First things first! Last week I posted a “cry for help” with my rosacea. That same day, I ordered this product from Amazon:
This woman looks even worse than me! At least I don’t have it on my FOREHEAD. (Or, maybe that’s what I have to look forward to…) Anyway, I picked this particular product because it contains sulphur. Some people mentioned there’s a prescription face wash for rosacea that contains sulphur, and it really helps- but from what I understand, you will smell like sulphur.
I cannot smell weird with the job I have. But this product has a much smaller amount of sulphur, and the reviews were positive so I decided to try it.
IT WORKS. My face looks so much better! I mean- it’s not perfect (that’s okay- I gave up on perfect long ago.) But it got me out of the category where people feel the need to ask me what’s wrong, so I’m really happy (and- it does not have an odor.) Noemi also did a post about rosacea, and she recommended another cream that I’m going to try as well. One thing I’ve found is that something will work for a while but then stop working, so I’m going to try rotating different things.
Let’s move on! I actually read TWO books during November, which is huge for me during NaBloPoMo. The first was The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and the second was Tied up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh.
I enjoyed Tied up in Tinsel so much that I’m reading another book by Ngaio Marsh, one that I picked up a couple months ago at the used bookstore.
I’m REALLY enjoying this one! It was written in 1958, and the premise is, a murderer is on board a ship sailing from England to South Africa. It’s a cargo ship, with accommodations for nine passengers, and one of those nine is the culprit (the way this is set up is just barely plausible.) Inspector Roderick Alleyn, Marsh’s series detective, is on board to find the guilty one.
I love mysteries with a closed circle (where everyone is snowed in, on a train, or contained somehow or other.) Ngaio Marsh is sometimes compared to Agatha Christie. I would say Marsh’s characters are more fleshed out and the writing is better in general- but no one can write an ending like Christie. Marsh does a respectable job though.
When I finish this book, I’ll be at 50 for the year! I’ve set this goal over and over again and always fall short, because I usually don’t read any books during NaBloPoMo. This year, I front loaded my reading in the first three quarters, and managed to read two books in November. I also should mention that four of the books I read were LONG- around 1000 pages (the three books of Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy, and Stephen King’s 11/22/63. I imagine I’ll read a couple more books in December when I finish the Marsh- so overall I’m very happy with this year of reading!
Eating…. ugh. I’m in eating jail until I recover from Thanksgiving. I ate way too much bread, sugar (even though I tried to avoid it- it crept into things like salad dressing and rolls) and rich foods in general. My stomach let me know that it is NOT HAPPY. Here’s how my dinners are going to look this week:
Do you set a reading goal for the year?
Do you need to recover from Thanksgiving?
28 Responses
I do need to recover from Thanksgiving, too. The food was too much and I did not manage to move as much being stuck in the car on the road trip and my back is not happy after being almost better – even though you walk a surprising amount in Vegas.
I don’t have a reading goal but I did start with a book club this year what is really fun – so there are more books in my life again what makes me happy.
Yes, that’s a hard combination- lots of food and not enough movement. Car trips can be very hard on backs! i hope yours feels better soon.
“Eating jail” made me laugh. My Husband is a little grumpy because we are going on a big trip soon, but he was hoping to lose some weight so that the 12+ hours in an airplane would not be so awful. Oh well. We will eat lots of vegetables from now until departure and see what that does for us….
I always have a vague goat of 50 books a year because that’s about one book a week. I haven’t looked yet, but I do think I’m there already even though I only read two books in November. I’m hoping to get lots of reading done while on our trip, though…
Hoping to lose weight in November-December is tough. Good luck to your husband! And… it sounds like our reading goals are similar. You’re a little ahead of me, but we’ll both finish over 50 books. Yay us!
Nice job on the 50 books! I never set a reading goal but I think I should start.
My problem is that 1). I try to stick to non-fiction books and these can sometimes be slow and 2). my husband likes to watch TV in the evening and I usually join him. Or maybe it’s the other way around?
In any case, a book goal would help!
I’m pretty sure I would fail if my goal was to read 50 NON FICTION books in a year. I read mostly fiction. And- watching TV is something you and your husband can do together, whereas reading is pretty solitary. So, I get it!
Well done on the reading – I don’t set a goal although I am trying to get through the older reaches of my TBR, and I have far too many of those to read to hit my end-of-December target. And good news about the cream, and yay, you don’t smell of sulphur! I wonder if the incidence is lower in Iceland, where the water is sulphorous.
Ooh! That would be interesting to look into.
I’ll bet you read way more than 50 books this year, and you’re just trying not to make me feel bad by mentioning it : )
Oh, I’m glad you’ve found something that helps the rosacea! That’s great news.
I don’t set a reading goal exactly, but I usually read 2-3 books a week, depending on the book and on the week. Right now I have so many library books, they all came in at once!
Yes, you have your own reading challenge for the next couple weeks with all those library books. Good luck with it!
I’m glad the cream is working well for you, and that it doesn’t smell! When I was a teen and had acne, I once used a product that had sulfur in it and it smelled horrible, but I think it was pretty effective.
I didn’t really feel bad at all from my eating habits over Thanksgiving, but I did need to go to the grocery store to restock on produce and other food when I got back from my parents because my food options at home were pretty dire after a couple weeks of not getting groceries!
I think if I worked from home, I would be willing to use a product that smelled of sulphur if it was really effective. As it is, I just can’t..
You must have eaten pretty well over the holiday! Maybe next year I can achieve that.
Nice work on hitting your reading goal, especially with reading several really long longs!! Those long ones are like 2-3 books! I set a goal in good reads but it’s pretty low for me, I think 60 or 80? I don’t want to push myself to read a certain number that is a challenge because then I will gamify reading and pick short books or something like that! Right now I’m at 91 for the year. There’s no way I will hit 100 and that is ok. There were a couple of years when I read over 100, like when I was nursing Will and was up during the night so much! I would rather be sleeping than reading at that time so I am happy with how many books I’ve read!
Since we didn’t host we don’t have lots of leftovers to eat so that has helped on the eating front but I have had so much dessert between the 3 mini crust less pies my mom made me, the cookie cake, and the birthday cake my MIL got for Will’s birthday.
HOW IN THE WORLD do you read so many books???? You have a demanding job and two little kids!!! Sheesh. You must be a fast reader.
I am so glad that the cream that you got helps! Your mention of the sulphur is probably something I would not have even thought of but yeah, I guess you don’t want people to think that you are gassy! 🙂 I read a lot less in November for sure, but had one that I really enjoyed, The Mountains Sing. I am going to DNF a lot of my currently reading list soon, and am looking forward to a fresh start for reading!
Yeah, I definitely can’t have strange smells while I’m giving people a massage! I’ve seen you mention that book a couple times… I’m intrigued! It must be really good.
Your plate looks delicious! And congrats on meeting your reading goal, Jenny!
I don’t have an annual reading goal… I’ve always been leery of setting one (I’ve never really examined why). As long as I’m reading something for my pleasure (not work) every day, I count myself happy.
Yes! I have to recover from Thanksgiving! We have two birthdays in October, so I’ve felt a bit off-balance foodwise for a while now…
I’m not really sure why I DO set a reading goal. There’s no real reason to, but I guess I somehow find it fun.
We have two birthdays in December, UGH!!! It’s like all the festivities occur within 90 days, and then there’s hardly anything for the rest of the year.
I don’t set numerical goals for my reading, but I am always trying to finish lists and challenges. Right now I’m trying to finish the Pop Sugar 2024 Reading Challenge and complete a reddit list of best fantasy books written by women. Oh, and I don’t always love to read non-fiction, so I want to read at least one non-fiction book a month.
Honestly, Thanksgiving is just sort of a meh food day for me. I like the potatoes and pie, but the rest of the meal is not my favorite. LOL. But I like spending time with my family, so that’s the best part of the day.
Your reading goals sounds SO HARD to me! And you read so many books (even though that’s not necessarily a goal.)
I like potatoes and pie too, and had a little too much of both of those.
I usually set a goal in Goodreads but don’t really pay attention to it.
I read a lot at the start of the year, but almost nothing the last few months. *Shrug*
These things ebb and flow with me based on free time, so I’m fine with it!
I’ve definitely had phases of my life- like when the kids were little- where I was hardly reading. That seems so weird now, when I feel completely lost without a book. Yes, these things ebb and flow.
Umm that dinner looks delicious! I’m in eating jail because I was traveling for a conference last week and conference food plus eating out means there was a lot of carbs, pastries, etc. I’m all about the salads this week!
Hooray that gel is working! I get acne so I can relate to skin dramas.. A dermatology appointment is on the agenda for me early in the new year I think.
it’s almost impossible to eat well if you’re eating out a lot. Enjoy your salads- they should get you out of eating jail pretty quickly. And, good luck at the dermatologist. Skin problems (especially when it’s on our faces!) is the worst.
Ngaio Marsh! That’s an old school name. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually read a book by… him? lol.
It’s so amazing when you find a product that works for an annoying problem, especially on the face. So happy for you!
Thank you Allison! And, it’s “her” : )
I didn’t set up a goal but close to 50 I think, need to check my tracking. will you do a post on your favorite books of the year?
Your recovery food is my perfect meal combo!
Coco, your normal dinners look like my recovery food! And, maybe I should do a reading roundup before the year ends.