Hi Friends!  Happy Hump Day.  This week has gone by so fast. I can’t believe tomorrow is a work day for me.  I work Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.  Just means I better make good use of my time tonight! What have you been up today?

Remember my car repair situation?  The snapped front axle rod on my leased car with hardly any miles that just “appeared” out of no where and the dealership was trying to say I was going to have to pay for the $4000 repair?  Yeah, that situation.

Well, our insurance adjuster went to the dealership and it was ruled as a Hit and Run Accident. Basically, the theory he had is that someone backed into the right front wheel in a parking lot and snapped the axle rod. Since I live in the city and parking lots in general in California are very tight and cramped (not like the midwest or the south with expansive parking “slots” with extra wiggle room when parking.  No, they are very crammed and tight here).

So, it was ruled a hit and run, I had to file a claim with my auto insurance company in order to get the repair paid for, and I had to pay the $500 deductible out of pocket to my insurance company. And of course my car insurance rates will go up now, too.  Totally does not seem fair!

It’s a good thing that I had such an awesome day yesterday.  I am still feeling warm and fuzzy from my meetup with Madeline!   It was seriously the best three hours I’ve had in ages.  So fun!

It was nice that so many of you told me that you have friends that you can just pick up with where you left off with and reconnect like there was never any gaps.  That’s how it was for Madeline and I and it was a blast!

Skylar loved seeing Madeline again too, and she sure loved her chips and salsa too.  Haha!  I’m glad so many of your noticed my little comment about parents not “clouding” their child’s mind and putting thoughts in their head about new foods, i.e. “You won’t like that.  It’s too spicy/bitter/sour/hot/etc” about food.  Let the kid make up their own mind; don’t pre-judge it for them!

And Food and Drink Envy.  Some of you are as “envious” as I am of other people’s food and drinks.  I use that word tongue-in-cheek style. For some reason Scott’s salad always looks better than the one I have, and I made them both. And I always have iced coffee envy!  And, when I am out and paying for a drink, because it’s so rare because drinks out are pricey, I want it to be perfect. I always wonder if I ordered The Perfect Drink or not, as I look around and see other drinks that are pinker or with cuter maraschino cherries in them.  haha!

Moving On….
Over the weekend, I hit up the mall. Not to be confused with yesterday’s mall trip.  I haven’t been to the mall in ages and I’ve been twice in 48 hours but isn’t that the way it always goes. Well, on Sunday I had an hour to myself and Scott had Skylar.  And I had cash in my wallet. Thankfully for my budget, it was 6pm when I got to the mall on Sunday evening and it closed at 7pm because that cash was burning a hole in my wallet!

First stop, Forever 21. I found some ultra-suede leggings (i.e. this is fake suede.  Vegans, relax please..I can hear the emails already…ha!) and these leggings are sorta like wearing butter (another bad joke..ha!) on your legs.  Super soft.

Not really the best picture to do them justice, but hopefully it suffices.  And oh yeah, with tax, $19 bucks.  Love it.

A month or so ago I posted about Jeggings.  Jeans + Leggings = Jeggings.

Of course, just as I purchased long, tight pants for the first time in years, it’s been 90 and hot and there’s no way I am wearing tight black pants any time soon! So I still haven’t worn these!

Now, I have two pairs of skinny-ish jeans/leggings, so hopefully I am done.  I really just want flowing capris but that’s not apparently “in” at the moment.

Dessert: High Raw Vegan Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
A little foreshadowing for fall with a Pumpkin Recipe.  5 Minutes, Super Easy!  And a great way to get flax and healthy Omegas into your diet.  In the form of donut holes, but of course.

Tip of the Day: I signed up for Healthy Living Blogs and maybe your blog is a fit, too!

“Healthy Living Blogs is a new resource for the health blogging community. Created by Lindsey of Sound Eats, HLB is a site designed to enhance the positive community of the healthy living blog world. Bloggers and readers can explore the site and find more blogs to love, bloggers in their area, and forums to deepen healthy discussion and support. If you’re interested in having your site listed on HLB, simply send the following information to healthylivingblogs@gmail.com and check the site out for yourself!”

Questions & New Features!
1. I joined the ranks of many fellow friends and bloggers and opened an OpenSky Shop!

What would you be inclined to buy from a fellow blogger or from me? What types of products interest you?
Food (energy or protein bars, protein powders, spices, condiments, superfoods, specialty or “exotic” raw uncooking ingredients, etc.)
Household (kitchen appliances, dishes, towels, etc.)
Beauty (natural-oriented soap, hair care, body/skincare, lotions, etc.)
Exercise (yoga mats, exercise equipment, DVDs, etc.)
Clothing (everyday, casual, organic, workout attire, etc.)

If something from the above list catches your eye, tell me! I want to stock my store with products I believe in, and that you all want! No sense stocking things no one wants. And unless I believe in it or have used it, I won’t stock it, either.

The one caveat is that not every single product under the sun is stocked on OpenSky. It’s not Amazon. But the beauty of it is that I plan to run specials on certain products I carry from time to time, so tell me what you’d like to see in m OpenSky Shop!

2. I also created a new “Shop” Tab on my blog.  If you click on that Tab, you’ll see that I linked my OpenSky Shop and also my Vita-Mix Codes, iHerb.com, and Good Vibrations Codes.  And, as I come across deals, coupons, codes, or other specials that I think you may benefit from, I will put them in my “Shop” Tab because we all like deals!

What kind of deals get you excited? What kind of sites would you like me to find coupons/deals for that I can link in my “Shop” Tab?
I am always on the hunt for deals, coupons, codes, and anything to save money!


3. Have you bought any leggings or skinny jeans yet? Maybe you’ve been on the bandwagon for awhile.  Do you plan to get on the Skinny Jeans or Leggings wagon?
Until recently, the last time I wore leggings as “real pants” and not just as leftovers from my yoga practice was in the 80s!

4. The car situation is really frustrating because:
It’s a leased vehicle and I am paying to repair something that isn’t really “mine”.
It was a hit and run.
It’s making my insurance rates go up.
I had to pay a $500 out of pocket deductible to get the repair done.

Does this strike you as unfair? That old adage, “Well, life isn’t fair. “  No, it’s not, and I am not really whining that badly about this because it’s just one of those things I throw up my hands and say, whatever. Because if I didn’t just have a “whatever” attitude, it would drive me up a wall!  However, it really doesn’t seem fair!

Have you experienced anything lately or in general that just isn’t fair?

Stay Tuned For Some Deepish Thoughts…