Skin MD Coupon Code! and, me prattling on.

Remember that review I did of Skin MD Natural a while ago? I'm still really happy with this product (my bottle is down to the last few drops after twice-daily use for 4 months!), and also happy to share a coupon code with you! If you use the code LATEST at the Skin MD website, you can get 20% off the purchase price! Sweet!

This is a brand new code so if it isn't working yet, give it a few hours - it will be soon! The coupon code expires on May 8th, 2010. A big thank you to Skin MD for creating this code for my readers!
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In other news... I went ahead and joined the gym that my husband joined a few weeks back. We had left the gym for the last few years because when we moved to this small town, the nearest one was 20 minutes away and we thought we'd never go. But after a couple years of no gym membership, we are both feeling unfit and a little pudgy, so back we go, despite the 20 minute drive.

We've been going 3-4 times a week, to the BodyFlow and BodyPump classes. BodyFlow is an hour-long tai chi, pilates and yoga workout combined, all set to music - a class I LOVE and have been doing for years. BodyPump is less appealing to me - it's a weight-training class, kind of boring but definitely a good workout. So if I'm around a little less, it's partly because 6 1/2 hours are now 'gone' from my week.
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Other than that... not much is up. I've been working a lot lately - the galleries are asking for more work and I've got a huge show in the summer to get ready for. Swamped is an understatement. And, I decided to run another beginners' class starting on Monday for eight weeks - what was I thinking?! Definitely under a little work stress right now.

As for the blog - I do have three reviews lined up (with giveaways!), I just need to find the time to get going on them. So hang in there, if you're into that kind of thing :) OH, and don't forget there are a few more days in the ABC Neckties giveaway! Win a $25 gift certificate!

A portrait of a woman

A woman who's trying to conceive, that is. There's me - and there are so many others who are trying for a baby. Who are they? Are you one?

The results from a recent survey (run by Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com) are up that paint an interesting picture of who we are. I was one of the respondents, and my answers are mixed in with the other 619 women who answered the questions about where we are in our journey to have a child. I found it very interesting to see the results.

Just wondering from my TTC readers, what do you think about the results? Do you feel represented here?

(ps, this is not a paid post or a plug for the website, just some interesting info!)

Winner!

Time to draw the Eden Fantasys winner! With 198 entries, random.org picked...which means...
Congratulations! Watch for an email from me.

Didn't win? I think you will find that Eden Fantasys has very affordable and fun options for anyone.

Winner!

One lucky reader is going to get an awesome package in the mail, full of Organic Coconut Oil from Tropical Traditions! Is it you?And the winner is -
Hooray! I'm just about to email you (and probably tweet at you, too :) ). As usual, the winner has 48 hours to respond or I'll redraw.

One more thing.

I hardly got anything productive done today despite my best intentions. Not cool.

One thing that I did finish was this.

Dress somewhat inspired by this one on Prudent Baby - one of my favourite creation/inspiration blogs (though my dress is clearly not as awesome), and bunny is from this Martha Stewart pattern. As you can see if you click the link, the MS pattern makes a bunny that looks like it has to pee. That's why I added the dress - plus, my bunny fabric was not all that interesting. The colours came out kind of weird in the photo, but the bunny is ivory with yellow ears, and the dress is more turquoise with little carrots on it :)

If I do it again, I'll want to make a new bunny pattern. I don't quite like the way the legs bend towards each other. Or the shape to the head. Or the long skinny arms. The pattern is just a little unconsidered. Am I being picky? I have an old pattern from a bunny my mother made (her own design) for me as a child... I should have started there.

So now I have this bunny and am not sure what to do with it. Etsy it? (Can I do that with a Martha pattern creation?) Or... I have a pregnant friend (no idea what the gender is yet), and a bunch of friends with little girls - it could be a gift. Or... I could do a 200 followers giveaway here.

What do you think?

Five things

1. I got this awesome makeup palette from Eyes Lips Face in the mail yesterday. I won it at a Twitter party put on by the Clever Girls Collective for Project Runway. Um, fun! There's another Twitter party tonight, sponsored by L'Oreal - perhaps I'll see you there? RSVP here! I played with the palette today. It made me look like this. I'm not as snarky as I look in the picture. And please excuse the bra straps. My only strapless has given up the ghost. Oh, and this is what it looks like when I do my own hair. Messy. One side flips left - and so does the other! Why does the hairdresser always cut in two levels, one 3" shorter than the rest? That's not what I mean when I say I want layers! Grr!

2. I have a crush on the Pür minerals 4-in-1. It's $40 at Shoppers. For a compact of pressed powder. Ugh. Why is it MORE expensive to get make up with LESS in it (I don't want the chemicals, parabens, garbage fillers that are in all the regular drugstore brands, thanks). If you have a suggestion for a decent concealer and foundation that aren't full of toxins, xenoestrogens, comedogens and carcinogens... I'd love to know. I would go without but, unfortunately, at my age I still have acne issues.

3. I have been Beyond the Rack shopping again - this time for my husband. We picked up a pair of Doc Martens for him for $45 in one of their events last weekend. Just for the record - remember when I ordered that adorable Dereon lingerie set? Well it never came - I guess they oversold or something dumb like that. So they refunded my account... I was disappointed. I'm curious to see what happens with the Docs. I love Docs and wore one pair of their 8-hole boots for eight years before they wore out. They're a pain (literally) to break in, but soooo nice and durable once you get through that. My husband is a lucky man, is all I can say.

BTR is an invite-only online designer outlet. If you want to join and try it out, here's your invitation. Joining is free, and you can see all the current and upcoming events. They have stuff like shoes and clothing (men and women), handbags, cosmetics (Balmshell's on now!), lingerie, housewares, swimsuits, toys... You know. Stuff.

4. It was a good mail day yesterday. I also got a Made in the Shade dress from DownEast Basics that I won at Getting Kinda Crunchy (thanks!!). Lovely, although the value was marked at $30 on the shipping invoice, and that dastardly UPS charged me $29 in "import fees". This isn't duty or taxes, it's UPS' greedy money-grubbing evilness at work. UPS sucks.

Dearest US companies,
Please - when sending to your customers in Canada, go with a better courier.
Love, Emily.

5. I love spring. This year is a little harder. I wish it hadn't occurred to me that Lost Baby #1 would have been 10 weeks old today. I don't mean to torture myself. I don't mean to keep track at all. I wish I could forget. I confess, it's hard to see all the moms walking around the neighbourhood now that it's nicer out, babes in strollers and carriers, tots held by the hand. And the whole April Fool's "I'm pregnant!" joke on Facebook makes me ache inside. Not. Funny.