundated with stories.

I embarrass myself often by walking into walls, tripping up the stairs (seriously, that's my senior yearbook quote) or accidentally sticking objects in my eye while sitting at a stop light.  It's always when there is a car next to me and I can feel the gaze.  Straw...eye.  Finger...eye.  Cell phone...eye.  Seriously, why doesn't this happen while I'm driving? 

Not only am I clumsy, I also tend to misuse words regularly in conversation.  One of my husband's favorites is when I was talking to a neighbor at my parents 35th anniversary party.  I mentioned that my parents tend to fly on September 11th because tickets are cheap and there is still a stigmata about traveling on that day.  Stigmata.  Really.

There's also the time I contacted hotels for my supervisor for rates and asked the reservation clerk how close they were to "Dez Moanez" airport.  He had me repeat it again and somehow kept it together long enough to tell me they were 15 minutes from the Des Moines airport.  Whateves!  hookED on PAhonEX workED for me!

Since I'm a rule follower I will now tell you the most embarrassing moment of my adult life, that I can recall.

I always hated school.  Not only was I a very bad tester, I couldn't understand what the teachers were saying, or retain any information I read.  My first D was in the 3rd grade and there were many that followed. The only reason I graduated high school was because of the heart to heart I had with one of my teachers.

When I was 19, in order to maintain my position as a Stay in School employee for the small business office in a defense agency, I had to take 6 college credits a semester.  After an hour commute to my job, 9 hours at a desk, and an hour commute home I would be rewarded with a 3 hour class.  My arse was as flat as a pancake.

Picture it:  Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, Virginia, May 1998.  

I open the door and see the professor at the front of the classroom at his table.  On either side of his table and traveling to the back of the class were 6 rows of tables.  Each table sat 2 students and there were 2 tables per row on each side.  

I was so excited to finally be done with this class because the professor was as boring as my day job.  But for as excited I was, I was also as nervous.  I knew that if I didn't get at least a 78 on the final exam my gpa would be low enough that I would lose my job.  Lots of presh party people!

I sat down at my normal spot, the aisle seat on the right side of the room, second to last row.  The professor hands the papers to the students in the front row and directs each student to take an exam and pass the stack to the next student.  He tells us we have the 3 hour allotted class time to finish.  

I stare at the first page.  It's not blank but I am.  I wonder why every question is contradictory.  I jump from page to page thinking that would help.  Maybe I could find some easy questions and boost my esteem and shake some nerves.  The opposite happened.  I'm wrecked. 

I lose track of time as I sit there staring at the words, not being able to understand them next to each other. The previous word is forgotten before I finish the next word.  I sit frozen in the position pictured below.   Hand in hair, one leg draped over the other, looking down pissed to the max. 

Classmates start to turn in their exams.  Oh my God, this soon!  Stupid geniuses. 

I look to the clock on the wall.  7:47.  Lots of letters.  8:12.  Numbers and question marks.  8:34.  I'm over it. 

I try to review my answers and get so frustrated I resolve that no job is worth the stress of school.  If I fail, I fail and move on.  Fortunately, failure is something I'm very used to at that point.  At least if I failed there would be no more school!  Finding the silver lining was also something I was used to.    

I pushed myself out from the table and as I stood up I grab the test. 

Just then my mind registers that something isn't right.  It's my body. 

I can't feel my leg!  My entire left leg was asleep!  I'm talking from the hip.

When I stood up and grabbed the test I was already in the aisle between the rows of seats since I chose the aisle seat. 

Within a second of realizing my leg was asleep I was on the floor.  I fell like a tree and hit the ground with a loud thud!  Simultaneously everyone's heads look up from their exams.  I hear a couple gasps from fellow classmates.  Absolutely mortified with what happened I respond by dropping my head and banging that into the ground.  My knee, hip, shoulder, and now head are all throbbing. 

Since I was in a time wrap I'm unsure how long it took me to scurry up to the professor and toss my exam at him.  He asked if I was ok.  I mumbled yea and turned and ran to the door (thank God my circulation came back).  After I got outside the door I waited to hear the laughter.  Instead I heard one girl say "I hope she's ok" and a guy say "Yea, that was bad!".  Talk about adding insult to injury, I couldn't even get a laugh for my acrobatic performance.  

I was so consumed with the test and thoughts of failure and uncertainty of the future that I forgot about my body.  The position (you can look at the picture again) I was frozen in for about an hour and a half cut off the circulation to my leg.  I don't sit like that anymore. 

Mama always says I know how to make an exit!   

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

www.BakingInATornado.com   

http://www.justalittlenutty.com/                               
http://suburbiainterrupted.com                                
http://mooreorganizedmayhem.blogspot.com/            
http://www.comeplayinthekitchen.com/                    
http://www.bigaandlittlea.com
www.theblacksheepmom.blogspot.com
http://www.themommyref.blogspot.com/ 

http://www.100lbCountdown.com 

www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com 

http://caramelliving.blogspot.com/

Writers

When a person's life is directly improved by reading something someone wrote, that person truly learns the power of one voice.

It is my belief that writers write for this reason. 

We have those pieces that penetrated our core and forever changed how we view our words and will go forth with our voice.  We felt the warmth of the fire ignited in our soul from a complete stranger.  Someone who was called to write and who wrote.  And we read.  And it changed us. 

Our eyes are opened to the power of our own voice when we grasp the miracle of that piece being written, then getting to us, then impacting us the way it did. 

We experienced enormous changes to our sense of self through another's head, heart, and hand.  So we pay it forward.  We write so we can elicit a similar response in others who are drawn to read our writings. 

All we know in life is the gift we experience through reading our connected pieces and the gift of writing our pieces that others will connect to. 

We write because it feels right.  

Tips5

Welcome to the fifth segment of our weekly:

Tuesday's Threefold Tips, aka The Trip T's

Instead of the ole fashiony way of telling someone once a tip moment presents itself, let us prepare in advance and make some new, and hopefully useful, brain wrinkles.

The Trip T's for this week are:

Are you also a sentimental sap that holds on to every card your loved ones mail you?  Columbia University suggests cutting the cards in half and using the front panel as a postcard!  What a clever reuse.  Also, for Christmas cards you can cut out the images on the front, punch a hole, and run a ribbon through it to use as a gift label. Perfect ideas for some of our karma box retirees (read more about the karma box here)!

$6.96 at Home Depot

 Have litter boxes, a wreaking diaper genie and/or stinky man cave?  Talking to a friend about a dog smelling couch we inherited, he mentioned his go to product for deodorizing.  He showed me the product and then the next day bought us 2 packages and delivered them (so thoughtful!)!  Gonzo* is volcanic minerals that have a positive charge which neutralizes negative stink smells.  You remove the plastic wrap and place near the odorous spot and just leave it.  After 6 mos you place the package in the sun to dry out and recharge the minerals.  Gonzo was the bombzo for our stinky couch.  (Thanks, Erik!)

This one may seem common sensical but is a newish time saving system for me and may not be in place at your home.  In each of our bathrooms I keep:  Clorox* wipes for the toilet (not a green source but the pooper's germs totally wig me out), a Dollar Store* squirt bottle with Method* all purpose natural cleaner for the sinks and mirror, paper towels and a toilet brush (not shown in image because that's not going on the counter!).  Cleaning bathrooms are an annoying enough chore, why not have everything easily accessible in case you have a spare couple minutes after tinkling or while you bathe your youngens.

The Trip T's for week 1 (shoe recycling, red wine, liquid eye liner)
The Trip T's for week 2  (freecycle.org, rice sock, baby wipes)
The Trip T's for week 3 (windshield anti frost solution, frozen fruits, Target recycling)
The Trip T's for week 4 (sock sorting, washing machine tip, fruit cleaner)

Now is the perfect opportunity to share that time/money/earth saving tip your mama, bestie, boss told you that you have wanted to shout to the world.

Why do this?  Because sharing is caring!

Please send your tips via email findmyfelicity@gmail.com, DM on Twitter (@findmyfelicity), or message on Facebook.  Please add in the message how you would like your web cred (name, website, handle, picture, whateves).

*As stated in the mission, all opinions are my own and no cash monies are accepted for endorsing any products and/or companies.

Thoughts

Let's compare thinking to Facebook and Twitter.  Like our constant barrage of thoughts, we have news feeds and timelines that are constantly being updated.

The more thoughts we actively think about, the more thoughts that enter our mind.  Just how the more friends and followers we have, the more posts we have on our news feeds and timelines.

Trying to keep up with all of the mental and social media information is exhausting (because it's impossible), discouraging (because it's impossible), and downright insane (because, ok, you get it).

Luckily we have our tools like hiding friends on Facebook (I haven't done that yet...whoever said being unpopular doesnt pay!?) and creating lists or hiding twits on Twitter (I have done that).

In respect to our minds, we need to have filters like the social media ones.  The best one I've learned to date is to be thoughtless.  No, not in that way.
 
One of my friends who has recently had significant life changes came over for a non virtual chat.  She relayed concern about how well everything was going and then all of a sudden she started noticing dark feelings creep up.  My friend wanted to know how to stop it from turning into full blown depression. 

First I shared what I have learned in regards to meditation.  Which is to not hold on to thoughts.  The more attention we give a thought, the more it spirals out of control.  If we recognize a negative or upsetting thought and allow ourselves to ponder it, we are inviting more thoughts (and negativity) into our mind.  The best course of action is to immediately release that first thought. 

Surprisingly this isn't as easy as it sounds because, as Eckhart Tolle mentions in "The Power of Now", our modern day culture is wired to always be thinking.

It began with us being taught in school to idolize the great thinkers and philosophers of the days of yore.  Not only did we learn about these geniuses but we were constantly encouraged that it is possible for each one of us to think up that next best thing, end world hunger, figure out the meaning of life, etc.  You name it, we can think it.

Seriously, what do we really spend our time thinking about:

Our schedules, work, what other people think of us (sure, why not think about what other people are thinking), what we are going to wear, what we are going to eat, what the weather is like, how we are going to make ends meet, when will we get noticed, will we have more kids, will these kids grow up to be menaces, what should go on the powder room wall, do brown and black really not go together, do we have stamps, etc. 

The beautiful thing is, we don't have to think about this stuff.  We just need to have an awareness of what is happening, instead of thinking about what is happening.  I wrote more about being in the moment in the Now post and "The Power of Now" is also a great resource. 

 If we can shut our minds off from all the chatter, our minds gain more acuteness for when it is actually time to think.  Try it, I think :) you'll like it.

Sperk*

I am very honored to present to you my second Wednesday's Woman guest post for Sperk*.  

I introduced you to Tara Sophia Mohr in this post a couple weeks ago when I told you about my very urgent and strong want to participate in her upcoming Playing Big program.

Tara's About Me is where I truly connected to her as a person, not just a potential mentor.  She starts her introduction by sharing some examples of how her parents raised her to see the value in every experience and, maybe more importantly, every human being.  This really resonated with me because her parental guidance embodies how I am attempting to raise my sons.  Reading her work, it is apparent that her parents laid out a very stable foundation.  That strong foundation must have assisted her in developing into the compassionate, compelling, and confident person she is today. 

It's amazing how the world connects us.  Probably without knowing it, Kimberly, of Sperk*, is following Rule 10 in Tara's well known 10 Rules for Brilliant Women with her Wednesday's Woman feature.  Please spend some time after reading my piece navigating Kimberly's site that she dedicates to her fearless examination of life with two adolescent daughters.  Thanks so much to Kimberly for allowing me this wonderful opportunity again!

With extreme pleasure, I present to you my second guest piece for Sperk*'s Wednesday's Woman.

*My first Wednesday's Woman guest post on Kathy Freston can be read here.

Tips4

Welcome to the fourth week of our segment:

Tuesday's Threefold Tips, aka The Trip T's

Instead of the ole fashiony way of telling someone once a tip moment presents itself, let us prepare in advance and make some new, and hopefully useful, brain wrinkles.

The Trip T's for this week are:

via What to Expect

Is one of the most annoying parts of doing laundry for you to sort the socks?  Try leaving safety pins near your hamper.  Once you take off your dirty socks pin them together to go through the washer and dryer.  Get the rubber coated safety pins because metal ones will rust.  (Thanks Jennifer and Dear Heloise for this tip!) 

$7.04 from Amazon

Speaking of socks...  if you have a baby or toddler always make sure to put their socks, or tiny wash clothes, through the washing machine in a mesh bag.  We have had 2 washer repairs totaling $460 from socks getting sucked up in the whatchumacallit.  The repair guy said it's always baby socks or sassy thin lady underwears so if you fancy the dental floss sized underoo's (good for your partner), get a mesh bag too.  We use our mesh bag religiously now...for socks. 

www.simmworksfamily.com

 
 Concerned with all the pesticides, dirt and wax on fruit's skin?  Vinegar to the rescue again!  Clean your sink really well, fill it half way with warm water, add a cup of vinegar, drop in your fruit and let soak for ten minutes, and then rinse fruit off.  Way less expensive than fruit cleaners that are sold now.  (Thanks for the tip Janie and MommyMishaps.com)



Now is the perfect opportunity to share that time/money/earth saving tip your mama, bestie, boss told you that you have wanted to shout to the world.

Why do this?  Because sharing is caring! 

Please send your tips via email findmyfelicity@gmail.com, DM on Twitter (@findmyfelicity), or message on Facebook.  Please add in the message how you would like your web cred (name, website, handle, picture, whateves). 

*As stated in the mission, all opinions are my own and no cash monies are accepted for endorsing any products and/or companies.

The Trip T's for week 1 (shoe recycling, red wine, liquid eye liner)
The Trip T's for week 2  (freecycle.org, rice sock, baby wipes)
The Trip T's for week 3 (windshield anti frost solution, frozen fruits, Target recycling)