Adulting equals…
- Saying things like “wood rot” and “gum recession” and “deployment calendar” and “reparenting yourself.”
- Packing emergency go-bags for fire season.
- Being tormented by aggressive hyphenation.
- Flossing, and liking it.
- Tracking your protein portions.
- Listening to easy listening (96.5 KOIT, you know what’s up) while you chop vegetables for dinner.
- Knowing you need rest in order to keep functioning, and then (GASP) taking that rest.
- Forever drinking water.
- Keeping a stash of two-minute makeup specifically for video work calls on your desk.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Sabrina says
Yeah, I’m really adulting lately LOL. And give us the breakdown on your skin! Looks amazing!
Karen says
Hi Sabrina!
I’m using the magical Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. It’s super light and does some pore blurring.
Tatiana says
Lovely look, so summery. Did you catch some tan while in Hawaii?
Ugh, wood rot and gum recession. Thanks for reminding me I need to pack the go-bag.
Karen says
I did! I wore a hat and loads of sunscreen, too. The sun wants to bronze me, I guess, LOL!
So unfortunately the go-bag thing has a story. Last summer (I don’t know if I mentioned this), there was a fire in our neighborhood. It was right behind us, on a hill, and a police office banged on our door and said “You need to evacuate in 20 minutes.” It was very traumatic (which is probably why I didn’t mention it at the time). At the very least it helps to have all your important papers in one spot, so you can grab them and shove them in the car. And weirdly enough, when I was packing for myself and for Connor, I packed SO MUCH UNDERWEAR. LOL. Oh, and when we put Rosie in her cat carrier, she used the power of science (and her extra two IQ points) to escape it. I still have no idea how she did it.
Tatiana says
Sunscreen is just a screen. It’s not a total block. Even SPF 70 only blocks about 98% of the UVA/UVB rays. Or somewhere in that range. Michelle at Lab Muffin Science Beauty explained there’s lots of reflected UV rays at the beach even if you’re wearing a hat. You basically have to wear a hood with eye slits or hibernate to not get any UV exposure at all.
Oh My God! That’s the thing that Nibbler would do, try to get out of the carrier when it’s important she stay in it. (Note to self, look for Nibbler’s harness and leash and put them in the carrier.)
I think it was the summer before last the hills between our house and the ocean broke out in flames. It was so weird to see actual black smoke on the horizon. I gathered all my jewelry in one bag and begged Dear Husband to round up the important papers. He kept saying the fire isn’t going to get to us. But I was thinking it just needs to travel down the right slope and there goes the whole peninsula. I hate being on edge all summer and autumn long. I check the Cal Fire website for updates every day and I follow the local Cal Fire brigades on Twitter. Who me? I’m not worried at all.
michelle says
Comes down to self-care which we all could use more of!
Karen says
Oh my gosh, yes! I’m done with glorifying working oneself to the bone. Self-care and rest = high priorities!
Kim says
This cracked me up and made me sad at the same time because I was just literally writing a ton of copy, and Word was suggesting that I aggressively hyphenate on almost every line. I felt like I’d been captured by the Borg and was resisting the assimilation (sorry, Star Trek reference). I think I might hate hyphens like you hate ellipses. 🙁 I also have to google some of your adulting terms, which probably indicates I’m not doing it right. HAHA! PS I’m sorry about the evac bag; it must be very stressful to regularly live with the threat of natural disasters.
CL says
You have an “easy listening” radio station in your area? I haven’t heard one in probably more than 30 years in my area. I’m talking about the “Muzak” type of station – not an oldies (60s, 70s, and 80s rock music, mostly) station, which might be what you’re referring to.
About getting rest – it’s so hard to get decent sleep as one gets older. I (and a lot of other people) have trouble getting more than 2 continuous hours of sleep, no matter what I do. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I start worrying about all kinds of things, or going over regrets, or wondering how safe I am at the moment. Stress, especially long-term, is considered to be a probable cancer-causer. In my view, I’ve been under pretty much constant stress for several decades, especially after a forced family move when I was 12 (in the middle of a school year!), to an amazingly hostile new school and overall environment. (When I say “hostile,” that is no exaggeration at all.) I am a cancer patient, as I have mentioned before. Your advice is good, that one should rest and de-stress as much as one can.
Karen says
Hi, CL. Yes, de-stressing and listening to your body/mind when it needs self-care is always a good thing.
The “easy listening” station in my neck of the woods is 96.5 KOIT; they do play some songs from the ’90s and early 2000s peppered in with ’70s and ’80s. If you’re looking specifically for ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, you might want to search “yacht rock” stations! They have music from that era.
Brigid says
I felt officially “old” a couple of years ago when I was visiting my Dad in the assisting living home (at 99 years old he didn’t want to move in with us, preferring his own place). As I wandered into the dining area, where they piped in age-appropriate music for the residents I heard. . yes. Hall and Oates.
Anne says
I love the idea of two minute emergency makeup on the desk!
Tisha says
Adulting:
Cleaning your house in sections on a regular basis.
Cooking for yourself because that’s the best choice.
Learning how to say no even in the midst of major FOMO
Accepting your imperfections.