Thrifty Thursdays

Yes, I know it is only a Wednesday! ;) I'm just too excited to launch this new theme (meme?) and had to get it kick off a day early:

 

 

You know that affordable, trendy, jewelry I mentioned in the video? Well, I just happen to be giving away a pair of earrings at Stroke Of Grace this week! Please sign up to follow my stroke blog, then leave me a comment telling me you did. Easy, peasy entry! :)

Here is more information from my friend, if you are interested:

At Paparazzi Accessories, we offer fun and fashionable accessories at affordable prices. All accessories are available for under $5. Paparazzi made it to where it is today as a direct sales company because their designs are unique and fashion-forward. All Paparazzi Accessories are also of superior quality so you don’t have to worry about having to compromise quality for affordability, as we offer the best of both worlds. It is these very same qualities that made the company and its products appeal to me personally.

As an Independent Paparazzi Consultant, Paparazzi Accessories certainly offers a very rewarding business opportunity that is unlike any other. Also, accessories are made of steel and aluminum. In some cases, wood and leather. No nickel, no lead. My company website is www.paparazziaccessories.com/15428. My store website is www.jewelry4five.storenvy.com

Don't Forget to Check!

I know it seems I have totally abandoned this blog. I haven't forgotten, just been busy keeping Stroke Of Grace (my current stroke recovery story) up to date, working on my fishing my latest book project, Harvesting Hope from Heartache (a devotional that primarily focuses on the fruit of the Spirit), and adding a lot of ideas to my InnerBeautyGirlz page and many other boards at Pintrest, what I really came here to be sure you knew about!

From Quotes & Thoughts

I'm really excited about this new, ever-growing, visual resource, especially the recent recipes where I learned about how to make your own mineral makeup or how to really whiten your teeth! :) Please let me know if you try these (or any others) and what you thought!

Loveliness

I'm guest blogging on the topic of Inner Beauty as a monthly columnist over at Glory and Strength. For the next nine months we will be looking together at characteristics that set a woman apart as a Christian, as found in Galatians 5:22-23.

Drop by Glory and Strength and click on "Growing in Glory" to find my latest reflections. This month we are talking about love - not the roll-your-eyes mushy, romantic kind, but the real down-to-earth, loving-in-the-midst-of-life's-messes kind. Here's a little taste to get you started. (And don't forget to keep reading to the bottom of this post to grab a great discount code for Affordable Mineral Makeup too!)

Love goes beyond “live and let live,” but takes the next step. When I’ve been wronged (I’m not talking about abuse here, but the daily messes of living life with imperfect people), I can show my friend God’s love by not waiting for her to make the first move. I can offer forgiveness even before she apologizes... Laying down my life for someone means I am actively on the lookout for my friend’s best interest.

Galatians 5:22-23 calls these times when I allow God to lead my decisions, attitudes and actions, the fruit or evidence of God’s Spirit in me... I’m not going to do a perfect job at showing God’s love each time I have the chance. The goal is to keep practicing, keep striving to bloom with time and practice... I can ask God to help me see opportunities to offer love to others because of Him, and then lean on Him for the strength to love even when it’s hard.

Please come read more about love at Love Fruit then tune in again next month to reflect with me on how we can find true joy. :)

For more thoughts on love by By Ida Mundell of "Eat Drink and Be Jesus," check out Love is a Sacrifice on (In)Courage. :)

------- Sponsorship Message and Coupon Code -------

My heart is in sharing beauty with women, first heart beauty, but also affordable, healthy ways to care for our physical bodies that God calls the "temple" of His Holy Spirit when we allow Him to live within us through grace. To this end I am happy to represent Affordable Mineral Makeup™ as a beauty adviser and to offer this high quality line of pure mineral products to my readers.

For a limited time [this offer expired 2/5/2010 - please visit "discount codes" to look for current promotions], take 20% off every Affordable Mineral Makeup™ purchase of $19.95 or greater, placed from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com when you use check out using coupon code:
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With this code, qualified orders (over $19.95 and properly following instruction for submitting freebie requests) will also receive three free gifts with your purchase! Your gifts are one 5-gram sifter jar with your choice of product (up to a $7.79 value) AND two mineral samples of your choice (valued at $2.49 each). To redeem the free gift offer, please list your requested free product selections in your order comments (not added to your cart!) when you place your order. Promotion items cannot be shipped separately.

Please visit http://www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and click on the "shop" link to get started by viewing our catalog. (I greatly appreciate when my return customers remember to always come back and start at my consultant link so that the computer knows to credit me for your purchases.) Thank you for your business and support!

New You

Yup, it's that time of year again, the time when everyone starts saying goodbye to the past year and preparing for a "fresh start," piling up New Years' resolutions that will mostly be shattered before February even gets here. We hope to wipe away past failures and replace them with victories, but my friend, in our own strength, we can never find lasting change.

I know this blog has gotten a little soft in content the past year or so, mostly being a collection of advertising and sales links. I've been rather "burned out" on beauty blogging the past year, focusing on many health issues. Recently I've gotten excited about this blog again and want to breath new life into my posts here. I'm not promising anything spectacular or earth shattering, but I am hoping to refresh my efforts at deeper content this next year. I'm starting by taking this moment to really bring us back to the original heart purpose of this blog, my desire to bring glory to God as we celebrate the beauty He sees in us as His handwork.

As we revel in the joys of womanhood, what real change can we seek in the new year? If anyone reading does not know with certainty where you would spend eternity if you were to die today, let's start right there. This week we have celebrated Christmas, the coming of God to earth as a fragile Baby. If that were the whole story, it would be a sweet tradition and nothing more. Thankfully that Baby came with a purpose. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Do you ever feel lost? He came to bring purpose to your life, and to mine!

Over 2,000 years since His birth, there is still more factual, historical evidence for the person of Jesus Christ than even remains many United States presidents. There is no question that He was (and is!) a real person, the question is what you believe about who He is? If you say He was a "good man" or a "good teacher" then I must challenge your beliefs. He claimed to be God! With this claim there are only three options:
- He either is who He claims to be (and thus, so much more than just a prophet or another good teacher)
- or He was delusional, truly believing Himself to be God and so deceiving not only His followers but Himself (and thus certainly not a "good teacher" I would choose to follow)
- or He was intentionally lying about Himself (and absolutely knocked out of the "good man" category).

Who do you say Jesus is? I say He is my Lord and Savior. The one and only Living God, who was tempted in every way as I am, yet lived a sinless life, being crucified to pay the death penalty for my own sins. Again, if that's the end of the story, it's a sad one indeed, but as promised from the beginning of time when Adam and Eve first made a choice for sin, He has power over life and death and the grave could not hold Him! It is in His resurrection that I find true hope and peace.

Still questioning? Then here's a realistic New Year's resolution for you. Challenge God to make Himself real to you in 2011! He promises, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

If you are looking for real, lasting change for 2011 and beyond, here's your answer. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here" (2 Corinthians 5:17)!

-------------------------------


That's the heart of what this blog is all about ladies, the kind of content I want to bring you more of in the coming year! To keep this blog live, I do have to pay the bills too. So, here's a "word from our sponsor". ;)

This is a great one you won't want to miss. In a nutshell, you spend $16, take 25% off that total AND receive an additional $14 in free gifts! Keep reading for details. :)

Place any Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order of $15.95 or greater from www.InnerBeautyGirls.com from now through December 31, 2010 and receive 25% OFF your entire order AND Get *TWO FREE GIFTS* when you use COUPON CODE:
newyou1210

Free Gifts (while supplies last):
*New sleek black Mini Kabuki brush ($6.49 value) AND
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(**Indicate your choice of product in your order comments.)

Use the coupon as many times as you like! Share the coupon with your friends and family on Facebook and email! Simply place your order through my website at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com and enter newyou1210 in the coupon code field when you checkout. Offer valid through 12/31/2010. Enjoy! :)

Hairy

I guess this is my month to talk about hair. God talks about it too, so why not?

What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one. And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries.
- Luke 12:6-8 (The Message)

It's day 8 of my No-Shampoo Challenge and I'm looking forward to sharing the journey with you through my video diary in another week or so.

For those who aren't interested in going shampoo-free, a friend just passed along news that Sally Beauty is currently offer Hair One at a great discount if you will take the time to stack a couple of promotional codes:

Normally Hair One runs $10.79 at Sally's.
Place this item in your cart then enter code 555114 to receive free shipping off a $10 order.
Then add code 555905 for 20% off, dropping your order to only $8.79 including shipping/tax!
If you start your whole shopping trip by registering for a free account at eBates then entering Sally Beauty through your personal eBates link, you receive 6% cash back on your order too!

I do not know an expiration date on these coupon codes, so if this is a deal you plan to take advantage of, I would encourage you to place your order quickly so you don't miss out.  Hair One is not a product I have personally tried, but I've heard some pretty good reports about it and would love to hear your viewpoint if you have given it a personal try.

Shampoo Free

You may remember about a year ago I tried to go all-natural with my hair care. I posted To Poo or Not to Poo and gave it a good go, but since I was living with a PICC (deep vein semi-permanent IV) line in my arm for several months at that time, it just became more than I could manage. I caved and went back to those nasty old, chemically laden shampoos.

After having had a chunk of skin cut off my scalp last week (am currently waiting for biopsy results to see if it is cancer or not), I'm ready to pursue another No-Poo Challenge. Coming across just such a challenge on the Feelin' Feminine blog last night, then following links to learn more from Kate and finding additional Poo-Free recipes, I'm ready to give it all another try. Today I think I'll start by trying Jocelyn's egg wash.

I plan to give this method a try for at least two weeks then will updated about my progress. (I may be in a swimming pool this weekend and wonder if there are any special tips for chlorine but guess I will have to figure that out as I go.)  I truly would love to find a natural hair-care method that works for me.

Have you experimented with natural hair care? What have been your results? Any suggestions or tips you would like to share?  Anyone want to join me on a hair-care makeover?

Soap

My sweet friend Carissa just made me a batch of custom order Tea Tree Oil soaps. I'm loving them! She was so sweet to work around family allergy concerns and create a product that exactly fits my needs. If you are looking for quality, handcrafted soaps, please take a moment and check out Carissa's site at

One Size?

My dear friend Holley Gerth is currently posting a series on God-sized Dreams. I'm thrilled to welcome Holley here as a guest blogger today:

God-sized dreams...aren't one size fits all

Vintage dress pattern photo by Laineys Repertoire (flickr) My friend Kim and I ventured out for a little resale shopping recently. One particular store had a hot pink neon sign, loud music, and gum-popping teenagers behind the counters.

I tried on my usual size but it seemed those jeans must have been designed for Barbie. At any rate, my hips weren't having any of it.

So I reached for a shirt that looked more like a bib. That was followed by a dress that would have barely covered my bellybutton. Ahem.

When it comes to dreams, it seems to go much the same way. I think, "Oh, that dream looks so cute on her! I want that one too!" So I try it on and it doesn't fit my heart any better than those jeans fit my hips.

I keep trying other dreams until I sink to the floor of life's dressing room in discouragement. Or worse yet, I go out looking like someone Stacey and Clinton should nab for What Not to Wear as quickly as possible.

But I'm learning something beautiful. Although God's dreams aren't one size fits all like I sometimes wish they could be, He's created particular ones just for us and they fit who we are perfectly.

We don't have to settle for off-the-rack dreams or someone else's discards. No, ma'am, we've got a divine tailor who does nothing but high end, one-of-a-kind couture.

True God-sized dreams feel like they're made just for you...

because they are.

And you're made just for them, just for Him, too.

Now that's simply stunning.

(c) Copyright Holley Gerth, all rights reserved

Holley Gerth has a masters degree is counseling and is an award-winning writer and editorial director for DaySpring with more than ten years of experience in the publishing industry. Her first devotional book, Rain on Me: Devotions of Hope and Encouragement for Difficult Times is available online and in bookstores. She’s also the author of over 2,000 cards, as well as several devotionals, articles, journals, and books. Holley is passionate about bringing hope to the hearts of women. You’re invited to visit her online at Heart to Heart with Holley at holley.dayspring.com

Woman's Health Hero

I was blessed to be nominated as a Woman's Health Hero and I need your help! (Head's up to my friends who are sensitive to mentions of pregnancy, the sponsors of this award do promote pregnancy-related books on their website, so please be for-warned before following this link.) Out of all entries, just 20 names will be inducted into a Health Hall of Fame. Two Hall-of-Fame selections will receive special honors as either Staff Pick or Audience Choice award determined by the public (that's you!).



You will be allowed to vote on all entries between now and May 14 (extended one week from the prior May 7 deadline), 2010. The entry that receives the highest overall ranking will win the Audience Choice award. Last year's Audience Choice winner was my dear friend Lisa Copen from Rest Ministries. I would be delighted to add a similar honor to my "resume" as I continue working on writing my book on the life of Paul as encouragement for living with chronic pain/illness.

Will you please help me by heading to www.ourbodiesourblog.org/blog/2010/05/comforting-those-with-fertility-challenges-jenni-saake and selecting the "thumbs up" voting button at the bottom of my profile? Thank you so much! :)

With Thankfulness (and free makeup drawing)

I know this year my blog has mostly been sale spotlights, product information, and not nearly as much inspirational content as I would like to be sharing. In many ways it's been a "survivial" year for me due to ongoing health struggles, weekly hospital IV treatments and endless medical tests, appointments, bills, paperwork, phone calls and more.

There are days that I'm tempted to feel "poor me," but in all honesty, I am overwhelmed with just how blessed I am. I hope you don't mind indulging me in my list of beautiful blessings. At the end, I would love it if you would post yours as well. And if you stick with me to the very end, there's a special money saving blessing posted for you as well. ;)

- I have a God who loved me so much that He paid the ultimate price, the death of His only Son, to make me His child! (If you want to know more about that, please email me and I would love to share this beautiful story with you in more detail!)

- I live in a free country where I am a able to speak or post whatever's on my heart and (at least for now) to share my faith openly without fear of criminal pursecution.

- I have a loving husband who is faithful to me and support through all the "better" and "worse," the limited "health" and the frequent "sickness." (Watching friends go through widowhood, diviroce, and entended/unplanned singless, I do not take this blessing lightly at all!)

- I have three loving, healthy, beautiful children, blessings profoundly poinient to me after infertility and losses.

- We share the joy of homeschooling and I don't have to send my sweet treasures off into someone else's care for the larger portion of each day.

- My parents have lived less than 10 minutes away from us for over 2 years now and we are so thankful to have them near!

- My parents-in-law are also delightful people we are very blessed to have involved in our lives, living only an hour away and seeing usually on a weekly basis.

- We just enjoyed Thanksgiving with Rick's brother and family and my brother will be bringing his family to Reno for 10 days at Christmas. :)

- We have a church home where we truly have an extended family in Christ and can both give and receive ministry there.

- My husband is currently employed (again, something we don't take for granted) and we are blessed with health insurance that has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of treatment for me this year.

- There has been groundbreaking research in medicine this year that may be life-changing not only for me, but for millions around the world. Thank you www.wpinstitute.org!

- I have new glasses and can see again!

This is just the tip of the iceburg in my thankfulness list, but my point is, even when things are hard, just stopping to take a moment and actively seeking the good can surprise us with beautiful realizations of all we have. I truly would love to hear what you are thankful for right now. If you are struggling and can't find anything to list, please share with me how I may be praying for you as well. {{{hug}}}

Please share this post with your friends, because if I have at least 10 commeters post and join me as blog followers before the end of November, I will draw one name in early December and contact you to request a mailing address where I can send you some free makeup! :) (Don't forget to leave me a working email address when you post. If I can't easily contact you, I'll have to pick an alterate winner should your name be drawn.)

One more thing to be thankful for:
Affordable Mineral Makeup™ has dropped prices, making our line even more affordable than ever before. All 5g jars are now priced under $7, even our exclusive lines! Order directly at www.InnerBeautyGirls.com

I will also be placing my final Gurrlie Girl order of the year on Dec. 1, so if you are looking for beautiful, inspirationa jewelry for anyone on your list, please let me know before the end of the month. http://jenni.saake.gurrliegirl.com

Win FREE Makeup & Jewelry

I am helping one of my dearest friends, Julie D., celebrate her 40th birthday. She's hosting a huge birthday bash over on her Mom2Ways blog (yes, she's one of my after-infertility-mom sisters, with her family growing through both the blessings of adoption and birth). She's giving away over 20 wonderful prizes to blog readers this month and one of those prizes is a makeup bag stuffed with Affordable Mineral Makeup™ and some Gurrlie Girl™ jewelry. To enter, head over to http://mom2ways.blogspot.com/2009/09/birthday-bash-giveaway-post.html and leave a comment for item 22 (or any other great prizes you would like to win).



Happy Birthday, Julie!

Fit Feet

I've found a lot of my beauty tips by reading books, exploring other websites, and experimenting on my own at home. One of the most fun foot care tips I've come across is from Skin Care Recipes And Remedies. I honestly haven't even tried this one yet (because I don't currently have dry, cracked feet), but there is a claim on their website that soaking your feet in pickle juice nightly will soften and repair dry cracked feet within a matter of days! Now, I don't know if they are talking dill pickles (that would be my first guess) or sweet pickles or some other kind, and I'm not sure my hubby would think pickle juice to be the best smell as we crawled into bed (LOL), but I'm eager to give this one a try this summer, if for no other reason than it means I get to eat all those pickles just to get to the juice! You can find a great selection of other natural foot care remedies from the Skin Care Recipes site here.

For a refreshing foot soak, my favorite treats are Tea Tree Essential Oil and Peppermint Essential Oil mixed in warm water. (Start with boiling water, add a about 3 drops of each essential oil, then cool until a comfortable temperature.) Tea Tree oil has many healing properties and is great at fighting fungal infections such as athlete's foot, while peppermint is very refreshing. Salt soaks can help releave swelling. Some like to use chopped parsley in foot soakes for their antibacterial effect and to help with circulation, while others find Lavender to be a very relaxing addition to a foot soak.

Did you know that you can search my blog by topic? When you read an article at www.InnerBeautyGirlz.com and like what you see or want to know more, notice the topic links at the end of the post. Click on a link of interest to pull up all the posts I have made on that topic through the entire history of my blogging here. :) For example, you have probably already seen my video devotional on feet that launched our Spa Weekend, but if you want to know if I've ever posted anything else about "feet" then click on the label for "feet" at the end of this post. :)

Virtual Spa Weekend!

The first weekend in May, Hannah's Prayer Ministires (Christian infertility and pregnancy loss support ministry I helped launch nearly 15 years ago) will be holding a retreat in OH. There will be about 40 ladies gathered to encourage and support one another. The theme of the weekend will be "Beautiful In His Sight" and the guest speaker is Ginger Garrett, author of Beauty Secrets of the Bible (as well as a devotional book on infertility and several award-winning Christian fiction titles). I know it will be a wonderful, blessed weekend for all who attend!

Unfortunately, there are hundreds of women who are regular participants on the Hannah's Prayer Community Forums who are unable to attend for a variety of reasons (mostly, the prohibitive cost of travel) but would really love to be there. As the excitement builds on our Forums for the ladies who will be attending, the disappointment for those who cannot is growing as well. And so I'm going to be hosting a Virtual Spa Weekend here on my InnerBeautyGirlz blog from May 1-3.

This event will be open to everyone, but especially geared toward the ladies of Hannah's Prayer. I am looking for home-spa ideas, beauty treats and suggestions, guest blogger articles on beauty (with fun tips for our bodies, but also a focus on inner beauty), and product donations for drawings and give-aways throughout the weekend. Since my target readers that weekend will all be dealing with infertility or the death of a baby, I need to specifically avoid child-related posts and products (like using examples from motherhood in your stories).

Please share your suggestions for this event! Have a beauty topic you would like to write a guest blog about? Have a product you would like to donate as a give-away (and get your business featured in the process)? Have any creative ideas and suggestions for creating an at-home-spa experience? I would love to hear from you!

For instructions about how to participate in Virtual Spa Weekend and earn contest entries, check out the Early Bird entries post. :)

Discount Code, Radio Interview, Beauty Forums

As we pray for protection for those potentially in the path of Ike (including the Affordable Mineral Makeup™ headquarters), take 10% off your Affordable Mineral Makeup™ order by putting the word "protection" in the coupon section at checkout.

Do you have questions about mineral makeup? Want to know anything from how to apply mineral makeup to questions on ingredients or what colors are comparable between other brands and Affordable Mineral Makeup™? Check out this new message board at http://www.AffordableMineralMakeup.com/forum.

Another forum I've been frequenting recently is www.GlowingDiva.com, an organic skin care forum with some really great tips. They offer monthly contests for forum members. This month they are offering a prize package including "Tight Curves," a soy-based protein drink made especially for women ($50 value) and 6 e-books including "My Anti-aging Beauty Secrets" for the best beauty tip (hair, skin, makeup, etc.) shared on the forum this month.

Most of my recent posting has been over on Harvesting Hope from Heartache™ in preparation for my involvement in next week's National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week blog radio conference. Would love to have you drop in for a listen on Tuesday the 9th at noon (Pacific)! After next week I should be able to put more focus into this blog again. :)

Tweeting on Twitter

If you have a Twitter account, feel free to follow me there at http://twitter.com/InfertilityMom.

Don't know what Twitter is? Neither did I until my dear hubby introduced me to this "mini-blogging" network where users post messages of no more than 140 characters at a time. Great way to keep up with friends without being bogged down in long posts. And for long-winded writers like me, a fun challenge to get to the point quickly and creatively. :)

I'll be posting a really exciting book promotional tomorrow or Thursday, with an amazing grand prize, so you'll want to be on the lookout for that. And if you haven't entered our Summer Skin Care give-away be sure to do so before it's too late! In fact, most of the specials, discounts and promotions that have been posted this month end within the next day or two, so be sure to check them out!