Two, and three.

Honey! I wrote about washing my face with honey  three weeks ago. At first I loved it-my skin had never felt better. Then-and then-it all went south. Worst my face has ever  been. My forehead was covered in little bumps, chin was suffering from that yucky cystic stuff. I reminded myself that there is supposed to be a "purging" period, but after a few days of sticking to the routine and seeing no improvement I threw in the towel. I wanted to stay as natural as possible so I went with Burt's Bees (which you can find at Walmart) and I love their line. The list of ingredients isn't as scary and it smells nice. The face was still looking bad, though, so I decided to use what I had learned from reading "crunchy" blogs and added tea tree oil, baking soda, jojoba oil and honey (yep) to my arsenal. Here's the routine: #1 Wash face with Burt's Bees facial cleanser. #2 Make a baking soda paste and apply it to problem areas. Let it sit for five minutes....

It has been a busy week. It's always a busy week but this week I was also physically  exhausted as well as mentally (usually I'm only mentally exhausted; it takes a lot to physically exhaust me). I was physically exhausted because (/drum roll) my job description has changed for the better. Without going into too many details I am now full-time, I love what I do and for the moment school is out of the question for me. I have plans for going back and have thought through several possible eventualities. I will also probably cry when school goes back into session. I will rejoice when finals arrive and I don't have to study. More importantly, I will have more energy for the kiddos and Damm. And time. And weekends! But not right now. Still adjusting to this physically demanding schedule. So in the meantime enjoy the following art design: Don't worry, the ink washes off as soon as they have a bath in the tub. My mother-in-law's idea:)

I think I've mentioned that we have a suspension training system ( the Human Trainer ). If not, now you know. (You should also know that I am not in any way affiliated with the product, have received no endorsements/remuneration/etc.) I like it, and I think it's helped me train without risk of further injury (because I'm not in a static position) and it's incredibly easy to set-up/take-down. We have ours attached to the garage door: (I usually move the trashcan and broom out of the way) My liking passed into love when I started incorporating suspended crunches ( here's a few sample exercises from the Human Trainer website), twists and pikes. It's the hardest thing I've done in a while and it's the only exercise that requires a full minute to recover from. The results are absolutely fantastic: after two workouts I looked at my abs (which are still not ready for any type of picture) and noticed a difference. I'm starting to believe that I might...

An Orc, A Plan, A Totem....and the fishing pole that ruined it all. Hello to all new reader types! If there are any :P My name is D--------. I currently play an Orc Shaman in World of Warcraft. My wife also plays an Orc(as always hunter). Our little half orc isn't quite yet crawling so for her to be playing anything would be a stretch. But she is an attention hog so she'll probably play a warrior.... she's already good at holding agro. Why shaman? Well... I needed to be hybrid because well... it fits my play style. I like to be able to heal a fellow if they need it but I -way- prefer to melee dps. But what about Paladin you say? Let me tell you: Yes your dear little platewearing undead hating psychopaths can almost not be killed...and wow yes they do have nice buffs for all the little people around you but... who likes not doing damage? Not I. Yeah yeah I know that some retrib paladins will tell me they do damage....but I played one to 32 and just can't do that ...

I spent this past weekend delving into "crunchy" blogs. I say that like it was a departure from my normal schedule but it really isn't. I've been soaking this stuff up now that I have time and mental space available. I read about using honey as a facial cleanser and am giving that a go (use only raw honey and if you can get honey from the people that made it it's even better). I bought jojoba oil at my local health food store and am going to try the Oil Cleansing Method. I have also been inspired to go "no-poo". Most of these decisions have been motivated by cost concerns; facial cleansers/creams are expensive  and, also important, they haven't been working for me. I still don't consider myself "crunchy" although I think I've leaned in that direction for a while. As a teen I resisted makeup wearing and have always preferred a "natural" look. I also didn't shave my legs until I was 14 and the societal pressure got too ...

So far they've all been on the health/beauty side rather than culinary attempts. I already modify any recipe, adding whole wheat flour instead of white, flaxseed, unsweetened applesauce instead of oil and other similar changes, so I guess you could say I'm already on the crunchy side culinary-wise. So without further ado, my crunchy attempts: #1 Turmeric Tea: It supposedly does a boatload of good stuff for you, including easing aches and pains (which is why I decided to try it). Here's the recipe, which you can find variations of all over the web: 1 C. almond milk 1/2 Tbs. butter 1/2 tsp. turmeric 1/2 tsp. ground ginger dash of cinnamon very, very small dash of black pepper (apparently it makes turmeric work even better but wow, don't like the taste:) Heat the almond milk and butter. Mix other ingredients into your cup, add a bit of the heated milk mixture. Stir. Add the rest of the stuff and enjoy. As long as I go easy on the pepper it actually makes a pre...

I found another  blog that has me spending hours at a time reading through the archives. Skwigg  is a former anorexic/bodybuilder fanatic + a good many other phases. I totally identify, having been through the anorexic thing and the fanatical exercise thing. Her blog got me thinking about my approach to life/fitness/eating and I thought I'd share my thinking (because if you're like me other people's thoughts about nutrition and fitness are fascinating . If you're not like me feel free to ignore me:) I will not eat diet food.  I did for years and the stuff tastes nasty and I'm just not doing it anymore. I still do like using protein powder BUT I mix it up with other stuff because I don't like the taste of whey (although MuscleTech puts out a protein powder that I can drink by itself). I eat full-fat yogurt (although I am currently enamored by Brown Cow's non-fat Lemon yogurt) and mayonnaise and butter, just in small amounts. I also love whole milk. Again, ...