Post-Halloween

Tags

chocolate, family, food, humour, laugh, make-up

It was cold…it was raining…and now I have lots of little chocolaty bars in a red and white striped “popcorn” bowl, hidden somewhere in the house! We only had 16 kids and I had candy for 80 (not counting the box of 40 that I really, really planned hoped to keep).

I did dress up as Hot Lips (from M*A*S*H) …khaki army gear and dog tags, hair in pig tails and yes! Bright red (streetwalker) Royal Red lipstick!! (thanks to Hubby – I’ll explain in a minute)… I went out in public like that…all day! I was certainly not the weirdest person around! I even heard someone whispering about these “immature teenagers” and when I looked around to see who they were talking about…it was me! Me! A teenager! I can’t manipulate that kind of compliment out of anybody!

Little Guy was a pirate this year and he got to wear his costume to school. But for some reason, when the time came to dress for his Halloween party at the church, he got really upset. I’m wondering if some stupid kid made fun of him (there’s one in every crowd) but I didn’t have time to investigate. We packed his costume and the guys ran out the door. He came home a pirate – yeah!!!!

I had told them that once they were out of sight, I was turning off all the lights and eating all the candy by myself. RighttoBitch.com threatened to pb my windows if I did that…and I told him to remember the jam, strawberry jam. My windows are safe and I didn’t turn off the lights. I have many fond memories of trudging in the cold and rain to trick-or-treat as a kid. I always dressed up as something “pretty” – a ballerina, a princess, a figure skater! Last year I was a Barbie fairy princess ballerina! Why not put it all together? I enjoyed taking my kids trick-or-treating (partly because I look so young, I often got candy too…white-haired senior ladies are the sweetest!)

Back to the lipstick story. I didn’t get to any stores for red lipstick and I wanted it for Wednesday morning to wear to Morning Break. Hubby had a meeting right after supper so there wasn’t time for a last-minute dash! What to do? My “knight in shining car” offered to pick some up for me! Unbeknownst to him (and to me, until further reflection), there are 2 aisles of make-up in the drug store. It was also nearly 11 o’clock in the evening…I was already in bed at home. Hubby wandered the aisles until the cosmetician offered to help. He felt the need to explain that “I’m looking for cheap red lipstick for my wife for Halloween”. I wonder if she believed him? And once the Royal Red tube was located (in the clearance rack – my kind of girl!), he felt the need to explain to the cashier as well: “This is for my wife”. He protesteth too much? Actually he dealt with a couple of ladies who thought he was the sweetest, and they shared a good laugh! I offered to share it with him, but he declined. Maybe next year…?

I have “Mudder Training” this morning so I’m not too worried about the treats I ate last night (and will likely consume later today – it’s post-Halloween – I’ve already exercised 2 weeks of self-control). Band rehearsal tonight – the last before our event Saturday night…but that’s another story!

Holy Estrogen!

Tags

boots, faith, humour, make-up

Last Friday, breezyk.wordpress.com wrote about the transformative power of lipstick, how “we’ve all experienced times where we’ve felt low, been degraded, or felt like just a number… and we’ve all wanted a way out. While some people see makeup as superficial or unnecessary, I see it as a form of self-expression. A fun, creative outlet…And a way of being really, really, ridiculously good-looking”.

It seems great minds think alike…only last Thursday I wrote about a pair of high-heeled boots that made me feel “invincible”. What has this to do with Holy Estrogen? Well, it was because of those two posts that I was encouraged to share a little project that I am doing with the ladies in the women’s ministry (called Morning Break) at my church. We are using the book, Holy Estrogen! by Carol McLeod, as our devotional book, and in a nutshell, it tackles how to tackle our emotions (before they tackle us) and use them to change us, empower us, and most of all, glorify God in our lives. Sounds heavy, but trust me, a room full of women aged 20-85+, can’t help but relate to the crazy antics and hilarious stories of the author and our speakers. We just plain have a lot of fun! Maybe I’ll share what we’re learning another day…

I am an “idea” person – I can’t help it! When I get involved in something, I’m not content to just sit on the sidelines…and it seems I’m developing the skill to “suck” others in! I coined the catchphrase for this session: “Come on girls – it’s time to pucker up! Kiss the old good-bye, and say ‘hello’ to the new”! Yesterday, an entire class decided to spur me on and they all wore shiny, kissable lip stickers on their shirts. I love it!

This week, we started a project. I encouraged all the ladies to pull out their brightest lipstick, slather it on at the same time, and literally kiss a white scrap of paper. Then we signed our name – first, last, nickname – I don’t care…and I’m going to make a poster with all our “kisses”. Why? Just to show the world “our mark”. I have talked about it for a couple of weeks, and I was absolutely blown away by the number of ladies who thought this was a fantastic idea. I gathered close to 50 kisses, all shades of pinks and reds! Those who didn’t wear lipstick (or didn’t want to share their kiss), drew lips on their paper. Now I have some work to do this weekend to turn these ‘kisses’ into a masterpiece!

I have been in this leadership position for year (I still don’t know how the “least likely creature” for the job ended up with the job)…and I can’t help but wonder…are those (who maybe know how I got job) regretting it yet?

 

 

 

Mini Make-Over

Tags

family, fashion, humour, make-up

“I wonder if I can get lipstick to match my toenail polish”? Marinate in that comment for a moment – how do you compare your lips and your toes at the same time, without standing on your head or hopping on one foot? My Mom made this side comment, and I immediately saw the potential for a shopping trip! (That’s a problem with watching too many make-over shows!) So Mom and I headed to a local department store, trying to come up with some ingenious ways to make that kind of comparison.

I used to wear make-up every day – to work, to church…even to bed. What can I say? I’m too lazy to take time to take it off! As a teenager, my brother related putting on make-up to hunting…for “a man”! To say it properly, you have to have seen the movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?…in particular, that scene where Roger Rabbit thinks he’s found his wife, Jessica Rabbit, but he’s only found a character with her hot body…but it’s SO not her! If you don’t know what I’m referring to, try saying “a man” in a high-pitched drawl that goes up while emphasising the first part of “man”!

Since being home with Little Guy, there hasn’t been much point in make-up! I haven’t given up completely, but my “regime” doesn’t begin to be what it was…and I’m ok with that! But it’s always fun to try a few new things. Wandering through those aisles was like being a kid in a candy shop – lots of bright packaging and sparkle, containers of all shapes and sizes, and every colour imaginable! Wow! I couldn’t begin to expand on all the options available in one post – eye shadow, eye liner, blush, foundation, mascara, lipstick, lip gloss, eyebrow pencils…creams, powders, aerosols….and accessories. There were gadgets that looked liked they belonged in a horror film.

In the end, we didn’t buy much… I bought some green eye shadow and black liquid eye liner. I have been practicing applying the eye liner every morning – I want a smoky eye, not a raccoon eye. My Mom got lipstick…that matches her toe nail polish. I offered to put the lipstick on and lie on the floor so she could compare them, but she was worried we’d garner too much of the wrong kind of attention. What’s wrong with that?

I finally broke down and got my hair cut… I haven’t gone for a hair cut since Christmas and ignoring it really wasn’t a good option either. It’s not exactly worthy to be my new “midlife crisis” hairdo…but it’s a “do” that will do until I figure out what to do!