THE ONLY POLISH GIRL IN TEXAS

So maybe I did save the best for last.  I followed  Love Your Melon  on social media for awhile before I was gifted one of their beanies for my birthday.  Living in Texas, there isn't a long season for needing beanies, and in the past the ones I've had I wore just as long as I had to because they would get so itchy.  All that changed with this black speckled beanie.  I can wear this all day long and it's so soft, it never bothers me! I love what LYM stands for.  They want to put a hat on every child battling cancer.  Not only that, but they give 50%(!) of their net profits to the Love Your Melon Fund to support non-profits in the fight against pediatric cancer.  I went from that one beanie to I think 5 or 6 now.  I had to add a couple of the lightweight beanies so I can extend my usage beyond our short winter.  Did I mention all their products are made in the USA?  There's really no reason to not run over and get yourself o...

I was going to say next was one of my favorites, but between the 3 I don't know that I can pick a fave.  I first saw Sand Cloud on Shark Tank, and as a lover of the oceans I briefly checked it out.  A few years later though, they've blown up and evolved into such a fun brand!   Their mission is to protect marine life, or as they often say - save the fishies!  10% of their profits go to non-profits like Surfrider Foundation, and Ocean Connectors.  Not only that, but they practice what they preach by selling shirts recycled from water bottles, glass bottles, and metal straws to help cutback on single use plastic, and they do their part in beach cleanups.  Their towels are AMAZING!  100% turkish towels that are so bright and fun!  Mine has traveled with me to Honduras, and will be going to Grand Cayman shortly.  I've given so many of these as gifts, and everyone has become a fan.  They're perfect to use as a towel, or a light throw...

Over on the right there are a couple codes and links.  Remember when I said I look for a discount code when I shop?  I took it a step further and became a brand ambassador for some of my favorite things in order to share discounts with others.  I'll preface this by saying these are brands that I personally use, and believe in their missions.  I don't represent anything that I wouldn't buy, and I hate seeing social media "influencers" hawking products that you know they don't use just to make a buck. First up, the first brand I became a Rep for -  Pura Vida .  The story behind PV is that the creators were traveling in Costa Rica when they came across artisans selling colorful, handmade bracelets.  After seeing the poverty they lived in, Griffin and Paul asked to buy 400 bracelets to take home to their friends.  Once they returned home to San Diego, they put the bracelets in a bowl at a boutique, and they sold out in days, with request for mo...

If you're new here, welcome!  If you're a friend, or Insta follower, then I'm sorry for the repeats, but it'll be quick I promise.  We'll call this a mid-April resolution to keep up with the blog and see how long it lasts.  I'm not a writer by any means, and can ramble on too long or switch topics too often, but I have a lot to say.  What really brought me back was reading a blog I've loved for a long time, and getting tired of all the links going to Neiman Marcus or some $100 face serum.  What happened to the hair tutorials, day to day life, how you struggled to get through a workout, or coupon hauls?  I felt like since I was missing that, maybe someone else is too.  So you'll see a lot of that here.  Well, minus the hair tutorials because your girl can barely master a ponytail. So what else?  I'm 5 weeks into keto, and so far so good although having someone to do it with definitely helps.  I no longer have a gym membership and ...

So much for keeping up with this thing.  Honestly, I hadn't even looked at it in almost 2 years, but this past weekend with #lambcake3, it reminded me of what I went through to get the pan.  I wasn't feeling it at all, and had trouble from start to finish, but it turned out ok, even if the face oozed out of the pan and the frosting melted off the back.  As long as it tastes good, right? What really brought me back though, was reading a blog that I've followed for years and feeling so out of touch with this person I used to be able to relate to.  What used to be a mutual love of beauty products and hair tutorials has turned into mostly ads, shopping for $60 t-shirts, and exclaiming that $88 for 2 small bottles of facial serum is a steal.  So here I am, just after my almost lamb cake fail, Easter of frozen from a box pierogi (shame!), and depleting samples of skincare.  Still searching for someplace local that carries Polish sausage, or doesn't point me t...

So I said I got a little jerk kitten for Bailey, right?  Well needless to say Bailey has hated him from day one.  He's just a cranky old man (14!) and he'd rather not be bothered.  Jax on the other hand is a bit crazy.  When I got Jake and Bailey, they were about 6 months old and so sweet.  They slept all the time, they cuddled.  They were the perfect kittens.  I'm pretty sure Jax was broken.  First, I adopted him from a rescue who gave him a clean bill of health.  I took him to my vet the next day to find ring worm, and intestinal infection, and an upper respiratory infection.  Oh, and he had fleas.  He was a dirty little thing but he was so stinkin cute.  He never sat still long enough to get any good pictures, but you can see the spot on his face and the tips of his ears where the ring worm was.  This meant forcing a syringe full of gross, sticky medicine down his throat everyday for a month, and flea bombing the ho...

This was the first Good Friday I think I've ever worked.  It used to be a holiday for us, but when your company buys another company, not all good things come from it.  For the Polish, Easter is a bigger holiday than Christmas.  I was sitting in my office thinking about how there would be no Polish sausage, no lamb butter (in the shape of a lamb), and no lamb cake (again, no lambs harmed in making of cake).  I figured there had to be somewhere close by that I could get a lamb cake mold.  I started out calling the local craft stores, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Jo-Ann's.  No luck.  Next, a google search.  I could order one from Amazon, but it wouldn't deliver until after Easter.  Finally, local bakeries and baking supply stores.  Success!  A baking supply store 45 miles from work had one vintage 3-D lamb cake pan.  I took a long lunch and for $5, and half a tank of gas, here he is! Saturday was the day.  I googled a lot o...

Ok, so basically the last year sucked.  Last May I was sunning in beautiful St. John, USVI with my husband, brother and sister in law.  By October I was moving into my new (old) house by myself with my cat Bailey by my side.  I'm adjusting, kicking and screaming, but adjusting.  Let's catch up, shall we? May 2016 - I found this wonderful family called Camp Gladiator.  I actually get up at 3:45am to be there.  It really is a family, and I couldn't love them more.  In Texas?  Check them out, I promise you will not be sorry.  You don't even have to get up that early.  They're in a few other states as well, and if they're not in yours, tell them you want them to be!  Or just move to Texas.  A year later and I'm still going. Sept 2016 - Sold our house in 2 days! Then a couple days later had to put down my sweet, sweet kitty Jake.  It was so difficult.  It's still hard to think about. Oct 2016 - Move into my new (old)...

So, I was coming back, right?  I somehow lost 3 months.  Not sure how that happened, but I'm going to try again. September 10th was a dark day.  I went to work knowing that a layoff was coming, but it couldn't hit my department.  We all worked great together and we were all needed.  Maybe one person if absolutely necessary, but that's it.  Wrong!  As soon as I got the call to come downstairs I knew what was happening.  Myself, one person in my dept., and my boss - The Best Boss EVER were all laid off.  Apparently names were drawn from a hat.  I've never been in that position before, and it was awful.  By the time I hit the parking lot I had already contacted one of my vendors to see if they had an opening, and had an interview the next day.  I was unemployed a total of 5 days.  While my vendor did want to hire me, they took too long to make an offer.  I ended up back at the same campus, just a different division. ...

So after a crazy month, I'm hoping to return at least three times a week for now.  Look for a post later today to catch up on what's been going on for the last month or so!

Last week I had a co-worker come in with her eye swollen shut from allergies.  I had a small bottle of this to give to another co-worker who has boys with allergies.  I had her rub a couple drops of this onto her temples, and a couple hours later she asked me where she could get some of that magic potion, as the swelling had gone down considerably.  I've begun using it daily, being that I'm allergic to Texas.  I'm carrying my rollerball with me at all times, and sharing with anyone else complaining about allergies. This is another super easy, less than a minute recipe.  Here's all you need: Rollerball bottle YL Lemon Oil YL Peppermint Oil YL Lavender Oil YL Copaiba Oil - This is optional, but it's an oil that intensifies other oils it's mixed with so I figured it couldn't hurt. Carrier Oil - I used 100% Organic Almond Oil Equal parts of each into the rollerball.  That's it!  I did 10 drops of each, and it'll last me a good while.  Y...

So I guess since this blog is titled “The Only Polish Girl in Texas” I should probably give some back story on that.   I don’t ever remember a time during the holidays when I was young that my Grandma didn’t come to stay with us.   We would always make pierogi, although at that time I was only in charge of using the fork to close them.   I didn’t eat them when I was a kid, but I was extremely picky and missed out on years and years of the buttery deliciousness.   Kolacky would always be a part of the Christmas cookies we made, and it wasn’t Easter without Polish sausage from Misch Bros.   I can remember my Grandma being on the phone with my Great Aunt talking in Polish, and the more excited or upset she would become the louder and faster she talked.   Almost until she was out of breath.   When I was in maybe 6 th grade, I had a “boyfriend” (things were different back then) and one of the first things I was asked was what’s his last name.   I wa...

Anyone who knows me knows that my cats are my kids.   I will most of the time be nicer to animals than people, and if you come to my house be prepared to leave with a good amount of cat hair attached to your clothes.   I have a ton of pictures of my cats in my phone, and maybe two of my husband. (Is that bad? He doesn’t like pictures anyway.)   They do really strange things sometimes, and I don’t know if it’s just my little weirdos, or if it’s a cat thing in general.   For the longest time they weren’t allowed to sleep in our room with us, until we moved to TX.   Now a king size bed isn’t big enough for 2 people and 2 cats.   We usually end up in a corner of the bed while they’re stretched out and comfy.   Unless of course one of them has made himself comfortable sleeping on my head.   And I wonder why I wake up sweating in the middle of the night.   I always say orange male cats are the best.   There are times they act more like dog...

Since a good amount of my posts will have something to do with Young Living Essential Oils, I thought maybe we should start at the beginning and get a little background on the company, and essential oils.  Young Living is all about VIBRANT health, wellness, self-care, and taking charge of our lifestyle and wellness choices. I'm not an expert, and I'm certainly not a doctor, but I do want to make better choices when it comes to my health and wellness.  If I can do that without the use of prescription or over the counter "conventional" medicine, all the better. EO's are volatile substances derived from plants, containing the natural smell and characteristics of the plant. They are extracted primarily through steam distillation.  These potent, volatile oils are often called the "life blood" of the plant.  They have protective properties which are the plants natural defense mechanism. Since EO's are volatile, they will evaporate, unlike a fatty o...

There's a great store in Texas called Sprouts.  They have all kinds of organic, non-GMO, grass fed meats and fruits and veggies.  Their pricing is extremely reasonable, and they have everything you can possibly need for oily recipes like the one I posted yesterday.  This is where I spent my Friday night.  Armed with a list of essentials, the plan was get in and get out.  Here's everything I planned on buying: The round jar is 100% shea butter, and the biggest bottle is Dr. Bronner's castile soap.  They even sell the glass spray bottles and jars.  Really, everything you need for oily recipes.  I didn't take an after shot of my cart, but once I made it through the rest of the store I realized it was a good thing I only grabbed one of the small carts.  I left with three different flavors of stuffed free-range chicken breasts, meat, stuffed mushrooms, organic veggies, and possibly a key lime tart.  So my shopping trip for supplies ended...

This happened about a week ago, but I had to share.  I wish I would've taken pictures, but I was so shocked at what was going on, I didn't even think about it.  It was a rare day in the summer that the husband was home from work before me.  He had the garage door open, and was doing a little weed pulling and what not.  I pulled up into the driveway, got out of my car and stood there talking for a minute.  I just happened to be looking at my car when what I assume was a juvenile (he little) possum came stumbling out from under my car.  Seriously, he (she?) looked as if it had just come home from a long night out at Spice Rack.  My first thought was it's daylight so there's probably something wrong with it.  Did it eat out of our bait boxes? Sidebar:  We live in the city, but behind us is a small undeveloped family owned farm.  This means the chance for critters is likely.  That, and Norway rats are a common thing in our area. ...

One of the great things about Young Living Essential Oils is that you can use them for so many things.  There's a never-ending amount of information on Pinterest, and various Facebook groups.  The great thing is you only need a tiny bit, and most of the recipes I'll be posting will take less than 10 minutes to make.  One of YLEO's big sellers is Thieves.  So much, that they've come out with an entire line of cleaning products.  Dish soap, laundry soap, fruit and veggie spray, the list goes on.  Today I decided to make my own version of Thieves spray. With cold and flu season coming up, I figured this would be a good item to have on me at all times.  If you know me, you know that I usually spend about 6 months of the year with some sort of ailment.  Let's try to avoid that this year, shall we? This one took literally 1 minute to mix up. One thing you want to remember, is that when mixing oils use a frosted, amber, or cobalt glass bottle....

I like to have hobbies.   Sometimes I have a hard time sticking with one, or I get frustrated, but I like to stay busy.   Texas is hot, so in the summer if I’m not in the pool, I’m in the a/c.   The husband also works a couple weekends a month, so having something to pass the time when it’s just me and the kitties is always a good thing. I have a pretty decent sewing machine, and last year I decided it was time to be a quilter.   How hard can it be?   Let’s just say harder than I thought.   The one my brother and sister in law were gifted with is associated with a good amount of swearing, and as I told them, just don’t look at it too closely.   Since then my only real attempt at sewing anything was some panels and a valance for a friend at work.   They actually came out pretty good, but it didn’t give me the confidence to do more.   I’ve made a few aromatherapy rice bags (disclosure: I don’t use my YLEO oils on these, only the cheapies),...

Growing up we never worried about chemicals.   Hand sanitizer wasn’t a thing.   There was no clipping one onto your purse for easy access.   No cart wipes at the grocery store, or cart covers for babies.   When I was about 14 I was burned really badly by the pipe on a motorcycle.   Instead of taking me to the hospital my mom said oh that’s not too bad, and took me for ice cream.   Sunscreen was not something that existed in our home, and we spent our summers swimming.   To this day if my husband cuts himself he wraps it with duct tape and goes on about his day without cleaning it.   Things are different now though.   GMO’s have been around for years and years, but not to the extent we see now.   Microwaving food in plastic?   Probably not the best idea.   Buying the cheapest shampoo at the drugstore, why not?   It’s all the same right? Ok, let’s stop right there.   I was one of the people who would stock up on th...

So I might have had some Thieves oil on my hands.   And I may have grabbed his smooshy face when he jumped up next to me.   But no, I did not purposely oil the cat.   First time here?   Hey, me too!   So here’s a little about me.   I grew up in the Chicago suburbs where I bounced around for about 34 years until my husband and I made the decision to move to Texas.   Chicago winters get old, so the first opportunity we had we listed our cute little house we had been in since 1998.   It sold in 9 days, score!   Within the next 3 weeks we packed up and moved everything to DFW, leaving jobs, friends, and family behind.   I won’t lie, it’s not been easy; I wouldn’t trade it though.   I’m looking forward to sharing my life, my journey to become a chemical free home, love for all things girlie, and my never ending search for Polish food in DFW.   Seriously, where are the pierogi?