Having unsuspecting family members and co-workers sniff my armpits daily is my new favorite past time! As outrageous as that is however, it is not my confession. I wish it was. Let's see, where should I start...

So I was super excited to work on and release some new all-natural products that I had running around in my brain since the inception of my Body Food original lotion. One of them, as you might now know is a chemical free deodorant. I did my homework like I always do and came up with a product I was pretty happy with, HOWEVER (this is the confession part)...I was trying to figure out a way to sell a chemical free deodorant without actually using it...there I SAID IT!!

You see, I am probably not the poster child for the 'all-natural' lifestyle when it comes down to it. I mean, I wear make-up everyday, I eat (and love) McDonald's cheeseburgers (gasp!), and I readily take Motrin if I have a headache without batting an eye (I am an RN after all so I do appreciate some of the benefits of modern medicine). I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not really the swing through the trees, climb a mountain, 'sweat under the armpits' type. So when I started reading up on all-natural, DIY type deodorants I knew I wanted to develop one with the yummy Body Food lotion as a base ingredient, but I wanted to develop it for other people, who were, you know, 'natural.'

Well it was the weekend when I perfected the products and I was already pretty stinky, still running around in my PJs at 2 in the afternoon in 90 degree heat so I decided, what the heck! I'll try it for the weekend, and then maybe even use it on the weekends in the future!! That way I can tell people I use it! But of course, not during the week, I mean I have a real job!

Well...by Sunday night after using it for the weekend (SANS SHOWERING! Don't look at me like that, it was the weekend!), I tell you what...I AM A COMPLETE CONVERT!! AND...(drum roll)...I HAVE NOT WORN CANCER CAUSING, ALUMINUM CONTAINING, 'REGULAR' DEODORANT SINCE!!

Now I really thought that these folks who claimed all-natural, homemade deodorant worked 'better' than store bought stuff were spending a little too much time sniffing their kid's glue sticks, but I have to say, I WAS WRONG (that's only the 3rd time I've ever said that and the other 2 times I was mistaken).

I really can't believe it. I have used both my original recipe as well as my sensitive skin recipe and both have worked beautifully. I have only reapplied twice in the same day once, and I think that was hormone related. I have not had a 'detox' phase. I have not been sweaty, itchy, or uncomfortable in any way. I know...it's hard to swallow, but it's true. The only thing that went slightly awry is when I applied the full strength baking soda recipe to my pits right after shaving (smart), not fun. When you think about it, baking soda is a salt, so that's pretty much what it felt like, which mind you, was the inception of the Sensitive Skin recipe. So I guess it's good that happened. However the original recipe is totally fine if it's not a shave day. 

So, are you ready to stop shoving metal in your pit pores?? If so, try out some chemical free Body Food deodorant TODAY!!

Does that get any one's taste buds going? Not so much? OK, OK pick your poison, McDonald's happy meal? Jack in the Box Jumbo Jack with cheese? In-N-Out burger animal style! Taco bell burrito supreme? FUNNEL CAKE!!!?? BLOOMIN' ONION??!!I MUST have hit something for 99% of the population on that list! The rest of you are health snobs...(or liars)... I say that with love :) I like me some JUNK FOOD!!

Why am I listing off grease laden, trans fatty nightmares on a Saturday morning? Did I have a bad (or good) dream? No...but I did look at yet another label of one of my lotion bottles (yes I have 56,000 bottles of store bought lotion lingering around like everyone else) and I started thinking, if we are going to do something wildly unhealthy...LET'S MAKE SURE IT TASTES GOOD!!! This is going to be my new motto. 

In looking at all these ridiculous ingredients, either flat out harmful to us, horrible for the environment, or BOTH, I started realizing how silly it is to then smear them all over the largest organ of the body and have it nicely absorb directly into the bloodstream. That's how it works. We are walking around like big fat sponges (I don't mean everyone is big and fat, I mean compared to the size of regular sponges, you know, they're pretty small...OK, OK, I'm sure you get it!!). 

So here's the deal, I get eating something unhealthy that TASTES GOOD, I even get putting makeup on that's full of chemicals for vanity's sake if it makes us look good! Or a body wash that has the best lather ever!! Or shampoo that makes our hair shimmer like a Pantene commercial!! But I can't wrap my brain around why we use lotion that is yucky. I mean, we put lotion on because we kind of think that it's good for our skin, right? I'm thinking we use yucky lotion because...wait for it...we like the smell?? Is that all? Come on...it's 2015...you can achieve yummy smells with things that are GOOD for you! Not just not harmful, but actually helpful, THERAPEUTIC!! I put tons of essential oils in my Body Food to make it smell good...lavender, lemongrass, lemon, vetiver, patchouli, and frankincense to be exact...YUMMMM!!! 

So stop putting yucky stuff on your big, fat sponge!! Save yuckiness for FRIES!! That is my rant for the day...thank you, thank you very much...

I think I just came up with a great 80's movie title! So, being in the lotion business for about 5 minutes, I have realized a few things...

1. Some people are really serious about their lotion
2. Some people could give a hoot about lotion
3. Some people are really serious about giving a hoot about lotion

I have to say, believe it or not, I think I was somewhere between #2 and #3 before I actually started making my own lotion...OK #3. I probably shouldn't tell anyone that since I'm supposed to be some sort of lotion-loving expert now. However, you can rest assured that I am a fresh face and opinion where it comes to the stuff because I honestly did not use it (really, like, at all) before making my own. People would give me lotion at work for a gift and a year later it would still be sitting on my desk mostly being used by passers-by no matter how great it smelled. Why? Well, mostly because I am kind of greasy all on my own with no help from anyone or anything thank you very much. But I will say that approaching 40 (Ah!) and 15 years as an RN has probably caught up with a few of my body parts and I do now need some moisturizing. There I said it.

But really, this isn't about my body parts (although that may make an interesting post at some point...lol!) this is about my Body Food!! If someone would have gushed to me about a double-whipped, no heat, 3 ingredient, Shea butter, bla bla, yada yada a year ago I would have had to use my extra courtesy reserve to listen and smile and nod at the socially appropriate moments...truly. I realized yesterday at the Street Fair that many people are exactly like I was. It reminded me of those dogs in the cartoons, where all they hear is "bla bla bla Fido bla bla bla," when their owner is talking. Except insert the word lotion in place of Fido. What's the big dang deal? It's lotion! So I wanted to outline what my big dang deal is...

I had no idea of the benefits of specifically the raw, unrefined Shea butter and coconut oil until I started using it and I don't even have any particular skin condition to treat. Some of the things I have had others using the Body Food tell me: It is healing their eczema, treating brittle diabetic skin issues, fixing diaper rash in ONE application, restoring nails and cuticles on hands AND toes that had been a mess for years, etc. Honestly I love hearing this kind of stuff! It definitely validates what I know to be true after researching these ingredients and why I do not use any heat in my process so none of them are broken down. So many beauty care products either 1) lose so much in their manufacturing process due to heat and other mass production related challenges, or 2) add so many chemicals, fragrances, colors, etc. that it really doesn't matter what healthy stuff is in their because you are simultaneously putting rat poison all over your body.

So what's so big about lotion? Absolutely nothing...but what's so big about Body Food lotion? I'm so glad you asked...

1. Hand made, double whipped (yum!), no heat process.
2. Three of the finest ingredients on earth (I failed to give a nod in this post to olive, avocado, and almond oil which are also all tremendously good for your skin. Read more delicious details about all Body Food ingredients here).
3. No yucky stuff!

So yeah, thanks for listening to me ramble on about Body Food! I hope I may have converted a few #2's and #3's to #1's!!

I am a big, fat, hairy failure!! Like many other successful people out there, that is entirely true. To achieve success, you must and will fail, regular and often, and then, once you get the hang of certain things, maybe not so regular and often. Michael Jordan has made a very famous Nike commercial about what a failure he is, (insert eye roll) driving this point home very nicely. I think failure is kind of a harsh word. I choose to think of it as ‘Plan B’ and the point here is…there ALWAYS is one.

I challenge anyone to give me a scenario where there is not a Plan B. Some wise cracker may say death, and to that I would say, that’s actually when my party starts…much better than a Plan B so no, death does not even count. But for purposes here, we are not talking about death, we are talking about life, and how people respond to road blocks, criticism, rejection, etc.

I can’t say that I’m one of those people that is emotionally driven or motivated by those things. I mean, some people claim ‘it makes them want to work that much harder!’ I claim it makes me want to knock someone’s teeth out. But what it ALSO does to me is throw me immediately into thinking and planning mode. My brain starts going, like I mean, keep me up at night going, to try and figure out a solution. I’m just wired that way, in every single area of life. I’m sure it drives some of my loved ones crazy. Now I do realize that not everyone is wired that way. But that’s OK. Because when it comes down to it, it’s a choice. Now, if you’re not naturally wired that way it may not keep you up at night, and that’s not actually a bad thing. But there is always a way around, a solution, a compromise, a different path, another option…ALWAYS!!

I encourage anyone and everyone to start with little things but to start none the less looking for your Plan B's! DO NOT take no for an answer. Just don’t. If you’re starting a business, writing a book, baking a cake! I made cookies today with no eggs!! Why? Because I had no eggs!! And because there is such a thing as Google!! That’s really what this is all about…Google, it makes all things possible. No, but seriously, start training yourself to think this way, it might not even be Plan B, it might be Plan Q or R…but there always is one!!

(What does this have to do with Body Food? Absolutely nothing J But it’s still a great lotion!)

1. Only fart when in close proximity to a sibling or cousin, so as to share in the underwater bubble affect.
2. Do not jump on each other when jumping into the pool.
3. Every 5 minutes, everyone is to hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

These are my 3 pool rules when I am kid watching. A bit unconventional you might say. That is due to my '12 year old boy' humor and additionally my irrational fear of injury during pool play, resulting in the only REAL rule...#2.

Had to get my 9 year old out about 5 minutes after the rule announcement and ask him if he knew which rule he broke, whereby he exclaimed, "I didn't jump ON him I jumped NEXT to him!" I'm gonna guess he knows which rule. The options were 20 push-ups (one of his favorite past times) or 2 minutes out of the pool. He opted for the time-out...I would have gone for the pushups myself.

At any rate, all of this pool time, which has been every waking moment of our vacation outside the 37 theme parks we have visited in Orlando (OK, OK, 3!! But it feels like 37!!), inspired me to Google chlorine exposure. Don't worry, I'm not going to call for a 'hold hands across America' eradication of swimming pools everywhere. But it was kind of interesting.

Chlorine being something that we think of when swimming in a pool or relaxing in a Jacuzzi, you would be surprised to know how much chlorine we are exposed to regularly OUTSIDE the pool. I was.

Chlorine is one of the 10 most made chemicals in America because it's used to treat drinking water according to the New York Department of Health. Along with causing dry, flaky skin and even rashes on some more sensitive folks, it can also cause premature aging believe it or not. If you think about your daily shower even, nice hot steamy water, opening your pores up, perfect catalyst for the chlorine in the tap water to get into your tissues. Over time this can strip the skin of natural oils and cause it to dry and crack. 

Since we know the remedy is NOT to stop showering and swimming, naturally it needs to be to treat your skin with a gentle, all natural, daily moisturizer that combats these hazards. Visit the Body Food store today to get your tin of chlorine-combatting, whipped luxury!!

Hope everyone had an amazing fourth of July. I saw a post on Facebook by a friend from her British husband, "Happy Treason Day, Ungrateful Colonials," which I personally thought was absolutely hilarious! What was NOT absolutely hilarious was the amount of lobster red people I saw out on the beach. We spent about 8 hours on the beach on a military base and were, of course, camped out right next to the wildest group of marines on the whole beach. My son said there must have been "f-bomb radiation" from the nuclear testing or something...lol. However, it was great to see them let lose and have a good time, because after all, we have a fourth of July due to these men and women, who are willing to turn their lives over to our country.

All of that aside, if I had had a crystal ball I would have brought along about 56 gallons of sunscreen AND Body Food with me and started slathering it all over them upon arrival. Would that have been weird? Maybe. Would they have been in substantially less pain later? Definitely. Do they need some Body Food now for the aftermath of alcohol and probably 'too young to care about sunscreen even when sober' skin roasting? YES!!

O.M.G!!!! I cannot tell you the level of redness. I know, I know, how long can I go on about sunburn? At least another paragraph. But seriously! You know how you think you're doing really well in the sun, either not applying sunscreen but limiting your exposure, or only applying once in the morning and never again, only to go home and turn beet red in the evening? Oops! WELL THESE PEOPLE WERE ALREADY BEET RED AT 2PM!!!!!! I just keep imagining what they look like now. Brings tears to my eyes honestly.

So all of that to say...wear sunscreen people...help yourself. It's one thing to have the hangover of a lifetime, it's another to have it along with 3rd degree burns head to toe. Yeesh. And have some Body Food on hand just in case...(shameless plug).

Why I'm so happy you asked! When I began making my own lotion I started experimenting with some recipes off the internet like many others. There was heating, cooling, adding stuff just at the right time, yada, yada, bla, bla, etc. And let's be honest, full time job, a husband, and 2 kids, and the first thing that comes to mind is... ain't nobody got time for that, if you know what I mean.

Not to mention, when it was all said and done I had a product that was quite waxy (due to the beeswax to hold it all together) and I wasn't even sure if any of my essential oils were still in working order since I had essentially (no pun intended) cooked them. You see...I have issues following directions (and recipes quite honestly) and never did anything at the right time. Plus it was just all together too involved and wasn't producing the yummy whipped cream type product I was fantasizing about. 

Then I got interested in Shea butter because I did start to notice that the coconut oil as a primary ingredient (while one of my FAVORITE substances on earth!) can, believe it or not, start to dry your skin out...weird right?? I thought the few people that had mentioned this were off their kilter until it started happening to me of course. I'll have to do some research on why that is and get back to you.

At any rate, I went back to the internet and started watching what people did with Shea butter to prep it for use since it comes in kind of a lumpy mound. Well everyone and their mother was melting it (yeesh with the melting already!) one way or another, sometimes very elaborately and messily to be quite frank. It wasn't attractive. I thought...if this is what I have to do to use Shea butter, forget it!! Plus I wanted to figure out how NOT TO COOK OUT the good stuff, like...no heat at all (OK, OK mainly because as previously mentioned I wasn't sophisticated enough to add things at the right time and remember to take it off the heat before this or that, AND also help with common core math homework while simultaneously cooking dinner...OK??!!) 

So I put on my cooking cap and thought if I could add enough moist ingredients to the Shea butter, I bet I could whip it up with pure electric mixer power!! Well, guess what? IT WORKED!! I had to work out the odds and ends and fling lotion all over the kitchen in the process but the result was something...well...that looked edible...hence, the 'Body Food.' Although good as it looks it's not super tasty. I know this because my son felt the need to eat some, whereby I had to eat it just in case it was somehow toxic, even though I knew it wasn't and besides, how would my eating it along with him help the matter?? Again, what common core math has done to my brain...

Sooo, that's how it all came about. I call it 'double whipped' because I mix it for several minutes in the heavy duty KitchenAid mixer initially, and then I put some in a smaller bowl and whip it again with an electric handheld mixer and get MOST of the Shea chunkies smoothed out before it goes in the tins. I can't promise you won't EVER find tiny rogue blobs of Shea every now and again but these melt right down when they come in contact with your warm skin.

And that ladies and gentlemen, was the evolution of my double whipped, no heat method!!

I thought you might like to know a little about the lotion making lady. It's always nice to put a name and a face to a product. I was born on the east coast (yes I'm very Italian) and moved to Southern California when I was eight. I love it here, but I could probably be perfectly content anywhere. I'm a pretty content person by nature. I became a registered nurse and worked in labor and delivery for over a decade. Now I'm a nerdy analyst nurse, but I was kind of  a nerd to begin with so this fits. My office is in labor and delivery so I still get my fill of screaming fun every now and again.

I have a fabulous husband and two gorgeous sons who are brilliant and kind and amazing. God has definitely poured out His blessings. I started making lotion not too long ago because I discovered how easy and fun it was and I wanted something to add my essential oils into...so I could get them EVERYWHERE!! As with many things I may have gotten a tiny bit (a lot) obsessed, so now ya'll have to help me out and get some so I can keep making gallons of it...lol!!