Love your tatas.

As everyone knows, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you don't know, have you been living under a rock? With all of the pink floating around, it looks like someone spilled a million gallon vat of Pepto! I have somewhat of a problem with everyone commercializing the month- even in the name of charity.

But, I digress. The Susan G. Komen Foundation has done a lot for breast cancer awareness, and that was part of the reason that I applied to work with them in 2010. I drove to Wichita, KS and interviewed in a 2nd round interview and was a finalist to becoming an Education Coordinator with them. It was my dream job.

There are two reasons that I care so deeply about breast cancer awareness.

The first is that I have breasts, and I feel that everyone should be aware of their body. The girls and I have been together since they came onto the scene when I was in third grade, and I was the only one in Mrs. Lankford's class to have breasts, strapped in by a hot pink sports bra. I remember looking down my shirt all day, that first day, because I was in awe of what was growing there. I was the only girl in my class (that I knew of) that was wearing a bra at this time. None of my friends could relate. In fact, no one could really relate to me until I was in sixth grade, when my friends were getting theirs. By 8th grade, I was a DD. By the time I graduated high school I was a DDD.

I got a lot of attention for my breasts and still do to this day. I used to try to cover them as much as possible, as they were a source of embarrassment. T-Shirts stopped fitting right, and still don't, dresses that fit me on top are too large on bottom. Many tear soaked shopping trips with my mother happened between ages 9 and 17.

I was a freshman in high school when I really started owning my breasts. I started to wear more revealing clothing but always tried to maintain modesty. However, that wasn't always so simple. I had to layer shirts as regular shirts would show too much.

The second reason is that my grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. When I was in high school, I heard through the family grapevine that she was going through treatment. She didn't tell me at first, and she didn't tell me when it came back when I was in college. She said that she didn't want to distract me from my studies, but I wanted to be there for her. Since she's gone through this, we've become much closer. She's a true fighter- she fought it tooth and nail and has now been several years in remission.

Because I have large, dense breasts and my grandmother is a survivor, there are obvious concerns that I might also get it. There are options for testing for the breast cancer gene, which can tentatively predict if one may develop breast cancer. Some who have discovered that they have this mutation elect to have hysterectomies and masectomies (breast removal). I have elected not to be tested for this gene. I simply do not feel ready to take the necessary steps, if I am positive for the gene. I also do not live my life in fear.

I get yearly breast exams by my doctor and I have been sent for three ultrasounds and one mammogram, all came back negative. It was quite odd, being 22, at a mammogram machine. So odd, in fact, that even though I was referred by my physician, my insurance wouldn't cover it.

I worry about it sometimes, but we cannot control these things. All we can do is be diligent by monthly self-exams (this is how my grandmother found her lump that led to the removal of the breast). You cannot wait for your yearly exam to have your doctor catch it. They're your breasts- you are responsible for their health and well-being! Take care of your tatas. They're the only (natural) ones you get!

First Couponing Trip!

My friend and I have been taking a couponing class the last couple of weeks. While I thought it was fun to get organized for this, I was a bit lost as to how couponers get such great deals. Well last night, it all clicked.

We arrived at class and we had missed something big: No more instruction. Tonight, we’re going shopping. The teacher said that the class had used the weekend to make their lists. We didn’t have lists. So we listened to the deals and went through our coupon binders, huge binder with 40 categories, everything from Frozen Foods to Pets, to Paper Products to even- Baby Care (Yes I know I don’t have any babies, but I might someday!)

My fellow couponers said there was a great deal at Walgreens for 12 pack toilet paper for 2.00 each (with one coupon, Walgreens Register Rewards and the monthly coupon book) . I was very excited about this! However, we’d been beaten when we got there- the classmates had already been there and purchased all of it, (their second trip for toilet paper) and Walgreens didn’t have any left. I was not happy about this at all.

So we trekked onto Wal-Mart, where I was out for blood. I was pissed that I hadn’t gotten any deals and I hit the aisles with a vengeance. First, I went to the make up aisle- I have an $8 off coupon for 2 CoverGirl products- ANY- which means if I got 2 eyeshadows  at 3.44 each- I would actually be MAKING 1. 12 on that transaction. However, the eyeshadows- all 5 rows of them- were gone. Extreme Couponers had hit.

When we were in the make up aisle, we ran into a lady with a stack of coupons. My friend April, never the shy one, approached her and asked her what was in her cart that was from a coupon. We noticed that she had a whole bunch of Tide single serve detergents. She said that the Tide coupons ($2.00/3 and $1.00/2) didn’t specify the size, so she got the travel size! We did, too.

There was another deal in our midst- Dollar General had a Gillette ProGlide razor for $5.99- at Wal-Mart it was $7.74. So we “price matched” to the lower price… well hot diggity, I had a $5 off coupon for that razor- making it only 97 cents.

Then we went on to the other side of the store. We had coupons for a free 2 liter of Dr. Pepper Ten, and Wal-Mart had been out of these because it was a hot coupon. We got there and there were only TWO left, so we snatched them.

I told April I needed to hit up the Glade Clearance Aisle because there’s always good stuff for rock bottom prices, and with coupons, we’d be nearly free. I scan the Glade and there weren’t any good ones, and then I see some seasonal Febreze on the shelf. They are usually 2.66 apiece and were marked down to $2.25. I had a $2 off/2 coupon, so I usually would have paid $3.32, but I paid only $2.50 for both, making them $1.25 each. (BUT I think the cashier only put it in as a $1 coupon).

I also went to the Pet aisle, where I had a Pupperoni coupon for $2 off of 2 packages. They were 2.48 each, making each one $1.48 apiece. I also had to get cat food (with a coupon!) these were not on my original list, just great bargains in the store!

Altogether I paid $14.36… 46% savings ! Not bad for my first real couponing trip. I had couponed before, but I was doing it all wrong. As the teacher in the class says… “You’re not buying for now. You’re buying for later, when you need it, and you don’t want to pay full price.”

Baby Lisa

Last week, 10-month-old baby Lisa Irwin disappeared from her Kansas City, Missouri home. Her parents claim that an intruder came into their home, and took baby Lisa and their cell phones. If you're not familiar with this story, you can click here to read about it.

As the Amber Alert was issued early Tuesday morning, panic spread across Facebook- my news feed was covered with online flyers and news stories. As spectators we sunk our teeth into every piece of new information that surfaced. We watched the videos of the news conferences, we tried to be "internet sleuths"- we picked apart each quote, each scenario, each facial expression. We tried to solve it in our minds. Why? Because a story like this is bizarre.

Soon, we turned on the parents. Comments turned from horror to accusatory- "she had something to do with it" graced our lips. The first day, we already wanted closure. We reasoned in our minds that a baby would never be kidnapped out of their home by a complete stranger, a la Raising Arizona. We also reasoned that if this unlikely scenario did happen, then the baby would be safe and unharmed.  We waited each day for it to come to a happy ending... but it didn't.

One thing that I have a really hard time with is realizing that some people are, inherently evil, or made so by their environment. While I thought Casey Anthony was guilty, I couldn't wrap my mind around someone who'd do these horrible things. When BTK surfaced, I fought my heart with my mind- he seemed so nice, so unassuming- there's no why he could do these things. I felt bad when his wife left him. I think it speaks to the fact that we all have some naivety in our minds, in our hearts. I'd say I have a pretty good grip on reality, and yet I just can't come to terms with this kind of evil.

It's hard for me to believe that this mother killed her baby. But I can't think of any other reason she'd make up a story such as this. Accidents happen; if the baby fell or passed away, the parents might fear the police but they still should have been called. The story is strange and someone knows where she is and what happened to her. I think about this all the time. I Google it from my phone, first thing in the morning, in case I missed an update. At this point, all it is is speculation. Everyone's speculating, probably even the police. No one knows where to go from here.

I think this is what's so hard about this case.. .as humans we like closure. We want a night, tied up, pretty package. Motive. Means. Opportunity. We don't have that here, which is so frustrating.

Where is Baby Lisa?



Mod Podge Pumpkin Tutorial

Being ever so crafty, I couldn't just get regular pumpkins when I started decorating for fall. I saw this awesome blog post last year and decided that I needed to try the technique out. Mod Podge Pumpkins

So off I went, to Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart, and collected some supplies.
To do this project you will need:
Pumpkins (real or plastic, same degree of difficulty)
Funky tissue paper and napkins
White paint (acrylic or spray paint)
Mod Podge

As this was my first attempt, I chose a variety of napkins/tissues, paints and assorted pumpkins. The advantage of using the plastic pumpkins is that you'll be able to use these again next year.

(I tried to take pictures during each stage of the process but forgot a few!)

First, paint your pumpkins white. In the past I've used spray paint, but for this project I used acrylic paint. It's your personal preference- if doing this with kids, I'd probably paint them before you brought them in) If you're planning on leaving some of the pumpkin visible, you can use other colors, but for completely covering, it looks better with white :)

Let your pumpkins completely dry. If they aren't dry, the mod podge will not stick.

While your pumpkins are drying, cut your napkins into strips. The main tutorial says to take the backing off of the napkins, but I found that this makes the napkins tear more when you're applying the Mod Podge, so leave the backing on.

Coat the back of the napkin with Mod Podge. It will go on white and dry clear. I used a spongy craft brush. Once you have applied a coat, position your strip onto your pumpkin- I applied vertically and followed the contour of the pumpkin. Push the ends down into the pumpkin's crevices so that nothing is sticking up. Note: Once you put these down, they dry quickly and will not pull up easily without tearing.

I've found that the best way to do this next part is to divide your pumpkin into quarters visually. If you put your strip on one side, go directly across and apply your other strip. Then do the same on the other sides, as if you are cutting a pizza. It should make sense (especially with zebra stripes) to place them right next to each other, but that just doesn't work for me.

Next, wait until your strips are dry on the pumpkin. Then, coat the outside of the strips and pumpkin with more Mod Podge. Be careful as this is still tissue paper that we're working with and it may tear. Dabbing it will be okay. It will look messy as the Mod Podge will go on white, but it will dry glossy and shiny.

Be creative with this project! You can make your pumpkins look any way you want them to! What inspires you?

New York Travel Pt. 2

Planning a trip to New York City is overwhelming, especially if you've never been there before. While wading my way through NYC books, travel guides, websites and friends' advice, I chose things that I absolutely wanted to see, and I knew I would regret not seeing.  Know this: You absolutely can't do everything that you want to do, whether you stay a week or a month.

We purchased the New York Pass, which cost us $140 per person for 2 days. The New York Pass is a great idea in theory. The one we purchased included several bus tours, which we only used twice. It includes 55 attractions in NYC that you could go to for free (because you purchased the pass).

Tip: Loosely plan out your day, but go with the flow. I booked our schedule around what neighborhoods we'd be in. Unfortunately I misunderstood the bus tour and ended up wasting a whole day only doing two things! The first thing you should do, especially if you purchase the bus tour, is start your bus tour as soon as you get there- and don't activate your Pass until the next day (as it will expire at Midnight the last day you can use it).

The bus tour that we hopped on was 2.5 hours long, and it's "hop on, hop off" which, again, sounds like a good deal, but that's if you leisurely want to see the city. (Where we went wrong is that we thought we'd be stopping at all of the stops, which wasn't true, and they kicked us all off at the Statue of Liberty, a long way from where we needed to be!) I suggest taking the Subway, which, on the high end, only costs $2.50 per single ride (cheaper if you get a Metro Card) and it will take you places much quicker than a bus tour or even walking. The subway system is pretty easy to figure out- and I actually enjoyed riding it when we were going really far (and also when it was raining and no cabs would stop!)

We saw the Statue of Liberty, which was included in the NY Pass. Unfortunately, the Pass did not include Monument Access, only a ferry ride to the island! You waited in line to get to the ferry for an hour or two, spend another hour in the security and ferry ride, where you're herded like cattle... and a 15 minute ride to Liberty Island, where you have to avoid thousands of amateur photographers photographing Lady Liberty.

Instead: take a leisurely stroll around the seaport and into Battery Park City, see the water, lovely landscaping and the boats. I was really in awe of the beauty of the New York City park system.

We saw two Broadway shows while in NYC- and if you go, you definitely need to see some! There's so many, one for every taste. If you're a student or have a student ID, check out the "Student Rush" tickets. These are available the day of the show, at the box office, at 10 am. We got two Jersey Boys tickets (2006's Best Broadway Musical) for $27 apiece with a student ID! We also purchased 2 Lion King musical tickets and paid more for them as they weren't eligible for discounts, but they were SO worth it. I researched several musicals online and watched the trailers on YouTube before deciding.

We visited The Bodies exhibit, which was also included on the NY Pass. It was amazing! It had been to the KC area a couple years ago, and if you ever get a chance to see it, take it! It is an exhibit of real bodies and real body parts- everything from lungs to hearts, eyes, brains, everything you could ever imagine... seriously! Some of the most amazing things that I saw were slices of the brain that had had an aneurysm, diseased lungs, the bronchial tubes/trees and different tumors. There was also a "game" called Mindball that you and a partner put sensors on your head and tried to relax as much as possible. As your brainwaves decline, the ball moves. If you "keep your cool" better than your partner, the ball goes into your partner's area and makes a "goal".  Overall, this exhibit was my favorite- it showed you a completely different way to look at your body- from the inside out.

We visited Rockefeller Center, where 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, and other NBC Shows are filmed. We went to the "Top of the Rock"- 68 floors up, (in 43 seconds!) and got an amazing view of NYC- without the long crowds of The Empire State Building!

We also saw The Lincoln Center, a beautiful fine arts campus. We had a lovely little Swedish tour guide who took us through the different theatres (and we saw Julliard!) and taught us the history.

Go to TIMES SQUARE! Times Square is amazing, invigorating, crowded, and fantastic. Being a small town girl from Missouri, I was in awe. Yes, you have to avoid people who stop in the middle of the block. But there's so much to see! Street vendors serving hot food, street performers dancing, cabs racing at you while you jaywalk, (or even just walk when it's time to walk- they're ruthless).

How Not to Apply for a Job

Dear Prospective Employees,

As I look through your resumes to pass on to the Human Resources person at my agency, I’d like to give you some hints about what to do (and what not to do) when you apply for a position.

First, you need a cover letter. At this point, you’re just a name on a page. You can be discarded or chosen. Your cover letter should consist of several things: the date, your name and contact info, and where you heard about the position. Please do not open a Notepad document and write:

Hello I saw your posting and I want to be considered for a job.
Thank you,
Laylan

The above is not an acceptable cover letter. It’s short, not thought out, and you don’t even say what position you’re applying for! Your cover letter should highlight your experience and attributes that may not be on your resume: “During my college years I also worked full time as an office receptionist, so I am well-versed in multitasking and time management.”

Second, your resume. Listen up, you 2008-2011 graduates who have been/will be battling thousands of unemployed, experienced workers in the worst economy we’ve seen in a century: Your resume has to be strong so that you will stand out from all of the other resumes.  Do not use Microsoft Word and that little helpful paperclip to write your resume.  Start from scratch. Write down what you do, what you’ve done, and don’t lie.

Leave the objective out. No one cares about that anymore, and it’s quite silly looking. Don’t use big words that you used thesaurus.com to find. It makes you look pretentious <-- see what I did there?

Put your best attributes first. Proud of your 4.0 GPA? Put your education (and GPA) at the top. Proud of your experience? Put that first. Don’t be afraid to add in new categories: I have a category on mine called “Community Relations” that talks about my volunteer service, my internship… all of the things that I did above and beyond my work. This category got me my job. Why? Because everything in there showed that I had what it took to manage volunteers at this position, and that I worked hard.

SPELL CHECK. This is 2011. I remember in 1998 when we got our first computer, my dad LOVED spell check. He raved about it! So why are you not spell checking your document before sending it to a potential employer? Also, print it out and read it. If it doesn’t make sense to you, it won’t make sense to the employer. One I looked at today said, “I saw your posting on the sight” and another said, “Sincerely,” with no signature! Umm.. How can you claim that you’re detail oriented when you missed that?

Don’t put that you graduated high school in 1977- this is obviously not relevant to your “education” that we’re seeking. You’d be better off if you just left it off (as we can’t ask you how old you are, so why would you volunteer that information?)

Lastly: Don’t make the HR person call you for your references or employment information. I opened one today that said, *****References available by request*****. First, the asterisks are annoying. Second, No. I’m not going to request them. If you’re not giving me your references, you’re going in the discard pile.

You might think that your resume will stand out better if it’s on blue paper, or if you send it first class mail- unfortunately, the envelope gets thrown away first. Today, I opened all of resumes we received, flattened them out and put them in a pile. I did, though, put one on top: someone had sent a resume in a nice folder marked “Resume”, I thought it was too pretty to discard. She impressed me, so she got the top spot.

Good luck on your job search everyone! I would be happy to look over your resume before you send it out!

Laylan's Guide to New York Travel: Part I

I just got back from a week's trip to New York. Half of it was spent in upstate New York and the other half in New York City. Before I left my quiet hometown in Missouri, I was terrified of the Big Apple. By the time I left, I joked that I was a "seasoned New Yorker". Not quite... but definitely a confident traveler.

I've put together several tips and tricks, plus stories, about my New York trip. I hope if you go there, you'll heed my warnings and not be a pesky New York tourist that we hear so much about.

First things first: Where to stay in New York City?
I poured over hundreds of hotels on hotels.com, orbitz.com and priceline.com before I finally settled on The Hampton Inn at Madison Square Garden. Where you stay in NYC is important because the bedbug epidemic has hit the city very hard. I also didn't want to pay more than $200 per night (several NYers told me this was impossible- but I did it!) I checked it on bedbugregistry.com, and checked the hotels.com deals- there was a 20% off deal for my travel dates! I booked everything for $203 per night! I booked it, even though the deal was nonrefundable- sometimes you have to take risks!

Myth: New York City isn't safe!  FALSE.
Actually, NYC isn't even one of the top 25 most dangerous cities in the United States. In fact, my own Kansas City is on this list- and NYC isn't. A good explanation for this is that NYC has installed security cameras and crime has dropped 19%. Of course, NYC is not without crime- you have to be observant, confident and self-aware. I felt 100% safe walking down the street during the day and night.

Myth: New Yorkers are so rude! FALSE.
I asked several NYers for directions when we got turned around and every single one of them was helpful and nice. At one point, I was on the wrong subway and ended up in Brooklyn. I found the first person I could that looked friendly and asked her- and she sent me on the right train. I always looked for cops, construction workers, friendly looking chubby motherly types, or young girls. When none of those were available, I went for couples or bicyclists. At one point, a lady gave me wrong directions for the subway. She told me to get on the #2 train when really I should be on the #1. I thanked her and went down the steps to the trains. She came running after me, about 5 minutes later, out of breath. "I told you the wrong train!" she said. She was so worried that she had sent me the wrong way!

Myth: Everything is expensive in New York City! True/False. NYC is expensive in the regard that you're eating out every meal, you're not driving so you must either walk, take the subway ($2.50 per single ride), or take a cab (3.00 + .40 per 1/4 mile). The subway was my favorite mode of transportation, as it got us everywhere we needed to go for much cheaper than a cab ride. Cabs were good, too, though, when it was convienent and you were going somewhere directly- or didn't have time to get to a subway.

Food Tips for Eating in NYC:
The first night we were in NYC, we had pizza. Adam, who drinks like a fish, sucked down 3 Pepsis and I had 2 Dr. Peppers. When we got the bill, we were shocked to find that they had charged us for every refill- $2.50 a pop! $12.50 worth of soda on one bill! We drank water the rest of the time in NYC.

Don't eat at chain restaurants. You're in NYC. Why would you eat at Red Lobster??
Go off the beaten path- we went to 9th Avenue to an area called "Restaurant Row"- tons of restaurants for much cheaper than in Times Square- Adam and I both ate dinner and an appetizer for $30.00.
Try the street vendors! - We ate hot dogs, by the slice pizza, and chicken kebabs from street vendors- for cheap!
Check out restaurant.com for gift certificates. Before I left I went to restaurant.com and purchased gift certificates for $25 at the low price of $10- and we ate well at restaurants that we probably wouldn't have found without the site.
Indulge. New York City is a great place to indulge, so have a budget, but spoil yourself. In a city of such great food and drink, there's no reason to deprive yourself.

In my next post, I will write about the sites we saw and the touristy things we did! Stay tuned for more!