Classic Post...

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Todays post was aired in November of '09. It's title "Is This Really My Skin?" is still relevant and appropriate even 2 years later. Enjoy...

Did You Know...

...the average woman uses a dozen personal care items containing 168 chemical ingredients DAILY and men use about 6 a day with around 85 chemicals?

- from the book Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry by Stacy Malkan

"Ay, ay, ay!" as my French speaking mom would say whenever she came across something disagreeable - broken lamps, fingerprints in a freshly decorated cake, contents of her purse upturned and her lipstick missing only to find it after following the red brick road scribbled onto the floor from her bedroom to the bathroom down the hall...ahem...I digress (sorry mom!)

But that's a whole lotta oh-no to be putting into our bodies right? Right. So this week I am telling you about something that can help eliminate and replace approximately 10 yucky ingredients for 10 great and natural ones.

It's this 4 oz. Country Oatmeal All Natural Handmade Soap by Elizabeth Rose that my awesome sister-in-law got me while we were visiting recently (thanks T!)

foto credit elizabethrosesoaps.com

I really loved this soap. It's made of all natural ingredients such as saponified oils of olive, coconut, palm, avocado, shea butter, jojoba and castor oil. It has rosemary and lavender, ground oatmeal and ground vanilla. All these wonderful ingredients just translate into...Yum-o! I used this and I was expecting alot out of it and it delivered big time. I'm not one for overpowering scents, especially when I am putting it on my skin, and this scent is oh so subtle. You really have to look for the smell so don't worry about it coming around the corner before you do! It makes my skin feel like butter - I'm sure all of those oils helped with that - and there's no harsh after burn, or itch! It lathers just as good as any Dove or Ivory any day of the week too.

It's $4.95 for this 4 oz. bar and I say well worth it. Elizabeth Rose Soaps has many other things for sale too. On her site you'll find Acne soap (which got rave reviews in the testimonials so guess what I will be ordering very soon? Lately, I've been battling with the grown folk acne..hmm...stress much?), bath milks and salts, body oils, perfumes, even unscented soaps for those of you with sensitive skin. Go and check her out and tell me what you think.

Elizabeth Rose Purity Inc.

Montgomery, NY 12549

1*877*457*SOAP

www.elizabethrosesoaps.com

What have you guys been using on your skin lately? Any tips on how to nip this adult acne too?

My best,

Music: Bobby Darin "Splish Splash"... no explanation necessary...just enjoy! Okay it's official there is something wrong with YouTube and Blogger being on the same page musically. If you click to the left on the Song of the Week and a song called "Live It Up" starts playing, you can stop it because obviously that's not Bobby Darin. If you wait a few minutes it switches over to the Bobby Darin videos. Sorry for the delay and confusion.

R, R, R!

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Here is Reduced, Reused, and Recycled classic old school post. This time it is a natural soap detergent. I am still using it down to this day so yes it comes HIGHLY endorsed...

Originally posted in November 2010.

Ecos All Natural Laundry Detergent Review...

So I finally got into our local Sam's Club recently (thanks for the piggy back card mom!) and I am reaping the benefits already.

I bought this big ol jug of laundry detergent about 2 weeks ago now and I have been testing it for you all since then so that's why I haven't really written anything in the last few weeks.

Like most things all natural that I have started using I am loving this detergent. It is 100% All Natural, made with coconut oil based fabric softener/cleaner. It is petrochemical free, formaldehyde free, 1,4-dioxane free, with a neutral pH. (Psst...side bar.....what's up with 1,4-dioxane? Well it's a carcinogen that is a byproduct of the chemical process in conventional detergents that since it's not a real additive and instead is a byproduct the regulators do not require it to be labeled on products. I know right? Scandalous!)

Major Pluses:

• It is made with Organic Lavender but leaves barely a scent (the husband was super glad about that)
• The 210 fl oz makes 210 HE (high efficiency washers) loads and 105 standard washers loads. That's alotta laundry!
• Since it's 2X Ultra you will be astounded how LITTLE you need to use to actually get a load clean.
• My clothes came out spotless and any heavier stained clothes (grass and dirt stains) I would just let them soak for about 10 minutes before running the whole cycle.

I highly recommend this product and hope to review more of these in the future. This product is part of the Earth Friendly Products collection found here @ efpclean.com It comes from what looks like a highly eco-conscious company with responsible practices. Leaping bunny approved. And many other good things. Check them out online at www.ecos.com and enter your reason for safeguarding your home under the free offers tab to try and win free products from them. Talk about greatness...

My best,

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I am nothing if not a blogvironment (it could be a word...) conscious person. So in the heart of that sense, I will be putting up some oldies but goodies posts from yesteryear for you all to enjoy for the next few days. What? Am I phoning it in on here because one of my best friends is coming into town tomorrow and I'm trying to buy myself some time? Why yes, yes I am....

:o)

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I am not one to think highly of myself. In fact, due to my being raised in a house with 4 brothers and no sisters they made sure to try and crush every living ounce of self-esteem my parents may have tried to instill in me. Thinking that I was pretty in any new frilly dress my mom bought me? DEEEENIED. Thinking that I could play tea party and dress up with my dollies? NOPE. I forget what year I finally gave up trying to be all girly girl and just succumbed to my tomboy ways. Climbing trees, swinging from vines Tarzan style, doorbell pranking my neighbors, switching out my Jasmin from Aladdin t-shirt for my brothers tuxedo screenprint t-shirt was now my thing.

In the words of the great Andy Bernard of the Office a few episodes back I must have thought to my young self "I guess this is my life now."

So when I write I like to think that I am just writing for myself and no one else is taking notice. Even when I look at my stats (which are quite nice these days so thank you one and all) I get all self-deprecating and say to myself "Don't get all happy, they probably just stumbled across here by missing a letter in their web address." See? Thanks big bros for helping my subconscious keep it real! But remember a few days back when I wrote about milk alternatives here? Well imagine my surprise when I wake up and click on my favorite morning show website - The TODAY Show.com - with Matt, Meredith, Ann & Al (and okay you get to join the lineup now too Natalie Morales) and realize that they did a morning segment on how consumers have more 'milk' options nowadays...like so.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, andnews about the economy

Sooooo......yeah......the TODAY Show must be reading this blog right? I now write for the likes of Matt Lauer and the self-deprecation ends today. So tell your mama and your friends that you read a blog that the TODAY Show may or may not be imitating from. It will make you the hit of the party!

My best,

And Then I Breath...

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So I am actually sitting down and writing the "Back to School" post. And it only took me two days to find enough time to do it! Who knew how much more hectic my life would get after the kids went into school? I guess in all fairness my week started off a little bumpy anyway.

On Sunday night I was cruising around town elbow to elbow with all the other procrastinating parents trying to load up on Capri Suns, backpacks, and lunch meat. Which by the way, were mostly all gone. Note to self for next year, get in there early if you want to get anything you don't have to race an old grandma to grab. Not that I would ever grab from the elderly, but I did see it get kind of ruthless out there.

Monday rolled around and the kids had all of their gear ready to go. My kids looked stellar and I was actually so excited for the day that I got basically zero hours of zzzz's. I kept tossing and turning and couldn't find a good spot to lay in. So from 6 a.m. to about 9:30 when Michael finally went off to work, I was running on just pure adrenaline and if you heard anyone yelling loudly "This is not a drill people!!!!" early Monday morning, that was me.

We dropped off my son first and he was all lovey dovey "bye mommy and daddy and grandmere" and gave us just all around a great sendoff. My daughter? No sireebob, she made it seem like she could take us or leave us and it made no difference to her. I drop her off at Pre-K and before she even gets out of the van she shrieks "Is there where you leave me and you all go home?! You're not coming in right?" After Michael tells her "No we are walking you in." She basically cuts him off and says "Yeah, okay but then after that you leave right???"

Sheesh.....chop liver party of 3. My mom, Michael, and myself were like "Ooohhhkay. She will obviously have no problem with separation anxiety this year." (Unlike her mother.) So we took the pics, made it quick, hugs, kisses, and were out the door. Her school is awesome and has great teachers and a great curriculum so it took me 2 days to wrap my head around the fact that she will be fine. However, don't get me started on how terrible the parking lot situation is. By today I have just started parking across the street and avoiding that mess altogether.

So I think we have found our rhythm. Things are moving along smoothly and I am remembering to breath.....

Life is good and I have survived my kids 1st day of school. How about you? Oh and did anyone else cry as much as me? It was a 4 Kleenex morning. At one point, I was so bleary eyed that I said "Michael lets go to the Boohoo Breakfast the school is holding." We walked over to the building only for me to re-read the sign and realize it said "The KINDERGARTEN Boohoo Breakfast" and then I started crying all over again and said "What? Just cause he's not in Kindergarten I'm just supposed to get over it?!?!" Which resulted in everyone over 3 foot tall looking and laughing at me. Yes, I was "that mom" on my kids first day back.

My best,

Songs of the Week: To switch it up this time I will share with you the family back to school playlist. Each one of us picked a song and we put all 4 into a Great Morning Mix. Enjoy! (Click on each italicized song title to be taken to it on YouTube)

Me - Dobie Gray "Drift Away" (my kids sing a mean rendition of this song that slays me.)

Michael - Florence + The Machine "Dog Days Are Over" (he is a drums man)

Baby Boy - Kings of Leon "Use Somebody" (my boys deep what can I say?)

Baby Girl - Train "Hey Soul Sister" (we always say "blah-blah" over the virgin part and replaced drug with love during that 'the way you cut a rug' verse. Yes, it's a very "G"-rated ship we run here...)

What to Do, What to Do

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Today I want to talk about my life. Not necessarily my natural ways life, but just life...You guys know that my kids are both starting school this year simultaneously right? Yep, they are. My youngest child is starting Pre-K and my oldest is going into 1st grade.

That has basically put my brain and emotions into a dive bomb that will probably crash and burn come Monday when we are down to zero hour and it's actually time to get into the van and whisk everybody off to all corners of town and to each persons respective space. I put in a request with Michael that he take a few hours off of work that morning just so that he can hold my hand as we give away our babies......(holding back tears now...)

It's so daunting in my head. I know they will be okay, but you never really know they will be okay right? I was watching everyone like a hawk last night at Open House and other than the janitor who gave my kid a creepy kinda smile (or was it just an innocent smile that lingered too long?) Nah...I'm sticking with creepy kinda smile, other than that everyone at the school was awesome and the teacher shuffling they did over the summer paid off big time for my boy because it looks like he scored a really great and enthusiastic teacher.

I'm so selfish and indecisive. About halfway through the summer I was texting my husband like mad saying "Come get these kids! I'm done!" knowing full well he couldn't leave his job and get them. I think that just saying those words would bring me back to earth and realize that the kids weren't being soooo bad that I had to banish them off to their dad's boring ol' job. So on any given day at any given hour I was either elated that I was a mother because we were sharing story time and painting together on the living room floor and getting along or I was crying because they broke another one of my electronics while running through the house just seconds after I explicitly told them that running in the house could result in an injury or them breaking something.

*!CRASH!#

And boom goes the dynamite....But now I'm truly facing reality. Our summer is done, the school shopping has begun, the haircuts are this weekend, the food lists are shaping up nicely, the house cleaning is wrapping up, and a new era is dawning on this here family.

What am I to do, I know that I will start working but I don't know what to do with a silent house because I haven't had one in 6 years. It should be interesting.

Here's something though. I entered a contest at Subway to earn a free membership for a year to my local gym or a one week free trial and I know that everyone gets the 1 week because that's how gyms try and build up memberships so I wasn't surprised when I got the call. So now that's part of my plan.

I think I'll go to the gym, walk on the treadmill while watching food network - who does that? I do that - and cry into my protein shake. Yeah......that sounds like a plan.

What about any of you mothers and fathers out there? Is it going to be a hard transition back to school life or are you waiting to get your River Dance on once that school bell rings? What kind of job do you think I should get? Keep blogging or get a "real job"? ;0)

Side note blog Q: What do you think of the bright green link color that I use? Do you like it or do you wish it was darker? Does it make your eyes go wonky? I just want to accommodate all you fine folks, so let me know in the comments whachya think.

My best,

The Eyes Need It

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I am one Dr.'s visit away from this being my prescription...somethings gotta be done.

I have had glasses for what feels like all my life. I did take a little detour into contacts lenses back in my early 20's but that lasted for only about a year before I ended up in the ER with corneal abrasions. Yes that does hurt as bad as it sounds. And because of my lack of drive to take the contacts out one night after a hard day of working with masons on a volunteer construction project - by the end of that ER visit I was gently scolded by the Dr. not to wear them again for at least a year. I needed to be back in glasses to let my cornea heal thyself.

And they have. 5 years later and I am thinking about contacts again. I'm nervous though that my daughter won't love me anymore guys. Here's why. Whenever she sees me take off my glasses for even a moment to wipe them off she tilts her head to the side and gives me a scowl and says "You don't look like my mommy....you don't look like anybody's mommy..." Are you kidding me? Is she not laying it on Lifetime Movie thick? I just realize though that my kids have never gotten to know me without glasses on. So to them it's just another extension of mommy. My son is down with it though, he tells me I look pretty without my glasses. (We know who won't be marrying a librarian anytime soon!)

Now since yesterdays post on Glaucoma was added to this here blog, I can't stop thinking about my eyes and then I figured that you guys would want to know some ways how to strengthen your eyes - preferably without laser beams and knives right? So here are just a few easy natural ways to strengthen our eyesight and vision in the comfort of our own homes, or plane, train and automobile.

adapted from steven aitchison

1) Blink. Yep, just simply blinking during the day helps keep the eyes fresh and focused. Blink every 3-4 seconds for 2 minutes. It's also a good thing to do during conversations to make the other party not feel threatened and you will appear relaxed and friendly.

2) Palming. Take an eye break. This is great if you are a computer nerd like myself. Palming helps relieve any stress around the eyes and relaxes them.

• Get in a comfortable position leaning forward on a desk or with your elbows resting on your knees or thighs.
• Put your 2 hands over your eyes in a cupping manner (like parenthesis) with your fingers on your forehead and the heel of your hand will rest on your cheekbone.
• Do this for a few minutes and it should help to decloud and rest your eyes for a bit.

3) Figure eight. This helps with flexibility. Basically imagine an upright figure eight in front of you and "trace" it by just using your eyeballs. Go in one direction for a few minutes and then switch going the other direction. It feels super weird at first but then you get the hang of it. You might end up doing a little Stevie Wonder swirl with your neck, but fight the urge - just the eyes, just the eyes.

These are just a few ways to strengthen your eyes naturally. If your eyesight is terrible like myself, then this will take some daily use over a good period of time before you may start seeing results. So hopefully this helps in the building up of our corneas.

My best,

The "Eyes" Have It

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Did You Know...

...that your eye has over 2 million working parts? - Convery Optometrists

Okay so today is a quick how do ya do. My kids start school on Monday, I still have shopping to get done, house cleaning to do, a pantry to shop for, and my poor Papa had what Dr.'s are describing as a mild stroke and now he is in a "rehab" facility - aka Nursing Home - getting some serious physical therapy. (Wow. I guess I can do a long story short - who knew?) So on the run I am - spoken like a true Yoda wannabe...

Today I just have a much needed Public Service Announcement to make. Unpaid of course, but I'm so loaded I can do free work all over the place and not even feel it - pshhh, yeah right! No, seriously though, hear what I am trying to say.

My mom has bad eyesight due to glaucoma. Or "The G" as we like to call it around here. I recently went with her on her Doc visit and the Doctor said that her vision is basically 90% gone in one eye. BUT she could have been treated alot sooner if she made regular visits to her optometrist who would have likely caught it and been able to treat it. It seems to be genetic too. The Dr. looked at me and said "You should get checked young lady." After the slight flush that 'young lady' gave me, I realized that he had said something alarming. "Excuse me? I need to get checked for what again?" "Yes, this disease tends to run in the family so get checked as soon as possible and often to get early detection going."

Great. One more thing to add the list. But....the most important in my book. Eyes are the window to our souls some say and also our window to freedom. So guess what I will be doing next week? Yep. Making an appointment for these peepers to get their test on.

Seeing with our eyes are beautiful no? Yes. So get on the horn and call your Eye Dr. as well. Take the initiative because it's for our own eye safety.

*For more information and many interesting facts on glaucoma go check out the Glaucoma Research Foundation website here.

My best,

5 Natural Must Haves For Your Purse

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Did You Know...

...the average size of woman's purse is anywhere from 7-10 lbs.!? - handbagheaven.com

The above mentioned handbag site has fabulous bag by the way in some really great prices too so go check them out. Like today. Just finish reading this first.

My purse is definitely the junk drawer of my entire familys outside life. Between my 2 kids and husband, at any given moment my purse might contain band-aids, batteries, a ruler (?), 3 different candy scented Strawberry Shortcake dolls, about 5 expired coupons for stuff that I really wish I had bought and something sweet wrapped in plastic.

But there are definitely a few things that I need to constantly have in that purse to ensure that I don't walk around town looking like I just stepped off the set of "Thriller" as an extra. These are things that always get the mucho primo real estate spot of the huge zippered pouch at the top inside of the bag.

My Top 5 Natural Products To Have In Your Purse at Any Given Moment

1. eos lip balm - (yellow egg-shaped container)for chapped lip touch-ups.

2. alba un-petroleum Jelly - (orangey bottle with blue writing) for hydrating my sometimes ashy hands and legs.

3. Alvera Aloe & Almonds All Natural Roll-On Deodorant - for those on-the-go freshening ups.

4. Dollar Tree Lip Balm for $1 - you can never have enough lip balm in your purse is my motto.

5. bare minerals lip gloss - (slim pink bottle with black top) a girl needs a little flash of color on her lips right? This one adds just the right amount. A nice balance between Mimi Bobeck and Susan Boyle (the early years).

So these are my 5 essentials, must haves and can't leave home without'ems. Now I let you take a peek into my cavernous purse, what's in yours? Same, different, or more lint than anything else? Let's talk about it.

My best,

Song of the Week: I used to dance like a crazy person to this when I was pregnant with my firstborn. After he was born and I would play it his legs and arms would start flailing from the recognition. It's Sarah Slean "Sweet Ones". Click on the title of the song to watch it on YouTube or click on one of the videos with her title from the S.O.T.W. bar on the right.

Pescatarian Update

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Today marks one week pescaterian! Other than the occasional headache I am feeling alright. I think the headaches were from not eating at the proper times and I was starving.

Psychologically this is hard at times I won't lie. And I did cheat once but didn't even realize it. Michael my husband was eating chicken nuggets for lunch one day and as he walked by with his plate I just grabbed one and popped it into my mouth. No thought, just did it. It wasn't until hours later that I had that video zooms in on my eyes bugging out in realization of what I did moment. I was like "WHAT DID I JUST (HOURS AGO) DO????" But the flip out lasted like a second and then I was fine. I just told myself to be more careful next time.

Also, I need to do some research on whether or not a person can detox from meat. Do any of you know? I'm looking into it. We'll see. Now although I do eat fish, I have hardly even ate that all week. This week I made one tuna casserole dish and I was kinda skeeved out by the tuna believe it or not. Go figure! The one protein that I was excited that I get to still eat, after cooking it into a meal - I was unimpressed by. Meh, who knows?

I found a couple of really great veggie recipes over at Miss Lycia's blog All Day Natural

• Mchicha (East African Spinach) Dish (made with peanut butter!)
• Coconut Vegetable Curry

I am going to be making, tasting, and enjoying these hopefully this weekend. I will report back to you my findings. In the meantime, do any of you have some great veggie - raw or cooked - recipes just dying to make their way into my life? Feel free to dish 'em out then.

My best,

Time to Face the Music

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Did You Know...

....that music can help support healthy feelings and thoughts, and also improve concentration and attention span? - American Music Therapy Association, Inc.

Today is not a good day. Yesterday was a kinda crummy day as well. The weather won't give. I live in the Sunshine State but with nothing to show for it. Usually, when it rains in Florida it comes and goes pretty quickly. Maybe a 20-25 minute sprinkle with accompanying thunder but then it moves on. I heard that not even too long ago you could time your day down to the minute when there would be a 15 minute sprinkle and that was it for the day. Now we are having full on thunder, lightning, and rain storms for hours on end. And it gets scary I tell ya! Enough to make me curl up in a ball and start praying loudly to God that my large tree out front doesn't crash down on our little ol house. So to say that the weather is getting worse during our rainy season is an understatement.

Can anybody say global warming? Haha!

So I am stuck at home indoors with the kids when I would much rather be outside playing at the park and flying my sons new kites. I'm such a whiny baby today....sorry.

I was reading over my post from yesterday about acidophilus and our innards and I was genuinely surprised and kinda proud of myself for talking about such an adult subject. My husband always says that I can be about as immature as they come sometimes, and the fact that I laugh at nearly any bathroom type humor is a testament to that fact. I have to try and stay young at heart somehow! But brava to me for tackling a delicate topic on here, and now I'm patting myself on the back like I did in 6th grade for passing Science.

Since I will be inside all day I am definitely going to need some tunes. I need as much musical support to give me healthy feelings and thoughts. I don't know about you, but I go stir crazy when I am stuck indoors. Up North when the weather was bad and we were indoors for a bit, it was usually due to snow - but that you can go out and play in to your hearts content. Could you see me in my rain coat today spinning around and jumping in puddles in the middle of this lightning storm? Not so much.

On days where I feel that I might easily get down emotionally (rainy days and Mondays always get meeeee dooooown), then those are the days that music therapy really helps. According to the American Music Therapy Association, which I love that they actually exist, they have documented outcomes from their music therapy research that prove that music can:

• Reduce muscle tension
• Improve self-esteem
• Decrease anxiety/agitation (perfect for when the kids are going for that glass shattering volume)
• Improve group cohesiveness (Score! That is exactly what I need today)
• Increase motivation
• Successful and safe emotional release (feel like crying? go for it. here's why.)

foto from the maynard group

So all bullets point to me playing Pandora all day and a nice mixture of slow and steady Indie and faster paced Pop, Rock, and Hip-Hop (only the clean versions mom I promise!)

Play some muzack! It'll make you feel.....great! (If that's what you're going for.)

My best,

*While proofreading I realized that this post sounds like it could have been paid advertisement for the American Music Therapy Association, Inc. buuuut it wasn't. I just like what they're about so I wrote this up.

Gut Check

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FAIR WARNING TO ALL MY MALE READERS....THIS WILL PROBABLY BE A TMI KINDA POST!!!! DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!!!!

Ladies feel free to join in the conversation though, it's important safe body info here.

Today let's talk about our internal plumbing. Alot of times when we get the sniffles, the flu, or a cold we end up in the Doctors office and walk out with that little blue prescription for amoxicillin right? Or penicillin depending on how bad it is. So we fill the script, start on our daily pill popping ways, and wait. Wait for the pain and suffering to end and the antibiotics to kick in right? But while we are waiting - sometimes - something terrible can happen. We can end up with a yeast infection. Yikes! How did that get there?

Let's break it down...

When we are on antibiotics it's like the overachievers of the medical world. They get into our system and just clean house. They don't discriminate. Whether you belong there or not it's kicking you out. And therein lies the trouble. Antibiotics take out even the pro-biotics which are necessary to our general health. In our intestines there is a naturally occurring bacteria called flora (isn't that just the cutest name?) that lives there and it's job is to regulate our digestion and stool patterns. And yeast lives in our intestines too. These two are constantly vying for more space, but generally they keep each other under check and the amounts stay about where they should. Except when we are on antibiotics, because they deplete the good bacterial flora and the yeast then starts to overgrow (is anyone else's brain visual as vivid and epic looking as mine right now?) Overgrown yeast is no joke though. It can lead to a whole host of troubles for us such as:

• Thrush (white spots on the inside of the mouth)
• Yeast diaper rash
• Vaginal yeast infection
• Diarrhea
• Yeast infection of the breast (news to me!)

Enter superhero music - dun, dun, dun, duuun!!!! And enter acidophilus! Lactobacillus acidophilus to be exact, and L. Acidophilus for short. Pronounced lack-toe-bah-sill-us acid-ah-fill-us. This microorganism lives in the lining of our intestines naturally and it can replenish our bacterial flora and reduce the overgrowth of yeast. Kapow! Take that!

So when you get sick and need to take an antibiotic try and take some additional L. Acidophilus to keep some good probiotics going in that system of yours. It's suggested that you start to take it as a supplement at first sight of any of the above bulleted symptoms or when you start taking antibiotics. Take it for a week after you have finished the antibiotics as well. We want to be as thorough as the antibiotics were right?

Now to get this into your system you can either get the "L" in capsule or powder form at your local health food store or if you aren't into that you can take it by getting some particular foods at the grocery store that have acidophilus in them naturally. Enter 2nd bulleted list....

• Yogurt - this is the most common source of "L.A." You see that liquid film on top? Don't throw it out! Because it contains alot of the vital acidophilus you will need. Just mix it in with the rest. Also look for the label that says "contains live and active cultures". (You don't want any old fuddy duddy cultures now would you?)
• Energy bars - Luna bars contain the prebiotic inulin which contains elements that will promote good bacterial growth in the belly.
• Wildwood Probiotic Hummus - in a variety of flavors.
• Nancy's Cultured Sour Cream - cute review found here.

It's also recommended that with the yogurt you should get the one with the least amount of added sugar because that can counteract and deplete the effectiveness of the acidophilus.

*Note: This post was made by a non Doctor so be sure to inform your Doctor if you plan on implementing any of these products along with your medicine so as to avoid any medicinal contradictions.

Which one of these methods do you think you might try? Are there any other ways that you get your acidophilus on? Let's talk.

My best,

*Yogurt pic from yogurtstarter.org

One Day at A Time

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My journey towards vegatarianism is just rolling right along. Todays short post is just a quick little update....

So far, so good. Since Thursdays post about me becoming a vegetarian and taking a week off from meat to decide if I'm strong enough, have enough willpower, am doing this for the right reasons, etc., etcetera.....I have been holding steady. We ate out most of the weekend (because we are a family on the move) and I was able to find decent food all over town.

I also made another decision. You might think less of me but I'm prepared for that and I'm okay with it. I've decided that I will probably be a pescatarian. That is someone whose diet mainly consists of fruits and vegetables but also seafood. So I can eat fish. And no other meats. I think that is a pretty decent looking menu for my everyday yeah?

Just wanted to fill you in on my progress thus far and make a noise so you don't think I croaked from lack of burger meat.

Now my only thing I am currently kicking around is whether or not to give up eggs. Hmmm....any thoughts on the matter? Let me know y'all.

My best,

Song of the Week: "Peaches" by The Presidents of The United States of America. Why not?

Weekend Roundup (Aug. 11)

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Didn't get to be here all week with the rest of us? Tis okay. I've rounded up the week in a nice little bundle for you to peruse at your leisure.

Monday, Don't Cross Me (which for some strange reason Blogger labeled it as a Sunday post - why I aughta!) was all about the legs and how to properly sit and cross them so you ladies and gentlemen can reduce the appearance of varicose veins.

Tuesday, Talking About Legs was me recalling a nifty trick I read on how to get firm Tina Turner-esque legs by applying your lotion in this special kinda way.

Look at the legs on her! Yeah, she must work out...

Wednesday, Let's Face It looking for a great DIY, easy on the wallet, probably have everything on hand already kind of face mask? Then enjoy this Oatmeal & Yogurt Face Mask recipe.

Thursday, To V or Not to V I have decided to do my first real vegetarian test run. One week. One lady. No rules. Who will come out the victor?

Friday, Seal in that Moisture this is a review of a great all natural organic honey moisturizing lotion by the Company Made From Earth.

Now that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Your Weekend Roundup for the week.

See ya's Monday!

My best,

Seal in that Moisture

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Remember Wednesday when I shared that awesome oatmeal yogurt face mask with you? Well in the directives I told you at the end to add your moisturizer of choice to seal in that moisture that your face was still riding high on.

I will share with you the moisturizer that I used. The lovely people over at Made from Earth sent me a sample package a few months ago to test out and review so today I will be doing their holistic honey body lotion review.

Made from Earth holistic honey body lotion

photo lifted from madefromearth website

In the words of the Company, "Made from Earth is an organic, holistic and healthy supplier of organic body lotions, organic face creams, and, organic lip balms to meet your healthy skin care needs." Which is just the kind of company we all love!

This pretty much all natural gem of a lotion is great for sealing in that moisture after a steam shower or face mask application. It will help keep that dewy supple youth like skin going long after the scrubs and masks are taken off. (I'm on 2 days post face mask and my face still feels soft.) The rarely found organic honey in the lotion is a nice touch because honey is a natural humectant (here comes the science!) Humectants are a molecular substance that preserves the moisture or water content of the skin. So if you tend to have dry skin then this will be your jam and this is the lotion to go with. Honey naturally hydrates which means adds water and also has antioxidant properties that will be deposited into your skin. For hours after I applied this lotion to my face it felt ah-may-zing! "Angelic" and "babys bottom" are key words that come to mind when I would describe how good my face felt and feels still.

The directions say to apply it to skin in a circular motion and then after it is absorbed, do a second rub down to ensure it really sticks I guess. This lotion really works and my only kvetch is that it doesn't smell the greatest. It doesn't give off a tremendous honey scent, it's kinda more like an alcoholy kinda smell. But being in the natural world you come to expect some things not to always smell like lavender fields.

Specs: 8 oz. bottle (it's a pretty tall green slender bottle) for $29.99. This is a really great Company with some really nice products so go and check them out over at their website.

My best,

To V or Not to V

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This post is going to be a call to all you Vegetarians. At first you might hate me, but I hope by the end of this you will like me again. It'll end well you'll see.

Okay so I'll admit that I was one of those "What a fad jumper-onner!" kind of people whenever I heard someone had switched over to being Vegetarian. I would give them grief and eat my hamburgers all opened mouth and slovenly while mouthing and mumbling "Mmmm....meat!"

I would laugh at all the jokes:

"If God intended us not to eat meat, he wouldn't have made them so delicious." (Not my joke I swear.)

foto from cheezburger.com

So you could imagine my concern when one day my internal Lynn (yes she has a Minnesotan accent like the mom from "Bobby's World") said as I was biting into a juicy hormone laden burger, "Ya know Lynn, this here meats probly not good for ya. You should become one of those um, whatcha call 'ems....uhhhh ya, vegetarians!" I was shocked. I looked around to see if anyone else heard internal Lynn because sometimes she shouts to get her point across. But ever since that day I have been coming back to that thought more often than ever. I feel like I am on the precipice of taking that leap again and going from being an outsider looking in, to finally being a full fledged card-carrying Leaping Bunny™ approved V.

What is taking me so long? Fear. I'm a big fat scaredy cat. I am overwhelmed with the thought of having to actually plan out meals that will give me enough nutrition and not make my hair fall out. I also don't want to drop to 95 lbs. in a month due to no actual body fat and a lack of protein. All things that I'm sure won't ever happen, but I am just a drama queen at heart so go with it okay? It just seems overwhelming changing such a large part of my life. You guys know me and know that I love to eat. I love all the different varieties of food. I love how versatile chicken is and how many different layers you can throw on a burger and call it a meal.

But I know there are more benefits than downfalls if and when I make the switch. I have been following a lot of really impressive Vegetarians online for a few years now and they just seem to be so healthy. Their hair is always so shiny and vibrant looking. They look well rested. Not to say that their lives are perfect or they can see through walls or anything fancy like that, but they just seem.....content. Yeah content, that's a good way to put it.

And I want to be content with my food too. I am ready I believe. So here is what I am proposing to myself, and to you because I do better when I am held accountable to others, I am going to see if I can go one week without meat and see if I miss it to the point of delirium. If I can't hack it then I can't hack it. But if I find that I was able to find suitable non-meat choices while dining out and dining in and can find awesome recipes that I can conquer at home then I am in like Flynn and so long Annual Carnivore Convention (that's not a real thing, so you don't have to Google it. Oops wait! I just Googled it and turns out it is a real thing but ironically enough it's about the preservation and protection of certain carnivorous species.)

I am really going to do it guys, I mean it. But I need some encouragement from you already there Vegetarians. What made you make the lifestyle change? Are there any books you can recommend that can help me see the benefits and transition me easily? Can any of you really see through walls? Cause I would really love that superpower. That and the ability to fly so I can save on airfare while still seeing my loved ones across the globe.

But lets dish. What have you all heard about V's? Know any good jokes?

My best,

Let's Face It

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We all love face masks and facials don't we? I know I appreciate a spa day at home now and again. And again, and again, and again. <---did anyone else suffer through "Dude Where's My Car" back in the day? Back to my face. It's looking rough these days, I'm not going to lie. The right side looks alright but the left side has been looking like the dark side of the moon. You know, the side with all the craters and bumps all over it. The side the moon would rather you not photograph.

So today I am getting tough with my tough skin. I have a combo pack of sorts going on. My whole face has different types of skin in all different areas. My chin is dryer than my cheeks, but right below my eyes it is usually dry also. Then my T Zone (that consists of the forehead and the bridge of your nose - that form a T) is usually looking like Death Valley it's so dry. But get this, my temples are like an oil slick just happened. Is that enough descriptives for you? I tell ya I am nothing if not thorough. I should so work for The Home Shopping Network.

I am going to start trying different face masks and reporting back to you on them on here so we can all benefit together. I know, gather in, group hug.

Let's get to it shall we?

I decided that a multi-purpose, all skin types kinda mask was what I needed. If you are looking for the same then here is what you will be needing...recipe adapted from beauty.about.com

Oatmeal and Yogurt Face Mask

1 tbsp oatmeal, finely ground

1 tbsp live, organic yogurt (I just used my plain unorganic yogurt)

A few drops of honey

* I ground the oatmeal for a few seconds in the blender until nicely ground. Put it in a bowl.

*Add the yogurt to the oats and mix em up.

*Warm up the honey in the microwave for around 7 seconds.

*Add honey. Mix it all together.

*Apply to face and leave on for 10-15 minutes.

let the aborigine jokes begin...

*Rinse off with warm water gently, then apply a warm washcloth to the face for 1 minute.

*Apply moisturizer of your choice to seal in the moisture.

Ooo-la-la!

And you are done and your face feels amazing and looks wonderful! My skin is so soft that my baby girl comes up to me and touches it and says "Feeeeeels Soooooft!"

Come on and try it and tell me your thoughts on the matter.

My best,

Talking About Legs

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Now I am on a complete leg kick. Ba-doom-boom! Yesterdays post on spider veins got me thinking about legs and what other things I have learned about them in my lifetime.

I can't think of a pair of more famous legs than Tina Turners, can you? Ever since I was a little girl and would watch her dance on MTV (back when they still played actual music videos) I would think "How does she keep her legs so fit?" And I vowed to keep my legs in T.T. shape well into my 50's like she has. (Sidenote: I just checked Google and she is actually in her 70's now. Awwwwesome Saaaaauuce!)

foto courtesy weeseeyou.com

When I was younger my mom sold Avon. She would fill the orders for the moms in the neighborhood and when the orders came in we would set up an assembly line of sorts in the living room and then she would send me on my way with a big Avon bag full of products to deliver to her customers. How I never got jumped for my perfumes and sparkly jewelry was always a mystery. Actually not really, I grew up in the suburbs of NY and it was the 80's. Kidnapping wasn't really the epidemic it is today. It was a pretty safe time.

Anywhoooo....I was a wordy nerdy little kid. I read everything I could get my hands on. I highlighted words in my dictionary (yes I most certainly did), I would read the toothpaste bottle while brushing my teeth in the bathroom, the daily paper, all 4 sides of the cereal box at breakfast. I LOVED TO READ I TELL YA! And I still do. So because of this my mom would get in her Avon books and I would read them from cover to cover and whenever someone wanted to know if there was a certain product available my mom would turn to her little Rain Woman (moi) and ask me and I would chime in after pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose closer to my eyes and in my best Steve Urkel voice "Why yes mother. It is on such and such a page." What a nerd...haha!

One of the editions I remember reading was all about the legs. They had mothers and daughters standing side by side and showing their legs and how fit they were even though the mothers were like in their 40's and 50's and their daughters were teenagers and in their 20's and 30's. And they all had fabulous legs. One mother daughter duo had some exceptional T.T. legs and I remember it clearly. They asked the daughter (who was in her early 30's)

Avon: "How do you keep your legs in such good shape? You have no cellulite to speak of."

Daughter: "Well my mother told me that to ensure good legs, when I apply my lotion that I should rub up."

And ever since then, that is how I have applied my lotion. In an upward sweeping motion. And so far, so good. Sometimes you get the good gene pool, but sometimes just tweaking an everyday routine can make a nice difference.

So. Next time you are applying your lotion start from your ankles and pull upwards. This helps with circulation and drainage of any collected fats. Also, ease up on the sweeter things in life. Like the cookies, the cakes, the pies and the whatnot. I noticed that whenever I went on my infamous sugar binges is when I would start to get a little cottage cheesiness in the thighs. Be forewarned y'all because it can happen to you too! (hmm...all that was missing for that last sentence was a campfire and a flashlight under my chin)

What about you? Have any good tips on how to keep your legs Tina Turner toned?

My best,