Things I love: clean skin!

I've been a bit of a beauty buff my whole life - being on a first name basis with my dermatologist in my teen years, I have taken steps to ensure that my skin is as healthy and radiant as humanly possible ever since.  However, there are many nights since developing RA that I really struggle to motivate myself to wash my face, so I'm always on the lookout for products that help me do the things that 'normal' people take for granted.

Firstly, I discovered Ego QV Face Cleansing Wipes.  Available from all good pharmacies, they not only cleanse the skin and remove makeup (including stubborn eye makeup!), but they also remove oil, moisturise the skin and are still gentle enough for even very sensitive skin.  I use these daily - either on their own, or prior to the Rolls Royce of all home cleansing systems...

Which brings me to my single best investment of 2013 (because despite my loudly-professed adoration for the product, nobody has made me a brand ambassador just yet - so I had to buy myself a little present!).  Drumroll, please...

Introducing the Clarisonic Mia 2 - an ultrasonic cleansing brush that cleanses your skin SIX times better than your hands - and best of all, it only takes 60 seconds!   It also prepares your skin for better absorption of creams, serums and moisturisers; which means you use less of (and get more bang for your buck from) the things I have been known to splurge on.  I know it works in allowing better penetration of  your products - because the forehead lines I have been trying to minimise for about two years have all but disappeared in the 6 months I've been using my Clarisonic.  Can't get better evidence than that (and I truly wish I had a photo I could show you to compare!)!

While I would recommend starting with daily use, it's gentle enough to use twice a day, and has made my formerly "pretty good" skin utterly flawless!  It's not cheap (definitely an investment!), but I should add I haven't had a facial or needed to use any exfoliants in the 6 months I've had my Clarisonic, and my skin is the best it's ever been.  I've changed the brush head twice (once every 3 months), but that's really the only ongoing expense aside from cleanser.

The ultrasonic vibrations are really very tame, even on days my hands are flaring.  I do find my skin can get a little sensitive around flares, so at these times I only use my Clarisonic at night and with a very gentle cleanser, and I'm sure to follow it with really gentle moisturisation - but I am so impressed with this little gadget, I praise it high and low!  It also comes in a variety of colours (pictured above is the Sea Foam, which wasn't a difficult choice for me... if you saw my house you'd understand my obsession with aqua and turquoise!) but most are limited edition, so if you see a colour you love then my advice is to snap it up!  Each cleansing brush comes with your first brush head (I think they all come with the sensitive skin brushes, but I could be wrong); as well as with a travel case, charger and cleanser sample.

If you want better skin - then trust me, this is a good investment!

Things I love: CND Vinylux

My friends have long been coming to me to ask my opinion on various bits and pieces in the beauty genre.  Hopefully not because they think me a vain, image-obsessed woman (actually, my friends are very down to earth so I doubt they'd let me get away with that kind of thing!) - but as one pointed out, "If there's a new product/gadget out to make life easier or do something better, (I will) know about it and probably already have invested in it!".  Truth be known, they're not far wrong...

So my focus product for today is CND Vinylux.  Made by the people who revolutionised nails for women worldwide with Shellac, Vinylux is applied and removed just like any other nail polish, and lasts for seven days if applied correctly.  Yes, you read that right.  SEVEN DAYS.  It's the look of a gel polish, with the flexibility of a regular polish.  

The Vinylux colour chart - oh, how I wish I had all the colours.

The colours are the same as those in the Shellac range - and the best part is it covers the spectrum remarkably well!  Sure, it's not quite as plentiful a choice as OPI (by far my favourite regular polish), but there's enough options that it keeps even fussy fussy people like me happy!  

My favourite everyday colour is Romantique, a beautiful pale pink which with 3 coats looks luxurious and opaque, and sometimes I layer Beau over the top for a little bit of shimmer.  I love Gilded Pleasure - I call it my Christmas Beetle colour and it never fails to get comments when I wear it!

This is a Christmas Beetle.  You too can have nails this gorgeous with Vinylux!

I have a wishlist about 20 colours long, but am adding slowly to my collection.  I love being able to get such long lasting results from a polish that's as easy to apply as it is to remove, and continue to distract people from my hands by having pretty, pretty nails.  

If you love nail polish as much as I do, check out Vinylux - if you're not ready to invest just yet, see if your local CND salon has Vinylux and can give you a trial run.  Believe me when I say it'll only take one application and you'll be hooked!

Home sweet home.

Amongst other things, I am very proud of the city in which I live.  It is where I grew up, have returned to following stints living elsewhere, and the place I will always call home.  Most importantly, it is where my family are, and that means that no matter what may happen, I will always come back here.

That place I speak of is a little town in northern Tasmania by the name of Launceston.

Our population is a little over 100,000 people, and we have a few claims to fame.  Launceston is one of Australia's oldest cities, was the location of the first use of anaesthetic in the Southern Hemisphere, the first Australian city to have underground sewers, and the first Australian city to be lit by hydroelectricity.  

Launceston has bred its fair share of influential people.  It is the hometown of the likes of Ricky Ponting (former Australian cricket captain), David Boon (former Australian cricketer), Daniel Geale (World Champion boxer), Peter Sculthorpe (contemporary composer), Simon Baker (actor), Rachael Taylor (actor), and Marcos Ambrose (NASCAR driver and former V8 Supercar champion).

The reason for my post is two-fold.  I adore the place I live - the issues of living in a capital city such as spending half your day in transit to or from work, simply do not exist here.  The air is clean, the people friendly, the food incredible and the cost of living reasonable.  But I'm not trying to sell the lifestyle too much - I kinda like my small city with its conveniences, and an influx of new residents would complicate these things!

No, the main reason is to encourage people to visit.  If you, like me, are a fan of Masterchef Australia, you will recall the week they spent in Tasmania in this year's series.  They showed off much of the fantastic lifestyle we enjoy down here, focusing mainly on the fresh produce and incredible food (for obvious reasons) that we enjoy.  For this reason, I am giving a few blogs a plug below if you are considering a trip to our fair isle, because once you've visited - you may find it hard to leave.

Getting here: you can fly, or you can hop on the Spirit of Tasmania (with or without a car) out of Melbourne and take a more leisurely journey.  Word from the wise, however - I highly recommend splashing out for a bed if you're doing an overnight run (heck, even if you're doing a day crossing) - the couches and deck chairs aren't all that comfortable for a 10 hour trip, and it's kind of nice to be able to stretch out and relax.  The Spirit website often has deals so keep an eye out for specials, but Virgin and Jetstar are pretty reasonable most of the time to get on and off the island.

When in Launceston: head to the Cataract Gorge for a near-surreal experience under 5 minutes walk from the CBD.  It's my little piece of paradise and allows me to escape reality for a little while.

The Cataract Gorge - beautiful, yes?

For the wine lovers, there are plenty of beautiful wineries on the Tamar Valley Wine Route (though my personal favourite for food and wine and amazing scenery is Josef Chromy Wines at Relbia - you can thank me for this recommendation later), and the beer lovers will be delighted to know that the J. Boag and Son Beer Factory has tours and tastings in the centre of town.  

Hungry?  Oh, so many places to direct you to for fabulous food.  Stillwater, Hallams Waterfront Seafood Restaurant, Black Cow Bistro, Pierre's, Novaro's, Elaia Cafe, and Fresh on Charles,  are all consistently excellent places to eat.  I can't do justice to them individually, but some of them are reviewed in the blogs at the end of this post. 

While you're here, you should also see: the Anvers Chocolate Factory, Ashgrove Cheese Factory,  Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm... all are on your way to Launceston from the Spirit terminal in Devonport.  I recommend the Tulip Festival at Table Cape if you're around in late September - early October; or Bridestowe Lavender Estate year-round for a sea of purple flowers.  The East Coast of Tasmania is home to the Freycinet Peninsula, and is just spectacular.  Mount Wellington in Hobart is almost always home to some snow, and if you're into the cultural experiences, the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is a must see.  The Salamanca Markets and Port Arthur Historic Site are also high on the bucket list for your Tassie trip.  Check out the Discover Tasmania website for more great ideas of things to do and see while you're in our gorgeous state.

Blogs that have done us justice (that I've read so far...):
Baz and Lonnie
Tara Moss does Tasmania
A Table For Two (Billy Law, 2011 Masterchef Contestant) - Part 1 & Part 2


_____________________________

The moral of the story - if you're looking for a getaway to somewhere where the air is clean, the living is easy, and the food sublime; look no further.  We'd love to have you visit Tasmania, and perhaps you'll never want to leave!

Dear Santa...

I've been very, very good.  Arthur; not so much.  That said, a question I get asked annually (and not just by one person, may I add) is "What would you like for Christmas?".  

Every.  Single.  Year.

I get it.  What do you get the person with everything - Rheumatoid Arthritis included?!  I know I'm not alone - once you start earning your own money, live in your own place and pay your own bills, there's an expectation (realistic, too!) that you will buy much of the stuff you want and or need.  I am here to tell you that yes, that may be true - but there are plenty of 'gifts' you can buy for someone with RA or pretty much any other chronic illness that will let them know that you both appreciate them and really put a lot of thought into your choice.  

While for me this is pretty much the 'perfect' gift I recognise it may not be the same for everyone - but hopefully my ideas will give you a cracking idea for something for Christmas, a birthday, or a just-because-I-care-gift!

Thanks to RA Guy (www.rheumatoidarthritisguy.com) for sharing this scarily accurate account of ChRAstmas!

Pamper me please!
While massages, mani/pedis and facials are an intensely personal thing, nothing (and let me say this loudly, nothing) comes close to vouchers for a shampoo and blow dry for me.  I have way too many days where drying, straightening and styling my hair is a herculean effort - so for special occasions, or periods where I am particularly sore and have neglected my mane, having a professional do the hard work is delightful.  Let's face it - someone else drying your hair is one of the best parts about going to the hairdresser, but since my hairdresser started using the L'Oreal Steam Pod I can get about 5 days out of a salon blow dry, and it leaves my hair nourished and feeling like I should be in a rival shampoo ad.  Amazing!  (I should add, if someone who loves me reads this and is still clueless as to what they should get me for Christmas - please go see my friend Alera at Lush Hair Seaport and buy me the retail version of the Steam Pod.  I would love you forever - though vouchers for shampoo/blow dry/Steam Pod would be pretty amazing too!)

Other gifts that you might like to consider:
The gift of normalcy
I'm not going to lie - on days when I feel like utter rubbish, the gift of normalcy would go down a treat.  Think a 'voucher' for picking your friend up for lunch (not driving is such a luxury when you feel a bit sub-par), or even just out for coffee, ice cream, or if they're up to it, a drive in the sunshine to a destination to catch up.  

The gift of assistance
We've all let our gardens get out of control, or the lawns grow to jungle-like proportions, or ignored the vacuuming/dusting/cleaning/ironing when we're not feeling our best.  Again, the services of a professional cleaning company for a quick once-over is a fabulous gift for the energy-challenged, or as a welcome home gift from a stint in hospital.  If you're willing to get your hands dirty, giving a card with this promise is also a lovely gesture - though I know my pride will often get in the way of taking a friend up on the offer. 

The gift of comfort
A girl with chronic pain can never have enough wheat packs, comfy cushions/pillows, and soft rugs/wraps.  As we speak I am propped up on half a dozen pillows in bed, with a heat pack around my neck (a long one so it doesn't fall off), one down my spine and another long one around my hips, and a throw rug over my legs.  I'm totally rocking my inner Nanna, but by goodness there's a comfort to it!  Products like this Sunbeam Heated Throw Rug, the Sunbeam Quilted Massager with Heat, and the Sunbeam Back and Neck Heat Pad have long been on my wishlist for obvious reasons!

The gift of distraction
Everyone has their 'thing'.  Mine is having brightly coloured nails (to distract people from my swollen, red and angry-looking hands.  For this reason, I always welcome the gift of a voucher for nails (think the long-lasting gel polishes that are all the rage at the moment, or the nail foils that last around a month on toes), or a fabulous new season colour that is all the rage.  I am a big fan of stalking friends' Pinterest pages for inspiration (and if you haven't signed up for Pinterest yet, be prepared to get addicted)!

The gift of healing
I have found a few bits and pieces in my time that help me to heal and strengthen my body - and this one is two-fold.  This awesome Starlight Foundation Stress Star not only helps improve and maintain my grip strength, but also supports a very worthy charity in the process.  I would also like to point out that I would know someone truly loved me if they gave me hope for a cure for Christmas, by donating to Arthritis Australia!  If your gift-ee is an all-round charitably-minded person like myself, donations to the likes of Unicef, World Vision, the Starlight Foundation, Make-A-Wish, Canteen or my personal favourite, the Inspire Foundation are all very worthy gifts for your friends, and the world!

I should add - if you have given or received a gift that has completely shifted the Earth on its axis (or perhaps just brought a very big smile to the face of the receiver) please feel free to share it in the comments below!

Long time, no see...!

Ahh, it's been a while.  Again.

Life gets busy sometimes, doesn't it?  I am often guilty of taking on too much - attempting to do too much.  I know that anyone who has RA will be able to identify with it, but I am sometimes too naive for my own good.  I have a few consecutive days where I would rate myself as 60% or better, then I get excited and do too much, which sends me spiralling back to where it all began.  It's a silly thing to do, and I know it, but it doesn't ever seem to stop me!

I spent the weekend in Brisbane, soaking up the gorgeous sunshine and an extra 10 degrees on my usual days, and celebrated a dear friend's wedding.  I have never seen her look so proud and gloriously happy, and I was there for her graduation!  I am so thrilled that such a kind, generous and loving soul has found someone who compliments her so beautifully, and I was so honoured to be able to share their special day.

The wedding was obviously a high point of my weekend, but there was one other thing that was wonderful about my weekend - I read.  Not for work, not for uni, not to learn, but for the sheer pleasure of reading.  And boy, had I missed it!  I spend so much time reading protocols, guidelines, textbooks, journal articles and other studious media that I had quite honestly forgotten how wonderful it is to immerse yourself completely in a book.  I deliberately took a book with me that I knew would be light and enjoyable - "The Younger Man" by the lovely Zoe Foster - and after devouring it in a few hours, had to find something for the plane home.  I was pleased to find a book that I had seen a review for and hadn't yet had a chance to track down - "Band-Aid for a Broken Leg - Being a Doctor With No Borders (and other ways to stay single)" by Damien Brown.  

I am halfway through and if not for having to go to work, I'd have stayed in bed this morning (under my doona) and finished it off.  Check out the many, many positive reviews and track down a copy of the book if you can - it's a fascinating insight into Medecins Sans Frontieres and the marvellous work they do, not to mention the mental toughness of the people who do the work.

On that note, a big weekend (including wearing heels and walking about 20km) means I am utterly exhausted and ready for sleep.  Bring on next weekend, and my first opportunity to sleep in!

This time tomorrow...

... I'll have my paws up.  Yes, they're slightly crippled and swollen paws, but they have neon pink nail polish on their nails to pretty them up.

Saturday night I and a few thousand others will be celebrating our uniqueness in the presence of the lady who inspired so many to embrace self-acceptance, Lady Gaga.

There's not much to say about her that people don't already know - she can be wacky, weird and wonderful all at once, and her hair and costumes divide the world in two.  

But when all is said and done, she makes great music, has a voice that is unique and incredible all at once, and she does all this while living under the cloud that her SLE might become a big part of her life at any time.  As anyone with an autoimmune disease will attest - the thought of even rolling over in bed can be too much some days... let alone a concert tour of 110 shows, spanning five continents.  I'm exhausted thinking about it. 

On that note... this is one of my favourite Gaga tracks.  Here she is performing for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance.  I hope I am as mesmerised by her in person tomorrow night as I was by this performance!

Thirty things about approaching thirty...

My thirtieth birthday is rapidly approaching – and despite plentiful reassurance from friends who have surpassed this auspicious milestone, I can’t help but fluctuate between being completely at ease with (and just a little bit excited about) it, and the opposite end of the spectrum, being completely and utterly terrified about what is about to happen to me mentally and physically!

 

I hear this little voice in my head that says (ok, screams) “What on earth is your problem, woman?  You’ve already tackled life while feeling like a ninety year-old, so how hard can thirty be?  Really?!”.  That little voice has a very valid point – thirty isn’t that big a deal when your body ages at an accelerated rate compared to the rest of you.  And I have the advantage of not really looking my age – courtesy of some stellar genetics from my mummy dearest, and a Staph infection when I was sixteen that all but peeled all the skin off my face.  Sounds revolting – and trust me, it was! – but it’s meant that my skin is relatively new compared to the rest of me, and it’s forced me to take really, really good care of it, resulting in an almost flawless complexion that doesn’t look thirty (and neither it should, given it’s only 14 years old!). 

Some friends and I were talking about what thirty meant over dinner a few weeks ago.  The thing that we universally agreed on was that none of us – not those of us with incredible careers, or married, or with families, or well-travelled – had achieved all our twenty year-old selves had hoped we would by thirty.  My twenty year-old self had pretty lofty expectations for thirty year-old me.  I had imagined myself working as a pharmacist (tick) in a hospital (tick), married (buh-bow) and contemplating starting a family (buh-bow).  I had hoped I would have seen the world (buh-bow).  I thought I would be paying off my own home (buh-bow), having already paid off my HECS debt (buh-bow), and contemplating some post-grad study (well, I’ve already started – so I guess that’s a tick).  My expectations of myself didn’t change, even though I was diagnosed with RA at 21, I assumed (naively) that it would make absolutely no difference to my life plan.  While I don't blame it for any of the crosses against my twenty year-old self's plans, when it comes to what I thought my life would look like by now - oh, how wrong I was!

In searching for other people’s expectations of themselves at thirty, I found this list that was originally published a few years ago.  The completely hilarious Em Rusciano (follow her on Twitter @emrusciano) wrote a post about it on Mamamia a couple of months ago. 

By 30, you should have:

1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come.
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.
4. A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying.
5. A youth you’re content to move beyond.
6. A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.
7. The realisation that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money set aside to help fund it.
8. An e-mail address, a voice mailbox and a bank account—all of which nobody has access to but you.
9. A résumé that is not even the slightest bit padded.
10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.
11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.
12. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.
13. The belief that you deserve it.
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

By 30, you should know:

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.
2. How you feel about having kids.
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.
4. When to try harder and when to walk away.
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.
6. The names of: the Governor General, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.
7. How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.
8. How to take control of your own birthday.
9. That you can’t change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.
11. What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love.
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.
13. Who you can trust, who you can’t and why you shouldn’t take it personally.
14. Not to apologise for something that isn’t your fault.
15. Why they say life begins at 30.

For the most part, I think I have the list under control.  Granted there are areas of my life that I have prioritised more than others in recent times, and as such things like ‘A solid start on a satisfying relationship’ have been abandoned due to lack of interest - hey, I live in the small town where I grew up, pickings are slim!  But that said, given I now have six weeks until I depart my twenties, perhaps I should be getting my act together and ticking a few more things off my list...!

 

So, you come here often?

If my bed could talk, this is the line it'd use.  

I'm camped out again, propped up in bed with my laptop and TV remote control.  The brain fog is thick, the pain is limiting me to about 5 words of typing at a time, and I'm that awful mix of exhausted-from-lack-of-sleep/wired-from-corticosteroids.  I would kill for Thai takeaway and a serve of Cold Rock Choc-Hazlenut Icecream with Hot Chocolate Fudge and Ferrero Rocher mashed into it, but they're 10km and 200km away respectively, and given my feet are numb and I've taken what seems like my body weight in pain killers, probably not a good time for a road trip.

On a more positive note (I'm trying to spin it), I am getting to watch some pretty interesting daytime TV at the moment.  I caught a bit of Dr Oz yesterday, who was talking about superfoods for your skin.  Now, my skin is pretty fabulous - a girl's gotta have a win every now and again - but I was still intrigued by the assertion that capers have anti-inflammatory properties. 

Capers are really low in calories (23 calories per 100g), and very high in quercetin and rutin, which are both flavonoids and powerful anti-oxidants.  Quercetin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties; while rutin strengthens capillaries and inhibits platelet formation in blood vessels. Rutin has found application in some in trial treatments for hemorrhoids, varicose veins and in bleeding conditions such as hemophilia. It also found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.  Capers contain healthy levels of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin K, niacin and riboflavin, as well as minerals such as calcium, iron and copper are present in them.

So... given I quite like capers, I now have no excuse to not partake in sandwiches of smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers... good for my tastebuds, and apparently also very good for my RA!

Sites I love: Creative photography at its best!

This link appeared in my Facebook feed today, and I couldn't not share it.  

Jason Lee is a wedding photographer, who started taking photos of his two daughters back in 2006 when his mother was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The girls were constantly sick, with colds and coughs so he couldn’t always bring them to visit their grandmother. Jason wanted her to be able to see her granddaughters without catching their kid germs so he started a blog where his mum could see what was going on in their lives.

Most of the ideas come from his daughters – eight-year-old Kristin and five-year-old Kayla. Jason says that they are never-ending sources of ideas.

What a creative portfolio - and what gorgeous little girls!  Every photo is filled with such joy, I needed something to put a smile on my face and these did the trick!