ah, but satisfaction brought him back, at least this time. lol
I have funky skin. I know this, and have always known this. When I was an early teen though, I had thought that I might have an allergy to soaps. No, it isn't that I didn't want to bathe, but rather, after I took a bath my skin would be irritated looking. It made it all the more noticeable, the red dots that I had on various parts of my body. I didn't think too much of it, because I wasn't in to checking myself out with any frequency. The summer was always easier, and it seemed that my legs really started to look nice after I got a decent tan.
Now, come to present day, I am as white as a ghostie. Yes, yes, my family believes that I am quite odd for being so "pale" (as my dad calls me). I'm not honestly sure that pale is the right word, since I do have slightly olive tinted skin, a remnant of my native heritage I guess. Anyway, being that I am so fair skinned these days, it is quite noticeable, the red spots that I have on me. Most people don't notice because I am covered from my neck to ankles, and my sleeves come to my elbows or longer. Some times my leggings will ride up a bit, and my sister commented on my bespeckled appearance. So, I figured that I would finally exercise my research ability and find out what is wrong with my skin.
Keratosis Pilaris.
*nods* Yup, that's me. It figures that I have a weird skin disease. *chuckles* Good thing it is completely harmless. Anyway, after asking a bit, I found that I must have gotten it from my dad. My youngest sister also has it, though our other sister has completely clear skin.
After really examining my skin, I believe that I've come to a mild breakthrough. I've come to realize why I've had such poor luck with the bumps on my forehead. I had always just assumed that my stupid skin really loved whiteheads or something, and that would explain the bumpy nature of my forehead. No one has ever commented on it (or noticed, I believe), but I have. I wear bangs most of the time, so many people are completely oblivious. Well, I found out that quite a few people have this same condition on their face. After looking at
some pictures, I definitely feel pretty normal, especially in light of the high percentage of people who have this "problem". Many people basically outgrow their KP, but I don't seem to be one of them, nor do I hold out hope for that. My dad still has his red bumpies on the backs of his arms, and he is in his later 40s. So, I can only assume that I'll probably have bumpies and red spots for the rest of my life. I'm just thankful that the areas of my face that seem to have KP aren't red. My red spots seem limited to the backs of my arms and the entire length of my legs (though interestingly, not on the backs of my thighs). I think that I would be happy if I could even just get my spotties to pretty much go away for the first 6 inches of my calves, so folks couldn't see them above my socks. lol
Since I have more of an idea as to what is going on, I feel froggy when it comes to researching and finding ways to at least relieve the irritation that causes the redness. My little sister is real hopeful that I will find something to ease the bumpiness on the backs of our arms. She wears tank tops, and doesn't like the look of her skin (though it isn't bad. We have mild cases). So, for the sake of good science, I am treating one of my legs and leaving the other alone. That way, I have something to compare failure or success by. Right now, I am trying the most simple treatments, which are regular exfoliating and deep moisturizing (almost constantly). Since the problem is majorly exasperated by chronic dry skin (which we all have), the moisturizers are supposed to go a long way. So, we'll see if things are looking any different after a couple weeks. If not, I may have to resort to a sulfer soap and a better moisturizer, before trying topical creams (like LacHydrin).
Of course, there may be some people that just find me vain, but I don't believe that is the case. While I don't wear makeup, I do try and take care of my appearance a bit. I think it would be quite mean spirited to expect my husband to want to make googly eyes at me if I look like sasquach or something. lol So, I pluck and wax, and all of that good stuff to try and bring out my "natural beauty" ( I think. Still looking....). If I'm going to make an effort to take care of the rest of my body, I definitely don't see any problems with taking care of my body's biggest organ. Besides, is there anything better than having your husband exclaiming over how silky smooth your skin feels? *wiggles eyebrows* Naw, I didn't think so. I'll call it a subtle therapy for my marriage. *chuckles*
On to other things, DH threw me a BBQ today, for my birthday. :o ) Isn't that sweet? Apparently he started planning this before my birthday (last tuesday), which is why he was so adamant that I wasn't going to have a birthday party. He thought it was funny, watching my face as people began arriving. First, sis and her boyfriend were coming over, which I expected. The boyfriend has been helping DH cut down trees. Then my dad pulls up, and I figured that he wanted to shower after working on his boat. Lastly, my little sister pulls up with her husband, and DH called out, saying that they were bringing laundry over to wash. Now, since people always visit me in an effort to use my bathroom or laundry machines, this seemed pretty normal to me.
At one point, everyone was standing in the kitchen, shooting the breeze. DH and the boyfriend had pulled over the last tree, and it had scraped the house a bit. Well, he sat at the table and told me that the tree had damaged our awning, and that it might make the roof leak. I got all flustered and just told him that he could fix it, if it did. I was so busy pouting (I warned him about hitting the house) that I didn't notice when someone slid a birthday cake on the table. DH started talking to me again, and when I turned around I just had to ask "was that there the whole time??" *laughs* So, everyone laughed at me, and the lightbulb in my head went off. I said, "you didn't really hurt the house with the tree, did you?" and DH reassured me that the house wasn't injured at all, that he was just distracting me. lol So, we burned some hotdogs on the grill and the boys drank beer while working on my car. The girls and I sat inside and played with Landon, and talked for a while. Then everyone sang to me, and I failed miserably to blow out my candles, before passing out cake and ice cream. Groovy. :o )
Sis and her boyfriend (hereafter known as "buddy") stayed later, and we made plans to hang out tomorrow. We are all (dad, both sis' and their families, plus us) are going to meet for breakfast in the morning. Then the boys are going to work on buddy's vehicle while sis and I head off to our local "dirt mall" (as sis calls it). Really though, it is just a "trade center" that sells reasonable items and remnant rugs. I used to work there as a teenager. I can't wait to check out the pet shops and see the varieties of creatures that they have there. There is always something interesting to look at, like hedgehogs and baby turtles.
What really has me excited is that the church that we are wanting to visit has an evening service on Sunday, and it is real close to us. DH's uncle goes to a Nazarene church near us, and has invited us over there. He says that DD would have a great time because they have good classes for the young ones, and even a children's sermon, if we wanted her to go. Now, while I am all for children staying with their parents during church, I'm also a mom who recognizes that it can be nearly impossible to be 'fed' at church if you spend the whole time fussing with kiddies. DD hasn't reached the age where she sits well yet, not even with crayons and crackers. It must be an only child syndrome or something, that she starts getting crazy as soon as she sees other kids her age. Anywho, I am so excited by the idea of being able to go to church later in the day (when we're all honestly and fully awake), in a place that is said to be very friendly. I've already read up on the church, and I shared with DH that I didn't find anything so far that would lead me to think that we would be in conflict with their doctrine. We're pretty open folks. The only thing that is much different than what we are used to is the 'rapture' thing. I've read the verses that folks use to substantiate the claim of 'rapture' belief, but I haven't honestly formed an opinion on it (not sure that I even need to). To me, it's pretty much a moot point, being that there is nothing needed or required from us for God to work His power in whatever way he wishes, including bringing people to him without their having died first. Hey, if God can make off with folks like Enoch, I don't doubt that He could do whatever He wishes with everybody else too. I'll leave that up to Him. I don't personally care either way. If God wants me to die, I'm gonna die. If God wants to talk with me and usher me directly into heaven, well, I'm right fine with that too.
Hey, since I have nothing else to do right now (I'm waiting up for DH to get back from a work call), that brings something else to mind. Speaking of rapture, some folks think that I am really weird that I don't bother a whole lot with prophecy, end times stuff, or dig too deep into Revelation. To be honest, much stuff is over my head. Some people will occupy themselves with seeing where our current society fits into God's time table, and I just honestly don't care. It isn't that I lack feeling, but that I think it is irrelevant. lol Only God knows the timing of His works, and I am fine with that. *laughs* I try to live every day as though it were the only one left that I had, and to be quite honest, it might well be. Regardless of all the things that happen in this world, there are only a small number of things that are on my priority list. First, I want to live each day in a way to pour forth my love of God. Second, I want to love those around me in the best way I am able, which includes sharing the gospel. That pretty much sums up everything.
