Health and Beauty and Other Ramblings

Doctor:  It says here on your chart that you don't exercise.
Me: Umm....well. Not really.
Doctor: You know that walking, even for just 30 minutes can be a good way to get in some exercise.
Me: Oh. I thought when she asked me if I exercised, she meant like running, biking, going to the gym or doing some sort of weird exercise class. I don't count walking as exercise. But yeah, I walk every day. Who doesn't?
Doctor:  Silence...and stares at me baffled. (*-*)

...and that my friends is how I met my new doctor. So add the no-real-exercise, to the doesn't-perform-self-breast-exams, to the doesn't-take-vitamins, the doc immediately ordered a full lab work-up on me. I have the puncture wound to prove it.

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 I say all of this because after that visit, I was like "yeah, maybe I do need to make more of an effort" to be more healthy-ish. So I went and bought some vitamins (Spoiler alert: those adult gummie chew multi vitamins are disgusting and a total let down to how delicious they appear to be), some supplemental calcium (because like doc said- I'm not that young anymore and bone density is only going down at this point ), and just for kicks I grabbed some Omega 3-6-9,  damn your fine. move it so you can sock it to me one more time. Get low. Get low. Get low. To the window \(`-`\) to the wall (/`-`)/ Sorry. Got lost with the East Side Boyz for a moment.

Granted, I do exercise. Just not as much to call it "regular" so I'm going to try and step that up as well to at least 2-3 times per week if I can get home early enough before it gets dark. Oh and I have decided to actually start eating supper instead of grazing or skipping it all together. #singlegirlproblems. So I've got some chicken to bake to add to my salads. I'm not gonna get too crazy, because I'm not gonna cook. Salads are pretty easy and quick. I even splurged and got the kale mix to ad to my regular spring mix greens. I know. Fancy.

Another thing I am trying is how I wash my face. I have decided to give the Oil Cleaning Method a try. I have done it the last 2 days and so far so good. I have never been able to use face wash because it strips my face too much and then it's bring on the acne. So I usually just scrub it with water and call it a day. However, I have had some issues with little pimples on my nose for a while now, so I decided to go ahead and give the oil a chance. I chose grapeseed oil (since that is all my ghetto Harvey's had) and of course castor oil for my face blend. I mixed things up and added a little EVOO to the mix last night. I actually find this very relaxing. You basically massage your face with the oil, wet a washcloth with really hot water, put the washcloth over your face, let the heat open your pores, and wipe off with the washcloth. It feels so good! And my face feels so soft and hydrated. I will do an update in a week to see if it has improved my skin quality. I must be really into the whole oil thing because I love using coconut oil as a deep conditioner on my hair. Mother Earth in the house, y'all.

I also broke down and ordered my favorite foundation from Sephora- purely because I am too sorry to drive downtown to Sephora and pick it up.

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I love Dior Nude. It is a dream and makes your face look so flawless. I've been using a BB cream, because I don't like real heavy foundation, but it is time to move back to my beloved Dior. It is just so pricey. But oh-so worth those extra dolla bills y'all.

So if you have any recommendations on what vitamins I should be taking, or quick and easy healthy recipes, or makeup that you love. Or anything in general, let me know!

February Birchbox

Guess it's a nice way to start your week and your Monday morning with a little products package waiting on you from Birchbox. Let's see what all I got this month.

• dermalogica - Daily Microfoliant This product looks cool. It is an exfoliating powder that you add water to create a paste that will buff away dead skin cells.  
• EYE ROCK - Designer Liner This really caught my attention. I can't wait to get home to try it. Just because it looks super fun to try

From what I can tell, you peel off the liner and stick it to your eye. Don't know how it will work, but for the pure novelty factor, I like it ;-)

• Jouer - Luminizing Moisture Tint Apparently this is an "award winning" tinted moisturizer
• Juice Beauty - Blemish Clearing Serum I'm all about some blemish clearing products

Then for fun, they threw in a heart shaped nail file and a digital download for Green River Ordinance, some indie rock band "poised to hit the spotlight" so they claim.

That's whats in this month's box. Ready to get home to give them a spin!

What's in the Box?

Prepare yourselves for a riveting blog post...

Due to a lack in any truly interesting blog material today, I am going to talk about what is in the box. Namely, what January's BirchBox included and just for fun a look into my lunchbox to see what I eat on a regular basis. (told you this was good stuff, I may win a Pulitzer for this content)

BirchBox {January}

If you can't read from the picture this is what was included:

• Befine - Night Cream
• Juicy Couture - Viva La Juicy fragrance
• stila - Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye liner (came at an excellent time considering that I am out!)
• VMV Hypoallergenics - Re-Everything Eye Serum
• wichcraft - Granola

I'm digging this month's samples. I am all about some anti-aging stuff and love stila so I'm a happy camper.

Lunch Box

This is what my lunch box contained today:

• Chicken Salad Sandwich - Bread~Nature's Own Honey Wheat   Chicken Salad~Publix's Chunky White Chicken Breast Salad (a must try!)
• Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn
• Apple Slices
• Caramel Dip (to make those healthy apples not so much..)
• Orange (naval if you want specifics)
• Sugar Cookies from the Publix's bakery
• Andes Mints
• Coca-Cola Cherry Zero

On any given day my lunch usually consists of just this:

• Chicken Salad Sandwich
• Popcorn
• Apples

Today just happens to be a special day because I went to the grocery store this weekend, so I had a few extras. I always make a chicken salad sandwich. If I am out, then I just go out to eat that day and don't bother packing a lunch. Publix makes a jam up chicken salad (the chunky one that is) and I have the recipe here if you want to try and make it at home:

Ingredients

o 3/4 teaspoon salt
o 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
o 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
o 1/8 teaspoon lemon juice
o 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
o 1/8 teaspoon minced garlic cloves
o 1 tablespoon dried parsley
o 1 cup mayonnaise
o 1 cup celery, finely chopped
o 1/2 cup carrots, steamed and chopped
o 1/4 cup onions, chopped
o 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions
1. Cook chicken however desired (I often poach in my steamer or bake). Cool and cut into large (about 1") cubes. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine salt, basil, dill, lemon juice, white pepper, garlic and parsley with mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly.
3. Stir celery, carrots, onion and chicken into mayonnaise mixture. Mix well.
4. Cover and chill overnight or at least several hours before serving.

I will have to try this one day if I am feeling productive. If not, I am content paying for it in the deli at Publix!
 
 
So that's what's in the box today over here at the Dapper Dachshund!
 

Best Present EVER

My gal Stacey did me up right for Christmas. She got me a massage from a local spa in Thomasville. She knows what I like :-)  I got really excited about it because I just scheduled my appointment for this Saturday. I know I can use some major tension/stress relief right now. Not to mention I am in the process of getting a nasty cold, so having someone rub my stress away will be awesome. Ok, that's it for this post. Short and sweet. I just had to mention the best present ever!

Beauty and Books

I got a special delivery in the mail yesterday. My December BirchBox arrived! I had forgotten about it, so it was a surprise when Gracie brought it to my office yesterday. So let's see what all I got this month.

I got some face primer to minimize pores, a sample of Harvey Prince perfume, Jouer lip gloss, some L'Oreal Mythic Oil treatment for your hair, some fashion tape, and an energy booster drink packet.

So, that's December's goody box.

Moving on. I just started reading John Piper's God is the Gospel. I haven't finished it yet, but so far what I've read is great.

This book was given to me as a gift for us to study in January for Bible study and I can't wait to discuss it. I didn't realize that this was the same author that wrote probably my favorite book on marriage. This Momentary Marriage was also written by John Piper.

I have read lots of books on marriage, especially in the early stages of our divorce. Some are good, some are not so good, some give good advice, hope, encouragement, etc. but this book was just awesome. I will have to talk about this book more in depth one day. It really is a book everyone should read. Married or single. Until I can get the time to blog about this book and do it justice, go check it out here. You can also download the PDF version from this website. It's not really about how to "fix" your marriage or anything like that. It breaks down what marriage really is- in God's eyes, since He is the one who created it. Not what man has made marriage out to be. That its not so much about "being in love" but about keeping covenant and displaying Christ to the world through your marriage. So please check it out. I think it would be an awesome wedding gift (or preferably engagement gift before someone actually gets married).

Back to the other book. Here is what John Piper's website has to say about the book :

"Gospel" means good news—but what makes the good news good? What is the goal of the gospel, without which it is no longer good? It is that Christ’s death brings sinners to God! Were it to bring us anywhere else we would be left hopeless. But the gospel is that God gives us himself—Christ died to give us Christ—, and this self-giving is his highest mercy to us and the best news for us! The most profound, most exceedingly gracious, final and decisive good of the good news is Christ himself as the glorious image of God revealed for our endless satisfaction.

You can also download the PDF version of this book here. What I've read of this book so far has really spoken to me. God IS the Gospel. God IS the ultimate gift of the Gospel. Not heaven and getting to be at peace and be happy. But spending eternity praising and worshipping our Creator. I guess I should have saved writing this book until I actually finished reading it, so I could talk about it a little better. But I wanted to go ahead and share it because in the few chapters that I have read, it has really made me stop and think about things.

That's what I'm reading these days. I haven't really read that much in the past few months, which is odd for me. I'm always reading something. Guess I will have to step up my game. And speaking of books, if your local Goodwill has a bookstore, go check it out. They just opened another Goodwill bookstore here in Tallahassee right up the road from me. So I am pumped that I don't have to drive downtown anymore to go. They have lots of books, super cheap. The one here in Tallahassee usually has fairly new titles/best sellers so it is a great way to save a few bucks, if you like to read as much as I do. (well, I guess there still is the library...) One day I may get into the whole Kindle/eBook thing, but for now I'm a purist. I like actual physical books. But never say never, right?

Do Your Ears Hang Low?

...Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie 'em in a knot, can you tie 'em in a bow? Can you throw them over your shoulder like a continental soldier? Do your ears hang low? (Not to be confused with the song Do Your Chain Hang Low)

Ok ladies. We all have hang ups about our bodies from time to time. We shouldn't, but we do. This is one of mine:

For those of you who know me in real life, I usually sport my usual diamond studs. Today, I am actually wearing dangling earrings. I will wear earrings like this from time to time and I have tried to get better about it, but I still feel self-conscious when I do. Because if you notice, my earring hole (that sounds really gross, lol) is a bit stretched out and it really bugs me. If I wear earrings like this, they are usually out by the time lunch rolls around. I am just paranoid that they will stretch my ear even more. I realize that this hang-up about my ears probably makes me really weird, which is what I thought too, until by accident yesterday I came across an article about earlobe surgery. I received an email from BirchBox letting me know that my monthly box had shipped out and there was a link in the email to their blog and the title of the link was "Are Ear Jobs the New Nose Job" and like always, curiosity killed the cat. So I clicked on it and read it. It did make me feel like less of a freak that this earlobe drooping phenomenon bothers other women and not just me. I would love to know someone who has had this done, or used the plumper like the article talked about. So, if you have any experience with this, please let me know.

I have thought about not wearing earrings for like a year and letting my holes grow back up and then get them re-pierced but I'm not sure I want to go that route. I could barely stand to get my ears pierced the first time. Granted, I was only 5 at the time.... Which is actually a pretty funny story. So I might as well share it. I was in kindergarten and I had begged and begged my mother to let me get my ears pierced. I finally wore her down, so off to Tyrene's we went to go get them pierced. I was so excited and jumped up in the chair, ready. That is until Tyrene came at me with the ear gun thing. Yep, down out of the chair I went! Needless to say, my mom took me back a couple more times whenever I had decided I had enough courage to do it. And every time I would get in the chair and change my mind. One day, I was at the dentist's office (Remember David from my Thanksgiving post? Yeah, his dad is my dentist. Got to love a small town!) getting a cavity filled. So Dr. Corbin had me in the chair flying high on the gas. He filled my cavity and I thought I was ready to go. Little did I know that my mom had called Tyrene while I was in the back and got her to come to the dentist office with her ear gun. So while I was riding the nitrous oxide, high out of my little 5-year-old mind, Tyrene popped in and pierced my ears, right there in the dental chair! How's that for an ear piercing story? I'm probably the only person in America who can say that they got their ears pierced at the dentist's office! I'm super cool. I know this :-)

I realize that this was a very random subject to post, but I just couldn't believe that article when I saw it yesterday, so I had to share it.

You've Got Mail

What is it about receiving stuff in the mail that is so exciting? Or is it just me that gets excited over stupid stuff like that? When I got to work this morning, my BirchBox was waiting on me to see what was inside! Oh, happy day!

I was anxious to see what they had sent me. So with bated breath, I opened it.

This is what they sent me....I have to say, I was a little disappointed. Cue the trombone sound here. Wah, wah, wah...Lotion and nail polish? Guess I need to go tweak my beauty profile for them to send me some make up and hair products. So let's see what we got:

• Kate Spade Twirl perfume (smells nice)
• Thymes Eucalyptus body lotion
• Thymes Kimono Rose body lotion
• Joues lip enhancer/conditioning lip treatment (I do need this! My lips are chapped city right now)
• Zoya nail lacquer in Noel

I am pretty pumped about the nail polish. Stacey always rags me on my nail polish color. My OPI color "You Don't Know Jacques" she likens to grey brain matter! However, she did paint her nails with that color and even she admitted that she was coming around :-) Glad I could help, Stace! This Zoya color is a deep blue. It could be interesting. I'm sure Stacey will hate that color, too! I do like some funky nail colors, so I will probably like it. So that is my November box from BirchBox. I will do it again for December, just to give it another shot to wow my socks off with their selections for me.

On Friday, I FINALLY made it to the Post Office to pick up my mail. My poor box was loaded down with magazines and other mail. But what I was most excited to see in there was my sponsorship packet from Compassion International with more information on my child I am sponsoring. Now that is something to get excited about!

They send a little book with information about your child, her family, her country, her town and other things about sponsorship. Isn't she adorable?

I have to say, I can only imagine how these children live. Kelly over at Kelly's Korner just got back from a Compassion Tour and the stories she had to share where something to truly think about. So I am thankful that I am in a position where I can help out myself. I encourage you to do the same! We are so very blessed here and we should make it a point to help out others. We are told that the greatest thing we can do for God is first love him and then love one another. Love. Plain and simple. So if you get a chance, think about sponsoring a child yourself.

So these are just two things that I have received via the good old Post Office. Come rain, snow, sleet, or hail they always deliver!

Come to Mama

Maybe I should have had a Beauty Bonanza theme for this week!! But I did want to post very quickly on this website. It's a beauty website where you can shop for different products, etc. But they send out a monthly products box with beauty product samples for you to try out. I decided to sign up for the BirchBox to see what it's all about. I love me some free samples and how do you know if you like a product until you try it? I'll let you know what all I got in November's box!! Go check out the website http://www.birchbox.com/ for more info. And if you decide to sign up, message me and I will invite you so I can get points :-) Guess it kinda works like Rue La La where you get points/vouchers for inviting people to join. So chekc that one out as well. Its more for fashion, some home stuff, etc. where you get good deals on designer stuff! http://www.ruelala.com/. And I just noticed that I have a $10.00 credit that needs to be used, if you can see! Uh-oh!

Alright. That will be my last beauty post for quite some time. I know I can beat a dead horse!

I'm Way Too Old For This...

...but curiosity killed the cat. I have noticed this product many times, but have refused to try it, well because I'm old and this seems like something a 13 year old would try. But I had to.

I tried the Sally Hansen nail polish strips, and yes I tried the leopard print. Ha!!

Ya'll are digging my claw hand, right? I am a little bit leery of how long these are gonna last. The box says you can get 10 days out of them. So far I've had them on for about 12 hours, and I have had a few minor issues of them wanting to chip or even peel off. So I'm gonna go with a no for them to last all 10 days. They were really easy to put on and didn't take long at all. So if the ol' leopard print last for a few days, it might be worth it to use the other more normal looking ones. Or cut them down and use them on my toes for the more funky prints, like the ones I have now. Guess I am 13 going on 30....anyways, time for this old gal to get back to work and do some grown up things with her adolescent nail polish. :-) At least I can have a little bit of fun while posting to the G/L and doing budget forecasts, ha!!

Happy Friday, ya'll!



A Few of My Favorite Things

I felt like doing a little beauty post this morning on some of my favorite products. It's probably a really good thing that I don't live close to a Sephora or an Ulta, because I would always be in trouble!

First up - Dior! I love all their stuff and if I could afford it on a regular basis, I would wear this every day! Here are some of my go-to basics from Dior.

5 Color Eye Palette

DiorShow Waterproof Mascara

DiorSkin Nude Foundation

I have to say, hands down, the DiorSkin Nude foundation is and will always be my favorite foundation. It. Is. Awesome. But at $60 a pop, I only splurge on it every once in a while. The mascara is awesome and these days I have to wear waterproof. And the eye shadow is extra luxurious and stays on so very well.

Bare Minerals

I just picked this up over the weekend to try, and so far I am loving it. It gives great coverage without feeling like you are wearing makeup. So, I will jump on the Bare Minerals bandwagon and give them a thumbs up.

Smashbox

Lip Gloss

Lip Plump

I really love all things Smashbox. Especially their lip products. And these two are great!

Stila

One Step Correcting Primer

Eye Palette

I have fallen in love with the face correcting primer. It has green pigments to help even out any redness and lavender to brighten up skin tone. It goes on super smooth and I have really fallen in love. I love their eye shadows as well.

Bobby Brown

As in Bobby Brown the makeup, not the singer! Crack is whack, ya'll! Anyways...

Brushes!!! <3

Shimmer Brick

Hydrating Toner

If you don't own a set of brushes, you need to get some. I love mine. They hold up great and really make applying makeup super easy. Next up is the Shimmer Brick. There are different colors of shimmer bricks, but they are awesome because they work for cheeks and eyes. Awesome! 'Nuff said. Last, we have the hydrating toner. Granted, I use Stacey's from time to time. Its some good stuff, too. Makes your face feel very refreshed and still moisturized. That's a tough feat for a toner.

Urban Decay

They have great lip and eye products. Love.

Mario Badescu

Strawberry Scrub

Ceramide Eye Gel

Drying Lotion

Honey Moisturizer

Can I just say that the Strawberry Scrub is probably one of my most favorite things? Because it is. It really, really is. It exfoliates your face really well, and then leaves it feeling so very soft and creamy. The Ceramide Eye Gel just feels good. Especially after a long day and when you're tired. The cooling gel helps to reduce puffiness and just tones up those wrinkles :-) The drying lotion is a miracle product. Put this on a pimple at night and it will be virtually gone tomorrow. The honey moisturizer is also really great, too!

Tarte

I picked this pack up the other day of lip gloss. So far, I'm really liking it. Goes on and helps hydrate your lips and stays on fairly long for a lip gloss.

All right, beauty queens. That's just a few of my favorite things. I believe you can go online to Sephora and purchase just about everything but the Mario Badescu stuff. Go to http://www.mariobadescu.com/ for that!

This little piggy....just got beautiful!

Now that it is getting warmer and the sandals come out; I wanted to share one of my quick fashion tips. If you are like me, you probably don't always have time to go get a pedicure on a regular basis. When I am in a crunch and need my feet to look their best, I just reach for my handy-dandy fake toe nails. I know this sounds so weird, but it is so super quick and easy and it looks like you just stepped out of the nail salon. Plus, they come in several different shades, from French manicure to hot pink. They aren't great to wear for an extended period of time, but if you have a special occasion and you need to do something quick, just run to your local drug store/Wal-Mart/Target and pick you up a pack to keep on hand for those feet emergencies.

Note: My cousin Stacey will die that I am posting this because she hates when I have these on. She thinks its oogie. At least my feet look great, even if it's a little weird!