Hey lovelies,
Just wanted to write a quick note about what I’ve been up to lately!
As you may know, my Aussie hubbie (haha I hate that word), Luke, and I just got home from 6 weeks in Australia visiting Luke’s family (who live a 15 minute walk from the beach… woohoo!)
My parents came down there too for the first time and we all spent Christmas together so that was a lot of fun.
Christmas Day in Australia
After going in high gear in the fall revamping The Love Vitamin and creating the Naturally Clear Skin Bootcamp & Academy programs, I was in high need of some reLAXation. So that’s what I did. I read a lot. I ate mangoes. I swam.
Oh boy did I swim. There’s nothing better than splashing around in the salty turquoise waves. Imho.
Stoked on swimming!
The last time we were there, three years ago, we lived there for six months. But I had dreadlocks at the time and they were such a pain to get wet that I rarely ever went swimming. I grew to resent them. So I came home and cut them off.
These days I don’t like to let anything impede on my enjoyment of life, especially if it’s something beauty related. Sure, I like to look good, but I’m no longer willing to let it take priority. Life experience & life enjoyment is tops for me. The dreadlocks were impeding that, so out they went.
Speaking of which, that includes worrying about acne.
I’ll be honest, last time I was there, I nearly ruined the whole trip for myself by worrying so much about my skin and what I was eating and just trying to control. control. control everything. Especially my food. I was out of my comfort zone and that brought up all that fear about acne coming back.
Well I am happy to say that this time, I didn’t worry about my skin at all. I tried to eat as healthy as was possible, given the situation, and get some exercise and sunshine and just truly reeelaaax and have FUN! 🙂
My typical morning breakfast in Oz… mangoes and homemade granola
My skin was better this time than it was last time. Last time I broke out more than I’d like, even though I ate great. I was so anxious about everything. Stress matters, yo. You gotta balance that healthy eating out with some de-stressin’. Healthy eating is great but it’s not everything, that’s for sure.
That being said, even if my skin wasn’t all that great this trip… I wouldn’t have liked it, but I still wasn’t going to let it get in my way of having a good time. I’m over that. Life comes first. Fuck beauty if it gets in the way.
Anyway! Here’s a couple pics of our trip. We mostly spent it at Luke’s parent’s place about an hour North of Sydney, but we also spent 10 days road tripping up the New South Wales coast with my parents, and later 10 days around Tasmania with our friends.
Amazing place! Freycinet park in Tasmania
Cradle Mt. in Tasmania
Bitey, the Tassie Devil
And on the way back, we spent a weekend in Shanghai with my friend Jesse who teaches elementary school there.
I Also Fixed My Neck & Learned About Biomechanics
Also something else I did on this trip, health related, was fixing my posture! My years of shitty computer posture had finally caught up with me and my neck was starting to scream (Tasmanian) devil at me.
I read this book called Alignment Matters by a super funny lady with a PHD in biomechanics (which is how our body was mechanically meant to move… who know that was even a thing) … anyway it was really eye opening for me and I learned so much.
The way we align our body as we do our day to day activity (and also how much we sit in the day) has quite a large impact on our health that I really didn’t realize – from everything to joint and muscle pain, to digestion, to heart disease, to even whether or not your farts are loud!
Acne wasn’t mentioned, unfortunately, but if you are interested in optimal health it was worth a read. It was very funny AND informative. Also my neck is way better now.
Win $500 (6 months worth) of Whole Foods Delivered to Your Door
Also, my pal Brigid from wholesomemum.com (who wrote this guest post for The Love Vitamin a couple weeks ago about Top 11 Drinks for Healthy Glowing Skin) … she’s hosting a giveaway contest and it’s pretty. dang. sweet.
If you win, you get $500 worth of healthy, whole foods from Honest to Goodness delivered to your door. Doesn’t matter where you live in the world, she’ll cover the cost to get it shipped to you. That’ll certainly help your grocery bill and make it easy to eat healthy, skin clearing food!
Click here to check it out and enter. Entering deadline is February 5, 2015.
erica says
January 28, 2015 at 2:01 pmHi Tracy! I hope you get to read this message. I want to say thank you for not just educating people about the secrets and science of acne, but empowering women to be mentally and physically stronger and healthier. I wish more big names in the media were like you. Thanks for all the information and confidence boosting about skin picking. Without finding your blog I wouldn’t have been able to find a happy ending (so far) to my battle. Your information, in combination with Accutane and practicing self-love, has been my saving grace. I can’t wait to have those perfect careless beach days and adventures from now on. Wishing you, me, and other readers happy & clear days. -Erica.
Tracy Raftl says
January 29, 2015 at 11:28 amHi Erica, thanks for taking the time to leave me such a nice message 🙂 I’m so happy to hear that you’ve found your path!
Andrea says
February 1, 2015 at 1:12 pmOMG!!!
Australia is amazing!! Those breathtaking landscapes, the beautiful beaches, the nice weather, the sun, all the people soaking up the warm temperatures around the city and the sea…
I wish I could have spent last Christmas like that. And I’m in this f****** UK! This constant rain, the darkness, the cloudy sky…I hate it. I even prefer the freezing winter and being covered in snow in Canada than this non-stop rain here. Summer in Toronto is sooooo nice.
I think I need an Australian boyfriend 😉 (or a Canadian one).
Tracy Raftl says
February 2, 2015 at 8:04 amAhah! Well we live on the west coast of Canada, it’s not too cold but it’s rainy and overcast all winter (not unlike England… and actually Vancouver allegedly rains three times as much as London!)…. but I love it here. I put up with it because the summers here are just so epic. And the rain also brings lush rainforest. But yeah the greyness does wear you down. It’s super nice to be able to break it up by going somewhere hot for a while in the winter!
Andrea says
February 7, 2015 at 8:12 pmYeah, when I was living in Toronto, I heard that the west coast of Canada is warmer than other parts of the country, but that it rains a lot in Vancouver. And as you say, the summer there is sooo nice. I love the summer in Toronto. It’s hot and so pleasant at night…But here in the UK, even the summer is cold and wet, a little bit less, but it’s not a proper summer. Oh gosh 🙁
Ashi says
February 4, 2015 at 5:56 amPlease come visit india sometimes tracy. Would love to know your take on this beautiful country!
P.s. You inspire me! I ‘m 19 and ready to fly. I am crazy about meeting new ppl and getting to know them.
Tracy Raftl says
February 4, 2015 at 8:23 amHi Ashi! 😀 Actually we went to India for three months at the beginning of last year! It was amazing, we loved it 🙂 https://thelovevitamin.com/13608/india-update/ Where in India are you from?
Ashi says
February 4, 2015 at 8:03 pmWow. Amazing read! Just finished reading EVERYTHING (along with my breakfast, took an hour 😀 ). I am so mesmerized! Been there to most of the places BUT wow! your insightful take is just so worth a read. The marriage (haha, hope it was fun), the goats with the sweaters, fortune tellers (especially the part of you being a flower girl in the past, couldn’t control my laughter 😀 And yes the ‘Going with the flow’ It’s like i have travelled all of the India again. And your take on gender inequality is very prominent. Tracy, you really a keen observer! 🙂 Me? I am from Meerut, (a not so crowded city in the vicinity of New Delhi) I enjoyed the whole of it. Thanku! And i also bike a lot! It is so much fun dodging the traffic! Haha 😀 p.s. An ex Acne-sufferer (all thanks to you) More about me: i am a medical student (future doc) and love chatting and also want to be a blogger someday in future:) Too many dreams…just one life 🙂
Tracy Raftl says
February 5, 2015 at 8:01 amIt’s good to have too many dreams … it means you’ll never run out! Good luck with fulfilling as many of them as you can, life is definitely one big adventure 🙂 I’m really glad you enjoyed our travel blog! haha
Tracy Raftl says
February 5, 2015 at 10:45 amAlso, your comment lead to me re-reading the travel blog… it was fun bringing back all the memories! Thanks!
Ashi says
February 5, 2015 at 7:17 pm🙂 Thanks for replying 🙂