My summer has flown by, but I’m still here! What has kept me absent from blogging is the newest addition to our family — Meet Rusty….

 

Our Newest Addition
Our Newest Addition

This little guy was a stray found by a loved one. He was quite scrawny when found, and we spent a few months trying to fatten him up a bit while finding his rightful home. Now, we’re certain, his home is with us. This isn’t my first dog, but it’s the first dog we have when we didn’t also have a fenced in yard, so 4 times per day we need to take walks and sniff out all the interesting things in the neighborhood.  My spouse and I try to divvy up the walks fairly – and I try for the first of the morning and last of the evening when it’s cooler. Because it may be September, but it’s still hot.

Speaking of hot — what this busty girl has been using to beat some heat-related discomfort is the following:

BAN Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths —

BAN Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths
BAN Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths

These were given to me as a sample, handed out on the streets of NYC. My commute takes me past a spot that is popular with people handing out samples of new potato chip flavors, snack bars, new Vitamin Water flavors and I was handed these without ever having seen or heard of them. A search on Amazon shows that they’ve been around a while. It looks like I was handed a sample of a new scent with the baby powder finish. I expected them to be exactly like babywipes or some other pre-moistened cloth but these are different. They leave your skin with a drier finish. I could see myself keeping a few in my purse or at my desk for mid-day refresh.   I’m still working through the dozen or so I was given a few months ago as a sample. I’m not sure how quickly I’d use these up or when I’ll be buying more.

Monistat anti-chafing gel.
http://www.monistat.com/vaginal-health-products/complete-care/vaginal-chafing-relief-powder-gel

Earlier this summer, Darlene gave a Stressless Dressing for D+ at Bottomless Closet and one of the attendees mentioned this product. OMG. OMFG. She’d mentioned that her husband even uses it for where he might, ahem, chafe. I purchased this at CVS. A Google search of the active ingredient in the product will reveal that it’s the same active ingredient in Smashbox Face Primer, but at an incredibly steep discount. If you have trouble finding Monistat’s anti-chafing gel, that’s why. But if you do find it, anywhere your body may get chafing is a good place to try this.

Monkey Butt Powder.

In addition to my Ariats and Enell Sports bra, I never go riding without this stuff.
In addition to my Ariats and Enell Sports bra, I never go riding without this stuff.

Back in my horseback riding days, we would use this on our thighs. I picked this up at Tractor Supply when I was getting a new pair of Ariats. It’s worth having if you’ll be in the saddle for any length of time, but I only use it when riding.

Better Fitting Bra — We’ve all heard the statistic “80% of women are wearing the wrong sized bra.” and everytime I see or hear this, I’m thinking, well…no joke. Even among those of us who are quite knowledgeable about fit, who’ve been fitted by the best (love you Freddie from Eveden!) we are still in the wrong size and it’s a function of mathematics. Women come in an infinite variety of sizes and bras come in a finite number of sizes. What fit close to perfectly at one week in my cycle doesn’t fit at all well in another week and this is normal. Then there is the non-menstrual variation in bra size. Gain or lose a few pounds and your bras fit differently, causing chafing or itching. The better the fit, the less I seem to chafe. But sometimes I have to make do with what’s clean and in the drawer so I turn to the gel.

What are your tips for beating the heat?

Coming to the Swap? I’ll have both the BAN Cooling Cloths and the Monistat gel with me.  Be forewarned, my phone has dozens of doggie pictures and I’ll be ready to share those, too!