Firstly, let me say how excited I am for being on their facebook fan page. I love CG's mascara, liquid concealer and sensitive skin foundation. Right now, they are doing a huge samples giveaway on facebook on their fanpage. They are sending eyeshadow and lipgloss for us to try and leave feedback for them. There may still be some being given away, so become their fan and try for it! I'm rather happy to be getting some free samples in the mail and I will let you know what they send me and how it looks!
That nice little infection that has everyone coughing, sniffling, fever, aching has attacked me too. For the first time since high school, I got put on a nebulizer. It did work though, better than I thought and it was nice to leave the doctor's in less pain. My theory is at least I'm getting this out of the way before christmas/my birthday/new years.
One thing about my family on mom's side is that we are list makers. No seriously. We make lists about everything. But one I actually find that everyone can use is to make a list of everyone you need to buy Christmas presents for. Then next to their name, write what you've purchased or want to find for them. It's much easier having something to follow and it means you won't forget anyone. (Sorry Brandon ^_^*) I'll show you mine but I'm not putting what I've actually found or am making because I want everyone to be surprised on Christmas!:
FRIENDS:
Whit: bought and in progress (that means I'm hand making it!)
Ra: Completed!
WORK: secret santa gift done!
FAMILY:
My handsome man: still on the hunt
Dad: complete
Mom: complete
Ian: complete
Mercy: complete
Emma: complete
Brandon: complete
Nathan: in progress
Teeya: complete
Tawnie: in progress
Polly: complete
GJ: complete but need to mail!
Laura:complete but need to mail!
Uncle Peter: complete but need to mail!
Jen: in progress
Adrien: in progress
Devon: in progress
Braidon: in progress
handsome man's mom: complete
GB: still hunting!
This helps quite a bit! For those of you near a dollar store, or 99cent store go there for your wrapping needs. They will have the cheapest deals on paper rolls, ribbon, bows and tags. If you're like me, you also snag the goodies right after Christmas where you can get everything for 75% off and hoard it for the next year!
These hershey's kisses are a current obsession right now. Don't worry you can get a one pound bag of the kisses at any store for about $3. They are so good! If you like mint chocolate, make yourself a cup of hot chocolate and drop a candy cane in it! The candy cane melts and leaves your drink minty! It's very good especially when you're trying to get rid of those excess candy canes.
Once I've made all my gifts I will post some pictures of them and let you see! I'm very proud of what I've done so far =) Please read my blog about water and please share it!!! Also leave me a comment and I will be glad to answer back! =)
<3
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Christmastime helps
Today I'm on a roll so I'm keeping the writing trend going! I was reading up on one of my fashion sites I follow and they wanted to know what you plan to do for presents if you have little or no money this year. How I understand this all too well! The best thing about this generation is the wealth of information at our fingers. The internet is chock full of how to's and you've also got me! (Not that I'm trying to boast but I do know a few things about being creative!) If you want some great ideas, then the internet is full of them! Youtube is full of videos of people giving tutorials. If you already know how to create then here are some good ideas!
Firstly, if you know the people you are giving gifts to, and they have no problems with sugar, then give cookies! Cookies are simple to bake and there are thousands of good cookie recipes online. The ingredients are also cheap and can be purchased anywhere. You can get fancy with the wrapping if you like. Oriental Trading Company has pretty bags that come in packs of 12 that are inexpensive and the receiver can use them again! They come in a variety of colors or you can choose to get a solid color pack. If you don't want to go that route, then here's another simple tip. Colored saran wrap! At this time of year you can find green and red at the grocery stores and then what you do is buy some ribbon in the gift wrapping section. If you can spend a little bit then pick up some adorable tins. Hobby Lobby and HEB have some great ones. If you don't want to bake cookies, then candy or fudge recipes also are numerous! No matter who you are, people always appreciate food.
Next, for those that can knit or crochet, Walmart may have knocked down their crafting areas but they still have the best prices for yarn. They may not have a huge selection, but they do have enough colors and types that you can find what you need. Hats, scarves, hair ties, socks, the possibilities are endless!
For a bit of fun, I adore the dollar section of Target. They have great smelling body products like soaps, lipglosses and lotions, socks for guys and girls, pet toys, candy, Christmas decorations and wrapping needs. They change this section constantly to adjust to the season, but this is a joy for me. They even have little goodies for children too. You can select small gifts for everyone this way!
Why all the fuss? Well, it's a bone of contention right now between my siblings and I over this. They want to draw one name and get one person a $20-$30 gift. I don't want to do that because I want to give everyone something. I'd feel awful for only getting one person instead of all of them something. That's just who I am as a person and that's why I'm writing this entry. For those that want to give small gifts, you can! I actually have tons of ideas and if you'd like my help, write a comment here, with your budget and the people you need goodies for (parents, siblings, boss, friends, etc). I'd be glad to help!
Lastly, help one another. Food pantries and homeless shelters are the busiest this time of year. They need food or money or time. Whichever you can donate is greatly appreciated. My way of giving back is using my crocheting skills to make blankets and hats. This speaks volumes and let's these people know that someone out there took the time to make them something. People need to be loved. This is the best time of year to show it (though it should be shown all year!). If you want to donate yarn, I'd be glad to turn it into something great! I use everything b have, meaning there are no leftovers. This makes for interesting looking .stripes and colors but to someone who is cold, lonely and homeless, this means the world to them.There are many things you can do to help. Donating money or time to charities. Donate clothing to whichever organization is close (Red Cross, Salvation Army, a Christian ministry, homeless or battered women's shelter, the list goes on...) Donate food to shelters or even volunteer and cook at the Ronald McDonald house. Offer to read stories to the children's ward at the hospital. Make clothes or blankets and donate them (I have a good list of charities such as caps for chemo and afgans for afghans- blankets for American soldiers who have no family). There is so much we can do.
Good luck with your presents and have a happy holiday season!
<3
Firstly, if you know the people you are giving gifts to, and they have no problems with sugar, then give cookies! Cookies are simple to bake and there are thousands of good cookie recipes online. The ingredients are also cheap and can be purchased anywhere. You can get fancy with the wrapping if you like. Oriental Trading Company has pretty bags that come in packs of 12 that are inexpensive and the receiver can use them again! They come in a variety of colors or you can choose to get a solid color pack. If you don't want to go that route, then here's another simple tip. Colored saran wrap! At this time of year you can find green and red at the grocery stores and then what you do is buy some ribbon in the gift wrapping section. If you can spend a little bit then pick up some adorable tins. Hobby Lobby and HEB have some great ones. If you don't want to bake cookies, then candy or fudge recipes also are numerous! No matter who you are, people always appreciate food.
Next, for those that can knit or crochet, Walmart may have knocked down their crafting areas but they still have the best prices for yarn. They may not have a huge selection, but they do have enough colors and types that you can find what you need. Hats, scarves, hair ties, socks, the possibilities are endless!
For a bit of fun, I adore the dollar section of Target. They have great smelling body products like soaps, lipglosses and lotions, socks for guys and girls, pet toys, candy, Christmas decorations and wrapping needs. They change this section constantly to adjust to the season, but this is a joy for me. They even have little goodies for children too. You can select small gifts for everyone this way!
Why all the fuss? Well, it's a bone of contention right now between my siblings and I over this. They want to draw one name and get one person a $20-$30 gift. I don't want to do that because I want to give everyone something. I'd feel awful for only getting one person instead of all of them something. That's just who I am as a person and that's why I'm writing this entry. For those that want to give small gifts, you can! I actually have tons of ideas and if you'd like my help, write a comment here, with your budget and the people you need goodies for (parents, siblings, boss, friends, etc). I'd be glad to help!
Lastly, help one another. Food pantries and homeless shelters are the busiest this time of year. They need food or money or time. Whichever you can donate is greatly appreciated. My way of giving back is using my crocheting skills to make blankets and hats. This speaks volumes and let's these people know that someone out there took the time to make them something. People need to be loved. This is the best time of year to show it (though it should be shown all year!). If you want to donate yarn, I'd be glad to turn it into something great! I use everything b have, meaning there are no leftovers. This makes for interesting looking .stripes and colors but to someone who is cold, lonely and homeless, this means the world to them.There are many things you can do to help. Donating money or time to charities. Donate clothing to whichever organization is close (Red Cross, Salvation Army, a Christian ministry, homeless or battered women's shelter, the list goes on...) Donate food to shelters or even volunteer and cook at the Ronald McDonald house. Offer to read stories to the children's ward at the hospital. Make clothes or blankets and donate them (I have a good list of charities such as caps for chemo and afgans for afghans- blankets for American soldiers who have no family). There is so much we can do.
Good luck with your presents and have a happy holiday season!
<3
water
Last week at church my pastor made an astonishing revelation. If Americans took only HALF the money they spend on their Christmas gifts this year alone, we could provide clean drinking water for everyone in the world... Is that not shocking? I was honestly disappointed at hearing that because we have the solution at our fingertips and yet, we can't fix the issue. How selfish is the general population? I'm not dissing the joy of giving, as I love to get and make gifts and I love giving them to people, but since a large part of Christmas is about giving, can't we do something huge? Wouldn't it be the second greatest gift of all time (the first being Jesus!) if we could give all people clean water? The answer is right here and we are just shying away from it. We all want new music players, new phones, new cars, expensive jewelry or clothes. How can we be so selfish? Why is it so hard to part with money? For people like me, who struggle to survive, I can understand it. But for those that make a decent amount and have something extra to give, why is it so hard? Don't you feel awful knowing that if you gave something then you could help someone have clear water? People are dying daily because of unsanitary water. In America, we go through millions of bottles of the stuff without even blinking. We need to help. We need to do something. The other hard part is the media. People are way more focused on the president's ill-doing or the latest celeb issue, the most recent natural disaster or who killed how many. If we just stopped and took a few minutes we could at least solve one problem. Don't you think that everyone deserves clean water? If you were one of those people, wouldn't you want someone trying their hardest to help you? You would. You know you would. Now accept that and start researching. Matt Damon is helping on this front, can't you too?
For me, its just aggravating, knowing what's going on and feeling completely helpless. My hope is that for those of you reading this, you'll pass my entry on and help spread the word. Maybe this Christmas we can give the gift of clean water to as many people as we can.
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/gift-catalog-dynamic-search-holidays?open&campaign=10152549&cmp=KNC-10152549&gccode=water
http://thewaterproject.org/
http://www.globalwater.org/
Thank you for reading,
May the good Lord bless you and keep you.
<3
For me, its just aggravating, knowing what's going on and feeling completely helpless. My hope is that for those of you reading this, you'll pass my entry on and help spread the word. Maybe this Christmas we can give the gift of clean water to as many people as we can.
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/gift-catalog-dynamic-search-holidays?open&campaign=10152549&cmp=KNC-10152549&gccode=water
http://thewaterproject.org/
http://www.globalwater.org/
Thank you for reading,
May the good Lord bless you and keep you.
<3
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