I am one of the fortunate ones that has never really had too much trouble with my skin.  I've cleaned and moisturized daily since I was in high school and I've always tried to use products that made my skin feel clean and soft without feeling heavy or greasy and with very little fragrance.  I am now in middle age and it's even more important to me to take good care of my skin, especially on my face and I've been using anti-aging products for the last several years.  Don't know if they actually work, but I feel pretty good about the way I my skin looks.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to try out éclos Skin Care.  I was given the éclos Anti-Aging Skin Care Starter Kit, valued and $19.99, and asked to try out the included products and then give my opinion on those products.  The kit contains a sample size of each of the products in the line of skin care plus a handy stretch terry headband to keep your hair out of your face when you're washing or applying the mask.  I like to keep things simple, so I was a little put off by the number of different products I was being asked to use on a daily basis, but then, once I really thought about it, it's no more than I'm all ready using with the exception of the face serum which is lightly applied after washing your face and before applying the regenerative cream and it works to nourish the skin cells and helps actively promote callogen production.  This is what helps skin look fresh and, hopefully, younger.

Products included in the kit:

• Facial Cleanser Skin Prep
• Cellular Activator Face Serum
• Moisture Therapy Regenerative Cream
• Restorative Eye Cream
• Instant Radiance Facial Scrub
• Skin Renewal Clay Mask
• éclos Terry Cloth Head Band

So, this is me before I started using éclos Skin Care.  I know it's not the best photo, but I don't photograph well and I definitely am not good at taking photos of myself!

My skin is overall fairly healthy and I'm told I look young for my age.  Although, over the last year I've probably had more acne than I've had my entire life, guess that comes with hormone changes and it sucks!  Anyway, wash my face daily in the shower with a light facial wash and once in a while will do a mask to get rid of dead, dry skin.  I don't wear a lot of make up, but like the feeling of a clean face and the look of young skin!

Since receiving my éclos Skin Care kit, I have made every attempt to follow the recommended regimen of washing twice daily with the facial cleanser skin prep and following up each cleansing with the face serum, then the Anti-Aging Moisture Therapy Regenerative Cream and then the Anti-Agin Restorative Eye Cream.  I also used the Anti-Aging Instant Radiance Facial Scrub every other day and I did use the Anti-Aging Skin Renewal Clay Mask once.  I have been following this routine over the last week and a half and I have to say, I am enjoying the products and the way my skin feels.

This is what I look like today, perhaps a little better photo, but I think my skin looks healthier and it has a nice glow to it.

The éclos Skin Care line utilizes apple stem cells extracted from a rare Swiss apple.  These apple stem cells have been shown to stimulate skin stem cells to help skin have a younger appearance.  These same products also include vitamins, plant extracts and anti-oxidants to help minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

I really like the product and plan to purchase more since I found it's available at my local Target store.  I do wish it had more of the apple scent or was completely fragrance free.  It smells a bit medicinal to me, but I do like the results.

CONTEST:

I received an identical éclos Skin Care kit, valued at $19.99, to give away to one lucky reader.  To enter, please leave a comment telling me which of the products included in the kit you are most excited to try.  You must leave a valid email address and sorry, but this contest is only open to those living in the continental United States.

Entries will be accepted until midnight May 29, 2012.  Winning entry will be drawn on May 30,2012.

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Most of the girls on the team also play ball for their respective high schools, but this was the first time they’d played together as a team since November. It was great seeing everybody back, even if it took a couple of games to shake off the cobwebs. We were missing a couple due to injury or illness, but all in all, they looked fabulous.

I’m looking forward to a great season! How was your weekend?

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I am so addicted to watching the Chicago White Sox play baseball!  I watch them every chance I get, and, I think we are going to try to get tickets to see them when they come to town to play the Texas Rangers this coming July.  I have purchased a premium subscription to MLB.TV just so I can watch all of the games, including the non-televised games on my computer,  my tablet or even my smartphone.  That subscription will come in really handy now that softball season is about to swing in to full gear and we will be on the road just about every weekend taking our daughter to tournaments.  I don't want to miss watching my White Sox play!

The biggest down side of watching the games on my phone is listening to the game through those tiny earbuds.  My ears get soar after a while of having my earbuds in just so I can hear the announcers.   I really like the idea of the Lenovo speaker  M0520 which is a small enough speaker to be portable, yet big enough to provide 4 watts of power which produces high quality sound.  This speaker is easy to transport too since the speaker wire spools for easy and tidy storage. The speaker comes with a built in amplifier and sub-speaker as well. Besides connecting to my smartphone, I can also use the Lenovo speaker with my computer or my daughter can use it with her netbook.  My daughter watches movies on all of the above, so it would be nice to have better quality sound to go along with the picture.  The speaker connects easily through a USB connection and includes an energy saving function. 

To make the Lenovo speaker even more enticing, between 5/15-5/21, these speakers are on sale for only $11.99, a savings of $18!  That is a huge savings!  You should definitely check it out for yourself!  Leave a comment if you have used the Lenovo speaker, let me know what you think.

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The plumber who originally installed this water heater came out this afternoon to discover the unit was dead. That’s right, absolutely no sign of life. He called the manufacturer and they insisted the plumber send in pictures of the inside of the unit so they could verify it was a manufacturing defect and not something else. In the end, they replaced the entire unit.

In fact, they not only replaced the unit, but they upgraded it to the latest and greatest model. It’s one step below a total tankless water heater, very small, and, hopefully very energy efficient.

We are back to having hot water and my husband promptly got into the shower! Since I wasn’t sure if we’d have hot water to clean the kitchen with, I sent my daughter off to pick up some take out. Dinner should be arriving shortly.

Oh the joys of home ownership!

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If you have read my blog for any length of time, then you know that I am a softball mom.  Besides spending hours and weekends at the softball fields, I can also spend hours, sometimes in the middle of the night, putting softball uniforms through the laundry process.  I don't have time to wash and rewash or I will never get any sleep on tournament weekends.  These uniforms are worn game after game and, if you've ever had a kid slide in the dirt, you know that dirt is ground in!

My best friend in the laundry?  Shout® Trigger.  Seriously, I can spray Shout® Trigger on any uniform part, including white pants and socks, throw it in the washer, add my detergent and know that I'm going to have clean coming out when the washer is finished.  On seriously ground in dirt, like in the seams of the pants after my daughter has completed several slides into various bases, I might use the Shout® Trigger, add my detergent as usual, set my washer to delay start by 1 hour and let it go.  No worries, my daughter will once again have clean pants to start the next time she hits the field.  By the way, you can purchase Shout® Trigger at many places, including Walmart.

Shout® Trigger is so much easier to use than other stain removers.  I simply spray and I'm done.  No rubbing, so brushing, no soaking.  And, I've found it safe to use on colors, not just whites.   Just ask my husband who has a knack for getting chocolate down the front of his shirt on a pretty regular basis!  In fact, I also like to keep the Shout® Wipes handy for when we're out on the road.  The sooner I get the stain treated the better!

Take a look at this picture of my daughter, do you really think I could get this clean without Shout® Trigger?

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Yesterday, in addition to buying the freezer paper, I had several errands I completed after working in the morning. By the time I got done with running around, I didn’t really feel like doing much of anything else beside cooking dinner, so, I didn’t do anything else!

Today, I worked my morning shift and then cleaned the kitchen, including going through all the stacks of paper that inevitably collect on the island. The papers and accumulated to the point I could no longer see the island so had to get to the bottom of that. I then got around to getting my shower. Now I normally do that in the morning, but I wanted to color my hair, so I waited until this afternoon. Now I’m colored up and catching up on email and such, but at least I have a clean kitchen once again. Am I procrastinating?

Maybe I just need to sit down and get started. I’ve done applique before, just never with wool. I was told it’s very simple, so why am I procrastinating?

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I have been spending 5 to 6 mornings a week in our home office where I do my job.   I only work part time, but with all the scheduling cut back and constraints, in order for me to get paid 20 hours a week, I have to schedule myself to work almost every day so that my paycheck doesn't come up short.  This is the home office, the dark, dingy room where I can be found on most mornings.

I absolutely hate the color, it's just a bit more yellow than an army green. It's horrid and dark. Of course, it isn't helping that my husband keeps stacking his work papers and old books on the floor in there. I'm beginning to feel like I'm working in a storage unit! It's time to update the paint color, something neutral, a nice cream, that will showcase some accent photos and framed artwork. Oh, one other minor thing that bothers me about this room? The light switch, it's not even located in the room. No, for some odd reason, the builder put it in the entry hall right by the front door. Seriously, if I open the front door to a guest, this is what they see:

The switch on the right is the one for my office. It just looks sort of cheap to me. I think that will soon change! Yes, I want to paint the office AND, since it's too expensive to hire an electrician to come move the switch, I want to upgrade theswitches and wall plates. 

Renu makes switches and wall plates in 20 different colors, all with a sleek modern look.  I personally think these are so much more attractive, and, because they snap in place, they can be easily changed out.

Leviton on Facebook or follow @Leviton and #Renu for the twitter event detail.

After painting or redecorating a room in your home, do you ever think about getting to switch plates?

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I can assure you that Spring has arrived in North Texas and that the heat of summer is not far behind.  I have all ready spent one full weekend in the backyard trimming hedges & bushes, and yesterday, my husband and I spent the better half of the day trimming to very tall evergreens outside our front door.  These things must have been at least 13 feet tall and it took both of us to get them cut back and down to a more reasonable size.  I think we did a great job, they look good and our front walk looks spruced up!

Something else I've been itching to do is have my own garden.  I don't want anything large, and our soil here is so bad it's difficult to make grass grow, let alone flowers & vegetables, but I am considering a kit from one of the home improvement stores that snaps together to create a raised garden.  Once I put the kit together I would fill it with organic soil and then simply plant whatever veggies I desire.

I've recently learned about  Whitney Farms®, a company that makes all natural and organic products for the garden.  They are currently offering a $3 coupon (click the link to get one for yourself!), and I can use it on my purchase of organic plant food which will complete my shopping list for my new garden.  This plant food is easy to apply and does not have the manure odor that comes with more conventional plant foods. It's organic and provides plants with everything they need to grow into healthy, mature plants.

I'm actually looking forward to this little project, and just as soon as I figure out the best way to keep the abundance of rabbits that we have around here out of my little garden, I will be taking on this project!

So tell me, do you have a garden?  What do you think about my raised garden idea?

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Living in Texas, Cinco De Mayo is just about as close to a National holiday as we can get without it actually being one!  Here in the U.S., it is celebrated as a way to recognize Mexican heritage and proud, but in Puebla, Mexico, it is actually a celebration of the day the Mexican army defeated the French army in the Battle of Puebla way back on May 5, 1862.

Honestly, whatever the reason, I think Cinco de Mayo is a great reason for my husband and I do go out, enjoy a meal together and a nice cool drink.  Seems to me it's a great way to kick off the summer season!  Right now, I can't think of a better way to celebrate than having a tasty CoronaRita at Chili's to go right along with one of my favorite burgers from their menu.

Now I have to be honest, I have several favorite burgers on the Chili's menu, so it depends on how I feel at the moment I'm ordering, but my old standby is the "Oldtimer".  I love this burger because of its simplicity!  If I'm feeling more saucy, I go with one of their new creations, the SHINER BOCK® bbq burger which comes with cheddar cheese, crispy onions and bbq sauce made with SHINER BOCK®.  If I want something a bit different, but still sticking with the burger theme, I go with the BIG MOUTH® BITES, a plate of 4 mini burgers.  This is also a good plate to share with my husband if we decide we want to save room for dessert!

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, everyone should try a  CoronaRita at Chili's, made with Jose Cuervo Especial Tequila and Coronita.  It goes without saying, you must be 21 years or older to drink alcoholic beverages and as always, please remember to drink responsibly.  Take a look at this picture and tell me that this doesn't look refreshing!

Since Cinco de Mayo is on a Saturday this year, we have no excuse to not go out a celebrate! So tell me, what's your favorite menu choice from Chili's? 

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I won’t be blog hopping or dropping EC while I’m gone. I return home Monday evening, so hope to get back into my routine on Tuesday. Have a great weekend, I know I will!

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