Have you heard about Ipsy yet? It wasn’t until I started researching subscription boxes that I found this beauty bag. It’s only $10 a month, and you can cancel at any time. Although I’ve always avoided subscription boxes, my experience with Simply Earth taught me that you can receive more products for less money through some of them. It’s also a bit exciting to receive gift boxes in the mail. I highly enjoyed Simply Earth, but I ended my subscription when my stock of essential oils became sufficient. I just don’t need any more at the moment.

After canceling my subscription with Simply Earth, I started researching other subscription boxes and decided to try Ipsy, along with a few others. Ipsy has a big following with high ratings, and at only $10, it’s affordable–especially when the products you receive cost a lot more in the store. Each month you get a makeup bag with full-size, deluxe, or sample products. You fill out a form when you sign up, so the products are tailored to your skin tone. Each bag is different, depending on the person.

Lately, I haven’t been wearing much makeup, but with two teenage daughters, I figured I’d give them most of what I received. Hah! That didn’t happen with my first bag. I’m keeping almost everything.

A full-sized Luxe Longwear eye pen with a star stamp at the end = $19

bdb billion dollar brows mini universal brow pencil = $18 full size

1 oz. Formula 10.0.6 Three Times Sublime = $6.99 3.4 oz

Deluxe size Hikari cream eyeshadow in Latte – $13 full size

Sample size the Pore Professional primer – $31 full size

Ipsy makeup bag

Not so bad for $10, and I’ve seen some valued at over $50. I love the products I’ve tried and would never have bought a cream eyeshadow for myself. I almost gave it to one of my daughters, but I decided to try it first. So glad I did! This subscription service will definitely get me to try new things, and I can easily gift what I don’t want to sample. If my daughters walk into a makeup store with me, I wind up spending quite a bit. This subscription should help to curb that. Ipsy also has products on their site at discounted prices with reviews. I can see why it’s is one of the highest rated subscription boxes. It’s definitely got my vote! You should check it out.

Did you know those portable gas cans occasionally explode when tilted at a certain angle? The source of the spark could easily be static from your clothing or friction from pouring the gas. How often does this happen? More than it should! I’ve done the research and found plenty of lawsuits, yet the companies continue to ignore the dangers. Before you grab your little red can of gas to refill your lawnmower or other whatnot, be sure to read on. And at the end of this post, you’ll find a video from the Today Show. For your safety, PLEASE take this seriously.

We bought a sailboat last spring and spent most of the summer on it. The children were with friends when our accident happened, so this account only includes me and my husband. It was July, and we had just sailed into Beaufort, South Carolina. Immediately after hooking our boat to a mooring ball, we had to evacuate due to an air show about to start over the water. We hopped into our dinghy and motored to shore to find some art booths set up and plenty of people around. We enjoyed the afternoon walking around downtown and waited until we got the clear to go back onto the water. We had driven our SUV there the night before, and we planned to leave our boat that night to join our children at our friends’ house. Already packed, we just needed to do a few things on the boat before heading out.

When we arrived back at our dinghy, we found the gas container disconnected, and it had leaked slightly into the bottom of the small boat. It was the first time we had used it since buying the sailboat, and my husband said he’d have to buy a few things and fix it later. We just needed to clean up the spill so it wouldn’t get in the water and then lock up the boat. With another long drive ahead of us, we just wanted to leave.

We got back to the boat, and my husband cleaned the spill. Then he asked me to help him pour the gas from the can into a larger one. We were standing in the cockpit, and it had been hours since the boat motor had been turned on. I took hold of the funnel, and he began to pour. We were almost finished when the gas can exploded in his hands, and the entire cockpit went up in flames. I jumped to the back of the boat while slapping a flame on my sundress, and my husband jumped to the side of the boat. His feet had been on fire for a few seconds. Our first instinct was to jump from the boat, but with the flames no longer on our bodies, we both turned our attention to the burning cockpit. My husband was near the door to the boat, where a fire extinguisher was attached on the inside. He quickly grabbed it and put out the fire. All of this happened within seconds, so he got the fire out before any damage happened to the boat. Since there had been an air show, DNR (Department of Natural Resources) officers were everywhere on the water. Seeing the explosion in the air, they immediately started toward us and called for ambulances.

We were VERY blessed in more ways than one. For instance, if my husband had been standing behind the gas can instead of to the side, it would have blown him back. (That’s how a lot of deaths happen with these can explosions.) Also, we can’t forget about the can of gas sitting in the cockpit–the one we were pouring gas into. It was full, and it was surrounded by fire. If it had exploded, there would not have been anything left of us or the boat. It would have gone full Hollywood! With the cockpit in flames, my husband was able to see a clear path to the cabin, and a DNR boat got to us quickly and rushed us to the ambulances on shore. We really came out blessed. We’ll take first and second-degree burns, along with flash ones, over death any day.

Without an obvious source for a spark, our accident intrigued everyone around us. While we were at the hospital, DNR officers boarded our boat and took pictures for their report. The staff of the nearby marina grabbed a few things from the boat and locked it up before stopping by the hospital. Although we all understand gasoline, in general, is dangerous, no one seemed to know why the can exploded. It wasn’t until I started doing some research a few days later that I realized this is quite common–yet not common knowledge. In fact, it can happen to anyone–at any time. Even filling a snowmobile tank in the winter can cause an explosion. It’s not about the heat. It’s about the can.

The manufacturers know about the problem, yet they choose to ignore it. The simple solution would be to add a flame arrestor to every can. A flame arrestor–or flame trap–is a small metal device that stops fuel combustion by extinguishing the flame. The old metal gas cans had them, and some liquor bottles now have them, along with charcoal lighter fluid. It’s an easy, inexpensive fix!

So, now we’re throwing out all of our gas cans and replacing them with ones that include the arrestor, and I strongly advise you do the same. I found plenty on Amazon and will include the links at the bottom of this post. I’m only going to post one picture of my husband’s feet as he left the hospital, because I want to keep this PG. In the end, he had to have surgery, and they grafted pigs’ skin over his burns. He took pictures every day, and they’re gory. The picture below looks great. A few hours later his toes had huge blisters over them, and everything swelled. I just got a few burns and was able to drive that night.

The irony is that I had done a lot of research on burns last year for Unexpected Beginning, and I had planned to do more for Unexpected Legends. Well, now I’m confident my information will be accurate when it comes to writing about burns. I even got to speak to more than one burn specialist. It’s a silver lining, along with God’s blessing over us that day.

Be sure to watch this Today Show video. It will help explain things as well. Here’s some safe cans on Amazon:

Woohoo! We survived the summer. And I mean that literally since a gas can exploded on my husband and me. I’m back at my desk, and although I have to set my alarm for 6:00 each morning, I’m ready for a routine. I spent most of the summer on our boat and visiting friends and family. I still haven’t finished unpacking, my house is a mess, and we’re about to start construction on a screened porch. However, I feel good about the day. Unlike my summer schedule, when everyone in the house sleeps in, I got up early this morning and started on laundry. I even prepared some Cajun red beans and rice in the slow cooker. (So yummy!)

I always listen to music while driving long distances. I wish I could listen to audiobooks, but that would put me to sleep. It has to be music, and it has to be music I’m in the mood for at the moment. This summer called for a lot of driving, and I spent most of it listening to the soundtrack for the Alissia Roswell Series. (You can find the songs for each book on their Pinterest boards.)

Some of the songs describe Alissia in general, while most of them go with certain scenes. At the moment, I have three songs for Unexpected Legends, and when I hear them, I clearly visualize the scenes I plan to write. Like the book itself, the scenes are intense. Wish I could share the songs with you now, but it’s not time and gives away the mood of the book. I usually release a Pinterest board a couple of months before the release of each book.

I’ve heard from some of you about Unexpected Beginning and am loving the feedback. If you get a chance, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. It really helps.

It’s been a wild summer! From the end of May until the end of July, I lived out of my suitcase, and although I enjoy traveling, I’m so happy to be home. There’s just nothing like sleeping in my own bed and sipping on my favorite hot teas throughout the day while sitting at my desk (or outside when it’s not so hot). I also miss my own cooking and am burned out on eating out. I haven’t ground my own flour since May, and my body needs it. I feel really unhealthy right now and need a detox.

We left a few days after the children got out of school and returned a week before they begin again. Everyone in this house is ready for a sense of routine–even if it means waking early to the sound of an alarm.

We left our sailboat in South Carolina, where it’s about to get pulled from the water. We’re having it delivered to Mississippi on a truck instead of trying to sail it home. We bought it in Florida, and the weather didn’t cooperate for us to try to sail it home over the summer. Here’s a tour of it, if you haven’t seen it already.

As for the gas can exploding on us, the boat isn’t damaged, and my husband is recovering from surgery. I came out with only minor burns, and the children weren’t even on the boat with us. I’ll do a blog post on it soon, as I want everyone to know the dangers of those red plastic gas cans. We came out VERY blessed!

Alissia’s adventure continues! One more book in the series, and you’re going to love it. I should have everything unpacked and be ready for work at my desk on Tuesday when the children go back to school. I expect life to return to its normal chaos with more house renovations and our usual daily activities. Until then, I have a messy SUV to clean and a massive pile of unpacking to do. Oh, and I guess I need to take the children school shopping as well.

Coming in November!

A New Book by A Favorite Author!!

My Brother’s Bride by Rachael Anderson

Abigail Nash leads a lonely existence. Her mother died giving birth to her, her father’s business dealings took him away more often than not, and her ailing great-aunt, unable to provide much in the way of companionship, was a lack-luster guardian at best. So when her dear friends offered to launch her into London society, it appeared Abby’s life was taking a turn for the better, with suitors and social engagements aplenty. When she marries a proclaimed darling of the ton, it seems she will at last settle into the life of her dreams.

But appearances aren’t always what they seem, and dreams often become disappointments.

Just months into her marriage, Abby finds herself widowed, penniless, increasing, and determined to never hope again. But when her late husband’s brother, the Earl of Brigston, attempts to thaw the numbness surrounding her heart, Abby must decide if she has it in her to risk another chance at happiness, knowing the odds are not in her favor.

Author Rachael Anderson

A USA Today bestselling author, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can’t sing, doesn’t dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

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