All in a day's work

Girls night out!

2011-06-12T12:27:00.001-04:00

Girls night out! by Ashema featuring leather jackets

INHABIT sheer top
$275 - net-a-porter.com

Rag Bone leather jacket
$750 - bluefly.com

Skinny jeans
$100 - generalpants.com.au

Antik Batik flat sandals
$225 - calypsostbarth.com

River Island handbag
riverisland.com

Wet Seal diamond bangle bracelet
9.54 CAD - intl.wetseal.com

Mezi gunmetal jewelry
mycatwalk.com.au

Wet Seal stackable ring
$5.50 - wetseal.com

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick - True Red : Target
$6.49 - target.com

oh oh she does it like this. can you do it like that?
$20 - squidoo.com

Givenchy Magic Kajal
14 GBP - houseoffraser.co.uk

O.P.I Limited Edition Britannia Collection
$18 - asos.com

Spam

2010-08-16T14:48:00.005-04:00

Why? I mean really. Are Viagra sales so low, someone takes time out of their day to find a blog entry from a year ago to 'advertise' it? Really?
For the benefit of my readers I've put commenting on moderation. I do apologize for having to do this, but I gather most, if not all, of you would rather skip the silly comments advertising Viagra. If you want to comment on Viagra, please find another blog on which to do it! I'm sure there are blogs out there that welcome that type of solicitation. IT IS NOT WELCOME HERE!! Thank you and have a great day!

Chastising spammers, sadly, is also all in a day's work! :-{

Until next time,
Carmen

Loving the beach

2010-07-05T07:00:00.001-04:00

I should have been a beach bum! I love the beach, but for the oddest reasons.

When I go to the beach with my friends or family, I'm not interested in going in the water at all! I just want to bask in the sunlight and listen to the waves and whatever is playing on my iPod. I'm glad my kids are old enough to body board and play without me having to pay too much attention to them. They're strong swimmers, but the current is often stronger so every now and again I have to remind them they're too far out.

Other than that, I'm good just soaking up the rays and occasionally walking the beach to collect seashells. We'll usually pack a cooler full of drinks and sandwiches and snacks. That's really all I need. REALLY! I could go every weekend, everyday actually.

We bought one of those tent things that help shield you from the sun from BJ's. It was only about $15. I loved it and it worked perfectly. Actually it could have been a little bigger so I could keep the coolers inside and thus the food cooler. But for the money it was perfect for just the two of us. The boys are always in the water so they really don't need it. I bought my mom a beach chair that had an umbrella with it and she loved it. She's 84 years old and loves going even though walking in the sand with her cane is like a triathlon to her!

Now that I'm planning on going to the beach more often I really need to find another bathing suit to wear. UGH!! That won't be fun but it's all in a day's work!

Until next time!
Carmen

Music pt.2

2010-07-04T07:00:00.001-04:00

Fast forward to having kids...I didn't get them a piano at an early age, but I did expose them to good music. They listened to good music from the womb. Good music doesn't always mean classical music either, though that is how I was trained when I took lessons. My dad didn't let us listen to the radio back in the day. We listened to recordings of Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and the like. In fact, I remember telling the kids at school about who we saw on The Lawrence Welk show the night before the way kids talk about American Idol today. My friends however were not at all excited about my music. (I only talked about Mr. Welk once, I learn fast!) We listened to classical music often, and my dad was a big fan of Barbra Streisand. I tried to instill the same things in my kids, exposing them to the best of whatever music was out there. We liked all kinds of music, from Hard Rock to R&B to Country and everything in between, but we just listened to the best of each genre. At the time I didn't think it had much of an affect on my sons.

Boy was I wrong to think that! It started with my oldest son. My husband would sing to him at bedtime to rock him to sleep. At some point in time, he would sing the song "I Swear" by the group All-4-One. My son must have been about 9 months old when we were in the car and the song came on. I was talking to my mom and would arbitrarily changed the channel. My son cried and screamed. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. Nothing else was on the radio so I ended up turning it back to that song and he abruptly stopped complaining! Then I realized it was my changing the song that made him upset. I changed it again just to test my hypothesis and low and behold he started up again. When I changed back, he stopped. A music lover was born and had 9 months old he had a preference! He continues to love music and has taught himself to play the guitar! My youngest sou has taught himself to play the piano and guitar and both of them want to play the violin. They love all different types of music. Good music.

One of our favorite activities is to go to Sam Ash Music Store and pick out sheet music and play all the instruments. We can literally stay there (and have) for hours! Even though I wasn't able to pursue my goal of becoming a music therapist, I'm glad I was able to share my love of music with my children the way my dad shared it with me! It's more than a day's work, it's a life's work!

Until next time!
Carmen

Music pt.1

2010-07-03T07:00:00.001-04:00

I started taking piano lessons when I was 5 years old. My father was a musician. I remember thinking, no... knowing, the powerful effect music can have on people. I remember my dad being brought to tears by hauntingly beautiful pieces of music. At other times, they lifted his spirits. Without ever really saying alot about it, he taught me the value of music. It's always been a part of my life and because it has the ability to move, uplift, and inspired, and I wonder what makes people tick, I naturally felt that music therapy would be the field for me to go into. Years later, that never happened for me. Nonetheless, I used music to soothe myself, help me release emotions I would generally wouldn't, and at times feel joy.

That was until I got married. My husband loves music also, but not like me. I lived for it. I tended to put music on the back burner. I was a wife now. Spending all day consumed with music was not to be and I really was consumed. For example, by the time I graduated high school I played the piano, trumpet, flute, violin, guitar and sang. I spent my summers taking classes in a Fame type school, we're I learned to master my instrument (at the time the violin) learned another instrument (cello), took a class in conducting (which I loved, naturally!!), and then played in the orchestra at the end of the day to practice a piece that we would perform at the end of the summer. At the end of the summer in the middle of playing, I had to stop and listen to all the instruments around me. It was phenomanal! I couldnt' believe I was a part of it. We were playing at our best at that moment, every note pefectly played, perfectly in tune, just plain perfect! I was stunned! It was like a flurry of notes all around that suddenly came together in harmony. (As you can tell I'm having a moment!) I really don't know how to explain it. My husband rolls his eyes sometimes when I go back to those days. I keep telling him, it was truly was an experience that words can't contain. Have you ever had an experience like that? Maybe it wasn't musical in nature, but have you experience a feeling so intense, words can't describe it? For me that's what music is like.

Stay tuned for part two!

Until next time!
Carmen

Chores of Duty

2010-07-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hey all,
I’m back and ready to go to work. There are so many chores I need to do today and I’ve decided that blogging about it might be the way to get me back to…well…blogging. First off I’m using a new format with which to blog. I have a Dell computer which had Dell Dock and that made blogging so much easier. I could put links in without having to know HTML. Without Dell Dock, I found blogging a bit tedious. (Which is probably why I should learn HTML so I wouldn’t have to be limited by certain programs, right?! You would think wouldn’t you?) Anyway, I have Microsoft Office which supposedly has a blogger template, so I’ll be using that. I’ll let you know if I think it works well.

On to chores. I need to print about 5,000 invitations, update my blog, try to finish my husband’s website, fill out the boy’s new patient information for their new dentist and make sure it’s dropped off by 2PM, and of course attempt the multitudes of chores around the house. Friday usually the day I try to spend going out and basically being by myself. But, because that day is also the day my husband works his business, I’ll send out invoices on that day and make deposits. So instead of finding everything to do outside of the house, I’ll try and stay in and make it a desk day. I’ll find another day of the week to be by myself.

Well I guess it’s off to do my chores of duty. It’s all in a day’s work!

Until next time,
Carmen

New Layout

2010-07-02T10:47:00.002-04:00

So.....What do you think of my new layout! I'm sure I'll change it a few more times until I get it just the way I want it. But for now this will do. I'm glad to be back and will have plenty to blog about!

Until next time,
Carmen

Follett Educational Services

2010-02-23T12:09:00.006-05:00

I just had to ordered some TE books for my son. I have to say the best place all around for textbooks is http://www.fes.follet.com. I really like this company. They've changed their website a little but for the most part, I can find what I need at the right price. The particular book I was looking for cost between $70-$125 everywhere I looked. It only cost $51 at Fes Follett. I just ordered it on Wednesday and I'm expected to get it Friday. I'm so excited! My son on the other hand is not so excited. It is Algebra after all.

If you're a homeschooler and need to pickup textbooks, I would highly recommend this company. If you have any questions about them, be sure to drop me a line! Oh, and another thing, when you're finished with the books, you can sell it back to them! How great is that?!

Finding bargains is all in a day's work but it's also rewarding!

Until next time,
Carmen

Friday Favorites!

2010-02-19T15:42:00.008-05:00

So this dessert is a new favorite of mine. It's based on the yogurt parfait at McDonald's. While spending a buck for it is not really a big deal, it's so much better when you can make it yourself! Here's how I did it.

Penny Pincher's Parfait

I started off trying to find the perfect yogurt, which for me was Dannon's Vanilla Yogurt. I followed that with some simple frozen mixed berries. I'm partial to strawberries at berries go. That's the beauty of making it yourself. You can make it just the way you want. You could use low fat yogurt or sugar free if they have it. (I like sugar and fat so that won't work for me!) The hardest thing to find was the granola. I wanted the kind that looked like the one at McDonald's but could never find it, or it was more than I was willing to pay. Then, I came across a recipe for granola that was so easy that even I could do it. It made enough granola to fill a gallon size storage bag and we also use it as cereal so we cut down on buying cereal! I like having a one, two punch to boot! To make the parfait you just add the yogurt to your serving dish top with the berries, add more yogurt, then more berries and so on until you get to the top. Let your last layer be yogourt with just a garnish of berries and then had the granola. Here's the recipe for the granola.

Easy Granola

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oil (canola is fine)

1/2 cup of honey

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. vanilla

7 cups oats (I've used quick cooking and old fashioned and old fashioned is better)

1. Mix brown sugar, oil, and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil.

2. Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon and vanilla.

3. Pour over oats in a large bowl. Stir until well coated.

4. Spread oats in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

5. Take out and stir.

6. Return pan to oven. Turn oven off.

7. You can either leave it overnight or go back to it after 45 minutes to an hour and enjoy!

It's so good y'all! (An ode to Paula Deen!) This doesn't last very long in our house. You can add roasted pecans or other nuts, dried fruit for a trail mix or anything else you can come up with. I just came across a recipe for making your own yogurt in a crock pot! I'll let you know how that comes out when I try it. Just because cooking is all in a day's work, doesn't mean it can't be your favorite activity! Just keep it fun and tasty! Everyone loves a parfait!

Until next time,

Carmen

Body Wash Alert

2010-02-16T13:41:00.004-05:00

I got a sample from Wal-mart a few weeks back from Caress. It's the Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating Body Wash. It smells sooooo good! It reminds me of coffee and cinnamon rolls. My husband says he likes it and even my kids liked it.

Well, while I was out and about yesterday my sister told me that someone blogged about this particular body wash. I, of course, forgot all about the sample I had! The blogger stated that it cost only about $6. Imagine my surprise when I found it for $3.87! Whoohoo! 18oz for $3.87! Of course, it's going to go up in price if it gets really popular so I get I better stock up, huh?!

Once I give it a try I'll let you know how it goes. My skin has been really dry this winter. I've been taking more baths and I'll admit they're usually in hot water since I'm always freezing. I'll stop doing that (hot water baths not bathing altogether!). I really need to find a good moisturizer for my skin also. Anyone have a recommendation? I'd love to hear it!

Until next time,
Carmen

Hi all!

2010-02-16T12:53:00.003-05:00

Good morning, afternoon or evening wherever you are! How are things going for everyone? For me, so far so good. I wanted to start doing the Master Cleanse but when I went to the store, they were completely out! I guess I wasn't the only wanting to start.

I spent most of the day yesterday trying to recover from back spasms. I don't know where I got that from since I've never had problems with it before. Anyway, this morning I felt much better and so I headed to the store in 28 degree weather. Anyone who knows me knows that's not like me at all since I hate cold weather. I just felt like I had to get out of the house though. The cold air certainly woke me up. I just wished I had a hot cup of coffee to keep me warm. I usually don't wear a jacket when I'm driving because it feels restrictive, but you better believe I had one on this morning!! (With gloves to boot!)

After I got home, the nurse from home health (for my mom) was already here. Fortunately they've discharged her which means she's doing significantly better. They packed up all their equipment and said goodbye. If you ever find that you need that service, make sure you look into it. It was well worth it!

Then I started scheduling school work. I really tried to let them do it on their own, but at some point you got get in there and handle it before it gets too overwhelming for them and me! Of course they balked and complained, but like my husband likes to say, "Just take a deep breath...and then get over it!" I don't even have to say it to them now. I just take a deep breath and they usually desist from the whining!

So now I'm blogging and trying to spend some time organizing, and scheduling myself. It's all in a day's work!

Until next time,
Carmen

We have normality!

2010-02-12T19:05:00.003-05:00

Thanks for sticking with me guys. Things have been pretty rough for the last couple of months, but I think times are changing. Winter is the worst time of year for me. I practically go into hibernation, but now I feel the days getting longer and I'm starting to come back to life. I just wished the threat of snow would go away.

Don't get me wrong, I love watching the snow from inside. In fact, once in a while I'll even go out in it and play! But if I had my way, I'd be near a beach somewhere melting. I'd rather drip in sweat than to be slightly chilled! That's just me. :-)

I just wanted to stop in and let you know I'm still here. I have a tendency to believe that I have to write something lengthy or nothing at all. Just to make sure I'm contributing more, I will have more frequent blogs but not as long.

Until next time,
Carmen

Talk about a bad week

2009-12-14T11:34:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone,

As the title suggest, last week hasn't been one of my best weeks. My oldest sister died and so I traveled out of state for that and when I got back I got the flu and was wiped out. It'll probably take me a week and a half to get back on track. Today is my first day being up and around.

I really hadn't had a chance to be affected by my sister's death yet. Everything happened so fast. Well, she had cancer so we knew she was sick but I just saw her about 2 weeks before she died. She was in the hospital then but she was sitting up and talking to us and was slated to go home. I really believed she would get better. Soon after that we got the call that she was back in the hospital and that it didn't look good. Within 24-36 hours, the news was that she wouldn't make it through the night and she didn't. I'm glad I did see her when I did though. Don't let anyone fool you. Death is not a friend, it is the enemy of all mankind. We weren't intended to die. Everything in us fights to live, to take the next breath.

After coming home, I found myself feeling under the weather, but I attributed it to the stress of having lost a sibling. My mom had a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning and by Tuesday afternoon, I was done for. By Wednesday morning I was fighting a fever of 103 degrees and fought it for the next 2 days after which it finally broke. I literally spent all my time in bed in and out of consciousness. My family did a good job of taking good care of me. They brought me food (yes I typically can eat with a high fever!) and liquids, made sure I took my meds and all the good stuff. By Saturday I felt more like a normal person, just an annoying cough and some post nasal drip to contend with. My oldest son made me breakfast in bed. Sausage, scrambled eggs and french toast with coffee and a biscuit! I couldn't eat the biscuit but I sure did put the rest away!

So here I am today washing clothes and trying to get back into some kind of routine. I have a tendency to want to jump right back in where I left off but I need to take it slow or I'll have a relapse and I don't have time for that! I'll get it done though. To me, "All in a Day's Work" gives me the ability to work at it one day at a time. And I'll do just that!

Until next time and hopefully with happier news,
Carmen

More podcasts

2009-11-20T09:38:00.003-05:00

Hey all,

Last week I talked about one of my favorite podcasts. Some of the other ones I like are:
The Dealista from the Quick and Dirty Tips series and Grammar Girl which is also a part of this series. Both are very informative. The Dealista shows practical ways to save money. For example one episode tells you what to look for when buying a digital camera. There are things that are important to look for and others that are not and it's not what you think it is!
Grammar Girl is informative and practical and for me, helpful since I'm a homeschooler. Of course, because it's called Grammar "Girl" my boys dreaded having to listen, but they've gotten over it.

Another one I like is Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone. They only have 4 episodes right now, so they've just recently started. One is a personal trainer and the other lost a lot of weight and they both found each other's blog and decided to do a podcast together. One of them is training to be in a marathon so much of what they talk about is related to running and all the training to go with it. I'm not at that point yet, so while it's informative, I just process and store all the points I hear.

My next post will be about saving money at Target that I learned from Dealista so stay tuned! Finding valuable information and saving money is (say it with me!) All in a Day's Work!

Until next time,
Carmen

I'm back!!

2009-11-10T08:14:00.006-05:00

Good day everyone! It's so nice to be back with you all. It's been awhile I know but we've been battling the flu, had some hospitalizations and all that fun stuff. I'm getting to the point that I'm not sure what to write about anymore. I've been reading lots of blogs lately and they all seem so interesting. People either have exciting lives or perhaps they're selling a product or just have something noteworthy to say. Maybe I should write about what my fantasy life would be like! What do you think? We'll see.

In the meantime, let me just tell you about things that have been on my mind. Keep in mind that my mind is not the most organized place to be so... these thoughts are really random and may make no sense.

I recently broke down and bought a 32GB Ipod Touch. I'm still a Palm girl at heart though. Everyone raved at how much better Apple products are to everything else, including it's better user interface. I'm not quite there yet. I like some of the features it has, but for the price and the hype, I'm really not feeling it.

However, I do like the fact that I can load my podcasts on them fairly easily. One of my favorites right now is Fit Girl: Your Guide to Getting in Shape. Kira Langolf's fitness advice is so balanced and reasonable. She really covers all aspects of getting into shape namely, nutrition, fitness, and motivation. She tackles it all. Most of the podcasts are free but if you want to have her "talking in your ear" while to do strength training and such, you can buy them. She has lots of great informative material. Go to http://fitgirlguide.blogspot.com/ for more info! I'll post other blogs that I like in the next few days.

Another thing is wigs! I'm not sure what the fascination is these days! Wigs don't even look good on me, but for some reason I love looking them over and trying them on! I've yet to find one that I like. I even bought one a few months ago. I never wear it out. For some reason, it looked good in the store and even when I put it on it looked nice. (I think maybe they thinned it out a bit) I got it home and it was a hot mess. Most people I've talked to that wear wigs always say they have to play with it a bit or perhaps even cut it. My thing is....what's the point of doing all that? If I wanted to do all that work, I'd do my own hair! My idea of a wig is to be able to just slap on a style! You know what I mean? Having a bad hair day? Trying to stretch your relaxer and you don't want to manipulate your own hair too much? SLAP ON A STYLE!! It should be that simple shouldn't it? Is that so unreasonable? (Can you tell I'm having an issue with this?) I don't want to spend more than 5 minutes on hair that's not mine. Then I found a lady on YouTube who can wear virtually any wig style and color and it looks good on her from the beginning. She can do short or long hair, curly or straight hair, dark or light hair. It's really unfair but beautiful. Then I found the secret to her success. She has a long narrow face like the heads in the wig shop. That has to be it! Well I don't have that characteristic so everything on me looks absolutely crazy. But I'm on a mission to find the wig for me. It's out there somewhere. If someone has full round face like me, and has found success wearing wigs.....please help me out here!!

OK I'm a bit on a roll here but I don't want to overwhelm you guys. I really need to get more into podcasting. I really struggle with writing. I have so much to say but by the time I get it typed out, it's gone! You know what it is for me.....All in a Day's Work!!

Monthly checkup

2009-09-22T19:05:00.007-04:00

Hey all,

Just a little note to let you all know I'm still alive. I'm getting my kids ready for school. We've had a busy two months with some volunteer work we were doing. They will start next week and I'm kind of excited about it!

I've also been getting into couponing in an effort to save money. I was able to get about $45 worth of groceries for about $9 and that was name brand items! I was soooo excited! I've done it about 2-3 times and it's starting to be addictive!

As soon as things get back to normal around here I'll be up and running at full force!

Until next time,

Carmen

Hello everyone!

2009-08-18T07:52:00.002-04:00

Good day everyone!
I know it's been a good while since I posted and I'm sorry for getting behind. Alot of things are going on and trying to keep everything going has left me little time for anything really. I usually have a hard time falling asleep, but for the last few weeks I've been staggering to the bed and as soon as my head hits the pillow I'm out! Sometimes I actually giggle...it's so sweet to have sleep come that easy!

Sadly however the quality of sleep still isn't that great. I need to figure out how to get that part going. Any ideas? I'll try almost anything. I'm still waking up pretty tired. I usually get up without an alarm at 6:30am. My eyes just open and I can't go back to sleep. I've been trying to get up as soon as I wake up. It seems like such a waste to stay in bed if you're not going to be sleeping, though there have been times when I've laid in bed for hours not feeling motivated to get up (but that's a different story for another time).

It's time for school to get started and I'm actually excited about it. I can't say the boys are but I guess if I were them I wouldn't be either. I like the routine that going back to school brings. This summer has been a whirlwind of activity for us.

Well I just wanted to check in and tell everyone I'm still here. I've gotten some emails and comments about what happened to the posts. I'll have to tell you about the class I took late last month. It's part of what has been keeping me so busy lately. Keeping it together is all in a day's work isn't it?

Until next time,
Carmen

More free stuff from Softsheen-Carson

2009-07-26T13:54:00.004-04:00

Softsheen-Carson has some more free stuff in store for you. You can try a free sample of the NEW strengthening Oil Moisturizer and Reconstructing Deep Treatment Conditioner featuring organic shea butter and green tea. Click the title of this blog to get your free sample today!!

Motherhood

2009-07-23T12:08:00.004-04:00

Technorati Tags: motherhood,rainbow

My husband wrote this poem for me back when the boys were younger. I just became a stay at home mom and of course he thought that would be the easiest job! He stay home with us for a couple of days because he was sick and saw what I really did throughout the day. Here is his poem.

Motherhood

Bounding wounds and killing colds just part of her routine.

All while knowing that in the war she’s her own regime.

Capture that hill of pots and pans, defeat the spot on the floor.

Round up the troops and scrub ‘em down,

wait there’s a knock at the door.

Another company enters the field and slows her momentum down,

but she conquers the group and waves them off, to continue to

cover her ground. She feeds and beds her own troop

ending the daily fight remembering that soon tomorrow begins,

continuing her endless plight.

2-4-1999

Wasn't that neat?! He's actually good at writing poems. Our youngest son has also picked up the gift. I'll have to post some of his stuff also.

The picture above was taken July 17, 2009 after a major thunderstorm here in our area. Can you see the double rainbow? It was awe inspiring! I'll try to send a video of it later if I can figure out how to do it!!

Until next time,

Carmen

Free gift from Estee Lauder

2009-07-22T15:09:00.001-04:00

Visit any Estee Lauder counter tomorrow evening (Thursday, July

23, 2009) for a free 10-day supply of Estee Lauder's new Advanced Night Repair. No purchase necessary. Go here for more information!

Technorati Tags: Estee Lauder,free gift

African thunderstorm

2009-07-20T10:13:00.002-04:00

This is something I just had to share. The human voice is truly a miraculous instrument! This is a group of about 50 people who simulate a thunderstorm and then sing Toto's Africa a cappella. It's so neat!! Click on the link below. Enjoy!

Until next time,
Carmen

African thunderstorm

Shared via AddThis

Dunkin' Donuts Sample

2009-07-15T09:07:00.004-04:00

So this the trick that most bloggers use!! Well I'm going to try it. I love coffee but I usually have the opposite effect of most people. I drink it at night to help me go to sleep! My acupuncturist said it's because I must use a lot of creamer and sugar and to try a strong Starbucks coffee to see if it would still put me to sleep. It did. I'll give Dunkin' Donuts a try though and now you can too for free! (If you decide to get a donut too... I won't tell!)

Until next time,
Carmen

Soothing Waters Bath and Gifts

2009-07-13T07:17:00.001-04:00

My very good friend Jenifer is the writer of the Soothing Waters and Bath blog. It’s very informative and I know you’ll enjoy checking it out. Recently I sampled some of her products and I just had to tell you all about it! First, I’ll list what I got.

N.E. Valencia Milk Bath Soak
Brazilian Espresso Coffee Scrub Bar- Handcrafted Soap
Lavender, Jasmine w/Sea & Rose Clay-Handcrafted Soap
Lemon Verbena-Handcrafted Soap
Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub by The Body Shop

I’ll review some of these on a different blogs. The first one I want to talk about is the Lemon Verbena soap. I really like this one. It’s the first one I tried. It was super creamy and it didn’t leave the soapy film on my skin like most soaps do. In fact, I usually don’t use soap for that reason. This rinses clean and my skin feels soft. The scent isn’t overly powerful (though I personally like a stronger scent) and it reminds me of old fashioned soap your grandmother probably made. It has a luxuriant feel to it. While it’s a great body soap, it’s also perfect for using as just a hand soap since it’s not very drying. This one is definitely a hit! I’m almost out!

The next one that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, is the Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub by The Body Shop. WOW!! It smells sooo good. It’s mentally stimulating, so if you have a hard time waking up in the morning, this is the scrub for you! The gentle exfoliating beads and the wonderful grapefruit aroma does an excellent job at rejuvenating you after a good night’s rest (or maybe even a not so good night’s rest). So far this is my favorite! I personally would also get the shower gel and the body butter since I like to layer my scents. So go over to her website and check it out!

Technorati Tags: handcrafted soaps,body scrub,gift sets

Just wanted to say thanks!

2009-07-12T20:22:00.002-04:00

Hey all,

I've noticed that I've gotten some new 'followers' in the last week and I wanted to say thanks! It's really inspiring to write when I know someone is reading. If you want to know or have me write something more specific or even do a review of something I would be happy to do it!! I'm more likely to write when someone wants to know something, as opposed to me just writing because I have something to say. I will be reviewing some bath products very soon! I look forward to hearing from you guys!!

Until next time,

Carmen

What a day!

2009-07-07T09:57:00.002-04:00

OK so yesterday (Monday) was a drain. I spent the entire day and I do mean entire day, working with my hair. It started the night before when I decided to prepoo my hair before I colored it. Prepooing is putting a conditioner or something like it on your hair for a period of time before you wash it. (Or so I thought.) It appears that you should use some type of oil and not necessarily any ol' conditioner. I was going to put a rinse in it to combat the gray I'm dealing with, but after I washed my hair, I knew that was not going to happen.

It was a hot mess. For the last couple of days or so, my hair was really breaking off. I could probably knit a sweater with the hair that was on my bathroom floor! When I got in the shower to wash my hair it started to mat. (Is that how you spell that type of mat?) I tried using a large tooth comb to get it under control with no success. Then I figured I'd try using a moisturizing shampoo, again with no success. Finally I just decided to let the water run through it and see if that would help. It did but it was still a mess. Of course I couldn't put any color on it in that condition so I decided to do a deep, deep condition to try to get it back to where it was. I still couldn't really get a comb through it so I just put a reconstructor on it and it started to feel like butter! FINALLY!! I was so relieved.

I left that reconstructor on for hours. First I sat up under the dryer for about 30 minutes and then kept it on for another hour and a half or so. Of course after any protein treatment and especially a reconstructor you need to condition your hair with a moisturizing conditioner so that your hair isn't too brittle and I did. Again, I sat under the dryer for at least 45 minutes and then kept it on for about 2 more hours. I know, I know, that's pretty extreme but you don't understand what my hair was like in that shower!!!

Finally SUCCESS! My hair was no longer breaking and I could get a comb through it. I won't be coloring it any time soon though. I want to make sure it is in better condition before I put another chemical in it. I did my first roller set and it came out OK. It took about 45 minutes but I think the time will get shorter the more I do it. I really think it's easier to just pay someone else to do it though. I mean I started before 8 that morning and didn't get finished until at least 7:30 that night. Of course with the economy the way it is, who can afford it? I guess in addition to everything going on, figuring out what to do with my hair is truly ALL in DAY'S work!

Until next time,
Carmen