Friday, November 20, 2009

Saying Goodbye to a Dear Friend




It is with great sadness that I write this post. I have not been on as much as Id like and it is mostly due to the condition of my horse Boo. A few weeks ago it started out with a drastic loss in weight, but in the past two weeks has worsened. We went out to feed one day and discovered his...man parts...were swollen. I did not think it would get much worse (thought he just needed to be cleaned and that the swelling was due to irritation) and it was the weekend so we did not call a vet out ASAP. By that Monday the swelling had increased so we called and the vet came out about an hour later. What she saw shocked her. In her 18 years as a veterinarian she had never seen anything like it, and had only heard of it in breeding stallions (Boo is a gelding - castrated male). She gave us a poor prognosis and told us surgery would be the best choice. But on a military single income budget, we could not afford $3000 (at a minimum mind you) to have it amputated. So over the past two weeks we have been giving him antibiotics, pain killers, and trying to keep it elevated in hopes that the fluid would drain off.



Instead of getting better the tissue has turned purple, and although the swelling has dissipated some, he now has edema in his chest and along the underside of his torso. We called our vet to tell her how it is doing, and she said that even with money to spare that the outcome was grim. So after much struggle with the decision, we have decided to euthanize him. This is such a difficult decision for me to make but I know at this point it is in his best interest. If the outcome of surgery was a guarantee I would do everything in my power to raise that money. I hate that decisions of life or death come down to finances, its heartbreaking.



So this Monday, I will have to say good bye to my dear old friend Boo (registered name Premium Page). He has been a part of my family since my Sophomore year of high school (I'm 21 now). He has always been such a pain in the rear, but I love him because he makes up for it in sweetness and effort. He is awkward and pigeon toed, and dislikes his mouth touched and rarely allows me to tie him to a hitching post. But we have worked through a lot of his issues, accepted his imperfections and come to be good friends. He has even made friends with my two year old son. Boo will be greatly missed by all of us, but especially by our mare (female horse) Joey. They have been pasture buddies and friends for a couple years now. I worry that she will fall into depression (yes, that really does happen with animals!) but hopefully since she is stabled near other horses she will do okay.



Anyway, that's all for now. Not much else to say about it unless you wanted my life story with Boo :) . This is why I haven't been on much, I'm sorry. But I hope you will understand! On a better note, I have friends from Northern California coming up for Thanksgiving. It is our first big holiday in a place of our own, so I am very excited about that! I hope the rest of you have a fantastic holiday season. Keep warm, and drive safe on those wet roads!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Hilarious Yet Realistic Look At Vaccines And Their Ingredients

People are beginning to show more awareness and concern for ingredients in their food, yet they blindly accept vaccinations because they are doctor (and government) recommended. But do you know what is in them? This is a humorous take on the situation. Enjoy!

Zoya Nail Polish & Besem Natural Scents

I received two highly anticipated packages in the mail today. I was hoping they would've been here yesterday but as we all know it was Veterans Day (Thank you for serving mom! Oh and you too dad, uncle O, and grandpa!) so I didn't mind waiting just one more day! Anyway, one package was from Zoya. They have water based nail polish that is free of the big nasties (aka formaldehyde, toluene, camphor, pthalates...). Its been described as long wearing and comparable in wear to traditional nail polish, but without sacrificing your health! I follow Zoya on Facebook and they recently had a promotion in celebration of their Presidents birthday. It was for a free nail polish, you just pay shipping.



I had been looking at trying Zoya out but was waiting for my wallet to fill back up after my Aromaleigh hauls, but I just could pass up this deal! So I went ahead and ordered two colors, one was free and I paid for the other color plus shipping. It came out to be just less than buying two regularly, but I saved because buying them regularly would require me to pay shipping as well (which equals about another nail polish). Overall it was worthwhile. You can find Zoya products in a few select stores, or order from Zoya.com. I really recommend adding them on Facebook as well for their awesome promotions. Aside from the free nail polish, I was given a code today to put in an order of 3 free lip glosses!

The colors I chose are Beyonnce, and Charity. Beyonnce can be described as a coppery red with a frosty metallic finish. It is categorized with the coral family of colors. Ive only applied it to one nail so far but it went on smoothly. Its slightly sheer so I will need to add a second coat but I think that will be sufficient coverage. I have fair skin but with a warm undertone, so corals seem to work well for me. However, I haven't worn nail polish in years so it is a bit odd to see color on my nails! The second color, Charity, is a lovely lavender type purple with gold undertones. It is much more opaque than Beyonnce, but I think I will add a second coat just to smooth out any missed spots. It applied well, dried quickly, and so far hasn't smudged or been damaged like what often happens when you bump your fingers too soon after the drying stage. I really like this color, it seems a little more wearable than Beyonnce. Only time will tell though how well they stay on my fingers, but so far so good!



My only real disappointment is that the bottles are smaller than I had anticipated. I didn't look at the ounces at all when I ordered but figured the yd be at least the size of the drugstore brands. They are a bit smaller though, and have .5 ounces. The price at $7 is still reasonable considering the quality, and Ive never finished a bottle of polish in my life so I'm not too concerned about running out! ***I couldn't get any decent pictures of my nails colored, but there is a picture at the bottom of this post pertaining to my Besem order that has my thumb in it (with the color Charity). Its not too bad in the picture but its much prettier in person!



Onto my next package, my soaps from the Etsy company Besem Natural Scents! I have been wanting to get rid of all my nasty chemical-laden drugstore products and Miss K (Aromaleigh Mineral Makeup) is always talking on Facebook about her Etsy finds (as well as Zoya!) so I thought Id check the site out! It is full of homemade, hand crafted products and most are natural and eco-friendly. I'm really in love with all the companies Ive come across so far! So my first Etsy purchase I decided would be from Besem. You can find them through Etsy or at BesemNaturalScents.com




I like Besem because they are a green family owned business. They make their own cold process soap and natural palm/beeswax candles. Their palm wax/oil is sustainably sourced (instead of destroying a fragile ecosystem) and their beeswax is from local bee farm. They use high quality fragrance oils too. They also donate 10% of their profits to orphan relief. So it was an easy decision to make for me to support their company with my business! Since I am new to their products and wasn't sure which scent Id like, I decided to try out their sample set. It comes with 6 bars of your choice, and they are each 1/4 the size of a regular bar. For a small business making their own products, the $11 price tag was very reasonable. I was also surprised with a 7th bar of sample soap in my box. I think free samples are not only exciting to receive, but a wonderful way to charm your customers and get them to try a product/scent they might not otherwise think to purchase. I also loved the handwritten note Wendy (the owner) wrote to thank me!


The 6 soaps I ordered (pictured in two separate photos above) were Pink Grapefruit, Almond Honey & Oats, Cinnamon Spice, Ultimate Travel Bar (which is good for hair, face, and body!), Sweet Anisette (smells like black licorice and contains active charcoal so its great for your face), and Lavender Harvest (also suitable for face). The freebie she included was Lemon Tea. They all smell amazing! I am excited to get in the shower and try them out! I will let you all know more as I try them all out but so far I am very pleased!



Thanks again for reading. I hope everyone has been doing well. Keep safe and warm, Ill be back soon!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Making Eyeshadow: Comparison between Aromaleigh and Lime Crime

I do not want to argue semantics, but there has been a lot of controversy over the makeup company Lime Crime. A lot of people believe she just repackages. On November 4th she released a video as a rebuttal, stating she does not. However, she still doesn't get into specifics so its difficult to tell one way or another. But whatever the truth really is, I do not buy from her mainly because of her $12 price tags when I can find hundreds more vibrant colors at Aromaleigh.com! Oh and all the icky ingredients Ive noticed in LC products. Those alone make it hard to believe Doe Deere makes them herself, because so many of those ingredients are unneccesary especially when made in small loving batches.....but anyway, that all is beside the point. I'm going to post links to a video of Doe Deere making her eyeshadow, and Kristen's new video where she also makes eyeshadow.

I do not want to persuade or sway my viewers based upon my opinion, or tell them what to think. But just watch both, and you will see the difference between the two companies. Enjoy!

Lime Crime: (Note she does not allow comments)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB6HjDC-Y_E

Aromaleigh: (Allows comments)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nccNupgAHtw&feature=player_embedded

*** Also, if you'd like to leave a comment here, please do. But DO NOT cuss, flame, accuse, defame, or leave generally rude comments because Ill be forced to delete them before they are even posted. However, I would be more than happy to see debate, constructive criticism, and thoughtful comments and/or questions!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Pink Orchid Look Using Limited Edition Collection

As promised, here is my look using Aromaleigh eyeshadow from her L'Orchidee collection which was for sale again for a limited time during the end of October, but is now no longer available (the best of 2009 will be chosen from each of these limited edition collections though...so stayed tuned!). If you like my look and want to check out the products for yourself, go to Aromaleigh.com!
All I really did for this look was my eyes. I was at home for the evening so I wasnt going to get completely dolled up. So please excuse the messy hair and overall incomplete look! The above photo also came out with high contrast, I look a bit odd but I just wanted to give you the general idea. Im also wearing creampuff lip color from Aromaleigh as well. For my eyes I used the following:
seed pearl - upper/inner eye and lower eyelid
pink fingers - upper lash to brow
heart - upper and lower eyelid
showy - center of upper lid
mariposa - outer V
I also used the Indelible Gel Liner (also available at Aromaleigh.com) in the color Blackout, as well as my lash blast mascara. I blended the pink shadows pretty well, and my camera is pretty crummy, so in the picture you cant really make out each shade distinctly but the overall look on my eyes was really pretty, and complemented my blue eyes without clashing with my new reddish blonde hair! I cant recall if Id added purple to the crease yet, and the photo is leaving me unsure. If I did, it was from the same collection, the color jewel I believe.
And lastly is the picture of my arm with swatches of all the L'Orchidee colors. I wish they all showed up better in the photo, because all the colors are gorgeous in real life! I am attempting to name them in order but if I mess up and any of you notice, let me know!
Starting from my wrist (these are my own descriptions):
Bumblebee - Its right at the left edge of the picture. A lovely golden yellow.
Wild Coco - It came across as a silvery green to me with kind of an earthy look to it
Jewel - A very lovely purple, reminds me of Amethyst (thus the name jewel?)
Moonset - A very smokey purple with a bit of blue
Moth - A light shimmery sheer purple/grey
Orinoco - A satiny peachy pink
Pixie Cup - Similar to Moth but more of a lavendar purple
Shadow Witch - A dark, midnight smokey blue/purple with more glitter than the others
Tangleroot - A gorgeous deep earthy green
Tigrilla - A perky golden orange
Unicorn - A much softer yellow than Bubblebee
Cascade - Looks like a deep purple in baggie but came out a rich wine like red/purple
Chatterbox - An earthier purple
Cricket - A bright green (looks yellow in photo -_-), actually a very wearable gorgeous color!
Dragon - A smokey greenish purple, very layered/multi-dimensional
Seed Pearl - A great highlighter color. A very light nude with pink shimmer
Pink Fingers - A satin sheen pastel pink, looks great with my blue eyes!
Mariposa - A deep pink with a reddish tone, very wearable in crease or outer V
Heart - A rich sexy pink with a bit of gold
Showy - Just what the name implies, lots of sparkle to this lovely light pink!
Well that sums it up. I really love this collection and hope that my favorites (which Im still debating on) end up becoming permanent additions! All I have are samples, and Im pretty sure Id love to have a few in full size! Luckily Kristens samples are so generous, and I have so many, that each baggie should last me awhile! Thanks for reading! Until next time, stay safe and warm this fall. ****Id also like the extend my thoughts and support to those who were affected by the shooting today on Fort Hood, Texas . That area is no stranger to mass shootings/killings tragedy (Killeen 1991). I was also born there (both parents were Army) so I hold the area and its residents near and dear to me!
~ I was not paid for this review/endorsement of Aromaleigh products. All of it was paid for with my own money, and I just happen to love this company and want to share my joy!

Steilacoom Dog Park





Hi everyone! Sorry its been so long, there just hasn't been much to write about. I just wanted to check in. Tomorrow/later today Ill be posting an eye look using some pink colors from the Limited Edition L'Orchidee collection from Aromaleigh.com

I also wanted to share with you some pictures from the dog park a couple day ago. We try to go on my husbands days off as long as its not raining. Its been in the 30s morning/night and 50s during the day with some wind, but the sun has been out so its okay! I really enjoy the dog park. It feels good to get outside and run around, and my son and dog love making new furry friends! They also just finished putting in a new bench and gazebo cover!

My dog Zippo is always so happy when he gets to go to the park. And everyone loves him and are constantly asking me about him and his baby blue (and one half brown) eyes. We adopted him about a year and a half ago at the approximate age of 6 months. Hes a real sweety, and not too jumpy as long as he gets out to play (which is why the park is great!). He passes out afterwards exhausted. We are exactly sure what mix of breeds he is, but hes cute and loving and that's good enough for us! Adopting pets is so amazing, I recommend to anyone who reads this to please do the same and save a life or two :) it'll feel good! I could go on and on about the subject but that's for a different post. Anyway, that's all for now! Thanks for reading, stay warm and safe this fall!