It's a Beautiful Day

Several things made me happy today!

• This was my Friday for the week... I'm taking a vacation day tomorrow!
• We celebrated a birthday at work, which means... CAKE. and Brownies. Yum!
• The Hallmark card contest judging crew "flurried" on Facebook (I will post my entries on here as soon as I get them all finished)
• I came home @2pm and got a healthy dose of vitamin D by the pool
• I received a special UPS package from a friend with lots of GREAT summer beauty goodies!

I have quite a bit of vacation time to use before I get a crap ton of additional time on my anniversary of hire in July, so I scheduled some random days off during the next two months. Tomorrow is my first random day off, and for some reason, I am so excited - I think it's because our landlord finally decided to open the pool this past week, and it's going to be a perfect day for relaxing beside it with Todd - we did that a little bit today, and I got a beautiful glow! I'm excited! I have been walking around, white as a milk jug, for too long. Of course, I'm sort of boycotting tanning beds - in a peaceful way. I'm not trying to talk others into joining my efforts, and I certainly do not "look down" on those who use tanning beds - it's just that after seeing so many people, a couple of which are personally close to me, go through cancer treatment this past year, I felt like I had to take a stand in some type of way. I know that laying out in the sun isn't exactly the smartest thing to do, but i always always ALWAYS use a high quality sunblock, and I've been using self-tanning lotion when i "need" a quick glow. I am fair-skinned, red headed, and freckled... there's a melanoma target on my back!

Speaking of sunblocks and self-tanning lotions, I have to share with you my two very favorite summer products, both of which i've been using for the past four years. Bath and Body Works' True Blue line is loaded with awesome, healthy skin-boosting products. I love all of the sunless tanners, so that counts as "one" product - seriously, try any of them. NO ORANGE. Just apply evenly and wash your hands - definitely the most natural glow i've ever found in a self tanning product. Number two is the "29 and holding" Sunblock, which

smells AH-MAAAAZING (kinda like a dreamsicle) and has tons of great moisturizers/vitamins for your skin. I love 29 and holding because it blocks out the sun effectively (SPF 29), but does not prevent the user from getting a great tan. It makes your skin look so soft and beautiful the very second you apply it. So, there's product #2. My story about these products is not finished:

I am nearly out of both the self-tanning lotion and the sunblock. The products are around $12 a piece, which I don't look forward to forking over each summer - I go through the sunblock really fast, because i love it sooo much. (did i mention, you can put it on your face and it will not cause breakouts?) I received a package today from my great friend, Cary - I was excited to get the package in the first place, but when I opened its contents, I was completely ECSTATIC!

(The sign says, "Steph, Hope you enjoy this!")

My *prezzie* consisted of a summery basket full of Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa "I Need a Margarita" Body Wash and Jar of Body Scrub, an eco-friendly water bottle, a cute little bag to tote my goods around in, and... AND.... My two very favorite products - the sunless tanner & my best friend, 29 and Holding! I am still super excited, and am so thankful - it was so thoughtful of my friend! Which makes me ponder this: why don't people perform more acts of kindness? It can truly make one's day - whether you are nice to a friend, a stranger, a co-worker... sometimes, even a smile can turn someone's upside-down day "sunny-side up". Even though I always try to be nice and polite to others, I'm really going to start making more special efforts to show those i love and care about how much I really appreciate them.

So to my followers, here is a challenge: do something unexpected and nice for someone before you go to sleep tonight! Make someone's day :)

I hope you all have had a great Thursday! I will be spending the remainder of my day with fat cat-bag Diego, and my super terrific husband. We're drained from the sun, so I think we're going to chill out, chit chat on the phone with our families, and maybe put on a good movie for background noise while we hang around.

Until next time...