Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Things That Have Turned Out Better Than I Expected

Sorry for the recent mommyblogging. It's not what my blog is normally about. I'm all better now, which means it's time to do a totally pointless post about useless junk.

I could talk about the fact that Beezie has been a total delight and turned into a total Momma's girl after 18 months of being a solid Daddy's girl. The tide has turned! Lil' Lady knows where her bread gets buttered.

Okay. Moving on to things that have exceeded expectations.

Justin Bieber

Have you heard his new song Boyfriend? It's pretty freakin good. It may be the way he says 'girl' repeatedly. It reminds me of a certain boy band from Boston. I'm not going to run out a buy front row tickets like Hayley, but he's a talented little lad.

Magic Bullet

We still use our Magic Bullet all the time. Lancer whips up banana/choco drinks, and I use it for shakes of the protein variety. The infomercial convinced me I would be making 4 second guacamole ALL the time, but it's been reliable for drinks. No complaints.

Le Crueuset


These were a serious investment, and we were a little nervous about buying them. I didn't want to shell out major money to have them collect cobwebs on the shelf. But I use them all the time. I have both the round and oblong ones, and I use both of them every single week. I absolutely love them. Every kitchen should have one.

Treadmill


Recent illness aside, I use this thing every day. It's so convenient, especially when it's cold and rainy outside. Which leads to my next one...

Netflix Streaming


Get that baby all hooked up, and you can enjoy shows whilst on the treadmill. The best motivation as girl could ask for.

Bike Seat


I got a used Co-Pilot bike seat for Beezie at Outrageous Outgrowns last year. Yeah, it took us 6 months (almost to the day) to get it installed. But once we did, we were hooked. We took B to go get a little helmet on Saturday. She loves it. With the bike rack for my car, I anticipate many hours on the bike trails along the ocean this summer.

OxiClean

This stuff can get anything out. Case in point--Lancer got ketchup all over his pants at a BBQ. I washed and dried them with normal soap, and they stain was still there. But I wasn't about to let a set in stain get me down! I gave those puppies an Oxi bath, and sure enough...the stains disappeared!

Trash Can


Several years ago, we splurged and got a fancy Simple Human trashcan using Eriika's Container Store discount. We thought it might be overkill--but it's not. It doesn't require you to use your hand or foot--it just airily swings open with a light tap. Plus, the garbage never smells. I can't explain that part, but it's true.

KitchenAid

We've loaded up on all the attachments for our Kitchenaid. It saves you from having a million kitchen appliances with only one purpose. Case in point--Lance has been whipping up homemade lemonade with lemons from our backyard and the juicing attachment.

Tupac Hologram


What the what?? It's no secret that I somewhat shamefully love ghetto rap. In fact, I once traded a kid I was babysitting some seriously ill gotten gain for a Tupac CD in 1996. Not my finest moment. In my defense, why did a 10 year old have a Tupac CD in the first place?? I digress. How is that a hologram? Let's just keep pretending Tupac is dead while the "hologram" goes on tour with Snoop and Dre this summer.

Keratin Straightening


That's not my hair. That lady needs a haircut. Keratin is the kinder, gentler cousin of the Brazilian Blowout. That crap if full of formaldehyde--yes, that formaldehyde, and you do not want that on your head unless you're dead like Tupac (wink, wink!). The Keratin kills the curl, kills the frizz, and leaves you with silky, golden locks. It's changed my life.

Haviana Flip Flops

GQ recently had an article about the various d-bags in the nation. Palo Alto, apparently, had its own qualifications. At first I scoffed. I'm no d-bag! But as I went down the list...it became clear I'm totally Palo Alto. So I like sushi, year round weather, recycling, and Haviana flip flops. Sue me, GQ. Sue me. PS--they have these at Costco every spring for about $10 a pair. Load up!

What things do you love more than you expected?? What items have exceeded your expectations?

10 comments:

Molly said...

GQ. GQ exceeded my expectations. Once we started getting it, I quickly realized that I'd much rather read it than flip through "women" magazines. Makeup tips and skin product comparisons and organization tips and blah blah blah get so old so fast. But GQ has some interesting articles.

And it's 12:30am so I can't think of anything else that exceeds my expectations. My brain isn't working. I'll check back in tomorrow.

Jennifer said...

Um, wow. I usually agree with your music choices, but I absolutely cannot stand Boyfriend. Sure, it's a cool melody. But what in the world is with the descending siren sound every other beat in the background? And he's trying way to hard to rap, it sounds ridiculous. Sorry, Biebs.

LJ, DC and ML said...

I need some le crueset. Tell me more about the keratin pot favor. Where did you have it done and how long did it last?

LJ, DC and ML said...

Ps. I'm with you on the Biebs. He's cute.

Ashley said...

I respect the Biebs as an entrepreneur, not loving the Boyfriend song. I am so with you on a fantastic garbage can. Ours has a sensor so there is no touching whatsoever involved. I need a second one for my recycling. I don't think I'm Palo Alto whatever because I hate sushi and I like Chevys. But I could have told you are you! Tell me what you are making in the beautiful La Cruesets. I got a Cuisinart one from TJMAxx a while back and it's pretty much a display piece. I am not into Tupac but I love the hologram.

Ashley said...

And I'm so jealous of your bike seat! But even more of your bike. I want the whole system but have no place to store it when not in use.

Hayley said...

Dude, we were in the suites. Free grubbage all night long.

Now I have to go back & read the rest of this post. I'll be back for more commenting.

Greg said...

Kaari--

Not a fan of the "Boyfriend" song. I think it sounds terrible (especially the rap crap)!

Also I haven't seen the Tupac holo. Am I the only one in America?

Based on your recommendation, I may pick up some Oxi-Clean...I'm glad it works good.

Also, I saw the Magic Bullet on sale at Costco yesterday for $29. I almost pulled the trigger, but I'm pretty sure I would never actually get around to making drinks.

As an example, we got a blender thing as a wedding gift long, long ago. I don't think it's ever been used! (We may also have gotten an actual blender or two...those haven't been used either!)

I'll try to think of something that has exceeded my expecations and leave another comment.

brooke said...

How has Greg never used a blender? Inconceivable.

Not a fan of Boyfriend..though I wouldn't mind having one.

I love Oxi-Clean.

Um, what has exceeded my expectations? My bright blue skinny jeans from Old Navy that were 19 bucks, Loreal tan cream, and the Hunger Games movie...actually lived up to its hype.

The Mostess said...

Greg--that IS the Tupac holo!!!