I know that almost no one comes here to find out about the latest skin care. I have tried many different brands. I probably should create another site for all my experimentation with skin care and makeup lines. But I don’t have another website.

I was at Sephora earlier today cashing in my Beauty Insider bonus. As it turned out, I also had enough points to get a free sample. I didn’t like the other two choices, so I chose a 10 mL sample of Amatokin Emulsion for the Face. I had never heard of it, so I had to check out waht is so special about this skin care. The sample is worth over $60. A full-sized Amatokin lotion (I don’t know what else to call it. It’s not really lotion, as you only use a pea-sized amount on your face.) costs $190 from the Amatokin website. I couldn’t find it online at Sephora, so I did a Google search.

I’ll be trying it out. It’s too bad that it’s so costly because I won’t likely be able to buy more. However, if the company finds this post, perhaps they’d like to send some other samples. I’d really like to try the lip emulsion.

I hardly have wrinkled skin due to staying out of the sun and using very expensive lotions since I was in my early twenties. As I said, I’ve tried most skin care lines over the years. I have a few lines on my forehead and two deep lines between my brows from squinting and concentrating. I tend to bunch up my face when I am thinking. Those lines have diminished some in the past couple of years with the skin care lines I have used, but nothing makes them disappear. I’ve had them since I was in my early twenties–they’re just deeper now. I also have enlarged pores on my nose and around it. I don’t often have breakouts, but I do have sensitive skin. It’s often a bit reddish, which is only noticeable when I don’t wear makeup.

So what’s Amatokin’s secret? It’s a peptide that was developed to heal scaring for burn victims. If you’ve ever known anyone who has been burned, you know how deep and ugly those scars can be.

Amatokin comes form Voss Laboratories. I haven’t heard of either name before. No, this isn’t a paid post. I thought I’d record the effectiveness of this product. Facial creams have come a long way since I was in my early twenties. I’d say they have come a long way in the past five years.

Here’s a photo of where my skin is today with some makeup. Of course, the lines are deeper when smiling, but I didn’t like the unsmiling ones. Untouched photo taken in natural light outside at 3:45 pm. I will let you know what I notice and will post a photo when I have run out of the serum. I am starting the serum tonight, and then I will use it twice a day.

Since I had some spare time (not writing) I thought I would experiment with varous photos of the Christmas tree. I thought this one came out interesting. It’s not the same old boring tree with lights.

Wishing everyone a great Thanksgiving.

I haven’t posted for a while. I’m still working on my novel. I plan to finish the plot by the end of the month. Today is the first day I could be declared an official winner. I will be keeping the word count banner in the sidebar until November 30.

I have been writing–a lot. I have also been job hunting. It’s not going quite the way I want. The hunt also doesn’t move at the pace I want. In the meantime, I immerse myself in the world I have created. I have been dreaming about my novel. I have never done that before. I have dreamt about creative projects before but not writing. It’s interesting to have this second world so unlike my own.

I saw Quantum of Solace on Saturday night. I didn’t think would see it this weekend. I was too tired on Thursday to make it to the midnight showing. Friday night I was busy. Saturday I had an all day workshop. I had gotten sick in there somewhere. I needed to write. But after Saturday’s workshop, tired as I was, I went with a few others to the movie.

I didn’t like it as much as the first. I often felt like I missed something along the way. I may have been too tired to follow the dialogue closely. It has a lot of action, so if you love action movies, this one is a must-see. The filming of the action scenes bothered my eyes. The scenes were partly blurry just like they might be in real life. I was left feeling a bit out of sorts. The villians were sufficiently creepy. Bond was cold and calculating, yet tormented. I haven’t read any reviews, so I dn’t know what others have thought. The movie has done well over the weekend though–lots of tickets.

Yes, I reached 50,000 words today at 1:41 pm. I have lots more to go to finish the story. My plan is to write the entire novel without skipping scenes or writing “The End” before I reach the end.

Last year, I reached 50,000 words on November 25. Five days before the deadline. This year I reached the goal by November 13, 17 days before the deadline.

Anyone else looking forward to seeing this movie? I enjoyed that last one for the dialogue and tension between Bond and Vesper. Where do those female names come from anyway?

I’ve been busy working on my novel. I plan to reach 50,000 words today. I hardly slept last night, so I don’t know if I’ll be seeing the movie tonight. My weekend is booked, so I may be waiting until next week.

The rodent catching has died down a bit. Although I did find my dog with a mouse yesterday. I suspect he caught it.

The rodents haven’t made it into my novel. Thank God. I was a little worried. It’s not unusual for the novel to shift according to whatever is happening in my life or with what I watch. My current word count is in the sidebar. I’ve beenwriting quite a bit each day. Today was probably the most difficult. I wrote a lot of dialogue, which takes time and space but few words.

I noticed last night that mice (I think, could be baby rats) were running into the garage when I opened the door. tehre aren’t many feral cats in the neighborhood. I don’t think my house is the only one with numerous rodents.

I caught another one today in my garage, bringing the total to 22.

I have extra rat zappers coming soon with waterproof boxes so I can catch outdoor rodents. I think that may be my only chance to keep them out of the garage.