Being an Adult Sucks

I have spent most of my adult life as an irresponsible adult. Spending cash that I didn't have and have tried over the past couple years to become more responsible but time and time again, I failed. But it seems to be the year that I am cracking down on some things.

This is the year when I get serious about getting rid (paying off) these credit cards and buying a whole lot less shit. With that tax refund, I've taken care of 3 credit cards with small balances and half of another. This is the year when my Sephora credit card is going to stay at zero, along with Old Navy, Ulta and Victoria's Secret. I am not so interested in keeping the tiers that I have with those companies and I'm not so interested in points/cashback any more. I just want things paid off.

This is the year that I want to get going on getting a savings account and start saving some money. Cutting back on gifts will help with that along with cutting back on makeup, perfume and candles. I say that when I am going to be dropping some cash at Sephora when the spring sale hits. I've already budgeted the money in December so I think that I am okay right now. But I do worry about going over my budget and I seriously don't want to do that.

Later on in the year, I will be turning 40 and it's an over due thing to get my shit together. Get it together for a better credit score, less driving myself crazy trying to put out small fires month to month and just to have a better budget. Maybe next year, I can actually take a vacation and actually go somewhere instead  of sitting at home wondering on what I can do that it cheap or free.
 

Etat Libre d'Orange Fat Electrician Review

That tax refund came through and I have done most of what I said I would do with it. It is a relief to have a few things taken care of so I set myself a little bit ahead.

After getting that Etat Libre d'Orange set from Luckyscent, I had just let all those samples sit around and do nothing. On days that I am at work, I wear the inoffensive things and when I am off work, I want the loud things or comforting things. Or the things that I just don't get to wear that often. But I just decided to get going, even if I started with just one of them. And I started out with Fat Electrician.

Vetiver is not something that I seek out in the world of perfume. It's just not on my radar. Fat Electrician starts out green and grassy and remains green and grassy for the duration of the wearing. Then I get something else after 15 minutes and it's something akin to a coconut smell. Maybe it's the vanilla with a little bit of a rubbery type of smell. With those two other things, I am not wholly sold on the perfume. What keeps me from being sold it that lasting power on my skin is about 3 hours.

With Fat Electrician, I am reminded of Chanel's Sycomore. I think that Sycomore is a better vetiver and Sycomore is a smoky vetiver in all of it's glory. If you want vetiver, go with Chanel.

Is it Spring Yet?

Sunny has taken to letting me sleep a little later. Sleeping in with a puppy is great but it doesn't change the fact that having a puppy that's only 3 months old is still exhausting. Too many late nights with super early mornings.

I think that spring is slowly coming but I really want spring to arrive right now. Cleveland is starting to get some warmer temperatures but it's either full of rain or windy but it's starting to warm up.  

With spring coming and all, that means that I can start pulling out my spring summer offerings. I don't have tons of them but I do have some. But naturally, Sunny's crate in my bedroom is blocking the area to were I keep most of my perfumes. I can move it but I am not so interested in rearranging stuff to even attempt to get them. So right now, I have to make due with just having Courtesan, no 19 and some Deneuve. I am okay with having just three out right now. I want to start really using that leaky bottle of Courtesan and I am still not happy with Worth for discontinuing Courtesan. I used to be able to get Courtesan for a reasonable price but I can rarely find it now. Deneuve is long discontinued and has gotten horribly expensive, even for minis and I'm probably not going to be wearing that tons but when you have a nice stock of it already, so I don't want to go hoarding it either.

Still waiting for my tax refund to arrive in my bank account so I can get ahead of some things. That is what I am really waiting for. Yeah, I am looking forward to the Sephora sale but I want to go and get ahead of some stuff. When I always file my taxes and get a refund, I get impatient with the IRS. The refund is money I actually earned and I am not too thrilled with the whole interest free loan thing. The IRS is pretty quick to demand payment if you owe but takes forever if you are owed some money. Now let's see what happens Monday to see if I can get a date on when I can get ahead of some stuff.

Sephora Spring Sale

Fat Tuesday has come and gone and now we are in the season of Lent. I've never practiced any kind of religion but know about some of this stuff due to working in a bakery. Every holiday has it's own special dessert of some kind of bread. But I am happy that Fat Tuesday is over and I do not have to look at a paczki for another year.

The great thing that came out of Fat Tuesday was a Sephora announcement. I am a VIB member, the spring sale starts on April 5th for me. Honestly, I can't wait for that sale to arrive. I have decided on that massive bottle of CM Intense and I am probably not going to get that bottle no no 5. I am still on the fence about a backup bottle of Shalimar though. But when that windfall comes, I will probably get a backup bottle. I don't want to go hog wild at this sale since I want to get ahead of somethings and I have that vet appointment with Sunny coming up. But we shall see how this goes.

Taxes and Stuff

Last weekend I meant to file my taxes but got sidetracked with other things. But I did manage to file them yesterday. I am hoping that I will get my refund relatively quickly. My plan is to pay off my Sephora and Ulta credit card bill and pay off the rest of another credit card. I just want to get ahead of some things.

The flies in my ointment is that since I have a new puppy, she needs more puppy shots and my dog food bills have gone up due to it. The other fly is the Sephora sale that is coming up sometime in April. I might have gift cards but I don't want to go hog wild.

The great debate is either get that massive bottle of Coco Mademoiselle Intense or another bottle of no 5 parfum. I am leaning towards the CM bottle because I already have tons of no 5 and I don't need more of no 5. I don't need anymore perfume but it's hard to pass up a sale. Rarely there is a sale when Chanel is included. Ulta does have perfume sales but never seems to include Chanel. So let's hope that Sephora hasn't changed the whole sale policy when it comes to Chanel. 

It's been a long assed time since I have bought any kind of perfume that was larger the 100ml. A couple times, I could have but didn't. Something else always seemed to demand my attention and funds. I needed shoes or I have something else that was somewhat expensive that needed to be replaced or fixed. At this point, I am hoping that things financially will be okay and no major disaster will happen that requires funds.

Sunny, the puppy, I think has gotten used to us and bonded with us. Because now she is a little terror. She wakes me up between 4 and 4:30 every morning wanting to go to the bathroom and eat. After those things are finished, she will not settle down. She wants to cuddle for a few minutes and then she wants to play. But there comes a certain point, shortly before 7 that she seems to get a little bored with me playing with her. She wants my other dog and father to come down so she can play with them. When that happens, she can make all the noise she wants. I would rather her not wake the household at 5 in the morning with her barking. At this point, I can't wait until she gets a little older and she will sleep a little longer and I won't be so sleep deprived.

 

Meet Sunny

Yesterday was a month since Jake has died. Parts of me are still looking for Jake. There are moments where I think that he is still alive and I start looking for him and remember that he has died. It's still tough not having Jake around. I wonder often enough if things will get any easier. I still have to say good night to Jake every night and wish that he was still here.

On Tuesday, it was supposed to be just looking at a Lab puppy but I wasn't aware of the fact that it wasn't just looking but taking one home. Yes, I have a new puppy and her name is Sunny. I know Sunny isn't a replacement for Jake but it does in some ways feel like a replacement. I am exhausted at this point. 

Tuesday night through Thursday night were pretty rough. Sunny has a crate in my bedroom and is in it at night. She is too little and I can be a sound sleeper so having her sleep on my bed just isn't possible right now. It was an hour of her whimpering and a little bit of howling before she slept and then up at 4:30 for a potty break and to eat. I get it because she is an itty bitty puppy and she is in a brand new place with all new people and a new dog buddy. Last night was a little easier since it was a couple minutes of whimpering but she settled down and fell asleep. Lack of sleep wasn't made any easier with my work schedule since I do work in the afternoons. I was lucky this morning when she wanted to eat and a potty break at a little after 5. When that was over, she seemed to be a little more ready to head back up stairs and take a nap. After getting up at 4:30 in the morning for the past 3 days and Sunny not wanting to go back to sleep, it was a blessing to have the ability to doze for at least an hour and a half afterwards. I was lucky last night because I was off work today and tomorrow. Maybe the next two days will be a little easier still. I think when she gets to be 5 months old, she will be a little more trust worthy and will be able to sleep on my bed. I do have technology in my room and I can't really trust her at night not to go chewing on wires when I am sleeping and she is supposed to be sleeping.

When I was setting up the dog crate when Sunny came home, I was having a talk with Jake. I was letting  him know that I miss him horribly, I cry at least once a week due to missing him and Sunny wasn't replacing him. How can she replace Jake? Jake was my buddy and I had a strong bond with Jake. I don't recall having such a strong bond with any other of the dogs that I have had.
 

Estee Lauder and Dogs

On Wednesday, we put in an application for a lab puppy to adopt. Found out on Saturday that we didn't get the puppy. The reason is that we didn't have a fenced in yard. We live in a rural area and there are tons of places where have a visible fenced yard. In a rural area, visible fenced yards are not the most feasible thing and invisible fenced yards are more of an option. Every rescue that we have tried thus far want fenced yards (no visible). What is also driving me batty as well is the amount of cash rescues want. Around $500 for a puppy, $400 for an adult and $200 for a senior. I don't ever recall rescue places wanting major money to adopt a dog and a massive application process. If people are willing to shell out at least $200 or more to adopt a dog, why such an application process? So my family and I are going to go the breeder route again. We would have loved to adopt a dog but all the hoops that need to be jumped through isn't for us.

I tried really hard to refrain from buying new bottles of perfume and did fail at it. I was poking around the internet to see if Estee Lauder had some bath stuff that went along with Pleasures. The only thing that I could find was a body lotion. I sprung for the body lotion and a 1.7 ounce bottle of Pleasures along with it. The Estee Lauder website gave me 15% for creating an account and I was sold. I'm not the type that really wants to pay full price if I don't need to. I might have gotten another 5 ounce bottle but apparently that size sells out quickly. 

I have always adored Pleasures for women. Pleasures for women was probably my first big perfume love. Yes, I wore Clinique Happy and Cucumber Melon but I loved Pleasures more. Back in the later  90's, when Pleasures came out, I was in high school and working a part time minimum wage job. I couldn't afford Pleasures on a regular basis. When I could afford a bottle, I went with the largest sized bottle that I could get and didn't wear it a lot. Most of the time, I wore either Bath and Body Works Cucumber Melon and Happy. Clinique Happy wasn't purchased as often as Cucumber Melon because a $5 an hour job didn't get you very far so I have to be cautious with my bottles of Pleasures and to a lesser degree of Happy.