So Dan got me a new laptop today. I couldn't update my blog from my iPad so I've been on hiatus. No longer!! New blogs coming!!

Favorite Things

OK, So Ive been super busy with the holiday season. I'm working in retail this year so Christmas is very draining. Anyway, Oprah didn't do her favorite things this year so I decided to do a quick list of some of my favorite things. I'm always telling anyone who will listen about my favorite products or recommending things to people even if they don't ask. Ill probably get punched in the face one day. Luckily women are always open to any ideas to look prettier.

Since I work for Benefit Cosmetics a lot of the products that I love are Benefit. But, I use a lot of other things. Ive bought a lot of things that didn't work. And that's a lot of money wasted. I'm a product junky. So here you are. Im giving you my advice read on if you want it.

Lets talk about hair products first. I get a lot of fly aways from dying my hair so much. I have a lot of gray. Yuck. Anyway I'm addicted to Paul Mitchell Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner. Once a week I use Its a 10 hair mask. After my hair is towel dried I use Modern Elixirs Refining Conditioner. Modern Elixirs is the luxury Paul Mitchell products. So worth it. I recommend getting a cosmetologist that you know to get it for you at their discounted price. Even if you don't it is on Amazon at around 13 bucks. I dry and straighten my hair, then I smooth down any fly aways with Redken Straight Lissage Power Tame 16. Its for coarse hair. Now mine isn't coarse but it is curly and it only takes a small amount and I only put it on the top not on the ends. If you have fine hair my cousin Paige looooooves Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri Wheat Leave in Conditioner. She'd die without it I think.

I just checked and all these products can be purchased on Amazon. Also, the best haircut I ever gotten was at the Paul Mitchell School. It was like 25 bucks. So awesome. Don't cancel out schools as a real salon. These girls are eager and excited about what they are doing. And they are there because they want to be not because they have to be. With the economy like it is we want to stay pretty and save money. I get Dan gift certificates at the school of massage a lot. He gets an hour massage for 30 bucks. And he says the students are way better than the professionals. Except for one 80 year old woman he used to get massages from in Chattanooga. I will never get my nails done in a quicky salon. NO WAY. I would go to a school though to get a mani-pedi because they are graded on sanitation. Keep that in mind. If you don't see them wash their hands then they probably haven't. Yuck. Microdermabrasion is crazy expensive but you can get it done at an aesthetic school for a third of the price. My instructor at Miller Motte worked at the American Laser Center and she said they didn't even mask their clients after the service. Rip off. Call your local technical school sometimes they do spa packages around the holidays. We used to get bridal parties in all the time.

Hopefully I can get my favorite skin care and makeup posted in the next couple of days.

Oatmeal Mask

Oatmeal YAY. I don't love it quite as much as baking soda but there is a lot of things you can use it for. I like to use it as a face mask. I love it. It makes my skin so soft.
Oatmeal can be used to treat a lot of skin conditions such as oily or dry skin, razor burns, acne, sunburn and even chicken pox. You can add other ingredients too. Like honey which is a natural cleanser and astringent. Egg yolk which helps with acne. Or good old baking soda it can help soothe dry itchy skin.
So when I was in school we took oatmeal and warm water and mixed it in a bowl. Then we had our client lay down. We'd wrap their hair in a towel and put a gauze on their face. Then we'd spatula the oatmeal on to the gauze. It helped the oatmeal stick and it was easy to remove by just rolling the gauze off. But, who can do that at home? I cant.
So to do so this at home I just mix some oatmeal and maybe some honey with warm water in a bowl and apply it with your fingertips. Leave it on til it dries. It may get a little itchy. Remove with a warm wet towel. If you're going to bed you can leave a little on your skin and massage it in. Not the chunks of oatmeal of course but the liquid. It will make your skin feel so refreshed. You can do this treatment everyday if you want.
If you'd rather purchase something with the same great effect that's less messy. I suggest Dermalogica Colloidal Masque. I have it and I use it quite often. But its around 80 dollars. I didn't realize that til I searched it just now on Amazon so I could offer the link. Whoa. I will be using it less often. And when I run out Ill just use oatmeal.

GeoCaching

OK so my new thing last week was the geocaching. It was so much fun and I cant wait to go again. The first cache was unsuccessful. It was just a mile or so from the house so we walked. We looked everywhere for it. With no success. So Dan looked up the coordinates for another cache called Caleb's Other Cave. We drove up to Monte Sano and then we hiked the trails to the cache. Dan climbed into this sink hole and was looking for it while I stood there like a nerd with the GPS in my hand. Then I found it. It was a in a great hiding spot. I was so excited. We signed the register. And took out a tracking device to leave at our next cache and we left a mp3 player and a Bud Light key chain. Try to guess who contributed what. LOL Dan was sick this week so we haven't gotten to do much of anything. Except, kill zombies on PS3. And somehow Ive managed to have to work 14 days straight. So lame. When he starts to feel better I'm going to start hinting at caving again. Well, if I can manage to get some time off work anyway.

There is a website if your interested in finding your own cache and an iPhone application or two. My brothers had the GPS so we didn't have to purchase one. Either way, it is an inexpensive way to fun outdoors. www.geocaching.com
And, here is a crappy clip of us going through our find.

Limrock Blowing Cave

Caving was a lot of fun. I was a little intimidated at first. I kept looking over my shoulder for the entrance that disappeared after 30 feet or so. The cave was very humid along with my anxiety I had to try and calm down and breathe. Dan didn't baby me. He just trucked along. So I didn't have time to really freak out because I was trying to keep up. Then Dan suggested we turn off our headlamps and sit in total darkness. I'm not going to lie I was freaked the eff out. Imagine having your eyes completely open and not seeing anything at all. A little terrifying. I was very anxious to get the lights back on. We did some exploring but not a huge amount. We did have to crawl in some places. That's what I was scared of most. Dan made sure I had all the proper gear so I just had fun and got muddy. We were a little worried the cave would flood. Because, we went caving the day that all the surrounding cities including Atlanta flooded. We took a break, considered ourselves lucky and decided to go on home and call it a day.
So this is my new thing that I did last week. This cave was a beginner cave. I hope to eventually be repelling into vertical caves. But I have a long way to go. If you know me then you know I'm deathly afraid of heights. I can have a panic attack watching someone else bungee jump. Yes its happened. ;)

Imagine Creativity

Ive had a lot going on lately so I haven't gotten to really get this thing going. But I'm off this afternoon so I hope to get everything updated.

OK, So Ive decided to try to do something new at least once a week. Some people who do this say they try everyday. They run out of things to do and end up showering with their clothes on just to get the annoying task out of the way. I don't want it to be annoying. I feel like I was much more creative when I was younger. I want to bring some of that creativity back into my life. Last week I went caving and flew on a plane for the first time. I told you last week was busy. So with the holidays coming up I should be able to come up with some fun things to make. And all of sudden Huntsville feels AMAZING. I don't feel like I'm on a different planet anymore. Well as much I did. So doing things outside should be a lot more enjoyable. And I think that I can manage to blog once a week. I hope.

So stay tuned... Ill be going to look for my first geocache today.. Cant wait.

Baking Soda

If you ever talk to me about skin issues then you will hear me preach about Baking Soda. I love it. My Mom taught me to work with what I have and with my huge family sometimes that wasn't a lot. I use Baking Soda as a natural way to exfoliate. There are tons of things to use it for. Here are a few...

Clarifying/Dandruff Shampoo:
If you are having problems with build up in your hair from hard water (Huntsville has very hard water) , hairspray or other hair care products you will love this trick. First wet hair thoroughly, now add 1 Tb spoon of Baking soda to a Shampoo of your choice. Work this mixture in from root to ends. Rinse and repeat this step if necessary or leave on hair for 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse well and condition. Your hair will be clean and super shiny. I also did this after I died my hair too dark once it helped. Make sure to condition really well afterwords. This may strip your hair color so if you just went to the salon DON'T DO IT.


Avoid Razor Burn and Body Scrub:
I like to mix a couple tablespoons on my loofah with my body wash. It helps to remove dead skin cells. When you shave those dead skin cells can get into open hair follicles and cause razor rash. So use this on your bikini line the day before shaving. If you don't have sensitive skin its OK to use right before.

Face Wash:
I keep a travel jar of baking soda in my shower so that it can be resealed. I simply mix a tablespoon with my face wash every other day. For most people once a week will be sufficient but I get really oily so I like to do it more often. I have seen a huge difference in my skin since I started doing this. It really helps prevent comedones (blackheads). And increases your cell turnover rate.

Toothpaste.
I use white strips although my boyfriend tells me I shouldn't. But as a teen before white strips my mom taught me and my brothers to put toothpaste on our toothbrush and then put baking soda on the toothpaste. Then brush as usual. It really helps whiten your teeth and makes my mouth feel cleaner. I like to do it once a week if I'm out of white strips and don't wanna shell out 40 bucks for another box. Or, if I'm drinking coffee on a regular bases.

One of my brothers chipped his front teeth and had to get them fixed. So it makes him more susceptible to stains. His dentist recommended that he use the white strips and then follow that with brushing with baking soda. I don't do that because I have sensitive teeth. But It would help in extreme cases.

Laundry:
Old wet towels or boys can make clothes stinky. LOL! I waited tables on a patio this summer and the air at the restaurant was broken and even though I'm a girl I got sweaty. So to boost laundry detergent I just mix half a cup with the laundry. I like to hang sheets and blankets on the clothes line but if its rainy or winter the baking soda will give them that hung on the line fresh smell.