For Fun Friday: May 29, 2009

This is just too weird.

http://englishrussia.com/?p=2672&f=2l

Truly scary plastic surgery photographs.

http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/

Ellen DeGeneres speech at Tulane commencement.

http://www.entertonement.com/clips/wfxbjlpnnh--Ellen-DeGeneres-Commencement-Speech-at-Tulane-University

The Perfect Lipstick

When I was writing this post in my head on the way home from the mall the other day (luckily, I didn't forget it which all too often happens to those posts-in-my-head) some of it sounded kind of familiar so I went back and searched through my old posts and, sure enough, I had written about finding the perfect lipstick before. But it was two years ago so I'm not even going to link to it because you have probably forgotten all about it so this is like a TOTALLY new topic for you. At least, this is what I am telling myself.

I have been searching for the perfect lipstick for approximately 26 years. No, I am absolutely not kidding. It was 26 years ago that I was working in Public Relations for McDonald's. And by Public Relations I mean that I was the person who threw the birthday parties and gave the store tours. But I also worked with the advertising company on promotions, helped design coupons, etc. Also, I knew Ronald McDonald personally and even appeared in parades with him. God. The good old days. So I liked to pretend I was in Public Relations. I was actually the STAR for several stores back then and I just thought for a minute that Google would disappoint me but no. I was able to find information about the STAR's from the 80's. It was an acronym for the Store Activity Representative and, at one time, there were quite a few of us.

One of the STARs for some other stores in another town actually was in Public Relations. She did a lot more than I ever did as far as promotions and other cool stuff. But she was just generally cool. Her name was Sundae and she was absolutely the epitome of cool. Not only did she have a cool name - really, who else is named Sundae? - she had cool clothes and absolutely cool, long curly hair. But the coolest thing about her was her lipstick. It was a pinky/mauvey/browny color that matched her lips perfectly and was always perfectly applied, glossy and quite fabulous. I coveted that lipstick. But I was always too shy to ask her about it.

I thought I had found the perfect color a while back (the post I found was written in 2007 for God's sake) but it disappointed me. I have a new color from Clarins called...and I just went to check and it doesn't have a name. It is #02. This is probably the actual lipstick Sundae used because really? How cool do you have to be to NOT EVEN HAVE A NAME?

Pretty darn cool.

So we will see. If this lipstick can meet the test of time. Or disappear into the mists of old blog posts which I just vaguely remember. And you have probably long since forgotten.

I Couldn't Be More Proud

My daughter made this comment on one of my posts the other day:

I channeled you the other day. I found some cute little (cotton) Liz Claiborne tops at Gabriel Bros for $3.99 so I bought them in every color in my size. Feeling good about that purchase:)

Have I raised her right OR WHAT?

Try It Tuesday: Flat Earth Chips

I honestly didn't know that these chips were made by Frito-Lay until I searched for information and pictures of them, so apparently Frito-Lay is really getting into making some healthier foods.

Although I guess I totally should probably be eating something like carrots instead of chips with my sandwich. And I do sometimes. I was surprised to find from my research that these chips actually provide you with half a serving of a vegetable, so at least I'm getting half my carrot supply when I eat them!

But I really like chips. And at least these are somewhat healthy.

The Flat Earth chips are baked veggie crisps and I actually like them much better than potato chips. They come in several flavors, but my favorite is the Tangy Tomato Ranch Flavor. A big handful of chips is 3 points and they really liven up your lunchtime. They make some fruit chips also but I have not seen them at my groceries yet.

Try them and let me know what you think!

For Fun Friday, May 22, 2009

All the trailers for this fall's shows on Fox and ABC.

http://www.movieline.com/2009/05/fall-videos.php

Long before XBox and Gameboy, there was Atari.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/may/21/gameculture-retro

Interesting tombstones.

http://www.themishmash.com/2007/11/headstones-that.html

I Am SO OVER Cotton

I realize I wrote about pants on Tuesday but pants seem to be the central issue in my life right now.

And, yes. I do indeed realized how shallow I am. The only thing that would be worse is if I wrote about SHOES all the time.

Wait.

I need some Polyester shorts. There. I said it. Now, just hand me my cane and my Metamucil and be done with it. And I don't even CARE. I still want them.

Read the rest HERE at my Herald-Leader blog.

Time Is Like Ketchup. Bear With Me Here.

Have you ever tried to get the last little bit of ketchup out of a bottle? When that is all the ketchup there is and you really, truly want that last little bit for your fries because you NEED that last little bit but it drips.out.soooooo.slowly.

Yeah.

That's how time has been for me for the last couple of weeks.

We have been participating in state-wide testing at our school and, even though I'm sure it's very hard on the students who have to read and write and do math and, like, work really hard? It's even harder on ME.

For the last few years, I have been a proctor for the tests which basically involved walking around the room while the students took the test to make sure they didn't go on to Part B when they were on Part A - no! alarms ringing! the end of the world! - and counting down every single minute which lasted approximately 4,921 seconds in testing world.

Because the wooooorrrrllldddd sloooooowwwwssss dooooowwwwnnnn when you are doing nothing but making sure the students don't go on to Part B. Seriously. Each minute lasts that long. You can look at the clock, look away for about 15 minutes, look back and it is STILL ON THE SAME MINUTE. It's horrifying.

But this year? Was even worse. I had to help a darling and sweet little girl for whom English is a second language. I was supposed to paraphrase for her whenever she had a problem understanding something in English on the test. Which is quite simply great that our kids get help when they need it. Only. She didn't really need much help. So I sat there a lot and tried not to look at the clock.

Have you ever tried not to look at the clock when you know time is going really, really slowly? It's impossible, let me tell you.

And then you start playing games with yourself. You are like "When the clock goes to 9:17, I'll go to the bathroom. That will take up maybe 10 minutes." Only. It takes up like 4. Because remember? We are in TEST TIME. When each minute lasts fooorrrreeevvveeeerrr and drags like that last little drip from the ketchup bottle.

Then you put a mint in front of you and you say "In 10 minutes I will eat that mint. In 9 minutes. In 8 minutes." Because by this time? You have actually gone insane with the time slowing down thing.

I'm sure the kids are very relieved that testing is over.

But they can't POSSIBLY be more relieved than me.

And now.

I think I need some fries.

Try It Tuesday: Smartfood Popcorn Clusters

I already have a serious love for low-fat kettle corn, so when I saw this product advertised, which was basically kettle corn with extra sweet and delicious stuff added to it, I was hooked and immediately bought the chocolate cookie caramel pecan flavor. And could you get any more flavors in that package? I don't think so. I opened one of the small, 100 calorie Smartfood packages, ate a piece and seriously considered buying some stock in Frito-Lay because seriously?

These are GREAT.

Each package is 2 points and makes a great snack or dessert. I will definitely be buying the other flavors to try. Kettle corn is good but adding chocolate to it?

Genius.

Try it and let me know what you think.

After I wrote this post, I found the other two flavors - Cranberry Almond and Honey Multi grain. Both are also great. I especially like the Honey one because it is a lot like caramel corn.

For Fun Friday, May 15, 2009

I can't believe someone went to all the trouble to pose these pictures.

http://onefire.multiply.com/journal/item/140/Lifes_Too_Short_For_The_Wrong_Job

What a perfect gift for that special geek in your life.

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/05/12/mountain-dew-scented.html

Courses for men and women.

http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/hum1/courses_men_women.htm

I Knew I Would Have To Write This Post Sooner Or Later

OK.

I'm just a teeny, tiny bit. Overwhelmed.

The Travel Blog is going famously and we are getting ready to share it with the 20,000 customers of the company which is quite marvelous but just a little. Overwhelming. The Herald-Leader blog is great and I love when they occasionally pluck a blog post from obscurity and put it in the print newspaper and I am totally FAMOUS for a few days but that is also. A little overwhelming. And this personal blog keeps me sane and lets me share all of my shoe shopping escapades and helps me remember that I am not the only shoe addict in the world or the only doting grandmother. But. Overwhelming. And I love my Google Reader and all my blogs and I love to read them every single day and keep up with them. But. Again. Overwhelming.

So I may have to back it up a bit. Get over my anal-retentive type A personality and learn that I don't have to write on this blog every. single. day. Even though those were the constraints I put myself under when I started. You can count on Tuesday and Friday because those are easy. And I'll do as many other days as I can when I am inspired. But maybe not. Every. Single. Day.

I'm sure you don't read every single thing I write on every single blog because you are probably overwhelmed too.

So what about this?

I'll write as much as I can. You read as much as you can.

And neither of us will be overwhelmed.

Sound good?

Try It Tuesday: Curves Bars

By now, you have figured out my love for the bar - so handy! so easy! so quick in the morning! and I really thought I had found the best bar for the least number of points with that Chex bar.

But.

I was wrong. It is actually possible to find a bar that is chewy, chocolaty, delicious AND. Only 1 point.

Yes, I thought it was an urban legend also.

Not possible! But, my friends. It is possible. It's the Curves Chocolate Peanut bar. They have a couple other flavors which I will also be trying as soon as I can get to the grocery store and buy every box on the shelf. Because really? ONE POINT ?? I would not steer you wrong. These are not dry, hard and tasteless bars. These are like eating a candy bar. And they may be part of the reason I have lost EIGHT POUNDS so far.

Try them. Let me know what you think.

I Now Have All The Shoes I Need. Except Purple. I Still Need Purple.

So, the other day I was leafing through one of my magazines and saw this ad for Payless.

And I set down the magazine, grabbed my purse and flew out the door.

OK. Not really. Because I already had on my sleeping pants and, really, once that happens you can forget about me leaving the house. Unless it is on fire. And even then I would have to actually see flames.

However. I did go the next day. Because I absolutely wanted needed these shoes. Desperately.

Because even though I have 5,291 a few pairs of shoes,

I do NOT HAVE YELLOW! And I am just a little embarrassed to admit that this photo is old and I might possibly have bought more shoes since I took it. But still no yellow! So, as you can see. This was practically a SHOE EMERGENCY.

So. Payless.

And, oh, Payless. How you disappointed me. Those shoes were so much cuter in the picture. In real life they were. Chunky. And sort of. Fat-making. And whatever we do, we do not want shoes that are fat-making. Because no matter how much we might weigh from the ankle up, we want our feet to look quite lovely and slim. So I was disappointed. Crushed. I managed to assuage my disappointment by buying one two OK THREE other pairs of shoes, but still. No yellow.

But. On Saturday I went to Danville to visit with my mom for Mother's Day and I popped in Shoe Sensation and there they were. And I have to stop at this point to tell you that I am EXTREMELY disappointed with my BFF Google because I could not find a picture of my completely fabulous little yellow sandals which were so fabulous I had to buy my daughter a pair as well to show you. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED. And I could take a picture myself but I have on my sleeping pants and did you read above where it is hard to get things done once they are on?

So you will just have to close your eyes and visualize. Bright yellow. Kitten heel. DARLING. I am very happy.

Only.

This just made me realize I don't actually have a dark purple pair. Light purple, yes. But no dark purple.

The quest continues.

There's No Such Thing As Too Much Chocolate

A few months ago.

Just the other day.

This might just possibly be why he never wants to leave.

The Fabulousness Is All About The Dress

I look good today. Really. GOOD. Part of it is the fact that I have lost SEVEN POUNDS which, really? Does not sound like that much until you consider seven pounds of butter piled up and then you think that maybe, just maybe, that's why your thighs are not rubbing together quite so badly when you walk. But it's mostly THE DRESS.

I am so into dresses lately. For years, there was nothing but total hideousness hanging on the dress racks in stores. HIDEOUSNESS. But, sometime last summer, dresses started getting downright cute. I was into visiting and writing about restaurant patios last summer and was actively searching for cute sundresses because I am ALL ABOUT wearing the perfect outfit for the occasion - like you didn't know that if you had been reading this blog for any time at all. And that was when I began to notice the cuteness. I probably bought 8-10 dresses last summer. All extremely cute. And when I began looking for a dress for a shower recently, I discovered the latest phenomenon in dress world - stretchy jersey dresses.

These dresses are the ultimate in fabulousness. They are very flattering, especially if you have some Spanx on under them to hide the little tummy bulge which will surely disappear with the next seven pounds lost, they are comfortable and stretchy, and completely darling. Jones New York makes some beautiful ones and the first royal blue one I bought was made by them. It's very similar to this one.


I loved it SO MUCH that, when I found another, similar one at T. J. Maxx, I snapped it up even though it was a royal blue print and a little similar. This only meant I could wear the royal blue slides I found with both dresses. And did you doubt that I found the perfect color shoes? Of course you didn't. It looks very similar to this one, although it has a little black in the print.

Jones New York may be packaging up some dresses for me, if I can't find them at my local Macy's, because really? This purple?

And hot pink? I LOVE THEM.

And I even found one with long sleeves. For fall. I can see this one with dressy black boots, can't you?

So. Even though Jones New York is not paying me for this post - although, I am totally OPEN to the idea of free dresses. I CAN be bought. Dresses and shoes would be a good start. Even though they are not paying me, I still recommend these dresses. I think they will wash well and travel well. Also important features for a travel blogger/writer/journalist.

Because? I will not be that person on the airplane with cut-off blue jeans shorts on.

You can pretty much count on it.

Try It Tuesday: Disney Tropical Mix

So, the great bathing suit diet is ON and is going surprisingly well. I have managed to abstain from M & M blizzards for the time being and the pounds are coming off - 7 so far - and I have also managed to find some pretty interesting new diet foods.

Although, Weight Watchers calls it a lifestyle change, not a diet. All I know is, iced sugar cookies are not a part of this new lifestyle. At least not now. Maybe after I weigh 140 like Valerie Bertinelli, I can factor in a couple of sugar cookies but for now? I am all about the fruit.

Dried fruit is not quite as good for you and is a little higher in sugar, but I really like some of it. It's chewy and sweet and good. I found these great little boxes of Disney Tropical Mix the other day and they are really good. They have dried apricots, pineapple and papayas in each little box, cut into tiny little pieces. Either the apricots or the papayas are kinda chewy, but the pineapple chunks make it all worthwhile because they are really sweet and good.

Each box is 2 Weight Watcher points so they make a nice snack that really fills you up. Try them and let me know you think!

Ahoy, Maties!

I am absolutely fine with retirement. More than fine. I am THRILLED. I sent in the final paperwork the other day and gave a sigh of relief that all the paperwork is done and I can just sit back and count the days.

But.

Then I found these really, really cute pirate bookmarks and I thought "These would be SO CUTE next year - I can start the year with pirate books and then I can give everyone a bookmark and..."

Then I realized I didn't need to buy bookmarks. Or make plans for the first of the year. Because I might not even know when school begins next year.

And I have to admit.

I felt a teeny, tiny, eensy bit.

Sad.

For Fun Friday: May 1

I guess I'm the last person in the world to hear this. Incredible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBTVdnWj1hM

New movie previews all on one site. Cool.

http://www.preview-online.com/

Jellyfish lake.

http://www.been-seen.com/article.cfm?id=11045