The Power Of Pretty-Part 2

The girl was over 6 ft. tall, though whether it was the 5 in. heels she was wearing or the long, wild, streaked, "just F'd" hair that contributed more to her height, I couldn't say.

The girl wasn't wearing anything particularly revealing: tight jeans, but not so tight you'd wonder about her ability to breath, and a black animal print halter. No, it was the over all effect; the hair, lots of makeup, the heels, just that slight whiff of "dirty girl" that rendered every male in the gas station this afternoon speechless.

Her new, black, Jeep was on the other side of the pump island and we both had to go into the station. She was ahead of me and I had the opportunity to notice both the girl and the effect she had on the men. Her walk was quick, the heels clicking on the cement, her head down, surrounded by a curtain of hair. I recognized the walk, it said: "notice me, but I'm not going to notice you".

I recognized that walk because it was exactly my walk in my twenties. It's the walk of a girl who knows she has the power of pretty but clearly doesn't know what to do with it or what it can do to you. It's the walk of a girl who constructed her appearance to be noticed because she's looking for something, but she's unclear what that something is.

As she began to pump her gas she made eye contact with me and gave me a little half smile.

I know I was the only person in that station she made eye contact with. I was no threat to her. I'm not that girl anymore.

AxcessPoints

Some years back my best friend, Sonya, gave all her friends and family a homemade Survival Manual for Christmas. The year was 1999, and people weren’t sure what the ramifications of Y2K would be.

Sonya’s manual for emergency preparedness was about three inches thick and pretty complete; it gave instructions on what to do in case of a fire, supplies to have on hand, how to seal the windows of your home, and many other possible scenarios.

I don’t know if any of us really appreciated the effort that went into the compilation of the manual, and certainly we didn’t “get” the sentiment; why would we need something like that? As the year 2000 dawned with no repercussions, Sonya looked a bit like Chicken Little yelling, “the sky is falling”.

I’m sorry to say I don’t know where Sonya’s manual is anymore, because after the Hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, I completely “get” the need for an emergency preparedness plan. I have discovered a wonderful website called AxcessPoints that would make Sonya happy.

AxcessPoints is a website that’s like a one-stop emergency preparedness center. One of the really useful elements is a tool to use to formulate an emergency plan. The tool walks you through step by step and your plan can be completed in as little as 20 minutes or, if you’d like to take more time, you can come back and fill in information at your convenience. AxcessPoints allows you to store the information you’d need in the event of an emergency safely in one location online and there’s even a tool to decide what you need to include in your emergency kit.

www.axcesspoints.com is really the total package; it can go a long way towards easing your mind to know that you have a plan in place should a disaster come your way. With the free 30-day trial they offer, there's really no reason not to give it a try.

Is It Because I'm Sick?

In my previous post I wrote about being sick. I know for the past week I've not looked my best, red eyes, red nose, hair all over, living in sweats; but must I be punished even further?

Yes, I will admit that I spend much of my time in ballet flats, but even on my funkiest days I don’t wear Big Black Boots! Where is the style, the prettiness? Do you think it’s because I’m still sick? This just makes me feel worse...

You Are Big Black Boots!

You can be best described as: attitude You've got lots of it - and you love to give it A guy has to be pretty gusty to hit on you But if he's your type, you'll warm up... a little

What Kind Of Women's Shoe Are You?

Sick And Tired Of Being Sick And Tired!

The past week has kind of been a blur for me, I've been down with a really nasty cold that has some hellafied staying power! What's worse is SO came down with it a couple of days after I did so there was no one to baby, um I mean, take care of me. The only one healthy in this house is PD, and she's not so good at making soup or dispensing medicine. She is very good at cuddling close and looking worried--poor pup.

So yesterday I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I pulled myself up by my hacking bootstraps and with the help of OTC meds and megadoses of vitamin C, SO and I walked PD and went to the store, I did laundry and dishes, and I think that helped. Today SO is worse, I think I'm on the mend. I don't know how much attitude has to do with it but at least there's clean clothes and dishes!

A Perfect Love

It was love at first sight. We were destined to be together we two, a more perfect love has never been known; a love without judgment or recrimination, complete and fulfilling. My love for shiny things.

My nine-year-old fingers tore through the brightly colored birthday paper to reveal the small box with two small Gold Lockets inside, a round locket and a heart locket; from that moment I was in love. I picked up the heart shaped locket and ran my index finger over the surface; it was smooth, and the light bounced off of it into my eyes and hypnotized me.

Over the years I've happily owned many pieces of gold jewelry. In recent years my tastes have changed and I find myself being attracted to silver. I have discovered a site that will personalize your gold and silver jewelry called www.picturesongold.com. Picturesongold.com can actually laser photos into the locket for you which is great, no more pictures falling out! I have a couple of lovely Silver Lockets that I can put PD and SO in!

What Kind Of Husband Will Gary Coleman Make?

Last week the news broke that Gary Coleman was secretly married, and had been since August 2007 to 22-year-old Shannon Price. At the risk of using the obvious quip: "watchu talkin 'bout?" I know that there's a lid for every pot, but I had a hard time wrapping my mind around this.

I've heard news stories and seen reality shows with Gary Coleman featured and my impression has been that he's an unrelentingly bitter and angry man. The Cashcall commercials I've seen him in had a whiff of desperation that just made me sad for him. And while I don't deny Coleman may have gotten a few hard knocks in life but really, who hasn't? As Don Henley sings in, "The Heart Of The Matter", "you keep carrying that anger, it'll each you up inside baby".

The thing I really keep wondering about is: what kind of husband will Gary Coleman make? Coleman's new bride sells his clothing and other items on ebay and they claim that they kept their marriage secret because Shannon didn't want to be known as "Gary Coleman's wife". Whoa! Isn't that what most new brides DO want, to be known as the wife of the man they love? Gary says he "wouldn't want that in a million years" and hopes she becomes famous for selling on ebay. Watching these two on Inside Edition was one of the most painful things I've seen since the Mike Tyson/Robin Givens interview some years back with Barbara Walters.

Still, the first year of marriage is a tough one for lots of people and maybe they'll make it. I'd like to see a Gary with the albatross of anger lifted from his shoulders.

That would be something to talk about Willis.

Important Work

How old were you when you knew what you wanted to do with your life? I don’t mean that “what I want to be when I grow up” sort of thing, but really knew the path you were to take?

When I was in grade school, I went to school with a boy named Patrick*. Patrick was from a family of eight siblings, a good Catholic family, in mass every Sunday; all the kids and the parents. Mom stayed at home to raise the children, dad went to work every day. The kids were all close to their parents, but Patrick was certain the sun rose and set with his father. Patrick wanted to be just like his father, and Patrick’s father was a plumber.

I remember Patrick talking about sometimes going to work on the weekends with his father. He was the only one of the boys who actually wanted to go. Patrick’s dad would let him carry his toolbox and hand him whichever tool was needed for that particular job. He said his father told him being a plumber was “important work” and it takes a special man to do it (hey these were the 60’s), you have to take Plumbing Courses and work with another plumber who can “teach you the ropes”. The prospect excited him, I thought it sounded gross. I was a girly-girl who didn’t even like the thought of getting dirty.

Patrick did grow up to be a plumber, not just any plumber though, he owns his own company and it is consistently voted number one in the city in which he lives. I think his father would be very proud of the important work his son is doing.

More on Muffin Tops...

Yesterday, I wrote about muffin tops, the flesh that can be the unfortunate side effect of wearing low rise jeans. I'm back, with more on muffin tops.

I was on You Tube yesterday and I found these two videos that were just too wonderful not to share with you. The first video is all about true love in my opinion; the second video is a perfect illustration of Andy Warhol's paraphrase: "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes".

The future is here. Enjoy!

Mom Jeans And Muffin Tops

Do you remember hearing a statistic that alleged that 40% of American women are size 14 and larger? I certainly remember hearing that statistic and it came as no surprise to me. A mere look around on city streets can give you that information.

Most women do not have bodies like the fashion models on the runways, they have "real woman" bodies, they have bodies like the women in the Dove commercials I believe. I am one of those women, the 40%. I have been voluptuous, curvy, chunky, plump, big-boned, plus-sized, whatever euphemism you want. I have always had T&A and a pear shaped figure that masquerades as hourglass.

I have been a proud wearer of "mom jeans" for years, only I didn't know it. I first heard this unflattering connotation only 3-4 months ago while listening to the radio. The "on air personalities" were describing "mom jeans", the high waist is what really hit a nerve. It seems that lower waisted jeans are now the trend, because the higher waisted jeans flatten out your butt. Let me tell you, ain't nothing flattening this butt! Has no one noticed that when you are fuller figured (forgot to add that label to the list) if your jeans are low you risk that other fashion faux pas: the muffin top? Let's not forget to mention, you have to wear exceptionally long tops to avoid looking as if your next job will be that of a plumber.

Listen up Stacy London, or those two British magpies that Oprah enjoys having on her show, you can't have it both ways; though I don't think I'd take fashion advice from people who'd grab parts of my body like they're checking a rump roast at the grocery. Low jeans = butt cleavage and or flesh hanging over the tops of the jeans. Oh one more thing fashion mavens, this style of jean was popular for everyone in the 80's and 90's. We've all seen how fashion recycles so don't blame me when you're going to a thrift store to find this style when it's resurrected.

I used to listen to every hoo-hoo who allegedly knew what I should wear without even seeing me, but I'm not that girl anymore!

The Niche Has Found Me!

In August of 2007 I was a nubile blogging virgin, wide-eyed and full of questions. I wrestled with things like, how do I make a link? What is technorati? How do I add a picture to my posts? And most importantly, how do I decide what my niche is?

My friend Bobby Revelle is an ethical blogger and always willing to help new bloggers, I asked him how I determine what my niche is, he said that it would sort of happen organically, that the niche would find me. Well, I am happy to say the niche has found me, my niche is: Personal, Want To Make Money.

If you're confused about this niche don't be, because it has been around for a while. You're on a blog in this niche when you're reading about a dog or cat and there's Adsense or some other click ad program on the blog. You're on a blog in this niche when you're reading about how the kids are sick or the job sucks, or "we moved into our new house today" and in between those posts there are paid postings.

So if you find yourself on a Personal, Want To Make Money blog, be kind...we've got to pay for our dogs, cats, and new houses!

The Secret Scratch Off Message For Today

Hello!

I have no quiz for you today, but I wanted to send you a secret message visible only to you, use the handy coin provided and view my personal message to you. For your eyes only!



Create your own Scratch Ticket

Domain Registration

The scene goes something like this: you’re a sassy, sexy, Aussie who’s been blogging for awhile on a free site and that’s been okay, but it bothers you that your web address is: http://coolperson.freesite.com because it just doesn’t describe who you are, and you’re ready for the next level.

You long for a web address that’s more descriptive, more you, something that doesn’t bear any similarity to what some clueless schmo is doing with their http://cluelessschmo.freesite.com. You need to register a domain name!

The fine folks over at paylessdomains.com.au will come to your rescue. Talk about your one stop shopping; whether you need help choosing a domain name, or you've got the name and just need domain registration, paylessdomains.com.au can take care of your needs. The site is very user friendly and can walk you through each step of the process; they can even help you build an online store if you decide you want to sell products, plus registration is free so what are you waiting for?

Head over to paylessdomains.com.au, you'll be www.imsocooliscaremyself.com in no time!

I'm Your Friend...Now What?

When I was in high school I had many friends. In the nostalgia of my memory I was a gregarious kid, as non-judgemental as a teenager is capable of being; I had friends in many different cliques though I wasn't a member of those cliques myself.

My high school years have long since passed; now there are many ways of encountering and developing friendships with others. One way of developing "friendships" is online through social networking sites like Blog Catalog.

Friendships online are completely unlike friendships in the real world; don't get me wrong, online friendships can be very close but you're not in the presence of the other person which makes them not quite as good. Blog Catalog and social networking sites are a somewhat different animal because ANYBODY can decide you're their friend.

I frequently receive emails in my inbox that are from Blog Catalog that go so something like this: Shazzbat has added you as a friend! Who is Shazzbat? Well, Shazzbat is someone who saw my icon on the front page of Blog Catalog and decided to make me a friend. It is very possible that Shazzbat has never even read my blog. I visit my new friend, Shazzbat's, blog and right on the home page are a slew of racial jokes and pictures; my attention is drawn to the African-American lynch jokes....hmm...I don't think Shazzbat is any friend of mine!

The above is an actual experience though Shazzbats's name was changed. Shazzbat is probably not someone who'd be interested in being friends with me in real life, but on Blog Catalog any old body can tag you as their friend. I don't think I like that, I still like the idea of choosing my own friends.

Oooooooo, Rub Me Right There!

What are you thinking? Get your mind out of the gutter right now!

My SO has often told me that my shoulders are like a rock. When someone touches my shoulders instead of soft pliable skin there is a tough, unyielding surface.

I am aware that I carry a lot of tension in my shoulders and I don’t particularly like having my shoulders touched because it hurts. I have had the occasional good massage, one particularly comes to mind at one of those pampering salons; I could have just drifted off to sleep afterwards.

Unfortunately, I’ve had more bad massages than good; some of which I’ve paid my hard earned money for. If I had one of those amazing massage chairs like they sell at Human Touch well, I might just be in heaven. Human Touch makes robotic massage chairs that look just like comfy easy chairs. You can control the massage technique, strength of the massage, and body part you'd like to have done-the chair will even do your feet! I like the idea of all that control at my fingertips.

Go over to www.humantouch.com and take a look at massage chairs guaranteed to have you thinking: “Oooooooo, rub me right there!

If You Invent This, You're A Guaranteed Millionaire!

It's hard to believe that it's only been three months since we got PD; it seems as if we've always had her.

There once was a time when I was able to spread my limbs freely in bed at night without a 22lb. weight impeding my movement but I'm not that girl anymore.

One of the things that people are most concerned with is money; not enough money, mostly. I have often heard that the surest way to become rich is to find a need and fill it, and I believe that to be true.

There is a need for something; a product that does not exist but is needed most desperately. I know if you invent this, you're a guaranteed millionaire or a multi-millionaire! Won't someone please invent something that keeps animal hair off clothing, furniture and carpets!

Now, PD is not an exceptionally long-haired dog, but it seems as if every blanket, sheet, piece of clothing and furniture has 2 inch long black and white hairs. I've purchased those tape roller things and (I swear I'm personally supporting those companies) they hardly seem equal to the task. I roll and roll and go through strip after strip, still I always miss a spot; which always shows up in broad daylight. Trust me if you're dressed ultra casually, loads of animal hair makes you look as if you just got up from Skid Row.

A pretty thorough search on the internet has shown me that there is absolutely nothing that deals successfully with the extra animal hair problem, but it's a problem many people have. So... can someone, anyone please make a product that can help? I promise I'll be your first customer