Catching Up

I can't believe that nearly all of March has gone by without me blogging about my progress. It's been a pretty tough month (hmmm, I think I've said that before). For one thing, my Little Guy has learned how to crawl out of his bouncy seat. Secondly, I've mentioned how my main goal is to look better in photographs. As much as I'd like to say that I can get up in the morning and get my act together, the truth is that LG and I tend to be at our cutest in the morning when we're still in pajamas (usually mismatched these days), uncombed hair, and (natch) no make-up. My husband just can't seem to resist photographing us at these times. I have gotten a lot better about looking presentable most days before I leave the house, but this has not mattered in terms of our photos! Oh well. This is just something I'm going to have to accept.

Another setback: it's nearly been six months since I assigned myself my first Itty-Bitty Beauty Bump of not pushing back my cuticles. I've been very successful at stopping this bad behavior, but the results aren't yet conclusive. Some of my cuticles look really good, others still look ragged. I think this is because I haven't had the time to keep my cuticles as well-moisturized as they need, which is all the more important during these dry winter months. Maybe they'll look better by summer?

Itty-Bitty Beauty Bump #2: No picking

This mini beauty task is going to be much harder: stop picking at my skin. Once again, I point to Paula Begoun as my mentor. She is the ultimate Gentle Care advocate, even going so far as to suggest tepid water for washing your skin as opposed to warm, cold, lukewarm, etc. I have no idea how long it'll be before I see results from this change, or even how easily I'll be able to stick to it!

Itty-Bitty Beauty Bump #1: Cuticles

In my efforts to become pretty, or more photogenic, I'm going to adopt small lifestyle changes that I hope will advance my efforts in small ways.

My first one is to stop pushing back my cuticles on both my hands and feet. I just read in Paula Begoun's The Original Beauty Bible that this actually compromises your nail and it's not going to do your cuticles any favors, either. The solution is to moisturize your cuticles daily and you'll see improvements in your nails and cuticles after six months of not pushing them. Okay, then. Sometime around my son's first birthday I hope to have some beautiful cuticles!