Lessen the Amount of Chemicals you Expose Your Body to By...

"Making your Own Body Wash"

The recipe I followed was super fast, easy and affordable; cheaper than buying it from the store. I have a minor in chemistry and I am floored by some of the chemicals that are in products we use on a daily basis, those found in processed foods and also in health care products. Chemicals are easily absorbed into the skin and so that is why I decided to make my own body wash. I used the Bergamont Essential Oil to scent the body wash, it is an oil known for its calming properties and is one my youngest's favorite oils.

This is the link to the recipe on dōTERRA's blog. Items you purchase at a health food store are generally cheaper to buy through http://www.azurestandard.com/ which is a health food and product coop. I would buy unscented Castile soap and next time I am going to double the amount of drops of essential oil I add to the recipe.

What do You Spend your Time On?

I was asked to read this quote during Sunday School or Relief Society, I can't remember which, but I loved it so much that I kept the little piece of paper it was typed up on and I wanted to share.

"Purity,
             virtue,
                        fidelity,
                                     godliness 

                                      must be sought 

                      AMBITIOUSLY, 

or the crown cannot be won. Those principles must be incorporated with[in] ourselves, woven into our constitutions, becoming a part of us, making us a centre, a fountain of truth, of equity, justice, and mercy, of all that is good and great, that from us may proceed the light, the life, the power, and the law to direct, to govern and assist to save a wandering world..."

I'll look to see who is this quote is from since I can't remember that either! But the message is so great. If you want to be a better person, a better parent, friend, or family member then AMBITIOUSLY seek after all things that are pure, virtuous, full of fidelity and godliness. Weave them into your very CHARACTER. You become the person you are as an accumulation of the what you seek, what you spend your time on.

Q:Where do you spend your time?
What choices do you make to be a person of virtue and fidelity?
What are some examples of things you spend your life, your time, with...things that are pure?
What traits are you weaving into your character to become more like God? 

***Leave comments below!***

HE is perfectly loving, perfectly understanding, perfectly patient and more. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ I can become more like my Father in Heaven. What a great promise!!!

It is impossible for me to achieve immortality AND eternal life if I procrastinate and waste my life spent on things that have no worth, things that detract and repel the Holy Ghost. The Crown cannot be won under those circumstances.

But if I ambitiously Seek after those four things, weaving them into my character until they become a part of me then I succeed in being worthy of God's greatest gift, eternal life, to be able to live in HIS presence, to be worthy to be there and stand before HIM because I have repented and used the Atonement daily in my life. Immortality is given to everyone who has lived on this earth through Christ overcoming death. But I also want to go home, my real home, with my perfect Father in Heaven. I yearn to hear HIM say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into my glory."

Artichoke Tomato Alfredo

I made this recipe last night and my whole family and myself loved it! I do not like chunky tomatoes so I was really surprised when I didn't mind the fact that this recipe has them in it. I will be making this recipe again. I used my food processor to chop everything up and to whip up the sauce (instead of using my blender). I soaked my cashews so my processor would be able to break down the cashews all the way. It really cut down the prep time for dinner!

Here's the link to the recipe from Simple Healthy Tasty's website.

Danger! You're on the Wrong Side of the Thinking Road

Danger! You're on the Wrong Side of the Thinking Road

Never Found the Needle Nose Pliers but this was much Better!

I needed to unclog the vacuum the other day so my husband said to look in his desk drawer for some needle nose pliers. I didn't find the pliers but I came across a quote from a book that my husband has kept typed up on a piece of paper.

"Let me tell you something that you haven't learned yet, something you haven't learned yet, something you learn only by living awhile. As you get older, you find that life begins to wear you down. Doesn't matter who you are or what you do, it happens. Experience, time, events--they all...steal way your energy, to erode your confidence, to make you question things you wouldn't have given a second thought to when you were young. It happens gradually, a chipping away that you don't even notice at first, and then one day it's there. You wake up and you just don't have the fire anymore.

Then you have a choice. You can either give in to what you're feeling, just say 'okay, enough is enough' and be done with it, or you can fight it. You can accept that every day you are alive you are going to have to face it down, that you are going to have to say to yourself...that you are going to do what you have to because otherwise you are defeated and life doesn't have any real purpose left...How did I manage to keep on going?...It's not so hard really. You just have to get past the fear."

-Terry Brooks, author

"The Elf Queen of Shannara" pp. 164-165

The "fear" that one needs to get past can be anything...the fear of failure, not measuring up, etc. I know that when I'm feeling depressed I say to myself, "Alright, enough of this. I don't want to feel this way anymore." And then I do what I need to do to combat it. And it works every time! 

WARRIOR against Depression

***(I began this post several months ago and it's been in my drafts folder)...

My oldest said something today that about broke my heart.

We were watching the news when a segment about suicide came on. 

I'm the type of mom who likes to preview the things that my children watch so I shut the TV off (I was paying attention to how what she was watching affected her and gauging her reaction I made that decision).

My daughter looked at me and said, "I hope that you find a cure so, you know, you don't die at age 54 [like that dad did]."

She was holding back a lot of emotion as she said it.

(This was a little insight to what is going on in that cute little head of hers)

I gently held her face in my hands as I told her,

"I am a warrior against depression.

 This is something that I will have for the rest of my life

 and I am okay with that.

I know that I was a fierce warrior in the war in heaven (you can read more about that here, here, or here) against the adversary. My Heavenly Father knew and trusted that I would be able to face dark feelings that depression brings. I know that I will be able to help thousands of people here who also face what I have."

A couple of days ago she was giving the family prayer and she prayed, 

"Please bless Momma, that her depression will go away."

Lou Lou, my depression is not going to go "away" but I will be strengthened and empowered to be a valiant warrior in my battle against this disease.

So, my readers...

REMEMBER that you too are FIERCE warriors in your daily battle. Know that your true strength lies in your trust in your Savior, Jesus Christ. Don't you dare give up. There are so many family members and friends on the other side in heaven and here on earth who are rooting for your success.

"How Stress Can Be Your Friend"

This is a really interesting presentation about stress. Kelly McGonigal said that if you "...Change your mind about stress you change your body's response to stress." She also said, "Your stress response has a built in mechanism for stress resilience and that mechanism is human connection...Caring created resilience...You can trust yourself to handle life's challenges and you're remembering that you don't have to face them alone."


Heavenly Father has created our bodies in such a way that it can handle the burdens placed on them WHEN we reach out to others. I have shared that the biggest thing that has helped my recovery is through helping others because...

 "Caring creates resilience"

I've been struggling with a little depression lately and that's why I haven't posted. But I came across a quote yesterday in a book I was reading that had to do with this post. I don't think it's a coincidence that I keep coming across quotes or messages about this topic.


"Life is not perfect. And sometimes in your world...you need things to go exactly as you've planned....But you forget...we are here living God's plan. Sometimes things might seem like they are falling apart or going wrong because God has something better planned for us around the corner....Life is a learning journey....But sometimes I think you forget the lessons being taught."

-Beth Wiseman, author

Thank you Heavenly Father, for reminding me to persevere.

*Persevere: "to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly "

-http://dictionary.reference.com

Lesson to learn: to persevere "...in spite of difficulty, obstacles or discouragement."