Shock, Hope and Motivation.

Two days ago, on April 25th, 2012, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. They called it "invasive mammary carcinoma". I've been on a roller coaster of emotion. Fear, sadness, and disbelief to name a few. I'll say what everyone does. "I never imagined this would happen." This is hard for me to express. I want to crawl in a hole and make it go away. But that is weak. I don't consider myself to be weak . And my mom is not either. She is a mother of 5, grandmother of 24, and wife to one (40 years & counting). She is full of opinion and full of love for her family. She is 61, almost 62. 

This is a trial that our family has been given. We will face this together. We will have hope. We will fight, and God willing, win.

The next step is to see a surgeon. She has an appointment on May 8th  In the meantime, she is looking for natural ways to fight this. And we are praying.

Now, as for motivation. My risk of breast cancer just increased dramatically. I could sit around and feel sorry for myself or do something about it. I'm not much for inaction. I'll be looking for more and more ways to be healthy from now on.

Please pray for my mom and our family. Thank you.

"No Poo" in my hair!

Well, I did it. In efforts to go the next mile on my health and wellness journey, I decided to try out a natural way to clean my hair. So, for the last few days, instead of using shampoo, I have used a simple mix of baking soda and water to cleanse it, and vinegar, water, and a cinnamon stick (for scent) to condition.

WHY?

To avoid using harsh chemicals on my body.

        Our skin is an organ, the largest one, and is very porous. The chemicals in the soaps and detergents we use go straight into our bodies. This just seems like a bad idea, no? 

To achieve healthier hair.

        I've always had thick, wavy, frizzy, and unmanageable hair. I could condition all day long, but my hair is still frizzy and unhealthy. Now I know why. Shampoo is a detergent that strips your hair of all the natural oils. "But, if we stop washing our hair, won't it get oily and gross!?" Good question. I've heard it explained to be much like the supply and demand in breastfeeding a baby. The more they nurse, the more milk you produce! So, the more you strip your hair of the oil, the more oil your body produces to achieve a balance.

Because it's frugal!

         AKA Cheap! I will spend much less on the ingredients for "no poo" than on the plethora of products we buy.....shampoo, conditioner, gel, mouse, anti-frizz cream/spray, hair spray, etc. I own at least one of each of those products. 

HOW?

To go through the adjustment phase, I'm using 

1tbs of baking soda with about 1/4cup water, 

but I expect to be able to lessen this amount as time goes on and my hair adjusts. 

To condition:

1/4 cup vinegar, 4 cups water, 1 cinnamon stick, 1tsp vanilla, dash of whole cloves (lasts for many uses)

I made this recipe out of reading a few examples of others. The spices are for scent when using regular white vinegar. You can also use just water and apple cider vinegar. (I didn't have any in my cabinet, though.) My hair smells spicy! I like it. ;)

Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!

Still going!!!

I've been away for a couple of weeks, but I'm still working on my weight loss. I've managed to lose 19lbs this year!!! It's going a little slower than I'd like, but I'm starting to amp it up! I'm really excited!

I'm also looking into other ways to be healthy, including my most recent discovery of "no poo". It includes ditching shampoo and using things like baking soda, apple cider vinegar, honey, lemon juice and such, instead. It is said that it makes your hair altogether more healthy and I'm excited to be rid of shampoo if it will make my hair easier to manage. I may be weird, but whatever!

We are also going on a journey to make our finances more healthy. This is not as much fun, but definitely necessary. Who knew you needed a real budget? The hubs is looking for a better job, I'm thinking of doing some work from home, and we've stopped eating out. Yep. We actually have. So, since I've been cooking at home, trying to have quality meals on a budget, I've been getting creative with our meals. Last night, we splurged and had salmon. It was delicious! I'll be posting some recipes, soon!