Mostly About Me

I've been having bad dreams this week. Every night it's something different, and I really wish it would stop plaguing me. Josh likes to watch a show on History channel called Monster Quest, and these experts are looking for myths, like the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot. It's not really scary to me, but then I had a bad dream about it. I thought if we skipped that show, I'd be dream-free, but not the case. I usually have a snack in the evenings, so I thought if I gave that up, it would help too (typically if I eat right before bed, I'll dream a lot). But last night I still had a bad dream. Oh well, they can't go on forever, so I'll just endure them for the time being.

Research shows that mothers who take time for themselves away from their children, whether it be daily, weekly, or monthly, become better mothers. They get a chance to break away from the daily grind and do something for themselves, like shopping, or exercising, or taking a luxurious bath. They get to relax and refocus, and as a result they have more energy and a more positive attitude when they come back to their mothering duties.

That's what I needed yesterday. It was just one of those days. I had a headache most of the day, and Matthew was extra whiney and clingy. I tried to watch a movie, and he wasn't content to play by himself. I'd try to interest him in a toy, and he would just push it out of the way and reach for me. So then I'd hold him, but he'd want out of my arms almost immediately. It's tough when we don't know what our kids want, and it sure doesn't help matters when they don't know what they want either.

My break came at church. I passed him off to the nursery workers, and he had a good time with some different people and toys while I watched a video on Debt as Money. It wasn't a long separation, but it was long enough for my baby-free time. Experts say you should specifically carve out your alone time or you may not ever get it. And I really should do that, but a lot of times I just take it when I feel I need it. Even if I can leave Matthew home with Josh while I grocery shop after dinner--that's enough for me most of the time. Though I'm sure as our family grows, I will have to plan ahead for some me-time.

Blogging is another avenue of escape for me, sort of. I mean Matthew's right here on the floor next to me, but since I'm writing mostly about myself, I guess I'm getting a mental break from my darling little boy.

Let's see, what else can I tell you about myself? I bought some new makeup recently. I don't wear makeup everyday. Once a week is my norm, cause I wanna look a little more presentable for church on Sundays. I was pretty much out of powder, I hadn't had any blush in months, and I needed more concealer. So it was off to Target to search my favorite brand for my items. I like Almay. They have eyeshadow combinations that complement different eye colors, so it takes the guess work out of knowing which shade is right for you. I like simple stuff like that--complicated makeup is just that--complicated. And I don't have time for that. Almay has also recently come out with a line called Pure Blends, and 95% of the ingredients are all-natural. They are doing it for environmental purposes, but I'm using it cause I think it will be good for my skin.

And speaking of skin, mine is very sensitive. I have yet to find a face wash and lotion that works well for me. I tried Mary Kay, and I must say their Velocity lotion is about the lightest and most non-pore-clogging I've used. But that also means it doesn't give me all the moisture my skin needs. Plus it's a little inconvenient to have to order it from a consultant. I'd rather be able to pick up my stuff at the drug store. Now I'm trying Dove's face wash, and it's not too harsh, but it doesn't seem to control my break-outs very much. So while it's keeping me clean, it's just not doing enough. And the lotion that matches feels greasy. Usually any face products I try will work for a week or two, but after that it starts to dry out my skin and clog my pores, yada yada.

Now that I've explained my dilemma to you, I recently saw a commercial for Neutrogena's new idea, called Skin ID. You go online and answer a bunch of questions about your skin type and your type of acne and what kind of skin you have, and after that they evaluate your skin and give you a skin care regimen designed just for you. I think I'm interested in trying this out. They guarantee it will work (I know, I know, don't believe everything you hear), but they do give you a 60-day money back guarantee. By then I'm sure I'd know if it was working for me, so at least I could get my money back. When I was looking on the website, it seemed that you get three products, and it will cost about $40. I'm sure there's a shipping charge too. That's a pretty good chunk of change, but it might be worth it if my skin gets happy.

And since I'm on a outward appearance discussion, I'll continue it by telling you all that I bought a leather jacket two days ago that I just love! It was $400, but JCPenney conveniently had it on final clearance for $50, which is much more reasonable. It's a dark brown, and the leather is soft and buttery. And I'd like to also mention that when I put it on I feel really good. It's ok if your clothes make you feel attractive, right? Well, this jacket does the job for me.

Oh, my new favorite cereal is Multi-Grain Cheerios. If you are a Cheerios fan, you will like these I think. They are really tasty, and they are good for you too. Try 'em--they're really yummy :)

House update: Remember when I talked about that first house possibly being "the one"? Well, it is. We looked at a couple more, but the Lord kept drawing us back to this one, so we went for it. We just found out that they officially accepted our offer yesterday, even though we thought it was accepted a couple weeks ago. Apparently someone made a higher bid on this house, but they've decided to go with us because our finances are better. Whoo-hoo! So we've been promised that the paperwork will take a couple weeks, and then we should start to see some agreements in writing. We've been praying for patience this whole time, and most days it's easy. But Josh and I both have our days where we just want to get packing and move on outa here.

Oh, and do you want to know a neat story about this house? When we first checked it out with our realtor, one of the bedrooms had a keychain hanging from the ceiling fan, and the keychain said Matthew. Coincidence? Or a sign from God? You be the judge ;)

And as my sister has said before in her posts, if you've read through all that stuff, you deserve a reward, like a Matthew picture for instance. His hair has gotten really long, and Josh got a little creative in the bath tub the other night.



Thanx for listening, er, reading this post. I'm sure it's all you wanted to know about me and even more. I suppose I should have put at the top that the only Matthew-ish thing was a picture at the end, but who am I to deny you the pleasure of learning about my dreams, my skin, and my clothes? You see, I've covered the mental, the physical, and the superficial. Oh, and the spiritual, since I talked about church. At least I'm thorough ;)