Annual Ornament Gifts

Pin It Now! The kids get to open an ornament from us before we let them decorate the Memory Christmas Tree. I found some really cute, and yummy, letter ornaments at Kohl's that were on sale, plus I had one of those 15% off coupons, so they were very inexpensive this year.

M for Mullin, my dark and handsome hunter.

L for Lincoln, my good-looking, blue-eyed sunshine.

S for Shiloh, my gorgeous, green-eyed (hazel mostly) princess.

These ornaments remind me of the sugar cookies I make every Christmas, the ones my mom made every year, the ones her mom made every year and so on. I hope one day as my grown children are hanging up their sugar-cookie-letter ornaments on their own tree, they smile and remember the fun times we had baking and decorating Christmas cookies! :)

Yea! I Won!!

Pin It Now! I have often wondered, "Am I wasting my time by entering endless giveaways?"

Well, aparantly not. I have won two in the past week!!!!!

One is for Christmas cards from Avondale Paperie. I am really excited about this one b/c I have always loved sending these out every year, and I honestly didn't think I'd be able to fit this holiday extra into our budget this year. We even used to get really into our annual Christmas cards by writing fun letters etc. Now that my husband and I both have blogs and all, I guess all that yearly info. would be overkill. Now it's just beautiful photos of our kids!!!

The other is for 2 beautiful hand quilted Christmas stockings that will match perfectly with my gold and garnet decor!! Jennifer makes beautiful quilts of all kinds!


I can't wait to receive my goodies in the mail!!! Seriously, winning these 2 giveaways made me smile in the midst of getting some not so good news the other day. :)

WFMW: How to Properly Eat a Pomegranate

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I love pomegranates and sadly they are only around for like 2 months every year. They may seem pricey, but just one will be enough for about 4 people. Well, I could eat a whole one, but I share. :) I am always surprised at how many who ask me, "So how do you eat one of those?" You are missing out if you haven't tried one, and now you have no excuse!!



First, put an apron on!!! Do not skip this step as these ruby babies are VERY juicy!! I cut mine into fourths.

Then I immerse the pieces in water. It makes it easier to remove the seeds without getting splattered with juice.

I discard all of the outer covering and pulpy insides. Only the seeds (the part you eat) should be left in your bowl.

Drain the water and they are ready to eat! I like to place mine in the fridge for just a bit so the seeds are slightly chilled. Mmmm, then I love to eat them with a spoon. The sweet, juicy crunch is amazing!

Visit We are THAT Family for more WFMW tips!!

*Updated 10-26-10* It's pomegranate season again! I am so excited that I actually have some on my tree this year~not as big or juicy as the ones in the stores but still so yummy. :)

Linked to:

Tasty Tuesday

Tuesdays at the Table

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

Phoenix Zoo Fun

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Had a great time with grandparents and cousins at the zoo.  I am exhausted!

     

 

Raw Minerals Review

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Long gone are my high school days of wearing “pancake” make-up to cover up my freckles.  Since then I have made peace with my freckles, and for most of my make-up wearing life, I have been wearing all sorts of liquid foundations.  But, for the past year or so, I have been trying mineral make-up, which I really like: less mess, more natural looking, etc.

I was more than eager to give Raw Minerals a try and review it for myself and for all women out there who want great, natural looking skin!

I have been using Raw Minerals Discovery Kit, which includes Light Duo, Mineral Glow, Active Veil, Maximum Coverage Foundation Brush, Concealer Brush, and Multi-Tasking Retractable Brush, now for a few weeks and have been wondering the entire time, “Maximum Coverage Foundation Brush, where have you been all my life!”  It’s the best make-up brush I have ever used, in fact, I didn’t even know a make-up brush could be so wonderful!  The ladies on the Getting Started DVD kept talking about how soft it was, and they were absolutely right!

The rest of the Discovery Kit includes:

two shades of foundation in case they need to be mixed in order to match your skin tone perfectly.  I am glad because I do need to mix them.  If you don’t need to mix for the perfect shade, you can specify that your next kit come with the same 2 shades.  After applying the foundation with the amazing Maximum Coverage Brush, I apply a little extra foundation with the Concealer Brush to my under eye area and to any minor blemishes I may have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mineral Glow, which gives your skin a natural, sun-kissed glimmer.  The DVD explains where to use this on your face, and I even like to apply it to my eyelids and lips for an overall natural look. 

Active Veil, which sort of “seals” everything in and also contains sunscreen.

 

 

Both the Mineral Glow and Active Veil are applied with the Multi-Tasking Retractable Brush.

Also included in the kit is a Getting Started DVD.  It was very informative and gave clear, step-by-step instructions.

I honestly like the way Raw Minerals looks and feels on my skin. It’s not heavy, and I don’t feel the need to constantly do a “powder touch-up” like I did when using liquid foundations.

Knowing that I am using products on my skin which contain no harsh chemicals, artificial colors, or synthetic fragrances makes me feel pretty good, too.

 Me with no make-up on whatsoever.  (These self portraits just don’t do me any favors!)

  Me wearing everything in the Raw Minerals Discovery Kit.  Looks MUCH better in person.  Just gives a slight glow all by itself—great to wear on all of my stay-at-home-mom days. :)

Me with the rest of my make-up on.  I just used some extra Mineral Glow for blush and lips, although I did use lip liner to make my lips look more full.  I used all of my own eye make-up.

Please take a moment to browse around their site and see for yourself how Raw Minerals can help you achieve the perfect, all natural look! 

**Raw Minerals would also like to extend a special offer to all of my readers!  Enter coupon code DISCOVERY50 upon checkout to receive 50% off your Discovery Kit order plus free shipping.