i like packages!

DECEMBER  Weeks 11-12-13-14

SO I probably really annoyed the mailman in December. Besides the online shopping I did for the holidays, I was ordering ALL that i could find that I thought was gonna help me in my breast cancer journey. The picture to the right was a DAILY, yes DAILY occurrence at the house. Every day the bell would ring and it was either USPS, UPS or FEDEX. It was awesome! It got pretty ridiculous. To the point I would forget WHAT I ordered. BUT the excitement was still there EVERY single time! Now I know I LOOOOVE surprises! I was able to give myself the gift of surprise every day ( except sundays) I can't say I have had many surprises in life, it was nice to add that element. I am still getting packages but they are not breaking the back of the mailman now. I only get a couple packages a week now.  You have to remember, I cannot buy what MANY stores provide. They all have TOXIC elements to them. Every time I now need to replenish something, I research it online and find the most NON-TOXIC version and order it! OR I order the ingredients online so I can make it!  IF I feel I really need it asap I go to Whole Foods. My boyfriend joked that I will likely never step inside a brick and mortar. He's probably right. At least not until the world and we the CONSUMERS can change our habits so the DEMAND changes what the Producers are trying to sell us.  

All I can say regarding my online buying habit is... "no amount of money is too much to try something that might work and is a healthier option for me". I have a sh++load of notes to still go through and see if I have forgotten anything. They are sprawled across my office floor so I can sift through them daily. (picture to the left) After my profuse note taking skills were zapped, I googled everything. I read WHY I should take or do something. I researched WHERE I could get it. I then looked to see IF what that site was selling WAS the real deal. It was time consuming BUT now I know.

I do this each and every time now when I buy something NEW. Hopefully over time I will develop my staple BUYS and this will become less of an ordeal.  You already know my 1st buys, the Berkey Water Filter and the Austin AIR Purifier. They are both GREAT and continue to use them! You also know I joined THRIVE and made my 1st order that contained mostly toiletries, spices, and some random buys.  I have NOT placed a 2nd order because luckily I don't need anything yet. However, I plan to research WHERE I can buy cheaper bulk raw NUTS and SEEDS and ESSENTIAL OILS in the future. I get them at Whole Foods right now and we all know Whole Foods is expensive. I AM currently buying ALL of my ORGANIC veggies and fruits at Whole Foods. I plan to research Farmers Markets in my area and also look into the Produce delivery from local gardens. Just haven't gotten there yet.  I have now also started some DIY items. I started to make my own hand soap, dishwasher soap, laundry soap, multi-purpose cleaner and floor cleaner. The best one was the multi-purpose cleaner. I am not spreading the Gnewz on ANY recipes until I have mastered them and think they ARE THE BEST! I gotta say the dishwasher soap was a struggle, my stuff looks hazy and I have to run it 2x.  I will get there eventually!

As I researched non-toxic products to buy , I then knew I had to decide on what I was gonna do for my DETOX in January. I will share that with you in my next blog. I then started reading about all the different supplements that were possible for me to take and why. I ended up with these....

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I wanted to detox 1st and then start taking these supplements.  I figured if I took them during my detox, they would probably not get absorbed in my system and I would just be wasting them. These I will likely start in February! The big kicker is I can't even remember WHY I should be taking these supplements (to the left) so I need to re-google and research them so I know what I am doing. BUT I know they are good for me! :) I also met with a Naturopath and she was great! I recommend her to anybody! She REALLY knew her stuff!.  Dr. Chavez at the Raby Institute!  I felt like a million bucks after I left. Why? Because as we went through her list of "what I should be doing", I was already doing a majority! I felt like a rockstar! My food and exercise habits paid off big time! She was also able to read my extensive Blood tests from the Block Center and advise me on what food to focus on and what additional supplements I should add. It was the purrfect match! I was pretty normal according to her with some minor tweaks. Not the typical blood test for a cancer patient, perhaps it was going away?!

I started to dig into non-toxic clothing.......

NOT good! BUT something to strive for as I build my a Fly Girl clothing line. Turns out MOST clothes are made with toxic fabrics... sigh. I made some purchases and to be honest, have not found a particular company that I love. I ordered a handful of basic items... the worst offender was a SMALL pair of panties I ordered. Well they ended up way too big and looked like major granny panties ( no offense if you are a grandma) My boyfriend said "well they have lace on the top". Thx! We will see how you like them when I wear them for my pajamas every night! I have again ravaged my closets and am trying to re-stock with healthier clothes. This is a really hard one right now. The 2 brands I wore the most Adidas and Nike were on the "most-toxic" list. I felt really defeated. I was pissed. I had a really bad day and felt so crappy I threw out all of my sport bras. Which was alot! Remember I am a Trainer so that is what I wear every day. Well I also learned the ladies should not be wearing bras for extended periods of time. Double sigh. WTH? Was I suppose to walk around all flippity floppedy? This is a simple article I found that can sum up what to look for BUT the question still remains, well where can I buy Stylish non-toxic clothing. (with emphasis on stylish- that seems to be the main problem)

This brings me to armpits and toiletries  and cosmetics.... MORE getting used to items.  The smells around the house and on ME were gone! I could no longer use my dove deodorant that I love so much and I can use NOTHING with FRAGRANCE in the ingredients. Double sigh. SO! in bougy-tami style you know I found makeups and parfum that I could use asap! I am still finishing up some of my JUICE beauty products (couldn't get myself to throw them out PLUS they are organic and not  bad for ya)- BUT as far as a beauty regimen I have been using just oils on my skin. Usually a base oil like Jojoba or Almond with some Essential oils mixed in.  I found THIS beauty oil which I love and it's cheap!  https://djehutymaatraherbs.com/beauty-oil 

REALLY happy with these buys ladies....
http://www.100percentpure.com/  for my some new makeup AND for my new parfum... http://www.eccobella.com/parfums/
I am still going to do more research on what to buy and I will even dig into some DIY recipes for body lotions and some cosmetics. And yes after I use up those pretty Eco Bella parfums I will keep the bottles and start to make my own parfums with Essential oils!
My most recent buy was for hair care. I bought this product http://shop.morroccomethod.com/ .  I am in the middle of deciding what to do with my hair. I went Platinum a couple years ago and am starting to grow it out... guess what... hair color is toxic too... triple sigh. I will gradually get some browns back in there, I am struggling with what to do and will likely use regular dye at least one more time so I can blend my hair and so I don't look like Nikki Minaj's color part. That would be a nice picture, my hair halfway grown out and the top 1/2 is brown and the bottom half platinum... hmm!  So long story even longer, I have done some research and purchases and will keep you updated when I FIND the ones I think are BEST!

In conclusion, I STRONGLY suggest you  browse through this site when you have time... ​http://www.ewg.org/ . It is a great site to understand your job as a CONSUMER and what you are getting yourself into with your purchases.  We are bombarded by nothing but chemicals EVERY DAY in almost EVERYTHING. It's really scary to think about. We must take measures to protect ourselves and DEMAND safer products and ingredients. My BEST advice would be just to start READING any and all labels for everything you purchase. Even if you don't know what everything is , at least you will be more aware. 

Thx for reading and caring! Til next time... xo  Tami
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As always, thanks for reading and listening.