self-care – marginalia and such

loves & latest: May 6, 2019

loves latest

loves

reads

Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik

I resolved to read more sci-fi in 2019, but the male-dominated aspects of the genre is often a turn-off… not so with Polaris Rising. Runaway princess? Check. Sexy scoundrel? Check. Forced proximity? All the checks! An excellent, fast-paced plot with an active heroine? SOLD! I’m half-way through and want more from this writer/universe.

beauty

eltaMD UV Physical Tinted Sunscreen

Summer is here and the time is right… for sunscreen! The Florida sun is blaring and my Juice Beauty CC cream is not going to cut it, so I switched to an old favorite: Elta MD physical sunscreen. It has a light tint, kind of like a BB cream; it’s COMPLETELY scent free (a must for me), and does turn me a whiter shade of pale (even if I skip the light fandango).

random

turmeric supplements

Turmeric! It’s a magic root! Well, that’s what they say. All I know is I was desperate to kick a hormonal migraine (5 days! gah!) and picked up a bottle of 1000mg of turmeric with BioPerine (a patented form of pepper that helps you absorb the turmeric). The stars aligned, or something, because it worked. Not the first time either; I just haven’t been consistent.

Affiliate links help support the site and podcast.

latest

podcast

bluestocking-circle Celebrate May-tilda 😉 as the Bluestockings discuss everyone’s favorite, telekinetic bookworm.

Episode 21: Matilda is available on your favorite podcatcher.

If you want to hear three lady nerds talk about their favorite books and movies, give us a listen on Podomatic, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. Also available on YouTube.

just a reminder…

noah-buscher-580136-unsplash — Photo by Noah Buscher on Unsplash

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans.

Being festive can be hard. Don’t forget to take care of yourself, even if it means saying no.

life: taking time off

It’s my birthday next week and, in the spirit of celebrating myself, I’m taking a week off. It’s part of a tradition I started when I finally got a full time job with benefits: take 1 week off for myself. No commitments. No work. Nothing but me, the cats, and whatever makes me happy. Usually, this means reading, writing, and seeing my city as a sort of resident tourist. This year, I have a couple of projects planned, but mostly I’m going to work on relaxing and letting go of things. I’ll write, but I won’t push myself to meet some lofty goal. I’ll read, or maybe I’ll binge some shows. Who knows.

the view from Sunday: self-care and small indulgences

Woke up to the usual chorus of meows and meeps… feed me, feed me. Never any rest with the kitty cats.

Don’t be misled by the sad look… he is a total opportunist.

Fed the kitties (cat 2 is too skittish for snapshots), then fed the self. I’ve been making more of an effort on my presentation, even if no one else is joining me. Gives me a bit of a perk me up.

I only take a few supplements, but I started taking turmeric a little over a month ago (this is my second bottle) and I’ve really noticed a difference in my TMJ. The number of morning headaches is definitely down. Also, started taking biotin again. I take it on and off, but my hair was in need of a boost.

A little tea for the lady business… turns out the tiredness was mostly PMS. I take these teas every month and find I don’t need to take as much advil to relieve the aches.

Then there was second breakfast, because first breakfast just wasn’t cutting it. Happens.

In honor of self-care Sunday, the boy treated me to a foot massage! I told my friends about this place and they thought I was mad but it is AMAZING! They do an all over massage with a focus on reflexology. I feel totally melty.

Brace yourselves! Horror movie stuff right here! I bought a couple of paper masks a few weeks ago and decided to top off my post-massage vibe with a little pampering at home. Plus, turbie twist FTW!