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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!


@aprilskies wrote:

... I will tell you though, my skin was so much better before I went crazy with skincare.  Hello 40's, qvc and these boards.  ...and let me not forget my "spending" addiction. Smiley Embarassed  I never had a skincare or makeup addiction before my 40's, it was just every other category that was a problem.  Although I will say, when I found these boards, it was so much fun back then.  Everyone was running around trying to find products and just having a good time. These boards were a hoot.  Between handbags, makeup, skincare, clothes, etc, it was a bunch of ladies just having some fun.  I miss though days. 

 



@aprilskies

 

Recently I was thinking about a time in which I had one closet.  One closet.  In junior and senior high school and in college, I had all my possessions confined to a small space.  My room.  My apartment.  My artsy studio in the redwood forest.  My little rental house in the city.

 

All my clothes, jewelry, toiletries, books.  I moved from my parents' home to my first college apartment and everything I needed was split between my Mustang II and their AMC Ambassador station wagon.

 

What happened?  Why does my stuff occupy almost every closet, cupboard, drawer and shelf in this house?

 

How did we survive when we lived in our small spaces with all our makeup and toiletries in the medicine cabinet over the sink?  How did we survive with one closet that held our clothes and shoes?  Maybe we had one chest of drawers or a dresser for socks, underwear and sweaters.  We had one bookcase. 

 

In the kitchen, four plates, four bowls, a pot, a skillet.  All our utensils in one drawer.

 

Again, what happened?

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~
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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!

@just bee

 

And worst of all:  how did five of us (my family) survive with just one bathroom?

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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!


@geezerette wrote:

@aprilskies

 

I so much see myself in you that it's not even funny.  I've always thought of myself as a logical, fairly intelligent person.  But yet, I seem to have fallen for the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to being gulliable about buying all the hype.  About so many things.  I know darn well that no topical lotion or potion is going to magically fix all the things I don't like about my face.  So why do I keep buying that stuff?  I never used to do that.  I think it stems from wanting to be like everybody else and never feeling quite good enough.  I can't even figure out why I would feel that way--no one else in my family seems to have that problem.  (Not to say that you are in that same predicament, you just seem to say so many of the things I feel and do also.)

 

'Nuff 'bout that.  I can't say if I found my "Holy Grail" or not, mine sort of came about out of frustration.  My skin, having been oily all my life, started getting dry.  And kept getting drier.  Everything  I tried didn't give me enough moisture, but so many of the heavier cleansers and moisturizers still broke me out.  Out of desperation and exhaustion, one day I tried my WEN Cleaning Conditioner as a facial cleanser.  It was wonderful!  After a of experimentation, I finally ended up using WEN Body Cleansing Creme, followed by the Ultra Nourishing Body Cream and that's it!  It's not too much and doesn't break me out.  Plus it eliminates a bunch of products.  I couldn't find an SPF that was moisturizing enough by itself, so I just use the Body Cream underneath my made-for-oily-skin Paula's Choice SPF in the morning.  I figure WEN won't be changing anything for a while, but I'm taking my chances with Paula's Choice since they seem to be on a kick to change formulas lately.  

 

Yes, I am feeling considerably better physically now, thank you.  But as soon as I did, my old eating habit reared its ugly head.  Just this morning I sneaked a three-day-old sausage and put mayonnaise on it--a complete no-no!  It was easy to eat right when I felt awful, now it's getting hard again.  I'm just going to have to get my head straight about that, along with all this other stuff.  But why am I having so many problems with this at this age?  I seem to have turned into a complete and utter idiot.  I've abdicated all responsibility for myself.  Why?  That's what I can't seem to figure out.

 

Well, I can't end on that cheery note, so let me say that tomorrow promises to be a very nice day here: cooler with lower humidity, at least for one day.  I'm going to do all I can to enjoy it.  I hope everyone else has a great weekend too!


@geezerette

 

I cannot express how much I enjoy your visits.

 

 I think it stems from wanting to be like everybody else and never feeling quite good enough.  I can't even figure out why I would feel that way--no one else in my family seems to have that problem.

 

I can't figure that one out, either.  Why is it that all the people I know who have these strange self-esteem issues are the smartest, funniest, most talented people I know?  And how come they don't know it?  One of those mysteries of life.

 

 Just this morning I sneaked a three-day-old sausage and put mayonnaise on it--a complete no-no!  It was easy to eat right when I felt awful, now it's getting hard again.  I'm just going to have to get my head straight about that, along with all this other stuff.  But why am I having so many problems with this at this age?  I seem to have turned into a complete and utter idiot.  I've abdicated all responsibility for myself.  Why?  That's what I can't seem to figure out.

 

I like my sausages hot, spicy and covered with yellow, orange, red and green bell peppers.  My family always did the one skillet method so the peppers would cook with the fat and flavor of the sausages.  I introduced Better-half to sausage and peppers and he has refined the process.  Sausages and peppers are cooked separately.  Sausages in the oven, peppers steamed on the stove.  Don't have all the sausage grease, but still have plenty of flavor.  Peppers can taste like peppers instead of sausage.

 

I was talking with a patient this week and somehow we started talking about food and nutrition.  I asked, "Are you eating brown food?"  As it turns out, yes.  "Think rainbow," I said.

 

I have brown periods myself because I like carbs and starch, but I know I feel and look different when my diet is brown, beige and tan.  Better-half is out of town again, taking care of his mother's things, and I am responsible for feeding myself.

 

It's daunting making choices about food.  But it's also exciting.  Last time he was out of the house I filled the kitchen with fruit.  So much that I still have plums, cherries and nectarines to polish off.  The strawberries were a disappointment but the Northwest cherries have been awesome this year.

 

Your homework assignment this week is to go eat a rainbow.  And I'm not talkin' a bag of Skittles.

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~
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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!


@geezerette wrote:

@just bee

 

And worst of all:  how did five of us (my family) survive with just one bathroom?


@geezerette

 

One bathroom, one car.  In fact, no car when my mother was head of the household.  She didn't drive.  Ever.

 

And such a small bathroom, too!

 

I recall a small tray on a dresser that held my cologne bottles and a little music box for my tiny jewelry collection.  In high school, my records took up more space than anything else.

 

You know, those black vinyl things?

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~
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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!

@just bee

 

Oh, I know all about eating the rainbow colors.  I have been doing it for years, all the while I was mainlining sugar and junk food too.  

 

I like my rainbow with mayo.

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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!


@geezerette wrote:

@just bee

 

Oh, I know all about eating the rainbow colors.  I have been doing it for years, all the while I was mainlining sugar and junk food too.  

 

I like my rainbow with mayo.


@geezerette

 

Funny, I was just looking at the jars in the fridge and their expiration dates.  The store brand "classic whip" has a sell-by date of November 2016.

 

I think I'll replace that while Better-half's out of the state.

 

The only argument my mother and stepfather ever had was over mayo.  Someone picked up the wrong jar at the store.  I don't know if it was the wrong brand or if it was mayo or Miracle Whip.

 

Almost the same thing with me and Better-half.  We were discussing mayo versus Miracle Whip and all I said was, "We were a Miracle Whip family."

 

You would have thought I'd said, "It was what we served with our Beluga on the yacht."  Absolutely set him off.

 

They say s_x and finances destroy relationships.  I say it's condiments.

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~
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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!


@just bee wrote:

@geezerette wrote:

@just bee

 

Oh, I know all about eating the rainbow colors.  I have been doing it for years, all the while I was mainlining sugar and junk food too.  

 

I like my rainbow with mayo.


@geezerette

 

Funny, I was just looking at the jars in the fridge and their expiration dates.  The store brand "classic whip" has a sell-by date of November 2016.

 

I think I'll replace that while Better-half's out of the state.

 

The only argument my mother and stepfather ever had was over mayo.  Someone picked up the wrong jar at the store.  I don't know if it was the wrong brand or if it was mayo or Miracle Whip.

 

Almost the same thing with me and Better-half.  We were discussing mayo versus Miracle Whip and all I said was, "We were a Miracle Whip family."

 

You would have thought I'd said, "It was what we served with our Beluga on the yacht."  Absolutely set him off.

 

They say s_x and finances destroy relationships.  I say it's condiments.


We were a Miracle Whip family too, I think it was solely because it was cheap.  When I met the geezer, he was a Hellman's mayo man.  Had to be Hellman's.  So I became one too, er, Hellman's woman.  At first it was confusing when we moved out west--the whole Best Foods-Hellman's thing.

 

My Kroger manager and I have this Hellman's vs. Miracle Whip discussion with one of the cashiers often.  

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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!


@geezerette wrote:

@just bee wrote:

@geezerette wrote:

@just bee

 

Oh, I know all about eating the rainbow colors.  I have been doing it for years, all the while I was mainlining sugar and junk food too.  

 

I like my rainbow with mayo.


@geezerette

 

Funny, I was just looking at the jars in the fridge and their expiration dates.  The store brand "classic whip" has a sell-by date of November 2016.

 

I think I'll replace that while Better-half's out of the state.

 

The only argument my mother and stepfather ever had was over mayo.  Someone picked up the wrong jar at the store.  I don't know if it was the wrong brand or if it was mayo or Miracle Whip.

 

Almost the same thing with me and Better-half.  We were discussing mayo versus Miracle Whip and all I said was, "We were a Miracle Whip family."

 

You would have thought I'd said, "It was what we served with our Beluga on the yacht."  Absolutely set him off.

 

They say s_x and finances destroy relationships.  I say it's condiments.


We were a Miracle Whip family too, I think it was solely because it was cheap.  When I met the geezer, he was a Hellman's mayo man.  Had to be Hellman's.  So I became one too, er, Hellman's woman.  At first it was confusing when we moved out west--the whole Best Foods-Hellman's thing.

 

My Kroger manager and I have this Hellman's vs. Miracle Whip discussion with one of the cashiers often.  


@geezerette

 

That's it.  Another separated-at-birth moment.

 

My stepfather was mayo, my mother was the Whip.  Better-half leans mayo.

 

I'm not as committed to Miracle Whip these days because it seems a bit too sweet to me.  But I'm looking at the stacks of tuna cans in the pantry and I'm thinking I might need to have a tuna sandwich this week.

 

And to think I gave up tuna in college when I went through my save-the-whale phase.

 

And don't get me started on tuna brands.  BH and I do agree on albacore.  Before he left town last time, he had just made the dish that sealed the deal for me back when we first met.  The man makes a mean tuna casserole.  Full of green chile and cheese.  My Italian grandfather's spinning in his grave: "She's eating fish with cheese?  Madonna mia!"

 

Thing is, he made a vat of the stuff and I ate every bit of it while he was gone.  Even he was shocked when I told him it was gone because I ate it all.  Took about four days, but I did it.

 

P.S. Kroger in these parts is Smith's. Woman Wink

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~
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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!

@just bee

 

You had to mention tuna sandwiches! A while back I got some tuna intending to just eat it plain.  But I made the mistake of going through the bakery aisle and found some Brioche bread.  Had to get a loaf.  Made up some tuna salad, put it on the bread.  Ambrosia!  And you can guess the rest.  The whole loaf of bread and all my cans of tuna were gone in two days.

 

We had Smith's in our parts out there too.  But when Kroger bought Fry's, the Smiths became Frys.

 

And speaking of Better-Half, how is he doing dealing with all his family matters?  Moreover, how are you doing with him dealing with all his family matters?

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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!


@geezerette wrote:

@just bee

 

You had to mention tuna sandwiches! A while back I got some tuna intending to just eat it plain.  But I made the mistake of going through the bakery aisle and found some Brioche bread.  Had to get a loaf.  Made up some tuna salad, put it on the bread.  Ambrosia!  And you can guess the rest.  The whole loaf of bread and all my cans of tuna were gone in two days.

 

We had Smith's in our parts out there too.  But when Kroger bought Fry's, the Smiths became Frys.

 

And speaking of Better-Half, how is he doing dealing with all his family matters?  Moreover, how are you doing with him dealing with all his family matters?


@geezerette

 

Okay, now I want to go shopping for bread.

 

I was on pins and needles yesterday because he decided to drive.  Several years ago, he drove there for his mother's 60th birthday party and he took my beloved, now deceased, Subaru.  It blew up in Pueblo.  Was never the same after that.

 

He took his old truck and I always worry, but he made it up there.  Called me every two hours on the road.

 

Don't know how long it will take to deal with her possessions, including a house and car (a Subaru), but he and his brother are sharing the responsibility.  They get to spend some time together.  BH was able to see how many friends she had in her community and what an impact she made there.  Pleasant surprises, a silver lining.

 

Another silver lining that I'd already mentioned was his sudden appreciation of New Mexico.  He'd still leave in a heartbeat, but he seems to hate it less now.

 

He was prepared for this because he was there for me when I lost my sister and mother.  He doesn't get sentimental or emotional, but he did start to snot up a couple times when he was back.  Before this, the only times I've seen him cry has been over the death of our dogs.  When we were dating he had to put his dog to sleep and this dog was more of a brother to him than his brother.  He absolutely lost it.  I knew then that he was worth the effort.  A man who loves dogs is a keeper.

 

I just hope he doesn't nag too much when this is over.  Yes, I know we have stuff and we could and should pare down.  But I don't like to be pushed.

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~