Sarah’s Spill It’s | Ladies Learn

Because we love you and we love Ladies Learn so much, we strive to do all we can to educate ourselves and improve this site so that ultimately, you can get more out of it! And us too of course!

The Ladies Learn Team sent me up to good old Utah for the 2010 Casual Blogger Conference. I met a lot of really great bloggers, and learned some really great information on how to enhance and improve Ladies Learn! Woo hoo!

Here are some highlights from the weekend…

I finally learned how to make these awesome fabric rosettes!! They are so super easy and require a skill set of glue-gunning. Sa-weet! Yep there is a post coming about them… look for it…

There were some really awesome speakers, who taught me a lot! My brain is on super-over load! This is Shannon Johnson from SeagullFountain. I loved all the preggos! There were lots of them! You go girls!

HUGE HIGHLIGHT: MINDY GLEDHILL PERFORMED!!! I love her! If you’ve never heard of her, your life in incomplete. Get up from your computer right now and go buy her CD. What the freak am I saying?!?! Don’t get up! Just download it on iTunes (duh). She performed all (I think?) of the songs from her recently completed, but not released album, due out August 4th. It’s simply amazing! Okay, I know this post is about the conference, but i just have to post this video of Mindy’s new song, because it’s just the best. Also check out her other songs on YouTube (especially ‘All About Your Heart’)

Here’s Mindy tweeting about performing at CBC—in the middle of her performance. It was so funny! She’s just the best!

Thanks for letting me act like a crazed fan and come and give you a hug Mindy! You have inspired me beyond measure!

What could possibly go better with the sweet sugary sounds of Mindy Gledhill than mounds of candy? This one is for you Lacey…what a delightful candy bar this was. Think I’m going to put one permanently in my house…

The giveaways… yes that is an iPad in the center. If I had won it, this post would not be on the CBC conference, but rather how amazing my new iPad is. But as life would have it, I was actually the winner right AFTER the iPad winner…which means if she wasn’t there…this would be a post on how amazing my new iPad is. As happy as I am for that sweet girl, I am not so happy that this is not a post about how amazing my new iPad is. I won’t tell you what I won, because it wasn’t my amazing new iPad. But thank you CBC sponsors for the white string bikini, it’s awesome. I’ll pretend it’s an iPad, I have a killer imagination.

(if you think I’m joking about the white string bikini, just dare me to take a picture of it…because I will…)

CBC was awesome, I loved it! I met so many awesome people and had a blast. Thank you all! Here are some of the great bloggers I met…check them out, but promise not to love them more than me…I’m a jealous person.

Vanessa Brown from http://www.INeverGrewUp.net –awesome blogging guru

Monica the Mighty from In Plain English http://monicathemighty.blogspot.com/ –what an AWESOME AWESOME mother and woman!

Amy Sanford from Family Trifecta http://www.TheFamilyTrifecta.com –Amy, I’m very picky about business cards, yours takes the cake!

Sarah Johnson from Red Head Recipes http://RHRecipes.blogspot.com –yeah go “H’s!”

Candis Ellis from http://HeirloomPaperie.com –Candis your business cards rock too!

Hannah Cramer from http://sherbertblossom.blogspot.com –another cute business card, loving it

Melissa Bastow from http://BecauseIReallyCantGetEnoughOfMyself.blogspot.com –read her blog, you will laugh your head off

Mrs. R from http://TheRHouse.blogspot.com –oh my heck you have to check out her Etsy shop, SUPER cute jewlery!

Marie LeBaron from http://www.MakeAndTakes.com –oh how I wish I spent more time talking with you Marie, your site rocks my world

Missy Karding from http://SoYouThinkYoureCrafty.com –the ultimate crafting competition…hmmm think I might be interested in that one…

Mari Sweeten from http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com –another cute crafting site

Kami Bigler from http://www.nobiggie.net -super fun site, you gotta watch the iPad + Velco video, I think I may cry I want one so bad

I’m doing a giveaway for CBC attendees (or for anyone who wants to participate really…) if you write a post, tweet, or do a Facebook status ABOUT Ladies Learn, or talk about Ladies Learn, you will be entered to win one of 5 of my custom made camera strap covers. Yes they’re the bomb, you’ll never let your camera go naked again.

I gotta go to bed…been up for about 22 hours.

Sending lots of bloggin’ love…

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By Sarah | Also posted in Sarah's Spill It's, Spill It! | Tagged blogging, casual blogging conference, conference, mindy gledhill | Comments (3)

After the birth of my son, I experienced severe sciatic nerve pain. The pain would come and go, but would sometime be so intense, I literally could not move my legs. I would have to yell for my husband and he would pick me up, and place me on the bed. I would have to just lay there with my legs as straight as possible (it hurt to move them at all) until the pain subsided. I chalked it up to just not exercising for a while and pregnancy.

When I did start exercising, about 3 months post-partum, I experienced less of the ‘freeze’ episodes and was glad it was getting better.

At about 5 month post-partum, I decided to start running. I’ve always wanted to be a runner, and it was a great way to lose the extra baby weight.

After about 6 weeks of running every other day, my sciatic nerve pain came back, almost instantly in the middle of one of my runs. I could barely walk home.

I rested for the next few days and hoped I just had a ‘cramp’ or was just sore. However, it did not go away and I had a difficult time walking for almost two weeks.

I went to a sports medicine doctor and he explained to me that the muscles around my sciatic nerve were cramping it, causing my pain. The only way to help alleviate it and release the tension was 3 weeks of physical therapy, three times a week.

After some research, I found out that the average cost of physical therapy is between $150-$250 per session. Yikes!

My Dad recommended to me reflexology. I had never heard of it before, but had seen some places around town. I looked into it and decided to give it a try, as it was only about $30 a session.

After 4 sessions over the course of about 2 weeks, I was totally pain free! I ran a 5k a few days later, and have been running without any sciatic pain ever since.

What is Reflexology?

Reflexology is an alternative medicine method used to invoke a physical change in the body by applying pressure to the feet and hands with specific thumb, finger, and hand techniques. While the effectiveness of reflexology is highly disputed, and is an alterative form of healing, it worked for me and I would recommend it to anyone with any type of pain.

Although the reflexologist concentrates on your foot and hands, they do also massage other areas of your body, so it was a relaxing, peaceful ‘massage’ type of a treatment.

Read more about Reflexology here.

Below is an example of a reflexology chart displaying different pressure points on the foot which correspond to areas of the body.

If you’re in the Phoenix area, I highly recommend QC Reflexology. To find a reflexologist in your area, perform a Google search or ask friends and family.

Try it out, see what you think, and report back!

Hope it helps you with whatever is ailing you!!

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By Sarah | Also posted in Sarah's Spill It's, Spill It! | Tagged alternative medicine, how to allieveate sciatic nerve pain, pain, reflexology, running, sciatic nerve, what is reflexology | Comments (0)

It’s me! Yesterday was my 25th birthday. And although I feel old (half-way to 50!) I also feel incredibly young. How is it that this little girl…

is now the mother of this little boy…

Yeah that’s just weird.

On the one hand, I feel like I’ve been married for eternity and a mother all my life. But on the other, I feel like I just finished my ACT’s, let along graduated from college. It seems just yesterday that I was celebrating my sixteenth birthday…

(my sincerest apologies to all innocent parties involved in this picture)

And to my mother, it probably just seems like I was celebrating my first…

I may be a day older, maybe a tiny bit wiser, but as each year passes, I am blessed more and more. The Lord has blessed me immeasurable and for that, I am so very grateful.

Thank you to all those who make and have made me who I am, you know who are. I love you.

Now, as a birthday gift to me, please erase from your memory the embarrassing photos I just shared with you.

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By Sarah | Also posted in Sarah's Spill It's, Spill It! | Comments (1)

April is almost here! One day away! That means that we are really getting into Spring. Yea! I know a lot of you are really looking forward to a little sunshine after a long, cold, dark winter.

Today I thought I’d share with you something of a more personal matter…

Shaving.

Ahh yes shaving.

My husband has pointed out several times how interesting it is that our bodies need so much maintenance. Cutting, trimming, clipping, shaving, cleaning, brushing, washing, exercising, polishing, coloring… you know the drill. Even if you are on the ‘low maintenance’ end of things, there are still things that you are socially obligated to do (obligated meaning, it’s the norm in society, I realize that not everyone follows these obligations). Such as showering, using deodorant, brushing your teeth, the simplest of tasks that can all together seem a bother, a nuisance and an annoyance.

Which brings me to the topic of shaving.

The majority of us like would like our skin to be silky smooth. But oh what a feat! Is this as difficult for you as it is for me? I do a quick ‘run over’ my legs every morning in the shower, otherwise, they are all itchy. But that doesn’t mean in the least bit that my legs are silky smooth! To get ready for my vacation, I decided I would try a bottle of Nair .

I realize that this is probably the worst possible thing you can do for your skin, but hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

You can read my full review of it here, but I’ll just say it was quite the undertaking. Stinky, burning and all together a little bit freaky (so…this is just melting away my hair???…weird…) but I gotta say, it worked! Even my knees (which are the forest of my legs) were smooth!

Then there’s the bikini line, ah yes, fun fun.

Some of us do not and have never, given much attention to this area. But I’ll tell ya right now, for the sake of everyone at the pool within a 15 foot range, please pay some attention to it. Unless of course, you’ll be sporting a swim skirt or shorts, then by all means—do whatever makes you happy.

There are a couple of little secrets that I’ve picked up when it comes to the bikini line…

First off—get a bikini trimmer . These baby’s are great! Just try one out for yourself. Enough said.

Second—if you think you can handle it, try waxing. It doesn’t hurt as much as you think. This is very worth while especially if you’re going on a vacation and don’t want to have to worry about ‘maintenance.’ The best thing about waxing? No red bumps! So a little bit of pain = a few weeks of freedom! It usually lasts 2-4 weeks. PS—I strongly advise against home waxing kits. {shiver} I tried one once. Let’s just say there was a lot of crying involved, ehh…make that screaming. It was excruciating. Go to a salon, find a good aesthetician and do it the safe way.(See below for some aesthetician recommendations)

Third, if trimming and waxing don’t do the trick, shave using a nice new razor. Don’t even think of using one that’s over a few months old. The dull blade can produce more bumps and skin irritations, sharper is better! Use a calming lotion or cream afterwards to soothe the skin. You can also try products like Bikini Zone they work fairly well at eliminating the bumps.

I’ve heard good things about laser hair removal, but definitely on the more pricey end of things.

Now that you’ve got the perfect suit, and you’re silky smooth, you’re almost ready for summer! (just waiting for some sunshine right?)

My Favorite Aestheticians:

*If you’re in Utah, Candace at Xcape Day Spa

*If you’re in Northern California, Jackie at Smooth Body Boutique

Do you have a favorite aesthetician where you live? Leave a comment and share you secret! Make sure to leave contact info!

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By Sarah | Also posted in Sarah's Spill It's, Spill It! | Tagged bikini line, bikini shave, bikini trimmer, how to shave, how to shave your legs, leg shaving, nair, shave bikini line, shave secret, shaving, shaving accessories, shaving tips, smooth legs, summer, waxing legs, women shaving | Comments (1)

I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a cruise last week with my husband. I feel very lucky and blessed. It was incredible and we had a blast.

But getting back to the real world has been—well, let’s just say that a ‘reality check’ is quite the understatement.

Let me paint a picture for you…

Last Tuesday night, I went to sleep with this picture fresh in my mind…

Cabo San Lucas at Sunset

This Tuesday night, I went to sleep with this one in my mind…

My sweet, sweet son with a fever of 103, in nothing but a diaper, messy face and all, sitting on the couch eating the only thing he would eat—chips.

Last Tuesday night I had this for dinner…

The juiciest, most tender piece of pork I’ve ever EVER eaten.

This Tuesday night, I had this delicious meal:

Mac ‘n Cheese (don’t freak—it was organic, but still…grosser than gross). Okay so maybe I’m being a little dramatic, no I did not eat it out of my son’s bowl.

Why did I eat this icky dish? Pure desperation. I have no groceries. I was hungry. I regretted it.

Last Tuesday my ‘fruit’ serving of the day consisted of this…

No explanation necessary

This Tuesday, it was this…

Does the song “G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S” come to mind? I know, I’m spoiled—it is 100% Apple Juice. Livin’ the high life.

Last Tuesday night, I retired to my room to find this fun delight…

What a clever little monkey…

This Tuesday night, I found this in my bathroom…

You don’t even want to know the story…let’s just say it has something to do with my husband not wanting to take away the chocolate ice cream sandwich from our sick baby—trying to keep him from screaming his head off while trying to bring down his fever in the bath. Just plain gross…I had to remind him that we do NOT have a maid here at home—at least not one that works for tips.

Anyone wondering what the point of a bath is if it has melted chocolate mixed in it? Yeah I don’t know either…

Last Tuesday night, I had this for dessert…

This dish was so euphoric that I can’t even remember what it was…some mixture of banana, pecan, chocolate, caramel yummy goodness…

This Tuesday night, I had this for dessert…

Okay, okay I didn’t really have a PediaLite popsicle for dessert, but someone did.

Last Tuesday night, I was entertained by this show…

Mmmm… Jimmy the Aerialist. Those are some nice lookin’ sheets.

This Tuesday night, I was entertain by this show…

Oh Elmo, you’re such a hunk.

Although this is a wonderful beautiful sight to look at…

This one is MUCH better…

Of all the wonderful things the world has to offer, the beautiful sights, the lavish food, the rockin’ parties, beautiful people and elaborate entertainment, nothing—NOTHING can compare to the love of your children and family, and the comfort and peace of your home.

I missed my baby.

Even though it’s nice to take a vacation here and there, and it’s no fun when I come home and I’m up all night with a screaming baby, I have rotten food in my refrigerator, the battery goes out in my car and I need new tires for it too, I’m trying to write a post at 1am while my sick baby is awake and screaming, and my house looks like the aftermath of a ravenous tornado, nothing makes me happier than the hug and kiss from my sweet little boy. I’ll still take dirty diapers and chocolate covered bathtubs over a warm beach…

Of course this is all easy for me to say seeing that I just got back from a week long vacation. But my point is that no matter how hectic life may seem, no matter how icky it may be outside, or inside for that fact, home truly is where the heart is. Enjoy it.

You can’t get a sunburn snuggling with your baby on the couch.

Oh yeah and I brought you back a gift from my trip! Enjoy a nice Cabo sunset whenever you need it… click here to download my high res Cabo Sunset photo.

Sending you some warm southern sun…

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By Sarah | Also posted in Sarah's Spill It's, Spill It! | Tagged cabo at sunset, children, cruise, family, free high res photo, home, travel, vacation | Comments (0)