Takoda <3

So today I decided to write about one of the members of my family. At the risk of starting what could be a controversial issue, I want to tell you about our bluenose pit-bull named Takoda.

Yes, he is beautiful. We got Takoda (Koda) when he was about 8 weeks old (he is 3 and a half now). He has been raised in a home with 4 young boys and lots and lots of activity going on all the time. Again, going to avoid the controversial issue about having a bluenose pit-bull in my home. This guy is family. He has even gone on vacation with us….

I’ll be honest. I’m not a huge animal person. I find myself getting irritated with the constant battle of keeping our floors free of dog hair. & keeping kids dressed in school clothes that aren’t covered in dog hair. LOL I’ve had several pets in my lifetime so I’m pretty familiar with myself when I say that I’m not a huge animal person; however, my husband on the other hand, is a huge dog person (thank goodness it isn’t cats… I don’t do cats at all due to allergies). He would love to have 5 “Koda’s”. I’ve limited him thus far. I feel that I’ll be caving soon and we will end up getting another bluenose puppy to raise around our Koda and our boys.

Having never owned a bluenose before (& of course not being a big animal person) we learned a lot as we went with Koda. We found out pretty early that he has extremely sensitive skin. We used puppy wash on him for a while, but still struggled with fleas. The puppy was too mild to kill the fleas. Of course, when he got bigger we took him to the vet and got the (very) expensive medications that keep fleas away. We noticed several times mostly on his tail and under his arms (armpit area) that he would break out. He has extremely sensitive skin. Luckily for Koda he shared a home with The Avon Lady.

Several years ago we started using Skin So Soft body wash on our precious Koda. It was like magic! The breakouts were gone and his skin cleared up, usually within a day of his bath! Yes, seriously, within about 24 hours! If the irritation was really bad (like under his arms) we would rub him down with Skin So Soft bath oil. The underarms got worse than any other part when he did break out, as this is not a part of his body that we see regularly.

This is what Koda’s body wash looks like. It smells great and my husband even tells me it helps to keep mosquitos away when Koda is outside. He spends his days outside and his nights inside. Click here to read reviews on what customers are saying about this body wash.

Sooo.. yesterday I did my regular “Mom” thing. I told my husband he needed to give Koda a bath. I’ve noticed him scratching more than  usual and he doesn’t smell fabulous. So today I hung around outside while Hubs gave Koda a bath. Now anytime we are talking with friends (usually other pit-bull owners) about Koda and his skin we tell them what we use to keep his sensitive skin from breaking out and my husband always brags that the Skin So Soft body wash we use on him kills fleas. Shhh…. I never really bought into this. I thought he was just helping to promote my business. Ya’all…. today, I ate those terrible words. I witnessed with my own eyes dead fleas just falling off of my dog!! He wears no special collar. We don’t put any medicine from the vet. He doesn’t take any pills (he actually missed his last vet appointment about 2 weeks ago because we were on vacation).

I seriously could not believe my eyes!! This body wash (which I happen to use as well) is very mild. I can see why it clears up his breakouts. But I’m honestly shocked that it killed fleas on contact! I recommend this body wash for anyone with a dog that has sensitive skin. And, as I said, if the skin irritation has been there for a couple days, we use actual Skin So Soft bath oil to help heal it up quicker. Click here to see all Skin So Soft products and read reviews from customers.

 

Old Favorites

I’m a bit of a skeptic. Aren’t we all? Hasn’t life taught us to be this way? Especially when someone tells you how amazing something is… you have doubts. & why not? After all, disappointment is something we all probably learned at a young age and have gotten used to even more as time goes on.

So today’s blog is about some products that have been around for a while- I’ve just been too skeptical to use them until recently. And honestly, the reason I decided to try them was not to save money (even though they are money-savers) and it was not desperation- it was simply for review. I wanted to review these products so that I could give accurate feedback to all the other skeptics out there like me. LOL

So if you’re anything like me there are certain things you are picky about. Most people have these things. And they are all different. For example- I tell people I am a low-maintenance girl with high-maintenance hair. This is true. I don’t have to have the finer things in life. I’m pretty simple; however, my hair is not simple. It isn’t “brush and go” hair. It is course, and curly, and dry. Therefore, I am particular about hair care products. And for good reason. I’ve tried hundreds of products to tame my curls, but of course, I’ve only found l or 2 that do the trick. Curls are hard to manage. So imagine my surprise when I left my box to try Advance Techniques by Avon.

Now I’ll be honest. This particular shampoo wasn’t a perfect fit for my hair (shockingly). I do intend to try to other brands in the same line soon. However, that being said, I was surprised that the conditioner and the Advance Techniques Reconstruction Intense Recovery Mask was pretty great and is still in my shower.

I am excited to try the Advance Techniques Daily Shine 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner. I have heard some great things about it, as well as seen some good reviews from all ages, including men!

Some of the reviews are people who have been using this product for 15+ years! Yes… I’ve got to stop being so skeptical.

Next up- The Roll-On deodorants from Avon. Who hasn’t seen one? In Grandma’s bathroom. Or Grandpa’s. Or great aunt’s house. I’m pretty sure we have all seen one at least once.

You probably saw one similar to this one, but my Grandma liked the scented ones. Avon sells these roll-ons in many of their perfume fragrances. And yes, super picky about my deodorant. After all, I live in Florida, where you don’t have to run a marathon to get sweaty. Just getting from the car to the inside of the grocery store in blistering 90-degree weather causes perspiration, unfortunately. So again, I was very skeptical of the roll-ons. I need something that works! I normally use Degree antiperspirant. I don’t use it for the smell- I use it because it works. So… while we aren’t in 90-degrees just yet, I went ahead and ordered me some of the roll-ons. After having several customers order them by the 10’s and 20’s I thought- “What’s the worst that could happen?”. These little gold nuggets are regularly $1.99, but are usually on sale for $1.49. WHAT?!?! So worse-case scenario- I waste $1.50. Actually, $3.00, because I ordered the one pictured above, On Duty Sport and also the one pictured below, On Duty Original. Ya’ll….. not for nothing- this stuff works!!! It has not passed the summer test just yet, or the husband test- but I’m shocked at how dry this deodorant keeps me.

The reviews on these are also available if you click the links. I’m not the only one who has fallen for this “scheme”. LOL This price compared with regular deodorants from Wal-Mart is worth trying this product. The savings I’m hoping to see from switching will be significant! And it works!! Unfortunately I haven’t ventured too far from the box. Currently, I’m unwilling to try the perfumed roll-ons. But I’m making progress. LOL

Let me know if you try my money-saving old favorites and how you feel about them… or if you have  some of your own.