Friday, September 19, 2008

Fall Fever


Fall is in the air and I am loving it! Over the years I have come to love what I call the "changing seasons" the most. I think that all of the seasons are wonderful and special in there own way, from the hot days spent at the pool in the summer time to the soup, cocoa, and Christmas festivities of winter time. However, it's the return of green leaves and warmer days in the spring and the beautiful colors of fall that make me the most excited. I call fall and spring the "changing seasons" because when they arrive, you can feel it in the air. Something changes. The picture was taken at Mentone last November on our family get away that has become a new tradition. It was so beautiful there with all of the leaves in their vibrant colors! My family will take another November getaway this year to the mountains in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Here are some things that I am enjoying about the coming of Fall so far:
1. Football season is here! There is just something so exciting about getting together with friends and family to cheer on your team. I love making dips and trying out now appetizers to take to the get-togethers and tailgates! War Eagle!
2. The cool weather. The past several days have brought perfect weather! The temperature was cool, but not too cool. Ben and I have been opening our windows at night and early in the mornings and just turning off the a.c.. I love the smell of the outside and the breeze is just enough to cool the house to the perfect temperature. This weather also nice for running. Strap on that ipod and go for a jog at sunset!
3. Burning candles and my Bath and Body Works Oil Burner (also pictured). Don't get me wrong, I am sort of obsessed with candles and my oil burner and I burn them year round. However, I couldn't resist stopping in Bath and Body Works and checking out their new fall fragrances. They have every fall scent you can think of from "Freshly Fallen Leaves" to "Caramel Apple." If you don't have an oil burner from Bath and Body Works, stop what you are doing and go buy one. These things can scent your whole house in a matter of minutes. Warning: in confined spaces the smell can get too strong quickly so you may want to only burn in it for short periods of time. All you need is a bag of tea lights and your favorite scented oil to go with it!

4. Caramel apples. I love caramel apples but you really only see them for sell at specialty candy shops and fairs. Thus, if I want a caramel apple then I have to make it myself or shell out about five dollars for one of the fancy ones. I can honestly say that Ben would die if I spent over 1.50 on a caramel apple. That leaves me with the option of making my own. During the fall you can find these nifty little caramel apple making kits that are very easy to use. You take the apple, wrap the caramel sheet around it (that's right, it's like a big flat circle of caramel), stick the stick in it, bake it for 5 minutes, and wa - la! Caramel apple for me.
5. Apple Cider. As soon as the cartons of apple cider start showing up in the produce section, I know that fall has arrived! I've noticed that not a lot of people are apple cider fans, but I love the stuff! I found a recipe for Cider Mill Punch in my yellow "Calling All Cooks" cookbook that my grandomther gave me. I make about a gallon (sometimes two gallons on accident) of it at least once a year for all to enjoy. However, I'm usually the only one who really drinks it with the exception of an occasional guest who would like to give it a try.
6. Fall decorations. I love it when the brightly colored mums and the bright orange pumpkins start lining people's porches when fall comes. I just had to grab a few yellow and orange mums to add some color our front porch. I'm going back today to get some for the back porch as well. They are $4.15 at Wal Mart and easy to care for. Some people get really creative with their fall decorations with the gords, hay bells, fall leaves, etc. I'm not quite that creative, but I'm working on it.....
I hope that everyone else is enjoying the start of Fall as much as I am! Take advantage of the wonderful weather!

Friday, September 5, 2008

When White Girls Use Black Girl Hair Products




We have here a small tub of Marula Natural Therapy Hair Strengthening Moisturizer made from the oils of the Marula fruit found in Africa. Ok, the words "oil" and "Africa" should have clued me in on this particular day at work.... There was a woman with a table set up in front of the pharmacy handing out samples to all of the women who passed by. I had seen her out there all day and when I left the pharmacy to put up a box of Protonix the woman asked me if I would like to sample this hair product. "Well, what is it?" I asked. The woman (who was white) proceded to tell me about all of the forms and functions of the Marula oil products. I didn't think anything of it when the lady handed me two samples. "Thanks." I said as I headed back to the pharmacy reading the sample packet. "Hmmm, 100% Marula Oil...Africa's exotic moisturizer.... Keep the look...At Home Salon Care...this might be nice to try..." Then a little voice in the back of my mind said, "Is this for white people or black people? I don't know. Should I ask someone? Then I might look stupid or offend someone. I'll just wait and see what happens."
It's no secret that white people and black people have totally different hair. I learned from first hand experience when a black girl asked me to french braid her hair. I knew how to french braid (I thought) and after I'd finished her hair she looked at it and said, "That looks terrible." She was right. We both got a good laugh out of it. Besides, she should have known that white girls do not hold a candle to black girls when it comes to braiding. At least I don't.
I continued to watch the lady hand out samples to all women, white and black, who passed by.
So, on Friday when I worked a half day I decided I'd try the hair product after work. What harm could it do? I followed the instructions on the package: Pour a small amount into your hands, rub together and massage evenly through hair. Set or style as desired. What I didn't notice was that the instructions say nothing about your hair being wet. Oops. So, with wet hair, I rubbed a small amount of Marula through my tresses. Suddenly they became strait and stiff as if weighed down with glue. "Weird," I thought to myself, "maybe it softens out when you dry it..." So, I dried my hair. I had great difficulty getting the brush to go through it, but I managed. At last it was dry. The final product...not exactly as I had envisioned. Let's just say my hair still looked wet in areas and whenever I touched my hair for the rest of the day my hands came away with a greasy residue on them. So I'm left to wonder, do the sample ladies at Wal Mart have any idea what they are doing with these products, or is it just a joke? That lady was probably laughing to herself all day.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

I Evacuated and I Want Fried Chicken


There are about sixty four shelters in Alabama that opened up to house thousands of evacuees from Louisianna. Among those shelters are a few local churches here in Montgomery. The people of these churches gave up time during their holiday weekend to go and prepare food for those currently residing at the church. For the most part the response was great. Many people were very thankful to be taken care of. However, other evacuees were asking why they were having to eat hamburgers and hotdogs instead of fried chicken. They wanted someone to literally leave what they were doing and go pick them up some fried chicken. Ok, let's back up.... These people were taken by bus (at no cost to them with the raging gas prices) all the way up to Montgomery, Alabama, given a free place to stay, and given free food. All they had to do in this process was get on the bus. Did I miss something?
And to be fair, not all evacuees are demanding fried chicken. I met a very nice woman from LA who came to the pharmacy yesterday to ask a question. She is in town staying with her sister until they get the ok to go back home. This lady talked to me about how she believed in the power of prayer and that she knew God was taking care of them. She said she had a peace about the situation and knew everything would be ok. She didn't complain about having to leave her home and all of her belongings without knowing when she could return to them. So, as you can see, we have a couple of different types of evacuees on our hands.....
My question is, why are the evacuees receiving all the free stuff complaining and asking for more? Perhaps it's because they are spoiled by government hand outs... I dunno.