A rough week

It's always something~

Last week was a tough one!  My daughter had a cold and would wake me up around 3am and not go back to sleep until around 10am.  We would then "nap" until it was time to pick up my son from school.  I felt like a zombie!  My daughter is feeling better now and just has a lingering cough, but my son is sick.  I think he has strep throat and I have a doctor appointment for him this evening.  I got the very last appointment the doctor's office had.  We go to an office that has at least ten doctors and they also have Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants.  Getting the last appointment tells me that a lot of people are sick right now!

I had to keep him home from school today.  He has missed so many days that we get letters from the school truancy department basically implying that we are terrible parents.  He has severe anxiety with depression. We have notes from his doctor and he is on a 504 plan at school which is kind of a protection of sorts for children with disabilities.  We should be ok, but the last letter we got was more threatening.  I guess I should call them, but I just don't know what to say.  My son stays awake until he can no longer keep his eyes open. He is afraid to go to sleep and sleeps with the light on and he sleeps with me.  My poor husband sleeps in my son's room.  We are hoping to eventually get him back into his own room, but we can't force the issue without causing more anxiety for him.

I will say that even though my son has missed a ton of school and is late all the time that he has also improved tremendously.  He overcomes anxiety every single day of his life.  He has panic attacks in large spaces and loud noises cause him anxiety as well.  He was in third grade when this all first started.  He had chronic strep throat and had an incident where he felt like he was choking because his tonsils were swollen.  It set off his anxiety and we have been dealing with it since.  There were days that he would lay on the floor crying and begging me not to take him to school.  It was awful.  To make matters worse I was having terrible pain and headaches from my neck.  I had not even been diagnosed with herniated discs and was having a hard time getting my doctor to help me.  That is another story all together....doctors afraid to help there patients with pain.  Most people don't think this is a problem until they need help themselves.  It's normal to feel like "that" will never happen to me or my children, etc...

I'm not sure what to classify this post as.  I think venting is what I needed.  I barely touched on the subject of my son's anxiety.  It is way more complicated than I can get into this random post.   I would also like to write a dedicated post about my Idiopathic Hypersomnia as well.  It has a huge impact on our lives.  I have so many "problems" now that I feel like I am falling apart!  Luckily I have my family to help pick up the pieces! Too cheesy?  Oh well, I'm also pouting about not getting to order Bath and Body Works yesterday.  They had some awesome deals, but we have other more important things to spend money on....like medicine and food.  Maybe next time!

Oh, and did I mention that my throat is sore?

"When it rains it pours!" Show me the rainbow!

Fran Wilson Moodmatcher Lipsticks

Time Tested Lipstick~

This post is about my all time favorite lipstick! When I read that Fran Wilson is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original Moodmatcher lipstick it reminded me of when I first tried them.  I was sixteen and they were fun and affordable.  I wanted to do this review in honor of what I believe to be the perfect lipstick. Although I did receive products for review, please know that the opinions I share are my own and I sincerely wanted to share them with you.

I honestly don't think that I have ever used another lipstick that lasted the way these do.  I have wasted money on so many lip products over the years.  I just wanted a color that I liked to stay on my lips without making them feel uncomfortable. I was always able to find a lipstick with one quality I was looking for, but never all three.  When I got my first Moodmatcher lipstick I used it here and there.  I did not have a clue as to what I wanted back then.  I bought it because my friends and I thought that it was cool to see what color would show up on our lips.  I always wanted what was being advertised as the latest and greatest thing and would bug my mom for it whenever we went to the grocery store. When I got a little older and started going out to the clubs I started using the Moodmatcher lipstick again.  Sometimes I would put a different lipstick on top to change the color.  When that color wore off I still had the Moodmatcher on my lips. This became my beauty "secret!"  Fast forward to me scraping the last bit out of the tube it came in and I switched back to trying different lipsticks that were always disappointing.  I tried drugstore and more expensive brands with no luck.  

Sometime last year I googled Moodmatcher lipstick and found the Fran Wilson website.  I don't remember why I did it, but it was most likely related to frustration with the products I had been using.  I ordered a total of six Moodmatcher lipsticks.  Three were the original formula and the other three were the Moodpearl version that I had never tried.  I ordered the pink in pearl and a blue and a green in both original and pearl.  The last one I bought was the red in the original formula.  It is my favorite red color.  It has a blue tone to it so that it doesn't give my teeth that "scary clown" yellow look!  These lipsticks are not described as lip stains, but they definitely last longer than any stain I have tried. These are not at all drying. They contain Aloe Vera and Vitamin E and feel very moisturizing to the lips. 

For review I was sent a beautiful pink box filled with six of the Luxe Twist Sticks and a gift set that includes six of the original lipsticks!  I was really surprised by both the beautiful packaging and the amount of products I received. I don't think I will need to buy another lipstick ever again!  I tried out each of the Twist Sticks, but only opened two of the regular lipsticks for ahem, my personal use.  I am saving the remaining four lipsticks that are unopened for a possible giveaway.  I'm just not sure if now is a good time for one.  I may save them and do a giveaway with them later.

The beautiful box  I received
with Fran Wilson Luxe Twist Sticks
and Moodmatcher lipsticks.  

The Luxe Twist Sticks come in six beautiful colors.  They retail for $8 and offer a more matte look than the original Moodmatcher lipstick.  I personally do not feel that these last quite as long as the regular lipsticks and are a little less moisturizing as well.  Maybe this is because of the matte finish?  Please don't get me wrong though because these are great lipsticks and do not dry out my lips. I find myself using a lip balm more often with these, but if you have read my previous post about my lip balm obsession you will know that I use them constantly anyway.  They are easy to use and super cute. They fit right in with the "chubby stick" trend going on in makeup right now.  When applied they feel light and creamy.  Once they set they are almost transfer proof!

The original Moodmatcher lipsticks come in a total of ten colors and there are six Moodpearl shimmering colors that make this shimmer loving girl happy!  They are all only $3 each.  I am amazed that these are still so affordable!  I am equally amazed that more women do not know about/or use them.  My guess would be that it is because they are not sold in stores.  I personally haven't  found them there anyways.  The best place to order these is on the Moodmatcher or the  Fran Wilson website .  The Moodmatcher website is devoted to the Moodmatcher line.  Here you can order the 20th anniversary special edition Luxe set in three limited edition colors for $12.  The Fran Wilson site offers the Moodmatcher lipsticks, but I didn't see the limited edition set.  This site also carries a skin care line that I am hoping to try out soon as well as a 6 piece Lip Classics set for $30.  I have never tried these and wish they were sold individually. I hope that they do so in the future.

Ok, on to the pictures! I applied one Twist Stick color a day and took a picture to show each shade.  I apologize that I had to pucker my lips since my top lip likes to disappear when I smile and I look like I'm frowning if I don't smile!

Pink~ Very pretty in person 

Red~ This pic is bigger and I guess that is
fitting for a red lipstick!  This is my favorite
red, but the least forgiving of application
errors.

Orange~ This is not really orange, but
a nice coral & pink combo.

Yellow~ The lightest color I have tried.
This would be a safe color for anyone
worried about these lasting too long or
being too bright.

Green~ This is a bright pink color!

Blue~ This is another favorite of mine!
It is a beautiful Fuchsia color. It
 looks similar to the shades I've seen
used to describe Radiant Orchid.
(2014 color of the year) 

Next I have a picture of the six Luxe Twist Stick shades swatched on my arm.  It gives a different perspective of the colors.  They really are very different shades as you will be able to tell in the pic below.

Fran Wilson Moodmatcher Luxe Twist Sticks from
left to right~ Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue.

This is a swatch of the colors I purchased last year.  I made the mistake of
being in a hurry when I took these pics.  From left to right~
Pink (pearl), Red, Green (pearl), Green, Blue (pearl), and Blue.

These are the Moodmatcher lipsticks shown in the above swatch.

I hope I have convinced someone to give these a try or maybe try them again.  These Moodmatcher lipsticks have come a long way since I was a teenager.  I don't think that there were as many color choices back then. I also know that there are other mood changing lipsticks out there, but don't be fooled.  The Fran Wilson Moodmatcher line is the best.  I think that maybe these lipsticks have matured like I have, but also like me are still very much young at heart!

A QUICK APOLOGY

My post never saved~

Ugh, I haven't posted anything recently, but I was working on something that I want to do properly. I have not been feeling well lately and wanted to wait until I felt better.  I didn't want my yucky feelings to somehow come across negatively in my post.

I finally started working on it and was pretty much done except for editing it and correcting any typos, etc. Hmmm, probably would have re-wrote most of it anyway, but Blogger never would save my post!  I tried for days to get it to save and could not even preview it, so I figured that it "didn't exist" to Blogger.  I also tried to go into Blogger from my phone to edit and publish my post from there, but since it was not saved I couldn't do that either.

I tried to copy and paste it, but it ended up being a bunch of coded symbols and crazy looking stuff!  I had to admit defeat and close it out.  I lost it and I just now thought that if I had taken a screenshot or even a photo from my phone it would have been pretty easy to rewrite.  *Sigh....too late for that!

Anyways, I apologize for not having anything published and I want to let you know that I haven't abandoned my little blog.  Thanks again for reading and following my blog.  It means so much to me!

Have a great day!

March 2014 Ipsy Glam Bag

My March Ipsy glam bag~

 I chose Lalaloopsy wrapping paper for a background this month

because I received my Ipsy glam bag on

my birthday!  My five year old daughter approved!

I have mixed feelings again about my Ipsy glam bag this month.  It included a full size Nicole by O.P.I. nail polish.  I really like the color "On What Grounds?"  Too bad it is the Roughles type polish.  I have been wanting to try this, but now know that it really is an odd thing to wear.  It has a very rough feeling to it, hence the name.  It is not shiny and reminds me of sand paper. When I was younger their were girls that would paint their nails with Liquid Paper and it must have felt a little like this.  I may try to wear this on my toes or it will sit in my closet from here on out.  I really would have loved a nice shiny baby blue color or another pretty pastel color.

Next is a Pixi Flawless Beauty sample sized primer.  I have not tried this, but have tried one of their other primers in the past and did like it.  I'm not really expecting to be "wowed" by this, but if it works well then I will consider buying it in the future.  

There was also a full size Be A Bombshell "Bora Bora" eye shadow quad.  The colors are super pigmented and I will have to use a light touch when I wear them.  So far I have really liked both of the Be A Bombshell products that I have received in my glam bags.  I love that they have both been full size products as well.  I would definitely by this brand after trying it through Ipsy.

Lastly, there was a sample size of the bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in "Get Ready."   I have tried it on a couple of times, but I don't think it will be something I use much at all or purchase.  It feels drying to my lips and seems to disappear completely fairly quickly.  However, I love the quote on the info card that it came with.  It says "Life is short. Wear bright lipstick."  I completely agree with that!  I love bright lipstick and I'm a fan of shimmer as well.  Why not?  Why do I need to look "natural" when I am wearing makeup? Either be natural and don't wear makeup at all or wear it proudly is the way I feel about it!  I am not saying wear it "loudly" though!  ;-)

I also wanted to mention the makeup bag this month.  The print is by artist Klari Reis.  You can view her work here www.klariart.com.  It looks like Ipsy will be featuring more artists in a new Artist Series with opportunities for creative ipsters as they call them.

So there you have it!  What do you think about this month's bag?  Remember this is a $10 subscription and these selections are based on my answers to profile questions and also in response to my feedback from previous products.  Other Ipsy subscribers will have selections based on their choices.

***I have had to cut back on my blog time temporarily.  My pain, along with various responsibilities...darn them! have taken from my fun time!  I am working on a review of my all time favorite lip products and should have it posted pretty soon.  I also will have an upcoming journal post and hopefully some more tips for my fellow "spoonies!"  Thank you for reading and following!

How to safely keep track of the meds you are taking

More tips for prescription safety~

When you need pain medicine it is important to remember exactly when you take it.  This can easily be done by writing down the times on a piece of paper if you are only using it for a short time.  However, a chronic pain patient will need something a little more structured to keep up with their pain meds as well as any other meds that they take.  **This advice really applies to anyone that must take several different medications and/or supplements on a regular basis. It is also very useful for keeping track of anything that should be taken more than once a day or even as needed. I tried to simplify this information, but also wanted it to be as complete as possible.

I have come up with a system for myself that works very well.  The first thing I did was get a free app for my iPhone that has daily reminders.  The one I prefer is called "RxmindMe."  I checked and this one is also available for Android users.  It allows me to enter all of my prescriptions, vitamins, eye drops, and anything else I take and set up when I need to take them.  The reminders can  be set for hourly, weekly, monthly, and as needed among other choices.   I see that they have also added a birth control reminder as well.  I use the hourly option for my pain meds.  I have one I take once every twelve hours and another one that can only be taken once every six hours up to four times a day.  A little tone will sound when it is time to take something. I can then check it as taken which will notate the time and date or mark it as skipped if I'm not taking it. I can see at the end of the day what I took and what I didn't.  I'm really bad about using my eye drops twice a day.  At the end of the day I can make sure that I at least use them once a day!  (Please don't tell my eye doc!)

The next part of my system is actually organizing all of the pills. I use two seven day pill boxes, a pill box separated for morning, noon, and night, and yet another single pill box.  In the first seven day pill box I put an entire week's worth of  pain medicine. I start off by putting two of my extended release pills in each daily slot. Since my breakthrough medication can be taken once every six hours and up to four times a day I put four of those in each slot as well.  A lot of pain meds in the U.S. contain Acetaminophen (Tylenol).  More than 4000 mg  per day can cause damage to your liver.  Taking more than 7000 mg can lead to an overdose, liver failure or even death. Remember that many over the counter medications contain Acetaminophen as well.  Having my daily limit separated can keep me from accidentally going over that amount. It is also nice to have days that I don't use all of my allotted pain pills.  I enjoy putting those back in the bottle.  I consider those days a triumph over pain!  This unfortunately doesn't happen as often as I would like it to.

The next seven day pill container I use to hold all of my other pills.  I have a lot of other prescriptions that I need to take daily as well.  For example, I have three pills that I need to take just for high blood pressure. Another benefit of doing this is that it helps me see when I need to call in my refills. I have most of my prescriptions on auto fill with the pharmacy these days, but if I have one with no refills left I need to know that I'm almost out and get it ordered in plenty of time.  There are also prescriptions that I use that cannot be refilled.  I need to make sure that I contact my doctor to obtain a new prescription before I get too low on those as well.  F.Y.I. my pain medicine is prescribed by my pain specialist and I physically go to his office each and every month to follow up with him.  I only have enough medicine to last from one appointment to the next. 

Every night before bed I fill the morning, noon, and night pill holder along with the single pill box . The single pill box that I use is actually part of a seven day system made so that one day's worth of pills can be removed to take along with you.  I'm thinking about buying a different pill box at some point for this purpose. I would like one that is prettier to start my day with!  Anyways, I have medicine that I need to take before I get out of bed each morning.  I know that what is in that pill box is what I need to take even if I can barely manage to open one eye!  I have a picture below that shows my different pill containers to help make sense of all of this!  Well, I hope it helps!  ;-)

If you get into the habit of organizing your medications like this or in a similar manner you will not have any trouble remembering what to take and when to take it.  I also recommend that you keep all of your medicine bottles in a zip lock bag and put it in the same place every time. You can easily grab it in an emergency or tell someone where it is if you are unable to get it yourself.  Anything that I use on an as needed basis I keep in a separate container in my bedside table so that I don't have to hunt for it.  I make sure to keep all of these out of reach of my children. I also put everything in my bedroom and out of site of visitors.   Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor or in the medical field in any way.  These are just suggestions based on what I do to help me with my medications.

On top I have medicine ready to sort. Below that are my seven day containers in different colors
to easily tell which is which.  The blue container is used to separate morning, noon, and night doses. The single pill box is what I use for my "too early to think" medicine before I even get out of bed each day   Having a system that you stick to makes it easy to keep up with.  Taking too much of any prescription or vitamin can be deadly!  Missing an important dose of medicine can also be deadly!  I hope that my advice can help keep that from happening.

Review of NYC CityProof Twistable Intense Lip Color... with a Twist

Review turned comparison~

***I have updated this review.  See bottom of post!

I purchased the NYC CityProof Twistable Intense Lip Color at my local CVS a while back.  My CVS only carries NYC until they relocate and build a larger store. (I hope) I always give in and buy their stuff because makeup makes me happy especially when I can use my CVS Bucks to buy it!  

I purchased the Riverside Rose for $2.99.  It is a nice enough color, but I have no idea why they claim that these colors are "intense."  It barely shows up on me even when I build it up.  I decided that I needed to buy another color to see the difference.  I chose the Fulton St. Fuchsia because it looked pretty bright. It does show up better, but it is also unforgiving with the bleeding and kind of slides off my lips.  

So I decided to use a 30% off online coupon at CVS to purchase one more.  The Parsons Pink is my favorite.  It is a shimmery color that looks pink on my lips, but different on my arm.  (see pic)  Either way I like the color.  I like shimmer and I also like bright lip colors.  That's just me.  This would be a good alternative to the glitter makeup trend I just read about.

In order from top to bottom:
Riverside Rose
Fulton St. Fuchsia
Parsons Pink

Here is the "twist" to this review.  At the time that I ordered my last color I also read a review of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains.  I decided to buy one of those as well and compare them. Obviously the Revlon cost $9.29 and I expect more from it.  I chose the color Lovesick.  It is a really pretty fuchsia color.
I realize that the NYC is not a stain, but they are both twistable and that was good enough for me!  I know that is not good reasoning, but this is how I shop in real life!

Lovesick

Here is my comparison of the two brands.  The NYC lip colors are very soft going on.  These are really like a tinted lip balm in my opinion.  They wear like one as well.  They need to be reapplied often and do bleed unless you choose a lighter shade like the Parsons Pink.

The Revlon balm stain that I tried did show up nicely and stayed on my lips.  My problem with this stain is that it doesn't last as long as I feel a stain should.  A lip stain should stain my lips and take effort to remove it from my lips.  I expect a lot from any lip product that claims to be a stain.  I only get an hour or so out of this before it has faded and needs to be reapplied.  It feels really thick going on and has a minty smell.  The smell does not bother me, but I know a lot of people that would be bothered by it.  The thick feeling is something that does bother me, but putting a lip balm over it helps.  The lip balm on top also makes it slide right off.  I can't win!

My final opinion is to spend the extra money on the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Stains if you need a color that shows up brightly and stays on longer than a tinted lip balm.  However, I also recommend the NYC CityProof Twistable Intense Lip Color for a nice tinted lip balm choice.  I would stick to a lighter color and forget the whole "intense color" nonsense!  These are cheaper than most tinted lip balms and can save you some money there.  Maybe wearing the NYC on top of the Revlon would take care of the thick dry feeling that the Revlon has!  I have three of the NYC's to try it!

I did a swatch and took a picture of them all after several swipes across my arm.  I then took another picture just after I ran my finger across them all at once.  I think that the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" is perfect in this case. However, "money talks" as well.  Which one speaks louder to you?

Left to right NYC:
Riverside Rose
Fulton St. Fuchsia
Parsons Pink &
Revlon Lovesick

P.S. this is not a CVS plug.  I usually buy my makeup from them and wanted to note that I used the 30% off on the last two choices.  I am a Beauty Club member and I fill enough prescriptions to get $5 in CVS buck at least once a month.  I then go immediately to the makeup section and get back in line to use it!  :-)

***I am surprised by how many views this post has had!  Obviously people are interested in these products.  I have continued to use them and I have to say that I reach for the NYC Twistables quite often.  They are so much like a tinted lip balm that I will even wear them on top of another lipstick.  I did also purchase one more color called Gramercy Park Plum .  It is definitely an intense color and I really wish that it stayed on more like a lip stain.  It will show bleeding and mistakes, but it is a gorgeous dark berry.  Perfect for fall.  It is a vampy sort of color in my opinion.  I think for me I would prefer to wear it over a lighter berry/plum color lipstick so that it fades down to that lighter color instead of being patchy.  Adding it to a matte color would add a little shine to it as well without being "glossy."  I will add a picture of it when I get a chance.  I find myself reaching for the Riverside Rose the most since it is such an easy color to wear.  I am still very fond of the Parsons Pink as well.  I like to wear it on top of a darker color to lighten it up and add a little shimmer.  Don't be afraid of shimmer!  Even eye shadow with shimmer looks great, but that is another post I suppose.  The Fulton St. Fuchsia is the one I use the least often. ***As for The Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Lovesick, I do like it better than I originally thought.  It is a pretty color, but I am still disappointed in it being labeled a stain since I don't get the wear of a stain from it.  That is it for my update to this post.  Thanks for reading and I hope it was helpful!