vanity and a bruised bum

Is it vain to want perfect skin? My mom made an appointment for me today to have a facial. My first facial--the most indulgent experience I have ever had. It was amazing. My Mom knows these sisters that own a salon, and one of the sisters, who's a nurse, does facials and massages. They're Thai, and they're really nice. My facial took an hour and 10 minutes. She explained what she was doing, what kind of masques and other products she was putting on my face and all that. She massaged my arms and my shoulders while the masques were on my face. It was great. Then came the extractions--they hurt like hell. I was gripping the armrests on the massage table. That's how much it hurt. It wasn't like when you're getting waxed, and the pain goes away in a couple of seconds. So, she took care of my zits and all that. The facialist/nurse, Timmie (her nickname), thought I was 15 or 16 years old. She sounded sincere, but she could have been shamming me. She said I had really nice skin for my age--I can attribute that to drinking water and all that.

The vanity thing. I really like my skin, so naturally I want to take care of it right? Buy the best products for my skin and all that. Is that vain? I don't think it is if I do it for health reasons more than beauty reasons. I mean, we're given this skin for life, so we should take care of it right? I think so. I remember, I freaked out when I found out that 80% of a lifetime of sun damage occurs before the age of 18. I flipped. That's when I started wearing moisturizer with sunblock; I used to wear just regular moisturizer.

Went ice skating with Chauncey and L. yesterday. So much fun! But I'm sore today. I've got a bruise on my bum from falling, and my ankles are sore. I got the hang of ice skating maybe around the 5th time around. It takes a while. I have a new found respect for people who play hockey and ice skate. This may sound weird, but it's kind of a nice sight when you see someone fall on their bum and then get up and skate again. Just the idea of getting hurt and getting back up again is very poetic.

Shopping with the parentals today at South Coast Plaza. Such fun. Dad wanted a new pan to bake bread in--his new "thing". He likes baking bread, the frozen kind. His words were, "Why should I pound and knead flour all day when I can buy the frozen kind?" We found one at Macy's, so tomorrow there'll be fresh, baked bread for breakfast. Mom bought a clock at Bombay Co. for my aunt's birthday, and I got new shoes at New Balance thanks to Dad.

Things Timmie told me:
1. drink lots of water
2. eat lots of green vegetables (spinach, Asian vegetables), less carbs, and less red meat
3. don't use toners that contain alcohol
4. take at least 2 minutes to wash face and don't spend too much time on the cheeks
5. wear moisturizer with SPF (of course)