A challenge was issued. I’ve chosen to accept it!

This is about the war, we as women, wage on our own bodies and body image. God knows I have several problem areas. As a Macedonian my badge is worn in the form of upper lip hair. Some call it a mustache. I call it a pain in the ass. For a while I chose to be proud of it, and then I started to wax it. Haven’t looked back. I hate my flabby belly, but it shows that I am a mother. Four times stretched out to capacity, the marks are my own. The flab can be battled wisely. My arms could use some serious sculpting, yet they are still strong enough to carry many loads. And my chin, my chin doubles when I laugh heartily, but at least I’m laughing! I could say my body is in need of a lot of work, but these are the things that I can work on.

Women tend to hate on their bodies, it’s super easy to do. I could easily hate on myself. I happen to think, though, that if we embrace our bodies we might have a better outcome; positivity begets positivity. That’s the point where I am about my body right now. I’m trying to be more aware of what I put into it, what I do with it, and how I treat it. It’s the only one I got, and I love it regardless of the flab, lack of muscle tone, gray hairs, the mustache, the what-have-you…

There is one part of my body, however, that has caused a lot of pain for me over the years: My Hands. They are so cracked and scarred from all the constant dermatitis; it’s really uncomfortable, and–quite frankly–ugly. There are times when my hands look so bad that I feel like a leper. Imagine paying for something at the store, and your hands are so dry, so cracked, that they are bleeding. It’s not very good for the psyche when the teller looks at you like you have a contagious disease.

A few months ago when I had to get fingerprinted for my firearms license, they couldn’t even get proper fingerprints. The sheriff felt so bad for me. He had to basically note that my fingerprints “were unattainable due to malformations”. All the years of scar tissue have made it so that my fingerprints couldn’t be scanned properly. Yes, it’s that bad.

(click to enlarge)

I don’t know what the cause is. For the longest time I thought maybe it was the result of an allergy to wheat or wheat gluten. Now, I think it’s more of a contact dermatitis. Going Green with my cleaning products should show a change, but I haven’t done that 100%, yet. It very well could be my laundry detergent? Or my soap? Or something else that I come into contact with, daily? The uncertainty is unnerving.

I haven’t been tested, but that’s the next step. For now, I just live and deal with it like I’ve done for so many years. Unscented creams and moisturizers are my best friends. I’ve found a few that I like and others that I abhor. Sometimes I even have to use Liquid Bandage, for the little cuts. It really does suck. Really.

Easily I could say, “I hate my hands!” but there’s no point in that. I can’t very well lob them off, and grow new ones, can I? So, I deal with the pain, the discomfort, the unattractiveness, the scars, the open cuts when they are there, the everything. I deal with it, just like life. There are things I can profess are wrong and there are things that I wish I could change. However, I just trudge through it all. My hands are no different. Come to think of it, my handshake is still strong. I guess that’s my true measure. Despite pain and set-backs, I am still strong! I’m a woman, after all!

Kid-Tested….

…Mother-Approved

Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

She’s mad. She’s seething mad. She’s watching us, and she really doesn’t like what she sees. She knows what we are doing to her, and that it’s not right. She gives us warnings. She sends us messages. So many aren’t listening. Our ignorance blares like neon signs, and maybe it’s too late? Maybe it’s not?

Here’s the deal, though: We MUST stop our selfishness now. We MUST turn our attention to her. We MUST change our ways. One-by-one, we can do little things to help. We can find ways to be energy efficient. We can pick up after ourselves; accountability in life and in nature. We can do so much. She will not live forever, so we must love her, care for her, and respect her fully. She’s the only one we have.

Here’s your chance to join a movement that will help you feel better about the world in which you live. A movement that will prove that we are not selfish, rather selfless, and that we care.

Project Support – Beauty in Nature is a challenge issued by Sarcastic Mom, Lotus. She’s calling upon her fellow bloggers to do their part, to make Mother Earth happy again. Maybe it’s as simple as carpooling, or as complex as organizing a neighborhood clean-up? Or maybe your family has gone green? Or maybe you recycle? Or maybe you bike to work? Whatever it is, or whatever you’d like to do to contribute, will help.
Join Project Support – Beauty in Nature!

On February 11th dedicate a blog post to your earth friendly actions, share with mankind what you’ve done to help our environment. Maybe, just maybe, it will be what someone needs to read, to change a little bit of their daily activities for the better.

Take the challenge. Let’s show Mother Earth, and each other, that we care. It starts with one person. That one person is You!

In honor of Project Support – Beauty in Nature this week’s Thursday Thirteen list:

13 Tips to Go Green
(Information taken from: Frugalist Visit for many more tips on how to Go Green and Save Money!)

• Carpool. If you must use your car, share your ride. Find a ride in your local paper or try craigslist. Savings: $780 per year if shared with one other person.
• Learn to drive. Rapid acceleration and braking can lower your gas mileage by five percent around town and 33 percent on the highway, or an average of $0.55 per gallon. And, you get less mileage for your money (23 percent less or $0.67 per gallon) if you drive over 60mph. Savings: $1.22 per gallon, or $634 per year.
• Give your junk away. If you don’t have enough goods for tax deductions, remember, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”
• Live the new American Dream. It may seem that the new American Dream is to have a greener gadget than your neighbor. But, some green dreams cost little and they often reap huge rewards. Visit the New American Dream to learn how to live consciously, buy wisely, and make a difference.
• Plastic water bottles create small-scale environmental disasters. American demands for plastic water bottles requires the use of more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel approximately 100,000 U.S. cars for a year. Use filtered tap water in a reusable bottle, and you’ll save money as well as show the world that you’re green. Switch to a glass container at home or in the office, stainless steel when biking or bungee jumping.
• Learn why water conservation is so important. Yes, water is a renewable resource, but its access seems to be both unpredictable and arbitrary. Learn more about the international water crisis so that you can relate the world situation to your local access.
• Wash clothes only when you have a full load. Two socks or a full load require the same amount of energy to wash. You’ll save money on your water bill when you wash clothes less often.
• Install ceiling fans. Ceiling fans can be a great buy, because you don’t need an expensive one to work the magic. But, pay attention to the direction that they rotate. During summer months, set them to go counterclockwise to create a downdraft. During winter months, set them to go clockwise to assist hot air to the ceiling.
• Move lights away from cooling appliances. Lights generate heat, so move them away from the air conditioner and fans so those appliances don’t work overtime. They can also affect thermostat readings, so move them away from those tools for accurate readings.
• Learn to be an anti-consumer, even with cleaning products. You can use simple ingredients such as baking soda, soap, and vinegar to make cheap, easy, and non-toxic cleaning products that work on everything from your bathroom to your kitchen. And, most of these homemade solutions are a lot easier to make than a sandwich. Beware of any products that might contain allergens for you, and conduct more research to make sure that certain combinations are safe.
• Learn how to compost. Even if you live in an apartment, you might find a ways to use food waste as compost in a personal or community garden. But you might need to learn how to compost first. Go to American Community Garden to find or to create a community compost project. You can learn about how to conduct group efforts from sites like that one, but don’t expect to make a living from a small compost project. Instead, you can enjoy the organic local veggies for health benefits.
• Recycle your old cell phones.
• Recharge your batteries.

Don’t forget! February 11th. Project Support – Beauty in Nature. Mother Earth’s depending on you. Let’s do our part!

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Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you who you are.
–Anthelme Brillat-Savarin