Ingredients
Instructions
I was always a consumer and lover of scents. Call it corky or creepy, when I’m bored I go to my cabinet and open every bottle of perfume and lotion to enjoy the different smells. Flowers, berries, and oils, oh my! Every one of them has it’s unique signature aroma and it has a relaxing effect on me too. Today, I’ve taken the first steps crossing over from the consumer to the producer side of the market and created my own coconut oil base lip scrub that actually works! (Yes, I tried it myself!) I am so proud to present this prototype and hope to make many more!
Ingredients:
-1 tablespoon of white sugar
-1 teaspoon of raw honey
-1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil
-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Drop your coconut oil in a bowl and microwave until it turns into liquid
2. Add all other ingredients and mix!
I wrote a simple song for the love of my life:)
See me down in the waters
See me treading through my problems
You come and reach to see what’s more to me
And you come and pick me back on my feet, on the ground, on the land
Baby, you are my rock
You see me bare without my barriers at my lowest times
and you still come back to me loving just the same, just the same
You know that I could really be stubborn
You let me make my own decisions
You come and reach to see what’s more to me
And you come and pick me back on my feet, on the ground, on the land
Baby, you are my rock
You see me bare without my barriers at my lowest times
and you still come back to me loving just the same, just the same
What I learned from the GOP debate tonight…from Grant.
Grant has an infinite amount of trivial knowledge about tidbits of every topic imaginable. It’s one of the many reasons why I fell in love with him. He does each trivial fact justice by telling such great stories. I’ll be sharing more trivia I learned from Grant on my blog.
Trump and Bush have been bicker-bockering like children. It’s kind of like white noise at this point, but hey, what’s new.
What I really learned from the GOP debate tonight…from Grant is this: For whatever reason, Jeb’s campaign didn’t buy the domain name http://www.jebbush.com, they bought http://www.jeb2016.com. So Trump swooped in and bought the domain http://www.jebbush.com. Check it out, it’ll redirect you to Trump’s website. Ya snooze, ya lose Jeb. But can Trump’s money really buy you everything? I hope you got a kick out of this.
As the year winds down and I have a couple more exams to take before bidding yet another beautiful year adieu, I can’t help but be distracted to shop for Christmas gifts online. I hope you can relate to my candid journey of choosing that perfect, meaningful Christmas gift. If you know me, I love soap. So this year, I’ve decided to spread my Christmas cheer by sharing what I love through the beautiful craft of Marie’s Soap Company.
Here’s the beginning of my journey. On my left monitor I have a tort assignment word document open, which I should be working on. On my right monitor, I have seven windows open, which I spend way too much time on. I have Urban Outfitters, Crate & Barrel, Francesca’s, Anthropologie, Bloomingdales, Terrain, H&M…you name it, it’s there. At first, online shopping is exciting because it’s lawless. I add DIY kits, interactive journals, essential oils, jewelry, tapestries, and overly intricate coloring books that will ultimately have more lines than colors. As I review the 30 items worth $900 on my shopping cart, I realize it’s an eclectic collection of unusual clutter. I make an attempt of curating my shopping bag, only to realize they aren’t meaningful gifts. I question my gift selecting skills and remove all items. So I’m back to square one. After hours of browsing, I slow down. When I envisioned the reactions of each person as they unwrapped their gifts, I end up exiting all windows except Marie’s Soap Company.
This year, I’ve had the joy of discovering Marie’s Soap through my boyfriend Grant. Marie’s Soap is a small family owned business operated in Buck’s County, PA by Grant’s mom, Brenda, and Grant’s grandmother, Marie. As I’ve visited for the holidays, I had the chance to see their workshop. Marie told me she found her passion when she made one simple purchase of handmade soap in California. Thereafter, she learned the craft to make her passion a part of her life. We further discussed her business values of delivering quality soaps to her customers. She mentioned, “It won’t taste good, but you can even eat it if you want!”, since each soap is hand crafted with tested blends of all natural scents and oils. She also crafts body butters, scented body sprays, and other beauty products as well.
Anyone is free to browse online retail stores for gifts but I hope I save people some time. Trendy new top sales items at big box retailers may be interesting, yet impersonal. At Marie’s Soap, you’ll find bundles of fragrant joy on the individual level right from the soap maker, Marie and Brenda, to the hands of your loved ones. I hope you love Marie’s Soap as much as I do!
Personal Recommendations For Gals:
Rose Petal: http://www.mariessoap.com/soaps/rose-petal
Grant’s Recommendations for Guys:
Ocean Breeze: http://www.mariessoap.com/soaps/ocean-breeze
Today was the last day of volunteering. My friends and I did a lot of work that week in Sendai, Japan that mostly consisted of physical labor cleaning up the muck and rubble left by the powerful tsunami on March 11th. As our time for volunteering was coming to an end, David and I knew our relationship was, too, coming to an end.
We dated since I was 15 years old. We did ordinary stuff together. We helped each other finish homework and sat next to each other in chapel. I made fun of him at his wrestling matches in his spunky unitard and he came to my field hockey games to deliberately lose his voice cheering for the Knights. After high school, we were dating long distance so we did less ordinary stuff together. We went on mission trips with his father’s church to the Philippines. We traveled to Scandinavia where both our relatives were. I swam in the fjords of Norway with him and his family. We rode horses in the Swedish woods and my father, aunt, and uncle initiated him with a shot of cognac every morning for no particular reason.
We managed to see each other about twice a year. Although it was exciting at first, it took a toll on us. During our time apart, we rediscovered new passions as young adults. It became hard to encourage and support each other the way we did when we saw each other every day. I couldn’t cheer him on at concerts as he played guitar and he couldn’t hear me sing at choir concerts in college. I felt like I was missing out on important times of his life. Every time we reunited, it was as if I had to scramble for pieces to a puzzle, quickly chug them into the right places, only for it to be stripped away from me without time to admire the whole because of a departure time printed on a plane ticket. Why did I feel so heartbroken and lonely when I was in a relationship?
No one did anything wrong. We were figuring out who we were as individuals. He grew to be a man who enjoyed the scenery of waves crashing ashore. I grew to enjoy feeling and swimming in the waters. He looked for the constellations in the night sky while I delighted in the rare shooting star. He appreciated the beaming daylight at six in the morning, and I guess I just wasn’t much of a morning person after all. Even though we knew each other so well from our past, the future plus an easy 5000 miles was gaining up on us stripping us farther apart.
That morning, David and I were placed in the same group to work together. We dug up the dried salted layers of crust left by seawaters, crude oil, and debris in hopes to revive the farmlands. We tore down houses together and separated metal scraps, wood, and plastic trash. We slapped smiles on our faces so it wasn’t awkward for our friends. But who were we kidding, we’ve all known each other since kindergarten.
At lunch, we sat at the same table. We prayed for the land to recover, the people to encounter Jesus, and gave thanks for our food. As we made small talk, a 5.0 magnitude aftershock hit as the tectonic plates shifted underneath us. A six-year-old girl who was playing with her toys jumped from behind and held me tightly. I held her close and told her everything was ok. David came over, sat next to us, and comforted her as well. After a couple of minutes, she went off playing with her toys as if nothing happened. David stayed next to me and we ate in silence. He nudged my knee but I didn’t have it in me to respond. We once loved each other in our youthful, innocent way. What we experienced and learned through each other is a cherished memory we will treasure forever. However, a wave of freedom engulfed us as I uttered a phrase, “It’ll be alright”.
Wrote a song for my boyfriend I love so much today. Here are the lyrics!
There once was a time a land was barren
There were no birds who sang, no rivers that overflowed
No life, no breath was there to be found
The place was deserted by man.
Afar from yonder a man trekked the sun was setting so quickly
The desert heat would soon melt away as the stones and sand would turn cold at night
He may have stumbled but he did not have it in his heart to stop
Every step he took forward he did it with the conviction of a King.
Along came a figure that he could see, a vagabond in the distance
She could not stop her feet from moving towards him
She moved on closer and she didn’t have it in her heart to stop
She knew that she would, oh she would be his Queen.
They stood facing each other, oh, the Heavens were happy they chose one another
All life all breath was there to celebrate and crown the meeting of the King and Queen
Out of sand came fountains of water, the birds flew and sang of the tales they remembered when what was barren is now full of life.
Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/sara-nozaki/king-and-queen-5-31-15-448-pm
Here are the lyrics a song I wrote thinking about my friend who passed away all too soon.
There is a room filled with radiant white light, a white light so bright that the light can be physically touched as if it had a silver consistency that could run through your fingers.
In the middle of the room is God, sitting on a chair.
Enter Aaron.
God: I took you from your brother’s sight. I did not snatch or steal you away, I cradled you with a lullaby. Loving you was and always will be easy.
Aaron: I know. So I say, send me, oh Lord, send me away. It’s not my time to stay with the beasts of the earth. It’s time for me to be sent away.
God: I took you from your mother’s sight. I did not snatch or steal you away, I cradled you with a lullaby. Loving you was and always will be easy.
Aaron listened in silence.
God: I promise you no more tears or goodbyes, only lilies and butterflies with a place called Heaven in your eyes.
Aaron: Love is all I know now, and I am glad.
saranozaki 