I'm Loving...

I usually don't share personal, trivial items, but I have to tell you what I'm loving these days...

A few weeks ago I stopped in at Ulta and had a full makeover of my makeup. It was awesome! I ended up buying everything. Okay, I didn't buy the mascara. (I have several mascaras in my couponing topstock from a sale at Ulta last year. Ha!)

For starters, I switched from a liquid foundation to Bare Minerals. I bought the starter kit because it was an awesome deal.

It seriously takes this many items to finish my foundation. I know, it's crazy! I laughed when I saw that it included an instructional DVD, but I wasn't laughing when I had to break out the instructions the first morning I used the products. I had to look at the instructions for at least three days, but I have it down quickly now. And, it's so worth the effort because I can apply my makeup at 6:30 a.m., and it still looks the same at 10 p.m. That's priceless!

Even my eye makeup is staying put all day long, thanks to Lorac's Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. This is a product type I have never used before, but it's totally necessary. It keeps all of my eye makeup in place all. day. long. It's the first product I use in the morning since I do my eye makeup first. The chick at Ulta did this so that when the colored powder on my eyes also fell onto my cheeks, it would then be covered by the foundation.


For eye makeup, I went a bit crazy but I think it will pay off. I'm already loving the choice of colors I have in the morning. And, the consultant assured me the palette would last two years. I'm not confident in that assurance, but I'd be elated if that happens. Mostly, the colors are awesome and they don't smear.

 

I even bought an eye brow kit, which I totally needed. The Benefit Brow zings is great! Weirdly, the darker color on the left is tinted wax that shapes the brow. The lighter brown on the right is powder to fill in the brows.

I'm still on the fence about the lipgloss. It's Bare Minerals Buxom Lipgloss. I love the color, but it has a weird stinging that is apparantly supposed to be plumping my lips. I'm not really interested in plumping. Lisa Rinna isn't the look I'm going for. When this runs empty, I'll have to find a similar gloss that doesn't plump. Does anyone have any gloss recommendations they love?

Tuesday Treats:

Ingredients

1 boneless roast
1 jar picante sauce
1 (7 oz.) can diced green chiles

This recipe is probably the easiest in my cooking bag of tricks, and it comes straight from my mother. Thanks, Mom! Combine all of the ingredients in your crockpot in the morning. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. When ready to serve, shred the meat with a fork. (It will just fall apart.) Roll up the meat in tortillas and garnish with sour cream, guacamole and shredded cheese.

Layh Family

During our last visit to my parents in Odessa, I did a small photoshoot with some of my mom's friends. I met with Scott and Jennifer and their three children before church to (hopefully) snap a family shot. To say I was nervous is a strong understatement. I had never photographed so many people in one shoot. And, I have no experience posing people. This family wanted a traditional, everybody say "cheese", posed, Olan Mills type photo. And, I'm sooooo not the person for that.



I have never shot in Odessa so I had no location ideas. It's not that I didn't look for location ideas. I looked. If you've ever been to Odessa, you know why I had no location ideas. It's Odessa.   Picturesque is not a word that has ever been used to describe Odessa. But, Jennifer already had a location in mind and I breathed a sigh of relief and aimed to please. My aim was a bit off because when I arrived to meet the family, the location was not available. Hmmm... We went in search of something. Anything... Here's what we found.








Hopefully Jennifer and Scott have something they can use. Hopefully...

Monthly Onesies

I picked up 13 onesies at Hobby Lobby this week. Don't get any crazy ideas!!! Daniel rifled through the bag when it was sitting on the dining table, and had a few colorful comments to make. But, seriously. Stop that! They are for a baby gift I made yesterday with my Silhouette and some heatpress vinyl.

In fact, it's my favorite baby gift, ever! A year of monthly onesies with a bonus personalized outfit...


Have I ever mentioned how much I love my Silhouette?! Well, I do. It's amazing.

Please Help!

We just received very sad news. Our friends, Nita and Bruce Ward, did lose their home in the Bastrop fire. First and foremost, please pray for them as they begin to rebuild their lives after this tragedy.

Last night, Nita was taken to the hospital with afib, most likely due to stress and lack of eating and lack of sleeping this week as they awaited news of their home. Please pray health, peace and comfort for the Wards as they grieve their home and belongings.

The home that Bruce and Nita lost was their dream home. Delfin's parents retired a few years ago and moved from Odessa to Bastrop where they built this lovely home surrounded by a gorgeous forest of trees. We have visited the Wards in Bastrop several times, and I have always left envious of the beautiful home. I'm sure they are grieving this terrible loss. But at the same time, we are praising God they are both safe.

If you are interested in helping our friends, please contribute here.

Just after church on Sunday, a few wildfires began in our area. The closest one to us was out by Monday morning and burned just 200 acres in Pflugerville, about 8 miles from us. I know, I said "just". But, if you were here to see all the smoke and smell the burning homes today, you would know that 200 burned acres is miniscule now.

A large, upscale subdivision near Daniel's workplace in Austin was on fire and he barely got out of work Sunday evening before the roads were closed. That fire is still burning but the residents were finally allowed to drive through the subdivision today and see what has burned.

When we went to dinner Sunday night in Cedar Park, we were inundated by the smoke. Watching the news a few hours later, we saw that another two subdivisions near the restaurant had been evacuated and were on fire.


The Bastrop fire, which is just now 30% contained today, is the largest fire that started Sunday. It's now burned 35,000 acres and 1,387 homes. The parents of Daniel's best friend and best man in our wedding, Bruce and Nita Ward, live in one of the first of 20 subdivisions that were evacuated Sunday night. They are still in a hotel and waiting to find out if their home survived the massive fire. The initial news does not look good for them.

Late Monday night, Daniel alerted a co-worker who would be at work through the night that the area he lived in was beginning evacuations as a new fire spread to Dripping Springs. By Tuesday morning, the co-worker was forced to find alternate routes as three different roads were closed in his usual hour-long commute home. Fortunately, his home remained safe.

By Monday night, the entire city of Austin had large wildfires almost entirely circling the city. The northeast side, where we live, is the only area that has not had a large fire burning.


Today when I took the kids to school, the smoke in the air was so thick that visibility was limited. By the time I arrived at work, my throat hurt and my eyes burned. It was as if I had been sitting at a campfire for a few hours. The school kept the kids inside all day to avoid respiratory issues. No one has complained about the situation, though. The air is filled with ash from the homes of thousands of people. Discomfort and breathing issues aside, we feel blessed to be safe during this time.

Please pray for the many, many firefighters who are in our area battling this massive fire.

Please pray for the thousands of people who have lost their homes and every possession.

Please pray for rain to end this awful drought in Texas.

Tuesday Treats - French Dip

This crockpot recipe is one of the yummiest things I've ever cooked in my crockpot. The kids devoured it. A friend of mine also made it, and she loved it. Trust me. You need to try this one.

And, it's a super bonus that it's the easiest thing you'll ever cook.


4 pounds rump roast (I used bottom round roast. You know, because it was on sale. Ha!)
1 (10.5 oz.) can beef broth
1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed French onion soup
1 (12 oz.) can or bottle beer (I used Modelo because it was the only thing in singles. I don't need a six-pack.)
French rolls
Butter

Combine the meat, broth, soup and beer in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. When ready to serve, slice, butter and toast the bread. Slice the meat for sandwiches. Ladle up the juice from the cooked meat to serve as dipping sauce.

Do you need my address or do you already know where to send the thankyou note? Believe me, you'll want to thank me for this one.