2003-04-22 - 1:32 p.m.

On the internal soundtrack: "Ask", The Smiths

Ok, let's see if I can get an entry written.

In brief:

- Vacation was lovely. I sat around and did nothing. Well, I managed to read a bunch of People magazines my MIL thoughtfully provided, and I managed to read one of the books I'd brought along: Jane Jacobs' Death and Life of Great American Cities. Also, I patted the dog. The dog amused me to no end. Anytime I sat down on the couch, she would take a flying leap onto my lap and begin licking my face and ears. Once she was satisfied that she'd greeted me enthusiastically enough, she'd make a half-turn and plop her back snugly against my leg. Could she BE any more adorable?! Good thing she's little. I've had bigger dogs do that and almost knock me over. Also amusing to me is that when I am reading, and the dog jumps on me, out of the corner of my eye it looks momentarily like I am being attacked by a vicious Doberman.

- Saturday, my parents babysat for the twins and the baby so that Alicia and Matt could come down here for dinner. We had a fantastic time. We reminisced a bit, grumbled about how terrible the Philadelphia area's ethnic food is compared to DC (they lived there for over 5 years), and, much to my mortified amusement, talked about ... mortgages. When I was a kid, my eyes would glaze over at family dinners when my parents and grandparents talked about mortgages. Since then, the code for boring grownup talk has always been "mortgages". And now I'm doing it. I guess it's official: I'm an adult, whether I want to be or not.

- Easter was at Mom's. I made two batches of macaroni and cheese -- one the family's traditional bake with sharp cheddar and egg, and another with monterey jack and a milk/butter/flour sauce. The traditional bake passed my father's test and he gave his approval. That was a relief. Mainly everyone speculated over why the monterey jack version had a stronger cheese taste than the sharp cheddar. I think it's the eggs, because the main ingredients (milk, pasta, cheese) were equally proportioned in each dish.

- My aunt Cassie made a cheesecake that was so good I just about died. My office buys store-made cheesecakes for people's birthdays and such and I just had no idea how bad they were until I tasted hers. I took some home. It's so rich I can only eat a tiny bit each day.

- Springtime in Philadelphia is freaking GORGEOUS. GORGEOUS. I was starting to feel discouraged about its dirtiness toward the end of winter, and then the trees started blooming and I forgot all about it. Going outside is wonderfully joyful now, after being painful all winter.

- Oh dear. I discovered VH1 Classics' "We Are the 80s" and the pop-rock show that follows it, thanks to Sarah. I am in trouble. Thank goodness I don't know all the videos or I'd be glued to the TV for two hours in a row each day.

- We had two broken windows, one of which was the six-foot-tall window in the nook. We fixed 'em, to the tune of $675 (the nook window was really difficult to do). No more worrying that the one will break on my head when I'm eating in the nook.

- Speaking of the nook, I've gone nuts with the flowers. I got my mom two bunches of alstromeria (pink and white) and put them in vases for her, got myself a bunch of red ones, and splurged on a lovely orange-yellow rose with red edging. Then I put my campanula and a pot of blue pansies in the nook too, and ended up with a little Flower Nook which makes me insanely happy each time I look at it. FLOWER OVERLOAD! It still looks nice even though my mom now has the pink and white ones, so I think I'll make a point to keep flowers there at all times. See:

- We've been having visitors once a week or so, which means that the house has been neat enough for drop-in visitors for almost a MONTH STRAIGHT. I am amazed. Maybe I'll keep it up this time. If I'm slipping, I'll start inviting people over.

- I have no deadlines at work, and the back-burner work I'm supposed to be doing is annoying, so I have been DIGUSTINGLY unproductive. I have GOT to cut this shit out. I think I'm going to start staying offline in the afternoons, possibly going to the library. I tried the coffee shop but the customers were too friendly and interesting so that's not gonna work.

GIRLY TMI WARNING: For anyone not interested in girly issues, specifically skin care issues and the relationship between hormones and skin care, the entry ends here. You can skip to the gratuitous photo at the bottom now.

Awhile back, Sheeplass wrote an entry requesting advice on skin care. Three weeks or so later, she mentioned that her regimen was working nicely, although I must ask her exactly what her regimen is (maybe I missed an entry), other than the morning scrub and not touching her face. I've incorporated both into my own regimen.

(Aside: I really cannot believe I am talking about a "skincare regimen". How nauseatingly girly.)

Background: I have classic combination skin: Oily T-zone and dry-to-normal cheeks. It doesn't seem to be particularly sensitive. My forehead becomes visibly oily if I don't blot it occasionally. I get the occasional ... what's the nice word? ... "blemish", usually three at a time or so, scattered here and there, during two specific times: Just before my periods and right around ovulation. So it's hormone-related, which irritates me since I can't just avoid certain foods or whatever (and no, the hormonal birth control is NOT an option). I still get blemishes on my cheeks even though they're not oily. Great. And I get small blemishes (not really big or red enough to cover with makeup) all over for no apparent reason.

So, I've been using Ivory soap for years now and had "OK" skin. I didn't even start using moisturizer until last Christmas (2001), when I had my makeover and got scolded for having dry cheeks. So I finally decided to try using a "cleanser" instead, although I was skeptical that it was all just a lotions-and-potions racket.

First I bought some Neutrogena's Fresh Foaming Cleanser on sale. That stuff is nice! It makes my skin very soft, not as drying as the Ivory. So that was nice. Guess I was wrong about the racket. It didn't get rid of any pimples, though. Drat.

Then, we went to Florida and I didn't bring the Neutrogena because it's a pump and it's a pain to pack. While there, I went to Target with the MIL and browsed the cleanser section. Since it's my philosophy to start with the lower price and work my way up (since I've found that many drugstore makeups are just as good as, better than in some cases, the expensive crap), I picked up some Clean & Clear Oil-Free Pore Scrubbing Cleanser. This is a little more drying, but I moisturize (Pond's Oil-Free something-or-other). On the other hand, it's done wonders to the clogged pores I had. Freakin' wow. My skin is much smoother along the edges of my face than it's ever been.

Currently the routine is as follows:

Nighttime: Pore Scrub, Moisturizer

Morning: Neutrogena Fresh, Moisturizer

But. Still with the blemishes. They're worse, even. I don't know if I should keep at it for a while, if it takes longer than a couple weeks to see results with breakouts, or what. I've been good about not touching my face. Or should I try a toner? If so, should I try alcohol-free or go ahead with a more traditional kind? Would Clearasil help? Argh. Poindexter keeps yelling at me to go to the dermatologist, but I don't have PROBLEM acne, I have a few zits. I know I'd rather have a few zits than take any non-topical medications. Sigh.

Gratuitous photo of the day is one of my favorite photos of myself from the "Girl in Sink" photo shoot. Poindexter took this one:

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