Product Review: Grapefruit FRESH!

Neutrogena has come out with a new line of cleansing products featuring the grapefruit.  I have tried a variety of facial and other cleansers only to find them pretty disappointing.  I was using a cleanser from Neutrogena before this that did almost nothing for my skin. I even tried Proactiv before only to break out in a horrible rash from it.

So, needless to say, I'm a little reticent when it comes to facial cleansers.  My skin is so particular that it either breaks out more, does nothing, or becomes dry, flaky, and itchy. However, something about the grapefruit appealed to me, although I can't say exactly what it is.  

Last week, I got this horrible under-the-skin blemish that led me to decide I had to find a face wash that would work for me.  I went to the store and purchased the new Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit collection.  

As soon as I tried it, I was beyond impressed! First of all, I can feel it cleansing as I am washing my face.  Second, I love the grapefruit smell.  It is so enticing that I actually get excited about washing my face!  I've been using this cleanser for over a week now and have nothing but good things to say about it.

First, I use the exfoliating cleanser. 

This left my face feeling fresh! And it isn't harsh at all.  It gently exfoliates the outer layer of skin, which is great for my skin type.  Exfoliating scrubs are usually the reason my skin ends up dry and flaky because the beads are too rough.  These are soothing get effective.

Second, I dry my face with a wash cloth.  I wet it again and then I apply the regular face wash.

I LOVE this one because it is so smooth! And the grapefruit smell is so fresh.  After exfoliating, it leaves my skin feeling soft.  

After using both of these products together, I have noticed vast improvements in the condition of my skin.  The large under-the-skin blemish was gone within two days.  The rest of my face is shiny and clear! Go Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit!

The only product out of this line that I wasn't that impressed with was the Body Clear Body Wash.

The body wash actually ended up causing breakouts for me more than anything else. Two out of three isn't bad though.  

Still, I would recommend the face wash to anyone...in case anyone is interested. :)

One Thing at a Time

When the movers brought our things to Georgia, it looked like the world's worst hurricane  came through this house.  I was completely and utterly overwhelmed by all of our things.  One of the movers joked with me as he was about to walk out the door, "You won't be straight for a week."  Little did I know he was actually being nice.  They brought the things in the middle of June and I am still going through and organizing.


I WISH I'd taken before pictures, so people could understand the monstrosity of a mess I was dealing with.  Still, I was not alone in dealing with this.  My husband jumped right in and we tackled the majority of it together. 


Plus, he's naturally a better organizer than I am.  I have to stare at something for about an hour to figure out what the best way to organize it would be.  He just starts going and BAM it's organized.  I'm jealous.  I told him I'd like to take an organizing class so I could be faster with it and he said, "Just join the army." Ha! 


Anyway, so we basically organized to the point of making the space we live in the most..well..livable.  He picked up some of the heavy boxes that I couldn't lift and took them out to storage or up to the spare bedroom so that we could sort through them later.  Our kitchen and living room were in order, and that was the most pressing at the time.


However, we were then left with the guest bedroom being full of boxes and random things.  Now, I am sure he would have gone through the bedroom with me.  Yet, being at home all day by myself, I decided it was time to get it CLEAN and ORGANIZED!  I was going crazy just looking at it.  Plus, I felt like it was a danger zone walking in there (I don't have a real picture so just imagine it's like the one below).  

I began by taking maybe an hour a day to go through a few things in there and throw away, put up, or organize them.  It felt good even though I'd only made small dent.  I knew that when I walked in there, the room was just a little bit cleaner than it was before.  Well, the other day I took Amber to Petsmart to get a bath and while I was waiting for her, I went next door to one of my favorite stores...TARGET!  I bought some lovely sets of sheets and a comforter to put on the spare bedroom bed and that was the magic wand that got me OVERHAULIN'!

I came home and faced the room like it was my arch rival.  Inside I felt I'll never get this done but outside I was determined.  I really didn't know what to do first.  So, decided that I would pretend the rest of the boxes weren't there and simply focus on one tub of items in front of me.  I had my large black trash bag to my left, a box for Goodwill donations to my right, and everything else would find a place in this house.  I was tossing things out, placing them in the donation bin, and organizing the rest.  Well, it seemed that one little box turned into another little box.  And I started to find that I had more room.  So, I set up a little office space for me in the room.  And I set up another table plus a futon.  And before I knew it I looked up and somehow the entire room had gotten organized! I didn't know who did all of that work but I had 2 full trash bags and 6 broken down empty boxes to throw out.  Plus, I had a large box of things to donate. 


I looked at the clock and it had taken me two hours.  But it felt like it was no time at all.  All I did was take it one thing at a time.  Right now, I only have to move two boxes of my school things from that room into storage and have my husband help me take an extra box spring that is in the room to Goodwill and the room will be totally done.  I'll take a picture when it is totally ready.  

One adult's patio; one child's playground

It's funny how, as we grow older, we lose much of our imagination.  Clearly, people everywhere have seen this.  The idea of regaining your imagination is portrayed in a cell phone commercial (which I can't stand) where childhood drawings are moving through a city.  Then, the end says "rethink possible" or something to that extent.  The movie Hook emphasized this same idea as Peter Pan had grown into an adult and lost all of the creativity and wonder of life.


Clearly, adults can have a lot of creativity.  It just seems as though we grow into understanding what the world around us is and we just kind of lost the ability to imagine.  Children come by it so easily.


What I see as a houseplant....



Is a child's jungle waiting to be explored.  Watch out for monkeys!



That's a cute kitten, right?



No, silly, that's a ferocious jungle cat waiting to devour you.






Household pots and pans...



No, that's just a disassembled drum kit.  Any child can figure that one out.

Penny for Your Blog?

My blog is an internet sensation.  I talk about cutting-edge and controversial things like...I think thank you notes are ridiculous and I need to throw my junk out!!  Yes, there, whew,  I came out and said it.  People are flocking by the masses to read it, in other words, my mother.  I can't even open my door without a reporter wanting to know what the next inspirational or questionable thing I might say is.  I might talk about my dog jumping on the furniture next! Now, don't get too excited--it's just a teaser.

I can only give out so many signatures a day, people.  I'll tell you it's tough being a blogging star.  So many people wanting to sign with me I cannot even begin listing them because they don't exist.  I barely have enough time to keep up with the rigorous pace! Hold the applause, please.


I have been writing various blogs for several years now.  I had one in college that I don't use anymore.  I had started using a blog through yahoo! but they were lovely and decided to shut down their wonderful features that made blogging so easy there.  I had almost been done with it when I saw other people using blogspot, and decided to join the bandwagon.  


To me, the funny thing about it all is that blogging didn't start out as anything more than something personal.  It was an easier way for somebody to keep a journal.  Being able to post it online and share it with others was nice because then they could reflect on what you posted unlike writing in a paper journal.  I don't remember anybody thinking that a blog was much more than a way to share thoughts online.


But then blogs became an avenue for people to achieve success.  If the right person in the right part of the world saw it, that could be your breakthrough.  Now, you can pay to have advertisements on your page.  You can endorse your blog.  Wasn't it once just an electronic journal?  What is it now?  It is really a way to share what you think or to say what people want to hear for personal gain? There are many people who don't use blogs for attention.  They write them because it is simply a form of enjoyment for them.  The reason I like people to read my blog is because I want to know what their thoughts are on the topic I wrote about.  I like to hear all perspectives.  I also sometimes just want to write something down while I'm thinking of it.  There might be something that happened that I don't want to forget.  So, I'll blog about it.


I just get tired of the way that people find something and then capitalize on it until they wear it out.  Then everyone is trying to make gains from that thing because somebody else did.  All I will say is that, for now, if my mother is the only person who comments on my blog (and I know a few others do also) for as long as I write it,  I am completely fine with that. :)

Thank You Notes

Today I sat down and started writing thank you notes to people for things Lee and I received as wedding gifts.  Yes, it is quite a bit after the wedding, but I was told I had a year to do them.  At first, I didn't want to write them because I felt like people might wonder why I was so late in sending them and say "it's about time" Yet, after I sat down, I was actually glad I waited so long.


I hate writing thank you notes.  It is something I often defer.  And, admittedly, I have forgotten to do it in the past because I put it off for so long.  The problem is, when I receive something, I find myself in a bind when it comes to the thank you note.  Personally, I don't like or care to receive thank you notes from other people.  It's not that I don't want them to be appreciative.  It's just that I really believe they are mostly a waste.


Let's be honest.  When I open my mailbox and I see an envelope addressed to me that clearly contains a card, I get kind of excited.  Then, as I open it, I think "oh, it's just a thank you note." I read it over and I really don't think much of it.  I feel like it was sent to me because the person felt that he or she should have or needed to send it to me; therefore, the whole thing loses meaning.  Plus, I have no real use for the card, so it usually goes in the trash soon afterwards (I hope nobody feels personally offended by this.  I am just being honest). Do I think people are all insincere? No, not really.  It's just that things that are treated by society as obligatory lose value because then you don't know when it's a formality and when it is real. I wonder how many other people are like me.  There may be some who really love a thank you card and get excited and say, "Oh look! A thank you card!"


For example, I was talking with my mother recently and she wholeheartedly believes in thank you cards.  I honestly don't know if she loves receiving them, but she definitely feels it is very important to send them.  She has said that it might be that her generation was raised being taught that writing thank you notes is important, and mine is so much more electronic that we just don't get it.  I will not deny the fact that generation plays a major part in what we deem important.


Still, for me, it is something I find completely absurd.  Everything seems to be simply "fluff."  If I give you a present, I'll assume you were grateful.  Most people stop to say thank you anyway.  For me, that is really enough.  And honestly, if the person didn't want it, I would really prefer it if he/she didn't fake some kind of appreciation out of obligation to write a thank you note.


I mean, this is why I don't want to write thank yous so soon after receiving a gift because I find myself not knowing what to say.  "Uhhh errrrr...thank you...uhh...for that spoon...it just stirs so great...I have never seen a spoon that can stir like that one!"  It just sounds like foolishness to me and I like to be genuine.  You see, this is why I don't like giving thank you notes because if I'm going to write to somebody it will be true and real.  It won't be some forced thing I do because I feel like someone wants one by a certain date or shame on me...I obviously wasn't thankful.


So, this is why I ended up being glad I waited so long.  Because I can honestly say that every note I wrote today was packed full of meaning.  I was able to express appreciation for a gift but also make comments about things I know that have gone on in their lives.  I felt so satisfied that I didn't have to make up something just to write a thank you note.  There were many other things to say.  Besides, we have also had the things long enough that I could write more about them.  For example, I could explain how and when I've used it and what I truly think of it.


If you are one of those people, and you will soon be receiving a thank you card from me.  Just know that I meant every word I said.

Do I really need this? Why do I have it?

Before moving to Georgia, I had gone through my things several times.  I threw out at least 5 large black garbage bags full of things I had no use for.  I donated clothes, books, and other things that I didn't need to Goodwill.  It felt so good to get rid of that excess stuff that I didn't need.


Well, after getting down here, I have recently found out that I could have gotten rid of A LOT more stuff.  I rushed down here on Saturday because our things were supposed to arrive on Monday, and somebody needed to be at the house to receive them.  Unfortunately, the moving company didn't bother to call and tell us that a driver quit on them and we wouldn't be receiving our stuff until Friday.  Finally, our things did arrive yesterday.  And, after being so eager for them to get here, I was taken aback at ALL OF THE STUFF we had!  Some of the stuff I didn't even think was mine.  I had no recollection of having it at all.


My goodness! The movers were allowed to bring things in and take them out of the boxes, but they weren't allowed to put them away or organize them.  So, when they dumped the things off and took them out of the boxes, Lee and I appeared to be like those hoarders on television.  We had stuff EVERYWHERE!  We went out to eat, came home, and then I got right to work organizing the kitchen. I put away countless mugs, 2 sandwich makers, 3 crock pots, 5 cutting boards, gadgets I've never even used, and other items that took up the kitchen.  The cabinets are now full and I'm still wondering where to put some things.  The crock pots got to me the most.  We hang onto things because they have sentimental value.  One of the crock pots has never even been taken out of the box.  And I'm sure I kept them because they were given as gifts, and people know you can always use a crock pot.  I probably thought there might be a day when I will use three crock pots.  HOWEVER, that day is not today and probably it won't be tomorrow or any other day soon.  So, off to Goodwill will some go.  Other people may need an unused crock pot at a good price.  I don't know how mugs accumulate, that's one of those mysteries I won't figure out.  I will also be getting rid of anything we may have duplicates or triplicates of.  There is simply no point in keeping them.  Although I am thankful to people for having thought of us and getting these things for us, they didn't know what we previously had and I'm sure they wouldn't want us holding onto their thing just to hold onto it.


Just now, I was going through some books.  There are novels I have had from college courses.  I took a Willa Cather course in college, and I have somewhere from 8-10 novels that I bought for that course and for my personal interest in reading more of her works after the course.  I haven't read those books in probably 5 years now.  I would say it is time for them to move on.  I also have a lot of Elisabeth Elliot books.  I did enjoy those books and I held onto them because I like them so much, but shouldn't I share what I enjoyed with others?  What's the point of keeping something if it is just going to sit there for a least a year simply taking up space?  I've resolved that there is none.


Looking at all of these things, they are things I have kept for the possibility of using them later.  Well, now it's later and I still haven't used them.  So, what does that tell me?  I'm not going to use them later.  When we go out to run errands, do we grab 5 purses wondering "well I might need this, so.." No, most of us don't.  We take what we need.  So, I am going to do my best to keep only what I use regularly and need and just get rid of the rest.

In it for Ourselves

It's interesting how quickly and easily another person can crush our spirits.  I wish I could remember or find the exact quote now.  However, Elisabeth Elliot said that many adults are, in fact, not adults at all.  Instead, they are really more or less overgrown toddlers climbing on and trampling over other toddlers in the play pen to get to the top.  They pay no mind for the pain others go through in order for them to get where they want to go.  And when they might be found to be in trouble, they quickly and easily point the finger to somebody else who really ought to take the blame.  


This evening, I was happily taking care of a few things and looking forward to a new day tomorrow when I received an e-mail that really brought me down.  It was telling me that I had not done something that I was asked to do.  I actually had done what I was asked.  It was, in fact, that the other person had not realized or remembered what the request actually was.  Everything came down on me as if it were my deliberate choosing to be irresponsible or maybe some sort of incompetence on my part.  I felt like a popped ballon where one tiny pin prick allowed my whole surface to fall apart.


My immediate reaction was to fire back, "No, actually, you said..." or "I didn't mean to." But I sat there and I thought about it and I prayed about it.  Then, I came to the conclusion that it is better to say nothing and simply just do the thing that has been clarified to me. One quote that Elisabeth Elliot has said for sure is, "Silence, as someone has said, is the mother of prayer and the nurse of holy thoughts. Silence cuts down on our sins, doesn't it? We can't be sinning in so many different ways if we are being quiet before God. Silence nourishes patience, charity, discretion."  I realized that retaliating or saying anything would have been me trying to save face and that would only be a manifestation of pride.  


It is usually in our nature (and I'm pretty sure this is what this person was doing with me) to place blame elsewhere because the weight of blame for a mistake is uncomfortable.  Maybe the person said the wrong thing.  Maybe I actually heard the wrong thing.  Is either one of our mistakes earth shattering? No.  Is it worth getting upset over? No.  So, being an adult doesn't depend on whether others are being adults.   It depends on training your mind to understand that life isn't about you and your world isn't the world.  

If

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream---and not make dreams your master; If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same:. If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breathe a word about your loss: If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!" If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much: If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son! Rudyard Kipling