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Registered: ‎11-25-2010

Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!

It's the 2nd week of August already!  My kids are back in school.  It's the hottest month of the year here.  My electric bill is at its highest.  It's a painful month.

 

I am trying to eat less sugar and more plants (like I try to do every month).  But this month I have been chopping up bell peppers, celery and carrots with hummus to snack on.  I find that the crunch helps to satisfy some of the craving I get in the afternoon.  Plus it's all nice and cold which is nice in this heat.  My family wanted to buy ice cream so I bought cookie dough, which isn't my favorite flavor and I haven't had a bite of it.  Oh wait a minute, I had some ice cream from an ice cream shop, but at least it was just one scoop.  If I ate it at home, it would have been 2 scoops.

 

My DS started up basketball practice again so I am starting to walk the neighborhood during that time.  It's SO hot, but I force myself to get moving.  I need to get in more exercise time.

 

I've discovered a couple of indie skincare brands that I'm really enjoying, Jordan Samuel Skin and Stark Skincare.  They have small, simple product lines and their prices are much cheaper than one of my favorite brands, Drunk Elephant.  Once I finish up the remaining DE products, I won't repurchase from that brand, now that I found the indies.  I have built up a slightly bigger skincare "collection" than what I need.  It's frustrating.  I've downsized my makeup but upsized my skincare.  Ack!  So now I have skincare goals.  What I appreciate about Jordan and Jess (from Stark) is that they preach simplicity.  They both have YT channels and I have been enjoying their videos.  They both feel like less is more, which is in line with our compacting.

 

I've been decluttering more makeup.  This week I tossed some eyeshadows from Inglot.  They are very nice, when they are fresh, but mine are old and chalky.  If I'm ever at the point of needing eyeshadow, I would repurchase them.  I gave some other makeup to DD.  She's starting high school so I gave her some basics that are duplicate shades to other things I have.  No sense hoarding dupes.

 

I discovered that I am sensitive to mineral sunscreens.  What the heck?  Mineral sunscreens are supposed to be great for sensitive skin, but I'm part of the minority.  It makes my skin all prickly.  So I have gone back to using good ole Neutrogena Ultra Sheer.  So much for my foray into "green" beauty.  I did learn a lot from that experiment.  I went into it thinking that green beauty would be simpler, but it's just as complicated and overwhelming as conventional cosmetics & skincare.

 

Sometimes I really feel like I'm fighting a losing battle against the world.  All I can do is try to slow down my little portion of the world.  

 

I should not be watching the Barefoot Contessa making desserts... 

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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!

Oshare-girl- man am I jealous! I wish my kids were back in school already! They are driving me crazy! We still have over 3 more weeks still, we don't go back until the day after Labor day, I believe it's Sept 5. My husband is a teacher so he's been home all summer too and it's a lot of togetherness! I miss having some quiet time to myself. I still have to go shopping for back to school supplies too, that is not my favorite thing to do. I gotta get that done in the next week or so and get it over with.

 

I so understand what you're saying about feeling like you're fighting a losing battle. I've been working really hard at trying to resist buying and trying to find staples to stick with. I have been making some progress but I'm still not loving some of my products so the temptation to purchase more is still there but I still want to try to use up what I have here. Then I see that Ulta is offering 20% off your entire purchase and my heart starts racing! Yeah! What a great sale! And there are definitely things that I've been looking at to try that I know I want to purchase eventually. So the question becomes, do I buy them now on sale and let them set for a few months until I finish up the products that I have here, or do I just wait and buy them later when I can use them right away but might have to pay more? That is my current dilemma.

 

Plus I've been trying to make the switch to cruelty free as much as possible so almost everything that I've been buying lately has been online. I can't find hardly a thing at any of my local drugstores. Ulta has a better selection but they still have many more online options and the store is over half an hr away from my house. Which means of course, that I have to buy enough to get free shipping right? Which is usually $50. I have been ordering some things from Vitacost which helps because I can also order supplements and household items there which helps to get to the $50 minimum. Whoever would have thought that just buying moisturizer and cleanser and eyeshadow would become such a burden? I never used to spend so much time thinking about this stuff before. If I needed something I'd just run to the store and grab it.

 

I did go to Walmart with my sister the other day, I rarely ever go there, and she needed some makeup so I was browsing a little bit while she shopped and I was really surprised to find that they had a nice selection of makeup and the prices were reasonable. I didn't get a change to check out the skincare aisle but maybe I'll go there and see what kind of a selection they have. It's closer to my house and would be more convenient to run to if I needed something and didn't want to order online.

Something for me to look into.

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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!

[ Edited ]

@Oshare-girl wrote:

It's the 2nd week of August already!  My kids are back in school.  It's the hottest month of the year here.  My electric bill is at its highest.  It's a painful month...

 


Sometimes I really feel like I'm fighting a losing battle against the world.  All I can do is try to slow down my little portion of the world.  

 

 


@Oshare-girl

 

Sometimes that's the best we can do.

 

I hear ya on the electric bill.  July's was astronomical.  I can usually count on one BIG one in the summer and one in the winter.  It's cooling down here and we're getting those hints of autumn.  We usually get a throwback week before fall, but I'm just going to think about the glorious rain we had last night. 

 

Love the rain.  Don't care for the hole in my roof, though.

~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!


@rnmom wrote:

 

Whoever would have thought that just buying moisturizer and cleanser and eyeshadow would become such a burden? I never used to spend so much time thinking about this stuff before. If I needed something I'd just run to the store and grab it.

 

I did go to Walmart with my sister the other day, I rarely ever go there, and she needed some makeup so I was browsing a little bit while she shopped and I was really surprised to find that they had a nice selection of makeup and the prices were reasonable. I didn't get a change to check out the skincare aisle but maybe I'll go there and see what kind of a selection they have. It's closer to my house and would be more convenient to run to if I needed something and didn't want to order online.

Something for me to look into.


@rnmom

 

Love it or hate it, Walmart has something for everyone.  Better-half may hate the new wreath on the door, but I can't remember the last time a three-dollar purchase made me so happy.

 

Do check out the beauty aisles.  It's surprising how many brands and items are there.  And, yes, the prices are reasonable.  I can get my Konjac sponges there now that drugstore.com has gone poof.

 

Our backyard is a giant sand pit.  Lawn in New Mexico is not an option.  To make matters worse, there is a slope.  Like Everest.  For over 20 years I've used the same cheap plastic litter scoop to pick up after the four dogs who have lived with us during this time.

 

That scoop cracked years ago yet I continued to use it.  Recently I found a giant aluminum scoop at Walmart -- around ten bucks.  It has changed my life.  A thing of beauty.  And, boy, does it scoop.

 

Anyway, right now Walmart is my only affordable source of sunflower seed for the backyard freeloaders.

~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!

@Oshare-girl

 

Aaaarrrggghhh!  Just stopped by the mailbox on our way back from the bosque and found another electric bill.  Another big one!  Not as big as the last one, but definitely big.

 

Starting to feel like retirement is not an option.

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

I don't know where I've been but I saw a commercial for Bombas last night.  Like the genus Bombus.  Bumblebees.

 

Bombas sells socks.  With their bee logo.

 

Bombas

 

This is something I don't need to know about.

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

Similarly, I just received an email from Cost Plus World Market that wanted to introduce me to their sister stores.

 

Again, I don't know where I've been, but I was not aware of some of these.

 

One Kings Lane

Of A Kind

Christmas Tree Shops

buybuy BABY

Bed Bath & Beyond (I'm familiar -- I just didn't know they were related)

Harmon Face Values Discount Health & Beauty

 

I'm not sure I understand the point of Face Values, but they do seem to carry a lot of product.

~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!

So Better-half is still addressing his mother's estate issues and I have been in control of all my food.  I can't tell you how boring my menu has been.

 

Last week it was mostly fruit, salads and tuna sandwiches.  Had a Tony Soprano moment: I felt like I had a _______ albacore around my neck.  Or I was turning into a fish.  Tried to do a taste test: Kirkland albacore versus Wild Planet.  First of all, Kirkland has a 7-ounce can while Wild Planet offers 5 ounces.  I was going to compare these to canned salmon but, as I said, I was getting a little burned out on fish.  The stack of sardines in the cupboard is now not an option.

 

And I'm getting tired of lettuce.  Or should I say greens?  I don't even know what kind of greens I had yesterday.  Just a big bowl of different shaped leaves.  I think there was mizuna in there.

 

I have the opportunity to eat anything I want and I can't seem to figure out what that is.

 

What would you eat if you didn't have to think about anyone else?

~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:

@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 could have written this myself.  I love when we all share stories, feelings, etc.. And, lol, I always thought I was a logical person too until I tried to change my ways about 10+ years ago.  Needless to say, I am still trying.

 

What is it about eating that is so hard. I know I shouldnt be eating something when I pick it up, but I shrug my shoulders and carry on. Smiley Embarassed 

 

You gave me a good idea for the Wen conditioning cleanser. I have tea tree though so not sure how it will fare as a facial cleanser but I will try it. And if not facial, body cleanser.  hmmmm...  And you know I just opened my last bar of soap today so this is perfect timing. I will put it in my shower and try it out.

 

Today is Monday and a brand new start of the week.  I am going to try and not have any junk food for the next 5 days.

 

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Re: ComPact 2017 – Auspicious August!


@just bee wrote:

@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?


 

 

Yes, exactly.  It is amazing how we survived with a wardrobe and toiletries that fit in one cabinet or closet.  We bought products because we needed something not just because it was the latest and greatest thing. ...and we went to the store to buy them when needed. Now we have 3 as backup and we have to find a place to store them. How crazy is that?  Plus, we are off researching the next best thing.

 

This is my best "spending" year so far.   I have bought skincare, but no makeup purchases yet.  Everytime I see a new palette or something I remind myself of the things I am not even using.  I will use the skincare but I didnt need it.  Some new skincare, new to me, are really the same types of items I already have.  Lesson learned for the last time.

 

I have been buying clothes and shoes.  Badly needed because of the weight I cant seem to shed and foot problems, but I need to pull it bad some. I am like a freight train in full speed. I dont want my drawers and closets to get stuffed again. I just got done with another round of decluttering and I am really happy to have room in my closet. As it is, I am running out of hangers and dont want to buy more. Plus, I really want to be sure I am bringing in stuff I love and will use with ease. 

 

It's a journey for sure.