R.M.D.

I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We went to Nonna's and Mommy and Daddy Lipstick's house. It was fun and relaxing, filled with loads of laughter and tons of food.

Presenting a few photos...
You know in the beginning of "Sweet Home Alabama" where Reese Witherspoon's character drives past something like this...

and then something like this...

and then stuff like this...
Going home is kinda like that...except thank goodness my childhood home is a respectable 25 minutes from the Bent-n-Dent.

Channel 73

Pretty Girl's screaming destroyed my peaceful slumber. I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and into her room for the second time. I immediately scooped her out of the crib with no patience to listen to crying while I patted her back and went through the Supernanny routine.

She put her thumb in her mouth and nuzzled her head against my chest. With my arms wrapped tightly around her, I laid down. Her bright eyes studied my face. I kissed her forehead and ran my fingers through her fine baby hair.

I was instantly awake with a feeling of contentment and joy. Tears meandered down my face. Nothing in my existence bears any resemblance to a reason for God's providence in my life. I have no explanation for why He has blessed me by allowing these two beautiful children to begin their lives within me. I am overwhelmed with a quiet flood of gratitude and awe. Thank you, dear Lord.

I didn't expect to begin celebrating Thanksgiving at 3 am in a dark room with the Spa channel as the soundtrack. It is a blessing nonetheless. What a happy Thanksgiving it already is.

I Love the 80s

Some fun things I found while digging through childhood treasures...

 

My prized sticker collection

 

Remember writing everything in bubble letters?

 

My favorite page...full of Lisa Frank stickers. Nonna and DeeDa had infinite patience with me at the mall as I perused through racks and racks of Lisa Frank stickers.

 

I remember putting all the stickers in this Cabbage Patch book. It just doesn't seem like it was that long ago.

 

I absolutely *loved* My Pretty Ponies. I felt so fancy with my carrying case and combs. I remember playing with this over Christmas break with my cousin from Chicago. We listened to Duran Duran's "Arena" and swooned over the Taylors (John, Roger, Andy...pick one).

 

 

And finally...Fashion Plates. I got this for my birthday in 1982. This was good for hours and hours of entertainment.

 

Hump Day

I have always thought that euphemism for Wednesday was really funny. Especially when prudish people say it. Especially since it makes me think of something else entirely.

I am so tired today. I was up all night with Pretty Girl as she cycled through coughing, waking herself up, and crying. I eventually slept in her room and relaxed to the lovely sounds of the Spa channel on XM/Sirius. Of course, I have decided that it's time for a massage. Just curious...has anyone ever been to one of those budget spas? Here's an exampleIt looks quite generic and relatively un-chic, but I think that some econo-pampering might not be a bad idea. At this point I just need a room without florescent lights, an old Enya CD, and someone to get the crick out of my neck.

I may get that massage over the weekend, but since it is only Hump Day today, I tried to relax with a little of the boobe tube. (heh heh...that's another funny one). I tried to watch thisIt is the most boring sequence of events ever filmed. Thank you PBS for airing the cure for insomnia. (For sufferers of chronic insomnia, the two disc DVD version is available for purchase).

And finally...presenting some decorating inspiration

Oh, Y'all

Today I got some of this which made me feel like thisbut now I feel like this

That was the Reader's Digest Abridged Version. Here's the full story...

This morning at work I logged into my email and saw a message from a high school friend. "Hey, did you know your photo is on this website?" was the brief and coy message.

What?? Gulp. Gasp. What?? I tried to access the site, and it was grey and shady. A small box in the center demanded my real name, my real email to access my photo. My sympathetic nervous system was roused from its usual slumber, my heart throbbing, beads of sweat forming on my upper lip. What if my little bloggy/Facebook photo was accessible, searchable, traceable?

I feverishly logged into everything, removing photos, changing passwords, all in ninety second intervals while casting furtive glances over my shoulder. After all, it was 9:20 on Monday morning, and probably for the first time in my pharmacy career, I felt grateful to be placed on hold. I still felt like this though

The thought of making Lipstick-land private had taken hold in my consciousness. I decided to make a quick post. For some reason, I felt a little better. Whew, now I could get some work done.

Fast forward a couple of hours...Thank you Yahoo! Answers. The website in question was just spam, a sly little ploy to impulse a panicked person into inputting their own personal info. No pictures there at all. Sigh of relief.

Oh, no...panic again. I remember that I have announced I'm going private. My inbox was brimming with requests and well wishes.

I feel grateful, humbled, and guilty all at the same time.

With each message, I felt an increasing sense of joy at YOU, my dear and wonderful readers. Thank you for reading my silly little thoughts and taking the time to let me know you would miss it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm not going anywhere. :)


*******by the way, I am deleting the post to protect your email addresses. I have saved all your sweet replies though in my inboxes for all time. Cyberhugs to you all.*******

Join my Little Club

I think I'm going to go private y'all. I want YOU to be here so pretty please email me!

ETA: See the post above. The one with the big ole picture of a can of Spam.

Weekend in Review

From the upper-left corner...

We slept a lot,
snuggled a lot,

I sorted through old boxes and found funny things,
We watched Rocky II,
I cannot wear my cheeleading outfit now.

I stayed home and my only makeup was Chapstick,
JBB got SICK on Sunday with fever, headache and nausea which made me very sad,

I miss my friends,
I really, really love and appreciate Mr. Lipstick,
My dear family came to visit the early part of the weekend and it was glorious.

We slept and snuggled some more,
I'm almost through with sorting memories from childhood through our wedding...
Should I get a tummy tuck?,
Tomorrow I will have to wear actual makeup.

I Likey

Three things I really like right now....

Shoes from Dansko


These photos are sort of like a diary for the week. I have worn Dansko's all week, it has gotten cold and I have gotten my caffeine with a side of marshmallows, and I have watched a lot of House (which is the really nice thing about discovering a show post-syndication...it's always on).

Hope y'all have a relaxing Friday night! (or for you young and hot things without stretch marks, enjoy your cosmos).

From the desk of Lipstick, Ph.D.

Based on my recent experiences and blog research, I think I may just write a dissertation. (Based on my high level of fatigue and love of relaxation, I'll probably just keep it to a blog post).

Nevertheless, here is the latest installment from the ivory tower of academia that is Lipstick Manor.
Presenting...
"Extolling the Virtues and Examining the Angst: The Socio-Cultural Phenomenon of Facebook."

Ever notice how people who are new to FB are always proselytizing for it, like it's a cult on a magic island filled with lots of couches, laptops, and memories? I think I am entitled to poke fun since I am one of those FB devotees. I have to log in everyday and CONNECT. I completely love that I can know that someone whom I had forgotten had chili for supper, and of course, I love that people who had forgotten about me know that I have been watching the Rocky marathon on AMC. (air kiss to Sly).

I have read other blog posts about the evil underbelly of FB...the super-poking from the random ex, the frustration with the mundane minutiae of status updates, and all those weird applications like Plants and Sea Creatures. I am not cool enough to be entrenched in Mob Wars, but thanks to the wonderment of notifications, I can live vicariously through my friends as they rob liquor stores.

Without exception though, my favorite FB attribute is reconnecting with people from high school and college. I haven't seen Gillette Man since Clinton was newly elected, but I know that both of our households currently have colds. Bless you. And finally, it should be duly noted that since we are all getting older, the age difference between when I was a (goofy) Freshman and someone else was a (cool) Senior seems insignificant at best. Oh yes, dear readers, if you are not on FB yet, you simply must sign up so you can chat with the In Crowd in the CyberHallway. Thank goodness there's no cafeteria though.

Advice from Truvy

I have a gut feeling that y'all are devotees of "Steel Magnolias" and can instantaneously recall lines of dialogue with military-like precision. After all, that movie is amazingly accurate. Sweet Tea really is the housewine of the South, and let's face it...most of our blogs are decorated in Blush and Bashful.

Remember the scene outside the beauty shop in which Truvy says, "I wear a size 6, but a 7 feels so good, I buy a size 8." I am here to tell you, that is true!

I have worn a size 6 forever, but lately my feet have been hurting all the time. I kept ordering fabulous size 6 shoes from Zappo's, only to return them all. Then last weekend I unceremoniously tried on a size 7 at my fave consignment shop. Ahhh...it felt fabulous.

After picking up some super-cheap-chic consign-o-fashion, I headed to the Mother Ship. Yep, Tar-jay. I found theseon sale and only available in a size 8. Driven by money burning a hole in my work purse, I tried them on. I uttered a gasp that was audible on the next aisle. My feet felt as if they had entered the heavens.

I have worn them three times this week and I am convinced that is the best $24.99 marked down to $19.99 that I have ever spent in my whole life. Still though, I feel silly that I was so painfully unaware of my actual shoe size. I hope my feet stop their expansion though; I am way too short to wear a size 9.

Polarizing Figure (not that one...or that one)

I am going to share a semi-secret crush with you. It feels a little bit like cheating since I am currently watching my original crush starring in Rocky III on AMC.

Speaking of Sly, I just *love* these Rocky movie marathons. Seeing arguably the greatest movies ever made starring arguably the greatest actor to ever live...on TV-it's almost too much. I know that I am perhaps the only person who would argue all that, but I digress.

Back to my secondary crush... Oh, yes, it's Vince from the Shamwow ads. I love those commercials. I don't even fast forward through them. I love how he says, "hey Camera Guy!" and "you know the Germans always make good stuff."

Last night through the magic of Facebook/Crackbook, I made it official and joined the group Fans of the Shamwow Guy. Apparently I am not alone. That is, if the whole thing isn't a joke.

There is even another group called Let's Go Hunt Down and Kill the Shamwow Guy. I just don't understand how people could resist all that charm that is available for $19.95 plus S&H. I mean, I can get over this whole election mess, and the fact that my guy lost, but these people that want to kill The Shamwow Guy...well, that sort of thing just might be an irreconcilable difference.



ETA: Excellent post DrugMonkey.

Election Playlist

"Gloom, Despair, Agony on Me"....old song from Hee Haw

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"....The Rolling Stones

"Why"....Annie Lennox

"Harder to Breathe"....Maroon 5


What about y'all?

Politics Show

I can't believe the Halloween Social Season is now over and it is already election night. During his prayer tonight, JBB said, "Lord, thank you that tonight is the last night for politics show." Well, I can take a hint.

Halloween was a pretty magical night complete with a cookout, jumpy castle, and a hayride. We used DeeDa's tractor for the hayride. Here's DeeDaand here we are on the tractor in 1976.The tractor is a 1954 International Harvester Farmall Cub, and I love it dearly. Mr. Lipstick built some extra fabulous seating for the hayrideSee that picture of Mr. Lipstick...see those muscles...here's a closeupIs it hot in here? Whew, I think it's hot-in here. Excuse me, while I run and turn on the fan.
OK, I'm back. Here are a few more pics:Yes, that is Sarah Palin on the left.Goodnight, y'all. Time to go sneak some candy before bed. After watching these returns, I need something sweet.

Happy Weekend

 

Isn't this cute? I hope y'all are having a fabulous Halloween weekend!