Moving With Children, the Navy Way, Series 1 of 5, How family meetings help in communication during any stressful time, or time of change.

                                                                                     picture taken from cityofhewitt.com


Just a few minutes ago we completed another family meeting called upon by our 10 year old daughter.  We have had a few family meetings initiated by my husband or myself but predominantly they have been because my daughter had something she wanted to discuss.  I wanted to list five reasons why official family meetings have helped our family. But first I wanted to point out that family meetings are very helpful before we move, and also equally helpful any time we have change or adjustment. Family meetings do not have to be "held" due to large life events rather what is important to the person holding them.

1.) Whomever calls the meeting has "something" they would like to discuss and this opens up communication for our family in a healthy way before that "something" becomes an issue!

2.) Whomever calls the meeting knows that in this busy world that during "Family Meeting Time" they will have complete attention from their family members without distraction of media or anything else. This gives the person who called the meeting a chance to feel important and special knowing they can have open communication while the other family members are respectful.

3.) Family meetings somehow set the tone for more appropriate behavior by all family members (including parents). When there is a family meeting in progress there are rules that we follow, allowing one person to speak at a time and responding one at a time appropriately. This teaches and "reminds" parents what healthy communication should look like.

4.) Family meetings resolve issues. Most of the time a family meeting is called because there already is a family issue in progress and someone feels it needs to be addressed. These meetings can help deescalate a situation, or keep a situation from becoming ugly. Now I should mention not all family meetings are designed around family issues. It's rare we have a family meeting because there is an issue its usually used as a vehicle to help children understand something, and in our military family, that something is some kind of change (ie moving.)

5. My favorite reason for family meetings is because it helps my daughter process information that often is to large until it's broke down. Family Meetings help my daughter to clarify and understand what is about to happen or is happening, what her role is in a situation or a family change, and to know that their is plan amongst what would otherwise appear as chaos to a young child. For the same reasons it's just as useful for adults as well.

Our family meeting today was called by our daughter who likes to make the meeting official with white-board presentations that are often lengthy:) Today she wanted to know what "exactly" we were doing this next week in regards to us moving. Think about how powerful this is! A ten year old notices that there is a difference in the aura of our usual routine. She undoubtedly has overhead us discussing our upcoming move into our first home, and has overhead us discussing all we have to do this next week. It's a big mistake for parents to assume that it's either non of our children's business, assume they cant understand what is happening, or to assume as parents we are not "required" to explain ourselves to our children, (we're the parents after all!) But that is so untrue. Children function on routine and stability and when our lives are flipped upside down it is invaluable to have already explained to them what to expect and what their role is.
    
You may think "Our children don't have a role" and while sometimes that is true, it almost never is. Let's say for example your moving and you have young children who can not contribute to packing, cleaning etc. because they are to young, what then would be their role? Children's job is to be children, to play, to explore, to question, and when they are getting ready to move into another home their lives are flipped upside down. If children function on routine and stability and their routine is changed, does that not effect them? This specific post is series 1 of 5 on moving with children. The first step in moving is preparing the family for what to expect and family meetings have always been beneficial for us in that regard.

Our meeting revolved around our daughter asking questions that we would have never thought to explain to her. She wanted to know what to expect this week. She wanted to know what dates we were doing specific things, she wanted to tell us how she would help us. We took the time to explain to her exactly what to expect and what her specific role is. Everyday she is going to help her (pregnant) mom pack up light items such as clothes and blankets, toys etc.  I also explained to her that I would fill our her dry erase chore chart with my expectations so each day she understands what to expect. No surprises. Isn't it comforting to know what to expect, instead of feeling chaotic? She is going to update her dry erase calendar she has in her room to reflect the moving dates.  She also volunteered to help with the pets she is creating a list of how she will handle the pets and likely feels like she is really contributing to the family by taking on this responsibility. We never asked her to help us with the pets it's just something she offered to do!

In the end having the family members understand they can call family meetings helps to keep communication moving freely and in a healthy way!

Six months along, and a few bumps along the way, and we're having a girl!!!

When I first found out I was pregnant for the fourth time I was excited, but due to my two previous miscarriages I wasn't expecting a good outcome. I did not have my hopes up. I did what I usually do, I took the test, got excited for a few minutes, then I remembered that my chances of having another miscarriage were high for me and I would come back down to earth. My husband too probably felt the same way, exciting news with a likely bad outcome.  With that said three months had passed and I was still pregnant. Due to my high-risk of miscarriages my doctor had me get a fairly early ultrasound at two months to see if there was a heart beat. Sure enough there was. The last two miscarriages the baby did not have a heart beat either time. It was a nice surprise to see a heart beat this time and it really made me feel hopeful, but not that hopeful.  I felt like I had to really make it past the three month mark before I felt secure.  My first pregnancy was the healthiest pregnancy ever, no issues, not one the whole time and I have a wonderful daughter that set the tone that my future deliveries would be issue free as well. 
     Finally the third month passed and I felt pregnant and comfortable announcing the news to my family and friends. I had a doctor appointment shortly after my ultra sound sometime after my third month announcement that I was informed I wasn't out of the woods yet. Apparently I had a condition that a very small percentage of women get where there is a hemorrhage that has the potential to do one of three things. 1.) develop into a large hemorrhage that will eventually separate the placenta from the uterus and cause a miscarriage (there is a 25% risk of this) 2.) The hemorrhage will leave the body and the pregnant women will see blood, usually be scared that they are having a miscarriage and find out the baby's fine, however the hemorrhage was draining (so-to-speak). 3.) Lastly the hemorrhage can dissipate and reabsorb it's self into the body and just go away, causing no bleeding and no issues. (The third, I believe, happened to me.) After I thought I was in the clear because I had passed the three month mark, I find out that I in fact have to continue to wait and see how the hemorrhage is going to behave. I had to wait about two months until my 20 week ultrasound to know what the prognosis was. 

     I just recently had my 20 week ultrasound and found that in fact the hemorrhage had just gone away and its not an issue. Unfortunately the wait continues, because I was told that the next thing I have to worry about is a low placenta.  A low placenta is when the placenta implants lower near or on top of your cervix instead of higher in the uterus where placenta's typically implant.  This is potentially an issue if the placenta stays low and doesn't move up out of the way. Why? The baby can't get out of the cervix if the placenta is covering it, and it can't safely get out with out potentially causing the placenta to rupture if it's to close to the cervix as, the cervix dilates. If the placenta is covering the cervix it's called Placenta Previa which can really be a problem for both the baby and the mom, which often requires an early delivery, and a mandatory c-section. The baby, often with Placenta Previa is delivered a month earlier than it's due date, which increases chances of lack of proper development for the baby. This isn't ideal, not at all. I do not have Placenta Previa, my Placenta isn't on top of, but rather too close to the cervix. The good news is that in most cases 95%, the placenta moves out of the way as the Uterus expands (the belly gets bigger) and then there is no issue at all. So here I am again, in another waiting game to see once again if I dogged a bullet, or if I have to have a mandatory C-section.  I will get a 32 week ultrasound to see if the placenta has moved. I hope! I pray! If not, well then I'll get a C-section and so it is. 

     Although there has been issues with my pregnancy. I am six months along and growing with a baby that has been identified in four ultrasounds I've had as very healthy and active, with no decetable issue. My quad screening and all other test results came back normal, so I choose to focus on the positive that I have in my life right now, such as my healthy daughter who has been so sweet to her mom during this pregnancy and is excited to be a big sister! I love you banana:)

We were approved!

Our offer was excepted, without a counter offer so we didn't even have to raise the price. This is such an interesting occurrence as every other house we looked at had something about it that made us like it, but not be overly excited about the purchase. In our price range, we don't have amazing options to begin with, we knew we were going to have to upgrade the home ourselves.  Saturday morning an hour before our meeting my husband showed me a new listing that just came on RLMS or is it RMLS? Anyway I looked at the pictures and thought "are you kidding?" It was too good to be true. The house that we had an appointment to put an offer on (in one hour) was nice, but needed quite a bit of remodeling from the start. For starters it was pink, and that wasn't going to fly with my husband, secondly the carpet although nice and in excellent condition was white, which wouldn't fly with my dogs. So we would have had to put in new flooring, paint the exterior, and interior before we could move in. After that, and down the road we would have to update every bathroom, and especially the kitchen which was closed off to the living room. Honestly other than that the house was in great condition and had a beautiful yard and lots of easy to fix potential. With that said, we were not over the moon about it.

So back to the listing my husband was showing me right before we were going to put an offer on the "pink house" as we called it, he showed me this listing that was way better than the pink house and much cheaper, and in a better location. So we called our realtor and assumed it was going to be time consuming and potentially make the "pink house" unavailable. However he got us an appointment to see the house that evening and we made an offer right then. Obviously you know the end of the story. One other person bid on the house as well but was lower than ours, so we are now first time home owners. We are ready. We were overseas for the last four years, which hindered this process, but before that we just weren't ready, but now we are.  We will be in the house in a month and a half. In the meantime, it's time to find renovation ideas first up is updating the cabinets. I will show a picture of what they look like now and some ideas. Let me know if you have updated cabinets yourself, any tips?

 We can't afford to re-do the kitchen now, so I was thinking of painting the cabinets white, but with the white appliances it may be to much white. I will also add hardware to the cabinets. Maybe some back splash, and a new paint color. What though? Well it's time I get on Pinterest.

Buying a Home

We have looked at the upwards of 30 homes. I know that some people look at many more, but 30 has been a lot for me. By looking I'm referring to driving up to the home seeing the bad neighborhood and driving away, hoping to never see it again. Only five houses have made the cut.  The problem is like most new home buyers we are picky. An additional issue is although Realtors are so keen to say "First time home buyers" are picky they/we have every reason to be. Like my Realtor said. "It's not like you buying a pair of shoes." This is very true at an upwards of 200,000-300,000 thousand dollars the price the most Americans pay for a nice reasonable priced home we have every reason to want to find the best option.
     An additional issue with our picky-ness, is we are late to the game. We are not in our early twenties with years to make mistakes and "discover" what it is we really want. We already know.  With our years of renting experience we have been in every type of home and we are old enough to know what we want, but more importantly what we need based on our price range.  This isn't going to be our starter home (we don't believe) but our retirement home. Based on my husband joining the Navy at 17 he retires young at 37, we still have a few years to go until we are there, but once he retires we are planning on building some roots for the first time in many years. 

We are currently waiting to see if our offer is approved. Our first one was denied we went to low. This time we will see...

 

This is it. It's cute and needs kitchen upgrades. Wish us luck!

New Theme

This blog used to be based on beauty related info. However I have so many other things to talk about. This blog will now be all about what ever I'm thinking at any given moment. I would like to share experiences as candidly as possible about our transition from the Navy into the real world. I also will be talking about homeschool; our new baby; our new house; renovations; community; crafts; fitness; getting back in shape after pregnancy at 30; finishing my undergrad degree, and starting my graduate degree; and getting a job after being a stay-at-home mom for years and years,  and whatever else crosses my mind. Hope you enjoy!

Home Microdermabrasion Machines/Skin Care/Missha Beauty Balm

Howdy! I said on my last cosmetic review post, that I had an exciting new product I was using, and from the title I'm sure you can tell it's a microdermabrasion machine; which it is.  I did a lot of research before I purchased one, and found the NV-60 from Amazon to have the best reviews.


Although despite the fact that I did pretty extensive research, I'm kind of thinking I should have went with the PMD personal microderm machine, only because it's so much smaller.  So I'm going to give a review on the NV-60, which I think works great, I just wonder if the PMD might have been a better option due to size. Please use this post to decide what's best for you! Also I would like to point out that there are many personal microdermabrasion machines on the market, and a handful of them are designed for home use.  The ones that are designed for home use besides the NV-60 and the PMD didn't get very good reviews, especially the most popular one that has infomercials.  So the reason I'm discussing the NV-60 and the PMD only, is due to the high-number of 4-5 star reviews these machine received. 

     The NV-60 microdermabrasion machine arrived in the mail from an Amazon seller two weeks after ordered as promised. It came in clean modern packaging, like I would get in a store.  Sometimes when I order from people and companies from Amazon I'm often unsure of what will arrive.  The company describes the NV-60 as "The HEALTHandMED At Home Microdermabrasion Machine NV60 refines, rejuvenates and softens skin. All of the accessories are included. It will not only work on the face, but also other parts of the body. You will have soft, shiny, and perfect skin! This unit will easily pay for itself within 1 month of use. Consider the treatments cost in many salons! Because there are no crystals propelled onto the skin, the system allows treatment to those fine wrinkle areas close to the eyes and around the lips. It is safe for all skin types. It helps with Enlarged Skin Pores, Blemishes, Fine Wrinkles, & Aging Skin! VERY safe, and CE certified. Great for a budget minded spa as it offers near professional level performance at an unbeatable price point. Does not use crystals, chemicals or lasers! 60cmHg vacuum suction and 2mm friction depth." Taken from Amazon.com

I'm not going to get into the difference between microdermabrasion machines that have diamond tips, and machines that blow-out micro-oxide crystals. What I will say is the diamond tips makes microdermabrasion at home much more possible.  Feel free to research the difference, it's pretty interesting.

I have been using the machine four weeks now, however I was so delicate on my skin during the first use, I would say I have been seriously using it for three weeks now. The first night I used it I was very nervous of how my skin would be the next day, or if I would over-do-it.  My skin was fine the next day, and I actually under-did-it, but I would recommend with this machine to build up usage and start on the lowest settings.  I have used it since then once a week on Monday's, which I call Microdermabrasion Monday's:)  I have really increased the suction and the coarseness of the diamond tips, which is fine for me to do, with my tough, oily skin.  I'm not kidding when I say I was breaking out enough to visit my dermatologist, which I haven't had to do for nearly twelve years.  The dermatologist put me on Retin-A and a few other things. *Important note, do not do microdermabrasion on your skin while you are using any Retinal products, especially Retin-A. The first week my skin felt sun-burned. I discontinued the Retin-A and my skin feels great after microdermabrasion.  I am no longer breaking out. My large pores are not noticeable, my age-spots are no-kidding disappearing!!! My skin looks so healthy. It hasn't really done a lot to my fine-lines, but I'm supposed to use this machine for two months and I still have a month to go.  The typical program for microdermabrasion use is, once a week for two months, then only once a month thereafter.  This program is good for my skin, and may not be good for yours. I think towards the end, I'm going to bump-it up to twice-a-week.

My current facial routine which I said I would update is:

Ponds original Cold Cream ( I realize this has mineral oils, which I know isn't great for your skin,but interestingly enough I don't break out using it, also it's the gentlest way to remove make-up.)

I use a warm wash-cloth to remove the Ponds cream along with my make-up.
I use Ponds Cream on a q-tip to finish cleaning my eyes.
I then wash my face with Dove Bar Soap for Sensitive Skin.  This product has never dried my skin out, nor caused breakouts. ( I would also highly recommend cetaphil classic cleanser as well)

After my skin dries (on Monday's) I use the microdermabrasion machine* See YouTube video's for how-to's.

After the microdermabrasion I use Clinique's #4 Astringent to clean my face of dead skin and to fully clean out my skin. It works like a very gentle peel.

Followed by Clinique's Dramatically Different Gel (not lotion) I would also recommend Dermalogica's Active Moist.

On Day's I don't do microdermabrasion I use Clinique's #4 Astringent and use the lotion as need. I usually need it every other night.  ( Again I have oily problematic skin)

I typically use higher end skin care. I love Dermalogica, but the Dove Soap, and Clinique always work well for me, when my skin starts breaking out.  I also live in an extremely humid environment, where #4 works well for me. For my skin, when I break-out, using products designed for acne prone skin, just makes my skin worse. I have problematic skin, but I have that because my skin is so sensitive.

Right now my skin is not excessively oily and my skin is very clear and on it's way to looking very even toned and healthy.

For makeup I have been using the Korean brand beauty balm called Missha M .  It is one of the beauty balms that had the better reviews and happened to be available in the store I was shopping at. It comes in a few shades but the store offered #21, and #23. I use #21 which is great for fair skin.  I'm now going to talk about beauty balms, which are sometimes referred to as blemish balms.

First I want to give a brief history of beauty balms. Beauty Balms gained popularity in Korea, supposedly by the t.v. stars who had this amazingly flawless skin, very milky white.  The Koreans had popularized it, but it was reportedly created in Germany as a product designed for Dermatologist and Plastic Surgeons to give to their patients to use after skin-laser treatments and other dramatic medical treatments.  After the Korean women soap-opera stars popularized it, the Japanese were the next to pick it up and so it spread quickly through-out the world.  The U.S. brands have even adopted BB creams such as Smashbox, Este Lauder and many more. 

What are BB Creams? It is basically glorified makeup.  It's a product that has a consistency of a luxury facial moisturizer, with a coverage that falls between a tinted moisturizer and a foundation.  The BB Cream that I use has buildable coverage and can become a medium coverage foundation or as light as tinted moisturiser. I can't speak for every BB cream out there, especially the ones made in the U.S. but for the most part BB creams are a combination of moisturizer (light, not heavy) skin care products, and sunscreen all with a pretty great coverage.  Currently I'm using Missha M Perfect Cover #21 (fair skin) with SPF 45.

All BB creams have healing soothing ingredients and sunscreen because they were designed to be used on patients who just had skin care treatments and needed a good product on their face, not pore-clogging foundation.  If  you use a BB Cream you do not need to use,  skin-care products, moisturizer, primer, foundation.  The one container of BB Cream does all of that for you.  This makes my skin-care, make-up routine very simple in the morning.  At night I still follow my same skin care routine.  Here is the interesting thing, it's almost weird actually. I have oily skin, and I live in a very very humid environment yet when I use a BB cream, I do not have oily skin, but when ever I use a tinted moisturizer my skin gets so oily it's gross.  I don't know how the BB cream is able to keep the skin from getting oily, while also giving off a healthy dew like look.  A lot of people have reported improved skin.  I have not been using it enough to be able to tell you yet. What I can tell you is, My skin while using it looks great, and not oily and provides a good coverage. My skin feels light-weight too.  It has not made my skin breakout and probably has been additionally good to use, while I'm in the middle of my two microdermabrasion months.  I would recommend a BB cream to anyone, all ages, even young girls just getting into make-up that usually wear a tinted moisturizer, because I think the BB Cream is better for their skin and will cause less breakouts!  It also has lightening and anti-aging ingredients for aging skin as well, and there are a few who make a BB Cream for problematic skin as well. Although I have problematic skin and I'm only using a standard BB Cream.  I'm going to try other brands and report the difference in them.  I know some have more moisturizing qualities, some have illumination which is good in the summer and at night. 

Well this raps up my new fun machine, skin-care during this next two months and my new awesome better than foundation!  Please Subscribe to this blog and also comment on my blog.  The first three-people that comment on this blog will receive an Every Day Spa Box with samples and one full-sized product in cute packaging (similar to those fun monthly sample subscription companies!) 

~Cheers...Monique

Yurts...

First I'm going to post some pictures.

These Yurts shown are from the Pacific Yurts inc.  These are modern, and updated Yurts.  The cost of a Yurt on average is about $10,000 for the largest Yurt, standard edition.  There are many upgrades, which seems to be more specifically for the Yurt frame than for the inside.  I'm guessing if you want your Yurt to look like a home on the inside, then you must do it yourself?  The Yurts can be used in extreme weather of both cold climates and tropical.  It's a very good price, if your looking for alternative living options.  A Yurt would also make for a fun "club-house" a guest-home or a game room, art-room ect...  The website states that:

"The Pacific Yurt is a modern adaptation of the ancient shelter used by Central Asian nomads for centuries. The compact shape of the yurt and combination of lightweight members in tension and compression mean that the structure is highly efficient in maximizing strength while minimizing the use of materials.
The Pacific Yurt is a lightweight, low-cost, state-of-the-art version that retains the sense of wholeness of the ancient form while delivering the structural integrity, longevity and low maintenance demanded by modern users.
Though generally classified as a tent, the yurt is much stronger and weathertight. The Pacific Yurt is a circular structure that consists of a durable fabric cover, tension band and a wood frame that includes a lattice wall, radial rafters, central compression ring and a framed door."  -Pacific Yurt inc.

~cheers...Monique



Reviews of many different products!

I have not posted for quite some time.  That's the bad news, the good news is, I've still been using different products and have lots of reviews.  The reviews of this post are not sponsored. Use all of the below products at your own discretion. 

First up...

Revlon ColorStay Makeup Foundation for normal/oily skin.  The color was a good match, and I felt that the color was natural and there are lots of choices. Overall the foundation gave good coverage, but not great.  There was something about the foundation that felt heavy and just off. Since the coverage wasn't that great and the feel of it was heavy I'm not giving it a good review.  I typically don't wear liquid foundation, but when I do, I do it because I want full-coverage for special occasions.  I also felt that it made me break out a little bit.  I don't know what ingredients were involved, so I can't verify there is any comedogenic ingredients in it?  I wasn't in love with it, but overall it's probably one of the better drug-store foundations. So this is a kind of mixed review.  My last thought is, if your looking for a medium coverage drug-store foundation, this is a good choice. If you are looking for a full coverage foundation than this isn't.
But while we are discussing the drug-store, I wanted to mention a product that I love. Loreal Studio Secret Primer.

This product is very good, not only compared to other drug-store products, but in comparison to all primers of any company,  First this primer comes in an eye-cream sized container. Although it doesn't look like a lot of product, a little goes a long way.  It's very rich, but as their add describes, velvety and smooth.  It has a texture that really fills in lines and wrinkles and large pores.  I do not use it all over my face, daily. I break out easily and have to watch what I put on my skin.  I do use it under my eyes daily which fills in lines and makes a great eyeshadow primer and eyebrow tamer as well.  When I want my makeup to be more intense I'll use it as an all over primer! The main thing that impresses me is the ability to allow my loose powder mineral make-up to not look dry and wrinkly under my eyes.  This product sells for around $10 on Amazon which is a good price. I don't know if this would work for acne prone skin or oily skin as an all over face primer, but for all skin types, it's a wonder under the eyes. 

If you are an oily skinned or an acne prone person looking for a good primer, I recommend Clinique's Pore Minimizer Instant Perfecter.  This product comes in a small tube, and so it's not designed for a person's whole face, but can be used all over the face in specific spots that have large pores or even wrinkles. I use it on one part of my cheek, and my t-zone and a fine line on my forehead.  It fills in the lines or pores while also absorbing oil. 

And while we are on the subject of Department Stores, I want to give my opinion of Lancomes loose mineral make-up and translucent powder. Ageless Minerale with White Sapphire Complex, retails at $42.00 on Lancome-usa.com I also use the translucent version as a setting powder.  This foundation is very similar to other mineral makeup's on the market with mica to add a radiance.  It is a very good foundation but in my opinion not as good as the Bare Mineral brand  especially for the price, for my skin tone which is oily.  The reason is because the mica in the products gives off a luminous look, which is great for most skin tones and at night, but on oily skin it makes the skin look very oily, even if the skin isn't.  I also thought that the foundation didn't work nearly as well as a concealer as Bare Minerals does.  Mineral makeup  being a great and natural looking concealer is my main reason for buying it, and Lancome not covering blemishes or the under-eye area well, is a deal breaker for me. I still have two full containers and find that overall it's one of the better mineral makeups out there, just not the best. I will use the Ageless Mineral as my foundation and Bare Mineral as my concealer until it's gone.  1 would say that if you want medium coverage and have normal/dry skin this would be a great product!

Next up for me to try (in the future), is Lancome's Ageless Minerale corrector. The web sites states

"Rid your complexion of any redness and create the perfect canvas for foundation application with this amazing mineral primer that smooths away fine lines, pores and imperfections instantly. The complexion perfecting formula contains a blend of yellow-based powder for flawless skin tone, and nourishing Aloe and Vitamin E for visibly softer, velvety-smooth skin. This powder can be worn alone or under foundation for lasting wear." Sounds good to me. I'll review that product soon.  And please if you decide to buy Lancomes mineral foundation please be advised that the "oscillating mineral foundation concept, is silly and doesn't work." Don't buy into it, just get the normal one, and a brush. The padding that comes in the oscillating one gives a weird coverage, and doesn't reach small spaces, like the eye area.  The foundation it's self is good, but the container is goofy. The good news, is my daughter enjoys playing with it as play makeup:)

 Well that's it for today's reviews. I have more products to review, and I want to reveal my favorite new product that has been a game changer for me! I can't wait I'm super excited.  Also I will be back to posting on random but related relaxing lifestyle posts and some home beauty recipes coming up as well.  Lastly I'll be posting an update of my new facial routine.  Which changes constantly depending on my nutrition, stress, hormones, finances, etc.  My last post on my face routine is not obsolete, and still a good suggestion for those with acne prone or oily skin.  As an esthitician if you have skin different from mine and would like suggestions, please let me know:)

~cheers...Monique

Quicky-tip

Long long ago, I used to work at Macy's in the "intimate" apparel section of the store.  I went through some sort of quicky training on how to fit a bra.  I don't remember what I learned, but it involved a measuring tape.  And luckily I didn't have to fit anyone before they moved me to house-wares! But I just heard this new tip, that I've yet to learn my whole life. I think it's odd that I have never heard this tip from Victoria Secrets, Fredrick's of Hollywood, Nordstom etc.  So here it is... Buy a bra with the cup size one size larger, and the bust or width of your upper torso one size smaller than the bra you wear now.  So for example, if you wear a 34 C.  Then buy a bra 32 D.  I know this sounds dramatic, especially in the cup size area.  The reason for this tip is that most women are not wearing the correct bra size. If your bra is ill fitting in some way, then this is you. If you follow this tip it will allow you to have better lift and full coverage. The most important part of this tip, is that going down a size on your band, and up a size in the cup allows the weight and pressure to be distributed to your torso instead of having all the weight rest on your shoulders!!!  Try it first with a cheaper but good bra, to see if it works. I realize that it can be intimidating to go up a cup size, especially if you are a larger bra size, but it's the same concept as pants that I wrote on a previous post, if your pants are to tight you look bad, and feel bad, then take bad care of yourself. If you pants fit nicely, but they are a larger size then you care to be, you will look good in your clothes, feel good, then take good care of your self. 

~Cheers...Monique

Small Spaces = Low Morgtage = Less Material Items= Less Cleaning

Here is a neat link, I got from my friends FB page. It really has me thinking lately about the status quo, when it comes to the American Dream.  My dream does not equal 2,000 or more square feet.  I don't know that I can live in as small of a space as the video below, but I don't know???

RE9 end of month review.

I had some serious homework this past month, as my term is coming to an end and I haven't committed to the weekly review as mentioned.  However, I have been religiously using Arbonne's RE9 every morning and night for the last month, and have noticed very obvious overall skin improvement.  My skin has a more even texture, it feels smooth to the touch, freckles are going away and my pores are not as noticeable. The down-side however is that I have consistently been breaking out, and it never stopped. So I switched up Arbonne products for a more custom formula and my skin is clear and good-to-go.  If you read below you will see a complete skin care system that involves face wash, toner, skin serum for day, a day moisturizer with SPF, a night moisturizer, a neck cream, eye cream, and a skin brightening serum used at night.  My skin is oily and prone to break-out.  The day moisturizer I had to stop using right-away as my skin was very oily with use of this product. I wouldn't consider it an oily moisturizer for most skin types, it actually absorbs nicely, it's just too oily for me.  The night cream is a great product, but I can't use it every night either.  I use it as needed.  Sometimes your skin just gets a little dry and needs some moisturizer and so I use it then.  The day serum is a very pore tightening product and so I can use that anytime I want.  The neck cream was one of my favorite products. I enjoyed the citrus smell and the rich texture the thin, delicate skin the chest, and neck, needs.  I had no real issue with the face wash one way or the other, but I knew from experience that I needed a face wash that has clay based ingredients in it, to help with oily skin. I also have a thicker top layer of skin that's less delicate as many oily faced people do, and so I need a manual scrub ( or a scrub with texture.) I also need an oil drying mask to help with break-outs.  So my new and improved skin care routine is more involved than I just mentioned but here I go...

Step 1. FACE WASH

Arbonne's FC5 Purifying and toning face wash.  This face wash is for normal to oily skin and is great for giving a deep down clean.

Step 2.  TONER

Arbonne's Clear Advantage Toner.  This a toner designed for skin with acne, I also think it works good for oily skin too. It has the extra salicylic Acid to really clean out the skin. I only like to get specific Acne medication through the toner and that it, or it's to drying for me.

Step #3.  SERUM: 

Arnonne's Intensive Renewal Serum.  It's great for reducing pores, fine lines and helping with texture. It has an alpha hydroxy acid, and should be used in conjunction with a SPF.

Step #4  MOISTURIZER:

Arbonne's FC5 Oil-absorbing day moisturizer. 


Step #5 EYE CREAM

Arbonne's RE9 Corrective Eye Cream.

Now it's bed time so my routine is the same as above except instead of the Intensive Renewal Serum I use Arbonne's Revelage Serum:

After toner listed above I use this serum to help with sun spots and freckles.

Then I move to a night time moisturizer that's a little richer, but it's not oily:

After the Night Repair I use RE9's neck cream:

This is so great at getting rid of fine lines and freckling on the chest and neck.

I use the above mentioned RE9 Eye cream.

Lastly as needed I use Arbonne's New Cell scrub, a chemical face mask to help with skin cell renewal turn-over, and a oil absorbing face mask for keeping my skin clear.

So that is it. Although It seems like a lot of work, it's short I promise.  If you have oily skin I hope this helps. 

RE9 Advanced End of Week One.

     So I said I would give an end of week review on RE9 as I'm new to the line.  Please read the previous post regarding What RE9 is and what comes with this skin care line.  First off the claim of Arbonne's Skin Care Line RE9, is that you will see visible results in 24 hours.  This is true.  I can't really say anything else about that claim, because it's a bold claim and one that is hard to believe until you try the line.  With any anti-aging line, my biggest worry is that it's going to make me break out. RE9 did break me out after about three days of using it. However, don't stop reading yet. First my testimonial of any skin care product is based on the fact that I've used almost every skin care line on the market. Secondly I'm and esthetician and went to school to study the skin, and ingredients in products.  Lastly, like any customer my expertise is in my personal results as well.  So yes it did break me out, but only a tiny bit. This may seem counter-productive, however I can play it safe and use fragrance free dove soap, but cause my skin to keep looking horrible (and it did). I mean despite the fact that I am indeed an esthetician, I have horrible skin, mostly due to sun damage and of course to nutrition and stress and aging.  So no, Dove soap bar doesn't break me out, but it also doesn't get rid of my fine lines, ruddiness, large pores, UN-even skin tone, and sun-spots!

      Now back to me breaking out and NOT freaking out.  There is a difference between other anti-aging skin care lines and Arbonne's RE9 Advanced anti-aging skin care line. The difference is simply the ingredients.  Read the back of a night cream of a top line department store anti-aging product.  You will find mineral oils among other gross pole clogging irritants. Now I want to take a minute and write a disclaimer: I do not have a problem with mineral oil per-Se, it's an oil that comes from sheep's wool, which is kind of gross, but of course it's cleaned and sanitized and fairly natural to be honest. So I'm not buying into the anti-mineral oil claims. Petroleum oil on the other hand is horrible for your skin and is not a natural product.  Both mineral and petroleum oil are horrible products for those with acne sensitive skin, or oily skin especially. If you have extremely dry skin, it's still not the best option, but it's probably fine too.  What does mineral, and petroleum oil have to do with anti-aging skin care? Well those two mentioned oils are very cheap and not good for your skin--very pore clogging.  The "high-end" lines all use these cheap oils, which means your not paying for product, your paying for fancy packaging and marketing.  The actual products of high-end skin-care and make-up lines are kind of a joke in the SPA world for estheticians, because they know what's "really" in those products.  So I'm still breaking out, and the only products I'm using are Arbonne, so why am I fine with it? Because...Arbonne's anti-aging lines use vegetable based oils that are very soothing and good for skin.  They are not pore-clogging at all, and can address the moisture loss skin experiences, as well as healing sensitive skin issue's, such as Roseacea, with out the heavy weight oils, other lines use.  My breaking out has nothing to do with the high quality vegetable based oils, that Arbonne uses, it has to do with all the other cell-turn over ingredients that are being used.  Such as Alpha and Beta hydroxy acids, to name a few. It's the acids that are causing me to break out AS THEY SHOULD! Acids in products work to safely remove dead skin cells and help your skin to more quickly turn over new healthy and radiant skin.  In the process of cell turn over a person with clogged pores will experience the pores being cleaned out and forcing the acne to the surface quickly, which also means that once the pores are cleaned out and the acne is cleared up, which acids to a great job of, my skin will not break out at all because my pores will remain clean with continued use of RE9 products.  I might also point out that I'm only breaking out a tiny bit and it's not noticeable to others, only me, because I'm always starring at my face closely in a mirror.  Now if I was using a heavy mineral oil based night cream and I was breaking out, I would be able to recognize that I was breaking out because the mineral oil is clogging my pores and making my skin worse.  RE9 has no pore clogging oils, so I'm aware that I'm breaking out, because my skins being cleaned out to reveal smaller pores and healthier skin.  Lastly while I'm speaking of pores, let me explain something. Pores are a duct in the skin that secrets oil. Pores are good for you, they protect your skin from infection and environmental toxins by providing a layer of non-visible barrier oil.  Some people produce too much oil, and they need help keeping there skin clean. Others do not produce enough oil and have very dry skin that need extra oil (vegetable oils.)  It's a misnomer that you can get rid of pores. You cannot. But you can reduce the appearance of them, by keeping them clean of excessive oil and dirt. That is why leaving make-up on your face while you sleep not only could possible make you break out if you have sensitive skin, but also cause your skin to look aged and dull.  So I'm breaking out, it's do to my skin being cleaned and repaired. 

Now for my review. One thing that is very exciting to me, is how fast the products are absorbed into the skin.  This means I don't have to put on moisturizer then walk around the house waiting for it to absorb before I put on eye cream, then walk around the house for thirty minutes waiting for it to absorb before I apply my make-up.  It's the waiting time between products for them to absorb, that keeps people from taking care of their skin, nobody has all day to wait.  The RE9 products absorb instantly.  Literally right away all of them absorb instantly even the rich and creamy night cream and neck cream (heavy does not have to mean pore clogging oils) that I use. I can do this whole skin care routine in five minutes including washing my face.  My skin looks really great too. The best way I can describe it, is healthy and hydrated.  I look like I drink tons of water, even though I don't.  If my skin looks really amazing after four weeks, which I think it will based on the great results for one week, then RE9 will be an amazing product. My skin started out very damaged, dry, oily, sun-spotted, fine-lined, ruddy, red, and dehydrated.  RE9 has a big job ahead of it's self, which I think it can handle. 

~Love...Monique