Post of Controversy #0.5

“I’m concerned about a better world. I’m concerned about justice; I’m concerned about brotherhood; I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence.  For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.” ~MLK jr


Sorry folks, but I refuse to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden.  Yes, what he did and believed and promoted and preached was horrendous.  But he is and was still a child of Heavenly Father.  And Heavenly Father loves him.  And because of that, I refuse to celebrate his death.  I do not mourn him, he is certainly no loss to this world.  And I will celebrate that he is no longer capable of spreading hatred.  I commend the men who buried him at sea according to his religion.  He didn't earn that much respect.  But I feel they were trying to prevent his supporters from finding yet more things about America that is "wrong" with us.  The ones that still weren't satisfied, well, they wouldn't have been satisfied no matter what we did with his body.  That doesn't mean we should have just said "screw it" and dumped him unceremoniously overboard.  Being respectful makes us the bigger "man", not cowards.  Being respectful was not us bowing to the demands of the terrorists.  They didn't demand that we do that for him before we did it.  And who knows, the actions taken that day may have changed someone's mind about us.  It may have made them stop and think about why they hate America.  And that is a good thing.  I believe, and will always believe, that it is better to change someone's mind through peaceful actions and respect than through violence.  You can't use the argument that we don't even treat our own criminals as well as we treated him, because that isn't true.  Criminals who die in our prisons are buried according to their religions dictates (I'm not sure about those who are executed).


I am so grateful for the Navy Seals that risked their lives to go in and get bin Laden.  And I am grateful for all the men and women in the military who are willing to risk their lives to keep mine safe.  Thank you.


***This is my OPINION.  I know that about 3 people read this blog, but if anyone attacks anyone else in the comments for their opinions,  they will be deleted.  BE NICE.  And don't start debating about the war.  That's not what this post is about. 

Adventures in Hippieland: Cleaning of Self

So I ran across a website that had some intriguing ideas on how to clean my face relatively cheaply, and easily.  Of course, since I have a burning drive to do everything the wrong way, I decided to try it.

The Method: OCM
OCM = Oil Cleaning Method.  This is a way of cleaning your face using oils instead of soaps or detergents.  I have extremely dry skin, and it doesn't matter how moisturizing your cleanser says it is, my face WILL be dry after using it.  It got super bad after I got pregnant, with red, peely patches, mostly by my mouth.  Every time I shower, I rub my face, and dead skin comes off in those icky rolly things.  What sold me on trying this was this quote from acne.org:

“Oil dissolves oil. One of the most basic principals of chemistry is that “like dissolves like.” The best way to disolve a non-polar solvent like sebum/oil, is by using another non-polar solvent similar in composition: other oils. By using the right oils, you can cleanse your pores of dirt and bacteria naturally, gently and effectively, while replacing the dirty oil with beneficial ones extracted from natural botanicals, vegetables and fruit that heal, protect and nourish your skin. When done properly and consistently, the OCM can clear the skin from issues like oily skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, blackheads, whiteheads and other problems caused by mild to moderate acne–while leaving your skin healthy, balanced and properly moisturized.”

 Makes sense.  Especially since I have a doctorate in chemistry.  From Harvard no less.  But I'm being too modest......
Here's the webpage I went to.  Totally check it out.  Because I said to, that's why.

So I tried it, following the directions for dry skin: 1 part castor oil to 3 parts olive oil.  Rub all over face for 1 minute, lay a warm, wet washcloth over face until the cloth is cooled to room temperature, rinse cloth, and wipe my face off.

That's it. 

Results?  Nothing short of AMAZING.  I am in love with cleaning my face this way.  My skin feels amazing, looks amazing, and is most definitely clean.  It feels like my skin has been taken back to high school (don't be fooled by my amazing good looks, high school was over 10 years ago).  I LOVE it.  While I still get dry patches, it's only because I don't clean my face everyday.  Come on, 11 pm rolls around, I never got out of my pajamas, let alone put on make up (which this will clean off, including the devils own eye makeup).  I don't want to clean anything, I want to go to bed.

(Don't hate on me for going to bed at 11.  Best way to say I only had to get up once, is to stay up late.

But on the days that I do clean my face, it's not dry.  It doesn't flake, it doesn't peel, it doesn't crack, it doesn't get red and itchy.  It's AWESOME.  And my skin is clearing up too.  If I could use this on my whole body, I'd never have to bathe again.

And that would be SWEET.

Extra Things About Me That You Never Needed To Know!

What is something you miss?

I miss Louisiana.  I miss the humidity, I miss the rain that was actually warm enough to walk in, I miss the Spanish moss on the trees, I miss the smell.  Oh, how I miss the smell!  That was the best part of being there.  I miss my grandmother's house too, but I will never get to see that again.  Or the massive red anthill that was in her back yard.  We used to take cans of Black Flag and spray the crap out of it and watch the ants come pouring out.  And we'd spray them then too.  And when the can ran out, we'd pour boiling water on them.  It was AWESOME.  

I also miss the driving motivation I had to exercise.

Oh wait, I never had that.

Nevermind.