I'm taking it WAYYYYY back to the 1800's with this one. Since Music 101 at Hunter, this has been one of my favorite classical pieces. It's very lively (IMO)
- L
Monday, October 7, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
Let's Get Personal: The Backstory
Here's the warning up front. This will be personal, more than I usually get on the blog and a bit long. Fellas you may want to click out of here while you have the chance. It also may be TMI for some of you who maybe don't want to know me that well. I tried to do this all in one post with the backstory and routine, but I had too much to say for one post. (If you want to skip straight to the routine, click here.) What can I say? I like to talk/write about myself! I mean look at the title of my blog. LOL In all seriousness I actually don't like speaking about myself, but ehh it is what it is. Ok, warning noted? Good.
So ladies (and whoever is still with me) let's get personal! A few people on social media have asked me about my routine, what I'm using/doing to help clear up my face. The light bulb went off and here's this post. I've had pretty good skin once I got over the acne puberty threw at me. Then out of nowhere last year and this year, my skin threw me for a loop. Now that I have a decent handle on it, I can say that my face looks amazing and this is about as good as it gets. I'm not looking for flawless perfection because that's greedy. And let's face it (no pun intended!) being perfect is boring.
Before I get into that I have to divulge some info so you can better understand the root of my troubles. When puberty and my first menstrual cycle hit me unawares, I was shocked and scared as all get out. My mom never had that talk with me, and I had no idea what was going on. I thought I was dying. It didn't help matters any that I didn't have any female role models to look up to or ask about this. So what did little ol' 11/12 year old me do? Why I went to my mom's then boyfriend and asked him what the F was going on. I can't remember exactly what he said to me, but all I know is that he told my mom for me and we went to buy my first pack of pads. Of course my mom was furious I didn't ask her, but we never really had the best relationship until recently. I didn't even think to ask her. My hormones went out of whack, and I was so lost. Boobs grew out of nowhere overnight, my body changed into something abnormal. None of the other girls in class looked like this! I was teased relentlessly about it and felt even more alienated.
My cycle was abnormal. I couldn't predict when it would come or for how long. I had to be sent home one time because it came when I was unprepared and my uniform was horribly stained. Oh the nightmares. My face started to hate me around that time as well. The gross acne I had to deal with was horrible. I was given some prescription treatments that tamed it down some, but not completely. My mom said it was normal that once my body adjusted, I would get used to it. Wrong! I went to Jamaica the summer of '99 for the first time since I was a toddler, which was about a few months to a year after my first cycle. I was there for 2 whole months, and for about 1 and a half of them I bled relentlessly. My aunts and female cousins were confused. They said maybe it was the change in climate and latitude. Who knew? I got back home and told my mom, and she couldn't figure it out. I can't remember all the details, but there were times when my cycle wouldn't come for months and then when it did come, would last for weeks. So off to the doctor we went. The pediatrician didn't know, and I was way to young for the gyno.
We somehow ended up at the endocrinologist where we finally got some answers. I was told I have polycystic ovaries, now known as PCOS. It basically means that my ovaries have many cysts on them that messes me up because of a serious hormone imbalance. Imagine the shock I felt at finding out I was indeed abnormal. Then tack on the fact that the doctors were saying I would have trouble having children and that there wasn't too much information about it because not that many women had it. Great.... I was mortified. The only solution to help with it? Birth control pills of course. Yup you got it. I've been on the pill for about 12-13 years. For the few times I tried to go without, it was a mess. My face immediately broke out and everything went out of whack. Going back on the pill was just as hard because it took months before everything calmed down again. This worked for awhile until the 24/25 year mark. Last year things changed and I can only attribute this to my body fighting the pill and preparing to have a baby, which I am not ready for at all.
I had to rethink and re-plan my entire routine. I was breaking out left and right with no relief. No routine or products seemed to work. I did so much research and there were many trials before I finally figured out what worked for me. While this is not set in stone, it is the foundation for what I do on a (mostly) daily basis. And I love the results I am getting! As I mentioned before, I am far from flawless, but I'm in a happy place now. Even more so that I know how to handle it. Next week I'll go over my face routine and how it's helped me.
Thanks for reading, as your reward: cute puppy picture.
- L
So ladies (and whoever is still with me) let's get personal! A few people on social media have asked me about my routine, what I'm using/doing to help clear up my face. The light bulb went off and here's this post. I've had pretty good skin once I got over the acne puberty threw at me. Then out of nowhere last year and this year, my skin threw me for a loop. Now that I have a decent handle on it, I can say that my face looks amazing and this is about as good as it gets. I'm not looking for flawless perfection because that's greedy. And let's face it (no pun intended!) being perfect is boring.
Before I get into that I have to divulge some info so you can better understand the root of my troubles. When puberty and my first menstrual cycle hit me unawares, I was shocked and scared as all get out. My mom never had that talk with me, and I had no idea what was going on. I thought I was dying. It didn't help matters any that I didn't have any female role models to look up to or ask about this. So what did little ol' 11/12 year old me do? Why I went to my mom's then boyfriend and asked him what the F was going on. I can't remember exactly what he said to me, but all I know is that he told my mom for me and we went to buy my first pack of pads. Of course my mom was furious I didn't ask her, but we never really had the best relationship until recently. I didn't even think to ask her. My hormones went out of whack, and I was so lost. Boobs grew out of nowhere overnight, my body changed into something abnormal. None of the other girls in class looked like this! I was teased relentlessly about it and felt even more alienated.
My cycle was abnormal. I couldn't predict when it would come or for how long. I had to be sent home one time because it came when I was unprepared and my uniform was horribly stained. Oh the nightmares. My face started to hate me around that time as well. The gross acne I had to deal with was horrible. I was given some prescription treatments that tamed it down some, but not completely. My mom said it was normal that once my body adjusted, I would get used to it. Wrong! I went to Jamaica the summer of '99 for the first time since I was a toddler, which was about a few months to a year after my first cycle. I was there for 2 whole months, and for about 1 and a half of them I bled relentlessly. My aunts and female cousins were confused. They said maybe it was the change in climate and latitude. Who knew? I got back home and told my mom, and she couldn't figure it out. I can't remember all the details, but there were times when my cycle wouldn't come for months and then when it did come, would last for weeks. So off to the doctor we went. The pediatrician didn't know, and I was way to young for the gyno.
We somehow ended up at the endocrinologist where we finally got some answers. I was told I have polycystic ovaries, now known as PCOS. It basically means that my ovaries have many cysts on them that messes me up because of a serious hormone imbalance. Imagine the shock I felt at finding out I was indeed abnormal. Then tack on the fact that the doctors were saying I would have trouble having children and that there wasn't too much information about it because not that many women had it. Great.... I was mortified. The only solution to help with it? Birth control pills of course. Yup you got it. I've been on the pill for about 12-13 years. For the few times I tried to go without, it was a mess. My face immediately broke out and everything went out of whack. Going back on the pill was just as hard because it took months before everything calmed down again. This worked for awhile until the 24/25 year mark. Last year things changed and I can only attribute this to my body fighting the pill and preparing to have a baby, which I am not ready for at all.
I had to rethink and re-plan my entire routine. I was breaking out left and right with no relief. No routine or products seemed to work. I did so much research and there were many trials before I finally figured out what worked for me. While this is not set in stone, it is the foundation for what I do on a (mostly) daily basis. And I love the results I am getting! As I mentioned before, I am far from flawless, but I'm in a happy place now. Even more so that I know how to handle it. Next week I'll go over my face routine and how it's helped me.
Thanks for reading, as your reward: cute puppy picture.
- L
 |
| Cute puppies? img src |
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Nail Polish Giveaway Results!
Thank you everyone that was a good sport and participated! I will honestly say I didn't even know how many I had until I counted them last night. I shocked myself and may have to admit an addiction. I know I am not the only one out there! Are you ready for the magic number or do you want me to keep it a secret? Haha.. kidding. The total number of polishes I have - 100. Yep. That little ol' bucket held all those polishes. That's not even counting the 12 I'm giving away. BUT to be fair, not everyone may have included the ones on the lid of the bucket, so I'll discount those for a count of 94. Here's a better idea of what it looks like spaced out:
Here's the breakdown by color group:
Wow and to think I still want more! I mean I am missing a few colors. ::whistling::
I'll be announcing the winners shortly, if they wish to be announced.
- L
 |
| Same set of polishes, different angles. Grouped by color. |
- 10 glitters
- 1 black
- 1 grey
- 3 dark metallics
- 11 shiny metallics
- 8 brown/nudes
- 1 olive green
- 4 pastel pink
- 8 dark blues
- 2 royal blues
- 4 pastel blues/mints
- 1 teal
- 9 hot pinks
- 1 neon purple
- 2 pastel purples
- 5 sheers/whites
- 8 oranges
- 2 yellows
- 4 reds
- 9 dark purples
6 nail art bottles
Wow and to think I still want more! I mean I am missing a few colors. ::whistling::
I'll be announcing the winners shortly, if they wish to be announced.
- L
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