TRY IT!

Try it! ~

I found a recipe on Pinterest for Homemade lotion bars: A lotion bar is like solid lotion, but it melts as you rub it on your warm skin. Keep it in a tin in your purse, wonderfulness.  (this is the idea)

lotion bars in tins (the lids are underneath) and the molds I used

Equal parts of:
beeswax or (4.5oz) I suggest pellets, they are so easy!

shea butter or (4oz)
coconut oil or (4oz)

   and

essential oils / vitamin E

the Result:

Stinky! Shea butter stinks! Even after dumping 3 ml of my essential oil blend (vs just a few drops, which is what things normally call for), all I smell is Shea butter. I would suggest doing half as much Shea as coconut oil, (or maybe buying coco butter instead of shea??) But I made such a large batch, (which I don’t even care for using because of the smell) so I don’t know if I’ll EVER need to make another batch (I made so many because they were gonna be part of my home-made neighbor Christmas gifts, but then I never got around to passing them out…)

Fail… (they are moisturizing, and pretty cool, but it’s hard to get over the smell)

bath fizzies in and out of their gift bags.

Another part of my non-given Christmas gifts was Bath Fizzies, recipe also found on Pinterst:

1 ¾ cup Baking Soda

2 cups Cornstarch

1 cup Citric Acid

Water in a spritzer (with a few drops food coloring)

5-6 drops Essesntial Oils

You mix the dry ingredients, then slow spritz and stir (trying to avoid too much fizzing) until it can be tightly packed, then you add the essential oil, stir it in. then pack it into small baking molds.

Let dry/set for atleast 2 hours, then pop out.  It says she suggest ¼ cup per fizzy, is good for 1 bath.

This turned out better than the lotion bars (no stinky shea butter) and it fizzied in the tub! I added one at the end of my kids bath and they loved it. 

Success!

The 3rd part of my gift was a salt scrub, I made a tiny bit for myself, and liked it, I also made a single jar as a thank you to a friend (don't know what she thought of it) Then thought it would be easiest to make a big batch then divide it into jars.  But I never cleaned up my baby food jars (the sticky residue from the labels) and I never spray painted the lids (so they'd be cute instead of looking like baby food jars) And since I never prepped my jars I never made the big batch... But it's really easy!

There are so many combinations to be found (via pinterest) So you can do whatever you want, the basics are:

sea salt

oil (evoo (has a smell to it), almond oil, or whatever your favorite is (apricot, grape seed, avocado...)

*use half as much oil as salt.

add essential oil of your choice  (for smell and/or health properties)

 **you can add whatever else you want, dried herbs, honey, citrus zest or juice, coconut oil, vitamin E. Whatever!  Though I was just sticking to the basic 3 ingredients, nothing fancy here!

For all my home-made gifts I created my own essential oil blends to 'flavor' them: a Holiday blend with cinnamon and other Christmas-y smells, and a Citrus Mint blend with Peppermint and a variety of Citrus oils.

They were gonna be cool gifts, except the lotion bars stink (you can't smell my awesome oils over the shea butter), and I never made the salt scrub. So I failed to hand out my gifts even after all my effort. So sad. (if you want some bath fizzies or a lotion bar stop on by!)

-Angela

Back to school, back to school...

Remember when you were in school?  All of those amazing breaks around Christmas time, all of the wonderful mornings that you were able to sleep in?  I am lucky enough that I still get to enjoy these times.  Sadly, however, the worst part of the break is realizing that it is over and that there is school tomorrow.  What's more, is that they actually expect you to be there.
I pride myself on being able to forget about school and pretend that my life truly does consist of waking up whenever I want and spending my day however I choose.  This pretend life ends soon, (like tomorrow morning) and I must return to the regularity of everyday life.  Thankfully, the regularity of life isn't so bad and I get to spend my time with some pretty silly human beings.  I guess I won't start counting down to spring break quite yet;-)

A Much Needed Vacation

Crystal and Lance at Mexican night!

On of my best friends, Crystal, called me about two months ago now and said, "We'd like to invite you come to Mexico with us! Can you come?" I of course accepted, and by the end of that week already had my plane ticket booked. It was a family vacation with her parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces and nephews. There were 18 of us total. Enough of us to hold out layover plane for when our first flight had some 'technical' problems and we had over an hour delay at the SLC Airport. 

Found this little guy on the beach one night. 

I love traveling, I especially love traveling to places where I get to see a new way of life. I think I'm glad we don't have Puerto Vallarta s way of left hand turns though...from the furthest right hand lane  through two or three lanes of traffic and and island to shoot onto the other side of the highway. They may need to work on that...We even loaded up a seven passenger mini van with fifteen people and all our luggage, and no one even cared. 

Playing in the waves

We stayed at Paradise Village, and they must not have very many big family groups that come to stay because they had a hard time understanding the room situation. I stayed in a room with Crystal and her husband, Lance, and her little sister Hailey. We had to check in three different times and slept in three different beds during the trip. Every time we checked in, we'd come in from the pool or beach and the people at the front desk would be oh so confused at how we'd got on the property.

They closed down the resort every night before 10:00 pm (I guess maybe that's an old people thing) so our group was the group breaking all the rules, swimming late at night, playing cards out by the pool, stealing vollyball's for a late night game or bodyboards for night surfing. (seriously, all that closes at 5pm) 

Pina Colada and Pink Dolphin in each hand! 

Hanging on the beach

For four of the days we were there, we had 'the golden wristband'. At least, Lance, Crystal and I did. So we got treated to the all inclusive package, we felt like celebrities! Workers would ask us as soon as we sat down at the beach or the pool, what they could bring us. We got food, drinks, exclusive dinners, pretty much the works. But then they cut them off and it was as if we were reduced to poverty. Once you live that life, it's just not the same anymore....Even right now, sitting in a freezing cold basement with snow outside, I'm dreaming of the beach and a Pink Dolphin or Freeze Willy drink...those were the days. 

The sun, the sand, the waves and the fun were all amazing. I'm so excited that I went and wish I was back there now! 

One of my favorite things was on Sunday, we flew out around 7 in the evening, but that afternoon we went to an Orphanage that my friends family  had visited before. We had brought some candy and toys, but really we wanted to just go in and see the kids. They let us go in and play with the toddlers, there is about 20 of them and one or two workers so these kids don't get a lot of one on one attention. It was so amazing. They all just ran up to us and wanted us to hold them. Some of them picked favorites and we had a blast! 

Anyway...the trip was a blast and I'm so glad I got to go

Road Trip

First of all, I'm not a slacker.  Let's get that cleared up:-) I am several days late in my post, but I'm sure you can forgive me. 
Secondly, last week had me thinking of the crazy year it has been.  One year ago last week, my husband and I woke up in Anchorage, Alaska for the first time.  Now I know what you are thinking.  All this girl talks about is freaking Alaska!  Well, you are correct.  That is because I live in this amazing place that is completely out of this world. 

Good bye, Utah!

Now. Back to the story.  It took us several days to get from Utah to Alaska, and it was quite the road trip. 
Picture this.  Thanksgiving morning.  You are supposed to wake up to amazing smells, yummy treats, and a parade, right?  Well, we woke up, had breakfast, and got into our crammed vehicle and started to drive.  We made it to Seattle that night, (no thanks to the random blizzard in Washington) completely starved.  We had been so focused on getting to Seattle in time that we didn't stop anywhere for food.  We started to walk through the area directly around our hotel and realized something.  No one was open because, yes, it was still Thanksgiving.  Luckily we had a loaf of banana bread with us in the car.  Banana bread and hotel lobby hot chocolate.  The Thanksgiving feast of champions. 

Driving onto our boat...

The next few days sailed by, literally, because we were on a boat.  We drove our vehicle onto the Malaspina, and sailed to Haines, Alaska.  Those were some fun days.  If you have ever been on a cruise, picture it.  Then think back 50 years and add an attendant named Smiley, and that is the boat we were on.  It was a great time, filled with Alaska documentaries in the 'theater', stopping at a grocery store in port to get some 'real' food,  and some sea sickness.   But we won't get into that. 

This creek, Sanpete Creek, was named for our
Sanpete County in Utah!! Yay, Canada is cool sometimes:-)

Finally we docked in Haines.  There had been a whopper of a snowstorm earlier that day, so our first impression of this part of Alaska was SNOW!!!!  Our destination was a charming little town in Canada called Haines Junction.  Although it was only a mere 150 miles, the journey took 5-6 hours.  We left the HJ the next morning and traveled to Tok, Alaska.  We met the nicest Chevron attendant, and were so happy to be paying for gas by the gallon instead of the liter. After resting in Tok for a little too long, (we had our own little cabin and Bailee thought it was her knew home) we drove to Anchorage.  As we dropped into the Mat-Su valley, we were greeted by the most amazing view of just one of the many very large mountains in the area.  What a welcoming sight! 
Yay for being in Alaska, tune in next time when we will debunk Alaskan myths!! Fun, huh? 

Where to go from here

I’ve decided to take my portion of the blog into a specific direction (or three).  So my future posts should follow one of these topics: Go Green, Get Clean, Try it!

Go Green: I am currently trying to save money and be healthier by making some of my own cleaning products… And whatever else I manage to accomplish that I think falls under this category!

 

Get Clean: I am horrible at my house-wifely duty of keeping the house clean, it’s mundane, and tiring, and there’s just always something else to do, and do again! But it’s not just that (cause honestly, how boring would such a blog be?) I am also a bit of a pack-rat, a horder, a person who just cannot throw random things away… So my home tends to have MANY ‘piles’ of stuff that I just don’t know what to do with. Quite frankly it’s getting to be a bit much. I found a post called ‘8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home’ on KeeperoftheHome.org and I think her plan is pretty awesome, so I’ll be trying it out! Keep in mind I can’t get myself to even clean my house (or a room) every day, so I won’t be accomplishing her de-junking in the ideal 2 months.

Try it!: oh the joys of Pinterest. Whether it’s a craft, a snack, or a meal, I find many wonderful ideas on pinterest, but it’s not so easy to follow through and actually make something! So whenever I get that ‘hoo-ray, I did it!’ I will share with you whether it was a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. I can hear your excitement already. :)

-Angela

The End of the World?

So a few mornings ago, I woke up with a giggle. Why? you ask. 

Well let me tell you. 

In my dream, something awful, horrible and terrible happened! Facebook ended! Not some 401 glitch, website down for repairs. I mean, it ended. No more facebook. For the entire world. 

Really, I mean it was hilarious when I woke up, to think that Facebook ending made it into my dream; but my dream self was absolutely devastated. So just think about it for a minute, what would facebook ending mean to you?  

Did I mention that I was a Psychology Major? (Actually UVU calls it Behavior Science, but whatever) Well, I am. And I'm particularly interested in the Social Psychology field, which I believe Facebook falls under. Besides that, I like to write, and I thought my dream would make a funny little short story so, in order to do a little research....

I DELETED MY FACEBOOK

Okay, technically I deactivated it, so all I have to do is sign in and I'll be there again; but for all intents and purposes, for the time being, I am officially OFF-LINE as far as Facebook is concerned. It's off my computer, it's off my phone. 

It has been a little over 36 hours since I signed off and while things haven't been particularly hard, I do feel an odd sense of...disconnect. 

Who's birthday is it today? Am I missing out on getting invited to an event? What are my friends talking about? Are Political posts still covering my feed? Has anyone noticed that I'm not currently on their friend list? 

I know I missed a perfectly good apology post from a friends' little sister to my friend. And it was all made possible because of my cupcakes. (My cupcakes bring people together, lets face it. I mean, why do you think I made so many friends when I was making cupcakes?) And I missed out on their facebook reunion! 

Five years ago, facebook was pretty new. Ten years ago, I'm pretty sure nothing like it had really even been thought up yet. How did I (we) get to the point where it's an accomplishment to go 36 hours without checking facebook? I have some 400-ish friends on facebook. Ten years ago, I would have lost contact with most of them. We might have met at a class reunion, maybe a mission reunion, or even exchanged Christmas newsletters. Now, there is almost no need of such things because we've got facebook. I know so and so is pregnant before her parents in some cases (that MIGHT be an exaggeration but not by far). 

What are your thoughts on this? Care to join my social experiment and spend a week or so without facebook? 

**Disclaimer: I do not hate facebook. I don't think facebook is evil. :) I just think it's an interesting thing to think about. and I know, this is just about facebook. I'm still blogging, pinning on on Pinterest, writeing on Wattpad, shoping on Amazon and gram-ing (couldn't think of anything else) on Instagram.**

PS: Here is a picture of my Halloween Katniss costume. Please admire my archer skills...

A Brief History part 2 (conclusion)

Daddy's home!!

 

 

 

 

 

Xander did not know what to do

John returned home when Xander was 8 months old, crazy! (In case you’re wondering, I do just fine on my own. My world/focus centered on my baby, I had my own house and money coming in each month, no worries!) About 2 months after his return I got pregnant again, followed by John starting a new job. A month or so before Tabby was born John’s contract with the Marine Corp ended (about 4 months early, it was messed up, people don’t know how to do proper paper work) so we lost that awesome insurance, but luckily his new job’s insurance started just in time. (but not as awesome as military)

cutest siblings!

Xander and Tabitha are 19 months apart. Which works, but I didn’t want to do that again, so hello to birth control. Tabby is now 18 months and we’re ready to start trying for child number 3, eek!

--Angela