Self Care and Finding Balances..

Somehow on the weekend I just want to be a couch potato and do nothing because I'm mentally exhausted from busy working week.  It's nice to be a homebody and hangout with my pups and order some delivery food and do nothing at all and enjoy some much needed rest.  

It's been quite a few weeks of me back at work and I've made really good progress but it's the same old issue of finding work life balance which somehow is so hard for me.  Either I have the time or energy to work or take care of myself but I don't seem to do both well enough at the same time. 

Every weekend I write up an assessment on what I did well and what I didn't do well and try to find some balance on area that's lacking and adjust my plan accordingly.

Things I've done really well the past couple weeks are things like skin care, work, and taking care of Kelly and getting her to all the vet appointments, and things that got set to the back burner are exercise and house keeping, which I intend to improve in the coming week!

My Evening Skin Care Routine

I've been sticking to a super simple skin care routine for the past few weeks and it's done wonders for my skin.  First of all, because it's so easy and quick, I didn't have to put in a whole lot of effort and that made it very easy to follow through.  Every night after washing my face, I use the Dennis Gross led mask for a few minutes.  It's suppose to help with reducing wrinkles and acne and I find it quite relaxing.  After three minutes on the mask, I apply castor oil on my face as well as massage the eye area.  I've heard that castor oil does wonders for eye brow and eye lashes.  Mainly I find that when I use castor oil with my retinol cream, I don't get any flaky dry skin the next day.  It seems to moisturize my skin very well and if I have extra time, I mix one part castor oil with two part jojoba oil and massage my hair, scalp as well, and it always help me get a better night sleep.  After I apply the castor oil to my face, I follow with a tiny bit of retinol and call it a night.

My morning routine is a bit more involved.  I like to drink a glass of warm water first thing when I wake up and then jump in the shower.  Once my face is clean I like to use the Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Daily Peel.  They come in individual packaging and don't feel too abrasive on the skin.  I then follow with a sheet mask for 15 minutes.  I have a stash of cheap Korean face mask that I picked up from HomeGoods and they are so amazing.  My favorite brand is called Esfolio, they can be purchased online but I find random boxes of masks when I go to HomeGoods and they mostly cost less than $8 for a whole box of sheet masks.  My skin feels so amazing after 15 minutes and I can get other things done like making a cup of coffee or fix some breakfast for the pups while I wait for the mask to be done.  And then a bit of Vitamin C serum, moisture and sun screen, and I'm all ready for the day. 

I even keep a box of these masks in my office, when the days get particularly dry I would close the door and put on a mask and relax a bit while I work!  It's hilarious and I haven't scared my coworkers yet!

Another simple and affordable way I do to improve my skin health is keeping proper moisture in the room.  I keep a humidifier in the bedroom as well as my office.  It's a very small thing but such a huge life saver.  As it turned out, improving one's health takes time and effort but I'm pretty proud of myself for slowly making improvements and taking good care of ME.