PMD

does not stand for pre-menstrual disorder, or maybe it does?!  

PMD in chinamommy's world now stands for: mircroderm, not wait... personal microderm!  a couple weeks ago i was having lunch with my mental twin, christine      

(of: Unusual Girl Studio ).  we were chatting away when microderm abrasion came up, and the fact that we love having our face sanded down to the bone (well, maybe not that far) but it was too stinkin expensive to go as often as we want/need.  i mentioned that i had seen a new PERSONAL microderm machine, chris said she's seen it for $170.... fast forward to the next day, me in my fuzzy pink robe, coffee in hand, watching GMA (good morning america) when the "Deal of the Day" comes on.  Robin is on with

the "deal of the day" came on and what do you know, it was the VERY same PMD we had just been discussing the day before and it was $60 including shipping!  

PMD website

 you have never seen someone fly to the computer faster than this chick did, i swear i was in the top 10 that ordered!  as soon as my confirmation email came i immediately called chris.  no lie, by the time she got hers ordered, there was a 4 week back order!

well, mine showed up a week ago, 1 day after my gum surgery.  my face was a little sore to be scrubbin' the skin off, so i left it alone (as hard as it was) till this weekend.  OH MY, go get one!  here's my take on this little piece of fabulousness:

1. it works

2. it's easy to use

3. it's easy to clean

4. immediate results

5. $ saving

you are basically just vacuuming the crap off your face!  i could tell right away that my skin was softer! i love this little machine and can see myself using it on a regular basis, while trying to avoid TOO much use!  no one is paying me to say this, but if you'd like to, i take paypal!

5 stars for the PMD!!
if you'd like to read another review, check this link out:
killer lipgloss review
she gives all kinds of details that i'm too lazy to give!

The Queen, part II

when i showed darling my post friday of all the hats... she gave me a horrified look.  the kind of look that says "why in the WORLD would you do something like that?!".  she would NEVER let anyone see her being a goof-ball~oh, that girl.... so serious!

anyway, i didn't let that look deter me from showing you the last of my grandma's hat collection, so here we go...

 peacock blue velvet, tulle netting, FEATHERS!! i told ya my gram was one foxy lady! you're welcome for NOT showing you my nose, freckles, dark under-eye circles and make-up-less-face, i will apologize now for the following photo's!

 the freckles are courtesy of our vacation... it was well worth it!  (yes, i did wear my SPF 70 everyday on my face) 

 wee~wee

 the one is a little grey and furry, i feel like i have a dead mouse on my head...

 the silk turban has always been my favorite and good Lord, why didn't i photoshop out the dark circles under my eyes... oh yeah, 'cause i STILL haven't taught myself how to use it!  my face was still puffy and sore from my gum surgery, hence NO make up on my face... that and pure laziness.

 the sun was very bright the day i took these it blew out all the details of this lovely cream velvet hat. i don't know how to fix that either, i did have a giant piece of poster board in front of the curtain.

i am just full of excuses for my poor photography skills...

Oh, i am sooooooooooooo fancy!

and if a hat isn't your thing (you girls with big hair), there is always a scarf!

by the way, my mister is also amazed at the lengths i will go to for a blog post!

I hope you've enjoyed grandma's hats, i've got to go fluff my couch, learn photoshop, put on some concealer and schedule a rhinoplasty...

The Queen of England's got nuthin' on me!

this is my gram, she's 102-1/2!!  In this picture she's only 101-1/2.  she's quite a lady, let me tell ya!  her entire adult life she ate the same thing every single morning for breakfast: bowl of grape nuts, 1/2 glass prune juice (don't ask), 1/2 glass OJ, 1 cup coffee, 1 piece of fruit.  she is a woman of order and consistency!

she was also quite the fashion plate back in the day...

dresses, heels, gloves and...HATS!

 guess who was lucky enough to get her hat collection?!  

 this one is best viewed from the top, otherwise it looks like i have a plate clipped to my head!

 the net is not so comfortable in the eyes!

 ummm, not so sure about this.  X marks the spot?

oh wait, i think that's the way it goes!

so this is only 1/2 the collection but you know i posed with them all, so come on back to see the rest!  Have a happy weekend! xoxo

the 25 million $$ woman

last year i had a tooth implant and invisalign braces, the cost was insane.  in fact, my dental work cost over 3 times what my car cost.  ok, in all fairness, i am NOT driving the $85,000 white range rover that i dream of

 i am driving a 1993 volvo station wagon, but still...

tuesday i had gum surgery, so add that to the total and my mouth is now the most valuable thing we own, it will have to be handed down as a family heirloom!  i had a tooth where the gum had receded so far back it was grossing me out so yesterday they took some "donated skin" and filled it in.  it was not fun, i spent 2 hours AWAKE (but numb) in the chair while they did only Lord knows what!  when the surgery started the surgeon started explaining to me what she was doing,  i quickly put an end to that!  i told her very politely that she did NOT need to tell me what she was doing, just go ahead and do it!  Ewwww, i do not want to know what's going on, as long as she does, we're good!

so i am laying low and working on my Twinkie Chan cupcake hat

i started it on the plane when we went on vacation but then sunday i realized i wasn't doing it right and tore out over 24 rows.... UGH!!! i hate that!

here is my puffy little face, enjoy!

 i'm going to go pop another pain pill!

can i brag?

of course i can, it's my blog!  

i turned 43 on friday and on saturday the mister and i ran in the 3rd annual Winter Blast 5k.  

 no, that is not an optical illusion, i really am that much shorter than the mister!

ok, here comes the bragging....

I GOT FIRST PLACE IN MY AGE GROUP!!!

yep, i even beat the lady on my left, the one that is 2foot taller than me!

i ran a 24:31!

when the gun went off i thought "oh man, i'm running FAST" and as i came around the corner towards the first mile marker i could see that it said 6 something.  holy cow!!!  by the time i got to the 1 mile mark myself, i was running a 7:20 (beating my fastest mile by 4 sec!).  i knew that when i got to mile 2 i wanted to have a 14:40 but it was 15 something so i said to myself "there is no way you're going to keep slowing down. you're running fast and nothing is hurting so get your butt moving you little twit"  i'm a real motivational speaker on the course let me tell you!

if you run and haven't ever done a race, i'd really encourage you to!  the runner's high is real and the feeling of accomplishment isn't bad either, plus the free snacks and medals-it's a win~win!

the bad part of my story, i had gum surgery tuesday and can't run for the next 10 days...

i'm off to snuggle with my medal on the couch!

well, it happened again...

i got another year older!  my daughter says to me last night "i was looking at that picture of us when you got me in China and you look so different then".  yes, my dear, i was 34 then and now i am 43... you look different too!
(ok, so it wasn't THIS picture because that is the back of my head, which still pretty much looks the same!  i only have a print of the picture she was looking at and i don't feel like doing confusing computer stuff, like scanning, on my birthday!)

June of 2004, in china!

i went out and ran 5 miles this morning, without the use of a motorized scooter (not too bad for an old chick),  the sun is out in MI  (so much so, that i can HARDLY see my computer screen!), i have a great husband (who is running a 5k with me saturday morning), and an awesome kid so turning 43 isn't so hard after all!!  Hope you have a great weekend and feel free to raise a glass in MY honor!  

Happy Birthday to ME!

Back to reality... boo!

we spent a FABULOUS week on a gorgeous tropical island in the country of Turks & Caicos... and now it's back to laundry, school work, teen mom 2, and cleaning.  let's live in the past a bit though, 'cause it's just too good to let it go...

My pictures will NEVER do this place justice!

 snorkel, snorkel!

Color, color every where!!

 we saw REAL dolphins swimming in front of our boat!! i've never seen dolphins that weren't in a tank!

 the "kitty kat cruise" or was it "kruise"?  anyway, we took this gorgeous boat out to a private island.  darling and i found a shells and coral to bring back (plus a baggie of sand) to make one of those vacations-in-a-jar that are all over pinterest.

 F is for freckles!!  and i wore 70SPF every single day!!!

 the mister and i- livin' the life!

the mister in the air, darling and i stayed ON the ground, in the boat.  the name of the boat was "gettin' high", it may have been the employees philosophy also...?

 best thing at the resort: swim up bars!

worst thing at the resort: butt sniffing dogs!

Now... i'm off to do the mounds of laundry!

We'll chat again soon!

Ever heard of a little island called Turks and Caicos?

well, that's where i'm heading....SOON!

i'm packed

i'll miss you...but i'll survive!

Gettin' my organizer Nerd on!

i LOVE to organize!  

no seriously, i do!! i've often thought (semi-seriously) about starting an organizing business.  i'm not a huge fan of maintaining it, but i like to dig through and sort.  so last night i had an attack of the organizers...

i'm one of those girls that when i get interested in something i feel the need to have it ALL.  shocking, i know.

 when i started crocheting a couple years ago, i started collecting patterns. 

i had to have them all!!

  i get 

source: Crochet Today

 i'm part of www.ravelry.com , i've bought patterns from etsy, i download them from red heart and, if you follow me on http://pinterest.com/chinamommy/, you know i pin patterns there too.  yes, i am aware i have a problem.  

 needless to say i have too many patterns in too many places.  last night, thunder struck and i gathered ALL my patterns and a 3 ring binder full of clear sleeves:

i started tearing magazines apart, knowing i would NEVER in a billion years make everything in there.  honestly, i felt a little guilty "ruining" my magazines... oh-my-gosh...what is WRONG with me? tell me i'm not alone!!

so this is my project to finish today!!  i'll also be making dividers so i can keep separate: hats, scarves, home items, cute items...etc.

are you a crazy organizer? or just a crazy hoarder?  are you trying to get things in order for 2012?