Lotions, and Snow Balls, and Smoothies (oh, my!)

Lotions. What's your opinion on them? I just purchased a gallon of organic lotion base into which I plan to add some delicious organic oils (probably hemp or borage), and then some simple little scents (probably blood orange, patchouli, and vanilla) and put those up in the apothecary. Later, after I finish a bunch of these projects that are piling up, I will formulate pretty and intense perfumery-style scents to add to the lotion base. Some things with more complexity and nuance. You may be wondering why I, the crazy apothecary experimentalist (word?), am not creating my own lotion base. Good question -- or wonder? . . . because I'm not very good at it. The pieces and parts of lotion making are complex, plus there's the preservation issue. It's a bit out of my wheelhouse. The scenting of said lotion, however, that I can do. Why lotions and not oils? No particular reason. I prefer oils during the cooler months as they keep my skin better moisturized, while the warmer months require something a bit less heavy than oil -- a water-based lotion. This stuff is really light, perfect for summer wear, made up of water, organic coconut oil, organic sunflower seed oil, shea butter, apricot kernel oil, aloe vera, a naturally occurring (though perhaps here a 'nature identical') preservative, Vitamin E, and some naturally derived binders (so the oils will mix with the water). Giving this truncated description, you can see why I have no plans to make this stuff from scratch. Getting this to work requires warming and stirring and adding just the right amount of this with that and . . . well, at this point in the game, I am completely disinterested. And relying entirely on the honesty of my supplier.

Now that my life has changed again, I'm thinking of becoming much more pro-active in terms of my health. I'm getting 'up there' in age, and I could be in much better health with some effort. Today I begin with meals of smoothies from the fruit bowl. Right now it's a zesty banana and orange juice smoothie with ginger, celery, cucumber, pear, cranberries, and sunflower seeds. Later I'm thinking more celery, cucumber, red pear, cabbage, and perhaps an avocado. I'm a depression eater, so when I get in a funk, I eat crap. When I first moved here from Fresno, I missed my family so much and felt so out of place here, that I once sat in front of the TV watching 'Where the Heart Is' and ate an entire box of Sno Balls. Now I have a super-duper snazzy professional smoothie making machine, and a new bicycle. And I'm on the hunt for new hiking shoes. And I'm working on building my business and I can't be an out-of-shape moose for the hurdles ahead. Fat I can handle; not being able to walk up a flight of stairs without getting a cramp is out of the question.

The endless hours of free time stretch before me, and I plan to fill them with as much adventure and experimentation as I can.