Friday Finds & Check-ins, Volume #689
Share your recent beauty purchases or rediscovered favorites in your stash (for those on low/no-buys!), chit chat about weekend plans, and learn a little more about each other!
Let's Chat!
Share your own answers in the comments!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: two Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet lipsticks, Revlon Suede Lipsticks (hoping to swatch those shortly), Essence Pure Nude Blushes (also hoping to swatch these shortly!).
Weekend plans: So far, the plan is to try to take some photos/swatches today (Friday) and then do some major writing/entering of dupes on Saturday. Lunar New Year is Sunday, so we will have dinner with my parents to celebrate!
Sad news: we lost two more girls from the cleft puppies! Lorax is still here, and he is–dare I say it–thriving as he hit the 3-week mark. His sister Yeps, who recently joined him, and his other sister, Maizey, both crossed the rainbow bridge to join his brother, Max, this past Monday. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly what went wrong, but the rescue assured both myself and the other foster that it was nothing we did and nothing we could have prevented. Both the girls were having issues going unconscious and very labored breathing (and it didn’t really seem like hypoglycemia either), and even after giving them time to recover, they both were getting worse, so the kinder thing was done as they had already completed an antibiotic treatment so there wasn’t anything more that could be done.
We are down to just two–Lorax, the one under my care, and Cindy, under the other foster’s care who was actually the runt of the entire litter!! Lorax is actually the smallest now, but he is hitting his developmental milestones and gaining weight steadily. He has become more vocal and active since his eyes and ears opened, and he is voraciously hungry. Both the other foster and I are trying to give them as much love and care as we can for each day we have them and very much hope they will prove themselves survivors. Cindy has known breathing issues (she is a noisy breather, and she has also stopped breathing on multiple occasions), and Lorax has not shown any breathing issues (Max likely died of something that caused internal bleeding as that was a major symptom for him, which wasn’t like the two girls that passed).
It has been heartbreaking, but I’m hopeful we can get these remaining two to thrive!
Do you have any short-term goals set? The short-term goal set is to figure out a way to set up my schedule so I can work on my other site (the gaming site), Temptalia, and fit in on-site volunteering at the puppy rescue since I definitely miss going there. I prefer going in the morning but find that I need to be at my desk in the morning for the gaming site (Temptalia is more flexible).
Psst… since it’s Friday and we’re heading into the weekend, if you have some downtime, consider playing one of the games hubby and I have created! 🙂 You’ll find all of our games on Awordy, but here’s a breakdown of what we have so far:
- Adoptle (guess the name of an adoptable pet in six guesses)
- Concludle (figure out the subject within six clues)
- Mislettered (guess one letter at a time to figure out the phrase/quote)
- Word Frenzy (find as many words from the letters available before the shark devours them)
This week's doggo photo/video...
Share your pet photos to the Temptalia Pets flickr group!
Recent purchases: at Winners, I found 2 Ren products – Neroli and Grapefruit Body Cream (doesn’t smell half as nice as I was hoping) and Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Anti Fatigue Body Wash (I don’t think it “anti-fatigues” anything but it sure smells nice and energizing) and OPI Bogota Berry nail polish (gorgeous). Rediscoveries – Tarte Sinful eyeshadow single – it is so flattering on me.
Weekend plans: lots…my sis in law is having a family open house tomorrow so I want to make some appetizers this evening to take to that; hubs and I are going out for dinner tonight (I don’t have the energy to cook and welcome the treat of a night out); gym on Sunday with hubs and then we’re meeting a friend for brunch. I’d like to get to the gym tomorrow as well, if I can find the time.
Short Term Goal: to get my operated leg back to full functionality (which is partly why I’m going to the gym so much). I’ve still got swelling in my knee which explains why it doesn’t straighten fully (it’s getting there) and bending and walking down stairs are still a bit painful but improving with time. I’ll be glad when I have no pain and the ability to perhaps kneel, bend more fully, get to the floor easily (and get back up again without help)…I’ve come a really long way in 11 weeks but still want to get better.
Mariella, kudos to you for all your hard work to get your knee back to a good level. I lived with my Mom after she had knee replacement she was in her 80s and it was slow but steady and she was such a trooper with her exercises which was key in her recovery. The last thing to come was straightening the knee.
Thanks for the encouraging words, Brenda. I still have a fair bit of swelling and I’m hoping once that is gone entirely, bending and straightening will both improve. Those exercises – ugh, some of them really HURT but it’s vital to keep doing them.
Oh I am so aware of the pain doing the exercises, you have to be very strong to keep pushing through. The end result is the goal.
I was wondering with your knee how you were coping with the stairs in your home and I would think walking down the stairs would be harder than going up. Going to the gym and getting your knee strengthened by professionals is really the best way to go, otherwise you wouldn’t really know if what you were doing was making it better or worse.
11 weeks is a long time to be in pain and your exercises will help. You’ve done really, really well.
I hope you enjoy your dinner out – we went out for dinner last night and it’s such a blessing not having to decide what to cook, have I got all the ingredients etc etc.
Tell me about it – the meal planning stuff. Such a pain and when DH was on kitchen duty, he just didn’t have a clue…y’know, that you have to take stuff out to thaw overnight in the fridge if you plan on cooking it…stuff like that. I’m just really bored with it all and I’m really tempted to try one of those meal services where all the ingredients (save the basics like salt, sugar, etc.) are included, pre-measured, prepped, etc. along with really interesting ingredients.
Stairs are actually the savior with knee replacement, as strange as that sounds. When my surgeon learned we don’t have a main floor powder room, he was delighted because it meant I HAD to move, had to try to bend, etc. And, yes, downstairs is still the challenge, especially first thing in the morning (everything seems to tighten up overnight…maybe I should just stay wake all night!) but I do it – I force myself otherwise it won’t happen.
I can understand re your husband on kitchen duties – my husband would be hopeless – he doesn’t realise that you do have defrost food from the freezer or that it takes so long to prepare the ingredients.
I think a meal service would be a great idea for the moment – they are pretty cost effective too. One of my sister’s friend did that when she got totally bored with cooking and they found it to be great.
You would be quite stiff and sore in the morning, so the stairs would be a challenge. I hope the swelling goes down soon too.
Cheers for Lorax, crossing fingers that he makes it! I’m assuming there is a way to fix the cleft palate in dogs like we have in babies, so they have fewer challenges as they get older?
Recent purchases/Rediscoveries: Haven’t bought anything this week, but did a makeup swap with my bestie and our daughters. Ended up with some nice spring blushes and MAC Studio Fix in N4 which might work for my skin tone.
Weekend Plans: I’m still recovering from the half marathon last Sunday! It was an amazing experience and I’m proud of myself — I ran the whole way and finished very close to my goal time! The aftermath has been pretty painful though, so I took this week off of training and plan to try an easy run on Sunday morning. Luckily, aside from our usual date night on Fridays, the hubs and I have nothing to do!
Short-term Goals: Makeup-wise, I have been organizing and decluttering for some time now. I still need to weed out my eyeliners and sort my colors into groups (I put things together in color families so I know which eyeliner with which eyeshadow, what blush goes best with which lipsticks, etc). Hopefully that gets done this week!
It depends on the area, but yes, they can and do! Cindy has an open palate but Lorax is just cosmetic (cleft lips, not so much the palate), so he probably won’t need any surgery. Cindy definitely will, and the surgery is different depending on if it involves the hard or soft parts of the palate. Thankfully, there’s a veterinary clinic that works solely with rescues, so the costs are significantly less.
Congratulations on finishing the marathon – that is sensational. I bet you were a bit stiff and sore the next few days though. It is quite an accomplishment Brandi.
Sorting out and decluttering makeup is a good thing to do and it helps you to find what you are looking for more easily, as well as discovering something you had once liked a lot.
I organise my eyeshadow palettes according to colour too.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: I got some eyebrow pencils and a couple of blushes from Moira Cosmetics. In some ways they remind me of pre-L’Oreal NYX, back when they were way more under-the-radar but consistently put out damn good products. Since a lot of the high quality cheaper brands have done some things that make me feel less comfortable supporting them, so I am super glad to have a new brand that so far really knocks it out of the park in terms of the products they are bringing.
Weekend plans: I think hubs and I are gonna have a chill movie night tonight. I finally got my meds so I will do my injection tonight as well, so calmness will be greatly appreciated. The rest of the weekend will be housework and art mostly. And watching The Last of Us on Sunday. So far it is an excellent show (I did not play the game, DH did, but we can both agree that one episode in it looks promising.)
Do you have any short-term goals set? In the next couple of months I need to lay some groundwork for our 20th anniversary trip that will likely happen in late May. There’s planning/booking but there’s also COVID booster to be had, a new carry-on bag since our old one bit the dust, and finding a kennel for the dog while we are gone. We are going to Mexico City, but we might make a pit stop at a beach-y destination if it isn’t too much hassle. My birthday & DH’s birthday also both align with our anniversary, so we like to do big trips when we can. And honestly, 20 years is a lot to celebrate! I am pretty stoked about it.
Congratulations on 20 years! We did a cruise down the Mexico coast for our 20th and it was a blast. Now we’re planning a trip to Cabo in March for our 25th. I really enjoy Cabo for the beach amenities — we went snorkeling there last time and it was amazing, highly recommend!
Yes, 20 years together is definitely something to celebrate! Here’s to you having a wonderful vacation in Mexico City, and possibly one of the safer beach resorts, too!
Mexico City is such a vibrant, beautiful place to visit, with lots of informative museums as well. When I was teaching I took 8 Grade 6 students to Mexico for 6 weeks. We were attached to a school and the children lived with the families of the grade 6 students for that time. We had an amazing time.
Congratulations on your 20th Wedding Anniversary as well. 20 years is a lot to celebrate and doing a trip like this will be wonderful.
Happy 20th! What a milestone! Wishing you lots more years of love and joy and contentment!
Happy 20th! Your trip sounds so fun.
Recent Purchases: Nothing this week! Though I am SO tempted by the new Blend Bunny Lure palette. BUT, I have a lot of purple/blue/green/pink palettes and I truly don’t want another or to add any more to my collection.
Rediscoveries: it’s been really nice just grabbing an eyeshadow palette at random and doing a look with it.
Weekend plans: My MIL moved to a new apartment just before the holidays, but we haven’t been able to go over there yet, so we are doing that this weekend!
Do you have any short-term goals set? Right now I’m on a makeup no buy for the foreseeable future (at least three months) so we can save money to go on vacation to Disney in the fall.
I can definitely see you in the Lure palette – it’s your kind of shades, but I get what you are saying – you have a lot already.
I hope your MIL is really happy with her new apartment, now that she is by herself. Is it far away from your place?
Thank you, Genevieve! My MIL is actually much closer to us now, which I’m glad for, and she lives closer to her brother as well. It’s been a big adjustment for her; she was with my FIL for 45 years and I know leaving was hard for her, as much as that house was a burden for her after he passed.
That’s so sad that all but two of cleftie puppies have passed, but then again, they likely had more than just cleft lip/palate going on internally. Nothing anyone could have foreseen or expected, especially prevented. It’s also very encouraging that Lorax is seriously catching up and thriving, though!
Purchases/rediscoveries: Neither! I haven’t even worn makeup this ENTIRE WEEK! Who dis???
Weekend plans: Zoom meeting tomorrow morning. Have to, and I really mean I HAVE to, do some laundry! This whole wheeling a rolling laundry cart to the other end of the complex is a pain in the rump. I think I need to live in a unit that has either a washer and dryer in the unit or hookups for them, because I am at my body’s wits end here!
Do you have any short-term goals set up? Yes! It’s all depending on when, and obviously how much, my class action lawsuit goes through. Ideally, I would love to use it to move cross country. If not enough for that, then at least back across town where there’s that whole network of FREE public transit in Scottsdale and Tempe, so that I would have so many more opportunities to get out of the house and do things.
I was prepared to lose one, but wow, three 🙁 Hoping for the best for the last two!
Three is just plain heartbreaking. I totally get that. Yet, it’s very likely that there were other hidden, but even more serious congenital defects within those poor puppy’s bodies that were incompatible with survival. Also, I feel like this happens a bit more often with very large litters of dogs or cats. I’m just so sorry that you had to go through so much loss as a result.
Thank you, Nancy! I take comfort in the fact that they had the best chance for survival with our care, and as grim as it might be, I’d rather it happen now in my care (or the rescue’s care) than in a few months with an adopter!
That’s not like you Nancy to not wear makeup for a week!
I am crossing my fingers and toes that the class action you are involved in will give you the means to either move to NJ or back to Scottsdale and be able to take up the opportunities there. Best wishes Nancy.
So sad to read about the passing of the two little girls – it’s always hard emotionally when that happens, even though they have received all the love and care in the world. Lorax seems to be thriving and he certainly is an adorable little chap.
I hope you and Shaun enjoy your Lunar New Year dinner with your family.
Recent Purchases: Nada in terms of makeup and skincare.
Rediscoveries: I have recently used a slew of my other makeup – ABH Sultry, Smashbox Petal Metal, PMG Sublime Bronze Platinum 6 pan and a variety of lipsticks.
Weekend Plans: On Friday I went out with my two best girlfirends for lunch – we hadn’t seen each other for awhile and it was lovely to catch up and chat about how our Christmases went and so on.
It’s a fairly low key weekend in our household – no grandchildren staying, so just doing some chores and grocery shopping. The weather is going to be warm, but not oppressively hot like we’ve recently had.
My youngest son, who has experienced a lot of post covid complications concerning his heart, has been given good news regarding his stress test and we are awaiting the results of his angiogram. He has been experiencing less symptoms over time, but just wanted to get everything checked out.
Harry, our littlest grandson (2 and a half) has been found to have a major speech delay (the final assessments have been done) and now his parents are going to apply for funding. They were discouraged from doing so earlier because it was thought that he wasn’t ‘bad enough’, but now he is. We are quite worried about this as his lack of speech affects all areas of his life.
Short Term Goals: My main short term goal is to have a hard rubbish day to get rid of all the excess stuff in our place. Everytime I want to book it in with our local council, the weather is either raining or too hot.
There are lots of things I want to get rid of.
They definitely were given the best chance they could to thrive, and they were loved and cared for during their short time for sure <3
I’m so glad your son’s stress test was good!
Good luck with Harry’s funding. I hope he gets it soon and things go smoothly for him.
Thank you Rachel – as you well know funding for a speech disability is no easy matter and they have to have Harry go through another slew of expensive tests before they can submit their application. Otherwise the Speech sessions are $195 each time – so very expensive.
We were delighted with Nicholas’s stress test result and it was a load off our minds.
Oh my what a precious little pup, he sounds like a fighter. Thank you for the video Christine it’s so heartwarming to see him thriving.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: nothing this week.
Weekend plans: After a rough Friday night with our little Lex having an allergic reaction to the pain meds the vet sent us home with after his neuter we are just happy he is back to his normal boisterous self. Leaping tall furniture and ready to rumble again, and actually eating his kibble, he’s a yorkie and very fussy. Not much else planned for our weekend, we need to install a new router that will probably make our life a little easier.
Do you have any short-term goals set? I’m still suffering a few after effects from a covid infection in December so right now it’s baby steps as it’s slowly getting better.
I’m glad Lex is ok now.
The COVID really lingers. I hope you’ll keep improving.
Poor bubby Lex having a bad reaction to the pain medication, which he obviously needed. Glad to read that he is back to his old self again.
You sound like you’ve had a case of long covid as well Brenda – it can be quite debilitating. Are you suffering from fatigue and breathing issues? My absolute sympathy, because I know what my son has gone through.
Thanks Genevieve, the tiredness is a struggle being compounded by insomnia. The runny nose is a weird symptom to hang on and just the feeling of being unwell. Hopefully your son is on the way to recovery.
I’m so sorry more puppies didn’t make it. I hope Max and Cindy continue to do well.
RECENTLY PURCHASED: Nothing
RECENT REDISCOVERIES:
My skin care. I’m trying to get consistent with it again.
WEEKEND PLANS:
Take my son and his GF shopping. Work on getting the house ready to get our floors replaced.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SHORT-TERM GOALS SET?
Get our water-damaged flooring replaced, then finish rearranging the house now that the kids are moved out.
Sorry, I meant Lorax, not Max. 😔
Gosh, there must have been a decent amount of damage for you to get your flooring replaced – is it just in the kitchen/dining area or are you replacing all of your floor coverings? If so, you’re going to be in for a very busy weekend removing furniture etc. Not exactly fun Rachel. However, it will be nice when the new floor(s) are in.
We are going to get our flooring redone once our grandchildren have grown up, but my son and DIL are still have babies, so it’s going to be awhile yet.
Are you finiding it more peaceful now that the kids have moved out Rachel? Like bliss kind of peaceful? Not as much mess to clean up?
The vinyl covering and chipboard underneath in the kitchen had to all come out. The kitchen and dining room are adjoined and share flooring, so we’re replacing it all with solid wood base covered with ceramic tiles.
While we’re at it, we’re having some old covering taken up in a few small areas and replaced with the same tiles: The front entry, the hallway, and the main bathroom. Really, the house is overdue for changing our floor coverings, so we may as well.
My house is much quieter and stays cleaner. Life is still hectic because the kids still need help with some things, especially my younger son and his GF. But they’re all doing well. I’m my younger son’s personal support worker, so I help him with stuff anyway.
We still have my brother, two cats older cats, and a snake to keep us busy at home.
That’s the thing – once one area of your home needs re-doing, then you look at whatever else needs replacing at the same time and as you say, you may as well do it. Were you able to claim it on your house insurance? That could help with the costs. It sounds really practical adding tiles, so much easier to keep clean and they look so good.
Even though your kids leave home, they always need your help. I feel like I am my younger son, his wife and children’s personal support worker because they always need my help.
Recent Rediscoveries: I may have forgotten how often hand cream needs to be applied in winter. Because my hands look rough so I am going to double down on moisturizing.
Weekend Plans: Getting a newsletter coded, reading Worn: A People’s History of Clothing, napping.
Do I have Any Short Term Goals Set: Finish books I start, order fewer lattes as they are bad for my sugar.
How did your surgery go Sarah? I hope everything went well, you were quite nervous about it.
It’s hard to find a good hand cream – a lot of them are just not strong enough to really make a difference. Weleda’s body butter is a good one and so too Dermaveen’s Sensitive Relief Eczema cream. My hands are often a mess due to the amount of washing up I do.
Recent purchases: Amazingly none (beauty related, at least)! I did just buy some of those recordable buttons for my dog. She’s 10 and well-trained but I want to see if I can help her to communicate a bit better with me.
Weekend plans: My and my boyfriend’s birthdays are next week, and a friend’s was this past week, so we’re going on a little double date birthday outing tonight. (Between us, I’d rather just stay home, lol.)
Short term goals: I have a little art business that I’m trying to grow. Really-short-term is getting to 1000 followers (I’m almost there), but regular-short-term is making the two ideas I have in my head come to life! Hopefully within the next few months. 🤞🏻
Happy Birthday Sarah to you and your boyfriend. I hope you all have a lovely time out.
Congratulations on your art business and I hope it all works out for you.
Lorax looks lovely, what a cutie! I hope he’s strong and makes it. I know you are doing everything possible for him. I also hope the remaining little girl makes it. Darling puppies <3
Sad news about the other puppies.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Still waiting for my order from About Face, no new purchases.
Rediscoveries, no, nothing comes to mind.
Weekend plans: It's Saturday now and I have cleaned much of the first floor in the house. So cleaning and probably doing some laundry. So exciting! 😉
Do you have any short-term goals set? Not really. After I got ill with depression and anxiety I get too stressed out by goals, so I just make them day by day, sometime two days, but never even as long as a week. I dislike this about myself, I used to be able to set goals, but now, no.
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: I went ahead with last weekend’s Sephora cart-Tom Ford lip color discovery kit, 2 backup Fenty Pro Filt’r 110 concealers, Lancome L’Absolu Rouge Cream lipsticks (shades: Exotic Orchid, Crushed Rose, and Caprice de Rouge), and travel-size Viktor & Rolf Good Fortune for the quadruple points-and it arrived on time Friday. Tonight I went ahead and bought the Ulta cart-Lancome L’Absolu Rouge Cream lipsticks in Moderato, French Touch (recently worn by Amanda Seyfried at the Critics’ Choice Awards!), Nuit Parisienne, Berry Noir, Blush Classique, Bisou Bisou, French Coeur, and French Idol.
Weekend plans: Worked all day Friday, worked a partial shift yesterday, off today.
Do you have any short-term goals set? Try to get caught up at work tomorrow, weather permitting-over the second half of the week we had several absences and an unusually high rate of returned items. I picked up a few extra hours Thursday and Saturday and had some help from colleagues on a higher pay grade Saturday, but it was just too overwhelming.