My First Race Volunteer Experience

For those of you that don't know, I'm a runner.  I love to get outside and run! I love the community of runners and the encouragement that you feel from other runners, especially on race day.  With that being said it take a lot of people to put on a race.  The number of volunteers to make a race happen is pretty big.  Especially with longer or bigger races because you just need more help.  You need people helping at intersections, you need people at aid stations, and of course sign ups, packet pick up, finish line helpers.  There are a lot of people needed.  I've always been thankful to the people that volunteer at my races.  Especially those that are cheerful and encourage you as you pass.  But I had never volunteered for race! Well that all changed on Saturday.  Kellie mentioned to me that she was going to volunteer for a local race and I thought You know what? I should do that too! So I emailed the race director, who I know from the local running store, and he said he would be happy to have me! So he told me the time and place to be and that I would most likely be directing people which way to go (either turn for the 20K (12 miles) or go straight for the 5 miles) or cutting off shoes tags or something!  No problem!  I'm here to help in any way I can!  But as the day got closer we started hearing that the weather may not be the best.  When I woke up that morning is was a mixture of rain & snow and very cold! But I wasn't going to let anyone down so I bundled up (insert that I wore MULTIPLE layers of clothing, long johns under my jeans and winter boots) and headed out.  I got to the intersection that I would be directing the runners and this is what I saw. . .

Yeah that's snow! The really wet and heavy snow.  It was very cold and windy!  And if you can't tell it sort of in the middle of the country so no real wind block. I had brought multiple sets of gloves and I'm glad I did because mine got wet quickly from pointing to the directions and cheering the runners on.  

That's me!  I had a headband on to try to block the wind from my ears and my furry hat (it's fake fur!  Don't report me to PETA!).  I stayed in my van until I thought the first runners would be coming by and then I jumped out and started directing!  At first I thought Ok, this isn't so bad.  I'm going to stand here a few hours, help people with which way to go and then go have a Starbucks.  But what happened was I was encouraged!  I tried to cheer everyone on as they passed.  GREAT JOB!  You are flying!!  Keep up the good work!  Looking good ladies!!  The intersection that I was at was not only the turn for the 20K but once they turned, it was an out and back so they had to pass me again. So I tried to remember people as they passed and encourage them on the way back.  I saw a few people I knew but most I had never met.  But you know what? It didn't matter.  I was cheering them all on just like others had done for me so many times.  And it made me feel so good! I loved telling people they were almost there!  I loved cheering on the people that looked like they couldn't go another step.  COME ON KEEP GOING!! I loved the 7 (yes that is right!) year old girl that was running the 20K.  She had such determination and spirit!  She totally inspired me!  She might even be my hero! 

The coolest part was a lady named Tiffany (HI Tiffany if you ever read this!!) lived near the corner I was directing and she came out to talk to me.  Turns out she is a runner and had several friends running this race so she was out cheering them on and came down to talk to me.  We ended up talking for probably 2 hours.  She is a marathoner and a really good one! So I picked her brain a bit and then we started talking Disney and other bucket list races.  She helped me cheer on runners as they passed back by and even gave a couple of her friends hugs as they passed.  That is the thing I love about runners.  We don't have to know each other to feel an instant connection and friendship.  We trade race stories, the good ones and the bad ones, and become instant friends.  I don't know if I'll ever see Tiffany again, or if I would recognize her without our winter gear on, but I'm so thankful that she came out to talk to me. 

After the last of the runners passed me on their way to the finish line I packed up my van and headed that way to pick up Kellie.  I got a big hug from the race director and a personal thank you.  He also gave us a couple pineapples and a loaf of fresh bread!  I didn't need any payment (although the pineapple is AMAZING!) but his personal thank you and the friendships I made that day were priceless!  

Great job to all the runners on Saturday.  Thank you to all of you that said "THANK YOU" on your way by and even if you didn't I won't hold it against you I know you were busy! Running isn't always easy but it's something that I love and so many others do too. I'm so happy to be a part of this community! And I can't wait to see where running takes me this year!

Have you ever volunteered for something? In what ways do you give back?

Love, Lacey

How Sweet is Spring?

I saw this on Facebook today and just laughed.  Spring technically starts March 20th, but you know what has happened several times since then?  It has snowed!  Including today! I had to run some errands while Miss V was at school and it was snowing so hard when I got home I took a picture cause it was just crazy!

Can you see it? The deck was completely clear yesterday and now it's snowing.  It's those GIANT snowflakes that are so pretty and it will be gone in an hour so I can't be too mad.  But dang it I am!  I'm so ready for Spring I could scream!

As you know, last week I had the plague. I was out for the count every day last week.  I started feeling semi-human again by Thursday so I grabbed a latte from Starbucks and came home to soak up some sun.  It wasn't warm out, only about 40 but with the bright sun and no wind it felt amazing!  I took my cup of coffee outside with me and sat on our porch swing.  We have a rather large deck right outside out back door (you can see it in the picture) and we have a wonderful porch swing that I love to sit on and enjoy. In the summer Mr. J and I go out there almost every night just to enjoy the weather and talk to each other.  It's a great way to unplug and unwind. While the kids play outside I like to sit there and read or just swing.  There is something about sun & being outside that makes you happy.

As I was sitting there I started thinking back on the VERY long winter that we have had.  It started around November (with the bulk of the snow not coming until January) and it still is taunting us. I thought about the 3 weeks we were off school for the never ending Christmas break.  I thought about how the kids and I were stuck in the house for a few days because of -45 degree wind chills! I also thought about all the times I spent 45 minutes getting them bundled up and sending them outside to play only to have them want to come in 15 minutes later.  I thought about all the feet of snow that we had and how amazing it was to see that much snow.  I can't remember a snowier winter!  But then it got me to thinking about how sweet and warm Spring is going to feel because of the cold dark winter.  I mean I was sitting outside in my pj's in 40 degree weather soaking up some sun because I thought it felt so good!  I thought how amazing that first 60 or 70 degree day is going to feel.  I started dreaming about my runs this year and what some of my goals are and  how nice the sun will feel on my skin while I run my miles towards my goals.  

It also got me thinking about life and how life is a lot like that.  How some times you go through a long dark period and you think "Why is God allowing these things to happen to me?",  "What is the point of this trial?", "When will this trial ever end?" and then when you do get the blessing or see how God was using you or changing you, you know just how sweet it is.  It reminded me of the struggles that Mr. J and I went through when we were first married.  I shared a little bit about that here.  And I was thinking that if we never had those struggles, those times of doubt and trying to figure out how to make our marriage work, we wouldn't have the strong marriage we have today.  Please don't read the word strong and think we don't fight or have issues.  We fight plenty and have a lot that we work through to make it work.  But our marriage is stronger because we went through those dark times.  Those times that we weren't sure why we got married or that we wanted to be married. 

There is an old saying that it is always darkest before the dawn.  I guess I can see how that is true and applies to so many things.  Some times we don't see the good or see God working or what He is going to do in our lives. And then one day He reveals a little bit of His plan to us or a glimpse of the work that He is doing and it is SO much sweeter than if He had just quickly done the work or gave us the blessing.  If you are going through a dark time or a time of growth as some like to call it, hang in there.  God is working in and through you. Phillippians 1:6 says "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  So we can have hope and be confident that God will use us and complete the work He is doing in us.   I'm going to leave you with one of my favorite songs.  I sing it every time I go through a trial that I don't understand and it helps me to put things into perspective.

 

Love, Lacey

My California Adventure - Part 2

This entire post is going to be about FOOD!  The whole time I was in Cali we took pictures of nearly everything we ate.  The food would come and we would say "Food Porn!" and take a pic.  I came back with almost as many food pictures as I did any other picture!  Enjoy and try not to drool on your computer!

Oh In-n-Out burger!  I have heard people RAVE about In-n-Out and I figured oh it's just a burger joint but you know I need to go while I'm in Cali.  And it did NOT disappoint!  The best part was that they use leaf lettuce and I was able to take the bun off and wrap the burger and the toppings in the lettuce and SMASH it!  I ate it so fast that the sauce and all the juicy goodness was all over my face!  And the fries?!  They are perfect!  Not greasy or heavy.  Just delicious!

These were delicious eggs that my step-mom made us one morning.  And of course we had to add avocado.  They eat it with everything! 

Yogurtland was another place on my list to go while I was in Cali.  Actually it was any froyo but Yogurtland was close to our house so that is where we went.  We actually picked up my niece from school and went for an after school treat.  You can't even see my froyo under all the toppings but it's in there.  That would be kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, cherries, boaba, gummy bears, white chocolate chips, & moshi on top of my vanilla & pina colada yogurt!  OH I was in heaven.  I think I should eat froyo everyday! 

Pho was also on my list and here it is.  We got it to go so we could sit at home and be lazy.  But it was deliciously spicy!  If you don't know Pho (pronounced Ph-uh) is a Vietnamese soup type dish.  It's rice noodles in broth with veggies and meat and it is delicious!! 

We went to a little hole in the wall place for breakfast one morning and this was what I got!  It was eggs with chorrizo, cheese and avocado.  It was AMAZING!!  I have a serious soft spot for chorrizo.  I really should use it more often! The creamy avocados in this perfectly balanced the spiciness of the chorrizo.  It was heaven on a plate!

On Saturday night my step-mom and I stayed at my sister's apartment.  We both didn't really feel like going out but I didn't want to just sit at home.  So my sister told me about this cute little bakery just down the street. She and I went and brought back some GORGEOUS desserts.  This picture does NOT do them justice.  Heaven Scents was the kind of place you want to go and have a cup of coffee and eat your weight in dessert.  Some times I really glad I'm gf so I couldn't eat more than just the top of the cheesecake!

The region of Cali we were in is known for it's wine.  So of course we had to go visit a winery!  This was my favorite.  I bought a bottle but couldn't bring it home on the plane and they didn't ship to Indiana, so we drank it that night for dinner.  Delicious! 

And I know you have seen the above two photos before but I'm not kidding when I say I have been dreaming of that salad!  The garlic was so strong it was just amazing.  But I thought I would throw them in again just to make your mouth water!

So that wasn't every meal I ate but that was a good bit of them.  A lot of our meals were just snacky meals while we were out shopping.  But those were the highlights! 

What was the best thing you have ever eaten on vacation? Do you take pictures of your food?

Love, Lacey

Divorce in the Bible?!

This past weekend our Pastor gave a fantastic sermon about divorce and what the bible has to say.  He like the rest of us don't have all the answers but I think he gave some fantastic insights! I'm going to link the video at the end of this post.  Please take the time to watch it.  I know it seems long but he really is funny and weather you are married, single, engaged, or divorced he speaks to it all.

I want to share a portion of an email that I sent to our Pastor regarding this message.  It shares a bit about Mr. J and I but I feel that it's important to share because it could be very helpful to someone else.

Before Mr. J and I got married we talked about marriage and what we each wanted and the one thing we made clear to each other was that divorce was NOT an option!  He comes a divorced home (thankfully his mom remarried when he was young and he has a great father!)  and my family is a LONG story, so we knew that isn't what God wanted and not what we wanted either.  I think going into the marriage knowing that divorce wasn't even an option saved us.  The first two years of our marriage were horrible! When you talked Sunday about standing on the edge of divorce and waiting to take the plunge, it brought me right back to those first two years.  I know if divorce would have been an option we wouldn't be together today.  Instead God broke both of us, brought us back to Him, and here we are going to celebrate 11 years in June!  God is SO good!



I encourage you all to click the link below! Take the time to watch the video and share if you want.  It could make the difference to you or someone you love!

CLICK HERE to watch!

Love, Lacey

Blog on Hold

I'm sorry this post is late!  I usually blog a few days in advance and pre-schedule them to post on certain days later in the week or the next week.  But this week I came down with the flu.  OH MY GOSH!  It was horrible!  My fever hit 103.6 at one point and I thought I was going to die.  Okay not really but I was FREEZING, my hips hurts worse than after a 10 miler, and I could barely walk to the fridge for more water without getting tired.  I'm thankful I'm on the upswing but I still do not feel so great!  I'm working on an uplifting blog for tomorrow (Friday) but for now I will leave you with this picture I found on dumpday.com (who thinks of these names?!).  We have had a fawn & black pug both and they really are the laziest and sweetest couch potatoes EVER!!  AWE!!  I just want to steal these two.  SO CUTE!

Have you ever had the flu? What did you do to get over it?

Love, Lacey

My California Adventure - Part 1

Welcome to Part 1 of my California adventure!! I'm not sure how many parts this is going to have and they are all sure to be picture heavy.  So if you don't care about or don't want to see my adventure feel free to skip it.  But I hope you will come along on this adventure with me!

It all started on Wednesday February 26.  My flight was to leave our local airport at 6:20 am.  So you know what that means? I had to get to the airport around 5am. That also meant I needed to leave our house just before 4:30am!! This is not a time that I am usually awake, let alone functioning to be driving or speaking to other people. 

Yep!  That is exactly how I felt on the plane! Thankfully our airport has a Seattle's Best (it's not a Starbucks but at 5:30am I take what I can get!) so I got a latte and settled in to wait for my flight.  We took off on time and the flight was full but I had a window seat all to myself!

I like Chicago!  I wouldn't want to live there but I do like to visit. I've never flown into O'Hare after (or before in this case) dark. So I had never really realized what the streets looked like all lit up. I took this picture out the window as we flew over.  I just thought the perfect lines of the grid pattern and the lights were all so beautiful.  I don't know.  It just spoke to me. 

To pass the time on my flights I brought this book.  I LOVED it!  I would HIGHLY recommend it to any runner or really anyone!  Bart Yasso is just an amazing person and a real inspiration.  I finished the book before I even got to Cali. I also had to get some really nasty delicious coffee because I was DRAGGING!

It's really hard to see but that's the Grand Canyon (or at least part of it)!  I've never been out west before so this was the first time I had seen it.  We actually saw it a bit better later on but I was in the middle seat and didn't want to reach other the sweet lady next to me to take 101 pictures of it.  But I can tell you even from the air it was AMAZING!  I started dreaming about going there and running on the rim, or on the floor, or down the path or anything!  I really want to go see it in person now!  I was seriously in AWE!

I no more got to Cali and promptly asked my Sis-in-law to take me to the nearest Starbucks!  Oh sweet nectar of the gods did it tasted so good!  

One thing I don't think I mentioned is that this trip was a surprise to my sister.  She knew my step-mom was coming to visit but she had no clue that I was coming.  So we decided to surprise her with a nice dinner out.  So we went to the Stone Brewery.  They have a beautiful outside seating area and the most amazing menu! This picture was just inside the front door.  This giant "stone" was beautiful! And wearing sandals in February, while sitting outside to eat was a definite bonus!

Tikka chicken spicy Marsala with quinoa and veggies. I didn't know what tikka chicken was (and still don't) but it was just about the best thing I have ever eaten!  The Marsala sauce was indeed spicy but not over the top.  The quinoa and veggies were delicious!  I ended up mixing the quinoa and veggies in with the Marsala sauce and that was amazing too!  We split a bottle of wine between the 4 of us girls (my sister, my sis-in-law, my step mom, & myself) and that was amazing too! The wine was by Paco & Lola and it was very delicious! 

My sister-in-law said they had some gardens just down a walkway from where we were sitting so we went to take a look.  It was beautiful!  This picture does not even do justice to the gardens.  The area pictured above is known to hold weddings and lots of reception type parties.  There were a few tables down that little walk way and then a pond and a few chairs that you could just sit and relax.  The frogs in the pond were super loud and obviously happy with the cool but beautiful evening!  This place was gorgeous!

And it was the absolutely perfect place to surprise my sister (in the middle). She walked in, did a double take, and said "What are you doing here?!?!?". I was super happy to give her a giant hug!  I haven't seen her since she moved to Cali in September and that was far too long to go without hugging my sister! 

Have you ever surprised anyone with a trip?  Have you ever gone on vacation alone?

Love, Lacey

Buying Cheese in Bulk

I wanted to share with you a little money saving tip!  We are a family of 5 with only one income.  So we have a pretty tight grocery budget.  I meal plan and do the best that I can with what I have. I thought I would share one of my favorite money saving tips in hopes it will help someone else!

We go through a lot of shredded cheese!  I make Mac'n'cheese almost every week and we have tacos and chili often and all those mean the need for shredded cheese.  So I buy this big bag of shredded Colby Jack from Sam's Club for about $14.  

I put the big plastic bag in this metal bowl to help keep it upright.  I cut the whole top off the bag since I'm going to separate the bag out into smaller bags so no need for the resealable top!  I pre-open about 10 Ziploc quart size freezer bags and put about 2 cups of cheese in each bag.  Most of the bags of shredded cheese you buy in the store are 2 cups so that is what I do.  But you could easily do 1 cup or 4 cups or anything that you wanted!

After I scoop them all out I squeeze out most of the air, seal the top, and fold the bag over.  I get about 12, 2 cup bags out of that 5 lbs bag of cheese.  If you do the math that averages out to about $1.17 a bag!  The last time I looked a 2 cup baggie of shredded cheese at the grocery store was well over $2 and closer to 3 or 4!  

Any time I need to make something or we are getting low on cheese in the fridge, I just go out to our chest freezer and pull a bag out!  I usually have to buy more cheese within 2-3 months and the cheese is just as good the last bag as it is the first!  If you are looking for a way to save some money at the grocery store try buying shredded cheese in bulk! I have found it's a great way to save some money!  Hope you try it out!!

What is your best money saving tip? What over tips would you like?!

Love, Lacey

I'm Traumatized by LAX

Here is the traumatizing story of my 24 hour trip home from California! I was due to leave San Diego (Stay Classy San Diego) at noon on Monday.  I got to the airport around 10:30 and made my way to the ticket counter.  I got my boarding pass (no checked bags) and went to find my gate.  I got a small snack and sat down to do some reading and relax before my flight.  Soon they announced that my flight was delayed by about 15 min.  I thought "Ok that won't be too bad".  I knew I didn't have a long layover (40 min) but I knew basically where the gates in LAX were and where I needed to go.  Well then the delay got longer and longer and we waited and waited and by the time we got on the plane and in the air I had 10 min to make it to my plane.  With a 25 min plane ride and at least another 5 min tram ride to the gate I needed I knew I wasn't going to make it.  

Sunny San Diego

So by the time I get into LAX my plane was definitely gone and I had a voice-mail from my airlines telling me my new flight numbers and times.  Now remember I arrived at LAX some time around 2pm. The voice-mail informs me that my new flight will be departing LAX at 11:45PM!!  WHAT?!?!  I lost it!  I was instantly in tears and basically running for the customer service desk.  I talked to the actually really nice and helpful customer service and we sorted it all out that this was the earliest I could get home because of weather and the time difference.  I thought "Ok, this will suck a little. But it will give me a chance to get some dinner and have some alone time.  Probably read a little and maybe spot a celebrity!" I mean I was in LAX!  You never know who you will see, meet, and become BFFS!  I no more started walking to a deserted gate to sit down and I got another phone call from the airlines.  My flight has been cancelled due to weather and my new flight leaves at 1:20 AM!!!  Now I was NOT happy!  I went back to customer service and this time I was sobbing!  I kept saying "I just want to go HOME!" Again I had a very nice lady help me and explained everything and there was nothing to be done.  So I decided at this point I hadn't eaten all day (it's currently 4pm) so I needed to eat!  So I went to this cute little bar in the airport called Cole's! 

I ordered an Amaretto Sour.  The cool thing about Cole's is they don't use any mixes.  So the sour mix that normally would have been used in my drink was made from a mixture of bitters and something (I was still blurry eyed and not paying attention).  I always like talking to people in the airport cause you never know who you are going to meet.  When I sat down I instantly noticed the woman to my right had a British accent so I asked her where she was from and we struck up a conversation.  Her son lives in Maui, so she was out visiting him but he was soon moving to Vermont and her beach vacation days were coming to an end.  She said heading back to the south of England wasn't going to be the same as Maui.  Very sweet lady!  I have no idea what your name was but I hope you made it home safely!  Then to my left was a guy heading home from a guys weekend.  He was a Marine stationed in Hawaii and was on his way home from Park City, Utah where he had been skiing!  Seriously, I love getting people's life story in the airport! 

I also ordered one of the only GF things on the menu a Cesar salad which I forgot to say no croutons but OH WELL I know how to pick them off.  See that brown bit on the top of the salad?  That's a whole anchovy!  The salad had enough anchovies and garlic to make sure I didn't get attacked by ANYONE for a week!  But WOW was a good salad!  The dressing was awesome!  So I had something to eat and then walked around for a little bit.  I walked down to a little bakery and got a couple of Macaroons (sorry no pic) and then sat down for a little bit longer.  Then around 8 I decided I wanted to sit at Cole's (the bar tender was really friendly! HEY HOUSTON!!) and see if I could meet some more interesting people!

Well for awhile I was alone and then this guy sat down next to me.  Sorry for the creeper picture but I thought he looked so much like one of my friend's husbands I was trying to be sneaky for a picture!  Later I struck up a conversation with him about a drink he had ordered (a whiskey sour made with an egg white.  Actually really good!) and we ended up talking a good portion of the night.  His name is Kevin and he is a comedian living in New York City! Actually he lives in New Jersey cause it's cheaper but you know what I mean!  Go stalk him on twitter if you want @KevinShimko . Apparently he was also in the Ricky Bobby movie but only in the wide screen version.  Seriously we laughed so much!  He made the time pass and I'm thankful.  Also the guy in the purple and I talked later after Kevin had to leave.  His name is Myles and he is from Australia.  He is engaged and has a BEAUTIFUL baby girl.  We talked a lot about marriage and kids and being stuck in the airport and long plane rides (13 hrs from LAX to Australia).  So Thank you to everyone who made my time in LAX slightly less traumatizing!

When I finally got on the plane at 1:20am, I slept most of the time until we landed in Dallas around 6:20am and then I grabbed a coffee and rode the monorail to my gate. Thankfully I made it back home and was in my truck to go home by 12:30pm.  So by the time all was said and done I was awake (minus my naps on the plane) for just over 24 hrs.  NOT good for me.  I got home and took a 3 hour nap.  The above picture is what I saw coming home.  Snow!  Oh well.  I guess the gorgeous San Diego weather didn't follow me home! 

Have you ever been stuck at an airport for a long time?  Have you ever met anyone famous or funny or fun to know at an airport?

Love, Lacey

First Outside Run of 2014

On February 27 I decided to take my first outside run of 2014.  I stopped for a quick second to snap this picture! 

WAIT!!  Didn't I recently post THIS picture from out our back door?

Oh yeah that's because I wasn't at home!  I was lucky enough to go to CALIFORNIA to visit two of my siblings.  And while I was there the weather held out for about a day and then some nasty rain storms came through.  But before that happened I went out for a run.  I hadn't really run all winter.  I was too busy with my T25 workouts to run on our new treadmill and going outside (as obvious from the picture above) wasn't going to happen for me.  So I was a little nervous going out.  I set a goal for a 5k (3.1 miles) and took my phone with a map on it since I had NO CLUE where I was.  I thought I'd just do a quick out and back because those seem to be the best for me.  So I set out on my solo adventure in Cali. I went out of my brother's subdivision and took a left, I quickly got to the end of that street and decided to take another left.  I figured if I just took a couple lefts I would just take a couple rights to get home.  Silly me did NOT look at the streets I was turning on!  My new Garmin (first time I have used it since I received it at Christmas) soon chimed out that I had gone a mile, 11:03 pace.  I was pretty darn happy with that considering my average pace last year was somewhere around 10:30 so I didn't feel like I had lost a lot of time.  Pretty soon I looked and I was at my half was point, so I turned around and started heading for home.  Pretty soon my watch chimed out mile 2 with a 10:41 pace.  HOLY COW!  I couldn't believe it!  I felt like I was gliding on air but I guess I really was just settling into my old stride.  Here is where it gets a little shady.  As I mentioned before I had never even SEEN California before let alone this neighborhood and I had NO idea where to turn to get back to the street I DID know.  So I had to take a quick break to check my maps (thank you Apple!) and get directions on where to turn so that I knew where I was again.  Thankfully I hadn't passed the street and was able to turn right pretty easily!  So I turned right onto the correct street and soon after my watch chimed mile 3, 10:42 pace.  WHOA!  I ALMOST had negative splits the whole time!  So with the last .10 to go I turned on my "push to the finish" sprint and got it done!  Final time? 33:27!  Average pace? 10:47!  I am over the moon that this run happened (gotta love vacation running) and that it was as good as it was!  I have no doubt that T25 helped me keep my strength and cardio up over the winter.  Now if Spring can finally spring (is that redundant?!) here, I will be happy to get outside and get going on my outside run training!

Have you had your first outside run of the year? How did it go?  What is the weather like where you are?

Love, Lacey

Walgreens Blackhead Clearing Scrub Review

I want to share with you my current favorite face wash.  The Walgreen's brand Blackhead Clearing Scrub.  It is equal to Clean & Clear Blackhead Eraser Scrub. 

The active ingredient in this face wash is salicylic acid (2%).  If you read my last review( here) of a face wash you will know I need salicylic acid in my washes.  It helps my face stay clear and gets my face really clean! I also like a face wash with a little bit of a exfoliate.  Something that I feel like it's taking off the dead skin but not going to do damage if I use it daily.  So here we are with the Blackhead Clearing Scrub.  I bought this on a whim while I was at Walgreen's.  I needed more face wash and saw this and thought Hey for $4 if I hate it then I'm not out too much.  

Let me give you the pros! This face wash is definitely gentle enough to use every day and it gives a nice tingle when you wash your face!

Now for the only con I came up with . . . the smell.  It doesn't bother me but it definitely has a bit of a medicine type smell.  So if you are easily offended you may want to take a whiff before you buy it.

My over all feelings on this wash is that I really love it!  The price is low, it lasts a long time, and it keeps my face clean!  I do only use it at night.  I could use it twice a day and it would be fine, but I feel like when I wake up my face isn't dirty enough to need a scrub.  I really do like this wash and will continue using it!  I would recommend this to anyone who has combo skin.  Just make sure you follow up with a good moisturizer. 

Love, Lacey