the perils of natural deodorant

i'll just come out and say it, natural deodorants suck!

they're a pain in the ass to apply. they don't stop you from sweating like regular old deodorant because of the whole antiperspirant/aluminum thing, and they make you smell like a hippie -- who usually don't smell too bad *wink*. but smelling like patchouli or the Earth or whatever isn't what i want to smell like when i'm sweating.

i understand that people choose to wear natural deodorants, and i understand the health benefits from that choice because i am someone who wears natural deodorants due to fact that i can't handle the aluminum in deodorants/antiperspirants. and it sucks! have i stressed how much i think this sucks? my armpit swells up like a balloon and becomes very tender. it's just uncomfortable.

i know what you're all thinking, natural deodorant can't be that bad? if i weren't lazy, i guess it wouldn't be. sadly i am lazy, and i hate applying natural deodorants. the ones that work well usually consist of some block-o-something that you rub into your armpit and then topped of with a powder that you sprinkle on. ugh, the powder. that's what drives me crazy the most if i were to pinpoint my frustrations with going the natural route. i usually end up getting that shit all over my bra or the floor or on my pants/legs -- anywhere but my actual armpit. our bathroom is covered in a light dusting of powders due to my deodorants and the boy's Gold Bond that he applies EVERYWHERE.

i'm at a point where i am okay with the whole sweating thing. it's something we do. it took me a long time to except the fact that people sweat. having grown up in the North, i always felt that sweating was a sign of weakness. you didn't want to sweat, and we very rarely did. but now that i am living in the South, i've realized that that's just my bullshit thinking and we all sweat. i do think it's funny when my family from the North visits during the summer months, and they just can't handle the sweat. i'm like, "get over it y'all."

i've been dying to try some recipes that i've come across online (Pintrest) for some homemade natural deodorant, but i just don't have the time or patience for that. the best natural deodorant that i've used and am using now is by Lush. it's a good product by a good company, so no complaints here -- well i have some issues with the price, but that's because i am cheap as fuck, but i'll get over it.

i use the Aromaco Deodorant Bar -- and yes it smells like patchouli so hello hippie pits -- and then i sprinkle the Greeench Deodorant Powder up in there. i usually like the Coconut Deodorant Powder, but when i went into the store, they were all out of the Coconut so they steered me to the Greeench. i think i would go back to the Coconut again because i like the beachy smell better, but they both do the job.

anyone go the natural route?

i've done the Tom's of Maine deodorant and wasn't a fan. i've also used Kiss My Face Liquid Rock Roll On, and it's okay. if i'm in a pinch, i'll buy the Kiss My Face deodorant, but it doesn't do so well when i stress sweat. for now i'll be using my Lush deodorant even thought it's a pain in the ass. xoxo.

adult troublesome pain-in-the-butt ACNE

let's talk about acne -- i don't really want to talk about acne, but someone's got to have the adult acne problems in this relationship and that person is me. ugh.

boy, do i hate acne. for as long as i can remember, i've been plagued with acne. i had it in high school and well into my twenties. however, the closer i got to my thirties, the more my skin started to mellow out. i thought to myself that i did it, i defeated the evil that is acne. i waltzed into my thirties with just a blemish here or there, nothing too big that could freak me out. then, all of a sudden, this past year my acne has come back full force -- not as bad as when i had it in high school, but bad enough to curse the gods. curses!

i was told promised while in my teens that my skin would get better and by the time i was well into adulthood i would no longer have acne. but they all lied, every single one of them.

now i am trying to revamp my skin care regimen, and it's quite difficult. there are so many products out there these days that i don't know where to begin -- i am totally lost. i am that person you see at Target just staring at all that face products not moving or making a sound. it's pathetic. and i am on a limited budget, so that throws a wrench into this depressing process. i don't have hundreds to spend on facial products y'all, i am poor!

so where to begin? i have no clue. there is way too much out there.

i am in my thirties. i have acne. and to top it off, i now have wrinkles to deal with. WRINKLES! where did they come from? this getting old thing is no bueno.

the list of products:

• i had been using Cetaphil for years until recently. it had worked just fine. i liked it. it was gentle and it did a decent job cleaning my face. but then the acne came back.
• Neutrogena. i could keep this business afloat with the amount of facial products i've purchased from them. i'm using the Oil-Free Acne Stress Control wash and the Fresh Foaming Cleanser right now. both are okay, but haven't hit me in that sweet spot. then of course there is the Oil-Free Moisture, which i've been using for a very long time. 
• i've added Aveeno's Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer because of the salicylic acid, which is what i need to fight acne i hear.  
• at night i've added a night creme by Neutrogena as well, because i've got to start fighting the wrinkles too now.

nothing seems to be really working, at least not yet. i guess i should give this crap a chance to work, right? i'm super close to just throwing in the towel and just getting Proactiv, people seem to be pleased with that stuff. and with all of my years of battling acne, i've never tried the stuff. what works for y'all?

now i just have to remember to wash my face at night before bed. that would probably help me out tremendously. i just have to get my lazy butt out of bed -- because i crawled into bed at around 7:30pm to "watch" TV or "read" a book (which really means to fall asleep then). we'll see what i can accomplish.  

the life of a sugar addict: National Doughnut Day 2013

last Friday celebrated the day all sugar addicts devour, National Doughnut Day -- which was on June 7th of this year because it's celebrated on the first Friday in June, who knew?

i am a sugar addict! i never thought my addiction was truly that bad until National Doughnut Day.

i've always had a sweet tooth, it's no secret. ever since i can remember i've always needed something sweet; candy or ice cream or cake or brownies. my weakness would have to be candy or ice cream, but if we're being honest, i'll take anything.

when i was in high school, a friend of mine would sell this generic candy for a fundraiser for her diving team -- she became my candy dealer while at school. i sat next to her in computer class during second period, and i would buy up all the candy bars she was selling. then i would sit back in class and eat candy bar after candy bar until all that i bought from her were gone. good lord, i had the metabolism of a god back in high school. where did that go?

when i lived at home, my mother and i made the perfect team when it came to sugar and sweets. i am a batter eater and my mother is a brownie nut. i would come home from school or work and whip up a batch of brownies and then go to town on the brownie batter. i would usually eat enough batter to where i would have to make a smaller pan of brownies because i ate half of the brownie dough.

good lord i love ice cream. i usually have a hard time just eating one helping of ice cream. with my 1/2 gallon of Blue Bell sitting in the freezer, i usually have one helping in the afternoon when i get home from work and then top off my night with another helping. i'll go through ice cream phases, too. for a while, i've been all over plain vanilla topped off with Oreos that i smashed to bits. think Amy's Ice Cream -- or Cold Stone Creamery for all you non Austinites. before the Oreo phase, i couldn't get enough of strawberry shakes. before that i needed hot fudge sundaes. god, what i wouldn't give for a hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen right now.

at present, my day job is working in a bakery. when i got this job, i remember telling my mother and her response was, "now do you really think that's a good idea for someone like you to be working in a bakery?" and i was all like "hell yeah!" what most people don't realize is that working in a bakery isn't the same as stopping by one to browse and look at all the desserts and cakes. working in a bakery has actually made me hate a lot of sweets -- i'm talking about you cheesecakes -- and i didn't think that was possible. when i make vanilla butter cream icing in bulk, it's not as fun as when i am playing with food at home.

so, back to National Doughnut Day.

i came home from work with the worst sugar overdose, trying to figure out what to eat that could bring me down from my sugar high. i never thought that in a million years i would say "i am craving a salad" but after a sweet (pun intended) co-worker decided to bring to work some assorted doughnuts to celebrate National Doughnut Day, i might concede to the fact that i am addicted to sugar. when i was looking at all the different doughnut flavors i wanted desperately to try each one. then i thought to myself that if i only try a quarter of a doughnut, i won't eat that much. after sampling 10 different doughnuts and then going back and eating more of the doughnuts that i really liked, my poor middle-aged body just couldn't take all the sugar.

and then i wanted to go and vomit.  

it will take me a few weeks to get over my doughnut binge -- which is nice right now because when i go to the grocery store i don't buy my doughnut treat, but i'm sure i'll get over it quickly. i can't stay mad at sugar forever.

musings of a lost part-time blogger

so, here i am staring at this blank Blogger page trying to figure out exactly what i want to do with this little blog of mine. we could even go so far as to ask, "what the fuck do i want to do with the rest of my life?" UGH! i guess i am still trying to figure some things out. i really thought by the time i was in my mid-thirties this shit would be all sorted, but i guess that is a "perk" of being an unmarried-childless-middle-aged women; you get to spend all your time obsessing about yourself.

when i first approached this blogging adventure, i thought "what the heck. i can do this, easy peasy!" but then reality set in, and i thought, "holy fuck, i have no idea what i want to do." -- actually, that statement has totally turned into my life motto: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WANT TO DO!!! so instead, i just sit on the couch and stare endlessly at the tv.

i am writing this because i am going to try a different approach. initially, i was just going to write about little things here or there. mainly things about movies or tv or books -- my three favorite hobbies, which suggests that i am a hardcore homebody and to that i say, "fuck yes." recently i've run into a bit of a wall and have realized that i cannot keep up with my tv, movie, or book commentary. basically, in the overall scheme of internet blogs, you could throw the proverbial rock two inches and hit a blog dedicated to some girl's ramblings about movies, tv and books. so why would anyone be interested in what i have to say about said items, especially when i can't keep up with my own tv shows (i.e. Project Runway)? i still have to watch the finale of that damn show.

my goal -- which i am going to try very hard to keep -- is that i'm going to try to be more personal. i know, i know, i never really wanted this blog to be a personal journal because i am a very private person, but as time has passed and the i've reflected more upon what i want to do with this blog, i came to the realization that i want to get personal with y'all (for my 10-ish readers). what draws me to my favorite blogs is their personal nature, which feeds quite well into the fact that i love being a voyeur. i know i tease these perfect lifestyle blogs, but it's because i love them some much. it comes down to having a connection with someone versus reading something stale and generic.

let's see where this road takes us. your safety is not guaranteed. i am lazy and a procrastinator, so i'm not sure what we should expect, but a girl's gotta have goals. since i am a homebody and an introvert, my adventures outside of the home are pretty close to nil. i'm okay with that, but i'm not sure you are. so hang in there, and greatness is sure to follow. ha!

xoxo

* i have a bit of an obsession with drawing stick figures.