Moments.

♥

Looking beautiful - advice from a friend.

Last week, while at the grocery store, one of my Facebook friends had this conversation with another customer. Thought it was noteworthy.

"I saw a woman last night at the grocery store. I could not tell her age but knew she was older than I and a grandmother because the 17 year old with her called her Nana. So I gathered the courage and asked her if she minded telling me her age. She told me she was 68. This woman looked younger than I. So I told her my delemia about some problem areas on my face and what was her secret. She told me LOTS of water (to drink a liter or more a day), LOTS of rest meaning at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Always use sunscreen when going in the sun. She also said she used the Olay line of products since she was 25. She was also a non/smoker which I am as well. Her last bit of advice was limit my worry and stress (good luck with that one) but overall the woman looked amazing. SO I used my Olay last night (nice feel to my skin after), I made it a point to GO TO BED at a decent time and I actually got 8 hours of sleep. I did my creams this morning before my make up. AND I have been drinking water all day. Well I have had 3 people already asked me what I was so happy about today because I just look refreshed. So I am going to make ME a priority in my life. I suggest all of us lovely women do!!!!"

Although I'm not currently using Olay products, I have for years & probably will again. I've always enjoyed their product(s) & price. Also, 1 liter of water = approximately 34 oz. Personally, I try to drink 2 liters per day = about 68 oz, give or take.

Once again, back to the basics. Looking & feeling beautiful does not have to be expensive or elaborate. And that, is a blessing! ♥

Eyeliner on top lid only?

A big thanks to Whitney! She brought this makeup tip to my attention & I'm so glad she did!

I'm surprised I was unaware of this! I adore makeup & I try to stay on top of the recent styles & fads. I also stalk follow celebrities closely & I can't believe, if nothing else, I simply didn't notice how & where celebrities currently wear their eyeliner. I must be slippin' as I get just a teensy bit older. Ahem.

Here we have Exhibit A. The gorgeous Kim Kardashian modeling, just for us, eyeliner applied to her top lid only. I love, love, love dramatic eyes & I think soft shadow with crisp, intense eyeliner is beautiful! ♥



I am more of an 'eyeliner' girl than a 'eyeshadow' girl. Typically, when I apply a full face of makeup, I wear eyeliner on both my upper & lower lids (& inside crease). Lately, I've just been wearing face powder; therefore, I've been wearing eyeliner on my bottom outter corners (forgot to mention that part to you Whit - I don't line my entire bottom lid) of my eyes, just for a little color, & none on the top.

Recently I mentioned eyelining my bottom lids only & Whitney recommended I wear it on my top lid, not my bottom. She guaranteed I'd look younger! Woot! Who doesn't want to look younger? So, I did some experimenting & - I love it! But I don't look any younger. She lied. And, I don't necessarily think it makes my eyes look bigger either, but I really like the final look! I especially like how soft the bottom lashes look with just mascara & no liner.

Exhibit B. Don't her bottom lashes look pretty? ♥



Give it a try - you might love it, too!

Photos courtesy of celebuzz.com.

Just a little more effort, maybe?

(Robert Downey Jr. Photo courtesy of People.com.)

Now I know a lot of times I'm not looking all gorge either, but geeze. This is just all kinds of wrong.

Justin Theroux - breakdancing.

It's just stuff like this that makes me smile. It really is, & will always be, the simple things in life that bring the greatest joy. ♥

(Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of my blog, & click the music off, before playing video.)

Grow up, Adele.

You know what? I've had enough of Adele.

Before Christmas, her music became so popular (here, anyway). I like some of her songs, so, ok. But good glory! It got so out of control. Literally, it's almost all I heard. Day & night. Soon Christmas music began playing & I was so relieved. Whew! I got a break from Adele. And then Christmas music subsided & guess what? Adele's music was back at it, in full swing! I've seriously contemplated switching (back) to country, just to get an Adele break!

Never having really ever paid her any mind, I watched her on the Grammy's a few weeks ago. She was cute enough, winning so many awards & beautifully singing Rolling in the Deep. I liked her. She seemed sweet enough & I loved her cute little accent. She appeared to be humble.

A few days after the Grammy's, she did an interview (on People.com, I think?). GROSS. Girl's got a foul, nasty mouth & she ain't afraid to use it! I was stunned & disgusted. Truth be told, my language can be quite colorful sometimes (I said sometimes). But I'm not her & I don't do what she does & I don't have millions of people admiring me. If there is one thing I cannot stand is a lady who does not portray, who does not carry herself, like a lady!

And now comes this - cute Adele, flipping the bird. Seriously? What is she, 15 years old? I don't give a crap if she was "angry" or not. That behavior is completely uncalled for & ridiculously unprofessional. Yuck.

Count me out, because I find her truly repulsive. Glad she's rich, but I'm afraid that won't buy her any respect. Really though, she doesn't deserve any. Her parents must be so proud & she should be SO embarrassed.

Grow the heck up & find some class, Adele. Because as of now - no matter how much red lipstick you apply - you are anything but a lady.

*Photo & article courtesy of People.com.

Wasted days & wasted nights.

Isn't that a song?

Come 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. (depending) nightly, I'm so ready to sit down at my computer & have some quiet time. I have realized lately that I really love communicating, browsing, surfing, blah, blah, blah via the internet. When I think about having computer time so I can visit with some friends, literally, it makes me happy. And I love that.

But my days are just so un/disorganized. I'm so organized, I'm unorganized. Yes, it is totally possible. Yesterday, it rained all day. Oh how I love the rain! Since it was Saturday & my husband was home, I did nothing all day long. Nothing. There aren't many days I do nothing. My nothing days typically consist of doing some laundry, refereeing & making some meals, at the very least. Not yesterday. I ran out of Borax & for some reason, I think I can no longer do my laundry without Borax. So I did none. Hubby handled the rest. Honest to pete, I stayed in bed almost all day, watching movies with little beings. Every now & then I'd surface, check Twitter & Facebook, read at MWoP (sigh - bidding 'farewell' - that was one big flop) & well, that was about it. I figured one complete day of waste wouldn't kill me.

Today I rise, knowing I have so many groceries to get. This morning I spent 2 hours at Walmart. I'm tired of always having to run to the store, so now I buy two of popular drinks/foods so I don't have to continue so many store runs. Anyway, I came home, we unloaded & put away, I began washing sheets, ate lunch & I had a whole list of cleaning I wanted to accomplish. Clothes got washed now that I have Borax, but do you want to know what I got cleaned? Nothing. Not one thing.

I've been staying up way too late (incredibly ironic yet stupid, since I'm the one promising myself I'll get to bed earlier), so I thought I needed a little nap today. Especially considering all the work I did yesterday (cough, cough). So I took a nap, then showered while hubby took the kids outside for a bit, then fixed some dinner & then I wanted to run quickly to Goodwill(s) in hopes of picking up some work out videos. Dinner was done & my youngest son has a tooth that needs to come out - so we spend again another hour (did last night, too) trying to pull that sucker out (& again, no luck) - by now it's too late for Goodwill(s) run, beds need to be made & everyone needs a shower.

And at 8:00ish tonight I sat down. And feel like a total failure for not only wasting an entire day yesterday, but not accomplishing anything (except for groceries & some laundry) worthwhile today. I deeply crave & desire a clean, organized, beautiful home (1. because it looks nice & 2. because it actually calms my demeanor) & I rarely accomplish that. I get so angry & so frustrated with myself & I'm just so darn irritated!

Love having this place to just release my frustration. And thankful, yet again, for tomorrows. ♥

Moments.

RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Moisturizer. Part II.

If you follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook, you know I've been concerned about what the Retinol in this product has done to my face. I.e. Certain areas are bright red (new skin?), other areas are peeling, my face is splotchy & SO dry. I know I started using this product on 2.3 & I think I used it for about a week, give or take, before I stopped using it. I switched back to my Physicians Formula in hopes of salvaging my skin.

Quite a few girls I've spoke with told me what I experienced with this product was normal. Retinol removes the old skin/wrinkles, allowing new skin to blossom. After a few weeks of using the product, supposedly the symptoms dissipate & one is left with healthy, new skin.

I did some research & I do believe that is accurate information (not that I at all doubted the information the girls relayed to me). As I've always heard, Retinol (Vitamin A) is the number one antidote, number one "wrinkle-fighting ingredient", for aging skin. After further research, I learned about Retinoid Dermatitis - a horrible, nasty reaction to Retinol. Thankfully, I most definitely did not develop that. Which leads me to believe my splotchy skin was/is normal. Even on the back of the tube it states to stop using the product if irritation "develops & lasts". I didn't use it long enough, I don't think, to know if the symptoms last long. Interesting enough, the tube also states to "apply generously". I think I really took that advice to heart. Ha! Pretty confident I was applying too much.

Evidently, my face feels like leather because Retinol is extremely drying. I'm not sure how to combat that - should I apply a different moisturizer on top of it (like Physicians Formula, which I love) or, should I use Physicians Formula during the day & use the RoC Deep Wrinkle Night Cream (or the Eye Cream) at night. I may have to do some more research to determine my answer. Also in question is exactly how much Retinol this Deep Wrinkle Moisturizer contains. The amount is not stated on the tube (which I read is a red flag - if the amount is not stated, then it probably doesn't contain enough). I read that a product needs to contain "0.2 - 0.6%" strength Retinol in order to be effective. That said, even though I don't know exactly how much it contains, I certainly know it's in there due to my symptoms.

All that said, today, because I am a glutton for punishment, I started using this product again. After all this, I really hope I see some positive results! I will say that out of all the reviews I read, all of them stated they saw noticeable improvements. And that is encouraging!

I may be approaching age 45, but I'm going kicking the entire way. Retinol, here I come. Again. Ü

Valentine decor!

I didn't even break a sweat.

Well, there it is. No stains.

Do you read resolved2worship? In her most recent post, she made this statement:

"Seriously, how long do you wait to live? And does it really matter? Truly? So what if it gets something on it. YOU LIVED!

Do you get to the end of your life and say, "Well, there it is. No stains."


Amen sister, amen! LOVE this! I now totally focus on this direction for our lives & I strive for it every single day. I love it! I just wish I would have realized this concept of a blessing years ago! So much time & energy wasted on stupid stuff. Life is short & the stupid stuff isn't worth, & never has been worth, the time & recognition it receives.

I know I sound like a broken record but today is the day to start living! ♥

OneWord2012. TRUE.

Most importantly - to be true to myself.

To be proud of who I am - God created me!

To be honesty, always, with myself.

To truly find myself again, as a person.

To true, to be real, to be authentic.

To truly love & have compassionate.

To truly not worry about what other think.

To be true to my children, always.

To be true in regards to my health - changes need to be implemented.

To be true to life itself.

True.

RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Moisturizer.

I've used RoC before, but it's been a while & I can't remember why I quit using it. So, I thought I'd try it again, mainly because it contains Retinol. I also like that it contains SPF 30. I abused my skin so severely when I was younger, I now try diligently to take good care of my skin care. To be aware. The price is fair, too - it's about $20 for 1 ounce. In addition, I'm debating purchasing the eye cream to see if I really notice an improvement.



After I use it for a while, I'll do a review & let you know if I like it! :)