Beauty Wish List

I try not to be materialistic and I try not to have a “wish list” so to speak because I just wait until I have some money I can spend on stuff then think about what I’d like to buy then buy it. However, I am human… and there are things I want. And here they are:

Clarisonic Aria Brush Cleaner

     

I really want one and I think my skin care would be kicked up a notch but I also think it isn’t a necessity.

T3 Featherweight 2

I know I know… $200 on a hair dryer. That is probably why I don’t have it. However, I love all it claims today do; reduce frizz, reduce drying, increase health, etc.

Sigma Synthetic Precision Brush Kit

I really want these, I think the size is perfect from everything from concealer to cream eyeshadow base.

New Synthetic Kabuki Kit

I want these for everything face… concealer, blush, bronzer, foundation, etc.

Tarte BB Cream

I really like most BB creams, (I know I’m a sucker! HAHA) and I really like Tartes’ foundation items. Plus Tarte is gluten free. I will probably get this for my “summer” foundation/moisturizer. We’ll see…

Tarte Awakening Cheek Stain

I love this color, what a beautiful go to color! ❤

Maracuja Creaseless Concealer

I am in the need of a new concealer and I have heard good things about this one.

I think that pretty much does it. The more expensive things I have been “wanting” for years but have a hard time justifying the price. I know I will spend the $200 on the hair dryer when mine dies if not before. But the brushes… it might be awhile if ever. And the Clarisonic I probably will never get because as cool as I think it is I think it’s not a necessity, especially for the price.

What is your thing you want but won’t probably ever get?

❤

Heather

Generalized Anxiety

I have a cautionary tale. I come from a long line of folks with mental health issues. Some diagnosed, some not; many diagnosed long before it was cool to have a diagnoses. I was “lucky” enough to have generalized anxiety. At least it isn’t a bad one, many of my relatives have bi-polar so I do count my blessings.

I grew up in a house that thought doctors knew everything and the pharmaceutical world was where it was at! You of course need to take a pill if something is wrong, right??? And of course you just need to put a band-aid on symptoms, right??? Well, that is what I thought until a couple years ago. Unfortunately by then, I was already quite entangled in the grips of the medical and phrama world. Though I was blessed to not have a lot wrong with me so I was only on a generic form of Paxil for my anxiety.

Most folks would say “Yeah, so what?” I half agree but then I missed a pill. You know, sometimes life happens and you miss a pill. Or you forgot your medicine along on an overnight or something and two pills are missed. Boy howdy, that’s some awful withdrawal symptoms right there! And they began after 1 day of missing the pill. I went to Goggle and did a super quick search and one site had the following list: (from Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/paxil-withdrawal-symptoms.html)

› Nausea
› Dizziness or lightheadedness
› Headache
› Tremulousness
› Insomnia
› Crying spells
› Bloating, belching and flatulence
› Diarrhea or constipation
› Loss of appetite
› Vomiting
› Abdominal cramping
› Sweating
› Numbness in hands
› Fever and chill
› Flu-like symptoms
› Feeling of ‘electric zap’
› Panic attacks
› Vivid and frightening nightmares
› Pounding or irregular heartbeat
› Depression
› Suicidal thoughts
› Anxiety and irritability
› Gastrointestinal distress
› Tintinnabulations in the ears
› Aggression
› Confusion
› Vertigo
› Blurred vision
› Hallucinations

So this is some nasty stuff…

Then let’s not even begin to talk about the side effects ON the drug. I gained 50 lbs the first 4 years on the lovely prescription. And I could go on with all the other problems I have. YUCK! YUCK! YUCK! But in all honestly, I do think that these problems are easier to deal with than the anxiety.

I have learned in recent years that I should be able to control the anxiety with nutrition, supplements, herbs, and essential oils. All of which have no side effects and are healthy for me and my body. Another WIN-WIN! However, with this knowledge, I have been fearful of going off my medication. I really don’t like having the anxiety but most of all, I am super afraid of withdrawal.

Well, this year has been hard for me. In January I lost my dad and in February my husband had a major knee injury. I needed to get to the doctor to get refills. I am unable to do that so I figured, now is as good of time as any to wean myself off my meds. Boy, this is bad news! I don’t wish this on anyone. This is probably one of the most difficult times, emotionally, for me to go off but I think in the end I will feel so much better.

My new “prescription” is to eat balanced and often. That means 5-6 meals a day all containing a protein, healthy fat, and healthy carbohydrate. An example of this is for breakfast I have 2 eggs, fried/scrambled in butter, and a lot of vegetables. Or for lunch I have a huge salad, some nitrate free lunch mean and an organic salad dressing. And for dessert I have berries, real whipping cream and 1 oz of dark chocolate. When I eat like this, I feel great and have no cravings and no spikes in blood sugar which means no crashes. Also, while I am eating all this yummy real food my gut is making amazing neurotransmitters to keep my brain HAPPY! (and anxiety free) I also take pharmaceutical grade pro-biotoics and omega-3 to keep my gut healthy and all that luscious fats in my brain (did you know your brain is made up of mostly fat). Then I will be slathering essential oils over my wrists and curated artery in my neck, oils like lavender, Peace and Calming, and Joy. I will also be defusing those oils in my house. Finally, my friend is a herbalist (I think that’s what it’s called) and she  will support me with herbs where I need those extra boots. And most importantly, I will go to my Heavenly Father in Prayer.

This is a heck of a lot more difficult than popping a pill, or at least it seems so but it is so much better for longevity. It I miss a dose of something it will be “no big deal” as in I won’t be going through painful withdrawals. I won’t need to get my levels checked by a doctor once a year or have the doctor tell me I can’t get my prescriptions refilled. And all my side effects will be positive and healthy (i.e. I will lose those 50lbs I gained). And really, this becomes a way of life so it really just becomes second nature and is really not more difficult, AT ALL.

I will end as I started… be cautious of doctors and pharmaceuticals. They are not the enemy but they don’t always know everything or have your best interest in mind. Be educated and informed and don’t allow yourself to be bullied into ANYONE’S’ way of thinking. You do what you know is right for you and your body.

I’ll keep you posted on my journey to wellness. I pray for wellness for you too.

❤

Heather

ETA: Sorry about the  formatting, something happened. I’ll look at it in the morning but for now it will just have to look goofy.

Spiritual Sunday

It has been a while since I updated. I apologize. I was under the weather this week. I’m on the mend now.

I got some devastating news this week. One of my dear dear friends has breast cancer. She is the friend who I have been sitting with at church for a few years. I started volunteering which makes it difficult to impossible for me to sit with her the last few months. She contacted me last night to please come and sit by her today in church. I did. It was the single most touching church experience I have ever witnessed. God has called us to relationship with each other when someone I love is hurting my heart can’t help but also hurt. In a very deep way, God used the service today to bring my friend and I closer together. If you’re a praying type, please pray for her. If you’re not, become a praying type and pray for her! 😉

Today’s service was a very cool sermon. It was about “radical” giving. The coolest thing is that it wasn’t the sermon where they tell you about radical giving THEN pass around the basket. There actually wasn’t any money collect or any thing in the works either. It was just about Christ calling his followers to tithe, which isn’t a radical concept, but then go above and beyond to help the poor children and widows. It’s kind of interesting how the bible tells us to tithe, give first 10% to God, and to give above and beyond but it’s not CLEAR what above and beyond really means. That is probably because we are called to do it differently. I think the big thing is it has to be sacrificial.

I was going to share with you the verses in reference to what I’m talking about but… well… I thought I saved them on my bible app, but I can’t find them. BUMMER!

As we left, our pastor challenged us. He wanted us to give up something to give to others. Well, I am sort of limited for reasons I don’t wish to share but what I have decided to do is give up my daily frufru coffee habit to sponsor another child in need. It isn’t REALLY sacrificial but I think it is at least a place to start.

What are ways you like to give?

❤

Heather

Skin Care Routine

I don’t do anything super consistent but when I think of it, this is what I do.

Morning Cleanse: I like to use Michael Todd Organics because it is so gentle, even for acne prone skin.

Sometimes, when I don’t take a shower and feeling quite lazy I will use Bioderma cleansing water. It is also quite gentle.

Tone: I go back to Michael Todd Organics and use their Blue Green Algae Toner. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling stripped.

Moisturize: I also like to use Michael Todd Organics. I use Citrus Cream. I like that it is very light yet very moisturizing. I live in a dry climate in the winter and it feels so good on my face.

Eye cream: Michael Todd Organics eye cream is really a gel. I like that it is light and dries completely. It’s not like I have an extra moisturizer on my eye area so that my eye makeup will slip right off. The one I prefer is the Rooibos Tea eye gel.

At night, I do all of this again except I will take off my make-up with the Bioderma and use Michael Todd Organics Honey Oat cleanser. It is so gentle yet cleansing. I like gentle cleaners after a day of beating up my skin with make up all day long.

Mask: A couple times a week I will relax in the bath with a nice face mask which is again from Michael Todd Organics. I like the detoxifying Charcoal Mask. It just really gets in to the pores and cleans them out.

Exfoliate: I use this cloth that is so cool. You get it and it’s dry and it’s loosely woven and you’re looking at it very confused how this will work but once it gets wet it shrinks. I use it every morning on my face and it’s always as sooth as a sweet little baby bottom. I got mine from Amazon but I don’t see it there anymore except from a seller I’m unfamiliar with.

I used to have SEVERE acne, like “OH MY GOODNESS” severe. It was very embarrassing. I tried EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING to get rid of it. I talked to my nutritionist about cutting out gluten for other reasons and guess what went away! All of my crazy cystic acne. So if you have cystic acne, check into food allergies if nothing else seems to work. It’s certainly worth a shot!

Just a little FYI: You may start to think this is a commercial for Michael Todd but it is not! I swear. I use the products and the company doesn’t even know I exist. I just really really enjoy their products. They feel like spa products that pamper your kids and are organic too.  I have had thoughts of making my own but I really like to feel like I’m in a spa and I get that with these products. The price point is a little steep but I don’t use much and them seem to last me forever. I probably buy one or two of each per year.

What is your skin care regimen? Well, I’m off to clean my face!

❤

Heather

Toothpaste

You might know that Monday is health day so you might ask what does toothpaste have to do with health. A lot, really. Did you know that most toothpaste on the market is poisonous? Take a look. It tells you not to ingest it and if you do you need to call poison control. I always thought this was crazy that I’m putting something IN MY MOUTH that I can not ingest. That’s just nuts, isn’t it? But, you know, that’s just what we’ve always done so it is just what we do. Until now…

I’m going to make my own!!! Isn’t that just the craziest idea you’ve ever heard?? Until about a month ago it was for me. I’m going to take some expeller pressed extra virgin coconut oil, baking soda (personally I’ll probably try to find a quality name brand like Bob’s Red Mill or something similar) and YoungLiving’s Thieves oil, mix them together and voila! My own toothpaste! The recipe is simple, equal parts oil and soda and as many drops as you like of the Thieves, which are all things I have on hand.

You may not like Thieves. It’s not the traditional toothpaste flavor. So try to mix it up with cinnamon, peppermint, spearmint, or wintergreen essential oils. I also read that sometime tooth pastes are a little sweet so you can add a little stevia or xylitol.

The benefits may surprise you. Coconut oil is anti-fungal and antibacterial. Baking soda is a mild abrasive that can whiten teeth. Thieves is anti-fungal, antibacterial, and anti-viral. If you choose to add xylitol, there are some studies that suggest that it is good for your teeth.

You won’t get the beautiful foam from this toothpaste but I think the benefits far out way the foam. And it might not taste as good but with you only brush your teeth for 4 minutes or so a day, is it really a big deal when you know there are so many benefits from all these healthful ingredients in your mouth.

Let me know if you give it a try. I know my kids won’t be excited for the change but it will be worth it!

Here’s to happy teeth!

❤

Heather

 

 

 

Sunday Spirituality

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Hey, guess what??? I spend time in the word last week. YAY! I’m getting there. 🙂 I say I’m getting there because it was not every day. SHOOT! No material prize for me, but I can’t help but feel my prize was so much greater! I did feel so much better seeing what God had to say to me. Right out of the gate he had a lot to say. I must say, I’m not at all surprised.

So I read Psalms 51. It’s a glorious chapter, you should really check it out! From Bible Gateway:

Psalm 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is^[b] a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸ May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

This passage spoke volumes to me. As it says, David wrote it after his affair with Bathsheba. It to me is one of those great passages to go to when you screw up. We all screw up and though we screw up every day there are those times when we feel like we messed up big time; when we chose to blatantly disobey God’s direct commands. I believe that’s what David did here. He knew better the whole time he was with Bathsheba and then he knew better when he tried to cover it up. He, in his humanness, just messed everything up. I hate to say it out loud but I do the exact same thing. Time after time. Reassuring, huh?!? Well, that’s a great time to turn to this eloquently written passage.

The beauty of this passage comes through right from the beginning… Have mercy on me O God, according to your unfailing love. I know that I know that his love is unconditional and amazing, even when I mess up. I just love how David chose to use unfailing. It’s such a perfect word to describe God’s love. We fail, but God’s love… NEVER! Wow, that gives me chills.

I hate to just pick out specific lines because I just could read this over and over again because of the perfectness of the sentiment however I can’t help but be drawn to verse 10. Create in me a pure heart, O God. HE DOES!!! For all of us with the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As a Jew, David’s relationship with God was something different than that of Christians and I will admit I don’t fully understand the relationship God had with the Jews in the Old Testament so I can’t speak to that but sending us Jesus has made it so “easy” for our transgressions to be as far away from God as the East is from the West. How perfect is that?!?! I’m so grateful for that. Every single day.

In Psalms 51, David really was able, in my opinion, capture the heart of the sinner. I love to read this and be fully enveloped in Gods love. It’s so very comforting.

What did you read this week? What did it mean to you?

Until tomorrow…

❤

Heather

Friday Fun! (just a little late)

Last night I didn’t post… (you probably noticed) it was because I was having too much fun! This is not typical for this old mom.

First of all, I got rid of my two older kids. Well, they had plans — my son went snowboarding and my daughter went to a sleep over. So it was just me and my little boy. My cousin’s son had a hockey game, a state qualifying game, and my son really wanted to go. Don’t get me wrong, I really wanted to go to! So my sister, her family, my son and I went to watch a really good Bantam hockey game. It was such a good game. Unfortunately, my cousin’s team lost but luckily it isn’t a single elimination tournament AND it isn’t only the top seeded players that go on. My point, just because they lost doesn’t mean their done. I love me a good hockey game. And I prefer my hockey games live to on TV but you might just catch the latest NHL game on at home too.

After the game, my sister and her family came to my house for supper. We picked up soup and bread sticks. YUM! There is this great local shop that has amazing homemade soup and bread sticks. I am gluten-free so I really ought not have them but sometimes, I just can’t help myself. I’m paying for it today. BOOO!

Once supper was consumed we turned on our new favorite show…. DUCK DYNASTY! Which, if you don’t know, is about a family from the southern United States who runs a company called Duck Commander. They are pretty much as redneck as they come but they are so fun, funny and decent as you can get. I love these people so much that I want to be their new friends! hahaha I like that there is finally a show that I can truly watch with my kids. There is nothing risqué on there. It is just clean old fashioned humor. I haven’t laughed out loud at a show in a long time and it was fun to finally get to.

What did you do with your Friday night? I hope it was fun!

❤

Heather

Education Day

My thoughts on education today are not about the education of others but the education of myself. I like to learn something new every day. Today was a big one! Dr. Dan Purser, who I don’t know a lot about but I know a lot of people who know about him and trust his research. So anyway, I know very little about what he mentioned today but did a little of my own poking around. He suggested that if you take thyroid medicine and find that you’re still tired (which is me!) if you take CoQ10 you may find relief. That would be awesome!

What is CoQ10? It a naturally occurring enzyme that cells use to produce energy for reproduction. It is also an antioxidant that helps repair cells. Oh, it gets more technical than that but basically that’s it.

The good news: CoQ10 helps a lot of things. It helps heart failure, cancer, muscular dystrophy, and periodontal disease. (What a crazy mix of things!) But what I’m looking at is the fact that it is said to help energy. HOW COOL IS THAT! 🙂

The bad news: Well, there really isn’t any… of course you have to take it as directed and you have to be sure the supplement you’re using is a quality one but really if you’re responsible it is worth trying out.

What did you learn today??? If you can’t think of anything, you still have time!

❤

Heather

Homemade — WHATEVER Wednesday

I grew up with parents who pretty much were normal. They bought food from the grocery. They used soap, shampoo, detergent etc that they bought from a big box store. Nothing ever had a “green” label. I followed in their foot steps quite well. I never once thought of the aluminum in deodorant or the high fructose corn syrup in prepackaged foods or even the artificial sweetener in my soda. I was a Diet Coke fiend!!!

Fast forward to my mid twenties. I started a mom’s group. Someone in my group suggested that artificial sweetener is bad for you. I WAS SHOCKED! The horror that the Diet Coke I was drinking could be bad for me… so weird. Little did I know then the path I would be headed down.

Today I’m still in the process of changing from the girl my parents raised, and raised well, to a crazy hippy girl who would be more at home on a commune rather than in the suburb.

As I said in my Young Living Oil post, I change and learn best by taking baby steps then letting it soak in before going back and biting of another piece. Like my friend said to me the other day; approach it like you’d eat and elephant (not that I’d ever eat and elephant but that’s beside the point) one bite at a time.

Currently I’m on the road to making all my cleaning and beauty products. Those that I can’t I really try to use as close to natural that I can.

A few weeks ago I made a lip balm and lotion bar that I have been LOVING! And it is quite easy.

I use the recipes from The Wellness Mama website. For the lotion bars I found all the supplies on Amazon.com and I had them cool in muffin papers to have the cute ripple edge. For the lip balm I also found all the supplies at Amazon.com but I have thought to use old eos spheres in the future rather than tubes. I’m a prime member at Amazon.com so I get free shipping and get the stuff quite quickly. Wellness Mama recommends Mountain Rose Herbs. I like them a lot and they seem to have obscure things that I’m looking for but for now I also have to be concerned about price and Mountain Rose Herbs is a bit more expensive but I’m sure you get what you pay for so I hope to buy from there in the future. I of course used Young Living oil in them. I used Lavender for my lotion and Peppermint for the lip balm.

My next adventure is deodorant. I’m sure that will be equally as nice.

What kind of “green” things have you tried?

❤

Heather

Holy Grail

I have mentioned before that I have this addiction to YouTube. I was some “beauty guru”s and they often talk about their holy grail product. This is their product that they always go to; time after time. I also have a few and I’m sure you do too. One thing I really try to look for in my products is as few harmful chemicals as possible and as close to organic as I can. Here are some of mine:

My first item is the eos lip balm. I love it. My favorite “flavor” is sweet mint. You can get them from many places but you can also get them direct from the company at store.evolutionofsmooth.com. . They are usually around $3.29 on the eos site.

My next product is Sigma Brushes. You can get them from sigmabeauty.com. I think they are great brushes and the prices can’t be beat for the quality. This set, which is the one I have is $98. I am lusting after a few of the other sets but they are still only on my wish list.

I never cared much about blush until Tarte’s Amazonian Clay 12 Hour blush. I have never loved a blush like this. The pay off and staying power is like non-other. They are gluten-free to boot! These retail for $26 at Tarte.com (which is where the picture is from).

My favorite nail polish is Zoya. This picture is one of my favorite colors, Katy, but I have nearly 100 bottles. When it comes to more less is not more, less is just less! You can get Zoya nail polish at their website: http://www.zoya.com. Their bottles run about $8 per bottle but them seem to always have some sort of special.

I feel like I have more but I can’t seem to think of any more. What are your holy grail products?

I hope you have a beautiful day!

❤

Heather