Military Handbag -- Prosperity Wallet Review

     I got my prosperity wallet with my recruiter gear back around the end of January/Start of Feb this year. My wallet was made out of my old ACU uniform that was given to me to wear when I use to help out on an Army base before my back surgury so that my clothes wouldn't get so dirty and ragged. They sat in a box for a few years before Eve, the founder & designer of the company, took my ACU tops & made them into my bags and this wallet and they no longer collect dust and packed away, I carry it with me everyday and with it I carry those memories I had with my friends, and the sense of feeling the unit gave to me.
     The wallet is very smart in it's design, unlike some hand made things I have had in the past, my CC's and ID's fit perfectly in the 6 slots that are sewn into the middle of the trifold, and I use the zipper pouch on the bottom trifold for my less important IDs and discount cards. I do not carry money in there cause when I put more than a few bills in there, it does risk the bills getting caught in the zipper track and making zipping the pouch closed easily rather difficult since the depth is just shy of being able to hold more than 3 or 4 bills worth in depth. But at the same time, this doesn't really bother me as I do not carry cash in my wallet anymore, I have had my wallet stolen in the past.
     The benefits of the wallet aside from the 6 slots being measured correctly and the convenience of the sip pouch is the snap closure, it is also magnetic, so it is what I call a 'care-free' closure, I don't have to get it right on the snap spot for it to close itself, if I don't get it perfect, it corrects itself and snaps itself shut! The back pocket is handy, that is where I keep an envelope with my shopping coupons and my business cards in and they do stay in most of the time, the back pocket doesnt have any velcro on it so it is meant for bigger or wider things that would be less likely to fall out.
     The only drawback to the wallet, it does not have any boarding in it to make it sturdy without your IDs in place, the IDs create the 'feel' of a sturdy wallet, but the top flap that has the magnetic doesn't have boarding in it like the majority of other wallets that have a closure like this, so the edges do fold up from time to time and catch if you are trying to put it in your bag pocket with other things in it. For someone who doesnt have enough debit cards or ID that are the harder plastic, this would still be pretty flimsy. To correct that I would suggest alternating the slots on the sides to solve this issue if it arises for anyone else.
     Overall I really do like my Prosperity wallet over any other wallet I have had because it is softer to the touch, and it is truly unique, It works with me well and fits just right in the side pocket of my Patience Bag from Military Handbag, so I can have it right there, outside and away from the baby items since I use it as a baby bag and easy to access when I need it without having to dig!
    Rating 4.75 of 5

Back of My ACU Prosperity Wallet

Front of My ACU Prosperity Wallet with my name on it

The inside of the wallet, you can see the pocket zipper & the 6 slots mentioned.

DIY -- Fabric Flowers

I love these, they are very cute & nice to have around the house. And best of all, they don't die

http://homemade.tipjunkie.com/long-stemmed-fabric-flower-tutorial-diy/

Cleaning Tip for Potty Training Children

     One of the biggest challenges with a child can be potty training. I just finished potty training my daughter not too long ago, and we are doing VERY well, we have an occasional accident here and there but they are so in frequent now and they are mostly #2 accidents. Cleaning wet panties & pants can always be a pain, with the smell and let's face it, sometimes we are just not in a time where we can drop everything and throw the stuff in the wash or we have nothing else to throw in the wash with it. And of course, no one likes the smell. I started to try to find solutions for those kind of crunch times, and a good mix that could help keep satins from setting that are results of accidents. After a few trial & errors, I found a combination that worked wonders, and it doesn't cost an arm & a leg.

Materials:
-- A old gallon ice creme tub (or similar tub that you can seal the lid)
-- Palmolive or Dawn Liquid soap (does not matter if scented or not)
-- White Vinegar
-- Laundry Detergent of your choice (I used Sun or All)

1 - Get the old Ice Creme tub (the gallon or bigger ones) or a similar bucket that has a lid you can close.
2 - First put about 1-2 teaspoons of the liquid dish soap in the bucket
3 - Fill the bucket up about half way with WARM to HOT WATER, watch the soap suds level as it *may* bubble over
4 - Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of white vinegar to the tub mixture.
5 - Add a very small amount of laundry detergent to the mix (usually 2 tablespoons will do great for bad messes)
5 - Put the lid on the tub and "swirl" the tub to mix everything up better (do not shake, as this will cause the soap to suds up and be a potential additional mess when you take off the lid)
6 - open the lid back up and place the soiled pants in the bucket to soak til you are ready to wash! -- you can also add more pants to the tub if you need to in between washes too

     This will help keep the stains from setting hard, while they may still need some pre-treat spray depending how bad the pants were (speaking primarily about stains from a BM) it helps start deodorizing before you even wash them & helps keep them from the smell spreading.

     As a note: I do not leave this 'tub' out more than a MAX of 48 hours without changing the mixture out. I usually do a load of laundry of something at least every other day being a mom of 3 so I have never had to worry about this but leaving it out will cause the whole thing to become nasty. Nasty = bad :-)

Hibdon Tires VS Discount Tire - OKLAHOMA

     After surviving through the 2011 Snopocalypse in Oklahoma we ended up with roofing screws in the rear tires of a 4x4 SUV. Bracing for the thought that we would have to get 2 new tires we set off to see how bad the damages were on the tires for the SUV. The first place that we went to was DISCOUNT TIRES in Northern OKC... One tire was a previous screw, the other was during the storm.
     The wait time was over 75 minutes for our service, and at least 45 minutes before my car was pulled into a bay which had been open for at least 15 minutes before they pulled it in, and there was only 2-3 customers in front of us with 3 bays. Since our walk-in we had an additional 4 customers walk in. The service agent that we dealt with us said that they would look and inspect the tire and let us know what they can do about it. They ended up only checking that, and informed us that where the screw was located was through another patch that had already been done in the tire, they said that they could not repair it, and with the state of my tires' treads, that they recommend a new tire was bought, then proceeded to price me 3 of their 'best sellers', the lowest was over 100.00 with mounting & balancing of the tire. They really didn't offer more options other than the new tire, but also said that since the SUV was 4x4 that I should buy a whole new set since the treads were 'under optimum performance' -- The leak was VERY slow so I left unhappy with the experience.
     I decided to wait and keep an eye on the screw since it was not 'severe' and find a time to check out Hibdon Tires across the street before deciding on dealing with getting new tires or seeing how bad the other was since they ended up only checking one tire. Later found that the paperwork said to only check one tire, when I clearly said both back tires. The associate that I dealt with was less than desirable in attitude.
     What turned out to be a bit more than a month later due to my schedule availability before I could get a time to go to Hibdon Tires and get both the old tire & new tire checked out. In that time, I didn't have any issues with the first tire and they maintained appropriate levels with the air pressure. I went into Hibdon today and explained what was going on with the tires. The gentleman that I spoke to was Jeff, and without mentioning my experience at Discount Tires I explained that I had a leaky tire in my rear passanger that would not go over 25 PSI (tire is to be at 30PSI) and that I had my other rear tire with a *possible* screw in the tire as well. He took down my information and pulled up my information in the computer, entered in my car information, printed out the paperwork and said they would check the two rear tires AND the front ones to cover all bases. From there they would let me know what was going on, and if anything other than a road hazard fix was needed and which tires. I went in with an available time frame of just around an hour. Within 5 minutes from walking in, they had the car in the bay & up off the ground floor. About 40 minutes later, they pulled the car out of the bay without saying anything additional to me, and then parked it. When they came in and called my name, they let me know that I had 1 screw in each of the back tires that they were able to fix without replacing, and the front tires were in good shape, scored my tread of my tires a 5/6 of 9 & when I asked them how much longer I would probably get out of them, they said I was at 30,000 miles so as long as those were factory (which they were) that I would have about another 10-12k on them before I would need to start looking for new tires. They asked what kind of tread I was looking at for the SUV since I had avid tourings on my former car on file and reccomended me a few tire brands that would be simular to those since I had the same driving conditions. They said that if I had any issues with the fixes to come back and they would re-check at no charge.
     At this time, I explained that I had been to DISCOUNT TIRE more than a month before & what they said to me, including about one screw being through another patch that was in the tire and their 'recommendation'. The tech checking me out said that my tire treads were more than satisfactory for how many miles that I had on the SUV and that they saw no evidence of any other patches on the tires. So, I thanked them for the information & left, this entire visit took me about 55 minutes & I made it to my next place a few minutes ahead of schedule.
     So it goes without saying I am reviewing HIBDON as a POSITIVE EXPERIENCE, there are several locations in the Northern Part of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and have had positive experiences before. I am STRONGLY DISCOURAGING anyone to go to DISCOUNT TIRES because of the quality of service that I had with them, and the misinformation on the condition of my tires to make a sale that wasn't needed.
     **The level of familiarity with the care of 4x4 SUVs is average and do know about the means and conditions of the tires and how they differenciate when you have 4x4**

THUMBS UP: HIBDON TIRES    Rating: 5/5
THUMBS DOWN: Discount Tire     Rating: 1/5

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     From time to time this blog will update with reviews, links and information that are targeted to be of use to single parents, parents & military families.
      Outside of this blog, some of our affiliates & partners includes Saving Grace Military Support & Information. The site's name pretty much explains what the site is all about. The blog is meant to be a more personal extension of the site. Any suggestions are welcome & the same with comments. Contact email is aj@savinggracemis.org