Stuff You Must Own

In lieu of legitimate writing, I've taken to entering lists into my blog. This is a trend that will not end today.


My List Of Stuff You Must Own:

1. L'oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara in Blackest Black

This product is sooooo cool. It does make your lashes look longer, but, more importantly, it Does Not Smudge! Ever! Not at night. Not in the shower. Not when you rub your eyes. Never, never, never do you have smudges under your eyes. And, get this, you take it off just by smoothing your hand over your eyes with warm water. No special removers, JUST warm water. It slides off in little tubes that look like spider legs. No running down your face making you look like Bat Girl.

Don't bother with colors other than blackest black. It will be far lighter than your usual mascara and blackest black is really the only color that's worth putting on. You can buy it at Walmart for about $8 - $10. I wear it all the time and I'm on the same tube since February.


2. Got 2 Be Fat*Tas*Tic Mousse and Hairspray.

This really does work to make your hair look thicker. If you have pathetic, puny hair like mine, it's great! I get mine at Walgreens for $5.99 a bottle, but you can also get it at Amazon.com.


3. Liquid Lecithin and Instant Yeast.

If you bake your own bread, these 2 products make it so fast and simple! I can bake 4 loaves of bread, start to finish, in 1 hour. The instant yeast is $4 for 2 packages at Sam's Club and you can get the liquid lecithin at www.pantrysecrets.com for $8 a bottle. The bottle is large and you only use 3 tbs for every 4 loaves of bread so it lasts a long time. You can use this to make white or wheat bread. I've also used this dough to make jelly rolls, pizza dough and dough for homemade hot pockets.


4. The ModestTee.

This is a one piece body suit that you can wear under any shirt or dress to make it modest at the sleeves, neckline and waist. It snaps underneath so that you don't have to tug on it to keep it in place when you sit and bend. The material is thin enough to not be bulky under clothing, but thick enough to be worn alone if you choose. I have a black one and a white one and I wear them nearly every day. Buy it at www.makeitmodest.com.


5. Solartex Swimwear.

If, like me, you cannot be in the sun for more than 10 minutes without burning, and if, like me, you hate hate hate sunscreen and always miss a spot and get burnt anyway, you need this swimwear. I wear the full suit over my regular suit and it protects my skin from ankle to wrist. Also, then I don't have to bare my disgusting white skin to the world every summer. It looks sporty, like a surf suit, but it's light material, like body armor. Very comfy. Also nice if you, like me, prefer to not have your thighs hanging out of your bathing suit. www.solartex.com. They have all different styles of sun protection for men, women and children but the one I got is here: http://www.solartex.com/servlet/the-384/Long-sleeve-long-leg/Detail.


6. Clearplay.

I love my Clearplay. It edits out any language, violence, adult content, whatever you might not like. You just add the filters to a thumb drive from their website and play the movie on your Clearplay dvd player. The filter removes the content you tell it to remove. They have had some glitches (I hear the new high def ones do not), but Clearplay is very good about replacing any of their players that have problems.


7. Hair and Nail Salon on 90th and Redwood.

Ok, this isn't something that you own, but you really need to be getting your haircuts here. It's $10 for a shampoo and cut and they are VERY good. I have always had to curl and style my hair in some way my whole life to get it to have some body. Somehow, Minh is able to give me a haircut that works with the straightness in my hair and makes it look GOOD! I don't know how they do it. I've been to their other stylists also and they are ALL good. They make Ric's hair look amazing. And, it's cheaper than going to Walmart OR Great Clips.

They will charge you extra to dry or style it, so be aware of that. No appointment necessary.


8. Irene, the masseuse.

Also, not a thing to own, but a great masseuse to use if you live in the area. Irene does an hour long massage in her home for $35. She's very skilled and makes you feel very comfortable, if, like me, you get weirded out thinking about getting a massage. My knots and back pain will start to pile up until I am taking something for pain and headaches daily. Then I go to Irene and she gets out all the knots and I feel better for a MONTH. She lives in West Jordan. Message me for her phone number if you're interested.


9. Washington Online School District k12 curriculum.

We've used this program for our homeschooling for about 5 years. I really like that it's free and it's colorful and it's on the computer. It's very non-invasive. I take the kids for their testing twice a year and I record our attendance on the website. That's the only thing I have to do. I figure it's worth it in exchange for free. My kids love all the stuff that shows up in the mail for their learning in August. The company gives you everything (except a few little items like cotton balls that you might need for a science experiment) you need to teach for the year for each grade. Also there is a website with all of your child's classes for the day listed. You can customize what classes they do each day. You can also choose which lessons to teach and which ones to skip and how much to teach on each lesson. We are assigned a teacher who is there just to answer questions and tell us about new field trips and opportunities that come up in the program (this year my kids went to a space camp field trip, a valentine's day skate party and joined an online choir.) I make contact with her once a week by email. There is even a foreign language program. Sooo easy! http://www.ourwash.org/

The k12 curriculum is available in other states, but the programs are different. Don't know much about them. You can go to k12.com to see what's offered in your state.


10. Skechers Shape Ups.

Ric bought me these shoes for Mother's Day and I love them. They are so comfy. I can work all day in them without my feet getting sore. Also, it works to strengthen my muscles enough that it keeps my back in place and causes me less pain. I used to get one hip out of place every so often and it caused me much pain. Now that my lower back muscles are stronger from the shoes, that hip stays in place and doesn't give me any trouble. I got mine online from Famous Footwear with a 20% off coupon for $80.