copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2013<\/p>\n
We had a wonderful breakfast with a small group of ladies all over 80 and I am under 35. \u00a0It was not what I was used to, but I am going to change my lifestyle. \u00a0I learned a lot, laughed harder than I ever have in life, and have some new values to put in place.<\/p>\n
I wanted to take notes to write a blog about this breakfast, but didn’t want to offend the ladies or look too commercial or whatever was going on with me. \u00a0I am new at this blog business – I can write, but how do you get the information without being obvious?<\/p>\n
What I learned is that you can’t.<\/p>\n
I kept running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room and back, trying to make notes. \u00a0As really great things came up, I would run into the kitchen to add the discussion to my notebook. \u00a0I don’t know how reporters cope. \u00a0I wanted to be a part of the conversation, yet I also wanted to document it.<\/p>\n
We did talk about everything. \u00a0On one of my trips to the kitchen, when I arrived back in the dining room, one of the women presented me with a pencil and paper and suggested I stay at the table and take my notes. \u00a0They didn’t mind, but my back and forth was maddening. \u00a0They were laughing uncontrollably and had been since I started these back and forths, but I didn’t realize they were laughing at me and my antics.<\/p>\n
Relieved – what follows is that breakfast:<\/p>\n
I loved the way one of the women – at 83 years old – had almost no wrinkles and more energy then I have ever had. \u00a0I sat next to her because I wanted to know her secrets. \u00a0She said she didn’t have any. \u00a0She just kept the lifestyle she had as a young person and didn’t take part in the food, cosmetic, housing revolution which she witnessed over her lifetime. \u00a0She thought it was all quite dangerous to one’s health.<\/p>\n
She smelled of roses – and there was her first secret. \u00a0She used organic essential oil of roses and no perfume. \u00a0The oil was in her rinse water when washing her clothes and not on her skin when she got dressed. \u00a0I will probably never be able to pull that off because a quick trip to the internet and Yahoo-ing<\/strong> ‘Essential Oil of Rose” put me into a state of money shock. \u00a0Organic<\/strong><\/em> Essential Oil of Rose I didn’t even bother Yahoo-ing<\/strong> because I knew that would be even further out of my financial reach.<\/p>\n So what else could I copy?<\/p>\n None of the ladies used commercial cosmetics – no lipstick, no lotions, no makeup – like foundation, etc. \u00a0They took care of themselves out of their refrigerators and their cabinets. \u00a0I knew that was the coming thing – I didn’t know that was the past thing. \u00a0I knew my grandmother used stuff out of her kitchen, but I didn’t pay attention to what she was doing or using.<\/p>\n One lady used beta carotene capsules for lipstick and a little red for her face here and there. \u00a0She clipped a capsule of the beta carotene and used it on her finger. \u00a0I knew about that from an article on Bettina Network’s Blog about using beta carotene to color your hair, but hadn’t thought about it for lipstick. \u00a0She gave me a couple capsules and I tried it. \u00a0The color was a bit orange. \u00a0It looked great on me so I am a convert. \u00a0I don’t know if it would do well on everyone, but it is going to be my choice from now on. \u00a0I notice it changed colors as the day progressed and didn’t last all day, but then neither did the lipstick I wore. \u00a0I carried the lipstick in my pocket book and reapplied it during the day. \u00a0I don’t know how I can do that with beta carotene, but necessity is the mother of invention and this is all new to me so let’s see what happens. \u00a0It is worth the effort to get this down to a great new habit.<\/p>\n The comments and sharing I liked best were from the woman with almost no wrinkles and some 83 years old. \u00a0She did this “hot and cold” thing. \u00a0She splashed water on her face in the mornings when she woke and it was first warm to hot water and then very cold water. \u00a0When she took her shower in the morning, it was without soap – in fact, none of the ladies used soap or soap substitutes – water was all they used on their bodies. \u00a0She said she showered in the mornings, \u00a0first in a warm shower and while standing in the shower she gradually turned the water to cold – showered a few minutes under very cold water and then turned it back to warm again.<\/p>\n Her friend objected because she used this hot and cold water thing, but she got out of the shower after turning the water to cold.<\/p>\n Apparently, this was big when they were my age, which is when they got these beauty tips. \u00a0One read – and had her collection of Prevention Magazines <\/span>\u00a0in her basement. \u00a0Hers are from the time before Prevention Magazine<\/span> was sued and taken over by the Meds (their words, not mine). \u00a0They all used to read the magazine religiously, but cancelled their subscriptions after the law suit and it became, according to them – \u00a0“an arm of the AMA.” \u00a0The hot and cold business was something either someone wrote in about or the magazine wrote an article on and it became big in their circle at the time. \u00a0Not many people they know today still adheres to the regime, but they do and they look fantastic.<\/p>\n My great-great grandmother used to do this – but that was because she didn’t have hot and cold water in her bathroom. \u00a0She lived well into her 90’s and looked great. \u00a0I don’t know why I didn’t follow her example – probably because I was quite young and not worried about health or beauty. \u00a0My mother clearly did not follow the family example and today one hears all kind of ugly comments made during many commercials about looking like, acting like, wearing clothes like your grandmother. \u00a0The one that comes to mind is “your grandmother’s jeans”. \u00a0I guess I was made for this breakfast conversation because I like Jeans that fit and don’t hang around my hips on their way to below my butt. \u00a0Isn’t there somewhere a history which says the Jeans being foisted on young people today are clothes that were worn in jail to let your fellow inmates know you were up for prostitution? \u00a0When we lose our history, we lose ourselves.<\/p>\n We acknowledge that it looks obscene when we see young men in the “ghetto” wearing pants which show the crack in their butts, but nothing is said when young white women wear the same jeans which show the crack in their butts. \u00a0That is considered high fashion. \u00a0As a young white woman, keep those butt-crack showing jeans and all those marketing promotions away from me. \u00a0I will look to my grandmother for advice, hints and more.<\/p>\n All of that – plus more – which would take me a book to write about – made me think about all the marketing that goes on around products that cost a fortune and deliver next to nothing. \u00a0I have been going along with their story and buying some of their products because the ads attracted me. \u00a0After using ”stuff” \u00a0for a few months and having nothing except buyers remorse. \u00a0I think before I do anything else I am going to look at the person recommending some kind of cosmetic to me to see if they use it and how they look as a result. \u00a0The people I look to will not be the 13 year olds who model these products – \u00a0I want to know what the 80 year olds are doing when they look fantastic, healthy and full of energy with few wrinkles. There is nothing holding truth like seeing results and I have not been getting any from the $300-$400\/month I have been spending on cosmetics because I saw an add which made me think it was truth – and finding out it was clearly hype.<\/p>\n This was my first morning on my new regime. \u00a0I splashed my face with warm to hot water and then a lot of cold water before I had coffee. \u00a0A nice feeling – and I looked better than the person who usually straggles down for coffee early in the morning.<\/p>\n I also took my first hot\/cold shower this morning. \u00a0After I finished my coffee I tried standing in the shower under warm water, gradually turning the temperature up to hot (but not too hot, I am no martyr for beauty) and then turning it all the way to cold. \u00a0It was an unusual experience. \u00a0It takes a little getting used to, but I thought of those women and how great they look. \u00a0I am going to slug it out until this is as normal to me as it is to them. \u00a0They are going to be my inspiration. And – the biggy – the cost is only of the water, which I would have to pay for anyway.<\/p>\n My first Bettina Network Blog! \u00a0Hey editors – you don’t have to copyright this under my name, its a gift. \u00a0My next blog, however, will be a different story. \u00a0Although, maybe I would like the term I just coined under copyright or whatever I need to do to claim it!!!! \u00a0I think Yahoo-ing<\/strong> will give Google a run for its money in the search world. \u00a0I love Marisa Meyer.<\/p>\n Ed Note:<\/strong> \u00a0The highlighting of “Yahoo-ing” was done by the editor. It was an interesting word and since our author saw it as her creation we thought we should give it a boost.<\/p>\n