health and beauty: sunless tanners

LOVE the IDEA, not so impressed with the results... I recently purchased a tube of L'Oreal sunless tanning cream/lotion. I was hoping to get a little pigment to my freakishly pale self and therefore have a little more confidence in wearing shorts this year. I usually wear long pants or capris and skirts in the summer but I wanted to be daring this year. I followed the directions exactly. First off I was disappointed in the mass amounts of glitter in the lotion. It did not advertise that there would be glitter in it. I had no desire to be "glittery" so that was a negative. It did dry quickly which was a plus, but the next day to my dismay I realized how patchy it was. I had orange splotches all over me. I chalked it up to user error and decided to try again and even myself out. That time it worked half-decently, but I did realize that it was an obviously unnatural tan because normall you are less dark on the undersides of your arms, etc and I was uniformly orange. It did blend well on my face. Then in washed/faded off in a few days. When I reapplied it was even worse than the first time. I tried to even it out again but it still made weird orange speckled designs on various parts of my limbs. I cannot believe I paid for that. LOL Lesson learned. The "safe" tan is a novel idea - but its execution is lacking IMO.

blog-MUSTS

We all have come across a blog or two that we just adore and frequent often. What are yours? One of mine is hillbilly housewife at www.hillbillyhousewife.com . There are tons of recipes and meal plans and tips and tricks for living within your means. That is always at the top of my list so I appreciate the information I find there. She even has a $45 and $70 emergency weekly menu/shopping list complete with daily instructions. I have tried many ideas and recipes from her site over the years and am never disappointed. Please share with us some of your favorite blog links for moms and families!

Practical Accessories

I came across these encouragement bracelets in a magazine and thought they were such a good idea I had to share them with you. They have encouraging reminders written on them such as, "We are a smiling family". What a great way to remind yourself and loved ones to have a better attitude! They would make a great little gift for someone or just for your own pick-me-up throughout the day. I found them at www.aboverubies.org in the book and music store under the category (bracelets). What encourging items have you come across? Do you know of any other accessories that are just as practical as they are charming?

KID-friendly websites

I just HAVE to share the new internet site we have added to our computer for our family. It is called ZOODLES. The basic version of this program either for your computer or your mobile device is free - but we quickly decided to pay for a year subscription upgrade after we saw how convenient and fun it was. There is now a ZOODLES icon on our desktop. The kids click on it when they are granted computer time. It takes them to a ZOODLES page we've created with folders for each of them. They click on their picture and it takes them to a "play area" full of educational games and books and videos all geared for their age group. With the parental control feature we were able to block all ads and tailor the content to their needs : like increase math and science for one child and literature skills for another. We also have the ability to go in and set a time limit that will automatically boot the kid off after the time is up. That is so handy for me as I often forget to set the oven timer when they are turn-taking. We are really enjoying it! I have the free version on my android phone that keeps them busy in the car or in waiting rooms. I love that it is all educational content and not just "entertainment". Good job, ZOODLES! go to www.zoodles.com

Spring is in the Air!

One of my favorite parts about spring is the smell of lilacs. It lets me know summer is right around the corner. Alas, there are no lilacs in my yard. I am excited to discover, however, that I can keep the lasting smell of lilacs in my home anytime I want now with Scentsy's new lilacs and violets fragrance for their plug-in warmers. My whole house smells divine! If you have never heard of Scentsy, you might want to check it out. It is a "home-party" business like many others - but I find it more affordable to indulge on their products than a lot of their competition. I never mind attending yet another scentsy party because its so fun to smell all the good fragrances and see what's new. What are your favorite home scents?

health - vitamins for Moms

This supplement is sold by www.beeyoutiful.com . It contains a lot of the essential vitamins and minerals that busy moms can use but what makes it stand out from the rest is that it contains a "superfood" called Spirulina. Spirulina is an algae that has the most absorbable form of iron I have ever heard of. If ever I had been skeptical - that was totally transformed when I took a pregnancy blood draw while taking Spirulina and the doctor told me that if it weren't for being pregnant he would tell me to go give blood immediately because he had never seen a pregnant lady or anyone for that matter with as healthy levels of iron and other nutrients before. I hadn't told him what I was using before that - he was going off the lab results alone. I was sold on this product from then on. Sometimes I buy the straight Spirulina that beeyoutiful sells and sometimes I get the SuperMom. They also make one for kids called Superkids and one for men called SuperDads. My husband swears the SuperDad gives him more endurance and helps him wake up in the morning. :-)

DVD's - encouraging entertainment

I recently was able to purchase this DVD for my homeschool group's DVD library. I was expecting it to be pretty good but it exceeding my expectations. I found it very uplifting and encouraging. Mrs. Duggar appeared more "real" to me and the whole theme of the DVD was a blessing. It cost $15.00 from www.visionforum.com . What DVD's do you recommend that are an encouragement to you?