mug shot update...

this year i turned 36.  i had decided that it would be interesting to see between 36 and 37 when exactly i aged.  so i started taking my picture every morning straight out of the shower.  i stand up against the same wall, a super ugly, bare creamy colored wall.  i try to keep the broom that is in the corner out of the picture.  the same lighting, only two of the four bulbs work on the hideous light fixture over my vanity.  i have on the same thing, my very tired baby pink terry cloth robe.  my hair is not usually brushed, just out of the shower.  and well i look terrifying.  i use the first picture i take and don't retake a million times until i find one that passes my approval.  there isn't going to be one, i don't have that much time, and i probably won't do anything with them anyway.

a couple of times of month i download from my iphone to a folder on my computer titled mug shots.  this seemed a fitting title for these hideous pictures of me.  thankfully my computer is password protected this would not be good for me if this folder found itself in the wrong hands. 

when i started this i was keeping a journal.  i was keeping track of my weight, just so you know nobody should get on a scale everyday it is by far the most depressing thing in the world...i gained, i lost, i gained, i lost.  sigh.  i was also keeping track of what i was eating.  this was eye opening and i changed some things right away.  for instance i have cut back on my coffee intake.  coffee is really my only caffeine source, i don't drink soda very often, but i was consuming 3-4 large cups a day and i am down to 1-2.  not bad.  in addition to weight and food i was monitoring my mood.  did roller coaster pop up in a speech bubble right in front of the screen?  ha!  you aren't far off.  strange how you don't realize what a train wreck you can be until you write it down.  the last thing i was keeping track of was how much i exercised.  i will say this has inspired me to move a little more.  run an extra day a week, do some things at home.  i'm still pretty inconsistent but it is definitely an improvement. 

you may have noticed i said i was keeping a journal.  the journal didn't last very long.  i really did try, but it seemed like such a chore to sit down and hand write it all out.  i am really awful at routines that involve doing something.  wow, that made no sense, but hold on i will try and explain.  i've never been a regular flosser, vitamin taker, lotion applier, journaler, exerciser, etc.  i want to be regular at these and have tried all the tricks, but subconsciously these are not important enough things that i do them consistently.  i have absolutely no trouble preparing my coffee before i go to bed, or downing ten slices of pepperoni a day, or checking my phone a thousand times a day for updates.  these are important to me.  don't judge, i'm only human.

so back to the mug shots.  taking my picture every morning is horrifying.  i have this fantasy that freshly cleaned skin should glow and be luscious.  my face does not look that way at all.  have you ever made one of those old lady shrunken apple heads?  when i get out the shower my face is dry, shriveled and lack luster.  i told you it was horrifying.  it isn't until i add a healthy layer of moisturizer, and a few other girly things does my face look presentable and healthy.

as a woman in her late thirties...choke, cough, puke in my mouth a little...do i really have to admit that?  yes, as a woman in her late thirties there are two beauty supplies i cannot go without.  i have to put on blush.  ladies if you aren't a blush person you should be.  it doesn't have to be loud or crazy, but a dab of a pinkish hue really brightens the face and adds a bit of life to that dead aging skin.  i also have to wear mascara.  i can forgo the shadow and liner, but if i am not wearing mascara my eyes are nonexistent.  they are still there, but they got lost in the sea of dead aging skin.  

moral of the story, i haven't noticed any significant aging happening.  i have been taking better care of my skin this year and maybe that's because of the pictures, or maybe i'm simply trying to stave off the process a little.  at any rate it is still a fun experiment that i will see through until my 37th birthday.  wow that number sounds old!!