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Oil Cleansing Method Update

I decided to do a little tweaking to the method. I thought maybe adding more castor oil would help cleanse my skin better. And I know my skin can handle it because it is naturally oily. I upped the ratio from 25% Caster 75% Canola to 40% Caster 60% Caster. I also massaged my skin between placing the warm cloth over my face. Thought it might loosen up some of the stuff after the steam.

I love the feel of my face afterward. And the look. I've noticed that my skin is beginning to look better. Which makes me very happy.

Oil Cleansing Method

Okay, I know this sounds utterly insane, but just bear with me. I've seen people talking about the Oil Cleansing Method, shortened to OCM. Cleaning your face with oil sounds completely backward. However, as I researched it, I discovered that some woman swear by it. And once I read the article on it, the OCM began to make perfect sense.

Most skin care products strip the skin of oil, both good and bad. In response your body goes into overdrive producing too much oil to make up for what was washed away. No oil on your skin means dry patches. And the excess of oil will clog your pores beneath the dry patches.

Given the logic of it, I decided it was worth a try. The oils are inexpensive and if it fails, I can simply cross it off my list of methods to achieve clear skin. So while I was out today, I purchased castor oil, which is the staple of the oil mixture. For my second oil, I got canola. Though you can use practically any fruit/vegetable based oil. Now the ratio of these oils has to do with your skin type. I used 25% Castor to 75% Canola. A teaspoon total, since I was just testing it out. So 1/4 teaspoon castor and 3/4 teaspoon canola.

I followed the directions from the article, which are super easy. It felt amazing to spend time massaging the oil into my skin. Not as gross as I was anticipating. After I was done, I inspected my skin in the mirror. So much clearer! Anyone that has seen me in person without makeup knows I have issues with acne. Over half of my blackheads were gone. My pores appeared smaller. I did not have any dry patches. And my skin was just generally softer. I was amazed. Still am!

I seriously suggest you try this if you have any issues with your skin. Not only is it the best thing I've ever used, its all natural. And inexpensive. I got both oils at Walmart in small bottles since you don't use much. Cost me less than five dollars.

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

Jackie from Noella Beauty Works is having a giveaway for reaching 3000 sales. She is amazing! And so are her products!

To see more out the giveaway, click here.

Weight Lose

Starting this Monday, I am going to carefully watch what I eat and exercise my ass off. I have never had luck with dieting. But I am hoping this time will be different. Any amount of weight dropped would make me happy, but I would like to drop a significant amount.

I'm not comfortable divulging my weight or measurements. But I will be keeping a journal with my weight and measurements. So instead of posting the actual numbers, I will simply post how much has been lost.

I am going to try to update every Monday so I have weekly posts. Wish me luck :)

Insanity

The past week or so has been sheer insanity. I've been trying to get my craft room set up. Its still not quite completely ready. Hopefully by the end of this week, it will be. I did utilize the space though already. I've made a few gifts. And several new pieces of jewelry. Just over twenty to be exact.

I absolutely love making jewelry, I'm just not so fond of getting it posted for sale. Its a time consuming process. Pictures have to be taken. Etsy allows five pictures per item. So I end up taking at least ten pictures for each piece. You never know how the picture really looks until I get it up on my computer. Then I have to figure out which five pictures best show the piece. And which one should be the main picture that's shown. Each item needs a title. And a description. My description also involves what changes I can make to the piece for a customer and shipping info. You have to label each item into a category, then tag it. Oh, I almost forgot... I have to measure each piece, so people know exactly how big something is.

Once I get all of them onto Etsy, I still have to post on Facebook and Twitter. Twitter is easy. Facebook involves uploading more pictures. And I go back to write the title and put a link with each photo. I try to make it as easy as possible for someone to find the item they want.

But enough about jewelry and sales...

Mother's Day is upon us as well. So I've been trying to collect things for my mom's gift without her finding out what it is. Hopefully it will remain a secret until Sunday, and I hope she likes it.

Last thing... My baby brother is going to be a Marine! He's set to go to bootcamp soon. I honestly can't believe he's growing up so fast. I know that sounds like a motherly thing to say, but I can remember just a few years ago, he was shorter than me. And I'm barely over 5 feet. Now he towers over me by pretty much a foot. Time flies. He will be 19 years old in a few months.


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Little bit of self promotion...
The site for my jewelry is http://www.etsy.com/shop/MBSummer . There will be more than just jewelry soon. I'm hoping to post clothing in the near future, along with other things.

If you're on Facebook, my jewelry page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Summer-Designs</span>/15459219126979
If you're on Twitter, my jewelry page is https://twitter.com/#!/Summer_Designs

Relationships Should Come With a Manual

They really should come with a manual or warning label. At least then you would know what to expect, how to troubleshoot, and when to give up.

Birthdays, Good Friday, and Earth Day

Too many days wrapped all in one. Today is Thomas's birthday, Good Friday, and Earth Day [plus the day Water for Elephants comes out, but we're not going there :) ]. Thomas is coming over soon for his birthday, so I'm currently baking Red Velvet Brownies with a Cream Cheese Topping. Its playing as non traditional birthday cake. The recipe is yummy. I made my first patch of them a couple of weeks ago.

I'm not sure today feels too much like Good Friday. I know it should, but people root themselves into tradition. Normally, we would all be getting ready for visiting my grandma on Easter. But she's in a nursing home. So no more holidays at her house. And I've spent every holiday at her house since I was born. It'll take some time for the holidays to feel like holidays without that tradition.

I love the idea of Earth Day. But people should do good things for Mother Earth on more than just one day. And yes, I know some people do. But a lot of people just do things on this day every year. And I know I could do more. A person can always do more. :)

Oh, for anyone saying "RECIPE!" after reading Red Velvet Brownies, here it is...

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Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
*1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
*1 1/4 cup sugar
*2 eggs
*2 tsp vanilla extract
*1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
*1/4 tsp salt
*3 tbsp cocoa powder
*2 tbsp red food coloring
*4 oz cream cheese (for frosting, at room temperature)
*1/4 cup butter (for frosting, at room temperature)
*2 cup powdered sugar (for frosting)
*1 tsp vanilla (for frosting)
*2 tbsp milk (as needed, for frosting)

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Butter or spray an 8 x 8 cake pan.
3) In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to create a paste.
4) In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add remaining teaspoon of vanilla. With the mixer on medium speed, add in cocoa powder mixture. Beat until batter is completely red. (If at this time your batter is NOT red, you can add a little more food coloring if desired. Color will depend on brand.) Add flour and salt, mixing until just combined.
5) Spread in the 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
6) Cream Cheese Frosting: Start with your ingredients at room temperature. Beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla. Beat in powdered sugar, adding milk as needed to reach a spreadable consistency.

Picture of my brownie, not just some random pic

Craft Room

You wouldn't think a woman would need an entire room for crafts, but if you know me, you know I do a ton of them. Sewing, jewelry... all sorts of crafts. I need more space that just my bedroom for all of them. I have containers of stuff everywhere! Ribbon, beads, fabric, etc, etc.

Well, anyway, since my brother moved out, the empty room has been converted to my craft room. Being converted is more like it. There is already a sewing table for my machine and a medium sized table for me to do make my jewelry on. The table is an old card table. I clean it and recovered it. Brings it make close to new. :)

I just need to get the rest of my supplies moved from my bedroom to the craft room. And replace the ceiling fan in there; its seen better days.

But it makes me rather happy to have a place to work on my creations. I have enough space to sew clothes, make jewelry, and anything else I want to. :D

Hoping to Start a Blog

I have posted for this blog before, but it never panned out. So I'm hoping to start posting on a regular basis.