The Skin I am In...

Part 1

Many of you may not know me personally, but for those who do, you know of the struggles I have had for over 20+ years with acne. I cannot even tell you how embarrassing and painful of a disease it is.

Those of you who have acne, know of the struggle that occurs inside of your very soul every time you see a new breakout of are made fun of because you have "pizza face" (one of the names I have been called by a child riding on a school bus when I was jogging).

I have spent so much money and tired every product under the sun. You name the miracle cure, I have bought it. Why? Well, for a lot of years i thought there was a magic bullet to put on the outside of my skin that would heal it from within. WRONG! I have learned over the years, that you heal acne from within.

First, understand that I am not a doctor and everything you read on my blog, is from my own journey of discovery for my skin type. It may or may not help you, but it will be a great place to start your journey to healing your acne.

What things have I learned or changed over my 20+ years of discovery about my acne you ask?

#1.  I stopped washing my face with any type of acne cleanser. WHAT??? I know, I bought into all the hype that somehow acne skin was just dirty and needed harsh chemicals to clean and balance the skin. Not so. What you ask do I do instead? Hold on to your hat, friends. This will literally change your skin. 

Oil cleansing

The sebum of oily and acne prone skin is predominately composed of oleic acid. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated datty acid also known as omega-9 fatty acid. To balance out your skin, you need to introduce linoleic acid to your skin. Linoelic acid is an insaturated fatty acid also known as omega-6 fatty acid. "Acne patients have been shown to have low levels of linoleic acid in their skin surface lipids." (source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2936775)

When our skin is deficient in linoleic acid, our skin's natural sebum becomes thick and sticky which clogs pores and creates acne issues. To balance out our predominately composed oleic acid skin, we apply oils high in linoleic acid directly to our skin, thus balancing the acids and diminishing break outs.


This data was gathered from a beautiful, smart woman named Dawn Michelle. You can access her website at the following link: http://www.minimalistbeauty.com/oils-specifically-for-acne-prone-skin/

I have been oil cleansing now for 4 months with great success. My favorite oils that have worked for my skin are Neem Oil (more on this one later), Rosehip Seed Oil, Hemp Oil, and Grape seed Oil. I use only organic, cold-pressed oil. I also add a couple of drops of Tea Tree Oil.

Try it for a few weeks.

I will tell you about the next change I have made in a subsequent post.

Have a great day!

 

Life Is Hard Sometimes...

Emotional intelligence...

Have you ever heard of it? Are you able to identify an emotion that you may be experiencing? When someone asks you how you are feeling, do you have a standard phrase of "fine, ok, angry, mad, sad? Or, does your emotional vocabulary include some of the following words?

Joyful	Tenderness	Helpless	Defeated	Rageful
Cheerful	Sympathy	Powerless	Bored	Outraged
Content	Adoration	Dreading	Rejected	Hostile
Proud	Fondness	Distrusting	Disillusioned	Bitter
Satisfied	Receptive	Suspicious	Inferior	Hateful
Excited	Interested	Cautious	Confused	Scornful
Amused	Delighted	Disturbed	Grief-stricken	Spiteful
Elated	Shocked	Overwhelmed	Helpless	Vengeful
Enthusiastic	Exhilarated	Uncomfortable	Isolated	Disliked
Optimistic	Dismayed	Guilty	Numb	Resentful
Elated	Amazed	Hurt	Regretful	Trusting
Delighted	Confused	Lonely	Ambivalent	Alienated
Calm	Stunned	Melancholy	Exhausted	Bitter
Relaxed	Interested	Depressed	Insecure	Insulted
Relieved	Intrigued	Hopeless	Disgusted	Indifferent
Hopeful	Absorbed	Sad	Pity
Pleased	Curious	Guilty	Revulsion
Confident	Anticipating	Hurt	Contempt
Brave	Eager	Lonely	Weary
Comfortable	Hesitant	Regretful	Bored
Safe	Fearful	Depressed	Preoccupied
Happy	Anxious	Hopeless	Angry
Love	Worried	Sorrow	Jealous
Lust	Scared	Uncertain	Envious
Aroused	Insecure	Anguished	Annoyed
Tender	Rejected	Disappointed	Humiliated
Compassionate	Horrified	Self conscious	Irritated
Caring	Alarmed	Shamed	Aggravated
Infatuated	Shocked	Embarrassed	Restless
Concern	Panicked	Humiliated	Grumpy
Trust	Afraid	Disgraced	Awkward
Liking	Nervous	Uncomfortable	Exasperated
Attraction	Disoriented	Neglected	Frustrated

Part of "pur" emotional health is being able to identify different emotions. For years I was confused about emotions and feelings, still am at times. I used a very immature vocabulary when someone asked me, "How are you?" Nine times out of ten I would answer, "fine".

Well, I am not fine all the time. I have hard days when I feel defeated and down. I have learned to stop and breathe, put myself in time out/quiet time (same thing but one sounds a bit more on the positive note). I try to identify how I am feeling and possibly the cause of my emotion, I own it. I may not be able to change the situation, but I most definitely can change my reaction. I have the opportunity to stop and self talk through an emotion or get swept along in a wave of helpless reaction to my emotion. Comes down to controlling thoughts and behaviors. Sound easy. Not by a long shot.

This weekend was one of those times I wish I had a rewind button in my life, it would really have come in handy and saved some hurt and grief. Let me preface my story by saying, I am not feeling so well (my Mom is probably saying, "I told her to rest and take her herbs all week, this is her own fault."). Well, as I was saying, I am not feeling so well, and know that this is one of the pitfalls to negative thinking errors and a perfect storm. A secret, if you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, Sick (HALTS), choose a different time to have a serious conversation. Well, long story short, I proceeded beyond the safety zone. Not one of my proudest moments. I let negative thinking and fear get to a point I that said hurtful things to someone close to me. I do not like losing control over my emotions. It makes me feel ugly and ashamed. Hurting someone else is such a disgraceful act in the eyes of God.

I cannot undo the past, but I can repent and ask for forgiveness from those I have offended and hurt. I am choosing to think before I let my temper speak for me in the future. I think the following quote from one of our beloved LDS Prophets, President Gordon B. Hinkley provided the following counsel:

Beautiful reminder full of hope and promise for us mere mortals who made a mess out of their weekend, week, month, year, or maybe life up to this point.

Have a good night, I am going to try and nurse my stuffy head and cough.

Thank you for being you.

Hello Nana...

Happy Tuesday!

Lot’s has happened around here in the past week. On February 8^th, I quietly celebrated the birthday of the first man I ever loved. 

I have not been able to hear his voice, touch his face, or cry on his shoulder for over 31 years. We communicate on a daily basis, although sometimes I send my messages through Heavenly Father to hand deliver. 

I know that my Dad has never left my side in spirit, and continues to love and protected me.

Here are some pictures of my Dad, the first love of my life. So handsome and brave, gentle and kind.

Even though I miss him as much today as that November 21^st day so long ago when his spirit left his temporal body and continued on to the spirit world, I know that we will forever be a family. 

If you want to know more about how I know the blessings of being a forever family, please click on the button at the right of my page that has a Mormon missionary name tag. You can also email me at any time; I would love to talk with you.

As you know from an earlier blog entry, we celebrated Birthday part #1 for my son, Daxton’s 6^th birthday on February 10^{th at} the skate park. 

Saturday his Nana, my Mom flew in from Salt Lake City, Utah to surprise this little man. To say he was excited is an understatement. 

She is staying the whole week while Daxton vacations from school. Thank you Nana, you are the bestest! 

We celebrated at a special lunch complete with a chocolate piece of cake and candles. Birthday #2.

Well, last night we again surprised Daxton with Birthday party #3. 

His Uncle Jason is here working in the area and stopped by to go to dinner with us at Daxton’s favorite sushi bar, Haiku. 

 It is in Redmond, Washington and to say it is amazing is an understatement. Dax took about 67 pictures with my phone, so I will spare you and only provide the best ones.

 

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My pur health spiritual thought for you today…

 

I hope to remember that my thoughts are the most powerful self-motivation or self-destruction tool I have.

Happy 6th Birthday Daxton

Yesterday was my son Daxton's, 6th birthday (it was also my Aunt Pat's Birthday). To say Dax was beyond excited is to put it mildly. Here are some pictures of the big day.

We went to a skate park in Woodinville, Washington and did some legal tagging on the Wall of Fame. Dax loved it. You can see his new bike his Dad bought for $5 last November and has been secretly hiding in the back shed until his Birthday.

Dax is taking lessons. I think I better remind him it is illegal to tag undesignated public property.

"Dax Wuz Here"

"DB + GG = Dax 02/10/2010

He awoke at 6am, too excited to sleep, and went to be way past bedtime with a smile on his face.

 I am sure this is one birthday he will remember forever. Not because of the amount of money that was or wasn't spent, but because he knows he is loved and he is special to his family, friends, and Father in Heaven.

This is an inherit trait that every human shares, regardless of race, gender, circumstance, demographic, or status. 

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A quote that I read today and am a bit embarrassed to say I sometimes find myself thinking...

 

 I have watched loved ones including myself struggle to truly understand the meaning of this quote as it related to our personal accountability. 

To understand that I am ultimately in charge of whether I am at peace regardless of my circumstances or external forces that may be in play. Wow! 

My "pur health" thought today.