K-drama!!!

What do I love about K-drama?  There is lots of cheesy romance~the kind that makes my husband shake his head at "every romantic cliche there is" with the crying in the rain and riding bicycles on the beach...  I also love that they are a bit more innocent though and are not very hot-and-heavy.  Don't be fooled though~there are some great action dramas, and the medical shows do show much more of the "actual operation" than American TV!

The first K-drama I watched was "Grand Chef" (AKA "Gourmet") on our local MHz channel Thursday nights.  I was HOOKED!  Sadly, MHz is not currently airing any K-dramas.  :(  I highly recommend Australia's East West 101 though!  :)

My very favorite K-drama to date stands firm, Jewel in the Palace, and I'm so excited to see that a sequel is scheduled for 2015!  

I struggled recently in finding what to watch next~whenever a drama ends it is hard to let go and then change gears for another~LOL!  I did finally find my fit and am currently watching Emergency Couple at dramafever.com.  It's light and funny and perfect for the season I'm in now.  I thought I would share my top favorites with you in case you happen to dabble in K-drama.  I warn you that it's addictive!!!

1.)  JEWEL IN THE PALACE!  :)

2.)  The action-packed City Hunter.

I DON'T KNOW THAT THE REST ARE IN ANY KIND OF ORDER!

3.)  Boys Over Flowers

4.)  Dong Yi

5.)  Secret Garden

6.)  Tree With Deep Roots

7.)  Goddess of Fire

8.)  Moon That Embraces the Sun

9.)  Iljimae~both series

10.)  Grand Chef (there are many versions~I'm particular to one!)

11.)  Jumong

12.)  Cheongdamdong Alice

13.)  Level 7 Civil Servant

14.)  Rooftop Prince and Queen In Hyun's Man

15.  I did like the "season" ones:  Spring Waltz, etc.

The movie "Castaway on the Moon" and "Runway Cop".

I CAN'T STOP!  LOL!  If you happen to get hooked, you'll hafta come back and tell me all about it!  

Pinterest FUN!

My top Pinterest searches very recently have been for Thanksgiving, Christmas, matchboxes, and postcards.  I have fallen in love with homemade postcards~and that their stamps are cheaper!!!  I made some Thank Yous out of random food boxes, and I just finished a packing tape, birthday postcard to mail overseas.  It is my desire to do these for Christmas cards this year~something I haven't sent out in a very long time.

I shared how much I love Shaklee, but I am too stinky for their roll-on deodorant.  (That's TMI, isn't it?)  Their cream works great, but I hate putting my finger in it!  So I am testing out DIY deodorant made of 50% vodka to 50% distilled water.  I also added a little wild orange essential oil to it.  So far, so good!  It works when yer squeaky clean, when yer stinky, and on yer stinky clothes.  WINNING!

I am enamored with beautiful Bible journals and wonder if I could actually accomplish anything near the art I find ....

Lastly, I shared that I wanted to get started on etsy, and just about my entire family wants a piece of it.  LOL!  Here is the first link I found to a great series entitled "Can I Really Make Money on Etsy? ---Earning on Etsy".  Man, I sure hope so!  Please enjoy the journey with me to find out.  ~smile~

OH how I wanted to share some pics, but I am currently having camera trouble.  ~I can always come back and add them later.~  I'd love to know your Pinterest favorites!!!

The household cleaners I love!

I shared that I love Shaklee, so I thought I'd take a minute and tell you about their cleaning products.  I have always loved the scrub that smells like cherries, and it works sooo much better than baking soda and vinegar.  I tell you this as the mama of six children with a husband that used to work construction, so I promise I am a trusted resource!  The product you dilute to make a window cleaner, all-purpose cleaner, and degreaser lasts FOREVER, and I so loved getting a call from my BFF squealing, "It really does work!"  LOL!  I love that the laundry is good for my allergy kids and their skin.  I love not having fumes from anything!!!  But the most recent product I've enjoyed is the dish washing liquid.  You read that there are eight people in my house, right?  It literally takes just a drop to clean my dishes, I've had this bottle over four months, and it's not even half empty!!!  ~and we do not own a dishwasher~

A product I don't use is the germicide.  It is a spectacular product, but I'm crazy over having anything in the house that might harm the children.  I choose to use hydrogen peroxide or vinegar for disinfecting.

Thanks for reading!

Child Locs

So my 11yos really wanted to grow his hair out, but he has brillo pad hair that just looked awful when long!  What is a Mom to do?  I really wanted him to cut it, and yet I wanted to honor what he wanted to do with his own hair.  He decided to try locs.

We searched for the perfect salon to start them, but it costs money we don't have.  I am a hairstylist by trade, and even though it's been seventeen years since I've practiced I kinda believed I could do this!  I read around online, watched what felt like 1,000 YouTube vids (I liked this one and other by this poster best:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLXFXHUs_iA), and decided to start twists that follow the hair's natural curl pattern with very light product (Jamaican Mango & Lime Locking Gel).  I did not want wax that attracted dust and yuck!  Here is what his hair looked like afterward:

The problem is that even wet, he doesn't necessarily have a curl pattern.  It's a wiry straight kinda texture, and in two weeks time we were struggling to get his hair to start locking and had to work to make it look decent every day.  ~I don't know where to share that he wears a do-rag to sleep in and during sports.~

Then I met a beautiful woman in K-Mart who had lovely locs, loved the same products, and was happy to share advice:  USE THE WAX!  So I did get the Locking Creme Wax and tried again.  It was very greasy and heavy, I was worried about it, but it has been the perfect product for us!  The twists are skinnier, his hair looks much longer, and in less than two weeks time it is definitely locking!

So there's our story on starting locs, and I hope someone might find it helpful.  I'll try to come back and add another pic on this post after our next two-week washing.

A Short, Tardy Introduction

I know I just kinda jumped right in there, so now I guess it's time for the reason behind starting another blog.  I'm FAT!  And I love Shaklee.  I am about to embark upon their weight loss plan and want to record the journey.  In all honestly, I'd love to start my own Shaklee business~and if you ordered from my upline and shared that I sent ya, she would credit me:  http://loulyons.myshaklee.com/us/en/welcome.html.  I've used their products faithfully for twenty-three years, but I stink at promoting myself.

Sometimes I dream of opening an etsy, but how to fit all that in?  I don't know!  I always end up giving my crochet away, anyway...  It would be fun to have one for the whole family to contribute to.

Please don't be scared away though, as I also want a place to record life's adventures along the way!

On depression...

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There are many beloved ones in my circle that are affected by depression right now. Y'all (including the sight unseen!) are on my heart and in my prayers all.day.every.day, and I wish I knew how to comfort you. I wanted to share a couple of songs that allow me to be down, but they also uplift me and remind me that God has a purpose in all things. 

The testimony for this first song is soooo good!!! 

http://blog.pagecxvi.com/post/683764188/joy

And should you need a little SiLLiNeSS! to round out your day, please read 17 Restaurants with the Funniest Names.  ~smile~  

“That is all I want in life: for this pain to seem purposeful.” ~Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation