Zep Instant Spot Remover Towel Review

I recently signed up with Crowdtap to see if I could score some samples,etc. Crowdtap is a social influence marketing platform that connects marketers with consumers to create quality content, drive social activity and provide real-time insights. The companies that list there are all common companies that I use every day, such as Jif, Playskool, Charmin and Yankee Candle. I filled out numerous surveys and then I was offered an opportunity to review the Zep Instant Spot Remover Towels. I have already used the Zep Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner and love it so I figured why not? 

They sent 8 towels for me to use. I recently found that the center console in my car was quite dirty from elbow use. The car is 8 years old so it has had a a lot of use! Each wipe was individually wrapped in its own easy to open package. The Instant Spot Remover Towels were to remove tough stains such as grease, oil, food, pet stains, tar, blood and  more from carpet and upholstery.

It is for use on: carpet, rugs, upholstery and other colorfast fabrics and textiles. Not for use on: delicate materials such as silk or suede.

The directions say to open the wipe and spread it out directly over the stain. Blot and work towel into spot until the soil transfers into the towel. If the towel becomes saturated with soil, then you need to change the towel to prevent re-spotting the area. So I spread the towel over the entire console (excuse my filthy buckle holders, I told you, old car.) I pressed down on the 


towel completely covering the space but found that did not pick up much off the stain. When I pick up the wipe and scrubbed the stain with it it came right out. So it just needed a little more elbow grease but really not much at all.  The center console looks brand new!! I was so impressed I jumped into the back seat and attacked some stains our huge dog's feet left! Even attacked the back floor! I love these towels! They are so easy to use and work great! I plan on going out to Home Depot and buying more and I highly recommend them! 

Losing Yourself

The recent passing of the comedian Robin Williams caused me to re-evaluate the direction my life was taking. I personally have been living with depression and bipolar disorder for years. There have been ups and downs, but I have tried to keep things under control with my medications. The recent path of my life has been harder than in the past. Personal events have caused me to forge forward on my own, without a partner, raising two teenagers as a single parent. After hearing of Robin’s loss due to suicide, I began to look inward, assessing how I was responding to my own depression. I found that I was withdrawing, not facing my problems, but rather hiding from them. I was only living with the negativity around me and not finding any positivity or joy in the world. That was not the kind of life I wanted to live or the kind of life I wanted to share with my children.

I also realized that at my place of employment I was being discriminated against. Now this was not the usual kind of discrimination, but it was because I would not give the manager the fake adoration that others would give. Now I took that discrimination for a year not wanting to cause any trouble, but after my daughter began a summer student position at my job and began getting the same treatment because she was my daughter I knew things had to stop. I tried to be professional and called the manager aside, questioning the treatment. She called me very hurtful names and told me I barely did my job, among other hurtful things. I decided to take ownership of my rights and filed a complaint with our HR department. The situation was resolved, she apologized and end of story, I was finally allowed to transfer to the office nearest to my home, which I have been trying to do for two years. So because I took control of a negative situation, it turned out to benefit me in the end.

In my day to day life, I try to find someone good in each day. I have started following positive people on Instagram and Pinterest and vowed to post something positive or inspirational every day on my own Instagram to help others struggling out there. My own daughter has been struggling with her own depression and try to help keep her self-worth up and help her find her own solutions. Blogging has been missing from my life and I am going to try and find some more time to put that into my life. It’s an everyday struggle, but it’s a struggle that only a person with depression can make. No one else can do the work for them. They must do the work themselves. 

The Downfall of Addiction

I work as the Office Manager for a General Practitioner. I see patients come and go every day. I have seen addiction grow before my very eyes. We have had patients that have been on prescription pain medications that later turn to hard narcotics like Heroin and Cocaine. I have seen them run off to the rehab for help, only to return again and again in trouble until we discharge them as patients.

But this time it was different.  We have a patient I will call RJ to protect his privacy and my legal backside. He came to us at age 17-18 with a very bad anxiety and attention problem. He was failing in school and life. He was on Ritalin as a child and taken off by his pediatrician when he "aged out" as most do. We treated RJ with a regimin of Xanax and Ritalin.

RJ's life turned around. He could now concentrate in school and continued on to college. He was calm in his life and didn't make irrational decisions anymore. He followed his Xanax regimen faithfully, never abusing his medication. Things were good for years. Years. He had dreams of joining the Air Force and starting a whole new life.

Until now. He recently lost his drivers license and was denied entry into the Air Force (probably due to his poor eyesight.) He spiraled into filling multiple prescriptions for Xanax at multiple pharmacies. Until the pharmacies caught on to what he was doing, and called us. Which ended the prescriptions. And the trust of our Doctor and our staff. We had to discharge him as a patient.

The grief I feel for this young man's future is great. The disappointment as to what he has become is even greater.

But as I see every day, even the strongest person can be weak when it comes to facing adversity and they turn to medication for relief. I myself have used Xanax and I know how easy it would be to start using it regularly to shield myself from the stress. I have done it myself in the past, but I have had to stop myself before it got too far. Because it is a downward slope.

I hope his young man finds the strength again to straighten his life out, because a life of addiction is no life at all.

Things We Are Up To

Einstein's High School Graduation

Getting ready to send my son off to college

Church Carnival

Adopting our new Italian Mastiff puppy, Moose

Moose growing so much in only two months

Lunch with Lil Tink

Six Flags Season Passes!

Our new tenants in the backyard

Lost

Found this on www.Postsecret.com

I didn't acually steal the postcard, but completely understand the feeling behind the post on Postsecret. My creativity is gone. My need to express, even on this blog, is empty.

The bipolar medication has changed my life. I have taken control. I have a great new job. A great new house. Ended a marraige that was not working. Stopped my crazy behavior. Cut off crazy friends. I have been re-introduced to myself.

But...

I can spend months without socializing. Don't need to. I have been celibate for a year since my divorce. Not one date. Not one scrapbook page. Not one homemade birthday card. No more
photo-a-day contests.

Its a choice I make for my children. I spend time with my kids. They don't care if I am not doing any crafts. I am home with them. Which is most important. My sanity is important. Isn't it?

Two Months...

I cannot believe it has been nearly two months since I have posted. We moved into our new house, started settling down and getting into our new life. Since I turned 44 this year I came up with a list of 44 facts about me. 

1 October 29 we were hit by the storm of the century. It should not take a storm of such magnitude to remind us what we are grateful for.
2 I hate hot tea and coffee, but drink Snapple Diet Peach Iced Tea nearly every morning.
3 Whenever I am not watching a particular TV show, I have the Food Network on the TV as background noise. But never make anything I see made.
4 i can never start a TV series in the middle, i always have to go back to the beginning or it will drive me crazy.
5 I watched the new Batman movie and found myself rooting for the bad guy, Bane. Guy got a raw deal.
6 I live 5 minutes from the beach but I have only visited it once in the past eight years. I would much rather get in a pool.
7 I have raised my kids of 13 and 17 to take care of themselves. They won't stay with me forever and have to be prepared, even though I am not emotionally ready for my son to leave for college next fall.
8 I have hundreds of dollars of craft supplies, but I have been unable to create much since starting my bipolar medication.
9 I love the smell of bleach, to the amount that would make most people sick.
10 I am highly allergic to flowers, enough so I can't wear most perfumes or accept a lot of flower bouquets.
11 We always have bite size Snickers in the house. For when our blood sugar is low between meals. At least that's what I tell people...
12 Unless my children are involved I do not watch any sporting events. The just don't interest me. Sorry World Series or Super Bowl, I will be at the snack table.
13 I am most often barefoot in the house. Flip Flops outside if the weather permits. My daughter takes after me in this.
14 I was a wallflower in high school. If I went to my reunion no one would remember me, they would remember my brother.
15 I have an addiction to vampires. It started with Ann Rice and has gone downhill from there. If there is a movie, book or TV show and it involves vampires, I will have to check it out! (My favorites: LeStat, Damon Salvatore & Erik Northman)
16 I would choose visiting an aquarium over a zoo any day. Maybe because they are air conditioned and there is no fear of the sharks escaping, heehee.
17 I love to sing along to music in the car (and anywhere else I can get away with it) much to my children's embarassment!
18 I hate wearing heels, of any kind. Ever.
19 Funny men have always been my weakness. And my downfall.
20 Thunderstorms make me nervous, see #1.
21 I have a phobia of Daddy-Long-Legs spiders. You can't see the bastards until they are right next to you. And that's just too damn close!!!
22 I love playing board and card games, especially with my kids.
23 I am allergic to animals with fur. Makes for no furry pets and one unhappy daughter. Sorry. And yes, even the ones they say are non-allergenic! Hence snakes are our friends.
24 I read very fast. I read Silence of The Lambs in 3 hours.
25 The hardest thing I have ever had to do was say goodbye to my father forever.
26 If i were to redo my college years, I would have chosen a different college and became an interior decorator. My college didn't offer that.
27 When I was little I would catch frogs and put then in my pockets, and my mom would find them later...stiff and dead.
28 I rarely paint my nails, and when I do, I always pick at the color until it comes off later.
29 I have scars covering large portions of my body. I don't cover or hide them. They don't embarass me. They are a part of me and are a great conversation starter.
30 I so need a new prescription for glasses. But it is not in my budget right now, so I use a pair I found in Five Below for $4.
31 I was very shy as a child but now you can't get me to shut up!
32 I cannot watch zombie movies, if a zombie apocalypse really happens I'm screwed.
33 My greatest snack weakness is potato chips and onion dip. If I am feeling guilty I will substitute crisp veggies for the chips.
34 My children are in their teens and I love this age. We have the greatest relationship!
35 I choose to be single right now. After two marraiges, I prefer my own company for a while.
36 You can take the girl out of Jersey, but never take the Jersey out of the girl. And why would you?
37 I do not cry in public. Ever. Doesn't happen.
38 I am a homebody. I love hanging out at home, it's even better when my kids are home.
39 I am carrying some extra pounds due to the medications I am taking. But I have learned to love the body I am in. I am not teaching my daughter bad body values with starvation diets, etc.
40 I have not read the 50 Shades series. But if Ian Somerholder or Alexander Skarsgard is cast in the movie I will have to check it out.
41 I have an extraordinary fear of hand puppets but I love muppets. Don't make me explain the difference.
42 my favorite chain restaurant is Ruby Tuesdays, they have the best salad bar!
43 I love taking photographs and use my iPhone most often. I try to do the #Fatmumslim photo challenge daily.
44 I gave my kids "the Talk" when the were 7, then at 9, 11, etc. with more detail each time. They are going to hear it out in the world, might as well explain the truth and answer any questions. Doing this made my kids comfortable in coming to me with anything. Which is most important.

Down with www.DownSouthSavings.blogspot.com

I have never written a post to complain about another blogger. I thought it in poor taste, everyone's opinion is one's own. But when the blogger has a giveaway site and practices unfair giveaway rules, I must warn others of their behavior, so that they will not also be let down and disappointed.

I occasionally (not often) will try to win something via a blog. Lately everyone is using the Rafflecopter method of giveaways. More power to them. In using this system you earn "entries" into the giveaway by doing different things, i.e. making blog comments, friending on Facebook, following them and all 50 of their friends on Twitter and so on. The more entries you have, the better chances you have.

I have seen contests for a online cookbook system. Which one does not matter. I am not going to name it because I do not want to fault that company and cause any ill will to their business. But it is a great system.  It keeps your recipes, prints your shopping lists, downloads recipes directly into the system off of the internet, etc. Sounds great. I entered the contest at several different blogs using the Rafflecopter system.

Now I am a newly divorced, single mother. I work full time, shuttle my kids around after school, then have to keep my  house spotless because I am selling it and have to show it at any time. So I do not sign onto my desktop PC every day. Usually just check my mail on my iPhone through the day.  Point is, I do not regularly check my Spam. I usually will check Spam every 2-3 days. 

Well low and behold last Satuday I am checking my Spam and what do you know, there is an email from April Wray at http://downsouthsavings.blogspot.com/ saying I won the Cookbook contest on her blog. The email was sent on early Thursday morning and I found it mid Saturday morning. The email said I had 24 hours to respond or she would give the prize to someone else. Well, I quickly responded saying her email went to Spam, and I just found it, can I still have a chance.  Sorry, she said, prize already given to someone else. Well, I responded saying it wasn't really fair to only give me 24 hours, the email went to my Spam. That was not my fault. She has to give some more time to people to allow for that. Her response, sorry, those are the rules, prize already given to someone else. I quickly unfriended her and I plan on going back and unfriending everyone else I had to friend to enter the damn contest, sending them a message of her unfair practices.

I believe she is very narrow minded. Looking at her blog she obviously does not work and only runs this giveaway blog. I wish I had that kind of time to devote to the internet, but I have a real life that interferes. Now, a week later, I go back to her blog and look at the contests that she has posted since, and she has changed her policy to now be a 48 hour response time, which completely pisses me off.  She couldn't cut me a break, but she doesn't want to anger anyone else? Completely unfair and I will now put a stain on her reputation.  Here you go April, this is what your RULES get you.  Call me unfair, the rules are the rules, but you change the rules after you enforce them with me? That is unfair. 

A Letter To My Younger Self

So a few month's ago I saw a post on Intelligent Blonde about writing your younger self a letter to guide you during your younger years. I have been sitting on this for a while, but here goes.

Here's what my letter would say:

You will keep looking for friends in the popular crowd. But your true friends will end up being the wierd kids in the corner like you.

You will be told to keep your opinions to yourself. Always speak your truth.

Your strong father will get very sick for a long time and then die. Do not waste your time with him because you will not get it back. Make sure your children know him well, because he has great stories to tell of his life.

Your mother will be your fiercest ally and friend. Stop fighting with her and learn something about what it is like to be a mom without a husband around all the time. Her life was never easy.

Your younger brother will support you in the end. Stop competing with him and offer to help him out every once in a while. He is having his own difficulties to live through as well.

Try to spend as much time with your sister as you can. She will move far away when you get older, and after your father dies you will hardly ever see her. And she is so fun to be with!

You will deal with Malignant Melanoma three times and find out that it runs in your family.  Put on some sunscreen and stop laying out! You may save your life.

You will not fit in during High School. You will be a wallflower and actually come out of your shell in College. Then you will learn what it means to have your own identity and personality.

You will have a near fatal boat accident when you are 20.  It will be a very long and painful journey but you will come out a stronger woman, who learns who her true friends are. It will completely change your life for the better.

You will graduate College with a Bachelor's degree which will be very long and grueling work, but it will teach you perseverence! It will also bring you a lot of respect.

 

You will marry and have the big white wedding. But years later, he will leave you alone with two kids.  It will nearly kill you, but you will grow more independent and learn to take care of yourself.

You will live in Germany after getting married for the first time. Pay attention in German class in high school because it will be greatly needed then!



You will have great difficulty in having children. But eventually they will come. And they will be smart, strong, beautiful children who will make you proud.

You will do some dangerous, crazy things in your life due to your lack of control. Seek professional help early because you have Bipolar Disorder and are in need of medication.

Happily ever after isn't always happy. You must find happiness in yourself and not in someone else. Because at the end of it all, it will just be you.

Do not let the nay-sayers get you down.

Treat yourself with respect, and let no one else do otherwise. 

You will be hurt, learn from it and move on.

Laugh, love, create and enjoy life every day.

It's OK Thursday

It’s OK Thursday

Found this on Where Nothing Good Comes Easy

It’s OK….

1. to be annoyed with the the family who viewed my house three times! Make an offer already!
   
2. That the ending of this week's House killed me this week. Next week I am going to need a box of tissues!
3. to not feel guilty about not attending the "after-party" after my best friend's wedding, I was just too exhausted!
4. to be missing the grand-babies I lost in the divorce.
5. to be excited that True Blood starts June 9th. I can use a regular dose of Eric Northman in my life!
   
6. to be loving the one on one time I am getting to spend with my mom lately. Watching "The Avenger's" with her was great!

Sunday Stealing

As usual I get this from Annette Funnyjello or you can find the original here. Oh and as usual, I am a week late. Deal.

Sunday Stealing: The OC 25 Meme

1. What is your origin of your first name? What about any nicknames?
My name is the Scandinavian version of Christine. My grandmother had a nickname for me which only a few people alive know. I would like to keep it that way. I have also been called “Mom”, “Kir”, “K” and several mis-pronunciations of my name.

2. Have you any claims to fame?
Other than Mamatink, no.

3. If you were famous, how would you introduce yourself to someone who had never heard of you?
'Sup Normals!

4. Which of your country’s achievements do you hold in highest regard?
The iPad, what, it's not from our country? Can I move there?

5. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Married. Yea, I was naieve stupid.

6. What was your most prized possession as a child? Do you still have it? My dogs. First one died when I was 7, second one ran away when I married and moved away.

7. What would you change about yourself, if you could?
My lack of control of my mouth. It is my mother's wish for me as well.

8. What are you obsessed with?
Selling my house. Really, c'mon somebody.

9. What is your greatest achievement so far, or the high point of your career?
My bright, creative, well-adjusted children

10. When/where were you happiest?
Too many times to list one.

11. And the lowest point in your life thus far?
My father's death.

12. What was the best decision you ever made?
Taking control of my life.

13. If you have any body modifications, which was most painful, or which do you regret the most? If you haven’t got any, do you have any planned, or would you ever consider getting any?
I have no modifications that I caused other than my piercings. I have several scars from a serious accident and many surgeries. They were all very painful and i wouldn't wish them on anyone. That's why I won't knowingly change my body any more.

14. What is the most idiotic thing you have ever done while intoxicated?
I take the 5th.

15. What is your favorite joke?
I don't have that kind of memory.

16. What is the coolest/most impressive thing you own?
See #9

17. When did you last cry, and why?
Reading this post.

18. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
Don't be a friend to your child, be a parent.

19. Similarly, what’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for you?
Sign the divorce papers.

20. Have you any vices?
Pepsi

21. Do you regret anything?
I regret thinking I need to be married to be happy. Too many lives were affected.

22. What is the best invention ever?

See #4

23. How would you describe your relationship with your family?
Normal

24. Who is your biggest inspiration?
My mother, even though she drives me crazy.

25. What are you going to do when you’ve finished Sunday Stealing?
Go to bed

 www.sundaystealing.blogspot.com