Humanoid ‘ish’

Here you will find ‘Life Update’ style posts and other random word vomit from my brain.

Family Inheritance: Rosacea I hate you

/ Absidity Art / 2 Comments

So My Grandmother, My Mother and I all suffer from Rosacea. Rosacea is a painful and ugly. “Rosacea (pronounced “roh-ZAY-sha”) is a chronic and potentially life-disruptive disorder primarily of the facial skin, often characterized by flare-ups and remissions.”- http://www.rosacea.org normally treated with a cream, either SigmaCort or Rozex (prescription medicine). While being cranky during my last flare up I started looking into using oil to fight the Rosacea Demon. I put in an YLEO order but while I was waiting I purchased some Pure Jojoba Oil from the chemist and crossed between using it and an old tube of Rozex I nicked from my mum (because I couldn’t be bothered going to the doctor to get a script) – Anyway it did the trick and I found the Jojoba Oil instantly soothing.

I started of researching Rosacea and its causes, then natural essential oil remedy’s and that turned into looking at acne remedies as well. I found that generally speaking Rosacea occurs mainly in women over thirty (hmmm I got my first attack at 16). And apparently it gets worse with age (that’ll piss my mum off when I tell her). There are topical antibiotic medications and even oral treatments for really bad cases. I think my mum has a flare up about once a year and I generally only tend to get it when I’m stressed out and emotionally spent. Apparently mild Rosacea is actually really common, but most people confuse it with ache or eczema. I think for the most part (non-doctor opinion) that eczema medicated creams won’t do any harm. I have a cousin who had bad eczema when she was younger, she was given SigmaCort to treat it, my son was given SigmaCort to treat his skin when he was a newborn and I’ve been given SigmaCort for Rosacea, so same/same. But when I got my first attack at 16 I thought it was ache and put a Clean & Clear tonic on it and burned the f**k out of my face making it ten times worse. Moral of the story; you don’t want to treat Rosacea as Ache and you’ll bloody well know it if you do, but if you think it’s eczema and treat it so you’ll probably be fine :-P.

My plan for my next flare up:

Rosacea: I’ll try a two part pure Geranium Essential Oil, ten part pure Jojoba Essential Oil mix applied to area regularly /as necessary. And also swap out my morning and night moisturiser for Pure Rosehip Essential Oil during the flare up.

Ache: I’ll try a two part Tea Tree oil, ten part Jojoba Oil mix applied to area regularly /as necessary (and if it is Rosacea not Ache the Tea Tree oil won’t cause super burn problems).

I gave some of the oils to my mum to try as well, but obviously I can’t give you any results /thoughts until my mum or a have a flare up.

My reasoning behind the oils I picked >>

Geranium Oil: The anti-bacterial properties of the oil! And the aroma of the oil has a calming effect (like I said stress tends to bring it on in me, so the calming effect would be welcome) Apparently Geranium oil helps to stimulate the lymphatic system (I don’t really know much about this), but it boosts the skins natural ability to fight inflammatory skin conditions (that part sounds good eh).

Rosehip Oil: It is Liquid Magic! It’s packed full of nutrients, it’s naturally an anti-inflammatory and has some “retinol” thing in it that promotes the growth of healthy skin cells (Woop Woop). Rosehip oil is fantastical for treating numerous skin problems.

Jojoba Oil: Also Liquid Magic! So apparently skin suffering from rosacea can’t produce enough sebum (had to look up what that was). Sebum helps to hydrate the skin and act as a natural barrier to nastiness. Jojoba oil with its magical sebum-like properties of will help to counteract that. AND the anti-inflammatory properties of the oil will help to reduce the swelling of the skin (can I get a ‘Hell Yeah’).

Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil is a powerful antimicrobial agent, BAM! it Naturally Kills Bacteria! Kill them greasy puss ball pimples.

I hope that made sense and maybe some one finds it helpful, or at least maybe interesting LOL :-).

Push Bikes + Men = Evil

/ Absidity Art / Leave a comment

 Yesterday (Easter Monday) my husband Shane decided we’d go for a lovely family bike ride as the rain had finally let up and the sun was out.

Today I am really regretting it. I feared I’d wake up with sore knees as they were aching as I rode, but no they’ve held up alright. My back is burning and biting, although it’s like that 80% of the time so I doubt much of that is the bikes fault – what is the bike fault however is how painful I’m finding it to sit down.

Because of the shape of the frame Riley’s child capsule doesn’t fit on Shane’s ridiculously-expensive-fancy-pants push bike. The capsule however fits on my fitted-with-a-wide-padded-seat push bike. I won’t ride with Riley attached to the bike. I’m too uncoordinated and the entire time I’m freaking out that I’m going crash and hurt him. So Shane rode my bike. I’ve tried to ride Shane’s, but the frame is too long and too tall. So I went and nicked my dad’s pushy, his is nice and short, just like him.

We took off and shortly we had to stop so I could raise the seat as my legs were all squashed up. I then continued with on the bike with it in too high a gear and near killed myself going up a SMALL hill, more my lack of fitness to blame than the gearing through. I pumped my fat little legs as hard and fast as I could. The last time I’d ridden from home to Fassifern I was about twenty kilos lighter and going to the gym three times a week. Oops. I had to stop when it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I pulled up and tried to hop off the bike. My legs were jelly. There was a ball of pain in my chest. My vision started to dull and spot with the light coming at me in intense waves – did I mention I hadn’t eaten breakfast, dumb ass I am. So I sat down for a while, had some water and decided I needed to take it a bit easier if I was going to make it to Fassifern and back.

I survived, obviously as I’m here having a whinge. I didn’t get any of those happy energy buzzing hormones you’re supposed to get after excising. 😦 No I spent the rest of the day trying to stay awake, lying on the couch watching movies while Riley destroyed the lounge room with crayons.

Today it hurts to sit. Damn male bike seats. Damn push bikes altogether. My butt barely touched the seat on the return trip as I was standing on the pedals so I could straighten my knees. Bikes are evil.

My son enjoyed the trip. Each time Shane would stop to let me catch up, Riley would be calling out “More, More, More”. Men are evil :-P.

Riding Riley  20150406_084918

Ready Riley (Edited & Original): Riley inspecting the bikes while we get ready to go for a ride.

Sunday is cleaning day

/ Absidity Art / 1 Comment

43346_set_of_rubber_gloves-30182317_std I used to enjoying cleaning my parents’ house for pocket money as a teenager. Money meant red skins, CDs and cigarettes (sorry mum). But now I have to do it for free, ok I do love a clean house and yes the mould and fungi won’t kill us if I kill it first, but that’s just not enough – I still hate it. I feel like I’m wasting my time. Damn baby and husband are just going to mess the place up again. Life is too short for cleaning dishes, scrubbing toilets and hanging out washing on the line. I’d much rather spend my Sundays reading. Maybe one day I’ll be rich enough to hire a cleaner. That’s the dream. For the time being I am slowly training my son to help me; he will pick up and put away his toys, he will pick up his dad’s dirty clothes and put them in the washing basket, he will pick up his dads shoes and put them back in the wardrobe. If you give him a cloth he’ll wipe over table tops and bench tops, not that he can apply enough pressure to actually do much and he has very short arms, but he seems to enjoy it (and currently I only have to pay him in hugs).

kisses

Harry Potter Book Night

/ Absidity Art / 1 Comment

HPblogbuttonFor Harry Potter Book Night I’m re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I won’t get it all finished tonight, so I thought I’d quickly share a little bit of Potter Love.

20150128_180642

“Don’t forget to give Neville our love!’ Ginny told James as she hugged him.

‘Mum! I can’t give a professor love!’

‘But you know Neville-‘

James rolled his eyes.

‘Outside, yeah, but at school he’s Professor Longbottom, isn’t he? Ican’t walk into Herbology and give him love….”

During the ‘deciding on a name process’ when I was pregnant with my son, once we found out he was going to be a he, I wanted to name him Edmund or Neville. Edmund after Edmund Pevensie of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia series and Neville (I’m sure you guessed it) after the blundering, brilliant, loveable, kind hearted, strong willed force that is Neville Longbottom. My husband wouldn’t have a bar of either names and my son ended up as Riley, not named after anything with a deeper meaning, just a name my husband liked. The compromise was that I got to choose his second name and I did – It is Paul after my father, another brilliant, loveable, strong willed force. To be honest I’ve grown to love the name Riley Paul and wouldn’t change it, but if we do go down the baby road a second time and it appears it’s going to be a boy, I’ll be pushing for a Nev or Eddy again.

“But this is touching, Severus,” said Dumbledore seriously. “Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?”

“For him?” shouted Snape. “Expecto Patronum!”

From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.

“After all this time?”

“Always,” said Snape.”            

I can’t read that without getting chills.

“Albus Severus,” Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, “you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”

We start off hating, fearing and suspecting Snape along with Harry, all the time not knowing that under Snape’s nastiness he is always looking out for harry out of love for Lilly.

Oh Snape, Snape, Shape. In this, the last book, your character cemented itself in my heart. Always!

Crying Babies

/ Absidity Art / Leave a comment

“Why is it that I am always the only one who hears our son crying in the night?” I ask for the millionth time.

I wake even when my son makes the slightest carry on, but my husband sleeps soundly on. Well he sleeps soundly on unless it’s the second time my son’s woken up during the night and I elbow my husband in the ribs until he wakes up, then inform him it’s his turn to check on the baby (I say baby even though he’s eighteen months old now and I’m not sure if he’s technically still a baby). To my husband’s credit, if I wake him and tell him to go check on our son, he normally does it with minimal grumbling.

It used to be that my son would wake up and just want a hug or bottle then be happy to go back to sleep, but in the last 6 months or so it’s been more like he’s having nightmares. You go in to check on him and he’s still asleep. It is rather disturbing seeing my baby boy tossing and turning, screaming with tears rolling out of closed eyes. Thankfully just picking him up or patting his back or tummy does the trick and he goes back in a calm sleep.

I remember reading somewhere that it’s hardwired into a woman’s brain to register those high pitched distressed tones of one’s offspring. But dang it, I tell you I’d like a night where I sleep through and my husband wakes up.

^ Riley awake and happy In his cot ^

10377537_1537532966502064_8067265542271322526_n

^ Shane, Riley and I ^

Hello 2015

/ Absidity Art / 1 Comment

So 2014 is about to come to an end and I have no idea where it went. Crazy fast. I had a baby in 2013 and then BOOM it’s 2015.

The first eight months of 2014 were wonderful, watching my bubba boy grow and develop into a really cheeky little smarty pants who amazes me every day.
But alas September was a bittersweet month; we bought our own home only two houses up from my parents :-), but we lost our beloved fifteen year old wolfhound cross Buster :-(.

2014 was full on; I went back at work four days a week and was going to TAFE at night two times a week. I managed to publish two poetry eBooks and one tree book, but we won’t talk about how behind I am in my TAFE work. Riley has been attending day care when I’m at work and other then a little tantrum at drop off time, seems to be enjoying it.

We are down to four; Shane and I, Riley now seventeen months old and Ellie our four year old rather small wolfhound cross. We’ve all settled into our new forever home and are looking forward to celebrating Riley’s second Christmas and all that 2015 has to offer. I really hate the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, but love catching up with my family.

I am determined in 2015 to (A) not miss a Friday Fictioneers (B) Finish my Cert 4 in Work Health & Safety (C) make some serious progress on my fiction works (D) as always, lose weight and get fit – this one I’m not as determined about as the others, obviously because I find it the hardest, damn Crispy M&M you will be the death of me (E) I’m going to up my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2015 to 80 books! that will be a record for me if I achieve it and (F) I’m going to sign up for the >>Debut Author Challenge ButtonI’ve read some debut authors this year and really enjoyed them. I see this challenge as a great way to find out about the other Debuts that other challenges may come across. It is easy to pick up the same author or one of the well publicized top ten best seller at your local supermarket to read, but in 2015 I’d like to focus on helping the new guys starting out. **AND** (G) I’m also signing up for the >>

 For my first Diverse Books I’m going to start off with the three that “Reading Wishes” recommends – The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell – Jasper Jones by Criag Silvey – To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.

**AND** (F) I’m also also signing up for the >>

aww-badge-2015

Where I’m going to try and read as many books by Aussie Authors as possible.

Anyway I’m going to go get some reading in 🙂 Until Next Time – Happy Reading.

Lavender and Frankincense Part Two

/ Absidity Art / 2 Comments

This is a progress post following me trying Oils in my Face moisturiser.

After the amazing results I’ve had with putting YLEO’s Lavender into my body moisturiser (blog post link below) I decided to give it a go in my facial moisturiser, so I did some reading on the many uses of the Oils I had at home and I added the YLEO’s Lavender and Frankincense to my face moisturiser and I’ve been using it for the last two weeks. After adding the oils the cream definitely feels heavier on my face. I can feel the cream mix sitting on my face for a while after application, but It smells divine and my skin feels wonderful. I’m going to finish off the double oil moisturiser I have made up, but next time around I’ll add the lavender to my face wash and just the frankincense to the moisturiser and see how that goes. Also it’s summer here and has been rather hot, just step out of the shower and your sweating again kind of hot, I actually don’t think I’d notice the weight of the cream on my face the other nine months of the year.

My Previous Post – Part One – http://sarahfairbairn.com/2014/11/24/lavender-frankincense/

Product shots fro new catalog at YL farm in Mona

Frankincense-oil-and-resin

Lavender & Frankincense

/ Absidity Art / 2 Comments

20141124_065707

I’ve been using YLEO Lavender mixed in with my Jojoba moisturiser for a while now; I use it on my feet in the mornings. In the last couple of years I’ve had terrible problems with the skin on my feet. I tried countless chemist products to no avail, but after using the Jojoba moisturiser with added YLEO Lavender for a few months, my skin so no longer painful and scaly (it was like a chemical burn, but I couldn’t figure out what was causing it). I stopped using it for a while and found that my skin got rather dry again, but rubbing a little bit of cream in each morning is a small price to pay for pretty, painless feet.

I got badly burnt at a 4WD & Camping show last month and decided to give my jojoba lavender cream a try on my sunburn, as I’d read it was one of the MANY things lavender is good for. I was really impressed; it worked better than anything else I’ve ever used on sunburn. It was really soothing: the heat, pain and redness were taken away unbelievably fast.

Since the Lavender has worked so well on my feet I decided to add a drop to my face moisturiser and it’s been lovely and refreshing. I sat down on the weekend and wrote down the names of the oils I currently have, so I could look up what all their benefits are to make sure I was getting the most out of them. I came across some notes I’d scribed in my YLEO guide book about the benefits of Frankincense in skincare, so I’ve added a drop of that to my face moisturiser too. I’ll let you know how that goes once I’ve been using it for a bit longer.

I’m still keeping up my oils resume and supplements as I’ve mentioned in pervious posts and I can honestly say, bar the extra 23kilos I’m carrying, I’m feeling better than I have in years. If I could just kick these sugar cravings it’d make those 23kilos come off a hell of a lot faster. I want to get down to 70 kilos and stay there, any lower than that and I just can’t maintain it. It’s been five years since I was at 70 and I fell I’ve dealt with the issues that caused me to attempt to eat away my pain. For my height my “healthy” weight range according to my doctor is 58-72kilos (dang! I think I’d look terrible at 58). So onwards and upwards I go.

Previous oil posts >>

http://sarahfairbairn.com/2014/10/11/potions-pills-and-nightmare-chills-oh-my/

http://sarahfairbairn.com/2014/09/02/major-life-overhaul-pt-2/

http://sarahfairbairn.com/2014/07/31/yes-a-major-life-overhaul-is-due/

NaNoWriMo Oh No!

/ Absidity Art / Leave a comment

So it’s just occurred to me that I’ve missed NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I first heard about it last year when I stepped into the Twitter & Blog world. It was founded back in 1999 by 21 authors from San Francisco area who wanted to motivate themselves to produce more written work. I wasn’t ready to have a go last year as the challenge requires authors to produce a complete 50,000 word novel during November. The novel doesn’t have to be spectacular and there are no rules that say you have to publish it. The main goal of NaNoWriMo is to get writers into the habit of regular and disciplined writing with a clear end-goal in place.

It’s only just dawned on me that the date is the 24th November and that NaNoWriMo is November 1st – 30th NOOOOOO!, I’d been so busy with TAFE and setting up our new home that I’d completely forgot about it.

I’ve just gone and put a reminder in my phone for the middle of October next year and in my diary so I can get myself organised and signed up in 2015.