I can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted. I am so shocked I haven't been fired, that my pay check is still coming in - oh, yea! Like being tennis team Captain - no matter how much you screw it up - the paycheck remains the same! I love it anyway and do both just for the love of it/the amazing Captain's Gift you get at the end of the season...Except for the fact that LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE MAKING A FREAKING BOAT LOAD OF MONEY BLOGGING! I'm good...   When I first started doing this - yes, I thought I was on top of this wave and would be on Oprah any day. Then I realized that several others had also been doing this for YEARS!! That Julie chick that loved Julia - was NOT THE FIRST PERSON LIKE ME TO BLOG AND GET FAMOUS. I had no idea you could actually get paid. I was just hoping for some free stuff every oncenever happened in a while. Money??? For blogging? REALLY? Except for my two dedicated followers - YOU know who you are, I probably would have had the sense to stop a long time ago.  One is now a famous blogger that made it to the freakin Meridith Viera Show! I've never been more proud of one of my own children. Not only have they never been to Meridith's they don't really even bother to read Mom's blog. Of course I'm kidding! I am SO PROUD EVERY DAY of my children. Baby Girl pretended to read back when I was actually posting. Boy child not so much. Maybe he hated his nickname? But, Fan #1?? She pumped me up! I'd run into her around town(at a store) and she'd actually be buying stuff I'd shared on the blog! While she never asked for an autograph - it kinda felt like one. Then she moved to Boston and is now famous and rocking her Christmas Scapes on National TV. Miss you!!

My other fan/Partner in Beauty Crime is to blame for this post. We are beauty junkies that like a shopping spree that includes a free goodie bag at Neimans. Don't ask, we won't tell our husbands or you how much - just remember what Dolly said, " It takes a lot of money to look this cheap"...except we don't look cheap. And as WE ALL know there isn't anything cheap at Neimans. Anyhoo - She gets all the credit for me posting tonight.

About the time I stopped blogging I was going through shock that I was getting older, my kids were too and things were changing. Fast. Lots of things and most of it was good, some was bitter sweet and some days it felt like I was on a roller coaster. As a kid I loved roller coasters - the faster the better! My first one was the Dahlonega at Six Flags Over Georgia. Long time ago. Sweet memories - from going there with my many cousins to going with my children. But, in real life when things are moving fast and out of control it's sometimes thrilling and sometimes just scary.

And that is what it feels like some days as I/we are getting older. I honestly do better when I don't think too much. Stop laughing - I know there's "nothing in my noggin"! Family joke. Sweet friend of Griffin's back in Georgia told us that one day and we are still laughing and saying it! Scary how things become true.

About a year ago I also felt like something wasn't right any more with my health - I'm not dying - I just knew things weren't just changing due to age, things weren't right. And things needed to change. When your weight is the same but you can't fit into your clothes at the end of the day because you look like your twins are overdue, something is wrong. A trip to my gyno confirmed it wasn't ovarian or uterine cancer and she recommended I see a gastro doctor.  I'd been ignoring a strong suggestion from Cooper Clinic doctors since I was 45 to have a colonoscopy due to stomach issues. Finally, at 53 and pregnant with imaginary daily overdue twins I decided it might be time to schedule it. When my Fancy Friend beat me to our long dreaded Colonoscopy I knew it was time for me to Woman Up and go. No pun intended - hardest part is that you go. And go ALOT. Like all freakin night! So you can starve the entire next day too while you wait for your appointment. Good news is, once you actually finish saying goodbye to everything you've digested in the last year, and you get called back to the "room", they give you the most amazing drugs ever! Seriously, never ever understood drug addicts. But, it was amazing. Just saying.

I was a lucky one. I'm the Poster Child for GO GET YOUR COLONOSCOPY NOW! My doc removed  - his words, "One of the largest pre cancerous polyps ever" and all was good. He also recommended I get tested for Celiac.  I'd been eating Gluten free for a few months at the suggestion of my favorite health food store friends at Mike's Health Collection in McKinney. They recommended that I stop eating just bread for two days and then if I noticed a change to read Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis. Within just 24 hours, my life changed. By day two,  I knew I'd said goodbye to sourdough, pretzels, cake, cookies, etc. When I realizied it also meant beer - well, it wasn't pretty. But I did it. Needless to say I was thrilled to discover that there are many gluten free options of all of my favorite vices out there. It's been a roller coaster. My genetic blood test - because I was gluten free at time of testing and you really should be still eating gluten for testing purposes - so test before you stop eating gluten. NOTHING would make me eat it again and go through what happens now when I accidentally do. So he recommended the genetic test. It was negative for Celiac but positive for Gluten insensitive. So I won't die from eating gluten but I'll suffer all the Celiac symptoms of doing so. And because I didn't have the gene my children should be okay too. Celiac is a very serious gluten intolerance and it can actually lead to gut cancer and is potentially deadly. I just feel like crap for days and then get better.

Flash forward to this post and what inspired me to share - in this case, maybe not the good stuff but the important stuff if you are feeling like your body is not working right. Being gluten free is not a diet choice. It is a life choice. Just because I don't have Celiac and won't die from gluten, for a few days after eating it now I feel like I'm dying.  And the symptoms vary and there is no guarantee which ones are going to hit me. So just cheating for a favorite food or beer on purpose is very scary. What is worth it and how long will I feel bad. Trust me when I accidentally eat gluten now it is brutal and that is how you know you are gluten sensitive without the fancy blood test. Just stop for about two weeks and read up on all the ways gluten is in your food. You'll be shocked. It's in more things than you can imagine. And some people are more sensitive than others and it is a learning curve. Thank God for so many blogs out there sharing the info we all need to eat gluten safe.

So why eat gluten free? Why give up the ease of any restaurant, any meal, any IPA - anytime? Because I feel so much better - the list is longer than this blog post. Notice I said feel better. Not gonna lie, I meant it when I said this is not a diet choice. I've gained weight. Too much and I'm working on that now. When you obsess over everything you eat or drink - even coffee- I found I was eating more because it was all consuming worrying over what I ate, and if I got hungry and ate something just because I loved it but couldn't have it.....Boring. And we all know boredom leads to eating. Enough.

My Partner in Beauty Crime - knows gluten free is hard but worth it to me and she told me to make sure I got the March issue of D Magazine - otherwise known as The Dallas Bible for all things fun and amazing in Dallas. She was SO excited for me cause it had all these local restaurants that were very Gluten Friendly - lingo for go if you are Gluten free, they get it and make amazing food for you!! The mag was so good she even told me to buy my own cause she was keeping hers! Love that - you know I was driving around in one of our many ice/snow storms looking for it. Got it and THAT is why I hope you are still reading.

Not only are the restaurant choices exciting for all of us eating gluten free, but Nancy Nichols, an icon in the food critic world and for the last 18 years, the Food Critic at D Magazine, wrote her last column as Food Critic  - My Job Nearly Killed Me.  Trust me, just read it. As an amateur blogger, I obviously can't do it justice. I beg you to read her article. If you have ever wondered why someone would "choose" to be gluten free. Read this. She didn't choose or like some think, want to lose weight by being gluten free. She wanted to live. She wanted to feel better. Even when she knew it would cost her, her job. True to most, a Dream Job. Getting paid to eat fancy every night ....better than my blogging gig pays. I am so glad I found my mag, I can't wait to try all the fancy gluten friendly restaurants,  but most of all I am so very thankful that someone like Nancy shared her roller coaster ride and made a lot of us eating gluten free feel better about our ride. Nancy, you are my Gluten Free Goddess!!

I've Seen the Light!!

Actually, my eyes were closed and covered but I knew the light was there and I was in the hands of  a skin wizard. Big shout out and thanks to Porter magazine and the Admiral's Club in London where this fantastic mag just jumped itself into my bag..... And guess what I read?  Dallas is the new home of one of the world's best skin magicians. Joanna Czech. I think she is so special that she made that mag just appear in my carry on. Okay, she's not that kind of magician but she works magic on her client's skin.  Just ask Anna Wintour, Kyra Sedgwick, Uma Thurman, Kim Catrall, Christy Turlington, Kate Winslet, Trudie Styler, Sting, Cate Blanchett or Kim Shelnutt.

Yes!! I never ever thought I'd see my name in a sentence with all those Beautiful People. So what if I wrote that sentence...today I too became a client of Joanna Czech!!! Not gonna lie, I was just a little nervous about the whole thing. But I was more excited about the opportunity to actually meet her and see the light. Any light. Have you seen these other women?? Me neither. In movies yes, but we know they use all kind of smoke and mirrors and special effects....and LIGHT. Light and lighting makes them all look freakingly beautiful but only if they have great skin. Thanks to HD TV even the Beautiful People have felt more mortal.

Today I felt like I too was one of them. And that is the magic of Joanna. As I said, I was a little nervous. She is famous and special and flies back to New York to take care of her Beautiful People. Monthly. Yikes. I think I had a facial a year or two ago. She is the big time. And the friendliest, instant best new friend kind of girl ever- my kind of girl. Who just happens to be on the speed dial of the world's most Beautiful People. Today she not only made me feel special, she made my skin look crazy good. The LED light treatment delivered. Tighter, firmer, better. Still me. Just better. Magic.

Joanna Czech - 646-331-7801


Trust me call her - 646-331-7801 I'm so glad I did :)

The Green Stuff

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and the month of March, cheers to drinking green......chlorophyll!  Gotcha! You thought I would be drinking green beer or a margarita, right?  And I might have on the 17th, but today I finally got around to trying liquid chlorophyll in a large glass of water. As usual I'd read somewhere that someone was doing this and that it did all kinds of amazing things for you, your skin and your body. Exactly where, who & what - well, I couldn't remember those minor details, as usual. Maybe it will boost my memory skills. I'm just happy I remembered that I wanted to try it when I saw it at my grocery store today. I bought DeSouza's brand for $6.49. Not gonna lie, the strong green color was frightening - like Easter egg dye. I'm very happy to report that it did not smell and I honestly couldn't taste it in my water either. Now my green teeth & tongue may take some getting used to ...just kidding, all good there to. So I just googled why it is good for us to add this to our daily dose of good stuff for our health....according to healthybodynow.net :

Adding large amounts chlorophyll rich vegetable juices to our diets is like getting a blood and organ cleanser by washing our bodies from the inside out. Chlorophyll is known as an internal healer. In fact there are many, many benefits:

• helps to build healthy, red blood cells
• furnishes iron to organs
• delivers magnesium which makes our body more alkaline.
• helps to cleanse the liver
• reduces typhoid fever
• removes toxins and heavy metals
• increases the disease resistance of cells
• prevents the growth of bacteria
• helps our bodies heal faster from wounds and illness,
• improves teeth and gums
• neutralizes body odor
• improves varicose veins
• promotes milk production
• treats inflammation of the uterine cervix
• regulates the menstrual cycle
• relieves sore throat
• reduces inflammation
• heals rectal sores
• helps skin disorders like eczema or psoriasis
• has antiseptic benefits
• improves eye health

I'll be happy if I notice just a few of these improvements.  This is so easy I know I can keep this up. There is also a pill form that I might try for when I'm traveling because you do have to keep it refrigerated after opening.  And in case you missed it - chlorophyll helps to cleanse the liver!! Good to know - so enjoy those green beers and margarita's, with a designated driver of course!

Party Ideas

Tried and True

What happens at my parties stays at my party - unless I blog about it in which case all names have been altered to protect the guilty. 

At a recent event large gathering of cackling booze hounds held at my home in honor of one of my closest friends partner in beauty crime I observed something first hand that had only been rumored to have happened by another close friend blog supporter and equal sharer of good stuff  on her most recent girl friend trip.  Guys have "work trips" and "fishing trips" and "golf trips" ... we have Girl trips. Where we usually just do all the fun crap we normally do at home but somewhere far away from clingy children begging to be fed,  adoring husbands begging to be fed and four legged children begging just to be begging.  Sometimes we don't even leave town - although I highly recommend a change of scenery and giving all those beggars at home a chance to fend for themselves and miss you so bad that they treat you like the Goddess you are when you do finally return. I also recommend returning. 

Anyway, back to parties. Another thing we do when we can't get away for a Girl Trip. See we just Girl  Trip to someone else's house. This friend SAID that she was shocked to see grown women devour a birthday cake in 5 minutes. Now this is not the shocking part cause most of us can do that alone in 5 minutes. She witnessed this happen without any plates involved. As in they had the gall to just grab a fork - I think some hair pulling might have been involved too. Definitely some pushing and shoving. They grabbed a fork AND didn't even bother to slice the cake into servings....THEY JUST ALL DUG IN AND DEVOURED THAT POOR CAKE like a dinner at the Pay for One and Six Eat Free Honey Boo Boo Cafe.  I've been saying Honey Boo Boo was to blame for the lack of manners in our society. This is proof. Now, she was shocked but she wasted no time working her fork into that cake and she was smiling wistfully as she recalled it.

So fast forward to my recent party and instead of a Birthday Cake one of my closest friends loveschampagne assigned to bring the cake opted to bring two dozen of the biggest and most beautiful cup cakes I have ever seen in my life. And trust me I have seen cupcakes. Did I ever mention Baby Girl Tyler's middle name? Cupcake. Or maybe it was her first word. Trust me Girlfriend loves her cupcakes. So sad for her she was off partying in Austin, Tx. that night. More cupcakes for us. Now you know how women pretend they can't eat sweets? Yea. Joke. Well, I even arranged these cupcakes on a little platter - did I mention the different varieties? - and walked them around to make it easy for everyone to just stand around and keep talking AND eating cupcakes.  But, NOOOO they were TOO BIG and TOO PRETTY to eat. Now I was starting to get desperate cause these cupcakes need to move out as in I didn't want to be forced to eat anything left behind. Hostess duties and all. So I followed someone's suggestion to half them. Fine. This got a little interest. The wolves started circling. Which caused more to pause in their drinking and chatting and before I knew it - CUPCAKE WAR! Now there was not any cupcake throwing or icing smearing happening. I'm talking about - you know how sharks go bat shit crazy when there is blood in the water??? Bingo.  Seriously, my friend wasn't kidding. It truly was every woman with a fork for herself. The trick was to get your fork in there quick and back to your mouth or you could get stabbed in the hand or worse I think I saw someone gobble a bite off of someone else's fork. On purpose, because it was the last bite of the Salted Caramel  with Pretzel topped Chocolate cupcake. Thank God I was smart enough to hide one of these precious jewels in my fridge the minute that box got opened. Or I would have had to take some women down. Friend or no friend. Or I guess I could have just driven to the new Small Cakes which is where these worth every penny spent on spanx  best cupcakes I have ever seen came from. But I don't drink and drive so it is still a good thing that I hid one. And all were devoured like chum in the bloody ocean. It was not a pretty sight but boy was it worth it. Which reminds me - I need to buy some stock in Small Cakes. Google it cause they are in lots of states and it would be worth it to just walk to the nearest one to you. It doesn't matter how far - just start walking. Fast.

So looking back this morning on all the fun had last night and as I was enjoying my breakfast hiddensalted caramelcupcake  I had another great party idea for next time and it doesn't involve all the extra calories of cupcakes. Simply warm up a jar of Williams - Sonoma's Salted Caramel sauce, pour it into an attractive serving piece (presentation is every thing), open a bag of pretzels (again use attractive serving piece - manners!!) and casually mention that dessert is served!! Make that a large serving piece so the crowd and gather round and devour. Warning, things could get sticky.

I think I am still experiencing a sugar rush from my party last night and breakfast this morning....I haven't blogged more than once in the last couple of months and I just posted two today. Maybe sugar isn't the devil after all.

And my best Party Idea besides delegating - hey, if they ask to bring something to the party, don't be shy let them know what you need. I am so lucky to have good friends that always ask :))Thank you all!  Just keep a good caterer on speed dial and I highly recommend my great friend and hostess extraordinaire and owner of Little Greek Restaurant Willow Bend - 972-492-2299 ask for Jennifer and tell her you read about it here :) See to have a great party all you need is a fantastic group of guests, plenty of beverages, fabulous Greek Food and appetizers and Cupcakes!! Oh, and sparkly plastic forks - those were a big hit too!

FACE STUFF

FACING IT AT FIFTY, FORTY, THIRTY OR TWENTY...

Update - 9/15/14 - * Scroll to the end of this post for product and info update

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on the sweet young things under 35...Your skin is still amazing or breaking out and you are not concerned about wrinkles in your distant future because you are too busy being young and fabulous to realize that one day will be here before you know it and yes, my little pretty you will be shocked and appalled by how fast it can all fall apart. Or you are living life up with the hope that by the time you are my age science will have not only cured Cancer but stopped the aging process with a pill. Dream big dreams - just wash your face every night no matter how much fun you've had and WEAR SUNSCREEN EVERY DAY EVEN WHEN IT IS NOT SUNNY OUTSIDE...

For those of us that are facing the piper of aging - after being Young & Fabulous and now trying to be F.....something and Fabulous here are my  Favorite Face Things...

I've been trying a lot of new face things the last couple of months. It's been awhile since I've shared and it's been exciting to see some changes. The hard truth about being on the over Fifty side is not the wrinkles...Adjust your attitude and accept that most of these wrinkles are because we have lived, loved and smiled often. In the grand scheme of life wrinkles are not the end of the world or your beauty. Now if your wrinkles are a result of your negativity, anger and frowning, then you have more problems than my fav face stuff can fix. Sorry about that. Personally, I can live with wrinkles. It's the hormonal havoc that causes breakouts that has been making me crazy!! I've been going to the Dr. for this and not botox or fillers.. and still breaking out. Here is what seems to be working today. Knock wood.

1. Diet - Limit dairy products. According to some articles and people I know with amazing skin, that whole Got Milk campaign is just that - a brilliant marketing ploy.  And this was a really hard one for me  due to my love of all things cheese (except Goat) and cream and butter...(I love the old Paula).  But even just cutting back a little has made a huge difference in my skin.

2. Alcohol - Yes, we all know Mama loves her wine children...it would probably help if we all cut back on that. Personally,  I wouldn't know.  But, what I do know is that rubbing alcohol is not for drinking. If you are doing that then my fav face stuff can't fix that either.  But, if you apply it to any thing trying to break out on your face and ruin your day it will help. Thank you Leah Bgood for this amazing life changing information. I swear by it!! My "know it all" children beg to differ but I think they just aren't doing it. Or maybe it only works on over F...something skin. Here's what I know. I'm not filling any more expensive Px for my face and it looks great as far as big under the skin breakouts go. The minute I feel one or see something I just apply good old cheap rubbing alcohol to the area a couple of times a day and it goes away!! As long as I follow my own advice to the Young and Fab and wash EVERY night - even I don't want to after a night of too much funwine - the other types of breakouts are under control too. Not to get gross, but you know what I mean. The kind you have to pop even though all the experts say not too. Guess what they do? Pop them. I can do that for a lot less money :). Well, again our friend Alcohol dries them up so fast you will be amazed.  Just moisturize to prevent it getting too dry and if it is a major breakout apply an over the counter antibacterial cream after alcohol and before moisturizer.

3. Products - Just tell us the products, WOMAN!!
Sorry, love to ramble...Run to the Kiehl's Store or counter at Nordstrom's or Neiman's or anywhere that sells these amazing products.  Online works too but I advise you to talk and trust the sales person - tell them about your skin and they will give great advice on what you need. I have WondermanJohn to thank for these. He made a new friend in the cosmetic dept at Nordstrom while waiting for me to get a fix for my lipgloss addiction... cheaper than my shoe addiction so I think he was happy for that.  Might have been the liquid lunch I try to make sure he has during every shopping trip. Trust me ladies. If you must shop with "them",  liquor them up first.  Now, not to throw him under the bus but he has had a lifetime of skin issues with rosacea and lots of trips to dermatologist due to it.  Minding his own business that day he was approached by our new God of Skincare.  He politely commented on John's skin and offered to give him a few large samples (in jars thank you not those tiny little foil samples) to try.  Now, my hubs is no dummy. Nordstrom has an amazing return policy and our business for life.  He loves samples for travel and he just bought every thing the sales person told him too.  I about had a heart attack at the bill. He got a boat load of stuff and I almost spent more on lip gloss. (Our dirty little secret) Not only are these products FANTASTIC but they are affordable too. None of those $3000.00 eye creams here.  So guess who else is not a dummy? Me!! I am not kidding his skin looked better over night. I think for him this event probably ranks up there with the birth of his children and every tennis match he's ever won.  I couldn't get my hands on his stuff fast enough.  Now, Baby GirlTyler has been using and loving Kiehl's before us, but I thought she's only 22  - WTH does she know. Well,  She knows good stuff too.  Again, go talk to the pros about your skin and here is what I'm using:

Midnight Recovery Concentrate Elixir
Ultra Facial Moisturizer with sunscreen
Ultra Facial Cleanser
Midnight Eye Recovery Concentrate
Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution - thanks to all those years of being sun stupid, twenty & Fab
Super Multi-Corrective Cream
Epidermal Re-Texturizing  Micro-Dermabrasion scrub
Amino Acid Shampoo - we also love this

Whew! Are you still with me? Have you aged just reading this because it has taken me about 3 years to write this.  A few more favorites

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex - daytime too after night of extra funtoomuchfun/wine

OleHendiksen Pure Truth Youth Activating Oil - don't let the orange color scare you

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light - as needed for dry patchy places

Queen Helene Mud Pack Masque - twice a week in a perfect world

I would list the prices on the above products but then WondermanJohn would have a heart attack and I'd really miss him. So I guess the truth about aging is that yes it helps to accept it and enjoy the gift of being alive everyday.  A boat load of good skin care products doesn't hurt either and it is a lot cheaper than botox, fillers and surgery.

* Update 9/15/14
I'd like to add a couple of new products in the fight against hormonal breakouts....Alcohol is now followed by these amazing products that I've read about forever but it took Babygirl convincing me to try them - She loves them and her skin looks amazing!! She happened to call me during a moment of face trauma, mine, as in a ginormous swelling that was causing me to smile crooked. I kid you not. Wonderman was very concerned once he stopped pointing and laughing hysterically. Big help. She however, said,"get off this phone and rush to Ulta before they close to buy these things and you will look normal by in the morning." Thank God I didn't run into anyone and even better they had this stuff in stock and to top it all off I did look better the next day and by day 2 all gone!! We are talking major skin miracle. I'm not gonna lie - I am stock piling this stuff so if you shop at my Ulta they may be running a little low on these amazing life savers:

Mario Badescu Skin Care
Drying Lotion - use at night due to lovely shade of pink. Do not shake the bottle first. Dip a Qtip all the way to the bottom of bottle and apply to all breakouts. Allow to dry and leave on overnight.

Drying Cream - use this during the daytime and anytime you even think you feel a breakout coming on. It also helps conceal the redness.

Silver Powder - use this weekly as a mask for blackheads and whiteheads. It really cleans out your pores.

Anti aging products - on my last stockpiling trip I noticed they had little sample kits of other items in their line and I got the anti aging one that included these products
Glycolic Foaming Cleanser
Glycolic Acid Toner
Glycolic Eye Cream
Moisturizer with Vitamin E and SPF 20
Also happy to share that these products not only work but they are not super expensive. Always a plus.

I also use and love a toner I learned about from my skin Wizard Joanna Czech ...it is Biologique P50V - it gently exfoliates, moisturizes and helps maintain the skins acid PH. It can be purchased from Joanna or online by googling Biologique Recherche. I can say that when I eat clean (no gluten...there will be another post on that) and use this toner twice a day, I can go for weeks without needing the Mario Badescu products. And when I do - I've got them.

Book Alert

Looking for a good book?

 Here is a running list of books I've read and would recommend. This will not be a book review. "Aint got time for that...I'd rather be reading.... I recommend Amazon for that. I've trusted the reader reviews for just about every book I've purchased since I bought a couple that I hated. Life is too short to buy bad books. Most of the time the reader reviews have been a big help. I'm just going to give you the title and author.  I will also list the first book in a series and you can go from there. When I really like a book I usually try to read everything that author has written. I'll put an * by my favorite authors which means I've either read all of their books or have a few on my to read list.

These are not in any order but I'll try to group them in self explained categories.  I'll be adding books to this page as I remember more or read more so check in every week or so. When I Found You and Making Faces were my most recent and I couldn't put them down. Enjoy! And please share your favs with me either here or on FB or in person. Thanks for reading this :)))


BOOKS FOR ALL - or anyone you want to impress with your good taste in literature (that was not required reading in High School or College)

Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
When I Found You - Catherine Ryan-Hyde
The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy*
South of Broad - Pat Conroy*
Beach Music - Pat Conroy*
Tender Bar - JR Moehringer
City of Thieves - David Benioff
Coal Run - Tawni O'Dell*
The Last Child - John Hart*
We Are Water - Wally Lamb*
Peachtree Road - Anne River Siddons*
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Still Alice - Lisa Genova
Fault in Our Stars - John Green
Deal Breaker - series - Harlan Coben
The Little Princes - Conor Grennan

LAUGH OUT LOUD - Warning do not read the following in public...people will look at you funny :)

But Enough About Me - Jancee Dunn
One for the Money - series  - Janet Evanovich
Let's Pretend This Never Happened - Jenny Lawson
* Ellen DeGeneres - all her books
*Chelsea Handler - all books - warning not child friendly...
Stupid and Contagious - Caprice Crane
Bossy Pants - Tina Fey
The Green - Troon McAllister



SLUTTY GIRLFRIENDS BOOK LUST- Thank you Christian Grey for getting us talking about and sharing our dirty little secrets AND thank you Kindle for letting us purchase these in private...Feel free to share your favorites in this category PLEASE

The Arrangement Series - H.M. Ward
Beautiful Bastard -  Beautiful series - Christina Lauren
Bared to You - series - Sylvia Day


FOR THE LADIES....LOVE STORIES
Someone Else's Love Story - Joshlyn Jackson*
A Grown Up Kind of Pretty - Joshlyn Jackson*
Hopeless - Colleen Hoover*
Losing Hope - Colleen Hoover*
Slammed - Colleen Hoover*
The Last Letter From Your Lover - Jojo Moyes*
Me Before You - Jojo Moyes*
Crazy in Alabama - Mark Childress*
One Mississippi - Mark Childress*
Georgia Bottoms - Mark Childress
Gods in Alabama - Joshlyn Jackson*
Making Faces - Amy Harmon
Left Drowning - Jessica Park
The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty
Easy - Tammara Webber


THE DARK SIDE...HOT THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Once Burned - series - Jeaniene Frost*
Halfway to the Grave - series - Jeaniene Frost*
Dark Lover - series - J.R. Ward*
Guilty Pleasures - series - Laurell K. Hamilton*
Dead Until Dark - series (True Blood TV show) - Charlaine Harris*


LIST OF FAVORITE AUTHORS -
Catherine Ryan-Hyde
Pat Conroy
Harlan Coben
John Grisham
Anne River Siddons
Wally Lamb
Joshlyn Jackson
Mark Childress
Maeve Binchy
Laurell K. Hamilton
Charlaine Harris
John Hart
Jojo Moyes
Colleen Hoover
Tawni O'Dell

Almost Rich Girl Problems

Previously known as White Girl Problems...shhhhh! I'm just a little afraid that post title will get me into unknown problems...as in a White person SAID something that p'sed off the rest of the Freakin World and a media Sh*& storm rained down on her beautiful gray head....Yawl know whew I'm tawking  bout. I live in Texas now ( GO  Wendy DAVIS - not going to help me either with some) but, I was born and raised in Georgia. Been going to Tybee and Savannah for years until the big move to Texas. I've always been a big fan of Paula and her cookin & boys. With the help of a wonderful book, Midnight in the Garden of  Good & Evil - they have helped raise the economy in a little town known mostly for green beer and drunk people. I sure hope ALL those green beer drinkin drunk people are backing her now. She needs our support. Cause she didn't realize that only non- white people can say the n word. They can rap about it, joke about it, walk around with their asses hanging out and brag about the joys of making a movie where they get to kill WHITE people . But, Miss P.D. well, enough said about that. I was raised to believe Sticks and Stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me....names. NAMES...names. Funny how one word - a name- has so much power to wreck havoc - all by who says it.  I don't know why or when she said it. All I know is that she admitted it and her world is on fire. I'm pretty sure SHE never owned a slave. Most of the people so upset are not slaves. We have elected an African American To be our President. Twice. Can't we put the power of this word to rest. When ANYONE says it or raps it. If we want to be EQUAL about our lives now then let's be equal. Let words be words and let's all use them respectfully. Nuff, said....Mind your P"s and Q's folks....As for my problems and the whole point behind this post...I'm going into month two of no dishwasher and suddenly that doesn't seem like the biggest deal in the world.  Nevermind.

What Is Right In Our World

Once again we are unfortunately drawn together as another unspeakable act changes lives at random. Lives, limbs, families, hopes and dreams are forever altered. Even when those responsible are caught and punished, it does not change or take away what was lost. As a nation, once again we are proving why we are strong. It is not because of retaliation, although An Eye For An Eye is one of my favorite parts of the bible. It is because we come together and we take care of our own and most of the world when needed. As horrified as I was yesterday as I watched the events unfold, I was equally amazed as I watched the heroes that rushed to save lives, to offer comfort, to put themselves at risk unselfishly.

 I saw an amazing quote today on Facebook by Mr. Rogers. His mother told him when he was a child and frightened by bad things going on in his world to always look for the helpers. I just loved that and  know I'm not the first to praise our heroes/helpers yesterday but in the midst of terror it is no small feat that there are helpers that run toward the trouble. It renews my faith in mankind, even when cowards hiding behind some misguided sense of righteousness try to take it away.

My goal behind this blog is to share the good stuff in life. Yesterday made that goal a little harder until I focused on the Helpers. We can all be helpers everyday in our own lives. We don't even have to rush towards danger to accomplish this. We can live our lives with faith, hope and love for one another. It shouldn't take an act of violence to remind us of this but, it doesn't hurt to renew our focus on what is really important. Let your loved ones know how much you love them. Everyday. Keep in touch with your friends near and far. Even if it is a quick hit on Face Book, text, twitter, or email. Smile at a stranger. Be positive. Encourage others. Share. Be Helpers. Mr. Rogers, we miss you.

Dallas is Back

I'm sure I'm not the only one that grew up on Dallas. The TV show. JR, Sue Ellen, Bobby, Pam, Lucy and Cliff to name a few...Miss Ellie and Jock. Before U-verse, Direct TV and a few others, including big clunky VCR tapes, there were the good ole days, when you had to actually show up at the right time and WATCH your favorite show on live tv. AND only one show - so you had to pick which one it was going to be. And sit through all the commercials. I'll be the first to say those were NOT the good ole days. Great TV - but, a pain in the ass to watch that way.

Flash forward a few years - more than 25 (so I've been told) and some of us are still watching Dallas.  What an inspiring testament to great TV. Those that remember it when, are watching it now. And it has three original cast members bringing it back. Sue Ellen, Bobby and J.R.- How lucky are we? For a few episodes longer...And as much as we love the cast from the past - let's take a moment to praise the ones that will be carrying Dallas into the future. Hats off to John Ross for delivering the best opening line in a long time..."Love is for P*SS&@s"! LOVED IT!! But, true Southern Girl that I am - I can say and write a LOT of ugly/curse/bad words, but the P word is not one of them. Just a personal girl thing. But, John Ross can say that all day long :)))

Anyhoo!! Back to tonight - cause I'm catching up on my time with the awesome AT&T U-verse and as a former Direct TV customer I can only say,  NO COMPLAINTS  with AT&T - John Ross set the tone and it was a fun two hour opener with the younger cast holding their own while Bobby, Sue Ellen and J.R. reminded us all why we are still watching. One of my favorite moments was when Sue Ellen*, who owed J.R. big time for saving her, gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek and said, "And THAT is all you are going to get". And he, ever the gentleman, said, "There is the Gal I know". Got to love that. And the really freaking hot off the elevator scene with John Ross and Pamela/Rebecca...have I mentioned how wonderful John Ross is??? Dallas is going to be just fine - keep watching!

I am a little sad that the other original Ewing brother is missing - Gary. Remember him? If you were a Knot's Landing Fan like myself you would. He was the black sheep that got his own spin off show - my favorite of all time - Knot's Landing....Every Thursday night at 10:00 there was only one place I wanted to be. In Front Of A TV Watching Knot's Landing. 25 1/2 Years ago  my first date with Wonderman happened to be on a Thursday night. And yes, I was a little nervous. It was going great - He was as cute and charming as I thought he was the Friday night before when I met him. He called me on Wednesday and we talked for an hour and made plans for Thursday night. Dinner at what happened to be my favorite restaurant in Atlanta, Indigo's.  He loves to tell everyone that I ate every single thing in front of me that night. Like I had not eaten lunch, breakfast or dinner for a week before that night. The real story is that it was getting closer to 10:00 and time was a ticking. He had one last test to pass for a second date. Would he pass the Knot's Landing Test??? Fast forward - we'll go into details of first date in April when we celebrate our 25th Anniversary...yes, He got an A+ on the first date test. Not only did I get to see Knot's...he had me in front of a tv putting his arm around me during Hotel. A slightly cheesy show that came on at 9:00...during which he got a few pecks on the cheek - Sue Ellen is not the only girl that knows how to get a man :) By 10:00,  WE were watching KL and I knew without a doubt, he was a keeper. Sorry, John Ross - Love is not for Pu#$%@s...But, you keep being a very bad boy and we will keep watching you and missing J.R.too.

*Sue Ellen - Wow! She looks awesome this season and I'm JUST SAYING - I'LL DO WHATEVER SHE DID...and I'm guessing it was not all that filler crap that makes faces look fat. And Old. I'm thinking a good ole fashion face lift is still the way to go. One Day. You go girlfriend. Amazing!

P.S.....how funny is it that this born & bred Atlanta (by way of Thomaston) gal now lives in Texas!! And just last week we were lucky enough to be at a party at the former Hunt home, known as Mt. Vernon for a pre party for the Cotes du Coeur, supporting the American Heart Association. This beautiful private home was the first home in Dallas to have air conditioning and a swimming pool. Think about that - today it also has the world's largest private bowling alley - the very one that was featured in the world famous Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog as a his and her gift....this little girl growing up watching Dallas - J.R., Sue Ellen and Bobby - never saw that coming. Life is good. God is great.

New Year New Tricks

Happy New Year! We will pretend that I had a fabulous post at Christmas that included pictures, videos and how to lessons on Christmas decor as well as mouth watering recipes. Let's just come clean and confess I was just to busy enjoying all that to actually take the time to sit down on my snail mail computer and share all that. I am sure we all had a wonderful Christmas - especially those of us that had a very special Christmas Day snow delivery that turned our world into a winter wonderland. But, by now that is all old news and today's topic is New Tricks!!! 

*NEW TRICKS DISCLAIMER* By sharing the following I do not intend to steal credit for these tricks. Due to my love of beauty products and my magazine addiction there is usually a REALLY good chance that I will not be able to give credit where credit is due. I apologize to any that may be offended. I repeat your ideas in the spirit of sharing with all. Here are my latest favorite things....

1. Newest Nail technology - NEXGEN NAILS!! I love mine and I got them from Tony at Serenity Nails on Eldorado...If you live in McKinney you know where to go - if not check out the website nexgenails.com  to find a location near you that is up to date on these nails. Mine look and feel natural - so much better than traditional acrylics and pink & whites...And they are better for your natural nail beds. LOVE THEM!!

2. Chewy Vitamins - seriously! Genius idea - especially for those of us that hate to swallow...a lot of supplements every morning...I have found chewy multivitamins (Alive ), B12(Vitafusion) and Fiber Well (Vitafusion) I save them for last and it's a treat to take them - almost as good as Swedish Fish. Almost. I even saw a chewy fish oil supplement today but, I think I'll pass on that one. I finally found one that goes down and stays down. Nordic Naturals Omega - 3 is the one for me.

3. Thanks to Wonderman flipping late night channels one night I have a new skin care line that I really love...even if I'm not crazy about the name...Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford. Personally, I'd have left off the Meaningful. Anyway, he was watching the infomercial and before I knew it, I was receiving my Mean Beauty Products in the mail. I admire Cindy and all she has accomplished and I know she has been a patient of the Doctor behind the line for many years. I really like it and it's easy to follow.  Yes, Wonderman got bonus points for encouraging my beauty quest.

4.  My new best friends at Neiman's Willowbend gave me and my partner in Beauty Crime a really fun day of beauty....of course this is all my Beauty Crime Partner's fault. She and many unnamed others love the La Mer line of skincare. She has been sharing and raving about the eye cream for awhile. And I have been avoiding this line of skin care for the last 30 years. Why? Cause I am a cheap beauty whore. I have been telling myself for years that Ponds is THE MIRACLE CREAM. And it is a really good one even if it falls into the less pricey category. There has never ever been any doubt in my mind that I wouldn't absolutely love and look amazing if I too used the La Mer line of skin care. I've just been waiting to win the lottery in order to do so. Fast forward to our day of beauty. She signed us up /twisted my arm, drugged me & dragged me - for a facial from La Mer last week. Now due to the drugs and arm twisting I agreed to go and let the wonderful ladies work their magic. And yes, it was heaven. So here is the skinny - I'm happy with my Mean Girls Beauty stuff from Cindy. I can get a shipment of about 10 beauty products every 3 months for less than one La Mer product. However, I was interested in their BODY product. Now I read, that Mariah Carey uses La Mer on her babies bottoms. That is CRAY CRAY.  But, I am always looking for something to help the skin I have stupidly ignored the last twenty years. Pretty much everything from the chin down. If only I had taken the time to protect my neck, chest, arms, hands and knees. I could pass for 49!!!Since I kinda didn't - I just tell everyone I'm 79 and I LOOK AWESOME FOR THAT! But, even 79 year old women are still hoping for something to help and that is why I am telling you about La Mer's Reparative Body Lotion. It is so good for anti-aging powers that they tell you NOT to use it everyday. WHAT?? Either brilliant marketing or ....THIS STUFF MIGHT WORK!! I'm hoping it's not just marketing. I figure if I use it once a year this bottle will last me forever. Got to be less than a penny a day. SCORE. CHEAP BEAUTY WHORE IS HAPPY....Okay, every other day or so and here's the best part...these wonderful ladies load you up with ALL KINDS of samples!! I now have eye creams and face creams and if I'm really careful I can make these samples last awhile!! Now I'm not going to being slapping it on any babies bottoms that is for freakin sure. But, I'll be using a touch of La Mer at night over my Mean Beauty Stuff. JACKPOT!!

5.  After my La Mer facial my new best friend at the YSL counter graciously offered to give me a makeup touchup... I kinda looked like a drowned rat. Now I have been using YSL's - for beauty newbies that is Yves Saint Laurent -Touche Eclat. That is fancy smancy for beauty junkies illuminating magic beauty wand. It pretty much erases all signs of ugly. You just use it anywhere you are not happy with on your face. How's that for awesome marketing? That was all me - I really should have majored in marketing. Guess what -  now they have a foundation - Le Teint Touche Eclat Illuminating Foundation.....Still thinking not bad for 79??? Girlfriend has lots of tricks you don't even want to know :))  Anyhoo,  I just asked for a little Touche Eclat touch up and she gave me the works, without any pressure to buy anything. Very nice. And probably the only time I have ever liked what someone else has done with my makeup. Now she did try - even knowing I'd hate it, and I did - a bright teal liner on my eyes. And Graciously changed it back to dark brown, when I was honest. I prefer to see my eye color over eye makeup color. Big difference. She did amazing things with my eyebrows - who knew- I'd been doing it all wrong. Thanks to Latisse I now have eyebrows and now I know how to make them look better. Eyebrow pencil #3 on TOP edge of them. Loved the foundation/base - it covers without looking heavy and yes, age spots and veins need covering. The really fun thing she showed me was with lip liners - always kinda thought they were pointless and unnecessary -  they give you a color base to hold the lipstick or gloss and they can make different color combinations. Now - this is probably better for make up junkies but let's say you buy a lipstick and get home and it just isn't quite right. Been there? Okay, liners can bring it back to where you want it. Just know if you like more pink or orange base colors on you. Use the liner to get you there. I like more pink usually, so with that liner even an orange or peach lipstick will look better on me. Glosses work the same way. And my new fav YSL product is without a doubt the mascara - Volume Effet Faux Cils Noir Radical...key word RADICAL...as with all lines there are several and they may all be fab but I have used this one and LOVE IT...sorry Stilletto's by Maybelline...I'm moving on :) She also told me that anytime a mascara gets too thick and this has always been my pet peeve with pricey mascara's - Just run really hot water over the outside of the tube (not into the tube) and it will heat up and liquify the product again. Air causes it to get thick and clumpy. I hate clumpy.

6. One more thing  now - Latisse vs. RevitaLash....been using Latisse for two years. Due to cost and feeling like it wasn't giving results anymore,  I switched to RevitaLash  and love it. More product for the buck and better lashes. Both work on eyebrows. You can Google it to find sellers.

7. Find a Wonderman - the one that thinks you are so amazing and beautiful even when you know you are probably looking a little old/silly/bare/ natural/happy/sad/tired/ you - one that goes "Wow!" everytime he sees you. And is smart enough not to ask, "What did you buy at Neiman's?" Find that guy. I love you John!!

As usual, I'm all over the place and still have so much soooo much more to share - let's do this again real soon (I promise) ....I can't wait to share my new love for Lush products (OMG - another huge thanks to Beauty in Crime Partner!!) , Coconut Oil - you will love too!!! and Hair Stuff!!! Come back!!!! Please :))) Oh, and for the love of God - DO NOT DRY YOUR LEVI'S MID RISE SKINNY JEANS IN THE DRYER!!! You will lose 1 1/2 inches off the length and forget about the waist!! Next time !!

Just Trust Me...

I can't believe I haven't blogged since October 5th! All my mad blogging skills have gone to waste...I can't remember breakfast much less any mad blogging skills I learned over a month ago. Time to call MH again. Good thing she likes wine too. And yes, I have that blogging bible somewhere but I have been too busy scaring little kids wanting candy and getting ready for Christmas to read that much less blog here....but - I do have some really awesome things to share. I don't even know where to start so this will be all over the place with GOODSTUFF TO SHARE!!

1. Levi's Skinny Mid rise Jeans!! - not your daughters, not your mom's and not your teenager's cute jeans that you need a belt just to sit down in and get back up - without looking like someone on that Cops show with a flashlight in his face and six inches of plaid boxers showing. These jeans are really cute and you can get them at Kohls for under 40$! HOLLAR!!

2. Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Eye Cream - if you are not using a separate moisturizer for your eyes you are an idiot. Face cream does not count. Trust me and just go buy one. And a daily moisturizer for your face WITH a sunscreen in it too. And a BODY moisturizer with sunscreen to use everyday. Even if you are not going outside. And if I hear one more person say, "I didn't put on my sunscreen today because it was cloudy..." - I am going to hurt someone and go straight to jail. Skin cancer is a very serious thing and the sun causes it. So shut up and protect your skin. EVERYDAY. And go get a body scan once a  year. FROM a doctor.

3. All my friends know that I am a candle fiend and one day may accidentally burn my house down. Can not tell you how excited I am with my newest candle discovery thanks to Amy and Dee....Fake candles have been around for awhile but here is the kicker - these not only flicker like real candles - they have a freakin timer that turns them on for 5 hours and off for for 19 hours!! EVERYDAY...you don't have to do a thing...just sit back and enjoy with no fear of fire :))) These are fantastic for places like my hurricane lamps in high places by my tv...it's a little late but I will try to upload a pic. Okay, that is not happening - I've been trying for 45 minutes to upload from my phone...got Google+ and that should have done it but NO not so much. Just trust me again - these candles are fantastic and you can get them at Hobby Lobby or Home Depot - and they even look like candles!! I still burn my scented ones for the smell but I keep them in easy to reach places. Hopefully, I won't burn my house down with fewer actual flames going.

4. Quick and Easy dinner - all you need is a rotisserie chicken, penne, Knorr Alfredo sauce mix, heavy whipping cream, garlic, mushrooms, broccoli, milk and butter. Heat your chicken up in oven by directions on package. Remove and eat all the crispy skin off while no one is looking. Swear it came skinless if they ask. Don't forget to clean or lick off your greasy fingers. Dead give away. Steam your broccoli and boil your penne. Follow directions on Knorr packet except for use a cup of heavy whipping cream and 3/4 c of milk and butter. Only if you want it to taste good. You already ate the chicken skin so trust me. Use the cream. Add minced garlic clove and mushrooms. Whisk together and bring to boil. Turn to low and keep stirring occasionally while you eat chicken skin bits and pick chicken off the bone. Dump everything into one big pot and keep warm until ready to serve within 10 minutes or pasta will overcook. Yum!!!

5. Seems I wasted a ton of time trying upload frickin picture of candles....so I'm going to go read and will try to learn how to upload pics again.  This will come in handy if I want to show you some fun decorating ideas. Like real bloggers. The kind with pictures and videos. Except I don't plan on videos. I cannot stand to see myself on video. Which explains why I had to give up my acting career.

Notice how I started with skinny jeans and ended with a recipe for chicken skin and heavy cream...well the broccoli is good for you and I did give you a stern warning about skin cancer and why you should wear sunscreen. And how to not burn down your house!!

Who Knew???

How Cool Is This

I now have mad blogging skills!!! I and both of my followers owe a HUGE thank you to my biggest blog fan and now proud blogger of her own amazing blog  http://preppyemptynester.blogspot.com/ ...I'm hoping that I have correctly used her first lesson in how to make a hyper link ...with any luck you can just go to her blog by clicking on that different colored line of words :). If not, I f'ed up and she should not be held responsible. I may still be a work in progress. I know this comes as huge shock and surprise to all who know me, but an evolved person owns her faults.  Also, in case your are wondering I am using the large font key and the centering thingy today. Never knew they existed until my blog lesson yesterday. I'm sorry, I know I am just showing off, but I can't help myself. 

Miss Hammertime also passed on her blogger bible - Blogging for Dummies - to me yesterday....this was beyond exciting for me cause I jokingly said I needed that and had no idea that one actually had already been written. Good to know I am not the only blogger that has been doing this for years with no idea what the hell I'm doing. That seems to happen to me a lot.  Kinda like the amazing salmon dinner I tried to whip up last night. Some things really are just better when ordered in restaurants. 

Back to my new bible....just wait til I actually read it. THEN you will truly be impressed with my new and improved mad blogging skills. I truthfully did not open it last night cause I was running late for happy hour with Wonderman. Which pushed my amazing Salmon dinner back and well, lets just say thank god I raised my boychild to be able to feed himself, while waiting for mommy's amazing dinners. No one went to bed hungry. Really glad I remembered to put the amazing amount of left over salmon in the disposal and not the trash can. Fish and trash cans are never a good idea. This I  know.

For my finale today - I am running off to bookclub this morning...we read Bossypants and it is hilarious. Big fan. Just started reading Where We Belong by Emily Griffin. Can't wait to get back to that. Which leads to my finale....I am now going to add a picture to this blog post. I KNOW!! HOW COOL IS THIS???

The answer is that I am very thankful to Miss Hammertime!!! After viewing my preview of this post - that is where I remove all goofs and correct all misspelled words. Usually. - it looks like there is a pretty good chance I f'd up the hyper link thingy. If so, don't forget to check out her blog. http://preppyemptynester.blogspot.com/

Cha Cha Change...

Change is good right? Sometimes as things age they get better, like wine and cheese - two of my favorite things that go together. I've made a few changes to make the blog more viewer friendly to people that are aging and are tired of having to go find a pair of glasses when all ya want to do is read the freakin blog...or write the freakin blog. And as we all - of a certain age - know it is sometimes not only a pain to go get the glasses but to find them and then remember why or where we needed them in the first place. These changes to eyes and memory are not so good. That is where wine and cheese make everything better. Here is where I am crossing my fingers and hoping with all these changes in font size and color, vision, memory, etc. that the ability to post these blogs with paragraphs will magically happen....


This should be a new paragraph or break in body of my rant.


Excellent!! It is working in the preview!! Hopefully, it will still be working in the finished blog post. If so, I think I will go back to previous blogs and try to insert these much needed breaks in non stop ramble. This has bothered me more than it has bothered you.

Next, I need to figure out how to use pictures. I really need need a Blogging For Dummies manual...My friend and biggest fan - MH has started an awesome blog called - PreppyEmptyNester and it puts this one to shame. She has all the bells and whistles. I am sooo jealous. Hoping she will feel sorry for me and share her mad blogging skills with me soon.

So consider this post an experiment post...I won't know until I hit the publish post button if all these changes I've been slaving over are actually going to be applied. Been to this pony show before - hours of playing with font size and color and layout and.....same old blog!! No one ever said change was easy. Cross your fingers for me!!!

My Reality TV

I have confessed to being a TV addict in the past. I admit to taping more TV than I should. People that brag they don't watch TV or DO NOT EVEN OWN A TV - annoy me. Still, I like a few - a very special few. And I find that most of these people actually do watch tv they just for some reason don't want to admit it. Trust me, I've watched plenty of TV that I don't want to admit to either. And most of what I do watch and love gets cancelled - Moonlight, every show Matthew Perry has been in since Friends, Easy Streets, Friday Night Lights (Thank you Direct TV again for bringing that back)...the list goes on. As for reality TV - I'm torn. I have never watched any of the Survivors, Race or Apprentice shows. A couple of episodes of Biggest Loser. I absolutely hate all the House hunting shows....not sure why. Love seeing decorated houses but not people choosing between 3 crap choices. I KNOW I am the only person on the planet that feels this way. I apologize.

In the beginning, I loved the Housewives shows because I did enjoy seeing where and how they all lived in different parts of the country. Until they all evolved into a screaming hot mess of nasty women behaving badly. Middle school was bad enough - reliving mean girls as grown women is not how I want to spend my TV viewing time. So this afternoon, I was enjoying my latest issue of People magazine (another guilty pleasure) when I read the story about Jacqueline Laurita's son and their struggle with his diagnosis of Autism. The unknown and randomness of this disease terrifies us all. Her story was heartbreaking and inspiring just like so many that deal with this reality. She is undecided as to whether she will be back for another season of Housewives. I quit watching her show many seasons ago. The fighting and table throwing and back stabbing is not entertainment to me. I may be an addict but it is for quality TV.

That is when I thought - what if she did a reality show based on her family and their journey with their son's diagnosis and life. They already have let cameras into their world, why not let it be something real that could reach out to other families going through the same ordeal. I'd much rather watch positive family role model shows than TV crap like Honey Boo Boo - do not get me started on that embarrassment of riches. Someone tied me to a chair and forced me to watch ONE episode. TV hell in it's finest hour. I may just be a TV addict but I think the world needs more positive Reality Shows. Good examples of how real people are living and dealing with the realities we all face. That would be my hope for MY Reality TV. And to Jacqueline and her family - I wish them all the best. Thanks for sharing your story in People magazine.

The Natural Order

There is a natural order to life...for those of us who have children we expect them to outlive us. If we are blessed, they do. Sometimes those children are pets, and most of the time, we outlive them. This does not make it easier or right. Most of the time this is one, if not the most difficult times we will share with our children. There is nothing harder than losing a loved one and having to call or explain it to your child. Today was one of those days. Our sweet baby boy of 15 years left us today. He was loved beyond and back by our children and even further to us in their eyes and hearts. Truly no words to describe how sad we are to say good bye to our little guy. "Max, you were the best and most handsome dog in the world."

Birthday Flu

Another year has come and gone and I've got to admit turning 51 was a whole lot easier than saying goodbye to Forty Something. Sure things are sagging, bagging and lagging but there is relief and freedom in saying "So WHAT?" I'm Fifty Something and it's supposed to!!! See in our forties we are all under the illusion that we are still in our Thirties and that we should still look like it and act like we are 29. What a wonderful feeling it is to be at a place where it's time to say, "This is what happens and it's okay"....If these are our Golden Years (okay, that freaks me a little bit - guess I'm not 100% ready to deal with that reality) then I say let's celebrate and really make them fun. Which sometimes can lead to Birthday Flu. I've warned ya'll about Wine Flu before, so I should have known better when my same girlfriend that infected me with that, wanted to take me out to celebrate my birthday and catch up. Oh, we celebrated all right and then we continued to catch up for another four or so hours. And celebrated that too. I am truly old enough to KNOW BETTER and young enough TO DO IT ANYWAY. As usual I had a blast with her but, not so much the next morning at my 10:00 dental appointment to have two permanent crowns hammered in. A big ole case of Birthday Flu did not make this a very fun experience. The super duper bright light Dr. Mazin needed in order to see inside my wide open mouth and pounding head did not offer any Birthday Flu relief either. Worst of all this final of four visits did not include ANY laughing gas or slobber shots for pain!! Cause they needed me to let them know HOW THE CROWNS FELT INSIDE MY POUNDING HEAD. Like I could tell the difference between tooth pain and my pounding head....note to self - Never celebrate anything the night before dentist appointment. EVER. The following day involved another great friend and a day of fun in downtown McKinney. I apologize to any readers not able to enjoy my brag fest on the joys of McKinney, Tx. Come as soon as you can! We started with lunch at Gregory's Bistro. Also the place my family took me for Birthday Dinner this week. Lydia and Gregory are amazing and the food is ridiculously good. Since it is BYOB we get to stop by The McKinney Wine Merchant across the street and grab a bottle of terrific wine. Awesome wine shop and he is really good at tracking down your favorite hard to find wine and ordering it for you. Great prices too. On the same street is Nan Lee's for beautiful jewelry and Pumps for amazing and current shoes and one of a kind designer jewelry. We also made a stop in Sharla's and what a treat that was. My first time in her chair and she showed me the magic of her terrific skin care line and make up that made me look and feel like 50 something wasn't that big a deal...And this isn't even an entire block of downtown McKinney! And in case you didn't know it is also home to Sean Lowe - Everyone's favorite bachelor that Emily just sent home. Those of us with unmarried daughters are secretly happy she made the biggest mistake with that boneheaded decision...maybe we should throw him a welcome home party with all our available daughters??? Believe it or not but I ended up back at Gregory's that very same night for dinner with the hubs and friends. Yes, it is THAT GOOD. Tonight is Friday and I am looking forward to making Jenn O's chicken & pasta dish I blogged about earlier. Will check with her first and pass on her recipe soon if she is good with that. A quiet night at home sounds good. Going to call it Birthday Flu Recovery time. Still got 11 days of Birthmonth left to celebrate :))Time to rest and rally!! 51 is FUN!!

Sip and See

I love babies...it cheers me up just to walk thru the baby section at my Happy Place/Target....baby clothes, baby shoes, baby, baby, baby. Love them. I am just a little bit shocked that I am old enough to have so many friends with - GRAND Babies. Some of these friends are EVEN younger than me. AND they are GRANDPARENTS!! I'm sorry but, if turning 50 doesn't drive the point home or having people in their 30's respectfully call you MAM, then having friends that are first time grandparents is a wake up call to YOU ARE OLD AS CRAP NOW!! When did this happen? Been wondering who that old lady in the mirror was... Which brings me to the Sip and See....remember Baby Showers? Lots of cute baby stuff, little fancy finger food & mints in the appropriate color - pink or blue or mint? The guest of honor is miserable but excited and extremely anxious for the little one to arrive. She and probably a few of the guests are all ready to pop. Lots of ohhing and awwing over all the kajillion presents?? It doesn't even matter if it is their first or 3rd,4th, or 5th baby...can you imagine a baby shower for the Dugger Woman with 200 kids? Point is baby showers are necessary but can be boring, someone is fat, exhausted and really ready for someone to join the party. And they are very sober. Nine months sober. I really remember wanting a margarita when I was in the hospital having Griffin...Really wanting it. Flash forward to today's Sip and See...picture a room full of very attractive and well kept women of a certain age. My age. We are so happy to be there and to catch up with each other. And SEE our friend's precious, amazing, beautiful GRAND baby!! The BABY is at the party!! She is dressed in the cutest pink tutu with headband bow and she is perfect. Simply divine - for hours while we fight over who gets to hold her. And while we all eat the most delicious food (thanks to my friend and hostess with some killer cooking skills - JennO and in the beautiful home of my other friend DB - the mama of beautiful child gets to relax, eat and enjoy a few chambord and white wine fizzies. Along with all her very thankful guests. As we oooh and awwwe over her precious sweet baby girl! I'm thinking this Grandparent thing is not so bad :)))And I am definitely on board with this whole Sip and See idea. Sip a little something yummy, love on a little precious sweet baby and then go home!! I've got this G-Ma thing down pat!!

How Did I Miss This...

I have always been the first to admit I have a tv problem....thank God for Tivo, Direct TV and now the holy grail UNIVERSE!! What they all boil down to is - 1. NO COMMERCIALS, unless they are cool and funny - like those baby commercials and that chick in plaid talking to that dude about matching stuff. FUNNY. Don't remember what they are supposed to be selling but that is not my problem. 2. Being able to watch what I want to watch when I am good and damn ready. Which is why I have 88 episodes of New Adventures of Old Christine, 12 episodes of Duck Dynasty, two seasons of Weeds, and a whole bunch of Cake Boss Crap that my BabyGirl is obsessed with. Not into people making cupcakes like it is a freakin Olympic sport. Seriously. It.Is.Not.A.Sport. A big ole sugar rush but not a sport. But, back to what is watch worthy and I almost missed. Old Christine... !! Who knew? Especially the second season and I have always loved Wanda Sykes!! OMG. That is one funny woman. Her voice alone makes me laugh out loud. Or LOL. ALOT. As for Duck Dynasty my kids sorta had to drag me kickin and screaming. Okay, they got me a little tipsy on my favorite wine and held my eyelids open while they fed me popcorn and made me watch. And yes, I LOVED IT!! What is not to love about this show. Being from the SOUTH of some SOUTHERN state this show reminded me of all those sweet southern boys I had so much fun with and could not run away from fast enough. Good thing I am such a fast runner. I had no desire to spend the rest of my life sitting around while they went "huntin" and bringing home "dinner" for me to skin and cook. Notice the word SKIN - very important cause in the south you might not only shop for and cook and clean up after dinner but you might also be expected to actually SKIN your freakin dinner. I prefer my vegetables already SKINNED and packaged and FREAKIN PREWASHED. Guess where I stand on my meat? But, I can appreciate a great show with a bunch of bearded fools in camouflage with the next hunter. And they are FANTASTIC!! Do not get me wrong. I love this show. But, I will admit to Uncle Si that I am the original Uppity girl that he warned his nephew not to marry. However, I am also a damn good cook. Just want someone else to skin and prepare it for the grill for me and then step back. Cause this Uppity, preppy, prisspot can GRILL. Burning Love - Ben Stiller's spoof on the Bachelor at burninglove.com And speaking of things I almost missed here are a few of things I just don't get... 1. Adam Sandler. And any movie he is in. How and better yet, WHY do these movies still get made? WHO is paying for this? And don't say all 12-15 year old boys cause that is just well, actually, a major insult to ALL BOYS 12-15 Years old. Really. The worst movies and don't even get me started on his personal acting skills. REALLY? Again, I keep hearing how hard it is and how long it takes to get a movie made in Hollywood and THIS keeps happening? WTF??? I think he must be mobbed up and they just need to wash that money somewhere. 2. Marc Jacobs - Okay. I know I don't run in the high fashion circles. But, I do dream in my Vogue, Bazaar and Instyle magazines...not to mention my fierce Pinterest Dream Closet...but, his ads are just butt ugly. They even make really famous actresses look kinda well, just butt ugly. And Prada? Again, butt ugly. Now, Chanel? A girl can dream!!! Valentino?? Hello Beautiful. Manolo and Choo? LOOBS? Hells yes! LOUIS V? Worth every penny. And as for Michael Kors??? Don't even. I have a very close friend - spent almost a $1000.00 on a handbag and billfold. Within 3 weeks the handbag came apart on the inside seams...kid you not. She went back to the MK store with her receipt and was told by the MANAGER he was so sorry for her but he didn't want to take the hit on his store numbers by returning it cause he would have to eat it. TRUE.FREAKIN.STORY. Moral good girls? If you must, only by his crap at Nordstroms where they stand my their customers and not their CRAPPY suppliers when their shoddy designer goods fall apart. But, back to the Good Stuff (and Go Stuff the BAD stuff) here are some latest additions to things I love and you might need.... Maybelline's Eye Tatto Cream eyeshadow - it really does stay on and doesn't crease- even by the pool on a hot Texas day. I did that for research purposes people!! Of course, I don't put on makeup to just sit by my pool!! I was testing it out for all of you... Blotting papers - use these instead of caking your face up with powder when you are "glowing' too much. Okay, if you sweat like a hooker in church or at a political rally - stop over powdering your face. BLOT it away. Retinol cream for your body...this is still a work in progress but I am seeing progress. I think. I found a fairly cheap (under 10$) jar of retinol cream online. I have been using it on my crepy old lady skin spots - knees and elbow and upper inner arms if you must know!! Maybe I am delusional but I think it is actually making a difference. If retinol is such a miracle worker for our faces why wouldn't it work on our bodies? Will post name of it in a week or two - need to make sure it is really working. But don't you love the idea? As for cellulite? I am still going with tan it.Nothing seems to get rid of it. Even weight loss. Which might even be worse for it. Bummer. Still will go with skinny if I can.That and staying horizontal as much a possible. Gravity is not our friend. We all look better laying around versus standing up. So check out the Ducks, Christine and anything on the USA channel - fantastic tv happening there!

Soda in the City

I love New York...everything about it. The energy, the people - who have always been beyond friendly to me and mine - the restaurants, the plays, the sex....sorry - I really did LOVE that show. Movies, not so much. Not as much as the show. Not sure if you are all up on current events but thanks to the Dallas Morning News, WSJ, US, People, Facebook and the Wendy Show - girlfriend knows. All. This past week Mayor Bloomberg has been very busy trying to convince the good people of NY that they are all obese and that they are, because they are all guzzling Ginormous, over sized, calorie laden sodas. So instead of just saying,"Hey, yous guys - YEA, you overweight fat slobs! STOP KILLING YOURSELVES AND YOUR GINORMOUS OVER SIZED KIDS with liquid crap! Drink some WADDER!" Oh, no - he wants the Government to step in and PASS A LAW that makes it illegal to DRINK LARGE SODAS!!! I swear - I've had a glass or four - but I am not MAKING THIS SHIT UP!! Read it in the paper folks. Can you even begin to imagine what would happen in the Great State of Texas if our elected officials tried to pass a law against BIG Sodas??? Austin would succeed from the union. No Doubt.

Now, I know some of you that know me well, are shocked and surprised that I am getting all political. I was raised Southern Methodist/Presbyterian. We don't shout, clap or God forbid DANCE in church. We do drink, cuss and dance to African American music with wild abandon outside of church. We never ever discuss Politics. There is a reason why there are curtains around our polling booths. It should be nobody's business who we vote for. I even removed ALL of our land line phones from  their plugs. Just because I could not stand the CONSTANT ringing of all the candidates that wanted to poll me and discuss who I was thinking about voting for in any upcoming election. Here was my standard answer - "For the ASSHOLE not interrupting my dinner ASSHOLE!". And still, the phone kept ringing. These are not always the sharpest tools in the shed. Just tools.

Anyhoooo....I'm pretty sure taking away the right to drink Big SODAS would be right up there with taking away Big Guns. Which is not going to fly in Texas and I really hope those obese New Yorkers are going to agree. Cause girlfriend is no political dumb blonde. If someone wants to outlaw oversized Sodas...DO YOU NOT SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING PEOPLE??? WAKE UP!!! STAND UP AND DEFEND THE FATTIES!! They should be able to drink all the oversized sodas they want. Then go on a diet if lugging around excess amounts of weight bothers them. Just think about it....today it's oversized sodas tomorrow it is oversized BOTTLES OF WINE!!! HELLO!!! This is how is how it starts people.

We need to look out for each other and stick together - Big Sodas and Wine Bottles unite. And here is my solution Mayor Bloomberg. You need to chill, take a sip and sit down and watch Dr. OZ. I know you are very busy - trying to pass laws, calling people and interrupting their dinners to talk them into voting for you, but all you need to do is put your feet up, grab a bag of BAKED ALL NATURAL WHITE CHEESE PUFFS (should be their own food group called yum) and a soda/wine of your choice and listen to the WIZARD...He knows all the answers to weight loss. Here are a few he recommends, and I and more than a few friends, know that they work!! REALLY WORK....EVEN IF YOU EAT AND DRINK ALL THE BIG ASS SODAS/WINE BOTTLES YOU WANT. How cool is that?? 1. Raspberry Ketones - don't trust me Google it. 2. Green Coffee Bean Extract - just Google it. 3. 7-Keto DHEA - Google 4. Biotin - for hair and nails - just run to Sam's and buy the Natrol Biotin extra strength - WORKS!! No I did not misspell(did not know that word had two ss and ll's...I am not smarter than a Fifth Grader - DAMN IT!) Natrol. That is a brand name. What the F were they thinking? Product works and is cheap, got to love that. 5. And a whole bunch more - just go to The Wizard....or Dr. Oz's website and all the stuff he talks about I'm taking about half and yes, it is working.

 Here is my next great idea. If all the over the counter skin care creams are working for my face - What can I be slathering on the rest of my body? Cause shit is happening from the chin down and it needs to stop.....YESTERDAY. Unfortunately, when I finally got the message in my mid Thirties that I was going to regret all the sun damage I'd been doing to my face - someone forgot to remind me that I'd be really sad when my neck, chest, arms and legs began to age. It is awfully hard to rock a freakin turtleneck, long sleeves and long pants in frickin 110 degree heat. I've been hinting that maybe we SHOULD bring pantyhose back - if we could think of a name that doesn't have the word panty in it. How bout - Miracle Legs - as in, your saggy, flabby, lumpy legs will look better if you wear our Miracle Legs??? Don't laugh - that Spanx bitch has made a boatload of money and who ever would have thought the whole world - Men included, MANX for God's sake - would be squeezing and contorting their rolls of fat into very expensive, unattractive, uncomfortable BEIGE PANTYHOSE!!! FOR YOUR FREAKIN BODY!! See - SHE JUST CHANGED THE NAME FROM PANTY HOSE TO SPANX!!! Guess she is smarter than a freakin Fifth Grader. Bet she loves Big Sodas and Big Wine Bottles cause the more FATTIES the more PANTYHOSE/SPANX...DANG it...I new it was the word panty that was the problem...not Big Sodas or Big Wine Bottles!

Almost Summer

Two more days and my baby will officially be a Senior in High School!! Wow, time really does fly. And in two more days it will officially be summer at our house. This is where the time thing can get interesting. Will it fly or drag by in an unending blur of what's to eat?? Do??? You know what I mean. I've said before the only way to survive teenagers is to just let them sleep. Nyquil works too. Honestly, when they are sleeping you can almost pretend they are sweet little babies again. Except you don't have to nurse them or change their diapers. And if you are still nursing them - then you are a FREAK and need serious help. Now you know how I feel about the woman on the cover of Time magazine. Back to sleeping teenagers. I have had friends to complain about all they do is sleep. How they HAVE to WAKE them up or they'd sleep til noon. Really?? I say be really freaking quiet and if you are lucky they will snooze thru breakfast and lunch!! Two less meals to make and clean up!! Score. Of course, you have to make a really big dinner to fill them up, but once in the kitchen works for me. An order of Dominoes for appetizer course followed by a pasta dish and brownies and everyone is fat and happy. And speaking of Dominoes - make sure your teen has a job!! Mine is slinging pizzas at Dominoes and it is awesome. Teens and down/awake time is a scary thing. I prefer mine in uniform saying, "Thanks for calling Dominoes. How can I help you?" Sure beats - I'm so bored whats for lunch? Or God forbid, " I'm thirsty can I nurse?".....let'em sleep and get a job I say!! Summer time to me is all about the pool and sitting outside with a great book while something really delicious is cooking on the grill. Add some veggies roasting in the oven and a really good, crisp, cold white wine and I am a happy girl. And a good book. Right now I am pretending it is almost summer. I had everything ready to grill and roast when Wonderman came home from work with an entire pan of something wonderful left over from an in office lunch. Talk about timing. You have never seen anyone throw stuff back in the fridge as fast as I did. I didn't even mind I'd spent and entire morning on Pinterest copying my fav recipes from my board - More Junk for my Trunk/recipes - That trip to the grocery store was not a waste and now I have a fab dinner tonight and something all ready for tomorrow night. Score. Back to books and wine. Book is hilarious - Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. She has been one of my favorite bloggers since I started doing this. Both of us blogged on a site called pnn.something or other...not sure it is still there. But, she was a big freaking deal on that. FAMOUS. Crazy, stupid, SHE DID NOT SAY THAT OUT LOUD funny. Could not get enough of her or her balls to walls sense of humor. She even helped me fly my own freak flag in the beginning of my blog. Sadly, I've calmed my freak flag just alittle lately. You have to be brave to let the f bombs drop freely. My kids have started reading and that reigns me in just a little bit. It was easier for me back when I was still doing this anonymously, Which is why my hubs is called Wonderman, and he is. My kids are babygirl and boychild. Now that some of my nearest and dearest are actually reading this, I haved tamed my inner fbomb. Reading Jenny Larson makes me miss that inner voice inside my head that is usually screaming it at all the freakin idiot drivers I am forced to deal with. Just cause they like to drive their cars too. In my way. Back to Jenny's book. It is freakingly FUCKING funny. Her fault, her fault. She is fearless and funny and if 1/4 of the crap she is making me spew good wine out of my nose is true. Then DANG. Buy this girl's book. Pour yourself a cold, crisp glass of wine and fight off the freaking nats and enjoy the start of almost summer time. And speaking of wine and nats...don't get me started. I'm thinking either a wine spoon to scoop them out is needed or maybe an adult sippy cup made out of glass so we can sip our wine all classy like without any freaking nats!! So here's to summer! Let your teens sleep - their growing brains need it/whole lot less for you to deal with, grab a good book, throw stuff on the grill or back in the fridge and pour your wine in an adult sippy cup!!! Enjoy.