GIVEAWAY - Purex Insider Review: Dial Sugar Cane Husk Scrub Hand Soap

Through Purex Insider I received a new soap by Dial that promises to be deep cleansing, but moisturizing at the same time. Dial Sugar Cane Husk Scrub Hand Soap does feel gritty when you try it at first, so I had visions of my skin suffering for the sake of being clean. I tried it out within a couple of days arriving in my house. I have a good size vegetable and flower garden. So living in North Carolina, now is the time you prep the garden for the spring planting season. Yes, in my house there is a planting season. So this means digging a lot of holes and planting vegetables, cutting down shrubs and already harvesting herbs. But also making sure that I invest in some more perennials and so digging some more holes in the ground for planting flower bulbs and making sure that I split older plants and replant them with plenty of space for growth in the coming years. Needless to say my hands were incredibly dirty after working the garden, so now was the time to test Dial Sugar Cane Husk Scrub Hand Soap. I was surprised how well the soap worked. It did feel gritty and that helped to get rid of the major dirt on my hands and under my nails. While I did use two rounds of rinsing my hands, the first round got rid of the major surface dirt and the second round helped clean under the nails and get my hands nice and clean.
I did not suffer any skin irritation, my skin was not red and felt nice and smooth after I was done. I am very impressed with how well this soap works and I do believe that it is moisturizing.
Dial has come out with additional scents for the deep cleansing line of hand soaps. The scents available are:

• Water Blossoms
• Yellow Raspberry and Black Sugar
• Coconut Lime Verbena
  
  Yellow Raspberry & Black Sugar

copyright Durhamonthecheap - Husk Scrub - let's see how well this works. It does sound promising.

copyright Durhamonthecheap my little package from Purex, love the sample and the free product coupons

copyright Durhamonthecheap - the soap is truly deep cleansing and moisturizing at the same time!

 Giveaway: I have a giveaway for one free product coupon - one lucky ready will be able to try the new Dial Deep Cleansing soap for free!
All you have to do is follow instructions on the Rafflecopter giveaway. The giveaway is open until 4-12-15.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclaimer: I received a free product and free product coupons from Purex in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Product Review through Purex Insider: Purex Crystals now in liquid form!

Through the Purex Insider program I received a free sample of Purex Crystals Scentsplash in Fresh Spring Waters. I must say, I love Purex Crystals because they leave the clothes smelling fresh for days after having completed the laundry and so I was happy to get to sample and review the new form of Purex Crystals. The bottle of Purex Crystals Scentsplash in Fresh Spring Waters did not stay long unopened, within a couple of days I was doing laundry since I could not wait to try out the product. I am very impressed, not only that I was able to finish laundry on a weekday and not my usual weekend laundry, but also with how well the Scentsplash works. The motto is again, add as little or as much as you want and so I used a conservative amount that I felt equaled what I use in crystal form. The clothes came out smelling fresh and now two days later, still have a wonderful fresh scent on them. I prefer the liquid form; maybe it is because I am so used to using liquid detergent. The crystals and liquid form seem to work equally well and I could not tell a difference. But I am definitely more comfortable adding liquid to the laundry.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - the nice package I got from Purex Insider for the liquid version of Purex "crystals"

copyright Durhamonthecheap - I got the scent " fresh spring water" which I have not tried before

copyright Durhamonthecheap - Purex Scent Splash comes in the same scents as the original crystals!

Disclaimer: I received a free product and free product coupons from Purex in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: A Heart's Obsession by Colleen Coble

This is the second book of a series by Colleen Coble about the life of a young woman in 19th century America. Sarah Montgomery lives in the Midwest, Wabash Indiana to be precise and like a truly modern woman, Sarah sometimes has to decide between her heart and family expectations.

 

 

 

With her friend Rand Campbell off to war and held captive in Andersonville Prison, her brother expects Sarah to become engaged to Ben Croftner. Is Ben the love of her life? No, definitely not the love that Sarah hoped for, but her family expected her to be engaged and when Rand finally returns from the war, Sarah is engaged, which leads the disappointed Rand to board a train west. Sarah knows that Ben is not a good man, but now with Rand gone and her brother expecting Sarah to go through with the marriage to Ben despite his obvious character flaws, Sarah is at a crossroads. 

After her father died, Sarah sees no reason to remain in Indiana and boards to a train to follow Rand to Fort Laramie, but when she arrives Rand has already found someone else. Rand is engaged to the eager daughter of the fort commander. Will Sarah be able to prove to Rand that she is his true love and be able to make Rand break off the engagement to Jessie DuBois? Well, Sarah better hurry and watch out, because Ben is also on his way to Fort Laramie since he is now working as an Indian trader and is still pursuing Sarah despite the broken off engagement.

 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this book is solely my own and has not been influenced by a third party. 

 

Book Review: The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do by Jeff Goins

I have been a fan of Seth Godin for many years now and so when I encountered an author that
Seth Godin was a fan of, I decided that I had to give this new author a try. That is how I came to read a book by Jeff Goins, who does not Seth Godin among his fans.

At first I was concerned that anyone could match the style and energy that Serth Godin brings to his books, but Jeff Goins is an equally talented storyteller that makes a book of about life-lessons and work fun and entertaining. You get advice about life and you feel like reading a thrilling story.

 I have switched jobs in my life and so far I was fortunate to always find a job that I liked. I think this is because I always picked jobs that had a meaning to me, whether it was a research scientist working on lung diseases and finding genetic causes for some lung diseases or now as a consultant advising companies how to secure their network so that personal information of clients is save. No job I have ever had was just a job, it was always something I enjoyed doing and also meant something to me in terms of giving back to me. I always try to teach on the side and usually keep my little business going as well, so there is never a dull moment. Still, I was curious what Jeff had to tell me about work.

This book is definitely for people that miss the point in their work, that drag themselves to the office every day wondering why they are putting in 8 hours in a job that does not mean anything to them or that feel that everything about their work has just become a stale routine. 

This book does not tell you, switch jobs and you will be happy. Instead, this book will teach you how to find fulfillment in the job you have right now by taking a different approach to work. Is this job really boring or are you just overlooking the challenges that you have already encountered and succeeded at? Maybe the episodes that were not boring were perceived by you as stress rather than the challenge you seek when the job seems too routine. Trying a different approach and realizing that challenge will require more input and seem like stress can be eyeopening to the reader.
Also what may seem like routine, can also indicate that you have accomplished mastery in certain areas and is actually something to be proud of and not to detest this feeling.



In addition, some aspects of the job that you perceive a difficult and that feel ill-prepared for can actually be opportunities to learn, expand your horizon and should be welcomed rather than dreaded.

This book rather than sound like a class about how to be happy in life may actually result in you enjoying your present job because you look at it different. Jeff's style is easy to read, entertaining and at times even funny. I encourage the reader to really read this book and not just gloss over it. It is time well spent.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Pinch Me samples - March 2015

Pinchme.com is one of these sites that you either love or you hate. Some people complain about never getting any good samples, but I love the site. It is one of these sites where once a month you can sign up for samples. The samples cost absolutely nothing and they arrive in your mail, nicely packaged in a box and in return, all you have to do is complete a brief review of each product. The review is very brief and usually takes less than 5 minutes.

So what kind of samples do you get? I have gotten pens, pencils, nailpolish, candy and this month I received a sample of Gevalia coffe and a new bodywash by Nivea. I love Gevalia coffee and so I am very happy with getting a free sample because this coffee in the European tradition can be quite pricey at stores. The Nivea bodywash I have not tried yet, but I love Nicea creme and literally grew up with that product. Anything that needed a soothing creme meant that the blue metal tin of Nivea came out and was liberally applied to the skin. So the bodywash I something I am eager to sample and review.

There is also a discount code for wine included which I may use. I am not opposed to ordering wine online, but $100 off probably requires purchase of $200, which is a lot of wine and probably more than I will order in one sitting. So I may not use the code.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - this month the sample box included three different items!

Crowdtap sampling: Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport Suncreen Spray with SPF70!

Through Crowdtap.com I received a free bottle of Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport Suncreen Spray with SPF70. Spring is already here and the sun is now shining regularly and quite strong. We had a couple of 70F+ days already and so many people forget that despite the early season, sunshine is no less intense now than it will be in the summer. You can always take care of your skin. I was happy to get this new product by Neutrogena to try out. It is a sunscreen spray with a very high SPF and not only stays on your skin, but also is resistant to water and sweat. That is right! You can wear this spray while working out in the sun, such as jogging or walking or biking and still be protected because the suncreen stays on your skin and does not come off.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - I love the Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport Sunscreen spray,easy to apply and works!

copyright Durhamonthecheap - Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport Sunscreen spray, love the SPF70!

Not only does the spray stay on your skin, it also makes your skin feel cool and dry at the same time, making a stay in the sun more comfortable than with traditional screen protection. I was working outside in the garden, removing the last few branches from when we had the bad snowstorm and sawing branches is hard work, especially with a manual saw. I applied the spray to my arms and after working outside for about an hour, sweating despite only wearing a short sleeve shirt, my arms were still protected by the sunscreen and may skin felt comfortable the whole time. I cannot wait to use this spray in the hot summer months when we go to the pool and I know that my kids will be protected despite being in and out of the water numerous times throughout the day.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport Sunscreen easy on and lasts a long time

Update:  I have been using cNeutrogena Cool Dry Sport Sunscreen for a couple of weeks now and I am incredibly happy with the product. I apply the spray about 15 minutes before I go outside, a cool mist goes on to my skin and stay on for hours, even when working in the garden, which happens a lot this time of year in our house. I cannot wait until it is really hot outside and I use the spray at the neighborhood pool, knowing that I am protected despite being in and out of the water.

Disclaimer: I received a free product and free product coupons from Crowdtap in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: The Island of Doves by Kelly McNees

This book deals with the dark subject of domestic violence, but since the storyline is transported back into the 1800’s, the book was an easier read for me, despite the horrific subject matter. Maybe the fact that the victim Susannah, is getting help escaping her abuser made is easier to read, but I also believe that the style of the author contributed to my ability to read this book dealing with domestic abuse and not be sickened early on to the point of having to put the book down. 

Susannah is married to Edward, who controls her life and becomes abusive for no reason, often putting her life at risk with the degree of abuse he exerts upon her. Catholic nuns realize the severity of Susannah’s situation and help her escape from her prison. She finds shelter with Magdalie, a trapper who lives on Mackinac Island with her son and the memory of her sister, who was a also a victim of domestic abuse, but could not be saved. 

The book explores the relationship between the two women, who come from very different backgrounds, but whose lives are connected through the impact of domestic abuse. This is a nicely written book that elegantly deals with a dark subject. Maybe the book is too sanitized for this topic because it almost reads like a vacation read or something to read on a rainy weekend with a nice cup of tea by the side.