Happy New Year! & I want a new car!

First off let me say Happy New Year to all of you!  I'm going to be pushing to network more in 2013 and get me & my business out there. Selling online is great, but making connections is great too!

I'm not one to go out on NYE.  The last time we did, we encountered too many drunks in our short drive home.  I don't understand the mentality of drinking and then thinking you can handle a car, but that's a topic for another day.

So instead TheJerseyShoreDad & I went car shopping.

While technically there is nothing wrong with my 2009 Dodge Journey, I never really liked it.  Plus it had a major flaw in the design. It's what they call a cross over, I call it a small station wagon.  Anyway, they built it on a truck chasis but gave is car brakes, so I had to replace the brake pads & rotors at 20,000 miles.  That sucked big time.  And it's never been right since.  Now it's approaching 60,000 miles and it's out of warranty and it's at the point where we're going to have to put money into it.

I don't want to.

I'm not one to pay off a car & drive it into the ground.  If I felt more secure about the economy I might consider leasing a car.

So on NYE afternoon we packed up the kids (ok they're 14 & 11, they pack themselves) and wandered down to Route 37 in Toms River to see what we could see.

First off, the Kia dealership.  Cute place, no stock.  All the stock in at another lot.  Ok that's fine, but they didn't even have an "example" of each new car on the lot.  Nevermind...

Then to the Hyundai Dealership which is also the Chevy dealership. The lots are huge & no one ever really came out to talk to us (it was very busy) so we wandered from one dealership to another & ended up really liking the Chevy Equinox.  After waiting a bit and almost leaving, we got to test drive it.

I have just 2 demands. well, it's 1 but broken up into two areas. It had to have space.  Our 14 year old son is already 5ft 8 and with TJSD being 6ft 2, I suspect that both kids will be at or near 6ft by the time I'm done with this car, so it needs room for their legs in the back.  And I need enough cargo space for a craft table a few totes.

Oh and the price should be around $25,000 for us to keep our payments under $350.

While I like the crossovers, it doesn't have to be one, but it can not be a van of any sort.

The Equinox fit both requirements for space, but we could not come to an agreement on price. And in a little retrospect, they were not very forward with the price of the car, just the payments.  Never even really discussed the rate of the loan either.

I hate car shopping, and was done at this point, plus it was 5pm and we needed food.

We stopped for dinner on the way home.  We were going to go to Outback because we have some gift cards,but they had a 3 HOUR WAIT.  Oh Hell No.

We happen to be passing Rivolis in Toms River so we stopped in there and they had a table for us!  Rivolis is REALLY good.  A bit on the expensive side, BUT you get a ton of food.  Think platter size dishes.  Did I mention the food is REALLY good?

We are there for a few minutes when my 14 yo son says to me "mom, the cast of the Jersey Shore is here."  I don't even look up from the menu and reply "no they're not"

He goes on "No mom, I mean it, look"

I look up and see this:

I nearly choked on my diet coke. There are no words, just no words.

Jersey Shore Stick Figures

 

Tonight the first show of the last season premieres.  Will my picture be hanging in the house, who knows - but we'll find out in a few hours!

Get your own beach writings here
BeachwritingsNJ

Open Letter to Snooki & Jionni

Dear Nicole & guy hanging around for the limelight,

Move.

Seriously, move to the midwest somewhere.

(ok before you catty bitches say "i thought you never watched tv" - I said Rarely.. and yes, I watch Jersey Shore. I friggen live there... have to watch)

Oh and change your names.

And change pretty much everything about you that leads back to these personas you've created.

You have a son now and every single thing needs to be about him.

Ok you can wait until after the "covered better then Prince William & Kate's" wedding fiasco - but then you need to be done.

What prompted this post.... 

I have sons, 2 of them.  They're 13 & 11 now.

And the mere thought of the torture this little baby Enzo is going to have to endure when his classmates find out he's Snooki's child..

It makes me feel like throwing up.

Can you imagine the abuse when he gets to like 5th grade?  "Hey Enzo, watched Jersey Shore last night & saw where you wrecked your mom" or something other gross thing that 10/11 yo boys say to each other (and no matter how you raise, them they can be gross - just hopefully never around their grandparents!)

I have to say I was happy to hear they were having a boy... because girls are MUCH worse... much, much, much worse (yes, I'm having a flashback to middle school - I was bullied and picked on a lot- you could not pay me to go back to middle school)

Whether you were picked on or the bully, think back to how a girl with a known "celebrity" mom like Snooki would have been tortured...

I shudder just thinking about it.

So my suggestion to Nicole & Jionni

Have your obnoxious wedding & Snooks, wear white if you want to....

Then over the next 3 or 4 years, pull out (insert joke here) of the spotlight

Change your style

Change your names

Pick a nice quiet town in the midwest somewhere and settle down.  Be real parents, attend your kids sporting events or dance recitals.  Don't draw attention to yourself by whining or hitting on ever dad there

and just fade into history. 

Because it's no longer all about you... it's about Enzo and he deserves a normal life.

Just like your parents did Nicole when they gave you up for adoption.  Your parents did what they thought was best for you, now you do the same.

I'm not saying give him up for adoption, I'm saying stop being selfish and thinking it's all about you. 

You've made your money and I'm sure there is enough rolling in that if invested wisely will support you very well for the rest of your lives.  So there is no reason to subject your child to anything more.

Have you see that Honey Boo boo show? Do you really want Enzo to end up like that?

Parenting is hard enough - you don't need to make it harder on yourselves or Enzo.

You can always come back to Jersey for a visit.  Hell it's not like you're actually from here anyway, so that doesn't change.

Speaking of parenting, I need to wrap this up here and get moving. So much to do on this last day before school starts! I'm just very glad that one of the things I'm not doing is readying my boys for the crap Enzo is going to have to deal with thanks to the way you 2 got "famous."

Cabs are HERE!

I did this beach writing back in the summer before they started filming season 5 in Seaside. I don't think it made it in the house for filming, but we'll see!

It's #jerzday!

I'm on a mission

Let's face it, the MTV show Jersey Shore is still a hit. Like it or not.

And for some reason I seem to think if I can get one of them to follow me on twitter, it will generate a TON of sales, and even though I love my day job, I wouldn't be against being a full time beach writer!

Snooki has almost 3 MILLION followers, Pauly & Vinny have like 1.5 MILLION each.  

So tweet them about me.  my twitter name is beachwritings 

Here are their Twitter pages

Snooki

PaulyD

JWoww

Deena

Vinny

The Situation

Ick even going to the situations twitter page makes me feel icky.

Can't believe Snooki had sex with him... makes me want to hurl.

Anyway, if they can be famous for doing what everyone else has done for 100 years in Seaside, only they figured out how to embarrass their families and make a ton of money, you guys can make me famous by helping me to get them to talk about me!

Love you!

It's baaaaaaaaaackkkk

Ok so I sold out a bit.

When I found out Jersey Shore was going to film season 5 back in Seaside, I did this beach writing.

Printed it 20x30, framed it and gave it to one of the producers of the show.

Now I know it's not going to be in season 4, since they were in Italy and my chances of it being seen during season 5 are slim to none.... but I wanted to share it with you all anyway.

Though I did hear through the grapevine that the cast did see it & like it.  

I just hope it gets me some business :D  

MY SHOP

F is for Food on the Boardwalk

hmm boardwalk food. Since not everyone is lucky enough to experience boardwalk food, today I will try to explain the experience of Boardwalk food.

When I see my friends around the world write about how they got pizza at (insert chain pizza place) and how good it is, I weep for them. It shows me that they have never had good pizza. Now, I will say that NYC has awesome pizza too, but we're talking Jersey Shore pizza here.

There are at least 10 to 15 different pizza places on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights. You can tell they're all good because besides the smell of the ocean, one of the first smells that hits you when you get out of your car, is the pizza. There's one place at the south end of the boardwalk that serves slices as long as your arm. Nothing like having a slice of pipping hot FRESH pizza, with your choice of toppings after a day at the beach, or a night on the boards.

Except maybe a sausage sandwich.

With Peppers and Onions or just sauce, the sausage sandwiches on the best rolls, this stand sells are out of this world! Add to it a LARGE freshly made lemonade and you have your own little slice of heaven in your hands.

Still hungry? Because no trip to the boardwalk is complete without some ice cream from Kohr's, a boardwalk icon for as long as I can remember. A twist of this or a twist of that, it's all good.

And don't even get me started on their hot waffles with ice cream. But you gotta eat it fast!

Not an ice cream fan, or want something to take for the ride home? Then you need to hit any one of the stands that sell this carb coma inducing delight.

Funnel Cake

Now I've seen Funnel Cake topped with hot fudge, or fruit, etc. However, nothing beats a hot plate of fried dough, topped with a blizzard of powdered sugar.

So as I sit here eating low carb foods and drinking tons of water in a last ditch attempt to get some more weight off (See my journey here)

in the last 11 weeks of Spring, I am now drooling on my keyboard wondering if the sausage stand is open this weekend.

So pass me a napkin & meet me at Sumner Avenue on the boardwalk, I'll be the slightly chunky woman with sauce running down my chin!

Sunrise March 19, 2011

I went to the beach this morning to fill some orders. It was a bit too cloudy to do the writings so I just sat there and snapped a few (like 50) pictures of the sunrise. This one is my favorite.

Tomorrow has a lesser chance of clouds so I'll be heading back at sunrise.

Beach Writing Hazards

Yep, hazards. For every great picture I get.

I get tons of OOPS.

In my previous post, I mentioned the prop thief and how I've had people run through my shots. Those are pretty rare, except when I bring my kids with me.

I do run across garbage on the beach

And can we not even discuss the snow we've gotten this winter?

(Side note, figured out a few weeks ago that this is the spot where Snooki kept falling in the sand in the episode she got arrested! LOL)

And frozen sand.

But for the most part, my biggest hazard is the ocean itself.

Want to know why I charge a little more for stick figure families????

When a heart with 2 names gets washed away, no big deal.

When a family of 5 or more stick figures gets washed away..

It's a big deal.

Either way I love doing it. I'll take the waves washing away my work because most of the time the next writing is even better.

What I have a HUGE problem with though, is those pesky photobombers...

MY SHOP

Get your own pictures :D

Olive Oil & VO5 Conditioner

These two items have saved me from scratching myself to death.

As winter set it, my skin and hair were getting dryer and dryer.

It was so bad that the skin on my eyelids was cracking.

It burned, BURNED, when I put on my Olay moisturizer. That never happened before. And it was awful.

I had to do something.

So I polled my friends, "what do you use"

I got answers with the usual plethora of expensive and non-expensive beauty products.

Then I started hearing "Olive Oil"

Really? Olive Oil? Isn't that going to make my face oily & cause major pimples. I'm 41, I don't want to deal with pimples!

So I started doing research. For hundreds and thousands of years people have used Olive Oil internally & externally for health benefits.

"Olive oil is high in antioxidants, including vitamin E. Antioxidants are nutritional powerhouses that protect against age-accelerating free radicals. The oil of this miraculous fruit will guard your body and your skin... from the inside out."

Yeah, I'm still not convinced.

"Do not be afraid of applying oil to your face. Oil, alone, will not bring you blemishes. Pimples, cysts, zits, blackheads, whiteheads...these are a result of several different factors including hormones, bacteria, dead skin cells and the buildup of these factors. Your skin naturally produces oil because it needs it."

Basically, if you keep washing away the natural oils on your face/body/hair, your body is going to produce MORE and that's how you end up with greasy skin, hair, etc.

This convinced me enough to try it at least on my eyelids. They were so irritated I was afraid to put anything else on. So on the morning on Jan 13, 2011 after showering & washing my face with Dove Sensitive Skin soap, I applied Olive Oil to my eyelids.

Then I put Olay all over the rest of my face.

The next morning, my eyelids were almost 100% better.

Hmmm, interesting. It can't be that easy.

So I was brave.. after my shower, I took a cotton ball and applied Olive Oil all over my face and neck. I work from home, I can deal with a zit or two.

In the meantime I'm still reading about the virtues of Olive Oil. I learned it can be used to clean your face.

??? Using oil to wash my face? Nah... I'm going to be a greasy zit face.

Then I thought, what the hell, what does it hurt to try, I've had good results so far!

So a few days later I brought a little Olive Oil into the shower. Rinsed my face & massaged in the Olive Oil. Little circles all over. Probably massaged for a minute. Then I took a nice hot wet wash cloth and wiped it all off. I didn't scrub but I wiped it good, rinsing the wash cloth often.

I've been doing this for a week now. My face looks AMAZING. I can't see my pores, not greasy, no zits and weird things are happening. As I've posted about, I've lost 55lbs in the last 2 years. I had bags under my eyes and a waddle of wrinkles on my neck, just under my chin.

Not anymore.

Seriously, it's gone. I am utterly amazed.

Simple, extra virgin olive oil.

I'm going to keep doing this. I have to go see a dermatologist for an unrelated issue (I'll blog about it someday) so I'm going to keep this up and see what she thinks of my skin.

Now for my hair and the VO5, same thing. My hair was dry & fly away and just would not cooperate. In the past I've done "Conditioning Only" so I decided to do it again, and my hair looks AMAZING. It helps I got hair cut too, but it's no longer dry & straw like.

I did learn one thing though. Make sure you wipe off all the Olive Oil before washing with the conditioner. And when you use the conditioner as shampoo, massage it in just like you would shampoo. You're see an amazing difference!

Now, with all this said I should add in that this is not for everyone. People also use Coconut Oil the same way I use Olive Oil. I am apparently allergic to Coconut Oil, and it didn't work for me.

So before you go spend a ton of money on beauty products that may or may not work, check out your pantry first. There are a lot natural beauty products out there!

I watch "Jersey Shore"

Yep, I watch it. I'm a 40 year old mom who likes to watch the stupid MTV show Jersey Shore.

But last night's episode left me sick to my stomach.

It's not their normal every stay stupid actions that left me feeling sick, it's the way Ronnie abuses Sammie.

If he were physically hitting her, it would be all over the news and he would be arrested. What he is doing is worse, he's mentally abusing her.

He treats her like crap, cheats on her, calls her nasty vulgar names (remember he called her the C-word in the Taxi) tells her to leave him alone and then when she confronts him, he tells her it's her fault & she apologizes.

Classic mental abuse.

In the episode last night Sammie tells the other girls to tell her if Ronnie is cheating on her and they're all nervous and not sure what to do. But what's the point, she's only going to go back to him every single time. That is exactly what I would have told her. "What's the point?"

Everyone in the house & the entire viewing audience knows what's going on, yet as recent as last weekend they were still together. (A friend of mine saw them at a bar in Seaside.)

I won't even talk about the example they are setting, because I don't let my kids watch it. I know some parents do and that's your decision. Maybe it can be a good way to start a conversation, especially with your daughters.

I used to joke and say that I wanted to ride on the "coat tails" of the Jersey Shore fame to further my business Names on the Jersey Shore but now, I don't know.

I still love living at the Jersey Shore but I don't know how I feel about having the name of my business, and my blog being associated with the name of a TV show that not only features mental abuse, but glorifies it.

Sorry for the dark post today, but I had to get it out and it is my blog!