I found a set of make up brushes that I had to have. Last year they had a set and I got them and just love using them. This new set has a tiny travel set which will be perfect in my purse. Gregg got Calvin Klein jeans on the clearance rack. We tasted all the nommy goodness from the sample ladies. Grabbed some foods and headed home.

Really, Costco does save us money and its a good deal.

Oh, yesterday I watched Oprah and it was all about shoes. So today I took my thigh high flat boots out and dropped them off to get repaired. Its so nice that they are bad in style again. I spent a lot of money on those in 1989…lol

New show tonight… “V”  hope its a good one.

So that is what it looks like now.It`s a bit dark, but I like it. I used Natural Match 5N by Lòreal. It didn`t get rid of all the color in the back. I guess it will have to grow out. You can see a little bit of difference in the front but not like before. I`m happy with it.

Since I have picked Clinique as my makeup, I did look at getting their creams. I checked the ingredients and tons of reviews and for the most part their line of creams are good, but not what I was looking for. I then found out that Costco was selling a few different brands. I trust Costco with a lot of  brands they carry. Well, they have signed a deal with Borghese and have the “Costco Signature Borghese Collection“. At Christmas time I had bought the makeup brush set and I just l love it. So I figured, it’s Costco, I can return it if I don’t like it, I bought the day cream.

After 3 weeks of using it, I returned it. Not that I didn’t like it. I really think its a great product, but it’s not for my type of skin. I have very oily skin and this actually made it worse. I had so much oil on my face it was producing blackheads and making my skin itchy. I didn’t get back to Costco right a way, so I ended up using a sample set from my Sister-in-law. She sells BeautiControl and swears by the stuff. I figured I would try it.I really wanted this stuff to work for me. It just doesn’t do it. My skin broke out with little white heads and was itchy and the fragrance wasn’t nice.I don’t want to say that this is a bad product, it just isn’t right for me.

Cause I have IC, I have to be so careful with the products I use. Using the set of samples from BeautiControl, my IC flareup with in 2 hours. I was not happy. I tried it for 2 more days and my IC got worse. The pain was horrible. I stopped using it and the pain was bearable. I took 4 days off from all products so I could get rid of this flareup I was having.

It finally went away. I got Gregg to take back the cream to Costco and told him to just grab me a bottle of the Olay again. I knew that I could handle that one and it would be ok with my IC. Instead, he calls me from Costco and says they have a new cream in stock and it was on special and asks if I want to try it. He told me it was Elizabeth Arden. I said sure. I’m such a sucker for a new product.

Well, I have been using it for over a week now. It has cleared up all the black heads and the whiteheads. No more itchy feeling. It’s cleared up all the problems from the other products I tried. Plus my skin feels soft and not greasy. It seems to be working well. The price was great. With the coupon it was under 30.00 for 2 jars. These will last for a year or so. It does have a very faint fragrance(which smells very nice), but its gone with in a few minutes. What I really like, it that its a very simple cream. It only has 6 ingredients in it. No extra crap added.

ALLANTOIN, VITAMIN A, GLYCERIN, PANTHENOL, OLIVE OIL, BEES WAX.

So I plan to use it for a while and see how my skin feels after a month. I have a feeling that this will become my regular cream. I’ll update in a month.

Anyways, Yesterday afternoon They called to let me know that the skirt steaks were in. So I walked up. Lucky for me its only a 10 minute walk. (It was nice to get out of my condo since if was filled with pot smoke from Dippy below). I got there and was surprised. They had moved to a new building on the other side of the parking lot form the old place. I got to the doors and they swooshed open. No need to touch, that was nice. I walked in and looked around. The first thing I noticed, the lighting, it was bright. THen the cashier, smiling at me and wanting to help me.

So I asked about my order and she walked me over to the butchering area and grabbed it for me. I quickly asked if it could get cut into strips and he said sure but it was already cut thinly.We agreed that I would use it as is and let him know how it turns out. So walked around a bit looking at prices and meats. They have a tiny coffee counter with sandwiches and such. There was also a section of breads and spices.

I was very pleased with everything I saw. I admit that I will go back. Now that the place looks like a real butcher shop. The floors and freezers were spotless. The whole place felt friendly. Plus I like to see the butcher area. If I can’t see the butcher working then I don’t trust the meat. I think thats why I only buy meat from Costco or Save-on Foods. You can see what they are doing.

I bought some marinated chicken while I was there and we will be having it for dinner this evening. Tomato and basil sauce, I hope its yummy!

When we were in Mexico, we noticed a steak that was served almost at every restaurant. Its called “Arrachera” which means flank or skirt steak. Its actually a simple meal. I think its all about the spices and how long it marinates. Anyways, we really enjoyed it. So now I am going to make it for us. We drove into Vancouver on Saturday and stopped by a Mexican grocery store and found the spice we need.

The recipe is very easy, all you do is marinate the meat in the spices for 1 day. Then grill and serve.

Season both sides of meat with GOYA seasoning and lime juice. Cover entire meat with lime and season lightly.
Once the meat is limed up and seasoned you roll it up, like a sushi roll, nice and tight and place all of the meat all rolled up in rolls in a deep dish and pour beer on top making sure it gets all over. If you marinate your meat with beer and you don’t roll it up, you wash off all of your seasonings.
Cover the meat with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge over night, but 2-3 hours works just as well.
Then just grill each side for like 5-6 min less if you like it medium. The meat will be tender, juicy and full of flavor. Enjoy

I’m really curious if this will taste the same. I hope so! I have been wanting it for a while now. Here is a picture of what we had in Mexico at H&C restaurant/butcher. You get the steak, a baked potato, half an avocado and lime and a hot green pepper. Gregg and Glen both gave me their avocados.

And with steak you must have a tasty beer to wash it all down.

The only problem with this, is that I can’t get Leon Beer here. It doesn’t get exported out of the Yucatan. So Gregg will have to have something else. A cold glass of diet coke with a twist of lime on ice sounds good.

So I guess you can say that it is working. I have been putting it around my eyes the last couple weeks but no change yet. I don’t know if I will buy it again, might try a different brand. It will be a long time before I will need a new bottle. It seems to last forever. Its worth the money that’s for sure.

(I bought new moisturizer, finally! I’ll do a post in a week about that.)

I really wanted to be able to go with a mineral makeup, but every one I tried felt heavy on my skin and made it itchy and break out in acne, plus my eyes got sore and puffy. Not sure why this happened. I must be allergic to it. So after all the samples and even buying a few small items I gave up on the mineral makeup. I’m not saying its bad, its just not for me.

I’m no longer going to buy any drugstore junk. My skin has changed over the last few years. Wearing  CoverGirl, Maybeline, Revlon or any of the cheap brands just isn’t going to do it anymore. All those brands turn orange on my skin. I might use eye liner from them but not much more.

This Christmas Mom gave us all some money as a gift and I took some of it and decided I would buy new makeup. First, the reason I am going with Clinique. Its allergy tested, fragrance free and they don’t test on animals. These are important to me. I don’t think animal testing is necessary. This company has been around long enough that I trust they know what they are doing. Second thing, I hate it when I can smell my makeup. YUK!  And the third thing, I don’t turn orange! That’s right, the foundation doesn’t turn orange on my face. I knew then that this would be the makeup for me.

I know that the Clinique makeup costs a bit more and I figured I would be spending about 200 dollars. So Gregg said “why not look on Ebay?” Hmmm, so I did. Instead of buying at full price at the store I bought it for a quarter of the cost on Ebay. I is happy!

What did I get? Well, I got all of this…

8 lipsticks and 2 mascaras. 3 of the lipsticks were doubles. The colors are “Beauty, Pink Beach, Rose Spectrum, A Different Grape and Raspberry Glace.

This little 6 pack is perfect! I love all the colors!

And I had to go buy my foundation. I didn’t want to buy it on Ebay. I needed to try colors and find the right one for me. I didn’t want to buy the wrong one.

What did this all cost me? Well, the foundation was 32.00 including the taxes. The rest came to a total of  62.58 that included all the shipping too. If I would of bought this at the store I would of paid about 180.00. I think I got a pretty good deal. The only things I still need are blush and moisturizer. Which I will buy on Ebay if I can find a good deal.

Now what do I do with all my old makeup?LOL

RoC is a brand that has been around for a very long time. Its a brand that can be trusted. BUT, they still test on animals. So that was an out for me. I don’t like to use products that are tested on animals or have animal products in them.

I looked up Neutrogena and couldn’t find anything anywhere about them doing animal testing. Joy! All the sites I looked at said that they do not test on animals or use animal products. Good!

I just don’t see why we need to test things on animals. Its just not needed anymore.

Well I bought Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Anti-wrinkle Cream. It has Retinal in it. Simply put, Vitamin A. I’ve been using it since Saturday and so far I haven’t noticed much except that my skin feels very soft. I don’t have many wrinkles to begin with so it will take a bit of time to notice any difference there. I have had a bit of an outbreak of acne on my chin, but that usually happens when I try something new. It clears up in a week. I’ll do an update in a month.

All the colors are great. I really like the product. This is the best line of all 4 samples. But once again, it was a bit messy. Working with powders is just not for me. I wish it was easier. I always end up with eye shadow on my cheeks when I apply it to my eyes. The only way to avoid this is by adding water. I also noticed that all the samples did two thing the same, enlarged my pores and showed the creases under my eyes.

The foundation colors are a perfect match for my skin. The blush is very subtle. Natural looking. I will order this in the future. I think that any mineral makeup that I will use, will only be done when I travel. It lasts all day and doesn’t melt. So it will be great when we head to Mexico again.

I have decided to go back to regular makeup. I ‘m going to be going to Clinique. I trust their products. I have never had a problem with them in the past. At least now I know more about mineral makeup. I wasted 30 bucks but I have all the samples I can use for traveling. Good thing is, it will never go bad, so it will last and last.

After my morning coffee I was checking my emails. I signed up at a few sites the day before and was waiting to get email back. I got email from Red Robin‘s telling me to come get a free Birthday burger and Dairy Queen saying I can have a 16oz blizzard for free. So my lunch was planned!

We got dressed and headed to Red Robin’s for lunch. I ordered a Guacamole burger with fries.

After that we drove down the road to Dairy Queen where I got a Fudge brownie cookie dough with Reese’s peanut butter cup blizzard.mmmmmm! We took our blizzards and headed back home. Gregg gobbled his up right a way. I still have half of mine in the freezer. I was stuffed from the burger. So I get to finish it today.

Image via Wikipedia

Well, I wore it all day and it didn’t change. Not one bit. I did feel that it was there. Something I’m not used to. My skin looks like it has a nice even tan. Everything matched all the way down my neck. It was nice to see my face and neck the same color. Most of the time my neck stays very white. But this stuff made it all blend nicely. It did look a bit caked at first, but after about 20 minutes I noticed that it sort of “melted” into my skin. It looks very natural. I read that it is water proof and it is! I tried to wash it off. Nope. I had to use my face wash to get it off. So I think this well be great when traveling in Mexico. Put it on and I can even go swimming in the ocean and still look great.

So, will I use Skin Fx again? Yes I think I will. I won’t decide until I have tested the other samples. I like this so far but it is only the first one I have tried. Once I have tried them all I will make a decision what I will buy.

I found a few sites and have added them to my links page under “Mineral Makeup”. All the links are for makeups that are pure minerals no organics in them as far as I saw. Remember, if you want pure mineral makeup, read the ingredients lists. Anything organic may be natural, but its NOT a mineral and is not needed in mineral makeup.

I took the baggies and emptied each one into a shot glass. There is about a half a teaspoon in each sample. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but its enough to try them a few times. The instructions tell you to apply the colors to your forehead. So I did that. 3 different colors. They all look good for me. One is a bit light so I could use that as a winter foundation when I lose my tan.

After about 20 minutes I looked in the mirror and noticed no orange tint…yippee! I tend to turn orange when it comes to foundations. So I applied the colors to the rest of my face and neck in 3 sections. I also applied the eye shadow. Its a nice pink color, but a little to light for me. I like colors that pop.

I’m not too sure about using it all over. It does look a bit heavy. It has left creases under my eyes. The coverage is good. I do look like I have flawless skin. It hides pores and evens out skin tones. Now for the true test. I will wear it for the day and see how it looks after a normal day. I’ll blog again this evening with the results.

Seriously, buy some and see if it helps you prevent pain. It is suppose to help neutralize acids in any foods or drinks you may want to eat. Take 2-4 tabs before you start to eat or drink. It really helps when you want to have some wine or spicy foods.

I think I got out of the habit of using it because I was doing good and hadn’t had a flare-up in a while. I’m back on it again. I have been having pain off and on for about 3 months now. I know why too. Since Dad died in June, I have been having flare ups a lot more. Stress.

I don’t think you can get it in Canada yet. I slip across the line and grab it at any drug store or Walmart. Costco might have too. The guy who makes this also made Beano and “Lactaid Milk” But he has sold those parts of the company. We have Beano in our home all the time. It does wonders for those dinners with a lot of onions. You know what I mean…..LOL.

Image via Wikipedia

Well I have made my first sample order. I ordered from a company called “Skin Fx“. I have been researching companies for about 10 days now and this one has filled all my requirements. I wanted to make sure that I get a product that doesn’t have any extra ingredients. Skin Fx has only the basics, no extra fillers as far as I can see. They are also a Canadian company from Alberta. And I like to try to stay in the homeland.

Many companies add “bismuth Oxychloride”. Some people have reactions to this ingredient. It seems to irritate the skin and give some people breakouts and even rashes. Since I have sensitive skin I don’t even want to try anything with that in it.

“Talc” is another offender. I already know that I can’t use it because I tend to get IC flare-ups. “Corn starch” is also like Talc for me. Its something that you don’t want since it has a expiration date. A shelf life cause its made from vegetable starch.

They don’t add any oils or fragrances. I will know for sure when I smell it. I hate it when makeup has a odor to it.

I guess that’s it till I get the samples next week. I’ll do a full review then. I guess its back to finding more samples…

First off, I am looking for a palette that is small enough to keep in my smallest purse but also easy for traveling. It needs the right colors, which it hard to find since I go for the purples. I want to have both eye shadows and blushes in the palette. Having lip gloss isn’t needed cause I have my favorite lipsticks that I am never with out. That also goes for my mascara and liners. I also have to make sure that the product is hypo-allergenic, fragrance free and oil free.

Another point to make here is that I am moving up in my make-up. I’m tired of trying drug store brands and hunting for the right product, but its more than that. I want a good brand. Not the cheap crap that high school girls wear. I need quality. I’m getting older and my skin has changed. No more buying crap.

Here is the list that I have made so far.

1. Lorac CD2 I like this one for the size. The colors are ok too, but it does have lip gloss that I dont need.
2. POP Beauty Now this old has all the colors that look good for me, but I would like brighter color.
3. POP Beauty This one has all the bright colors but no blush.
4. Sephora Brand This one has it all. I think I might buy this one.
5. Tarte This looks like it might work.

Has anyone tried any of these? Or maybe you have a brand that you can suggest? I would love to have some feed back on different brands.

I just can’t seem to find any at the moment in the stores. Maybe I’m not looking in the right stores? I just know that I cant find them out here in Abbotsford. I’m wondering if its worth it to head across the border to Bellingham and see if I can find some there.

This just a sample. There are others.

Well you get the idea. Its an all-in-one type a deal. Maybe they only come out at Christmas time? I have also been wondering if it would be better to order online? Through a store like “Sephora“? I know they have a ton of stuff, but it depends on what brand I want. I guess I need to do a bit more reading reviews before I decide on anything.

There are different types of art you can put on your teeth. First there are decals. You can buy them online and put them on yourself or see a dentist. This would be the safest since the decals last about 24hours. You can also get gems glued in and they last up to 8 months.

Then there are Crowns. You can have an artist do a picture on a crown. I like this idea, but I do like the decals better. Gives more variety.

There are many other sites to check out if you are looking for Tooth Jewelry.  Here is a site that lets you try a few different gold pieces. I would like one of these.

At this site you can buy a home kit. I would like this one. If I get one I’ll do a full review on it with video instructions and pictures. They seem simple enough to use. I’ll be seeing my dentist on the 29th so I will ask him what he thinks about doing them. I dont want to damage my new teeth.

I think a tiny purpledragonfly on my tooth would look kinda cute.:)

MUSICOVERY <—clicky

We headed to Walmart to see what we could find. I found a great deal on a set of 3 Starfrit fry pans for 20 bucks. Usually 1 pan costs 20 bucks. I also found a pair of sandals that were 39 bucks regular but were priced down to 5 bucks! They fit great and will look good with jeans.

After Walmart we headed for Zellers and met up with my sister inlaw Gizy for lunch. I got my Jane lipstick and even got Waltrude to try out a new color, 2 in fact. Gizy took off back home, probably to jump in her hot tub. After we said goodbye we walked across the parking lot to the Shoe Company. Where all 3 of us found something we had to have. Waltrude found a nice purse, mom found sleek white shoes and I found cute red sandals. Regular price was 39.99 and on sale 29.99 and I used my points and go them for 22.95 including taxes. Not too bad!

This is the first pair of red shoes I have every bought. I like to stick to neutral colors, but I just could not resist these cuties. I did debate with my inner self for a while in the store. My sister and mom looked at me a bit funny. I finally gave in and did it.

After all the shopping we stopping at Costco for gas 1.29 L. is a good price. Then around the corner to the recycle depot to drop off an old monitor. Finally back here to kick me out and mom and Waltrude are still doing a bit more running around.

We did come up with a few ideas. We have decided that since Mom will have room in her new condo, we will be doing a ladies movie evening once a month. No hubbies and no kids. Sounds like fun to me! I will email all the ladies with the details and we can start doing this in September. Also  I was thinking we can do a “make-up” party. Clothing exchange party, and so many more parties. We will figure it all out.

Interstitial Cystitis, not easy to say So we call it “IC” a lot simpler. I have noticed a lot of people searching this subject and ending up at my site to read my past posts. So I am going to do an update on the subject today. Reason for this is because I am having a bad flare up again.

Since last week when my sciatica nerve acted up it also started up my IC. I thought that it might go away after a day or two, but it has only gotten worse. I think its also related to the fact that I am getting a bit stressed about my dad’s condition. I know he is going to be gone any day now and its hard to think about much else.

So, what are the symptoms of IC? First you might think its a bladder infection. It does feel similar. You feel the need to pee constantly. Even when you have just gone. When you pee it’s painful. It burns on the way out and as the urine moves out of your bladder, the bladder starts to feel like its throbbing. There is a medication you can take to help with this pain. In Canada you can only get it from the doctor. As far as I know there is no over-the-counter pill. (In the USA its called “Uristat”).Ask your doctor for a pill called “Pyridium” (phenazopyridine). This pill is red and about the size of a smartie/M&M. You feel a difference within 30 minutes of taking it. Take it and drink a big glass of water with it to help it move through your system and into your bladder as fast as possible. Now the next time you go pee dont get worried about the bright orange color. LOL…its just the dye from the pill. It helps you to know when its in the system and when its gone. When your pee is back to normal that means the pill is out of your body. One pill will last up to 4 hours depending on how bad your IC flare-up is. I find that when mine is really bad I need to take another pill at 3 hours. Its best not to over do it on these pills. I have taken up to 5 in a day for 6 days in a row, but that was when my IC was at its worst. There are other symptoms like low back pain and all over body aches. For me its hard to tell since I have all over body pain on a daily bases. I do notice that my lower back and pelvic area hurt far worse when I flare-up.

There are many medications that help treat IC. I had to go through a number of them till I found the right one for me. The most common pills given for IC are antihistamines and antidepressants. I’ve used both and found that they both worked, but the antidepressants stopped working after a year. I now use my little green pill called hydroxyzine. This has been a life saver for me. I usually only need to take one pill before bedtime but on flare-up days I take one in the morning too. I’ve been on this pill for about 4 years now. As I understand it from what my Urologist has said, I am one of the lucky ones that this works for me. I guess it has no effect on certain people.

There are some things you can do to help prevent a flare-up or to lessen the pain. I have experimented a lot with the things I eat. I noticed that there are foods that will trigger my IC within 20 minutes of eating it. These are a  few.

• Spicy foods
• alcohol
• tomatoes (except roma)
• caffeine
• aged cheese
• milk chocolate
• apples
• any citrus fruits
• cranberry juice

Those are the main offenders for me. There is also  MSG. Anything like BBQ sauces and dressing that have vinegar in them. And for some unknown reason I cant drink tap water. Could be that the chlorine is the problem or the fluoride. Not sure, so I drink bottled water. I have also realized that wearing tight non-breathable clothes or things that will make my body temp go up, will cause a flare-up. The worst thing out of all the ways a flare-up can start would have to be STRESS. Dont get stressed! I will say this again, dont get STRESSED. Stress is a major symptom for most IC sufferers. As long as you let stress into your body it will keep your IC in active mode. I know its hard not to be stressed in life. I have found a way to deal with it. I know when its coming and I let it into my brain, think about it for a few minutes and then shove it to a corner and deal with it if it really needs to be dealt with. A lot of times there is really no reason to be stressed out about stuff. Little things like “I forgot to take something out for dinner and we are having guests over” is really NO BIG DEAL. Just order in a pizza or go out for dinner. Its not worth a flare-up.

I’m trying to think what else there is I can tell you, but I think I have covered most things. I’m no expert in the subject but I have had this for over 10 years now. The best advise I can give to you if you think you might have IC, is go see a Urologist and have them do all the tests. I found out on my own what was wrong with me by searching the internet. When I finally did get to see a urologist he was very surprised at how much I knew about my condition. He did all the tests any ways. I think the most help I found was on this site “IC-Network“. There are many other sites out there but I think this one is the best.

There are a couple helpful tips I can give you.

1. If you can find it, there is a pill called “prelief“. Take these pills before you eat and it will help cut back acids in food. It does work, I use them. I havent been able to find them in Canada so I head across the border.
2. When you feel that constant urge to pee, have a bath and let your bladder muscles relax. Yes you will pee in the bath, but it will help relieve some of the discomfort. You can also add baking soda to the bath to help with the itchy feelings you might have in that area. No bath oils or anything with fragrances.
3. avoid foods with nitrates in them. Like lunch meats, pepperoni sticks things of that nature.
4. Also no dark colas. Try to drink diet drinks that are clear. If you really feel you need a soda.
5. Aspartame is a really bad one too. I use Splenda. It seems to be ok for me. I can handle Aspartame but I try to avoid it as much as I can.

Ok..I think that is about it. If I have missed anything please comment and I’ll help you if I can. Just remember, its not the end of the world if you have IC. There are ways to live with it. I have gone up to 8 months with no flare-ups. So it can be controlled.