ALDI truth #36: If you think our fresh fruit is sweet, wait until you see our prices.
You guys know I loves me some ALDI, right? Ridiculously great prices for delicious food, lots of gluten-free options, and there is NO other store I can get in & out of so quickly when I have kids. You know what else I like? Good company! So when ALDI gave me some gift certificates and asked me to throw a little Summer BBQ with some friends and family and their food, I said “LET’S PARTY!”
And we did. But first, I shopped. I took Jonah with me while the big kids were on a play date, and we cruised the aisles looking for cookout essentials like Sweet Baby’s Ray’s BBQ sauce and copious amounts of MEAT. I got everything I needed including plates, cups, drinks, sides, and cutlery for $68.01 – for a party of 10 guests! Woot woot! Take a peek inside my cart:
And then, we grilled!! And sliced. And socialized.
Mmm…all the grillable things are DELICIOUS!
Jonah was a SUPERFAN of the delicious, juicy seedless watermelon.
Which was only $2.99!!
I myself was partial to the creamy coleslaw:
And the burgers with colby-jack cheese. And the grilled chicken. They were both DELICIOUS!
Together with delicious lemonade and raspberry lemonade, this made for a fun, festive, and scrumptious end-of-summer party! Doesn’t this look delectable? It totally was.
Joshua especially loved the bacon-and-cheese bratwurst. He’s a meatatarian!
We had a wonderful summer soiree on an amazing budget thanks to ALDI! We fed 10 people and still had 4 hamburgers we didn’t even cook, plus some leftover BBQ chicken for the next day’s lunch. I love it!
Thanks ALDI, for making the end of our summer break great!
This evening, I stopped for gas on my way home from work. The station was crowded, and I crept along at a snail’s pace as I exited the parking lot. As I passed a truck parked in front of the convenience store, a little girl about nine or ten ran right out in front of my van. I was going slow, and I stopped in time, but I could tell by the look on her face that in that moment she and I were equally as terrified.
It was a near miss, thank God, but it got me to thinking about how life can turn on a dime. A few seconds, a few inches could have altered the courses of both of our lives.
That’s somewhat melodramatic, I know, but it’s true. Everything can change just like that.
Since I’m on the slippery slope to 40, I’ve been having some “old lady problems” – my low back muscles are often overly tight and I have to stretch to keep everything happy or I’m hit with back pain (and my left leg will fall asleep often too due to this). I have to keep on top of it and it’s annoying. Also, the postpartum injury I got 10 years ago after Joshua was born to my left hand means my left arm often aches when I drive. And lately, I’ve got pain in my left heel from plantar fascitis.What? Geez. Might as well reserve a room in the nursing home.
Last year, I also welcomed a new ailment. I don’t think it really has to do with age but since I was over 35 when I got it, I lump it in with my old lady problems. This latest irritation is teeth sensitivity. All of a sudden, the teeth on the bottom left side of my mouth got REAL sensitive to cold and it hurts like a mother! So, I have to eat ice cream on the right side of my mouth only (shockingly, easier said than done) and whenever I enjoy a frosty beverage, you’ll find me drinking it like this:
That’s right! A straw is my new drinking buddy! Taking a drink from a glass of cold water or Mountain Dew results in serious pain unless I use a straw. I’ve been using special toothpaste for sensitive teeth, and it seems to work for awhile and then stop working, so this whole sensitive teeth thing has been a little frustrating and inconvenient. I mean, there have been times I’ve been caught without a straw and have had to choose between quenching my thirst or not being in pain. No fun!
Recently Crest and the One2One Network, the sponsors of this post, asked to interview me about my teeth sensitivity and asked if they could try a new Crest product for sensitive teeth out on me, too. Well, I’m always game to get in front of a camera, but I was nervous about trying the new product. Because…I was afraid they were going to make me test out how it worked by eating or drinking something cold and I was afraid that it would HURT!
When I arrived at the Crest event, they asked me a few questions and about my sensitivity and then presented me with this:
I opened a little package and took out a small strip – much smaller than a white strip, but removing it from the package was similar – and put it on my teeth where my most sensitive spot is. It felt totally fine, it didn’t hurt at all, and it was easy to put on. Then, I kept it on while they filmed someone else. After abut 15 minutes, it was my turn to take the strip off and – gasp! – take the test to see if it worked. The test was, of course, the thing I feared most – drinking ice water without a straw. I was nervous as I poured the water in the glass of ice. My mouth didn’t FEEL any different than usual, so I was nervous that the Crest Sensi-Stop Strip hadn’t done anything.
But…as I anxiously took a sip of ice water…I didn’t feel anything. I mean, I felt cold water in my mouth but NO pain. It was amazing! It was just like the good ol’ days when I could eat and drink cold stuff like a normal person. Just to test it again, I took several more – and bigger – sips of ice water. I felt no pain at all. I couldn’t believe it! In just a few minutes the Sensi-Stop strip had totally erased my tooth sensitivity!
What I like about the Crest Sensi-Stop strips are that they are easy to use, not messy, and they WORK – but the best part is that the effects last for up to 30 days! As I am writing this it is 4 days later and my tooth sensitivity has yet to return. I am drinking from a cup with ice water like a boss without a straw and without pain. I can even crunch the occasional ice cube for old times’ sake!
Look Ma, no pain!
So, I am sure you are wondering where you can get this awesome product! Here’s the catch: it’s not available until September when it will be at retail stores nation-wide (which is too bad because I would have bought some on the SPOT!) but never fear, you can pre-order them at Crest.com! If you have sensitive teeth, I highly recommend that you do so. I am definitely going to. I just can’t believe how well that little strip worked, and has kept working for days. I’m excited that it’s going to simplify my oral care routine (no more multiple brushings a day with sensitive toothpaste), too.
I can’t wait to get me some Crest Sensi-Strips!! Do you have sensitive teeth? What things are you sensitive to, and do you think you’d try a product like this?
