How to earn money back for shopping online

In New York City, I do a lot of online shopping. It seems silly, I know, that I'm mere miles from some of the best shopping in the world, but with a job and a baby, finding the time to go out and fight the crowds is few and far between.

I have to let you in on perhaps the best kept secret in online shopping. Ebates. Have you heard of it? You literally get cash back for shopping online, and yes, it's truly that simple. Look what I just got back from a recent online trip to Macys.com:

$93.95! Just for shopping online! Mike needed a couple of new suits (I threw in a pair of strappy sandals), Macy's was offering 16% cash back, and boom...I scored almost $100 for just clicking a couple of buttons of the ol' mouse. 

Here's how it works: sign up for a free online account. Then it will show you all the hundreds (thousands?) of stores that offer cash back. You click on those stores through the Ebates site, and voila...you're on your way to earning 1-16% back, depending on the store.

I even took it a step further and installed Ebates on my browser, so it automatically tells me each time I click into a website that it is Ebates friendly. (Do you see the red "E" on the right? That's it.) I then click on the "activate cash back" button and I'm all set. Your money is either sent to you via a check in the mail or through PayPal. (I just signed up for PayPal to save the paper.)

Since I started using this in late December, I've earned nearly $350 back!!! That's crazy. 

I would HIGHLY encourage you to sign up, and it would be amazing if you'd join through my referral link. (You get $20-$30 for referring people too...yippee!)
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=AYXj7iHxDLG%2BF1WlhqkQTQ%3D%3D&eeid=26471
In case they ask, my account is under Jeannie Evanchan, jeanniecrofts@yahoo.com.

It's the best thing EVER! Now, go do some shopping :-) xo

We aren't vaccinating our baby. Here's why...

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate...that is the question. It's certainly a topic that has parents heated on both sides. As the mother to an adorable, smiley and super fun 9-month old son, I can tell you that I only want what's best for him. And for me, that choice is to not vaccinate. Before you criticize, take a look at my top reasons why:

• We live in New York City. A city of 8 million people-- the densest city in America with 27,000 people per square mile. Why should our son be the one to get vaccinated? There are 7,999,999 other people who should. Not our son, no way.

• To that point, we have decided it's probably not safe to take him on the subway. Or the bus. Or a ferry. Or the playground. Luckily for us, he can't get into daycare since he's unvaccinated or see his pediatrician because she only sees vaccinated kids, so we're going to just keep him in a nice and protected bubble in our apartment. He will co-sleep and breastfeed until he's 10-- and I'm sure he'll be a totally well-adjusted adult.

• We have chosen not to vaccinate our son just like we've chosen not to put him in a car seat. Nope, it's laps all the way for us. Nor will he wear a seat belt or sit in a booster seat. If at anytime he has an open bleeding wound, we will not take him to the doctor. We have opted for the parenting philosophies called "We don't want no sissies" and "We don't give in to societal pressure."

• We have decided not to vaccinate because that one UK doctor and Jenny McCarthy bring up some super valid points. True, Jenny McCarthy posed in Playboy and that doctor had his medical license revoked, and yes he was found guilty of "serious professional misconduct," and yes his study was discredited, and yes he only studied 12 kids, but that's some scary shit. Fear over fact, every time. 

• We have decided not to vaccinate because it's not like these diseases even exist anymore. I hear that measles outbreak at Disneyland was just the liberal media trying to scare us. (Or wait, was it conservative lawmakers?) Either way, I'm not buying it. Oh and I love how they try to convince us that the disease has a 90% transmission rate among people who are not immunized. #Lies #Liberalagenda 

• We have chosen not to vaccinate because autism is at an all-time high. So is our population, pollution and use of pesticides, but remember, Dr. Wakefield said it was vaccines. So I believe him because he has had an MD at the end of his name. 

• And finally...we have decided not to vaccinate our kid...because, get real. Of course we're vaccinating him! When I look at Jack and hear his adorable laughter and see his sweet smile with just two bottom teeth, I know without a moment's hesitation that I would jump in front of a speeding train for him. I would take a bullet. I would fight off a grizzly bear. And despite my fears about him going out into this great, big, unforgiving world, I know that I'm doing everything I can as a mother to keep him safe and protected. And a major part of that is getting him vaccinated. 

Parents-- I know it's scary. I know the dark thoughts that keep us up at night, the visions of something bad happening, being worried nearly sick over our children. But I promise you, getting them the protection they need against highly contagious viruses and diseases in this huge, highly-mobile world, is the best decision you can make.

Now, should I take away the matches and knives he's playing with? 

P.S.- No need to post comments trying to sway me not to vaccinate. It will NEVER happen.

P.P.S- If you don't vaccinate your kids and we're friends or neighbors, let me know, because we will avoid you like the plague (just like the one you're trying to bring back). 

How to become a true New Yorker- curse out a woman at LaGuardia

In two and a half years of living in NYC (and three years in Chicago prior to that) I've dealt with plenty of long lines, traffic, crowded sidewalks and stores. But I decided long ago that it's a tax of sorts for living in a really cool, culturally-rich location that everyone else wants to be in too. And I credit it with actually making me more patient. In fact, it usually doesn't faze me when someone bumps into me or doesn't hold a door, because I get that people are in a hurry and are often totally oblivious. Instead I try to remember the people who are polite and I usually make over them with a, "Thank you! You are too kind!!" I even told one man who went out of his way to hold the elevator that he was a really good person sprinkling lots of karma in the world.

Well...I guess even the most laid-back person can lose it every now and again as evidenced when my alter ego Sasha Fierce took over last night and I told a woman trying to steal our cab to, "Shut the fuc* up!" Here's how it went down...

My mom and I took my 8-month old son, Jack, to Florida for a wonderful 10-day winter getaway. We landed at LaGuardia with tons of bags, so I decided to rent a "smart carte." Before I put my credit card into the machine, a worker with a giant cart said he would help us for the same price. "Great!" I said, knowing the extra help would be needed with a baby. After he loaded the bags, we headed for the cab line. There wasn't room for the cart, so the worker directing cabs told us to go wait past the cab stand, and he would send the next available SUV or van cab to us so we'd have room. Perfect.

We waited for several minutes while the smaller cabs picked up other passengers. Finally, an SUV pulled up so we started making our way to it. At the same time, an older looking woman darted toward the cab and started getting into it. The cab line guy realized what was happening and told the woman, "I'm sorry, they were here first. This is their cab. We'll get you the next one."

Well, she wasn't having it.

This was clearly a woman who isn't used to waiting. She is, however, used to wearing a full-length fur coat, not thanking the doorman in her Upper East Side building for helping her with her bags and sending her fork back at restaurants because it has spots on it. (Okay, true, I'm making assumptions on all of this based on her bitchy resting face and attitude, but I'm judgmental a very good judge of character.)

We continued loading our bags, but the woman kept bitching about how we cut, how it was her cab, how rude we were, yada yada, and she wouldn't walk away. There were other cabs behind her, but she was not giving up the dream.

I couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Listen lady, we've been waiting for 10 minutes for a larger cab, so you need to shut the fuc* up and go away!"

She looked absolutely appalled and turned to my mom and said, "Wow, the mouth on that one."

I think she expected my mom to scold me but instead she told the woman, "Well, you brought it on yourself and you really need to go away. Bitc*." (Okay, true, my mom didn't actually cuss, but I think that would have been funny. And it would have totally secured us a mother/daughter guest spot on Jerry Springer.)

The woman kept mouthing off, so I looked her right in the eye and yelled, "You think the mouth was bad? You ain't seen nothing yet!"

Wow, who knew I had it in me?

I looked over and the cart guy was grinning at me ear to ear. I'm sure he's wanted to say the same thing.

The moral of this story: yes, I could have handled the situation better, but how can anyone act like that, especially when a baby is waiting in the cold for a cab? I'm just hoping someone taped it with their cell phone so I can get a gig on the "Real Housewives of New York City." I'm totally ready to take on Ramona.

Days before my Sasha Fierce transformation

Northeast braces for 'potentially historic' snowstorm by fighting over bacon

I read on Twitter last night that two men at the grocery store got into a fight over bacon. Yes, bacon. Nothing says storm preps like breaking someone's nose for a cured pig product.

The Northeast is planning for a major snowstorm that will could dump a ton of snow-- some even say record-breaking-- so people all over New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and more are doing exactly what the news is telling them to do: they are going ape-shit crazy and buying everything they can get their hands on.

Including bacon.

This is what drives me nuts about severe weather. News stations go crazy with wall-to-wall coverage talking about the impending doom (which is always major, according to them), so eventually everyone at home panics and feels like they must go buy 7 times more food than they need. For viewers, it's further exasperated by the fact that when they go to the grocery, everyone else is panicking and filling their carts to the brim, and suddenly the hoarding mentality tells them it makes sense to fight over bacon.

Here are my top 5 reasons why y'all need to calm down.

1. News stations' ratings go up when they do weather coverage, so they do a lot of it. And they go overboard. Take it with a grain of salt.
2. As a former news gal, I know that reporters have to fill 1.5 to 2 minutes during their weather live shots, so they will also hype up that people are buying supplies and hunkering down. Also take it with a grain of sidewalk salt. (I once had to do snow coverage when it wasn't snowing. That is how smart TV stations are.)
3. Okay, so say you are stuck in your house for two days. For me, this is what I call a weekend. Trust me, you have enough food. 
4. Just because you can't leave the house for a few days doesn't mean that you need to buy several gallons of milk, tons of bread, eggs, bacon-- unless suddenly you've become a 400-pound man who can only leave the house after rescuers cut a hole in the wall and lift you out with a forklift.
5. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean you have to.

As an environmentalist, it's hard seeing all these empty shelves, because I know how much of this food will get trashed after it goes bad. Americans throw away 133 BILLION pounds every year.

So my advice--relax, be careful and don't go crazy. The only item you should be stocking up on: wine.

Joel David Moore in New York City

(Disclaimer: Having a 5-month old is like, well, way more work than I thought, so this blog was started on Saturday, September 27th. Kindly suspend your disbelief and pretend that it is indeed still that day. Thank you.)

Last night was one of those perfect New York City nights. It's that beautiful time of year when the summer's heat and humidity have said goodbye for another year, but the cool fall nights have not yet said hello. And from a totally girlie point of view, it's the small window of time when your hair will actually stay curled for more than 20 minutes.


Last night was also the night when this Hollywood actor would get into a fight because of me.

Wait, what? More on that later...

We started the night on my girlfriend's rooftop and the views were breathtaking. The sun was fading behind the Hudson River, and the lights of the city and Central Park danced in perfect harmony. As I've said before, New York can definitely beat you up every now and again, but then something this happens and it totally redeems itself.

After a glass of wine on the rooftop, we headed to the West Village and had dinner and drinks at Zampa Wine Bar + Kitchen (which is amazing. Great food and service. Cool ambiance too. Try the lasagna.)

With a nice wine buzz that had kicked in, there was only one logical next step: Karaoke! Now, I know what you're thinking. Karaoke totally sucks, right? No! Not in NYC. At places like Karaoke on 7 in the Flatiron District, you actually get a private room to sing, so you can make a complete fool out of yourself, and no one will care.

As soon as we got there, I decided I needed to go to the bathroom, so I headed down the hall, only to discover the most dreaded NYC site: ONE stall for men and ONE stall for women. (In a city of 8 million people, you'd think the city's architects would be a little better at math.) Luckily the line wasn't terrible, just one woman ahead of me.

After she went in, a man came up and got in line next to me and told me if the men's room opened first, he would insist that I go before him. I assured him I was fine, but he was adamant that women should always go first. Okay, cool, the ol' bladder certainly doesn't work like it did before childbirth, so what the heck. Sure enough, the men's restroom door opened, so the man (let's call him Larry) grabbed my arm and gave me a little push toward the door. I guess he thought I really needed to pee.

At the same time Larry flung me toward the door, another man walked, and started going into what he thought was an empty stall.

Oh no. Larry wasn't having it.

He yelled, "No!! She's going to use that restroom! Ladies first, man!"

After Larry finished pushing me into the stall, I took a look at the digs he had worked so hard for me to get. Yuck. It appeared every man in New York must have been swinging a hula hoop at the same time they were peeing, because there was urine everywhere except for IN the toilet. Ugh.

But whatever. Larry had worked so hard to get me this glorious opportunity, so I was just going to squat and bear it.

As I squatted and realized my thighs are significantly weaker post childbirth, I kept thinking that the man Larry had just yelled at looked soooo familiar. I had to know him from somewhere...

Then, I heard the two fighting outside the door.

Larry: "You have to let ladies go first!"

Familiar looking man: "Dude, that's fine, but you don't have to yell!"

Larry: "You want to take this outside??!!!"

Me murmuring to myself, "How do I know that guy? And why is Larry so angry?"

After I finished and opened the door, I could see that Larry and familiar looking man were still yelling. I turned to the woman next to me and said, "How do I know that guy??"

"He's in Avatar and Dodgeball."

"Oh my god, that's it!" I had just watched Dodgeball the week before.

His name is Joel David Moore and he got into a fight just because I needed to use the restroom. Sheesh. After Larry finally left, I walked up to Joel David, not exactly sure what to say. Luckily he broke the silence with "I was totally fine with you using the restroom first, I just wish that guy hadn't yelled."

Me slurring: "Totally."

(In my mind, "Can we take a selfie?")

Sadly, it didn't seem like the right time to get a pic. So we walked down the hall together, and parted ways as he entered room #3 while I continued down the hall to room #7. I tried to tell my girlfriends about what had just happened, but I wasn't exactly sure how to explain it.

When I Googled him later, I realized it was just his birthday the day before, so I tweeted him a Happy Birthday.

When I told Mike about the tweet, he said, "Did you apologize for almost getting him beaten up?"

Me: "Nope, didn't mention that."

Oh New York...

Bethenny Frankel's Return to the Real Housewives of NYC

To say that I like Bravo TV is like saying Justin Bieber is just kind of a douche. In other words-- it's a grossly inaccurate representation of the truth.

Bravo is THE channel I watch. In the rare moments I get to sit and watch TV these days, it's always on Bravo. In fact, when I'm feeding Jack, I'm almost always watching a Real Housewives of (insert any city here) or Million Dollar Listing NY, so his first words will likely be "Turtle Time!" "High Kick!" or "I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed...but I'm pretty!" (If you understood all of these references, I guarantee that I would like you.)

Last night, I got a lifetime of Bravo TV satisfaction by hanging out with Bethenny Frankel and Countess LuAnn De Lesseps from Real Housewives of New York City (Bethenny's coming back!! Yay!!!) and Fredrik Eklund from Million Dollar Listing NY. It was? The Best Night of My Life. (Okay, maybe not better than getting married or having a baby, but it least it didn't involve an epidural and worries that I was going to poop myself.)

Gilt City put together a cool and super swanky happy hour at Bagetelle restaurant in the Meatpacking District for the release of Bethenny Frankel's new book, Skinnygirl Cocktails. A ticket got each of us unlimited Skinnygirl cocktails (like a Pink Cotton Candy Cosmo), the chance to meet Bethenny and see her make said cocktails and an autographed copy of the book. (LuAnn and Fredrik being there was an extra bonus.)

When I arrived, Bethenny looked right at me and I felt like there was this moment where she was thinking, "How the heck do I know that girl?" I'm not huge on annoying people with pictures or selfies, but what the heck, Bethenny and I go way back. So I went up to her, tapped her on the arm, and said, "Bethenny, I was on your show a year ago," and showed her this pic...

She grabbed my phone and zoomed in on it and said, "Oh, that's so funny. What were you there for?"

"I was confessing that I had a dirty dream about Leonardo DiCaprio."

She laughed and said, "That's so cool you have a picture of that. Thanks for showing me." I then asked if we could take a selfie, you know, since we're practically besties. She agreed and said we should do brunch sometime. (Ok, maybe not the second part.)

With my Pink Cotton Candy Cosmo kicking in, I had the courage to keep going. I walked over to Fredrik and LuAnn and asked if I could take pictures with them too. The bad news? My camera started acting funky. The good news? I got some very artistic-looking pics.

I thanked Fredrik for the pic and said "High Kick!" He laughed.

I told LuAnn she has such a sexy voice (which is even sexier in person) and she said, "Oh, that's so sweet. Thank you!" She also has the most perfect, flawless skin.

Okay, I know what you're thinking at this point. "Jeannie, are you stalking these people?" (Yes) "Why don't you give them some space (not going to happen) and stop taking pictures? (Because it's 2014 and instead of enjoying the moment, we all have to take pics and post them to social media, stat, right?)

Plus, it's not like I'm REALLY a stalker who would try to sneak in their chimney's just because I love them so much.

Genoveva Nunez-Figueroa, yes, I'm talking to you. How did these seem like a good idea?

Anyway, back to the night. It ended with a really cool Q & A with Bethenny who talked about her return to the Real Housewives of NYC. Yay! Here's a video I took where she first describes the differences between having a talk show and doing reality TV and how she feels about coming back.

All in all, it was a fantastic night. Thanks Gilt City, Bethenny, LuAnn and Fredrik! Call me maybe?

Maternity Leave

I cannot believe it. It is the LAST day of my maternity leave, and honestly, I have no idea where the past 9 weeks have gone. It's been a slobbering, poopy blur.

When I found out Jack's due date was May 23rd, I was stoked. It was close to Memorial Day which meant I was going to have almost the entire summer off to enjoy brunches and rooftop cocktailing with my girlfriends. Plus I could squeeze in daily runs to burn off my cupcake and ice cream baby weight and trade in my elastic-waisted pants for some cute summer shorts. I also planned to work on my book I've been writing for several years (about my time as a news reporter), write and pitch several magazines on mommyhood and pregnancy, have the apartment cleaned and organized at all times and dinner on the table for my husband when he came home. I was going to take Jack to Central Park often and just enjoy the outdoors as much as possible.

Ha! Any of you who have had a baby are probably laughing right now.

Here's what I really got done:

* I fed the baby
* I changed the baby
* I started all over again

A basic blowout. This requires creative changing and a clean onesie.

Oh, and here are a few other "accomplishments:"

* I poured coffee into the baby bottle and breast milk into the coffee mug
* I called our dog "Jack" and our baby "Buckeye" more times than I'd care to admit
* I had a emotional and mental breakdown after we accidentally clipped off the tip of our son's finger while trying to cut his nails (That was the first and LAST time we have cut his fingernails. He will just have to get used to looking like Howard Hughes.)
* I clearly mastered the art of swaddling

* I captured beautiful moments of my son on videotape:

And...


(Seriously is this kid works as hard at life as he does on a poop, he'll be the next Bill Gates.)

* I learned how to create a GIF from said videos...

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

* I showed our son the art of a selfie...

* How to fist pump...

* The ever important air guitar...



* And finally...how to be a true New Yorker...

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif