Flashback Friday and Kickin it VHS style

Anybody remember Kathy?  I used to do her video workouts back in the '90s and am revisiting those tapes today.  If it was good enough then, it's good enough now!

Fierce Friday DIY Facial Review - 1/31/14

Wellll......I tried this skin-tightening egg white, mashed avocado, and honey recipe for a DIY facial tonight.  It sort of burned my skin, but I left it on for 20 minutes anyway.

Firstly, I don't think the mixture was quite right.  Maybe because I had extra-large eggs, but I didn't have any "liquid" to drain off.  It mixed rather well, but was very runny and not mask-like.  I decided to throw it into my Magic Bullet blender because that tends to add a lot of air and sort of whips what you mix with it.  It did blend it wonderfully and whip it wonderfully, but it was thin and not still not very mask-like.  Next time I try it I will add only one egg white and try it to see if it gets more paste-like.

The burn made me panic a tad, and I had to get into the shower to wash it off.  When I wet it with warm water to rinse it, it just slimed around.  Yes, my skin DOES actually FEEL tighter, but I'm not sure if it's a drying effect yet or not.

I put a tweet out to a Hollywood makeup artist, to see if they had any Feedback on the ingredients.  I'll keep ya posted on this one.  (so far, no extra input)

Update:  2/1/14 (the next day)

I came back to tell ya that while I can't see that my skin appears tighter, my pores are smaller!  Not sure if that's what "tightening" meant or not, but I like the way my skin looks today.  My makeup looks particularly smooth, so I'm voting this a must do again! 

(I couldn't tell much of anything last night after my hot shower, as my mirrors were steamed up! lol)

Fierce Friday - 1/11/14

I believe you need to Find your Fierceness, as do I, so I suggest we take just a moment out of doing for others and do something nice for ourselves at least each Friday. 

Tonight I chose to give myself a home Foot treatment.  This works great on ridding the calluses on my Feet. 

Once a week (make it Friday if you like), soak your Feet in a hot-as-you-can-stand-it water bath for at least 20 minutes. I use a dish pan and sit on the couch while I soak.  (Important to remember the towel before you stick your tootsies in the bath.)  It can be plain water or you can add a Fancy-schmancy additive made for Feet.  I find plain water works just as well at softening the calluses. If you can afford a weekly professional treatment, go for it!

Work on one Foot while leaving the other in the water to keep it soft until you are ready for it.  Dry off your foot the best you can and have a go at it with any number of devices out there for debriding the dead skin off the callus. The one I have in the picture is from Bath & Body Works, but I have others I switch between.  All work well.  You may have to put some muscle into it for awhile until the dead cells stop shedding/rolling off your foot.  You will find the debridement less effective the more dry your foot becomes, which is why you need to leave that other Foot in the bath.

When done with the First Foot, you can now repeat on the other.

When done with the last Foot, wipe Clearasil, Stridex, or a similar pad containing salisylic acid across the callused areas.  The pads should have an exfoliating-type surface too.  The salicylic acid helps shed further dead cells.  Follow it up with an application of your favorite moisturizing lotion.  The Nutrix Royal Body by Lancome is my all time favorite EVER! You should moisturize your feet every single night to maintain the new look you will achieve after a few weeks of self treatment.

If you haven't tried this lotion for moisturizing your body in general, you should.   A little bit goes a long way and the tube shown lasts me at least 10 months, even with using it on my feet each and every single night.  Ask for it as a gift if you can't get yourself to buy it at approximately $30/tube.

My skin is very sensitive to moisturizers, yet dry, and I break out easily, but this one is like Heaven to me.  You know that skin you had in your 20s, especially on your legs, that was swapped out involuntarily for that pale, dry skin that is now speckled with hair follicle pores? Yeah--it makes my legs look like it did in my 20s everywhere, including my once-speckled legs. I buy it for gifts and find the recipients adore it and want it as the next Christmas, birthday, or mother's day gift.

(Sorry, this post didn't make it to the blog on Friday.  I went in search of a picture of legs with enlarged follicles to post, but got sidetracked, amazed, and completely creeped out viewing all the skin conditions out there -- especially the follicle mites! Don't do it. Don't look at them or read about them. I'm still itching.)

I'm baaaack.

I disappeared for a while, seeing how nobody was viewing this blog anyway. First, I found out that we would need to pay more than I paid for the NutriSystem food each month in health insurance premiums (ironic considering I'm trying to get healthy isn't it?) (and thanks Obamacare). At that point, I was getting tired of eating the same foods over and over again anyway.

I got a little cocky thinking I could combine NutriSystem and my old Weight Watchers plans and do it all on my own with my own food, but I couldn't continue to pay the plan fees and the new insurance premiums together. My insurance does not cover weight loss program fees. I did what I had planned for quite a while.

I also then underwent a medical procedure last fall that put my menopausal symptoms into overdrive. I was hardly getting any sleep, so I stayed up all night until the point of exhaustion when I was sure I would toss and turn less and not spend much time flat on my back unconsciously trying to cool off, which all exacerbates my degenerative back condition, but it happened anyway. In March, my back went into spasm and I was diagnosed with a sprained back. I looked like hell.  I went from hearing "You are really losing weight!" to "You have some serious bags under your eyes!"

At this point, I entered into that self-defeating place where I feel like I can't win for losing, that the universe is lined up against me, like I'm just treading water trying to keep my head above the water. Then I started drinking pop again on the run with the kids. When I started drinking the pop, I started skipping the meals again.

I tried some herbal supplements and remedies to deal with the hot flashes, but for some reason, it magnified them tenfold in intensity and frequency. I was miserable. I couldn't even put on make up because I could melt it off in a sweaty Freakin' instant. It actually became embarrassing enough that I avoided going out at all, quit volunteering at my son's school, etc. I was constantly lobster red and shiny. When you're heavy, that just looks plain bad, like you're about to have a heart attack.

I finally got an appointment, after calling for one months ago, and started a new treatment. I was very skeptical, but it's working. I'm day five in. My back is still very sensitive to certain movements and activities, so I have to remain ever aware of what I do until it heals to stay out of spasms. I'm sleeping better, feel like I'm tossing and turning less, and am definitely having fewer Flashes (only two, what I call, warm Flashes).

After a summer spent updating the house from hardwood floor refinishing to painting every room and what feels like eons of bickering, bored children (we didn't do anything with them during all this refinishing business and figured they'd live), and with school just around the corner, I'm feeling hopeful again that I can reenter the meal-planning phase for myself. I can wait to re-enter the workout phase for the physician's okay, but there is no reason to waste anymore time getting back to the weight loss in the interim.

I have at this point regained most of the weight I had lost over the last 10 months, sadly. This means I'm starting over, almost completely.  Not quite, but close enough.  Here I go!