Promised to bring smiles!!!

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Did your child have a bad day? Rotten teacher or mean friends? Kids can be unruly. One thing that always cheers my kids up (even my husband!) is Grandma H.'s chocolate chip cookies. I never had luck with chocolate cookies until I married my husband and my sweet mother-in-law shared this recipe with me. They are amazing! They are great fresh or even frozen. The recipe is super easy; if I can make them, you can too! My mother-in-law had nine children and now has 42 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and 4 more on the way!  Needless to say she has made a few batches of cookies in her 75 years of living! We love her and are so grateful for her!

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Shortening
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
4 Eggs
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda
5 Cups of Flour
3 Cups Chocolate Chips

Mix together in order then bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes and Enjoy! Promised to bring smiles!

     Also, October 1st, the day Younique is launching is getting closer and closer!!!  Today on Facebook, a bunch of names that people submitted for their Mood Struck mineral natural pigment eyeshadow powders were posted.  Some of my favorites names are  are:   CURIOUS, SEXY, SASSY, FLIRTY, PLAYFUL, AWESTRUCK, EMPOWERED, DIGNIFIED, GORGEOUS, DARING, FEISTY, CONFIDENT, and DEVIOUS.  So fun, huh?  I can't wait to get my hands on these fun colors!  I sometimes get in a rut with my make-up, get lazy about putting it on everyday, especially if I am not going anywhere but I always feel so much better when I take the time to put it on!  It makes my day a whole lot better.  I was talking to a friend the other day and her mother is in her eighties or early nineties.  She can't really do much but if someone is coming over to visit her or even the repair man, she has to put her make-up on.  I think that is wonderful that even at her age, she still cares to look her best!  That is totally going to be me.  Nails painted too.  By that time I will probably have to have someone else paint them for me because I will be too shaky.  Hopefully they will last more than a day because I won't have any diapers to change or papers to sign or need to get into my purse to get the keys to take kids somewhere!  But, I hear all the time that I am going to miss all the chaos and noise so I am trying to enjoy every minute.  Sometimes that is a challenge! 
     Speaking of nail polish, Younique also posted today on FB for anyone who would like to pick their five favorite out of several colors.  It was such a hard choice because I loved them all!  Can't wait to get my hands on them too!  Can you tell I am just a little excited?  Yep, I am!  You should be too! 

Back to School!

                  

 

 
  Hi my friends!  Today is an exciting day for me!  4 out of my 7 kids are back in school!  I hear some moms say that they don't like when their kids go back to school...not this momma.  I feel like my kids need a break from me and I need a break from them so it is a win-win situation!  I love routine too.  I get too relaxed in the summer and we don't have much structure, which does have its advantages, (like no homework!)  I feel like my kids do better with more structure.  Then when they are home, I feel like I am such a better mom!  I do love being a mom!  We just all need a break, even from the things we love. 
     Also, football season has begun.  My boys have always wanted their numbers shaved in the back of their heads so I gave in this year and did it for them.  Hopefully I win the "Coolest Mom" of the year award.  We also have a little Bingham cheerleader at our house who is pretty excited too!  Go Miners!  I actually got a little chilly at a football game the other night and came home a sprayed a yummy cinnamon spray in my house that reminds me of fall.  I love fall and love decorating for Halloween.  I am obsessed with owls this year...my family teases me because I don't even really know why I like them so much!  Maybe it is because they are known for being really wise...I want to be wise when I grow up.   

      The most exciting thing I am looking forward to this fall is that Younique is launching!  October 1st is the big day and I can not wait! 

     As I mentioned on my Youniquely Me by Jessica page, I am not content with all the stuff I have to do as a mom.  The laundry, cleaning, running kids around, cooking, Dr. and dentist appts, homework, birthday parties, grocery shopping, etc. day after day get monotonous for me.  I wouldn't rather be doing anything else but hopefully you other moms out there catch my drift! 

     I have always needed a creative outlet.  I love to work with my hands and create things.  Now especially, I am fascinated with the computer world and the internet.  It is the future.  I love the fact that I can do some much from home.  I love to do shopping online and pay a little extra to have it shipped right to my front door.  Time is what I don't have much of.  I even have toothpaste, paper towels and toilet paper shipped to my house sometimes!  The reason is, we go through so much of this as a household that when I go to the store and get a couple big packages of paper towels and toilet paper, there is no room left for any other groceries! 
     So, now with this unique company called Younique, you can own and run your very own business without even leaving your house!  You can always work in your pajamas if you want!  Your friends will never even know!  You just become a Presenter like I am going to become October 1st ( you can get more info on the website at www.youniqueproducts.com) and then invite friends to hosts parties or become Presenters, just by using Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Then your friends tell their friends, they tell their friends, and we will get the word out!  It is going to be fabulous!  I think I am going to make a paper chain for how many days left til Oct.  1st!   

My cute lil' sis

      This is my darling little sister Natalie and her beautiful family.  I am so happy because they just moved back from Florida.  She is also going to be a Presenter for Younique!  As you can see, she too is just a regular mom (well, in my opinion she is a fabulous mom who helps me  remember to not take this role we call motherhood too seriously).  She is pregnant with her forth, due in Jan.  She has the perfect personality to be a Presenter for Younique. She has a zest for life and even though she may be faced with challenges, as we all are, she never seems to lose her smile or sense of humor.  She is so much fun to be around and is a natural leader.  What ever she does, she puts all her enthusiasm into.  She was known as the coupon queen and had a ton of people hooked as well.  She also sold designer jeans and had a passion for helping women look their best no matter what size they wore.  The jeans were just a pain to haul to parties...she couldn't do that now being pregnant. I love her so much and am so proud of her. 

     That is another reason that Younique is SO AMAZING!!! It is eliminating the all-too-common  home party.  I for one, have never been much of a home party person. First of all, you have to mail out or deliver invitations.  Secondly, it is stressful getting your house perfect for guests.  Then, you want to make sure they have yummy food to eat.  You worry about it being on the same night as something else and so you worry about the turn out!  I go to parties out of just wanting to support my friends and I make pity purchases.  I hate the pressure you are put under at times to purchase something just to support them.  It usually isn't something I even want, I just am fulfilling my obligation as a guest.  However, I do have friends who LOVE to go to parties and LOVE to throw them so the even cooler thing is that those people will still totally have that option to do so!

      The Younique difference is that it is all virtual.  You can host online parties!   No more mailing or delivering invitations!  You simply use the resources that you already have and use all the time.  You just use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other online social media to do the work for you so it makes running your own successful business so simple.  It is such an easy way to tell your friends about it!  They then can go and shop when it is convenient.  That for me is sometimes late into the evening! I love that the high-pressure sales pitch has been eliminated!  I hate pushy sales people so I don't want to be one.  That is why Younique is SO awesome!  You totally want to be a Presenter too, huh!  It is going to be sweet!  Join my team!  If we can do it, you can do it!  Just go to www.youniqueproducts.com and fill out the small form for more information. 
 

Focus Group August 2nd 2012

I had the amazing opportunity of participating in a Focus Group held by Younique. It was a fabulous, fun-filled girls night out and no detail was ignored! There were approx. 70 beautiful women that came to join in the fun! There was lots of delicious food and we tried out 11 fabulous products, then filled out a questionnaire. Younique also wanted our feed back about the logo, products, and which top three were our favorite. It was an honor to be a part of this lovely evening. A special thanks to Derek Maxfield, Younique's Founder and his sister Melanie Huscroft, who is Younique's CO-Founder for making this night such a success. Many of my friends won prizes...who doesn't love to win free stuff?

  The top three products were voted by the women who came as their favorites.

1. " Leggies" is a fun collection of different lengths of socks and leg warmers embellished with lace and buttons for a Younique look!  Let’s face it…being bundled up for the cold isn’t always the most attractive look.  I am excited for fall and for putting a little fashion in to facing the cold with Younique's leggies!  Just a little something extra they've come up with to bring back fashion to being bundled up!  Don’t worry, they only cover your knees or your calves so your boots will still fit just fine.  How fun to look stylishly cozy!  I love them and can't wait for them to become available to purchase!  It will make my Christmas shopping a breeze!  

2.   "Mood Struck"  (mineral eye makeup collection)

• contents - mineral eye shadows
• eye makeup brushes
• fiber transplanting gel
• mascara fiber

 I have heard eyes are known as the window to ones soul.  My eye make-up is important to me.  I love getting compliments on it too.  I am always excited to try something new.  I love Younique's amazing all natural mineral eye shadow powders and fiber mascara.  It is super easy to use too!  Younique has cured the “now which brush out of the dozen do I use” syndrome and have made it simple just for us.    They have taken the only three brushes necessary to create the look I want.  I love how the mineral eyeshadow can be applied dry or wet for a more dramatic expression.  It blends beautifully, isn't heavy on your eye even though it looks rich and I can wear it all day long and there isn't ever a crease in my eyelid.  

The fiber mascara is so phenomenal, you have to see it to believe it.  In two easy steps, you will have more voluptuous lashes than you ever thought possible!

I was unwillingly coaxed into trying this product at a what women wants show.  They only applied it to one eye.  I COULD NOT BELIEVE the difference in my lashes!  All through the day, I had to do a double take in the mirror to see if they were really my very own lashes. I LOVE this product! I think every woman needs it!  At least for special occasions but I would love it for everyday wear too!   

3.  "Magnetic Polish"                                                  

•  contents - magnetic nail polish
•  magnetic slicers
•  nail buffer 

Younique's  Magnetic Polish collection is out of this world!  It is so easy too that my 8 year old can do it on herself!  First, you pick the color you want.   Then painting one nail at a time, you simply paint one thick coat of polish.  Within 20 seconds, you gently hold the magnet slicer above the nail for 20 seconds.  The fibers are attracted to the magnetic design,and leave a pattern on your nail for a epic, trendy look. If you want,  you can spray them with a  coat of Younique's nail dryer spray to help them dry faster because if you are anything like me, someone always seems to need something from me before my nails are all the way dry so the faster the better!    

Reija demonstrating the Fiber Mascara from the "Moon Struck" Collection

Peggy won a 2 hour massage gift card to Massage Envy. We think she was excited!

 

Jess demonstrating Younique's fabulous magnetic nail polish