Some Stuff I’ve Bought Lately

By on May 17, 2012 in stuff i love

Sarah does a series of posts on things she’s bought and loved lately, and I am a huge fan of those posts.  I love to hear what works for real people, when Sarah says gap has white tees that don’t require a tank underneath, I go buy gap tees. (Gap, you should send Sarah some free stuff. Or money. Or both.)

I thought I’d steal her idea and post about some things I’m loving lately.

Buf Puf facial sponges.  You used to see these things all over the place and then they disappeared for some reason.  I was thinking about shelling out a ton of money for a Clarisonic Mia when I saw these in Walgreens. Score!  They’re like $5 and work great.  Your skin will be smooth as a baby’s butt.  Bonus, you can use whatever cleanser you want and they don’t sling soap and water all over your bathroom.

I use a Buf Puf with Cetaphil in the morning, then follow with sunscreen, and Philosophy Hope in a Tinted Moisturizer.  At night I use with the Buf Puf and Cetaphil, then use Philosophy Help Me night cream, and top that with Cetaphil cream (the kind in the tub).  I’m all soft and smooth and stuff.

$6 for a two-pack at Walgreens

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion. I looooooove this sunscreen so much. I sit at a desk all day, but I am still a wear sunscreen every day kind of person because of the whole skin cancer thing.  I firmly believe it’s a good practice for everyone though, cause it helps slow down skin aging.  I’m cool with wrinkles — laugh lines mean I’ve laughed, so that’s a good thing — but uneven skin tone, blotchiness, and sun spots? No, no, no.

The problem I have with most sunscreens is that they smell.  Not a pleasant, beachy scent, but a chemical sunscreen gross scent.  No one wants to smell that all day.  This smells a little perfumed when you first put it on and then it fades away to nothing.  It’s really thin textured, I’d say it’s more of a milk than a lotion, but whatever.  It’s just a tad greasy at first, but it quickly soaks in and if your skin is dry, you could still stand to put a lotion on top.  Doesn’t break out my face or make me itch, nor does it make me look like a grease slick.  Also, sunscreen makes awesome makeup primer.  I don’t know why, but it really grabs makeup.

$39 at Sephora. It’s expensive, but I think it’s worth every penny, and since it is so thin, a little bit goes a long way.

Pixi lip blush. I have a love/hate relationship with this company. I find most of their cosmetics great (I also love their concealer), but their fairy theme irritates me a little bit. They actually have some Tinkerbell themed stuff and it reminds me of play makeup little girls use. I’m a grown woman, I don’t really want fairy makeup. Plus, I find it kind of pricy for Target. Well, kind of pricy for lipstick in general. I really hate regular lipstick though, it seems to just come right off with my first cup of coffee in the morning, and I look like death without it. Most stains come in glaringly bright colors that I don’t wear to work, but the “Luck” color of this stain is a nice, neutral mauve. Totally wearable in the office.

I top it with eos lip balm. This balm is one of those things I thought was just gimmicky, but I bought some anyway because it was next to the register at Ulta and I’m a sucker like that, and I ended up really liking it. It’s petroleum free and full of shea butter, so it’s very moisturizing.

Lip blush, $18 at Target.

Hanes Soft Luxe Wide Leg Pants. I’m wearing these pants today and OMG they are the most comfortable things ever. There aren’t words. Usually I’m jealous of my male co-workers because they can just throw on a pair of khakis with a polo shirt and be ready for work, but today I was thinking about how they couldn’t get away with wearing sweatpants to work, which is essentially what these are. Well, yoga pants. I feel like I’m wearing pajamas and it is glorious.

$19.99 at Hanes.

 

 

Anything you’ve bought and loved lately?

 

 

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Why does Monday keep happening?

By on May 14, 2012 in random

  • Friday, I went to Kim‘s adorable house for a Bloggess book club party.   It was SO much fun.  Lots of food, drinks, and laughing.  And metal chickens.  I want to do that, like, every weekend.
  • Saturday, James, Olivia, and I took a little walk on the greenway.  Well, Olivia rode in the stroller, James walked, and I did week one, day one of Couch to 5k.  That shows you how slowly I jog, and how fast James walks.  I was able to jog right next to them as James pushed the stroller.  Olivia threw a major toddler fit after about 30 minutes because she did not want to ride in the stroller anymore.  It was kind of weird, she usually loves it, but she wanted to get out and walk. And pick blades of grass. And look at dents in the pavement.  And ruuuuuuun forward. And then pick some more grass.  I think she would have stayed out there all day long, she probably walked a good mile or more of the greenway, which really surprised me.  The greenway is one of the things I really love about where I live.  It’s only about half a mile from our house, and is a really nice place to walk.  It goes right by the creek, so there is a lot of pretty scenery, away from everything, and there are always a ton of people there that are really nice and friendly.  You can walk along and everyone says hello as they walk by, or they will stop so your toddler can pet their dogs.
  • Saturday night I had a migraine and I don’t have any good migraine medicine, so I had to pull the Tylenol and phernergren trick.  That knocked me completely out, and Sunday I dealt with migraine hangover all day.  Migraine hangover really sucks.
  • Dude, TODDLER TANTRUMS. I don’t even know what she freaked out about last night, but I put her in her crib — usually when she starts melting down, I can put her in there with some books and give her some alone time and she calms down — and she screamed and then just flung herself down.  Flung herself down on her hands and knees and dramatically wailed into her mattress.
  • She also busted her lip again this weekend.  Last time, she went face-first into a marble bathtub.  This time, she managed to split her bottom lip wide open with a Little People school bus.  I don’t even know.  I think that’s some talent.
  • Why is it that running shoes make my feet look like boats?
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Talking about the weekend, just a few days late.

By on May 10, 2012 in life, random, the babe

I know it’s weird to do a weekend recap on a Thursday.  I’ve been busy this week, I can’t help it.

It seems like weekends haven’t been “ours” in a long time.  We bought our house in early September, and from then until Thanksgiving every weekend was spent working on that house.  Then when we moved, weekends were for working on the old house.  Even if we weren’t working in the house, it was hanging over our heads, putting a damper on everything.  Well, the house went on the market last week, so that is a weight off our shoulders.  That weight being removed gave the whole weekend an upbeat attitude.

Saturday, Olivia and I decided to take a walk, without any real destination in mind.  We ended up in the park, where Livvie J decided mulch was the GREATEST THING EVAR.  I, being the bright person I am, forgot to put on sunscreen before I left and I couldn’t find my hat.  It was really freaking sunny on Saturday, so we didn’t stay too long.  This made short stuffs very unhappy and she threw a toddler tantrum when we left.  Then she fell asleep in the stroller on the way home.  She actually stayed asleep while I very ungracefully pulled the stroller into the house, and I managed to get her out and into her crib.  That never happens.

Sunday, we decided to go back to the park again. More playing with mulch, and she also discovered gravel. Throwing gravel into puddles was great fun, and kept daddy busy, while he tried to keep her from jumping directly into the puddles (we were going from the park to the store, not a time for wet shoes).

After the park, we went to the grocery store, where she got the race car cart and a free cookie.  She was in heaven.  That evening, we had friends over for dinner, and it was so nice to sit out on the patio and drink a few beers and just laugh and talk.

Later that evening, when Livvie J had gone to bed and we were winding down for the evening, I tweeted something about have an awesome weekend, and Ginger replied that she was glad to hear it, those are always wonderful.  I told her it was weird, that we didn’t even do anything great and exciting, it was just trips to the park and grocery shopping.  Her reply tweet kinda blew my mind:

I think that’s pretty much the perfect description, when regular, everyday, real life is awesome. When it doesn’t take special occasions to make things a good weekend. And it’s funny how that can give you a different outlook for the week.  When Olivia woke up screaming Sunday night, running a mystery fever, I didn’t get rattled.  I spent a couple days home from work, snuggling my baby, and didn’t feel frazzled by it.  I actually enjoyed hanging out with my sick baby, and I think it has everything to do with my awesomely regular weekend.

How about you, how was your weekend?

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My kid is a heart-breaker.

By on May 2, 2012 in the babe

Dada wasn't home, so I got snuggles.

Unfortunately, the heart that she is breaking is mine.

Olivia has always been a daddy’s girl.  From the time that she really became aware of things around her, she and James just had a connection.  It was amazing to see, and something that I just can’t put into words.  I want to say soul-mates, though that sounds weird.  It’s like it’s not just that they share genes, but that they have the same spirit.

Lately though, she’s become only a daddy’s girl.  The rest of us can go jump in a lake for all she cares, it’s just dada, dada, dada all the time.  It hurts my feelings.  I want her to want me, but she doesn’t.  Last night, she was watching a show before bed, standing next to her table, resting her head on it.  I tried to get her to come sit on the couch with me to watch and she ran toward the laundry room door, crying and screaming “Dada! Dada!’

What really hurt me though was bedtime.  James changed her diaper while I settled into the rocking chair, and she was laughing and saying Mama. Then he handed her to me, she was still laughing, and he told her good night and turned out the light.  She FLIPPED OUT.  She kept trying to throw herself out of my arms, full out tantrum style, screaming for him the entire time.  It broke my heart.  I broke down in tears, a straight up ugly cry.

I don’t know why she hates me.

Of course, the mommy guilt just eats away at my brain.  I can’t help but think of those stupid studies that say bottle-fed babies aren’t bonded with their mothers, and blame myself for not breastfeeding long enough.  I can’t help but think that it is because she doesn’t see me enough because of work.  Never mind that James went back to work a week after she came home from the hospital, and he obviously never nursed her, I still think that it must somehow be my fault. It’s hard to even mention because I’m afraid people must be thinking about everything I’ve done wrong.

It’s killing me.  I want my baby to love me too.

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Oh, hi there.

By on April 30, 2012 in life, rants and whines

Well, you might be a bit confused as to where you are right now.  I ended up moving my site, in what ended up being a longer and more drawn out process than I expected.

It started when I wanted to find a picture of myself with brown hair with red peekaboo pieces, and I knew I blogged one a long time ago.  So I went out to my blog to get it, and nothing happened.  No page ever loaded.  Nada.  I went to BlueHost’s Twitter and saw that they had to rebuild an array in a server and assumed that was what was going on.  And then a couple of days later it still wasn’t back.  At that point, I decided it would probably be a good time to move to my own hosting, and I had been contemplating a name change for awhile anyway, so I did it all at once.  Obviously, I don’t have my new blog all pretty and customized yet, that will come eventually, but at least I’m here :)

I’m horrible at coming up with names for things and when I decided to change the name of my blog, the only thing that kept popping into my head was the song “Steady as we go.”  If you didn’t know already, I am married to a HUGE Dave Matthews fan.  Like, he might be the biggest fan on earth.  We first heard “Steady as we go” at a concert in Nashville in 2006 (holy crap was it that long ago?) It gave me chills, I thought it was so beautiful.  The lyrics are moving, but hearing it live is a completely different experience.  The song is in the context of a relationship, but I got to thinking about how true the words “and if this road gets rocky girl, just steady as we go” are to life in general.  The past couple of years have shaken our lives a bit, and I just have to remember steady as we go.

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Groupon wants to give you cancer on the cheap.

By on February 28, 2012 in melanoma, rants and whines

I promise, one day I will post cute toddler pictures and talk about nice things, like toddler kisses.  I swear.

I get a daily email from Groupon, who is a company I’ve had pretty good luck with in the past.  I had to get a refund on a Groupon once and it was easy-peasy to contact them and get my money back.

So, I was a fan, until I logged into my email yesterday and saw a Groupon for UV tanning.  Curious, I went out to the website to see what this business — Plant Beach –  has to say about UV tanning.  Y’all.  Just…

Whether you opt to lie down or stand up, our UV Therapy sessions will help you get a healthy, refreshed glow all over comparable to a day in the sun.

Other benefits include:
• Increased muscular strength
• Increased production of the brain’s mood-lifting chemical, serotonin
• Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol
• Increased sex hormones

UV  Therapy? INCREASED MUSCULAR STRENGTH???  LOWERS CHOLESTEROL???

Oh! But they offer high pressure beds too!

Taking color to the next level, our High Pressure UV Therapy on requires 2-4 sessions a month to maintain a healthy glow, saving you time and effort.

Other benefits include:
• Effective for those with light complexions
• Increased production of the brain’s mood-lifting chemical, serotonin
• Maintain a glow 3-4 times longer than basic UV therapy

Effective for those with light complexions?  For the record, high pressure beds use primarily UVA rays, which are the most damaging.  They penetrate deeper into the underlying layers of skin.  So people with light complexions, WHO ARE AT THE HIGHEST RISK FOR MELANOMA, should use these high pressure beds with the dangerous rays?

This is Olivia's shocked and appalled face.

 

For one, I am so disappointed in Groupon for running a UV tanning deal.  I highly doubt that they would run a deal on tobacco products, and I don’t see this as being much different.  UV rays are known to cause cancer; some researchers actually claim they are as dangerous as arsenic or mustard gas.

The other thing that really grinds my gears is the misinformation the tanning salon is allowed to give out.  They don’t back up any of those claims with any studies, nor do they publish any kind of warning saying that exposure to tanning beds is known to cause skin cancer.  I’m not one to cry “they should be illegal!” and hope that tanning beds are banned altogether.  We are adults, we can choose what risks we want to take in our lives.  Oh, wait, I said ADULTS.  Yeah, that doesn’t count teenagers.  I don’t think teens should be allowed to tan, especially since tanning bed use in teens has shown to increase the chance of melanoma 75%.  And I think people should be warned.  That salon should have to put something on their page saying the US Public Health Service classifies UV rays as a known carcinogen.  No telling people that it increases muscle strength, just tell people that it can cause cancer.

Maybe more states will put regulations on tanning so they are required to give warnings.  But, in the meantime, businesses (LIKE GROUPON) need to know what they are dealing with and stop promoting this like it is a healthy thing to do.

Comments { 5 }

One of those days.

By on February 13, 2012 in life

20120213-201035.jpgI’m writing this from my early birthday present, an iPad! Maybe this means I will blog more often. And this is a totally unrelated picture, but how sweet is that? They were both sleeping like that this morning.

Today was one of those days. A bad to myself day. I woke up hungry, I didn’t eat breakfast, I left my water bottle at home, and all I had was coffee until 1:00. And I made halfway through a sandwich when my VP called because things were bad. In a nutshell, we launched a new internal website today and it maxed the server. He was not happy, because VPs are never happy when that stuff happens.

It was just a bad time, and a bad time physically. I had the shakes before lunch and I’m not sure I ate enough to really calm the shakes. At some point it felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest, and I usually can slowly breathe and make it slow down. But I couldn’t catch a breath. I couldn’t breathe deeply, and my chest felt kind of tight. At first, I thought I was having a heart attack and then I realized it might be a panic attack.

But it was SO NOT a panic attack situation. Not at all, nor was it something that usually would have sent me into fits. Usually I thrive when things break. I’m a fixer, and maybe because I had nothing to physically fix meant I freaked out, but I don’t know what it was. And then all of the sudden, I felt exhausted and wanted to cry.

Obviously, I’m not being good to my body, so it’s not going to be good to me. I’ve got to make some changes.

For starters, I need to lay off the caffeine. I can’t quit altogether, but I need to cut back. Does tea have less caffeine than coffee?

I’ve got to eat breakfast. I’ve got to get something as I’m running out the door in the morning, maybe make some smoothies. If I put ingredients in single serve baggies and then let them thaw, could I use an immersion blender? It won’t work with frozen and is a pain to haul out every morning and Olivia hates it.

I need to find a workable exercise routine. As much as a gym at work is nice, it doesn’t fit my schedule. I need to get to my kid after work, and I’m not a work out on lunch person. I’m debating the Y near us, or I might just Shred at home.

Anyone have other healthy living, caring for your body, and pampering yourself tips? What works for you?

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It's a numbers game.

By on February 8, 2012 in melanoma

I hesitated to write this. I feel like it’s a heavier topic, one that usually involves politics and arguing, and I’m not really down with either of those on my blog.  It’s not a debate that I’m looking for, but a place to vent my feelings about being part of the numbers game.

To preface this:  I have health insurance.  Pretty damn good health insurance, I think.  Insurance that paid for Olivia’s NICU stay without a hitch, I never even saw a bill.

Since surgery removed the shallow melanoma from my back, the most important thing for me to do going forward is have regular screenings, because approximately 15% to 36% of patients with stages I and II melanoma will have some form of recurrence or metastasis.  I’ve been seeing my usual dermatologist for this, a doctor that I’ve seen for about 10 years or so.  Maybe more.  I like her, but I don’t feel entirely comfortable with her as far as melanoma goes.  I’ve heard from multiple sources that a good skin exam is awkward and uncomfortable — that if it isn’t uncomfortable, they aren’t doing it right.  I went to my first check expecting my body to be closely scrutinized, and I was dreading it, because seriously, who wants their naked body looked at with that kind of intensity?  But it really wasn’t that bad.  I got to keep my panties and bra on!  I got to sit down for most of it!

After the second check like that, I really didn’t feel good about it.  I got the “all your moles look good, see you in six months” comment, but I didn’t really feel as if she had even seen all of them.  For example, I have a mole on my hip, right where my leg creases when I sit down.  If I’m sitting, she can’t see that one.

I decided I need to get a new dermatologist.  This is challenging because almost every derm in town is in that one practice, and the few that aren’t have waiting lists months long, if they’re accepting new patients.  So I thought I would look at going to a clinic specifically for skin cancer, and one of the options I found was UAB.

The skin cancer clinic at UAB has a pigmented lesion clinic that uses photography to compare moles.  The benefit is that it gives a direct comparison to your mole on your body a few months ago.  This can lead to earlier detection, now they can see when something starts to change, rather than wait until it looks more like a textbook cancer.  They also use dermatoscopy to analyze mole characteristics that aren’t visible with the naked eye.

It says right on their page that these technologies are the standard for care in Europe in Australia, but that most US insurance companies do not cover them.  I can guess why this is.  Melanoma treatment is pretty much the same across the board:  surgery.  Later stages, the surgery might be more extensive and there might be some chemo or radiation, but melanoma in situ and stage II are going to cost them roughly the same. (Roughly. We’re talking in estimations here.)

So they could pay $450 every 3-6 months and catch a melanoma early and remove it with surgery, or they could not pay $450 every few months and catch a melanoma little later and remove it with surgery.  Yeah, said like that, I can see why they don’t cover it.

But. Big BUT. Prognosis is not the same.  Melanoma in situ is 100% at five years.  Stage IIa is 77-79% at five years.  Stage IIc drops down to 45%.

Now we’re talking about people’s lives. Possibly my life.

So now I’m trying to reconcile, in my head, my life and it’s place in the numbers game.  Insurance is playing by the numbers. What do I do? Do I make an appointment in Birmingham and go to them for continuing care? Do I pay out of pocket for dermatoscopy and photos? Do I try to find a dermatologist here?

It kinda feels like gambling.  I’ve never been much of a gambler.

 

(stats from the Cleveland Clinic)

Comments { 4 }

I could tell you…

By on January 30, 2012 in life

I’m not sure what to do with this space anymore. Obviously, I’m not anywhere close to a regular poster, simply because of the time it takes to blog. It’s not a lack of subjects. If I had all the time, I could tell you…

…that I went to the ENT on Friday and she is suggesting sinus surgery. I’m considering it, just because I’m exhausted and feel like having a constant infection is bad for my immune system.
…that I’m worried about my immune system solely because I worry about cancer recurring.
…that I’m looking for a therapist because the worry is eating away at me all the time. I decide I want to volunteer in some way, and in looking around for a place, I stumble across stories of guys that have a recurrence after 15 years.
…that we are undecided on whether or not we have another baby because we don’t know if it increases chances of a recurrence. My GP believes there is a link, my surgeon says the studies are inconclusive. And hormones, what about hormonal birth control if we don’t.

Or I could access my non-crazy side and tell you…

…how my child is 16 months old now and hilarious. If we tell her no, she shakes her finger at us.
…how she walks. Even that is funny, toddlers stumble like little drunks.
…how she dances if there is anything close to a beat. And how she is obsessed with Elmo and Dora.

There’s so much more, but I’ve run out of time.

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Stop SOPA and PIPA

By on January 18, 2012 in news

I rarely get political on here, but I can’t let today pass without urging you to take action against something that has the potential to affect the internet we all know and love. :)

You might have noticed that some of your favorite sites are offline today, or have messages talking about ending internet censorship.  They are in response to the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act, and designed to give us a taste of what our internet might look like if either of these bills passes.

This video offers a much better explanation than I can give:

You might have heard that SOPA has been shelved and are wondering why everyone is making such a big deal out of this.  Well, that information isn’t entirely true.  The DNS portion of the bill should be removed, but other parts of it are still very much in play, including ISPs being required to block access to blacklisted sites.

Here is a Wired article that gives a good explanation.
And another on CNN.

You can go to Google to sign a petition urging Congress to vote no on SOPA/PIPA, or here you can find contact information for your representative and call.

This isn’t just something that geeks are getting upset about, nor is it something that is designed to only stop those that are pirating content.  It’s not designed to protect the little people, the indie artists.  Please take a moment to read up on it and contact your reps.

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