My Bathroom Resembles My Kitchen

Lately my bathroom counter has begun to look more like my kitchen counter. My latest beauty products are made with things you could eat, but they also make great skin care products.

{Facial cleanser for oily skin}

Yes, even oily skin can be cleansed with oil. The right combo of oils can actually help balance your natural oil production instead of stripping it.
Grapeseed oil and sunflower oil contain omega-6 and omega-3 which are antioxidants and good for inflammation. Castor oil is a very powerful oil that lifts away oil, dirt, and makeup - too much can leave your skin too dry.

{Facial toner}
Witch hazel cleans and exfoliates; tea tree oil has antibacterial properties.

{Face and body moisturizer}
Vitamin E oil promotes the production of collagen and elastin and is good for inflammation, reducing the appearance of aging, stretch marks, and acne scars; grapeseed oil and safflower oil are lightweight, fast-absorbing oils which are great for naturally oily skin that needs light moisture. Olive oil would be a better choice for those with dry skin.

{Sugar scrub}

Thanks to my friend Jen, this is a wonderful concoction!
Sugar, sunflower oil, lavendar essential oil. This stuff smells amazing and it leaves my skin so soft. This sugar scrub is gentle enough to use on face and body.

And thanks to my SIL, Heather, who gave me the book Green Beauty. It's a wonderful resource. In this book the author writes about the harms of certain chemicals regularly used in beauty products and gives great detail about the benefits of common natural ingredients and how to mix them and use them.

I'm still struggling to find the perfect natural hair care products. I've used a few and have been dissappointed. Maybe one day I'll happen upon the perfect recipe.

For Sale

We've got a few items around our house for sale. We've been starting some early (or late) Spring cleaning - or maybe its nesting. But I'm hoping to sale a few items that take up extra space and use that money toward the purchase of these beauties:

For sale...

1. ProForm 1200 treadmill

2. Small TV (maybe 16") and DVD player (both were used with the treadmill)

3. Graco highchair - White with dark blue and green seat cover, reclining seat, height adjustable, removable dishwasher-safe tray

If you are interested in any of these items we can work you up a really good deal. Really, I'd just love for you to remove them from my house.

Difficult Days Ahead

Last night BJ's mom's husband, Doug, passed away suddenly from a heart attack. He will be greatly missed. Lily and Schaeffer LOVED to visit Doug. He was just a big kid at heart and would always find fun things for the kids to do when we visited - make pillow forts on the floor, explore the backyard and flower gardens, and all sorts of things to keep them busy. We will miss Doug and I know Nana Kaye will experience a long period of grief as Doug was such a wonderful husband, helper, provider, and so much more to her. Please pray for Nana Kaye.

As a side note, and not nearly as devestating as the news about Doug, I learned this morning that my pre-term labor (FFN) test came back positive. That means I will need to really take it easy, focus on resting as much as possible (not necessarily bed rest at this point), drink lots of fluids to stay well hydrated, and take Brethine when the contractions start up. Of course, I went through all of this with Griffin and he made it to 39 weeks - completely full term and healthy. All of these measures are precautionary.

We would welcome your prayers for our family this week as we will be facing some difficult days ahead.

It's Elementary

A huge pet peeve of mine is grammatical ignorance. I can understand and overlook an occasional typo. Everyone has a moment. I am not going to pretend to be the grammar expert, but I cringe at the misuse of the words "I" and "me" in a sentence. Isn't this one of those grammar rules we all learned in first grade? Okay, maybe it's more like 5th grade, but as adults, that gives us quite a few years of practice to ace this rule. I have read countless blogs over the past few weeks that have contained errors around the use of I and me. (No worries, none of the offenders are Phaneroo followers because you guys are totally brilliant!) For the rest of the blogging community out there, let's review an easy way to remember how to properly use I and me:

Correct uses:
I went to the park.
He went to the park with me.
He and I went to the park.

Incorrect uses:
Me and him went to the park.
(Remove him, which by the way is also incorrect, and the sentence would read like this: "Me went to the park." Silly, right?)
He went to the park with Sue and I.
(Remove Sue and the sentence would read like this: "He went to the park with I." Again, very silly.)

So to all the bloggers out there, let's all promise to review our grammar rules; and, at the very least, get this one right. It's elementary, my dear Watson. Elementary.