Be on the lookout for the broccoli in this post. If you have never drizzled fresh broccoli with olive oil, salt, and pepper, wrapped it tight in foil, and then put it on a grill to cook…..please do it now. Right now. Go. I’ll wait here.

One more thing…..the shrimp you see cooking was in fact for me. Me. The vegetarian. Confused? Yeah…..me too. Shrimp is my only periodic “meat” allowance.

I wish you could taste that broccoli. *drool*

A few months back I heard a few people on the internet talking about their monthly Birchbox. I thought, “What the hell is that??” So I went to trusty ol’ Google, and landed on the Birchbox site.

And now, my life has changed forever.

Not really, but, ya know…..I’m in love.

Birchbox is a monthly subscription. For $10 a month, you are sent an adorable little package containing 4 to 5 high end cosmetic samples. You can opt to take a profile quiz on their site, so your monthly samples are customized more to your liking.

I very very quickly joined the waiting list, and was notified within a few weeks that it was my turn to subscribe. I did not delay. My first box arrived on Mothers Day. Nice timing.  

This is not the norm, but this particular Birchbox was themed around the television show Gossip Girl…….a show I have never seen one episode of, and have zero desire to ever watch.

(I vote for a Supernatural themed Birchbox.)

Anyhoo, the box is very nicely packaged and presented, and the samples within are department store brands.

For my first month, I received 4 samples:

Birchbox adds in a few extra samples, just cuz they’re nice like that.

Within the box is also a card detailing the samples you received, how to use them, and the price of the full size product. (The full sized products are not cheap. )

I’m happy with the samples I received this month. These are products that I would normally use or want to try, so I’m pumped about my subscription. They did a pretty good job picking my samples, though I must admit, after watching a Youtube video on the May sample choices, I was VERY envious of a few samples I did NOT receive. But still, I like what I got.

Also……Birchbox likes for the contents of the monthly package to be a surprise. You don’t know what’s coming in your mailbox until you open it. I think this is fun.  

The product samples in my personalized Birchbox:

Birchbox is not the only company that sends goodies out once a month for a fee. The ones I am aware of are as follows:

Birchbox

MyGlam

Beauty Army

Julep – This is all nail polish and nail care products.

*Updated to add*: Just found out about this one: Glossy Box

I’m on the waiting list for MyGlam, though I’m a bit concerned about this because I’ve heard that a lot of customers are usually not impressed with the package they receive. I’m going to try it out for a month or two and see how I feel about it.

I’ve looked into Beauty Army, but here’s the deal: It’s not budget-conscious to sign up for all of these programs. Therefore, I decided to pick one or two. I may swap out MyGlam for Beauty Army later. Or, more likely, I’ll just stick solely with Birchbox. We’ll see.

As for Julep, I’m not very into nail products. And, this one is the most expensive at $20 a month. This one was a no-go for me.

That’s it!!!!

I’m super excited about getting a monthly Birchbox. Getting packages in the mail is so fun and exciting (even if you have to pay for them). It makes checking the mail so fun.  

(If you want to sign up for Birchbox, let me send you a referral. Customers get reward points for referrals. )

After he brought his new toy home, I headed to the store to buy approximately 10 pounds of dead critters for him to cook up.

Spud went off to play with friends, Tater played vigorously in the backyard, and the husband cooked carcasses. During all of this, I prepped other food items, and tried to keep messes tidied. It was all kind of fun.

So…….Grills confound me. If someone told me to grill food, I would stare stupidly off into space and drool. Therefore, grilling food has always been, and will always be, the husbands job. I don’t get too worked up over grilled food anyway. I mean, really, I’m a vegetarian.

Smoked cheddar *drool*:

My Morningstar “burgers” got their own special section on the grill so as not to be contaminated by the dead carcass grungies.

Grilling onions *drool*:

My soy burger was actually very very good. I wolfed that dude down. It really hit the spot.

Please take a careful look at the above photo. Notice my nice faux-meat burger with smoked cheddar, lettuce, pickles, and grilled onions.

Now look at what my husband ate……

Dude.

This is why my intestines and blood-pumper are undoubtedly way more sexy than his intestines and blood-pumper. I’m certain of it.

Anyhoo…

For dessert, I’m whipping up a quick strawberry shortcake.

Strawberry Shortcake is just not my thing. In fact, I don’t eat any of it when I make it. But, the husband would sell his children for it, so I make it every once in a while because, well, I’m cool like that.

And that’s it!! Got some more posts coming soon.

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms reading.  

Oh yeah…..

Since grilling season is upon us, I thought people should know what hot dogs are made of….if you don’t already know. Let this little movie clip educate you…….

Updated to add:

I ate this Strawberry Shortcake. It was very good. Maybe my taste for it is changing???  

You will not believe this.

You won’t.

Believe it you will not.

I want you to look at the picture I’m about to show you very carefully.

I met this man at a recycling facility a few days ago.

Get ready.

Hold on to your horses.

Here we go.

DOES HE LOOK LIKE ANYBODY YOU KNOW????????

Think Brad Pitt 10 years younger, during one of his grunge phases.  

Now, my husband claims he doesn’t see it. So does my mother. But my sister and I are convinced that I met the closest thing to Brad Pitt that is NOT actually Brad Pitt.

Here is the unedited photo of him. I doctored the original photo up because it was a little too dark.

I kid you not……his voice even sounded like Brad Pitt’s. It did. The picture really doesn’t do the resemblance justice. Seeing him in person, talking to him….it was freaky. The similarities were just insane.

I feel the need to also mention the Robert Pattinson look-a-like I met last year. Again, the resemblance was very intense.

I seem to be on a roll with this. I’m anxious to see who I meet next. My sister is hoping for a Ryan Gosling look-a-like.

Updated to add these pics for reader Lisa!!!!

(I LOVE her pink streak. So awesome.)

Lisa, I want you to know that it was not fun putting up side-by-side pictures of me and Avril Lavinge. My self esteem took a hit today.

First, this is Gidgit:

Gidgit is a tiny, young, hyper, wiry-haired dog that is very likable.

As I was laying in bed this morning, trying to keep Gidgit from affectionately gnawing my fingers down to the bone, she turned just so, and I realized it was like looking directly into the face of a certain actor.

Look at her closely. Can you guess which actor??

The actor is Jeremy Irons.

Like whoa, right?!??!!?

Why….no……Gidgit was not in Die Hard 3….thank you for asking though.

This little dog is gonna make me millions. She is going to be Irons new movie double.

For example,

Jeremy Irons is on set of a new movie. He’s been working hard and he needs a break. There will be no reason to stop filming. He could go to his trailer to relax, and I could carry Gidgit right into the scene, and no one would ever notice that Irons was replaced. Jeremy Irons will very happily split his paychecks with me.

Now, I’m not bad-mouthin’ Jeremy Irons here. I really like him. He’s a good actor, and he’s quite a good-looking bloke. (I really like the way he talks.) It just so happens that my dog looks like him.

I am now calling her Jeremy instead of Gidgit. She’s very confused by this.

Yeah. That’s all. That was the whole point to this post.

I apologize.

I can’t believe I’m actually going to hit “Publish” on this post.

Clearly, I have too much time on my hands and I need a hobby.

“The biggest and brightest full moon of the year arrived Saturday night as our celestial neighbor passed closer to Earth than usual.”

So, since I’ve always been a bit of a nerd where astronomy is concerned, I sat in my yard at roughly 10:00 p.m., playing with my camera settings while pointing the lens at the moon. The moon was supposed to “peak” at 10:34, so I was outside for the best of it.

My camera is not set up for photography such as this, but I opened my lens up nice and wide, with long exposures, and got some fun, albeit amateurish, shots.

I love the star effect of this one:

I only have 30 shots similar to these, but I don’t think I’ll bore you with them.

Hmmmm…what else?

I am now on Instagram. IT IS GOING TO BE ADDICTING.

The Hub-O took the picture of the moth. I like it.

It’s getting hot here. Boo. However, Tater has been playing outside a lot and it’s been so fun watching him have run and play.

Spud and I have officially begun our Summer Reading Program. I started this a little “program” a few summers back in which I pay Spud to read books. It has been working out well, and I was excited to do it again this year. I have been keeping a record of the books he reads and how much money he earns….I may post that.

My Spudman is a bookworm, and it makes me so proud.

Anything else? Nope.

There was zero point to this. I just wanted to blog.

Here’s a scenario for you:

My husband and I are sitting on the couch. I am doing a multitude of things to keep my mind occupied. I’m on the internet, I’m channel surfing, I’m checking deets on my phone, etc etc.

My husband is looking out the window. He has been for the last 3 minutes. His eyes are focused on some point, and he has an intent look on his face.

I become curious. I say to him, “Whatcha thinkin bout?”

Hub: *shrugs* “Nuthin.”

Me: *stares at him* “No, really. What are you thinking about?”

Hub: *blank expression* “Really. Nothing.”

LIES. THIS IS LIES.

Here’s what I think: I think that men have got some kind of world-wide agreement/conspiracy where this little lie is concerned. I can not be convinced in any way, shape, or form that the male brain actually goes blank for longer than, say, 2 seconds. I do not believe it. Nope. It’s bull. Horsehockey. Poo-poo. Nope. Nuh-uh.

The female brain is like a constant game of ping-pong. Back and forth, back and forth, all day long. But, instead of 1 little ball, there are about 100. And it’s like this ALL THE TIME.

This is why, when my husband and I are conversing, he is sitting there quietly listening with wide eyes, while I bounce from topic to topic. I can cover 253 topics in approximately 4.2 minutes. Once I finish, he politely smiles and says, “Wow. You so have ADD.”

lol

Nope. I don’t. I’m just a girl.

Because the human brain is the human brain, whether it be male or female, I can not be convinced that it is capable of zero thoughts.

Therefore, when he says “nothing”, here’s what I’m thinking:

“He’s got to be thinking something! He’s lying! Why is he lying?? He must not want me to know what he’s thinking! Is he thinking something bad? Is he thinking something bad about me? What could he be thinking bad about me? Is he thinking I’m fat? Is he thinking about the wrinkles I’m starting to get? Wait……is he thinking about boobs???? If he is, he DAMN WELL BETTER be thinking about MY boobs! Is he worrying about something? If he’s worrying about something why doesn’t he tell me what it is? Is he hiding something from me? He must be! What is he hiding? Wait….could he really be thinking about nothing. *mental mind pause while I consider this* Nope. No way in hell is his mind actually void of thought. He’s got to be thinking something bad that he doesn’t want to share. It’s either A) Boobs, B) a secret, or C) none of my damn business. All of these options are completely unacceptable.

So, these are the things I think, but this is what I say:

Me:  *purses my lips* “Okay. FINE.”

Hub: *holds out hands, palms up, in the universally known physical expression of saying “WHAT THE HELL”.  “Why are you mad at me?”

Me: “I’m not mad.”

Hub: *getting annoyed* “Yes, you are.”

Me: “You don’t want to tell me what you’re thinking.”

Hub: *sighs* “Okay. I was thinking about work.”

Me: “Oh, okay.” *goes back to channel surfing*

BUT HERE’S THE THING:

I don’t believe he was actually thinking about work. I think he just said he was thinking about work to content me and to shut me up.

I am certain of this.

Now….this probably makes me sound really uptight. Please let it be known that we haven’t had a conversation like this in a  REALLY long time. For 2 primary reasons. A) The hub usually has some kind of device to occupy his attention, thereby eliminating his “stare out the window” moments and B.) If he does have a “stare out the window” moment, I no longer ask him what he’s thinking about. I gave up on that question years and years ago.

And quite honestly, if he’s thinking about something that he doesn’t feel like he can share with me, I probably don’t want to know. However, it annoys me that he’s thinking about something that would upset me if I knew he was thinking it. I mean really, he shouldn’t be thinking about things that would upset me if I knew he was thinking them. RIGHT? He should only think thoughts that he could openly tell me he’s thinking. RIGHT?

Is that it? Yeah. I guess I’m done.

Dear men of the world,

I will one day expose your LIES.

Sincerely,

A woman that is ON TO YOUR DECEPTION.

So. If you have been reading my makeup-related blog posts the last few months, I made you a present. *points finger at you*

You???

YES. YOU.

Important facts about this present……..

1. My hair was a wreck. I was fresh out of the shower, and it was half-wet, stringy, and ugly. It’s kind of embarrassing.

2. If the music annoys you, I apologize. But hey, this “present” required girly music.

Here ya go…….

In a matter of two days, I have attended 3 baseball games, and have taken 400 pictures.

Dude.

Everybody in my family is enjoying baseball right now. Spudman is a newbie this year, as is the rest of his team. A team full of newbs translates into a lot of LOST baseball games, but hey, that’s ok. It’s the fun that counts.

Bless his heart.

My son is in an awkward phase. As soon as a camera is pointed in his direction, he morphs into this nerdy Dracula thing that you can plainly see in the previous pictures.

Nerdy Dracula:

Our team coach is AMAZING. Super-relaxed, nice guy that doesn’t get worked up over lost games. I couldn’t be more pleased with him. I’m going to do what I can to see that Spud is on his team next year.

Oklahoma.

Land of camo-colored baseball uniforms.

After the third baseball game (in which my sons team was stomped so hard in almost hurt  —– we didn’t score ONCE), I took some pics of my sisters family.

I took almost 400 pictures, and out of those 400, 250 of them were kept.

I don’t know if you realize this, but 400 pictures is A LOT of dang pictures. After sorting through them all on my computer, I was damn near crazy. It took 4 hours. However, it is so worth it (and I love to do it) considering that my whole family will enjoy these pics pretty much for the rest of our lives.

Here are a few highlights from the massive stack of 250 photos: (all are straight out of my camera and unedited)

Let it be stated that the wind was killer today. Keeping hair out of faces was a major battle while taking these pictures.

It was also a problem at the baseball games. I was huddled up like an Eskimo in a zebra-print blanket this morning.

And that is all.

Bare, boring wall next to vanity table:

+

Cheap, white shelf found at a yard sale for TWO DOLLARS:

+

97 cent can of spray paint:

+

Hub to hang shelf on wall:

=

If you are as terrible as me at painting…let your husband paint the shelf.  

Doesn’t look perfect, but I still like it.