The
other day I bought a new face cream. I had ventured into Shoppers
Drug Mart unprepared. I stood in the aisle, feeling overwhelmed
by the choice. Leah had typed out a list of face creams deemed
worthy by her cosmetics bible, and I had planned to bring
it, but I forgot it at home.
I
was afraid of buying something goopy, much like my last stuff.
Thinking
back to the list, I vaguely remembered a product from Neutrogena,
so that's what I went for.
Every
informed article I have ever read has said that all promises
made by face cream marketers are bogus, and that all you need
to do is slap on some sunscreen and some $2.99 cream. Despite
this, I spent $25.00 on a little tube of stuff that promised
to make me less blotchy, make me look younger and protect
me from the evil rays of the sun. I couldn't help myself.
Fast
forward to Sunday.
I
applied the face cream after having read the instructions
carefully. The inside instructions had warning that applying
the cream may feel tingly and uncomfortable. (Of course it
didn't say that on the *outside* of the box.) I put it on,
it was ok. Hey, my skin felt nice too! And then my nose was
assaulted by the smell. It is highly perfumed, so much so
that I could smell my own face as I breathed. This is not
something to which I am accustomed.
Also
on Sunday. I found a pretty t-shirt stuffed in the back of
my dresser drawer. I pulled it out. I put the t-shirt on to
see if it still fit. It was a good fit, but I had to put it
aside. Apparently it had been wrapped around a sachet of bath
salts. I smelled like a lavender patch. That, combined with
the smell of my own face launched me into a sneezing fit.
I
put the t-shirt aside so it could air out. It hasn't yet.
As
for my face, that smell seems to dissipate by lunchtime. But
I think I am somewhat less blotchy.
<sigh>
<sunday
june 1, 2003 - 10:15 a.m.>
Mark
bought a mutant banana recently – one with a Siamese
twin. Here
it is. I thought a photo was definitely blog-worthy. It
is not doctored in any way. This is really just one banana.
Sorry
for the general lack of updating. I have been dividing my
time evenly between wallowing in the thought of forthcoming
unemployment and busily trying to do something about it. I
travel often between the two extremes.
We
shall have to wait and see how this chapter unfolds. I will
be vague and say that there are Some Wheels In Motion, and
leave it at that.
Thanks
for your support. I will be ok, after all, my last fortune
cookie told me so:
Today's
post is going to be a mishmash. I've been uninspired lately.
And
I have just done the thing I said I would never do. I have
plopped my children down in front of the television with Portable
Breakfast in hand (banana, dry cereal in a cup, oj) while
I take off and do something for myself here on the computer.
Mark
is golfing this morning. It's not a great day weather-wise,
as it's only 7 °C.
My
addiction to secondhand goods continues. There have been multiple
purchases this past week.
1.
Value Village. I am drawn to their pants sections. I cannot
stay away and I fear I am just adding to an unhealthy amount
of denim in my (now bursting) closet.
Cheap
secondhand stores are also good for purchases you would never
make full-price. Take for example, the tiny black kittykat
t-shirt I just purchased. Three dollars, slightly furry and
soft, with a large teardrop shaped neckline. Will I ever wear
it in public? I'm not entirely sure, but at the same time
I am happy to have it. (This
picture of the aforementioned t-shirt is dedicated to
KJ.)
2.
St. Vincent de Paul. I bought a perfectly respectable short
black skirt (originally from Jacob) that looked like it had
never been worn. It is Interview Quality. Unfortunately I
will also have to invest some money in serious control top
pantyhose or a supergirdle. The shirt is a shade small,
but for $2.99 I was not going to leave it there.
Sidebar:
I love control top pantyhose. They don't let ya breathe or
move around too much, and they definitely aren't sexy on their
own, but they are the miraculous equivalent of working out
five days a week for three months. Yahoo!
Second
Sidebar of a Related Note: Cindy - please send (or fax) me
the Ode to Stay Ups. I would like to share it with
the blog readers. Thank you. If you fax it to my work, please
mark it confidential, to my attention. I would not want it
to fall into the wrong hands. (!)
3.
Other place for used goods: the annual church sale down the
street. What lures me here is not the selection of general
goods (I always come home with a story about how dismal it
is) but the books. Every year there are people dying and leaving
their stacks to the church. I bought a good (albeit older)
instructional book about flash photography. But my best purchase
by far is a wartime government-issue soft cover book for new
Canadian mothers. The chapter on toilet training alone was
worth the 25 cents, but I will refrain from any more details
on that subject.
I
also bought a Metropolitan Cook Book from 1957. (Yes, that
would be the same Metropolitan. as in the life insurance agency.)
I bought it for the illustrations. It was too good to pass
up. It's full of dancing hams, smiling eggs and laughing loaves.
Here's
an example of one of the pictures. 
