Skincare Regimen: Day 1-2

So, I'm 40 and I really should have a skin care regimen. Not that I've never had one before but I'm rarely consistent. Rarely. But I wanted to try again. I figure if I'm going to live to be 102, I should take care of my skin. Because at 102, you don't want to look a day over 90 and 85 would be even better.

I decided to try the skin product I saw in my friend, AJ's bathroom last time I visited. She had a Neutrogena Naturals bottle on her vanity. I eyed it and decided to go buy some. So a few weeks ago, I bought the pore purifying scrub and fresh cleaning + makeup remover. I also purchased the Neutrogena pore refining toner because I get oily sometimes and my pores tend to show it. I'm also using the Aveeno Postitively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with spf 15.

Day 1: I tried the pore purifying scrub, the pore refining toner and the PRD moisturizer.

Day 2: This morning, I tried the cleanser, the toner and the PRD.

My goal is to wash cleanse and moisturize morning and night. More, if I feel oily and sweaty. I hope I can keep it up for 30 to 90 days and make it a habit. If I'm not satisfied, I'll add some anti-aging or a salicylic. I figure it will either be age or oil that will be the focus, if anything.

It's interesting that I wasn't doing much with my skin. I kind of let a lot of things go when I got married and started having children and became more budgeted. I think I got frustrated with a lot of things (time, money, organization, school, etc) and kind of stopped. i also took my skin and fitness for granted because neither have been a serious issue, up until recently(weight). I have noticed lately that I had kind of put my life on hold. I seemed to be waiting for things to get better before I did what I loved. I gave up a lot of loves for several years but now I'm trying to take better care. To be more mindful and a little less seat of my pants. I'm trying to be a grown-up, on one hand. And on the other, I'm trying to do what I enjoy. More organization, more self-care, more intentionality and more mindfulness.

So, I guess it's about way more than skincare. I'm kind of happy that I'm doing this. I'm also happy to be writing on this blog after so long.

31 Day Reset: Day 1

Decided to do the 31 Day Reset from HappyBlackWoman.com after my girl, lashon, told me about it. Her description sounded great so I looked into it and here goes!

1. 31 day journal - half check. I have this blog but I also want to journal in a notebook. Currently, I believe I'm out of notebooks in the crib. So, tomorrow, I'll get one. In the meantime, the blog will be fine.

2. Mantra - "I am NOT my circumstances. I am becoming my true self, moving beyond fear, to embrace the unknown with confidence knowing that, with God's help, 'I got this!'." - paraphrase from Your Circumstances DO NOT define you!! by Kipp Mastin on The Daily Love

I am very excited about this!

Operation Sexy Mama 11/19/2010: My Trainer? - Part 1

A Personal Trainer?

My cousin wants to help me! She's a super fit athlete. Yey!

" aww, did she? i'm sure it was humble, she's definitely not one to brag, haha. what'd she say? and how are you? it's legit been years since i've talked to you, i believe. also, i see you're on a diet? let me know if you need any help-- weightroom/physical training = my area of specialty!"

My Response:

It was super humble. She is so proud of you! She mentioned your field work during the November elections. We were all like, "Ooooo." You know US like it when fam is on TV and it's not a police action. Oh, my Godsend, Lae! YES, I would like some help! I just had a baby ~3 months ago and I turned 40 last month. I need a plan for maintaining my sexy and getting my superhero body(NOT KIDDING). I will be a challenge because

a) I am an amputee so I need to protect the remaining precious knee,

b) I am on crutches until I get the [new] prosthesis leg (hooray pregnancy for jacking up my groove) and

c) I am lazy, inconsistent and I get bored easy. Got any suggestions?

Operation Complete, Day 1: Reading Theology

Last night, my mentor suggested that I go to the office each day and do something every morning until I get the work done. It sounded smart. Lew is working, the Captain is at school and Lance is usually sleep. No excuses really. Just fear of the mountain of work. But one day at a time sounds doable. So I agreed.

Today, I brought "The Responsibility of the Church for Society" by H. Richard Niebuhr, "Liberation and Reconciliation" by J. Deotis Roberts and "Pragmatic Spirituality" by Gayraud S. Wilmore today. I'm going to read and take notes and think. I brought more than one in case I get bored.

For support and encouragement. I sent a text to the Director of Ministry and I'm about to send a text to my mentor. I posted my books on Facebook. I'm beginning today. Very exciting and scary but I'll get it done.

Gonna post my ideas and thoughts here as I go along. It's nice to sit and work and occasionally look down at a cute little sleeping baby. Yey. Life is good. Here I go!

Nothing is Quite Perfect

Today, I saw baby Jones move! Wow. The heartbeat, once again, is 158bpm. Yey! Thank you, God. Here's how it went:

She come in and talks to me. She asks me about Sunday (see Surviving 12th Week). She says she wants to have a "look." She tells me they found three small fibroids during my last exam (Boo, WTH! Not feeling that). She informs me that they may grow as the pregnancy progresses. (Sounds like some garbage. Those fibroids need to stay on their end.) While doing a "look see," she tells me that my pelvic exam came back questionable. (Boooo! WTF!) She wants to do a colposcopy next time. She had to remind me what that was. It's the scope to look up close at my cervix (Booo, again!) This doesn't register very well. I'm really tired, I'd been nappying before she came in the room and I've got a speculum in my business! I have her repeat the info and ask a few questions (not enough questions, I'll likely be calling her tomorrow).

We move on to the baby. OB pulls out the heart monitor thing that looks like a kid's microphone and starts looking for the heartbeat. Nope, nope, nope. I got a tinge nervous when she couldn't find the heartbeat with that stupid thing. I'm sure she could tell. Then she brought in the portable ultrasound and we were in business! I saw the baby move(!!!), I saw the heart fluttering, I saw the 158bpm read on the screen. Nice, steady, little heart. Good job, baby! Funny thing, after finding the baby, she went back to the stupid "kid's microphone" contraption and found the heartbeat again. So, so nice to hear this baby's heartbeat. Seeing the heartbeat is nice but hearing it is gorgeous. It's like, "say hello to my little friend" but in a good way. LOL! I have now seen my baby wave a hand, I think, and have heard her heart(no, I don't know the gender). Almost perfect!

Of course, I was a bit shaken by the fibroids and the abnormal pap (BOOOO!). In fact I was upset! I finally cried in my car with my head on my steering wheel after I parked behind DDH. That helped. I was angry and frustrated and tired of cervical drama (1999, 2008 and now this?). I was just outdone. I talked to a friend who has had baby losses. That helped. I left DDH and drove around campus. I talked to another friend who has had many threats upon her cervix and uterus. She also helped. I parked and cried in my car some more while she and I talked. I talked to my husband. I called my girlfriend back. We laughed and talked more. I also talked to my big/little sister/mentor. That helped too.

The talks all went well. Besides swearing and crying, there were good words/phrases like:

Hope. Nothing is ever perfect. We'll get through this. It will turn out fine no matter what. We don't have to wait for things to be perfect to live a good life. I still believe. In the midst of the worst things I can imagine, I still believe. I can't help it. I just do. I believe that I am loved by God. I have to keep going. We cannot judge our success by what we do not yet have. We are still alive. There is more good to come. We are not failures. Even if it's not better right away, even if something goes wrong before it get's better, I can still get there. I'm not dead yet, so I have not used up all my chances. I am living the life I am supposed to live and it's not over yet. This is a process.

It's a lot of hodgepodge with no true background story but I trust that you will get from it what you need to get. I know all of us can become disheartened by our not quite perfect lives. - Good spouse, no money. Great money, no spouse. Awesome baby, personal issues. Great opportunities but paralyzed by fear and struggling to seize them. Supportive friends & family, crippling self-esteem. - It's never going to be quite perfect. We can't always wait until we feel better to get on with life. We have to start and trust that the healing (or whatever you are needing) will happen on the way. You will never be perfect (life will NEVER be perfect) but on your best day, you are like Lucky Charms leaving joy and prizes in your wake. On your best day, you have a halo of sunlight about 5 feet in diameter and you warm everyone you meet. On one apostle's best day, he healed people with his shadow! It is important to note, that on your worst day, you may forget the miracles and this, my friend, is why we have community and scripture and the Spirit to remind us. Nothing is ever quite perfect but perfection is not a criteria for miracles!

We still have our whole lives to live and to love and to do God's work. So, we forge ahead. You with me?

Yogalates - Week 2

I am happy to say that I attended Yogalates (Yoga/Pilates) class again this weekend. It was good. I was late again and oddly, the instructor, Christina, had not arrived. After about 25 minutes of waiting, two ladies went to use the treadmill and the remaining four of us decided to wing it. One lady in particular stepped up and lead us in the moves. It was great! One lady told me that she had lost 12 lbs doing this and some other things. Another lady told me that she had lost 10lbs. I'm sooo glad I joined the Y. It's a great experience and I'm thrilled to be in a very multicultural group and multi-age group of women with whom I exercise. I'm inspired. At some point I should probably do my measurements and track my progress...not sure if I'll publish them but I should, at least, track them.

Regarding this class, I remember the 1st week that my back ached a bit while I was doing it. I got kind of tense trying to balance myself and compensate for my artificial leg. I must say that the ache melted away in good time after class while I was out running errands. This week, I don't recall having that experience. It definitely inspires me to keep it up.

There is something great about this class...I get to hang out with new people. A bunch of women - young, old, different culture - with same goal to be healthy and fit. I'm so thrilled that we joined the gym.

CNN presents Black in America

Look at this:

CNN's Black in America see the clip

I am a Promise

I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.


I can go anywhere that He wants me to go
I can be anything He wants me to be
I can climb the high mountains
I can cross the wide sea
I'm a great big promise you see!


I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I'm a promise to be anything God wants me to be
Anything God wants me to be!

Pre-school Graduation

Lawrence started his new daycare on June 2. The graduation program was on June 6th. So he graduated. Pretty cool. Here's some pictures.

My Very Own Laptop

Yesterday, we got a laptop for school. I'm so happy. We got a good deal (mail in rebate, etc). Office Depot of all places. Just need to keep Lolo's fingers off the OFF button.

I just signed up for go blogger.

Mobile blogging might become my new addiction.

Amazing

So I really thought this blog was lost to me forever! I lost the password and just couldn't get on it and I was so sad. Now looka here! I'm back. Yey.

I must think I'm funny

Lew will be amused by the title of the blog, that's for sure. Okay, so here is yet another attempt at blogging my world, life, family, etc. My cousin Angie keeps asking me when I'm going to do this so here I go...again. I will try to do this weekly. I will try to spew as much creativity as possible and I will try to enjoy myself. The last one is not usually an issue. We'll see how it goes. I also plan to post some old thoughts and blog entries from my previous attempts at this so stay tuned.