A word on love:

     Love isn't as prolific as it might seem. If you find it;  embrace it with all of your ability.

With children: Shower them with so much that the ill affects of the world cannot penetrate the covering thereof.

With friends: Love them over rivers and valleys and through torrential rains, monsoons, and landslides.

With lovers: Never give up. Love is a light that shines in the darkest corners of existence. It can be dimmed, but never put out. Keep feeding the fire...

     Though there are many translations of love, there is really just one language. Listen to it, learn it's fluency, but most importantly: speak it often. 💚

Aluminum-free Deodorant. Diy

Facts: 

-Aluminum is probably bad for your pits.

-it's been linked to breast cancer

-deodorant is expensive 

-some people are allergic to it

Do the research yourself. What do I look like? An encyclopedia? I think not my friend.

If you want to know why deodorant with Aluminum is bad for you...well, that's what Google is for. 👍

Make your own:

Materials:

Baking soda, cornstarch, coconut oil, plastic container and spoon. (Essential oils are optional. Try lavender)

1. Add equal amounts cornstarch and baking soda.

2. Add enough liquid coconut to form a paste.

3. Add essential oils (If desired for fragrance) 

Easy right? No excuse loser!

Tips:

- melt oils by running under warm water. DO NOT HEAT IN MICROWAVE OR ON STOVE TOP UNLESS YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE SKIN GRAFTS IN UOUR IMMEDIATE FUTURE. 

-this will soften In a warm bathroom. 

Anti-stank breath! (Aka fluoride-free toothpaste)

My 10 year old is a militant hippie! (There is a such thing). First she asked if we could take a road trip to Ferguson to protest and then she asked why I was allowing her to use "cancer causing, fluoride- laden, brain eating tooth paste". She then suggested I go back to making our paste so she could graduate. 😁😑.

Who made her?!!!!

Anyhow- I decided she was right because with as much research as I've done on fluoride, combined with the fact that I actually PREFER my own toothpaste, I have no business buying this stuff:

So I got to work and made a fresh batch:

1. Mix equal parts baking soda and coarse Salt (I used table Salt 😁)

2. While coconut oil is warm (In a liquid state) add just enough to make a paste.

3. Add a few drops of stevia (for taste)

4. Mix well. Store in airtight container

*tips*

-this will melt in a hot bathroom

-coconut oil will stain clothes!

-don't be a douche buy heating oils in a microwave or stove. Just run under warm  water.😀 happy brushing suckas!

Crockpot apple butter

Y'all already know I hate cooking. From the bottom of my heart. I do, however, love food! I wanted to make something for my daughters to have instead of syrup with their pancakes and decided that apple butter would be awesome. Instead of standing over a stove (yawn), I decided to follow and easy recipe and throw it all in a crock pot instead! Score!! I didn't have a crock pot though.😔😢

Then: I found a brand new one at the Salvation Army for the low, low, price of 2.99!  Score again! Yay 😊😀

Super easy! 

-pick apples

-wash

-peel

-core

-chop

-toss in crock pot with the spices of your choice (I used, salt, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon,and cloves)  top with water.

-summer until soft (overnight for me)

-remove cloves

-blend smooth 

-bottle and ENJOY!

DIY TIME! Cute anthro lamp tutorial.

Super easy, super short (because I hate long winded tuts)

Cost: 1.50. (No lie)

Time: 15 min (not including paint drying)

Materials: flat white paint, (had some on hand), old lamp (ugly sucker I bought for 1.00), plastic bags (FREE). Ribbon for rosettes (.25), pink shade (.25). Super glue and hot glue (free because I always have them!)

3 easy steps!

1. Make sure the lamp works! (Duh). Then cover the important ish with bags. Paint base white. Dry completely.

2. Apply cute shade.

3. Hot glue rosettes and super glue the broken crap you finally noticed. 

TADA! She's a beaut eh? The girls loved it.💚

The Eleventh Hour

     So many of us quit when life get hard. It's as if we've  been sold this fairy-tale from birth, that teaches us that if we have to take a risk, or struggle, or fight, it's better to simply give up.

     I've seen talented men sit on their gifts because they are too afraid to fail again. I've seen phenomenal woman stop just shy of their goal simply because an outside distraction, obstacle, or issue  made the last few steps seem impossible to take. If the greatest tragedy of life, is to die never having reached your full potential, how then, is it that so many of us fall victim to this tragedy simply because "shit got real"? Life is real, and sometimes, life is just hard.

I have learned this; Anyone can take the next step forward when it is sunny outside. It takes a courageous spirit to take the next step in complete darkness. 

 Where there is courage, there is strength.

 Where there is strength, there is resilience, 

and where those attributes meet, there, lies success.

 No man or woman ever became great any other way.

    So when you are facing your darkest moments, remember that it is merely your opportunity to be amazing. To respond with courage. Don't miss it. Keep going. 💚

Can't cook. Don't wanna. Probably ain't gonna.

     

     Whenever I tell someone (especially someone of the male persuasion) that I really don't cook, I always get a blank stare. It's as if my having a vagina and being a good cook ought to go hand in hand! I often wonder why no one ever asked my father or my brother if they knew how to make a meal...While there are obvious sexist tones to such a question, I want to explore a deeper issue: Why does society need so badly for each of us to fit in to a box?

     Now, please hear me out. I agree that some roles have to be set in families and partnerships. What I disagree with, is the fact that so many people feel the need to dictate those rules for others. EVERY family is different and every situation unique. Round' here, we rarely turn on a stove. We prefer our food (mostly plant based) raw. Unless, of course, bacon is involved. We loooove the hell out of bacon, but I digress. The point is, my children are happy and healthy. They  receive a balanced diet, and have had absolutely no complaints about the way I feed them. (unless I try to actually cook).

     I have tried. A really long try. 3 full years of trying, and I am no better now than the first day I caught the stove on fire. (Yes, that actually happened). Not only am I a bad cook, I absolutely HATE it. I get no pleasure from the act or the results, and in my personal opinion, that's good enough reason to stop. I'm not going to spend the rest of my days striving to cook like my mom. That's just not what I'm good at. 

     I admire a women who can whip up a gourmet meal that her family swoons over, I really do, but the simple truth is: Not every woman is a mini Paula Deen. That doesn't mean that I am any less awesome. 

     I can't make a casserole, but I'm the best cuddler this side of the Mason-Dixon line. I have no idea what goes into a sweet potato pie, but I make a mean PB and J. 

My spaghetti is always sticky, 

my fried chicken; always raw , 

my roasts are undercooked,

and to be perfectly honest with you,

I can barely boil eggs, and guess what?

That's ok.

      I'm convinced that what I lack in kitchen-prowess, I make up for in laughs, hugs, dancing in circles, Sam Cooke records and Love. I'll take that over a grease fire, any day. 💚