Hello friends!!  Sorry to be so long in posting... I've been extremely busy, and have had lots of good things happen over this wonderful summer!!  Hopefully I'll have some time soon to tell you soon.

I just wanted to drop a note to tell you about a wonderful new website which Jocelyn just started... her goal is to encourage girls and women to dress and be feminine, just like God created us!!  Be sure to stop by and participate in some of her challenges... they'll make you think!!  Have a most wonderful rest of this summery day!!

this is the first time i've ever gotten tagged!!  i actually got tagged with this twice in the same week!!

1.) Where were you ten years ago?

i was most likely playing with a friend after a day of schoolwork, or curled up with a good book with my mind off somewhere in a distant land.

2.) What are five things on my to-do list?

a) make rhubarb strawberry muffins - done

b) go to institute (I'm taking a class called "The Gospel and the Productive Life"  It's VERY good and teaching me so much in the area of balancing my life!!) - done

c) work at my grandma's - done

d) have a cheerful spirit, while trying to love everyone - trying :)

e) go to bed on time! - we'll see if I can do that!

3.) Snack's I enjoy

pretty much anything healthy and delicious!!  I love fruit, both fresh and dehydrated, muffins of all kinds, cookies (made with honey of course ;), and for a extra sweet treat - breyers ice cream with newman o's (organic oreos).

4.) What would I do if I was a billonaire?

pay 10% to tithing, travel the world and study history in depth while in the places where things happened, buy a huge farm, fix it up, and put what's left in savings while generously giving to all in need!  oh, i'd also go around the world and do service projects in third world countries.

5.) Places I have lived?

ut, ut and ut!!  i've lived in the same place since i was a week old!!

Others I plan to tag:

anyone who wants to be tagged is tagged!! 

This past week we have been watching a movie as a family, a VERY long movie I might add!  I really was enjoying it, but feeling kind of like I shouldn't watch it as it was really violent and there were some inappropriate things (nothing bad, just enough to make me uncomfortable).  I woke up one morning after watching it the night before and I felt terrible!!  I felt unclean, full of bad thoughts and just down right terrible!!  I prayed to feel clean again, and felt like I shouldn't watch it again.  On sunday in sacrament meeting I just didn't feel worthy to partake of the sacrament and renew my covenants, so I was praying and praying and commited that I wouldn't watch the rest.  It was really had to keep my commitment, as the rest of my family watched it... but I felt clean and pure again!!

Interestingly enough, I have been so angry the past week!  I usually am not a very angry person, but I have been SO angry!  I didn't want to be, I just was!  I have been praying that I wouldn't be and remembered something I had learned from an email I had recieved awhile ago.  This is a video that everyone should watch (How Television Affects Your Brain Chemistry -- And That's Not All!)!!  It is only 4 minutes long, but so good!!  We are all being brain washed when we watched tv and movies!!  Scary thought!  It's no wonder I was feeling violent, I was watching Robin Hood!!

This experience has really made me think about my movie standards...  as a family we have commited to not watch anything worse than PG.  We don't even watch some PG and G as they are so crude and disgusting!!  But I think that I need to raise the bar on my movie standards and become better.  My church has a booklet of standards that we are supposed to live (you can go HERE to view it if you want) and under Entertainment and the Media it says "Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable... Depictions of violence often glamorize vicious behavior. They offend the Spirit and make you less able to respond to others in a sensitive, caring way. They contradict the Savior’s message of love for one another."

I pray that I may be able to change my movie standards and wisely use every moment for the glory of GOD, in the service of others and for the edification of myself!! 

“If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13). 

okay, I've learned my lesson, ALWAYS save a draft when you start, then half way through and again towards the end!!  I had a long post all typed up and well.. it's gone!!  Here is a brief version as I don't have time to type it all again!!

I'm sorry I haven't been doing curly girl updates, I just don't usually have time to do it everyday!!  Plus, my new blog has been keeping me busy!!  Guess what!  I have now been doing the curly girl method for 2 weeks and I think it's working great!  I've only shampooed (is that a word??) once as we retired a flag and I had lovely smokey-smelling hair!!  I've also used the baking soda/water a couple of days as I've had slightly greasy hair a couple of days.  But, I would say that is pretty good for not washing for 2 weeks!!  (i can just picture all the disgusted looks, "no washing or brushing for 2 weeks and you expect us to think it looks good??"  no worries, it's looking pretty good!)  It has actually been a little less curly than usual, but I remembered something I learned from the curly girl book... the top part of your hair is called the canopy and it is exposed to LOTS more than the rest of your hair (wind, sun, chemicals, etc.), so it just might take awhile longer to rehydrate!  On sunday the top part of my hair was really wavy and frizzy, then next layer was better looking, but the bottom layer was simply beautiful... moist and curly!!!  I hope and pray that the rest of my hair starts looking like that!!  

So, has any one else been trying the curly girl method??  If so, have you had any luck?  OH, and on a side note, Belle asked about taking care of straight hair... here is a link from a curly girl website on taking care of straight hair!  I think that a lot of you straight haired (believe it or not, that IS A word!!) girls might really be wavy ones in disguise!! 

photo courtesy of fotosearch.com

I have a new blog, now don't panic... I'm not getting rid of this one, just adding a new one.  And before you think I'm getting obsessed, let me explain.... I've had many people (here on my side of the world) ask me to share recipes, and I simply don't have time to type them all up and give them out.  SO, I decided to have a blog devoted to cooking and healthy eating/living so I can share all the information at once!  Be sure to stop by... and if you see anything that looks good, try it out and let me know what you think!!

Simply Homemade

Jocelyn is having a give away at her blog... for an adorable Pondur Me baby shirt!  Be sure to stop by and enter!!

Yesterday I watched Sense and Sensibility with some friends, and re-heard this inspring sonnet.. doesn't it just conjure some great pictures in your mind of absolute devotion??  I just thought that I would share this wonderful thought with you!  I just LOVE shakespeare, and am going to be starting reading the complete works this week.  My sister and I just love talking in old-fashioned language... oh to live in the by-gone old days!!

Day 2: My roots were quite greasy when I woke up, but my ends were kind of dry, so I washed the top of my head with the only shampoo that is allowed BAKING SODA and WATER (1 TBLS to 1 CUP), and then conditioned with coconut oil.  My hair still seemed greasy that day, but better (I think it is starting to adjust!).

Day 3: Today when I woke up my roots were still a little greasy, so I washed again with baking soda and water... but just a tiny little bit.  Then I conditioned with coconut oil and scrunched like you are supposed to.  It's didn't seem as curly at first, but then it was after!  I had to clean at my grandma's today, so I put my hair in a bun with some bobby pins, and my sister told me that my hair looked like Nancy's hair in "Pollyanna" (the 2004 version, an EXCELLENT movie!!).  Quite a compliment, since I LOVE Nancy's hair!!  She ALSO said that on the first day she thought that if my hair kept looking like that (very greasy), she was going to have to disown me!!  (he, he ;)  My hair has been changing, which is very encouraging!!  I had about a 5-6 inch area on top of my head that wasn't curly, but it's starting to become very curly!!  And even when I pull my hair back into a loose bun, I still have waves, which is VERY cool!! 

And while we are on the topic of hair... has anyone here used hairsticks?  I found some VERY neat instructions on how to make you own here.  I really want to make some, so hopefully I'll be able to get some made in the next little while.  Oh, and I also found a website that has some beautiful hair-do's using hairsticks!!  Have a most wonderful rest of this terrific thursday!! 

Yesterday was a HORRIBLE day!  Things happened, or didn't happen, and I have just been feeling like everything I have wanted has been taken away.  I was in the bathroom for a minute last night and was crying to God saying "Why have you taken so many things away from me that I wanted or thought I needed!?" 

And the thought came... "you are SO incredibly blessed, count your blessings!"

So I looked around, and saw the toilet paper... something we all take advantage of, but all have and use!  And so I thought, "I am grateful for toilet paper!"  Since I can only see with my glasses on, I thought "I'm so grateful for glasses so I can see!!"  I have been focusing on what I don't have, or what I wanted... instead of being so grateful for ALL the blessings that I have been given!!  So... I've decided that I am going to start a gratitude list and go to 1000!  I'll try to do 20 things a day, or if I'm feeling extra grateful, I'll do more! 

I'm grateful for...

1) my wonderful mother, who is always so willing to listen

2) my great father, who works so hard to provide for all of us

3) my sister#1, who doesn't live with us, but I love her & know that she loves me!  

4) my sister #2, who is lots of fun, and is weird with me!

5) my brother #1, who is strong enough to help me carry heavy things!

6) my sister #3, who I can talk to about homesteading!

7) my sister #4 who has so much energy and can give me an extra boost when she has energy and I don't!

8) my brother #2, who is so willing to give me lots of hugs and sweet kisses!

9) my little sister in heaven... I love her and miss her, but know that I have her looking out for me in heaven!

10) my little brother in heaven... now I have another sibling in heaven that I have to look forward to meeting someday!

11) my beautiful home, that has electricity and running water!

12) my computer, that gives us options to learn so much.. just at the click of a button!

13) my washer... that can wash huge loads and makes laundry SO much easier!

14) my beautiful dryer... makes it so easy to dry and makes clothes clean smelling!

15) my shower, that helps me be clean, I love a warm shower in the morning!

16) my warm bed, such a comfortable one!

17) our beautiful 15 passenger van, which makes it so easy to haul things for others!

18) my glasses ;), I love putting them on each morning and being able to see clearly!

19) clothes that help me be modest and feminine!

20) little woman, who is such a good friend to me, even though I've never met her... I'm so grateful for her prayers!!

Join me in being grateful today!!

Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. (D&C 59:7)

Well, fellow homesteaders... I've been trying for awhile to make my own shampoo, use different things (like baking soda, egg), use a multi-purpose soap, and MANY other things to try and save money.  I stumbled upon a new way of washing hair awhile ago... or actually UNWASHING!  I just got my new book in the mail yesterday "CURLY GIRL", read through it... and promptly started it this morning.  I know from my own experience that it can be down-right mortifying to have curly hair at times, it never does what you want, curls the WRONG way, and can be just plain ornery!  So, I've decided that I'll journal my journey and you can follow along and hopefully glean something! 

Ever since I was a little girl I have had curly hair, it used to get straighter as it got longer, but the past few years it has gotten down-right crazy!!  We've been changing our diet and changing our lives too... and I feel so much better!  My hair must too, because where it used to be wavy, with some ringlets... now it looks like a perm!  In fact, LOTS of people have asked me if I got a perm, or asked if I got a haircut (nope, just my curly-curls drying!).  But I've still had a ways to go as it was quite dry and didn't quite do what I wanted it to.  Hence the reason I bought the book... 

The curly-girl way is to not just get rid of harsh shampoos and styling aids that strip your hair of essential oils, BUT to get rid of EVERYTHING!  UNPLUG the hairdryer, straightener, curler, etc, throw away your hairbrush and THROW OUT the shampoo!!

So, today I didn't shampoo, but followed the curly-girl method... just rinsing, massaging and conditioning (with coconut oil).  Well, to be perfectly honest with you, it didn't work so well!!  BUT if at first you don't succeed, TRY, TRY AGAIN!!  My hair is a little greasy (actually a little more that greasy!!), but certainly LOTS curlier than usual!!  Lorraine Massey (the lady who wrote Curly Girl) says that it can take 2-3 weeks for your hair to regain its moisture... so I'll give it awhile!  I'll keep 'ya all posted on how my locks transform (at least that's what I'm praying for!!).  So, do any of you have curls that have been driving you crazy, or caused you to shed a few tears?  If so, join me on my journey to better hair!!