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Tuesday, March 17, 2015

**FAMILY** This is (just some of) My Big, Beautiful, Crazy Family

As the song says, "The Storm Is Over Now", as far as the worst part of my grief. A lot of people might not understand what a blow it was for us to lose Mike, but I have such a big and crazy and beautiful family that I decided to steal and share some of our photos. Now you know.























This is just a tiny teeny bit of the photos I am sorting through (ahem, stealing) to put together a family slideshow later. It's going to be a loooong job... You can tell that we are strong on serving our country, loving our kids, and putting up with each other through thick and thin. #Blessed

Peace
--Free

**RECIPE** Cool Whip & Jello Rainbow Cake (and bragging)

This was one of my mother's and my sister's favorite recipes. All the chicks in the family learned to make it except for me. Until the other day. My first one was a disaster because I made a couple of rookie mistakes. My niece, +Gabrielle B (who should have her own bake & crafts shop!) walked me through it over the phone and I finally #nailedit.





Here is the recipe (with notes from my own experience):

Ingredients:

  1. 2 boxes white cake mix
  2. 2 (or more) different colors of Jello gelatin
  3. Big tub of Cool Whip
Also needed
  1. 2 cake pans - each large enough to hold a full cake mix*
  2. Parchment paper (to line bottom of each cake pan for baking)
  3. Enough extra oil and some flour (to dust the pans)
  4. Coffee straws (for poking holes in cake)
  5. Skewers (or toothpick-like items to anchor the cake for frosting)
  6. A children's medicine squirter, if you have one. 
  7. Make sure to have room cleared in fridge to hold cake pans later.
  8. Make sure the fridge is very, very cold.
  9. Leave your Cool Whip in fridge (not the freezer). Makes it easy to use later.
  10. Have a plate ready for later. The cake is tall, so...
Instructions:
  1. Mix and bake cake (one box for each of the 2 pans). Don't forget to line bottom with paper.
  2. Once cakes cool to normal, put them in fridge for AT LEAST 8 hours.
  3. Just prior to removing cake pans from fridge, mix your Jello, keeping colors separate. (My mother would use half the water required for making the Jello. Give more intense flavor.)
  4. You're going to leave the Jello in its liquid state. Set it aside.
  5. Take out your cakes (and leave them in the pan). Poke holes in the cakes from top to bottom. This is where you are going to be injecting the Jello. (You want to space the holes so that your Jello colors won't glob together, and you don't want to make any too near the edge of the cake.)
  6. Use your medicine squirter to inject your different colors of Jello into the holes. (Don't put the same colors close together; spread them around for a pretty effect when the cake is sliced.)
  7. Put the cakes (still in the pan) back in the fridge. Try to wait at least several hours. I left mine in for about 8 hours.
  8. Remove one of the cakes from its pan and put onto cake plate. This is the bottom layer. Duh.
  9. Frost the top of this bottom layer of the cake with your Cool Whip. You will want to go heavy with the frosting here. Don't worry about the sides of the cake yet.
  10. Remove your other cake from it's pan and place on top of the first layer.
  11. Use something to anchor the two layers. I had a problem with the top layer sliding when I tried frosting it. Also, this will help steady the cake later when you're cutting slices. (Trust me, anchor the cake!)
  12. Frost the rest of the cake. (I like to go heavy with the Cool Whip.)
  13. For extra prettiness, you can run lines through the frosting across the top of the cake and down the sides. Add a little of the Jello and let it run down the lines.
The cake needs to be kept in the fridge in between servings (if it lasts that long!).

It's a pretty easy and inexpensive cake to make. Plus, you can use the leftover Jello and Cool Whip for more snacking later.

By the way, this is what happens if you don't get the right size skewers & they stick up too high:




But that's better than when you don't have a cold enough fridge, get impatient about letting the cake set overnight, and make all the other mistakes I did with the first one:




And this is what happens when you're a baking queen like my niece!




And I'm not kidding when I call Gabby the Queen of All Creative... Here are some of what she has done - while holding down a full-time job and going for her Masters... Stiff competition in the family to pursue your dreams. (Gabby lives in the Dallas Texas area, and she is available for custom cakes and creations of all kinds for parties, baby showers, etc. #pluggingmyretirementplan!)







Everything has a function



Jazzing up some plain chairs

Nintendo cookies for a family birthday

fiesta hats

Our uncle's M & M birthday cake

DJ's tractor construction cake


Peace
--Free

Monday, March 16, 2015

**REVIEW** goPURE Naturals Fractionated Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is one of my favorite natural ingredients. I like using it for my food and for my skin. The one drawback to coconut oil is that it will stain fabrics. Also, even though I love the smell, there are times when I'd rather not have it.

Fractionated coconut oil is starting to get popular for some good reasons. It doesn't stain clothing and there is no scent. This is one I just got to try out and it's nice:


100% Pure Fractionated Coconut Oil by goPURE Naturals.

Another reason I like fractionated oil is because it tends to absorb so much better than the oil I like using in my food and coffee. It's light enough to even use on my hair. I'm not big on using too much oil on my hair because I don't want the greasiness or the weight. I tried this one as a scalp oil and on my wet hair to calm down the natural frizz. It worked, as long as I didn't use too much. If I overdo it on my hair, I lose some of my curl definition.

My favorite way to use the oil? On my skin after a bath or shower - especially when I am in a hurry and don't have time for my 10-minute lotion routine. You can literally drench yourself in this oil and, before you finish brushing your teeth and toweling your hair, it will have absorbed enough for you to dress without worries.

Also, like "regular" coconut oil, it makes a great makeup remover and, um, personal lubricant. Because it doesn't stain fabrics.

You know the makeup hack we ladies use of putting a little Vaseline on our teeth to keep lipstick stains off them? Well, this oil is also great for that. It doesn't leave that thick petroleum jelly film on the teeth, but it works to keep the lipstick were it belongs: on your lips and not on your teeth. (I have a problem with lipstick, so this is my new thing.)

I don't know if I talked about this before so I'll mention again the difference between fractionated coconut oil and the regular variety. Actually, I'll just let you get that info from WiseGEEK.

For those of you who, like me, are into using a lot of the more natural ingredients for your lotions, soaps and fragrance items, this oil is great as a "carrier oil". Just recently, I've been experimenting with tea tree oil. Initially, I was using an argan oil with the tea tree for a chapped lip remedy. I have now found that the coconut oil works just as well in place of the argan oil.

Since the fractionated coconut oil is fragrance-free (and so light), it works really good with my scented essential oils. I love Sweet Orange, Vanilla and Bergamot oils in place of store-bought perfumes. I had been using some of my heavier carrier oils with the scented oils. Guess what I just realized? Because the coconut oil is lighter and really absorbent, it is a better carrier for those scented oils. The coconut oil helps me get more body coverage with the fragrant oils. I can't really tell yet if it helps the scent last longer or not, but I'll keep an eye on that.

Now, some big Pros for this brand:
  • Produced in small batches for control of quality and freshness
  • Has excellent shelf life
  • 100% Natural, Paraben Free, Phthalate Free, Free of Any Fragrance or Color
What it is & what it isn't
Because the fractionated oil is getting so popular, there are a lot of brands out there. Some oils are not the best quality. You will want to do a smell-test to check for any rancid odors. I like this brand because of the quality of the oil and goPURE is associated with a business I have worked with previously and I can tell you that their customer service is top notch. And, in my opinion, most important is that they offer a 1-year Money-back Guarantee. By the way, you can check out their Facebook page if you want to keep up with them.

If you have been wanting to add some natural oils to your own beauty routine, this a a great one to start with. Keep in mind that this is not meant to be ingested. 

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Things No One Told Me (About Grief)

As I get ready for church this morning, I am feeling low on faith and strength.

I saw a quote yesterday: "A woman without her sister is like a bird without wings."

No one ever told me that I would feel this way after losing the person closest to me. When my mother passed away, that was a different kind of grief. That was grief shared. With Mike.

Unlike other women my age, I didn't spend a life with husbands and kids of my own. I spent a life with my sister and my mother. We always lived with or near each other. We were a team of the family women.

After Mom passed, Mike and I became more than sisters. We became a team of two. We were each other's strength when relationships failed, when job stresses overwhelmed us, and when life did what it does and went into little surprise tailspins.

At one of the loneliest times of my life, when a marriage had failed, I remember looking out of the bedroom window at the sky. I was thinking of how big this world is and how orphaned I felt - in a strange state with an abusive husband and no family of my own around me. I was thinking that I had one thing on this earth that would get me through: my sister. She was somewhere on earth, under the same sky, and that made everything bearable.

No one ever told me that grief would ebb and flow. That I would go from feeling numb to feeling new every sensation of emotional pain that ever could be felt. No one told me that I would sometimes feel paralyzed by my loss, unable to function, barely able to breathe. I didn't know that I would catch scent from one the hats Mike wore or catch sight of some of her belongings and then just die a little.

Last night, I sat looking out the window, thinking that I no longer have Mike somewhere on this earth and under the same sky.

So, I am going to church this morning, feeling orphaned and wingless.

No one ever told me this is what grief feels like.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** 100% PureTea Tree Oil by Apothecary Extracts

This is the first time I have actually used a tea tree oil. Me. The person who has tried oils with names that I can't even pronounce correctly. This one was nothing like what I expected. It's a 100% pure therapeutic grade Tea Tree Oil by Apothecary Extracts.

Nice-looking bottle too.
 First, it doesn't stink. Matter of fact, I really like the smell of it. My regular blog readers know how I am about that.

 
 Also, I'm crazy about the packaging of this product. Not only is it pretty, but the label includes specific information about the oil itself and about the uses (and warnings). That's nice. I've seen lots of products that include a lot of hype and no real information. Check it out on Amazon.


Like I said, I've never tried tea tree oil before. I was a little nervous about trying it because most of what I've heard is how strong it is. When I gave this one the sniff test, I was really pleased with the scent. It's strong but not overwhelming.

Since I am cautious about what I use on my skin, I decided to start easy with this. After I checked out the package label and a few websites indicating all the ways it can be used, I tried it on my chapped lips. I combined a drop of it with a drop of some argan oil (which is heavier and richer than some of my other oils) and used the mixture as a balm. Results: very nice. There was a sensation much milder than when applying mentholated balms, but I got immediate softness. The best thing is that after my lips sucked up all that oil, they didn't dry out. The relief is lasting and I think I am going to have to make a mixture to keep in a tin for my purse.

I don't have problems with acne, so I don't want to test this on my already dry and moody skin. What I do have is a stubborn corn on my left foot. I read somewhere that I can use the tea tree oil to get rid of that problem. So... I tested it out tonight by wetting a Q-tip with some tea tree and some of the argan oil. I dabbed that on and, since my toe didn't fall off or burst into flames, I'm going to repeat the process every night and soak my foot in warm water every morning until I get rid of the corn. Where was this stuff when I needed to get rid of old boyfriends and ex-husbands?

To be honest, I'm still finding ways to use the oil, but here are some uses I've heard about:

A couple of warnings that stood out for me as I searched around were not to use on young children and not to ingest.

I think that there can be lots of ways to include this in your beauty routine. This is a list of a variety of ways to take care of your nails, hair and skin with it. This site is a bit more specific to beauty care using tea tree oil. The main thing I noticed when checking out ways to use tea tree oil is that diluting with a carrier oil is best until you know what your skin and hair can tolerate. 

This is one of the more expensive oils that I have tried, but I need to mention that the price works out to be cheaper than it looks. Because the oil is often meant to be diluted and used in combination with carrier oils and other ingredients (for instance, when making cleaning solutions), I think of the 4 ounces as being equal to 16 ounces of other oils. For instance, I use a lot of coconut oil but that's because I don't dilute it.

Since the brand offers a 100% "No questions asked, money-back" guarantee, you can feel secure in giving this tea tree oil a try.

For me, I have found a new staple to add to my oil collection for natural body and beauty care. By the way, I'd love to hear from anyone that knows of other uses for it.

Peace
--Free



DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free in exchange for a fair and honest review using BrandBacker Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Friday, March 13, 2015

**REVIEW** Bouncy Curls

Since I was just recently discussing my hair and how dry it's been, I recieved this product to review at just the right time.

Add caption
 My Bouncy Curls was ordered via Amazon here. The brand site is here.



Sorry I couldn't rotate this photo!
This super-cold and dry last-minute winter weather is driving my hair and skin crazy! But on to the hair situation...

First of all, I'm always glad to see products for natural hair wearers. There's not enough variety of product outside the brands that are so heavily marketed but not properly formulated. This is how the product is described on the product page (I bolded the ingredients):
Ultra Rich hydrating cream made specifically to create the spring in your curls that only nature can create. Olive and grape seed oils infuse moisture while our proteins strengthen and protect your tresses from frizz. Whether you have kinky, curly, afro or wavy curls, Bouncy curls will deliver the soft touchable curls you've always wanted. Directions: Perfect for daily styling. Apply to towel-dried hair. Massage in from root to tip saturating strands. Style as desired, allowing hair to dry naturally. Ingredients include: Panthenol (Pro-vitamin B5), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat Germ Oil), Olea Europea (Olive oil), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cocos nucifera (Coconut Oil), Fragrance.
I tried Bouncy Curls two different ways: the way the directions instructed me to, and the way I know I will sometimes tend to use it. Because I'm a maverick. Also, I know that lots of us ladies with natural hair don't wash our locks as often as others, yet we still need the moisture and styling benefits of our products in between washing.

Before I even start the rest of the review, let me get to one of the most important parts of any product: the smell. The scent is very. very mild and pleasant, thank goodness. It reminds me of a soft hand lotion with maybe a slight scent of fresh milk. I like it alot. Now, on to the hair results.

First, I used it on my dry hair. I wanted to see if it was as moisturizing this way.

This pic is of my dry hair. I had not treated it with my Carol's Daughter or any other product since night before last.

verrry dry!
This second pic is taken immediately after applying Bouncy Curls to part of my dry and otherwise untreated hair. I can tell that the product is very moisturizing.

This third pic is of my Bouncy Curls treated hair about 5 minutes after applying. I wanted to let the product dry and set for this one.



By the way, this product is nice and creamy, and it doesn't take a lot to treat your hair if you work it carefully. I am using it by working small sections to fully treat my hair without over-saturating (which might cause a weighted down look) and wasting good product.

One thing to note: I think that if you do over-use/over-saturate with this product, you will get a waxy feel. For myself, I plan to use sparingly, then apply more as needed. Just to avoid that situation.



Now, on to the way I was instructed to use it...

First - the comb-out. No added products. I have had my hair twisted into 2 flat plaits from front to back & just picked my hair free and combed it with a wide toothed comb for this shot:


This is a fresh wash and towel blotting. No Bouncy Curls applied at all:


And this is with the Bouncy Curls applied and still in the drying phase. I lost some of the fullness (aka "wild" look) that I like, but the moisture level is wonderful!

Webcam photo because I had to change rooms and lighting
By the way, I can tell that I can regain my full (and wild) look without losing moisture and curl definition. All I will need to do is finger comb some of my locks. For now, I think this tamed-down look is a better one for daytime.

There is no information regarding product guarantee, but I noticed their website has a Contact page. Personally, I have no reason to request a refund since I'm happy with the results.

If you are interested, I did a slideshow of the process on YouTube. (And I will do a review later on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone I used to produce that slideshow... For now, know this about the phone: AWESOME!)
UPDATE: About 3 hours after I used the product, I still love the curl definition, but I lost some of the moisture. My hair is not dry, it's just not as moisturized as it was right after applying. Because I still have softness and good curl definition, I'm happy enough. I did spritz on some of the Carol's Daughter I mentioned recently, and all is well with the world of my hair.

Peace
--Free

DISCLAIMER:
I was compensated and/or received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

**REVIEW** Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla

Black hair (race, not color) tends to be drier than that of other ethnicities. My hair is probably some of the driest of dry black hair. And I wear it natural - no softening relaxers or smoothers to leech out my natural curl pattern.

So.

I am always up for products that soften my hair, moisturize it and, with the best luck of all, make it smell nice. When I saw this at Target the other day, I was a little reluctant to try it out. For one thing, I have tried other products from the Carol's Daughter brand and mostly what I liked about them was the story of Carol's daughter. Then, of course, I am gun shy of many products that claim to be made for my kind of hair. I will thank Miss Jessie for that...

This time, it was the price that convinced me to try the product. I can't remember exactly, but I think I paid around $12 for this:

I'm glad I took the chance.

This stuff does what it says. I sprayed on just a couple spritzes around the outside of my 'fro, then scrunched it in to moisten the undergrowth. Boy, what an instant difference.

Of the 3 claims made right there on the label - to replenish moisture, improve manageability, and add shine - the only one I didn't notice with my use was the shine part. There's some shine, but mostly from the lack of crackling dryness that my hair had been suffering from.

If you keep up with this blog, you know that one of my favorite natural hair products is StaSofFro by Carson. It still is a favorite, but this Black Vanilla leave-in by C.D. is a whole other kind of  niceness.

StaSofFro gives me shine and softness. It's great for using in addition to other products that tend to give me extra curls or styling options. The StaSofFro was always a counterbalance to the drying properties of other products. Also, depending on the weather, I need to give StaSof a little time to work away the dryness. Sometimes, to get full softening results, I have to treat my hair 2 or 3 times with StaSof (letting it soak in between treatments). The Black Vanilla is great on its own and at the very first treatment.

The driest time for my hair is also the time that I achieve the perfect curliness: right after I was it. I always wished that I could freeze-frame the state of my natural hair to that point where it's almost-but-not-quite-dry from a fresh wash. It's the right kind of curly, but not dry. Until, well, it does finish drying. Then it's super-dry. That's when I have to start using the StaSof.

The Black Vanilla works as soon as I spray it on. There's no waiting for the product to work, and there's no need to keep re-applying. The best way to use it, I find, is to part my hair into sections of 4 - just like when I used to apply relaxer. I then spritz the root and scalp along each part-line, and add another spritz to the top of each section. I scrunch each section of hair to let the leave-in absorb and, done.

Best thing ever about this product is the smell. I love a nice vanilla scent, and this one is so glorious. It's not loud enough to be offensive or clash with any other perfume, but you just know that your hair will smell yummy should someone get close enough.

You can see (of you squink) the ingredients
I noticed that, like in StaSof, glycerin is a main ingredient. I think it's just a good combination of the other ingredients that makes this work so nicely.

Also like what it doesn't include
Another great use I love this product for is detangling. One of the reasons I'm not diligent about putting my hair up in twists overnight is that I hate hassling with the dryness. It seems that I do more damage from overhandling my hair - for twisting, arranging styles and general care - than I do from product use. I noticed that this really does make my hair much more manageable.

All in all, if I had 5 stars to give this product, I throw in 10. It's good stuff. It's so good that I'm going to have to check out some of the other products in the line.

Peace
--Free