Holidaze!!!

Okay, we went HOME for Thanksgiving - which means flight from Dallas to Atlanta, drive to Lexington, S.C. then drive to Atlanta and flight to Dallas...and it ALL was so easy and amazing!!All the security hype had me a little nervous. Dallas to Atlanta was a non event. Love our airport!! Wonderman and I had a Fabulous day in our native city on Wednesday - due to family traditions the Grans take our kids to S.C. on Wednesday and John and I drive up on Thanksgiving Day...lunch at Antico Pizza Napoletana started us off. He read about it in a mag...Atlanta Best New Restaurants. While service lacked a little on the friendly ( WE are BIG on friendly :))) They made up for it on the most amazing pizza We HAVE EVER HAD..ANYWHERE!!! Can NOT rave enough about this place and the food. Just take your own wine/beer. See even totally, sadly sober we LOVED THIS PLACE!! I'm just saying. And if that wasn't enough, that night we went with our Uncle Fab Ted to Miller Union. Stop reading now and jjjjust go book your reservations for these two places and GO EAT IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO LIVE IN ATLANTA!! Or close enough to drive!! If you love pizza You will love Antico and if you love southern cooking with a Posh British accent you will love Miller Union...We did!!! Then on to Lexington for family and food and fun!! We had it all!! Catch Phrase is a blast!! Play it and give it for Christmas...To Aunt Sherril - we are so glad you are here and inspiring us all to work out and be the best we can be!! Cindy - you are the most amazing hostess!! The Grans & Ted for making Atlanta the home we remember and miss!To John and my kids for just being you and making my everday a special holiday - I love you all!!

Strangest Night of my life...

Ya'll know I am usually about the good and funny here...but, tonight was kinda strange. It all started in the driveway...son going to lacrosse practice which is normal - I'm riding shotgun there and bringing his truck home, cause next week is his sixteenth birthday and then Mom's Taxi Service is over...keyword driveway - then girl screaming (me) due to snake in the driveway. Anaconda in my eyes as all snakes are. Lots of drama - Dad tosses snake into yard, saves the night, I drive son to practice, blah blah blah. Get back home - freakin out about gigantic reptile in yard and decide grilled chicken is yummy in oven too. Can't face possible outdoor critters again alone. Hubs is now at tennis courts and I am all alone.

So to recover and ignore all laundry, I decide to open wine and catch up on girl shows...love my direct tv. On multiple tvs inhouse....so I start with Private Practice...THE EPISODE where one of my favorite tv characters is brutually attacked. Last season I watched another fav girl on this show answer her doorbell to crazy patient who then cut her child out of her BELLY and left us hanging until this season. If I didn't like this show so much I think I could find one less upsetting. One bottle of wine later - give me a break, I've had a really rough night!!! - the strongest, bravest, out there woman on tv is lying about the fact that some asshole brutally raped her. Putting her friends in a bad place pretending they don't know what really happened. While her great, but whussy husband, wigs out cause he didn't protect her. AND he doesnt even admit he knows she was raped. Hint to all guys - we love our stuff and bags but if some asshole wants to steal it, we will give it up. True, I'd fight for my cell phone (pics hello!!) but my wallet???? Wedding rings? OKAY, All bets off. Still, very gut ripping tv. Then that ended with no real solution yet, and I thought what did that just teach young girls??? You are brutally violated without cause and YOU feel shame and cover it up??? Hope the show fixes this. Not what I want my daughter to feel if ever in this spot. My girl better nail the bastard. And you can only do this by standing up for yourself and telling what happened.

After this happy hour, I decided to watch Saturday Night Live...just happened to have the episode with Rihanna and I'm sorry but the song just broke my heart...dont even know the real name just the words "Oh, Nana what's my name" made me sad.. really hope it wasn't something else but she just seemed lost. We all know what she went thru with Chris Brown. When and how do our girls learn this is never, NEVER okay? If you are a doctor, singer, mother, sister or prostitute? THIS is never okay!!

Then, desperate for something better I watched Robin Roberts special with Leanne Rhymes - OMG!! Get she had it hard being a successful child star and all but, please does that make it okay to cheat on your husband and steal another woman's husband??? Is he really that much of a catch??? Don't think so!!Just once, I want to hear someone like her or Tiger say, " I couldn't help myself! I know in my heart this was wrong and that it would hurt other people - but, couldn't stop cause I am a selfish bastard/whore and you know what? DIDN'T CARE - DID IT ANYWAY!!" Then, I just might believe them when they realize and say, "OMG - I really did just cause all this pain in so many lives." No one wants to admit they did anything wrong...even when they didn't. Charlotte did not deserve what happened to her on Private Practice. Neither did Rihanna. As for LeAnne, well - just admit you couldn't help yourself. But, don't cry victim. Say, "I am human and I am sorry." I know none of us are perfect and we all make mistakes. Sometimes we do everything right and life still turns out wrong. Life is hard and wonderful. Just stand up for yourself when you are right and stand up and admit when you are wrong. That's all...

The men in our lives should care if they can't be there to protect us. They should never ever be the ones hitting or hurting us. And if they do - WE SHOULD NEVER ACCEPT IT...OR COVER IT UP!!!

Wiggin Out

I am wiggin out!! It's the beginning of my favortie time of the year - Halloween has come and gone. Which means it is practically New Years already!!! Don't blink cause Thanksgiving is here and the big one will be nothing but scraps of ribbon and pretty paper before we know it. That is why I call this my WIGGIN OUT time...I am a nonstop decorating fool from the last day in September (Halloween goes up) til sometime in February, I've been known to throw a couples Cupid party and that is a whole other blog. I've already warned my houseboys (Wonderman and Gman) that I would truly appreciate their muscles this afternoon bringing down the Christmas Sparkly Crap. All of it. Got to get it up and ready due to a few little trips this month. Since we hit the Thanksgiving Jackpot (someone else will be slaving over this meal - can't wait!!) I can go ahead and get the inside all ready for Santa. I will hold off on outside of house to keep the homeowners association happy. That will all go up last day of November.

Back to Halloween - my personal fav holiday - and wigging out. Here is another shameless shout out to WENDY WILLIAMS - love you and love your show!!! If I have to be anywhere before noon I just have to leave the tv off cause her show is so fun to watch I can't stop and then I'm late for anything before 1:00. I am the master of piddling away the time in the morning. Anyway, I love WW and all her fabulous wigs. So for Halloween this year my costume came second to the wig I wanted to wear. Had my heart fixed on a Sookie wig (Have never ever watched that show and don't plan to cause I am already addicted to enough car wreck tv - you know you shouldn't look but you can't help it and once you look/watch it you can't stop) but all the good ones where gone so I had to make do with a Amy Whinehouse wig. Now every year I go all crazy with the Halloween decorations inside and outside. I know I have a problem but it isn't hurting anyone and my family secretly loves me for it. This year I made sure we got a Halloween Costume Party on the calendar. Want to every year and before I can send out evites it is freakin Christmas. So we had a Paparazzi Celebrity Costume Party - come as your favorite celebrity...person or character. They could be sports, tv or movies or just someone in the news. Lots of possibilities and something for everyone. The crazies like me that love a good laugh and costume and the shy ones that prefer to just come laugh at everyone else all dressed up. Told them not to worry they could show up dressed normal and we would call them contestants on Wife Swap.

Back to wigs...Snooki was obviously going to be a big costume this year so I decided it would be more fun and age appropriate for me to dress up as Snooki's mother and of course Wonderman would be Snooki's dad...he got to wear a great Situation costume with a wig like Pauly (the other boy duffus on the the show). As the Dad he can mix it up...we had so much fun and we had two Snookies and several Situations in the house. The scene stealers were Amy Winehouse and Slash,Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne,Hannah Montana and Billy Ray, and Kat and Jesse James. Talk about great wigs!!! Who knew they could be so much fun!! Wendy Williams that's who. And Raquel Welch and most of the men on soap operas!! Trust me the boys are not all genetically blessed with amazing hair over 35...they are rocking some man hair wigs. And why not? Not fair for us to get the special effects tricks of make up AND great hair all to ourselves. So on that note it is time for me to stop rambling and get to the Good Stuff!!! Here are my latest and greatest favorite things that I wish I could give you like Oprah and Wendy do. One day when I am rich and famous I will make that my life mission...while others are feeding the hungry, adopting all the orphan children, and saving our canine friends - I'll be giving away all my fav good stuff!!! Spread the word about a great mascara and the world will be better for all.

Been awhile and I'm overloaded with stuff to share...will keep it to face stuff today:

My biggest problems are age spots and patchy dry skin that will not stop peeling. After weeks of trying lots of moisturizers I finally scheduled a derm appt. for next week. Which I don't even need now due to the brilliant idea I had to try an old faithful standby...

Pond's Dry Skin Cream. I love the cucumber cleansing cream and accidentally bought the dry skin cream by mistake one day. Noticed it in the cabinet sitting unused and thought worth a try. Dry patchy skin is GONE....then I started using it on my neck and dry crepe wrinkly skin looks instantly better!!! I am going to start buying this stuff by the vat. Will post if I find it supersized somewhere - good news is it is cheap anyway.

The other miracle product is Clinique Even Better Dark Spot Corrector. I would love to get a fancy laser treatment but since I am chicken and cheap that prolly won't be happening. Next best thing with no pain and a lot better price is waiting for you at the Clinique counter and it made a huge difference in just two weeks. I really couldn't believe it.

I also love Clinique's new Redness Solutions makeup. There is a great little sample of it in the latest magazines. I just dot it on where needed to cover any redness, veins and my much lighter age spots.

I am also a big fan of Revlon's Age Defying Face Illuminator. I use the Bare Light shade to just give a subtle glow and it really does make your pores disappear. It is great around eyes too to help concealer cover dark circles.

Now my next fav thing caught my eye one day and after I stopped laughing at the ridiculous claims on the packaging I decided to buy it and try it and then return it. No way it could work. It is Physicians Formula CoverToxTen Wrinkle Therapy Face Powder. Stop laughing and listen. Yes, it actually claims to reduce over 50% visible wrinkles in 10 MINUTES all the way up to 90% visibly smoother skin in JUST 10 DAYS!! After you stop snickering run as fast as you can to CVS drugstore and snatch it up. Once this secret stuff gets out it will fly off the shelves. I was shocked and knew I had hit facial jackpot when Wonderman took one look noticed something different and panicked thinking I'd had "some work done"...seriously, who's laughing now???

And my final face secret weapon is Stila Illuminating Finishing powder in Gold.It just gives a little glow to keep your face from looking to flat and matte. Just brush it lightly over cheekbones and nose.

Now some of you may be thinking "That's a lot of face crap...no wonder she can't get out of the house before 1:00!!" Not true...I honestly do all this in ten minutes and that includes eyes, blush and lips. Maybe 15 -20 if WW is on and I'm distracted watching her show. It is the time I spend blowing out my hair that eats up my morning which is why I think I might start rocking my Amy Winehouse wig year round. What I really want is the wig my friend Sharon Osbourne wore to my party!! Time for me to WIG OUT for real!!! And a big hug and kiss to my unpaid much loved personal publicist - Mrs. Bedgood (real name too!!) for telling everyone to read my blog and helping me share the GOODSTUFF!!!

It Gets Better

I had so many great things to share tonight cause it has been awhile. I had amazing new beauty stuff (and you know we all need that) delicious recipes (okay, we prolly didn't need those but dang they are good) and don't even get me started on the books, tv and movies you just have to see can't live without....but, before I started on this I got sucked into that black hole of time I love to call Facebook...and no, I have not seen the movie yet but I can't wait!! JUST too busy on FACEBOOK to go see the MOVIE ABOUT FACEBOOK...that might be a problem for them, ya think? All us FB addicts can't go see the movie cause we are home on FB. Just a thought.

But, FB has lots of really good things happening too. Not just Betty White's career boost. She is AMAZING an prolly was gonna ride this wave all on her on. But, FB did get her on SNL. And, my original FB post tonight was about how great SNL was last Saturday with Sue Sylvester...LOVE HER LOVE AND THE SHOW GLEE...but, again that is not what I am writing about now. Now that I watched something my friend Robert from high school in the small southern town of Thomaston, Georgia shared on Facebook.

I don't think he will mind me sharing with you that he is gay. He is also several years younger than me but I knew him in high school because his oldest brother was in my class. There was also a middle brother and all three were without a doubt the cutest things ever. All the girls were crazy about them. That is how I remember them. Loved them then and love them now. Two youngest are more flattered by attention from the opposite sex. That is silly southern for gay. I don't care -you shouldn't - just means they are awesome. Robert shared this video on Facebook today and it really is a wake up call for ALL of us. I am soooo proud to say an amazing man from my new adopted home state of Texas shared something so personal and brave with all of us. I just hope those of us that need to hear it most - do.

Do listen and honestly, take a moment to think about your kids, your family, your friends...does it really matter who they want to love and marry based on sexual preferences??? If their choice is a good person that loves them back, does it matter if they are the same size, race, or sexual orientation? Is it worth children killing themselves, starving themselves or living alone? If Jesus loves us all, shouldn't that cover everything? I may not be in "church" every Sunday, but I do believe in God. I do believe he made us all. I do believe he is ready for all of us to trust him and that. If he made it, all we need to do is respect it all. ALL. Not just what looks like us. We are all human and flawed and He loves us still. Watch the video - just google Joel Burns It Gets Better...it should be there. Grab a box of tissues first and open your heart and MIND. You just might help us save ourselves...or at least our children.

True Blahhhhh

Well that sucked...and sometimes sucking is not a good thing. Ya'll know I'm all about my vampires. Books, tv and yes even those annoying to some but loved by most - vampire movies. Why? Good question. I have decided I am partial to handsome vampires. So that rules out all of Anne Rice's boys/girls. They are just brutal and mean. At least as far as I got in her series. Not far. I even tried the artsy one Let the Right One In...or something like that and well call me a whimp but - yuck. Didn't finish and won't go see the new movie out either. Creepy little girl bloodsuckers just have zero appeal for me. Now, a hot guy with serious issues and reasons why it shouldn't work with the troubled female, blah, blah and blah...yea I'm all over that. Make him hot, bad, sarcastic, and crazy too - even better. Throw in a really hot and troubled but good guy brother and you have Vampire Diaries. Hands/vangs down the best vampire thing going. If you are not watching - DO - go buy the first season. I promise you will love it. PROMISE. If you don't, well you prolly won't like my blog either. So just stop reading now and have a nice boring life.

For everyone else...don't bother reading the book series of Vampire Diaries - kind of dull after watching the show which does not follow the books. If you want to read a series that is wayyyy better than the show then read Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series...just go to Amazon and start at the beginning. The show has been alot of fun but the books are so much better. As you can tell by my title I thought the season finale was kind of blah. As in True Blah.

True Blood has so many things going for it. It just has a bad habit of killing them off. Like the crazy funny boyfriend of the King of Louisiana. Good plot line but dang he was sooooo fun to watch. Hate that. And the KING!!! Please don't kill him...or Eric...and for God's sake don't screw it all up by killing off Pam. She is awesome!!! Kill Soukie before ya kill off Pam. Seriously. Now I've read all the books and the show is not following them for the most part. Some good some bad. But, keep watching. It's worth it.

The End of Summer 2010

Tonight is the night for my family....I know our friends in Georgia have been back to school for about three weeks. Wow, that really sucks for you. Tomorrow morning will really suck for us. You have adjusted and are prolly in your groove right now. We will lay awake tonight thinking about tomorrow and stressing cause we are still awake. Until about 28 minutes before this really LOUD SHRILL NOISE wakes us up. And trust me those 28 minutes will feel like the best sleep we've had all summer. Even though at some point during them we will be dreaming about showing up the first day without any pencils and naked. Again, this will suck for us. You've already recovered and realizied the wisdom of going to bed before 1:30am and that you were just dreaming bout the pencils and lack of clothes. We will feel like zombies for the next week or so. Then we will be so overwhelmed by the projects due and tests to study for, that it will be Christmas before we know it. And before we can unwrap the presents it will be summer 2011. It's no joke that time is flying. You know you are old as dirt when your kids get that too. When they start complaining about how fast time is going - then you know you might need to be making some final plans.

The only thing saving me from feeling my real age (besides the wrinkles and rolls and crap that is happening to my body - and the number of times I've heard "Mam" lately) is that my baby is not yet 16. Time is dragging for him until 11/14/2010...The DAY he will turn 16. Then I will also age another 100 yrs. INSTANTLY. Even though I know how fast the year flies by once September gets here it will drag for him and hopefully for me. As much as I am enjoying watching my children grow up and mature - it is scary to know that they are not the only ones growing older. Happens to us all. Our friends, pets, parents and yes, that face we see everyday in the mirror.

So to all my dear McKinney friends getting ready for the first day of school tomorrow - whether it's kindergarten or 6th grade or sophmore year of high school/college...time is flying by for all of us, kiss and hug your loved ones and send them on their way tomorrow. And for those of us with kids away at school, send them a text! Thank god for texting and facebook - it almost feels like they are still home. And for those of you with kids off to college for their freshman year - don't forget to "take" your family Christmas card picture by Thanksgiving break. I learned the hard way last year that it is really hard to get a good one on 12/17. Even harder to get it developed and in the mail by 12/25....just a thought.

Denial

Let's start with Denial...I am not really ready for summer to be over. So we are just pretending that this is not the last Wednesday of summer '2010....that would make me sad. Right now, I am still giggling from watching the first episode of Weeds Season Six. This is even more fun cause I just watched it on this really cool website - hulu.com. Now stop laughing. I KNEW about Hulu. This was just the first time I actually sat down and watched something on it. AWESOME. If you don't mind them bleeping some of those creative words (except for bitch - funny that, kinda made me mad that was okay but other creative choices weren't. Sexist, I say.) Otherwise it rocks to watch shows on Showtime. We pay for HBO but not Showtime. So excited about watching stuff on Hulu!!! Due to major power outage and transformer blowing in my side yard and hot cute firemen coming on the night of Desperate Housewives season finale last spring, I missed the last show and that is why I tried to find it on Hulu. That episode won't be available till the end of August but I can wait a few more weeks. AND watch Weeds!!!LOVING THAT!!! Almost makes up for it being the end to summer.

Back to Weeds - please tell me you have been watching!!! If not - run to Blockbuster and get started. Warning - YOU will become addicted. I am pretty sure there is crack in it. Cause one show and you are hooked for life. It is just a touch racy so you might not want to view with anyone from your church. Nancy Botwin is my hero. Not because she deals pot to save and support her family. That is just wrong - and I along with Bill have never inhaled anything. Funny if you knew me - that this would be one of my favorite shows. I love her because she always does whatever she needs to do to take care of her family....and WHATEVER just doesn't even begin to cover it. Plus, she is just so cool about it all. True role model.

Won't give away any major plot secrets but, will say I loved seeing all the Vera Bradley piled in her car as she was fleeing off to her next adventure. For those of you that think Vera isn't cool - HA!!! If it's good enough for Nancy B. it is good enough for me...yes, all that Vera Bradley gave me a good giggle. Can't wait to tell Babygirl about it. She might have walked in during a few episodes over the years so she will giggle too. We also are huge Vera Bradley fans. I'm guessing she has provided pretty well for her family too.

As for providing for families - tonight we are having our favorite Chicken Marsala w/ Marscarpone. John will be teaching Tyler how to make it since she will have an apartment with kitchen this year at school. Griffin already knows how and he will be joining us after lax practice. We are under strict orders not to eat it all. I did all the shopping and prep work and will be supervising from a safe spot with a glass of wine...the fact that it is almost 8:00 and we haven't even started yet tells me that it is still summertime. Got to love that! Back to Denial...and Hulu. Monday morning will be here before we know it, but for now....STILL SUMMER 2010!!! Enjoy!!