Today’s Projects and a Caterpillar

I had quite a bit of kitchen time today.  And you know what that means:

BIG MESS!

Not exactly what I was talking about.  But, yes, that happens, too.

I made quite a few things.

First, I made enough lip balm to last me awhile.  I had no more in the fridge, so I had to make several more.  I think I made around a dozen.

I tried a total of three recipes, because I have new oils now.  I picked one recipe out, only to realize while I was making it that it was basically the same as the one I usually make.  So I tried out another one with shea butter, but it only made two, maybe three tubes.  So I tried this third recipe with cocoa butter.  And once I had gotten it in the tube, I was afraid that it wouldn’t harden the way I wanted it to.  So I stuck one tube in the fridge and waited.  When I checked it, it wasn’t as hard as I would like it.  So I decided to empty all eight or so of the tubes, remelt it, and add more beeswax.  I had also forgotten the essential oils, so I opened them and set them right next to the pot so I could add them.

After I added the melted lip balm back to the containers, I realized that I had never added the essential oils.

Back into the pot!

So all that rigmarole took much longer than I would have liked, so I didn’t get started on my next project as soon as I would like.

Next thing on my list was to make gluten-free coconut-milk-based cookie dough ice cream, which I did using my normal chocolate chip cookie recipe (which has AWESOME tasting dough), and chopping up the chips extra small.  Meiling helped me form it into little piles and flash-freeze it to add to the ice cream.  For the ice cream, I just combined coconut milk, vanilla, and honey until it tasted good, then threw it into the ice cream maker.

It turned out pretty well.  The ice cream isn’t as sweet as the cookie dough, which makes it taste a little bland.  But I think that all the vanilla that I poured into it is keeping the ice cream softer (because of the alcohol), which is great, since coconut milk ice cream is usually rock hard.

And then I tried a recipe for powder foundation which contained arrowroot powder, cocoa powder, and cinnamon in one recipe, and that plus nutmeg, bentonite clay and ginger, oh, and lavender EO in another.

They did not work for me.

I see other people saying it worked for them, but it just made me look dirty.

 

The ingredients for the first recipe

Me, wearing the foundation, as well as the foundation mixed with a bit of lotion (which only made me look dirtier) (look around my chin).  I am also in need of a few other things, but overlook my bad hair.  Please.

I took these pictures of a caterpillar the other day, and am just posting them now.  Enjoy!

 

I love the rain drops caught between his fat rolls

I think fat rolls on caterpillars are funny

And I like using the term fat rolls when relating to caterpillars

Cause it’s fun when talking about caterpillars

These Days

I made my bed this morning for the first time in 2? 3? days.  It’s just been like that lately.  I don’t get to make it in the morning, and then, when I do have time in the mid-afternoon, I just sort of look at it and think, “I’m going to be getting into it in a few hours anyway.  Is it really worth it to make it, then mess it up?”

So I’ve been leaving it.

These past few days have been filled with school, piano lessons and practice, reading, and the like.  Really, it’s been filled with life.

Something I’ve been thinking/reading quite a bit about the past few days is makeup and skin care.  Clothes and style.

I have been reading one book on beauty, and I have several more that I am looking at.  And then there was that book about color.  It just confused me.

Am I warmed-toned, or cool-toned?  Pink or peach?  What color are my eyes?  What is the color of my face when I blush?

And don’t get me started on clothes.

Mom tried to take me out clothes shopping the other day, but we couldn’t find anything.  Well, at least not what we were looking for.  We were trying to find some everyday long-sleeve shirts.  We ended up with a sweater (I have lots of sweaters) and a short-sleeved jacket and a knee-length skirt, all of which were on clearance.

(I want to be very, very clear – I am extremely happy with the things we did find.  But they don’t help incredibly when one has mostly short-sleeved shirts and sweaters, and it is 40*F out.)

And on top of it, I didn’t totally know what I was looking for.  It can be hard – I have a picture in my head, but of course we couldn’t find that, and I couldn’t describe it.  So combine frustration from looking at TONS of clothes, trying on lots, most things not working, and add the fact that I ate grain beforehand, which was altering my mood.  Basically, I was all but crying in the department store, and feeling so bad for my mom, who had taken me out shopping, and was putting up with me totally loosing it and us not finding anything, and she stayed so cheerful the whole time.  (You’re the best, Mom!)

And then I started looking at my dog and thinking how much easier it would be if we all just had fur.

(Thinking about it now, that might even be more work.  Tons of conditioner and several hair brushes.)

And hair?

We’re not even going there.

But things are starting to look a little bit brighter.

We walked into a different clothing store, and it looked like it had potential.  Not only that, but in the fifteen minutes that we were there, Mom found a cute blue jacket for me.

I think I need to go to a few more thrift stores.  Inexpensive clothes.  The best kind (if they are cute!).

And the beauty book I am reading is making a whole lot of sense, and not asking any questions about my coloring, and I am starting to feel like I could choose makeup without knowing if I am warm-toned or cool-toned.

And I am starting to look on the brighter side with doing my hair (like I am going to be trying a few things).

Soon I am hoping to start making some of my own products – lotion, cream, makeup remover, and face soap.  We’ll see where it goes from there.  I’m not sure I am ready to jump into making my own cosmetics, although that does sound fun.

And on another happy note, I started exercising again this week, after two weeks off (pre-Men’s Advance and post-Men’s Advance).  It’s been really, really great.

Well, I started this post just to post a few photos that I took today, and all that just came out.  If you’ve read this far, thanks for listening to my rambles and rants.

It’s good to get it all out there.

But, I must get to bed if I want to get up.

And I was only going to spend 5 minutes to post some pictures.

🙂

Here they are.

My new jacket.  Love it next to my purple wall.

I was prepping the beans for tomorrow’s dinner, and this one kidney bean was in the bag with the black beans.

When I went in my drawer to grab something, one of my hair bands was in the perfect shape of a treble clef.  I moved it out carefully, and took a picture, so I could show you.  🙂

 

Good night!

Trusting His Grace,
Allison