fun finds: february beauty must-haves

hard to believe that february is already coming to an end. i *love* trying new products and these five are my current beauty must-haves. 

1. jack black intense therapy lip balm -- black tea & blackberry
the lip balm is creamy and thick and the scent is simply fabulous. it's the perfect blend of a luxury product with the fun, modern scent/flavor. this lip balm is my favorite on-the-go item to have in my purse and workout bag.

2. opi nail envy
i don't have the best nails. with stress and anxiety comes nail biting/picking for me and it's hard to get my nails to stay strong and looking good. i am always on the lookout for a good nail strengthener and have really been happy with this product. it really is making a big difference in my nails.

3. rodan + fields redefine products
i hadn't heard of rodan and fields until a friend from college told me about them. the drs that invented proactiv created a new line of products that, in addition to a line that treats acne, they also have these awesome lines to target aging skin, like mine. my friend, heather sent me some samples and i am hooked. truly. my skin has never felt this amazing and i even had a couple people comment on how i am "glowing". i'll take it! i am placing an order stat. 

4. trader joes coconut body butter
if you have a trader joe's near you run and get some of this body butter. i picked the product up on a whim one day and now i can't get enough. it is so moisturizing and the scent is light and tropical and instantly transports me mentally to a beach in hawaii. a mental vacation to hawaii? not as good as being there in person, but sign me up!

5. nutraluxe md
i naturally have pretty long lashes, but with age i have noticed that they seem a little thinner and sparse. i started using this product that a friend recommended to me and it's truly amazing the difference it has made in my lashes. people have started asking me if i got extensions! ha! its super easy to apply and you get beautiful, long lashes without the upkeep and cost of eyelash extensions. sounds like a win-win to me.



so loves, that is it for this month. let me know if there are any products that you have used and love and i need to try. i will be constantly trying new things and reporting back the best of the best to you. xo- heather

birthday blessings...

today i turn another year older. chach has a december birthday as well. i am officially eleven days older but we have a remarkable thing in common. each december we get to celebrate not only another calendar year ending and a new one beginning, but another year of our own lives that has come and gone as well. after spending a day reflecting on the year that has come to an end, i feel the need to share a few things i'm thankful for. perhaps it can spur on a moment of thankfulness of your own.

i'm thankful for health. this last year, one of my good girlfriends passed away from cancer. another friend lost his life in a tragic car accident. other amazing girlfriends are battling hard against cancer. friends have faced sick children beyond what i can even comprehend. the young parents of my friends have passed away from various illnesses. i will never take the health of my family for granted. each day that i wake up and find that my biggest health complaint is another child with an ear infection is a day worthy of rejoicing. sometimes i have to stop myself from thinking that my life is difficult because i have two kids with colds at once. may i always have eyes to see things from a proper perspective and remember to be thankful for the huge blessing of a healthy family.

i'm thankful for this new baby and the kids and husband i already have. sure, i joke about my "never-had-a-baby-body." i have shared frustrations with people who have said things perhaps they shouldn't about this fifth pregnancy. there are days when my own children push me to limits i didn't think i could handle. here's, however, what i thought about today. my friends who have suffered miscarriage after miscarriage have been the biggest supporters of my fifth baby. one friend who had a complete hysterectomy in her 20's wonders what it would be like to lose her "never-had-a-baby-body." having a handful of children to care for at home is a dream for some women who would give anything to be mother at all. no matter what sacrifices are made, what difficulties are faced, or how much work is involved, these kids are my greatest blessings. having an amazing husband to share this experience with is an fantastic bonus.

i'm thankful for an amazing place to live. i love my house. i love my neighborhood and my current hometown. this, however is not what i'm referring to when i say i live in an amazing place. i lived overseas for over five years. my first three children were born while living in a foreign country. i know what it is like to live in the murder capital of the world. i know what it is like to look behind my back as i walk with my children in the evenings to make sure we're not being followed. i've fought in the grocery store over a bag of sugar and a carton of milk. i've been medically evacuated out of a country due to poor medical care. we've ridden in armored cars and traveled from one town to another only with large assault weapons accompanying us. i've been on email lists that tell me when a butcher has meat to sell, which grocery stores have been stocked with basic food products, and when the u.s. embassy will be able to provide food that we can't purchase elsewhere. i've lived in places where freedoms we daily take for granted are beyond what is currently possible. we live in an amazing place and we're amazingly spoiled. we find so much to complain about, from leadership to politics to economics, to a grocery store being out of a specialty item we are looking for. we need to learn to be thankful. the line to get into this country is still long. we are blessed enough to call it home. that's something to be grateful for.

i'm thankful for the freedom to be me. i get to blog whatever i want and, not only am i allowed to, but there is a select group of people who actually want to hear what i have to say. i am grateful. i get to go to church and worship without persecution. martyrs are being made the world over and yet i am able to attend services completely unharmed. i am thankful. i have girlfriends who are selfless and kind and who encourage me on a daily basis. i don't have to be someone that i am not when i am around them. they love me for me and i love each and every one of them. they are some of my greatest blessings.

along with the big things, i'm pretty content in the small things of the day too. i'm thankful that i was able to shower, wash and dry my hair, and shave both legs, all on the same day. i'm thankful for a starbucks chai tea latte, something that brightens any day. i'm thankful for love and hugs and kisses from my family. i'm thankful for facebook and a litany of happy birthday wishes from people who span my entire lifetime. i'm thankful for the haagen dazs ice cream bar that is waiting for me in the freezer once i finish writing. most of all, i'm thankful that today begins another year of this amazing life i have been given. while my journey may be different than i ever imagined it would be, i am blessed beyond belief...and indescribably grateful.

forwards and girlfriends

i hate forwards. hate. i seldom ever read them. in fact, they generally bug me. i ignore every one from the "send it to 10 people in the next hour and your dreams will come true" to the warnings of car jackings and that everything that i own or consume will give me cancer. today i received a forward from my mom (that generally feels the same way i do about them) that made me pause and read it. 

"i just finished taking an evening class at stanford. the last lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. the speaker (head of psychiatry at stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman, whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.

at first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. physically this quality “girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. they rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. jobs? yes. sports? yes. cars? yes. fishing, hunting, golf? yes. but their feelings? rarely. 

women do it all of the time. we share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health. he said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

there's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged—not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!

so every time you hang out with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! we are indeed very, very blessed. sooooo let's appreciate our friendship with our girlfriends. evidently it's very good for our health."

for the record, i have no idea if this is true or not....but i sure hope it is. nothing makes me feel better than time spend with girlfriends and i *love* the idea that it could actually be healthy for me.....and the equivalent of a workout?! doubtful, but sign me up! what do you think?