ipsy Review

If you have not heard of ipsy and love to dabble in the art of "face painting" I highly recommend checking them out. I was gifted a year subscription by a dear friend and I love it! I am not a huge make up person but I like to be able to "put my face on" when needed. I also like the small sizes, enough to try, but not full sized and wasted if you don't like it. I am notorious for buying full sized makeup and then it dries out or "expires" before being used. I would say this is my go to gift for teen family and friends. Who doesn't like getting packages in the mail every month!? You take a quiz that highlights your interests and then sends you trials according to what you like. It is super simple and I just love the versatility. You earn points for every product you review and can redeem those review points for free product. Everybody loves free product!! As far as subscriptions go you can choose for a yearly membership which is $110 or if you have a budget to keep in mind you can buy a single month for only $10! Go ahead and try it out HERE.  Included above are all the products I have for my May 2016 order. Go on and ipsy it on up!

This blog contains affiliate links that benefit me in a referral program. All opinions are honest and my own.

Gel Pellet Hell ** What To Do When You Wash a Diaper**

Hey y'all. Before I was a mom I would laugh at the Facebook posts that start off. " Well, I washed a disposable diaper today......" I would always think to myself what kind of oblivious boob would wash a disposable diaper? Well folks, I am that boob. If you, like many, use disposable pads, diapers, pull ups, depends etc. then you are most likely that boob too. We can blame it on whatever we need to, lack of sleep, obliviousness, helpful kids, lazy kids, pre morning coffee but at the end of the day we are stuck cleaning it up, and cleaning it up, and cleaning it up. Those little pellets of Satan get EVERYWHERE, stick to EVERYTHING, cannot be swept or vaccumed up. So how, dear readers, do we fight and beat the gel pellet hell? I will tell you! Hope is not lost! We will prevail! Follow this step by step process for best results.
       Take a deep breath. No doubt this happened just as you were running late for work or trying to get some kidlets on the bus or the like. This too will pass and being angry at each individual pellet is not only unhelpful but it is also pointless.
       Take all the gel covered clothing and put them in a basket.
       Once your washer is empty of clothing but still full of pellets, take a dry paper towel and wipe out as much of the blobby goober globs that you can. Change paper towels often, this is not the time to be "eco friendly."
       I added some salt into the rinse and spin cycle (22 minutes on my washer) and ran the washer empty. Note: I had to repeat this step twice.
       While the washer is de-pelletifying *yeah, add that to your spell checker* shake off the clothing, I opted for outside...... (not the most eco friendly at this moment please forgive me)
       Put the clothing in the washing machine with more salt. I literally just took a salt shaker and tipped it over for two Mississippi (completely legit measure of time, if you are from Mississippi thank you for your contribution to our measurement system)
       Start the washer, put it on cycle heavy wash with the added rinse cycle. If you really would like to go for the gusto add on the pre soak feature as well.
       After your wash cycle, that will most likely take every bit of 3 hours toss the clothing into the dryer.
       Once your laundry is done drying, folded and put away (lets be honest, it will go into the basket until you need the clothes) pour yourself a sweet tea, lemonade, wine, coffee etc. and know that you worked hard today.

You know I have to say it because well, it is just who I am. But here are some preventative measures you can take.

        Don't wash disposable garments. (this right here is a problem solving, life changer!)
        Be eco friendly and use cloth.
        Hire someone to wash your laundry for you. ( so when they are the boob THEY have to clean it and not you..... ) 



Until next time............................


                                                                            

Hysterectomies for Everyone!!!!

As I venture out post surgery I have ran into some interesting comments. I am a 28 year old tooting around Walmart on an amigo of course people are going to ask. My children, bless their hearts, have taken it upon themselves to thwart off questions and like to announce, "my mom had her uterus taken out." Betcha didn't see that answer coming did you cashier? One lady nodded and without skipping a beat said well that is nice dear. Others blush or go "Oh, but your so young." The ones that have me absolutely baffled are the One Up Wendys. The who??? Yeah you know who I am talking about. Everybody knows at least one, and sadly a large portion of us know many. If you do not know any One Up Wendys I am sorry to tell you that you might as well accept that in your group of friends YOU are in fact, Wendy. Here is how the conversation goes:

Kay- I had surgery.

Wendy- I have had more than one surgery. Did you have it laproscopic?

Kay- Yes I did, I went home same day. It was nice to be able to relax in my own bed.

Wendy.- When I had laproscopic surgery I got up right off the operating table and walked home up hills both ways.

Kay- That's cool. I was down for about a week.

Wendy.- Yeah I was at dinner at the White House the same night.

I mean come on ladies. What happened to solidarity. What happened to just being there for your fellow woman??? 

The worst thing I have ran into thus far are the Drive Thru Sues. I am appalled at the amount of women who have legitimately said oh you had a hysterectomy? I was thinking about having one cuz I am sooooo over periods. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!! You are not ordering a Happy Meal here you are talking about MAJOR surgery. Which should only happen when MEDICALLY NECESSARY. Not because you find blood inconvenient. The whole idea of going under the knife gave me anxiety of epic levels and this lady just said she wanted a hysterectomy so nonchalantly as if she was talking about ordering her morning latte. Pass. 

I hope you enjoyed the wonderful world through my eyes.

Until next time .......

The Winner of the Giveaway!!!!

For those of you who have never used rafflecopter..... if you every have a giveaway I highly recommend it. You create your original post and then literally rafflecopter does the rest...... they even collaborated with random.com to choose a winner.... all I had to do was click a button that says choose a winner!?!? Couldn't be easier. Thank you so much for taking the time to enter the giveaway. If you want to keep receiving information on MORE AWESOME GIVEAWAYS please send me a quick e-mail to infinitedabbler@gmail.com subject heading GIVEAWAYS and I will save and e-mail you only with giveaway information. All information will stay with me.... no third party mailing.


Thank you again! I hope to see you back here soon!


Check out the post to see if you won!



Winner is announced HERE!

Beekeeping, Just Starting Out Checklist

Hey everyone, welcome, welcome, welcome. Today I am all excited because it is almost time for BEE SEASON!!! Didn't y'all know? Winter, Bee Season, More Bee Season, Fall. Now you know, let's move on. I have a bunch of friends that come to me and say....." How do I get started keeping bees?" If you have ever had bees then inevitably you receive TONS of questions by people just baffled and completely in awe. SO I am here to tell you exactly what you absolutely need to get started. **Note this is not for a top bar hive set-up**

1. Before you even get started I recommend sourcing a local beekeepers association and attending meetings and maybe even find a mentor :) Normally, you can find them at your local university extension office, or Google. 
2. Source a bee supplier. These folks do not have bees for sale year round and a lot of them won't ship them to you..... also asking at the beekeepers association meetings on their sources is good.
3. Supplies:               

• bee suit 
• veil and hat (IF you do not have a full body bee suit) ((not a veil you get married in, this one is much less fashion and much more function. ))
• hive tool
• brood boxes (2) these are the large boxes that the bees will use all winter long
• honey supers (2) these are the boxes that will be added for the collection of honey
• bottom board this is the bottom of the hive  
• inner cover is on top of the hive before the top cover ...so the hive has essentially two lids, but both are needed so don't skip out
• top cover is the very top lid and the one you will see when the hive is all closed up
• frames for the brood boxes (10 per box) so 20 for both brood boxes
• frames for the honey supers (10 per box) so 20 for both honey supers.....**note: most people only use 9 frames in the honey supers HOWEVER... having two extra frames on hand is not space consuming or a bad idea.**
• hive brush
• plastic caddy to carry your tools to the hive with you
• sweat headband, bandana or hanky ( that suit in the middle of summer (aka More Bee Season) gets HOT!!!!!
• queen excluder this keeps the queen from going up into your honey supply and laying eggs in it (Sorry your Majesty I like my eggs from a chicken)
• smoker and cool smoke materials
• matches or lighter to light above listed smoke
• foundation (some people like beeswax, some like plasticell...... I personally don't use any)
• entrance reducer to leave a smaller opening when the bees are in for the winter, it discourages mice and other small vermin.

     4. I prefer to order the hive boxes and frames not assembled. There are a few reasons for this 1.) It gives my husband a task ..... that honey do list is never finished :) 2.) It helps you check the boxes and frames for any mis-cuts or issues with the wood.... you can never be too observant.

     5. You will need to get some paint. I always scour the mistint section at the local depot for some cheap latex paint. However, if you are super fickle I recommend a color coding system to not only keep your pieces straight but, to fulfill the need to have order :)

     6. Once you have assembled your hives, you need to paint the outsides of the boxes. DO NOT PAINT THE INSIDES OF THE BOXES!!!!!  Why, Kay? Because I freaking said so ... the bees like a natural wood and the only reason you are painting is because you are protecting the outsides from the elements.... nobody wants flecks of paint in their honey. So, just don't do it.

      7.  Once everything is dried you can assemble and enjoy a job well done ... that is until your bees are ready to go in the hive..... that is a whole other post.

You will find that there are so many ways to keep bees. Some prefer one method and others swear that is the most absolute wrong way. As with anything you have to find your own rhythm and learn practices that you are comfortable with. Do research, try and find a mentor, attend meetings and enjoy the journey.


Happy Keeping and Bee Safe!


For all of my hive bodies and tools I have used:

Mann Lake

   

Joy GIVEAWAY

       I have great news to share with you today. Anyone who knows me personally knows that Joy is a blend that is a household staple. Joy is the very first oil we bought well over a year ago. Little did I know that one oil would lead me on an incredible journey to help promote my overall wellness and give me opportunity to meet some fantastic people. I am going to be dedicating my time and efforts into doing Young Living product reviews here and on YouTube and I would love for you to join me. I wanted to extend a giveaway in celebration of my (almost) 6 months with Young Living. To one lucky reader I will be doing a drawing via rafflecopter and mailing you 100% free of charge a bottle of Joy essential oil. I feel that everyone needs some Joy in their life. Now the important part.....HOW TO ENTER! There are quite a few ways to enter and win! May the odds be ever in your favor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway





Love to my Teams!!

Advocating For My Family

    Today I come to you as a woman, mother and all around frazzled human being. We recently relocated to a new state for my husbands job. It has been a good thing for our family but hard on me as an individual. I have tried to stay positive but failed attempts at mom groups and the overall self absorbed nature of the community we moved to has led to less than favorable social situations ( which I thrive on). I have leaned heavily on God, and essential oils. My two comforts that I can have no matter where I go. God is understandable, but essential oils? I know you are thinking yeah freaking right. I would probably feel the same way reading someone else's post. However, no matter what you think I tell you honestly that I have used essential oils as not only a way to help myself and my family's overall well being but as a way to live life with purpose. Let me explain. Before we moved I was very nonchalant about what I used in my home. After all we are all going to die sometime right>? Yes, but that is no reason to speed the process along by living in a home full of chemicals. Lets be honest, there are enough other chemicals we are exposed to without adding to the cocktail. After purging sooooooooo muuuuuuuuucccccchhhhhhh stuuuuuuuufffffffff I realized that I surrounded myself with quantity not quality. The new house we have doesn't afford me a bunch of spare room like my old home did. Through mindful prayer and some hefty tears I decided to try and live life with more of an advocate of my home mentality. We have gradually started switching over to using essential oils in our day to day cleaning with Thieves Household Cleaner and we have replaced all the plug ins with a few diffusers. I no longer use perfume with alcohol that dries and irritates my skin but instead like to change up between Joy and Stress AwayBlends. My laundry is washed in simple homemade blend with added essential oils to still feed that "clean smell" we all have grown to love. I love that I can close my eyes and take a deep breath and breathe in a variety of different fresh scents that not only smell good but promote my overall well being. You cannot tell me that in the dead of winter you don't miss fresh floral or citrus scents. I will call your bluff, every time. Essential oils have afforded me both and a whole lot more. I have found a grounding comfort in my essential oils and living a life with purpose has been therapeutic mentally and physically. So when you ask me why, I say why not advocate for yourself , your family and your environment. Now is better than never.


If you have any questions: infinitedabbler@gmail.com
Or for you independent folks:  http://yl.pe/3ck4