Sun Protection

I am a bit of a freak about sunscreen.  I haven’t always been.  I can remember sitting in the sun with baby oil on as a teenager.  I can remember sitting in the sun with Hawaiian Tropic SPF 4 oil on as a college student. 

As I got older, I started using sunscreen more and more.  As I became a mother, I went through bottles of sunscreen, the higher the SPF, the better.  As I became the mother of a blue-eyed, red head, I started buying sunscreen at Sam’s Club, in bulk.

Last year, after my mother actually called my legs pasty looking, I started buying moisturizer with self-tanner in it.  I will say that I do tan rather easily.  I have noticed, though and especially as I have gotten older, that my arms take to the sun less and less.  We had a few days of summer early this spring and I had sun poisoning.  This did not surprise me as my paternal grandmother always got sun poisoning.

A month or so ago, I was in a Sephora store - a real luxury as there is not one near my home - and signed up as a beauty insider.  This is Sephora’s way to reward those of us who spend big bucks in their brick and mortar stores or their online store.  Part of the deal is you also receive preferential emails.

Last week, I received an insider email from Sephora that was a sample package of sun protection products.  A quick check of my upcoming expenses and the current balance on my debit card and off I went to order it.  Yesterday, I heard the back screen door open - this took a lot as I had to train the UPS guy to open the door and put my parcels inside - and there was the Sephora box. 

First off, I have to tell you that I have only ever ordered twice from Sephora online.  The items ship quickly and come in an appropriate sized box.  I love the fact that the boxes are filled with actual tissue paper as I hate dealing with packing peanuts.  Inside was my Sephora sun safety kit which 100% of the net profits benefit The Skin Cancer Foundation.

Inside the sun safety kit was mdskincare sun protection towelettes (SPF 30), Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream for face (SPF 55), DDF Daily Protective Moisturizer with SPF 15, Sunscreen Face Cream in Watermelon (SPF 30 and made in Greece), Clarins Ultra Protection (SPF 30), Medi Matte Oil Control Lotion (SPF 20), smashbox photo finish foundation primer (SPF 15), juice beauty Green Apple Moisturizer SPF 15,  Murad firming bronzer (SPF 15) and tarte 24-7 in thursday for lips.  Probably even cooler than all the product - and these are all sample sizes but it is cool as I may find the perfect face sunscreen as I have problems with that - is a UV exposure indicator which tells you how strong the UV rays are.  This is a never-ending issue in an area that sees a lot of cloudy sun.

Simple Abundance - March 2008

I know you are all probably thinking I am nuts.  March is almost over, as I was reminded this morning by my mother who was wondering if March came in like a lion or a lamb as it is looking like it is going out like a lion.

This month Sarah Ban Breathnach is discussing the principle of simplicity.  I always find this to be one of the hardest principles for us to grasp in our world.  We seem to collect “things.”  Materialism seems to be rampant.

 In looking back over March, I want to point out a few important readings.  I also want to remind you all to use your Gratitude Journals.  If you have been remiss in this area, please dust it off and get back on track.

The very first reading of the month - about restoring our sanity to our lives - is not one I could have read on March 1st.  I was the whirling dervish that SBB discusses.  I was up at 4:30 am that morning and out the door, even though March was coming in like a lion and there was still a snow-covered road by my house.  I dropped my 13 year old at the local diner to have a “pre-event” breakfast with his Science Olympiad team.  Then, I was off to the high school to set up for the tournament that would find seven middle schools competing for the chance to advance to the state tournament.

The next discussion on meditation moves me more now than it did at the beginning of March.  I am currently reading Eat, Pray, Love  and am in the section on meditation and prayer.  We all, regardless of who we pray to or why we meditate, need to revive these practices.  The quiet time in our souls will help our creative selves come out and play more easily.

 The discussion of what appearance we put forward and can we find the inspiration in it if we are not “pulled together” intrigue me.  I am one of those who can sit at home and work in a hoodie and sweats.  I go out for a run in old warmups and ratting baseball hats.  I do, though, try to look together when I am heading out for other things as can be seen below in my “Easter” outfit.

The mid-month discussions of self-nurturing and self-acceptance always make me smile.  How can we nurture those around us and help them build self-acceptance if we cannot do this for ourselves?  I have often wondered how the mother who cannot nurture herself, even if only occasionally, can nurture her young ones.  

I also love the discussions of style and fashion here at the end of the month.  I am slowly finding my “style” and have gotten rid of a lot of things that were in my closets and drawers for I don’t really know what reason. 

If you have not yet taken part in the Joyful Simplicities for March, please read them over.  Many can be done in April!!!

Where I Live

I was back at Green Pepper Press’s Street Team and…. what a shock! Crusade #15 is where I live.

About two years ago or so, I did a round robin altered book that had this same theme. Above is both the Crusade #15 banner and the spread I did for my altered book.

If I were to do this spread today, some things would change. The BC Open has become the Dick’s Sporting Goods Champions Tour stop.

We still live in the Carousel Capital of the US. There are, in Broome County, six carousels. All were established by George Johnson for the workers at Endicott Johnson Shoes. They all, to this day, remain free to ride and are open in the summer time.

There is minor league baseball and minor league hockey in town. While I live in Endicott, town is the “big city” of Binghamton.

There are tons of apple farms around and the fall is particularly colorful.