BB Cream and My Successful Outing

Each time I look at this box, I think how perfect it would be for a person with lupus.  "Believe" and butterflies.  A great find from TJ Maxx.

Today I had a dental appointment, postponed from a couple of weeks ago when I chipped (yet) another tooth. It was tough getting me out the house, always the hardest thing to do.  For the first time ever, I took my pain med two hours after I'd taken a previous dose. Without it, however, it would have been another canceled appointment... something that makes me feel like a rotten person. 

I was also able to get myself together because I'd finally reconciled it with myself that I wouldn't go with the whole makeup bit. Taking a bath, washing my hair and getting dressed was absolutely all I was up to doing even with hubs' usual help.

Once I got home, I thought I'd write a post about my little outing and grooming - and taking a third dose in the meanwhile: unheard of!  I thought you'd find something of interest here.  I so hope I was right and that I'm not about to bore anyone to tears.

First, I had no energy to start doing foundation, and trust me, I do need foundation - always have, always will. The freckles I used to mask have become, in my old age, ugly old age spots.  However, I just knew I couldn't, in good conscience, go about risking exposing men and little children to my un-madeup face without scarring them for life.  What to do? 

Finally I decided to go with a quick layer of my favorite BB cream, the fantastic Dr. Jart+ - marked as "the premium" (whatever that means).  It has a whopping SPF 45.  The BB cream went on beautifully and was my moisturizer, primer, foundation and sunscreen all in one product.  Heaven!  I wrote a review of Dr. Jart+ in a post long ago and it can be read here.  This BB cream did not disappoint.  No one was scarred in the couple of hours I was out and about.  Little does the population of my town know how close they came to disaster!

For the three or four age spots, the under eye area, around my (wide) nostrils, and two zits (where did they come from?) I used Estee Lauter's Double Wear Concealer, always a huge success.  

Eyebrow pencil was my love, MAC's basic eyebrow pencil which is a retractable "thingie," not the need-to-be-sharpened bit.  I could have gone whole hog on the eyebrows but I didn't need that today.  I told myself that a couple of good swips would do.  Actually, it had to do as I found myself longingly thinking of taking yet another dose of painkiller.  Energy and pain-wise, I wasn't doing so hot.  But like an octogenarian trying to climb Mt. Everest, I was just trucked along, even turning on some upbeat music to rev myself up.  Nope, that didn't help either.  Nothing but forcing myself was going to do in my getting-ready maneuvers!  (Martyr!)

I ended it all with a quick application of blush, this time by one of my almost-never-fail Trish McEvoy's.  She has a nice blush and tanner combo in the little page out of one of her organizers that I was quite happy with.   

Recently I've read in various places that if you're going to go out and don't have time for a fully camouflaged face (huh! I have *time* but I don't have energy) it's always a must to put on blush - or so sayeth some proponents - or to make sure you always do your eyebrows - or so sayeth others.  I decided I truly didn't need any more decision-making in my day.  Here we were, still in early morning and so many decisions.  (She says ever so dramatically.)

The most important thing was that I didn't scare anyone.  There was enough coverage of the little areas (really, "little"?) that needed attention and the blush and brows were taken care of, keeping me away from the albino look.

As  you can imagine, getting home I had absolutely no energy at all, especially as I tried not to think about how much dental work lay ahead.  The root canal I need has be addressed first. Who knows how much else needs to be done.  A huge Ugh!

Upon arrival at home, I needed yet more painkiller.  This was turning out to be a record day, not too different from my renewal of driver's license day - it was shortly thereafter that I had my long adventure, ie, my lengthy hospitalization. 

Which brings us to a huge fibromyalgia, CFIDS/ME/CFS and spoonie tip. I didn't have the energy and wherewithal to wash my face so I used miscellar water on cotton pads to take the junk off.  I've been meaning to write again about my love of miscellar water but keep forgetting.  For that bit of "how-fantastic-is-this-product," see my review and explanation by hitting this link.

There's more in terms of my getting myself together skincare wise, but that's for later.  I did want to share my modified makeup job, however, since I know all too well how hard it is to make ourselves as presentable as possible without using up too many "health credits" (which I had so pathetically saved up) or "spoons."  And as old age creeps in, so much more effort is needed. (Yikes!)

At any rate, my face feels fine.  Unlike most times I've gone out the house in the past couple of years (not via ambulance), this routine may indeed be a keeper.  My funky fibro and CFIDS senstive skin didn't get any rashes or blotchy angry spots and it really took so little energy.

I, however, forgot to mention that I still have scars from where that central line went into my neck when I was in the hospital a couple of months ago. The Dr. Jart+ did a fantastic job of covering up that area as well. Those red marks make me look like a high school kid who.... well, I'm not even going there!  

Finally, as always when I bid you an adieu, I hope everyone's doing their best, only better!  Ciao and paka.


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The Eyes Have It!

Even when I was younger I liked to keep the eye makeup on the subtle side.

I know that there's a bit of controversy as to whether women who reach a certain age should or shouldn't be wearing eye makeup.  But really, with my thinning and sparse eyebrows and eyelashes, CFIDS/ME and fibromyalgia have made me go solidly into the must-definitely-wear-eye-makeup camp.  And really, eyebrows and eyelashes DO get washed out with age, even if you don't have the DD.  I think it's all about the degree of how much you wear.

Well, of course, there's always the amount of eye makeup that's worn that makes the difference!  I mean, I really try not to look like a drag queen on a really bad night - not that there's anything wrong with being a drag queen.  It's just that with my identity crisis (I didn't have one in college when everyone else seemed to have theirs, so I'm due one about now) "drag queen" is not one of the identities I'm trying to decide upon.   But whatever it is, good eye makeup will definitely be a part of the identity.  After all, one of my mottoes in life is "Not the face!  Not the face!" as I've often written.  That IS prime real estate!

Right.  So, in that spirit, I thought I'd pass on a few products names that have proven to be successful over the years. After all, we all pretty much need to deal with dry eyes and what do dry eyes lead to?   All together now: RED EYES!  Very good!  These products have really helped me keep red eyes to a minimum and that's why they're listed.  So, here we go!

• Elizabeth Arden Advanced Eye-Fix Primer:

I have no idea what possessed me to buy this primer when I bought it.  I think primers hadn't even been invented yet!  (Why do I always insist on dating myself?)  At the very least they weren't huge-selling items yet, the way they are now.  Maybe I was just so thrilled to be in an actual, real live store that I couldn't leave without buying SOMETHING to honor the occasion!  Anyhoo, I've been using this one for absolute ages.  I've tried many other eye primers - in fact, I seem to have an impressive collection of various primers - but this is the one I keep coming back to.  It's just that good.

• Bobbi Brown Chocolate Eye Palette:

I bought this when it first came out, years ago and it's become a classic for me.  Oh sure, every time a new neutral pallet comes out I inevitably find myself trying to talk myself out of buying the latest thing.  After all, how much makeup does a woman who almost never goes out at all actually need, I often wonder?   Ah!  It must be the Girl Scout in me!   "Be prepared."  Yes, that must be it!  And all 13 years of Russian (think "survival") camp helped too: "Будд готов!"  (Yes, those funny letters mean "Be prepared!" also!)  Well, I think I'm ready all right, with enough product for great-great-granddaughters to inherit old decrepit makeup in the year 2112!   But really, Bobbi Brown's palette is what I even  use on those barely-there brows of mine in a pinch - there's certainly enough of a selection in color to have a choice depending on the shade of my hair.  Yep.  "Будд готов" indeed!

• Trish McEvoy with the straight across eyeliner brush, shadow transformer and eye shadow squares:

This may be my favorite liner if I were forced to choose; however, I may have to do a separate post on eyeliners alone. I absolutely love a discreet eyeliner and there are a few that I alternate between as being my favorites, but somehow, I always seem to come back to Trish.  I dip the brush into a tiny drop of Trish McEvoy’s shadow transformer, which I've already put a drop onto a shadow in a palette or on the individual shadows.  You then have an almost endless supply of wonderful shades and staying power.  If I had to give an answer to that silly "what would you take with you on a desert island" question, you can bet your sweet bippie that I doubt any makeup would make it.  Instead I'd want an endless supply of fresh cold water and then I'd want a book ON makeup!

Mascara: that's a Pandora's Box for another time!   So  that’s it for today!

As always, I hope everyone's feeling their best, only better.  Ciao and paka!

Beauty To Consider: BB Creams and Silicones....

East meets West:
In light of this being "Western Easter," Eastern Orthodox Easter next week, I thought it'd be fun to show the first compromising of our two cultures blending together as one family.  I love the skeptical looks on the females in hubby's family and won't even try to say what my mom's probably thinking. The tiny bunny was probably the only thing all agreed on!

Just over a week ago, in order to try to cut down on my feebly slow "getting ready in the morning routine" for my appointment with the beauty heaven I was (hopefully) heading to, I thought I'd try a few new beauty products properly.   As always, I'm on the hunt to look my best - with a minimum of effort, please! - in the ever-desperate hope that the savings in time will give me more time/energy for the actual event.  And I'd hoped that I'd have tips or new info to send on to my readers as well.  

I thought I'd test a few more of those BB creams I'd mentioned in an earlier post. May I say how surprised I am by the fact that so few people I've spoken to lately have never even heard of BB creams?  Wow!  For perhaps the first time ever, I may be at the beginning of a trend as opposed to the end of one. Excuse me while I pat myself on my back - and try not to break my arm doing so!

A few days ago, my daughter stopped by the house and I ambushed her as a very reluctant tester for two products, one of which was a luxury sheer coverage foundation I'd put on half of my own face hours earlier in the day.  Yes, the makeup looked nice and I could  see a difference but it was not really worth the exorbitant price. On the other hand, I liked it enough to want to try the fuller coverage version and will get back to you on that when I get up my nerve to order it - enough damage has been done to my wallet lately in the beauty department.

At any rate, when asked if she could tell which side of my face had the sheer coverage, my daughter could see the difference immediately, though she too agreed that it wasn't worth the price.  After putting some of the sheer coverage makeup on her face, I wasn't impressed with it either, though for a different reason. The makeup didn't melt into her skin.  Something was off.  Perhaps it was just too mask-y looking. But, aha!  I thought to try the Dr. Jart+ Premium BB cream on the other side of her face.  

Oh how I love having a daughter!  She too loved the packaging - UNLIKE her dad, who had a hard time finding ANY enthusiasm for it a few weeks ago when I showed him the beautifully engineered and designed "tube."

The Dr. Jart+ went on beautifully. I loved it and best of all, she loved it enough to take my tube home with her.  Actually I think what she loved most was the fact that the SPF was a whopping 45 and though the skin tone had evened out beautifully, she still looked very natural with her freckles peeking through.  I loved it because you could absolutely tell the difference: it just lifted up her skin, making it so fresh and looking almost as if she'd been on vacation, masking the signs on her face of the influenza (not just the "flu") she'd battled a few weeks ago and was slowly recovering from.

So, the next day I tried two other BB creams in order to not have to borrow my daughter's for my one day out of the house... my replacement, which I'd just ordered, would not arrive in time for my great escape.  I tried Clinique's and Boscia's versions. Both companies I like quite a bit.  I've bought their products in the past and been happy with them.  I must say that one of the BB's was OK, but something was still off and it was hard to put my finger on what it was that made it look so wrong. And one or both caused bumps on my face, as well as redness. Furthermore, I had to wash the BB's off BOTH sides of my face within less than a half hour - why I thought the burning would go away for both products I have no idea.  And, BTW, I've never before returned a beauty product - with the caveat that I don't ever REMEMBER doing so - but you can bet that those two were going back; they were in the mail the following day.

I suspected, but now am fairly sure, that I've a problem - I may have an allergy to silicone.  

After my first office visit with my plastic surgeon to get the stitches out for "The Claw," what I affectionately call my arm and hand these days, I was given a silicone sheet to wear on my approximately 30 inches of scars.  I waited for everything to be healed with no broken skin, as instructed by everyone I saw that day.  I swear, I felt as if I were Moses receiving the commandments by God when the silicone sheet instructions were given.  I was nervous but I was really excited.  When I arrived home I sent an email to my best friend and told her all about this miraculous new treatment. I'd googled it, of course, and had been so thrilled to read the rave reviews. Naturally, I'd want my BFF to know about this immediately.  (Oh, of course she must have known this telepathically, but I just had to be SURE she'd gotten the message!)

Finally, I figured out how I would cut the sheet to allow it to fit all of the scarring.  The directions said I could wear the silicone sheeting for just about all day and night, only taking it off for a little time.  My surgeon and his support staff said to put it on for only six hours and no more, but definitely for the six to get the full benefits.  That was rather complicated, since as mentioned before (Ha!) I don't have any predictable sleep patterns.  If I put them - the now cut-up strips - on during the day, I might fall asleep.  If I put them on at night, the same concern.   A few days later I bit the bullet and told myself to stop all the tomfoolery and just get on with it.

Well, after about five minutes, my ever-observant hubby looked over at me and said, "You know, if it hurts you SHOULD take them off."  Well, I had no idea why he said that...I hadn't noticed the tears rolling down from my eyes, "the tell." I answered, while staring at the TV, "That's OK.  I can do it."

Hubby looked at me (again) like I was the crazy one and said, "If it's hurting, take it off - IMMEDIATELY.  Are you nuts?  You're probably having a reaction."

Me?  Nah! "Oh, I can take it," I, more or less, whimpered.  "I don't want those scars!"  

"Are you bonkers? Take those things off and let me take a look at that. Really!" he said, a tad exasperated.

Well, the entire area covered by the strips was red, angry and inflamed. And the spots and lines where the staple holes were - the ones that make you look like Frankenstein - had, more or less leveled off before, but were now back to being ugly, pimple-looking creepy bumps. Gross!

It was awful.  I could take the nettle-stinging feeling but to have such a huge step back in the healing - well, you know how vain I can be.... Or should I say how much I'll give up to look good.... This was a definite mistake.

Of course, I emailed my BFF immediately because with our luck she or one of her (grown up) kids would just have had the sudden misfortune to also be in a position to need those silicone sheets - at that very moment! - and someone would inevitably be told, "Oh, Irene's doctor gave her that and she googled and read in tons of places that this is the best thing out there" and end up having an even worse reaction than I did!

OK, folks, I can be slow. But it finally dawned on me that one day, at the "medical center" with my daughter, I'd put a new primer on my face and immediately, it burned so badly that I threw the sample away - right after thoroughly washing my face, first with warm water and Dove (I always go back to Dove, don't I?) and then applying very cool water compresses because my face was red and getting inflamed, followed by my skin-saving and rescuing LaMer.

After the silicone sheet fiasco, and keeping in mind the one primer reaction, I started noticing reviews on Sephora and other beauty sites about women having problems with dimethicone in beauty products.  It finally hit me that I too must have an allergy to silicone.  But I had been using silicone all along, I realized, as I started to read the ingredients on various beauty products in my cabinets and drawers.  Talk about a headache!  I suddenly realized why I disliked chemistry so much in high school.  But it was fascinating that there were some products that I really didn't care for or some I loved and it was the dimethicone that seemed to be the main difference.  The few products with silicones which didn't seem to bother me were those that looked as if they hardly had any silicone in them.  But I soon realized that perhaps some products were formulated differently - such as with buffers?  What do I know?  To further confuse the issue, I realized that silicone goes by many different names.  

The point is that the reaction didn't hit me strongly under most circumstances.  On the other hand, I seemed to get unexplained little bumps on my face that I had thought were due to nerves about my daughter's precarious situation - they may have been, instead, reactions to the silicone.  Under some circumstances I may not have been getting a bad reaction, but what were those circumstances?  So, at first I stayed away from all silicone while doing research - a guaranteed headache-producing exercise, let me assure you.

I was "outraged" when I read on one skin store's blog site, written by a physician, that Vitamin E should not be used for scars because reactions - allergies - could take place, but that silicone NEVER had any adverse reactions.

OK.  Let's see if I have this straight.  There is something out there that NO one has ever had a reaction to?  Hmmmm.... Ever heard of the exception to the rule?  Well there you go.  Someone's either not thinking or is stretching the truth if they say there's NEVER been an adverse reaction to something.  Don't even get me started.

At the same time, I was suddenly coming across sites with on-line shopping where they proudly advertise the fact that THEIR products have no silicones at all.  The reviews on any number of beauty sites report women having reactions to silicone. It's a HUGE concern.  Some women make silicone sound as bad as when doctors demonize cigarettes as if they were the equivalent of smoking crack cocaine.

When my surgeon's assistant suggested Vitamin E oil, her boss scoffed at her (in a light-hearted way) and when I piped in that I believe in the effectiveness of arnica and lavender essential oils, for example, he looked at me as if I were bonkers.  But he was all for the silicone.

And I don't blame him.  He's kept up with the medical studies that are constantly changing.  These include papers on Vitamin E oil therapy, the latest saying it was the massaging that made the difference.  And of course he wants minimal scaring.  He wants what's best for me.  Furthermore, it is, after all, his work that is on display for the whole world to see - especially when I don't wear sleeves that go from my shoulder down to my fingers.

My feeling?  I think big pharma is putting out good money to keep yet another nasty pharmaceutical problem hidden as long as they can get away with it.  Call me paranoid, but that's exactly what I'm afraid of.

I might have been foolish, but I finally made the decision to go with selected beauty products that have SOME silicone. First, I would continue with the products which I hoped weren't causing problems, for whatever reason, my go-to products.  Secondly, that was after looking at the labels and ensuring that there was very little silicone content in anything I put on my skin.  I would trust the manufacturer to adhere to the requirement that the substances in the products are listed from the highest amount to the lowest.

I mean, the silicone really makes products glide on so beautifully and there are a ton of other pro's for the way they function cosmetically.  It's an incredible new resource for the beauty world from makeup to hair to skincare.

My immunologist, however, said I many want to rethink that, given my extreme reaction with the sheet.  A first allergic reaction, as what I had with the strips, COULD lead to a more severe reaction with the second or third exposure to the substance. In other words, nature is giving a person a "pass" the first time around.  It may be nature's way of not killing off a person the first time, while giving that person a warning (i.e., the bad reaction) that something is off and not working...beware! Nature, evolution - whatever you choose to call it - may thus be offering a second chance at being smart the next time around and figuring it is the fool who goes back for a third or fourth time and Goodnight Moon!  Not necessarily so, but did I want to take that chance?  Had I forgotten the primer incident too?

Geesh!  Perhaps I really AM lucky that I'm bedridden...I don't need to go out much anymore.  Therefore, I don't need to make a decision as "to silicone or not to silicone": that is the question.

Groan...did I really say that?  I guess so!

But I definitely want to work with my Dr. Jart+.  That stuff may be joining my very tiny "hall of fame" keepers.  

Laughing from my sickbed about my beloved Dove....

I began my last post with the words, "Color me lazy," because I've lived the 
vast majority of my life with little more than Dove soap.  But suddenly I 
realize that I'm not the only "lazy" person out there who's my age, from the era 
when we cared so much about makeup, but really did not worry too much about our 
skin.  

Thank heavens most of us were using Dove soap, now called Dove "beauty bar" in 
order to reach/grab the beauty business.  I've seen that it's now winning awards 
in "best of" lists for magazines such as InStyle.  But the dirty little secret 
here: the Dove we used back in the '60's and '70's is not the Dove of today.  
Believe or not, but our's was much better.  It's been reformulated over the 
years and that's just plain lousy!  Many of us old-timers are spending a lot of 
time lamenting the demise of the old Dove and get more than a bit upset when our 
hubbies accidentally bring home a huge lot of the wrong kind of Dove, like the 
new sensitive editions, exfoliating versions and so forth.  The newly 
reformulated Dove we can sort of live with but the new kinds out there?  Don't 
even get us started!  And what, we wonder, ever happened to the 1/4 moisturizing 
cream of the ads and commercials of yore?  Like I said, don't even get us 
started!

Dove has now spread out to dozens and dozens of products in an effort, I suppose, 
to stay in business with all the face cleansers out there today.  Around the 
time I was in eighth grade, Dove's only competitor seemed to be Noxema, and who 
even remembers Noxema today?  Pond's is still around but that seemed to be a 
product our moms used.  Oil of Olay was a competitor too and I remember using 
that lovely pale pink lotion in a glass bottle on my face for a while, loving 
the smell of it, buying it only when it was on sale because those were our salad 
years when hubby and I could barely manage the rent.  Sooo silly because I 
didn't really need it.  Dove took care of everything, and anything extra I put 
on my face usually caused a small bout of bumps of one sort or another to come 
out as if to warn me what would happen if I even thought of using anything but 
my beloved Dove.

When the Soviet Union fell apart, I flew to visit my cousin in '96, a time 
when Russia was suffering severe shortages of everything from basic aspirin to 
basic food.  Along with candy for her grandchildren I carried many, many bars of 
Dove as a treat for my cousin.  Can you tell I love the stuff?  (And yes, I did 
bring those precious medicines that they needed back then...I'm not completely 
superficial!)

In the hospital I once made the huge mistake of showering with the soap they had 
there - a reputable brand - and within five minutes I started to scratch all 
over.  By the time I called hubby to quickly bring over some Dove from home, 
rashes were setting in.  It was a nasty picture.  I'd never used anything but 
Dove even on my children as babies, having made many a convert to Dove over the 
decades, but from that hospital moment on, I haven't even traveled anywhere but 
with my Dove.  My cousin in Russia, I felt, deserved no less.

My BFF - a term I'm not overly fond of because visions of Paris Hilton and 
Nicole Ricci bounce in my head - and I so love Dove that when she went on her 
first big trip to Europe with her hubby she actually calculated exactly how much 
Dove she needed to bring with her to carry herself and her hubby through those 
weeks but not have any to bring back home with her either.  (And people wonder 
why we've been best friends for over 41 years?)  She knew Dove's properties so 
well that her calculations were right down to the very last day away from home.  
When we traveled to England and later to Paris, we just grabbed however much we 
thought we needed and then some.  By the time Linda went to Europe with her 
hubby, the airlines were cracking down on how much weight and how much luggage 
could be brought with us.  Such a shame!

As I'm discovering a whole world of new CATEGORIES of beauty products (more on 
that to come) I realize that we were so lucky to have had Dove.  It was an era 
of getting as tanned as could be, even if some of us (read pale-skinned me) 
couldn't tan but burn to lobster red.  Dove, which I still use religiously, I 
have a feeling will never be substituted, that is, if they more or less stick 
to their old formula.  My other products may come and go, but my Dove, I hope, 
will be here to stay.

Laughing from my sickbed about skin care.....

Can you tell my BFF picked out this picture for me?  I can!

Color me lazy.  I suppose I've been blessed by good DNA when it comes to wrinkles and such because I've basically lived with little more than good old Dove soap as just about my only skincare.  Oh, I bought LaMer, a ridiculously expensive cream worth every penny for my face too, but I can't say that it's helped a HUGE amount - only because I don't use it on a regular basis.  It's wonderful, wonderful.  I love it.  And its more expensive, but even more effective "The Concentrate," has helped me out of a few jams over the years when need be.  

But the new beauty thing these days seems to be about skinCARE!  Who even cared about skincare until about the last five years - or even less?  No one!  Well, perhaps a few hippies in California, but really, did they even count?  We had makeup, by golly, and we used it liberally.  There was a time NO one saw me without my war paint on, not even my ob/gyn when I delivered three ten-pound screamers.

It's truly amazing how much "paint" can accomplish.  About a year ago, I had a regular appointment with my GP and found that after my shower/bathing ordeal, I actually had a bit of time and, better yet, energy on my hands.  What to do?  I really, really hate to sit around.  Lie around is one thing, but sitting around takes precious ENERGY.

Well, I thought, let's put on some foundation.  And trust me, I really do need foundation. My freckles, let's face it, are, at fifty-plus, not freckles but age spots!  And I have always hidden them... well, once I reached college and was out of sight of my old-fashioned and very strict mom.

So I thought to myself, let's shake the heck out of my long-suffering GP.  He'd not seen me look anywhere near "good" in over a year.  A girl remembers these things, you know.  A little later, bored by the extra time, I thought I'd put on some eyeliner too.  That's getting towards the "big guns" and a real pain because the hand's not too steady any longer.  In fact, if hubby is helping me get ready and sees the eyeliner in my hand, he know to flee.  Nothing puts me into as foul a mood as putting on eyeliner.  It used to be something that took no more than two minutes, if I were having a bad day.  Now, darn it, the eyesight is going too, so that makes it an even harder job to accomplish.  Magnifying mirror is not enough...worse mood.

After about two hours of paint, rest, paint, rest, I was looking pret-ty dern good.  That Nars illuminator with the Bare Escentuals Radiance worked beautifully together but I know I'll never be able to reproduce the successful combination...sigh.  

I had my appointment and as I was leaving, my doctor said, "you are looking really good today!"  I've never, ever been able to take a compliment graciously - mostly because I'm looking for some sort of hidden smirk behind the compliment.  After muttering something inane about how it took me two hours to achieve this look (how embarrassing is THAT statement?) I suddenly remembered that there WAS something I forgot to mention, a new, big pain.  Understand I live in pain every day, but this was new.  OK.  I get new stuff all the time too, but this actually got MY attention, somewhat of a miracle, trust me!

Well, I looked so good that the doctor poo-poo'ed it and pointed out how much stress we were under lately...true.  I didn't think that explained the "new pain" but...hey, the man's been right on an occasion or two (ha!).

That day I also decided that the two almost year-old prescriptions for glasses I'd been carrying around could be filled at the one-hour place at the mall.  Yes siree, get me out of my bed and the sky's the limit.  Often my daughter will say, "so, shall we now drive up to Babushka's?"... her grandmother who lives eight hours away. Cute kid!  Very funny kid.

I was in an absolutely wonderful mood.  I actually picked out two frames I loved, a first.  My son and I sat down where he gobbled down his dinner and then ate mine too.  Good time as we walked around.  

My luck!  I picked up the glasses and tried them on.  Both prescriptions were wrong...WAY wrong.  The man, who HAD thought that they were an odd prescription, tried to talk me into liking the new "vision."  I informed him that IF my son were playing at the Super Bowl and IF I wanted to see if his nose were running, only THEN would I need the new prescription.  I had thought the new eye doctor might have been a bit off when I saw her...OK, I actually wondered if she was nipping from a bottle, but never did I expect a bad prescription.  The reading glasses were off too.  The poor optometrist at the one-hour place was about to go home but he was roped into checking my eyes.  I really did not want to come back.  Who knew WHEN I'd put makeup on again, much less get out of bed for a day...carpe diem, as my disgustingly optimistic hubby would say.  Seize the day!

Two new pairs of glasses had to be grinded.  My son looked at me and said, "things never do go quite smoothly for you, mom, do they?" Oh, as I've said once before, out of the mouth of babes!  An hour later, I was on my way home, happy that I'd picked out new glass frames to go with eyes which had on makeup.  The last time had been without eye makeup and it was a most unfortunate move.

But the next day, I had a really bad pain that nothing would help.  I finally woke up that eternally optimistic hubby of mine who took one look at me and said, "OK...off to the ER!"  There we had many tests and it turned out that this new pain was gall bladder stones!  Appointments for further testing were made.

So, the moral of my story?  Well, there are several morals but I'll only point out a few.

Ladies, do NOT throw your doctor off by putting on war paint when going for an appointment. It really threw my GP off his game.  Wow!  Was HE ever shocked! 

Secondly?  DO wear your eye makeup when picking out new eyeglass frames.  I hated every minute of the four years I wore the pair where I wore no makeup picking out the frames.  Sad.

Thirdly, if you think there's something wrong about a doctor...look into it, for heaven's sake.  That woman was nuts!  NOT to mention blind.

Fourthly: skincare is here to stay, girls!  Forget the big guns and paint.  Yes, the no-makeup look takes a lot of work but don't let anyone fool you...it's a lot easier to achieve if your skin is good to begin with.  I know, it's very time-consuming, but what can I say?  Sometimes it's a real pain being a woman.

Finally, if you go to the ER, you may want to consider washing your face off with bleach and detergent...you WANT to look bad and not radiant from the latest wonderful blush you bought.  Church: wear it all.  Hospital?  If you want to be taken seriously, don't even THINK about hydrating your face!