Day Five, Honey!

So, I never took a before picture. Oh, well. It's Day Five of the Crunchy Betty Honey Challenge, and each day is a little...different. I broke out VERY badly in my "problem area" on Day Three, but a few swipes of tea tree oil on a cotton ball, and a LONG session with a "honey mask" and today I think the blemishes are a LOT smaller and "deeper" (if you know what I mean) than they were when I started. I am hopeful and encouraged!

The stickiness is definitely something to get used to, and there has been a time or two when I realize I wasn't as thorough with the rinsing in one area of my face or another (the "overhang" of my lower lip above my chin is an elusive spot!), but these are minor problems that don't cause me any lasting hesitation.

I took Teddy to the Farmer's Market this morning, where he had his first encounter with a harmonica.

I was hoping that my honey people would have squeezy bottles for me to take in my luggage as we travel this week, but, alas. I had seen a honey stand on the side of the road on our way to the market, and had observed squeezy bottles on the table there, so I stopped to check 'em out. Turns out the squeezy bottles were for giving samples. Le sigh. I sampled the honey, though (all raw and "local", meaning that the man's hives range from a town about two hours drive due south all the way along the coast to a town about twenty minutes due west of us), LOVED it all, but bought only one jar (a two pounder!) of white sage honey for twenty bucks. THAT honey will be for eating. It tastes delicious like buttah. If I had bought some for face washing, I probably would have gone with the Wild Mountain Flower version, since he said that was the one you would pick if you have allergies. Maybe the wider array of honey-producing plants has something to do with it? He said that it also had "more pollen" in it, which is probably a big booster of allergen-fighting properties...I don't know. I've only read a couple of books; I'm no expert. (It's a little...weird...that I can't get any google returns for this guy's honey biznez...hoping it wasn't a bad idea to write a check...). ANYWAY. So, now I have the unenviable task of funneling some honey from my OTHER great big jar o' honey into a wee little airplane-safe squeeze bottle, so as to continue this experiment on the opposite side of the country.

Oh, well, at least the mess I'll make will be edible. :)

The Great Honey Challenge

It's day one! I started two weeks of face washing with raw local honey this morning, and I think I like it. The honey was so sticky that at first I was thinking to myself, "what the heck am I doing...I am never going to get this off my face!!" But I have to say that I was SO surprised at how quickly and easily the honey came off with just a few splashes of warm water. And, as the link suggests, I even left the honey on for a few minutes, enjoying the "tightness" that does imitate a facial masque. I had a focus group this morning, so I did put on makeup. That means I'll have to pick up my Oil Cleanse routine tonight, but something tells me that perhaps I should eschew makeup whenever possible for the next two weeks, if I want optimal results (read: if I want my chin-zits to scram. Which I do). So! Day one down, and I'm not running for the hills. (Nor am I still trying frantically to remove solidified honey from my face.) I consider that success!

Detox.

Part of what we're into around here is what many would call "crunchy" living. I just call it "doing my best to be healthy, natural and not too materialistic". This is kind of a struggle for me: in my insecurity and weakness, wanting to get along with everyone and to have them all like me (working on that; it has lead to some pretty toxic situations, and hasn't been good for me OR for my little family. It's a big project of mine!), I end up going along with too much and getting sucked into materialistic and consumeristic mindsets (brand awareness, replacing perfectly good and functional items with whatever is "better", falling into marketing traps, especially in terms of toiletries, cosmetics and, weirdly, kitchenware...) and then I wonder why it's "never enough". EX. HAUST. ING.

Enter Crunchy Betty. This woman has been such an inspiration as I try to clean up my exterior AND interior (emotions and perceptions) act. She researches ingredients, exposes harmful or shady products, and has these amazing recipes for making your OWN toiletries, using healthy food (that you can also eat...it's two birds and one healthy, delicious, skin clearing stone!). She writes about Throwing Away Your Sad Magnet. Her call to take the "It's Not Just Business" pledge keeps me aware of what I'm putting in my shopping basket, onto my skin, into my body and what I'm letting into my life and my mind.


And now, I'm taking her Crunchy Betty Honey Challenge. (Link will be live on Monday July 18.)

 I've never really had BAD skin, but I also never really had GREAT skin, either. And what with some sun damage, a pregnancy and now a busy toddler, my not-so-great-skin is starting to look pretty blah. I started the oil cleansing method a couple of months ago, and the results were mixed. On the one hand, my unblemished skin was clearer than I could remember it being. On the other, the blemishes were VERY blemishy. Maybe it's my skin just detoxing, but that isn't supposed to last this long, according to what I've read via google. So I think this "wash your face with honey for two weeks" idea sounds pretty good!

 Of course, cleaning up my act does not end with my face or hair or emotions or perceptions. There's a pretty intense spiritual detox going on, as well. That's another post for another day. :) For now, let's get honey-cleansing!

Regularly Scheduled Broadcast

Okay, so, HI. Yeah. There are no "fashion" posts, and no exciting accounts of our (wonderful!) time in portland and Dallas and Colorado (yes, we have been BUSY in the long pause in posting). Why? Not because I don't want to chronicle these days with my single son and happy husband, and not because I don't want to share those stories, but because the laptop, it died. ANd now I type this standing up at the living room entertainment center, which is why we got me a laptop in the first place, but when it died not FIVE days post purchase, I got all nervous and paranoid about Big Purchases of Unreliable Electronics, and, well, here we are. Standing up and typing, into a large screen too close to my face and rounded shoulders. My posture, it suffers.

Also. I looked in a mirror at some point and kind of really didn't like what I saw (I do love me, I'll have you know; just not so crazy about how the packaging is sort of starting to look a little more soft and bubble wrap-y than, well, ever. So, while I probably should (and most likely will) start taking pictures of it and posting it here for the posterity of my posterior (oh, my gosh, I am so sorry about that), I think I should definitely get another Zumba class or two under my belt (HA!) before that. Just for the mental boost.

Anyway. That's where I've been while I've not been here. I still feel very strongly about lots of things, like natural living and natural birth and natural parenting and and and...stay tuned.