what i did today

Scott: Are you going to take a shower today and get ready?

Amy: Um, I did.  Can you not tell I did my hair and makeup??

Scott (smiling and speechless for once): Uhhhhh….yeah.

*Amy picks up a pen to throw at Scott while they both laugh*

He better be glad I have a sense of humor.

The girl in this picture with me

is the same girl in this picture with me

And also the same girl who just started her own blog!  I’ve known her since we were 8 and she’s been writing as long as I can remember.  She has a degree in journalism/creative writing (I think that’s what it is) so she’s a much better writer than me.  I’m thoroughly enjoying keeping up with her so go check her out.

So this past week has been a tough one.  I’ve kept my extra time really busy.  The new site kept the first part of my week very busy.  I’ve been really concentrated on the new Isagenix plan I’ve been doing which if nothing else, is just a mental toll on me.  We started our new Beth Moore bible study which takes 30 min- 1hr 5 days a week.  Also, a few people have reached out for my time whether it be with computer help or just dinner which I’ve gladly accepted in all cases.  Triple coupons were Thursday at the grocery store.  We had an extra choir practice Saturday night, bible study that ran over Saturday morning.  It just seemed like there was a lot of “extra” stuff to do this week.

Last night I completely crashed. I was in bed by 9:30, slept until 8:30 and then thankfully Scott watched the kids this afternoon while I slept all afternoon.  I’m feeling better this evening but I really could crash early this evening again.

This week is looking pretty busy as well.  I still need to get to CVS for the week tomorrow and tomorrow and Tuesday are “cleanse days” for Isagenix.  Basically you eat no solids and drink this fruit juice stuff and lots of water.  They do allow eating a protein/carb snack if you get really hungry.  I’m going to be interested to see how this cleanse goes.  I was down 1.5 lbs. since last Wednesday so 2 days of not eating anything might take me down to my goal.  If so, I think I’m going to switch to their regular maintenance plan of only one shake a day.

I’m working on getting my Bible study worked in regularly which honestly is going to be hard with all my TV shows starting this week 😉

This weekend we are going to the mountains with our youth council.  That is, of course, if I can make sure to get someone to watch the girls. I really need to work on that tomorrow!

So anyway, all that to say that’s probably why posts are pretty slim around here and explain that’s where my head has been lately.

So I had my first “microderm” yesterday afternoon.  I’ve struggled with adult acne since my early twenties and have finally gotten it mostly under control in the past few years.  I have long thought about dealing with my acne scars and with the Hot Blogger Calendar shoot coming up in two weeks, I really want my skin to look its best.  I happened to have my scheduled visit with my dermatologist a few weeks ago and he recommended either a microderm or chemical peel to lessen but not get rid of my scars.  He said either way it would really help my acne.  The chemical peel sounds scary so I went with microderm.

I wish I would have taken pictures but I didn’t.  But basically I went in, she cleansed my face and then put some sort enzyme mask on for 5 minutes.  Then she whirled the table I was on around to the actual machine.  It was a wand attached to a machine.  The wand had small crystals that were flying around inside of it and she ran the wand across my face quickly.  It has suction to it so it basically just felt like I was getting my face roughly vacuumed.  It wasn’t painful though.  She described it has being licked my a cat.  And yes, that’s what the crystals feel like but she left out the suction part which I was a little surprised about.  so that process basically takes off the top layer of dead skin.

She made two passes over my face and then did what they like to call “extraction”.  Which basically means she spends 15 minutes popping all my pimples and blackheads.  I had a quick discussion about this since dr’s are always emphatic about NOT popping pimples but she explained there is a right way to it and “leave it to the professionals”.  This of course at times was a little painful and took me back to times when my mom would lean over with her two thumbs saying “can i just pop that for you??”.  Oh yes, fond memories.  That was probably the least pleasant part actually.

After that, she washed the crystals off my face and then let me wear another mask for a few minutes.  And that was it.  My face was a little red but not anymore red than if I had just done my own mask or something.

My face was a bit oily at first because she also put on sunscreen when she was done.  You’re not supposed to wear makeup for 24 hours so I had to go out to dinner all shiny and red but that’s ok.

I waited until just now to put on makeup and I have to say my skin is very, very smooth today.  And it feels good not to have ANY blemishes today.  My makeup went on smoothly and overall I’m very, very satisfied.  They recommended me coming in every 2 weeks until I get to the point I want to and then coming every 2 months.   So that’s it.  If you’re looking for that extra cleansing and some smooth skin without any downtime, I think this is it.

Unfortunately I’m really good at sticking my foot in my mouth.  And for this one, I still feel more bad than awkward.

When we moved to Columbia, I was intent on getting involved from the get-go at church.  We weren’t sure how long we were going to be living there but we knew no one and I wanted to recreate my circle of family and friends at church…and in a hurry.  So we signed up for Sunday School right away, we went to their functions, signed up as leaders for AWANA and I joined a Bible study that met really early in the morning.

The Bible study included women that were mostly older than me.  I was about 25 at the time.  The leader was probably in her late 40’s, maybe early 50s, there were some 30 somethings in there and I distinctly remember a lady there in her late 30s.  Her and her husband were in our Sunday School class.  I think they had two boys about 8 and 10 that were both adopted.  She had shared on several occassions her pain of not being able to get pregnant.  It took Scott and I 15 months of trying to get pregnant with Emma so I understood a little of what she was going through but she was to the point of real pain and questioning God.

Scott and I got pregnant about 9 months into our move to Columbia.  We were ecstatic of course and I was ready to share with everyone I could tell.  I remember going into the Bible Study and one of the first things we did was share prayer requests/praises.  I put a big smile on my face and shared our good news.  “We just found out I’m pregnant!”  I waited for all the congratulations, smiles and encouragement. The leader look at me with one of those half-smiles and said something like “That’s great!”  I realized right after I said it that the other lady dealing with infertility was there and she probably was dying inside.  It was one of those times I just wish I could take back and still get that awkward feeling inside when I imagine that moment.

Grab your iPhone earplugs

Put around your waist area

And measure on your hubby’s tape measure

My mom is rolling her eyes right now.  Or laughing.  Maybe both.

Sooo…posts have been slow around here, no?  Welll…I have this new little project I’ve been working on.  I may or may not have gone and created ANOTHER blog.  And it may or may not be about ANOTHER teen drama.   And if I had, you might find it over here.

The site is not nearly done. I still have a lot of work to do especially with the design and getting all the ad systems worked out.  I’m finding I already have competition from a few fan sites so we’ll see how this one goes.  I watched the premiere last week and thought it had some great moments.  This show isn’t CW’s “baby” but I really think it has potential and I’d rather get started earlier than later.   So there, that’s where all my extra, extra time is going right now.

So the latest “health thing” I’ve been turned on to is Isagenix.  Honestly, I don’t know a whole lot about it.  What I do know is they’re big on cleansing your body of toxins and keeping all the right things in there.  Which is one of the Seven Pillars I read about and have yet to implement.

I think a lot of people use this system to lose weight and I know it works as my mom has lost about 5 lbs so far while doing it but they also have a “maintenance” system which I’m planning to go on.  I have no idea what to expect except that the first two weeks are very aggressive and there are shakes and pills and little pieces of chocolates involved and the lady said I will probably lose inches and probably 5 lbs.  That also puts me right at my NYC Hot Blogger trip so I’m all for it.  Really?  I’m just hoping I don’t spend that weekend in the bathroom “cleansing”.