Sugar Waxing: A Lesson in Self Control

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Let me preface this by saying, there is going to be some inappropriate talk about hair in private places, also I’ve never gone to a salon and had any part of my body waxed, so I truly have nothing to compare this experience to. I tried using Nair wax strips once when I was 20, to do my bikini line and it ended with me showering, praying that the strip would release because I just couldn’t do it.

About a month ago, I started thinking about trying waxing as a means to cut back on shaving (pits, legs, bikini). In true 2021 fashion, I started getting targeted instagram ads for Sugar Waxing. The one that always caught my eye was a cute and witty commercial for Sugar Me Smooth and hooked me in. I was successfully influenced & knew I had to try it. I went back and forth about what kit I should get, but I ended up getting the bikini, because that’s the most annoying area especially in the summer.

It started easy enough. Watched the video, did a test on my leg, got the hang of it, and so I went for it. Let me say, it’s not pleasant. Not even a little bit. You know the scene from 40 Year Old Virgin? There were definitely moments I wanted to scream out “KELLY CLARKSON!” I tried to make mine a more enjoyable experience, so I put on a good tv show, poured myself an alcoholic beverage, and took my time.

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I started with doing only the bikini line, sides, maybe a little off the top, but it soon turned into a topiary lesson. The more I did, the stranger it looked, so I just kept going… and at the moment I wanted to quit I looked in the mirror and I knew I had to finish. It would be like shaving your head and facial hair, but leaving a sideburn. ONE SIDEBURN. Granted, people see your head/face, and nobody but my husband will see this hack job… but I just knew we wouldn’t be able to stop laughing if I left it. So. I put on a meditation, took the last swig off my drink, said a few Hail Mary’s and muscled through.

On a scale of one to child birth… It’s about a 7 or 8. I’ve been told that the more you do it, the easier it gets, and the less and less it hurts. So. fingers crossed for that. Anyway, not having anything else to compare this to, I’m happy with the product I chose to get! It’s the bikini kit from Sugar Me Smooth. Apparently sugar wax is supposed to be less abrasive than regular waxing, and you won’t get burned, because you don’t need to heat this up. Apply it to your hair, going against the flow of the hair, then remove it with a flicking motion with the grain of the hair. This is supposed to make it less painful, but what you need to know is, its going to hurt and possibly bleed. You’re removing the hair follicle, and for some of these hairs, they’ve never been pulled out before. Ouch. There is a reason why people pay other people to do this, because it’s unnatural to PURPOSEFULLY inflict that kind of pain on yourself, and to keep doing it, over and over and over until you’re done.

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ANYWAY, I hope you got a good laugh at my expense. I’m sore, slightly embarrassed, but hopeful that next time won’t be so traumatic. (Meaning, I’ll do it again). And if you don’t plan on joining the ranks of the Brazilian people, I’d say, overall, this isn’t that bad!

New Habits, New Routines...

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So, I read a whole book, actually two whole books since January 1st. But I read a whole book in 8 days. I know for a lot of people this isn’t a big accomplishment, but I’ve learned to celebrate my wins, regardless of how big or small.

At the start of 2021, without much thought at all, I set a couple goals for myself in the new year. I already established a daily workout routine, and told myself I would get back to my “normal diet” of eating less or no Gluten & Dairy… so when I told myself, One book, per month, for a total of 12 books total, Ryan looked at me like I had grown a second head. No booklist, no one to hold me accountable and no plan on how I was going to accomplish this, just a dream.

Little back story on me… I hate reading. Yup. Not a fan. I could probably count on two hands the number of books that I’ve sat down and read in their entirety. {Most of which being the Harry Potter series.} I have a half-read graveyard in my office of all the books I started but didn’t have the attention span to actually finish.

I started trying to read a chapter here and there, but it wasn’t a consistent habit, so I would lost interest. But in my daily consumption of podcasts, I listened to one about how to train yourself to be a “morning person”. Spoiler, there is not magic solution, JUST TO DO IT. Get up. Set an alarm and force yourself out of bed. Find something to look forward to, and do it. Around Christmas time, I bought an echo dot alarm clock, with a hope to be better at waking up, so now I just tell Alexa to wake me up to Norah Jones Radio, which is surprisingly a very pleasant way to wake up. That first morning was surprisingly easy… I didn’t focus on all the quality cozy time I was missing out on, or focusing on how comfortable my bed is, instead I looked forward to 30-45 min of childfree quiet time that I could enjoy, while I sip my coffee and start my day off in peace. This past year I’ve learned that I’m a fairly weird person… I mean, I’ve ALWAYS known I was weird, but in terms of motivation, I’m weird. When it comes to creating habits, I either need to do them EVERY DAY, or not at all, because if I don’t do it every day, I get lazy and tell myself it’s okay to “take a day off”. And just like that my routine is shot.

I listened to the podcast on February 12th, that night I set my alarm, and within two weeks I had finished the book I started in January & then I read an entire book in 8 days. EIGHT. DAYS. Couldn’t tell you the last time I did that, actually, I couldn’t tell you if I’ve EVERY done that, but now, being a mom of three, this is not something I made time for in the past. Now I’m mapping out my next book for the month of March, because this weird sense of accomplishment is slightly addicting.

The instruction manual for deep change is the same every single day. Show up. Show up. Show up.
— Hannah Brencher -Fighting Forward
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It can be hard to look at yourself and figure out what habits are good and which habits you should drop, or :gasp: where you can add new healthy habits. I don’t know how to get you in that mental headspace, because everyone is different. You have to want it for yourself & you have to find something to look forward to. For me, the quiet time was a HUGE motivator, and a hot cup of coffee, the nuggets of wisdom from the books is just bonus!

Books I’ve read so far: The Joy of Missing Out by Tonya Dalton
Fighting Forward by Hannah Brencher

2020 Review

2020. I mean, am I right? I figured I would try to do a recap of our 2020, and when I started grabbing my favorite pictures from this year, it made me SO HAPPY (and I had a really hard time only choosing a few). I’m just going to break it down Month by Month I guess… SO, I apologize because this is going to be LONG.

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

And there we have it… A couple hundred photos of our year. If you made it through that, thank you. I don’t really share a lot of photos on social media platforms because I wonder if people want to see it. But this is us. Our crazy, simple, modest life we live here in Michigan.

In 2020, I learned…

  • I can handle a lot.

  • I still adore my husband, possibly more so because he is incredibly helpful.

  • How to cut my husband and son’s hair.

  • That I can go a really long time without coloring my hair.

  • Stores with Drive up are my favorite.

  • I don’t need to eat take out, and McDonalds just doesn’t sound good right now.

  • Working out is SUPER addicting and makes me a better mom/wife/person.

  • Wearing makeup keeps me motivated.

  • Not seeing family sucks.

  • Ryan CAN work from home.

  • Our backyard isn’t as bad as I thought.

  • Homemade dairy free ice cream is actually really good.

  • People are going to say hurtful things. Be Kind anyway.

  • I really really really miss going on a date with my husband.

  • My house needs a basement.

  • I learned a lot about myself. I unpacked a lot of pain from my past, and even if it wasn’t addressed with the people who hurt me, I learned to forgive myself.

  • Communication is EXTREMELY important.


To say this past year was so hard for so many people would be the understatement of the century. But I choose to focus on the blessings of this year, because they have taught me sooo much about resiliency and appreciating what is right in front of us. I’m praying that 2021 will bring continued Joy to our home even in these uncertain times.

No, I Don't Want Zantac...

It started late one night, I woke up in extreme pain, telling Ryan I couldn’t breathe while clutching my right side. Being six months pregnant with my first baby, I was very confused about what it would feel like to go into labor, but I had a pretty good feeling, this wasn’t it. I called the on-call nurse and she told me I needed to go straight to the hospital to be monitored.

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After a 30 min drive to the hospital, an hour of monitoring, and being told “You’re not going into labor, the baby is fine. Drink water & Try to rest.” And I was sent home with no answers. This happened five more times, each time with no answers. Flash forward to after I gave birth to Jonathan, and I was up late one night breastfeeding. That intense pain came over me again & I could barely even function. Before I would get some relief by taking a hot shower and letting the water beat on my back, so I handed the baby off to Ryan and jumped in the shower. I was laying on the floor of the shower crying and praying when it was almost like someone said it clear as day “look up gallbladder attack symptoms".

DING DING DING. We have a winner folks. I called my doctor in the morning and she scheduled me for an ultrasound of my gallbladder. And I wasn’t surprised when they told me it was full of gallstones and that they would recommend removing it. “There are RARELY complications with this surgery, so you should be able to resume normal life after this.” the surgeon told me after surgery, and so I did. I went back to eating all the same stuff I was eating before… lots of greasy food, soda, ice cream, sugar, heavy food and spent the next year and a half popping imodium, gasX, lactaid and the last straw being prescribed Zantac.

Is your stomach hurting yet? I was haphazardly diagnosed with “dumping syndrome” or “Possibly IBS” but there is no definite answer, and then prescribed a daily zantac. I don’t fault my doctor for giving me a prescription in order to fix my problems, because it seems like that is what MOST people these days are looking for. They don’t want to dig deeper and find the root of the problem, they would rather take a magic bullet that would quickly make them feel better. But all the Zantac did for me was (To put it delicately) give me constipation, and then I would eat food I knew would send me to the bathroom just to find some relief. Rinse. Repeat.

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I was gaining weight at an alarming rate, I was a few pounds away from being the weight I was when I gave birth. I was bloated. My face was puffy. My skin was awful, and the exhaustion was OUT OF THIS WORLD. I knew SOMETHING needed to change, I just didn’t know what. But I knew that taking Zantac wasn’t the solution.

And then I realized something pretty important… and if you take anything away from this, take this… “Just because something is made and is available for you to consume, DOES NOT mean it's actually safe and healthy.”

Don’t get me wrong, I make unhealthy choices all the time, but the frequency in which I was consuming pop (Or soda), candy and other processed foods, was pretty amazing. For me, it started with being mindful about WHAT I was actually eating. I decided that I would start by cutting out ALL POP. Small steps. After a few days without stomach issues, I realized that I was on to something.

The next month, I decided to do a complete detox from gluten, dairy, soy, legumes, alcohol, refined sugars and caffeine. It was tough. Like seriously tough, especially because for a full week of that detox I was out of town staying in a hotel with my almost 2 year old, as Ryan finished out his Master’s degree. But I set myself up for success and found safe snacks and food. After the detox, I added back a few things, but realized just how good I felt and that was something I wanted to hold on to.

Have I stayed completely devoted to a gluten and dairy free diet? Nope. Since that detox, I’ve added two other humans to our family, and those restrictions went out the window as I survived pregnancy, post partum & breastfeeding. But it is something I easily come back to because I know just how much better I feel when I stick to a (mostly) gluten and dairy free lifestyle.

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Is this for everyone? Nope. Is this going to fix your own personal stomach issues? Maybe? It’s hard to say THIS is what is wrong, and THIS will fix you, but it has worked for me. And I’m such a huge advocate for doing YOUR OWN RESEARCH. My doctor was giving me a prescription to fix the problem I complained about, but there was a much bigger problem that she couldn’t have know because she wasn’t in my kitchen when I drank another can of coke, or in my car as I stopped for my 2nd mcflurry of the day. She saw a “Thin” person and assumed I ate a well balanced diet, and out of my own shame, I didn’t correct her.

Which leads us to today. I spent all last weekend in sweatpants, feeling uncomfortable, because my stomach felt bloated, my body felt sluggish after a month of enjoying the holiday treats. Here we are in January with another sweets addiction, snacking on anything and everything, not giving my body what it actually needs. (More water and nutrients). But with the crystal clear realization that it’s time to make some better choices. Be an advocate for yourself. I’ve spent the past 365 days doing the best I can to take care of myself but the biggest thing is I don’t feel like I’ve deprived myself of ANYTHING. But more on that another day.