My little lady has been crawling for almost a month now but just recently she has really picked up speed! She is into everything! The condo is not huge so no matter where she goes, she is into mischief. There are always about a gazillion toys on the floor for her to play with and keep entertained, but for some reason the only things she is interested is the panels we have for blinds on our door-wall and the books that are in our entertainment center. Oh and the magazines in the rack. It seems like everything that ISN’T a toy is much more interesting than all her toys. I am convinced that the toy inventors are morons. The bright colors and rattling sounds do nothing for children. Put a rattle or even a toy that lights up next to the television remote and the child will go for the tv remote very time. Haha. I wish I could invent more realistic and effective toys!

After looking at my post pregnancy tummy every hour of every day and seeing how very skinny I am but with NO muscle tone now that they are all stretched I figured I should take another step into getting fit. I am now drinking a protein shake a day! It is actually really good without that weird protein/medicinal taste, and it’s Meijer brand! Chocolate flavor and mixed with skim milk I feel like I am drinking a frothy glass of chocolate milk. It is super yummy. You’re supposed to drink it either before or after a workout… for the most part I have been doing that but sometimes I drink the shake and do the workout hours later, or not at all. Haha. I am still doing On Demand Ab Workouts and some of them actually kick my ass. The only thing is I still love my junk food. I am able to eat super healthy all day long such as oatmeal for breakfast and tuna on whole grain bread with spinach for lunch. But if I don’t cook a homemade healthy meal, then dinner is just down the tubes. Don’t even get my started on dessert. Ever since I had my daughter I have had a huge sweet tooth which I never had before. I am Italian… I would have taken pasta over a pastry any day. Now immediately after dinner, I MUST have something sweet. I guess it’s not a bad thing because I never really go over board… and it keeps me so I am not depriving myself of foods I really love yet I am still eating healthy all the other times. Last night (my dinner downfall) I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with my family. Needless to say, my dinner was very unhealthy and then I decided to order their amazing chocolate cake that I was basically addicted to two Summers ago. (Before I was ever pregnant so it didn’t really matter). That cake was DELICIOUS and I am so glad I got it. I can’t wait to see the results of the protein shakes on my abs… gonna be interesting and a long road.

As I have posted before, I am currently taking Biotin to promote hair growth. About 2 months ago I got a haircut that I was not please with. It was cut much too short and I am trying to get the length back quickly. I was told to go to the store and buy Biotin supplements. I went to WalMart and found 5000 mcg pills. I must say they are working great! My hair is growing like a weed. My hair has grown almost 2 inches in just under two months!!!! The average hair growth is a half inch per month and mine has succeeded the average due to Biotin. Though Biotin is helping me get my long hair back, there is a slight downside. I noticed that when I upped the dosage from 600 mcg to 900 mcg that I was itching. My scalp and face were the most effected. I would just randomly start scratching my head and my face was getting red and blotchy. My forehead was very irritated and I could not stop itching. I lowered the dosage and noticed that the itching and breakouts stopped. Then I found the 5000 mcg at WalMart for a great price and couldn’t pass it up. I started taking those and I was still itching… not any worse, but I was still itching. MY face is also breaking out. The breakouts usually appear soon after I take the pill and they start by itching then form into an acne like breakout. They go away much quicker than true acne breakouts but it still isn’t fun. It has not gotten to the point where it is really bothering me so I still think the lon ghair is worth it. I have always had very clear skin so these minor breakouts are not that big of a deal since the rest of my skin is clear. Once my hair gets to a certain point I will stop taking Biotin. As for now, if works great with a small side effect that I am willing to endure for the time being.

If anyone else has had this side effect with Biotin would like to hear about it! Please comment… Thanks!

So as I have mentioned before, I am an advocate of things that are natural. I don’t necessarily go crazy and out of my way but lately I have really been thinking about the benefits of natural skin care and eating habits. As one of my few professions, I am an Esthetician. I work on skin. Facials, hair removal, and makeup application is what I do. I am so sick of all these “salon products” and “professional skin care.” So many of them contain alcohol and other harsh chemicals that is totally drying to your skin. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is in almost every single facial cleanser and body wash. That stuff if TERRIBLE. I am going to be completely honest here and tell you that I just googled the name because I know it is bad for you and did not know why… I stumbled across a website www.healthy-communications.com and found the reason. Basically it is a harsh chemical used in garage floor cleansers, engine greasers and other ridiculous things. I suggest you check out the site or just google Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. You will NEVER put a Bath and Body Works product on your body again. Don’t even get me started on that place. Every lotion, potion, and wash has alcohol in it of some sort. This causes your skin to dry out (even though you are using a moisturizer). It sucks your skin of its natural moisture and leaves you needing more… perfect tactic right? Not if people educate themselves and get smart about skin care. I have been looking around and so far I have come across a pretty good solution. For the money and for being at least 97% natural, Burt’s Bees has stolen my heart (and my skin). NONE of their products contain that ridiculous chemical and they are all at least 97% natural. I am trying their products little by little. Fairly inexpensive and very efficient, their face wash Soap Bark and Chamomile works great. I also purchased the Radiance moisturizer with Royal Jelly. I am loving it. So far so good!

Onto the food… don’t get me wrong I still LOVE to eat out or order a pizza but think of all the weird foreign chemicals that are in frozen pizzas and man made foods. It really makes you think. Trust me, if I am craving an Oreo or some boxed Jalepeno poppers, I will most likely snag 2 or 3 on occasion. But if you consciously think of these things, you will reach for those items a lot less. Any little change helps. The less crap you put in your body the better. As of right now I don’t have the will power to cut out foods like that all together, but my constant awareness helps me make better choices more often. When it comes to pop or as other areas of the US call is SODA, I love my Coca-Cola Classic. I know pop is terrible for you and there are tons of chemicals in it… but when it comes to having a Diet or Regular, you better believe I am gonna go for the regular. No fake sugar chemical garbage for me! I avoid artificial sweetners at all costs.

Hopefully we will all be more aware of what we put IN and ON our bodies. Have pretty thoughts today!!!!

This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day. It is the first one since my Mom passed away and my first time being a Mother. Needless to say, I am at a loss for words… and feelings. I hate when people tell me I should be grateful for my daughter… it’s like NOOOO KIDDING!!! I never said I am not. It’s just pretty difficult to celebrate something that directly correlates to how much you need your Mother and she is gone. Ok, enough said… these are supposed to be pretty thoughts.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo everyone!!! I am not going out to drink Margaritas or anything this year but I am super excited to be making quesadillas for dinner tonight. I just got finished chopping the tomatoes and browning the meat. I have onions, peppers, salsa, shredded cheeses, and what I call “liquid cheese.” This is definitely not the most healthy meal around but it’s gonna be fun! It doesn’t hurt to eat bad once in a while. I hope my husband and my Dad can hold out until I get home at 7 PM tonight! (They better!!!!) I have prepared everything so that when I get home all we have to do is put the quesadillas together and throw them on the quesadilla maker. This isn’t related Mexican related or anything but I am also looking forward to when my husnad makes Rice Krispy Treats for us tonight! Since Easter, when we colored them pink, every time we make them we put food coloring in to jazz it up a bit. LOL we like doing it, it’s a fun, easy. and not too unhealthy snack. Afterall, the marshmallows are fat free! The recipe requires butter but very little. I don’t do that fake butter garbage… I am not into weird chemicals and things our bodies don’t know how to digest. I also don’t drink diet pop. If I want to eat healthy I just won’t have pop at all or cut back. Of course I still eat other things with unnatural ingredients like this “liquid cheese” I am about to have on my quesadilla… but I won’t seek out “artificial” sweetners because they are considered “sugar free” or fake butter because it’s considered to have less fat. Enough with my food rant, and now back to my dinner! We also have baked tortilla chips to go with our fresh salsa! I just remembered we have some left over Margarita mix in the fridge! Yippeee! As you can see I love doing thins for and spending time with my family. Any excuse to be with them is a good one. Why not have a little Cinco de Mayo celebration?! Enjoy.

I was just posting on there again today “pimping” my blog. I don’t know why I bother. There are posters there that will use ANYTHING to start an argument. On ein particular with the username of Shoozy decided to comment on my board post. My post was telling the members to please read my blog. Evidentally she did, and came back with some nasty comments. First off she accused me of asking for their “advice.” A blog is not meantto gather advice it is simply made to vent and post about things that are on your mind… aka an online diary. She started talking about my blog post I had written about my hair cut that was too short and the biotin. She made some rude comments about how I should quit complaining and what not. Another poster even stated that I am trying to sell pills! These people are a hoot I tell you. It makes me giggle every time I go on. However there are posters that are very nice to everyone and they are what keep the board afloat. Their insight on the GH characters are story lines are very interesting. I enjoy reading and posting with most of them for the right, wholesome reasons. I enjoy posting with the others  for a good laugh! It’s so funny to think of how nuts these people are and how they actually survive in the real world. Well on the other hand, I don’t think they do… that is why they have to form “cliques” and make friends online because they have NO LIVES in the real world. I picture most of them as over-weight women in their mid 40’s with hair that is too long for their age. The hair is gray because they are too lazy to color it. This woman would also have at least 3 cats and her recliner chair is a yellow-orange color. The house smells like stale cigarettes too. Anyways, that’s just what I invision in my head when these women are posting their ridiculous dialogue. Well, back to the boards! I will be back with more stories!

There really isn’t great things on TV in the early part of the day. I do enjoy watching Regis and Kelly and sometimes The Doctors if they have a topic that sparks my interest. Other than that there really isn’t anything worth my while. I would much rather be playing with my daughter and when she is sleeping, putting in loads of laundry, picking up around the house, and making dinner. In between all those things I end up walking to my lap top every 30 minutes and check my Facebook. I admit I am a Facebook addict. Why waste energy on a television that isn’t even being watched? So I turn it off after Regis and Kelly usually if not before. Unless there is a guest I really like, I only watch the beginning of the show when they are joking around with each other and talking about recent news. I like peace and quiet or my favorite music while my little one is asleep.

When it starts to consistenly be warm and nice out I would much rather be doing something outside with my best little friend. The nice days we have had so far we spent at a local outdoor mall or the park. She is not yet crawling or walking so strolling her around is quite relaxing for the both of us! I can’t wait to be able to spend practically every day with her out in the sunshine! Just so I have baby sunblock!!!!!!

I have always been very particular about my hair. I honestly have bad dreams about it being cut too short when going in for a trim. Well last week the unthinkable happened! I have been trying for a long time to have long hair at least down to the middle of my breasts. It was almost there and then Friday came along. I was in one of those moods. You know the one ou get in when you just want a “change?” Well I marched myself over to my cell phone and sent a text to a girl I work with that usually cuts my hair. Well the last few times she has not been doing that great of a job and always is making comments how I am too chicken to go shorter. I like my long hair and if I wanted it short I would ask for it. Anyways, I decided to let her cut about 3 inches off. Well it was 3 inches too much! I regret it totally. I can’t stand looking at it. I mean, it isn’t ugly it’s just not me. Who even knows how long it’s gonna take just to get back to where it was. I started taking Biotin supplements because I was told that it promotes hair growth but I also heard that it only works if they are over 2500 mcg. The ones I bought were only 300 mcg so I am taking two but that still isn’t enough. The other ones are prett expensive and I really don’t want to spend that on something I don’t know will even work. I also started taking my prenatal vitamins again that the doc had said to continue taking after I gave birth. I hadn’t really been taking them since my daughter was born but I am now in hopes it will speed this process along. Now it’s a waiting game I suppose and I will try and make the best of it. I really hate the length of my hair, it is in the middle of nowhere! Below the shoulders and above the breasts but it looks like it is floating in mid-air! Ugh!!! Well I guess I will start making the best of it now but not complaining anymore!!!

GH is my favorite show. I have been watching since I was about 12 years old. 14 years later and I am just as big a fan as I was when I first started watching. Through the years I have had favorite characters, crushes, and couples. However if I went into all that now this post would be a gazillion pages long! Today, I still have my favorite characters and couples… I also still have my crushes! My all time favorite couple is Jason and Sam. When they were together there was no stopping them. They were the perfect example of “badass.” They were adventurous, dangerous, hysterical, romantic, lovable, funny, dramatic, and full of life. Each time they were on the screen together I felt s sense of reality. The were REAL unlike many soap couples. They loved each other so deeply and you don’t see that very often on a soap opera. While those two are no longer together, there is a new(ish) couple in town I am routing for. Spinelli and Maxie have just as much charisma and chemistry as Jason and Sam. I love the idea of the awkward computer guy with the high fashion beauty. I think Maxie is gorgeous and she and Spinelli are a perfect match. Although she is extreme, at times she reminds me of myself… her peronality that is. She is crazy and self destructive and will say anything in the heat of the moment. She knows where and who her true friends and loved ones are but sometimes she needs to just say and do things that are unorthodox or that can hurt others. Her heart is there and she always means well but doesn’t always do things right. Spinelli truly is her “essential person” as she says on the show. He is her solid ground and his personality in combination with hers balances out her crazy ways. There are many other aspects that I love. The whole mob storyline is still a great foundation for the show. It brings drama and excitement. Not to mention Sonny is still HOT no matter how old he gets. Sonny and Jason were my first crushes on the show and that fact has remained true. I adore the friendship between Jason and Carly. His love and respect for her is one that most women long to have in a friend. He is always by her side whenever she needs him and she is willing to do the same for him. Needless to say I have strong opinions about this show and the characters involved. For the most part I think the show is dramatic and exciting and at times even comical. Of course there are parts I loathe, but  that will be another post!