Blessings during Stormy Times!

When I was in ND two of my cousins had these adorable peep toe booties. They wore them with shorts and jeans. They were just adorable! I really wanted a pair. Problem was they were sold out in the stores. I told Amy and Lisa I was going to steal them if they wore them around me. I found them on Amazon and added them to my wish list. Once I came back home I didn't really think much about them except when I would look at my wish list.

I had been having a rough week when I got a package from my cousin. I opened the card and it was from my aunt and cousins in ND. Inside the box were the shoes! I stood in the kitchen crying. Even thinking about it now makes me all teary. They wrote me a sweet card. It was just what I needed at that time. 

The week before I had been at a thyroid cancer conference. The conference was AMAZING! We learned so much! BUT it was REALLY hard dealing with all the death. The first day of the conference I think I spent half the day crying. I just couldn't say much without a shaky voice. It was overwhelming seeing what this horrible disease has done to people. 

These shoes came just at the right time. Instead of having a rough day I spent the rest of my day thinking about the blessings in my life and playing with my little miracle boy. 

I Continue to Fight Strong!

Recently I wrote a blog post called I Fight Strong! Since I wrote that blog post I have had to start a fight again. This time with an insurance company. I have spent a lot of time this year fighting doctors and insurance. I got to the point I was seriously exhausted and beat down from fighting. I just wasn't sure if I had the fight left in me. I told Art I was at the point I wanted to just give up fighting everyone, but I couldn't. I couldn't give up because there is a little boy who needs his mom. If she doesn't fight for her health no one else can or will. 

I dug down deep to have the strength to fight another fight. It was a long week of gathering information, preparing documents and sent it off hoping for a good outcome. I spent a week praying asking God to help me through yet another fight. On the day I was supposed to hear what the insurance company would decide I read this:

I was able to stop my worrying for just a couple hours. Later that day I got a phone call that things had been approved. I hung up the phone and cried. Then I reminded myself just how strong I am. How I fight strong because cancer, doctors, MS or insurance companies aren't going to bring me down!

Hair Routine

I get asked questions often about my hair routine. I am very vocal about my hatred for washing my hair! It is a chore I really dislike right up there with dusting and matching socks. I am always looking for the best shampoo that doesn't have a bunch of harmful chemicals and doesn't dry out my scalp and hair.

I tried BeautyCounter shampoo about a month ago. It was a GAME CHANGER! I talk a little about my experience with the shampoo in an earlier blog post found here. I have now been only using BeautyCounter shampoo. My hair and scalp feel amazing. It has changed my hair washing routine from washing about every 3-4 days to once a week. Sunday or Monday of each week I will wash my hair. I used the BeautyCounter shampoo and the kids conditioner. The kids conditioner comes in a set with the kids body wash and shampoo. George doesn't need conditioner, so I use it. 

I soap up my hair 3 times. The first time I just put it on the top of my scalp. Second and third times around I put it all over my head except the ends of my hair. I don't ever put shampoo on the ends of my hair. I only put shampoo around my scalp to the nape of my neck. Under my hair or the nape of my neck is usually what starts to itch me. I really get in there and scrub with the shampoo. The third time when I lather up with shampoo I add the conditioner to the ends of my hair. I then let it all sit on my head while I wash my body. You really have to rinse your hair really good to get all the soap out while using BeautyCounter shampoo. The third rinse I rinse about double the time. 

Shampoo

I wrap my hair in a towel for about 15-20 minutes. I bought a microfiber towel to wrap my hair in at TJ Maxx. Similar to this one on Amazon. I then take the towel off my hair and let my hair air dry. I don't brush it out or blow it dry. I have found the tangles in my hair brush out a lot easier when it is dry. I like to wash my hair at night and let it air dry as I sleep. When I wake up in the morning my hair is dry. Using a blow drier dries my scalp and hair out more. I have found since I stopped using a blow drier my ends don't split as much and my overall hair is much healthier. 

Once my hair is dry I will take a little coconut oil and run it through the ends of my hair. It helps with frizziness and also protects it against the curling iron heat. I use maybe the size of a pea. I scoop a pea size amount out of my container, melt it in my fingers and then run my fingers through my hair. My hair is really long. I maybe go about half way up my hair with the coconut oil. I don't ever put coconut oil on the top of my head. This helps the grease stay away from the roots. 

I curly my hair probably 2-3 times a week. I either curl it or braid it following it being washed. It all depends on time. Most of the time I like to curl it. The following day after I curl it I am able to brush it out, I take a little coconut oil in my fingers and run it through the ends of my hair. I might have to just curl a few pieces around my face. The curls are revived and my hair looks good. 

If it is rainy or I am short on time I have started braiding my hair or in a low ponytail at the nape of my neck. My hair is the longest it has ever been in my life. I cut about 1 inch 1-2 times a year. My ends don't split as much either. I haven't dyed my hair since I like the end 2011 when I went from blonde back to my original color. 

On day 3 or 4 I will sprinkle some baby powder on the hair around my face and on my part. I recently started using Nature's Baby Organics Silky Dusting Powder, Fragrance Free. I found it on Amazon. I think this bottle is going to last me an eternity. I have found since I made these changes to my hair routine I don't use as much powder/dry shampoo. Day 4 and day 6 I use it. The rest of the days I my hair is pretty good. 

It does take some time to train your hair to go between washes. When I first started I would use dry shampoo on day 2 and 3. Then I would wash the evening of day 3 or morning of day 4. Slowly I have added in more days. It's been the past month where I have worked up to a week. I work out 4-5 days week. I don't think you need to wash your hair after a workout. Add some dry shampoo. If you feel you need it rinse your hair while you are in the shower. 

I would be happy to answer any questions about my hair routine or if you have any questions about the BeautyCounter products! 

Wordless Wednesday

Judgy

A couple months back when I was in ND Lacey and I got matching tattoos on our wrists. We picked out a design that we both loved and then added our own touch to it. We wanted to have the thyroid cancer colors in the tattoo. When I actually told Lacey to book the appointment she was shocked! Shocked I was willing to get another tattoo and shocked I would put it on my wrist. I have 2 other tattoos, but I have them in place that I can keep covered. Previously I felt if you had a tattoo it should be in a place where you can cover it up. Maybe I am getting older and an attitude that I don't give a damn what other people think.

You know who the people are that judge the most about things? Usually the religious people. People usually become less judgmental by their own sins becoming public or by their kids. People have all these ideas of what their kids will not do or they won't allow their kids to do certain things. Now that 30 years have passed I look at those people who felt they would control their kids to be a certain way. Guess what those people kids did the majority of the things the parents tried to prevent.

In the past I have had family members who have tried to make me feel bad for how I lived. I was used an illustrations to their kids as what a bad "christian" I was and how the kids should not behave. When Art and I got engaged I got a lot of grief from "christian" people because of who I was marrying. People even told my mom that I should not be "allowed" to marry Art. :::insertmajoreyeroll:::

Recently I got some "looks" by a church person because I had on distressed jeans AND my tattoo was showing. I got stares and was made to feel very judged the entire evening for being ME. It was the first time that I was able to laugh about it. I thought lady one day you are going to eat crow!

In some ways I wish I could back to when I was in my 20's dealing with all this judgy crap! I want to go back with my 30 year old don't give a damn attitude. I would tell them to take their judgmental ways and shove it!

Happy Halloween from the Mini Garbage Man!

George is obsessed with garbage trucks right now. He loves to watch them on YouTube. On Thursday he helps gets all the garbage ready for the curb. He takes bags of garbage and our little garbage cans dumps them into the bigger cans. Thursday garbage night is a BIG night in our house. Lots of cheering. Well when Friday arrives it's up early to catch every garbage truck that comes by. He waves and yells HI to each garbage man. The garbage are very nice waving back and sometimes honking their horns. 

When I was thinking of what George should be for Halloween I wanted something that he was him. Right now a garbage man is totally him. So off I went to figure out a costume. 

Our garbage men wear jeans, tshirt, boots and a bright vest. I found the vest on Amazon because doesn't everything come from Amazon these days? 

The next part I struggled with was the garbage can. What could we do. Well Pinterest for the win here! I saw that someone made a kid size garbage can with wheels. WINNER! Off we went to Walmart to get a garbage can. George had to hold that garbage can the entire ride home while he was in his carseat. I am sure people were wondering what in the world was going on in our car. I think once you have a toddler you stop asking those questions so much when you see strange things. lol

Art bought the wheels at Lowe's. I let him be in charge of getting them on the can. He did a really nice job. He also had a handle laying around the garage, so he added that. I printed Waste Management signs off the internet and we taped them to the can. George LOVES this garbage can. One morning he woke up at 7am, jumped out of bed and was wheeling the can around the house. 

Happy Halloween!

Missing Favorite Foods on Paleo

Someone recently asked me how do you eat Paleo when you are out and don't you miss certain foods?

It was really challenging at first for me to eat out. I just didn't think I could ever eat out again. Once I was able to easily cook Paleo at home I was able to go out to eat. I just had to think outside the box. If I am eating out and the meal comes with a carb/starchy food I will ask to substitute it. Or I try to pick meals where I can pick the sides. I order a steak then pick steam veggies and a side salad. I order a salad and ask them not to put cheese on it. For a dressing I will ask for oil. 

The best thing for me prior to going out to eat is to look at a menu online. If there is nothing on the menu I don't think I can eat then I ask to go some place else. I met some friends for lunch one day. They wanted to go to Round Table. Just the thought of that sounded like pure torture. They have a lunch buffet with a salad bar which is awesome! I was able to get salad and as much as I wanted. The salad bar had a lot of different veggies, bacon, seeds, and oil for my dressing. I don't even miss eating pizza. If I start to miss it then I buy myself a Diaya pizza from Sprout's. It just helps get rid of the craving. 

I recently discovered my love for spaghetti squash. There are times I miss pasta. Like I just want a big bowl of pasta with some butter. I have found spaghetti squash takes care of my craving. I have put homemade pesto, red sauce and ghee on it. I don't feel like I am missing anything. I actually feel like I am getting pasta. While I like zoodles it just doesn't take care of the pasta craving. 

Sweet treats! Now that is a hard one at times. No matter how long I go without chocolate I still crave it. I haven't eaten chocolate now since May. Still I crave it! RX bars and homemade chocolate out of coconut oil with nuts seem to fix the craving. The other night I wanted some ice cream. Once in a great while I will buy the coconut, cashew or almond milk ice cream. The problem with those is there is still sugar in them. I really try to avoid sugar. I even limit the amount of honey and maple syrup I use in things. Back to the ice cream craving. I had put 2 peeled bananas in the freezer. I took them out and put them in a food processor with a little coconut milk and some sunbutter. O-M-G!!!! It tasted just like peanut butter ice cream. There is some sugar in the sunbutter =( I need to pick up some almond butter at the store to have on hand to make my ice cream. However I felt it was a good substitute for the time. George ate that stuff up! I made enough for both of us. I know I can't make a little bit because he will eat half of it. So now I just make enough for 2 people knowing he will eat half of it. 

There are times I cheat. Chips are my downfall! Tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant are like being tortured. The problem is the day after I eat them my entire body is achy. The first time it happened I thought it was a fluke or I just was achy. Well I did it again. The next day my entire lower body just ached. Almost like I had done squats for an hour the day before. The problem was I didn't do ANY squats. lol 

I will pin things on Pinterest that are not Paleo, but I put them on my Paleo board. I look at a recipe and see what I can substitute. Most recipes you can make changes to make them Paleo approved. I bought some sardines recently. I couldn't figure out what in the world to do with them. I looked on Pinterest to find a recipe. It had spaghetti noodles, so I used spaghetti squash instead. I didn't put any cheese on my pasta like the recipe called for. 

Do I miss eating certain things? Sure I do! The couple times I have given in to eat foods I have felt so horrible for the next 2 days it isn't worth it for me. When I was in ND I did eat some German foods. I felt hungover, bloated and headaches for days. I have found eating Paleo is best for my MS, I am able to lose weight easily and I feel amazing. Even my skin is clearer. I don't feel I have sugar crashes either. I get less hangry. It has also made me much more aware of what I am feeding George. 

Lavender & Frankincense Oils

I have struggled with sleeping since I had my thyroid removed. I have a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep and any bright lights. I sleep so sensitive now it is rather frustrating. Melatonin helps me at times. It will work for a week or so then all of a sudden it does the opposite. It will cause me to be WIDE awake. Very irritating. 

Recently I bought some roller balls to put oils in. I made one up with oil, lavender and frankincense. If I put it on the bottom of my feet about 30 minutes before bed it relaxes me and I go right to sleep. I am always looking for natural ways to help me sleep. 

Frankincense can help with MS symptoms because it aids with the blood flow. MS is another lovely thing that causes a ruckus with getting sleep. Between the thyroid and MS issues I don't think I would ever sleep. I wish I had known about some of these tips back when G was first born. When he would lay down for a nap I couldn't sleep. There were times I would toss and turn for the 2 hours he napped. When I would start to fall asleep he would wake up. 

I wish I would have been open to trying oils and sleep masks back then. I think I could have possibly avoid another MS attack. 

Pranks

These are the type of things I find in the backyard when I open the curtains. Or I will find this in my closet or garage. 9 out 10 times this stupid thing scares me! 

OOTD

I've been wanting one of the LLR Lindsay Kimonos for awhile. I just am really picky on prints. I also didn't want any fringe on a kimono. I can't be dealing with fringe and a toddler. I could just imagine it would get tangled up. I went to a LLR party a couple weekends back. There was a snow leopard Lindsay just sitting there on the rack. I tried it on, held on to it and then some lady said oh are you going to get that. She really liked it. I said I really love it too. I was on the fence. I asked her if she wanted it. She said no I already spent enough buy it.  

I put back 2 shirts I was thinking about and bought the kimono. I really love it! I think it will be really cute with a tank and shorts. It appears summer is still going strong in CA with 90+ degrees. 

 

Kimono: LLR

White Tee: Gap

Skirt: NY & Co

Sandals: Really old - they came from one of those online companies where you use to sign up to get shoe deliveries each month. I can't even remember the name of it. I have had them probably 3-4 years. 

Necklace: Forever 21

Wordless Wednesday

Little Moments

As I sat at the hospital waiting on another scan to check my cancer I sat there soaking up the earlier moments of the day. Earlier in the day G and I read books, played with his car ramp Art just built him then we hit a balloon around the room. I thought back over the past 8 years. The struggles we went through to bring this little boy into the world. So many miscarriages, cancer, and then MS. We went through so much heartache.  I know we both wondered why are we going through so much. What have we done to deserve this?  

There are times now I look back and have these moments maybe this is why we went through so much. It changed how I mother. It changed how I look at things. All of those things have changed me for the better. I'm able to take a deep breath in the midst of chaos and get through it.

A couple weeks ago I was that mother carrying their screaming toddler out of Costco in a superman pose as he flailed around because I wouldn't let him have his way. I started to get frustrated. Then I thought back to what I had been doing 2 years before. Taking phone calls from retirees yelling because their pension check was 1 day late. They refuse to get their check direct deposited. Instead of always having their money in their account on the 1st they wait around for a paper check. Kind of similar to a toddler who wants ice cream instead of a sandwich at lunch time. I took a deep breath, laughed and unloaded my stuff into the car. I would rather deal with my screaming toddler any day! As hard as I fought to bring this amazing kid into the world I have to fight to make sure he grows up to be a kind man. 

OOTD

Chambray: Old Navy

Scarf: Gift

Pants: TJ Maxx

Shoes: Target

Shirt: Gap

Vest: Old Navy

Scarf: Amazon

Jeans: Joe's Jeans Nordstroms

Booties: Amazon

Hiking!

The other day I went scouting for a place to take our holiday pictures. I have some ideas from Pinterest of how I would like pictures this year. I thought of a place not far from my house that I thought would work. George and I went for a little hike to see if the areas might be ok. Normally I take a stroller with us. On this day I decided no stroller! He needed to run off some energy and I would just have to walk a little slower. When I exercise I like to go fast and get it over with ASAP. 

We had a fun time hiking for about 30 minutes. George loved to see the ducks (birds) and he could see the buses from up on the hill. He is very into buses and garbage trucks. Every night before bed we have to sing the wheels on the bus. I try to sing other songs and he says no bus momma. He will tell me which verse to sing next. If he wants the babies on the bus he starts crying and rubbing his eyes. We have our own versions of what the people on the bus do. I can just imagine one day when he is trying to get someone else to sing the song. They are not going to have a clue what Papa and Da Da do on the bus. lol On our bus Papa goes Yehaw! Da Da is strong and shows his muscles. 

Anyhow back to our hiking. He had a great time running along. He liked to run down the hills laughing away. Other times he would hold my hand. It was a nice morning! It also wore him out, so he took a nice nap! He even slept through the dog barking his head off at the Fed Ex man! 

He saw some cows on the hill. He was pointing to them saying mooo mooo. 

Wordless Wednesday

OOTD

I haven't posted OOTD in a long time mostly because I haven't taken a picture of them. I wear jeans most days. They are toddler friendly and easy. I recently bought some peep toe booties that I LOVE! So comfy! I wanted something I could wear while chasing a toddler. If they aren't toddler friendly they will sit in my closet collecting dust. I looked on Amazon to see what they had and actually found a pair. I made sure they were Prime, so I could return them if I hated them after I tried them on. 

Left:
Gap: Jacket and Jeans

Tee: Target

Flip Flops: Nordstrom Rack Havaianas

Right:

Dress: Lularoe Julia Dress

Jacket: Target

Booties: Amazon 

I saw someone on IG wearing a similar outfit one day. I decided to recreate it based on the items I had in my closet. All of these things are really old.

Cardigan: Loft

Button Up: Old Navy

Skirt: Lane Bryant

Shoes: Lucky

Purifying Charcoal Mask

I tried BeautyCounter's Purifying Charcoal Mask a couple weeks ago. I really love this mask! I have been using this indian mud mask that I like, but I HATE washing it off my face. It is so hard to get it all off. I figured the charcoal mask would be similar. It was nothing like the other mask I have been using. It went on really thin and spread very easily. I didn't have a bunch caked on my fingers either. 

When it dries you can see where it is pulling out the impurities from your pores! It's pretty crazy!

Here is the mask all dry! I love how clean my face feels afterwards. The first time I used it later that evening it had brought a pimple to the surface! 

After I used the mask I used the Balancing Face Oil. My skin felt amazing! 

I'm hosting a spa night at my house for my friends to try out the charcoal mask on Saturday, October 29. If you would like to come you are more than welcome. You can email me for more information. 

You can find the charcoal mask HERE. 

You can find the Balancing Face Oil HERE. 

Storms!

BeautyCounter!

Here is my story that has led me to BeautyCounter!

I really started to look at the ingredients of products before I had George a little over 2 years ago. I refused to use any Johnson & Johnson products on him. Some people thought I was crazy. I didn't care! I felt it was very important that I use products with the least amount of chemicals as possible.

Once George starting eating foods I tried to feed him as much organic as possible. Over the past year I have worked on getting all of us to eat as much organic and grass fed meats. I also make my own laundry soap because I want to know what is in my soap. I stopped using cleaning products about 6 years ago. I went to vinegar, baking soda and peroxide to clean my house. I have a lot of health issues where I feel our environment causes a lot of these issues, so I really try to eliminate as many chemicals as possible from our home.

One of my friends Susannah recently starting selling BeautyCounter. Honestly at first I was like oh boy here we go again with yet another person selling junk. I joined her Instagram and Facebook groups. I would read what she was posting and guess what I agreed with what BeautyCounter stood for! Then BeautyCounter made it's was to my very favorite store Target! I actually got excited about it because I wanted to check out the products. I went to Target the day they launched. I waited in the store while they set up the display. I grabbed an eye cream and headed to the check out. I've been using it for a few weeks. The area around my eyes feel so much softer.

Last week Susannah was kind enough to let me try the skin care and body products for a week. I was sold! I have a lot of issues with an itchy scalp. And Head & Shoulders is NOT the answer! It doesn't matter if I wash my hair daily or once a week. I used BeautyCounters shampoo twice and fell in love with it! No more itchy scalp! The skin care products made my face so soft. I love the charcoal mask. When I returned all the items to Susannah I couldn't believe the difference I felt with my face. I ended up placing my order for the skin care products within 2 days. I can't wait for them to get here!

I am not a person that jumps on the bandwagon of selling the newest and latest thing. This is the very first thing I have ever sold. Joining BeautyCounter makes sense for me because I will be using these products for me and my family.

#beautycounter #beautifulproductsmadesafe #theneverlist #greggrenfrew#miadavis #christycoleman #HCHW #BCF #EWG #cleanshampoo#countertime #agegracefully #soothingfacewash#enlighteningtreatmentpads #radiancefirmingcomplex #upliftingdaycream#nourishingcleansingbalm #restorativenightcream #vibranteyeperfector#beautycounterface

Long Cardigans

I am really loving the long cardigans! I bought the gray long one I am wearing in the picture below during the Nordstroms Anniversary Sale. I wish I had also bought the camel colored one. The camel one sold out super fast and never came back in stock. This cardigan is so soft and comfortable. I would wear it every day! 

Cardigan: Nordstroms

Top: Lularoe

Jeans: Old Navy

Shoes: Sole Society

I am also loving Old Navy long cardi they have on sale right now.  They are a great deal! I am thinking of getting the camel and burgundy one. I have been looking for a burgundy long cardigan. I bought one at Target recently, but I am not loving the sleeves on it. Luckily I haven't taken the tags off of it yet, so I can still return it.