Acne dilema

I've battled acne for what seems like forever.  I finally gave in and made an appointment with the dermatalogist some time last year.  Not sure why I waited so long since visits are covered by OHIP if you are referred by your doctor and my work covers a 100% for prescriptions. 

I've gone from using Benzaclyin to Sulfacet-R to Differin to antibiotics to Tactuo (Canadas version of Epiduo).  I am currently on Tactuo and while my skin is better than it was prior to using it, I still get about 1 new active pimple per week which is something I would consider awesome in a previous life but with a wedding coming up it still bugs the *#@& out of me!  I am debating going back to the derm and asking for antibiotics again.  The thing with antibiotics is once I am off it, everything comes back and I don't like the idea of having to take a pill everyday without knowing what else it's doing to my body.  Lately I've been feeling like it's something I am willing to put up with to boost my confidence and not have to do a 100 things to my skin to make it look presentable.  I just wish it was a phase I would grow out of like everybody said it would be.

Express check out is for people with few items!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when I am buying a handful of items at the grocery store and the checkouts are packed.  Oh wait, there's an express line that says it is for people with 1-8 items.  Sweet!  And even better there is only person ahead of me in line.  I get to the line and what do I find?  The couple in front of me has a cart full of items.  Not 1-2 items over the recommended 8, at least 20 items!  Seriously, wait your flippin turn in the normal lines or the least they could've done is let me go ahead of them.  I had 2 items.  Am I wrong for feeling entitled to being in an express line and expecting that everybody else follows the rules?  That's what it's there for right?

Does anybody else let the weather get the better of them

I use this weather as an excuse for everything. Avoid the gym, going out, dressing frumpy, .... the list goes on! I've been good about wearing lots of layers and being more prepared for the weather but I can't wait for spring! I was at the mall yesterday and they already have their spring stuff out!

I almost forgot how winter driving really is...

An hour at most commute home took two hours. I got home safely so I can't complain as I saw lots of folks stuck with their blinkers on.

I am debating taking it easy tomorrow morning or heading to work a little late or even working from home to avoid spending another 2 hours commuting. I could be working or better yet watching the olympics at that time! I love the olympics. GO CANADA!

The Source Sucks!

Soo here's the deal. I bought a rogers phone at The Source at the end of December since I wasn't sure if I wanted to renew my contract with them. Remember my whole drama with Rogers in Feb of last year? Well unfortunately I decied to stick it out with the devil aka Rogers. At the end of the day, I have a sweet plan with with them that costs me a little over $40 a month and I basically never go over my minutes or texts, and have voicemail and call display, ect. I was on the fence about renewing my contract. I figured I'd just buy a phone & use it & then cancel if I had Rogers drama again since I wouldn't be on a contract any more. Well a few weeks later (aka now), I figured I'd just bite the bullet & commit to a contract. So a phone for free from doing a hardware upgrade and signing my life away for three more years.

I assumed I could return my phone at The Source since I hadn't used it yet and it was less than thirty days (which it says on the reciept is required for a full refund). Well I take it to The Source and they basically tell me I am shit out of luck because they are now owned by bell and sell bell phones so they won't take my phone back. WTF? It says specifically on the reciept that I can return it if it's less than 30days and less than 30mins on the phone. I hadn't even touched the phone & it was way less than 30 days! How the hell was I supposed to know that in Jan 1st, they'd decide they would no longer be responsible for rogers. I put up a big stink at the store & they brought out some sheet on a letter head that said as of Jan 1, 2010 they wouldn't be carrying rogers products, yada, yada, yada. Um that's great but nobody sent me this letter so how the hell am I supposed to know? I knew last year that Bell bought The Source and I knew it was only a matter of time before the stores would start selling their products but I had no idea it would be Jan 1, 2010. Didn't Bell buy The Source in March or April of last year?

Back to the point....The Source basically told me that it sucked to be me and they couldn't do anything. So The Source if you're reading this: I WILL NEVER SHOP AT YOUR STORE AGAIN!!! Best Buy & Future Shop thanks you for your horrible customer service.

I called Rogers and apparently they have a special line set up for this and after much holding and checking with their bosses, they were able to help me out. So my faith in Rogers is renewed a little. Now I have to wait for some UPS label to come, then mail my phone back with the reciept and do the hokey pokey and I should get my money back.

Are elephants the ones with good memory?

I wish I was an elephant. I never really had an issue with this till I hit the workforce. School wasn't a big deal because I'd always study last minute and everything would be fresh in my head. With work, I always get these questions about projects I am working on and I can never answer it without referencing my papers! It's a good thing I am detailed but I wish my retention was stellar.

I wonder if I can do anything to improve it. I mean, I do read books and work with numbers so it's not like I am not using my brain and it's going into hibernation mode.

Good idea/Bad idea

Did anybody else grow up watching Animaniacs when they were younger? One of my favorite segments from that show was 'Good idea/Bad idea'! My Christmas bonus reminds me of it actually. Why? Because while it's awesome that I even got a bonus this year when there are companies out there not extending bonuses out to their employees, it's a major drag when 37% of it is deducted because of taxes! Yup, thirty effin seven percent!'

Ahh well...it's come at a good time because my December spending has been up the wazoo.

BenzaClin

I have acne. I've tried just about every drugstore/online product known to man and I've had it! So today while at the doctors for something else unrelated to acne, I figured I'd ask if there was anything that he could prescribe for the acne. Lo and behold I've been prescribed BenzaClin.

Cross your fingers folks because I am at wits end. I thought I had my acne under control and for the last few months, it's been crazy. White heads, inflamed cysts, you name it. I cringe when I look in the mirror because there's acne and then there's also scars left behind from acne. Not a pretty picture and I've even stopped wearing make up *gasp* because I thought it might be making it worse!

So despite it containing benzol peroxide, I am giving er a go.


Also, want a free bottle of Clorox Green Works laundry detergent? Then go here and leave me a comment.

How is everybody coping with the cell phone ban?

The ban began yesterday and it is now officially illegal to use your phone to talk, text or email unless using a hands free device to do so. Police will be lenient the first you months and let you off the hook but starting February you could face fines up to $500!

I have a headset that I try to use. If I know I am going to be calling somebody when I get in the car, I automatically put it on. Where I get into trouble is if somebody calls while I am driving and I don't have the headset in place. I think it's more dangerous trying to get it on while driving because my headset is a pair of headphones similar to those you would use with your ipod. It would probably be more distracted trying to untangle the wires than putting somebody on speaker and using the phone.

I am all for removing distracted drivers off the road but I am not sure cell phones are the entire problem though they certainly contribute. How about those people who eat, put make up on, shave, etc while driving? I know I am guilty of the eating one but sometimes I just can't resist!

SDM Quo Atomizer Update

I bought a Quo Atomizer at Shoppers Drug Mart maybe a little over a month ago only to have it stop working a few weeks after purchasing it! Craptacular!

I had a chance to stop in at SDM today to see if I could get it exchanged or get my money back. The lady at the cosmetics department was super nice and talked to her manager about it. She was able to exchange it for another one, no problem. It helped that I brought the defective one in. After lots of pushing and twisting, she got maybe a drop to come out. Definitely not what it's supposed to do.

I am hoping this one doesn't crap out on me and I can use it for years to come. It really is cute.

Shoppers Drug Mart: You've let me down

So I bought a Quo atomizer spray thingamabob from Shoppers Drug Mart about a month ago. I made my own home made Fix+ that I spray on my face before applying mineral makeup and wanted something compact and cute to use. Who wouldn't want to spray their face with this instead of some tacky plastic bottle. I figured a one time investment for something I could use forever. Well I tried using it last week & it didn't work!! No spraying, nothing! And I've tried everything, using hot water, using different liquids, ect. And no dice!

I think I may try taking it back to shoppers drug mart to see if they'll exchange it for me despite not having a receipt for it. I mean less than a month is ridiculous and I am pretty sure I paid more than it's worth for it.

Trouble sleeping

Lately I've been struggling to fall asleep. I have a lot of things racing through my mind lately and that's what's been keeping me up. What's worse is I wake up early...and I mean early! I get up before my alarm goes off and that pretty much never happens. If you ask the bf, he'll tell you that if there's one thing I love to do, it's sleep.

It also doesn't help that the weather is sticky gross lately. I dig hot weather but humidity is not my friend. My hair feels the same way.

Back to my mind racing. It's been racing with thoughts of work and stresses of work. I think it's a toxic environment for my personality and a change of pace is in order. Now how quickly that change will happen is a different story but at least I am on it.

I learned a very important lesson

Lesson of the day: Just because you're good at something doesn't mean that's what you should be doing. The only thing is, I have no idea what I want to do and how to discover that thing that sets a fire under my but. That thing that I wake up wanting to do & go to bed thinking about. :S

Dealing with clients suck sometimes

I know I've complained about this very thing before but it sucks having to work with clients who expect you to bend over backwards for them. Um, hi, you're not my only client and trying to be pushy and threatening me isn't going to get you anywhere. If anything I am going to want to play hard ball with you just because you're being an ass.

mmmkay

Am I ready for a house?

Heck to the no! Firstly, I can't afford it. I think if I looked hard enough, I probably could find some property that I could afford with a crazy payment plan that would have me living off instant ramen noodles for the rest of the life. But in reality I can't afford the house I want. I have a friend who is actively looking for a place along with a few other people that have just recently moved into their new houses. I can't help but be jealous because at the end of the day, the thought does cross my mind, especially when I keep hearing about it so much.

It also is one of my financial goals on my list of things to do along with retire & sit on my ass is own house. To make myself feel better I tell myself that all these people with said houses are doing it on a double income and while me and the boy are together we are not quite there so I would definitely be looking at places on my own. So while I entertain the idea from time to time, I push it out of my head till I save enough for a decent downpayment which seems like it will be never...

Freebie Fridays

With stores charging for plastic bags, this freebie came at the right time. I can't remember when I signed up for it but this week I received a free reusable bag from Earthbound Farm. It's great for grocery shopping and I already put it in my trunk.

Now I am debating spending some cash and getting one of those bags that fold up into almost nothingness for my purse. It's easy to remember taking reusable bags with you to the grocery store but hard when you're shopping at the mall. I bought something @ The Bay for the bf and felt weird not buying a bag. Who wants to walk around the mall carrying clothes in their hand. I guess I am just not used to it yet. I have no problems walking out of a grocery store struggling to carry all my groceries.

The good news & the bad news

So I googled how to change those little icons that appear beside your website & was able to do it :) Go me! It looks great in FireFox which is my browser of choice. BUT, I tested it out in Internet Explorer and it works however, it looks like half of my first post is blocked off in white space. It has nothing to do with the icon thingamagiggie because even when I remove the code for it, it still doesn't work.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why this is happening. I spent almost an hour looking @ the HTML code & fiddling around with it to no avail. Another reason not to use explorer. I am debating re-uploading the template again this weekend when I have more time :(

*edit: it's fixed! There was an updated version to the template I am using with the fix on it.

I knew it was going to happen

With the weather getting better, gas prices have gone up to over $1. This means I'll eventually have to up my budget to compensate.

Enjoy the great weather this Friday. I plan to.

Misplaced cheque book :(

I probably use my cheque book a handful of times a year. And I go through the same routine every single time of searching and searching and searching some more because I always, always misplace it some where. Sure enough I've done it again & I've checked all the normal locations with no success.

The good thing is I almost never take my cheque book out of the house so I know it's somewhere around the house. The only thing is I have no idea where :(

Baby shower for baby number 2?

So I just got invited for a friends baby shower by the baby mama herself! Normally I'd be excited but this is her second baby & plus it almost seems like she has a major hand in organizing it as well which seems a little taboo to me. I understand if somebody else was doing all the showering for her. Hey, why turn down a party if when you're the mom to be and go along for the ride. Plus I really don't think there's a need for another baby shower. I mean she already has everything she needs for the baby minus diapers.

Now with all of the above, I actually won't be able to make it as I have a wedding to go to but I have no idea if I still need to get her a gift or let it slide. And if I do get her a gift, what sort of gift should I get? A gift for the baby or perhaps a gift for the mom? Perhaps this is a situation where a gift card is appropriate.

I am at that age where people are just starting to get married so I don't have too much experience with baby showers and don't know what the protocol is. Perhaps I am just over reacting, so folks please enlighten me.