Belated Thanksgiving, minor crises, etc.

So. Back from falling off the face of the earth. We had a very...interesting couple of weeks at our house.

On the day before Thanksgiving, Mom and I took my dad to therapy, as usual. Dad seemed normal, nothing out of the ordinary. We had just arrived at the rehab center and were helping Dad out of the car when he said that he was having chest pain. He described it as a squeezing pain to the left of his sternum. My first thought was "heart attack." I was worried about the possibility of cardiac problems, but the thing that concerned me most was a blood clot, since Dad has a history of clotting and when he was in inpatient rehab, he almost died from a massive pulmonary embolism.

Dad's speech therapist immediately called and had Dad's doctor paged. He told us to go to the ER right away. Once they got Dad back in a room, they did an EKG to check for heart problems. That test came back fine, so they took him to have a CT scan. It turns out that he did have a very tiny blood clot in his left lung, and that was what was causing him pain. The ER doctor said that it was very small, and that it would eventually dissolve and cause no further problems.

The scan also discovered some stones and a mass near the neck of his gallbladder. We were very concerned when they told us that the mass was a possible malignancy. Dad was admitted to the hospital to monitor him for any more clots and to further investigate the stones and mass in his gallbladder.

I felt especially bad because Dad's mother and sister were flying in from New Jersey for the holiday, and I was supposed to go pick them up at the airport. Obviously I was not able to leave the hospital, so they had to take a cab from the airport.

Dad stayed in the hospital until Saturday. Other than some gallbladder-related nausea and sickness, he did fine. The doctors ordered more imaging studies to further study his gallbladder, and we were relieved and very thankful to find out that the mass was not a malignancy but just some backed-up sludge.

Needless to say, we did not have our Turkey Dinner. Things got even more interesting on Thursday night. My grandmother, my aunt and I left the hospital around 9:00. I drove home and we all settled down for bed. My aunt came and woke me up around midnight and told me that my grandmother was experiencing symptoms of a gastrointestinal bleed. We immediately headed back to the ER. Nana was admitted later that night (or early that morning, rather). She ended up in a room just down the hall from Dad. The hospital was getting a 2-for-1 deal on our family.

The doctors got Nana stabilized and determined what was causing her symptoms. She stayed in the hospital until Sunday so that the doctors could monitor her hemoglobin. Before she came home, she received 2 transfusions of blood.

On Monday, after we all got semi-settled down, we cooked our turkey and ate the once-a-year Big Dinner. We had a lot to be thankful for.

Nana stayed a few extra days to have a consultation with a gastroenterologist and undergo some further tests. Thankfully, results came back just fine and she was able to come home. The doctor that did the tests said that it was extremely rare for someone to have a repeat episode of this type of GI bleed, so that was good to hear.

Dad saw his doctor last week, and he told Dad that his gallbladder had to be removed because it was diseased and they wanted to take it out before he had a more acute, severe attack. The fact that Dad had another blood clot made surgery less than desirable, so his doctor arranged a consultation with both a hematologist and a general surgeon. He sees the hematologist this week. They want to test him to see if he has some sort of inherited or acquired disorder that causes his blood to clot more readily than normal. Then he goes to see the surgeon to discuss the gallbladder removal.

Dad's case is pretty complicated. If he does have a clotting disorder, the only treatment would be anticoagulant therapy (blood thinners). It's a Catch-22 because Dad had a bleeding stroke, so anything that thins his blood puts him at risk for another (and probably fatal) stroke. We had to deal with this same situation when Dad was in rehab and had the saddle embolism. He has to weigh the risks of anticoagulant therapy versus the risk of damage from another blood clot. It's a tough decision to make.

We're hanging in there with him and praying that everything turns out okay!

Em's Place- a review

Here is an informal review of my experience with Em's Place, Inc. The owner, Emily, sells men's wet shaving supplies and also formulates natural glycerin shaving soaps, toners, and other skincare products. I am not affiliated in any way with Em's Place; I just wanted to share my experience with the company and products.

As most of you know, my dad suffered two hemorrhagic strokes last year. As a consequence, he is unable to perform most grooming and personal hygiene tasks. Mom and I help him with teeth brushing, etc., and we also shave him. We wouldn't want him to attempt it himself for obvious safety reasons. Most days, we use a Braun electric razor. My father happens to have a really heavy beard, so while the Braun does an okay job of keeping his whiskers in check, there is still no substitute for a good old shave with a safety razor. I give my dad a "real" shave, as we call it, usually once a week on Sunday to clear away the week's growth and give him a fresh start for Monday.

I had been using regular canned shaving gel, but it seemed to dry out Dad's skin. Also I wasn't wild about the fact that it comes in aerosol cans. Last Father's Day, I decided to give Dad some wet shaving supplies, and after some Googling, I happened upon Em's Place. I have been extremely pleased with my experience with this company. The customer service is top-notch, the products are of excellent quality, and shipping was fast.

The selection and variety of implements may seem overwhelming at first, but Emily has provided a number of articles and videos to demystify the process and help you choose exactly what you need. I found these articles to be especially helpful. I finally settled on a boar bristle shaving brush with a matching stand, a porcelain apothecary mug for holding soap, 3 glycerin shaving rounds, and a small bottle of witch hazel toner. Shipping was fast and the items arrived securely packaged.

The shaving brush and stand are sturdy yet compact enough not to take up too much counter space. The mug is the perfect size to hold the glycerin shaving rounds, and it has a handle to grip while you whip up some lather with your brush. Understandably, the handle can be a bit slippery when wet or sudsy, but this is easily remedied by wiping it off with a towel.

I was very impressed with the quality of the glycerin rounds. They are handmade and contain natural ingredients and essential oils, and they smell amazingly good! I got 1 Bay Rum, 1 Minty Menthol, and 1 Woodstock. Bay Rum is a classic, masculine scent. Dad likes Bay Rum cologne too, so he really enjoys this soap. Minty Menthol is a nice balance of peppermint and spearmint. It contains menthol as well. It has a wonderful icy-cool, wintery fragrance. Woodstock has a very strong patchouli scent with a hint of sandalwood and spices. You can read descriptions of these and other fragrances on the Men's Toiletries page.

So far, we are still using the first bar I opened, the Bay Rum, because I only shave Dad once a week or so. These bars are very long-lasting. The soap is also very good for Dad's skin. It leaves it clean, soft, and does not irritate. Before his stroke, Dad was pretty rough on his skin. He used Dawn dish detergent to wash his face and hair! Em's Place soaps have really helped improve the condition of his skin. After shaving, his face is much smoother and SO soft! The first time I used the soap and toner on Dad, my mom could not believe how good his skin felt. Using the brush, I can whip up a nice thick lather that provides excellent cushion, lubrication, and razor glide as well as protection against nicks and cuts. I have noticed a lot fewer nicks when using the glycerin soap than when using canned gel. In my opinion, these soaps provide a closer shave than any gel I've used. The soaps soften the beard too. The soap is pretty highly fragranced, but not to an unpleasant degree. Some scent does linger for a while after the shave, but it is not as strong as most colognes I've smelled.

Dad is a big fan of witch hazel extract (the kind with alcohol), so I knew he would love the toner. It does a great job of removing any leftover soap and helps to further soften his skin. It doesn't have alcohol or harsh ingredients, which is key. It also smells nice: a strong witch hael scent with earthy undertones.

In summation, I would say that Em's Place is a top-notch place to shop. The customer service is friendly and helpful, the products are high quality and reasonably priced, and the shipping was fast. I sent an email to customer service to let them know how pleased I was with my order, and Emily herself sent me back a really sweet reply.

The products I purchased help add a little luxury and pampering to Dad's routine, which is a very, very good thing. He enjoys the whole experience: the scent of the warm lather, the resulting smooth shave, and just being pampered. I highly recommend checking out Em's Place if you are looking for a gift for a hard-to-buy-for guy in your life. :)

Turquoise FOTD

I have a massive, massive pile of housecleaning to conquer, so I wanted vibrant and fun makeup to contrast with the drudgery. Turquoise seemed bright and cheerful and non-houseworkish, so that's what I went with. Oh yeah, I also had hot chocolate with breakfast. It was awesome.

Colors I used:

• Aqua Nightmare: "Technicolor bright aqua pearl sheen with divinely bright aqua sparks."

• shadowplay: "Teal green iridescent glitz fades to the blackest black."

• Sylph: "Add a touch of shimmering tiara glamour to any shade to add sparkly and shine... brilliant sparkling jewels in a white plush matte base."

Descriptions are from Aromaleigh's website.

All products are Aromaleigh unless otherwise noted.

Face:

• Porcelaine oil-control powder in light-medium
• Glissade blend: 1/3 X, 1/3 00, 1/3 1YL
• Cream concealer in light-beige under eyes
• Seabright Gothic Lolita finishing powder

Cheeks:

• Pure Blush in Mauve

Eyes:

• AL eyeshadow primer
• Aqua Nightmare (Gothic Lolita) on lid
• shadowplay (rocks!) in crease/outer V
• Sylph (En Pointe) to highlight
• Black Out gel liner on upper lashline and slightly winged out
• Rimmel The Max volume flash mascara
• Stay-Put eyebrow pencil in Brunette to fill in brows
  

Lips:

• Must-Have Mocha lip balm
• Sweet Tart Gothic Lolita nourishing color creme (Love! <3)
  

Please excuse the flaky-looking eyeliner. I think my jar of Black Out is on its last legs. :(























Is it sparkly enough to see me through a day of scrubbing and laundry? We shall see. A little glitter never hurt anybody. ;)

Fake Nails

I was in Walgreens yesterday, waiting on a prescription, and to kill some time, I browsed the makeup department for a while. Dangerous, I know. I came across this set of nails by Broadway Nails, and I knew I had to have them. They are short and square-tipped, and I love the little skull and crossbones design on the black background. Some of the skulls have little rhinestones on their right eyes. I love the way they look on my fingers.

Besides loving the design, I had another motive for purchasing these nails. For some unknown reason, a couple of weeks ago, my natural nails just sort of...well, disintegrated, for lack of a better word. One day they started flaking off in layers, and I had to cut them all the way down because they were breaking and peeling left and right. I blame it on stress, lack of sleep, poor eating (not eating enough and not eating healthy food), not taking my vitamins, and constant exposure to water, cleaning liquids, soap, etc. I've been giving my nails lots of TLC and being very careful with them during the past 2 weeks, but they don't seem to be growing back very fast or very strong. I decided to try fake nails so I could go around without sore fingertips while waiting for my real nails to recover. Since these remove easily with acetone (supposedly- we shall see), I thought the falsies might give my nails some support, hopefully without damage.

Given that this was my first experience wearing fake nails, I must say that it was easier than I expected to apply them, and the nails fit a lot better than I thought they would. I found this post by Scrangie to be very helpful as a first-timer's guide to applying fake nails. They felt really strange at first, like I couldn't use my fingertips correctly. I've gotten used to them by tonight, and I actually like them. I can open Coke cans again! I was concerned that they wouldn't be short enough for me to take out my contacts without poking myself in the eye, but so far, they've done okay. I had to use my index and middle fingers (instead of my thumb and index, as usual) to remove my contacts, but it worked fine.

I didn't take a picture of the package til I had applied the nails. Duh.
























I love the skulls!





























Wow, my hand looks really pudgy from this angle.




















I also bought 2 Sinful Colors nail polishes: #319 What's Your Name (a dark base with teal shimmers) and #932 Call You Later (clear base with densely packed olive green glitter).

















Vintage Bradbury optional. :)

The Spice Must Flow...

The lovely Madeleine Bouquet of A Bouquet of Beauty is holding a contest. This is my entry for Part 2- the makeup challenge. The challenge is to come up with a sci-fi themed makeup look. Being the avowed nerd that I am, I think this is awesome!

For my sci-fi look, I chose to do an interpretation of Alia Atreides from Frank Herbert's Dune. The sister of Paul Muad'Dib Atreides, and also known as St. Alia of the Knife, she is one of my favorite characters in the entire Dune saga. Her constant struggle against Abomination and her rise to power as a religious icon are only part of her story. Plus, she gets to marry Hayt, AKA Duncan Idaho v2.0. In case you didn't know, I'm madly in love with Duncan Idaho.

I drew a great deal of inspiration from this photoset from imdb.com, this gorgeous image, and other works of art I found while wandering around various Dune websites. I also used my imagination to loosely interpret Herbert's descriptions of her.

The look centered around the eyes. I wanted them natural and very contoured, so I used a variety of matte shades to sculpt until I got the look I was after. Cheeks were slightly bronzed, and lips were a soft peach. Many of the products I used actually have Dune-related names, so yes, I am an extra-super-huge dork. :)

Products are Aromaleigh unless otherwise noted.

Face:

• Porcelaine oil-control powder in light-medium
• Glissade blend: 1/3 X, 1/3 00, 1/3 1YL
• Ultra Resolution finishing powder in Peaches & Cream
• Cream concealer in light-beige under eyes

Cheeks:

• Pure Blush in Spice
• Pure Bronze in Light to highlight tops of cheekbones
• Wheat (DC'd Pure Eyes Matte) to contour in hollows of cheeks

Eyes:

• AL eyeshadow primer from lashlines to brows
• Dune (Carolina Summer) on lid
• Latte (Pure Eyes Matte) in crease and blended up towards brows
• Umber (PE Matte) to darken and accentuate crease, outer V area
• Latte again to blend out upper edge of Umber
• Flaxen (PE Matte) from end of Latte to brows
• Oyster (Carolina Summer) in a very thin line to highlight browbone
• Umber lined & smudged on upper & lower lashlines
• Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal eyeliner in #011 Sable Brown to tightline upper/lower lashlines
• Rimmel The Max volume flash mascara in Extreme Black (I think? Can't remember the exact name of the shade.)
  

Lips:

• L'Oréal Colour Riche lipstick in Fairest Nude
• Rimmel Exaggerate lipliner in Natural
• Allure Perle powder dabbed on center of lower lip.

Eyes open:










Eyes closed:









Half-a-face:


















And I didn't have a cool diadem-like thingie like in this photo, so I was an idiot and put a necklace on my head as a poor substitute:

























Childishness w/Paint:













Bwahahaha.

That's it. Thanks for looking. :)

Pacquiao/Cotto

Forgot to publish this one. Duh.

Discombobulated thoughts on last night's main event. No comment on the undercards for now.

In no particular order:

1. Manny has nothing left to prove. His detractors can no longer cite the DLH and Hatton matchups as examples of cherry-picking. Manny fought a high-class, talented, smart, and hard-hitting welterweight, he came out on top, and he made it look easy.

2. I would be amiss if I did not give Cotto the respect he deserves. He's great is his own right. I think many people saw this as his chance to make a comeback after the Margarito hand wrap debacle. Cotto was the bigger and supposedly stronger fighter, but once again, Pacquiao's speed was too much for him. I'm anxious to see what Cotto does next.

3. Cotto showed tremendous class, fierce determination, and a huge heart. He handled the loss with grace, giving Pacquiao his due. He gave the fight his all, even after it became obvious in the later rounds that his was a lost cause. Even Manny acknowledged it was not an easy fight.

4. Manny Pacquiao has cemented his place in boxing history as a legend, and what's more, he's a phenomenon with the skills to back up his reputation. He proved that he has the speed, power, and smarts to beat the best of them. What's more, he showed us that he also has a solid chin. Some critics said that Pacquiao had heretofore not demonstrated any ability to take hits, especially from a heavy-handed opponent. Manny proved them wrong by absorbing a fair number of Cotto's blows, especially in the first, second, and front half of the third rounds. Cotto hits hard; many thought that, being the bigger man, he would be the more powerful puncher. Manny proved that he was able to withstand whatever Cotto dished out and still emerge strong.

5. As Emanuel Steward said, "[Manny Pacquiao] is a machine!" His conditioning and stamina saw him through the later rounds. He punches extremely hard for his size. He was (and has been since the start of his career) able to move up in weight class like it didn't even matter. He also handled his win with humility and showed respect for Cotto by acknowledging his strength.

6. One of Pacquiao's biggest advantages is his ability to make use of weird angles. He is able to deliver punches that Cotto never even saw coming. He threw some right hands from positions that looked to me like they should have severely compromised his balance, but even so, he managed to make these shots count.

7. Pacquiao was very cagey about a possible matchup with Mayweather. He said he would leave it up to his promoters. Freddie Roach unashamedly said, "I want Mayweather!", so there is obviously interest from Pacquaio's camp.

8. Roach and Pacquiao's entourage did pretty much all of the trash-talking for this match. Manny unleashed his skills in the ring to prove them right (aside from Roach's joking prediction of a first-round KO).

9. The knockdowns: they speak for themselves. Cotto was the bigger man. Enough said.

10. The twelfth round stoppage by Kenny Bayless seemed to be awkwardly timed. Before rounds ten, eleven, and twelve, Cotto's corner kept asking him if he had "one more, just one more" left in him. Cotto's father was in favor of stopping the bout, and his wife even left the arena after the ninth round, taking their son with her. Supposedly she couldn't bear to watch Cotto sustain any more severe punishment, and did not want her son to witness it either. The ring doctor okayed continuation after the eleventh round, and Cotto went on basically just to prove a point. Stoppage came a little late, in my opinion. The referee's job sometimes comes down to protecting the fighter from himself, which Bayless did, but I think he let Miguel prove his point for just a little too long. That's always such a tough call, though, so I can't really fault Bayless.

11. Major props to Freddie Roach. Once again, he's proven himself to be an excellent trainer. The Pacquiao/Roach partnership has been mutually beneficial and is one of the reasons for Pacquiao's success. Roach took Pac's raw talent, intelligence, and rampant work ethic and sculpted them into a champion. Questions were raised about the relative youth and inexperience of Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago, especially about his right and ability to call a halt to the fight is necessary, but I'm not sure if Cotto's choice of trainer had much of an effect on the fight's outcome at all.

Angulo/Yorgey, Dawson/Johnson

Here are my belated thoughts on last weekend's bouts and my speculations on the upcoming Pacquiao/Cotto matchup on 11/14.

Angulo/Yorgey

Going into this bout, I expected Angulo to dismantle Yorgey, and I was right. I've been impressed with Angulo ever since I saw him in the ring against Cintron in May. Although that was Angulo's first professional loss, I liked what I saw and recognized him as an up-and-coming, hungry young fighter.

Yorgey looked like he was in great shape, but he was no match for Angulo's speed and superior technique. Yorgey wasn't too shabby on his feet, but his performance still looked a little rough around the edges. Angulo kept him on the ropes, and that proved to be, quite literally, his downfall. Angulo looked sharp and precise, stalking Yorgey, controlling the distance, and turning him repeatedly.

The bout culminated in a spectacular KO at 1:03 of the third. Yorgey had already sustained 1 knockdown in round 2 and another earlier in round 3, and he sustained heavy punishment before Angulo's devastating left/right put an end to the fight. I could see Yorgey's lights go out after Angulo's left. He was gone before he even hit the canvas.

Yorgey has a hell of a lot of heart, and he's a good fighter in his own right; he was just outclassed by Angulo. I look forward to seeing what "El Perro" does next.

Dawson/Johnson

This bout was another matter of being outclassed. I was seeing shades of Pacquiao/DLH but to a lesser extreme. While Johnson, 40, looked great for his age, this same age became his disadvantage. He looked sluggish against Dawson, who was able dictate the pace and distance from the beginning. I'm not a huge Dawson fan; he's good but overhyped IMO, but I did think he turned in a nice performance against Johnson.

Pacquiao/Cotto: 11/14.

GET EXCITED.

My money is on Pacman. I do think Cotto looks good, and I am not discounting his skill, but Manny is a phenomenon for a reason: he can deliver. I've always said he was a madman ever since I saw him back in the early 2000s when he was still relatively unknown to the mainstream. I do think that this matchup will require more effort from Pacquiao than his last two fights. The fact that he plowed through both an aging DLH (who never should have taken on Pacman) and a drained Ricky Hatton does not mean that Pacquiao had an easy time defeating either one. Neither opponent was an easy mark. Cotto will be the toughest opponent Pacquiao has seen in a long while, but I believe that Pac's speed, power, and sheer determination will see him through. If Manny Pacquiao is anything, he is a hard worker. He completely invests himself in his chosen profession. He's in his physical prime, his style is wily and dangerous, he trains hard, and he has Freddie Roach in his corner. If that isn't a winning formula, then I don't know what is.