ADELE

Late last night amazon arrived with my very first product review, well, 2 actually.

 Adeline was awesome enough to send me samples of their 1 oz Anti-Aging Moisturizer with Matrixl for all skin types and a 1.7 oz bottle of Hyaluronic Acid Serium.

So of course this morning after my shower and washing my face using my normal face wash I jumped out of the shower and I couldn't wait to try! So yes, I took a picture... eeekk me in the morning with no make up on and my hair wet! But for the sake of comparison, yes I caught part of my face in a photo for comparison.

My first impression? The 1.7 oz bottle of Hyaluronic Acid Serum is just that. It is a very liquidy - gel and doesn't take much to cover your entire face. I believe I used a pump and a half. NOW my favorite this morning was the Anti-Aging Moisturizer with Matrixyl. Two pumps and a nice thick cream come out. It smelled lightly of peppermint and was a nice treat to my nose since I was still tying to wake up.

Since I have applied both products I do have to say that my skin feels lovely!

You can find both of these wonderful products at www.amazon.com just enter the product you are interested in!

The Hyaluronic Acid Serum advises to use twice a day and so I will be following that directive.

Please note! Both boxes caution you to keep away from eyes!

Is working from home right for you?

When I first hear about working from home. I thought WOW! That is perfect for me! Having worked at home for over a year now, I feel confident to share some information with those of you who might be interested.

A typical day when you work from home starts out great! I roll out of bed about 20 minutes before I have to start work. I grab a Monster or coffee depending on my mood and I head to my home office. I start up my work computer, log into my email and may day is off and running. I work for a company called Alpine Access @ Sykes and I provide customer support to major companies. I am only on one contract at a time and for most intents and purposes I work for that company. The support is great and we get breaks and lunches just like any other job.

Having OCD, working from home is perfect for me. I am able to get into my routine and I don't have anyone behind me or moving things on my desk. I know sounds silly right? But in most of my previous jobs I worked in a shared office space. So this is a great option for me.

I save a good bit of money on items like a work wardrobe, gas, lunches out...etc. However, having said that I do have expenses that I would not have if  I didn't work from home. Some of the contracts with my employer provide a computer, but others do not. So I am required to have a computer that meets the minimum standard, a hardwired internet connection and a traditional land line. I do save money as I live in a rural area, so my expenses are actually cut compared to what I was paying in gas, lunch, clothes and other items I purchased when working in a traditional brick and mortar office.

I save time. Working in the nearest large city I have a 20-30 minute drive one way. This does add up! The time I save gives me time to tackle things like laundry, dinner, cleaning the house etc.

Now having addressed those items let's talk about a couple of things that I wish someone had talked with me about before I started working from home....

Do you need a home office? In my opinion, absolutely. I love working from home, but in my last apartment I worked out of the bedroom and it was a nightmare. I never really felt like I was off work, even when I was reading or sleeping. It was the last thing I saw at night and the first thing I saw in the morning.

Will I still need a baby sitter, YES! Please take it from me, if you have young children that you would not leave at home alone while you go to work, you need to have child care. Many work at home companies require that you have a noise free environment and have a very low tolerance for interruptions to your day.

Will I have time to start dinner, do the laundry,... etc while working? Yes and No. One of my favorite parts about working from home is I take my shower on my lunch break. A simple thing I know but it allows me to sleep a little longer in the morning. I can't prepare anything that takes a huge amount of prep time for dinner while I am working. But I can throw something in the crock pot or change over a load of laundry on my breaks and lunches.

 It really takes a lot of dedication and will to work from home. There are always distractions. TV, things to be done, the family enjoying time off while you are working and thinking, I could be out there having fun. So keep this in mind. Living in Alabama snow here is not at all common. We might on occasion get a few flurries once or twice a year. This year in the last 2 weeks we have had 3 snows. The last Wednesday and an accumulation of about 9". Simply insane.While everyone else in my family was off due to the roads being closed I was in my office typing away and answering calls.

Overall do I prefer working from home over working in a traditional brick and mortar office? Absolutely.

Do you work from home? What are your tips tricks and best advice?

My first Product Review!!

So this morning I am up nice and early because I have to work. For those of you who do not know I work from home. So even though it is early in all senses of the world at least I am comfy in my home office. I love being able to go to work in my jammies.

If you are looking for a legitimate company to work for from home, you might consider applying with us at www.alpineaccess.com. We answer phones and provide customer support for major companies.  I have been with the company over a year now and I love it.

So while trying to wake up this morning, rubbing my eyes and gulping a Monster, I check my email and I have been approved for my first product review. It should ship within the next few days, so stay tuned to hear my review. I have been working on this for the last week. I guess you could say it was my pet project, to being doing product reviews. As soon as I see how this one goes I will be sure to name the company that I signed up for and report it back for those of you like me who are trying to break into the product review field.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday morning. Stay warm and stay safe - Jen

Day 5

So I have missed two days, Thursday was insane at work with technical problems and Friday well, let's just say that the weather wasn't cooperating.  I have however, been doing a lot of studying about how to grow my blog as well as get started with product reviews. I wasn't on Twitter or Instagram before I started signing up for the product review sites.

Since I started I have been focused on getting my Twitter following up,, as it seems to increase the chances of obtaining products for review. Nothing yet major to report on that front but it has only been a week and I am not giving up.

So, some of you may not know but my darling boyfriend of three years has been on a self improvement kick for the lest year or so. Including completely re-doing his wardrobe and lifestyle. It is past time that I joined him. Now, having said that, I have a pretty particular style and being plus sized it is always a challenge to find clothes that appeal to me that are in my size. I am hoping to add some information about plus size clothing. I am checking out a few of the other bloggers out there, and there aren't many. As I find more and more I will be creating additional pages.

That's all for me today folks... stay with me for further updates.


Jen

Day 2.. I almost forgot! Tide Oxi

A friend recently moved and the tub in the new house looked like it had NEVER been cleaned. We tried everything but the black bottom would not come clean. I had just purchased Tide Oxi on sale and thought, what the heck let me give it a try. The tub looked BRAND NEW when we were finished! I can't believe it. Not only does it work great on laundry too, but it smells nice and clean! A definite on my shopping list from now on! I noticed that it is on sale at one of the major retailers and there are coupons available out there. I would definitely recommend!

Day 2

Nothing so far except snow! I thought I lived in the South for a reason! Oh well, working from home at least I do not have a commute! So, three weeks until my 40th birthday. I have found out that you can join several rewards programs and receive free gifts on your Birthday. I have signed up for probably around 100, I will definitely post on them as they arrive so that all of you can sign up as well. I love a freebie and even more on my birthday.

If you do any online shopping, always sign up for any reward programs before you place an order. Many companies will give you free shipping as well as an introductory offer with a percentage off as well. 

I will post more tomorrow... until then happy savings!

Learning to review products

I have always been a coupon person and a free sample person. A friend of mine told me recently that she is reviewing products and writing about them on her blog. This sounded so interesting that I have decided to try it as well. I have always commented on products that I purchase and this can't be that much different. I guess we will see... this is where it all begins