The Final Verdict on Laser Peels

I thought quite a bit about my play-by-play of my first couple days after enduring a laser peel, and there are a couple things I’d like to say.

First of all, any voluntary cosmetic procedure, whether it is invasive or not, needs to be seriously considered and researched. There are many risks associated with a laser zap, or a surgical incision. These procedures should not be taken lightly. Risks can range from scarring, to infection, to deformation, to death.

I have been researching laser treatments for a good 10 years. Technology changes, quickly. If you are interested yourself, a good starting point is to look up archives of Marie Claire or Allure magazine for example. These magazines often have fairly recent articles doing a side by side comparison on various cosmetic complaints, and treatment options, ranging from topical to invasive. From there you can do more of your own investigative research

Barriers to entry in the biz are also changing. Most cosmetic procedures just a few years ago were required to be performed by a board certified cosmetic surgeons. Someone with a Dr. in front of his/her name. Now you can go to some aestheticians who are trying to augment their revenue with the same procedure and took a weekend workshop in operating a machine that could burn holes in your flesh. 

My team has multiple certifications, came highly recommended, and I spoke to the primary cosmetic doctor on site before I decided upon moving forward. Look for certifications from groups such as American Society of Laser Medicine & Surgery, and American Board of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. Buyer beware, do your homework.

My team sent me home with detailed home care instructions, and they called me the next day to check on me.  They are also going to communicate with my gal Dana who does my facials, to make sure she is cognizant of what has been done to my skin. They are so professional.

I would also like to say although injections won’t be part of my beauty maintenance program, I am in no way passing judgment on anyone who decides that that is an option for themselves. It’s not really any different than what I have done from a theoretical standpoint, it’s just not for me. If face lifts, or botox work for you, then all the power to ya. Just try to understand the risks and any future ramifications as a result of your procedure.

An interesting tidbit is that Jessie (the gal who conducted the treatment) told me she was shocked at how busy they are. She said the recession has had no negative impact on their business, in fact they are busier than ever. She said many of the ladies who are currently unemployed are actually taking this downtime to finally have a little work done here and there. Interesting huh?

Oh, and what were the final results of my procedure?  I’m still not finished the re-epithelialization process yet (ie, peeling), however I can see: broken capillaries, gone, Brown spots gone or faded, Fine lines, diminished, Redness, diminished. The skin revealed is so soft and glorious, I am going to take special care to try and keep it that way. Although the recovery time is a bit longer than I thought, the results are fantastic and I would do it again.

Do your homework, be healthy, run good! pdub

Endnotes: Thanks to the crew at Roberston Plastic Surgery & Renew Skin & Renewal Centre in Madison, WI http://www.robertsonplasticsurgery.com/

Best facials in town: Dana at Serene Face & Beauty http://www.serenebeautyfb.com/

The Real Deal on Laser Facial Peels

How do I know? Because I just got one yesterday. Quite hypocritical when I speak of health first, and that beauty is on the inside not the outside right? Absolutely.

I planned the timing of this. I wanted to do this after the summer, and before the holidays were upon us. Seemed like good timing, and right before I hit my (gasp) 43^rd birthday next week.

BUT! I’ll defend it by saying I had it done because it’s a non-invasive procedure to help me bring my skin back to it’s healthiest self after years and years of sun abuse as a teenager and through college. Why didn’t I wear sunscreen when I was lifeguarding all those summers through high school and college??…so stupid. I sincerely believe that we need to focus on inner beauty and good health, but I will try to look my best possible me as well. I know I sound a little defensive, I kind of am a little.

Also, why is it really any different than using your St Ives or whatever facial scrub? We are supposed to exfoliate our skin anyhow. This is basically a juiced up exfoliant, that burns off a layer of your flesh to reveal a younger more vibrant you.  

Sounds gruesome doesn’t it? Well it is.

The real deal is that it is unpleasant, painful, and tortuous, with soon to be determined results.

The procedure is called Renew laser peel. It’s a combination of 3 separate laser treatments that reduce the appearance of fine lines, sunspots, redness, rough patches, uneven skin tone, as well as stimulate collagen and improve overall skin texture. The procedure took almost 2 hours and cost $400, which by Atlanta and Chicago standards is quite good. The gal who did this has been doing this for 11 years, and came highly recommended.

By the way she was my age and her skin was enviably gorgeous and she looks 30.

I also cleared my calendar for the week., the time it takes for recovery, and I’m hiding inside.

I never will get injectables or go under the knife, I do want to age and embrace and accept my face and body as I age naturally. Women I see on TV who have clearly had work done scare me a bit. They all take on that kind of alien looking face. I will never get injectables, ever. I can make that emphatic statement partially because of my belief system, but also because my neurologist took that option away from me as a ‘never do it’. Basically a nerve freezing procedure is kind of a bad idea for a gal who has a nerve disease prone to paralysis. Temptation eliminated.

Anyhow, the procedure is this:

1.     scalpel to face to scrape off that first dead skin layer (loved that)

2.     eye protectors stuck on, a big jelly ultrasound like jelly onto face then a loud, bright light, zap like a small whip on your face over and over. Horrid and somewhat painful.  This takes 20 minutes.

3.     Topical numbing cream placed all over my face ,which terrified me as she tells me to let it settle in for 15 minutes. So if the first one didn’t require a numbing agent, then this second laser must hurt like a son of a bitch.

4.     Enter laser 2. It hurt like a son of a bitch, much like 1, but with no light, and you want it to end as soon as possible.

5.     Move to laser 3. This one goes deep into the skin columns, so the zap kind of sits there for a second before moving to the next area of flesh. Another 15 minutes that seemed like eternity, then done!

6.     Cooling gel, then I am given my at home care kit, then home!

I warned my boyfriend about 10 times weeks in advance that I was going to require downtime for about 5 days, and I was going to look a bit scary. He heard “blah, blah, blah, blah”.

When I walked into the house yesterday and I turned the corner, his eyes opened wide as saucers accompanied by a “oh my god”.

I warned ya.

Here’s what I looked liked yesterday. Swollen, red, bleeding a little out of some pores. It hurt like a bad sunburn. It sucked. I was up until 2 am and 4 Aleve’s in my system. I have to keep a thick balm on my skin so it won’t dry out, so the healthy skin underneath can emerge without stress and strain from the top layer.

She took a mole off my forehead that bugged me for years as a bonus. Thanks.

Today the pain is gone but my skin is starting to feel tight and I want to scratch it off my face.  I am less red and less swollen. The peeling starts tomorrow….going to be an interesting day. The shedding is supposed to take 3 days….

I was going to put my pictures of day 1 and 2 up, but my boyfriend said I might scare away any readers as well as discourage anyone from ever getting this done. (By the way, for the record he thought I was beautiful before this and didn’t need to do anything, but he supports me whatever I choose to do and feels bad that I’m feeling bad right now. I told him he’s going to get a lot a crap from people for having such a much younger looking girlfriend now.)

Anyhow, I wasn’t sure anyone would want to see that grossness? Maybe I’ll put a before and after series together at the end of the recovery? Maybe I’ll wait for any comments before I throw those pics up there. I’m not sure what my overall opinion is on this procedure just yet, if it’s worth it or not.

I’ll keep you posted, see you in a day or two.  Wear sunscreen, keep smiling, run well, xo pdub

Jukebox Rules!

I love me a jukebox, and my title 'Jukebox Rules!' is a double entendre 1. because I think jukeboxes are awesome !!  and 2. because I think it's important to state my opinion about the unsaid rules of using the jukebox.

Last Saturday night it became evident to me that many people just do not understand the 'code and unwritten rule of ethics' while operating the jukebox (I will call this jukebox operator person the jukeboxer).

So anyway, last Saturday night, my boyfriend and I went to a local pub up the street to watch the Badger football game. It was a tense game. We were behind Michigan State at the third quarter, and the bar was lined with locals riveted to the multiple TV screens that were all broadcasting the same game (I was watching two at a time back and forth for my own entertainment).

Around the middle of the third quarter, 3 twenty-somethings roll into the bar (two guys, one girl), and proceed to the bar to order a good pound of cheese curds. While waiting for their order to arrive, they saunter over to the jukebox (and they did saunter because they looked super drunk and super stoned, so they kind of puddled their way over en masse). In a huddle around the jukebox, we watched as they slipped in a bill of currency, of which denomination it was unclear at that time (this is important as I talk about jukebox loading later).

Seconds later as the pile of curds are placed onto the bar, we all hear, very loud, that very recognizable guitar scratch of strings then riff of 'Back in Black' by AC/DC. Now, I totally dig their song selection, but they probably broke the cardinal rule of the jukeboxer:

"Never, ever,  ever, under any circumstances will one make a jukebox active with a music selection when more than 25% of  venue patrons are watching a sporting event or major political event." -Rule 1 jukeboxer code of ethics.

I swear to you I thought 5 maybe 10 people were going to jump from their stools and beat them down. The sports watchers expressed their dismay, yelled at the jukeboxers, and begged the bartender to trump the sound. Apparently he could not do this, so we endured through the classic AC/DC track as well as 'Close to Me' by The Cure (also pdub approved fyi).

The trio inhaled their cheese curds (supporting my stoned theory), giggled to themselves, ignoring the taunts and jeers from the bar and left shortly after, just in time for the rest of us remaining to watch the fourth quarter and the miserable 4 last seconds of the game.

I wanted to share with you this Rule #1 in detail so that you never make that dreaded mistake that the kids made last Saturday night.

It also could have been a really bad scene had that $1 they put in been a $5. I'm not kidding.

Rule #2 is to avoid 'Jukebox Loading'. This is when one person puts in a bill denomination of say $10 or more, and loads it with only their personal faves with zero consideration for their fellow patrons. Let me tell you it is miserable being at your fave bar at 10pm on a Saturday night and enduring through some Pink Floyd looong tunes or the 20 minute Grateful Dead jams. The only exception to this rule is if you are a jukeboxer aficionado and know how to play sets of music that will be universally pleasing to at least 75% of the people in the bar.

I consider myself as a Jukeboxer Aficionado, and I have earned this title by logging many many hours playing the jukebox and studying classic and current song selections. It's serious stuff, so don't think about loading the jukebox with 100% R&B unless you have at least 100 hours logged as a jukeboxer student. It's kind of like getting your pilots license, but with more responsibility.

I also keep a running list of song choices on my iNotes in my iPhone in the event I blank out once I am faced with the jukebox interface. That big screen can be intimidating, and sometimes, on rare occasion, alcohol consumption can have an effect on my song recall.

Another rule, do NOT take your bartender tip money as music selection money. Okay? It's just not cool. They don't give a shit about the songs, they need to make some bucks. Put a few small bills in your back pocket to be ready and to be on the safe side.

I am feeling generous and going to fill you in on my most recent top 10 selections (note as an Aficionado it changes regularly). This is a good starter list, these songs please everyone, and you can spin off from there. Enjoy.

1. Sheryl Crow - Steve McQueen
2. Better Than Ezra - Good
3. George Michael - Freedom 90
4. The Doors - Roadhouse Blues
5. The Temper Trap - Fader
6. Sloan - The Good in Everyone
7. Tom Petty - I won't back down
8. Stones - She's so Cold
9. Lit - My Own Worst Enemy
10. Sublime - What I got
11. Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight (Bonus Track I stole from my boyfriend)

There's a pretty good chance if you were sitting at a bar and one of these songs came on you'd be singing along or tapping your feet, waiting for the next song.

That is my cautionary tale about the jukebox, as well as some lessons learned and gifts given. Enjoy, run good, namaste! pdub

I'm so vain

I broke down and went to the Gap yesterday to buy a couple of new pairs of jeans. I had to go up a size because I have put on some weight. It has been terribly depressing as I was hoping to fit back into my $500 Dolce & Gabbana floral pocket jeans again, as well as my $200 Rock & Republic dark wash wide leg jeans. Apparently I am materialistic too. Actually they are just really cool jeans. But yeah, excessively pricey. Anyhow that's not the point of this, but maybe there is some tie into what I am trying to say here in this post.

I have always had one size of jeans basically from high school up until 2009. Now I have 4 'sets' of jeans in various sizes.

I have my super skinny jeans that I had to buy in early 2010 when I lost 25 pounds when I first got sick with my nerve demylenating disease. Then I went back to normal weight after I could eat, but I lost a lot of muscle mass but put weight back on. Then I just kept eating and put on really unhealthy weight and now I have 2 more sets of jean sizes. Unreal.

However, there are a couple of things I have learned along the way from this jean sizing swing over the past 3 years:

I was basically hungry for 22 years being all slim. It kind of sucked. I was really missing out on the pleasures of food. I was eating for sustenance, I was certainly healthy and eating just enough, and working out all the time, but man was I missing out on some good things in life. Like dessert. After I got sick (and met my foodie boyfriend), I was exposed to some wonderful food, and I have enjoyed them (the food and my boyfriend)! But I hate myself at the same time for putting on the weight. Then I get mad and in self pity mode for getting this weird rare disease and not being able to workout like I have in the past.

On a plus side (literally) I kind of like having some curves. I'd just rather be fit and curvy, not soft and curvy. I don't think I ever want to be boobs on a stick ever again. And quite honestly, have you seen Madonna and Demi Moore up close? My photographer friend Ben said women as they get older look so much better with a little meat on their bones. Our skin elasticity deteriorates, we lose good collagen and we would end up looking all skeletor and skin kind of hanging. Pass, I think I'd prefer a more plump radiant look then.

I have also learned that I have enjoyed the swing from my past uber skinny fit me to the soft enjoy life me. However, to a certain degree I have been hiding behind the excuse of my disease to not be quite so active. True confession. There's somewhere in the middle I need to be now.

And doctors orders. My awesome neurologist and equally awesome primary both told me 150 minutes a week of some exercise is the minimum we need to stay healthy and that I need to be doing it (they also told me 90% of Americans do NOT).

I can tell you it is amazing, in just 3 years after a lifetime of being an athlete and working out my whole life how quickly it all unravels. I have ligament damage from being bed-ridden for 6 months and then in-active during the past 2 years recovery, as well as problems with joint pain, and other issues, and of course weight gain.

So...my recent trip to the doc ignited the flame I have to get back to exercising regularly to be healthy, and my most recent trip to the Gap was the vanity cue I needed to make it happen. I was there...but that was my tipping point, plus I'd like to get back into my designer jeans by spring!

In seriousness though, I feel like I have been given a gift to be able to walk again and do just about everything I was able to do before. It is my responsibility to get myself in the best shape I can be in to live a longer healthy life. Living with a chronic disease or pain or whatever sucks so bad, trust me. Many patients with my condition are in wheelchairs and face so many challenges. I am lucky.

I have concern for young women who do not take care of their bodies, and/or are starving themselves to be this unreal standard of what's beautiful. At least when I was growing up and through high school we were all very healthy and active and eating for goodness sake.

As women we have this constant barrage of images and expectations to be beautiful and skinny; I wish it was the same pressure to be healthy. I love the DOVE real women campaign and women like Jessica Simpson (I'm serious) who speak out on behalf of healthy women and what is real, true beauty.

I am going to make my exercising a priority again, embrace my curvier soon to be more fit me, and I am also going to keep eating dessert. And be happy.

I'll keep you posted. Be healthy, happy, run good! xo pdub

Tournament Poker: Real Practical Packing (apart from $$)

I am a list person. I've gotten better since I got sick years ago but it's hard to take the OCD and the A type out of a gal. I have lists for everything, including my template 'packing lists', which includes my live tournament poker packing list.

It closely resembles a packing list for your favorite beach vacation.

I'm just kidding, (it's not even close).

This may be helpful to some of you at some point in the event that you head out to a casino in a beautiful part of our country such as Orange Park, FL, Elizabeth IN, or in this case Hammond, IN. Never been there? Don't bother putting it on your bucket list.

So here's some things on my list:

• Perfume: not for the reason you think. Not to attract, but to give myself a protective bubble in the unfortunate event I get sat next to someone who smells very bad. It has happened to me before and you are trapped there for 12 hours, and it is torture.
• Fruits & Veggies in raw format and Super Concentrate Powder fruit & veggies: to put in your water. There are few food choices in a casino. Maybe a little Sbarro pizza or some fried food buffet, but not a lot of color in the food choices. Five or more days without proper nutrition can make you feel a little crappy. Also think thousands of players handling and exchanging the same poker chips and cards for hours and days on end. Ew. Need your immune system strong.
• Power Bars: Same reason as above. Not to mention an average tourney runs 12 hours a day with 15 min breaks every 3 hours...best to pack a few power bars and nuts.
• Jackets and long sleeve shirts but not your good ones: Why? Even though the poker rooms are non-smoking, two levels of slots machine and table game players in the HUGE smoking section below has its way of the smoke wafting upwards and attaching itself to you. (I also keep large plastic bags for my luggage). The second reason I bring layers and layers of clothes is because the poker room is kept at a sub 0 degree temperature like a meat locker. It's so cold sitting in a cold seat for 12 hours. I'm cold thinking about it.
• Orange Stick/ Cuticle Stick: Again not for the primping reason you would think but because at the end of a long poker day, you end up scraping out the gunk from the felt of the poker tables and off the chips from under your nails. I use this manicure tool to remove it at the end of the day. Disgusting isn't it. I need to make up a name for that gunk.
• Dry Shampoo: Because after 3 days of exhausting long days of poker and reeking of smoke I give up and spray on a little dry shampoo for my 'get ready process'. Nice
• Ipod: shut out chatter, noise, talkers at the table. Now loaded with 'The Black Album' too. 
• Guided Meditation: also loaded onto my ipod/iphone, so I can get to sleep at night or decompress in the morning. It is HARD to get to sleep at 3am after playing 12 hours and then you make a STUPID mistake that haunts you and gets you knocked out of the tournament right before the money. I still have nightmares from hands from a year ago.
• Phone Charger: do no forget. I swear I could make a ga-billion dollars if I could design a portable solar charger or something that players could use at the table. If I had a dollar for every player who needed a charger at the poker table....

Those are a few of my must have's in my packing list. Sounds appealing huh? Why do I play tournament poker? Well that is for another day and I have a wide range of feelings about it. Those opinions might be influenced depending on how I do at this WSOP circuit event series.

Good luck to all no matter what you do. Play good, run better. xo Pdub

Thank you Jay-Z !!

I am a huge fan of clever poetry and song lyrics. I am a rabid fan of Jim Morrison as well as Ani DiFranco. I've bought most if not all of their music, and sought out their published and unpublished poetry. Yet, I barely own more than 4 albums of any rap or hip-hop music. Why am I such a poetry bigot and not considering other genres?

So, I made a decision to change about a month ago to open my mind a bit to other types of poetry and purchased Jay-Z's book 'Decoded'. This book is kind of his personal memoir, personal analysis of his lyrics as well as an insight about how rap developed over the years and what rap and hip-hop is really all about. And it's beautiful, filled with images, photographs and art.

Jay-Z says, "...the music is meant to be provocative, which doesn't mean it's necessarily obnoxious, but it is confrontational, and more than that, it's dense with multiple meanings. Great rap should have all kinds of unresolved layers that you don't necessarily figure out the first time you listen to it. Instead it plants dissonance in your head...It leaves shit rattling in your head that you won't make sense till the 5th or 6th time through. It challenges you."

There is no question this guy is brilliant. His narrative is fluid and precise, and his lyrics are so filled with double entendres and with the words working so sonically it's remarkable, he's...just...so..smart. As are many artists in this genre that I have basically overlooked for the most part for the past two decades.

This makes me wonder, what else have I been closing my mind to, and as a result missing out on? Do we as people just generally consume what is most familiar to us, or the easiest? Are we intellectually lazy and culturally insecure? Do we take snippets of info and only use those as the basis of our decisions? For example taking a line out of one of Jay-Z's songs, out of context, and out of the beautiful wrapping of the meaning of which it was intended and call it offensive? Do we shove out of context politically biased talking points (thanks FOX news) and shove them down the throats of Americans (yes) and therefore have masses of ill-informed opinion, because we are just too damn lazy to figure out the full story?

I'm committed to exploring, researching and learning more before I fully formulate my opinions. I am also going to work on having an open mind about more art and literature that comes my way...and of course music. I thank Jay-Z for all of that. I am going to itunes right now to buy 'The Black Album'.

I can't run so what's up with calling this 'Running Good'?

Running Good is a poker term which means you're winning basically. You may not necessarily be playing your best but you are experiencing some sweet combo of playing ok and getting very lucky at the same time, or playing great and getting around the bad luck; either of which combo results in a win or series of wins.

I basically feel that way about my life. Been running pretty good. Sure there have been some challenges; maybe I have had something to do with those by my choices or actions that I've made or maybe I've had some bad luck along the way, but I'm winning (not Charlie Sheen winning, but winning life kind of winning).

I like to ask a lot of questions about a lot of dumb shit but also about the important issues. I'm ok with flaunting my ignorance about lots of things. I accept that I am a quirky girl and make an ass of myself a lot. I care about our dying planet, and I care about how fucked up our healthcare system is, but I also care about gaining weight, making sure my hair looks great and buying cool clothes. I sincerely feel the pain in my soul on a daily basis for all living creatures who are treated unfairly, or with cruelty, or are forgotten.

So...this blog is a journal of my everyday musings which churn in my brain all the time in the wheelhouse of topics ranging from politics to make-up. Things that make me go 'hmmm'. I try to find answers to these things to keep me Running Good. I contemplate but I am also an action taker with many things. Maybe if someone else reads this, you can rethink how you think about things maybe just a little and we could all be running good in life together as this positive thinking collective, with a few courageous souls who take action. Wouldn't that be cool.