Oh me.. oh my… I was startled when I saw break outs on my chin.  At age 50, I can’t convince myself that I can still have zits because all along I knew that only teen agers suffer from those, but I was wrong.    I believe the culprit is the office make up.  Actually there is nothing wrong with wearing make up especially for us in the Administrative section of our department.  We are facing and interacting with a lot of physicians, vendors, clients in the office and we should be presentable in a way.  The only problem is that, sometimes I just wash myself with water and soap and collapsed to bed.   But now, I understand what a dermatologist cousin told me  that make up should be removed thoroughly at night to give our skin the chance to do it’s normal breathing, cell shedding and oil producing activities while we are sleeping.  If not properly removed, pores are clogged and yes, acne and wrinkles will be comint out.  And I hate those.!

 We usually need to use special make up remover which are a plenty in the market.  Special brands that promise to remove the hardest of make up and leave our skin clean.  Then moisturize and tone and you can hit the bed to Dreamland.

For now, I will leave my break-outs in peace.  No squezzing or pinching.

Staying up late at night and until the wee hours is not doing good on my skin.  I ended up with noticeably dark circles under my eyes.   One home remedy that I rely on is the cucumber, it is so soothing on tired eyes and can do wonders and easy fix.  After long exposure to computer, I make sure that I will not immediately wash my eyes, instead I will grab a cool cucumber in the fridge and put it on my closed eyes.    It is very relaxing which oftentimes made me heading to Dreamland instantly.

This social networking sites  are turning me into a night person.  Because I can’t really avoid staying uplate, I need to pop up vitamins to keep me protected.  A warm glass of fresh milk is also part of my midnight snack.  I know this is not a healthy schedule because the next day, I still have work so I am trying to minimize my being a night owl. 

So, good night… Lights are out .

Goodbye my dentures!    I was convinced  to have fixed bridges by my favorite dentist , Dr. Delfin as he explained to me that I will be at ease with bridges.  I will get the benefit of a good smile, better bite and a younger look.  The advent of technologies like crowns, bridges, implants, braces had made a lot of individuals feel confident about themselves. 

True enough, my officemates were wondering what are the changes in me when I reported to work. They can’t pinpoint it outright until I told them.  The face shape for that matter had changed because of the adjustment made on my teeth. 

There is a special dental toothbrush recommended for bridges.  I am no longer whistling while brushing my teeth on hand.  (lol)

Keep on smiling, keep shining!

Plastic or cosmetic surgery are no longer a hush, hush thing.   Nowadays, procedures are done publicly with media exposure like the recent news about Charice Pempengco receiving Botox and Thermage treatments  in Belo Medical Clinic.  It has stirred up controversy worldwide as there were questions raised whether a teenager should be undergoing cosmetic procedure.  I believe that a plastic surgeon for that matter could explain better why people have to go to that extent.  In Charice’s case, because she is a public figure, I think unintentionally she had given wrong signal for full -facedto individual to come to the conclusion that having a full face is something that needs correcting.  Well, let us not dwell so much on what she did.  Let us just respect whatever her reasons are.  She will make us proud once more because she will be part of the Glee Season 2 appearance this fall as I’ve read.   Good luck on her Glee debut.

On the other hand, as they say, to each his own… I hope my daughter Kukay will not approach me one day and convinced me that she needed the procedure Charice has undegone – Botox to make her naturally round faced narrower, because she too is full-faced.

Meeting my Elementary and High School friends thrilled me no end when I planned for my vacation.  Afterall, it was about  38 years after my Elementary and 34 years after High School graduation that I have not seen them.  I never had the chance to see most of them except for few classmates I bumped with on occassions that I was in town. 

One thing that I have noticed, most men wear caps (or hats) whenever they showed up to our get -together.  It is a consicous effort to conceal something underneath.   Yes, to be brutally frank, they are losing their hair and balding fast.  Well, we don’t mind actually but somehow, they wanted to hide it from us.  But that’s their choice, what can we do?  

The women classmates of mine  on the otherhand are always on guard of their big tummies and wide hips.  A throw pillow or their own bag is used to hide the unsightly bulge when seated.  I was no exception to that.   

At our age, signs of aging is inevitable.   Let us admit to ourselves and let’s drink to that!  Cheers!

I haven’t been out of the house since Saturday simply because I wanted to avoid the scorching heat outside- 48 deg .C at it’s lowest and 52 deg. C at mid day here in Saudi Arabia.   My refuge is our flat with it’s A/C units in full blast all day.  A week more before I will be back to work and I am lazily taking my sweet time at home.

I hesitated and dragged myself out of the bed when my husband phoned me earlier in the day to dress up and accompnay him to the supermarket to replenish our almost depleted food stock.  I was always giving him excuses everytime he asked me to go out and shop.

Fearing sun exposure, well, I lavished my body with sunblock lotion to counteract the harmful UV rays.  I trusted it’s efficacy and I believe that nothing is more important than wearing sunscreen (I am using SPF 50).  At my age, I no longer have the liberty to expose myself to UV which will cause changes and lead to more wrinkles and sunspot.   It is called “aging” rays.  I am preparing for our next High School reunion and wanted to show off a still -wrinkle free skin (fingers crossed). 

In the supermarket, I went straight to the sunblock section and got a handful.  Well,I guess I am now UV obsessed.

Nails somehow give away our personality.  A well trimmed nails are good for the sight.   Even if our nails are not manicured, it is necessary to keep it clean and trimmed even without polish.  If you will have the luxury to spend for a good manicure and splurge on nail art then go ahead.  Women who are adventureous somehow expressed it by ornamenting their nails with different colors and designs.  Nail art dated back in the heydays and it is getting to be the lastest craze among teenager and the fashionable ones.

Well, it is over the place now.  Nail art is already a part of salon service.  It is funky and fashionable.  My daughter loved to patronize nail art regularly.  I haven’t tried it yet but I guess I will go for the conservative, simpler designs in case I will dare try it.

I am fine as long as my nails are not chipped or unkept.  Have you heard about HHWW?  It’s an acronym  for Holding Hands While Walking.   My husband and I always do.  It is good that I make sure my nails are in good condition.

My hair badly needs cutting and styling.   I would dare try a new cut but I am worried that it will not suit  the shape of my face.  That is why, I only go to my favorite salon for their services because they already know what is best for me. I once asked my hairstylist how to figure out f ace shapes and she told me there is actually a scientific way to do it.  She patiently explained to me the following:  To find out , use a tape measure or ruler and take the following measurements:

• Measure your tape across the top of you cheekbones
• Measure across your jaw line to the widest point
• Measure from the tip of you jawline to the bottom of your chin.

Do it if you really wanted to know your face shape.  We have the oval face, round, square and long face but oval is the perfect shape.  You can experiment with new hairstyles but to be safe,stick to the ones that will suit your face shape.

Afterall, it is very true that the hair is our crowning glory.   Bad hair day really affects our moods especially us girls.   Hmmm. got to go.. for a haircut…

Only  few days left and I will be back to work in Saudi Arabia.  Time to do much needed pampering after 44 days of unending activities; meeting old friends, shopping, out of towns, clean fun night out with my batchmates.    I need to look fresh and relaxed.  My self pampering plan is to have a hair trim, color, hair spa, manicure and pedicure, facial, foot spa, body scrub .  With that line up, I guess I will be spending a whole day in the salon!   Actually, I can do all that in Riyadh, but that would be costly!  Here, you will be not be spending  more than half of the cost of all those services offered abroad.  So, got to do what I jokingly called “major overhaul”.

Which is the best salon who can transform me to a new me?  Well, let me find it out first!

OMG!  I was surprised that my youngest son dyed his hair to keep up with youth fashion.  Not bad actually but of course, I am not used to see his hair color like that.  He is keeping up with the time!  Well, youth nowadays has special way of expressing themselves.  As a mom, I will support them as long as it will not go beyond the boundaries.

I’ve been to that phase of teen-age life who wanted to express myself freely.  Well, I understand the feeling.  But still, youths need proper guidance and inspiration so that they will not not go overboard.  Freedom and leniency has it’s advantages and disadvantages.

I hope that my son will not change his current color to rainbow shades… Hello!   That’s the time I will immediately step in!