My May Must-haves (beauty and health edition)

Let's just not even talk about how long it's been since I blogged. :) I'm back with another list of items I adore. Leave me a comment and tell me about something(s) that you love!

1. Loreal BB Cream. The cashier at Walgreens gave me a sample months ago. I found it about a week ago and tried it out of curiosity. I was instantly in love! I've been hearing people talk about BB Cream for months (maybe years?) now, and never knew what it was. That day I still didn't know what I was, but I know I looked airbrushed, and it felt light and easy, and I knew I would be buying some next time I went to the store. I just (right this second) googled "what is BB cream?" The best synopsis..."for women who apply a moisturizer, a primer, a foundation, a setting powder, and an SPF sunscreen every morning, BB creams seem like a small miracle. These are one-step products that can protect, conceal, and correct skin texture and tone." Voila! I'm hooked. And here is the kind I now use...

2. Jergens Natural Glow. The same day that the (very excited) Walgreens lady gave me the BB sample, she also gave me a Jergens self-tanner sample. Last month I was headed to a bachelorette party and planned on wearing a strapless dress, so I decided to try the sample. I really wasn't expecting much, but what could it hurt? There were three days in the sample and I only used the first day and saw a HUGE difference! I was so pumped! So I decided to use "day 2" before a wedding we attended last week, and still loved it! I thought you had to use it several days in a row to see a difference (that's what they market), but I guess I'm white enough that I can see color after one use! :) Anyways, I recommend it if you need some color! (and I would've never bought the "Medium to Dark" bottle, but that's the sample I received and it worked like a charm and didn't seem fake or orange, so that's what I bought. :)
3. Suave Professionals Shampoo and Conditioner. I know, right? Surprising! I've always been a bit of a shampoo snob, buying Bed Head or some other salon brand. When I was in Midland a few weeks ago, my cousins had this "rosemary + mint" shampoo and conditioner in their shower and I LOVED it! It smelled good and made my scalp tingle when I was using it, and then the best part was when my hair dried, it looked really shiny and felt so soft! I kept thinking about it, so a week later I bought some for myself. :)
Note-my sis has the Suave Professionals "almond + shea butter" and that one smells super yummy and makes my hair soft and healthy too!

 4. Arbonne shakes and nutrition bars. I've been losing weight, and I could NOT do it without my yummy Arbonne shakes. I drink one every day, and most days I drink two. They are satisfying and filling and healthy and best of all, tasty! I love the fruit bars and chocolate bars too! They're especially handy when I'm running out the door, if I know I'll be away from home for awhile. Guilt-free snack! Yum! I'm so so thankful for finding Arbonne, and I truly do believe it's the reason I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight! Can't beat that!


So what products are YOU loving these days!? Let me know!

400

This is my FOUR HUNDREDTH post on this blog. That's kind of cool. It also may be the reason I've been m.i.a. lately. Last time I hit publish and saw that it was my 399th post, I thought "oooh, I need to do something cool for the 400th!" But then that just paralyzed me, because no idea seemed worthy of the sacred 400th post. I know, right? It's ridiculous! I think I'm the only one who can see how many posts there are anyways. Oh well. Here are some things I thought about blogging the past few weeks, that didn't seem good enough...
-how much I adore Michelle Obama. (surely you've seen her evolution of mom dance? or maybe you saw her Good Morning America interview where she discussed how childhood obesity has started declining (halleluiah!), or possibly you caught the end of the Oscar's when she presented for Movie of the year?) yeah, I really like her.
-our wonderful trip to Oklahoma where we got to visit with Zac's amazing family whom we only see once or twice a year, but it feels so comfortable and fun, you'd think we hang out on the reg. And how Drew and Sheperd are ten days apart and your eyeballs almost explode when they are in the same room because the cute factor is off the charts.
-I consider blogging about all sorts of mom stuff, but maybe that would go on the other blog anyways. Actually I should just open a mom twitter account, because most of my thoughts are one liners anyways.
-We started an amazing series called Homeland and we CAN'T. GET. ENOUGH! We actually just finished season one tonight, and I know I'll have dreams about it! If you aren't familiar, consider watching. Such a great show!

Wow...by listing all those unimportant things to blog about, I accidentally blogged about them all. Concise little ice breaker. Cheers friends!

V-day

I love Valentine's day! I know some people roll their eyes about it, but I just adore it. The idea of a special day to celebrate LOVE! It's also the pink, the candy and chocolate, the flowers, perfume, massages. The possibilities are endless, and no matter what the gift-it's a romantic and special day just because it's Valentine's day!!
I don't consider it to just be about couples, for me it extends to family and friends too. It's like the 'thanksgiving of relationships' in my eyes, if that makes any sense at all. Such a neat day to deliberately appreciate and share your love with the ones who mean so much to you. I consider myself an affectionate person, with a lot of gratitude, but even I can admit that we take our family and friends for granted. We get used to who we have in our lives, and having them, and forget that it could all change in a split second! Anyways, I love this holiday and everything it stands for. Maybe it is a "commercially fabricated" day, but I love it nonetheless. Really, I've always loved Valentine's day. Fun story---> 13 years ago tonight I spent the evening filling out Toy Story 2 cards for family and friends. I wrote one out to Dr. Cline, and taped it to my ileostomy bag. I was going to be having surgery the next day (yep- my ostomy reversal was on Valentine's day, 2000) and I knew he'd see my bag before it was removed for surgery. I just told him how thankful I was to have such a kind and talented surgeon, and that I'd been praying for him and the staff. Apparently it was a big hit, because he still mentions it (13 years later!) when I see him for my annual appointments. :) I stashed the rest of the cards in my hospital bag and had fun passing them out to family and friends as they came to see me after surgery. Random memory, but that could be another reason Valentine's is special to me...I got to get rid of that awful ostomy bag! :)
So anyways, I love valentines day. I am kind of missing not working in a school and being around the hype and glory of this sweet holiday. My students would always get giddy and there would be a buzz in the air, and suddenly all my kids would be "going out" with someone. So cute and funny! But this year I have the best Valentine of all (sorry Zac), and his name is Drew. That little guy redefined the word love for me. My heart explodes just thinking about it. Such a deep intense amazing feeling, this being a mom thing is. I hope each of my girlfriends is able to experience this. You can't understand it until you're in the thick of it, but geez it's a life changer! Well, I better go now before I choke on the giant lump in my throat. :) Happy Valentine's day y'all!!! And if you want some more sap, read my V-day post from 2010. It's pretty sweet, if I may say so myself. And what do you know, three years have gone by, and I still agree with every word I said.
PS-Love you too Zac! More than you can ever know. And watching you be a dad, and an amazing dad at that, has only increased and multiplied my love for you. Thank you for being the roommate, husband, co-parent, and best friend I could only dream of, but don't deserve. You're really something else. XOXO

2010 Valentine's Day
Can't get enough? Here is my 2011 post. :)

reflection...

There's too much to say about the past year. Too many amazing highs surround a few difficult lows. Words can't recreate those 365 days, but here are a few snippets to remind my forgetful future self about 2012.

I started the year hoping I was pregnant, only to be devastated (again!) that I wasn't. We decided to get proactive about it and went to a fertility doctor, and got pregnant within the first month. This was obviously one of the most exciting things of the year, or should I say just the beginning of THE most exciting thing of not just 2012, but my life.

My Baw died in June. The pain was unfathomable. I physically ached. I feared it would hurt my little baby inside of me. We mourned and grieved and prayed, and one day, a sense of peace came over me. I released the pain and anger and replaced it with happy memories and the satisfaction of knowing she was in Heaven with my Grandaddy and God.

We spent the spring and summer stressed about Zac's job situation. Would he return to his current job, would be move to Austin, should he take a higher paying job that required a very lengthy commute. Silly us for worrying, God knew all along where Zac would be. It all worked out, and he's back in the town where we live, and quite enjoys his new gig. He's home about two more hours per day than he was the previous two years. Thankful!

Good things happened for friends and family. My sister had her third beautiful child, Stacy got engaged,  Ramsi fell in love, my little brother-in-law got engaged, Bez opened several new stores and moved to a new place, JT finally got his dreamjob as a fireman, Ellen had a baby, Robin got married, the list goes on. The people around me are seeing their dreams come true, and I get to witness it. Their blessings also bless me. I get happy off their happiness.

We had some health scares with Molly and I feared we would lose her. I was saddened that her life would change so much with the new addition. She is still here, happy and healthy. The worrying was pointless. She's a soldier, my Molly girl. She love her brother like we do.

Drew arrived in October and exceeded all my expectations. I knew I'd think he was perfect and cute because I'm his Momma, but then he really was. People tell me so everyday. I got sick and then I got better. The first weeks were easy, then it got harder. But we loved him so deep and this bond is indescribable. How can being a mom be so "ordinary?" There is nothing ordinary about this fierce and intense love. It defines me. Yes, I'm still a daughter, sister, wife, friend, but mostly I'm a mom. He owns me, and I love it. I live for him. What was the purpose of life before him?

So yeah, 2012 was the year I was born. It was a remarkable year that we will never, ever forget.

2013 resolutions...
-lose weight
-grow out my hair
-care less about what others think, and more about God thinks