Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Obagi NuDerm Progress: Week 3

Here is the progress of my skin at the end of Week 3 (2/18/11). It's not as red, irritated, and flaky as last week's post. And I'm not experiencing frequent breakouts either! (Hope I didn't just jinx myself there, but I'm definitely seeing light at the end of the tunnel!)


I also want to order more of the NuDerm system online. I found them competitively priced on amazon.com through some reputable, trusted sites.

I want to incorporate the toner (step #2 of system), the Exfoderm Forte (#4 of the system), the C-Serum 5% for the eye area, and the Obagi Clenziderm MD starter kit. I'll have to wait until I get paid on Monday (2/28) to order these. Can't wait to try it out and hope it boosts/compliments the effects of the gel cleanser, Clear, & Tretinoin that I'm already using! :)

Can't wait to see my skin at the end of week 4! Will post another picture then.

Perhaps by week 5, I would have the others from my wish list incorporated into my daily skin routine!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Obagi NuDerm Progress

It's been a while since I've blogged and today, I realized that it was a perfect time to start posting again since I started a new skin care regimen on Friday, January 28, 2011.

Obagi NuDerm has changed and improved the skin of my cousin, Len, and I just HAD to try it on my skin. At the ripe age of 34, I'm going through acne issues, scarring of said acne, discoloration/hyperpigmentation, fine lines, etc. This is just not acceptable for me.

Tonight (2/10/11), I took my first picture of my face while on the Obagi NuDerm. It will be 2 wks tomorrow. Here is what my face looks like now. I regret not taking a picture of Day 1, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to start at Day 13.



As you can see, the skin around my nose, chin, laugh lines, & mouth are a bit raw, red, and peeling. This is completely normal and is due to the old damaged skin sloughing off and allowing new skin cells to regenerate (cell turnover). This should subside in a couple more weeks. A lot of people on this treatment usually stop using it around wk 2 because of the peeling, redness, itchiness, but those who stick it out, get wonderful results. Luckily, I'm in a professional industry where I don't have face-time with important clients, etc, so I don't need to worry about trying to hide the side effects.

I'll post more progress in the next few weeks. My cousin has been on this for a little over a year now and her skin is FLAWLESS.

In about 12 weeks, I should be able to notice dramatic differences. I've already noticed that my skin feels smoother and softer, so something is working! :)

Monday, May 3, 2010

Bargains & SB Anonymous

Hiii. My name is Libertine. (audience: "Hiii Libertine") And I'm addicted to Bargain is the New Black and Swag Bucks.

the end.

~brown rice.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Free Money & Large Savings?

Today, I just started following the Bargain is the New Black blog and when perusing the blog, I discovered a Swag Bucks program. It seemed like a fun and FREE program to join. I'm playing with it a bit now... I'll keep you posted on how I feel about it after I get into it more later.

Being that I have a tight budget to stick to, anything that can save me money and can get me free things is worth a read, right? I really need to dedicate a Sunday afternoon to coupon clipping and bargain searching. =) The writer/founder of Bargain is the New Black saved $12,169.96 and spent $2,291.47 and received $498.21 back in rebates.

So far, for 2010, these are her numbers:

Savings - $3654.47
Spent - $575.26
(savings 86%)
Rebates - $75.88

This is her savings this year on all grocery, health/ beauty and household consumables.
Amaaaazing. Hopefully, I can start saving that sort of money soon!! I'm definitely going to try! =)

Concussed?

Last Thursday, I was getting into my car to get my ass to school. Usually, I wouldn't start out a blog entry with such a boring statement, but it gets better, I promise.

Apparently, I need more education on my own dimensions and my car's dimensions. When I stepped into my car, I whacked my head against the metal frame of the doorway. I hit my head so hard, I saw stars. I sat in my car for a few minutes rubbing my forehead. The pain was brutal, but I was laughing and crying at the same time. I was initially stunned that it even happend in the first place! The forehead pain and entire head pain continued until this morning (Saturday).

When I got home on Thursday, I had a huge headache and felt like puking. I laid down most of the evening and iced my bruised forehead. Friday, I just was not myself. I was struggling to talk, which is unusual for me as most of you already know. And everytime I would say something, it would take forever to come out. As Prunckle put it, it's how he would imagine I would be if I were high. I would've stayed home from work, but I didn't want to risk being at home alone. I wanted to be around people, just in case I passed out or felt nauseous, I would have someone available to take me to the hospital. Luckily, nothing happened at work. I was able to get into my car like a normal person and find my way to my last Microbiology class before finals week. After class, all I wanted to do was just lay down and take a nap. But my gut told me that it might not be a good idea. I tried to nap anyway, but I was unsuccessful.

Geoff left work early to make sure he was home to check on me. I was a zombie pretty much the entire time I was home. I can tell that he felt bad for me, which in turn, made me feel bad for him. Moreso because he had to see me in the condition I was in. I was obviously not myself. If my head pain got worse and if I felt like puking again, I would ask him to take me to the hospital. Fortunately, the head pain didn't escalate. It was just a steady dull pain and nausea never surfaced again. Phew!

I was doing research online and all of the resources I searched through said the same thing: a CT scan most likely would not be administered for a minor concussion and that bed rest for a couple days would be recommended. There's not much that can be done for a minor concussion.

It's Saturday evening now, and by the time I had my bowl of cereal this morning, my head pain was pretty much gone. I'm just left with a sore and stiff neck, but that's about it. Yay! I was able to finish my Microbio lab report today and now all I have left for the weekend and Monday are hardcore studying for my Microbio final and Stats final.

But first, the Blackhawks vs Canucks Game 2 is calling my attention.

Thanks for listening/reading.
brown rice.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Need 28 Hours In A Day

How in the world am I going to get everything I need to get done in
the little time I have left to the end of the semester?!? Here's a
list of things I need to get done. Listed mainly for my benefit, really.

1- Guillain-Barre Syndrome case study
2- Study for lab exam
3- Stats project
4- Lab report
5- Study for Stats quiz
6- Study for 2 final exams

I think that's it. Although, I feel like I'm forgetting something.
Items 1, 2, & 3 are main priorities for today into the weekend. 4, 5,
& 6 can happen next week. Phew!

Of course, eating & sleeping will be mixed into the list.

I'm exhausted just listing it all out. Gotta get to class soon.

Thanks for listening/reading.

Smooches & Embraces,
brown rice

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

C2E2 2010: Nerd Convention Weekend

I wanted to post the drawings I scored at the C2E2 at McCormick Place over the weekend of 4/17. This year's theme of drawings (if you can't figure it out on your own) is "Your Mom."

This one was drawn by the artist who does Super Maxi-Pad Girl... who, by the way, is a man. Soo awesome!
These 3 were drawn by the artists Matt, Kris, and Rob (in that order from top to bottom) who draw Cyanide & Happiness

And I just HAD to get a naked Cyanide & Happiness plush doll with a sleazy smile!! And of course, the book that was signed by all three artists. That's definitely a must-have coffee table book, but must be put away while children are guests at the house. =)
Art Baltazar, artist of the Tiny Titans, drew a couple monkeys for me... of course, with "Yer Mom." as the punchline.
The artists from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal came up with this one. The look on the executioner's face is priceless!
Gene Ha turned me into a superhero (Psylocke), with braces and all. Love it!

Overall, exposing my nerd side over the weekend was a fantastic time. *snort!*