Take It To The Limit

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DID YOU KNOW...

...that both obese and slim people can get stretch marks?  And that 70% of teenage girls and 90% of pregnant women will get stretch marks? - healthstatus.com

Doctors say that puberty can cause stretch marks in both sexes.  So young men aren't exempt from it either.  I remember entering high school and seeing some of the guys starting to work out and bulk up and seeing some of them end up with some serious stretch marks on their ripped biceps.  I thought "Hmm...that's curiouser." Not realizing that it was totally normal, I may or may not have sterilized everything those guys touched of mine.  And spent some extra time wiping down the benches they used before me.

Fast forward 4 years out of high school (shout out to Pine Bush High School - whoody who!) and mama's sportin' a baby bump.  And some serious belly road rash.  I had stretch marks I think from the day the midwife said "Yep.  Your eggos preggo."  And I was a bit unnerved because I was super athletic and really fit and thought I would definitely fall into the category of the privileged 10% that didn't get pregnancy stretch marks.

But it was not to be...

My stretch marks looks like a roadmap to nowhere.  Or one of those Looney Tunes maps where it shows you where Bugs and the gang traveled over a long period of time zigzagging across the land.  I was mortified.  Shocked and appalled that my body could revolt against me like this, I played the cover up game for nearly all of my 10 months of gestation.  (Psst...yep pregnancy is really 10 months long, they just don't want to tell you that up front so as not to scare you.  I promise.)

Fast forward again now 7 years after having my babies.  It's been 5 years since having my last one and guess what? I'm still sporting the tangled web across my midsection and down the sides of my torso.  Now I did consider doing a month by month photo slide of my progress on here, but then decided that it would be too much Lynn flesh on the web for us all to handle.  And I am still actually pretty self-concious about that whole section of my body that essentially GOT WRECKED pushing out my kids years ago.  The husband claims it's no big deal but I feel for my overall satisfaction with my body, I need to try and do something about it.

So to try and at least do something and make some kind of effort to help get my body snap back Beyonce' style (ssssshhhhyaaaa right) I went out and purchased a bottle of Bio Oil.  This little one.

It's not my coming Messiah or anything but it is a nice little thing that I hope in the end will help a sistah out!  That fine print on the bottom says that it "Contains the breakthrough ingredient PurCellin Oil.  Now I have never heard of PurCellin Oil so I looked it up and apparently its a laboratory recreation of the preen gland oil from ducks.  Yep.  The quack quack kind.  Interesting huh?

The bottle states that it should not be exposed to direct sunlight and should be stored in a cool, dry place.  Now that to me is weird because I go in direct sunlight every single day and I wonder if that will diminish its effectiveness?  Another ingredient that it contains is paraffin.  Boooo....liquid paraffin, or mineral oil as it's sometimes known as, is the stuff used in Vaseline and it can clog pores.  Which can lead to dehydrated skin.  Which makes me go :o/ "HUH?"  Why would this ingredient be needed?  I really don't like that additive and it still gives me pause.  Read up more on paraffin over at wikipedia here...

I haven't been using it too regularly and I must tell you that I am not sure if it's just oil being rubbed on my belly or the oil itself but there is only the slightest difference going on.  Just a smidge.  But my belly hasn't started sprouting any acne (thank goodness) so the pore clogging must be minimal.  

My end verdict is that I will give it one more month and see if there is anything extraordinary happening by the end.  If there is then this routine will continue.  If there isn't then I say "Later for you!"

Either way I will try and keep you posted.  Have any of you guys ever tried this and found success with Bio Oil?  Does Bio Oil really work or is it a waste of money?  Sound off.

My best,

Song of the Week: This artist has some crazy belly moves and sick hips.  Shakira "Whenever, Wherever".  She inspires me...and this song brings back crazy high school memories.

What's In Your Wallet?

Over the course of a few months I have been using a whole slew of new good-for-me-good-for-us products.  Some of them are probably known to you and some may not be so familiar.

I'll show you all of the things I'm using these days and then post about them in the weeks to come.  Ready Freddy?

A new soft water filtration system from United Distributors, Inc....

WE LOVE IT!

A whole slew of "all natural" products that came with the filtration system...

We love some, can leave some.  You'll see.

My little tube of Bio-Oil for my mommy stretch marks...

New Shampoo and Conditioner by Shea Moisture that I got from Target...

My Neti Pot...

Here is the rest of the gang of "all natural" products.  We won't be buying stuff for days...yes!

So stay tuned and starting on Monday we will be starting with one of these items above and we will break it down.  Then if any of you are ever in the market for any of these you will be a well informed purse holder.


My best,

Retirement Got Old...

Hi everybody.  I wonder if I can just try and start back up again where I left off and if anybody would notice and try and call me out on it?  ;o)  Yep.  I left.  For a good long while.  And I'm happy I did it.  Should I have left a note on the fridge?  Yes.  Sorry about that.  I just woke up one morning and didn't feel like writing.  And oddly I was cool with it.  I was like "Okay.  That's cool.  Go for a walk instead."  And I did.  In a kind of symbolic way I guess, because after that day I really did walk away from my blog for almost 4 months.

I walked away and didn't look back.  Just kidding.  I did constantly look over my shoulder waiting for someone in the store to say to me "Riiiiiiigggghhttt....get back to work and start crankin' out some content already!"

But now I am not looking back so to speak but looking to the future with my voice in tact again and something to say, things to share, and more to learn about all things natural.  I have to credit this post on the simple life by Sherry from Young House Love for making me realize that I've been gone too long and it was time to come home.

So I'm back y'all! Ready to share and have all the fun in the world with you again.


My best,