Does big $ equal big results?

As a self proclaimed bargain hunter, anyone who knows me knows that I'm all about getting a good deal, but there are some things I won't budge on. One of those categories is health/beauty. I'm not a big make-up person, but the make-up I do wear is from Burt's Bees. After learning what is in make-up, and I'm not just talking Maybelline...Clinique and other big names included, are chocked full of random petro-chemicals and parabens. So yeah, for years, I spent money on products that were essentially filling my body with toxic junk! Now I know I'm gonna step on some toes here, but who does't want soft skin right? I used to frequent Bath and Body Works, thinking that because their lotions smelled so great that they had to be good for me. When I did my "make-up detox", I also detoxed my skin care. That includes handsoap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and yes, even my beloved lotions. I found Method handsoap, which I love, but after trying tons of different truly natural and organic lines, my big breakthrough came in October when Michael and I were celebrating our 10th anniversary at Lake of the Ozarks. I saw a Target (LOVE Target by the way) so after dinner, we went to walk around a bit. While I was looking at their Burt's Bees section, I saw something in the corner of my eye. I like to see what kind of ingredients new products have, so I grabbed a tube of Yes to Carrots hand lotion. I couldn't believe it! Seriously, if you're as picky as I am and you find something that fits your needs at "normal" store, you'd be excited too. I tried some out of the tester and since it is scented, I decided to test it and make sure it didn't give me a migraine. I've had several products end up making me sick because of their scent, so I've learned to not impulse buy. I got back to our room and still no migraine. Woohoo! That weekend, I was looking over the Black Friday deals online and found that Walgreens was going to have Yes to Carrots body butter for $1.99! I thought I'd read it wrong at first, but nope, it was right! That was my one *want* for the Black Friday sale, but Michael had a couple of things he was going to pick up, so we left the girls and my nephew (thanks Josh) sleeping and headed 30ish minutes to Springfield. Michael got what he wanted at Staples and then we proceeded to head to 4 different Walgreens in town. We both went in (it was limit 1 on the body butter), but I ended up with an awesome stockpile of YTC! The rest, as they say, is history! I used it for about a week and was so amazed at how it made my skin feel and loved the light scent. It's now the end of January and I'm a full blown carrot addict! I use YTC shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body butter, lip butter and my daughters do too! They love it and my youngest who is 4, runs through the house at any given moment making up songs about Yes to Carrots. I've shared the wealth with friends (I always have a tube in my purse) and told so many people about the best product line I've ever found. As a consumer, the way a company treats it's employees and customers is a big deal. I've seen nothing but good from both aspects and I love that I'm also supporting a company that cares about their impact on the environment. What more could you ask for?!? I'm kind of new to this, so I hope it works...

I Love Yes to Carrots !!!!


If you go to their website and sign up for the carrot club, you'll get a handy coupon that will save you some green when you try their products. If for some reason that doesn't work, just go to http://www.yestocarrots.com/ and go to the "carrot club". I can't wait to hear what you think of their products!

Finally, what good is having awesome skin care products if you're still filling your home with toxins. As a 30-something, I'm part of the generation that was taught "If you can't smell the cleaner, it must not be doing it's job". Sadly, the scents we came to be so familiar with were really tons of chemicals that did a number on our overall health and the environment around us. Phosphates in the laundry detergent, dish soap and dishwashing detergent were destroying the ecosystems in our local streams and lakes. Now the laundry detergent manufacturers cannot use phosphates, but it's still found in most dish soap. I choose Method and Seventh Generation products for doing my dishes. I REALLY love Method and would recommend their cleaning line to anyone. I also have been using my own "home-made" cleaners, which are made up of white vinegar, baking soda, fresh squeezed lemon (on occasion that is) and essential oils. It's so nice to have a truly natural smell, like lavender or lemongrass, left in the air after cleaning. I can buy the big containers of baking soda and vinegar and have a few months worth of cleaning supplies for the price of 1 month's worth of "big name" cleaners that would fill my home (and then my kids) with a toxic stew of unwanted chemicals.

If you're really wanting to change the way you feel, I challenge you to try doing your own personal beauty/cleaning detox. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel when you use natural lotions and skincare and can clean your bathroom without having to open a window because of the "clean" smell. Yes to Carrots and Method are my 2 top picks for starting out...then if you feel adventurous, try swapping your make-up out for Burt's Bees :)

Quirks and all...

I read this on one of my online devotionals and wanted to share.It's so good!Quirks And AllMarybeth Whalen"We love because he first loved us." I John 4:19 (NIV) Devotion:We have lived in our house for just a few months, and the quirks are starting to show. One of the burners on the stove doesn't work on the low setting. A piece of tile on the counter top is not glued in all the way. Several of the outlets in the bonus room were wired wrong, which means sometimes the electricity in that room works, and sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes, if someone turns the water on in the upstairs bathroom, there is a high-pitched squealing noise in the pipes of the downstairs bathroom. This has even happened in the middle of the night, jolting me out of a deep sleep.Before we moved, I was so ready to get out of our old house. I wanted to get into our new one so we could get away from the old house's quirks. The faucet in the kitchen sink that didn't work quite right. The place in the floor where the linoleum had buckled by the back door. The neighbors that were loud. When we first moved into this house, I thought I had escaped all of those annoying traits. And I had. I just hadn't counted on all the new ones that would pop up in the new house! I had counted on perfection on the other side of the fence, forgetting for a moment that we live in an imperfect world--a place where quirks abound.The thing about quirks is that they usually aren't evident on the surface. You usually have to spend quite a bit of time, digging deeply to unearth the quirkiness of a person, place or thing. I didn't see it in my brief walk-throughs of our house before we signed on the dotted line. It took living here for several weeks before they became evident.The same is true with people. You usually have to spend day in and day out together before they let their guard down enough to show you their quirks; before they trust you enough to let you see who they really are. The trick is to keep on loving them after you get that glimpse, seeing their faults and failures, their insecurities and idiosyncrasies. Am I sticking a sign in the yard of my new house because I see some problems? Not at all. I realize that my house is bound to have quirks--some I can work through and some I will just have to live with.The other night I went to the movies with an old friend who knows me, quirks and all. She and I have had moments of struggle as we have learned to accept each other's quirks. Through the years, we have learned to laugh about most of them and talk about the ones that we just don't get. As we sat together in the movies, I thought about how freeing it is to know and be known. To truly love someone is to embrace who they are, quirks and all. As we dig deeper and see what lies beneath the surface, we can choose to walk away or we can choose to stay, no matter what. While this might be hard at times, it is what God requires of us. Why? Because it is the kind of love He has showed each of us. As our verse for today says, we love because He first loved us. If He loves us, quirks and all, then He must want us to do the same, extending love in the same way we have received it.Dear Lord, Thank You for loving me and all my quirks. Please help me to love others in the same way--extending grace and compassion like You do and seeing past their quirks. Help me to appreciate the people You have put in my life and to not look elsewhere for happiness. In Jesus' Name, Amen.