An Open Letter To Any Boy That Might Like (in any way) My Daughter

An Open Letter To Any Boy That Might Like (in any way) My Daughter

Dear Young Man (Young being the operative word, you are still very young):

My daughter is one of the MOST PRECIOUS things to me on this earth.  She is competitive, kind, loving, funny, talented, giving, pig headed and yes sometimes annoying.  Aren't we all?  One of the things I have been trying to teach her is how to surround herself with people that truly care for her and are kind to her.  That is a hard lesson for young teenage girls to learn.  Just as we have expectations of our children, we have expectations of their friends.  Sorry - that is just the way it is.

Dating.  I personally believe "dating" at this age (14) is ridiculous.  But I understand it is a right of passage and learning that you all must go through.  I don't have to like it.  What I will tell you is that you will NOT be in a house by yourself with my daughter.  If she is invited to your house, I will call your parents to ask them if I can send anything along with Elsie ;)  Read between the lines, YOUR PARENT(S) MUST BE HOME.  No, in case you ask, older siblings do not count as parents.

Respect.  This is a word that is very difficult for young people to understand.  Respect means so many things.  I wish I could just say, "Treat my daughter with respect" and you would understand but I am sure you will not.  So I will make you a list.  Please keep in mind that this list may change over time.  Don't worry, I'll update it here for you so that you can refer back to it.

• Kindness - be kind to her, use nice words, don't talk about her behind her back, don't talk with her friends about her, - oh my this could go on for ever
• Honesty - pretty simple really - DON'T LIE
• Trustworthy - if you say you are going to do something, do it
• Pictures - ok this might be embarrassing to you - don't ever ask her to send you an inappropriate picture. If you do, I will hunt you down!
• Social Media - let me just say, I follow my daughter on all social media sites.  I will request to follow you.  If you do not allow me to follow you, I will wonder what you are hiding.  It comes with the territory of being a Mother.  Get over it.
• Pictures2 - If you do decline me, be aware, I have her passwords and I OWN HER PHONE, COMPUTER ETC.  I do look and if you post anything inappropriate, see the first Pictures post for the consequence.
• Talk - texting seems to be a necessary evil for this generation.  Talking is important.  You can't have any kind of relationship, friendship or other without talking.  
• Listen - girls that are 14 seem to have a lot of issues.  Sometimes you just need to listen.
• Supportive - Support her activities.  You will win huge brownie points with all of us in her family (especially her) if you show up to watch a softball game or a concert!
• Nasty - I know how boys minds work.  I get it.  But don't text nasty things about my daughter to your buddies or to her friends.  She won't like it and I can guarantee you I won't like it either.  You don't want to know what her Dad will do if he finds out!
• Parents - this is really my rule.  I really am not that scary (Dad may be but I am not).  Be polite to me (and her Dad), talk to me, say please and thank you especially if you are at my house.  Oh and I am Mrs. Hanken to you unless I give you permission otherwise.
• Little Brother -Our daughter has a brother that is 2.5 years younger than her.  He means the world to her.  If you treat him badly it will not go well for you.
• Family - This is one of the most important thing in our house.  If you talk smack about anyone in her family (See Little Brother) you are not respecting her.
• Apologize - We are all human.  We all make mistakes.  You will make mistakes.  If you are wrong (and even sometimes if you are not) apologize.  It will take you far in life.
• Physical - If you EVER HIT HER, you are done.  We have ZERO TOLERANCE for this type of behavior.  It shouldn't have to be said, but I know many people who have suffered abuse.  If you do we will file charges if we are able.

If our daughter likes you, we want to like you.  Please make it easy for us.

Covetting Lashes



I have always been envious of the women with long, luscious lashes.  I AM NOT one of them.  We have all seen them in magazines on Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites.  There they are, those gorgeous eyes, with perfectly applied makeup.  A dark, smoky look; dare I even say s#xy?

Those lashes make me covet, long, wish, want them for myself.  Especially the lower lashes.  My lower lashes are completely NON-EXISTANT. 

What are the messages we get?  Use this mascara, lash enhancer, implants, fake lashes, even prescription medication and YOU TOO CAN HAVE LASHES LIKE THESE.

These products all come with amazing testimonials and endorsements; The Dr’s, Dr Oz., physicians, dermatologists and many others.  Anyone will endorse for the right $$$$ price!  Although not as dangerous as the other concepts that the fashion world and the media push out there to make us want to be something that is not possible for most, it sure stinks the same.

Ok, now it is time for true confessions.  I may have even done something really stupid.  It might not have been me though.  I may have spent over $50 at a salon on some ridiculous wand that would magically make me lashes longer. 

I feel even worse now that I realize I could have ordered this same product for $34 on Amazon.  Shame on me. 

What did this product do for me?  NOTHING.  

Well, I take that back.  It made the skin on my eyelids crack.



 

Now I have found a completely natural solution!  It is very simple.  And inexpensive when you see all the other benefits the product has.  I have only tried this with one mascara so I can’t speak as to whether if it works with your or if it will work for you.  All I know is I actually have lower eyelashes now!

Add 3-4 drops of Young Living Lavender oil to your mascara tube.  That simple. 

Order Young Living Lavender here.  www.youngliving.org/lhanken

Message me with questions about account types, retail vs. wholesale.  Wholesale gets 24% of retail!  lhanken96@gmail.com

 

As this is going very close to the eye, I would not suggest any other oil that may contain chemicals or fillers.  Young Living oils will be very safe in this application!

 

Whipped Peppermint Body Butter

I love creamy lotions. Unfortunately I live in an area where the climate can be beyond cold and dry in the winter.  As a matter of fact, it is going to be so cold on Monday that the governor has required that all MN schools close for the day.  Sigh.  

Good quality lotions can often be very expensive and full of chemicals!

Body butters, made with pure therapeutic grade essential oils are amazing.   Don’t use cheap, store bought essential oils.  You will defeat the purpose of making your own natural products!

I have researched many recipes on Facebook, Pinterest and on people’s blogs and decided to experiment.  Needless to say my first experience wasn’t a huge success.  Mine quickly hardened to a solid and had chunks!  The instructions I found were sketchy at best for a first timer.  So I will attempt to make them a bit more complete.

Ingredients

• Shea Butter – this butter has a very earthy smell.  You measure it like you measure brown sugar.  Pack it into a dry measuring cup.  You can use any butter like this, Shea, Cocoa or?  Raw Shea Butter is gray looking, be sure to get organic and butters without scents.  Lakewinds has it in bulk, WholeFoods has it in jars.
• Coconut Oil – this is also considered a solid and is measure has a consistency like shortening.  Pack into a dry measuring cup.
• Almond Oil – You can use any liquid oil for this, olive, jojoba, almond…
• Essential Oils* – It takes A LOT of oil to get the scent in the body butter.  I used Peppermint** as it is strong.  I would use 20-30 drops.

There is no right or wrong answers here, it is all personal taste.

Here is the key – you need a ratio of 75% solid to 25% liquid.  Shea Butter and Coconut Oil are solids, Almond and Essential Oils are liquid.

*Not all essential oils are good to put on the skin.  Many are used solely to make things smell nice.  Make sure you get therapeutic grade essential oils like Young Living.  I can direct you where to get them.  www.youngliving.org/lhanken

**You can use any oils but if you use a citrus oil be sure to stay out of the sun as they can make you photosensitive!

Luxurious Peppermint Body Butter

• 1 cup organic raw shea butter 

• 1/2 cup organic coconut oil
   
• 1/2 cup almond oil
   
• 15-20 drops of Peppermint Oil – more to personal taste – Order Here 

1.       Melt shea butter and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler.   Don’t have a double boiler?  A glass bowel over water in a traditional sauce pan works. 

2.      Remove from heat and let at room temperature for 30 minutes

3.      Measure and add in almond oil and essential oils of your choosing.*

4.      Place oil mixture in freezer to chill.  This step is the most crucial!

5.      Wait until oils start to partially solidify.  This is where I had trouble, if you let it chill too long, it solidifies!  You want just the edges to start to get solid but the rest to remain cool but liquid.

6.      Scrape down the sides that have hardened slightly

7.      Use a hand mixer or your stand mixer to whip to butter like consistency.

8.      Place in a wide mouth (especially if you have big hands) jar.

This body butter feels a bit greasy when you first put it on but it soaks into the skin right away!

This recipe makes about 2 ½ cups

Tips: 

If it doesn’t whip up, it was not chilled long enough.  Put it back in the freezer to chill a while longer.

If it hardens too much, your butter will have chunks.  If that happens but it back in the double boiler, melt it all up and chill again.

Do NOT keep this is a hot car – it will liquefy!

Blessings! * Enjoy!

Baby Steps

Well, almost a month and a half has passed and I have been doing a lot of reading, researching and learning. What I have learned is that I am incredibly IMPRESSED with regular bloggers. I am determined to try to put together a schedule and write posts on a regular basis. Someday I will figure out how to post pictures and other great things as part of a blog post! In the meantime - join me on this journey. We will be talking about health, finance, friends, food, family and anything else that comes to mind. Peace & Blessings