Sugar Scrub

So, I made a coffee sugar scrub, because Mrs. Hill loves the smell of coffee. Me, not so much, but I had to test it out anyway. But first, a funny story.

I don't drink coffee. Most of my neighbors don't either, because most of us are Mormon. Fortunately for me, my next door neighbors are Lutheran, so I went to their house first. Well, they aren't coffee drinkers either. They are Diet-Coke-to-get-going-in-the-morning drinkers. Darn! But I was in luck (and, as it turns out, doubly lucky). Tony's parents, who had just been visiting the week before are coffee drinkers, and they left a can of ground coffee behind! There was much rejoicing. Then I was offered some cucumber dip. Okay, just so you know, even though my mom is allergic to cucumbers, I love them! I said, "Just one chip." And I started with "just one chip." And I ended with "just one chip", but there were many "just one chip[s]" in between. So, I didn't get the exact recipe, but I know it calls for cucumber, cream cheese, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce (who knew?). I would do it all to taste. And they mix it all up with a "Ninja", though I'm sure a blender or magic bullet, or something else would work just fine. They served the dip with plain (I mean Classic) Lay's potato chips, but I think pita chips, or baked Lay's or original Sun Chips, or bagel chips, or, or, or would be equally as yummy. So, I left with 2 cups of ground coffee (happy dance!) and a belly full of cucumber dip (uh oh, I'm salivating again, just thinking about it).

Once I got home, I proceeded to make the body scrub. I found the recipe at LiveStrong, did you know that Lance Armstrong had such a huge website? I didn't. I thought the website would be about biking and cancer, but there are all sorts of resources on there, and tons of recipes for different body scrubs. So, if you don't want to head over the the LiveStrong website, here's the recipe, for those interested.

1/4 cup ground coffee beans or 1/4 cup used coffee grounds
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. honey

And here's what I did:
1 cup of ground coffee (after all, I had two cups, might as well us it)
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup honey
2 dashes of cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Mix together first three ingredients, then add honey and everything else.

And here's what I thought: Too much EVOO, plus I don't like the smell of it, so if I can find some almond oil for a decent price, I'll try that next time I make a body scrub. I don't know if I would waste my time again with the cinnamon, vanilla, and almond extract, because I can't really smell it because of the coffee grounds. I do like the exfoliation of the scrub. The first time I used it my hands felt much softer, but I think I rinsed with too hot of water, trying to get some of the extra oil off (I seriously thought my skin was coated in the EVOO), so my hands were pretty dry again right after using. However, this morning I used it in the shower on my thighs (the coffee is supposed to help get rid of cellulite), and on my arms where I've been having some dry skin issues because of a wicked sunburn a few weeks ago. I had a little bit left over so I put some on my heels, even though I've recently exfoliated them, and on my hands again. Then I used my regular body wash after (I didn't want to smell like coffee all day). So, what do I think? I think I liked it a lot better the second time. My thighs felt baby soft (though I wish they would look as smooth as a baby's thighs, but those darn stretch marks did not disappear), my arms look a lot better, but I should have used more on my hands, because they are looking pretty scaly, but they do feel soft. So, would I do it again? Well, I still have some in my little ziploc container in the shower, so I'll use it until it is gone, and then we'll see what sort of results I'm seeing on my skin, to decide if I make more. After all, I still have a cup of ground coffee in my cupboard that I need to use.

Oh, as a side note, do not use it on your face or sensitive skin. Apply to moistened skin, rub in circular motions, and pat dry. If you do make the scrub, let me know. I'd love to hear what other people think of it. Tonight I think I'm going to make a straight brown sugar scrub for Miss Ashley, the aide in Miss A's classroom.

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

I know Teacher Appreciation Day was at the beginning of this month, but as the school year winds to a close, I am again reminded of those choice souls that choose to teach our children for us. Especially so in my case. Miss A and I do not work well together on learning activities, so I will be eternally grateful to each teacher she has, that teaches her, so I don't have to. You won't find me home schooling, no sir, no way, no how. Mr. B, on the other hand, I might consider...but, I digress.

Choice souls, yes. They are amazing. I thought I might be a teacher at one point in my life. Well, at many points in my life, starting with kindergarten, and my wonderful teacher, Debbie Hadley. There were two brief stages, one where I wanted to be an astronaut, but what kid didn't? And the other where I wanted to be a marine biologist. Again, what kid, especially girl, didn't want to play with dolphins all day. But always, always there was teacher in the background. So, when I went to college, it was quite easy for me to declare a major. Then after my first semester, when I had thoroughly screwed up my GPA (who knew that you actually had to study in college, whereas in high school you didn't have to?), I thought I wouldn't be able to get into the elementary education at my university (it was a very competitive program). But I did get in. And I was stoked! I couldn't believe it! My dream of becoming a teacher was coming true. Until one day it came crashing down around me. Turns out I wasn't well-suited to teaching. I failed my second pracitcuum twice. I finally passed it the third time around, but by then I was disillusioned with the teaching thing. I didn't want my own classroom. I wanted to teach science and social studies in someone else's classroom. So I never did my student teaching, and I never became certified to teach. Which brings me back to the people that are actually doing it. Teaching, that is.

And so, that brings me to my next point. Teachers can be very underappreciated. Not because of my child, or even yours, right? It's that other kid, you know the one I'm talking about, right? Anyway, in Miss A's class there are quite a few of those other kids, partly because they are at school for 6.5 hours a day, and they are either in preschool or kindergarten, and that's a long time for such a little kid. And, even though, as a room mom (did you know that I'm crazy?), the class made her a huge card, and chipped in on a gift card for Teacher Appreciation Day, I still feel like the amazingly wonderful Jessica Hill deserves more appreciation. Plus, sadly, she won't be coming back to our little school next year, so I really want her to know how much she rocks, and this is where the topic of the post finally comes. Teacher Appreciation Gifts.

I don't know of any teachers that want coffee mugs. I've never heard of it. And some teachers don't want homemade goodies (because, let's be honest, if your little dear helped, there just might be a few "special" ingredients). And most don't want another candle, and some are really particular about lotion (heck, I know I am!), so really, where does that leave us? Well, cash speaks, that's for sure. And gift cards (as long as they like the store), and lots of them like books for the classroom library, but really, these teachers need to stop being martyrs, and they deserve something exclusively for them. So, we gave Mrs. Hill a gift card already. And a hand written note and card at Christmas time (which, by the way, hand written notes are also a great gift), but I want to do something I haven't done yet. So, I'm going to make her a sugar scrub. It's not lotion, so I'm not going to be too cliche here, but her hands are sure to appreciate it in the warm, dry climate that is Eastern Idaho. Ya gotta love those high altitude deserts! Now, I personally haven't tried the scrub yet, but I should. My hands got a sunburn a few weeks ago, and the skin is starting to flake. Not peel, no, it seems my skin is too stubborn for that now (though I used to peel when I was a kid), but flake. And it's annoying. So, if I can manage to peel (hehe) my butt off this here couch, I might go make me a scrub, and see how lovely my hands feel afterwards. I've seen quite a few "recipes" floating around the blogosphere, so when I settle on one, I will update the blog with a new post. I know I promised you a post about it in the last post, but I tend to procrastinate, and get lazy, and read my children books (sometimes, though the Dear wins the book reading award for today), and help them clean the play room, and empty the dishwasher, and make food, and, and, and. I think you get the idea. So anywho, stay tuned!

Leslie