I’ve heard a ton of great things about Ipsy and I’m finally giving it a try. If you’ve never heard of it, Ipsy is a service that sends you 4-5 full-sized beauty products each month. The products are tailored to your skin type and personal style. The best part is that it’s only $10 a month!
If you’re interested in trying some awesome products, check out this link: https://www.ipsy.com/r/u4zaz
We’re all gorgeous–why not enhance it with some awesome products at a great price!
Every now and again, I like to get my craft on!
No, not like this. Though this was the first DVD I ever owned. #throwback
I am especially interested in crafts that will save me money. I’ve been considering making my own laundry detergent for awhile, mostly due to its cost effectiveness. I am also sensitive to some commercial detergents, so being able to control what ingredients were in the stuff that goes on my clothes piqued my interest too. While perusing recipes for homemade laundry detergent I found a tutorial for wool dryer balls that promised to cut drying time and save money too. What the heck, I thought–let’s make both!
I started with a recipe for homemade laundry detergent I found online. The steps were pretty simple: grate one bar of soap and mix with one cup each of washing soda and borax.
It smelled really fresh and only took about 10 minutes to make. The most time consuming part was grating the Fels-Naptha soap. I pulsed mine in an old smoothie blender to make it super fine (like me!) and easier to dissolve in cold water(…not like me).
I made a double batch (which should last me quite some time) that breaks down to about $0.05 per load! Wayyyyyy cheaper than the overly-perfumed store bought stuff! Check out the original recipe here for more information.
I was feeling pretty accomplished at that point, but my crafternoon wasn’t over just yet. On the same site I found the homemade detergent recipe, I also found instructions for making “felted” wool dryer balls. These dryer balls are supposed to cut down drying time, eliminate static, and soften clothes (without the residue and hefty price tag that comes with store bought fabric softener).
I gathered my supplies: 100% wool yard, a crochet hook, knee-highs, and scissors. Then I started shaping balls! <~That sounds really inappropriate, but I promise this was a family-friendly activity.
I ended up with five baseball-sized balls from 585 yards of yard. Once the balls are made, pop them into the knee-highs and throw them on the washer on the longest, hottest cycle. Then put them in the dryer (also on the longest, hottest cycle). You may have to do this a few times–I ended up putting mine through the washer and the dryer twice–but at the end of it you’ll have a “felted” wool dryer ball! Peep the original website for detailed instructions on the process.
Once you get the hang of winding them, the task goes quickly. You can use these things for YEARS, which will totally save money on fabric softener. Not to mention they are chemical free and won’t coat my clothes with yucky residue!
Overall, my laundry-inspired crafternoon was extremely successful. Not only am I saving money, I’m actually looking forward to washing clothes and seeing the fruits (of the Loom–hahaha) of my labor!
I love getting my nails done. Not only does it look pretty, it also gives you the opportunity to check out for awhile. You can’t really text or tweet when your digits are getting buffed and polished to filth.
You also get to meet some interesting people in the nail salon. Today I met an older lady who was visiting from Iowa. She said I was beautiful (so sweet!) and that I reminded her of her 13-year-old daughter (even sweeter!). She even showed me a picture of her and her two younger brothers.
Priory to ending my engagement, I probably wouldn’t have decided to get my nails done on a whim. There was always a bill due, a field trip fee coming up, a random unexpected expense, or just not enough time to get away. I’m glad I can take the time to focus on me now. Not to mention my nails look sickening!
Game day mani–the ring finger polish changes colors! #BBN
Long story short, I’m not getting married anymore. I’d rather not go into the gory details–those who need to know already do–and besides, the most important part of the story is that he’s gone.
So now I get to focus on me, which is something I haven’t done much over the past three years. I’ve been thinking a lot about myself over this past weekend and I’ve come to some conclusions:
Throughout this ordeal I’ve also realized that I have the best friends and family on the planet. They have supported me in so many ways and showed me that I am never alone. I cannot begin to thank them for all that they’ve done for me.
Finally, I serve a God who will never, ever, EVER give up on me. God will always deliver for His children, no matter what. He brings people into our lives for a purpose and He takes them out of our lives for a purpose too. Trust Him and you can’t go wrong–He won’t let you.
I guess it’s gonna have to hurt,
I guess I’m gonna have to cry,
And let go of some things I’ve loved,
To get to the other side,
I guess it’s gonna break me down,
Like falling when you try to fly,
It’s sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,
Starts with goodbye.
-Carrie Underwood, Starts With Goodbye
This one made me MAD, folks.
On Sunday, I had a decision to make: watch the Oscars (ridiculously long, lack of diversity, terrible jokes) or watch The Walking Dead (Michonne). Welp, my mind was made up–no Oscars for *this* golden statuette.
Since I didn’t watch the ceremony, I also missed out on the red carpet. Apparently, Disney Channel star Zendaya caused quite a stir with her choice of hairstyle. Fashion Police correspondent Giuliana Rancic made a judgmental comment about Zendaya’s choice of hairstyle, stating “I feel like she smells like patchouli oil or weed. Maybe weed.”
Zendaya looking glamorous at the Academy Awards!
Zendaya issued a very eloquent response on Twitter–you can read it here–but here is my less-than-eloquent response if you’re in the mood for something ratchet:
How DARE you?!?
First: Giuliana, you look like you smell like Ex-Lax and low self-esteem. (Since you want to judge others by their appearance, I assume you can handle it if others do the same to you.)
Second, comments like these are why Black people spent (and continue to spend) unnecessary time, effort, and money making our hair look “presentable” to the white majority. As a young girl, I had to endure torture from the teeth of the hot comb my mother heated up on the stove to make my hair “pretty” (meaning STRAIGHT). I wrapped towels and blankets around my head and wished that I had long, straight, blonde hair because the hair that I had was “ugly,” “greasy,” “nappy,” and “hard to manage.”
When I was finally “old enough” (meaning IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL) to get a chemical relaxer, I had to endure scalp burns and hair loss every six weeks until I was old enough to figure out that I didn’t need chemically straightened hair to be beautiful. Note: That didn’t happen until, like, 2011.
Third, every single day that I wear my hair natural (meaning not chemically straightened, processed, or otherwise altered–a.k.a. the way God gave it to me) I run the risk of being seen as less than by others. Less professional, less feminine, less clean, less intelligent, less beautiful. This is a risk I take because I believe God makes no mistakes and my hair is SICKENING just the way it grows it of my head.
It should not be risky behavior to be yourself. NO ONE SHOULD MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR FOR BEING WHO YOU ARE.
Natural hair, don’t care!
Note: This post has been updated to reflect that Kelly Osbourne did not make any negative comments on Zendaya’s hairstyle. In fact, she came to Zendaya’s defense in a very public way.
“Describe yourself in one word.”
This is an icebreaker question I often use when training. Admittedly I use it because the answers are short–in a class of 50+people we don’t have time to waste–but it also solicits interesting answers. “Compassionate,” “detailed,” “empathetic,” “dedicated”–hearing a room fool of people share their best qualities is truly wonderful.
How would you describe yourself if you only had one word?
Today, I’m loving my training skills. My manager and I met today (as we do each week). She reviewed the trainee evaluations from one of my recent classes. Not only were my scores nearly perfect, my co-trainer also saw a marked improvement in her scores–more so than with any other person she’s trained with!
My natural public speaking abilities and deep knowledge of our product are my favorite things about myself today!
Today I’m lovin’ my heart. I love my heart’s ability to heal and forgive. To hold all the secrets that I can’t tell anyone. To get me through each day one beat at a time.
Today, I’m lovin’ my willingness to stand up. If someone says something I disagree with, I will speak my mind–whether I know them or not. I will address them politely of course (the southern belle in me requires it) but I will make my point.
The chocolate goddess is not afraid to tell you the truth. If you’re afraid to hear it…that’s not my business.
As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve already broken one of my New Year’s resolutions. I resolved to write on this blog every day, not matter how small the entry. That…hasn’t happened. I’ve posted occasionally, but fallen very short of my one-post-a-day goal. Technology is partly to blame. I cannot figure out how to make my WordPress app on my phone work–in a fit of frustration I deleted app and have yet to add it back (clearly “be more patient” was not one of my resolutions). But that isn’t a great excuse, so I’m fixing it I fixed it and re-resolve to write a little bit every single day.
My other resolution was to love myself more. I was inspired to make this resolution by one of the most fabulous people on the planet, RuPaul. One of my favorite RuPaul quotations is, “If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”
This is so true. If I don’t love myself–if I’m not happy with who *I* am–how can I love my fiance, my step-kids, or anyone else? If I can’t see the beauty and the goodness in myself, how can I truly see it in others? Short answer: I can’t. So I’m loving myself more this year.
I’m going to start an exercise where I pick out something I love about myself each day. These can be physical traits, personal traits, anything at all that I love about me. Who knows–maybe I’ll post them here each day! Satisfying two resolutions with one blog post. 🙂
Amen!
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