My Morning Routine

Are you like me? Do you have a specific order to your grooming? Well, I have a well-oiled one that allows me to get ready in less than 30 minutes. Here it is! This is only if I'm getting ready to go somewhere, in the summer and on weekends it sometimes is different, like no make-up or something.

Get in shower: wash hair, condition hair, wash body, then face. Shave my legs if needed. Get out.

Dry off, put towel on my head. Put lotion on my legs then moisturizer on my face. Rinse hands. Take towel off put styling products in. Blow-dry hair.

Rinse hands. Put on make-up in this order: foundation, blush, curl eyelashes, mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow, powder.

Put finishing product on my hair, brush my teeth, go get dressed.

Yes, I do get ready sans clothes! It's really hot in my bathroom, it doesn't have ventilation, so clothes go on after when I've cooled off. Unless it's winter, then I'm cold so I wear a terry robe while getting ready.

So, how do you get ready in the morning?


I promise to post some pictures soon!

My trip to the Mall

I'm so optimistic. Probably to a fault, I think that's why when things don't go my way I'm really disappointed. So I had a plan in mind since the weather was kind of yuck, hey!, we can go to the mall! Great plan. I can return a shirt that made Bowen cry because the arms were so tight and look for a little Anniversary present for Jonathan, let the kids play, get a snack go home and have rest time. Woo hoo! So off we go. We get the shirt returned and then go to the Disney store (yeah I know) and it was crazy because of some semi-annual sale. I pried my children away from the stimulation fest and then get sidetracked at Lady Foot Locker trying on converse. So we hit Macy's and I find some bath sheets that feel SO lovely and decide I'd get Jonathan and I one for the above mentioned gift. Oooh white towels...my shopping daze is suddenly interrupted by Bowen shrieking. I glance over thinking it's just normal sibling stuff, alas, it was not, Bowen's face is covered in blood. I race over, careful to set the white towels out of the bleeding radius to examine from what body part the blood is flowing. I inquire what happened and I'm getting nada from Laine which means it was her fault. He then begins blowing raspberries I guess because it hurts, so that sends spatters of blood flying everywhere. I'm guessing it was his lip, I never really could tell. I wiped and dabbed and it kept coming, we went to the bathroom to wash up and really, what is bleeding etiquette in a public place? I felt weird putting bio hazard stuff in the trash but what else could I do? So we leave the mall looking like we'd been in battle, blood all over my shirt, Bowen's clothes, the stroller. Again being optimistic, we're going to try again after supper and see if we can avoid anymore blood. Man, I'm ready for Jonathan to be home!

You too can have beautiful skin like me!

So I've been looking for a new moisturizer for my oily but maturing skin. I was at the mall the other night and I decided to see what Clinique had to offer. They have a new moisturizing gel for oily skin, aha!, just what I need. I asked the sales lady and she gave me a tube sample and some three step samples as well. So I skipped home to try it. I used the three step samples first and saw the gel is yellow like the lotion. All went well and the next night I broke out the tube she gave me. "Hmmm" I thought "this is clear not yellow". I tried it anyway, it felt and smelled the same, so on it went. I slept. I woke up. I tried it again, still clear. I'll take care of this I thought and I shook it REALLY hard to mix it up so it would be yellow. Still clear. Oh Well. On it went. So it's a day and a half later and as I'm putting on the clear gel for the fourth time I happen to glance at the tube. It. was. soap. Yes, I had slept in soap, put my make-up over soap, and declared what a great job soap was doing at moisturizing my skin without making it shiny. Luckily, I have suffered no repercussions (ie zits). When did I get so dumb? Or maybe the Clinique sales lady needs to read the samples before dolling them out.

All by myself...

Jonathan and the kids went to J town for part of the week, so I am flying solo. It's amazing being at home alone, I leave and when I come back the house looks the same! I am not treading water as I do most of the school year, I;m doing things like: all the laundry, scrubbing every floor surface in the house, organizing under my cunters (just felt like leaving that typo because it made me laugh). I went shopping around tonight and I kept thinking that I needed to get back home, but I didn't! It was great! Tomorrow I want to go see Knocked Up and Wednesday I have a date with my friend Julie! We're going to get pedicures and then to eat at Mimi's Cafe. I'm teaching some swimming lessons right now and I learned something about myself. First, when teaching little swimmers I'd rather have the screamers, I guess I like a challenge. Second, being in the water for three hours is HARD! I can't believe how many summers I spent teaching lessons for 4 hours with no break. I also think it was harder because, damn, it was cold. Tomorrow will hopefully bring sun.