Flattery Will Get you Everywhere!

My inbox yesterday held the most pleasant surprise. This letter from a dear friend of mine.

Hi friend,

I am so happy to be in touch with you again, even if it is just through blogging. I know we have said this before, but we are so much alike it's scary. I love reading your blog!

Here is my request: I would love a list your favorite beauty products - shampoo, conditioner, hair products, make-up,etc? (Right now I am in desperate need of a new MOISTURIZER.) You have the best taste of anyone I know and seem to be able to find all the best products. This would also make a really fun post, if you were looking for something to blog about.

Also: read anything good lately, I can't seem to find ANYTHING I want to read.

Miss you. Love, C

A note that nice will get you far my friend. Especially considering 90% of my book selections come only after checking on gooodreads.com to see what you have read and loved lately, and the fact that I am constantly checking out clothing articles, crafty projects, and even running shoes after you have posted on them! So dear friend the appreciation goes both ways and because of it, I'll tell you anything you wanna know!

Lets start with HAIR PRODUCTS

Shampoo: Joico Moisture Recovery

Conditioner: S Factor Serious Conditioner

I MUST wash my hair daily and with all the coloring and styling it needs all the pampering I can give it!

After the shower wet hair: Bed Head After Party Keeps my hair smooth no fly aways and helps condition

Paul Mitchel Quick Slip Helps dry much faster and protects from the heat of dryer, flat iron etc.

Redken Wax: Gives a bit of texture, allows a bit more creativity on my part, keeps hair looking smoother and shiny.

MOISTURIZERS

New favorite smelling lotion: Victoria Secret Amber Romance. Got it from a friend for my birthday and I LOVE it great summery smell.

Hand Cream: Bath and Body Works Look Ma New Hands. Hands down the best for dry skin and it smells so good too!

Face: I am using Clinique's regular yellow moisturizer. Mac had a really good one but they switched it out a few years ago and so I have gone back to my old standby. It's fine but not amazing. BUT...

Wexlers night cream , from Bath and Body is awesome for that one week every month, the one before the week everything goes a little off kilter, when my skin does crazy things but only since I have tunred 30 and never before in my life had I worried about it! Not fun!!

Not a moisturizer but in my mind a cure all for scrapes and would be scars or burns etc. is Aquaphor. Heals everything in about half the time! A must have!

MAKE UP

Hands down best powder/foundation combo: MAC STUDIO FIX- great coverage light as a feather.

Favorite lip stuff right now: MAC liner in WHIRL and lipstick in HALF N HALF- great neutrals for every skin tone. Other fun liners SPICE and STRIPDOWN.

Best Chapstick, which I always have on hand and usually just wear with whatever liner I have, is found at Bath and Body: Vanilla Sugar Lip Balm with SPF 15. Besides the packaging is fun!

Fun eye colors to look at at the MAC counter ROMP a warm brown with a little sparkle, way more neutral than it looks. SABLE a fun shimmery pinkish that can really be worn with both the cool or warm tones, and ESPRESSO my favorite flat brown standby. The only eye liner I will use is TEDDY also MAC.

BEST mascara I've found yet is Clinique water proof. Comes off easily and yet never if I am sweating or crying. Can't complain!

Eye Make up Remover: Mary Kay love this stuff!

So there you have it; a handful of things that just make life that much happier for me!

I would love to hear of anyone elses must haves...Whats on your list?

Womens Conference

Rachel, Mom, Aunt Di, Janelle, Tara and Me

This was my 3rd year attending Women's Conference in Provo. I love gathering with women from all over the country on the beautiful BYU campus. There is such a sweet spirit and fun atmosphere when that many women come together!

Janelle, Mom, Me and Tara

We were all going on not too much sleep and feeling a bit sassy. I have to say the Hurd women are pretty dang fun when we have had no sleep, providing we also have no responsibilities!

We had a great time visiting between classes and even bumped into a few friends who we hadn't seen for a very long time. Tara ran into her friend Heather Leister, a dear friend since high school.

My mom ran into her friend Robin who was her freshman year roomie at BYU. She hadn't seen her since then! And I found my dear friend Tiffany who I hadn't seen for maybe 2 whole weeks!

Me and Tiff

We also ran into Sue Reese. She has been a friend of my moms since I was in elementary school. In fact her son is the one I tried to kick, missed and kicked the door and ended up with my crazy toe!!! It has probably been 15 years since we have seen her.

Sue and Mom

We had a great time behaving like Mia Maids at the concert on Thursday night, while my brother in law, aka Saint Peter, watched all of Janelles kids plus Brynne, Ashlyn and Jessica!

Try as we might to just be normal, it's just way too boring!

Rachel, Di, Mom, Janelle, Me, Tara, and Tiffany

As fun as is was to see so many friends and hear a few great presentations, the best part was spending time with my sisters!

Tara, Me and Janelle. I didn't get the lets all wear green memo!

All it takes is one word, one funny comment, one crazy pose...

or one very pregnant sisters leg being kicked into the air and we just go to pieces!

Sisters are the BEST!

Take the plunge!

One of the best swim schools in the country just happens to be down the street from where we live. It also happens to be owned by friends in our ward. I have known many of their instructors quite well and spoken to them at great length about their teaching methods and their great success in teaching young children to swim. These guys really are the best.

I have never sent my children to them for lessons for one simple reason. FEAR. I knew I couldn't handle looking on helplessly as they break my child. No not break them into pieces, just break their will. When a child starts to fuss and cry during their lessons usually because of their own fear of being under the water, they let them know they cannot cry and if they do they dip them back under. This will continue until your child stops crying. The child quickly learns that crying will get them absolutely nowhere and teaches them who is in charge. Eventually the crying stops and they are ready to learn again. The kids all love their teachers and cant wait to go back to lessons every time, but usually not until after lesson 2.

I know the success rate and even that the results speak for themselves. I have never heard of a child being scarred for life because of these methods, but that doesn't mean I thought I could actually stand by and watch this happen. But I also knew that soon enough Brynne was going to have to learn to swim.

Its kind of like when you finally realized that the only way you could ever regain your sanity in life was if you sucked it up and gave in to the fact that you would never sleep all night long again unless you actually let your child cry them self back to sleep. It is a painful thing to do, but within a few nights you realize, the smartest move you ever made.

So this year I made myself do it. I signed Brynne up for lessons at Jan Thomas Swim School, not knowing if I would really be able to go through with it. I was nervous all morning and dreading what I was sure was ahead of me. I tried prepping Brynne all morning telling her that her swim teacher would always keep her safe, that sometimes when we try new things they might seem scary, but to always be brave and try not to cry. She thought I was nuts, (it wasn't the first time someone thought of me that way) she was just excited for her lesson.

When we got there I was so pleased to see that I knew her instructor pretty well and I knew she would be great with Brynne. Brynne ripped off her cover up and jumped right into her teachers arms. I walked back behind the fence almost afraid to turn back and face Brynne and her lesson. We made it through the first several minutes with no tears. Finally after experiencing her first time underwater without anyone holding on to her and for longer than she had been under before,Brynne came up crying. My heart ached as I knew what would come next. I could only half watch as all of my muscles in my legs and arms were so tense watching my crying girl go under the water 2 then 3 then 4 times. And then sigh, it was done. I was so surprised. I know how stubborn that little girl is and that was a fight that could have lasted almost forever.

The rest of the lesson went quite well. When we left Brynne was giving high fives, and talking excitedly about how soon she would be able to swim in my moms pool without any help. I was finally willing my muscles to relax. It was done, I had made it through the lesson with out breaking down or running out to the pool to try to comfort her. It's hard for me to see my kids uncomfortable at all, or to not be able to swoop in and make everything better. I know that we only grow when we have to stretch and do hard things. Often it will make us cry. I know this, and I am so okay with it. I am much better with it though if the stretching and crying is done by me rather than my kids. How will I ever make it through the teenage years with them? I am certain to have my heart broken.

Lucky for me this was just a 30 minute swim lesson, and the hard part didn't last nearly as long as I thought it would. I guess most of life's lesson's,after enough time, can seem that way too.

As we drove home Brynne was telling me all the things she learned at the lesson," I learned that I really can have my eyes open in the water, I learned how to kick with my legs really hard, and I learned not to fuss or my teacher cant teach me how to swim"

With that said, I have to admit, I am already glad we decided to take the plunge! What plunges have you made lately? Was it worth it? We're not done yet, nowhere close, but I am certain my answer will be a resounding YES!!!