Listerine Total Care

I've had a pretty good variety of dental work done. As a kid, let's just blame it on all that candy I ate at every opportunity. The result? A mouthful of fillings.

Each time I was pregnant then my mouth went in the toilet. Well, not literally...you know what I mean. And the last time I was in with some tooth pain, my dentist threatened root canal in the near future. Not super excited about that.

And I take good care of my teeth, seriously! Well, I could floss more but I am improving in that department.

I got to try the new Listerine Total Care. And I'll be truthful, I've always used mouthwash for one purpose, and that was to keep my breath super fresh that much longer than simply brushing. And I'll be truthful, after many years of trial and error, I already use Listerine.

Want to hear something psycho? I like Listerine because it's so intense. Like, it tastes kind of medicinal and almost hurts. That's what I like. I don't like that stupid stuff that's wimpy and tastes like bubble gum or whatever.

OCD admission: they have it noted on my chart only to use mint when cleaning my teeth at the dentist's office. Why? Because if they use something like wild cherry, I don't feel like my teeth are clean. At all. I hate that. I know, it's apparently super weird because only me and one other freakshow have to have mint.

Anyway, so I tried the Listerine and at first glance I was nervous. It's purple (the color of the mouthwash) which is my favorite color in the universe! However, it's not normally the color of minty type stuff.
But, it was mint taste anyway! HOLLA!

I suppose I should divulge that it's called "Total Care" because it's more than just mouthwash where your breath smells super good. It does SIX things, so hey, that's pretty awesome.

• Helping to prevent cavities
• Restoring enamel
• Strengthening teeth
• Killing bad breath germs
• Freshening breath
• Fighting unsightly plaque above the gum line

Anyway, I appreciate Mom Central sending it. Because I just ran out of my own Listerine (I usually get Fresh Mint). Now I can get this because it's PURPLE and it still makes my mouth feel totally clean.

Current Cards for Teens by Discover

My oldest son is in 7th grade, which means a few things.

He's moody and unpleasant often. He grew five inches last year. He smells bad when he forgets about that nifty little invention that I introduced him to called "deoderant".

And with the fuzz accumulating on his upper lip, his seriousness about girls has increased somewhat. A lot of things about the freedom he has are scary for us as parents but at the same time, I know I need to start trusting him to make his own decisions.

He's had a cell phone for about six months but it's the kind you load the minutes on so I have some control over how many minutes he's going thru (which, unless he is interested in a girl, the phone gets little activity) and how he's using it.

And now that he is "on again" with a girl he's been interested in this school year, he's wanting to "hang out". Which basically entails going to the Mexican restaurant he likes with her and then walking over to the movie theater to see some sort of horror genre flick.

So, we get down to the money thing. He doesn't need much. He has everything he needs, besides the things we buy him his grandparents spoil him rotten. He really, like most other kids his age, doesn't buy much besides the frivilous.

That is, until he's thinking about spending his money to do stuff with his girlfriend. The movie theater doesn't take checks. Cash or debit/credit card.

Therefore, this Debit Card for Teens offered by Discover is a pretty slick idea because then he can start to learn to make some, though small, financial decisions. And maybe have a better place to put the money he gets from me occasionally for babysitting his siblings instead of the silver box in his desk drawer. Very weird. He'll be stockpiling some cash for his 13th birthday over the next month (his birthday gets spread out as we go to Arizona for Easter to see his grandparents and he likes to have his birthday with them there).

I like that his purchases can be tracked. I can deposit money on it. When he starts working, he can set it up with his employer for direct deposit. And, perhaps the best feature is that we can set spending limits so he doesn't try to buy strippers or something outside his budget (not that he'd be buying strippers because then I'd have to kill him). As an artist, he thinks the designs you can choose for the cards are pretty cool, he's picky about that stuff because he doesn't want to look like a dorky little mama's boy.

I think the only drawback, if you want to look at it that way, might be that it costs $5 a month to have the card. That's $60 a year. If the other features are appealing enough to you to offset that cost, then it's worth it. Personally, he probably loses $5 a month in that pig sty he calls a bedroom, so I think it's worth it.

Will let you know how it's going a few months down the road when he's been using it.
No doubt when he whips out the black card with skulls on it to pay for popcorn at the next scary movie, his girlfriend will be impressed.

Totally Fit Mel B

I spent 3 miserable weeks sick in February (well, a tiny bit into March, but who's counting?) and I must say, it's one thing to skip all that time exercising and say, "hey, isn't this great laying around and skipping my workouts because I'm sick" because you're delirious on medicine and don't know any better.

So, I got this workout DVD and wanted to try it right away but I felt like I'd been beaten with a baseball. It'd have to wait.

My first thing with Mel B a/k/a Scary Spice was that I didn't like her much. But then she was on Dancing With the Stars and when that casting decision was announced I was like, "desperate much, DWTS? A washed up Spice Girl who got impregnated and abandoned by Eddie Murphy? No thank you." But I'm an addict to DWTS and by God if she didn't end up being my FAVORITE person on the whole season. For one thing, she started off with some leftover baby fat which quickly melted off after all that dancing. So I liked her for being brave enough to wear those outfits without having the 6-pack from the get go.

Homegirl got fit in a hurry and you had to be blind not to see that she was in great shape, but still had real woman curves, and she's maintained it. Yeah, one of the things that I came to admire about her on the show was her ballsy attitude but that doesn't keep the pounds from coming back.

Anyway, when I checked out out her workout DVD, Totally Fit Mel B, I can see how she's stayed in great shape since she was showing up regularly on my TV.

Totally Fit is set up to serve to people who either don't have much time to work out, or those who want to focus on specific areas. There's a section that kind of explains how to use it, which my best guess is, many of us with ADHD are gonna skip because we want to get right to the good stuff.

Basically, you can use the various sections: Cardio, Advanced Cardio, Arms, Legs, Bums, Tums. There is a Warm Up and a Cool Down which you are encouraged to always, always, always do no matter what workout you choose. So, it's kind of a buffet style...pick the things you want, using your remote, it'll go right along the workout with the selections you choose in order.

The moves aren't hard or weird. She also contends that with her workout, you don't have to have expensive equipment, as for hand weights at one point they're using full water bottles. Certainly she's keeping the budget conscious person in mind.

Now, up until this year I took Pilates and Plyometrics classes at a local place. My instructor is one of my best pals and a former 2-time Olympic athlete. If you think she doesn't beat our asses hard during a workout, you'd be mistaken. Many of the moves in Mel B's Totally Fit have some of the same concepts as those classes: building a strong core, and also the repetitive motion of simple movements that build up muscle.

I'd recommend it for somebody who wants to look into a new workout. Especially the ability to easily concentrate your exercise on certain problem areas, that's very appealing.

And, if you want it quick, it's on Amazon for ten bucks. Yeah, the classes I was taking were sixty. Good deal!

Carpet Fresh

I have issues with smell and stink. I have mentioned this many times before.

Mom Central sent me some Carpet Fresh Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator Quick-Dry Foam (in Morning Rain scent) to try out.

I seem like when it comes to many household chore scenarios I'm either too busy or too lazy to want to put forth effort but I do anyway on occasion.

But dudes, when all you do is spray some foam and THAT'S IT. That is the serious slothful cleaner's dream.

I feel like my house smells godawful lately. A couple of us were sick for the better part of February. The dog stinks from both getting all her exercise done in the house (she's a small dog, she does that) and also the times she goes outside in melting snow and comes back wet. I didn't realize how nasty wet dog smell was until I owned a wet dog for myself. Not to mention, we've been doing some remodeling in our basement so things were smelling like paint, and other junk and I'm not giving it a good cleaning until it's all done.

There's multiple levels of stink around here.

I used this in two places over the course of a few days when the dog was extra smelly (there is a Super Pet version I'm excited to try next!) and when I did it, the foam dissolves into the carpet very quickly and the kids gave the smell major kudos.

I'm definitely getting more in the Super Pet version...we haven't seen our last days of wet dog! Check out the link for a downloadable coupon, woot!