Soap Walla deodorant cream update!

Bad news y'all!

Initially I loved my soap walla cream deodorant.

It smelled great & kept me dry.

However, after only 1 week I developed a horrible rash in both armpits.

My skin is very dark, almost black and red now.

Since I already had a doctor's appointment scheduled, I asked her about this and she said it looked like this deodorant cream has caused a slight fungus in my pits! 

GROSS!

She prescribed some cream and told me to stop using the soap walla.

She said it might be the peppermint that's causing this rash.

I also asked her about the articles on aluminum and parabens in regular deodorant and she said plainly, "I've read all that and I have to say- I have no issues with using regular deodorant on myself or my two teen daughters."

So there ya go.

Back to regular deodorant for now.

When I asked about the lumps in my pits for the 5th time- I asked should it be biopsied.

She again reassured me it's not cancerous and that she sees this often in people who are "curvier!"

My doctor was a polite way with words.

Thank God for closed doors!

Does it sound crazy to hear someone say "Thank God for closed doors?"

I thought so the first time I heard it.

The other day, Actor/Producer Tyler Perry posted a blog about thanking 

God for closed doors.

He was thankful that certain doors that he thought he wanted opened, weren't.

The message I got from that is that sometimes what you THINK you want, is something God doesn't want for you. He may have something else in store for you.

This post gave me a push that I needed for so long.

I have worked for the same company, in the same position for

the last 9.5 years. I have applied for several positions and even went on a 

few interviews. I was passed over for every single position.

It didn't matter that I have 3 college degrees & almost 10 years of experience.

When you're competing against 4000 other people in your 

company and the person who gets picked is either a sorority sister or friend of the hiring

manager, you're screwed.

So last year we started saving money. 

The  purpose was actually to travel to Paris this September but

we decided to do something different.

After almost 10 years with the same job, and lots of closed doors,

I've decided to quit.

I am going to pursue working independently and continue to 

do my wedding photography as well as a jewelry website I am working on.

The biggest change is that I'm going to start selling insurance.

I will be an independent agent for the same company I've been with for 

the last 9.5 years and right now I will only be selling in GA.

It's going to be hard not having a regular paycheck but we've worked

out our finances and the savings we had for Europe will now be used to cover 

our living expenses for the first 7 months ~ just in case!

We also lowered some of our expenses to help with the transition.

Switched cable providers which will save us $75 a month.

Traded in my beloved coupe & got a new suv which actually lowered

our car payments by $100 a month and our insurance by $10 a month.

I LOVED my coupe!

I really hated to get rid of it. :(

My new ride.

The color is  black amethyst.

It came with a lot of great features like a 

bose sound system, navigation, rear view cam, etc.

 I also went ahead and scheduled all my doctor's appointments and dental appointments 

since my insurance will be cancelled once I quit. My dental appt is expected to cost $400 so that means I can't quit as soon as I'd like (part 2 of a root canal).

Bottom line:

In my work life I have been miserable for 9.5 years.

Corporate America is not for everyone- and definitely not for me.

I am thankful for the opportunities, the friendships, and the money of course.

However I can't continue to live this way for a pay check.

I am grateful we were able to save so much money to cover ourselves financially during this new journey for my new career in sales.

And I am SO looking forward to this change!

Soap Walla

 This is a random post considering I haven't posted in a week 

but I just had to share this with everyone.

For the last year, I've had these "lumps" in my armpits.

One on each side.

They feel like they are the size of a plumb and they hurt!

I have been to my doctor 4 times in the last year

to ask about them and the doctor has assured

me it's not cancer.

Although I am still very paranoid because not 

once has she done a biopsy.

When I shave or wear deodorant,

I noticed my arm pits, or the lumps, got very

sore and irritated.

So I made an executive decision in the winter to stop wearing 

deodorant and not shave.

I felt immediate relief when I did this.

So then I started doing some research and found

several articles about why most deodorants are bad for you due to

the aluminum and prarabens in the ingredients.

If you've never heard about this- please do some research!

 

As spring approached, I knew I needed some deodorant so I switched

to Tom's all natural deodorant.

This worked for a few hours, but by the evening I 

smelled like a whopper!

It was awful.

So then I came across an article about this all natural deodorant cream

by Soap Walla. 

I read lots of great reviews and bit the bullet and decided to try it.

At $14 (plus $5 s&h) this stuff isn't cheap.

Let me tell you, on day one I could tell this was an amazing product!

It smells great and is super easy to apply.

Even though it's a cream, and it's weird to use cream instead of a stick, 

it is absolutely wonderful!

When it arrives, you need to stir the cream with your finger

so that all the ingredients are mixed well.

Then you just take a small amount and apply it directly to

your armpits.

I instantly smelled like a peppermint patty and 

felt clean & fresh!

I HIGHLY recommend this product.

Part 2 of my new routine is shaving.

I admit, I'm a cheap razor kind of girl.

And maybe it's those cheap razors that caused ingrown hairs

in my arm pits. 

Well my husband is a barber, and of course the one thing he 

knows is hair. Specifically black men's hair.

I don't know if you've ever noticed, but some black men

have lots of hair bumps on their face, back of their head, under their chin, etc.

Hubby told me it's because black men's hair grows different than 

other races. SO- black men should use razors designed 

specifically for black men.

And never use all those electronic fancy razors that lots of men use!

He recommends the Bump Fighter Razor.

This razor is designed to shave the hair but reduces/eliminates the 

irritation which causes hair bumps.

It shaves the hair and not the skin.

This razor works wonders yall!

It is SO much better than any razor I've ever used.

And although I typically go for the cheap ones,

I have tried all the other fancy ones as well.

 

 I've talked to a few of my friends about this

and was so surprised to learn how many people actually

were going through the same thing, with the lumps and deodorant!

So I figured I'd share this info here in case anyone out there

is suffering through the same thing.

(I was NOT asked or paid to write this review!)

 

 

Beach Bound!

Sorry for the lack of posts!

It's wedding season so I am busy editing lots

of wedding pics.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

We are beach bound...

TGIF

It's been one hell of a week and I am so glad it's the weekend!

What about y'all?

.

Graduation

I've gotten a few graduation announcements from the children of friends

I graduated High School with.

Either I'm old or they were hos in high school.

JUST KIDDING.

 

I'm so proud of these kids and their parents!

But I am a bit jealous that they have kids going off to college

and I am still working on baby #1.

.

So what do you think is the best graduation gift?

I thought back to when I was 18 and

I can honestly say money was the best gift.

I appreciated the flowers and little gifts,

but I really appreciated the monetary gifts.

So these lucky kids will be getting $50 Visa Gift cards to

spend however they'd like.

Weekend Recap

It's Monday again? Didn't we just have this last week?

I hate that I live for the weekends.

Monday - Friday I feel like I am just exisiting,

but when Friday rolls around it's like life has been restored finally.

Does anyone else feel like this?

This weekend was good & bad.

The good:

Friday was our employee appreciation day so 

after all the festivities at work, I took the rest of the day off.

I got to spend time with my niece!

I also managed to squeeze in a pedicure at the only

Podiatrist owned nail salon in GA.

Overpiced a bit but at least I know it's clean & sanitary.

I picked up this cute little new cup for myself.

Saturday the hubby & I took my mom to see

Quidam by Cirque du Soleil.

It was an amazing show and made

me wish I would have stayed in gymnastics.

Those gals & guys are quite flexible.

 

Sunday we spent most of the day with my hubby's family
and then went to my mom's house afterwards and hung out with her.

The bad news of the weekend:
I have a friend who's 3 year old daughter
choked to death on a hotdog.
I don't know all the specifics, other than
she choked on the hotdog last Friday, was put into a medically induced
coma all week, and then died this past Friday.

So please say a prayer for her, her husband, and other 3 kids!