Nurse Joc, Not Jackie

My daughter decided to go through a growth spurt, so we headed down to the mall to grab her some new jeans, some shirts, socks, undies, and winter boots. The jeans were 2 for $30... Not too bad, considering that their adjustable waist and their length being about 4 inches too long means that she will be wearing them for at least a year.

We went in to Payless Shoes Store... I love that store, I really do. It's not them I'm frustrated with, it's the people that made the boots I fell in love with! My daughter had snatched up a pair of Disney Princess ugg-style boots which had a picture of a crown on it and had flashing lights above the crown. She absolutely loved them. I was super thrilled ot have instantly found a pair of boots for her... Then I pulled out the price tag: $44.99  Holy cripes! I paid $25 for my Airwalk ugg rip-offs last winter. How could her boots be that much more expensive? Not a chance in heck was this starving student going to fork out that much, though I really wanted to buy them for my daughter. They were so cute!

As it turned out, those were the cheapest boots in the store, so we ended up not buying her any boots, but we did take advantage of the buy one, get one half-off event and got her some normal shoes to truck around in... Only because her Dora shoes (hand-me-downs from her now 8-year-old aunt) had broken while in that store. Talk about good luck... Maybe bad luck? haha

Alright, so maybe it's "almost" wrapping up practicum. Today is the very last morning shift I have for this practicum. Thank goodness. I don't mind getting up early in the morning, but I do start to mind it when the sun decides it's too good to rise for me until after I'm already on the road. Getting dressed in the dark kind of bites!

I also seem to have a major issue with my iron levels which tend to taper off an incredible amount each month. No, it's not "TMI," I actually get borderline anemic and it makes me overly tired and my brain gets frazzled. I can't wait for tomorrow - I'm sleeping in! Well, I'll sleep in until 7:30, then I'll say good morning to my daughter, then slink back into bed for another hour or two until it's time to get up and get ready for the 1400 hrs start time for the first of my last two evening shifts :D

As I mentioned in previous posts, I stopped using the oil cleansing method. It stunted most nodules (cysts) from forming, however, it left my skin looking very unhealthy and it gave me a lot of white heads -- something I don't normally suffer from. In the end, I tried using a scant amount of oil, I tried steaming more, I tried washing my face with water afterwards, and so forth. It just wasn't working out. I hated how lackluster my skin was looking at the end of two weeks.

I usually stick with facial cleansing methods for 3 or more weeks before I throw in the towel or decide to keep going, but this was just getting to be too much. My face turned more red than it ever had from angry breakouts and it was just becoming painful... It was like trading the painful nodular acne for pustular acne. Nodules hurt like heck because they are so deep, but the pustular (white-heads) hurt because there were just so darn many of them.

On the brighter side, I found out that olive oil works incredibly well as an eye makeup remover. It takes waterproof mascara right off!

Right now, I've started the "Detox" kit I got from Beauti Control - it was actually a free gift for hosting a party. I was ridiculously relaxed lastnight after following the Detox kit steps -- make your tea, put on your mask, pour your bath with the bath oils, etc. I ended up in the bath  -- which smelled fantastic -- sipping on tea and drinking My Sister's Keeper, which I received from my mom on my birthday <3

In the end, the bathtub felt buttered up from the oils, but my skin felt amazing and so did my soul. I can't wait for tonight when I get to do it again :)   It also has a foot cream and a body cream, which also smell amazing.

I've been using the Oil Cleansing Method for nearly two weeks now... I have days that are just awesome, but I also have days that are just terrible. Today is one of those days. I woke up to a few painful spots on my face, whiteheads galore, and even a numb area on my chin. Yep. My acne will actually give me numb spots because of how deep it starts.

I had really, really high hopes for the oil cleansing method. I think I made a mistake by doing it every night. I'm now going to start doing it 2-3 times per week. On days that I don't clean it with the OCM, I'll use the cetaphil cleansing bar -- it's a non-soap that is non-comedomegenic.

On a brighter side of things, I actually haven't had a big issue with nodules since starting the OCM, sans the one that is cutting off sensation to a small area on my chin. There is a smaller-than-normal one starting on the side of my nosal bridge, which is pretty painful.

I still have high hopes for this one working. If this fails, the next step is oral antibiotics (nope, not acutane).... I'd like to avoid those as much as possible, since I'm a regular blood donor, but I will be selfish about this if I need to be! It's painful, darn it.

Today marks the first day of the oil cleansing method. What is the Oil Cleansing Method? It's not to be confused with "Oil Pulling," which is a very strange act I've come across today while researching the OCM.  The OCM is a method of cleaning your face without using harsh chemicals, soaps, or other things of such.

I'll give you a little background on myself. I had relatively clear skin all through high school. I'd have a single break-out each month for obvious reasons (hi. I'm a woman, have you met my endocrine system?) But other than that, flawless skin. Fast forward to my 22nd birthday, I'm greeted with a nodule. The next day, two more nodules. The next day, a few more. It got to the point where my entire jaw line and down my neck were filled with incredibly painful nodules.

Nodules are kind of like pimples/white-heads, but they never make it to the surface. They stay under the surface and are very painful. If you accidentally bump one, it will continue to give you a sharp, stabbing pain for a few minutes after the impact. This kind of acne is either rare or is understood. It took me a while to find the name nodular acne on Google. It is ranked underneath cystic acne and is considered mild-moderate acne. Some websites show it as a mild cystic acne form.

This is a self diagnosis, if you couldn't tell.

I ended up getting a prescription for Clindoxyl gel, which dried the heck out of my face and made me break out intensely for the first few weeks, but I stuck with it. I told my doctor I would use it for the full 3 months before I gave it up. As luck would have it, I started seeing noticeable improvement 2.5 months into it. I weaned myself off of that prescription and started using Benzoyl Peroxide from Acne.org. I should mention that I use Cetaphil cleansing face bars with this.

A year or so later, after enjoying clear skin, my face slowly started breaking out again. For the past 4 months, I've been using Clearasil's pads with salicylic acid in them. This didn't seem to improve my skin at all. I'm fed up with harsh chemicals that bleach my EYEBROWS and my pillow cases. Enough is enough.

I've spent the past week research the Oil Cleansing Method and today... Today we dine in glory *evil cackle* Not really. Today, I start the "OCM". Here's what I do:

1. Have a blend of 30% castor oil, 70% olive oil (or any other oil you may want to try... Google it first!)
2. Massage the oil into your dry skin for a few minutes
3. Take a STEAMING hot cloth (don't burn yourself) and place it on your face.
4. Relax. Let it sit there for a while. Let the cloth cool down to room temperature.
5. Rinse the cloth like heck, massage your face again.
6. Make the cloth hot again and put it back onto your face and relax.
7. Gently wipe the oils off of your face with the cloth.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7.
9. Splash your face with cool water.
10. Pat dry

My 3-year-old had her very first ye doctor appointment today. She was very good for the doctor. I was quite surprised and very pleased! Her eyesight seems to be very good. Score!

I'm going to take down the rest of the wallpaper in the living room today then slap up some paint samples on the already prepared wall. Meanwhile, you all can check this website out: http://awkwardworkouts.com/ I found it hilarious, though it might only be funny to us gym regulars.