Compact Packing Series- Part 4 Bathroom

It has been a busy and somber past week and a half. My husband's grandmother passed away. She had been diagnosed with cancer back in July and this was the second time she had battled cancer. At the age of 83, she decided she did not want to go through treatments again and would live out the time she was allowed. My husband was very close to her, so it is a struggle for him. He has been recovering and has gone back to work now. Needless to say, we have been busy with his family. I spent the wake and funeral watching over my husband and his grandpa, who after 58 years of marriage, is missing his best friend. After the weekend and all the events of the week, I am rather drained. I am taking this weekend to recover myself.
On that note, I am continuing my CPS, moving to the bathroom. (Any gentlemen can probably turn their attention elsewhere at this point.) My bathroom supplies are minimal. In order to understand what I keep, it is crucial you understand that I am not high maintenance, and don't like spending lots of time on myself. However, I do work in a job where I am interacting with the public, so I do need to be presentable. So, here I am, between a rock and a hair dryer. I have spent considerable time in hair dresser's chairs asking what is the easiest and least demanding hair style to deal with. I also must consider what is appropriate for work, so I don't have hair falling in my face constantly or on my patients either. Currently I am between hair styles and I will be visiting another stylist next weekend for, yet another attempt to find the ideal hair style.
Currently I have only a handful of hair products:
-Split end mender
-leave in conditioner
-Mouse
-hair spray
-spritz gel
My hair care tools consist of:
-paddle brush
-large tooth comb
-hair dryer
-flat iron
-head bands and hair binders
(Some items pictured here)

And I have about 4 possible hair styles....its all very exciting. I use about 2 of them on a regular basis.

As far as skin care goes, it is even more limited (as you can see in the photo). I have a facial wash and facial moisturizer/anti-acne cream. My makeup is limited to very basic items. I prefer a natural look with my makeup so I don't need much.  I also don't do my makeup everyday...actually I haven't done the full routine in months. Like I said, I'm not high maintenance.

Oral hygiene is another area of consideration. I can't say I do anything special, but I do use those floss picks. They are truly wonderful if they work with your teeth. My sisters teeth are set much closer than mine, so she is not able to use the picks because the floss constantly breaks on her. My oral habits are fairly basic and normal as well. Brush in the AM for at least 2 minutes. Then in the evening, I brush, floss, and use mouth wash, in that order. Doing this for the last several years gets me glowing reviews from the dentists office and keeps my teeth from getting excessively sensitive. About once a year I whiten my teeth with the paint on whitener, but only when I'm not around other people...since you have to wander around for 10 minutes baring your teeth (if you want good results anyway).

All in all, I am able to pack all of my bathroom needs into one bag, including shampoo and conditioner. As I have mentioned before, I know this is unacceptable for some people as they require far more items than I do and feel a need to do full makeup every day. The only thing I have to say against that, is that since I don't do my makeup everyday, I am able to save money because my supplies last much longer. Same goes for my hair products as well. But then again, that is just me.

Random Tidbits

I'm going to take a break from my Compact Packing Series to relate some random bits and thoughts that I've picked up on. I'll continue the CPS next time with looking at the bathroom.

So, I have officially extended my current rotation to the end of March. This was only after I had verified with my land lord that I would be able to extend my lease here. I would have moved closer but that would have had to have been done in December...immediately after Christmas. My husband's grandmother has been in failing health for a few months and we are anticipating a funeral within the next few months. Knowing that, I decided that it would be better to just remain, rather than trying to move during that time of year.
For any ladies reading this post: I would like to say that some times the old ways are the best ways. I am speaking of laundry here, specifically washing bras. Before starting work, I decided it was time to get rid of all my old bras that were a few inches to big around my ribs and invest in some good bras. It was expensive but it was worth it. I bought these with the agreement with myself that I would take extra good care of them. So now I wash all my bras in luk-warm water with mild detergent and rinse in cold water. Then I hang them to dry on my drying rack in the bathtub. It takes them longer to dry than it would if I washed them in the machine but it preserves the elastic and keeps the materials in tip-top condition.
A struggle I'm trying to work through now is trying to exercise and cut down on body fat. Its always been a personal goal of mine to get down to 15-17% body fat. The closest I've gotten was 19% while I was in PT school and working out at a gym 3 times/wk and was able to get in 6 meals/day (mostly during class). Now that I'm working (and I ran out of protein powder) its harder to get in those workouts and even harder to get in 6 meals when you have 8+ patients to treat every day. I have started using the elliptical in cardiac rehab during lunch but I only get 30 minutes and I do need time to eat. So currently my workouts have been 20 minutes long, a large step backwards from the 1+ hrs I used to pull at the gym. I do have more protein powder on the way, but that that still does not change my problem with exercising. I can do plenty of body weight exercises here in my apartment but as the weather turns colder, getting in cardio is not as easy. My ideal is to run but I may just have to settle with 10 minutes on the elliptical during lunch. I have a friend who is a nutritionist and I've put in a few questions to her about meal planning and the like. If she provides anything profound, I'll share it here for all of you to benefit from.

Well, those are the latest details I have to share. Today was a lovely fall day and I was able to get out for a nice long walk around town. I hope everyone was able to enjoy the weather where ever you are.