Glam on the Run

The call came yesterday from my dearest online friend.  Although we'd been friends for over 6 years and live just 4 hours or so apart, our friendship had been restricted to emails, chats, text messages and phone calls.  He told me he had a business day trip to make to a city near us and could we meet for lunch.  With less than 24 hours' notice, I had to arrange for child care, figure out where we could meet for lunch and get as glammed as possible (being just friends doesn't make me less of a "girl").

First step...  Figure out the outfit.  Although it's late October, I'm still not ready to give up my sandals, so whatever I wore had to work with open-toe shoes.  My first outfit was going to be a white t-shirt and my favorite brown and white zebra-print skirt with my oh-so-sexy (and surprisingly comfortable) espadrilles.  However, I couldn't find the skirt and didn't want to take the time to tear our bedroom up looking for it, so I went for outfit #2 - hot pink long-sleeved t-shirt, black and hot pink skirt and black strappy heels.

Step two has to be the toes and feet - starting from the bottom here.  I last gave myself a pedicure ten days ago using some of my favorite colors from Sally's Beauty Supply.  These enamels are a bit more expensive, but my polish jobs last forever!  This pedicure started with China Glaze Base Coat, followed by two coats of Ultra Pro nail enamel in Hawaiian Flower, then a layer of OPI white shatter and all that topped off with China Glaze Top Coat.  My tootsies still look freshly pedicured and nice.

But then I looked at the bottoms of my feet, and they looked anything BUT sandal-ready!  Normally I'd soak my feet in a bubbling foot spa with some tea tree and lavender oil, then apply a moisturizer and wear white cotton socks to warm it and allow it to work in over the course of several hours.  There simply wasn't time for the foot soak, and I completely forgot about moisturizing with socks.  Oh, dear!  I happened to have a jar of body scrub in the bathroom that I'd made for my husband.  Whew!  Saved!  A thorough scrub in my shower got all the dead skin off, and I gave them a quick rub with Rub Me Right... There (in Patchouli).  I stood on a towel while I put my makeup on to help the massage oil's delectable goodness soak into my feet (and to keep me from slipping, falling and busting my butt on the linoleum).

This third step I normally wouldn't do, but my friend Ginger posted a recipe on her FB page this week about  DIY homemade lip scrub, and for the past week or so, I've been wanting to whip some up.  My lips get sooo dry and scaly during the harsh Winter months, so I thought this would be the perfect treatment for them.  But, alas!  Here I was, wanting to scrub my lips and not having any lip scrub made up (and, I mean, seriously, it'd have taken all of five minutes to make).  Time for a quick exfoliation.  After I finished brushing my teeth, I used my toothbrush to gently scrub my lips and the surrounding skin.  Oh my gosh, that peppermint toothpaste made them tingle and flushed them a nice, natural pink!  I gave them a swipe of Vaseline and put my makeup on.

The rest of getting ready was nothing out of the ordinary - hair, makeup and outfit.  When it came time to moisturize my legs, I grabbed the tube of Moisture to Go I keep in my purse (currently in Verbena scent).  I was scrubbed, scented and moisturized, and every bit of me was first-meet-with-a-friend ready.

Of course, my friend never really saw my legs, and I seriously doubt he paid any attention to my feet (though he did peek at my pedi).  The scrubbed smooth lips felt good and made my lip gloss (decided to go with their natural pink from the scrub) last so much longer than usual.  This lip gloss was one I'd made, just playing around, with ginger and cinnamon essential oils.  It goes on hot and tingly, making my lips flushed and slightly swollen.  None of this primping was for my friend; every bit of it was for me and enabled me to approach this meeting with style and confidence.  This evening, though, I'm definitely going to throw together some lip scrub, and I think I'll give it some tingle with some peppermint essential oil.  This will be just right for Winter!

What quick beauty and primping tips do you have for those last minute glam needs?  Share them here.

Giving Life, Making a Difference

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past several years, then you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  This is the month to promote saving those girls, because women use them to nurture life and men...  Well, men just like them.  As women, it's our responsibility to keep the girls healthy, so please remember to do your monthly self-exams.  I usually do mine on or around the 11th of each month, which is my mom's anniversary date.  Go on now...  Get naked to the waist and feel your boobies!

Yesterday was my mom's 11th anniversary as a breast cancer survivor.  Because of her, I refuse to change anything about my products or labeling to exploit the consumers' tendency to "go pink" this time of year.  Usually, I send her pink carnations (her favorite flowers), but since she was on vacation, I decided to give a different gift.

Before I go further, let me say that I hate - passionately - getting sticks.  I'll tolerate shots and finger pricks, but anything involving a tourniquet and needing a vein, and I avoid it like the plague.  I've been known to pass out as soon as the nurse or phlebotomist even starts thumping my vein.  Yeah, I'm that much of a wimp about it.  So, that being said, I decided to donate blood in a Red Cross Blood Drive.

Time to make a difference for someone

A little O+, anyone?

Can't give blood without getting your orange juice and cookies afterward

To recap:  If I can get stuck with a very large needle without crying, passing out or whimpering through it, so can you.  It'll make a huge difference in the life of someone who needs a transfusion.  Feel your boobies.  See if you feel anything that shouldn't be there.  If you do, don't try to convince yourself it's normal.  Go to your doctor ASAP.  Get a mammogram.  A negative mammogram is better than an undiagnosed malignant tumor.  This goes for men, too.  I would wager that breast cancer in men is often more life-threatening than in women - not because the cancer is necessarily more malignant, but because it so seldom gets detected early enough.

What steps are you taking to protect your health?  What steps have you taken to help protect the health of others?

Related articles

• Time To (Wo)man Up: Thinking Pink (postmodernmommy.wordpress.com)
• Mammography Myths Debunked During Breast Cancer Awareness Month (prweb.com)
• Save the Tatas! or Tale of a Survivor (sarassoapsnsuch.blogspot.com)