Blazing the Trail of Cosmetics

It was as if I came up with the idea for the flux capacitor! 

~~~

How many of you put on your makeup while standing at your bathroom sink or vanity, looking into the mirror on the wall?

I stopped doing that a long time ago...because I couldn't see that far! Yeah, sad isn't it?

So, now I sit and use a table top mirror positioned about 6 inches from my face. (Not magnified, though. Unfortunately, that side of the mirror shows way too many lines and wrinkles.)

So, just the other day, as I opened up my tube of L'Oreal Eva Longoria lipstick, (which I've had for a long time because I hardly ever wear lipstick) it occurred to me how crazy the world of cosmetics is. 

I'm sure many women buy a certain brand of makeup or perfume just because of whose name is on it. Not me! I buy the cheapest lipstick that has the shade I want. I buy a fairly inexpensive liquid makeup that's the shade I think looks best on me. 

So, as I looked at Eva's fancy signature imprinted on the lipstick's plastic tube, I had a brain storm. Someone should come up with an entire line of beauty products for ladies, ahem..."of a certain age" and it should be named after Erma Bombeck!!

How about.....?

"Erma's Elixir"

"Ms. Bombeck's Magic"

"Queen Erma's Quick Fix"

Everyone join in! What names can you come up with?

(Mine aren't very good, so I'm hoping for some real doozies!) This post is obviously geared toward women, but men can join in, too!

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* Welcome to my newest follower John. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! *

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And, of course, I'm ending with all Erma quotes...

"Sometimes I can't figure designers out. It's as if they flunked human anatomy." 

"In two decades I've lost a total of 789 pounds. I should be hanging from a charm bracelet."

"It's frightening to wake up one morning and discover that while you were asleep you went out of style."

* Another Trip Around the Sun *

It's finally here.... A Really BIG Birthday. 

image: www.kauffmanpost.com

I didn't have to buy my own birthday cake. The Ronald bought one for me! Plus helium balloons! 

Happy Birthday, also to my blog friend Rachel Cotterill.

"Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened." -- Jennifer Yane

"In childhood we yearn to be grown-ups. In old age we yearn to be kids. It just seems that all would be wonderful if we didn't have to celebrate our birthdays in chronological order." -- Robert Brault

"I'm 60 years of age. That's 16 Celsius." -- George Carlin

Yep, those quotes just about say it all!

Writing Books and Sequels

Well, I've resigned myself to the fact that I won't be reaching my Kickstarter Project goal. Although I'm disappointed, it's certainly not going to keep me from publishing my memoir! It will just take longer than I'd hoped for. 

Have I mentioned that I'm just in the beginning stage of writing a sequel to my memoir? I have so many stories yet to tell and it just wouldn't work to include them all in one book.

image from Google

I fiddled around with a couple of possible titles for it, and then it occurred to me too, that if readers like the first book enough, and the second book, maybe I could write a third, and thus have a series. But, my focus right now, of course, is publishing From Pigtails to Chin Hairs: A Memoir & More.

Here's the titles I came up with today for possible sequel(s).

From High Heels to Old Lady Shoes: A Memoir & More.

From Spiked Heels to Sensible Shoes: A Memoir & More.

From Skate Keys to Car Keys: A Memoir & More.

I'd love to know your thoughts and ideas on any of this. Please leave a comment! 

~~~

Welcome to my newest followers: Angela Atkinson and Bethany Myers. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see!  

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." -- Helen Keller

Hello and Welcome to 2013

No, I didn't welcome 2013 with an alcoholic drink, 

but I'm taking on Maxine's attitude for the year

because this is the year for 60th Birthdays

for myself and most of my school-age friends.

I just happen to be the one born the earliest in 1953,

and I'm happy to lead the way in Celebrating our Sixties!

The following song lyrics just popped into my head and I think they'll be my 2013 Theme Song because no matter what I do this year, especially pertaining to my writing or publishing, "I got to keep on moving"!

Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride
Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no 
I got to keep on moving
Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride
I'm running and I won't touch ground 
Oh-no, I got to keep on moving

~~

Matthew Wilder

Please don't forget my Kickstarter Project ends on my birthday, January 6th. If you can help in any way, I'm very grateful. 

* IT'S A SNOWY NEW YEAR'S EVE *

Well, I didn't get my wish for a White Christmas, but I was surprised to see snowflakes this morning! Not a whole lot has fallen yet, but it's coming down pretty fast. 

Here's a couple of pictures I just took from inside my house.

Deck

 Can you see the flakes falling?

I love this one!

Our mailbox and my "Fa La La & Mittens" flag

Wishing everyone a safe and fun evening, no matter what your plans are! 

I'm also including my post from December 31st of last year:

One of my favorite movies is "When Harry Met Sally." There are so many great scenes and dialogue in it, but for tonight I must post a very appropriate one. It's at the New Year's Eve party. Harry just told Sally how much he loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. After a little while, it's midnight and people begin to sing "Auld Lang Syne."  Following is their dialogue:

Harry:  My whole life I have never known what this song means.


Sally: I know exactly what you mean.


Harry: I mean, should old acquaintances be forgot. Does that mean we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we do happen to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we forgot them…..


Sally: Maybe you're just supposed to remember you forgot them, or something – anyway it's about old friends.

~~~~     ~~~~

Happy 2013! May it be a blissful one for all of us!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

* I WONDER ABOUT WORDS AND MEMORY *

I Wonder

 I haven't posted an I Wonder in a long time.

I wonder why?

Oh, how annoying it is to suffer from lethologica, especially when you're a writer....

I wonder how many of you have heard of this word? I certainly hadn't until I accidentally came across it the other day. And oh, what a perfect word for so many of us.....   

lethologica ~ LĒTH ō LŎJ-ik ă  

noun: the inability to remember a word or put your finger on the right word.

Ah yes, and sometimes it's worse being on the receiving end of a conversation......

~~~

The Ronald: "Look at the guy in this commercial."

Becky: "Which one?"

The Ronald: "That blonde guy. Wasn't he in that TV show that used to be on?"

Becky: "What TV show?"

The Ronald: "Oh you know. That one about cops and detectives. We used to watch it all the time."

Becky: "We've watched lots of shows that sound like that. Can you give me a little more information, like what decade it was??"

....and my exasperation goes on...

"I always have trouble remembering three things: faces, names, and -- I can't remember what the third thing is." -- Fred Allen

Correspondence, a Campaign, and a Cake

Yes, I "owe" but it's not credit card bills because of Christmas shopping. 

Nope, what I owe: E-mails and Christmas cards!

source: Cafe Press

Please don't think I've forgotten you, but I just didn't send Christmas cards. If you did receive one, it's either because your last name is in the first part of the alphabet, or you're just lucky, because I did send out about ten of them!

So, to catch up on my correspondence, I intend to send something after January 6th, which is my birthday!

If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll know that particular date is very significant and for TWO BIG reasons this year. That's the date my Kickstarter Project ends. Please help me reach my goal. And it will be the best gift I've ever received and it will be for.....

source: bookriot.com 

  my 60th Birthday. Yikes!!  

source: onesweettreat.com/2011

"Authorities say brain cells may shrink, but they don't necessarily die. Frankly, I am cheered by the fact that something is shrinking. I'd be even more thrilled if what was shrinking affected by dress size, but you can't have everything." -- Erma Bombeck

* Nostalgic Sunday *

It's time for another Nostalgic Sunday!

Last night I thought about Christmases of long ago, and it occurred to me to share a few lines from various chapters in my memoir. 

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The first one involves my sister Jo Ann, my brother Mike and me. I was 10 years old.(my parents were recently divorced at this time)
.......another very cold Sunday, Jo Ann, Mike and I were at Mass. When it was time to go to Communion, we were still completely bundled up in our heavy winter coats. Since we walked the few blocks to church, we never did warm up. As we knelt at the Communion railing, all of a sudden one of the shiny, gold buttons on Mike's coat popped off and went soaring up towards the altar. I guess he had on one too many layers that day and the thread couldn't hold any longer. And of course, being in a situation where we shouldn’t laugh, it made us want to giggle all the more. We couldn’t help but do that silent, shoulder shaking laughing and a bit of snorting, too. Luckily, the button didn’t hit the priest, or anyone else, but it pinged a couple of times as it bounced around the marble floor and steps. I could feel many pairs of eyes scanning the front of church, wondering who the culprits were. The three of us managed to get through the rest of Mass without causing any more commotion, but I don’t think we could've said what the closing hymn was. We were too busy trying to keep solemn faces and weren't doing a very good job of it.

~~~

I remember a few things all the way back to when I was three years old. The following are some of them.

My brother and I never believed in Santa Claus. Why, you may ask? Our mother didn’t want us to! She said when she learned the truth as a little girl she was so devastated she didn’t want her own children to ever suffer the way she did. Huh?! ....

...I watched my older sisters Marian and JoAnn wrap presents.....Some years we had Snow-in-a-Can and Dad sprayed that fake stuff all over the tree. I actually have a few delicate ornaments with that gunk still on them......Those early Christmases were perfect and I still carry them in my heart. Our tiny house didn't overflow with gifts or decorations, but with our family's love. There was a warmth to our home that I felt even as a little girl of three or four years old.

Becky & Mike
get a load of my knock knees!

~~~

The time frame of the following speaks for itself.

......I particularly remember getting an idea in my head the Christmas I was 12 years old. I truly believed he was going to “come to his senses” and come home to us. (I’m pretty sure that idea came from my mother.)  I sat for hours in our living room, facing the front door, listening to Bing Crosby croon “I’ll Be Home for Christmas." I played that record so many times, I almost wore it out.  I just knew any minute he would burst through the door, ask for forgiveness and be loaded down with gifts for all of us, including Mother. It was a scene I played repeatedly in my wistful daydreams. I made sure the porch light was on, so Dad could find our house. But of course, that never happened.  (The title of this chapter is "Thoughts On Love & Forgiveness," and was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul; Divorce & Recovery in 2008.)

Although most of my adolescent Christmases were lonely, because they were spent without my dad, I choose more times than not to remember those early, happy ones.

Wishing everyone the merriest of Christmases!

 "Memory is the library of the mind." -- Francis Fauvel Gouraud