Self Care Over 60

I was thinking last night about a new post for here, and I think the perfect subject would be self care.

 I am currently inching my way towards changes, changes that will improve my quality of life now that I have reached a milestone of being over 60. Now let me just preface this by disclosing that I have never spent much time taking care of myself, only doing the usual wash my face, brush my teeth, use lotion maybe I was never much of a makeup girl.  I will discuss my own routine that works for me. 

On my face, I suffer from keloid scarring, which according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, an estimated 10 percent of people experience keloid scarring. Men and women are equally likely to have keloid scars. People with darkly pigmented skin, such as African-Americans, are more prone to keloids. I always thought that any type of scrubbing would cause more to form, I have since learned better.

My morning routine for my face is I wash my face with Philosophy's daily exfoliating wash followed by a small amount of renewed hope in a jar refreshing and refining moisturizer. Teeth: I brush with Tom's of Maine Botanically Bright fluoride-free Whitening Toothpaste.  My night routine for my face is I wash with Philosophy's purity one-step facial cleanser followed by a small amount of renewed hope in a jar overnight recharging & refining moisturizer. I stack the jars white on top for morning black on bottom for the evening, then reversing, so at a glance, I will know that I did each step. Teeth: I use a pea size amount of Crest pro-health toothpaste followed by a tiny swish of the pro-health mouthwash.

Bath time is another self-care routine for me using Archipelago Botanicals Milk Bubble Bath, body wash and a scrub of the Milk Soy Protein Exfoliating Body Polish using one of my own 100% cotton spa cloths followed up by a generous amount of coconut oil from neck to toes. 

Hand care: Butter London Melt Away Cuticle Eliminator on Sundays followed by Hardwear P.D Quick Topcoat for the next 7 days before bed.

Now before you say I don't have time to do this, it takes a total of 10 minutes, 5 minutes wash and moisturize face, 2 minutes to brush teeth and finally 3 minutes to polish nails and allow to dry. I have also recently removed all electronics from my bedroom except for now my phone, which I keep under my pillow,  after having watched Open House on Netflix I'm too  scared not to hahahaha. I also started walking 4 miles 3 times a week, try to get 8 hours of sleep, and to drink at least 12 glasses of water everyday. I'm not here to tell you it's not hard sometimes, I hate getting up at 6 a.m. three times a week, but I feel I'm worth it.

This is not a paid advertising I am only passing on information about what has worked wonders for my health and well being. Remember it takes 90 days to form a habit, Ask yourself this If you don't take care of yourself who will. Find your ritual and give it time, and be good to yourself.

Be well

Catherine

A Summer Of Reading

If you follow my Instagram account you have will have noticed a serious uptick in my reading. I have always been a voracious reader, and I recently discovered Overdrive, an online source to not only your local library, and others as well. I also returned to my local library with a renewed sense of wonder. My journey down this reading rabbit hole all started with 3 free books from Audible, yes they snared me with Cassandra Clare's Lady Midnight a prequel to her YA City of Bones series, next David Lagercrantz who took up the task of continuing the Lisbeth Salander sagas, then finally Stephen King's 3rd book in the trilogy End of Watch.

 I've always maintained two cabinets filled with books that serve as nightstands, so a bit before summer began I sorted them not only according to authors but also in series order and I began to read. I am not going to give reviews, but I will give you the titles so that you may explore them if you wish. 

Here is a list of what I have read or listened to:  The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye David Lagercrantz, Immortalist by Chloe Benjamin, Deja Dead, Death Du Jour, Deadly Decisions, Fatal Voyage, Grave Secrets, Bare Bones, and Monday Mourning Mourning all are from a new series to me by Kathy Reichs, Stephen Kings Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and End of Watch the Bill Hodge trilogy. I have been reading the Alex Cross series by James Patterson since forever so I pick them up where I left off and started with Cross, Double Cross, Cross Country, I Alex Cross, CrossFire, Kill Alex Cross well you get the idea I have finally made my way through to this year The People vs Alex Cross that I am waitlisted for on Overdrive. Along the way, I have discovered two more series The Women's Murder Club, and Private both by James Patterson and other authors. I've rediscovered Dan Brown's, Robert Langston's series after having read the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons so long ago. I read this series totally out of order, turns out it didn't make too much of a difference. I started back with Origin, then Inferno, and I am currently reading Lost Symbol. Finally, my returned to Dean Koontz with The Husband, The Good Guy and I am waitlisted for The Darkest Evening of the Year.

I have about three more weeks before I return to work so I hope to get a few more books in before closing out my summer of reading. I hope you give Overdrive a try it's truly life altering. If you still like the feel of holding and reading physical books do like I did visit your local library and fall in love with books all over again.

Happy Reading

Catherine