Cleaning my Coach Wallet



BEFORE & AFTER

I may be the only woman in America to turned down an offer of a new COACH wallet.

About four years ago my husband bought me an awesome Coach pink fabric wallet to replace an old pleather wallet that was falling apart. I was hesitant to have something so extravagant, but he insisted that I deserved it.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. As I pulled out my wallet to pay for groceries I noticed that my wallet was filthy, like grossity-gross-ick-filthy. Even my kids thought it was bad.



The "tan lines" visible on my wallet.
You can see the upper part was covered by the flap and remained clean.

That same night I met a Coach store manager; I told her about my wallet. She insisted it couldn't possibly be as bad as I described. When I pulled out my wallet as evidence she audibly gasped and put her hand to her chest. I asked if there was a cleaner for my wallet, she said that Coach carried a fine cleaner, but it may take a few tries to make a difference.
 
She and a few other women around were in agreement that it was time I had a new wallet. The Coach manager suggested I purchase a leather wallet which was very easy to clean. Once home I showed my husband my dingy wallet, told him of my conversation with the manager, and he agreed I should have a new wallet.



 Clean & Clear. My hero. ♥♥

Although a new wallet would be nice, I didn't want a new wallet. The frugal-mom in me could not justify spending well over $100 on a new wallet when I didn't even try to clean my beloved pink wallet which was in fine shape.

That night after the kids were in bed I cleared off the bathroom counter, grabbed my wallet,  Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Facial Cleaner, and my exfoliating towel. I held the wallet under running warm water, pumped a few squirts of facial cleaner on the towel and scrubbed away. After a couple of rinses and more scrubbing it looked completely different.

I wrapped a towel around the wallet to squeeze out as much water as I could, then I tucked bits of paper towels in every slot and left it standing up and open overnight.



I didn't clean the inside, but water seeped through.

 

In the morning the wallet looked great again! I searched every nook and cranny and found the only wear was along the silver leather trim on the flap by the metal logo, other than that small area which was hardly noticeable, it was fantastic!

 

 

The wallet was still a little damp on the inside so I turned on the hairdryer and pointed it in the cash and coin pockets. I must have left it in a little too long because the plastic ID window warped a bit. I was a bit bummed, but now I like it because it warped just enough to allow a perfect spot for my thumb to easily slide out my driver's license.

 

 

I'm looking forward to another four years with my Coach wallet. Coach products are so well made, it's well worth the purchase price and would make a great Christmas gift!

 

 

 

Montebello Pet Fair: City Park

Donate 5 Canned Goods & Join the YMCA for free!

Montebello-Commerce YMCA

2000 W. Beverly Blvd

Montebello, CA 90640

323-887-9622

ymcaLA.org/mc

 

*This offer is valid for new members 11/1/15-11/30/15, is not applicable to previous purchases, and must be redeemed in person. Monthly membership fees will apply.

 

Current YMCA members are welcome to donate canned goods to the lobby of the Montebello-Commerce YMCA.

 

Bug Zapper: My Latest Strategy in the Battle against the Mosquitos

My latest round in the battle against the mosquitos is this bad boy right here:

Flowtron BK-15D Electronic Insect Killer

 It's so easy to use I didn't even have to ask Mr. MontebelloMom for help.

 

1. Attach the included mosquito attractant to the bottom of the unit, hang it the yard, and plug it in.

 

2. The glowing blue light attracts bugs who like lights, and the chemicals in the mosquito attractant lure mosquitos to the unit.

 

3. When the bugs touch the light it zaps them, and they die.



I placed a white sheet under the bug zapper and this is what I found in the morning.

I'm fed up with the mosquitos in my backyard. I'm hearing people say there are confirmed West Nile Virus cases in Montebello, and L.A. County Vector Control has verified that there are invasive
"yellow fever" mosquitos in Montebello.

I've taken preventative measures, but my family is covered with mosquito bites. We find new bites before the old ones have healed. I'm hoping that by taking these mosquitos out of the population there will be less eggs laid, and less mosquitos in our backyard.

If you purchase a bug zapper via the links above MontebelloMom will get a small commission (4%) from Amazon, at no additional charge to you. The reviews from amazon of this electronic insect killer are excellent, and I can attest that it works in Montebello.

Click below for more information about the 

Flowtron BK-15D Electronic Insect Killer.

MONTEBELLO MOM ON FACEBOOK

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Going back to work part-time, volunteering, and caring for my family has me very busy these days. I haven't had much free time to update my blog. Please visit MontebelloMom.com's facebook page, for the latest Halloween events in our area.

Halloween & the Price of Candy: Are you ready for Trick-or-Treaters?

550. That is the number of kids who come to our door at Halloween. No joke. I count. The kids get bused in from East L.A. and they're dropped off in front of my door. I used to spend around $100 every Halloween. Since I started using coupons and stocking up early I now spend less than $50 for the same amount and quality of candy.

To get a good deal on Halloween candy you need to read the serving label on the back of the package and do some calculations. Find how many candies are inside the package and divide the cost by the number of candies.

How many Candies Inside?
Serving Size	3 bars
Servings per Container	15
Total Pieces (3x15)	45
Package Cost	$1.25
Price per Candy (1.25/45)	2.7 cents each

A good price on candy is 5-10 cents a piece. Buy candy when it's on sale and if possible use a coupon to maximize your savings. I once bought Pixie sticks for half a penny each!

Good Price for Halloween or Pinata Candy
Mini/Fun Size Chocolate Candy	M&Ms Kit Kat, Snickers	10 cents on sale / 5 cents on sale + coupons
Mini/Fun Size Non-chocolate Candy	Nerds Twizzlers	5 cents on sale / 2-3 cents on sale + coupons

 

 
Halloween is also a great opportunity to clear out the cupboards. Last year we accidentally bought Gushers instead of regular fruit snacks and I had about 2 dozen kid-power-bar type snacks that I received as samples that my kids didn't care for. Both of those went to trick-or-treaters.

One year I gave Play-Doh! It was a hit, especially with the older kids. A good price for the small individual canisters is 15 cents a piece.

Taste Test Fresh Pies at Polly's Pies!

Halloween Festivities: Montebello

 

Halloween Festivities

Friday, October 30, 2015

Cathy Hensel Youth Center

236 George Hensel Drive

Montebello, CA 90640

Kidgits Carnival Event: Shops at Montebello

Simon Kidgits Carnival

Saturday, September 19

Noon-1:30pm

Center Court, Shops at Montebello

 

Kids will have the opportunity to play carnival games and win prizes at the Shops at Montebello's Kidgits Carnival event.

 

Families with children under the age of 10 can try their luck at carnival games, where kids can earn tickets to cash in for prizes: just like an arcade! A clown will also be at the event to play fun games with the kids.

 

 All kids 10 years old and under will receive a carnival theme zippy cup. Kidgits Club members will also get a fun balloon from our Balloon Twisters and a bag of Magic Cotton candy.

 

This event is free for all. Kidgit membership is $5 a year and includes membership perks at sign-up and throughout the year. To become a Kidgits Club member sign up online or at Guest Services. More information on Kidgits and memberships can be found at http://kidgits.simon.com/.

 

Performing Arts Workshops: Montebello

5K Walk: Belvedere Park

Kids Day Out: Glendale

Kids Day Out: 2015

Sunday, September 13

10am - 1pm

Pacific Park Gym

501 S. Pacific Avenue, Glendale, 91204

Free Breakfast for Kids on 9/15: McDonalds

Youth Soccer @ YMCA

 

 

Monterey Park Christian School Parking Lot Sale

Montebello Parade & Mariachi Fun Run

Free Vision Screening & Free Eyeglasses

"Is it better now, or now?" The Lions Club is sponsoring free eye exams & free glasses at it's annual Friends in Sight event. For more information please call 909-598-0554.

Montebello Chamber of Commerce Business Expo

The Montebello Chamber of Commerce is hosting it's annual Business Expo that allows it's members to network and promote their business to local residents and area businesses. The event is open to the public and free to attend. Many businesses offer free samples, raffles, and brochures. The event is oriented for adults wanting to learn more about the businesses in the community, please leave children at home.

 

Montebello Chamber of Commerce

Business Expo

Thursday, August 13

11am-5pm
Quiet Cannon

901 W. Via San Clemente, Montebello

 

 

East L.A. Parade & Festival

Celebrate Mexican Independence Day with the 67th annual East L.A. parade!

East L.A. Parade & Festival

Sunday September 13, 2015

Parade 10:30am

The 1.5 mile parade starts at Cesar Chavez & Mednik and travels west to Gage Avenue

Festival Noon-5pm

Mednik Avenue between Cesar Chavez & 1st Street

Click here for more information.

Project Child Safe: Montebello Senior Center, City Park

 

 

 

The event website reads,

 

"The Montebello Police Department in conjunction with Project Child Safe is hosting a town hall meeting focusing on safe storage of firearms in the home on August 9, 2015 at 10;00am.

Officers will discuss relevant firearms safety in the home. Free firearms locks will be provided thanks to Project Child Safe.

The meeting will be held a the Senior Center located at 115 S. Taylor Ave. at the Montebello City Park.

Bring your children, activities for the children will be provided and facilitated by McGruff the Crime Dog."

 

 

Click here for more information.

 

 

Toy Loan Anniversary Celebration: Potrero Heights Community Center, Montebello

Doggy Play Date, Acuna Park, Montebello

Montebello Art Fest: City Park

SCHOOL SUPPLY GIVEAWAY EVENTS

  




Back to School Tote Bag w/ School Supplies
Shops at Montebello, Center Court (by Guest Services)
Fine print reads, "Back to School tote bags are limited to one per person, while supplies last. Rules and regulations apply. See Guest Services for complete details."

Back to School Event
Sunday, August 9, 11:30am-4pm
Azalea Shopping Center, South Gate
500 Free Cinch Bags & 200 Free Backpacks.
Visit participating retailers & restaurants to fill bags with school supplies.
Live performances & "train" rides.
Click here for more information.



National Night Out: Montebello, 1600 Victoria Avenue

Kidgits Safe Summer Event: Shops at Montebello

 

Simon Kidgits Club Safe Summer Event

Saturday, July 18^th

Noon-1:30pm

Center Court, The Shops at Montebello

Simon’s Kidgits Club members will learn how to stay safe in the sun and in the water this summer. There will be balloon artists, raffles, arts and crafts, and more.

 

This event is free for any Kidgits Club members, and $5 joining fee for any non-member. Kidgits Club is open to all, sign up online or at the Customer Service desk of the Mall. More information on Kidgits/memberships can be found at the following link. http://kidgits.simon.com/.

This is a little kid play area, it's not intended for big kids.

The play area at the mall. The one-foot deep wading pool at the park. The small play area at Smith Park. The splash pad at Splash Zone. These areas are intended for little kids to have fun. For the crawling babies to preschoolers.

Shops at Montebello play area.

There aren't many places reserved just for kids in that age range, but once a big kid enters the mix, it's guaranteed a little one is going down.

My youngest is seven, and pretty small for her age, so she's able to get away with enjoying her last moments playing in these areas, but she has been knocked down by so many kids she commonly runs away from big kids who look like they might play rough.



Splash Zone splash pad.
Kids of all ages can play, but big kids need to be aware of little ones toddling about. 

I cannot even guess at the number of times I've pulled my kids out of a play area, or not entered a play area because big kids were running around.

It's physics; when two objects bump into each other the object with less mass always falls. You can see it in action here with these two kids:

I only let my older kids play in these play areas if it's empty and when I do I tell them, "This is a little kid play area. It's not intended for big kids. I am only allowing you to play here because it is empty (or almost empty). You cannot run around like crazy. Stay calm and walk to where you want to go. Steer clear of anywhere the little kids and babies are playing."

Elder Park wading pool.

Yesterday I was at the Elder Park wading pool with my youngest. A dad was enjoying the one-foot deep pool with his two young daughters. After a few minutes his three older kids came running up to the pool, jumped in, made waves, and splashed water everywhere.

My jaw dropped in amazement as I overheard him giving his big kids nearly the exact same speech as I give my kids. When his big kids didn't listen he kicked them out and told them to play in the big pool.

I thanked him and I'm sure all the moms of the toddlers enjoying the pool secretly thanked him too.

Please, do your part: keep little kid play areas little kid friendly. Have your big kids sit it out.

Pico Rivera Library Events

Pico Rivera Library

9001 Mines Ave., Pico Rivera, CA 90660
(562) 942-7394

 

 

Monday, 10am-6pm

Tuesday, 10am-8pm

Wednesday, 10am-8pm

Saturday, 10am-5pm

 

All event descriptions in italics are transcribed directly from the L.A. County Library website.

_____________________________________________

Rockin' Toddler Story Time

Monday, July 13, 10:30am

Monday, July 20, 10:30am

Monday, July 27, 10:30am

Let's celebrate the joys of music through story, song, and art. Children ages 1-3 years old and their adult caregiver.

 

Block-A-Palooza

Tuesday, July 7, 2pm

Come and get creative with over 10,000 pieces of large and medium size building blocks. Registration Required. Please call or visit the library to register. Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Pico Rivera Library.

 

Animate Something! Workshop

Tuesday, July 7, 4pm

Wednesday, July 8, 2pm

Saturday, July 11, 1pm

Let's get animated. Bring your toys, camera and creativity to learn how to create stop-motion animation in a 4-day workshop.  You'll make action figures dance, drawings come to life and turn everyday objects into video art.

 

Rope Warrior, Jump Rope Champion

Tuesday, July 14, 5pm

Guinness World Record Holder David Fisher, the Rope Warrior, will perform spectacular routines choreographed to a kaleidoscope of music. All ages welcome.

 

Teen Advisory Group Meeting

Wednesday, July 15, 2pm

Wednesday, August 12, 4:30pm

Join us for our monthly Teen Advisory Group meeting. Meet with fellow teens and share ideas on what types of programming you would like to see at the library. You'll also get to hang out and play games after the meeting. Why take part in our TAG meetings? These meetings can count towards your: Community Service requirement, Leadership Skill development, College application, & Job Resume. To get involved or for more information please ask for Pico Rivera's Teen Services Librarian.

 

Bark for Books

Saturday, July 18, Noon

Saturday, August 15, Noon

Saturday, September 19, Noon

Saturday, October 17, Noon

Saturday, November 21, Noon

Saturday, December 19, Noon

Practice your reading skills by reading aloud to a therapy dog from BARK (Beach Animals Reading with Kids). Designed for school-age children; beginning readers and pre-readers accompanied by a parent. This program is on a first come, first serve basis the third Saturday of the month. Participation is limited to dog reading team availability. For ages 4 and up.

 

Movie Screening

Tuesday, July 21, 2pm

Join us for a free animated film. This jazz-filled feline adventure will definitely be a swinging good time for all ages. Please call or visit the library for film title. Parents: please be aware that refreshments will be served. A list of ingredients will be available.

 

The Wacko Show

Tuesday, July 28, 2pm

Families, join us in celebration of all readers with our grand finale performance. Wacko's hilarious comedy and magic show will definitely be a rockin' good time for all. All ages welcome.

 

Word Art: Visual Poetry

Wednesday, July 29, 2pm

Express your poetic side, visually. Grab some books, newspaper articles and art supplies and let's make visual art with poetry. Here are some art ideas: Blackout Poems, Book Spine Poetry, Ransom Note, & Vine-it Poetry.

 

Free Concert: Quattrosound

Wednesday, July 29, 6pm

Quattrosound, 14th Annual Latin Grammy Nominee for Best New Artist, is an innovative ensemble presenting an inspiring and eclectic program of classical, Latin and jazz works. Quattrosound is what happens when you bring diverse cultures, talent and musical ideas together under one music–loving roof. All music is composed and/or arranged by group members. This concert is sponsored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis. For the whole family!

 

Board Games Galore

Wednesday, August 5, 3pm

Let's play some board games. Invent game ideas with us or come up with new rules for Chess, RISK, Settlers of Catan and more. It's a fun way to get creative and learn game development. For ages 10+.

 

Electronic Gaming Club

Wednesday, August 12, 5pm

Summer break is almost over. Get one more K.O. in before school starts. Think you can handle Rainbow Road? Get bugged and nerfed and let's play some console games. It's a Griefer-free zone. For ages 10+.

 

Paracord USB

Wednesday, August 26, 4pm

Tired of looking at your USB flash drive's generic case?  Give it some "flash" and wrap it in paracord.  Learn to weave with paracord and create paracord cases for your USB flash drive.

Supplies are limited.  Stop by early. For ages 12+.

 

SAT Practice Test Workshop

Saturday, September 5, 10am

How will you score on your SAT? Find out by taking a full-length practice test given under the same testing conditions as the actual exams. You'll get a personalized score report that shows your strengths and weaknesses. Space is limited and registration is required. Register at the Customer Service Desk. Practice test will be for the current 2015 SAT so high school Juniors and Seniors should sign up. Workshop provided by Princeton Review.

 

 

 

 

Chet Holifield Library Events

Chet Holifield Library

1060 S. Greenwood Ave., Montebello, CA 90640

(323)728-0421

Monday-Tuesday, 10am-7pm
Wednesday-Thursday, 11am-6pm

All event descriptions in italics are transcribed directly from the L.A. County Library website.

____________________________


Family Story Time
Monday, July 6, 5pm
Monday, July 13, 5pm
Monday, July 20, 5pm
Monday, July 27, 5pm
Nurture your child's love of reading with songs and stories at the library!  Simple art activities will also be provided to encourage learning. We will also be introducing a few words in American Sign Language each week to enrich our families' storytime experience! Open to all children and their caretakers.



 

Firework Shows in the Los Angeles area

Large firework shows must be registered with the city or county of Los Angeles. Most firework shows start at dusk or 9pm. Click city links for more information or visit SafeJuly4th.org.

Saturday, July 4th Firework Shows

 

Alhambra
       

Artesia
     

Baldwin Park
     

Burbank
            

Calabasas
     

Cerritos
     

Claremont
     

Commerce
     

Crescenta Valley
     

Culver City
       

Diamond Bar
     

Eagle Rock
     

El Sereno
     

Gardena
     

Huntington Park
     

La Habra
     

La Mirada
     

Long Beach: The Queen Mary
       

Los Angeles: Grand Park
  

Los Angeles: Van Ness Recreation Center,
     

Los Angeles: Exposition Park
     

Lynwood
     

Marina Del Rey:  Burton Chase Park
     

Marina Del Rey: Fisherman's Village
     

Monrovia

 

Monterey Park
     

Pacific Palisades
                

Porter Ranch
     

Redondo Beach
     

Rosemead   
     

San Fernando
     

San Pedro - Cabrillo Beach
     

Santa Clarita

Santa Fe Springs
     

South El Monte
     

South Gate

 

Walnut
     

Westlake Village
     

 

 

 

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