Thursday

Still researching and thinking on the five year plan. Since I have never done anything like this before, it is turning out to be harder than I thought.

It is actually hot here today. In the 90's. That so sucks. Dinner will be a cool one. Cesaer Shrimp Salad with Garlic Bread. The Rock likes this - he likes hearty chef type salads. For dessert, fresh fruit. Easy and healthy.

The Wild Child has friends over today. The battle is over playing inside or outside. Yes, I know it is hot. But we don't have the air on yet so it isn't like it is icey inside. Our back yard is very cool and shady. I need to get my wireless router installed and then I will be outside all the time. Our back yard is a higher elevation than the street and is at least 5 - 10 degrees cooler than out front. Plus we have lots of shade and it picks up a nice breeze. I will be stationing myself out there soon.

We don't have the air on yet cause I have a thing about holding off as long as possible. As long as it isn't too hot for the computer and satellite dish, I think it is okay. And it is pleasant to sleep. So far, all of those things are true. The price of electric is horrid now here in Illinois. And our house is old. Our air isn't central anyway which means it is far more expensive and hard to cool. It is hard to keep the whole house cool, so when it has to come on, we have two rooms that we keep really cool and then use fans in the rest. That and things like keep the shades down adn all. And not running the oven. It works out okay.

I guess I should get the girls in soon and let them do crafts. They like to do this every day and I might as well get it over with.

Philosophy Microdelivery Face Wash

I just love this cleanser! At first whiff, I have to confess to being slightly put off - I have never had an issue with the scent of any of the Philosophy Skincare products, although I know some do - and at first whiff, this has a weird smell.

So, I just thought of all the good results I have had and carried on. Although I will be frank and say that if this was someone's first Philosophy Skincare item, I could see where they might be totally put off the product and the line. Which would be a shame, cause this ROCKS!

I have used it with and without the Microdelivery Cleansing Cloths. Without - it is a wonderful exfolitating cleanser. It does lather slightly, and really leaves the skin feeling very clean, very toned and very exfoliated. This has become my daily, in the shower facial cleanser. I apply it when I turn the shower on, (we have to let it warm up a bit) and massage into my skin. Then I hit the shower and while I wet my hair, I continue to massage. Then rinse. Then wow - I can't believe how great my skin feels!

With the Microdelivery Cleansing Cloths - Just WOW! What a wonderful feeling. Using the cloths with this cleanser, you can definitely feel the exfoliating action while you cleanse (see my other review of the cloths with Purity Cleanser). I am very impressed with this. It isn't quite the exfoliation one gets with the Microdelivery 2 step Peel, but damn is it good.

For many people the cleanser with or without the cloths might be all the exfoliation you need.

I really don't understand how Philosophy keeps coming up with such great products, but I hope they keep at it.

Philosophy The Present Clear Powder

My review of Philosophy The Present Clear Powder.

From the website -

"The present
clear powder

the present clear powder is a topical liquid shine reducer formulated for men and women who suffer from oily skin. philosophy do not believe in using powder to absorb oil - it's "cakey" and ultimately clogs pores. we believe in using a special technology that lifts the oil off your skin holding it away from your pores that provides a matte, shine-free finish.

you need this product if...
# you have oily skin shine mid-day
# you want a product that can be applied under or over makeup
# you are tired of using powder over oil which causes a cakey look
# you want something super simple, super portable that can go wherever you go
# you are pregnant and need something safe and effective to minimize breakout"


My opinion - this is a great product. Unlike a lot of other powders in that it isn't actually powder - it is liquid. A very fine fluid, no oil at all. It is a very small bottle but I think it will last a long time, as one uses so little.

Now, I have normal skin - generally. Get a bit dryer in winter, get a little oilier in the summer, in hot weather. I was looking for something to minimize oiliness/shine and this does. I use Philosophy's Pigment of Your Imagination which has SPF 18. I have now tried this two ways. Once just over moisturizer, and I then applied a bit of concealer (Boi-ing by Benefit) on cheeks and under eyes and on lids, creme blush (DuWop's stick in Elixer which is a wonderful beigey pink shade) with brow makeup (Stila) and eyeliner (cheapo from Walgreens, can't recall the name) mascara (Estee Lauder More than Mascara) and lips (CoverGirl Naturalast as a base, and DuWop Venom Gloss in Wisteria). Great look. My skin looked great and I had a lovely finish - not shiny but not dry. It did minimize tiny lines - maybe not as much as other primers do, but looked good.

Then I tried it over makeup. I used on a moisturized face, Estee Lauder's Double Wear Makeup applied lightly. Then the same basic makeup as above, minus concealer and with the addition of more eye makeup. I then applied The Present Powder over all my face makeup. I held my breath as I thought it might take the makeup off or smear it. It did neither. I think the key is doing it lightly with gentle strokes. Result - it looked nice. It really did serve the function of powder - no shine. My makeup lasted all day - but then again, Double Wear does last and is itself a little matte. However, normally with Double Wear in warm situations, I need a little shine control in the T-Zone and I needed nothing else with this. It really did add a nice finish to my makeup. I needed no touchups - but, this was on a warm, somewhat humid day (not too humid) so maybe on a hot day I would.

The Present Clear Makeup definitely does more in the way of filling in fine lines, but, The Present Powder might be a good choice for those who only need a little help.

Five Year Plan

This is from my horoscope today:

"Solitude appeals, in part because of asinine behavior by some of your colleagues. Put things into perspective by creating or re-creating a five-year plan, and doing at least one thing to make it happen today."

I have been thinking about this a lot since I read it this morning. I don't have a five year plan. So I suppose that the first step would be to make one. So, I have been researching that a bit today. I found this website -
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/planning_your_future
which has some useful information, including this guide:

"

he Template:

1. Your Name
2. Today’s Date
   This is important as you reflect back on this document. This will become a touchstone for your growth and a reminder of who you were as you look back at what was important to you in this point in time.
3. 3–6 Months
   
   • Start small.
   • Think about short-term goals that are easily achieved but will also help move you towards the longer-term goals.
   • Include some tangible goals (i.e., ship a product that I acted as lead designer for).
4. 6–12 Months
   
   • Start thinking bigger here—this is planning for a year out.
   • What new skills do you want to learn?
   • What new ideas do you want to share with others?
   • What changes do you want to make? Put them down here along with the steps needed to take to make them happen.
5. Beyond 12 Months
   
   • Capture specific plans that you know may take more than a year to get to or accomplish. For me, it was to work on my Dr. Leslie book. I discussed the idea with a writing partner 3 years ago, but it is only now coming to fruition with an actual proposal in hand and a potential publisher.
   • Be realistic but not afraid to reach. Visualize success in areas you may have little control over. Don’t be afraid to write down a desired goal that may be a stretch.
6. Longer-term Goals
   
   • This is the area to think out for the next 3–5 years, including life beyond the company or situation you are currently in. For me, I listed “teaching again” as a goal. This reminds me that I want to do this and I need to make certain decisions and changes in order to make it happen.
     
     If I decide at a later time, that I don’t really want to do this, I should remove it off the plan.
7. Opportunities to Explore at Your Company
   
   • List all the training and coaching opportunities relevant and currently available at your company.
   • Note relationships that need to be cultivated at your company in order to meet success.
     

     Note: This obviously may not apply if you are an independent consultant. Think about other opportunities that might be available through professional associations and networking instead.

8. Skills to Develop
   
   • Project what skills you need to develop to reach the goals you listed in the first part of this exercise.
   • What other skills do you need, besides the ones you have now, to attain your goal?

     Since I am a manager and this is the area in which I have been growing, I listed things such as Confidence and Effectiveness—along with ideas on how to master these more intangible skills.

     Over the last couple of years, I have purposely put myself into situations to gain confidence—especially when giving presentations. Think about starting slow and building on your successes.

     In addition, I also listed skills of associated/allied roles that I would like to learn in order to make myself a more well-rounded and effective manager in my company.
9. What I Care About in a Work Environment
   
   • This may seem frivolous or not important to the task at hand, but it serves to remind you of the values you need to share with the company you work for. As you grow or the company changes this can help guide you when you need to make a change.
10. Personal Goals
    Don’t forget the personal goals that you need to weave into your life. It never hurts to write these down as a reminder of work/life balance and of the things that are really important to you as a person. "

As you can see, this is going to have to be adapted for me. That will take a bit of work. But, it really does seem like a good outline so I am going to save it, even though I am not done researching this.

I love Summer!

Yes, I really do. It is warm here, but, not really hot yet. I love it.

The Wild Child is playing with friends here and I am almost worried they are too quiet. Nah, I guess I will not worry and just enjoy the silence. It will end soon enough.


Lately, I have been really inspired to write. The novel I am working on is coming along well. I feel like I have actually been getting guidance in my dreams, and hey, I will take it anywhere I can get it.


Tonight's dinner is going to be easy - grilled chicken breasts, rice, some kind of veggies and salad. Good, tasty and simple.

I have also been working a lot on making my own bath products and will be posting more about that in the near future. This is probably one of my biggest hobbies right now.

I need to clean off my desk and update my home control journal. I also need to get back on track with decluttering - it really doesn't seem to ever end.

Philosophy Microdelivery Cloths

First, - I love Philosophy and confess that I was so excited about this that I apparently didn't fully read the description. I thought these were cleanings cloths that had cleanser in them, (like Olay's, etc). Teach me to read the descriptions better! They don't have cleanser. I had actually realized that after ordering but before receiving. And I suppose I thought they would be large cloths. They are actually a smaller rectangular doubled cloth of very soft material.

So, I had kind of mixed feelings going into it. I used one with Purity is Simple cleanser. The package says use with Purity Made Simple for a light exfoliation, for the ultimate exfoliation, use the Microdelivery Exfoliating Treatment Wash. The directions then say apply a generous amount of cleanser (did) and then and with gentle pressure, massage one area of the face at a time, using no more than 10 gentle strokes per area.

So, while using I was very unimpressed - it really didn't feel like I was doing anything more than massaging my face with a very soft cloth. Then I got tired of it and rinsed. WOW - I couldn't believe how great my skin felt! Really felt like a decent exfoliation! And I am a regular (once or twice a week) user of The Microdelivery Peel. My skin felt very fresh and soft afterward. I glowed. I glowed this am.


I would imagine one could use these with whatever cleanser you wish. I would personally recommend a Philosophy one as I love Philosophy. But, I think any would work.

At 15.00 for 20 pads, and they recommend you use it once or twice a week, this is actually a bargain on a very fine exfoliating treatment. This could well be enough of an exfoliator for many people.