Chapstick vs. Lip Saver

It's been a while since I did an Arbonne post and today seemed appropriate because I can't find my Arbonne Lip Saver, ie. a chap stick.

Now ChapStick was a staple through my whole childhood! I remember crossings to Catalina and the smell of original ChapStick, you know the one...black label with white script.


My Dad used to put it on us when we sat for hours on the bow of the boat, so we wouldn't come back in with...chapped lips.

As I got older the Wild Cherry took preference, and then lip gloss and then Carmex, and an assortment of other products. What I didn't realize is that there was already something on the market that did what I needed, I just didn't know about it!


I have this habbit...I chew on my lips when I'm concentrating, or nervous, or even absently thinking! My lip saver is literaly my LIP Saver! I don't bite my lips because it smells good, my lips are softer and don't peel or crack, and the feel of it is just so smooth going on!

My Arbonne lip saver is now my go to everything stick. If I need help with chapping or cracking lips, a good base for my lipstick, or a little bit of shine my lip saver does it all! AND it does it all with a good smell and no waxy feeling!

 Now this is starting to feel a little like a commercial, but just to put it in perspective, I own two (maybe three) of these because I believe in it that much. It has a SPF 30 for my lips, a great feel and a non-girly smell so I don't feel bad kissing the hubby! Now he doesn't get left sparkly and smelling like fruit. This should be in every pocket or purse of kids and adults...to good to pass up!

...Nature girl

Geckos are hell spawn

Years ago on a trip to Tahiti, I laughed with a friend about geckos.  Not in the way you might think though, we laughed about their sinister nature, and their ability to torture people.

"But geckos are so cute and exotic", some say. I say you tend to stop thinking of them as cute and exotic when they keep you up all night with that infernal chirping, or fly at you at Mach 2 while you are naked in a shower.

Tonight I was prompted to write this because there is a gecko living in the air conditioning unit in our room... And it is making the sound.

I hate the chirp. I loathe their little incessant communications. The fact that I don't sleep very well seems to have no effect on the nightly chorus drifting from the air conditioning.

It isn't consistent, it has no pattern, and it always starts just as I drop off to sleep, yanking me back to consciousness. Geckos are Satans little minions.

I go through phases in my death wishes for them, sometimes I am even mildly supportive of their presence, eating the creepy crawlers of the tropics. But tonight I wish them ALL a 
firey death, or a bird death, or a death of rats death, or even a cat death (which is slow and usually involves the loss of a tail).

... Nature assassin 

I feel the need, the need for sweets!

For me there is nothing better than a dish of ice cream, or pudding, or cobbler (I love cobbler). In a fix a candy bar, or a cupcake will do it, but if it's sweet, chances are it's an easy sell for me.

I have had this need for sweets since I was tiny, just ask my Mom! She has lost more See's candy than she may know to my voracious sweet tooth. The only problem is now that I have crossed that 30 year mark, I feel like my sweet tooth hasn't diminished but my wardrobe's ability to compensate has. 

I have been trying to eat healthier for months, and though I have been better about getting all my fruits and veggies in, the intake of desserts hasn't really slowed down. I was talking to the hubbs about my dilemma and I have decided to try and wean myself off. He and I have a tentative arrangement for me to only have one dessert a day.  You see, I would be happiest with a sweet breakfast, a dessert for lunch and one for after dinner too.

My goal is to get down to 3 treats per week. Even writing that makes me shudder, but it needs to be done. My Mom is pre diabetic, and my Uncle is full blown diabetic, it's in my blood to not handle sugar well! So far so good but I've only been at this for a few days.

My plan right now is to sub out unhealthy desserts with no redeeming value, for more nutritionally dense choices. Yogurt with some fruit or nuts, Lara bars in delicious flavors, or just a serving size of GF cookies (ie 1...maybe 2) instead of the handful that is my M.O.

So I am putting it out there to the inter webs.... Any great healthy desserts to help beat a sweet tooth?

....Nature girl

New years traditions

Everyone has something that they do for new years. Some little tradition, or habit, or a silly little mark of the new year. I have three and I won't be able to do two of them this year, this is going to be really strange.

The one that really starts it off for me is Joshua Tree with my peeps. We drive out and camp in the desert for a week, rock climbing, hiking, and brushing off the stress of the last year. It is cleansing and rejuvenating at the same time, and as a side bonus I usually loose about 5 pounds. This year I'm in HI...two thousand miles away from that beautiful trip and I feel every mile.

In an effort to reclaim some of that rest, I'm taking the pup with me hiking tomorrow. Supposedly there are some really beautiful trails on Oahu, and I'm setting off to find one that I like...keep me in your prayers so I don't die or get horribly lost.

The second thing is a silly thing. I always watch the Rose Parade in my PJs. Sometimes my sister or Mom is there but Mom usually watches it live, I watch it when I come back from  camping. Today I watched it on YouTube, on the right day, but sadly in work clothes. However there was a distinct lack of sister or parent, and it seemed a little less fun and silly, and there was no popcorn. What there was, was gorgeous floats, silly bands (yes, I'm talking about you Stamford) and beautiful horses!

It is always astonishing to see the designers bring seeds, flowers and grasses to life as animals and this year two really blew my mind - Indonesia and the one by the financial company "So close and yet So-fari". The silly factor was hit dead on with the Trader Joe's cheese city, and Public Storage's aliens. And as always some made me cry...thanks so much City of Hope. You and all your wishing trees made me get all teary, and I didn't have any tissues.

The last thing I do every year to ring in the new year is take the train with my sister, friends and nieces up to Chinatown for Chinese New Year. We shop, we eat at the same little Pho restaurant, see the parade, and end the day on Olivera street buying sweets off of the street vendors and their colorful carts. 

Oahu has a Chinatown, and I hear the new year is a big deal, but somehow I just don't think it will be the same. It is so much fun to spend time with the girls, and see all the dancers and pageantry, somehow I don't think I will experience it quite the same way by myself - but I'm going to try. Maybe there will be food trucks, or little trinkets I can buy to send home to them, I will have to explore...I love to explore.

As much as it feels different this year, the new year has started and will continue without my markers of time. I guess it is time to forge ahead and create new markers, try new things, and see new places...even though my heart is in the dessert, or in my PJs, or on a train in another city, I guess it will just have to catch up.

...Nature girl