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Some days I catch myself mentally composing blog posts, and then completely forgetting to do more than said mental composition.  And then some days I actually remember to do a post, but don’t necessarily remember what I’d oh so brilliantly composed in my mind. Oh well. At least I’m here, right?

So here’s what’s on my mind.  THE BACK. I have had ongoing back problems for years. Nothing I can’t live with most of the time, but enough that I spend a good portion of most days hurting.  And with first the lap band and now gastric sleeve, I am not allowed to take NSAIDs, which was what most helped with said back pain.  Before my surgery in November, I was taking a prescription as needed (read, every few days when I just couldn’t stand the pain anymore), but have been out for a while. And then I had that stupid accident in December and my back’s been hurting more since then. There’s nothing majorly wrong, which is good to know, but still doesn’t make things hurt less. So I went to see my awesome primary care doctor today. He gave me a short term prescription for muscle relaxers and pain pills, gave me some a printout with some stretches to do, and gave me a referral for some physical therapy. I’m not familiar with this type of physical therapy, but his nurse said that she was very skeptical at first but that it really worked wonders for her knee.  Hey, if it helps, I’m in.   And not that this has anything to do with my back, but it was a positive pleasure getting weighed at the doctor’s office this morning, and getting complimented on my progress by my doctor. I usually end up seeing a PA when I have to go, which isn’t often, so I haven’t seen him in quite some time, or quite a few pounds ago. It was nice.

THE FACE. I’m addicted to make-up and beauty blogs and skin care, along with fashion, and I decided to start getting a little adventurous and trying some of these amazing products I’ve been reading about.  One thing that piqued my interest last week was this review for Garnier cleansing oil.  Since running out of Arbonne, and not having the funds to sign back up and replace it, I’ve been desperately trying to find something that made my face feel as good as the Arbonne did. Lemme tell you, that’s been rough. Arbonne is seriously amazing stuff, no question about it. First I tried some stuff by Boots that I’d read good things about, and I might have liked it better had I not started using it after running out of Arbonne, but there you have it. It wasn’t that impressive. Then I just bought a few random things that were recommended by a few random people, and they were okayish, but not all that.  Then I got a facial in November or December, and ended up getting some Dermalogica product. I liked it all right, even though I cringed at the cost. But my experiences of late have not been too great with lower cost products, and I figured paying big bucks was just what it was going to have to be.  I do try the samples of different things that come with my Sephora and Ulta boxes, when I order them, which is how I found out about the amazing First Aid Beauty line; their facial moisturizer is really fantastic.  Anyway, today while I was waiting for prescriptions to be filled, I was browsing through the beauty section at the drugstore, and found that Garnier cleansing oil. It made its way into my basket and then into my car, and I just washed my face with it, and followed that up with the FAB moisturizer.  I never would have thought it possible, but my face feels even softer than it did after the Arbonne treatment, and much softer than with the Dermalogica, and at less than $10 for the cleansing oil. (The FAB moisturizer was higher, and I had to order it from Sephora, but it was still less than the Dermalogica, and I do recommend it.)  So yay for that!

THE HAIR. I’m frustrated with my hair right now but I don’t really know what to do with it. I want to have long, curly hair, and yet my hair is straight as a board and decidedly unlong. I’ve been trying to grow it out, but realized that all I do when I have it long enough is put it up in ponytails, which isn’t cute on me, and silly to do when I look better with shorter hair.  So my wonderful hair stylist cut off an inch or so, layered it up a lot more, and made it look cute until I had to shampoo it and try to style it myself. I used to use some sea salt spray, which gave me beautiful beachy waves, but I’ve been reading bad things about sea salt spray really drying out one’s hair. And since I do dye my hair (although I use ammonia-free dye now, thanks to aforementioned wonderful hair stylist), I try to avoid things that will dry my hair.  I think I read about something in the last day or two that is supposed to have a similar effect without the negatives, so will have to go do a Google search.  One change I have made was switching to a sulfate-free shampoo.  My hair colour faded a lot last month, which made me not happy, and I wondered if the sulfates in the shampoo might have had something to do with that.  I was using a salon brand shampoo specifically designed for colour treated hair; I do not blow dry nor curl nor flat iron my hair.  Anyway, I tried the sulfate-free shampoo, and was pleasantly surprised to find that my hair was almost as shiny after letting it air dry as it is when I get it styled and blow dried at the salon.  I didn’t get a salon brand of the sulfate-free (finances, as I say, are a bit tighter than I’d like them to be right now), but it still did a great job with my hair.

THE JOB. The job is Stress Central. For the first time in quite some time, I’m very unhappy at work.  I still do my best, but the team dynamics have changed with some departures and new arrivals that have taken place. I also think that after working 50-60 hours many weeks last year, I’m kind of burned out and ready for a change.  I’ve started applying for some different positions within the company, and hope to be making a change to a new job and team within a few months. 

And that’s about enough blather from me for one night. Hope you’re all well and happy!!