A Natural Way Of Life

Can you just imagine how many toxins and chemicals we put in our body every day??? Not just from the air we breathe...but from the food we eat, the products we use, the clothes we wear...etc. Even before I started the oil cleansing method for my face, I have been slowly trying to go natural with everything! Amber from The Survival Guide for the Young, Fabulous & Newlywed did a great post the other day about dangerous cosmetics (you can read it here) and it got me thinking. I know it's a difficult, expensive process and I know that I'll NEVER be 100% natural in the items I use and the food I eat...but I'd like to try to do as much as I can for my own health. I've been reading Natural Health Magazine and I'm learning all kinds of great tips.

I started thinking about natural products I already use and what products I need to start using. I am on hormone replacement and I made sure my doctor prescribed bioidentical hormones that are derived from plant extracts. I absolutely hate and always have hated taking medicines of any kind. I don't take allergy medicine, diet pills or any other kind of OTC medicines. I only take a pain killer if I am ABSOLUTELY dying from the pain. So you can imagine how upset I was to learn that I was going to have to take hormone replacement for a good part of the rest of my life. I knew if there was no way around it then they were going to have to be natural and the best there is.

I have been eating fresh fruits and vegetables as often as possible with meals and for snacks. Yummy!! Doesn't it feel so good to eat something that is straight from the earth and hasn't been messed with?

I have been using Organic African Black Soap to shower with. It's all natural and it works amazingly. There is no leftover residue whatsoever and it leaves my skin feeling clean and soft.

I use a mixture of white vinegar and water to clean the kitchen and bathrooms with. It smells pretty bad at first but once it dries you don't smell it at all!! It works just as good as any cleanser you can buy at the store and it's cheaper too!! Just use an equal amount of both water and white vinegar and store it in a spray bottle!

I have been brushing my teeth with Tom's Natural Antiplaque Toothpaste. My mouth feels just as clean and it seems to give me even fresher breath than the other toothpastes. The good thing about this one is that it is all natural. No artificial sweeteners, no preservatives or chemicals and no flouride. I'm not an expert on flouride but I've done enough research to know that I can do without it.

I take natural, whole food vitamins. They don't contain artificial colors or flavorings or GMO's. They are made from whole foods which is said to be easier for your body to absorb. I feel good knowing that I'm putting natural vitamins in my body every day that don't contain harmful substances or chemicals.

I do not eat and have not eaten any artificial sweeteners in about 2 years. I have done lots of research on the harmful effects of them and it's not something I want in my body. I don't go around telling people they shouldn't eat/drink artificial sweeteners but I feel strongly enough about them to stay away from them for my own health. You have probably heard that Splenda is natural but I stay away from it too. It has been chemically altered which makes it just as bad as the other culprits in my book. The only no calorie sweetener I will use is Stevia but I rarely use that.

If I do eat packaged foods, I try to eat natural, preservative free foods. I just recently found Healthy Choice All Natural entrees and I love them!!! They contain no preservatives, they have tons of veggies and whole wheat additions. Kashi is another one of my favorites. Their products contain no preservatives and no artificial sweeteners or flavors. I know I've got a long way to go and tons more research to do but I feel good about how far I've come. I learn more and more everyday about different foods and products.

There are tons of other things I do and tons of things I need to start doing. It's not easy but slowly I will be able to add more and more natural things and develop a natural way of life. I know I will become healthier in the process. I have still yet to find a good natural deodorant, dishwashing liquid, dryer sheet or makeup but I'm working on it!!!

What do you do to try to attain a natural way of life?

Oil Cleansing Method - Week 2 Update!

Okay...so I'm very sad to have to write this...but my face took a serious turn for the WORST last week! I followed my regular routine last Thursday and Friday night and then when I woke up on Saturday, I had tons of painful red bumps under my mouth, on my chin and along my jawline.

I was afraid I had put too much lavender and/or geranium oils in my mixture so on Saturday night I used just the Castor Oil and Grapeseed Oil to wash. When I woke up Sunday morning, I had tons of whiteheads and I mean TONS! Like embarrassing amounts of little white bumps mostly on my chin and under my mouth but a few on my cheeks and I still had the painful red bumps under my mouth and on my jawline. AHHH!!!!!! As many years as I have been breaking out, my face has NEVER EVER looked like this.

So I went online and searched around to find out if anyone else was having this problem. The only thing I could find was that my skin was possibly "purging". Apparently this is when everything starts coming out of your skin and you break out at first and then it clears up later. I want so so bad to give up but I just can't do it. I truly believe in this natural process and I know it is helping because I can see where it has cleaned out my pores!! I won't give up just yet. See, I feel like I'm a special case since my face was SO unbelievably clogged and I think it's going to take a lot to get it cleared up.

I kept with the plain Castor and Grapeseed oil mixture and on Monday morning I still had massive amounts of white heads but some of the red bumps were clearing up. Tuesday morning...still more whiteheads...less red bumps.

Tuesday night I tried Castor Oil with Jojoba Oil instead of the Grapeseed. I am still getting tons of hard white balls coming out of my pores everytime I wash!! As bad as my skin looks right now, it still makes me feel good to know that I'm cleaning it out. Wednesday morning I had no whiteheads but still the red bumps. Not as many painful ones and my face looks like it's starting to clear up now. Whew!!! I don't know how much longer I could have gone in public looking like that! LOL I don't know that it's from the change in oil at all but I am going to stick with the Jojoba Oil for a while to see.



Thursday morning (this morning), I woke up to a few whiteheads but the red bumps are almost completely gone. The ones that I do have left have gotten smaller and are drying out. I used the Jojoba Oil again last night and I actually think I like it a lot better than the Grapeseed. It's not as heavy and doesn't seem to leave nearly as much residue. It gives me more friction while I'm rubbing and my face is never oily the next day!






I feel like maybe this purging thing will clear up after another week and then I will be clearer than ever!! I've got my fingers crossed anyway and of course I will keep y'all updated!! I feel like if I don't keep it up and see what happens later, not only will I never know what could have been...but neither will y'all!!

A couple of y'all have told me that you are doing the OCM now too and so far you all seem to love it! I'm so excited that it's working for everyone!! Has anyone else broken out from it?

Love Dare Update and Day Four

The Love Dare - Day Three Update

Okay as crazy as this might seem...this was the hardest one yet for me. I know...this is only the third one...but still. I can totally remember something my husband has said he wants or something he really needs any old time of the year...but give me one specific week and expect me to think of something...I can't do it. I thought and thought and looked and looked and came up with nothing. Luckily my husband unknowingly helped me out Monday night. He was looking online at treestands (apparently he NEEDS another one because 5,000 of them isn't enough...) and he found one on Ebay that he said was cheap. Well $55 to sit in a tree doesn't seem cheap to me but I really can't talk since I recently spent $50 on oils for my face. Speaking of I will be updating y'all on that tomorrow! Anyway, I convinced him that he really doesn't need it and we could really use the money for something else right now. So Tuesday when I got to work I bought it for him. :) I'm pretty excited about it. It helped me realize that although we could use the $55 on something else...it would probably end up being for me. LOL If I'm ever going to get out of this selfish state I have found myself in, I'm going to have to start doing things like this more often.

Okay I'm ready to hear what y'all ended up buying!!!

Day Four - Love is thoughtful.

"How precious also are Your thoughts to me...How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand." - Psalm 139:17-18

Love thinks. It's not a mindless feeling that rides on waves of emotion and falls asleep mentally. It keeps busy in thought, knowing that loving thoughts precede loving actions.

When you first fell in love, being thoughtful came quite naturally. You spent hours dreaming of what your loved one looked like, wondering what he or she was doing, rehearsing impressive things to say, then enjoying sweet memories of the time you spent together.

But for most couples, things begin to change after marriage. The wife finally has her man, the husband has his trophy. Sparks of romance burn into grey embers, and the motivation for thoughtfulness cools. You drift into focusing on your job, your friends, your problems, your personal desires, yourself. After a while, you unintentionally begin to ignore the needs of your mate.

If you don't learn to be thoughtful, you end up regretting missed opportunities to demonstrate love. Thoughtlessness is a silent enemy to a loving relationship.

Love requires thoughtfulness - on both sides - the kind that builds bridges through the constructive combination of patience, kindness, and selflessness. Love teaches you how to meet in the middle, to respect and appreciate how your spouse uniquely thinks.

A husband should listen to his wife and learn to be considerate of her unspoken messages. A wife should learn to communicate truthfully and not say one thing while meaning another. The thoughtful nature of love teaches you to engage your mind before engaging your lips. Love thinks before speaking.

When was the last time you spent a few minutes thinking about how you could better understand and demonstrate love to your spouse? What immediate need can you meet? What's the next event(anniversary, birthday, holiday) you could be preparing for? Great marriages come from great thinking.

Today's Dare

Contact your spouse sometime during the business of the day. Have no agenda other than asking how he or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for them.

______________________________

After completing this dare, please answer the following questions in your own notebook but also please share with us your answers too!!

What did you learn about yourself or your spouse by doing this today? How could this become a more natural, routine, and genuinely helpful part of your lifestyle?

-Taken from The Love Dare by Stephen & Alex Kendrick with Lawrence Kimbrough

Stella and Dot Giveaway Winner!!

Good morning everyone!!! I know y'all are excited to find out the winner of the beautiful Stella and Dot Boca Necklace!!!! It makes me so sad that everyone couldn't win one because you are all so wonderful and you all deserve one! However, I could only choose one and the winner is..........

Congratulations Preppy in Pink!!!! You better let me borrow it! ;) Please email Jules @ jjules712@gmail.com with your name and address ASAP so she can get your necklace out to you!!!

Thank you all so so so much for following and entering my giveaway!! I hope to have another great giveaway soon so I hope you will all enter that one as well! Have a great day y'all! :)

Buttermilk Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Happy Monday!!! I know Monday is a hard day for most of us...so I thought, what better way to start the week than with cupcakes!!!

I hadn't made a peanut butter frosting yet so I thought I would try one out. I chose to make it with cream cheese and OH MY GOODNESS...it is sooooo good. It tastes a little bit like peanut butter cheesecake filling and it is amazing!!!!!!!! If you love peanut butter and/or chocolate, you have to try these recipes!! You can even use this peanut butter frosting as a dip. I dipped chocolate chip cookies in it and it was amazing. (I know that I should not be eating like that but I couldn't help it.) I got to thinking that it would be pretty darn amazing if you dipped apples in it!! Or even celery...carrots...strawberries...YUM! I need to make some more of it and try them all out. For testing purposes of course... :)

Buttermilk Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes 12



3/4 cup of all-purpose flour 
3/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of unsweetened dark cocoa powder
6 tablespoons of hot water
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons of buttermilk
1 large egg
1 large egg white


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a seperate bowl with an electric mixer, combine cocoa and 6 tablespoons of hot water until a thick paste forms.

4. Add butter, buttermilk, egg, and egg white; beat until combined.

5. Whisk in flour mixture until smooth.

6. Fill cupcake liners and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting

6 ounces of cream cheese
1 cup of confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of creamy peanut butter 
1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup of heavy cream


1. Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed.

2. Add salt, mix. Then peanut butter, mix. Then vanilla, mix.

3. In a seperate bowl, whisk cream until soft peaks form, and then fold into peanut butter mixture.

4. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)

Flashback Friday

August 2006

Glacier Bay

Mendenhall Glacier

My husband and I took an 8 day cruise to Alaska for our honeymoon. It was an amazing gift from my dad and we were so excited. I LOVE cruises but I'm more of a tropical, warm weather, laying out in the sun by the pool, beachy kinda girl. However, this Alaskan Cruise was right up my husband's alley. I have to admit though, once we got there I did NOT want to leave. It was so peaceful and beautiful and honestly one of the best trips I have ever been on.

Despite the fact that I got picked out of the audience to get up in front of everyone and lip sync to Respect by Aretha Franklin. As if that wasn't bad enough...I had to be judged by a couple of guys they picked out of the audience. Oh the embarassment!! I still cringe everytime I hear that song.

If you've never been to Alaska, I really recommend it! It is absolutely breathtaking! One day I will figure out how to load my videos from my video camera on here. I'd love to show y'all the video of everyone on the ship yelling at the top of their lungs in Glacier Bay to get pieces of it to break off and crash into the ocean. It was amazing and a little crazy at the same time! Truly an experience of a lifetime. No wonder the glacier is disappearing!! If every cruise ship that comes in there yells and breaks pieces off of it!! LOL

Where did you go on your honeymoon? Or where would you want to go on your honeymoon?

Oil Cleansing Method Update!!

Okay girls!! I have GOOD news!! So far the oil cleansing method has been AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! I only did it 4 nights out of the 7 because Saturday, Sunday and Monday night just didn't work out for me. LOL I'll list my exact procedures for the last week and the outcomes. It's going to be long but I promise I will make next week more regular so I can just tell you how my face looks rather than giving you all of this procedure stuff.

I went to the health food store and picked up my oils and a little plastic bottle to store my mixture. I chose castor oil, grapeseed oil, geranium oil and lavender oil. These are NOT cheap but they are natural oils and I feel good about using them on my face. Geranium oil is known to balance sebum and stimulate the lymph to clear out toxins. Lavender oil also helps to balance sebum, is antibacterial and helps reduce scarring. Here are the measurements I used for this first batch that should last me a good while unless I feel I need to change it.

1 1/2 ounces of Castor Oil

4 1/2 ounces of Grapeseed Oil

15 drops of Geranium Oil

20 drops of Lavender Oil

Thursday July 8th -

Morning: Washed my face with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash

Night: (Wash Procedure: Shook up the bottle of oils to make sure they were completely mixed, squeezed out a quarter size in palm and rubbed hands together to warm up the oil then applied to dry face.) I had applied some concealer that morning. I rubbed gently in circles for 7 minutes. 

After about 5 seconds I could already feel little balls coming out of my skin. I kept looking at my hands and could see little white specks as I can only assume are coming from pores. Some of it may have been makeup but I looked in the mirror while rubbing and could even notice some holes in my face that had been clogged pores that morning. I was SO EXCITED!!!!!

(Rinse Procedure: After I finished I took a clean washcloth and wet it with hot water, squeezed it out and draped it over my face until it felt cool. I then gently wiped my face off with the washcloth.) I did this 3 times and then splashed my face with cold water. 

My face did not feel oily. It looked a bit pink but I know I was rubbing it for 7 minutes!

Friday July 9th -

Morning: When I woke up my face felt a little bit oily. I rinsed it with hot water then splashed it with cold water.

My face looked better than it had ever looked! It brought a few whiteheads out but I think of that as a good thing. My skin looked and felt smoother than before. It was a little bit oily during the day but it wasn't the same kind of oily that I had before. This didn't feel icky...it felt kinda nice! I think the more I do this, the better it will get.

Night: (Wash procedure) I had no makeup on today. I rubbed in circles for 7 minutes and had the exact same experience as Thursday night.

Little white specks were coming out of my skin and I was loving it! I noticed more empty holes which I'm hoping will go away after a while. At least they are unclogged!! I am also noticing some blackheads getting darker meaning they are coming closer to the surface which is great! I had a lot of really deep blackheads that I couldn't get out so this is bringing them closer! I have so many clogged pores and blackheads so I know it's going to take many oil washes to bring them all out. I am just so excited that it's working!!!!!

(Rinse procedure) I did this 4 times to help really get the oil off and then splashed with cold water.

My face did not feel oily. It looked a bit pink again.

Saturday July 10th -

Morning: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash and applied Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer.

My face looked and felt WONDERFUL! It was a little pink all day but it looked much clearer and smoother.

Night: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash

Sunday July 11th -

Morning: Rinsed with hot water and splashed with cool water.

Afternoon: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash and applied full makeup.

Wow!! My skin has never looked this good!! My makeup applied so smoothly and perfectly, I almost didn't need concealer and my makeup looked great for 6 hours in the heat and humidity on the beach for the concert. This NEVER happens!!!

Monday July 12th -

Morning: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash and applied full makeup.

Again my face looked great, my makeup went on smooth and lasted all day.

Night: I had every intention on doing the oil cleanse but I got home at 1am and was DEAD TIRED so I just washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash.

Tuesday July 13th -

Morning: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash

Night: (Wash procedure) I had makeup on today. I rubbed in circles for 7 minutes and had the exact same experience as the other times.

My makeup including my eye makeup came off better than it EVER has before! Still white specks coming out but noticing a few red bumps.

(Rinse procedure) I did this 4 times and then splashed with cold water.

My face did not feel oily. It looked a bit pink and I could still see a few of the red bumps. I'm not worried though because I know this procedure is drawing stuff out in the beginning. I'm going to stick with it!

Wednesday July 14th -

Morning: Rinsed with hot water and splashed with cold water.

My face did not feel nearly as oily during the day as it had the other days after not washing my face in the morning. I still notice a few red bumps but the texture of my skin still looks a million times better than it did. Still have some clogged pores and blackheads but I know it will take a while to get it all out.

Afternoon: Washed with Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash and applied full makeup. (I don't know if I'm supposed to but I just can't bring myself to put on makeup without washing first! I might try it one day to see how it works...but not today. LOL)

My makeup still goes on more smooth than ever and looks great! It lasted through 4 hours of line dancing and looked much better when I got home than it usually does!

Night: (Wash procedure) I had makeup on. I rubbed in circles for 7 minutes.

I decided to look in the mirror while I rubbed. I could actually see little white gunk coming out of my pores!! I am still amazed by this and sooo excited. My skin looks so much better and I'm so excited to be cleaning my pores out. I can't wait until they are completely cleared out. :D