if the bath bombs don't kill ya, the scrub bars might!

bath bombs! i know. i'd gotten a couple at lush, and i really like them-not gonna' lie. i don't usually take baths (don't worry, i shower), but when i do...it's because i have a bath bomb to use. so, as with everything, if you google it, you can make it. now that i had most of the ingredients, i finally found a youtube video with a lady showing exactly where she got her citric acid in a pinch (the whole i-don't-want-to-wait-for-amazon culture). so i went to walmart and in the canning section, there it was. when i got home, i set to work...and by work, i mean i mixed a couple of things together, then i mixed a few other things and combined them...gave them the waiting period and voila! homemade bath bombs! color. i need to work on the color-i think i will have to purchase the dye.

not sure if the half bomb is enough, but it was easier...

and as you can see some of them have been shrink wrapped, as i may or may not have access at home to a roll of shrink wrap, the sealer, and the heat...thanks to stationery adventures...i spent money a long time ago on this set-up and surprisingly, i've found lots of things to shrink-wrap...in fact, sometimes just for kicks, when i have it out, i'll just shrink wrap paperclips, or pennies, or whatever small thing is lying around #toomuchtimeonmyhands #easilydistractedandamused

then i got everything around and ready to go because i knew that ginger was coming to pick me up in the afternoon. i was ready to go to cleburne! woohoo. i enjoyed the driving, and being able to get to know ginger. she is so easy-going and i loved hearing about her family! kankuk kids, and i was so tickled (i don't often get to use that phrase) when i found out that her daughter is working for klife of north dallas-i only have positive experiences with klife! go girl! anyhoo, google maps took us in a round about way to arrive, but we arrived, checked in, grabbed some dinner and stopped into walmart for the $1 earbuds, as the dolla-make-ya-holla store was closed for the evening. i highly recommend the dollar store over the walmart earbuds, as they fit the ear better. walmart earbuds are like shoving a mentos candy in your ear, whereas the dollar store earbuds are more akin to a gummy bear (unsucked..not that i would know about either of these things). when we got back to the hotel, we were able to go over the power point, and i got to see the handouts that we were going to be using. so i was informed and ready to be of assistance, as need be. somehow i keep getting the handicapped rooms. i guess i'm okay with that because it's like having a dance hall in my entry, and being the avid break-dancer that i am...plus, when i get to winded, i can sit to straighten my hair and wash my face...

it was really a great group to be working with-mostly instructional coaches and lab teachers-they would be the accountability and influencers of the teachers using the program-they were highly engaged, and excited to understand the program better; they seemed quite ready to go back to their campuses to get going. and we had a good trip home afterward-minus the traffic, but once you hit the traffic, you start to get that feeling of being home-

did i mention (no) that when i decided to make the bath bombs, i may or may not have also looked up the massage/scrub bars, because i really do like these things! i'm here to let you know that shea butter and cocoa butter are NOT the same as shea butter CREAM and cocoa butter CREAM. nope. and guess who figured this out after putting them in the pot to 'melt' them...i mean it should've been a hint when the instructions said that it would take awhile for the cocoa butter oils to melt, as it is harder. it was messy. and now i have a half jar of each to give away to friends with dry skin who use lots of lotion. (i threw my concoction out.. #massagebarfail) and then i did a little research and had to go to amazon. even so, when i had my redo, they seem still a little too oily...being single, my mind goes straight to liz lemmon (30 rock) and death by slipping in tub headliner... gonna' be working on that recipe.

bring on friday afternoon-one of my friends was in town, en route to oklahoma, so a group was meeting up at top golf (i'm a first timer), so i didn't swing immediately, as it was more satisfying to spend time catching up with leah, nika and ally-they are the locals (minus leah, who was in from washington), but i've seen shea more in the past year than the locals, and she lives in florida! what gives?! but seriously-good times-love this crew! some key players were missing, but you take what you can get while you can! nika and leah had to go pick up lo from the airport and head on to OK, so we stayed behind, i ruined nika's last few round scores (i can barely putt-putt, give me a break! shank!)..i did better when we went to the batting cages #redemption. and all too soon, it was over. shea and ally were going to sprinkles, but i am proud of myself, i refrained. now, had they been going to nothing-bundt-cakes, i might've caved (those things..).

more of this, please!

and then it was on, the race to get ready to take the boys up to MO to see mom and dad-extended vacation for the boys! mom agreed to take them on for a couple weeks, as it was looking pretty busy. on the way up, i saw a new quicktrip on the way through ok, so i stopped, did my business, and then let the boys out to walk around and stretch their legs (their tiny little legs). there was a welcome center right next to the station, which they are working on, building a pavilion, picnic tables, etc. i was approached by two older ladies who began talking about all the future plans, and creating a little dog-run, etc. yep, they sucked me into their conversation and held on like pitbulls...note to self-don't offer additional information that can be construed as "yes, i'd love to sit and talk with you for a year" i mean...everything. the lady told me all about her being a volunteer at a school and helping with the reading program and about the teacher not wanting her to tell the kids to read without tracking with their fingers...about her giving her husband a hard time, and the teacher thinking she was rude because she didn't know they were married...yep, we're friends now. nope, just kidding. but i AM including a photo of the place in case anyone out there just wants to strike up conversation and take an extended break while travelling through eastern ok. she said she is there most of the time!

oh, and just a fun little extra, i want you all to know that the babies in oklahoma are pro-police:

blue lives matter-that is what the blue strap means, right?

i really do enjoy being at mom and dad's, and i know the boys do too. we didn't do a lot on saturday-just hung out at the house, watched some wheel, relaxed. then on sunday, we went to church, and then lunch afterward. there is this mexican restaurant that they enjoy going to, so we met up with pastor and his wife, and their daughter and husband, and another gentleman who was visiting the church for the first time. the boys talked down at their end, and we held conversation at ours- i keep getting fajitas whenever we go there, but i've never been really impressed. the taste just isn't there-rather bland. but the portions-woah! plenty where that came from! after sharing a fajita platter with mom, we barely made a dent, so we took almost a full to-go box home. crazy! and as we were leaving, they invited us over for games that night.

torn. i enjoy games, but i don't really know them... so just go and enjoy it. suck it up. so i went and was pleased to play banangrams (which if you recall is one of our favorites from UIL). so that was fun, and then after several rounds, we switched it up and played a round of yahtzee-first time i've played since grade school...and then UNO. so it was a full game night. we've been throwing around the option of having a game night sometime back here in dallas.

the following morning, i was to be getting up early to travel back to tx. note to self-don't stop at the info. station, park on the opposite side of quick trip and sneak in and out. mission-stealth, accomplished and on my way! it would've been the perfect trip, had there been no other drivers on the road! i may or may not have a heavy foot...even with flip flops on. i just can't help it. i rely heavily on my radar detector. i let this flaw slide, because i mean..it's not really addressed in the bible per se...c'mon, they had chariots..and carts..so yeah..i made good time and arrived home to prepare for the epic adventure to utah!

never been to utah, didn't know what to expect, or where exactly we'd be, but i knew i was going to enjoy it and i'd been looking forward to working with jane shields since we met at the summer convention-a wealth of knowledge-and humor to boot. more about that to come.

julie