I'm Getting Old

The evidence:

1. I hate driving at night and will not leave the house if it means doing so.

 2. I want to learn how to make cheese. And apple cider (the fermented type). And crackers. And all things that it's just smarter to buy.

3. Moving to the country sounds about like heaven to me. I have very vivid day dreams of how I would use 10 acres.

4. Waiting at a restaurant is unacceptable. If the hostess says 15 minutes, I'll grudgingly agree. But if we're looking at 20 minutes or more, I'm not interested. I'm not so into food that waiting would make any sense. Food = fuel. Dessert = something different. I would probably wait at a dessert-only restaurant, with very few grumbles.

5. I'm less tolerant of movies and books. The other day I downloaded a book on my Kindle for $8, I read the first two paragraphs and deleted it. It had a typo and the sentence structure was appalling. I'm getting old enough that I realize it's worth $8 for me to not spend the time being angry at idiot authors and editors. This is why I won't read 50 Shades of Grey. People are raving about it, but I cannot get past the reviews that say the writing is disgraceful. I just know it's not worth the time. I'm the same with movies. I haven't seen anything that has truly interested me in a long time. The entire Rom-Com genre makes me want to throw the remote through the TV. I'm not angry, I'm just bored. IT'S THE SAME STORY.

6. I refuse to pay $4 or more for most grocery items. Which means I will drive 25 minutes to Walmart, because there is very little mark up, instead of going to the Randall's across the street, which has an outrageous markup on everything. Don't even try to buy dog food or laundry detergent.

7. Eating a cheeseburger and fries at McDonald's creates the same type of hangover reaction the next day as 5 beers does. I will organize my meals based on how it will affect my restroom breaks. Cheeseburger and fries = misery for at least a week.

8. When I think about vacation, the only thing I want to do is sit on a beach and listen to the ocean and drink a nice drink and read a book. These "working vacations" or the "eco-tourism" stuff just sounds like hard work. I haven't been snow skiing since I was in junior high. Ewww.

9. It doesn't help that I turn thirty this year. The numbers don't lie. I am totally getting old. I'm not upset with it (at least I think I'm not) I'm just very aware of it. The other day I said something to a co-worker about Kevin Costner (random conversation). She is 24 and had no idea who that was. But then again she had to explain what a hashtag-something-or-other was three times. I'm still very confused. How do people know to put the # sign in front of a topic? I mean if you said I love cheese, why would you put I love you, #cheese. That's asinine.

Interesting Infographic

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

Thank You Mr. Galifianakis.

I've been looking for a new book to read and I saw one that might be interesting. The Amazon book blog did a little review on it and posted this video at the end.



And now I can't read the book because the author speaks like Zack Galifianakis. After watching this I feel like this guy has no idea what he's talking about. What is he talking about? A cookie?

Milkshake

Wow. I'm tired of talking about my face.

Let's talk about these things instead. That spoon drawer for some reason freaks me out.

Night Regimen

ON NECK AND CHEST
Glycolic acid toner, at night after showering.

ONCE A WEEK (when I use a mask I do this after washing, before the rest of the treatments)
Kaolin clay mask -- mostly in the T-zone -- to shrink pores and control oil
Whitening mask -- over entire face -- to fade scarring and dark spots (recipe to come, similar to Mario Badescu's silver powder)



If my skin is feeling tight or flaky... use the Hyaluronic acid lotion.
If my skin is feeling grungy or dull... use the Glycolic acid toner (instead of salicylic).
If my skin is breaking out... use Salicylic acid lotion all over (instead of the ALA lotion).
If my chest or neck are feeling tight... use Vitamin C lotion.


**I hope you like my pictures. I was getting tired of writing so much and was drawing with Lucy the other night. This is the outcome. I may be the worst illustrator ever.

Morning Regimen

Westminster

I just love looking at the pictures of the dog show. Apparently the pekingese won Best in Show. This little guy cracks me up! He looks a little like the cotton swab after I use it to take off my mascara.



I also just wanted to post a picture of his ecstatic and gay owner. Look how happy they are! They just won the big cheese... and a silver bowl of water, that's bound to taste a little like hair. In fact, he's looking a little frazzled, especially in the ears. I guess split ends are not part of the judging process.



But, I was pulling for the beagle. So cute. Although in this picture they seem to be humping while their proud owner smiles on. Interesting things happen at Westminster I guess.



As an aside, I took this from a NY Times article. I kinda thought it was hilarious. This was top news in the US that day.

Which Acid?

I'm not talking about acid people "dropped" in the '70s. (Is that the right term?) I mean the good stuff... alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy acids. Wahoo!

So, which acid is right for you?

AHAs – Glycolic acids – are soluble in water. They are better for refreshing sun damaged skin (or acne scarring, hyper pigmentation, and age spots) and for treating fine lines. BHAs – Salicylic acid – is soluble in oil, meaning it will penetrate deeper in your [oily] pores than a water soluble AHA. Salicylic acid is best for people fighting acne or blackheads.

Both acids are exfoliants, meaning they are meant to slough off the top layer of your skin, revealing the fresh skin beneath. For this reason, they also make your skin more susceptible to sunburns. So be careful if you don’t wear sunscreen.

More on AHAs ---
Glycolic acid is a god-send for people with scarring or dark spots, but it’s also more irritating to your skin. Most over the counter glycolic treatments have very low percentages of strength. Getting a higher percentage, you will have to pay quite a bit more for, and to get really high percentages (like as in an acid peel), you’ll have to see an aesthetician. If you make your own, like I did, and buy glycolic acid raw, DO NOT TRY TO MAKE YOUR OWN PEEL. Glycolic acid is still serious stuff. I burned the crap out of my skin with a 12% solution. Start low and your skin will get used to it, you can work your way up. If you want to try something that’s a bit weaker, go for mandelic or lactic acid toners/lotions. Here's my glycolic acid toner recipe.

List of all Alpha Hydroxy Acids:
GLYCOLIC
LACTIC
TARTARIC
CITRIC
MALIC
MANDELIC

More on BHAs ---
There’s really only one BHA in widespread skin care use, SALICYLIC ACID. Salicylic acid is antibacterial, helps your skin repair itself, and helps to reduce the plugs that cause acne to form. So it gets rid of pimples/blackheads you already have and prevents new ones from forming. After I had my Oli my skin has been a bit of a war zone. It breaks out like I’m a teenager again, and I hate it. So I chose to use a salicylic toner and cream. I made my toner at an 8% strength, which is working out really well so far. The other thing that’s amazing about salicylic treatments is that they reduce the size of your pores. Boom! I don't think I know a woman who doesn't want to do that. Most over the counter BHA products are at 0.5-2%. You can make your own at a higher percentage, like I did, if you need something stronger. The Clean & Clear stuff just wasn’t working for me. Again, like with glycolic acid, do not try to make your own peel, see an esthetician. Here's my salicylic acid toner recipe.