I feel like this week’s a good one.  The whole point of the Fifty Two New project, for me, is to stray from my comfort zone a little.  Up until now, I’ve just tried new products.  This week, I went WAY on out there as far as comfort zone.

Da da da dum.

The Mixer.

The lovely ladies of Birmingham Mommy hosted their very first mixer this past Tuesday night at Jim N Nick’s BBQ, which happens to be Taco Tuesday (read: yum).  They invited all mommies (bloggers, tweeters, facebookers, etc.) to join them for appetizers, cupcakes, and door prizes.

Not surprisingly, I RSVP’d immediately, then spent the next two weeks coming up with reasons I shouldn’t go.  I came up with a lot of them, because, hey, I don’t do people well.  And I really, really don’t do NEW people well.  HH managed to tell me daily how proud he was of me for going, which meant he 100% expected me to back out.  So, I went.  I mean, I couldn’t let him win.

I left twenty minutes late, stopped by CVS, and checked all three email accounts twice each in the car before going in, thinking I might miss it (completely on accident, of course).  Eventually, I pried myself from the car, iPhone (read: distraction, friend) in hand, and stopped to throw up headed in. 

It was a slow start, but I found a place to park and ended up the majority of the night to Country Fried Mama, whose blog I’d been reading for a few weeks.  She was a riot and we had a lot in common, most importantly the ability to go into and social situation and park it (you thought I was going to say that are children are the same ages, didn’t you?  Well, there’s that too.)  I had a great night with her and a few other girls (who don’t have blogs or twitter pages for me to link to).  I also got to meet Christie, aka Birmingham Bargain Mom, who was so sweet despite the fact that I practically drooled all over her, telling her how much I loved her.  I also got to meet Trish and Angie (two of the three Birmingham Mommies). 

It was a fun night and I came out unscathed (for the most part).  I definitely need to practice my mixing skills some more! 

Of course, I did forget to give out these snazzy bits:

Not cool, since my hubby worked so hard on them. 

So what new did you do?

What?! Another beauty product?!

No, TWO!  Ha!

Clogged pores, forehead zits, and blackheads, meet your match.

Or at least I hope.

My two new new weapons:

 Moisturizing Deep Cleansing Foam and Organic Rosewater Toner.

Both are from the Boots line, which I’ve been drawn to for some time, having read so many good things about the brand.  Plus, the  packaging speaks to me. I think it looks very upscale (told you I was shallow), but at 6.99 (cleanser) and 7.99 (toner), it’s far from expensive.

I’m only a few days into using them, but so far so good.  My skin has been giving me fits lately, so I’ve been looking for  a line of products that I can stick with long-term.  I’m kind of picky because I want something gentle and fairly natural, but I am also price sensitive cheap.  I will say, though, if these don’t work for me, I’m going to have to cough up the dough and go for Arbonne (I love you, Stacey!) because I know its good.  My frugal self had to give this line a shot, first!

So what’s new with you?

I’m so very disappointed to tell you that I did/bought/said/thought nothing new this week.

The problem is that each week  I keep thinking that my new thing is going to be buying a house.  That post is already written.  And each Thursday,  without fail, I am disappointed again.  I’m not sure how I keep leaving myself open to the heartbreak of it week after week.  You’d think after almost five months, I’d be a little numb to it.  With each passing week, though, it still feels like a punch in the gut. And, with each passing week I feel like I might just come apart.  But I handle it.  As burdensome as all of this uncertainty is, I know that it will come to an end.  Eventually.  And Monday comes with hope renewed.

Hmmm… maybe under all this glass-half empty exterior, I’m an optimist.

Maybe that’s my new thing.

So what about you?  Can you cheer me up with your new thing? Link up!

While frantically packing up the family to head north to our church’s Family Life Retreat, it occurred to me that I had not posted this week’s new thing!  Let me be honest, while I LOVE my new thing this week, I was really hoping for it to be something else.  There are a couple of big things on the horizon, but keeping true to the norm for our family, things are “held up”.

So, on to what I did actually do this week.

Remember when I showed you my make up bag?  What I didn’t share is how OVER the actual bag I am.  I do not really like pilfering through to find what I need.  For months and months, I’ve been pining away over this bag at Ulta.  At $28, it was a little more than I wanted to pay (hence all the waiting).  Last week, though, Ulta sent out a 20% off your ENTIRE purchase coupon and I figured it was time to get it.  When I got there I found the exact bag in a discontinued print marked down to $15.99 (and I still got the 20% off).

And, while I’m not crazy about the colors:

The inside makes me so very happy.  And calm.

So what about you?  Did you do something new?

So, if you saw my tweet earlier, you know that this week has been chock-full of uneventful.  Unfortunately, I’m left with this as my fourth new thing:

Yeah.

It was good.  And convenient.

Whee.

Of course, the mediocrity of my 2010 venture may be inspiring you to remove me from your feed reader.

What?  You’ve already done that?

Understood.

I don’t even read my own posts.

Here’s a bloggity treat for you:

And, while it cannot count as new because I tasted it last year, I figured it might up my cool points some.

So, you’ll come back.

Right?

(And for the record, you don’t just happen upon photo quality like this.  An iPhone and an unsteady hand– my bloggy career is gonna take me places.)

Did you try something new this week?  Link up below and tell your friends!

This week may be the easiest new thing ever.  My friend, Courtney, made new shirts for Bug and me.  Bug got her initial (obviously, not a ‘B’) and I got a cross. 

 (Sorry for the lack of faces.  You know, that Bug-girl is so unphotogenic.  **Cough**)

Did you try something new this week?  If so, link up below.   (If you don’t mind, use the format “Name or Blog Name (New Thing)” — if that makes sense.  My MckLinkys have been getting spammed).

Don’t go all Conan – Jay Leno on me, but I’m moving my Fifty-Two New posts to Thursdays.  If you’ve got a Week Two post, you can linky up by clicking here (even if that’s where you linked your first week’s post). 

A new post (and new MckLinky) will be up on Thursday and will stay open all week long for your third Fifty-Two New posts!

In dire need of mascara, I ran into Ulta to pick up my go-to,  L’Oreal Telescopic.  As I was perusing the L’Oreal section for a few more things, I overheard an associate tell a customer that Maybelline eye products were Buy 2, Get 2 Free (as were the L’Oreal eye products).  I quickly hopped over a few feet, hoping to snag four of my much loved, but ever-elusive Define-A-Brow in Lt. Blonde. Of course, there was only one on the shelf.  The associate that was restocking the area found one more in the last box she was unpacking.  That covered the Buy 2 part of the deal, but what about the Get 2.  Never one to let a bargain pass me by, I picked up a couple new Maybelline mascaras to try.  (Of course, I did forget to put my L’Oreal back, and, thus, am 100%, A+, full-to-the-brim stocked in the mascara department right now).

Here’s the first one I broke out.

The formula is good–not too thick, not too thin.  There was no clumping (can I get a WOOT?!) and I immediately noticed the extra volume.  The brush is average in size.  It’s much thicker than my Telescopic (which, if you’ve ever used, you’ll know it is VERY VERY thin and takes some time to master), but it’s smaller and much easier to handle than, say, CG’s Lash Blast.  Best of all, it lasted all day.

Here’s the result:

(Do not be distracted by the crookedness.  I’d like to blame the photo.  Unfortunately, I am, indeed, crooked– crooked nose, crooked eyes, crooked eyebrows.)

All crookedness aside, it’s a really really good product for the price (it retails for $7.79 at Ulta).  While the formula just feels a smidge cheaper than my beloved L’Oreal, I’m definitely adding to my list of acceptable substitutions in an emergency out-of-stock or super-duper sale. (What?  You don’t have one of those lists?  You so should.)

So, what did you try this week? MckLinky up!

Subtitle:  Be prepared for all sorts of lameness.

My friend, Courtney, sent me a delish sounding recipe to start off my 52 New project.  Unfortunately, the whole cooking in my mama’s kitchen thing doesn’t work out so well for me.  Don’t ask.  Let’s just say that Hamburger Helper has been burned.  By me, let me clarify– my mother is still a culinary goddess.

So what to do new?  What exciting thing is waiting to be tried?  What will start this project off with a bang?

My hair is parted on the left.

I know what you’re thinking… setting the bar so high on week one will surely set me up for failure.  I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it.

In all honesty, parting on my left side wasn’t exactly planned.  I may or may not be trying to cover up a spot I missed while touching up my roots on Saturday.

But, whatever.

Pictures? Almost.  Turns out they looked exactly the same and I got confused as to which was before and which was after.  Plus, I have a zit.

As a life-long right parter, I’ve had some difficulty adjusting.  I think my nose may look bigger and more pointy (as if that were even possible).  Also, it seems to create an almost vertigo-like sensation when I go to tuck my hair behind my right ear, as is my habit.

There are some ups too.  My hair has a little more volume and it’s seems smidge shinier.

Am I conquer-the-world ready?

Um, no.  But it’s only week one.

For my local peeps, the gals at BirminghamMommy and Birmingham Bargain Mom are joining in too.  You can head over there to see what they’re up to this week.  You can also leave your link on their posts so other local gals can see what your up to.

Also, if you’re on twitter, you can use the hastag #52newthings when you tweet about it.

Not all my peeps are local, so leave a link here too! I can’t wait to read what you’re doing.  We all need some ideas and inspiration!