Alba Un-Petroleum Jelly Review

We all have petroleum jelly in our house.  When it comes to beauty/body/skin care, petroleum jelly is a real work horse.

From the Alba website:
With beeswax, moisture rich coconut oil and soothing, protective vitamin E, this natural, non-petroleum jelly is perfect as an all-over body moisturizer for soothing, softening skin rejuvenation...The original, multi-purpose skin moisturizer and protectant is made from only pure plant oils and all natural waxes.

I don't really believe all the hoopla about petroleum jelly being carcinogenic or particularly bad for you.  But since I put the stuff on my doggie paws (keeps snow/ice crystals from sticking to their feet), an they tend to lick it off, I prefer the natrual stuff.  I have been using the un-petroleum jelly for about 6 months now, and I have found it to be comparable to vaseline.  So if you are worried about petroleum products and want a more natural alternative, look no further than your local health food store.

When I Enter Your Rest

"Early in the morning, I seek Your face
I find my life in the fullness of Your joy.
Every stress and anxiety, it is gone;
When I enter Your rest, when I enter Your rest.
I find my life in You, when I enter Your rest.
My peace is complete, when I enter Your rest.
My faith is refreshed, when I enter Your rest.
I am surrounded by the power of Your love."

-When I Enter Your Rest/Cuando Reposo En Ti- Joann Rosario

The first time I heard this song, I was at a concert at Shepherd's House. There were two sister singing the song acoustic. It spoke volumes to the situation I was going through at the time. So when I was trying to find a song to praise dance to for Resurrection Sunday, this song kept playing over in my head. The words along just give me strength when I read it and I agree with it. When we enter the rest of the Lord; we find peace, we have our faith renewed, we are strengthened and restored. No one can do that for us but the Lord. In Deutronomy 33:27a "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are everlasting arms..." The Lord is not only our rest but a refuge, a strong tower; our fort. Nothing beats that.

Happy (Almost) Birfday Erica & THE STORY!

First off.  Let me say Happy (almost) Birfday to my cousin, Erica.  Her actual birfday's on the 3rd (tomorrow, for all of you that haven't fully woken up yet ...) BUT we celebrated her girl's night birfday last night and us a little ole' blast!  Except for when I got hit on by a guy who's game was to trick girl's into thinking he was gay ... and then suddenly lose the act and tell them they're effin' hot in Gaelic.  Ahem, what?  But anyway, let's not go there because that story's far too long and a LITTLE too traumatic to revisit.  Let's just say I was acosted by this man.  And by acosted I mean, ALL UP IN MAH GRILL.  Over and over again until finally he paused to take a breather and I whirled around to tell my mom that "WE MUST LEAVE NOW, get UP and stop chitty chatting and GET ME OUTTA HERE!  He just asked for my FACEBOOK name for GOODNESS SAKES!  I think he's about to ask me to marry him in World of Warcraft!  And on top of all that he keeps switching between the gay and straight act and it's WIGGIN' ME OUT!!!  RUN for your LIVES!!!"  Thankfully, they recognized my ... "urgency" ... but like I said, let's not go there ... Happy Birthday to my cool, tatted-up, rock star cousin.  I LOVES you Yoshi (inside 14-year-old joke).

She hit the birfday-shoe-jackpot, hot shoes for a hot momma (yes, she's the mother of 2, I know she looks awesome) ...

Cousins ...

Also, I'm currently-crushing-on-possibly-going-to this ...

Okay confession:  When Matt and I were dating he took me (due to my incessant hinting and/or bugging TO DEATH) to Disney on Ice for either my birthday or our anniversary or both ... I can't remember (sorry sugar) but I know we went at LEAST twice.  And I loved it.  What a trooper, being that he and I were the only ones not toting a little girl adorned in her favorite Disney Princess of the month costume (I tried to get Matt to let me wear one, he said N-O ...) I LOVE Disney on Ice.  Funny story (but not THE one I've been promising you since Friday, it's coming, I promise) - when my little brother and sister were about 5 years old, my mom and I took them to Disney on Ice.  We MAY or may NOT have went to dinner before hand and I MAY or may NOT have had A margarita (or two) and I MAY or may NOT have weighed about the same as my 5 year old sister at the time causing me to MAY or may NOT have been a little ... tipsy.  At Disney on Ice.  Let's just say that at the end, during the finale (and several times throughout) I sang along (to every Lion King, Little Mermaid, Aladdin and anything else I remotely recognized, which was all of it, because I have Disneymania.  Yes, it's an actual diagnosis.  CAAAAAANNNNNNN you feel THA love toniiiiight ...) and definately maybe even cried the whole time with nostalgia A LOT a few times ... N-E WAYZ, it's looking like it MAY be in the cards for it to happen this year kids.  Don't worry, I'm totally mooching off one of my besties and her darling kid (1) because I love them and (2) in order to not look like a total grown up 5-year-old-wannabe going to Disney on Ice bymahself.  I'll keep you posted on how that plays out.  And for the record, my mister just told me I'm not allowed to dress up as any of the characters.  Oh how he stifles me so ...

ALRIGHT.  Now, for the much awaited funny story (which probably won't even turn out to be funny since I've put so much emphasis on it, why do I build you up buttercup?) Last ... Tuesday?  Wednesday?  I don't remember.  Anyways, not important.  I was driving home from work.  And I went to get Pei Wei for dinner, which I don't usually do on my way home from work.  SINCE I don't normally get Pei Wei on the way home from work, I took a road I usually don't take on my way home from Pei Wei ... a road, who's lovely posted speed limit was 35mph, apparently.  The road I NORMALLY take on my way home from work's posted speed limit is 45mph.  So I was, naturally, going 5 (or a little more) over what I THOUGHT was the posted speed limit.  Until I saw him.  The popo.  And then I knew I might need to figure out the FOR SURE speed limit.  Too late.  Lights on, siren blazing.  Dangit.  Fleeting thought: I don't have my recent insurance in the car.  DANGIT.  So I sheepishly, like a kid who's gotten caught with his hand in the candy jar (or, more in my case, like a Labrador Retriever that's just gotten caught ripping to pieces one of his mom's down pillows-yes it happened), pull my car over and wait for the cop to come to my window.  And then it hits me.  I JUST got Pei Wei.  Not just anything at Pei Wei, but ginger BROCCOLI chicken ... anyone know what broccoli smells like when you're not ready for it?  When you're not aware of it's looming prescence?  ESPECIALLY when it's been pent up in your WARM car due to frigid temps outside?  Well if you don't, it smells like you just ... cut the cheese.  Passed gas.  Let one fly.  Ripped ... well you get my drift.  And it hit me right as he was approaching my window ...

Inner dialogue:

Maybe I can bat my eyelashes and get out of this one ...

Kate, you are a married woman.

But my mister would LOVE if I could make this not cost us any money.  He'd be proud.  I know it.

Um, you look like ARSE, did you forget you snoozed one extra time this morning and busted a pony instead of taking the time to fix your hair?

Dangit.  That turned out to be a bad call.  But I did my makeup ... maybe that will take away from the touseled pony ...

It wouldn't matter if you were Heidi Klum sitting in your most recent Victorias Secret shoot attire, IT SMELLS LIKE YOU JUST TORE ARSE IN YOUR CAR!

Maybe if I angle my Pei Wei just so, so he'll know that's the culprit!

Good luck with that.

And then, he walked up, asked for my credentials, asked if I knew how fast I was going (and if I knew it smelled like old cheese in my car), raised his eyebrows and, I swear, silently plugged his nose and started all air flow through his mouth alone and skeedaddled back to his cop car as fast as he could.  Right then I knew there was no hope.  I'm pretty sure he radioed all his fellow piggies with the following ...

"You guys aren't going to believe this, but I just pulled over a girl with the WORST gas EVER.  I know getting pulled over can make you nervous but this is RIDICULOUS."

And then he gave me not just a ticket, but a double ticket.  One for speeding (53 in a 35), one for expired insurance and I'm PRETTY sure an invisible one for releasing excessive gas as a weapon from an enclosed vehicle upon an officer's approach.  If it wasn't a ticket before, it is now.  Thanks little green trees, thanks.

That's all for today loverlies!!!  I hope it's a gas-free day!!!

Favorite Things: Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment

I have never purchased a full sized Kiehl's product before I plopped down the $30CDN (or $25.50US) for the Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado. I'm not a huge believer in Kiehl's.  I think their products are on the most part quite overpriced for their not-that-special ingredients.  Kiehl's being owned by L'Oreal, I am not convinced that I can't get equivalent or better products in my drug store for a fraction of the price.

Having said that, I love this eye treatment.  It is the only eye cream I have ever used that results in a noticeable difference the next day.  This eye cream is basically an intense moisturizer, which is exactly what my dry undereye area needs.  This cream does not have any ant-aging properties, and what little amount of antioxidant it has is going to degrade the first few time the jar is opened, but it is the best moisturizer for my eye area.  Although this product is intensely moisturizing, it does not give me milia (the tiny white bumps you get when you use a moisturizer with is too rich).  Finally, this eye cream delivers on its promise to not migrate into the eye. So if you have dry skin like me, and your concealer tends to get flaky or cakey because of that dry skin, then you need this eye cream.  If, on the other hand, you have oily skin, then this is probably not the product for you.

If this eye treatment sounds like something your dry skin, but you are just not sure, and not ready to part with your hard earned cash to try it, do what I did.  Get a sample next time you are at a Kiehl's counter or store.  This cream is quite rich, so a little goes a long way.  So a sample will last you a long time.  I just transfered the cream from the sample packet into a clean MAC sample jar, and used it from there.  It lasted me about a month with daily use.  I have since bought a full size of this cream, because I can no longer imagine my skin care routine without it!

Experience the Glory

We have our theme for our Youth Convention: "Experience the Glory". It is taken from Haggai 2:9: "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts." (KJV). I like the theme, but it really had me thinking: have we really EXPERIENCED God's Glory? I feel that lately (speaking for myself here) we have put God on a time schedule. We speak to Him when we have the time and we want God to move when we feel. The problem with that? how many times did I mention "we"? God is God all by Himself; He doesn't need us and He won't be any more or any less with us there or absent. It's time to let God be God; to work our schedule around Him. Why can't we just let go and let God? Is it really that hard? I was thinking about how the church has lost its power lately. You hear more about being politically correct instead of going by what God has laid down as law......sigh. Maybe its just me, but I would like God to move like He did in the old days. He is still the same God but are willing to let Him be that? I'm going on the Daniel's Fast again next Sunday and I am so excited. The fast last year gave me so much strength spiritually to deal with what happened down the year. I know that I have to give up coffee (I can do it...) and no carbonated drinks, sugar, meats, preservatives, etc. but the end result will so be worth it. Some of the young women will be fasting as well and we will be praying corporately about some situations. One of the things we will be praying about is power and anointing; something a lot of us have been lacking lately. Also, strengthening of our gifts....there's so much to say on this but I feel like I rambled on enough. Be blessed.

Happy Anniversary (and Sillyversary) Clay and Erin!

Uh.  Duh.  Hello worst sister (and Silly) EVER!  Today is my little brother Clay and my Silly's anniversary.  They have been married 2 years 2-day.  Let me just tell you about my little Claytonious.  He and I have a special bond.  We went through some junk in our childhood together.  Some not fun junk.  Luckily we had/have the coolest parents/grandparents/step-parents/all 'round family EVER so it made it much easier on us.  But there was some hard stuff.  And Clay and I are close because of it.  I remember growing up he would tell me everything.  Sometimes even things I didn't ... so much ... want to know.  But I love that he loved me enough to share things that were on his heart with me.  And trusted me enough to confide in me when he needed someone to listen.  When Clay was about 2 years old, his head (bless his heart) was twice the size of his body.  Maybe not that big, but it was big.  And because of this, he was deemed the nickname "Bulldozer".  Because he ran at everything, head first, and "bulldozed" it out of his way.  I really REALLY wish I had a picture of him so I could give a visual of said "huge head" but go ahead and take my word on this one.  But he was OH so dang cute.  I will never forget when Bulldozer came home from Baylor one weekend and said "Kate, I met this girl and I really like her.  I can't wait for you to meet her, I think you'll like her too.  She reminds me a lot of you."  I will tell you I don't think my brother could ever or ever will be able to pay me a higher compliment than to (a) tell me that someone he liked so much reminded him of me and (b) that it was this PRECIOUS AWESOMENESS of a girl who I now lovingly refer to as, my Silly.  So all that said, let's get a little picture-saturatin' goin' on here and let me say, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Clay and Erin and HAPPY SILLYVERSARY Silly!!!  I love you both SOOOO much!!!

Me and my grown-up Bulldozer ...

My Silly and I being ... well silly.

Momma of the groom & sisters of the groom with the lovely bride to the left ...

Silly reading a letter from her groom ...

One of Clay & Erin's gorgeous engagement pictures ...

Ah-mazing.  Happy Day!!!

Happy 2 Year you two!!!  X's & O's from your BIG sissy/Silly!!!

Weekend, Long-Winded, Wrap Up ...

Good Monday morning loves! It is rainy and dreary here after a nice little tease of gorgeousness on Saturday and part of Sunday. Spring, you’re such a stinker. Showing your face for a minute and then going back into hiding. Bad form Spring, BAD FORM. Anyways, moving on. Let me start of by saying HELLO to all my new readers! I love waking up Monday morning to see that I’ve gained new friends over the weekend. FU-UN. And let me clarify that that's supposed to read "FUH-UN" not "F-U UN" ... I have nothing against the word "UN" ...

Friday night my mister was away with some of the other husbies from our home group at church at a Men’s Retreat. So, I met my Mama at Chili’s. We had ourselves a nice little time. I got home in JUST enough time to rent a movie “On Demand” and enjoyed the greatness that is “Much Ado About Nothing”. Can I just tell you that I LOVE this movie? I have to admit that half the time I have NO idea what they’re talking about (they speak in Shakespeare-speak if you haven’t seen it) but I don’t care because usually I can tell from their body language/actions/lack thereof what’s going on in a round-about way. And it just sounds so perty that again, I don't care.  One of my FAVORITE parts of the movie is the … theme song, I guess you’d call it? “Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more”. I seriously could listen to this on repeat all day long. LAHVES it. Here’s a little video, the picture-quality is terrible but you can still hear the song just fine. So go rent it if you haven’t seen it. It’s worth it, I promise. Except for the fact that Keanu Reeves is in it … he does, however, play the best part he can be cast for. The villain who doesn’t speak much and has the same dissatisfied look on his face the entire movie.

And, into hey nonny nonny of course … whatever that means. Right, anyways. Saturday Koda and I went for a little ride to Starbucks. If any of you have pups (which I know you do) you have GOT to take them to Starbucks and ask for a Puppy Latte. And if they don’t know what it is just tell them it’s a coffee lid filled with whipped cream. Well USUALLY it’s a lid. Let’s just say that Saturday, Koda HIT the jackpot. They gave him an iced grande-sized cup FULL of whipped cream! And did he ever love it! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves …

I mean I seriously thought I was going to have an 85 lb dog in my lap he was so excited about slurpin’ this biness up. I think I may have created a monster. I have this feeling that from now on, every time we go through a drive through window he may be in, or on his way to climbing into, my lap before we get to pay. This makes it a TEENY bit hard to drive … but who needs to see the road, right? Saturday night the mister and I had a date to Mi Cocina. Mmmmm. We then came home and proceeded to quickly pass out. While both smelling like arm-pits.  Dang Mexican food. Sunday we did church and then my mister had to work all day. Boo hiss. I DO have a little story to tell you about my MIL that is kinda humorous but at the same time … not. So my MIL is a serious hard-A. She has had a house-full of boys for 29 years and, I think, has adapted very well. Yesterday she was outside on their back porch and the chair she was sitting in, broke and fell ON HER FINGER. I am not sure if she called my mister or my mister just happened to call during this escapade, but she proceeded to tell him that she was fine, but it was bleeding quite a bit and she couldn’t get it to stop. My mister then tells her (he’s a hard-A himself, like I’m afraid someday our kid’s going to break his leg and my mister’s going to tell him to “walk it off”) to take it easy and try and stop the bleeding. A little while later, my mister gets a call. My MIL proceeds to tell him that they finally went to the ER and she has broken her finger, gotten 7 stitches and nicked an artery. Hard-A, HARD-A I tell you! I went ahead and apologized to my mister after he told me what happened to his mom telling him that I am not that girl and was pretty sure I never would be. Oh how I wish I was. But if my finger had been gashed enough to require 7 STITCHES they would have HAD to take me to the emergency room due to the lump on my head I received after passing out … this is all to say I don’t handle wounds/blood/surgeries/people in pain/people talking about being in pain/pain of any kind … well. And by well, I mean conscious. So here’s to my MIL, hard-A n’ all. She’s also pretty cute, here’s a pic of her dancing with my mister at our wedding. They danced to “Can’t Smile Without You”. And sang the whole thing to each other while they danced I might added. Cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

And PS – can we just go ahead and talk about my mister’s eyelashes? I think he has 3 more rows than normal people do. It’s not fair that eyelashes like this should go to a man. Dear Lord, if we have a daughter PLEASE give her her daddy’s eyelashes. Thank you. Amen. Now that I think of it, please give all our kids-to-be his eyelashes. Good gracious they’re purty. Sorry sugar, I know it’s not manly to be called purty, but they are. Plain n’ simple. Okay, I’ve yakkety-YAKKED on and on for FAR too long and didn’t even tell you my funny story I promised I would on Friday. Maybe tomorrow I won’t be so long-winded. Have a LOVERLY day loverlies!!!

PPS - The Bachelor finale tonight, EEEK!!! CAN'T. WAIT!!! PUHLLLEASE don't pick horse-face Jake.  Or I will lose all respect for you.  Even the fact that you're a Texan won't get you back in my good graces. We'll SEE!!!