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Where did my ancestors come from?  Why do I look the way I do?  Who am I? Three months ago, a quest to find myself  set sail.  I was given a 23 and Me DNA test for this year’s birthday.  Who am I?  Who are you? March 14, 2020 (mi cumpleaños) landed smack dab in the center of Covid19.  After receiving the DNA “kit,” it took me three months to feel comfortable spitting into a vial and shipping the spit off to North Carolina.  Subjecting anyone to my saliva ~ during Covid ~ was difficult to get excited about. Ahh, but, once Georgia began opening back up the little test tube containing Ms. Sweeney’s DNA, left Atlanta (June 8) enroute to Burlington, North Carolina.  A week later, the nifty 23 and Me app texted saying that my saliva safely arrived and was appropriately “in queue.” Let the ancestral-mystery solving begin. I also signed up for My Heritage to explore the family tree thing (apparently, 23 and Me recently added a similar feature to their site too).  Thus far, My Heritage has deluged me with relatives and ancestor matches. In other words, I’m not the first in the tribe to investigate such mysteries online. If “names” are an indication of DNA, it’s safe to say 23 and Me will report high percentages of: English, Scottish and Irish.  But I’ve heard several people say they were “surprised” with their findings, thus my curiosity is high. Have any of you tried either 23 and Me or My Heritage?  Did you make welcome connections?  Was it worth the time, effort and money?  The family tree process is taking some getting used to.  It’s labor intensive for sure. I’d love tips and feedback: triangleparkatl@gmail.com or comment below. OTHER NEWS: ART Pencil painting is a lot of fun — my “escape” of choice. There are several techniques that help images emerge: finger smearing (oil on your hand is a great smudger), using the eraser as the “pencil” once the image is primed with graphite, using a paper towel to spread tones, and of course, dark pencil lines when you’re ready. I enjoy drawing older people with plenty of character lines.  Lots of time goes into these portraits.  What happens sometimes, and in this project it has, is that a whole feature ends up being inaccurately placed.  This lady’s mouth has to be completely erased and repositioned. Ten to twenty hours remain… She’s far from finished MOTHER-DAUGHTER DAY Thank you for reading! Love, Shelley

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text] What a difference a year makes. A year ago, we were preparing the marriage of our oldest daughter, Savanna, June 29, 2019.  Passionate prep and planning didn’t miss a beat for 11 straight months.  You know what goes into wedding planning.  You also know that you never know if all the hard work you put in will “play out” as planned?  2020 is a whole different year indeed. We are shaking our heads at the differences between ‘19 and ‘20.  Unreal. Unexpected physical and psychological adjustments popped up here and there for the past six months.  Namely a decrease in physical activity resulting in a need for psychological pliancy. I’m guessing you know what I’m talking about? Did you find staying home and only going out for essential items easy or psychologically taxing?  Was it a pseudo vacation for you, or down-right depressing?  Was the physical adjustment or the psychological adjustment more difficult? The fact that physical activity is good for health and that it helps alleviate depression put both adjustments in tandem for most of us. “Exercise helps prevent and improve a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis. Research on depression, anxiety and exercise shows that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help improve mood and reduce anxiety.” (Depression and Anxiety – Exercise Eases Symptoms), Mayo Clinic) During lockdown, we could all get out and walk or run but it wasn’t the same as the exercise routines that we put on hold.  Did you about go crazy?  I did.  We all put a lot of hard work into staving off depression and staying in shape by altering our regimen.  — I mean, walking the dog double-time is okay, but endorphins rarely release with all the stop and go. Now that clubs, fitness centers, and yoga studios have reopened it appears that we’ll build our muscle back up in the nic of time.  With help from God and having our favorite endorphin-producing activities back in business, sacrifices that went into locking down will [hopefully] pay off.  Somewhat akin to angst and hope that goes into wedding planning paying off. What a difference a year makes. Thank you for reading. Love, Shelley[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2982″ img_size=”large” style=”vc_box_border_circle_2″ border_color=”pink” css_animation=”fadeIn”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_empty_space height=”100px”][vc_single_image image=”1555″ img_size=”large”][vc_empty_space height=”1500px”][vc_column_text]“The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”600px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]StrawberryFieldsForever[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4v6khkC5yY”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]We all miss things that we loved to do before the covid crisis.  Some things more than others, of course.  What I miss[ed] most was: flying Delta and visiting quiet islands.  I don’t miss them anymore though because over Memorial Day weekend I got my fix by flying Delta to BQK (Jekyll and St. Simons). — Air travel is back with cleaner cabins than before.  Did you notice over the last few years that aircraft seats, tray tables, magazines, etc. were a tad less than sanitized? Not any more…all things fuselage are spic and span! — I left on Sunday before Memorial Day.  Hartsfield-Jackson was virtually empty.  Get this, I got in a Lyft and arrived at the busiest airport in the world, dropped a bag, cleared security, trained to concourse D, and used the bathroom twice in exactly 40 minutes.  Speedy indeed. Jeff and I settled in on the top floor of the original tower / Jekyll Island Club Hotel.  The atmosphere was almost normal. The main ballroom dining area was closed, valet services were unavailable and our room wasn’t serviced daily but other than those, it was near business as usual. The pool was active with socially-compliant people lounging about.  The [open] restaurants were pulsing with seafood-loving customers and bikes (my favorite!) were abundant.  Ahh, a semblance of a normal, calm, relaxing life returning. Driftwood beach is a quiet, protected, and interesting part of Jekyll island.  Odd trees, and limbs “drift” upon it.  Walking along it is private, peaceful and very calm.  We’ve only passed a couple of people over all the years we’ve visited combined.  The shore line takes you along the southern tip of the island where Cumberland Island can be seen in the distance. We also visited Jeff’s high school, Glynn Academy, in Brunswick.  The school is the oldest public high school in the United States (1788) and the campus resembles a university (it looks nothing like my high school in Aloha, Oregon!).  I moved to Oregon from Georgia (4th grade) and missed the Georgia school system very much.  Walking around Glynn reminded me how much and how I used to dream of moving back to Georgia. So, ya, it’s good to be returning to uplifting, familiar activities that I/we love to do.  Especially given the unGodly news and images on tv lately.  I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.  It’s disgusting and disturbing and renders me speechless.  God help us all. Thank you for reading! Love, Shelley[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”2914″ img_size=”large”][vc_single_image image=”2915″ img_size=”large”][vc_single_image image=”2918″ img_size=”large”][vc_empty_space height=”220px”][vc_single_image image=”2923″ img_size=”large”][vc_single_image image=”2932″ img_size=”large”][vc_single_image image=”2927″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Last weekend, Georgia and Tennessee were on their way to opening back up (May 2-3).  Like so many, I was itching to get a new travel tempo going again. We’re not quite ready to resume international travel, so I asked Diana to go with me to Chattanooga, one of our favorites [foodie] cities ever, to dip our toes in the new travel tempo. We road-tripped to Chatt for a single night’s stay at Holiday Inn and Suites, Downtown ‘Nooga OpenHotel. Have we forgotten how to travel?  Was it scary? No, we haven’t forgotten how to travel, but we might as well.  A lot has changed and I don’t mean the obvious: stand six feet from the receptionist conscientiously wash hands after using the lobby lavatory be courageous in elevator with other guests always knuckle-push buttons Never touch your face prior to washing hands The above are new travel tempo and military-esque protocols that anyone watching the news lately will adopt when they resume traveling. What might as well be forgotten is the carefree, casual vacay tempo of days gone by.   So long old, happy-go-lucky travel tempo, Welcome: cautious and concerned tempo!  At least that is what I discovered on my first baby-step vacation to Chattanooga, post-lockdown. Was it scary? Yes and no. The scary part was:  for over two weeks prior to departure, the two of us contemplated driving less than two hours, for a less than 24-hour stay. Lets go.  No, maybe not.  For sure, let’s do it.  No, better not.  Go!  Don’t go!  Maybe go…  Vacillating was the scary part. But, as soon as courage defeated fear, no, it wasn’t scary at all. A tip to consider amidst the latest travel tempo: Create a new Essential Pack List (mine includes ear plugs, shower cap, EmergenC, echinacea/goldenseal, brow pencil).  Hotels may not stock all the necessities in the rooms that they used to.  Sure, you can call the receptionist but they’ll have to bring you what you need (i.e. contact). Whenever, wherever, however you resume non-essential travel, be safe and be clean. Thank you for reading, Love, Shelley Social distancing frisbee-style Chattanooga foot bridge is enjoyable exercise If in Chattanooga, check out Lupi’s Pizza! Lupi’s Pizza is delicious!

Drawing picked up steam for me during shelter in place.  Having an old hobby re-emerge is one of the good things to come out of otherwise depressing time and space: Quarantine. (That’s just a depressing word [quarantine], in and of itself.) Most of you know I have a soft spot for creating old, wrinkly people in black and white.  I call my creations pencil paintings.  An art teacher that I’ve known for years [ArtClasses] has begun offering classes via Zoom.  Joining the discussions has re-inspired me to draw. If you’re interested in learning to draw or paint check this link out: ChrisdiDomizio Thanks for stopping by! Love, Shelley

Hi Everyone, How are you?  Are you “opening back up?” How did quarantine go for you?  Happy, healthy and hopeful, I trust? The past month of quarantine has been a roller coaster in my house.  One minute time slooows down, the next it speeds up.  “Stay at Home,” started out humdrum and routine: go for a walk; go to the grocery store; cook; check on Mother; text; email; walk the dog; walk the dog again, repeat.  How’s quarantine treating you? Then whammo!  Last week, during a single day (four hours to be exact), dullness in our household exploded into adrenaline rushed pandemonium and a Sweeney surge of economic participation. News Flash:  All three people quarantined in my home (me, Jeff, Diana) survived a geiser-style plumbing fiasco that just happened to coincide with the removal of a dilapidated-crash-any-day stone wall; plus, gutter and yard maintenance; and coveted maid service.  All on our property.  All in one day. In other words, the Sweeneys are opening back up. Have you ever had a smelly gurgling in your kitchen sink?  Then, proceeded to check it out and discover a cracked pipe?  And then you tinker with this and that while you’re under the sink any way?  Thus wisely choosing to call an expert?  But…then someone in the house starts laundry, unaware the laundry plumbing has been happily married to the now disabled kitchen plumbing all these years? Try to imagine a volcano-esque eruption of disgarded food particles that are encapsulated by disgusting conglomerations of fat and sewer chemicals exploding into an otherwise-sterile kitchen.  Mean while, a mini monsoon claims the basement, directly below your feet. What would you do? What did you do? No kidding, that happened in our house last week. Jeff, Diana and I bolted into action to save our kitchen, basement and all possessions the storm had in its path.  Water and food particles flew to the sky and everywhere in between, or so it seemed.  I dragged an area rug out of the front door as water poured off of it, while Diana mopped up gunk from the hardwoods (on her hands and knees for an hour), and the dog chased the neighbor cat across the street.  Jeff ripped soggy insulation from the basement ceiling and scattered furniture and supplies.  He vacuumed and mopped for what seemed like ages. It. Was. Chaos. To the rescue: the very next day a drain specialist and plumber showed up and repaired the entire debacle to better than new.  This Sweeney plumbing tragedy (as Diana describes it) indeed coincided with an immense undertaking of removing a very old stone wall, gutter cleaning and, last but not least, our beloved house cleaners who came in behind all of them to make things shiny, bright and happy again.  I thank God for all of the wonderful, amazing people who are getting back to business in Atlanta, GA.  God Bless all of us. Thanks for reading! Love, Shelley Plumber While they were in the house… Hanging outside… All cleaned up… Here one day, gone the next. Waiting on the wall… “What is happening?” 8 tips for surviving (and thriving!) in the midst of chaos

Hi Everyone, I hope you all are hanging in there with the crazy Covid19 stuff going on.  Speaking of crazy Covid19 stuff: what is with the toilet paper craze? Toilet paper never, ever would have crossed my mind as a rush-out-to-get item early in this crisis.  Thank the Lord I had plenty in the basement because I would have been,well, sh** out of luck, so to speak.  No doubt you’ve noticed how scarce and sacred toilet paper became overnight? Will any human ever look at a package of Charmin or Scott the same again?   Four white rolls tucked snuggly in plastic, sitting on a shelf, never looked more appealing.  Who knew? In the Beginning The first couple weeks of lockdown were energizing, a challenge.  Attention!  Call up the troops.  Do your part. Be an alive American soldier! Fight, fight! We got this. I mean, good grief, the speed at which I get in and out of Publix and Whole Foods these days is impressive.  You’d think I had a plane to an exotic get-away to catch. Sailing up and down aisles for absolute essentials only, while holding my breath to dodge cryptic, invisible enemies is a new, weird, norm.  Another new “weird” norm is the fact that, though I don’t need any, I often peak down the toilet paper aisle, just for fun. What!?  And only two times have I been pleasantly surprised to see toilet paper stacked neatly on shelves.  Oh, look, there it is.  Oh my, isn’t it lovely sitting up there.  Just lovely. Amazing too. More Crazy… If scurrying up and down aisles as fast as possible isn’t anxiety inducing enough, once I sneezed in Publix.  A cloud of guilt berated me all the way to the car. Atlanta’s pollen count was around 9,000 and sneeze-guilt still heckled me home.  Nevermind my eyes were bright red and watery. I hoped and prayed people who saw and heard me kerchoo also took note of the watery-redness and that they were up to speed with pollen stats. It’s Going to be Okay Speeding through grocery stores with military precision, fighting the enemy with held breath, hoping to spy packages of Charmin or Scott as a side thrill,  all the while dreaming of a flight to Scotland is not so bad if you carry Faith and Hope with you. This too shall pass.  And, let’s not forget that a sneeze is the body’s natural reaction to defend itself.  Just make sure the sneeze lands securely in your elbow. God will take care of all else.  Happy Easter every day, not just in April! Exotic destinations and Scott toilet paper are new dreams Thank you for reading! Love, Shelley “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away,” Matthew 24:35.

Hi Friends and Family, I hope you are happy, healthy and hopeful. All three Triangle Park girls are living reorganized lives regarding Covid-19…as best we can.   I’m sharing mine in this blog and please check out: https://triangleparkatl.com/  to read what Savanna and Diana are doing in their reorganized lives, or click their respective links at the end of this post. Here’s what’s new in my humble bubble: EXTRA Prayer Time –  Before Covid-19 I prayed every day.  But, admittedly, the time I spent praying was never as much as I could have . Afterall, I’m always busy-busy like the rest of the world.  But nowadays, “busy” is a useless excuse.  Who doesn’t have time to pray [more] in our reorganized, new reality lives? Food Delivery to 90-year-old – I love to cook delicious, healthy food so life hasn’t changed much in this regard.  But I’m cooking more meals per week and delivering portions to my mom in Sandy Springs.  Mom cooks three meals a day but thoroughly enjoys when I bring her goodies. Home Hair Cuts – I’ve cut my own hair for the past four months and, oh lawd, am I a happy camper doing so!  I’ve also given Diana a haircut and this past weekend coiffed Jeff’s hair on the back deck. The artist in me enjoys the process and, if I do say so myself, I’m pretty good at it. Scant – Zero Alcohol – Drinking alcohol isn’t a priority or big desire for me. But, knowing that a tip-top immune system will help ward off Covid, I’ve kissed alcohol goodbye.  I do, however, look forward to my favorite custom-made margarita at Taqueria Del Sol in the not-to-distant future. Learning to Make Videos – With extra idle time in my reorganized life, I’ve finally become motivated to enter the world of adding videos to my website.  Speaking to a camera is awkward but when you envision the friends and family you’re directing messages to it’s quite easy and fun. That’s it folks.  I recommend all five of my daily life adjustments.  You may not have an elderly mother to deliver food to, but cooking and eating healthy will help you get through this mess.  Let me know if you’d like hair cutting tips.  I have quite a salon set up at home, and I’d also love to share tips I’ve learned [the hard way] about making videos, even though I’m still not very good. Clearly, I’m still a work in progress with video production as you’ll see from the attached video.  In it, I share things I/we’re doing to reach out to others. If you’re interested in any of the above email me at: triangleparkatl@gmail.com. You may or may not recall that I’m working on a portrait drawing.  Here it is thus far: A new drawing project of a beautiful woman. Thank you for reading! Love, Shelley Prayer: Dear Lord, We come to you broken, helpless.  Have mercy on us. Forgive us our selfishness, ego-driven motivation, our navel-gazing.  Help us to listen and learn from your Word and omniscience. We don’t have you, Lord, you have us and for that we are thankful. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” … “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” Psalm 91 Savanna’s latest blog A whole new world Diana’s Blog These are Difficult Times Art School: https://www.didomizioartscenter.com/

If you are busy-busy and rarely slow down to make time for family I needn’t remind you that a horrid halt is upon us to make time for family, whether we want to or not.  Thankfully, my family spends a lot of time together in general, so we are not in major readjustment mode. But, like everyone else our daily routine is quite different. It goes without saying that the trajectory of pandemic-2020 is shocking and tragic. A little less so, perhaps, if you watched Contagion – 2011.  Many of us who saw the movie [sort of] saw it coming, if you will.  But I thought it was SARS, then the Swine flu, then MERS, Ebola, Zika…wait, what is going on — there are too many to name. Do you know that the Swineflu infected 61 million Americans??  SIXTY ONE MILLION.  And do you recall panic surrounding that pandemic?  I don’t. It’s safe to say everyone will recall this bug.  Especially given it has a middle and last name:  Corona-Wuhan-China (a/k/a Covid-19). Whatever you call it, this sucker has a big, pandemic bite and is igniting *dempanic™ on top of immeasurable misery. The good news is God is in control and we (a lot of us) put our faith and trust in Him realizing we have no control over the situation or His plan. Five new routines for TPA: Morning prayer that lasts longer than normal Long walks with good conversation / no cell phones Home baked desserts Relaxing outside on the grass Stick shift instruction for Diana (enjoy what you already have, the Joy is in the JOurneY, not the end — Kobe Bryant even said so). How are you staying sane and connected? Thank you for reading! Love, Shelley Diana practiced shifting around her old high school parking lot Beautiful day at Piedmont Park yesterday afternoon. Quality, quietness in the center of the universe, IMHO Watching time and clouds pass slowly by Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us – Romans 5:3-5. *Dempanic™ is a term that arose in a fiction story I’m writing.  A character uses it to calm his dying mother by redirecting her “pandemic” fear to the Truth.  I inserted the term in this blog for a heads up. (*dempanic™ March 19, 2020, all rights reserved)

What does Happy Birthday mean to you?  Are you one that doesn’t bother celebrating your birthday?  Or, do you call up family and friends and head out on the town to celebrate?  What would you do if the world was in the midst of a viral pandemic? Celebrate or lay low… turning 5-8 I turned 5-8 yesterday, smh.  Initially Jeff and I had plans to have a blow out good time at a GOCA (Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance) auction in the Georgia Aquarium.  Savanna, Joey, and Diana were also looking forward to supporting this great cause with us. We attended last year and had a lot of fun while supporting a great organization (thanks Sean! xo). …But then…Covid19 happened and the auction was postponed [insert sad face].  Needless to say, worry, anxiety and toilet-paper-shortage-possibilities arose and we questioned whether we should go out at all, birthday or no birthday.  turning 5-8 Add to that, the Georgia Institute of Technology extended their spring break for two weeks and asked students to stay away from campus until at least March 30. But in the end, it was a stunning, sunny day outside and we decided to take necessary precautions and head out for as fun a time as we could manage.  And indeed it was a great time of delicious food, atmosphere, singing, sparklers and silly selfies:  LeBilboquet St.Regis/GardenRoom I don’t always celebrate birthdays with such pomp and circumstance but for number 5-8, I’m thankful to have done so.  And I’m also thankful for the thoughtful people in my life that sent personal messages, including a video chat from a major throwback in Oregon (thanks Debbie!). God willing the pandemic crisis we’re all in will quickly pass, and all those who desire to celebrate their birthday on the town with family and friends can and will do so in 2020. Stay healthy and strong everyone. Thank you for reading! Love, Shelley Thank you girls, for everything! I love you xo

Ladies that blog together also try to die together…at the gym.  For instance last Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m., Piedmont Fitness Center, Extreme 90xs Core Workout (Mike).  It’s a miracle that all three of us aren’t dead. Planning a mutually convenient hour to attend a fitness class together seemed like the hardest part of the whole deal…until we laid eyes on Mike. Typically, I only attend a.m. classes at Piedmont.  Sometimes there are just two people in a class and always the attendees are, well, older.   Put it this way, after “Mike’s” class, it’s shocking that I’m alive to write about it.  I should be dead, and the girls aren’t far behind my agony. Savanna, Diana and I knew that Extreme 90xs wasn’t “suitable for beginners,” the written description was clear. What we didn’t know was that the instructor had biceps the size of cantaloupes and that he wouldn’t make concessions for newcomers. Note: Mike’s class was a poor decision for me beyond his out-of-my-league physique.  I was, and am, in the midst of nursing foot/calf injuries (plural). Perhaps you can relate:  It’s just so stinking hard to give in to lameness. After we set our positions up with steps and weights, Mike set the music blaring and pumping. The room was packed; he yelled orders like a pro and just looking at his arms made mine hurt before we began. When I finally thought a nice cadence was in motion with my sore feet, Mike shouted for everyone to follow him out of the room. “We need to see some light,” he said.  But there was no light. He had us run up a stairwell all the way to the top floor. Exactly how many flights? A LOT. I got dizzy and had to stop about halfway up and was happy to find, once I got going again, that Savanna had stopped too, a couple floors above me. When back in the classroom, we were kicking in the air, dropping to the ground, grabbing weights, twisting, turning and trying as best we could to kill ourselves, or so it seemed.  Then, Mike instructed us to the gym where we did sprints, laps, and walked back and forth in plank position, stopping when ordered to “raise your right, raise your left, forward, back…”  Oh. My. God. I’m not doing Mike’s class ever again because truth be known: I don’t want to die.  Divorcing myself from Extreme 90xs after just one try doesn’t mean I don’t like Mike, because I do.  We all liked Mike. But you won’t find me back in his class ever again. And for that matter, I won’t be in any class for a while…until my injured foot heals.  Prayers accepted. Thank you for reading! Love, Shelley Here’s Sav’s experience Savanna 90x and the moment I realized I was out of shape Diana’s take: Diana The Extreme Workout In other news we grabbed Vietnamese coffee at Warhorse Coffee/The Goat Farm yesterday:

I won’t be surprised if “preserving youthfulness” ends up as an OCD category before I die.   Women will succumb to and pay for the wildest, [whatever works] remedies for a younger-than-the-truth look.  Guilty! I’ve explored an option or two in the name of preserving youth. Last week I tried a DIY microneedling procedure. The tool I used is pictured below. In this day and age, one would expect before and after photos or a video of me executing the procedure.  As much as I’d like to provide those, rolling micro needles back and forth over my face in a bathroom, while a camera stalks me, isn’t my style.  But here’s the tea if you’re interested: A few months back a medispa, Truffles (I just couldn’t resist checking it out because it’s located in our condo building),  recommended microneedling for an expression line between my eyebrows. I wanted to take them up on it right then and there, but doing so meant I was obliged to pay for needles to treat my entire face whether I wanted to or not. Rather than throw money down the drain I opted out.  Next thing I knew Savanna and a friend of hers, Kat, recommended a DIY micro needle roller that they both use.  I was surprised to hear they microneedled because Sav and Kat are young, fresh and beautiful. — Did you know that botox is recommended for people in their twenties now?  Paralyze that menacing muscle before the enemy wrinkles attack in the first stinkin’ place?  I guess the same goes for microneedling?  Wake that collage up already…hurry, hurry? — Amazon delivered a Lolysenta Beauty Care roller and Evolve Organic Beauty Hyaluronic Serum (recommended after care)  to my front door the day after I clicked: Place Order.  I’m sure you know the drill. Before I started “needling,” I made sure my face was cleaned thoroughly with a gentle cleanser.  Here is the video DIYMicroneedling that I watched before attempting this mild madness. The needles didn’t “hurt” as they rolled over my skin, but the sensation was prickly and “needle-like” all the same. Note: they did not and should not penetrate the skin (light pressure y’all!).  Apparently, in a medispa the needles do penetrate and slight bleeding is common though. When I was done rolling I had a flushed, pinky-red, awakened complexion that I’m thrilled to not have a picture of.  The next step was soothing hyaluronic serum and, of course, sterilization of the needling tool. Is microneedling worth the effort and money? Yes.  Personally, my skin needs a break from exfoliating.  Exfoliators are everywhere you look, even washcloths exfoliate.  Skin thins as you age, so a little exfoliating goes a long way. Microneedling doesn’t do that.  The tiny needles promote a “healing” process that stimulates collagen production. I’m optimistic about incorporating microneedling into my skin care routine. At age 57, preserving “youthfulness” is wishful thinking.  I just want to do whatever works and isn’t too painful so that friends, family, acquaintances and MYSELF continue to recognize me in the grocery store and bathroom mirror.  I wouldn’t say I’m OCD with “preserving youthfulness.” But…time will tell. Thank you for reading! Love, Shelley Here’s another take on micro needling from Savanna: Savanna Dermarolling for better looking skin Diana Mom and Sav made me Micro-Needle On another note, I’m embarking on a drawing project.  I hope you’ll follow along in weeks to come: