All the cool chicks call it "dustin'"

It cracks me up when I see the chickens taking dust baths, because it seems like the main goal of a dust bath is to get absolutely filthy.

Turn your sound way down before you press play, it's crazy windy here today and that's the only thing the microphone picked up.  Very loudly.

Tintied Moisturizer with NO Animal Testing?

I've been on a search for a tinted moisturizer to replace my ex-favorite Neutrogena.  This search has been going on for a number of years, actually, ever since I found out that Neutrogena uses animals in testing their cosmetics and skin care lines.  So sad.

Anyway, I don't buy makeup too often, which is why my search has been so long on-going.  I'm losing patience though, because I've tried quite a few that I just have not liked.  Physician's Formula doesn't test on animals, but their tinted moisturizer gave way too much coverage for me, and felt more like foundation, which I do not like wearing.

Almay, Jane, Wet n Wild, Revlon, and, of course, Burt's Bees are all brands that are safe to buy and don't test on animals, finished products or component ingredients.  Smashbox, which is more expensive, as well as Lancombe and Estee Lauder don't either, but I just can't see paying upwards of $30 for a tube of moisturizer.

Now, just to find a tinted moisturizer that I like, is affordable, and is made by one of these companies.  I hope Neutrogena feels bad about all these complications they've added to my life.  Not to mention the sad bunnies.

I recently bought Almay's Smart Shade foundation which has very nice light sheer coverage, but it's not a moisturizer, and I'm concerned I'll miss that component as the weather gets colder and drier.  So the search continues...

Having some Halloween fun!

Our friend Ken, who abondoned us early in the summer to move home to GA and actually live in his house with his wife, was in town this week for some meetings in St. Louis.  The James bed and breakfast is always open to friends and family, so I was more than happy to have him staying here, giving us the chance to visit.  And to keep our tradition of annual pumpkin carving!

His birthday is this month, so I made a white cake with caramel frosting and threw caution even farther to the wind with a taco buffet for dinner last night.  Of course, it's back to protein rich and nutrient dense low calorie meals today.  Eh.  Day off was nice while it lasted though!

To have the tacos ready ahead of time, I just made up the filling (lean beef and black beans in equal measure, with taco seasonings) and kept it warm in the slow cooker until dinner time.  It worked like a charm.  We also had mulled cider, kept warm in the small dipper crock pot.

I'm certainly in a Halloween mood now, and the weather is agreeing.  Lots of windy rainy cold.  Just the way I like it.  The chickens disagree.  They didn't want to get out of bed this morning, and seemed to resent my opening up their door and rousing them.  And Pickles has taken up her station under the bedspread, in the middle of the bed once again.

My back is feeling better, and I'll be very glad when I get the all clear from the chiropractor that I can start working out again.  I see him again tonight, and I'll have to check with him, but I think I'll be able to get back on track working out tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to it, I've been trying to unlock certain exercises on Exerbeat.  It's very motivating that the game makes you unlock things to do them.  As though, if I have to earn the longer work out, doing it is like a reward, lol.

Fall Knitting

I love this yarn. It's KnitPicks Swish in Tumeric. So soft and squishy.
This is the start of the Suspender Cardigan fron Knit One, Knit All. I loved the one in the pictures so much, that I chose colors that would pretty much replicate it.

Progress Being Made

Does it look like maybe Pickles needs to join in on the fitness training that's been going on around here?

Things are going well with us.  My weigh in on Saturday showed that I've lost twenty pounds so far.

To celebrate, I'm going to list some things more important milestones than weight loss that I've been gauging my progress by.

• This week, I wore my awesome "Smitten with the Mitten" t-shirt that Julie gave me in honor of our home state for the first time in a year or so, because before it had been too snug.
• I had the strength and stamina to kneel upright at church through mass, where before, I've had to rest my back and legs often by leaning back.
• I can keep up with Ben so much better now, at the charity walk we did Saturday morning, I think I hardly slowed him down.
• The capris I bought at the beginning of this summer are too big.  And though that's sad because they're pretty cute, it's a good excuse to buy more cute pants next spring!
• I can carry the bags of chicken feed (40lbs) back to the coop without stopping to rest my arms.
• We got our bikes from the shop and have been on a number of bike rides, and this has been FUN, not difficult or onerous.
• According to ExerBeat, I'm averaging about 500 calories burned with my workouts, up from around 300 a few weeks ago.  I can work harder for a longer time.
• My recovery time after getting my heart rate very high and getting really out of breath has been a fraction of the time it was a few months ago.
• Less anxiety and worry, not only about my health, but about other things as well.  Exercise is a real reliever of that.

My back hurts a lot today, I was on my feet a lot on Saturday, in addition to the charity walk and a training session, and it seems to have really strained the muscles.  I don't think it's anything serious, just some soreness, tightness, and cramping, but it was making me pretty grumpy.  Making this list, combined with the fact that I just finished my work out despite being cranky, has really brightened my day. 
Try it.  Go for a walk, and then make a list of good things in your life.  It's fun how much good a little bit of having a positive outlook can do.