Makeup Mishaps and Dumpster Divers

A while back I bought some of that Almay Smart Shade makeup and I really like it. It adjusts to your skin tone and according to the advertising it gives a perfect color match. I am using the Light -Medium and I've been using it for maybe six weeks now. I have my little routine where after I put on my moisturizer I let it fully absorb before I put on my makeup - foundation first, well after concealer if necessary. Yesterday morning was no different except maybe the humidity level in the bathroom, so after brushing my teeth, etc. I started to put on the foundation. I typically start with my forehead, and didn't notice anything unusual until I moved down to my nose and applied more. The color came out a little darker than usual, but I blended it in more and moved on. When I applied the makeup to the right side of my face I knew something was wrong. The more I blended it, the darker it got until it just wouldn't blend anymore. I don't know why, maybe just thinking I got a blob of unmixed color, but I went ahead and put it on the left side of my face...and it was worse. It looked like a self tanning episode gone awry. I began to wash it off of my hands and had a moment of panic because it didn't seem to be coming off. I got more soap and then it started to come off so I proceeded to wash my face, happy that it all washed off. After re-applying my moisturizer, I decided to try it again to see if it was just a fluke or if I needed to throw the rest of it away. This time I shook it up a little first to see if that helped, and I guess it did because it didn't happen again.I tried it on my nose first, just in case but nothing unusual happened. It was almost like I dreamed it all. I say "almost" because my husband was there to witness the whole thing. The only thing I found shocking about his behavior is that he didn't try to take a picture. Men! This morning I was cautious while applying my makeup, but nothing happened, so I guess it was just a fluke...hoping, here!

In other news, it is that time of year again in my community; City-Wide Pick-Up. Not to be confused with City-Wide Yard Sale which happens twice a year in Spring and Fall, also known as stuff swap (keeping it PG here). Pick-Up is a phenomena that happens once a year here and if you put your stuff out on the curb, the city will come haul it off for free. Great deal, right? What makes this even more fantastic is the people who go through the stuff you leave out at the curb. Looks a lot like cockroaches swarming over scraps in the trash out back of your favorite restaurant. Can you still call them dumpster divers? I think so.These dumpster divers get to make a mess of your neatly piled junk and make off with the broken flotsam of your life while you get to lie in wait and secretly video them. Yippee! Unfortunately for us, it was broad daylight when they swiped our junky old dog house. We saw them driving off and no time to grab the camera. Darned it!

Addictions

Macro lens and Instagram

Back in December (2011) I got my first smart phone - a Motorola Droid Razr. Yeah, I didn't start with something simple to get my feet wet, I went for the Big Kahuna. I LOVE it! Seriously, I really have to say I have never enjoyed a phone so much!  I can do just about anything on it that I can do on my computer. I have downloaded some good productivity apps so that I can keep up with school stuff when I am away from the computer, but it is the other apps that I am having so much fun with. Instagram has been on the iPhone for a while now, but a few weeks ago it became quietly available for Android. I am completely addicted to it. I have a decent enough camera on my Razr (8 mp) so now I am making good use of it. It has a cool macro lens for taking closeups of bugs and flowers, etc., and that is just way too much fun. I also have a thing for Fruit Ninja, which is a lot of fun, and of course Angry Birds. 

Something else I discovered is Pinterest. Pinterest is a fabulous site that lets you "pin" the things you see on the internet that you like onto boards and you can organize them anyway you want to. You can also pin other people's pins that you see and like, and they can pin yours. It's a great way to hang onto recipes and craft ideas, or anything else, really. The best part is that there is a mobile version of the web site that really works well. An app is in development, but really the mobile site works great. So there is something else I am addicted to.

Which brings me to my other addiction...I recently got a Keurig and now find that I can't seem to get enough coffee.  Which is odd, when you think about it because the whole thing about Keurig is to brew a single cup of perfect coffee, right? Well, before the Keurig (b.k.) when I brewed a whole pot of coffee, I usually only had one cup. That led me to the thought that a Keurig would be great for me because I like my coffee bold and my husband likes his on the weak side and I only have one cup anyway, sooo...yeah - I am drinking a lot more coffee than I used to.  I love Coffee Mate's Natural Bliss creamer in Sweet Cream flavor. Low in fat and calories and tastes fabulous. 

Okay, so I wonder if I have a problem that requires a 12 step program? Oh wait! I just realized that I can keep up with all of my obsessions on my phone! How cool is that??

Just a Real Nice Day

Hubby and I had a nice afternoon ride on the bike Sunday. We rode around out in the county and saw the sights; Redfield, Mapleton, Devon...some of the sights saw us. The lilac is blooming as are irises and tulips, and we saw a bunch of baby sheep and goats at several farms.

Here is a photo of the post office in Mapleton. Across from the post office (where I am standing) is a small park. Down the road is a cafe that my husband says is pretty good-I wouldn't know because he eats there when he's working and has never taken me there...not so subtle jab at my hubby, there :) There's not much else to see here in Mapleton right from the highway except for some farms and a few houses. It's not very big, but it is a nice quiet place to live. 

 

Since I was taking pictures, I took one of my neighbors lilacs in her backyard. This is a much better shot than I took a couple of mornings ago. It was very early and I didn't want to be caught stalking her backyard in my jammies so it came out kind of blurry. It just smelled so heavenly! I don't like the scent of fake-lilacs, but the real deal is wonderful.Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to make online photos of food and flowers like those scratch and sniff cards? When I was a kid there were some bubblegum collectible cards that were scratch & sniff. Right now I can only remember the dill pickle and orange mint ones, but there were others.

We recently got some new neighbors next door to the North of us. Remember the house with the family of raccoons? Yeah, she sold it (rent-to-own) and didn't tell the family about all the critters that had also been calling it home. She also told them that we were crazy and to avoid us. Of course they must have picked up on her crazy-vibe because they completely ignored that advice and told us all about it. We in turn told them all about their new house and how many times the codes officer had been there. They seem like a really nice family who just wants a house of their own, so hopefully things work out for them.

Pick Your Poison

I'm SO ready to be done with this remodeling! We're at the stage where cooking is near impossible; we have no stove, and no counters (the cabinets are being stained), and my kitchen table is being used as a work bench. My wonderful husband asked his mother (the woman who hates - doesn't like me) if he could fix dinner at her house. I get a phone call from him explaining all of this to me and I'm thinking "fabulous!"...sarcasm. 

Bobby comes and picks me up from work (we went from two vehicles to one a couple of years ago to save on vehicle payments and gas) and when we get to his mom's we start dishing up spaghetti, etc. While I am working on my plate, I hear a complaint from one of the boys about the cheese looking brownish. I ignore this and say I'm sure it's fine. By the time I get to the table, hear another complaint about the color. There is some questioning back and forth: "where did you get it?" "was it in the refrigerator?" "Grandfather gave it to me-it was in the cupboard, but it hadn't been opened yet." By this time cheese has been sprinkled all around, and we have all had a sniff of the container. "Smells fine-smells like Parmesan cheese smells-stinky feet.." Oh dear...I spotted the date on the container and it says "Best by 06/06/2010." Two-year-old Parmesan cheese and we've all eaten it. The eleven-year-old: "Will it make us sick?" The not-quite-eight-year-old: "I wonder what it feels like to have your stomach pumped?" Oy vey! The good news? Clearly the attempted poisoning by Parmesan failed. The bad news: my youngest thinks he is funny. (He is, but we don't want him to know that!)