MOVING! Please Follow Me!

Hello to my few faithful readers!

Due to some changes with google, I had to create a new blog.

I will leave this one up for about a month, then I will remove the site.

For my new blog, go to www.jlowesadventures.blogspot.com.  I still have the same blog name, This Is Who I Am.

I hope to see you there!

-Jennifer

Feliz Cinco de Mayo (A Day Late)!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I wanted to share with you another favorite taco recipe of ours!

Pork & Pineapple Tacos

Click the link above for the recipe.  The only change I made to this was that I marinated my pork in Italian dressing for about 30 minutes...and we cooked it on the grill instead of in the oven (tortillas, too).  

I promise you will not be disappointed!  Su delicioso!

Worst Spring Ever

I love spring.  Fall and spring are my two favorite seasons.  

But, this spring, I think I have just about changed my mind.  

Mother Nature must be going through menopause or something.  

I have spent hours in the closet, scared that a Tornado was going to blow me away.

I have spent days worrying about my poor parents, who have not been able to be home for almost two weeks. 

The house on the right side of the picture is my parent's house...thank goodness that water did not get in the house.  Their neighbor, an elderly woman (house is on the left), was not so lucky.

It's been a rough few weeks.  

But... the sun is shining bright, and there's no end to it in sight.

GreenWorks Products, House Party, and a Steal

If you know me at all, you know that one of my passions is "going green".  We recycle almost everything in our household, as well as trying to implement other "green practices" into our everyday lives.

So, when I got an email from HouseParty about hosting a GreenWorks party, I immediately applied!  A few weeks later, I got notification that I had been chosen!

I was so excited when I got my package in the mail!  I have been using the multi-purpose disinfectant for some time now, and love it...mostly because it is 99% derived from nature, and also because it all smells great (unlike other natural cleaners), and is comparable to brand names, such as 409, etc.  So, I was excited (as well as all my "green" friends) to try out the other products that they sent.  We received samples of laundry detergent, as well as multi-purpose disinfecting wipes and samples of Burt's Bees lotion.

Let me tell you, I am a Tide fan through and through when it comes to my laundry detergent.  Nothing else (to me, anyways) works as good.  Every other detergent I've tried...especially with our bath towels...after we use the towels and they get wet, they just stink.  So, I am always skeptical to try a new detergent.  But, I am a convert!  The GreenWorks detergent works just as good as Tide, if not better.  Plus, it smells amazing!  It's also comparable in price.  (I do wish that I could find coupons for it as easily as I can for Tide, though).

On to my "steal".  We were in Kroger the other day, and every time we go in there, we always have to check out their "clarance" shelf, as Brandon likes to call it.  Well, I walked around to the other side, and there were 5 bottles of GreenWorks toilet bowl cleaner sitting there...marked down...because the plastic paper on the outside was contorted.  So, I bought all 5!  They were originally $2.75 a bottle ($13.75 for all 5), but I got them on "clarance" for $1.39 a bottle ($6.95 for all 5).  That's a savings of $6.80!  I won't have to buy toilet cleaner for a LONG time!

So, if you are looking for new, different ways to be green, give the clorox GreenWorks products a try.  I am switching all of my household products over!  I promise you won't be disappointed!

Covergirl Natureluxe Makeup - BzzAgent! Review

Recently, I signed up on BzzAgent! to have the opportunity to receive sample products to try out, then "create buzz" about by telling friends, blogging, sharing it on Facebook, etc.

For my first campaign, I received a sample of Covergirl's new NatureLuxe foundation and lipstick.  I am always excited to try new makeup out...I love being a "girly-girl"!

The first few days that I wore the makeup, I loved it!  It went on so smooth, and felt so light and airy.  The lipstick was also a really pretty shade.  (*disclaimer - I am not a lipstick wearer.  Clear lip gloss is as far as I go).  However, I did like the shade of lipstick.  It was very sheer and iridescent, and looked so pretty with clear, shiny gloss over the top of it.

After about a week, I started noticing that my face felt really oily.  At first, I thought that it was the weather changing, so I kept using the product.  Then, I started to break out really badly.  So, I immediately switched back to my old foundation, and my skin was cleared up within two days.  I highly suspect this is because the foundation is not oil-free, while my "old" one is.

I give this product 3 out of 5 stars.  I loved everything about it, except that it made my face oily/break out.  I would definitely recommend it if you were not prone to oily skin or breakouts, but if you are, I would say you should probably avoid using this product.

*I was compensated for this review.  Go to www.bzzagent.com for more details

Fabric Giveaway!

Check out the blog, Made On Maple!  She has a fabric scrap giveaway going on!  I hope I win....I have so many little projects running through my head!

Monday Five Countdown

I'm linking up over at Bookish Penguin....go check out her blog!

FIVE THINGS I'M GRATEFUL FOR:

5.) A cleaned-up, leaf and gumball free back yard. Brandon and I worked for 7 hours straight on Saturday to get our yard cleaned up, and let me tell you.....37 lawn & leaf bags later...I. AM. SOOOOO. SORE.

4.) My health and mobility to be able to work out in the yard!

3.) A clean house.

2.) Being debt-free in 4 more days!

1.) Brandon.

FOUR THINGS I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT:

4.) The beach! We are going later this summer with our friend Adam and his family to Gulf Shores for a week! :) I've never seen the ocean, so I am totally excited about this! CAN'T WAIT!

3.) Money. We will pay our last credit-card-debt-loan payment on Friday! I still have student loans, but we will start working on those in about another year. Which means I also can't stop thinking about...

2.) A new car! We drive a '99 Tahoe, and it has almost 200,000 miles on it, plus the air conditioner doesn't work. SO, it's time. We are going to put back what we were paying on our loan each month until we can save back a few thousand dollars for a down payment...so around the first of next year, we hope to be driving a new Toyota Venza.

1.) Statistics. I have to give a powerpoint presentation next week...and I am SO NERVOUS about it. I kept dreaming about it last night, and in my dreams, I failed miserably when I gave my presentation! I am doing well so far in the class, but I just have to say....MATH SUCKS!!!!

THREE THINGS I WANT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS WEEK:

3.) Stay caught up on my homework....so far, so good.

2.) Finish reading True Grit. I borrowed it from a friend around the first of the year, and just haven't had time to read it! Hopefully I can get through it this week.

1.) Work more on my family tree. So far, on ancestry.com, I have gotten back to my 5th Great Grandfather! Hopefully I will have some spare time this week to work on that.

TWO THINGS I AM WORKING TO BE POSITIVE ABOUT:

2.) Just having a better attitude in general

1.) Math. I hate it, but I am doing pretty well. This chapter (and project) has been tough, and I am starting to doubt myself!

ONE RANDOM THING:

1.) It's a blah, icky, rainy day, and I am SOOOO sleepy because I didn't sleep well last night, because I kept dreaming about that stupid project and waking up in a panic! I am ready for Tuesday!