Things I Learned in June

I'm linking up with Emily P. Freeman's invite to share the things you learned in June.  Turns out, I learned a lot.

1.)  My older colleagues have brave and fascinating stories about integrating The University of Alabama and the field of medicine.  1964 wasn't all that far away and sometimes we need to pause to realize we are surrounded by heroes.

2.) The saris Indian women wear to special events are embroidered with thread made of gold and must be sent back to India for trained persons to clean.  I learned by listening to a coworker's frustration after a kid she didn't even know spilled chocolate milk on her at a wedding.  Also, her favorite sari has gold thread polka dots but her mother doesn't approve.

3.)  Therapy dogs at the VA have their very own staff photo badges, as you can see in this picture:

4.) The new Revlon Lash Potion may be even better than Lancome's Doll Lashes.  And it's a whole lot cheaper.  Can I get an amen?

 

5.) Steroid shots have immediate effects - both good and bad.   Goodbye stuffiness hello overall fluffiness.

6.)  Katherine Webb is really stunning in person, even though I'm not sure whether or not I actually saw her.  I made eye contact with a tall, gorgeous woman in Ulta that seemed to be very self-consciously and nervously perusing the finer brands of makeup.  She looked an awful lot like her.  If it wasn't her, then this other girl really oughta be a model too.

7.) Shauna Niequest is one of my new favorites.  I'm currently reading Bread & Wine and I'm looking forward to reading her previous two books after that.  She is totally right - you can show up with bread, cheese, and fruit and make people happy.  

 

(This picture refuses to center)

8.) God cares about my details, especially when these details are air conditioners in my car or in my house.

Morning Headlines

My morning headline and blog check pulled up some interesting material today. 

Coptic Christians receiving asylum because it's no longer safe for them in Egypt.

A gay conversion ministry apologizing to the pain it has caused the LGBT community with several rather poignant statements from it's leader.

A new study showing that 1 in 3 of all women experience partner violence with even higher incidence in some regions.

A group of Christian female leaders coming together to host a women's conference that is about creating relationship and actively being the words of Christ to others in hopes of starting a revolution in the faith.

I don't know exactly what or how, but I know God sees each of these things and His heart is turned towards each of these stories.   I couldn't help but feel that each of these were somehow tied together in some bigger plan I can't see. 

Are You a Writer?

When I was a kid, you could not stop me from writing.  Stories, poems, songs - it didn't matter.  Nobody told me to do it, I just did.  Then I hit 7th grade and I stopped.  Like so many other things, I wouldn't do it unless it was perfect.  On top of that is high school and college where you are trying to put yourself into a mold and compete for that scholarship or that class ranking or with classmates and colleagues, and you stop taking risks that make you vulnerable.  You put yourself in a major or a track and that is what you do.  We also squash out creativity in our adults unless they have a job that fits into a "creative" label.

Well, you know what?  I miss creativity and art.  I'm learning it's about the process and not the product.  Even if you never share, it's important that you made something.  We have a human need to express and create.  I painted a very simple wooden cross for my niece's bedroom and at the end I felt like I'd been on a mini vacation.  That was a few months ago, but the feeling of painting has stayed with me since - a little tug in the back of my mind going "Hey, do you remember how nice that was?" 

I feel it again when I watch So You Think You Can Dance and want to choreograph a full Alvin Ailey production.  (But there's not a lot of calls for performances choreographed by public health professors in their mid-30s).

And I've felt it again with writing.  Particularly given the bloggersphere coverage of the new book A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet by Sophie Hudson.  It's a collection of a stories about a woman's Southern family.  I've certainly got those and I've always wanted to write them down but haven't.  This was rolling around in the back of my brain when my college roommate called out of the blue and said she wanted to write down her family's stories and she thinks I should too, especially since I'm a writer. 

That kind of hit me upside the head.  One, that clearly I'm not alone in this thought process and two that she called me a "writer".  Despite my lifelong desire to be one, I don't think I live up to that word.  I think of the true writers I'm blessed to have in my life and I'm not on their level.  Granted, two of them have journalism degrees and write for a living and are some of the greatest I've ever read (literally, despite my bias).  But I think there are two key points hiding in this conversation - 1.) Again that you don't have to share everything you create with the whole world because it's about having taken the time to create and maybe to achieve a goal; and 2.) There is going to be some work involved if you want to be good at something, no matter what it is.

So, I'm going to challenge myself to write while learning a bit more about the craft of writing.  (I haven't started that yet so don't judge this post ).

I also challenge you to create whatever it is that you create, regardless of your skill level or 9-5 job title.  I'm not saying you have to put a price tag on it, hang it in a museum, or share it on all of your social networking accounts.  You don't have to have a blog with thousands of followers to truly be a writer (or dancer, photographer, artist), you just have to have the desire and the willingness to take the time. 

*Reading these blog posts this morning also helped me along:
 http://lysaterkeurst.com/
http://www.chattingatthesky.com/

A Few Things Saving My Skin - Part 2, Cleansers

I wrote the first part of this a week ago now and I can say my skin is still doing better than it has in ages, so something must still be working.  

Last time I talked about supplements and retinol.  This time I'm going to focus on cleansers.  I was going to cover acne treatments and the new products that have made the biggest difference in my skin - but turns out I write WAAYYY too much about stuff.  I'll take that to mean I really am supposed to be a professor.

It's important to note that different things work for different people and that there are different causes for acne.  I was reminded of that in a PopSugar video interview with Dr. Murad this week, so I felt like I should say that here :).

For all of the fancy cleansers in the product aisle and at the makeup counters, the ones dermatologists have recommended to me have been the most basic (and cheapest!), particularly Purpose and Cetaphil.  This is especially important if you are going to use harsh acne or anti-aging products.  I do still use an acne cleanser, but now limit that to the mornings.  You don't want to take your makeup off with a cleanser full of extra ingredients anyway - hello, burning eyes.   
   
I prefer the Purpose because I have oily skin and like the feel of a gel-based cleanser better than a cream.  Unless, we're talking the Lancome Creme Radiance cleanser which sometimes comes in Lancome free gifts.  This stuff is pretty amazing - it goes from cream to foam, takes off every lick of makeup, and really cleans without drying your skin out.
Actually purchasing it by itself will cost you $25, but every sample I've received has lasted ages, so the investment in a full bottle would probably be worth it in the long haul.  It also comes in a very nice mousse version, but it doesn't take makeup off nearly as well.
If you're looking for a fancy anti-acne cleanser, I have had the most success with the Peter Thomas Roth Beta Hydroxy Acid Cleanser.  The drawback is that it costs $35.  However, I can say that my skin started going down hill when I began looking for a cheaper alternative to this cleanser and it does come in a pretty big bottle.  If you want a fancy and all natural acne cleanser, I hear great things about the Boscia line, but have never tried it.

If you don't want to shell out the $$, Neutrogena is always there for you with 1,000 cleansers to choose from.  I'm currently using this one (redness soothing cream cleanser), which I picked up in the winter and seemed less harsh on my skin.  I would repurchase the gel version for summer unless I decide to try out the pink grapefruit or their new natural option.


I hope this is helpful for someone out there in internet land!

50 Years

I really need to be asleep right now.  But something significant happened today and I don't want to go to sleep and let it be lost.  Today was the 50th Anniversary of George Wallace's stand in the door of Foster Auditorium at The University of Alabama, his attempt to prevent integration of The University. 
I was thinking about how I didn't go to the official observance tonight and how that was probably a bad call on my part, even though I had attended other related events.  Then it dawned on me how that event 50 years ago immediately related to my work day wherein I had lunch with two colleagues at The University Club.  These colleagues happened to be African American.  I realized that 50 years ago it would have been illegal for us to just stroll in and sit down over an almond ball. If two races couldn't sit at the Woolworth's counter together then they certainly couldn't share lunch at the private-antebellum-mansion-white-table-cloth club. 
So, I may not have gone to the official event with all of the national media coverage, but I did go to lunch with two new friends without any fear or threat of violence.  It's hard to observe and celebrate any better than that.

A Few Things Saving My Skin - Part 1, Supplements and Retinol

Ok, yes, this blog post is going to be about skin care.  No spiritual analogies, though confidently leaving my house without makeup today might count as a spiritual experience.

A couple of months ago, my skin was in a rough place.  I had let some of my old routines go and was trying to pretend like maybe I didn't have acne anymore and maybe I could travel without all my products and maybe I could skimp on what I bought.  Wrong.  This mixed with aging (all of those cliches about increased dryness and loss of radiance are true!) left me with lots of cysts, dark acne scars, redness, and dull skin.

I did a lot of homework, remembered what I'd learned from all those past dermatologist visits, and took a new approach that seems to be working, so I thought I'd share in case it might help someone else.

The changes below have made a dramatically positive difference in my skin.
(I had so many steps that this is becoming a multi-post)

Step 1: I started taking a Vitamin C supplement every day.  It serves as an antioxidant in your blood and prevents aging throughout your body.  It also adds radiance to your skin (both when taken orally and applied topically).  This is on top of the famous immune system benefits.  I also take a calcium/vitamin D supplement and Vitamin D has anti-aging and skin benefits as well.

Step 2:  Green juice and smoothies.  The green stuff and the Vitamin C in this also helps bring back skin glow. (While fighting cancer and diabetes and heart disease - so overall a good call).  My favorite combo:  a tart apple, frozen pineapple, spinach, ginger, sometimes a pear or vanilla protein powder, ground flax seed, and coconut milk.

Step 3:  I realized I needed to add retinol back into my skin care routine. Yes, it's expensive and irritates some people, but it's the only thing every dermatologist agrees on.  It sloughes off dead skin cells and supports collagen production, thereby reducing acne, dark spots, and fine lines.  You can get a prescription for the strong stuff - but most insurance does not cover the doctor visit or the medication because it is considered cosmetic.
You can also purchase stronger levels without a prescription, but this is predominately sold through the premier skincare lines and going to cost you a pretty penny.  I have used and liked Help Me by Philosophy in the past.

It's $47.  It lasts a little while, but ouch.

You can also get less expensive products with lower levels of retinol.  They won't make as dramatic of a difference, but you're still getting retinol and possibly with less irritation since it's not as strong.
I've never used ROC before, but they are considered leaders in less expensive retinol products.  For example, this is $22.99 at Ulta.

 

Given my need for added radiance and dark spot removal, I decided to go with this and have been happy:

This is $21.99 at Ulta. (Thank God for Ulta coupons).  It's the Neutrogena Rapid Tone Repair Night Cream with retinol and vitamin C.

Neutrogena also makes a less expensive line with less retinol than the rapid repair.  It is a good option if you're wanting the benefits of retinol but not in dire need of it.  I started with this before I moved up to the rapid repair.  It's $14.99 at Ulta.

A couple of important facts for whatever retinol product you might use - 1.) Products like these get more work done when applied at night and 2.) They predispose you to sun damage.  Therefore, I only use them at night.  There are some daytime retinol creams that have sunscreen in them if you really want to go that route.
Furthermore, it takes about a month to reap the full benefits of consistent use, especially for the less expensive products.  It's because it takes about a month for a complete skin cell turn over on the surface of your skin.  Give the products time to work.