Wednesday, January 12, 2011

It's WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY



HOORAY!!  It's Works for me Wednesday over at We Are That Family!!!

I LOVE WFMW!  It's always been my favorite blog party...mainly because a) I'm really not that crafty~it takes great effort to be even the slightest crafty and b) I am good at finding shortcuts and easy, peasy ways to get the job done! 

This week I wanted to share with you my favorite idea for FINALLY clearing up the adult acne I've struggled with for years.  Seriously folks....it was awful!  I felt worse than a 14-year-old boy, at least a couple of weeks out of the month.  I would have breakouts, mostly on my chin and eyebrow areas.  Of course, never where they could easily be concealed.  I finally broke down and visitied a dermatologist.

Now this is what gets me.  As I am in the health profession, I don't visit health professionals very often.  Let's face it....I'm a bit overeducated!  So most of the time I do really have an idea of what is ailing me or what needs to be done to fix something or if something truly qualifies as an emergency and must be treated.  That rarely happens.  Most of the time, I'm a fix-it-yourself kinda gal.  So actually going to the dermatologist took a humbling, I-swear-I-have-to-take-care-of-this-once-and-for-all moment!

So this was his recommendation:



Yep!  That's it.  Genius in a bottle!  Liquid Gold!!   I wash with this every night and if my face doesn't get too dry, every morning as well.  I use Neutrogena but he did say that any off brand of OIL-FREE cleanser may work.  You have to test them out.  But they must be oil-free and not contain any cream or lotion-y ingredients.  Stay away from additional oils he said!  Genius this man was (or not but I think since I paid him to tell me to buy some over-the-counter remedy, he must be genius~~~)

Seriously, here were his recommendations and they've worked:

A) Wash twice a day with the Liquid Gold.
B) Avoid creamy moisturizers, no facial creams of any kind.  Creams clog the pores and that is causing breakouts.
C) Avoid milk and most dairy.  Dairy is made from cows milk, which most of the time includes some growth hormones.  And since many women, myself included, breakout when it is that time then we need to avoid any additional hormones in our bodies.  I've switched to using some soy milk but mostly just don't drink or consume as much dairy as before.  I do take a multivitamin more often for calcium and vitamins.
D) If your skin is very bad, he did give me some antibiotic cream to apply.  I did for about a week or two and then found that I stopped breaking out as much so have cut back on the cream.  It is very drying as well.

I really believe that if you have oily skin and breakout with surges of hormones like I have, this could help you as well.  Try it.  As I said, it is very drying at first and you'll have to temper how often you use it but it has been exponentially helpful in my skin!  Love it!!

It totally works for me!! 

Now head on over to We are that Family and see what other great tidbits of wisdom await you!! 



Sunday, January 9, 2011

First off this week, I'm joining in on the Pantry Challenge over at Life As A Mom and Organizing Junkie!  My goal is to use up what is in the freezer (actually we have 3 freezers....probably a bit much, huh?), fridge and pantry.  I will be stocking up on loss leaders throughout the month and working my way into building my stockpile for the next few months.






So here is a shot at our menu for this week, using up what we already have:

Monday:  Sticky chicken, green beans
Tuesday:  Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas
Wednesday:  Spaghetti, salad
Thursday:  Chili, cornbread
Friday:  Leftovers or dinner out
Saturday:  Buffalo chicken soup
Sunday:  Homemade pizza

Breakfast is always either oatmeal, cold cereal or eggs.  Lunch is usually leftovers.  I pack the boys leftovers or peanut butter and jelly for their school lunches.  Hubby is on the road so don't have to worry about him.  I eat whatever is convenient and (hopefully) healthy....it isn't always pretty though!!

The Sticky Chicken and Buffalo Chicken Soup are from Sparkpeople recipes that I found today.  I can't wait to try them...they sound absolutely delish!!  I'll report back how it turns out.

Sticking to the plan, I should only need milk and bread from the store this week, plus I'll grab any BOGOs that make sense for us and some other loss leaders.  I haven't checked them out yet so have no idea what they are.

How about you?  Do you try to plan your meals around your pantry? 



A New Year!!

Here we are....2011.

I've gotten harrassment encouragement from others to keep this blog going.  They said they actually enjoy it!  Truth be told, I do too!!  I've missed it!!  And since life is back to some semblance of normalcy....did I just say that?.....I have made a commitment to keep it going.  That is one of my 2011 resolutions. 

I've got some goals for this year. It's actually going to be a VERY busy year.  I'm still in school for my ARNP degree and this is the heavy year.  Not a long program and this year is the majority of the work.  Whew....anyone out there have a firm grasp on Pathophysiology and care to tutor me??  :)

I've renewed those typical goals of eating better, exercising more and budgeting better.  The budget one is an absolute necessity.  I've decreased my hours at work because of the heavy class load I'm taking and first year at a new airline is never very good.  So we'll be hitting the Dave Ramsey program pretty hard again and focusing on our dollars.  Have you tried Dave Ramsey yet?  Great advice!

As for the healthier lifestyle, I'm checking in with Sparkpeople EVERY DAY!  I LOVE Sparkpeople!  Keeps me accountable, great reports, easy to use and let's you make some very real changes in your health.  Every time I've focused on this and checked in, I lose weight.  Easy as that.  Seriously.  I track my food and exercise, gain my points and read about other's success.  It truly is one of the best sites for making healthier lifestyle decisions.  Check it out!

In the meantime, here are a few pics of what is going on in our world right now.....



Big Boy has been very under the weather. Huge fever, sore throat, sniffles, achy. He has war wounds to prove it....

Those darn fever blisters hurt!  Poor kiddo!


We've added a new addition to the family......Meet Drake. We lost our oldest Boxer, Max, last November. Drake joined us a couple of weeks before Christmas. He's adorable....and sweet.....and is measuring up to be a GREAT pup!!



 
Super Hubs has a new job. He started at JetBlue Airlines in December. Loves it! I'm really happy for him and we've prayed, a LOT, that this is the direction God has for us.

Most importantly, we will spend a great deal of time thanking God for His wonderful blessings on our home and family.  We have SO much to be grateful for! 


How about you?  What are your 2011 Resolutions?  What do you want to improve on this year?