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!!