Giggles and...farts?

I've been in a great mood all week, so I thought I'd cheer you guys up as well!

How does one get in this situation??

The best one for last! Totally going to play this trick on Rob one night!

Why Won't They Go Away?!?!

Every time my face is almost clear of pimples, 15 decide they want to just pop on out! These aren't the good zits either, these suckers hurt! I feel like I have tried and tried for so long to get rid of them, and purely washing my face 2x's a day or more doesn't work. Does anyone else have as bad as a problem as I do??

They all seem to cultivate on my chin and jaw area. Maybe every now and then I'll get one on my forehead, but it isn't so bad. I'm plunging full in to get rid of these zits and making some drastic changes in my life!

My terrible pimple problem. :(

Ever wonder why you get pimples in the same spot? Each section of your face is related to a part of your body that isn't functioning normally. So when you see these pimples come out, especially in specific areas, there's a reason for it. I keep seeing these Face Diagrams every where. It shows you exactly where your problem is.

See Below:

Since my acne problem is in my chin/jaw area, my problems lie within my kidneys and bladder areas. Many sources show the same symptoms. Part of me already knew my hormones are completely jacked up. Maybe it's from the years of taking birth control? I don't recall ever having so much acne on my face. Ever.

So as I'm doing research on acne related to kidney functions, here's what I found:

Chin and Jaw Acne

Reduce the habit of eating before bed Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables Get more rest Get your hormones checked for imbalances Get 20 minutes of exercise each day Sleep early and wake up early, getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night Reduce stress as much as possible (yoga, meditating, listening to music, writing in a journal, etc.) Massage your body for relaxation, particularly the abdomen Practice proper hygiene Check toothpaste, mouthwash, and chapsticks Drink spearmint tea Take omega-3s to help regulate hormones

http://www.skinacea.com/acne/acne-face-map.html#.Uhvg-humiaU

I know I need to get healthier with my food, so this is going to put fuel to that fire. I need to completely cleanse my system of all this junk I intake; eat more fruits and veggies, drink tons of water, stop using toothpaste (I'll get to that in a second!), no more coffee, sodas, or salt, and cut back on sugar products, meaning no more sweet tea!! Southern Women can NOT live without their sweet tea!!!

Here's what I've started to do to fix my looming problem:

My morning routine starts by washing my face with this great stuff. Dampen face, and apply! Gives you a nice clean feeling after.

Equate AM Refreshing Face Cleaner

 **Make sure all your face wash is oil free**

At night when I take my showers, I wash my face with soap to get all the dirt and makeup off, and then apply this. I've been using both of these for a couple months, but lack consistency. As of yesterday, I apply this with an exfoliating rag. 

Equate Oil Free Face Wash

 This is a face scrub, which is very important in my face routine apparently. I just got this yesterday along with the exfoliate rag. I apply this after the one above using the rag again. The rag is supposed to scrub off the dead skin from your face (my chin) which allows all the pimples that sit under the skin for months on end, to finally come out and go away.

Neutrogena Face Scrub

Exfoliating rag. Just has texture.

 Another major issues I read alot has to do with your toothpaste and mouth wash. You need to find a toothpaste without SLS as an ingrident. This is one of the causes of breakouts. After you brush, make sure to wash your chin area. My solution: Baking soda. It tastes like.. disgusting, but my mouth does feel cleaner. If you mix the baking soda with Hydrogen Peroxide, it helps to whiten as well ;) my tip of the day ha.

Brush teeth with baking soda!

I'm going to be trying this out for a month or two and see if I have any progress!

I would love to hear any success stories with getting rid of pimples if anyone has any!

Caribbean Cruisin'

Rob and I are finally done with our vacation. *tear tear* We are super relaxed and ready to get back in the grind of things. As most of you are aware, we took a cruise to Progreso and Cozumel, Mexico. Rob and I both agree that a cruise is the best way to vacation! It was extremely cheaper than our vacation to Colorado back in February. I would say about half the cost and triple the fun. All the food was included in our one time fee, 24 hour room service was free so you know we ordered like 13 wraps. The only thing that saddened me on the food was the cheesecake. I never thought someone could ruin my favorite dessert! But it was so terrible. There was absolutely no taste to it at all and it was harder than most other cheesecakes I've had or made.

Everyday they give you a packet of all the activities they are doing for the day. From trivia, hair chest contest, karaoke, and battle of the sexes, we did it all. Our favorite part was the Broadway shows. You'd never think the dancers and singers would be that good, but the female singer has an amazing set of lungs on her, and the dancers had fit bodies as well as great skills. I was very impressed. I wish I could show you a video, but they insisted there be no cameras for copyright reasons.

Rob and my number one fears were quickly melted away. I stocked up on nausea and motion sickness meds, but to my advantage, I had none! I guess being such a huge boat, it was pretty stable. We only felt it rock when we were in the theater.

Anyway, to the good stuff! Pictures! I've put all of our pictures on my facebook page, so I'll only go over them briefly here!

Water before we left (Galveston, TX)

Water in the middle of our trip!

Cozumel Water! You can see right to the bottom!

 These photos are from Progreso, Mexico showcasing the Uxmal Mayan Ruins.

 And our favorite stop! Cozumel Mexico!

Sorry for the messy hair! Saltwater doesn't suit me well!

We're definitely going to continue cruisin' for our vacation!

Cruisin'

Let the count down begin!

Only 36 hours until we get in our car to drive to Galveston, Texas where we will board our Cruise Line! Our bags are packs, champagne is bought (2 bottles), birth certificates found, and we're ready to go. I've bought a couple things in hopes I can avoid the infamous sea sickness. I'm going to be trying out the pills, and then the queasy beads! I probably need to wear these on the regular since I face motion sickness on the regular.

Here is a desk plan of where our room is going to be. I'm so excited we actually got our room at the upper levels. We'll be right in front of the capital and one of the pools.

During our cruise we are making two stops.. stop 1 is in Progreso, Mexico, which we will visit the Uxmal Mayan Ruins & Hacienda Ochil. Stop #2 We will be in Cozumel, Mexico where we will be taken to a secluded beach, and relax and hang out all day. I've been reading in all the reviews that you can see right to the bottom of the ocean! Good thing we are kayaking!

I'll post tons of photos when we return!! Our phones will be off in less than 36 hours. Can't wait!!

Mellow Mushroom

Rob and I had a packed weekend this Saturday and Sunday. Sadly, my mom has barely been back in Texas for eight months, and she's already moving again. This is not by choice really, so much as it is for career opportunity. Hopefully she won't be gone too long! The only up side to this, is she will be living near Miami, FL so this means we will definitely be taking a vacation there! I spent my entire Saturday with my madre. We took some pictures, went shopping for my cruise, and said our goodbyes.

I should have taken more photos, but it's never something on the top of my brain! :(

Rob and I found this amazing pizza place in Frisco this weekend. The Mellow Mushroom. I LOVED this place, oh course, and Rob's initial reaction "Is this some hippie place?" Look at the name hun!! haha.

They have some of the best pizza I've had.

Got my haircut finally!!

Mellow Mushroom

One of their menus.

Mighty Meaty Pizza and Funky Q Chicken

Our take home box!

I was obsessed with all their marketing and design work. I could definitely eat here more!

Birthday Wishes

The Big 2-4!

July 29th I celebrated my 24th birthday!

It's crazy to think back on my younger years and how much mess I was into. Growing up was awesome at the time, but now it just sucks. Bills, Rent, insurance, IRAs, having responsibilities.. no one wants any of this!!!! Go away maturity. Sometimes I wish I was like Benjamin Button. At 24 I'd start cycling back down in years stopping right at 16 and then growing old until I hit 24 again. Just a big loop cycle. Such a lovely thought. 

Enough of the depressing stuff! On to the gifts!

I was able to have a full birthday weekend since my birthday landed on a Monday this year. I got to catch up with one of my best friends, Claudia, see The Conjuring (scary movie by the way), and the big get together was at Top Golf with a couple people from the college years. Unfortunately no pictures were taken at Top Golf, but I must say, even drunk I still make my golf balls in the hole!

I have an amazing family and family to be. They all got me wonderful gifts.

 

My Diamond Candle - Love Scent

I have been dying to get a Diamond Candle. These are the neatest thing ever. In every candle, there is a ring instead, each worth $10, $100, $1000, or $10,000. I know most are probably $10, but it's the excitement of finding out what kind of ring you received! I was lucky enough to find a ring that I love!

My ring from my Diamond Candle!

My Lovely Grandmother-in- law (To be!) saw a previous post on my blog about all these appliances I want and need for my kitchen. I received this amazing Grill and Panini Press. Funny story is, I received a random Amazon box at work. We actually buy things from Amazon a lot, but it's always tech related. When I opened this and saw an indoor grill inside, my mind started wondering who in the world at my job thought we needed a grill for our break room?? And what are they planning on cooking on their 1 hr lunches?

I sent out a mass message asking if anyone order something from Amazon, not saying what it was of course cause I wanted them to fess up. My boss later asked if someone sent this to ME for my birthday. I immediately texted Rob's mother, and sure enough, it was a gift! But I am soo excited to finally have one of these for my own!!

One of my most favorite gifts is this serving set I got from Edie, Rob's mother. It's totally up my alley! I love the print, the colors, and everything about it. I wish I had better photos. 

All in all, I had one of the best birthday's yet. I really appreciate all the gifts, cards, and birthday wishes from everyone!