BB Cream Review

SheSpeaks has given me the opportunity to try out a new line of BB cream. I have never before used a BB cream so I have no way to compare it to another brand. I have only used your typical base makeup. After about 3 weeks of using Loreal's BB Cream I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at how well it did for my skin. I have combo skin/T-zone issues. So finding the right fit has been a chore. When I first squirted the cream on my finger, I thought there was no way this could be makeup. I even went and reread about it to make sure I was sent the correct product. I proceeded to apply it evenly with my fingers and it felt so light, smooth, and silky. IT WAS GREAT! No heavy, slathered on feeling. It smoothed out quite evenly. I chose the medium color. Other colors are light, fair, and deep. So far the medium works well for me, covering a few blemishes nicely.

Before

 After

I recommend giving it a try. It sells for $7.96 at Walmart and $7.59 at Target for 1oz. Not too heavy on the budget. What do you think about the before and after?



Torani Coupons

What a perfect time of year to try new coffee flavors than fall/winter? I was giving the opportunity to try out two flavors from Torani courtsey of SheSpeaks. This year they sent me Peppermint which I added to hot chocolates. I have to say this was a big hit with everyone who tried it. New fave!

I also received a new flavor, Salted Caramel. This is a popular flavor at many coffee shops.

This was a big hit around the house too!

So, now that I have gotten your taste buds curious, I have 5 coupons for $1.00 off a bottle of Torani waitin for the takin.

Message me and I will send one coupon out to the first 5 comments.

You'll be glad you did. :D

Surrendered

Cony and Alejandro

Please watch the video above.

This is the couple that surrendered all to start a new church in Zone 12. This is the house we stayed at after the robbery. We are home and safe now, but they live right in the middle of it all. The robbery, the violence, the gangs. They give anything they receive to others, rarely keeping much for themselves. Their 4 foot tall by 1.5 wide refrigerator had a few condiments, nothing else.

Torani flavors and Free too!

If any of you are coffee drinkers like myself, then you may have heard of Torani drink syrups. They are not just for coffee but also used in making Italian sodas, cocktails, teas and lemonades with recipes. There are so many different flavors to choose from. So when I was given the opportunity to try some I jumped on it. I mean, who doesn't like free samples? But these weren't just samples, these were full size, 25 oz. glass bottles.

Why yes, thank you, I don't mind if I do.

 I signed up thru SheSpeaks which I have posted on here before. 

I got a little giddy when I opened the box up and saw this inside.

Not one but two full size bottles, hazelnut which is rather common and pumpkin pie. But, the pumpkin pie is, er, uh, sugar free. Not a fan at all of anything sugar free. The sugar free line is sweetened with Splenda and is 0 calories for those of you who calorie count.

Most of the recipes call for a splash of flavor and some give you exact measurements. For my morning coffee, I used about a tablespoon full in a 12 oz cup with a non dairy creamer. I did notice that the flavor can be a little bitter if too much is added. No sugar needed. The hazelnut was as good as I expected and I think you all would agree, but then I tried the pumpkin pie. I must say I was surprisingly impressed with the sugar free flavor and recommend it. I will be trying more of the this line and the regular in the future.

I want to share this experience with you by giving out coupons for a free, yes I said FREE, 25 oz. bottle of your flavor of choice. (they even have bacon flavor) I have five coupons to give away so just leave a comment saying you want to try it or PM me and I will get it out to you (first five and one per person please). And to help you find Torani, their site has a search to find the closest business to your area. Right now, I have found that Torani is sold in the US only. Correct me if I'm wrong.

If you missed the coupons, you can order online and use the code "shespeaks" to get 10% off. Who doesn't like a good great deal?

Fun With Mirrors

Back in 2001 when we bought this house, one thing we noticed was that almost all of the mirrors were not very clear. The silvering on the back was streaked and splotchy, like it was fading off. This made using the bathroom mirrors hard to see in. Since the creation of Craigslist, I have been able to replace the typical flat mirror with something a little more interesting, with the exception of the boys bathroom.

Some before and after shots :

This mirror I found on Craigs. It has beveled edges and very heavy.

It was in need of some slight repairs.

One of the corners was separated and chipped so I used the most available product I could find in the house to fill it in, play-do. I pressed it in, shaped, and molded it to match the other corners the best I could. Let it dry and painted the whole frame with black satin spray paint. It took pretty much the whole can, but looks really nice.

Hung in my bath.

You can't even tell what corner I repaired.

Here is the boys' bathroom:

Did not have to do too much here except for the lighting. If you plan on replacing your bathroom mirror, make sure you take into consideration the light fixture when measuring. I did not want any of the frames to rest on the back splash since the moisture seems to ruin them easily. This made the frame too high up but since there was already a hole in the frame from it's previous use, Trevor my personal electrician, was able to slip the wire thru and mount the light fixture directly on top of the wood frame. Then he screwed the frame directly to the wall studs. 

I did not get this one on Craigs but instead found it on an early morning shopping trip with my friend Flo at the Gresham Barn sale. Another good deal and had fun shopping.

Lastly we have Bri's bathroom mirror:

Yes, she got really creative with her color choice. It matches the swirls on her wall.

Unfortunately, hanging her mirror has been put on hold until Trevor finishes the plumbing issue we have been dealing with for the last month now.

I did find this mirror on Craigslist-Waco. I asked my mom to check it out and if it was in decent shape, get it. The lady that was selling it told my parents she was selling all their belongings since they were packing up the family with 2 young children and moving to Central America as missionaries. That was the coolest part of this purchase.

Some simple furniture redo's

Before:

This table was missing a dowl rod. I had one lying around so I wittled the ends and fit it in. Good as new.

And after:

I have a thing for black. Satin black paint that is. Each piece has a different place in my home. And each one was previously owned by a family member. The two tables made their way to Texas all the way from Cumberland, Maryland, where my dad grew up. After my grandmother died, I traveled with my dad and loaded up a huge U-haul trailer and brought back years of antique furniture. None of my cousins wanted any of it, so my dad let me have a bedroom suit and a dining set, which is what we have in the dining room right now. The dining set was given to my grandparents as a wedding gift from an aunt and uncle, that they had previously owned. So I'm guessing it's about 75 years old, give or take. The first table is being used in my bathroom for extra storage and the smaller, more ornate table is being utilized in Bri's room for decoration. 

The frame was my moms, not sure how she came about it. It seems really old and is by no means square. But it works and will be placed on the wall above my computer desk, along with a large, tin shelf and hopefully soon, a divided drawer or something like it. I plan on painting a board to insert in the frame and using chalk markers for important messages, like what's on the menu for the week.   

Day 3... The expected/unexpected

I did not get much sleep at all. There were quite a few buses at the seminary when we got back the night before. Not sure what was going on but the people stayed up all night laughing, talking, and playing music very loudly till around 3 in the morning. I don't do well on very little sleep. Back to church for breakfast and prepare for another day out in Zone 12. We were beginning to work on our leadership book when Matt told us we would not be going out that day. Or at least till we had the OK to.

He then told us that around 5 AM that morning an Argentinian folk singer was on his way to the airport when the car he was in was surrounded by big rigs and repeatedly shot. He was killed and the concert promoter was injured. An anti-political group were the suspected murderers. They were claiming that they would kill a foreigner a day until their demands were met. Everyone of us were speechless and then someone started praying. The name of the singer was Facundo Cabral.

We worked on our leadership books some more and then were allowed to venture out of the church. In the street were kids from around the neighborhood coming in for awanas. The older guys played a game in the cul de sac down the street, much like hacky sack except with a soccer ball.

The guys 'waiting' to see who was gonna get hit by the kick.

We hung out, visiting with some kids from our group. Laura with Carmen (middle). You will hear more about them in another post.

The awanas kids.

We walked a ways down the street to a local park to play games with kids.

These three girls liked me taking their pictures.

After a game of dodge ball, we broke up into small groups to show the kids the Keys to the Kingdom. I was paired up with Colton S. The kids and some adults listened intently and had really good questions. They only know what had been taught to them in the Catholic church. They were listening with open minds, not yet set in their religion.

Later, we were finally allowed to leave our zone and so they took us to the mountains for a cookout. They grilled venison fajitas, um yummo! Unfortunately by this time, the heat had started taking it's toll on me. And in a place where a/c is as rare as ceiling fans, I knew I was in trouble. I had no place to lay down, cool off and rest. I stayed in the shade as much as I could and drank water the whole time. I just didn't want to ruin everyone else's fun. My headache was becoming too much to handle.

Roof top view.

The road leading to our rooms.

The ride back was not good for my stomach. I could only think about getting to lay down. Everyone started to get cleaned up because we had plans to go out to eat and bowling afterwards. I took a cold shower to finally cool down but still threw up.

Group shot.

At Pollo Campero, much like a KFC here. Laura's birthday was coming up so the employees made her flan with a single candle and sang happy birthday. One employee, Jasson, took a huge interest in Laura. He even gave one the pastors in our group his email address to give to her. Not sure that she has emailed yet.

By the time the night was over, my headache had subsided.

Black light bowling in Guatemala (me).

And Bri, trying to bowl left handed, tho she is right handed.

Day 2, Friday 7/8

The morning started off overcast and a nice breeze, but later the sun came out and warmed up quickly.

 Off the bus walking to the church in a zone. Zones are what we would call subdivisions. This zone is also gated with armed guards. There is one way in and out. It used to be the most crime infested zone about 10 years ago. The church came in and now it is one of the nicer places to live. Comparable to Pinnacle for us. The people still live behind the high, cinder block walls and razor wire in this zone. Some have broken glass mortared into the top of the walls. 

 This is the church, also gated with a steel door.

Inside the sanctuary, preparing for our first outing to zone 12. We were not allowed to take cameras so some pictures were taken by Allison, one of our group leaders.

My group included Nathan's friend Brian Swiggart and his youngest son Noah. I had mentioned to Nathan that I did not feel comfortable with Bri being placed in a group without me. I mean, hey, we are in a different country. This means different rules and such. I wanted to be with her just in case. So, she was put in my group. Our first stop was lead by Brian and he used the 'Keys to the Kingdom' as Noah read the corresponding scriptures. We had a translator which helped tremendously. The lady we spoke with was running a business out of the front of her home. It was like a mini mart with sodas, candy, personal items, and produce. She did not seem to want to talk with us but eventually listened. She said she did know who Jesus was but had never accepted Him into her heart. Let me tell you what an experience it was to be there while this lady prayed to accept Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. It was a very moving moment. We asked if there was anything she would like for us to pray for and she said her country and family. We then offered her a Spanish Bible. At first she did not understand that it was a gift and kinda thought we wanted her buy it. I did not understand her language but I could understand her expression. Our translator explained that she could just have it, we did not want her money and then her face showed show much gratitude and took the Bible.

 Above is our second stop at another mini mart, about 2 doors down from our first stop. The lady there really did not want to talk with us because she did not want to lose any customers. We asked if we could take just a few minutes to tell her about our God. She agreed and then other family members came in. By the time we left, 3 family members prayed to accept Jesus and asked us to pray for work.

Looking into the mini mart/ home.

We walked down about two doors down and there was a homeless lady sitting on the curb by herself. Our was the last on this block so she had been passed by. Matt, our other group leader was standing by so I asked if we were allowed to visit with her. One of the translators quickly went to Matt saying something and then came back and told us we could talk with her. Bri showed her the Keys to the Kingdom as I read from the Bible. She was grateful that we visited with her. The translator seemed to think she was not mentally stable and was not understanding what we were telling her. We prayed for her, gave her a Bible and some money. The whole time, residents were walking by looking at us like we were crazy for talking to his woman. I will never know her story but I know her name is Marlene and so does God.

We knocked on several more doors but by this time children were coming home from school and families were preparing for lunch. Which meant no one wanted to talk with us. We drove back to the church for lunch. 

 

 View from the third floor balcony. The black 'tubs' are cisterns for water collection and were found on a few roof tops. The houses were right next to each other with small yards.

Another third floor view looking down at the roof of the kitchen which is separate from the the main building. Directly behind this building is about a 100 foot drop. This zone was built on a plateau that almost completely surrounds the area with one entrance. A lot of these zones are built like this for protection.

Youth Mission Trip- Guatemala

Day 1

Boog graciously drove us, along with Grace and Sophie to DFW Airport (they provided us some in car entertainment). He dropped us off at the same terminal we took Lena to. I have to admit, I was kinda emotional about that. Anyways, we self checked in and waited around for the rest of our group to arrive.

 On our way to DFW Airport.

 Self check. I'm a newbie.

We started thru security where we had to take off our shoes and place everything in bins. I walked thru detection just fine. Waited on my backpack, carry-on, and shoes to come thru. It seemd to take a little too long and then finally they came out. A guy came over and asked if he could search my back pack. Of course I let him. I didn't have anything to hide. I'm sure I can't be the only person who takes anti-diarrheal and pepto on out of country trips. He asked if I had anything breakable or sharp. Nope. He finished up and said he was going to run it back thru the scanner. Nada, so I got my backpack back.

 Waiting to board.

Laura and I had seats close to each other and a lady was nice enough to trade spots so we could sit together. The other seat was occupied by a young guy from Spain. I figured we would be sitting together for a while so why not introduce myself. I am not much of a people person and really don't like talking to strangers, ha. I forget his name, which is typical for me, but he did say he was flying to somewhere in Central America to translate for another mission trip. Apparently he does this quite often. Now that I think about it, I should have got his picture. Oh well, next time.

The plane started moving and taxied over to the runway. It felt really weird then all of a sudden, with no warning, the pilot threw it in gear and we went into blast off mode. Then we were rising. I felt like I was on a roller coaster at Six Flags. Not fun. It really messed with my head and I couldn't focus. I know the guy next to me was thinking I was either crazy or drunk, take your pick. Finally we leveled off only to rise higher to get above the lovely turbulence. These planes do not sound like they are built very sturdy.

 
Right after take off.

The ride went by quicker than I had expected, which was good. The landing was quite unexpected. Since Guatemala City is down in a valley, the planes have to come in high over the mountains then drop real fast to get low enough. The runway was wet as we came to a very abrupt stop. I was bracing myself on the seat in front of me trying to keep from hitting it with my face. After a few check points later we made it out to get picked up. I knew we were riding a bus, but...

 Our suped up, pimped out, Chicken Bus, the Maria Patricia.

 Yea, she likes this!

  With a flat screen TV, based out, and lights. We even got to watch Cars 2. Not sure how??

The trip was a little rainy and crowded. Our driver knows his calling, transportation, if that could be a calling. It's worse than driving in Dallas. We drove to Seminario Nazareno. The armed guard opened the razor wire gate and let us in. We unloaded our stuff and walked down a hill towards our rooms. Then up a flight of stairs, down some stairs, up a really long flight of stairs, into a building, and down two more flights of stairs to our rooms. Yea, I was breathing hard.

  Our room. There were 2 more bunks on each side of me out of the picture.

After getting instructions, we walked back up the two flights of stairs to the main hall to eat and greet.

Being goofy and eating Domino's pizza.

The first night was very long. The shower was ice cold well water, I literally shivered and it was pointless to have shaved. I have never been able to sleep in a different bed other than my own. No A/C, no fan of any kind. An open window allowed some air flow along with mosquitoes (they love me) and lots of sounds. Barking dogs, birds, a rooster at 3 in the morning (no sun yet?) and loud, repetitive popping sounds that I prayed was only blackcats being lit. Oh, and Laura talks in her sleep.