Checking In

February 25, 2013 by 5 Comments

Hello, my dear readers! I know, I know, it’s been a month. Okay, almost two months. 2013 hasn’t been my strongest blogging year so far. :-)

I blame it on the gift Luke gave me for Christmas this year: an iPhone. Now I can snap photos, do a quick edit, make up a little caption, and post them to Instagram and Facebook within seconds. So quick, easy, painless.

But I do miss all the wordiness of blogging. And all the memories on this blog. It’s been home for 8 years now, you know.

So, don’t fear. I’m not gone. I’m just not always here either. :-)

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Something New to Do With Olive Oil!

January 4, 2013 by 2 Comments

Okay, so this isn’t new to me. But it might be new to you, which is why I wanted to share!

Quite a while back, I ran out of my Mary Kay Timewise facial cleanser and moisturizer. I thought it worked well, but was quite pricey. If you’ve hung out here long, you know I’d rather get a good deal than spend a small fortune on anything. So I quit buying it.

And I switched to something really inexpensive AND very natural.

It’s called the Oil Cleansing Method.

My cleanser is now comprised of two elements: olive oil (about 70-80%) and castor oil (20-30%).

Yep, regular ol’ olive oil, that you might have in your pantry.

olive oil

And castor oil, which is found in the laxative section. Kind of weird to think that I’m putting a laxative agent on my face, but it is actually derived from the castor seed (major producers are India, China, and Brazil).

Castor Oil

As I was reading through the very informative Wiki page about castor oil (Wikipedia is always right, right?), I discovered something interesting…A castor oil derivative is actually FDA-approved for over-the-counter use on skin problems, and castor oil also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

Funny I learned all of that as I was typing this post, 18 months since I started using this method!

Anywho, back on track…

I keep my face wash in this little plastic container.

face wash

When I fill it, I pretty much just eyeball it. Pour the castor oil in, add the olive oil, put the cap on, and gently shake to mix.

Then, every evening, I smear it all over my face in a nice little face massage. I even use it to get my eye makeup off (which works really well). Then I get my water as warm as I can stand it, soak a washcloth, and wash it all off again. (Okay, I think I’m supposed to let the heat from the washcloth penetrate my face for a minute before I take off the oil, but I just don’t have all the time in the world.) It’s pretty much rinse the washcloth, rub the oil off my face, rinse the washcloth, rub the oil off my face…until my face feels reasonably un-oiled.

You might think it’s crazy to wash your face with oil, but let me tell you something! When you use commercial cleansers that are too harsh on your skin, your face dries out and then produces MORE oil to overcompensate for the drying you’re causing. This gives you a bad cycle, often resulting in not only dry/oily skin, but also acne. (Oh, goodness, I’m starting to sound like an infomercial, aren’t I?)

Since I began cleansing with oil, my skin has become so much more balanced…Not really dry OR oily…And I NEVER use a facial moisturizer anymore. I don’t need one. As far as acne goes, I hardly ever have it, except occasionally due to period hormones OR if I pick/squeeze/prod the skin on my face. If I leave it alone, I’m good.

So, tell me – are you happy with your facial regimen? Do you put anything wacky on your face? Are you brave enough to try the Oil Cleansing Method? There’s more detailed information here if you are.

(This post was NOT sponsored by the olive oil or castor oil industries.) ;-)

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Adventivities: Days 21-25

December 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

Day 21: Make Christmas cards for the Perry kids, and take them to their house tonight!

It was Luke’s and my ninth anniversary, and Kathy so graciously agreed to watch our kiddos for us so that we could have a date night.

So, the kiddos made some cards to tell their friends how much they love them. And then they forgot them at home. So they didn’t actually receive the cards until Day 24 or so. :-)

Day 22: Drive around and admire others’ Christmas lights!

God gave us some fresh snow for the viewing.

All jammied and snuggled up, we headed out.

We drove around some neighborhoods in our immediate area. We looked for white lights, colored lights, nativities, blow-up decorations, etc.

And by the time we got home, this is what we saw…

Day 23: Make snowman pizzas!

First, I whipped up a batch of my favorite homemade pizza dough and divided it into eight pieces. Then we each shaped our dough.

And we decorated the dough.

After baking, we had some very tasty snowmen.

Day 24: Unwrap and play a new game!

Caleb wrenched his neck this day, and was unable to get himself off the couch for quite a while. So the other kiddos allowed him to unwrap the game.

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It was Monopoly Millionaire. We opened it up, and started to play. It’s a little bit different than the classic Monopoly.

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We actually ran out of time before the kids’ bedtime, so we didn’t complete the game. I’m torn on my opinion of the game. It was a little fun…but doesn’t really reflect our financial philosophy. It is definitely NOT our aim to become millionaires…or, if we ever did become millionaires, we wouldn’t be lavishing cars, jewelry, and property on ourselves and our friends. We’d have to figure out how to use the money to further the kingdom of God and to bring Him glory…

Anyway, the kids liked the game pretty well. :-)

Day 25: Make a birthday cake for Jesus!

This has been a tradition in our home for the last few years at least. It helps bring our focus to the real reason for our celebration.

This year, however, we had a little snafoo and weren’t able to complete this one until the 29th. Jaden hurt his arm when he fell from the top of the girls’ bunk bed ladder, and Luke took him to the ER. The rest of us were busy packing up for our trip to Grandma and Papa’s house. So, the cake was neglected until our Rumley Christmas day. But I used a new recipe, and it was still quite tasty when we got around to making it.

Jesus cake

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Christ has come!

We had SO MUCH FUN with all our Adventivities this year. It was excellent to devote the whole month of December to celebrating the coming of the Christ child. I’ve already thought of a couple of new activities for next year!

As an aside, I really hope that the pictures and descriptions of our activities this month weren’t discouraging to you. I know that up until this year, it would have been quite overwhelming to me to think of doing a special activity every day for 25 days. So if your stage of life prohibits you from doing even ONE advent activity, don’t feel bad! As long as you’re telling your kiddos about Jesus’ coming, His death, and His resurrection…you’re doing great! :-)

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I love having a talented husband!

December 31, 2012 by 4 Comments

If you’re reading this in a feed-reader, hop on over and check out our new design! We’re still working on getting a family picture up in the header, but other than that, it’s ready!

Isn’t Luke good at what he does?

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My 3 Favorite Boys

December 22, 2012 by 2 Comments

He’s the best daddy, and they are the sweetest sons. I’m blessed!

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