UPDATE - where have I been and all that jazz

Well I haven't posted for what looks like over half a year.  What has happened?  Life I guess.  Here is a quick summary what has happened over the last half a year when I did not post.  Changed jobs, got married, changed jobs again, moved to another country! and quit my job.

So yeah a lot.  Now I am living the life of susie home maker for a few months before we move back to Toronto and I must say that I am rather enjoying life.  I feel like I have almost a clean slate with lots of time to reflect and take it easy before entering real world again.

Will I post regularly?  Unsure but I do have a fair bit of time on my hands so only time will tell....

Settling into a routine

In the past 2 weeks, I feel like a gazillion things have changed in my life.  Safe to say my eating/workout habits got pushed to the side.  But now that things are streamlining again, I was able to spend the day on me.  I love sundays/'day before work' days where I often don't go out and do the following.

• Making lunch to take to work
• Doing my nails
• Pampering my hair (protein & moisture treatment)
• Washing my makeup brushes
• Laundry
• Working it out (unfortunately I went to the gym after it closed & drove home right after.  Apparently holiday hours didn't click for me

I like to stay in and enjoy just vegging and taking care of me!

Making strides

I used to run daily about five years ago.  I wanted to loose weight and didn't know much about fitness so I would do as much cardio as I could.  My knees would hurt every day but I kept doing it.  Eventually I got too busy with school and stopped.  Now I am older and wiser.  I try and do 1 session of cardio and 1 session of weights a week if I can manage it.  Some weeks I do more, others I do less but I try not to beat myeslf up over it.  I do curse myself when I am trying to do something after a long break and I find it hard because I've already lost the strength I worked hard to get.

Yesterday, I ran on the treadmill since it was still a little cold out there and was able to do 12 mins @ 6.5 & 18 mins @ 7 and the usual 5min warmup and 5 min cool down.  Considering I would 'run' @ 5 before and think I was doing well for myself, I am happy with my little accomplishment.

Calming my skin down

I've been using dermatologist prescribed Tactuo gel which is Canadas version of the Epiduo gel for about half a year nightly on top of lotion.  I figured after half a year, I could now transition to using it first and then putting the lotion on after.

Since I stopped taking my anti biotics, I've been seeing breakouts again though not quite at the level if I wasn't using the Tactuo gel.  I figured if I transitioned to using the Tactuo gel first, it would be more effective.  Well it could be more effective but boy was my face not ready for it.  My face is a red mess right now after about a week of using it first.  I am trying to calm it down without completely stopping the Tactuo gel because I felt like it was helping my acne.  I am also holding off on trying my new foundations till my skin calms down.  Cross your fingers for me...

MAC face & body woes

I wrote earlier that I purchased a few new foundations to try out.  I don't think face & body is going to make the cut.  It has good buildable coverage but you really need to build it.  And I think I am aggravating my face with all the 'building' I am doing.  Being on Tactuo has made my face extra sensitive and my face has been extra red this past week.  On top of that, I look like a super oil slick by the end of the day.  I want to try it a few more times before returning it but my impressions after a week of use is this isn't for me. 

I am also a little nervous about returning a used product to MAC.  I did ask before I purchased it and they told me it wouldn't be a problem returning the product w/in 30days if it didn't work for me but I've never done this before.  I feel a little guilty returning something that I used but I don't want to force myself to use something that isn't working for me.

Tips for the gym

I am all for cute outfits @ the gym.  I shamelessly admit I have spent more than I should at Lulu but please do not wear pants that show your asscrack.  It's one thing when you squat and your ass shows, it's another thing when you start running or do any sort of movement and your pants start drooping & your ass shows.  Worse is when you decide to be at the front of the class and everybody behind you is subjected to it. 

Yup, that's my little rant...

More skinny cravings

I don't normally shop at Zara.  While I've always liked their clothing, for some reason I always thought it was pricey and wouldn't bother going in there.  Yesterday I was at The Eaton Center with time to kill before meeting a friend and went in.  I was surprised at how reasonably priced they were.  Not quite H&M but probably cheaper than Banana Republic.

While roaming the store, they added to my skinny jeans/pants wants that I am looking for this summer.  They had a pair of leggings with two zippers on them similar to the F21 post below but not in my size :(  I liked it so much that I stopped by Fairview on my way home to see if they had it but no luck there as well.  Guess it wasn't meant to be.  Here are a few other things that caught my eye....

If only I was ballsy enough to wear white pants

Wish this came in the material as the white pants so I could wear it to work