DIY Deodorant

I have not used deodorant for over a year.  Say that again!?!  Maybe I should clarify that statement.  I have not used "deodorant" for over a year.  See those quotation marks?  Those quotation marks make all the difference.  Those quotation marks differentiate between what you may call deodorant and what I call deodorant. If you know me at all, you know that I consider myself "semi-crunchy"  According to the online slang dictionary (totally reliable right?!) crunchy is:

hippie-esque; "all-natural". Refers to the crunch of granola, which (as goes the stereotype) hippies are likely to eat.

I would not consider myself full-on crunchy, mostly because there are some things I just can't give up (while I like being barefoot in the grass, my heels are an accessory I will not relinquish and I just kind of like the smell of my salon shampoo.  I must say that I tried the whole "no poo" thing, but thats for another day.)  Plus, living in this tiny little town, there are some things I can't find and are not easily accessible.  I seriously have to drive 40 minutes to get goat cheese, and that's not even the organic kind!

Back to deodorant.  There are so many reasons why it's a smart choice to ditch the "deodorant" (notice the quotations.)  Yes, even during these summer months.  Just do a quick Google search of "ingredients in deodorant" and you'll have plenty of reading material. That's not even going into the antiperspirant realm.  Don't even get me started!  

When I first started the research on this "hot" topic, I tried some of the natural brands and let me tell you, they just didn't get the job done.  So, in true crunchy  fashion, I decided to just make my own. I tried it once and the rest is history.  It worked so well and the benefits are amazing: super cheap, no nasty chemicals, and you can personalize your scent depending on the essential oils you use. 

I'm not sure who originally came up with the recipe, but I've seen it everywhere with a few tweaks here and there. 

What you need:
Baking soda
Corn Starch
Coconut Oil
Essential Oils (optional)

This is so simple that you really don't need the pictures, but why not?

 Equal parts of baking soda... (I used 1/4 cup)

...and cornstarch (1/4 cup)

Add in enough coconut oil to create the right spreadable consistency.  This will depend on a couple of things.  1.) the temperature of the oil, because coconut oil will melt in the heat and become a solid in cooler temperatures  2.) what kind of consistency you like.  I prefer mine a little more soft.

Next, add the essential oils if you are using them.   Because patchouli is my scent, I added some patchouli oil and a little bit of tea tree oil for it's antibacterial effect.  

That's it!  Put that mixutre in a container and you are good to go!

 Okay, so I'm guessing some of you may be asking how this goes from the container to your pits right?  Simple.  Scoop some onto your fingers and rub it in.  I know.  It was strange for me at first too, but sometimes you just gotta put on your big girl/boy panties and do it.  Trust me, it's worth it!

Who needs water anyway?

So I have a problem.  A problem keeping things alive.  More specifically plants.  I don't know what it is but I just cant keep them living.   No, I know exactly what it is.  I ignore them.  There I said it.  I ignore them and just let them go.  I like the idea of them.  They are pretty.  They smell good. It's the work that it takes to keep them that way that I can't handle.  Every year I start out all gung-ho. I buy the mulch, I buy the potting soil.  My mom comes over and plants new starts from the plants that are just "getting too big."   She's kind of got a green thumb.  She can just walk by a flower or plant and it immediately grows five new buds.   I promise myself every year that this year will be different.   This year, I'll stick with it. This year, I'll have the prettiest yard in the neighborhood.  And then, a week goes by and I realize I forgot to go out and pull those weeds.  Two weeks go by and my mom stops over to cut off the flowers that had bloomed and died and are still there sucking the life out of my new growing ones.  Three weeks go by and "oh crap! I forgot to water them and it hasn't rained yet!" I finally get around to tending to  my beautiful growing flowers, only to see that they've completely dried up.  The buds are withered and the soil has turned to dust.   But you know what's amazing??  Most of the time, if I water them really really good at that point, they'll come back.  Flowers are pretty resilient.   They want to  live and thrive.   Every time I see them bounce back I'm amazed.  How in the world did they survive what I just put them through??

Isn't that how our lives are sometimes?  We want a life full of happiness and joy , but we don't want to do anything about it.   Instead, we neglect it.  We ignore it and hope that  it will just grow on its own because that's easier.   When we finally take a look, we are dried up.... But, just like the flowers, we are resilient.   We want to live and survive. We want to be "beautiful."    Whatever that means to you, do it.  If it means digging into your bible more...do it.  If it means giving up something that you've been holding on to, then just like the dead flowers that were sucking the life out of the ones trying to grow, cut it off.    Whatever it takes to make you bloom, do it.  Yes, it's work. Yes it's hard, but believe me, you are worth it!!

This picture above was taken this morning (eek!)   Here's to hoping that in a few days, this will be the beautiful blue plant that I know it can be!

be still

A few months ago I got my second tattoo.  The words “be still” are now permanently inked on my right shoulder blade.  As I was telling the tattoo artist what I wanted, he verified that I didn’t want  “and know” to be part of the piece.  I told him that the two words were all that I needed.  Most people know this phrase as Psalm 46:10 that says “be still and know that I am God.”  This verse speaks to many and has gotten them through  times they feel they cannot go on, so I’m not discouraging it.  For me, though, the “be still” part is what I was after.   

The older I get, the more I am drawn to nature.  Over the past couple of years, I’ve also gotten into running.  The most perfect thing in the whole wide world to me is a nice long run on a quiet, tree lined trail; no one around but the birds and flowers.  Now granted, I run with music (still haven’t managed to give that up yet), but there is just nowhere in the world I would rather be than out in nature, experiencing it.   When the run is over and the ear buds come out, it’s just me and the trees…and there is something so beautiful about that: just standing there taking in the beauty that God created.

This is what the words “be still” mean to me.  In addition, this is the one time that I am forced to slow down.  If you know me at all, you know that I’m a ‘doer.’  I have to be busy. I enjoy being busy.  I do, but at times, it’s exhausting. Not necessarily physically exhausting, but more mentally exhausting.   I get so wrapped up in things and projects that my mind gets overwhelmed.  It’s very hard for me to just sit still when my head has a list 3 miles long of things that need to be done or finished.  Running is my way of getting away from that.  When I’m running, my mind turns to the bigger things in life.  I don’t know if it’s the extra oxygen being flooded to my head, but instead of laundry and dishes, it starts to wander to life and what’s really important. That clarity for the 45 minutes (or longer depending on the miles) is truly addicting. 

Little did I know that these two little words would continue to take shape and mold into something even greater.  Life is crazy.  Life is hard. It’s beautiful, yes, but it’s also extremely hard some days.  In the times when life isn’t easy, when it’s not all butterflies and roses, when it’s maybe easier to throw your hands in the air and give up, be still.    Be. Still.  Be still and rest in the fact that you may not know some things….and that is okay.  Rest in the beauty that good things take time.  Those trees that bring me so much peace and joy take years to grow.   You may only be able to see one step in front of you, step anyway.  Breath in, breath out…repeat.

 

“Wisdom comes once we learn to become still…In the silence of the heart, one learns the journey of the wise.”

Truth.

Have you ever had one of those conversations that after it's over, you think to yourself "That was all truth!  Surely, anyone and everyone could benefit from that in some way."  I had one of these earlier this past week.  I was telling someone the story of my tattoo and what it means to me.  I won't get into the whole story here, but I'll tell you it's in memory of my the baby I lost eight months ago.  It may seem strange to some of you that have never suffered a miscarriage to hear that I still struggle with this so many months later.  I know that before mine, I never realized how deep a scar it can carry.  I was talking with this person how it's weird that I'll go several days being okay and then something will happen; a song will come on the radio, somebody will say something, or really... any random thing could happen and I'll just burst into tears.  This person told me something that I had already known, but them saying it out loud simply validated it as a truth.  They told me to feel what I'm feeling, no matter how silly or ridiculous it might seem.  Isn't that so simple?  Simple, but completely brilliant.  It's okay to cry when a hip hop rap song comes on the radio, if that's what I'm feeling.  It's okay to mourn the loss of someone who passed several years ago, if that's what you're feeling.  It's okay to feel totally blah if that's where you're at.  Cry.  Do it. Feel it.  Just make sure, you get up the next day ready to face and feel whatever comes.  That's life.  It's hard, it's tough, it's beautiful.

Long Overdue: The Remodel

This is a post that is long overdue.  Going back over the past posts, I realized that I promised to show ya'll the redo of our house after we bought it.  To recap, we repainted pretty much everything in the front rooms and the kitchen.  (Sorry to say but I don't think I have any before and afters of the kitchen.)  Also, we tore up all the carpeting and laid down vinyl flooring.  With Jarrod working 70 hours a week at the time, I laid most of it myself.  I'm not saying this to play down his role by any means (if it weren't for his busting his butt at work, we wouldn't have been able to pay for the flooring.)  I am telling you this, so that when you see the floors, you will know that I. am. a. rockstar.  I'm not kidding of course.  But, it was super hard work and it makes me appreciate my pops even more for what he did and still does to make a living for his family.
Okay, I'll shut up and show you the pictures.

Wow, this is really bad quality.  I apologize.  You never know taking a picture with your phone, what kind of quality you're going to get.  Seriously, sometimes it looks like a professional took it and others you get, well, you get the above picture.  You get the idea though.  You see the color of the paint and the carpet right?

So, first things first.  Gotta tear that carpet up.  I thought this would be super easy.  Boy was I wrong.  I think my back was stuck in the bent over position for two days straight. First, the carpet had to come up. Then, we had to tear up the padding underneath and then (yeah, still not done) we had to hammer down all the nails that were sticking up from the floor.
 

Again, I apologize for the quality.  I must start using my actual camera. 

Once everything was up, it was time for momma to show her stuff.  Check out these floors!

Now why did this one turn out so good?!  I will never know

Of course Jesalyn had to get in on the action.  Is this not the cutest picture you have ever seen in your entire life?!  She looks like she knows what she's doing doesn't she?  

Before the floors we decided to repaint.  I wanted gray.  A lesson I learned through all this is that there really is no true gray color.  All gray has a little bit of another color in it.  If you read my blog before you know the other lesson I learned.  "If your best friend tells you that the paint chip you took home looks more blue than gray, you should believe her."   Yes,  I picked out what I thought was gray, bought like 4 gallons and started painting the walls.  Halfway through I realized that it did, indeed look blue.  I thought I could handle it and kept painting.  About 3/4 the way through, I decided that I wouldn't be happy so we went out and bought more paint and did the whole thing again.  Luckily, we had lots of people helping us paint or I would probably still be doing it. 

Here is my step-dad.  He was a professional painter for 20 years. Notice the drastic difference!

I must preface that since the "remodel" we have already moved things around and purchased new furniture, but you get the idea.  

and after...

Raising Confidence

    When I was in college, however many years ago that was (we don't have to get into numbers) I had an obsession with food.  I obsessed over the amount of fat, the number of calories, how much sugar was in it....  Every time I ate, I would immediately head to the gym to try to burn it off.  I became so obsessed with it that it just became easier not to eat it.  I never became anorexic.  I ate, but my meals were more like mini snacks.  I remember a time that my roommate's (and BFF) parents came for the weekend to visit.  They were going out to eat for supper and asked if I wanted to join them.  "No thanks" I said, "I have already eaten" referring to my half cup of applesauce.  I remember waking up in the middle of the night in pain, because I was so hungry.  I would force myself to go back to sleep, while secretly feeling good about the fact that I once again was able to push aside that feeling of hunger.   I don't know that I was super tiny, but I do know that my weight was not healthy for me because I lost my period for about a year. Instead of this worrying me, I instead felt proud that it was all steps to becoming a smaller me. 

   So why I am sharing this with you?  A few years after I got married, the hubby and I started talking about having kids.  I had gotten over my obsession with food, but my biggest fear was that I would have a girl and that I would inadvertently pass on this feeling of having a negative body image. I knew I would never ever speak words to her about her body being one way or another, but I knew that children at a young age look to their parents with how to think and feel about things and I was terrified that she would see me obsessing about something not fitting right or overhear me talking to someone about how I was trying to lose weight.  This was such a fear that it grieved me to think about it.  Of course, when I did become pregnant and I found out that it was a girl, I knew that it was up to me to help instill in her the confidence of being a female; to see her body as vessel that allows her to do things, be strong, and enjoy life.  She is almost four now.  Her dad and I tell her every single day how beautiful she is.  We absolutely never talk about weight, good or bad.  She's actually very small for her age and I try to even watch calling her skinny. I don't want her to ever feel like she has to be one way or another.  I want her to know that she's perfect in every way.  As she gets older, she will see things that will test her self confidence, no matter how much I try to shield her.  My prayer is that she has had enough confidence built inside her that she will not feel the need to conform to what society says is beautiful.  That she will know that she's beautiful. So instead, I talk about being healthy.  When she sees me lifting weights and asks me why I'm exercising, I tell her it's so that I can stay strong. She has started asking if she can run with me.  Not because she wants to be thin, but because she sees how much I enjoy it.

   All this is good, but this morning she threw me for a loop while we were getting ready for work/school.  I was putting on my lipstick before we left and she says to me "mommy, your lipstick is so pretty.  Do you think that maybe someday I could wear lipstick?"    "Kiddo, your pretty without lipstick" I say to her.  Her reply? "So are you mommy!"  OUCH! I've been so wrapped up in making sure she's confident in her body that I haven't even thought about the make up piece. Of course I'm not opposed to wearing make up.  I never leave for work without it, but she has made me step back and contemplate some things. I don't want her to feel like she has to cover her face up to be beautiful.  Sure, I know she's four and she's not thinking about all that.  Right now, to her, it's just something fun that mommy does and she wants to do too, but how do I teach her to be confident in herself when mommy has to put her "face on" to go out?  How do I teach her to know the difference in being confident in herself while also wearing make up and only feeling confident when she's made up?  Does that make sense????  I gave her some chapstick and took her to school, but now she's got me thinking.  Any of you mommies out there have any advice?  With this crazy, messy world we live in, it's important to stick together and raise strong, self confident girls.   

Thanks for reading y'all.  It's been a while I know.   Comments are always welcome!


This is a really, really good article that all parents of girls should read.
http://hopeave.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/how-to-talk-to-your-daughter-about-her-body/

Lesson's learned

We are in the throws of a semi-renovation.  I say semi because we aren't tearing down any walls (yet).  But we are painting and putting in new flooring. For a couple that has never been able to paint even an inch of our own space, this has been a project to say the least.

I guess we could have made it easier on ourselves by doing what most normal people do.  We could have stayed with mom while we were done with everything and then moved right on in....happily ever after.  But, as you know, we were ready for our own space. So we are, day by day, doing what we can to get our house, and lives, in order. 

I've learned a few lessons that I thought I would share with you. 

1.) When buying paint for walls, take a test strip and tape it to your walls for a couple of days to make sure it is the same color you thought it was in the store.  And if your best friend mentions that it "looks a little more blue than gray," BELIEVE her.

2.) When buying curtains, measure them.  If not you will get to the store and wonder just how many you'll need. If you find yourself in this situation, buy the extra curtain.  It's much better to have an extra curtain than to run short.  Plus, if you save the receipt, you can take it back if you don't need it later.

3.) When painting walls, throw away the plastic container that you roll your paint roller in.  Use a bucket and a paint screen.  All the cool kids are doing it!!  It's not nearly as messy and you won't waste as much paint.  This is coming from my step-dad, who was a professional painter for 20 years. He knows what he's talking about =)

4.) Got a toddler running around your feet while your trying to get some things done?  Give her a toy broom and have her "help you paint the walls."

5.) Buy vinegar.  I have heard it before, but never really put it to use.  Vinegar is some dang good stuff.  Seriously, you can use it for just about anything.  Don't believe me?  Check out this page www.vinegartips.com 

6.) Take it one step at a time.  I'm a very impatient person when I want something done.  Also, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to certain things.  When we bought the house, we knew there were some things we wanted to do to it to make it our own.  As the days went on, there were other little things we found that we would "come back to."  I'm not good at coming back to things.  I want it done, and done right then.  This does not work when there is a list of things, and no time to do them.  I've had to realize, that nothing is perfect, and everything can be fixed....in time.

7.) Don't be afraid to ask for help.  This is also something I am not good at doing.  I absolutely hate asking people to help me.  I feel like it's my house, my responsibility, so I should be doing it myself.  This doesn't work when you have a husband working 60 hours a week.  It's nearly impossibly to do everything by yourself.  Family and friends are the reason we moved back after all.  If they are willing to pitch in, don't be afraid to hand them a paint brush. 

We are putting our floors in Saturday....ourselves.  Dad is going to show us how and then we'll roll up our sleeves and go to work.  I'm sure by the end of the day, I'll have plenty more tips =)