Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

A Friday Night Ritual

November 22, 2017

So, I think I’ve talked on here before about rituals – how I had them and how I’ve lost that over the years somehow. One of my best known was my Friday night What Not To Wear ritual complete with chocolate. So much fun. But, we moved, I fell into depression, we sacrificed TLC for a lower dish bill (not to mention no more WNTW!), and the ritual fell by the wayside. I’ve spent time trying to figure out a new one and then, I just fell into this one about a month ago without really realizing it. It hit me last Friday – this is my new ritual! Halleluja! So what is it? Let me tell you…

Every Friday I put on some good tunes – whatever suits my mood – while I get ready for bed. After that I get my Mama’s Little Helper Box down and pour me a little drinky. Sometimes I remember to use my martini glass and prepare my drink ahead of time. :-D Then, I gather all my skin care and makeup and switch out items for the next week. I also purge anything that isn’t working or toss out items that are used up. Everything is put back, lights out, and I settle in for some You Tube videos I’ve found featuring older ladies. I find a lot of inspiration and comradery through their chit chats and it makes me feel I’m part of something. I keep hoping to find some in real life friends like that.

All of this helps me to get my beauty sleep so that’s what I do. Okay, not a big ritual, but it takes at least an hour and it’s enough to wind down for the night and also know that I did something special just for me. And, really, that’s what a ritual like this should be.

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I Need A Reset

November 21, 2017

You know how it is right? School is in session and you’re running kids to and from and only have the time in between to take care of the house, meals, laundry, finances, and run errands because (guess what!) you’re out of milk…again! Then, throw a few birthdays and two holidays and – boom! – you are suddenly at the bottom of the to do list again. And your housework routine has fallen off too. That’s where I am at. And after all that running I am just so tired. Could be the caffeine I’m drinking to stay on top of it all, however, it seems to be a short term fix. Like sugar, I crash and I’m more tired than when I took that first sip. So, I need to hit the reset button and do it NOW, because if I’m crashing and burning with Thanksgiving, two birthdays, and Christmas coming up, no one is going to have a good time.

What is this reset going to entail? It’s this: get back into my daily and weekly housekeeping routines. In Sidetracked Home Executives they said that those are priority and should be done period. This ensures that if anything else comes up, at least your basic housekeeping, laundry, and meals are going to be/get done. The other priority is taking care of me. That means: Sleep, Nutrition, Exercise, and Water – just like the Mom Operating Manual tells you to do. (I think that book is for moms and not kids :-P) Those really are the cornerstones of self-care. I’m going to add Vitamins in because I need the extra boost, and also Quiet and take 15 minutes of doing nothing each day in a place that is quiet. It’s not a crime to do that people. We all need silence and we can listen to ourselves and God (as we understand Him) better that way.

Okay, so TODAY I begin my reset. With that said, I’m off to take a shower. I have a hair appointment and need to run to the store for milk this morning so I need to get going. Toodles!

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Shopping Your Makeup Stash

November 13, 2017

Otherwise known as – Using What You Have. I had no idea this was actually a thing with makeup, but apparently it is. I first heard of it somewhere online (of course) by women who have a lot of makeup and skincare (they buy too much) and then forget they have it so it doesn’t get used. However, I’ve heard of doing this in housekeeping for years with food – use what you have in your freezer and pantry before buying anything else so I understand the concept. I just didn’t know it applied to makeup now.

If you don’t know what this is, here’s what you do. You look in your stash and pick out what products you will wear/use in a week (or maybe even a month since it takes that long to see benefits from your skincare products). Then you stick with those products for that week/month and then rotate them out again if you wish. And what does this have to do with me? Well, since getting the monthly Sephora Play Box AND deciding to buy mostly sample size products to find some things that will actually work without investing a lot of money in full sized products, I find myself with a LOT of stuff!  It was time to do something about it.

Now, I don’t have a huge inventory like some of you out there, but it’s more than I can keep track of at the moment. I used to be a bona fide makeup junky before I had kids, but then I realized I had to pare down to just essentials. Which I did and it worked well for quite a while. Well, the kids grew up, my depression lifted, and I found myself gravitating to all those beauty and skin care items I used to love so much. However, now that I’ve officially walked through the Menopause gates, my skin is radically different. The old stuff doesn’t work anymore, and that’s why I went to buying small sizes to find stuff that works and then buy the big sizes and stick with those items. Well, that’s the plan. I’m still in the testing stage, but getting to a more permanent fix. I had my items stored in three makeup bags and I was bouncing around skin care items and my skin was not loving it.  So when I found out about shopping your makeup stash, I was all over it!

I started with these four products for a skin care routine: L’Oreal Cream Cleanser, Estee Lauder toner, and Revlon Eterna 27 Moisturizer, and L’oreal Eye Makeup Remover (my go to).  Well, I ended up chucking the cleanser and the moisturizer as they were irritating my skin, but kept the other two products. I can’t remember what I used the next week, but after that, I took down my Caudalie set (a 500 point bonus from Sephora!) and have been using it and I’m continuing with that for another week. I don’t love the cleanser, but will stick with it until the end of the week. The other three sample sized products will be used up by then and I can move on to something new next week.

Now, here’s what I did with my makeup: I started with L’Oreal Lumi Foundation, Make Up Forever HD Finishing Powder (sample), Urban Decay Anti Aging Eye Shadow Primer, Cover Girl mascara in brown/black, and Clinique Pop Lip Gloss in Wink. No blush because I have rosacea – I miss it, but I don’t really need it. I also put in this trial pack of Josie Maran Finishing Balm and we’ll see how that works. I ended up tossing the Lumi (I used it for two weeks) because my skin wasn’t loving it and it was almost gone anyway. I went to my sample of Make Up Forever HD Foundation (that I got in a Play box), kept the finishing powder, added my Milani natural eye shadow palette, kept the mascara, and tossed the gloss for a Milani lipstick in a pink nude color. This week it’s mostly the same except I added in a Becca primer (I still really don’t know how to use thees new fangled products), my Sephora lip gloss in Simply Nude (another Play box product), and my Bite Beauty Agave Lip in Smashing (for when I want more color). I’m loving my natural look! And it’s easy.

So,  that’s how it works! No daily wondering what to wear or use – I’ve got what I need for the week so there are no decisions except on Friday and that’s turning out to be a fun thing.

So, if you’re in a similar predicament, you might try this in an effort to use up your stash too. One thing though – if you have expired makeup or skin products just toss them. Only use the fresh products you have. Makeup does break down over time and skin care products lose their potency over time as well. They now put expiration dates on most products so check what you have. Wasteful? Maybe, but let’s use that lesson to be a little more careful of how much we buy and use what we buy. Now, I need to work on that book stash I have. :-O

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Quick Update

November 7, 2017

OMG – it’s been two months since I last posted?? For some reason I thought I’d written something in September. Oh yeah, I’ve actually been writing posts but not posting them. Big difference.

What I’m Doing (Dear Lord, yes, one of those memes): Trying not to cry because it’s cold and cloudy and has been for the last four days. This reminds me that I need to not only get vitamin D for the winter, but commit to some kind of exercise/walking/movement daily.

I’m also doing a little Christmas prep each day and holding on like hell to my routines. With school and holidays this is the time where I’m likely to fall off.

What I’m Reading: I gave up on “Read Your Way To Heaven” because the books were taxing my brain. Luckily, I found a book at the library that I’ve been wanting to read for awhile, “Resisting Happiness” by Matthew Kelly. It’s a small book and easy to read but with plenty to ponder.

What I’m Watching:  I didn’t exactly finish all four seasons of “thirtysomething” but I came close. That last season is a doozy. This week I’ve watched “Shopgirl” and tonight I’m going to watch “Home For the Holidays”. I look forward to watching that one every year and I never fail to pick up something that I’m missed before.

What I’m Eating and Drinking:  I’m going to go on a mini booze run tomorrow to refill my Momma’s Little Helper box. :-) Also the Peppermint Mochas are back at Starbucks and hopefully the Cranberry Bliss Bars will follow. Mmmm – a tall flat white and a cranberry bar – that’s one of my happy places.

Where I’m Shopping:  Our town finally is getting some new places to go and unfortunately two of them are proving to be addicting: Ulta (duh) and TJ Maxx. I didn’t think I’d love Maxx as much as I do…but I do. Lots of beauty products I love and use at really good prices. I also found a goody for my bedroom that I think I’m going to go ahead and get and call it a Xmas or birthday present. :-D

So, that’s a few points of interest in my glamorous life. Really, I’m just trying to keep going after so much stress this year. I know I can do it, I just have to get my tools in place and learn to slow down a little. Maybe I’ll add writing more to that list – it’s something I definitely love.

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» 2017 » November » Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

A Friday Night Ritual

November 22, 2017

I Need A Reset

November 21, 2017

Shopping Your Makeup Stash

November 13, 2017

Quick Update

November 7, 2017

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