Good morning Winter! Boy oh boy.... It is cooooold outside. I so love this weather. Today is Saturday January 9, 2021. I am propped up in bed waiting for the side effects from Rytary to end, so I can start my day. All I need now are Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye singing "White Christmas", while pouring me hot chocolate with real whipping cream. My morning will begin with a stretch series taught by one of my favorite ballerinas on Youtube. Following that stretch and strengthen class I will do a second stretch class, which also includes an intense leg series (for ballerinas). Actually, anyone could take it, but it is geared towards professional and elite ballerinas.
In my last Blog entry, I focused on my hair care and how important it is for me to feel like I have some control over my body. The reality is that I do not have complete control over how my body will react at any given moment. If I did, I would not be thinking about doing the DBS surgery. Yes, I have PD. If PD had its way, my body would crumble down quickly and never recover. I am NOT about to ever let that happen, so DBS it is (as well as stretching and constant movement everyday)! I have two choices here. I can either give in to PD, or fight like a warrior and focus on the good in my life. Remember that when I write about what is working for me, I am simply sharing with you how I am coping. As my DBS dates get closer, I am trying to focus more on what makes me happy in the hopes of lessoning the fear I am feeling as I near the actual surgery date. Tentatively, the date of the first DBS procedure is March 26th, with a second procedure a week later.
Ok.... Back to the business of self care. Hey any of you men who are reading this, you might want to try some of my ideas. Pampering yourself is always in style! So we have got my hair care covered. Now on to my face! I must admit that I was a hard core sun worshipper for many years, as I grew up in beautiful sunny and HOT Southern California. I actually used to lay out in the sun with baby oil on. I still remember the very first time I wore baby oil on my virgin skin. My next door neighbor was all about baby oil and tans, so I thought it was a great idea. We sat outside in my backyard for HOURS and went between our lounge chairs and the pool. Unbeknowenst to me, my back was literallly frying in the hot hot sun. We had a super fun afternoon! After my neighbor went home, I got in the shower and as soon as the water hit my back, I felt like hot oil from a frying pan just hit my skin. That evening the pain from the sun burn was more than I could handle (and I have a pretty high tolerance to pain). My mom ended up taking me to the emergency hospital where I was told that I had second degree burns on my back. I do not remember much about that night, other than my mom being far less than happy that I had been out in the sun with baby oil on. As I got older, I got "smarter" and instead of using baby oil, I used Bain de Soleil (which literally was even worse than baby oil). There was no SPF in it! But what an amazing tan I had summer after summer. I so remember my mom lecturing me about how my skin is going to be like leather when I get older if I do not stop laying out in the sun. I never believed her (because afterall I was a teenager so I knew everything)! Now of course I realize how bad the sun is for my skin and I take every precaution I can before I step out near a pool. I now wear sunblock 50 and wait until after 4 pm to go swimming. My days of laying in the sun are long gone. Now it is all about skin care, especially for my face. I wish my mom were still here, so I could tell her she was right.
Up until about 3 and a half years ago, when I had to take early retirement, I was making a good living and was able to afford great skin care. I have worked really hard to repair the sun damage on my face. Although I can no longer afford many of the products I was accustomed to, I have found ways to still take great care of my face. Sephora always has awesome inexpensive promotions going on. With those promotions, they always offer two freebies (there are always ten products to choose from). Nine times out of ten, the freebies are exactly what I need and want for my skin. You have to have the patience to peruse their website to find the best deals. Before I sign on the dotted line, I check out all of the freebies to see if they in fact have the samples I am looking for. (They change the samples pretty much every week). I must say that they send generous portions of samples. I make them go a long way by using them sparingly.
I also used to get a facial every week. So now, instead of going to get a facial, I do them at home, myself. Check out Sephora for the latest and greatest inexpensive home facials. May I recommend two of their products that I love. The first one is by Sephora. It is their Mud Mask Purifying and Mattifying. It is very thick and super easy to apply and washes right off in the shower. The other one is an over night mask. "Youth to the People" is the name and it is called "Superberry Hydrate + Glow Dream Mask". You do not have to worry about this mask staining your pillows. It goes on clear and soaks right in to your skin. You wash it off the next morning and then Voila! Glowy skin.. Keep in mind that both of these products were originally freebies that I tried. I liked them so much that I eventually bought them. They are both reasonably priced. Also... the Glow Dream Mask sample goes a long way! I have used it 6 times already and I still have enough left for one more application!
Here are the two masks I am presently using.
My secret...... Shhh..... I keep my mud mask on my skin longer than the directions call for. I am never disappointed at the end result 💁
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