So I just got my second Influenster VoxBox in the mail the other day... This one I am MEGA excited about!! It had a bunch of fun and exciting things in it....   Here is what I found when I opened the box.... The first item was the Goody QuickStyle Hair Brush.  It claims to help dry your hair 30% faster with these little microfiber bristle things in between the regular bristles.  I tried this out on the first day, and so far I really like it! I think it did in fact help my hair dry faster.  I am concerned that it might be difficult to clean hair out of the brush the way it is designed (I have long hair and tend to leave plenty behind after brushing)...But over all I think it is a pretty decent brush! Next up...my all time favorite... The Quaker Oats Medleys--Cherry Pistachio!!! I LOOOOVE Quaker Medleys....and somehow they knew the Cherry Pistachio was my favorite!  One of the best things for breakfast. I've always liked oatmeal...but this brings it to a whole new

Ok- so I know I am always ranting and raving about 'All Natural' 'Homemade' 'Organic' 'Healthy' and what have you....but every now and again I stumble across something that is NOT totally natural...but it works miraculously so I have to share it.  At least until I come up with the All Natural Alternative to it. :) So here's the deal.... a week ago my 20 month old decided she wanted to wear some makeup.  She managed to find an old bag of makeup I no longer wear and decided to try lots of it on.... She was COVERED.  It was all over her pants and sweatshirt, her face and hair.  Notice the attempts at the eyeliner?  I guess she tried really well, and basically knew what she was attempting to achieve...but it didn't turn out so well for either of us. Anyways, I quickly removed her soiled clothing and threw them in the hamper to be forgotten about for a week.  On Sunday I did a load of laundry for her and when it was all done and I went to fo

So another site that I belong to besides Influenster is Crowdtap.  This site is pretty awesome too.  It's laid out really simple and you accumulate points by answering survey questions about various products and you can redeem the points for gift cards or other various things.  It's pretty cool. Anyways, I qualified for a Sweater Share from Old Navy which meant that myself and a friend could go to Old Navy, try on a bunch of sweaters (of our choosing) and get one for FREE....Totally FREE....no strings attached. Our Coupons I was super excited about this, because who doesn't love FREE stuff!?  And to top it off, I LOVE Old Navy!!!  So I took along my best friend Rae and we tried on a whole bunch of sweaters.  Here's a picture of the ones we chose!!  I love cable sweaters but they are usually too pricey for me to want to spend the money on myself...but this time I got one for free!! That left me with spending money to buy a hat and some gloves that I desperately

A few weeks ago I qualified for my first VoxBox with Influenster.  The package was the "Bride to Be" kit that contained all products that should help the bride out on her big day.  Here is a list of what was in the box... Here's a list of products:  *Schwarzkopf Professional BC Hair therapy Repair Rescue - Shampoo - Conditioner - Split end sealer * Rescue Gum (Natural Stress Relief Gum) * Kiss everEzlashes * Dream water I have not used the eyelashes or the split end sealer yet, but I figured I would write a short blog on the products I have used. The first product I tried was the Rescue Gum.  This is sold at stores such as Whole Foods & GNC.  It is an all natural homeopathic gum.  Upon trying this, I concluded that you really need to chew quite a few pieces in order to feel any sort of "stress relief".  My biggest problem with it, to me it tasted like citrus soap.  It sort of had a soapy or weird taste to it that was hard to get over.  The flavor does

Ok- so yet another thing I want to talk about.  I had someone tell me about a man named Jim Humble and a treatment that he "discovered" that helps with treating many illnesses and diseases.   Click here for the list . The treatment is called MMS, Miracle Mineral Supplement.  Now, I know, I was turned off by the name because, well, it has the word "Miracle" in it.  And me being a skeptic, miracles are few and far between.  But after more research I decided that miracle might be the best fitting word for it!  MMS is a simple 28% Sodium Chlorite added to Distilled Water mixture.  Sodium Chlorite has been used for many years to treat drinking water, but how it works with the body is what makes it so special. When activated with citric acid, Sodium Chlorite becomes Chlorine Dioxide.  When digested, the chlorine dioxide is released into the body. Chlorine dioxide is the most powerful killer of pathogens out there. And as I believe that pathogens are what cause a major

Ok so I had the worst time taking pictures this week...I think I'll have Kel take them next time... but here is one shot of what my hair looks like after almost 3 weeks.  It's getting there. Still a little oily, but nothing too terrible.  It's been so hot I've just been wearing it up anyways.   I can't wait to be able to post the photos of it looking healthier than it did before!!  PS...don't mind my bad dye job.  I really need to take the time to redo it!  The darker ends is because the dye hasn't worn off there yet.

My latest adventure in DIY Naturals...Toothpaste. Now, this isn't my favorite tasting product ever...but generally, anything with baking soda isnt very yummy.  However, knowing that it is sooooo much better than the chemical crap in store bought toothpaste...helps it taste a little better. :)  Have you noticed how expensive toothpaste is getting? It can be well over $4.00 a tube.  And, if you buy organic or all natural toothpaste from the health food store, you're looking at closer to $10!  I spent $8 on a little tiny tube of tooth gel for Abigail because I didn't want her to ever use the regular store bought junk.   Did you know that Fluoride is poisonous to us?  The following information is pulled from a great article that you can  read here "Fluoride is a pollutant,  a by-product of copper, iron and aluminum manufacturing. The problem of how to legally dispose of fluoride was solved in the 1930's when a study (funded by one of the country's large

Ok- This is a super simple one, but I absolutely LOVE it so I figured I would post it for you! Ingredients for Homemade All Natural Disinfectant Spray Pull out one of your disinfectant sprays from under your kitchen sink....look at the ingredients...can you pronounce half of them?  Maybe you can...but do you know what they are? Here is what I found on Lysol All Purpose Disinfectant Cleaner: Detergent/dispersant additive  Benzalkonium chloride  Alkyl (C12-C18) dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride Does that sound something you really want to be using around your family? Well, for me it doesn't. I hate using chemicals. I hate being "stuck" having to use them because it's about all you can buy without spending an arm and a leg. Do you think 200 years ago people were using as many chemicals on a daily basis as we are? I don't think so. They were dependent on much more natural ingredients. Sure, if you are in a hospital and need things ster

Ok-  So it has been just under 2 weeks since I began using my homemade all natural shampoo & conditioner.  If you didn't see the post on it click here   I knew that it would be challenging starting this process of not using commercialized "crap" in my hair.  After the first shampoo and even the second I thought my hair felt GREAT! I was psyched. I began telling everyone and their mother that they had to try it.  Then by day 4 or 5 I noticed my hair was looking "wet"....with my completely numb hands I was not actually sure if for some reason it was wet.  I had my husband feel it and he said it felt fine...but to me it was off.  By day 6 I looked like I had not washed my  hair in weeks.  It was pretty gross.  It was NOT actually dirty. I had been washing it daily with my homemade recipe...but it looked really really oily. Especially on the bottom.  I KNEW this was going to happen. I know WHY it happens...I thought I was prepared for it to happen...but I wasn&#

  One of the speakers at my sister's high school graduation....the Valedictorian I believe... said something that has oddly enough stuck with me. It wasn't something profound or philosophical, just simple. He said something along the lines of it takes a strong person to admit that they don't know something.  It sounded a lot better than how I just explained it, but it really was just that simple. And I realized, it's true. It's easy to walk around and pretend you know something, or pretend you know what the outcome will be...but it is a lot harder to admit that you have absolutely no idea.  At least for me it's always been hard. I would probably dance circles around a topic for hours before admitting I had no clue. Well, here's something I have to admit. I HAVE NO CLUE!  None. I have no idea where this journey I am on is taking me. I have no idea where God intends for me to go. I have no idea what I want to do, or what I am meant to do. I have no idea

First off, let me just say that this post is going to probably bore you to death, or confuse you...or make you think I am totally crazy. It is raw, unedited typing that has taken me almost three days to type because of my hands being so numb and typing being so cumbersome....so it probably jumps around a lot and whatever else...but if you haven't given up on me yet...thanks for taking the time to read the post. So I guess it has been a while since I have really written anything about how things have been going... I've had quite a few changes over the last 6 months and it's been kind of hectic and I haven't found much time to just sit down and type.  I don't like to come across like a whiner or complainer either...so I felt like unless I really had something worth saying, I should just keep quiet...but I'll give a quick run through on what's been going on and then eventually I'll get into what I wanted to write about today.   In December I closed up m

Yesterday my sister and I ventured into making homemade shampoo and conditioner...not only did we have fun doing this DIY project, but we discovered that we REALLY enjoyed using it! My hair feels awesome today! And I have pretty terrible dry color treated hair....and it feels great! So here is what we did..... SHAMPOO Ingredients: 1/3 Cup Dr. Bonner's Liquid Castile Soap (we used the Eucalyptus version, but baby mild or any other would work as well) 1 Tsp Coconut Oil (found with the other cooking oils, is a solid not liquid) 1/2 Tsp Avocado Oil (also found with cooking oils, and this IS a liquid) 20 drops essential oils of your choice (we did Tea Tree Oil because it is an antibacterial oil & Lavender because it smells pretty!---I probably put about 20-25 drops of tea tree oil because I really like it and it helps with dry scalp and can even help with psoriasis!) Several Vitamin E Capsules (in vitamin section---pierce and squeeze into mixture) Mix all of these toge

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap-  Front or top load machine Works great in HE machines as well because it is not a super sudsy detergent 1  Fels-Naptha soap bar 1 Cup -  Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda ½ Cup Borax 4  Cups - hot tap water - Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. -Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. -Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel) -Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil, orange. -Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons. -Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads) -Front Load Machine

Ok- So I want to post a more thorough update on me and my family...but right now I have a ton of people asking me for the recipes of the all natural homemade body products that I have been whipping up this weekend...so here goes! I started with homemade laundry detergent & fabric softener (if you want the recipe, let me know!)  I am tired of not being able to pronounce or recognize a single word on the ingredients list of the home products I purchase. I think that the way things work these days are to keep society "sick" because it is more profitable to do so.  But decades ago there were not all this crap in our products. I want to keep my daughter as healthy as I can and I feel it is my responsibility to protect her from as much of today's garbage as I possibly can.  It is really very easy to make your own products and I can't imagine why anyone would think that they don't work as well as the chemicals and carcinogens that we use now.  Anyways, I'm sure