wild saturday

Sitting next to FG on the couch munching on a snack plate and drinking wine while he watches football.

Today was perfect hiking weather. Did we go hiking? No. We completed a few tasks on the to-do lists and I spent much of the day battling one of those damn headaches that makes me useless. The damn heater spews all that dry air and it fries my sinuses. Gotta bust out the humidifier. 

The bedroom transition is moving along. We have looked at approximately 100 bedroom sets at 7 different stores and didn't love any of them. Then we decided that we don't need to be spending $5000 on bedroom furniture while we are trying to buy a lake house. So the new plan is to update the bed (the '70's porno bed is GONE), get an additional dresser on a budget, and upgrade to a matching set later on. So far I found a headboard, frame, and bedskirt for less than $200.

FG just asked if I was blogging about the good loving I got last night. LOL. I told him I don't generally blog about that.

Little baby Olivia was born this week and I've been doing my best to respect my brother and sister-in-law's space, but I'm going to need to snuggle that baby soon. She's so tiny and Emma's reaction to her baby sister is the cutest damn thing.

Starting to feel itchy but I'm trying not to take benadryl so often bc of the dementia-related risks that Suzy pointed out. The dermatologist recommended this lotion that smells like old people (or like icy hot) but works pretty well. I have also found that when it gets cold and dry, if I don't shower my skin feels better. Something about the hot water? But I can only go so long without a shower... 

belly, floors, lake, clothes

I feel like I've eaten SO MUCH FOOD lately. 

My stomach has been tolerating everything I eat and it's awesome. I wonder how long this bout of normalcy will last? I feel so nourished and soft and happy. People really take it for granted when their digestive system simply digests food without complaint.

Also my period was 4 days late this month. Normally it's on a very regular, 28-day schedule and in the past I would have freaked out, but since I got my tubes removed, it's no big deal. I love that peace of mind.

A friend of mine told me that instead of sweeping or vacuuming his floors, he uses a leaf blower and blows all the pet hair and dirt out the front door. I tried it today. Sure, it blows all the stuff out from under the couch, but it's very hard to direct the flow. Everything blew up into the air and while some of it made it outside the door, I think half of it is now on every surface in this house. Now I have to freaking DUST! My other least-favorite chore! I won't be trying that again. The 3 roombas will just have to do.

We don't have any trips planned. Weird, right? FG is going on a cruise but I refuse to be trapped on a floating cesspool. Ever. (You will never find me on a cruise).

The current lack of traveling works out okay because I'd rather spend my weekends looking at lake houses. The perfect house got away from us, and we were crushed because it had everything we wanted and we really thought that was OUR house. Man, it was hard to lose it. It had original hardwood floors and an incredible view and it was just so good. That's okay though because there will be something else that is just as good. Everything happens for a reason, right?

I started taking benadryl at night again. It seems to help with my itchy arms and it helps with my sinuses too. FG thinks it's creepy that I don't wake up when he comes to bed and kisses me goodnight, but I'm perfectly happy to sleep like a rock.

Work is still really slow. Again, I'm getting a little stir crazy but I'm also choosing to embrace it, because I know I'll be slammed again at some point.

I bought 10 pairs of jeans online and returned all of them. I know that high rise pants are the style right now, but that is NOT a good look for gals with no butts. Even the mid-rise styles didn't work for me. Not only are they unflattering, I don't like the feel of the material over my entire belly. I'd prefer them to hit at my hip bones, but apparently I need to wait for lower rise styles to come back into fashion and buy that shit up. Buying pants sucks.

I think I'm going to make some peanut butter cookies. Because right now, I can eat them and they won't fuck me up. Cheers.

Mascara review

A few months ago I wanted to try something new so I asked for mascara recommendations. I picked the 4 most suggested ones and tried them out.

Overall, all of them looked very similar once they were on. They all washed off completely with my normal facial cleanser, so the big difference between them all was application and wear. 

For consistency in the experiment, all of them were regular formula black mascara. I did not wear eyeshadow, and did not curl my lashes.

All ratings are out of 5 stars.

1. Maybelline Sky High

Brush type: Thin, hard spiky brush. 

Application: 4.5 stars. The skinny brush made it easy to get mascara on all lashes, including the inner and outer corners, without making a mess. The formula goes on thick and clumpy but combs out surprisingly easy.

Wear: 5 stars. No noticeable smearing at the end of the day.

2. Too Faced Better than Sex

Brush type: Big brush.

Application: 4 stars. The bulky brush made it hard to get corner lashes without making a mess. The formula goes on smooth and any clumps were easy to brush out. My lashes felt soft and feathery.

Wear: 4 stars. Some days there was smudging on the undereye area.

3. Elf Big Mood

Brush Type: Big uneven brush.

Application: 3 stars. The brush size and shape made it difficult to get corner lashes without making a mess. Mascara tended to glob on the tip of the brush when it came out of the tube. The formula goes on clumpy and it was difficult to brush out clumps.

Wear: 3.5 stars. Smudged a little bit on the undereye area.

4. Loreal Telescopic

Brush type: Thin, hard spiky brush.

Application: 3 stars. The skinny brush makes it easy to apply to corner lashes. The formula goes on thick and I spent a long time trying to brush out clumps. It made my lashes feel stiff.

Wear: 3.5 stars. Smudged a little bit on the undereye area.

Greetings from 2022

I tapped out last night at around 10:45. I was feeling crummy already + the champagne I was drinking gave me a stomach ache. I was briefly woken up by fireworks going off like crazy at midnight.

Sitting on the couch drinking tea endlessly because that's what you're supposed to do when you're sick. Watching a Doctor Who marathon. Earlier, FG walked by and announced that he didn't care for sci-fi. Then he made fun of the Ood. Still dumbstruck by that exchange.

I asked him to come up with a three-word affirmation for this year. After the cold front comes through tomorrow I plan to open up the house, sage, and set some intentions. His mom likes to call that stuff "woo woo" stuff and he is always a good sport when it comes to the "woo woo" stuff. The words he chose were health, happiness, and prosperity. Interesting. 

Ashley asked me what resolutions I have. Not really feeling resolutions this year.

I should come up with some things I'd like to accomplish but, you know, there's not much I'd change right now. I've been really happy. Guess I'll continue with the periodic mini goals.

hey you, porker

Hope this blog post finds you well.

I'm sitting on the couch looking at boxes of Christmas decorations that need to be put back up into the attic. In the meantime they just make the house look messy. It can be messy for a few days. I'm telling myself that... over and over.

After taking a break from house-related changes, I declared that 2022 is the year that we bring our bedroom into this decade. The bulky old waterbed frame and mismatched furniture don't exactly lend a relaxing vibe. As long as FG can find a deal on the furniture, I'll get my new bedroom.

Also working on the living room situation. The couches and end tables are awkward in the space and I'm just not great at the home styling stuff. I tend to find pieces that serve a purpose but also look pretty, and sometimes those things don't go well together. For example we replaced the gigantic useless coffee table with a storage ottoman, and I love the ottoman but it doesn't match the couches and looks a little off. FG drew the line at new couches (if you give a mouse a cookie), and he's probably right, so I'm going to have to figure it out. I'd almost like to hire Frank's decorator just to have a fresh eye in here. Hm.

The lake house search is ongoing and I'm hoping that after the holidays people put their houses on the market. We have seen a lot of cool houses but we have so many requirements that it will have to be a very specific property for us to really be interested. I'd really also love to not pay for that storage unit every month and drink my coffee with a beautiful view. You know?

That was a lot about houses and home decor. 

Oh, I'm getting my face lasered next week. Hopefully these sun spots and old acne scar discoloration will fade. Not that it's super bad, but I want to try it.

Also about 3 months into using latisse. I asked my eye doctor about dying my eyelashes so I didn't have to wear mascara every day and she said that's a terrible idea and would likely cause a lot of irritation and not be worth it. So she prescribed latisse just to try. Overall I like it. No issues. My lashes are much longer (almost too long), but they're not much darker or thicker. Also my right eye has some scarring along the lash line from when I was a kid, so the growth has always been uneven and that's true now as well. So my lashes are super long but not exactly even. I've also been trying a few mascaras and I have some detailed reviews coming up.

It's also about time to update my wardrobe. I walk in my closet and have "nothing to wear" which means I'm bored with the current choices. Considering trying stitch fix again. Still looking for a good resource for pants because nothing fits anywhere.

I am happy to report that I am still doing daily pushups. I've stalled at 15 but I'm ok with that. We got a gym membership but months later we STILL have not gone. I don't really care and am leaning more towards getting a yoga membership instead. I haven't practiced in months, even at home, and I really do feel better when I do. Plus my job will reimburse the cost of fitness-related expenses so why not?

Work has been slow the last few months. I've learned to TAKE the breaks when they come, because it's only a matter of time before I'll be slammed. We got huge bonuses and I got a good raise this year, so right now I love my job.

Got a little bit of the sniffles going around our house. FG got sick first and we did an at home test for the big C, (fun fact: the tests you get at the drug store are the exact same as the kind used in the hospital labs) and it was negative. His symptoms were mild and ordinarily we wouldn't have bothered to test for it, but we were going to visit his dad who has significant respiratory-related medical issues and we didn't want to take the chance. Anyway whatever he had, I now have, and no matter what you call it, it sucks being sick. Hoping this runs its course fast and doesn't linger like these things tend to do.

hey guys

 A few things.

1. Armpits. The Native deodorant is a champ. I sweat a little, but there is rarely an odor, and I don't have to scrub my pits raw every night trying to get the antiperspirant off. I'm a fan. I'll follow up again in July when it really matters, but for now I'm sold.

2. We have been keeping our eyes on lake houses for over a year now, and have been actively looking since August (pre-approved and ready to pounce), with not much luck. The market is slowing down, but we haven't seen anything we really like. I was really hoping to have a lake house by the end of the year, so here we go: manifesting some badass properties within our budget that will come on the market.

3. My belly continues to mostly behave. I'm so grateful for the calm. I might have found a good combination of diet and supplements. I might even gain some weight! When I feel better and put on a little weight, I feel feminine and soft and sexy. I haven't had curves in a while and I miss them.
It's funny how everyone has different opinions about body image. I hate it when people comment on my body positively when I'm sick and lose weight because I FEEL sickly and bony and gross. It's so weird how people do that anyway.
Starting a new movement: Quit scrutinizing peoples' bodies.
And I swear, if I hear one more person tell me that I'm skinny because I can't eat gluten... Ugh. People are the worst sometimes.

In the meantime, I'm learning to appreciate my body no matter what size I am, no matter if I'm sick or feeling good. I am grateful for a body that wakes up every morning and carries me through life and every glorious experience, no matter what it looks or feels like. That is a big humongous step for me and I'm proud of myself.

4. We were exercising twice a week for a few weeks... and then we took vacations and I traveled for work during weird hours and our schedule went to shit. Trying to get back on track but it's difficult when your schedule keeps changing. At the very least, we do pushups every day and go for nice long evening walks when the weather is nice.

Life has actually been pretty blissful lately. Work is a nice cycle between being busy and then I get a break, we've been traveling to some fun places, our families are happy and healthy, and we are feeling very content and blessed. Taking the opportunity to breathe in and out easily... if you don't count the allergies.

NE Road Trip

In case you are interested, here is the itinerary from our NE road trip:

Day 1:

From LaGuardia: Stay in New Haven, CT: (1 hr 45 m drive)

Other option: Mystic Seaport (2.5 hr drive)

 

Day 2:

Drive to Adams Farm Corn Maze: 495 Sumner Brown Rd, Cumberland, RI 02864 (2 hrs)

Drive to Boston: (1 hr), stay for 2 nights. Salem (30 min away)

 

Day 3:

Day trip to New Hampshire (America’s Stonehenge, 45 min) & Maine (Ogunquit, 1 hr)

Bow Market- reserved a firepit table for 8:30pm

 

Day 4:

Drive to Art in the Orchard: Park Hill Orchard 82 Park Hill Rd, Easthampton, MA 01027 (2 hr)

Drive to Fishkill (2.5 hr)

430pm tasting: Benmarl Winery: 156 Highland Avenue Marlboro, NY 12542

 

Day 5:

Drive to airport, take the Taconic Pkwy (1 hr 15 m)

 

Other things to do:

 

Rhode Island:

Newport Mansions- very south

Providencetown

 

Boston:

Boston Common/Freedom Trail

Beantown Pub (Sam Adams)

Restaurants: Legal, Boston Sail Loft, Pier 6

Isabella Stewart Gardner museum 11-5pm $20

 

Salem:

Salem witch museum Mon 10-5 $15

Ropes Mansion sun 12-4

 

Massachusetts:

Mendon- Festival of illumination Southwick zoo, $25, 5:30-10pm

 

New Hampshire:

Hiking- peanut trail, Breakfast Hill Mountain

 

Maine:

Ogunquit- Marginal Way, Perkins Cove, Beach Plum Farm (610 Main)

Kennebunkport, parsons way trail

Hiking- Kittery Town, Graces woods, mcfeely

 

Vermont:

Scenic drives up North: Smuggler’s Notch, Elm Grove Farm, Sugar bush, Stow, Pomfret and cloudland road

Glastenview maple farm weekend 9-5 weekday 3-5

Dover Honora winery tour

 

Connecticut hiking:

Enders Falls, Chapman Falls, Campbell Falls state park (hike to waterfall), Kent falls state park, Little laurel lime ridge park Seymour ct (limestone caves)