The Cupcake Princess is home!

My sweet girl is home for the holidays! Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday with those you love.

~Allie

I LOVE these candles!

Remember me telling you about my friend, Patricia? She owns her own company called Agape & Zoe Naturals. About two weeks ago, she made a batch of her wonderful, soy candles.

They are 22-ounce phthalate-free. These candles are made with :

-phthalate-free oils

-cotton, lead-free wicks that burn clean with no black soot

-a glass container that can be re-used again and again

She made them in 5 fantastic scents......

-White Spice (seasonal)

-Chestnuts & Brown Sugar (seasonal)

-Clean Linen

-Wild Fig

-White Magnolia

I bought the Chestnuts & Brown Sugar for me. It smells like delicious cookies. Then I bought the Holiday Spice for my best friend. But after smelling the Holiday Spice in my office for two days (it was never lit...the oils just fill the room), I bought a Holiday Spice for me, too. There's an underlying orange scent in it.....I LOVE it!!!

These are GREAT gifts!!! You can order the candles from Patricia's website and she'll ship around the world. If you decide to get one, you will NOT be disappointed. I was invited to one of those home parties where they sell all different kinds of candles about a month ago. If you look at their prices and what you get, Agape & Zoe Naturals is a far better value......plus, they're all natural. No soot.....they burn clean and have a wonderful aroma that doesn't fade. This will be the only place I'll buy my candles from now on.

Happy Tuesday!

~Allie

Answer

This is why I never seem to have time to clean my house, do my laundry, put up Christmas decorations, go to the grocery store, beautify my yard........and it's ok......making a difference, one child at a time. I am not Superwoman, but I CAN be Fancy Nancy!

~Allie

Question

I'm seeing many of my friends posting on Facebook saying they've got their tree up, the lights and decorations on, and the house is twinkling with holiday cheer. I haven't gotten to any of that yet. In fact, I have purchased one present and it was bought on line. I haven't been in a mall since the summer. Why can't I find time to have my house all decorated for the holidays like everyone else? All week my time is spent at school and then home to take on my other job as wife and mother. On the weekend, I try to get my weekly chores done, grandma's groceries and medicine picked up, grandma's weekly to-do list done, etc. Hmmmm............time to re-evaluate my schedule.

How do you get it all done?

~Allie

Blessings and Thankfulness

Finally......a moment to breathe, to reflect, to rest, to regroup. As a second year Assistant Principal, the roller coaster ride hasn't slowed down. No time for creative moments and reflective thinking. But Thanksgiving has brought me 5 days to do just that. And so......I head to the lake in Central Texas. Time with family. Enjoying the big, Texas sky. Watching the sun sparkle on the lake. Who needs a spa retreat when you can just go home?

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving full of blessings for peace and prosperity in the holiday months to come.

~Allison

Meet my friend, Patricia!

Since I transferred to a new school with my new position a year or so ago, I've made many new friends. However, you've just got to meet Patricia. She's been teaching over 10 years now, but she started her own small business on the side and I'm just so impressed with her products.

Agape & Zoe Naturals was founded when the owner/founder, Patricia Malemes, realized there were no natural perfumes or scents that pleased her and none that created and evoked the kind of emotion and feelings that her old perfumes did. Ahhh...toxic memories...She had thrown her designer perfumes out months earlier and was now in need of a natural, safe, non-toxic, but most importantly "phthalate-free" perfume. Inspiration struck and today Agape & Zoe Naturals has six pleasing scents, sure to inspire and delight the senses.

While I'm not a tree-hugging, all-natural kind of gal, I must say that the longer I know Patricia, the more she turns me on to wonderful, all-natural products. What I love the most about Patricia, is that if she can't find the product on the market at a reasonable price, she starts working on developing her own product at a much better price. I bought her Sampler Set of 5 rollerballs it was only $22!! Each rollerball secent is only $5! Great Gifts!!!!!
She also sells her fragrances in 2 oz. spray bottles for $20. The coolest thing about these liquid parfumes is that they have only TWO INGREDIENTS......100% organic, grain alcohol and essential oils and plant extracts. The fragrance lasts all day, too!

And now..........I just found out that she has put together a line of solid perfumes with her signature fragrances! These are made with only THREE INGREDIENTS .....organic beeswax, organic almond oil, and 100% essential oils and she's selling them for $15 a piece. The only problem is that I can't decide what fragrance to purchase.

Today, Green is the fragrance I wanted to wear. While I don't really like cucumber types of fragrances, Green has a fresh and clean scent. It has the cool, crispness of cucumber with an energizing touch of mint and the sweet tartness of mandarin orange.
But there are other days when Faith is my favorite fragrance. It has the sweet scent of Vanilla and a little tang of grapefruit. Sounds odd, but smells GREAT!! Her other fragrances have equally transcendental names such as Botanica, Peace, and Pure Innocence. Check out her website and you can find her on Facebook, too. Sometimes she has specials and giveaways on her Facebook page. You can order product off of her website and she'll ship it to you. If you visit Agape and Zoe Naturals and try her product, let me know what you think. I think you'll be pleasantly pleased!

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

~Allie

Perception and Thankfulness

Is the glass half full or half empty?

It all has to do with perception.

I'm learning that how I look at things can make a big difference in my level of happiness. Does that mean that I'm aging? Like a fine wine, I hope!!

I'm thankful I have to pay taxes.

It means I have a job.

I'm thankful I have to get up at 5:45 am Monday through Friday.

It means I have a job and can provide insurance for my family.

I'm thankful I have to fight my grey hair and color it every 6 weeks.

It means my hair isn't falling out.

I'm thankful I have to worry about my bank account.

It means that my daughter is going to college and continuing her education.

I'm thankful for my over $300 electricity bill in August.

It means we were able to stay cool during the weeks of 100+ degree weather in Texas.

I'm thankful for the mounds of laundry I have to do each week.

It means I have plenty of choices to clothe myself.

I'm thankful for muddy paw prints in my house on a rainy day.

It means I have my sweet scottie, Pippen, to make me smile every day.

Is a dandelion a weed or a flower? It's all in your perception.

Finding time to quiet my mind and center my thoughts this week was priceless. Even if the only quiet time is driving home from work, it's made a difference in how I get through some pretty stressful days. I've already had to suspend a second grader and we've only been in school for 4 weeks. The long hours aren't helping either. Just have to put it into the proper perspective.......half full? half empty?
~Allie