what would you do...for a good cause?

***this post is sponsored by kotex and the period projects

what would you do...for a good cause? there are so many good causes-charities, religious organizations, personal causes, organized and less formal projects. most people do not have the capacity to donate time and resources to every single cause they hear about.

as soon as i heard about u by kotex's period projects, i was very interested.
Many of the 3.5 million Americans who experience homelessness each year have limited access to and few places to turn for period products. Inspired by a tweet from Holly Sanchez and executed in partnership with DoSomething.org, the U by Kotex Power to the Period drive encourages people to buy and donate an extra pack of period products to a homeless shelter.

most women buy these products on a regular basis. picking up an extra box generally isn't that big of a deal, but if everyone picked up an extra box to donate, many of these women in homeless shelters would have appropriate supplies. i can't imagine anything worse than not having adequate supplies. i am excited to support this cause





The U by Kotex Power to the Period donation drive is proof that together we can do something to make a big difference in the lives of many women.

Get Involved

* Executed in partnership with DoSomething.org and Period Project Captain Holly Sanchez. 

o One of the largest global organizations for young people and social change, DoSomething.org has 5.3 million members in 131 countries who tackle volunteer programs that impact every cause. 

* Start a Power to the Period donation drive or donate new boxes of period products to a drive in your area from Thursday, July 14 through Friday, September 30.

o Visit UbyKotex.com, DoSomething.org/Period or text PERIOD to 38383 to learn how to get involved.

* The U by Kotex® brand will also make product donations on behalf of DoSomething.org contest winners and participants can sign up for a chance to win a $5,000 scholarship*.

o YouTube celebrity Ingrid Nilsen is also passionate about increasing access to period products for the homeless so she got involved with the Power to the Period donation Drive. See her in the Power to the Period PSA here.

* Visit UbyKotex.com to learn more about other Period Projects and to request a U by Kotex® product sample. Join the online conversation with #PeriodProjects.

Product Guidelines
Donate unopened packages of period products (pads, panty liners, etc.), as opposed to individually wrapped items. It's more hygienic, and it's important that people see the instructions on the package.

for more information or to get involved, get more info here.

we want to know..what would you do for a good cause?

***this post was sponsored by u by kotex and the period project

beauty time tuesday...august empties

using something until it is completely gone is one of my favorite things ever. here are the things i used up in august.

big sexy hair dry shampoo
batiste dry shampoo
banana boat dry tanning oil
suave deoderant
liv ing proof dry shampoo
renu contact lense multi-purpose solution
clinique eye makeup remover
glide floss
colgate whitening toothpaste
eye liner
baby lips
kat von dee tattoo liner
two faced liner
intuition refill

clearly i used a lot of dry shampoo this month. have you tried any of these products? what are your faves?

foodie friday...mango salsa

i love the mango salsa from costco just as much as anyone else, but there is just something better about making your own. i like knowing exactly what is going in my food and in my mouth.

mango-peeled, chopped

red onion-diced

red pepper-diced

garlic powder to taste

salt to taste

juice from 1 lime

enough honey to coat

the thing about this recipe is nothing is exact. use as much or as little of everything as you want or tastes good to you.

i ate this salsa with bbq chicken over arugula lettuce. it was so fresh and delish.

money brunch

several months ago i signed up for a week long online makeup course. the week long course turned into a month long, and the group never ended. back in may, krista hosted all of the local girls at her house for brunch. we had enough food for days. it was so fun to meet all of these girls in person.

blogging the bach..in paradise..the final week

i have a confession...

i read the spoilers (insert monkey covering eyes and/or mouth emoji).

actually i accidentally saw the spoilers the very first week. someone posted them in a private facebook group. maybe that explains my lack of interest this season. either way, i know what happens on the last episode so this is my last post on paradise. although i am not sold on the idea of nick as bachelor, i'm hoping the girls bring enough to the table to get me excited about this show again.

opening thoughts..

who are half of these people?

all of the guys are pretty wifed up so i'm not sure who tiera thinks she's going to get to go on a date with her.

nick and jen go on a date. we already know he is the bachelor so we also know that means this goes no where. they seem cute together so i'm kind of sad they don't work.

izzy is a mess realizing she should have stayed with vinny. she hopes things can still work with him. ummm...i'm not sure how well that will go. good luck with that izzy. the poor girl is getting dumped by 2 guys in the same hour. things aren't good.

3 ladies are going home. it kind of seems like they should all go home. none of these people have even spoken to each other. jamie and ashley want wells. wells wants sushana. the chicken enthusiast should probably just save herself and leave now.

how did evan and carly go from that was the worst kiss ever to i'm so giddy thinking about you?

chris harrison says the dream is walking out of there as an engaged couple. i don't know anyone whose dream is actually to get engaged after 18 days. that seems more like a nightmare to me.

grant and lace get matching tattoos of the combo of their name. what??? lace freaks out about the pain. doesn't she already have other tattoos?

there is really nothing that can be said about carly and evan's date. what kind of self-respecting man wears tighty whities?

all the couples have some semi-serious conversations before ending up in the fantasy suite. it appears as though several couples get engaged. do we know if any of them are still engaged?

one little word:september goals

in my mind it is still june, but according to the calendar it is actually september. i can't believe we are at this point in the year already. i feel like i was just thinking about my one little word for 2016, and now i am already starting to think about next year.
i have actually been thinking a lot about my choice of STILL for this year. i picked that word because it is something i really needed in my life. i started out the year determined to find more moments of stillness in my life and to be more deliberate about making those moments. as the year goes on, i realize i still have that need, but my focus has been a bit elsewhere. while the need for stillness continues to exist, i am ok with letting life go where it goes.

yearly goals to be still

1. morning and night quiet time-I continue to drive to the gym in the mornings in silence and often workout with no music. this month i plan to give that quiet time a little more purpose to help set the tone for my day.

2. attend the temple monthly-I went to the Salt Lake temple at the beginning of the month.

3. color once a week-FAIL-total and complete fail. this goal has almost gotten more stressful than it is worth. i am going to take it off the list for now.

4. prayer book-keep list of people i need to remember to pray for-the list is beside my bed. I have the list by my bed. i added to it a few times, but i need to add to it more regularly.

August goals-mostly fitness related

1. 100 push-ups daily-i started out really strong, and then my workouts took longer and longer each day.

2. 100 sit ups/abs daily-some but not all days

3. 5 minutes of quiet(no phone or other distractions) stretching-i stretched more than i have in the past, but it was usually at the gym or pure barre. 

September goals

1. 5 minutes of quiet stretching each night

2. spend morning quiet time thinking positive thoughts about the day ahead

3. daily journaling (gratitude, morning pages, quotes, etc)

How are your goals for the year? 

snail mail

**i received compensation for this post

this is going to age me a lot, but do you remember the days before email?!? email wasn't really a thing until part way through college. i remember being so excited to get letters and cards in the mail. there were no cell phones, no text messages, no social media. letters were everything especially being so far away from friends and family.

fast forward a whole lot of years when life is so much different. everything is digital and media, and real mail often consists of bills and furniture ads. i still love to send and receive mail-especially cards.

i love sending greeting cards in the mail, but i seem to always forget to buy them at the store. greeting card universe is the perfect place for buying cards. you can order them online, get them delivered, and have a supply on hand. i recently got a stack of cards from them. i can't wait to start sending more snail mail.go check out the site and use code AUBREY20 to save 20% off your order. 

Blogging the Bach..in paradise-week 5

I'm pretty behind on this show. I missed last Tuesday, and I missed Monday this week. Basically all I know is this season is crazy. I'm not super into it-maybe because I have missed half of the episodes.
Ashley I is still crazy-why did they let her back on?  Wells is the mr popular of the week The Utah girl arrives.       Evan gets the black box. The Josh and Amanda show starts And last 5 but no least...
And Nick is the next bachelor??? Aye aye aye.

WWYD...with the end of summer

I got thrown off on the schedule for what would you do this month. Our theme for the month is what would you do...with the end of summer.

I love summer! I am so sad it's ending. I am trying to take advantage of every second of summer. What I would do with the end of summer is spend every minute possible at the pool. Summer is so relaxing and fun. 

What would you do with summer? Link up below. 

train like an olympian

I am so sad the olympics are over. I love the olympics, but I didn't watch nearly as much this year as I wanted to. It's so inspiring to see the best of the best athletes. It's cool to see the competition, but I really love the performance. 

I saw a few posts on social media of people getting back to sports they once loved but have now neglected after watching the olympics. One friend decided to run a half marathon after watching some of the running. 

Actually being an Olympian requires full time training and complete dedication to the sport. Most of us aren't trying to actually become Olympians, but we can adapt a few things into our current workout routine to get a little stronger and perform a little better. 

I'm running the big cottonwood marathon in a little over 2 weeks. My big training goals have been to get a little stronger and perform a little better. Training smart is the key. Everyone trains differently. These are some things I'm doing to train smart. 
1. Clean up my diet-eating healthier makes such a difference. 

2. Lift weights-lifting makes you stronger. Being stronger makes you a better runner. 

3. Dress appropriately. The weather is starting to cool down here. Layering is generally a good option. compression sleeves are a good option for adding a little extra warmth without too much bulk. 

compression sleeves

What tips do you have for effective training?

Blogging the Bach..in Paradise..week 4

we got a late start tonight. we spent  a lot of time chatting and took forever to get going

who's watching:celsey, alicia, lacey, amanda, megan, me

jared and ashley i are having the i love you convo for the 100th time

looks like ashley i is wearing that new lipstick everyone is wearing--lacey

i just want someone to love me like ashley loves jared--megan (who has a husband)

first world problems, ashley--megan

you feel like a stalker--cel

carly and evan also sarah and daniel

what???????

i had to step away for a few minutes and missed the rest of the cocktail party

daniel chooses haley at the last second

what does this teach us america? if you slut yourself out, you'll go places--megan

if you slut your sister out, you'll go places--alicia

ashley i comes back and asks for another chance. for some weird reason they let her. a few new guys arrive. we have no idea who they are.

caila gets asked on a date. she says yes then no then yes then no. and finally yes.

guys she's me. i can't even judge her--amanda

double date on the booze cruise. no one can remember carl's name. caila is so out of place. they come home, and caila is back into jared again. ashley is a bawling mess again.

ryan shows up. not one single soul has a clue who he is. he goes on a date. everyone is back at the house. grant and lace are in love. vinny and izzy are on the fritz.izzy has moved on. vinny has not.

to be continued...

i'm going to a concert tonight so i won't be able to watch. what happened?

weekend happs

i started last week so extremely tired. work is pretty crazy right now. between the two things, last week was really long. i was ready for the weekend on tuesday. i was so happy when it finally came.

we had our annual alumni party at work on friday evening. it's always fun to see former families and catch up with them. by the time i left the party, it was time to go home and get ready for an early morning run.

i did my last 20 mile run before the marathon. we ran 10 miles down the canyon and another 10 once we were down. we usually have a solid plan, but we didn't this time. we ended up finding a great route with almost the perfect mileage. it was a great run and made me excited for the marathon.

saturdays at the pool are my fave. i'm so sad summer is ending. it has gone by so fast this year.

the pool closed when a kid puked in the pool so i decided to get my toes done. it felt so good after such a long run.

saturday night was highly uneventful.

sunday i went to church, picked up a friend from the airport, and caught up on things around the house. it was a really good productive weekend, how was your weekend?

churchy...prayer in numbers

it's been an unintentional several months since i did a churchy post. if we're being honest, i keep forgetting to post on the first sunday of the month. the first sunday quickly turns into the second, and it keeps not happening. i want to get back to monthly churchy posts.

i have always believed in prayer. i really can't ever remember learning about prayer. i feel like it is something i have always known. since i was a little girl, i pray daily to my Heavenly Father. i pray over meals. i pray when i need/want something. i pray for other people. i pray in gratitude. prayer is such a big part of my everyday life.

i currently have the opportunity to join friends of various and some of even no faith in prayer for our friend ana who is battling cancer. she is in the middle of very intense chemo treatments. one of our friends organized a prayer chain so that someone is praying for her every 15 minutes throughout the entire day. my time is 11:00pm. every night at 11:00, i stop whatever i am doing to pray. someone also suggested starting out our workouts each day with a prayerful plank for our friend ana. as part of my workout everyday this month, i pray for my friend ana (and recently another friend amber).

i believe so strongly in the power of prayer, but it is such a blessing to participate in something even bigger. joining thousands of people every single day multiple times a day to plead with Heavenly Father in behalf of our friend and her family gives me a much greater understanding of prayer and the ability we have to turn to a higher power. i know there is a God who listens to every one of those prayers. He may not choose to grant our requests, but i know they are heard. 

Foodie Friday...chicken tacos

I'm all about quick, easy, healthy meals. Tacos of any variety are one of my favorites especially when cooked in the crock pot. Chicken tacos are so easy and so delicious. 

6 lbs chicken

2 TBSP taco seasoning

1 c salsa

4 oz green chilies

1 TBSP minced onion

1 tsp garlic powder

Cook in crockpot on low 8 hours

Shred and Serve

Blogging the Bach...in paradise-week 3

Evan makes a date card for Amanda. I can't even handle him. I can't do awkward. I want to crawl in a hole and die.

Josh gets a plate of gross pizza delivered. He says it's the best pizza he's ever had. I feel very bad for him if that's true. Nothing in Mexico is the best ever. This is why we don't ever see them eat food. It's so annoying.

Rose Ceremony

Josh needs some full body Botox for all the sweating.

Why do people say the best anything on this show? I can't believe that it's the best food, best date, etc.

Josh and Amanda are the worst, but Evan embarrassing himself again isn't helping anything.

Why does Even think it's his personal responsibility to warn Amanda about Josh?

Girls have the power this week. Most of the roses are pretty predictable. Carly gives her rose to Evan-whhhhyyyy???? Haley gives her rose to Nick because "you deserve to find love." Does anyone think maybe he should look for love outside of the bach?!?

Caila, the sex panther, comes and steals Jared away immediately after Emily tells us how much she likes him-predictable. Jared and Caila actually make a good couple.

Carly says Evan has no swag. He literally has negative swag. Ewwwww!

Foam party at a bar??? What in the world?

Ashley I arrives and she looks better than she has ever looked. She has goals about crying. Jared does not seem too excited for his to be here. Ashley is crying already, and I'm not sure how many different ways Jared can say he's not interested.

This has turned into the Ashley show, and I'm bored.

I hope Jen and Nick like each other.

Carly says she is back on the Evan train. We think she is just lonely.

Ashley needs to pull herself together.

Another rose ceremony

More of the Ashley I show

 To be continued once again