I heard through the family grapevine today that my maternal grandmother was resting at home after suffering from burn injuries. She was brewing up a huge pot of barley tea and she accidentally spilled it. She was taken to the hospital and now resting at my uncle’s house. After my grandfather passed away (10 years exactly in a few months), my grandmother moved to my uncle’s home in Paraguay.
Hearing that my grandmother burned herself really upset me…in addition to the physical pain, I know she’s hurting because she burned her carefully cherished skin.
I come from a long line of women who did their best to stay out of the sun, wear a hat or use a sun umbrella…and yet I’m the girl who loves to lay out and soak in the blistering rays… and makes secret, almost shameful (sunglasses + hat) runs to tanning salon to fake n’ burn in the winter.
I remember watching my mother when I was young, slowly massaging creams and lotions onto her skin, taking extra care around her eyes and neck, using the same circular motions with her two fingers the way my grandmother had taught her. All that care has apparently worked…my mother is Dorian Gray….or Regis Philbin!
I’m still pretty lackadaisical about skin care…I “forget” sunblock and will fall asleep wearing make-up (the direct result of over indulging in celebrations!).
However, now that I’m gettin’ a little long in the tooth 
, I’m putting much more thought into what I put on my face. In my teens it was Noxzema (I used to love that fresh clean smell), and Oil of Olay facial cream. Then I moved to St. Ives exfoliating scrub in my 20′s and Burts Bees Night Cream.
However over Thanksgiving, my aunt, who is a hair and make-up artiste 
in Charlotte, introduced me to a new skin care line, Atomy. Over the years, she’s tried to convert me to other products and I’ve resisted because I didn’t see much difference in using the $50 jar of cream over my tried and true Oil of Olay and Burts Bees. Well, Jeez Louise…I’ve been converted. My skin has never looked better! It’s softer, looks younger and seems to glow. (I know I sound like a late-night infomercial! But I really mean it! This stuff is the best!)
It definitely costs way more than my old Oil of Olay…but I’m hooked. I can curse my aunt in my head when I call her to order more for my supply! 
But even the best cleansers and creams can’t do all the work. Today was kind of a weird schedule day, so I ended up grabbing bags of chips and snacks throughout the day…the completely fried…not baked, not sweet potato, but the full-fat heart clogging kind. To make up for it though I have a pretty good supper shaping up!
Organic spring mix from Sam’s Club…much cheaper than at the grocery store – less than $5.00 for a huge carton! (I know there’s all the gripe about huge mega stores…but it sure is nice to look at motor oil and pick up veggies!)
Also picked up from Sam’s- 1lb 9oz for less than $5.00…it isn’t organic but at that price, it tastes pretty darn good in my salads and smoothies!
Both items play key parts in my salad-spring mix, blueberries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes and cukes!
And I’m going to fire up the pan and grill up this baby in like 2.5 seconds!
A piece of Tilapia (I cut it in half because it was too large) seasoned with black pepper and Mrs. Dash’s salt-free lemon pepper seasoning.
A completely healthy meal that’s low in fat, cholesterol, calories and definitely cheaper than a trip to some fast food joint! (And super quick!!)
I’m excited to eat, maybe do some hoola hooping (indoor as it’s rainy and dreary here in the ATL!) and then wait for the results of the New Hampshire primary!
and those chairs are really hard! My a** has been sittin’ in a lot of hard chairs lately!), I went to look for some oil. That’s right oil, baby! Hahaha…not the fun kind but rather the motor kind.
