Gratitude List

On Thanksgiving Day, more than any other day of the year, we are unified as one nation to celebrate all of our good fortunes. Even the most cynical must have a list of things he holds dear. Whether your thanks are directed up to God, to someone you love or just out into the open air, today is the day to express them. So, here's mine:

I'm thankful for my two children and loving husband...their good health and happiness. I'm thankful for our families and my abundance of good friendships. I'm thankful for all of the luxuries that are easily taken for granted...clean safe water to drink, the comfort of a warm home and warm bed, grocery stores just a stone's throw away filled with food to keep me full my entire life, the best medical care including vaccinations from diseases that still ravage many countries. I'm thankful for being born an American....the freedom everyday to do whatever I want to do without repression or condemnation. And I'm thankful for my own good health.

Compared to those things the excess that we live in each day seems trivial...like flat screen tvs and heated steering wheels.

My cup runneth over...

Lush Lash

I just took the longest, hottest, steamiest, most relaxing shower of my life!! I must have been in there 20 minutes...I definitely have prune fingers. I'm wondering why I don't do that more often...maybe that's a luxury I'll get to take advantage of while I'm off off this week. It also helps that Josie went to bed at 5:30...she was just so pooped from her fun weekend. She wasn't feeling well, but she rallied anyway...my kind of girl!

I'm so happy to hear that so many of you ran out and got the Ooh La Lift and are loving it! I'm telling ya, some of this stuff is really good. So while we're still on the eyes, I wanna tell you about mascaras...which is another thing I've hunted down and slaughtered. My eyelashes practically do not exist and what few are there are so fair you could barely see them even with a flashlight! Seriously. Soooo, my favorite for now (and it usually changes), but this has been a favorite for a couple years now is Make Up Forever Professional Smoky Lash mascara. I've only been able to find it at Sephora, but actually now that I think about it, I've never looked anywhere else. But, most of the lovely ladies at Sephora will tell you it's the best. It lengthens, adds volume and does all the things you want your mascara to do. Just make sure to get the full effect you put on 2-3 coats.

Now, if I'm going out on the town (which lets be honest is a rarity)...but still!...then I bring out the big guns....the paint on false lashes. The stuff I use goes over your regular mascara and it is ah.may.zing. It's called Imju Fiberwig Mascara and it's literally is like a wig for your eyes. I know there are a bunch of other paint-ons that I'm sure also work really well...the point is, try one. My sis-in-law Jill described it well when she told me when she washes the paint on lashes off you can see the little lashes fall off into the sink. But, it goes on like mascara. Hello, genius!! Great for date night, ladies night...or just anytime you wanna go Beyonce with that extra glam look.

haha...ok, so Anna is on her way up the stairs to bed with D.J. and the Backyardigans are on in the background. Of course they are singing...so half way up the stairs Anna stopped and said to me "shake your booty Mama"!!

EAT PRAY LOVE

Add in laughter and isn't that all we really need in this life? If only it were so simple. I'm only midway through the book Eat, Pray, Love and I love it. It's so, shall I say, indulgent? But so inspiring. After a heartwrenching divorce and a severe bout of debilitating depression, the author decided to uproot her life and spend 4 months in Italy eating, 4 months in India praying, and 4 months in Indonesia loving. What 30 something can do that? I guess someone without the contraints of tiny little faces needing to be tucked into bed each evening. For me, reading a few pages of this book each night is like a little get away...I read each page envious of the time that she spent traveling, getting to know herself...sometimes even in complete solitude and complete silence. But, I know deep down I could never do anything like that. Being the social butterfly that I am, I can guarantee after spending one day in an ashram in the middle of nowhere India, far far away from civilization, expected to be in prayer for 18 hours out of the day....I would have booked myself a first class ticket on the next flight out of there and thoroughly enjoyed my glass of wine and in flight entertainment on my way back to the big city.

I'm most intrigued by her time in India. She spends 4 months trying to reach enlightenment and figuring out the ways of the universe, why we exist...you know, all of those extistential questions with no objective answers. I'm not sure that many people ever take the time to even consider these things...and who can blame them? With hectic day to day lives, who has the time? But, some theorists claim that the root cause of much anxiety lies within the basis of those 2 concepts. Enlightenment is basically being present and freeing your mind of any thoughts other than just being. So you are just here, now, alive...not worried about tomorrow, not thinking about what you have to do or didn't do. Just being and enjoying it. But being that we're humans, this is impossible to do even 20% of the time. Even if you can try to implement this a little into each day, you may see a lift in levels of anxiety. The second concept (the age old question that everyone has their unique answer to)...why we exist, is just so, what's the right word?...deep. It's spiritual and intimidating. But perhaps those with a strong faith in their purpose in this life, may have less anxiety. So, it's not surprising that spending 4 months focusing on these 2 things leaves the author feeling rejuvenated and elated.

I'm fascinated by this spiritual indulgence...something that can just eliminate all anxiety and doesn't have to be taken with a glass of water. But, mainly because I know I couldn't do it. So I'll just take her word for it and continue reading...

Confirmation Of Aging

3 telltale signs of aging...

1. It's Wednesday and I'm still not fully recovered from Saturday night.

2. I'm seriously contemplating and considering buying a Cadillac.

3. Tonight Anna saw a picture of Mimi (my mom) and exclaimed "that's you Mommy!"

Ooh La Lift and Eye Bright

So, while we're on the eyes I thought I'd share the all time best eye brightening routine. I've been battling dark circles for years (even with 9 hours of sleep a night and plenty of hydration), so my primary focus has been lightening...which just happens to make you look younger. If you have been blessed with no or minimal darkness under your eyes...God luvya, and I hatecha!! JOKING, of course...I love you all. But, you beeznatches can just skip this post all together. But, if you're like most of us, read on...

I'm basically just a facial product junkie in general. I have tried it all and the 2 best make-up lines for me are Benefit and Smashbox. I could seriously talk about Benefit all day long and completely bore you into oblivion. There are a couple of their products that I dislike...like the Bad Gal Lash mascara melts onto your face (which is just the look you want) and the Hello Flawless powder foundation made me break-out. BUT, most of their stuff is amazing!!!

When I use the following 2 Benefit products after applying the PTR Power K eye cream as mentioned in my earlier post, my dark circles virtually disappear, which is just short of a miracle. So the first is Benefit's Ooh La Lift. I've been using this for years and never go without it. The second is Benefit's Eye Bright pencil.

First take the Eye Bright pencil and draw 2 or 3 cat whiskers on the outer side of your eye. Then draw a crescent shaped moon on the inside of your eye near the bridge of your nose. Take the Ooh La Lift and make 3 dots with the applicator under your eye. Mix all these together by patting (don't rub...never rub under your eye) until blended. Voila! Bye Bye dark circles, Hello hot 20 somethings!!...haha kidding....just sayin for the single ladies. :-)

Holy Guacamole & Orange Sticks

I'm not sure how it happened, but we have ourselves a bebe de guacamol!! At dinner on Sunday, we just happened to look over and Josie was inhaling the guacamole. Not sure how she discovered it, not sure how she knew she liked it, but she must have piled it into her mouth for a good 20 minutes straight.

Going in for more...

when her own wasn't enough, she resorted to licking it from Anna...

hmmmmmm....

i guess her little cup of guac wasn't enough, goin for the big guns...

Also, tonight Anna said something super cute. The book she chose to read before bed is titled Baby's First 100 words. It's basically a book of 100 pictures of everyday items...so I pointed to each picture and asked Anna to tell me what was it was. She nailed them all except 2 or 3. One of the ones she struggled with was a picture of pealed and sliced carrots. When I asked her what they were, she paused for a moment, looked at me quizzically and said "orange sticks"?? ha...I swear we feed them carrots!!

Thanks for all of the emails/notes about my post on anti-wrinkle products. Just one more thing I want to mention...whatever you try, be sure to give it 30 days. And yes, I will definitely post more reviews soon!

Anna's Fairy Godmother

I thought Fairy Godmothers were make believe? Well, I think I'm gonna have to whip up a tiara, magic wand and a pair of wings for Katie! :-) When Anna was born, choosing Godparents felt like such a huge undertaking for us. Would whoever we choose take a special interest in her as an individual? Would whoever we choose acknowledge their role past the actual baptism itself? Would whoever we choose support her as a Catholic at all stages of her religious development? Would they create traditions with her that were theirs and only theirs?

Ideally, these were things we hoped for and wanted for Anna. We wanted others besides us to let her know that she's special not only in this world, but also with God. But we also realize that life is busy and that being a good Godparent doesn't necessarily require that you do all of those things...or any of those things really. I just have to say how especially touched I am by the interest Katie has take in developing her relationship with Anna as her Godmother over the past 3 years. One of the traditions that Katie does each year with Anna is to celebrate her baptismal birthday each November. This year she took Anna to 1154 Lill and made her her very first custom handbag. My heart just melts imagining them picking out fabric together!! These experiences for Anna are priceless. I tried to explain to Anna what she celebrates in November and I'm not quite sure that she understands yet...but what she does understand is that she has a very special relationship with her Godmother.

So thank you Katie! As my BFF and Anna's Godmother, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. You can see in the pics below how happy this made her.

Sephora's Goin' Down

My mother always tells me I should be happy that I have oily skin because I'll have less wrinkles when I'm older. Well, guess what?...now I'm older and instead I just have oily skin PLUS deep expression lines...that wasn't supposed to happen. I also used to tell myself that these lines were symbols of my past, that they told a story....uh huh, all I have to say to that is...whatever. I gave up on that feel good concept completely about a year ago and started attacking these annoying little suckers with guns blazin'.

My primary place of worship has been Sephora. Certainly there have to be a million different ways to zap these in order to regain my youthful appearance, especially considering the price tag on some of this stuff? Uh, not so much. I remember the first time I brought home some official anti-wrinkle cream. I thought it was going to be some sort of magic potion that just "poof", would erase every last little wrinkle line. I had been a wrinkle cream virgin and just honestly didn't know how this stuff was supposed to work. I am here to tell you right now...do not believe the hype of these products because MOST of them do not work. I say most because I have found a few products that have been about as close to plastic surgery than I'm probably ever going to get without taking the plunge.

So...after about a year of taking out all our local Sephora's, I thought I'd share my favorites. The first product I must tell you about is Peter Thomas Roth's Power K Eye Rescue. Omg, this stuff is amazing and will take 10 yrs off your eyes. Just sayin...recently I found myself at an urgent care center and the doctor who took care of me asked me where I went to school. Now, I know I don't look THAT young, but GOD LOVE HIM!!...just sayin'. Well, not only have I been genetically blessed with oily skin, but also dark circles. This stuff has eliminated almost all of the fine lines around my eyes and has dramatically reduced the dark circles. When I ran out of this for the first time, I didn't replace it right away and after about a week I started wondering what in the heck was wrong with me. Everytime I looked in the mirror I saw someone who looked like they hadn't slept in a year and was constantly re-applying whatever I could get my hands on to try to minimize the dark circles. Then it hit me that I wasn't using the Power K Eye Rescue. Well, I rushed right out to get it again and haven't gone a day since without it. The only downfall to this product is that is is mucho dinero for simply 0.5 ounces. But trust me ladies, it's worth it.

You didn't think I could share all my favorites all at once, did you? So, come back to check out more at a later date. Besides, this day of shopping, ballet and the circus with a 3 yr old has me completely wiped out...the old lady must go to bed.

All Bugged Out

Huh? Is this for real?....Well, if you've always dreamed of carrying around a dead bug on your wrist preserved forever in some sort of indestructible plastic, your prayers have been answered:

Bug Bands Collection
#579
$16.95
add to wish list
These cool wristbands feature REAL bugs kids will love to wear—from a shimmering beetle to a giant-sized hornet! Each wristband has a different, fascinating bug that’s permanently encased in indestructible, lightweight acrylic. Plus, the nylon bands easily adjust to give every kid the perfect fit! Set includes all 4 wristbands. Our exclusive. (5 years & up)

Yes, this was on the back cover of one of the junk catalogs we received today. Seriously, how are these selling?

I ♥ Catalogs

And I'm not talking about all those catalogs just full of junk, those get an immediate ticket on the garbage train....i'm talking about linens from Restoration Hardware, handbags from Saks, sweaters from Nordy's, sparklies from Tiffany's, holiday plates from Williams Sonoma...ya know, those catalogs!! I love them...so it's a darn good thing it's catalog season! I counted today...yea, we got 11 catalogs in the mail, most of which ended up in the trash. But I still ended up with a good handful of catalogs full of stuff I just might need! :-) So each night I retire to bed with my pile and struggle to keep one eye pried open just so I can keep up with this influx of holiday merchandise. But, I love it! Most of the time, I'm just window shopping...suprisingly looking is almost as fun as buying. Not quite, but almost. However, I just succumbed to these from Chasing Fireflies...really? how can one resist???

Seriously, get them now. Most sizes are already on backorder. ;-)

Pumpkin Art

I almost forgot...D.J. & Anna's trick-or-treater greeter!

Bye-Bye Jack-o-lanterns...

...hello pumpkin pie! I'm so happy November is here...this is my favorite time of year so I'm thoroughly enjoying the pumpkin spice candles and puffy winter coats! I hope everyone had a great time last night celebrating All Hallows' Eve. We had Care Bears visiting all weekend...

Visit my facebook page for more pics...