My Little Haven

I have been looking into getting two things lately; a soy candle, and a new hair straightener.

There is this website called Pure Integrity Soy Candles. They sell a bunch of candles. I emailed them to see if they would send me some samples because I really want my house to smell delicious without having to use electricity to keep an air-freshener plugged in. Marcus doesn't really like to hear about it too much, but I say, I want our home to smell homey! Plus my nose is still super sensitive to smells, and I would like any unpleasant aromas to be covered by my new candle.

As for the hair straightener: I have a really old, but good one that I've had for several years, about 7. It is losing it's BAM effect and so I think it is time to move on. I want a super good one. Do you know how much super good ones cost?! They are expensive, but in the end, they don't damage your hair the way drug-store ones do. They get hot quicker and at higher temperatures. Some of them come with a cool feature which seals in the hairs natural moisture. The really expensive ones, though, are intended for those who have had Keratin Treatments. If you are curious about those, let me tell you, because I wast too. A Keratin Treatment is an intense chemical treatment which puts nutrients in the hair. One website says that "it is a revolutionary process that softens, shines, straightens and makes the hair healthy. It penetrates the hair repairing internal damage and coats the hair preventing further damage. The results are smooth, silky and straight hair.It is not a chemical that restructures the hair.It is a replenshing treatment that reconditions and protects the hair from water and heat damage while enhancing it's natural shine." I am super interested in this, although some reviews have said that these treatments eventually make your hair lose some of it's natural, for lack of a better word, pazaz. I like that my hair can either look great curled, or straightened, but the thing is...I need to do something with it for it to look great, although Marcus says he thinks I look great all the time. He's sweet. I would be doing this for me more than for him. BUT here is why I will not be doing it any time soon; it is about $300! Yikes! And it's not permanent--only semi-permanent. My hair would definitely look fabulous though. 


Coveting=bad!

Okay, now that that is out of my system, have any of you seen Gnomeo and Juliet? It is a cute children's film. I really liked that they changed the "real" ending to Romeo and Juliet. They didn't die! But how could they change a classic?! Easy. The original sucked. Sorry Shakespeare, but I never would have read that play if it weren't for public school systems deciding how to culture the youth. This movie was much better than the original tragedy and that is saying a lot because I think a lot of people gave bad ratings to this movie. At least teenagers did. I am happy, though, that there are still family films that are being made. The closer I get to motherhood (six months) I realize that it will soon be my responsibility to keep the world out of my home. I need to start creating a haven. Not only for my children, but for my husband and all those that visit. Hense the candle thing. I want my haven to smell delicious!

Speaking of Havens... I cleaned our room yesterday. Once it was all clean, I realized how baren it is. We had nothing on the walls. We went on a trip to the DI to find some artwork and I found a huge framed picture of the Salt Lake Temple. I was feeling guilty earlier this week for not having a picture of the temple hanging on the walls, but now we have one! Finally. Plus, the Salt Lake temple has a great story behind it. I will tell you later when I want to babble some more about random things. Speaking of babble, did you know it is called "babble" because when God confounded the language it was because they built the Tower of Babel. Interesting, huh?

So long for now.

Birthday Wishlist

Since my birthday is less than a month away, I thought it necessary to write a birthday list of things I want:

• $100 for a hotel room and dinner on my anniversary 
• $100 for whatever I want. Maybe a shopping spree? I do need some new articles of clothing. The baby has made my body change shape in a few different areas... 
• Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
• Birthday dinner with friends and family. 

I hope to get all this, but I do not think I will. The Cream Cheese Pie, though, is non-negotiable. And maybe even the birthday dinner. :)

Sweater Weather

As of yesterday sweater weather is here in Idaho! This is only my absolute favorite time of the year, and it has been that way since I was about thirteen. I think that is when I started realizing the beautiful warm colors and the contrasting cool breeze, not to mention the wonderful aromas the season creates like cinnamon, rain, wet dirt, and hot apple cider. It is the season where the sun is still shining, but the air is fresh and chill. 

Sweater weather reminds me of when I so deeply wanted someone to share my life with, and that feeling of "not yet...but soon." That seems like so long ago now. I would walk around the dirt roads of Frazier Park looking at the beautiful Quaker Trees changing from green to yellow and orange; smelling the folks lighting their fireplaces. You could get lost in meditation in those mountains admiring nature's beauty and feeling so tiny but not worrying that you're really nothing at all. After all, if we're all really nothing at all then we can become something great together.

This time around I do have someone to share time with--my husband. We will drink lots of hot chocolate and snuggle together when it gets cold at night. In the future, we'll have a fireplace of our own, and maybe I'll learn how to crochet some scarves.

A little bit what Frazier Park looks like in Autumn. It is beautiful.