Karma

Now that the weather is getting warmer, it's time to pack away my tights until next year.  I know some people still wear them during the summer, but I am so incredibly heat sensitive, I would pass out if I wore them.

I have pantyhose, but a) they are not comfortable in the summer either, and b) apparently they are a big NO as far as style.  Not really a problem as far as I'm concerned, since I am all about being comfortable when I think the weather isn't.

Every year though, I feel really self-conscious about my legs.  Not because they aren't perfect as far as shape, size, etc., but because I have so many varicose veins.  I used to try self-tanner, but then decided that it was too much work to use it all of the time, when I was not necessarily wearing shorts or dresses all of the time.  (Laziness kicks in quickly for me.)  I have worn shorts or dresses a lot with my pasty-white, bruised, and varicose vein-y legs and lived, but I do feel very self-conscious about it, particularly when I am going to work or out someplace.

So this year, I decided that for the most part, I would do my best to just "own" it, and for the times I was going out or going to work, and wanted to wear a dress, I'd try this:

I'm willing to make the effort now and then, just not every day.  This seemed like a reasonable attempt on my part to somewhat calm my self-consciousness.  So I bought a tube at a local CVS this past Monday.

That evening, I took Dug the Doodle Dog out for his evening walk, and it was so pleasant, with a nice breeze.  We were going along on our way home nicely.  Then all of a sudden, I woke up and I was lying in the middle of the street, with him sitting next to me.  I sat up, and saw that my glasses were broken, and I was covered in blood, and bleeding.  A woman brought a towel over, and was trying to help me, and a young man came up and asked if he could call someone for me (I was with it enough to give him the number for The Tim at work).  Another lady was kind enough to drive me and Dug home for The Tim to meet us there.

So when he got home about two seconds after I did, we headed over the ER at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, which is really near our house.  They of course took me back to a room immediately.  Since I couldn't remember anything about what happened, they wanted to keep me overnight for observation and do a bunch of tests.  I got ten stitches in my upper right lip, some inside, some outside.  I broke off part of a front tooth.  There were no observation rooms available, so I spent the next 24 hours in my ER room.  I had approximately 1,000 tests of  all kinds, was poked, prodded, questioned, had blood drawn and my temperature taken approximately 100 times, and finally they let me go home.

Coming home and taking a shower - washing off the dried blood and cinders from the street - was one of the best things ever.  I still hurt, I missed a week of work which pains me since I already planned to be out next week, but I am OK.  I look much better than I did a few days ago, but would still likely frighten small children.

And though I will feel self-conscious about some of my injuries for a while, I think I should be fine.  However, I don't think there are enough tubes of the product above in existence to cover my "flaws" now!

And that, my friends, is called Karma.  :-)

On the bright side, I did get to wear every armband available ...

Drive- By Post

Hi all ~ nothing really to report at the moment, but I wanted to share a recipe with you.

We love rhubarb in our house, but on the occasions we have it available, we are not always thrilled with the things we usually make, or don't have the ingredients for a favorite recipe.  Well, I came across this one recently, and tried the Rhubarb Cake.

The result?  FABULOUS!  I used lowfat yogurt, but otherwise followed the recipe as posted, and the resulting cake was ridiculously yummy.  Even The Tim really liked it, and he is not usually a fan of anything containing cornmeal.

The whole thing is really quite straightforward, and doesn't take that long to put together.

Try it, you'll like it!

Feet Don't Fail Me Now!

One thing I like about warmer weather is the chance to wear sandals.  I love sandals, and if I had tons of money would probably buy even more pairs than I have.  One of the biggest problems with sandals, though, is that often they don't have much support for my feet.  So, if I wear them to work, by the time I get home, my poor feet sometimes hurt, but always wish they could get some real comfort.

I used to make sure that I put on my walking shoes for a while, but in really hot weather, that only made the rest of me uncomfortable.  A few weeks ago, I was in the local City Sports when they were having a sale, and I saw these:

They were on sale, which is always appealing to me, and they looked like something a little bit more than the regular flip-flop, so I tried them on.   Wow!  Even though they are plastic, they are pillow soft, and even better, they have cushioned heels and arch support.  They were *so* comfortable trying on, I decided that I would give them a try.  And since then, my feet and I have been so very glad that I did!

Before this, I'd never heard of the brand, Oofos.  (Not that it means anything - I'm not necessarily a shoe-brand afficionado.)  But they make these shoes for both men and women, and there are several different colors to choose from, besides the periwinkle blue that I chose, shown above.  I have been wearing mine a lot, and they are still as comfy as the first time I tried them on.  Even though they are plastic, they are not plastic-y feeling, and the piece between your toes does not rub at all, so you don't get blisters.  If say, you are giving your plants a drink of water and your shoes get wet, it's not a problem and they are not in danger of being ruined.  :-)

You should try a pair of Oofos.  Now that I have tried them, I can say that I would definitely buy them again, even if they were not on sale.

Happy weekend!

Well, I Didn't Mean For That to Happen!

As in, I didn't intend to post early in the month and then not again until the last day!  I mean, not that I have anything terribly fascinating to report, but I was very surprised when I saw that my last post here was on May 10 - what's that about?

May was a weird month.  Not a bad one, just weird in that lots of things were going on, but not necessarily exciting things.  There were some highlights - a trip to Maryland Sheep and Wool at the very beginning of the month, and a trip home to West Virginia over the Memorial Day weekend - but it was mostly going to work and not killing anyone there, coming home and being lazy, and running errands/cleaning on the weekends.

However, one of the things I do every single May, usually the week before the holiday weekend, is get my first pedicure of the season.  During the rest of the year, I treat myself to a manicure now and then, but other than, er, "maintaining" clean feet and trimmed toenails, I never polish or pamper them.  Most of the year I wear socks, boots, etc., and if I'm paying someone to do my nails, I want to see them regularly, you know?

Anyhow, I have lately been going to a place around here that I'd heard about off and on, and finally decided to try for a manicure.  For anyone reading this in the Philadelphia area, it's Mi Cumbia, and it's really a great place.  Very small, and you do need an appointment, but I think it's worth the effort.  They use all non-toxic polishes, and it's really a place to be pampered.  The cost of a manicure or pedicure is only about two dollars more than at the in-and-out quickie places, and for me at least, the manicures have lasted without chipping for five days or more!

So I decided to try a pedicure there, and it was an incredibly decadent experience.  I opted for the basic one, but with the time they took and the way I was pampered, I felt like I'd been to a spa when I was finished.*  And my pedicure was really pretty too!  The people are all very nice and friendly, which is also a plus.  You never feel like a stranger, or that they are rushing you.

Now, I just need a nice pair of sandals to show it off ...


*No, I've never actually been to a spa.  But I feel like it must be an experience similar to what I had when getting a pedicure.  Work with me here, people

So There's Good News and There's Bad News

Such is life, no?  I will admit that, even when I am suspicious of something being "improved," I am disappointed when I feel that it is not.  Such is the case with a moisturizer that I loved in the old formulation, but not so much in the new one.

A couple of years ago, I tried Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer with sunscreen.  I was slightly skeptical, since it had argan oil in it, and even now, I'm hesitant to try things on my face that have oil.  But I'd read a lot of good things about it, so I decided to give it a shot.  And I *loved* the stuff!  I used it religiously, even deciding that it did my skin some good.   But, as these things often go, the one time I went to get a new bottle, and was told by the salesperson that it was discontinued, because they were working on making an "improved" formula.

Recently, that new, improved formula was available.

So I ordered it from sephora.com, since I didn't see it in the store.  I was pretty excited to receive it.  But not so excited now that I've actually used it.

The old formula was really lotion-y.  It was easy to put onto your face, and felt very smooth. This formula is a lot thicker, and feels more oily.  You really have to work to smooth it onto your face, and it's really hard to wash off your hands.  I guess it still works the same, because my face is not oily, and seems to be doing well, but I have to say that I will probably not buy it again once this bottle is gone.

(Side note: a sales person recently told me that the cosmetics companies were going to stop making moisturizers with sunscreen, since it has a negative effect on the anti-aging products.  Has anyone else heard this?)

But now - on to the good news!

This product, which I ordered on a whim along with the moisturizer above, is fabulous:

I was a little hesitant, because again, I didn't want my face to look shiny, and also because these things can also be pretty dark and/or orange-y, and I didn't want to look like I was attempting to channel John Boehner.  But I knew I could return it if I didn't like it, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I love this!  One squirt from the bottle seems like it's way too much, but when you mix it with your foundation or tinted  moisturizer, or whatever else you use, it blends in nicely.  Once it's on your face, there is no shininess, and really not even any noticeable color/shade difference.  Instead, your skin looks very healthy, like you have been taking a brisk walk, and a natural kind of brightness is there.

I recommend this product if you like to look a little bit extra healthy, but not bronzed or noticeably different.

Bad news and good news.  I'm happy with this 50% success story.  :-)

Shape, Age, Health, Food

Last week, I read this blog post, and it really made me think.  The blog is one that I read regularly, and like most blogs (about anything) that I read, sometimes it "speaks" to me more than others.  The particular post I'm linking to was one that I thought made a lot of good points, and was accessible to most people.

I was not necessarily the world's  most well-adjusted kid, but I have to tell you, it never, ever, EVER occurred to me as a tween, teenager, or a young adult that I was somehow *supposed* to look like models or celebrities in magazines.  I would maybe like what they were wearing, or their hair and makeup, etc., but I truly never felt inadequate because of my body.  So although I can intellectually understand that it can be/is a problem for women of all ages today, I can't really relate to the whole issue.

As I got older, and became responsible for feeding, dressing, and being completely in charge of myself, my biggest desire was to be healthy and fit.  It didn't necessarily translate into me treating my body as the temple that health fanatics do, but it made me more aware that my overall health and fitness was my own responsibility.  I have been fortunate to be a person who is comfortable in my own skin.

So anyway, back to the post mentioned at the beginning of this post.  She points out that genetics and privilege make a difference.  Unlike the writer's mother, my mother was not one who made sure that we always had whole grain breads, and fresh vegetables.  We always had some kind of fruit, and there was always milk in the refrigerator, but my "deprivations" growing up were a result of my parents' coming of age when having convenience foods was such a wonderful luxury, that opening a can of vegetables, or cooking frozen foods were desirable ways to feed your family.  The other reason was budgetary.  We didn't have money for much, and although we were fortunate to always have something to eat, many of our meals would likely make people today gasp in horror.  Milk was rationed to one glass for each of us a day, since it was seen as necessary but not easily affordable.

Having said that, I thought a lot of the points raised in the aforementioned blog post were worth stating.  We all need food to survive, but in today's world, food and your individual relationship to it is such a sensitive subject that it can be hard to do what really works well for YOU and not feel that somehow you are wrong.  My relationship with food, exercise, and just life in general has been an ever-changing one, and I've always been fortunate because there has never been pressure from anyone who mattered to me to be any different than I am.

So yes, I directed you to one person's way of doing things, and talking about it, and it may not have any relevance to anything about your existence.  But when I read it, I really started thinking about ways that I try to "maintain my shape" and why I do what I do.  In my case, I have had so many health problems that were beyond my control, I want to do my best to be conscientious about the things I can control.

Just like in clothing, one size does not fit all.  It never will, and never should.

I do firmly believe though, that YOUR one size/shape/activity level should always work for you, and make you a happier and healthier person.  I hope by reading this post, as well as the one that started me on this topic, you will be able to feel good about yourself, and decide what you want to try for your health.  I truly believe that if you feel good, you look good, no matter how old you are.

Easter Weekend

Sorry to have been incommunicado for a while here, but things got a bit hectic at work, and my small amounts of spare time were spent just trying to keep my head above water here at home, with exciting things like laundry ...

Then this week, we were preparing for guests who should be arriving at any moment, so it was time to clean the house and really get ready for Easter - which seemed so far away for so long, at least to me!

Anyway, I hope that you and yours have a joyous Easter if you celebrate, and regardless of whether you do or not, a lovely spring weekend!