Have you ever found yourself inadvertently catching a glimpse inside a picture window and seeing a scene that gives you an idea of what the people inside are all about? I have, but in this case, I got more than a glimpse inside some people's life, I now feel like I know them.
This may be a little late, but in my defense I really didn't know much about it until today. About two years ago my dad was driving down a street about a mile away from his neighborhood in Sandy, UT when he saw something laying in the road. And being the inquisitive person he is, he stopped and picked it up. It was a camera. So not knowing who it belonged to, seeing no one around, and not wanting it to get smashed by a car, he brought it home with him. He showed it to me and I didn't know what to make of it. We looked for a name on it, or anything that might put us in touch with the owner. We looked through a couple of pictures on the viewer but didn't recognized anyone. It looked like typical pictures, nothing special. I told him he might try to put it up on the Classifieds to see if someone claimed it. He said he might do that. Well time passed, and I didn't really hear much more about the camera. ....until today. I saw it laying out and apparently my Dad wants to start using it, since no one has claimed it. Well, I'm not sure of what kind of effort was made. It's kind of hard to find the owner to a random camera left out in the road. But today I actually took out the card reader and looked through the pictures, trying to get some kind of clue about the owners. I was struck with how many pictures were actually on this camera. A lot. I didn't actually find who it belonged to, but I felt like I took a look into some collective lives, people who live together, who love, and who really really like to take pictures! I felt like I got to know them a little bit. Here's what I pieced together. One of the two girls below may be the owner of the camera. They seem like they are inseparable. They are either sisters, cousins, or extremely good friends because there are tons of pictures of these two. It seems like where one is, the other one will most certainly show up sooner or later. And they like to goof off a whole lot. Their last name is either Ross or Rose.
Next we have a lady who is, in my mind, the mom. She seems to love all the subjects of the pictures a lot.
Then we have some children of various ages - and two in particular, a set of twins!
Again, it seems like if one shows up,
The other is not far behind!
They have documented birthdays and other special occasions
It was kind of fun peeking into the lives of these people. I almost feel guilty, like a voyeur, but this is my effort to locate them and return a piece of their lives that cannot be captured again. If you can piece together any kind of clue as to who these people might be, please shoot me an e-mail, a tweet, or a Facebook post. I'll get it and we can work at returning something that is priceless. Here are the last pictures taken on the camera in July of 2012.
Are you someone who loves high end natural beauty products?
Do you use products from a company that promotes green products? Chances are those products have been made by an outside manufacturing source, packaged and then used by that company. Rainshadow Labs has been manufacturing beauty products with natural ingredients for companies since 1983. They are based in Oregon! I’m glad I found out about them because I can have their base products delivered to me for so much less than I would pay for a brand name product. Chances are that the brand name product probably has been formulated and manufactured by them anyway, but packaged and marked up in price considerably.
I was given their Eyebright Gel to try out.
When it came to my door, there was no fluff. It came in a simple 36 oz. amber jar and I was actually a little confused. Normally products come in attractive packaging and with some brochures or fliers telling you just how wonderful the product and company is. Nothing of the sort with this delivery. Just a plain amber jar. Nothing else.
I opened it and took a whiff. It smelled like fresh cucumber! I put some on my face and it was a gel that felt very cool and refreshing. I put some on my neck and I was pretty impressed. My neck actually looked better. This was pretty impactful, especially since this is made with 75% organic materials. I even had my husband try it. A 36 oz. jar of gel can go quite a long way, so I have recruited him to start taking care of his skin. He hasn’t been one to do that and I think it’s high time he starts paying attention to his own skin. So he does use it and he does it willingly, which is a nice surprise. He really likes the cool feel of it and the fresh and pure smell, just like I do.
A couple of small things I noticed about the gel: When you put it on and it has been on for a few seconds, it will feel slightly sticky until it absorbs, which takes a couple of minutes. Because this is made of raw ingredients, it is best to keep it in a cool and dry place. I actually keep it in the refrigerator. In the winter, that would be too cold for me, so I would find a place where the heat isn’t directly on it.
The ideal temperature for this product is 45 to 72 degrees. From their website, I see that they have the most affordable, highest quality and most profoundly innovative lotions, gels, soaps, washes, body butters, serums, crèmes, scrubs, candles, and bath salts, using essential oils and organic active ingredients. They do recommend you get a sample size before you buy larger sizes and they are very kind—the first 3 samples are free with just freight charges. Otherwise the samples are $3.95. Here is a description of the Eyebright Gel: "
This formula speaks to the deep and grounded evolution that Natural Skin Care Formulating has gone through in the last three decades in order to be able to deliver such a brilliant eye therapy product to you today.
It is no exaggeration to say that this formula addresses every single eye area concern possible. Dark circles, wrinkles, sagging, puffing, loss of plump and firm, loss of tone and resilience....its all taken care of in this delicate and light gel.
Do not be deceived by the elegant and refined nature of the look and feel of this formula. This product is NOT to be underestimated.
From Plant Stem Cells to Multiple Complex Peptide blends....from botanically derived Hyaluronic Acid Spheres to fiber and cellular rebuilding Amino Acids.....collagen boosting and skin firming and wrinkle repairing ingredients are fully loaded into this genius formula. Use it daily. Use it ten times a day. You will be addicted!" Directions for Use: Dab around eyes, forehead and cheek area. Can be used as an all over face treatment. Safe to use morning and night. Can be used under makeup.
Ingredients: This gel consists of 75% organic materials.
Eye Bright - enriched with sodium hyaluronate—a superior moisture magnet especially good for the naturally dry area around the eyes. Due to its astringent, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, it tightens and reduces puffiness. Aloe - cooling, soothing and calming effect to the skin. It is antibacterial, antiseptic and has anti-fungal properties. It helps the skin to naturally heal. Natural Fragrance - like fresh cucumber, very refreshing and result of the Cucumber Hydrosol. Jojoba Oil - contains almost all of the vitamins and minerals essential for healthy skin and hair: Vitamin E, B-complex, copper, zinc, selenium, iodine, and chromium. And it’s even gentle enough to be used on sensitive skin without causing allergic reactions. clears impurities that the oil extracts from the surface of your face and neck. It has anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. Periwinkle – a known anti-inflamatory agent Licorice - Consistent use of licorice extract over time has been known to fade dark spots and blemishes, and lighten skin. Potent antioxidants in licorice extract fight skin-damaging free radicals. Reishi - contains ingredients that cause melanin suppression as well as other beneficial trace elements. These contents might help reduce the presence of and destruction caused by free radicals, promote cell regeneration to increase skin thickness and texture. Also, Gotu Kola, Frankincense and Vitamin E are in this gel! Another great thing about RainShadow Labs is that you can actually have them formulate a product to your own specifications. For instance, if you are allergic to certain ingredients or plants, you can have your own product made up for you. Or if you want to start your own business, with your own product, you can have RainShadow make it, manufacture it and package it. It would have to be in a bulk size, however. And you do pay for the lab formulation time. I was really happy with what I found out about this lab in the moisture-drenched state of Oregon and want to continue using these products for a long time to come!
Thanks for visiting! This site accepts product samples and/or compensation. Affiliate links may be used to support this site. All text and opinion are 100% my own and are not swayed by any sponsor affiliation!
Awhile back the hubs and I took a little 2 hour motorcycle ride out to a little place called Ophir, UT. It is this tiny little mining town that has a very small population and retains all of the charm and quaintness of somewhere right out of time. The weather was gorgeous and the traffic was down so we had lots of room on the freeways and highways to just go! We rode through Lehi, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain and Cedar Fort. The further we got out on Highway 73, the more wide open it became, until we were riding with miles of vast space on either side of us, with the mountains looming far away in the distance. There was not a tree for miles and yet in the distance I could see the one outline of the lone tree in a distant field, its stark image providing a memorable backdrop to the nothingness in front of us!
Finally we turned off onto a little road, which led us into the very tiny town of Ophir, with a population of 38 last Census count in 2010. To me, it seemed a little larger now than that. There were some really nice, even ornate homes lining the street on either side and a city hall. As we drove slowly down the street, we passed an old mining shaft where miners of old combed through the mountain looking for silver deposits. It is said that once upon a time there was so much silver there that the Indians around the area used silver bullets! We passed a few very old buildings and then we found a large recreation area with a swimming pool and a camping area! What a fun recreational activity you could have there. We had parked to walk around and stretch and people driving by all waved back to us really friendly-like. (Except for the couple on the Harley-Davidson! Apparently they felt that their bike was better than our Honda ST11-ABS, which we know better than that.) I highly recommend going there, especially if you're on a bike!
The summer days are upon us and the Memorial Day Weekend is what kicks it off. There are more fatalities between Memorial
Day and Labor Day than any other time of the year. So read this cautionary tale and learn from
my “adventure”.
Funny,
before it happened, I was feeling rather sorry for myself thinking that I never
have any fun adventures. I feel like
that cartoon in Calvin & Hobbs, where they are talking about
adventures. Calvin is basically saying
he’s never had any adventures!
But Hobbs,
being the ever-faithful and encouraging companion that he is, attempts to jog
Calvin’s memory—
Very recently
I put that “never had an adventure” feeling to rest. And of course it was while driving, something
I devote a good deal of time to, with my 60 mile daily commute and everything
else I do that involves me getting somewhere.
This is how it went down:
I was almost
home from a busy day doing some volunteering at Comic Con, my favorite nerd
festival, when one of those huge, obnoxious, Chevy 4x4’s pulled out into the
road in front of me, you know, the ones that belch black smoke in your face for
no other offense than that of being behind it.
It also had a long, open trailer in the back. I was mildly annoyed. Really?
Did the guy have to cut it so close?
I mean, he certainly had the height with those lifts to see that there
were no cars in back of me. Couldn’t he
even wait a hot second to pull his monstrosity…er, truck out and avoid cutting
a car off? I let it slide.
He then did the same thing to a car in the
left lane. Wow...We kept going and the natural
flow of traffic put me in front of him.
And I needed to change lanes because I was going to make a left
turn. So I changed lanes. I don’t remember if I put on my blinker or
how close I was in front of him when I changed.
But he seemed annoyed because he sped up and started tailgating me, his
headlight on my bumper. If automobiles
and trucks can grind, this would have been it.
We were coming close to the light
and I needed to slow down. Soooooo….I
tapped the brake. Heck, if he wanted to
follow me that close and he happened to plow into me, well, not my fault. But now the dude was enraged. He certainly didn’t let up and when I decided
to take a left into a parking lot to get him off my tail, he suddenly did a
U-turn. I didn’t think much about it
until I got out onto the road I needed to take and there he was behind me
again. I was driving at around 35 – 40 mph
and he came barreling up behind me, got into the next lane, came up beside
me and swung into my lane, ahead of me, except for that trailer he was
pulling? Yeah, it slammed into the side
of my car. Hard. And then he took off. After a split second of collecting myself, I realized
I had just been hit, that damage had most definitely been done to my car, and
that he wasn’t stopping. He was now down
the road and ready to turn at the stoplight.
In other words, this was a hit and run!
I quickly decided that he wasn’t going to get away without a chase. So I took off in “hot pursuit”. My adventure
was starting.
I chased
this truck with the trailer about 10 miles---through 2 red lights, a couple of stop signs and
definitely cut through some traffic.
Luck was on my side. He was
trying every way he knew to get away from me.
He may well have succeeded if he hadn’t had that trailer on the back of
his truck. I was prepared to go until I
ran out of gas if need be. I was also on
the phone with emergency dispatch, trying to relate what had just happened to
the dispatcher. She wanted me to get
the license plate number and that was difficult because it was partially
obscured by the trailer. Just talking to
her while driving was really hard and I’m sure I didn’t make sense a lot of the
time because my top priority was to keep that truck in my sights. I felt like Miami Vice, ready to get the bad
guys.
Apparently I
did a good job of showing my determination and driving skills because all of a
sudden he pulled off to the side of the road and I did the same. He got out of the truck and I was very
interested in seeing what kind of guy was capable of something like that. Well, very small guy. He wasn’t much taller than me and I might
have out-weighed him by 10 lbs.
Wow. It all made sense now. Classic Small Man Syndrome.
He attempted
to engage me in a conversation but I’d have none of it. I didn’t crack the window, and I pointed to my
phone to let him know that the cops were on their way. He went back to his truck and we waited like
that until they came.
He ended up
telling the officer that he didn’t realize he had hit me until he “noticed”
that I was following him. And since
there were no witnesses, it was my word against his. He ended up getting an improper lane change
ticket and his insurance is paying for my damaged door and front bumper.
I’m glad
that things went down like they
did. I think things could have turned
out much worse, which is what I want to let you know.
Road rage is
a real thing. You never know what state
of mind a driver is in. I learned that just because you, a safe driver,
may be in the right, don’t antagonize someone after they have made a stupid
move. I tapped my brake and that was
just enough to send this guy off the edge.
I think that luckily, while we were in that chase, he was somehow able
to come to grips with the situation. His
reason overcame his sense of revenge and he decided to make a good decision by
pulling over.
My need for
an adventure has definitely been satisfied for awhile and I’ve learned
something as well. I hope everyone has a
safe and fun summer and drive safely!!
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