SPF - Titles

This week, Kristine has challenged us to come up with a photo that represents a song title, one that is a movie title, and one that is a book title. So here goes.

Song: Turkey in the Straw

These are some wild turkey that were wandering through our yard one day. This morning, we saw a deer out in our pasture. I like living in the country.

Movie title: Baby's Day OutI took this picture of my baby when we were at the park one day. He stood there like that for the longest time, watching a bunch of kids playing, and I just thought it was so cute!

Book Title: Prose of the Victorian Era
This is how I feel just reading the title of that book.

So, did you play?

For women only

I'm warning you right now, if you're a man you probably don't want to read this post. Seriously. I'm going to be talking about b*r*a*s. Then again, maybe every man on the internet will want to read this post. Anyway...

Continuing my image series, how do you choose the right brassiere for you? We've all seen women whose chests touch their waistband. And none of us wants to be that woman, right? Here are my favorite tips.

• Get yourself professionally measured. Go someplace like VS or a department store and ask them to measure you. Many, many women out there are wearing the wrong size because they've never done this one simple thing.
• Buy a new set of b*r*a*s every three months, just like your toothbrush. Buy enough that you can have some in the wash and have at least one clean one.
  
• Why every three months? The materials of the garment are meant to support. Any material, no matter how nice, is going to stretch and break down over time. After three months, it's just not doing its job as well as it should be anymore.
• The more support you have, the better. The tissue in your b*r*e*a*s*t*s is going to break down over time, causing that dreaded sagging. Good support will slow that process.
• Get a nice, supportive and comfortable sports bra or something like that to sleep in. Again, the more you can do to slow the breakdown of tissue, the better.
• While wearing your b*r*a, the b*r*e*a*s*t*s should peak halfway between the shoulder and the elbow. If not, you need a new one.
• We all change size if we gain or lose weight. If you're using the set of hooks which are farthest out, it's time for the next larger size, even if the one you're wearing seems to fit.

Okay, I think that's all. Sorry for all the *s, but I do want to avoid some measure of perverts searching for such words! Happy shopping!

Woe is me Wednesday

I wanted to play Way Back Wednesday today, but my scanner is not working. Actually, I think it's a communication issue, because the scanner itself is working fine. The computer just won't admit it.

So, what shall I talk about instead? We have a tenant who just moved out, so I need to start interviewing people who want the place. Obviously, I'll run background checks and all, but what happens when I have two or more equally good candidates? I hate that. Then I have to make a judgment call. I'm not really much good at judgment calls. I tend to look at things emotionally instead of logically.

Let me pose this question to you: if you were applying to rent a house, and there weren't any reason financially or a criminal record or something for you to be turned down, how would you want to be told that you didn't get the house?

Last time, I just never called them back. I don't like confrontations. But that's not very professional, or polite for that matter. Aren't I awful?

Mystery of the universe

Can anyone explain to me why a 19 month old who doesn't even call his parents Mama and Dada on a consistent basis can pick up one of Thomas the Tank's friends and clear as a bell say, "Gordon!" ???

Put your hand in mine

“Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.
That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.”
~ Emily Kimbrough ~

My senior year of college I remember feeling so discouraged. My fiance was in Texas and I was in Virginia. I had chosen to go to a women's liberal arts college, and after spending the last half of my junior year abroad, I returned to find that my only real Christian friend had not come back to school. I called her godparents, who lived there in town, and they told me she'd gone back home to Jamaica. But they would still be glad to give me a ride to church.

On the way there, Mr. Clark told me about a new Sunday School class for college age and under-30 folks. He showed me which building to go to, and I walked in, feeling very out-of-place. The youth pastor I'd gotten to know over the last few years had left, and I really didn't know anyone in the class.

By the end of Sunday school time, I knew I'd found my new support group. We were all laughing and joking and making plans to get together on Friday night for a prayer meeting. This wonderful group of friends were my lifeline throughout that year. If I ever felt down, I'd call one of them. One guy, Scott, was like a little brother. He was a brand-new Christian who constantly challenged me to find the joy in my salvation. Another guy, Ken, took me to my spring dance, just because he owned a tux. And every week we met to pray for each other.

I don't even want to think about how much harder that year would have been if I hadn't gone into that Sunday school class, if God hadn't sent those people to hold my hands. I will always be thankful for them.

Can you hear the Hallelujah Chorus?

I can hardly believe it, but it seems my four year old is finally potty trained! It's been many days since his last accident, and he actually stops playing and runs to the bathroom when he needs to!

I was seriously beginning to think he'd be seven or eight before he decided it wasn't cool to wear diapers anymore. And I definitely thought the baby would end up potty trained before he did. I'm so happy to be wrong!

Major props go to my sister-in-law, who watched out for him at camp this past week and made sure he went to the bathroom when he needed to. He would not have been successfully trained yet if it weren't for her.

Three down, one to go! We've been buying diapers for over ten years now. I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel!

And it's over!

I just got home from the last day of camp for this year. I must say I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. But I'm also glad I didn't have to stay all day in the heat. Next year, who knows - maybe I'll stay all day. Or maybe I'll send Hubby off with all four boys and enjoy a week alone! Hehe.

On Tuesday I went swimming after I got home and the baby was down for his nap. I can't even remember the last time I got to go swimming alone! I almost wasn't sure what to do in the pool when I didn't have a little one to hold or bigger ones yelling, "Watch this, Mommy!" It was nice. I just floated around for about an hour.

I might do that today, too, since it's the last day of camp. Anybody want to come over for a pool party?

Other people's kids

Working at camp all week with other people's kids really makes you appreciate your own. That's all I have to say about that.

Random quotes from other people's kids:

"I have a dog! He's a black lab! No, a dachsund!" (I can see how you'd mix those up).

When asked if they have any brothers or sisters, "My brother has one me!"

Quoting the Bible verse "Righteousness exalts a nation," one little boy said, "Righteousness insults a nation." (Well, in this country, that's almost true sometimes).

Caught white-handed

I was painting our upstairs bathroom the other day when my 4 year old walked in. "Don't touch the walls," I cautioned, "the paint is still wet."

"Okay," he said.

I turned away to apply more paint to the far wall of the room. Then I heard him ask, "What is this stuff all over my hands?" Without looking I asked, "Did you touch the wall?"

"No." A pause. "It looks like paint."

I turned around. Sure enough, it was paint. "Did you touch the paint?" I asked, motioning to the tray I was using with my roller.

"Yeah."

"Well, that's probably where the paint on your hands came from."

He looked at me like I was the wisest person who ever lived. "Oh, yeah!"

We washed his hands and he went on his merry way.

In "Other" Words - 8/1

"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'" ~ C.S. Lewis ~

I heard a wonderful message a few years back entitled "The Three Kings," by Mark Gorman. In it, he says that many people make the mistake of thinking that if you're not on Satan's side, you must be on God's side. But this isn't true. There is a third possible "king" in your life, and that king is you! God has given us free will, and we are free to use it. And because of our sin nature, we are not always going to choose the best thing. And God says, "All right, then, have it your way."

At the time I heard this message, we had recently found a church we liked after moving to a new area. We attended Sunday mornings, usually. Many mornings, we got such a late start that we just didn't go. And we never went on Sunday or Wednesday evenings. Now, there is no commandment in the Bible to attend every church service your church schedules. I didn't feel particularly guilty about missing so many of them. But then I heard this message and I realized I wasn't making God the King of this decision. It was me. And it shouldn't have been. I knew if God were making the decision for me, He'd like me to be there.

Since that time, we've regularly attended all three of our church's regular services. We've also become involved in the music ministry and helping out with Patch the Pirate Club. And believe me when I say that it would be much easier not to do those things. But again, I let God make that decision for me.

I'm not saying it's always easy, or that King Me doesn't still make some of the choices around here, but it's always the right choice to say, "Okay, Lord, you take this one. Whatever you decide is fine by me."

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to camp we go!

This week, the older boys are in day camp and I have been going in the mornings to help out. This morning we were all running pretty late. As I rushed around getting clothes and socks and lunches for everyone, I kept thinking, "Is this what it would be like to have kids in school? Every morning?" Not pleasant! Tomorrow, I'm going to have to start earlier.

Even on my worst day

One of our favorite tv shows is Monk, on USA network. We watched it Friday night, and I laughed so hard that if we didn't have a waterbed frame holding me in, I would have fallen out of bed. I picked up a new line that I plan on using from now on.

In the episode, Monk is temporarily blinded, and when he's called in to ID a suspect, the police want him to feel the guy's face. The guy they've brought in is a transient. And Monk, who has OCD and would never normally touch a regular person, let alone a transient, objects. Strenuously. "Even on my worst days," he says, "I could still say, 'At least I've never felt a transient's face.'"

So from now on, when I oversleep, the kids are running wild, the dog pees on the floor, the last of the milk gets spilled on the floor, and there's another diaper to change, I will say to myself, "At least I've never felt a transient's face."

Carnival #8

This week's Carnival is about My Favorite Things. Check it out!

And next week, if you're a female blogger who's been wanting to join a carnival but aren't ready to join the blogroll, the Blogging Chicks Carnival is open to all women bloggers! So hop over to the BC blog and check out the guidelines for joining in!

Tags: Carnival of Blogging Chicks

My favorite things

I suppose I could write a very deep post on my favorite things, but instead I'll just point out that the Blogging Chicks Carnival this week is themed My Favorite Things. I've been keeping a second blog for quite a while now that is full of my favorite things. I don't write in it every day, but more when the mood strikes. So if you'd like to know what some of my favorite things are, click here!

Happy birthday, Dad!

Don't worry - I won't embarrass you like I did last year!

Have a great day!

SPF - Oh, we're all REALLY scared

This week, newlywed Kristine has come up with some interesting topics. So here we go!

-Something mean looking

My seven year old. He really is very sweet and cute. He just insists on being photographed like this.

-Your weaponsEach and every one of these little beans is my weapon. If I can get a steaming hot cup of java, I can conquer anything.

-Your hiding placeI don't actually hide in the bookcase, of course. I like to escape into a good book, or even a mediocre book. When you're a SAHM with four kids, you get away when and where you can!

So, did you play?

Edited to add: For those of you who wanted to see a front view of my new haircut, scroll down to Monday's post.

Tags: SPF, Stuff Portrait Friday

Following up on yesterday's extremely long and boring post...

Just to answer a couple of questions I received:

If you are warm, that doesn't necessarily mean orange will look good on you. It will just look better than red. Most women sort of know instinctively which colors look good on them. Go with your instinct. In the case of a warm with pale skin and freckles, you definitely do want to avoid purple. As far as pink, it would depend on the shade, but again, you probably know instinctively what looks good on you. I probably would avoid black, too though. Try something in a soft gray and see which color looks better on you.

Color also applies to your makeup. Most quality brands of makeup are classified warm or cool. Stick with your colors here. The wrong makeup colors will be very noticeable - like, "Hey, when did you join the circus?" sort of noticeable.

I've already gotten a bunch of hits from people searching for information of this type, which makes me happy because hopefully that means I'm helping somebody!

Of course, I also get hits from people looking for "how to scare a guy," "grass too long to cut," and "70s hairstyles." Wow - my blog distilled into three search phrases.

You're getting warm... or cool

This is where it gets difficult. If I could see you in person, I could tell you if you're warm or cool very easily. But I can help you figure out on your own which you are.

Why does it matter? Well, warm and cool is not just for makeup, it's for clothes, too. Have you ever worn a certain color and people told you all day you looked tired? That probably wasn't the right color for you. Have you ever worn a certain color and even though you forgot to put on makeup that morning, everyone told you how nice you looked? You found a good color!

Since most people don't have lengths of gold and silver fabric laying around the house, which would be the easiest way to tell if you're warm or cool, I'll talk about your hair and eye color. It should be pretty obvious which you are.

If you have black or dark brown hair, or your hair has gone white or silvery, you are a cool. Most likely you are a dark cool, or what you've probably heard called a winter. If your hair is ash blonde, ash brown, or medium to light brown, you could also be a cool, but a light cool, or autumn.

On the other hand, if you have red, auburn, red brown, chestnut brown or honey blonde, you are a warm, and probably a summer. Light warms, or springs, tend to have golden blonde, strawberry blonde, golden brown or gray hair (the kind that appears almost yellow).

Now combine your hair color with your eye color. Winters can have brown, hazel, blue-gray, dark blue, icy blue, or green with yellow or white shades. Autumns tend to have clear blue or gray blue, dark to light blue, aqua blue, pale gray, green gray, hazel, or soft brown. Either of these, of course, would be cool.

Dark warms can have brown with black flecks, hazel, pale green, golden green, avocado green, turquoise blue or teal. Light warm or spring can have clear blue or deep blue, aqua, clear green, golden green, or light golden brown hazel.

So now, just match your hair color with your eye color and you should know your season! If you're still not sure, try this simple test. Get two different fabrics, one predominantly red, one orange (try to use a solid colored fabric, not a pattern). Cleanse your skin of any makeup or this won't work right. In front of a mirror, drape one fabric over your left shoulder and one over your right. You should notice that one side of your face looks lifted and brightened, and almost like you've applied foundation. The other side will look tired, unhealthy and dragged down. I've seen it look so dramatic on some women that it almost looks like they had a stroke! If the red side is your good side, you're cool. If the orange side is, you're warm.

So now that you have this knowledge, what do you do with it? The first thing I did was clean out my closet. If it wasn't my color, I got rid of it. I found a site with a color chart here, so you can see which colors are best for you! Happy closet cleaning!

Tags: color, clothing, warm, cool

In "Other" Words - 7/25

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells
on the beach. One can collect only a few,
and they are more beautiful if they are few."
~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~

At the risk of answering a quote with another quote, this reminded me of a favorite Rockapella song of mine. The songwriter compares moments in time to diamonds:

Diamonds - that's what they are
These memories we're making now
I can't explain it well, but this I know,
They will never lose their glow.
Diamonds, that's what they are,
Our love will never let us down,
Think of the brilliant moments yet to come
All of them diamonds...

God has given us amazing brains that can store vast quantities of information. But just like the little girl whose basket can hold only so many seashells, we are not capable of holding every moment in time in our conscious memories. Many times I've been told about something that happened to me or something I did in the past and I honestly can't remember it. It doesn't even ring the faintest of bells. The other day, I came across a letter I wrote to a temp agency I was working for years ago. I described my job duties so the agency would know how to bill the company I was working for. As I read the letter, I had absolutely no recollection of that job! I must have spent many weeks of my life there, but I don't remember it! Clearly, it was not one of my seashell moments!

As my children grow, I often wish I could collect every little thing they say and do and keep those moments forever. Sure, video and photographs help somewhat, but I still miss so much. And I know I won't remember it all. I can remember the most ridiculous trivia facts, but I easily forget that cute thing my four year old said. But the things I do remember, those things will become my seashells, my diamonds. I will hold them in my heart, I will look at them in my mind's eye, and I will treasure them.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

As promised, here is a front view of my new haircut. Keep in mind that my fabulous hair stylist did this and it will never look exactly like this again.

Jenny has been cutting my hair for about eight years now, and she was freaking out. She kept saying, "Are you sure you want to do this?" About three times, she got the scissors close to my hair and then pulled back. There was a teenage girl there who lives down the street (this was in Jenny's basement), and she kept shrieking every time the scissors got close, as though my hair being cut was some kind of torture for her! After calming herself, Jenny informed me, "There is no crying in my chair. You're sure you want to do this?" I assured her that I did.

It feels so nice to be rid of all that weight on my head. I mean, yes, I liked my hair, I liked the way it looked and all, but in the summer I had to wear it up. There was no choice. Now, it's so nice to just brush it and go. And no tangles until it grows out some! So I'm very happy with my choice.

Hubby, on the other hand, looked at me when I got home and said, "It'll grow out again, right?"

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks #7

Go here for this week's Carnival! It's a summer theme, so throw a couple burgers on the grill and click away!

SPF - Takin' Names and Makin' Wishes

This week, Kristine has assigned the following:
Stuff unnoticed
Your wish
Stuff under your sink

I really should not wait until 7:45 Friday morning to look at these assignments. My brain does not run correctly this early in the morning. Okay, here goes:

Something unnoticed: I know I sure didn't notice how fast time was passing. This adorable little bundle in my arms is about to turn 10 on Sunday! How? When did that happen?

My wish is a two-part photo. You see, I decided to donate my hair to Locks of Love. So here I am yesterday before the hair cut.

And here I am after. My wish is that they will be able to use my hair to make someone who's lost their hair to cancer very happy.

Under my kitchen sink. Not terribly exciting.

So there you have it! Did you play?

Summer vacation

One of the little perks of teaching my children at home is the ability to observe the summer vacation. I remember so fondly the years of my own schooling, when we'd get down to the last few days in June and I knew summer was coming. As much as I loved school (yes, I was a freak), I looked forward to three months of time off, to do my own thing on my own time.

Well, now that my own kids are school age and I teach them at home, I get that same feeling every year. I know some people school year round, and certainly we do educational things year round, but I really crave that summer vacation time, when I don't have to be the task master and we can all just relax. The boys get to do what they want, when they want. And I get to take on projects I just don't have time for during the school year, like assigning Dewey decimal numbers to all my books in a database (Shut up - I know I'm a freak).

So while many people who send their children to school outside the home scramble to think of things to do in the summer, for me it's just the opposite. I get to take time for me. And that's the best summer vacation of all!

WBW - Home Sweet Home

In part 2 of the assignment, TKW wants to see the interior of the house I grew up in. I have quite a few photos of this. My parents bought the house in the late 60s, so it went through quite a few changes over the years, but here's what I found in my photo albums.

This is our basement, or at least one end of it. Our house was a rancher with a full basement. Part of it was unfinished for many years, but this end, which we called "The Den," was finished for as long as I can remember. Dig that 70s wood paneling!

This is one of the later incarnations of our living room. We had a sunken living room, and I used to use that step on the left as a stage to entertain family and friends. Yes, even at that young age, I was shy and introverted.

This is me sitting at my desk. Next to it is my dresser. Behind me would have been my canopy bed, with a canopy that matched the curtain you see. And look! Nikes! I never knew I was that cool.

Now, while this is a very cute picture of my cousin, the real point of this photo is the wallpaper. That wallpaper was in my room from the time I was little until I was a teenager. If that wallpaper doesn't tell you what decade I grew up in, nothing will. Well, the avocado green appliances would, but my scanner stopped working just as I was about to scan those in. Maybe it got scared to death.

So, did you play?

Mardi Gras recipe for Tee

I mentioned this recipe on Tee's blog, and now she's asked me to post it. So here it is. This is something my great-grandmother used to make, which my mom then made all the time (and still does), and which has become a favorite of my husband and my boys. It's called Mardi Gras, but I don't know why. Anyway, here it is:

Mardi Gras
In a large casserole dish combine the following ingredients:
1 1/3 cups Minute Rice
1 cup water
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can tuna or chicken
1 tsp oregano
cayenne pepper to taste

Then, over medium high heat in a saucepan:
1/2 stick butter
3 Tbsp flour
Stir until blended. Slowly add 1 can evaporated milk, stirring until thickened. Slowly add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, stirring until melted. Pour the cheese mixture over the casserole. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with paprika. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

I usually use fat-free cheese and evap. milk to lower the fat content. Enjoy!

Making it up

Well, at the risk of boring my Dad some more, let's do makeup tips today, shall we? I didn't wear makeup until I was 25, except for at the pageant I was in and at my wedding. But now there are certain things I won't do without if I'm going out in public for any extended period of time. Certainly my way of applying makeup is not the only way, but it has worked well for me for ten years. In fact, when I taught a class at my homeschool co-op on Image for Girls, my class helper was a Mary Kay consultant, and she had never been taught some of these things. So, here we go.

• When choosing a foundation, select several colors that are close to your skin tone. Put a stripe of each color along your jawline. The one that disappears is the correct one for you. We've all seen women who are wearing an orange "mask" - don't be one!
• Apply foundation from the forehead down. This smooths down all the little hairs that, like it or not, are all over your face, and keeps them invisible.
• Blush should be applied starting at the little triangle in your ear and sweeping forward. Avoid cheek "balls" and emphasize cheek bones!
• Your "natural" blush color is the same color as the inside of your lip. Choose a color close to that for the most natural look.
  
• Eyeliner should be applied from the outer edge of the eye in. The top lid should be lined all the way across. The bottom lid should be lined 1/2 to 2/3 of the way. The longer the bottom line, the smaller your eye will look.
• If you use eyeshadow, apply it after the liner. There are many different ways to do shadow. Experiment and find the one that works best for you.
• A translucent powder, if you use one, should be brushed on from the forehead down before you apply lipstick. I use one to set my makeup and reduce shine.
• Lipstick is as much eye makeup as it is lip makeup. Don't forget it! Using a lip liner first can reduce feathering.
• If people compliment your makeup, you should tone down the colors. People should notice you, not your makeup!

That's about all the advice I can give online. I used to do makeup for Glamour Photos so I'm pretty good at the one on one thing, but obviously that's not going to work here! I hope this helps somebody!

In "Other" Words - 7/18

The one enduring lesson of womanhood that Christian author, Mary Pierce, learned from her rag doll, Lulu:

"When life whacks you so hard your head flies off, sew it back on and keep going."
~ Mary Pierce ~

I think this is the Mom's Credo. Seriously. It doesn't matter what is happening to me personally, psychologically or physically, I am still Mommy. I still have to get up in the morning, get the kids up, make breakfast, do laundry, and all those other million little things moms do. Sometimes, I know I'm not putting my all into it. I know I could be doing better. I know I'm just hanging on by a few rapidly unraveling threads. But I keep going.

And something amazing happens. Slowly but surely, those threads grow stronger. What I have rapidly sewn together in an attempt to just make it through the day is strengthened by my family. Every "Mommy, I love you," adds a thread. Every time my sons say dinner was yummy, or my husband does a load of wash for me, or I get hugs and kisses for no reason, those threads grow stronger. And then the next time life whacks me, it's not so hard to hold onto my head.

I'm falling apart!

I almost had to check my birth certificate to make sure I'm only 35.

On Friday, I had this pain in my knee. It hurt whether I was sitting down or standing or walking. It wasn't really bad, so I could kind of ignore it, but it still hurt.

Saturday morning, the knee pain seemed to be gone. But as I got up and around, I realized that the pain had migrated to my right hip. If I stood with my foot pointed straight ahead, it was fine. But if I turned my foot at all, or rotated on that leg, ouch! At one point, I almost fell down it hurt so bad.

So I was happy yesterday morning to wake up and find that pain gone. We went to church, I sang in front of the congregation, and everything seemed fine. Then, as we sat there during the message, my back started to hurt. It was both sides of my lower back. By the time I had to get the baby from the nursery, I could barely pick him up, and I had to hand him over to Hubby right away. It was bad. We went straight home and I spent the day lying flat on my back because doing anything else hurt too much.

What in the world? It seems to be better today. My oldest son pointed out that the pain seemed to be migrating north and I should expect my shoulder to hurt today. Thanks, son, that helps a whole lot.

Carnival #6

The new Carnival of the Blogging Chicks is up here. The theme this week, as you can see from the graphic, is dreams. Go see what other women have to say on the subject!

The skin you're in

Today, I will focus on skin care. Many of you were kind enough to tell me that my eyes don't look 35 back when I posted a picture of one of them (see October's archives). I try to take care of my skin. I have the skin of a teenager - covered in acne. Haha. No seriously, in all those hours of class I took, I learned some tips that I still follow. I've been doing this stuff for ten years now, and when I see some women my age and even younger looking five years older than I do, I can gloat inwardly. Heh heh. So, on with the skin care tips.

• When choosing skin care products, buy from the same line. Particularly your more expensive brands are made to work together, so you want cleanser, toner and moisturizer made by the same company under the same label.
• Your cleanser should be applied in circular motions all over your face and neck. The neck is the most neglected area of skin and consequently, you can really see age on women who don't tend to it.
• Continue the circular pattern of cleansing for two minutes for maximum benefit.
• After rinsing the cleanser with warm to hot water, apply toner with a cotton ball or pad. Think of toner like a rinse cycle for your face. Would you wash your dishes and then just dry them, or would you rinse the soap off first? That's what I thought. Toner also closes your pores after cleaning.
• Moisturizer should contain an SPF of 15 or more to protect your skin. Sun damage is one of the main causes of aging in your skin. Make sure you get your neck, too!
  
• If you use other products, such as an alpha hydroxy lotion or eye creme, apply them before the moisturizer.
• When applying products around the eye, pat gently with the tip of your ring finger. Rubbing the eye area will damage the supporting structure underneath and eventually cause the skin to wrinkle.
• Use a lotion with at least SPF 15 on your hands every day, or especially on days when you will be driving. Think about the sun coming through the car windows and hitting your hands. Hands show age almost as quickly as the neck.

Okay, I think that will do it for now. If you want to see the products I actually use and love, you can go to My Health and Beauty Zone in the left sidebar. Next time, would you rather learn about color (am I a cool or a warm?) or makeup application? Let me know!

The mind of an engineer

The optimist says the glass is half full.

The pessimist says the glass is half empty.

My hubby, the engineer, says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be for the amount of liquid available.

The other night, my oldest son said he was out of tea. Hubby said, "Maybe your glass is just infinitely larger than it needs to be."

WBW - There's no place like home

This week, TKW wants to see the exterior of the house I grew up in. No problemo. My father took tons of pictures of our house. We have the house when my parents first bought it, the house in the winter, spring, summer and fall of many consecutive years, the house in a blizzard, the house with new siding, etc. He does the same thing now, except with his motor coach. You'll have to ask him why, because I have no clue. But it did make it a piece of cake to find one, so here it is:

My parents bought this house before I was born, and only sold it six years ago, so I was lucky enough to live in the same house my whole childhood. I understand the people who bought it have removed most of the trees and shrubs, put on a new roof, new siding, and other stuff like that. Wonder what they've done inside?

And speaking of inside, next week's assignment is the interior of the same house. Wait until you see all the pictures I have for you (thanks to my Dad!).

Did you play?

Hair Care 101

Many of you may not know that I am a certified image consultant. I have taken over 85 hours worth of classes on everything from clothing styles and textures to hair and makeup. I know I don't always look like it (for example, I'm sitting here right now in shorts and a t-shirt [my new Shiner Bock t-shirt - thanks, Jody!]), but I do know what I'm talking about.

Now, with such knowledge comes the ability to give other people advice. But since it just isn't nice to walk up to someone on the street and tell them they're wearing the wrong color, or have applied their blush incorrectly, I thought I'd share some of my vast reserves of image knowledge with you here, where you know I can't see you. And if people across the internet are searching for such knowledge and happen to find it here, than I have helped many.

So today, my subject is hair. Almost everyone has it. Here are some things I've learned that have made a vast improvement in the condition of my own tresses:

• Shampoo is made for cleansing the scalp and the hair near it. Unless you've got dirt of some sort all over your hair (you've been painting, sandblasting, swimming), you only need to shampoo your scalp.
• Likewise, conditioner is really only needed on the ends of the hair. The exception would be if your hair tends to tangle near the base of the skull, in which case you should apply some there as well.
• When drying your hair with a towel, blot. Rubbing damages the hair follicles and over time causes split ends.
• Excessive brushing also damages the hair. You shouldn't brush for any longer than it takes to remove tangles and fix your style.
• Changing to a different shampoo for a couple of days a month can remove buildup left by your regular products, which can weigh down your hair.

So, I hope you found that informative, as opposed to boring. If you'd like me to share more of my image information, please let me know.

There's nothing funny about pirates

As I was recalling several funny moments from The Movie, and proudly showing Hubby my new blog template, he said to me, "You know, there's nothing funny about pirates."

Yes, I realize that. I completely understand that Disney's pirate movies bear almost no resemblance to the historical facts of piracy on the high seas. I know that real pirates didn't go around cracking jokes and fighting each other on rolling water wheels. I. Don't. Care. In much the same way that I don't care that the future shown in Star Trek will never happen, or that the leaves on the Swiss Family Robinson's tree in Disney World are made of vinyl, or that there never was a Middle Earth. It's just fun to let yourself go to that make-believe place, where it just doesn't matter. Let go of reality and just enjoy the entertainment.

As Uhura said in Star Trek 3, "This isn't reality. This is fantasy."

And if they want to put Orlando in a leather coat and pirate boots for two and a half hours, that's my kind of fantasy. I'm just sayin'.

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks 5

Check out this week's carnival! There are a lot of great Blogging Chicks out there, and this is a great way to sample their writing. And of course, yours truly has an entry. Go, read now!

I saw it, I saw it!

Hubby was sweet enough to take me to see POTC: Dead Man's Chest last night, and I loved it. Maybe that's an understatement. I wanted to see it again, immediately. I enjoyed everything about it. And yes, I have even changed my template to reflect my appreciation for this movie. Thank you, Disney, for the wonderful picture!

Now, for those of you wondering, "Should I spend my hard-earned $8.50 (or more) to go see this movie?" let me ask you a few questions: Did you like the first one? Or like me, did you watch the first one so many times you pretty well have it memorized? Do you like action and adventure? Are you willing to suspend your disbelief? If the answer to either of the first three questions is yes, you probably already want to go see it, so go! If the answer to the last question is no, you might want to wait for the DVD. There is a lot to take in during the course of the movie, most of it unbelievable.

I will not spoil any aspect of the plot for you, but trust me, it's fantastic. And it answered a big question I had from the last movie, for which I highly applaud the writers. There is not a lot of romance, but boy, can Orlando ever pull off the hurt/jealous look. I just wanted to hug him and tell him it would be okay. The special effects are of course spectacular, and the stunts so amazing my hubby swears they were done digitally. There is plenty of humor, and the return of some great supporting characters from the first film. The bad guys are maybe not quite as scary as the skeletal pirates of COTBP, but still pretty creepy. And the main bad guy, well, let's just say I won't be eating calamari again anytime soon.

So now I'm counting down the days until I can buy the DVD, watch the commentary, see the behind-the-scenes stuff, etc. And then another wait for the third movie. Does anyone have a time machine I could borrow?

SPF - I hear wedding bells!

As Kristine and Shaun's wedding approaches, she gives us a lovely wedding-themed SPF for this week. Best wishes, guys, and congratulations!

My love: I have always loved this picture. Taken at our wedding, I think it captures perfectly a casual, unposed moment where you can actually see on my face how much I love my husband.

Honeymoon: How about a cruise to a private island, where waiters will bring you champagne while you swim? Yeah, I thought you'd like that.

Something blue:

In keeping with the tropical island theme, you can't get too much more blue than this!

Did you play?

Happy birthday, Joshua!

I can hardly believe my second son is turning seven today! He is such an amazing kid, sweet and funny and affectionate. He loves giving hugs and kisses. His favorite things are Legos and Thomas the Tank Engine. He adores his brothers and plays with them all the time. When he was a baby, I used to stare at him for hours, just so thrilled that he was mine. Now, when I try to take a picture, this is what I get:
Trust me, though, he's still adorable. Happy birthday, Joshua!

Coming soon

I saw him the minute I walked into the room. He stood there, his black, wavy hair slicked back, a few strands loose across his forehead in a careless, casual way. His brown eyes seemed to look right through me. And yet, there was no doubt that despite the gorgeous girl next to him, he was looking right at me. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks as his gaze burned into me, a look that said he didn't care if I had four children running around my feet, a look that ignored that ring on my finger. I smiled at him, but the intensity of his gaze never wavered. There was a daring abandon to his expression. Let the adventure begin, he seemed to be saying, You're in for the time of your life. I held his gaze, as if to assure him. The time is not right, I thought, willing him to hear. But I'll be back.

Just then, a hand touched my shoulder. My husband was ready to go. Reluctantly, I turned away from the poster. I'll see you Friday, Orlando.

[To see what I saw, click here.]

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks 4

This week's Carnival is up, and I actually got my link in on time! Just click on the cute picture!

SPF - Shaun Style!

This week, Kristine has been busy with wedding plans, and has asked her fiance Shaun to come up with the SPF topics. So here we go!

Something with a story behind it

When my great-grandmother died, my parents, brother and I were given the task of cleaning out her house. Now, I was only twelve at the time. I asked if I could keep something from the house as a memento. These teacups were what I chose. She had collected them from all over the world. Some of them are quite old. Most of them have matching plates. The cup on the bottom shelf in the middle is from Germany. Both of her parents immigrated from Germany in the late 1800s, so that's probably the oldest one. I have added my own pieces from my travels, as well. I would have added more, but I ran out of shelf space.

Something truly Random and Odd I found this on my kitchen table this morning. Caption, please!

Something borrowed When I was trying to get pregnant the first time, someone lent me this book. I never told her I wanted to choose the sex of my baby, I just said I was hoping for a boy. She insisted I borrow this book. Then we moved away, and now I can't remember the name of the woman I borrowed it from. So, does it work? Maybe too well. Not only did I have a boy, I had three more after that!

So, did you play?

Monty Python gets married

I recently came across this letter I had written to my former college roommate after attending the wedding of a friend. I won't include names - who knows who might come across this - but I thought it was funny. The groom was a dear friend of ours, and the bride, well, we didn't think much of her. She was a nasty, snarky person who didn't think her intended was funny, when he was actually one of the funniest people I've ever met. Now, I don't think there's anything wrong with having something done at your wedding that other people have done in the past. But since my dad was a wedding photographer, I had seen a lot of weddings, and this one was the grand cliche of weddings. No originality whatsoever. Anyway, here's the letter:

A mutual friend put it this way: "This is like a parody of a wedding. It's like Monty Python Gets
Married." Seriously, it was like the whole thing was planned by Weddings-R-Us. Imagine anything that you've seen at every wedding you've ever been to and they had it at theirs.

First of all, the guys wore black tuxedos, of course, and [the groom] wore tails. The bridesmaids wore the typical bridesmaid dresses of satiny material with lots of ruffles and puffy sleeves. The color, and trust me, this is a very common wedding color, was teal. The other color was ivory, and would you believe [the bride]'s dress was ivory? I wonder why... It was a very plain dress, which is not to say it wasn't pretty, it just wasn't very fancy. And of course, it had puffy sleeves.

The ceremony took place in a church which was extraordinarily plain inside. The only decorations they had were two flower arrangements. The ceremony itself was literally a joke.
The pastor they had didn't seem to think this was any serious thing, this getting married. He stood up there and joked around, announced each thing that was going to happen from the
program as though he'd never seen it before ("Oh, and I see now that Paul's going to sing another song!"), and had us all applaud the soloists ("I know this isn't usually done, but they've sung so beautifully, let's give them a hand."). If our pastor had acted like that at my wedding, I would have been furious.

The reception, of course, was total cliche. They had a buffet for the guests, including cold cuts and that wedding reception favorite Swedish meatballs. They also had a DJ, who played some of the most cliched wedding songs of all time (It's the new album from Ronco: "Wedding Cliches of the Eighties"), including "Always," and "Just You and I." Naturally, they danced to "Daddy's Little Girl." But imagine how amazed [Hubby] and I were at the incredibly original idea of having balloons as centerpieces! They didn't release theirs, though. [We had balloon centerpieces at our wedding three months earlier, which we then released.]

[A bunch of us] and the best man completely nuked [the groom]'s car. [Hubby] and
[his sister] wrapped it in toilet paper, [his brother] filled it with balloons (and I mean FILLED it), and [the rest of us] put streamers everywhere. It was awesome. I also made the Just Married sign which, when flipped over, said "Call 911" - just in case of any highway emergencies. Just as we finished it started to rain and all the colors from the crepe paper ran onto the car, and of course the toilet paper became a wet sticky mess. It absolutely poured. But by the time they came out, it had stopped and the car still looked pretty incredible. [The bride] thought it was
wonderful, amazingly enough. She looked right at me and said, "This is great!" and she meant it. Wow. Maybe she's changed. That would be pleasant.

Anyway, to top it all off, they went to the typical honeymoon spot, a tropical island. Bermuda to be exact. We tried to call them a little while ago to see if they were back, but we got a very frightening answering machine. "Hello, you have reached the blissful abode of ..."
with some kind of sappy music in the background. Ack!

WBW - Let's play dress-up!

I thought I had nothing for this week's theme. I was not a girly girl, and rarely if ever played dress-up. And then I saw TKW's. So I give you this, which, like hers, was taken on a cruise ship:
In December 2003, we went on a cruise on the Holland America line. One evening at dinner, these adorable little Dutch hats were waiting for us on our plates (Holland, Dutch, get it?). The men got little caps (see my little Dutch boy sitting next to me?), and the women got these things that looked like mutated napkins. But, being the goof that I am, I wore it the whole meal.

So, did you play?

Let me give you a hand

My mom had surgery on her hand last week to replace an arthritic joint. I know many people have heard of knee replacement, but it seems as I tell people about my mom's surgery, most are surprised that doctors can and do replace joints in the fingers.

So I found this neat page at Hand University on how the joint replacement surgery works. It has illustrations and animations, but nothing gory. From that website, here is a brief description of the surgery:

An incision is made across the back of the finger joints that are to be replaced. The soft tissues are spread apart with a retractor. Special care is taken not to damage the nearby nerve that passes by the joint. The joint is exposed. The ends of the bones that form the finger joint surfaces are taken off, forming flat surfaces. A burr (a small cutting tool) is used to make a canal into the bones that form the finger joint. The doctor then sizes the stem of the prosthesis to ensure a snug fit into the hollow bone
marrow space of the bone. The prosthesis is inserted into the ends of both finger bones. When the new joint is in place, the surgeon wraps the joint with a strip of nearby ligament to form a tight sack. This gives the new implant some added protection and stability. The soft tissues are sewn together, and the finger is splinted and bandaged.

I am told she is recovering nicely, and my parents will be here tomorrow to set up camp next to our house for a couple of weeks. She had the same surgery done on her left hand a while back, and has been very happy with the results.

Isn't modern medicine amazing?

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks 3

I totally forgot last week and again this week to submit anything, but go check out the Carnival. There are some great submissions from great bloggers over there! And next week, I'll be in there for sure. Unless I forget again.

4 Boys + 1 Toad = 5 Hours of Fun!

You can probably imagine the scene at my house on Saturday when this little guy made the mistake of hopping across my three older sons' paths. Hubby and I were up on the deck, working on putting up posts for the railing, when I heard a squeal of, "A toad!"

I walked over to the edge and peered down at them. Sure enough, my six year old was holding a large brown toad. I smiled and went back to work.

A while later, my oldest came to the bottom of the deck and wanted to know what they should do with the toad. "Um, let it go?" I answered. "Oh, wait, bring it up here. I want to see it." So they all trooped up to the deck and brought it over for me to see. I had never held a toad that big before. It was pretty cool. "Okay, now let it go."

I watched them go back down and set the toad free in the field.

Imagine my surprise when over an hour later, they were playing with Mr. Toad again. Apparently, he had not learned his lesson the first time and had hopped right past them again. By this time, the baby had gotten up from his nap. I suggested that he would probably love to see the toad, too. Sure enough, he squealed with delight watching the poor little thing try to escape from my other boys, repeatedly. I went back up on the deck.

Then things got really fun. There's a large tray on the ground, catching the drips from our air conditioner. It was pretty full of water. They decided to watch Mr. Toad swim. Over and over again, the poor thing would swim to the edge of the tray and climb up, only to be tossed back in, like some kind of survival boot camp for toads. This delighted the baby to no end. Eventually, they got bored and walked away. But Mr. Toad hung around, right near the tray of water. So naturally, when they came back, it was time for round 2 of his swimming lessons.

Finally, they grew tired of the toad and left him. This time, he used the common sense he should have exercised hours earlier and got far, far away from there! It sure made for a fun afternoon.

Update on the poison ivy: Still there. Still itching. I am tempted to just scratch it open. It is slowly driving me insane (not that I have far to go).

SPF - June 23

For SPF this week, Kristine has given us the following assignment:
1. Your Drinking Glasses.
2. Your Address book/Stationary (remember that stuff we used BEFORE email?)
3. SOMETHING NEW

Here are my drinking glasses, still in the dishwasher:
I think this is the most recent address book I used. It's got loose pieces of paper stuck in everywhere and things crossed out. I was so happy when computerized address books came along. Of course, our kids will say, "You mean you used to write down people's addresses? In a book? Why?"
Here is my new shirt. This is the first time I've worn it. I love purple and for five bucks, how could I say no?
So there we go. Did you play?

Itching to blog

I have always been one of the fortunate ones. People around me have fallen to its power, but I remained untouched. I suppose some would say I got cocky. Others might say I deserved it. Either way, that which I so long mocked has its revenge: I've got poison ivy.

Now think of the worst place it could be. No, not there. The other worst place. Your mouse hand. It's on my wrist, precisely where I normally rest it when I'm mousing or typing. It's also on my index finger, the one I click with. By the time I finish this post, I'll be itching so badly I'll have to soak my arm in hydrocortisone.

So if you haven't seen me commenting much recently, that's why. No longer will I mock the power of the poison. Never again will I defiantly pull weeds bare-handed. I have learned: payback is an itch.

WBW - Summer fun!

In honor of the first day of summer, TKW has asked to see any photo showing summer fun. I had come across these pictures the other day and wished for just such a topic for WBW. So here goes!

Here is a cookout on my back patio, complete with hot dogs on the grill! From left to right, my mom, Kenny (a friend of mine and hubby's), my brother the goof, me, Hubby, our friend Dan, and Sonia, the Spanish student who stayed with us the summer of 1988. Dan truly thought he was going to get somewhere with Sonia. Her favorite phrase that summer became, "No, Dan."

Here we are on the Fourth of July, sitting on the side of Federal Hill in downtown Baltimore. You can tell it's the Fourth of July, because I'm wearing a red and white striped shirt and blue shorts. We went up there to watch the fireworks over the harbor. That's Sonia, Dan, me, Hubby, and my brother down front. That was a fun summer. The same summer, Hubby ran a house painting business and Dan and I were painters for him. Dan used to sing "Roll With It" by Steve Winwood every time he was rolling paint on a wall. Drove me nuts.

So there you have it, summer fun of the past! Did you play?

Oh, and check out my wedding photos below - I love to show them off!

Fourteen years!

I really cannot believe it's been fourteen years already! If you recall my series back in January about how Hubby and I met, and how I chased him until he caught me, you know that we spent a lot of time apart during our courtship. I am still thrilled and thankful every day that I am with this wonderful man, who is everything I ever dreamed of, and more.

And now, the wedding photos! Sorry for the quality - my album is way too big to put on the scanner.

Happy anniversary, my love!

Families and fathers

We had a nice day Saturday, going to the annual reunion of Hubby's family. His father was the youngest of twelve (I think - I lose track), so he has tons of cousins, second cousins, etc. Every year we meet at Cowan's Gap for a potluck lunch. Afterward, Hubby took the boys for turns in our bike trailer, while his sister and I and one of the aforementioned relatives went for a walk around the lake. Isn't it pretty?
Yesterday, we invited my parents over for a Father's Day dinner. I grilled pork chops, and even though the grill caught fire, they turned out very well (done - haha). Then Hubby and I went over to the motor coach to watch The Dead Zone season premier, a show I have now managed to hook my parents on, too. Incidentally, the preview for next week's episode, which is on the website right now, could be called "Every Dead Zone ever written." All it shows is Johnny saying, "Something's going to happen here. People are going to get hurt. Some people might even die." That's it. If you've ever watched the show, that could be any episode!

So, that was my weekend. Tomorrow is my anniversary, but we're going out tonight so my parents can watch the kids. Fourteen years, people! And yes, I will be posting wedding photos tomorrow.

SPF - Puzzled

Ick, it's been a migraine morning. I'm feeling a bit better now, so I thought I'd pop on here and play SPF - wouldn't want to let Kristine down! (Yeah, like she'd notice if I didn't play...)

Anyway, here is My Puzzle: How does this room end up messier two days after they clean it than it was before they cleaned it? I think if I could answer this puzzle, I could solve the problem of world peace.

My Best: I used to love to sketch people's faces. This is, IMO, the best one I ever did. Bonus points if you know who it is.

Something Old:

An authentic Little Black Sambo Story Book. We found this at my great-grandmother's house after she died. It was published in 1930 and, of course, isn't in print any longer. A fascinating little piece of history, no?

So, that's it! I'm going to go see what other people have done. Let me know if you played!

EDITED TO ADD: My son decided to play this week! Go give him some love at Caleblog!