A few small updates

-The new teeth are beautiful. They should be, considering what they cost. My dentist is meticulous and he did a really great job. You can't even tell that anything was done, except if you look closely the crowns are prettier than my actual teeth. Next up he'll be filling all of the regular cavities (4 or 5?) in one [sedated] appointment.

-The annual allergies/sinus infection process has started, despite my benadryl efforts. I broke down and bought some 24-hr zyrtec and nasal spray to make things more comfortable, but overall it sucks and I felt crummy all week. By the way, tissues with lotion are pretty great, but the tissues with lotion + Vicks are remarkable!

-Andrea talked me into going to this yoga triathlon thing. As a rule I usually decline things like 5Ks, however disguised they might be with wine/chocolate/costumes/colored powder... underneath it all I don't particularly like paying money to deal with large crowds and exercise in the blazing heat.

BUT I've been trying to find ways to hang out with my friends that don't involve food or booze. Because it seems all we ever do is go out for dinner or drinks, which is nice but gets old and it seems like we could be doing much healthier things while maintaining our friendships. So I agreed to try it. (And sewed up a quick yoga mat strap for the fun of it)

Overall, it was actually a pretty neat event, and I met some cool new chicks. I would have enjoyed it more if it were not a sunny, 95-degree day. I did my best through the sweat and sinus congestion; I walked the 5k but I lost steam halfway through yoga and had to seek shade during the meditation. In the end, we all skipped our extra activity and went home because it was so damn hot. I really wanted to try hooping but I guess it wasn't in the cards today.


-I cleaned my shower last weekend. I always feel the need to talk about it because it's such a huge pain in the ass. No matter how much I scrub, I can never get all the hard water deposits off the shower door and it looks constantly grungy. This time, I tried something I saw on pinterest and it actually worked better than anything else I've tried.
So, I'm sharing the shower-cleaning miracle: A dryer sheet. Yep. I took a couple of (new) dryer sheets, got them wet, and used them to clean the shower door. It wasn't effortless, but took WAY less elbow grease than any other cleaner I've tried, and took off WAY more grunge. I was surprised and totally happy about it. Once the doors were clean, I sprayed them with Rain-X to hopefully buy more time until the next cleaning.

-I found an old James Avery charm bracelet, empty with the tag still on it, in the drawer the other day. I used to love wearing my charm bracelet. It got filled it up so I asked for a new one for my birthday many years ago. Then I stopped wearing it because it got in the way in the lab, and I never filled up the new one. Now, I think I'd be able to wear one since I don't deal with specimens as much, plus I can afford the charms now. So I'm looking forward to building this new bracelet.

-Acne adventures continue!
Quick recap: When I first went to the dermatologist after ending birth control, she prescribed a few topical antibiotics (Velitin and Aczone). I gave the products a chance, but they didn't do much, so I went back. Then she asked if I would consider taking oral antibiotics. No, thanks. She respected that, then prescribed a retinoid... which also isn't doing great things for the acne but it IS fading the dark spots so I use it a couple times a week but discontinued the other products. Why pay for a refill when they don't help?

Backtracking, Chris randomly bought a bottle of tea tree oil with a bunch of dietary/ workout supplements a while back. When I saw the bottle I convinced him that it would probably not be a great idea to ingest it (??) and then it sat in the bathroom cabinet for a while.
The last time I got a big hurty zit I dabbed a little on it, and what do you know, it calmed that big hurty zit down overnight. I don't think I can use it preventatively, but it certainly helps shorten the life of the acne that does pop up.

That's all for now.