Friday, June 14, 2013

Dry Brushing

Here is a new beauty trick I just started doing, and I had to share it because it's fantastic! Dry Brushing is a technique that will get your skin feeling and looking great all over your body. It will also promote circulation and eliminate toxins. And it's so simple to do!

Vegetable Bristle Brush. This is what I use. It's very important to avoid a brush with synthetic fibers because that will irritate your skin. You can buy this one or another one, preferably with bristles made from vegetable fibers. 

Immediately before I shower, I take the brush and use short, firm sweeps along my skin. Two things to remember: Your skin and the brush MUST be completely dry (hence the name) otherwise it will stretch and tug at your skin, possibly damaging it. Secondly, always brush the skin towards the heart. I start with my feet, go up my legs, from my spine horizontally to my front, circle around my belly button, and from my hands to my shoulders. This takes about 2 minutes to do, then I hop in the shower and wash just like normal. After my shower I use body oil to moisturize.

The point of dry brushing is to exfoliate the skin and remove toxins. I've been doing it for only a week and I already have noticed a positive difference in my skin quality. I'm hoping it will help my postpartum belly get back to its original shape, and I will report more on that later (baby is still cooking inside me at the moment). But what I love about dry brushing -- besides the obvious benefits -- is the invigorating "rush" it gives me in the morning. Adding this to my routine really wakes me up and makes me feel refreshed. 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Hale's Printed Word

We moved to a completely new place surrounded by unfamiliar things. Hours away from family and friends. So it has been refreshing to discover something so familiar: To my delight, I found that the library is a 10 minute walk from our apartment. And to even further my happiness, I discovered that my favorite book of all time, The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, has a sequel! I read it in two days and it was perfect. The Palace of Stone was everything I hoped for and better. And that made me realize that perhaps it is time I read all of Shannon Hale's books. Now that I'm in my third trimester, I can do little else but take it easy. So reading is the perfect hobby for me! 

I'm halfway through reading this gem, Book of a Thousand Days. I love it because it is the same familiar style of writing that I fell in love with in the Princess Academy books -- but it has a completely different feel concerning the characters and situations. I have a hunch about how it will turn out in the end, but we'll see. It might be shocking. This one is for a more mature audience than the princess ones. Once I finish this one in a day or two I will move on to The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. She's my new favorite author! 

Monday, May 6, 2013

My Take on Pregnancy

I've been pregnant for 7 months now. I always wondered what it would feel like. To be honest, it is many things. It is beautiful, painful, and annoying. And sometimes, if I lay just right, I feel completely normal -- like the way I did before I ever had a tiny human growing inside me. But then I feel the twitching, dancing, and kicking from inside my abdomen, and I know for certain that I am carrying a second soul.

A second, very hungry soul.

I just want to snack and sleep all day sometimes. And hey, I'm pregnant. No one would judge me. And then there are days that I want to clean and bake and organize everything. People say that I'm nesting. I get compliments from complete strangers, and people I normally wouldn't talk to are suddenly very interested in asking me questions and telling me their personal experiences with pregnancy and parenting.

My husband, Marshal, offers to give me massages every single night. My last semester of college I could skip class without penalty due to morning sickness and need for sleep. It is all glorious and exhausting and wonderful.
You ever wonder why pregnant women are always holding their tummy? You would hold yours too, if there was a human inside of you squirming around all day. It's a feeling that has no words to describe it properly. I love it. But I will love it even more when the baby is out of me and my body can shrink back to its original size. I have no idea what is in store for me. A child is a huge responsibility and blessing. I'm just going to say, come what may, I will love this little person so so so so much.