I'm Now a BzzAgent ... Garnier Fructis Miracle Dry Oil

I don't remember where I found out about BzzAgent, but I heard that you could try out products for free as long as you were willing to use social media to review them. So I applied, did a whole bunch of surveys, waited, got denied, then finally was selected for my first campaign, Garnier Fructis Miracle Dry Oil.

I had fun with this! Even though it was horrible on my hair, I did end up liking it as a lotion. Here is an overview of how Garnier describes it:

• Combines three weightless oils – olive, avocado and shea – to transform dry hair and skin
• Made for everyday use on your hair, body and face
• Instantly absorbs in a touch with no oily residue
• Can be used on damp or dry hair
• Available for suggested price of $5.99

I received my kit with a free bottle of the oil along with over a dozen coupons I could pass out to friends. The thing I liked most about the oil was the smell. It was a bit fruity and kind of exotic. I have a funny story about the day I tried it on my hair. I sprayed it on while my hair was wet and then we left for church. Don't ask me why I did that. I guess I really didn't think it would leave my hair greasy, but unfortunately it did. I came home and looked in the mirror and started laughing. I looked like one of the greasers straight from Happy Days. I had to rinse it out of my hair and rewash it. It was that bad.

I decided I'd only try it as lotion after that, and I really liked it. It left my skin really soft and shiny. My skin is usually not very dry, but winter is really hard on it and it gets all dry and flaky. The oil really moisturized my skin and took away the dryness. It felt a little greasy putting it on and because of that I think I'll stick with my regular lotion for the long term. But this was really fun to try. I enjoyed getting this new product to try for free and I look forward to my next campaign.

As always,
Thanks for visiting!

Memories of My Mom

I don't think I've written here much about my mom ... and how I lost her to breast cancer just before my senior year in college. Although that was one of the hardest things I've had to endure, it is actually what brought me to knowing the Lord. As my mom grew weaker from cancer, her faith in Jesus grew only stronger. I was blown away by her faith, but after she died the seed was planted in my heart that I wanted that kind of faith.

Last month on February 17th, it would have been my mom's 70th birthday. It is hard to believe sometimes that she has been gone for over 20 years ... in fact, 22 years this June 28th. As her birthday passed, one of my sisters shared an email with many questions like "If she were still alive what would mom be doing now?", "What would she look like?" and sharing how proud she would be of her four daughters and in love with all her grandchildren. It leaves me wondering and feeling such a void.

Over the past few weeks, she's entered my mind a lot. Then suddenly all these pictures of her just started floating in my head so I had to write them down. All the many ways I remember her ...

• Playing the piano in our living room filling the house with music
• Singing while she played the piano, often in preparation for leading worship for her role as director of music at our church
• Plucking keys on the piano as she wrote her own music note by note
• Making coffee in her glass coffee pot on the stove and watching the clear water turning brown, then her adding cool whip to it once it was done 
• Hustling and bustling about the kitchen cooking with one of her lovely aprons on
• Brushing my hair when I was little and making pigtails or braids for me, something she loved to do
• Putting her four daughters in matching dresses for holidays when we were little
• Watching her playing the organ at church while her whole body swayed with the music
• Loving having her hair brushed for minutes on end
• Watching birds come to the feeder out the big picture window while she quizzed me on bird names
• Watching her put on her makeup in the morning
• Getting one of her warm, squeezy hugs
• Calling me a green thumb and encouraging me in growing plants (something I still enjoy to this day)
• Encouraging me to own a parakeet which I trained to talk, furthering my love of nature and animals
• Speaking words of life to me when I was at a low point with pressures to fit in at school
• Always holding my hand when we went somewhere together (and not enjoying it once I was a teenager)
• Reading to my four sisters and I every night while we were growing up (and a favorite was going through the whole Box Car children series)

And a favorite memory ...I remember a time my mom walked me to the school bus across the field behind our house. This must have been for kindergarten since my little sister tagged along and she was not yet in school. It was snowing so badly that the bus never actually came so we all built a giant snowman together before finally going home and enjoying a snow day.

I'll write more posts of my mom, but it's been so nice spending time thinking of her and these sweet memories I will always cherish.

As always,

Thanks for visiting!