Girls Night Out

Since JBB is still enjoying Operation Spoiled Rotten (aka visit with Mommy and Daddy Lipstick) and Mr. Lipstick was buried under some heavy law books, Pretty Girl and I had a Girls Night Out. Tres fun! (hey look, I'm bilingual).

We had supper at a cool and casual little Mexican restaurant. I think the other people probably thought I was K-razy because I was talking to Pretty Girl like an adult. I think speaking normally and not in a loud exaggerated way helps kids learn how to communicate. Therein lies the method to my madness. Pretty Girl must have liked my chattering too, because she spontaneously stood up, wrapped her little arms around me, and rested her head on my shoulder. Needless to say I nearly melted right there in my chips and salsa.

Then we went to Target to get a random little gift for my dear friend . Of course, since it was GNO we had a few extra (but completely essential) purchases. I bought some new eyeliner that promised to make my eyes look natural except a whole lot better and some eyeshadow that promised to make my eyes "smokey." The clearance items were also a treasure trove of goodies...an Elmo book, a Hello Kitty sticker book, a baby doll, and a clock. I did succumb to the irresistible desire for the Twilight Movie Companion. I know. I totally suck. Hello, my name is Lipstick and I am in love with Edward Cullen.

Now back to reality which is pretty darn good right now.When I look into those eyes, the world seems completely still, irrelevant even. My heart aches from the intensity of my love and it takes nothing more than her smile to bring forth tears of joy and gratitude.

I Cannot Catch a Break

Computer fixed. Head broken. Damn migraine.

Death and Dying the Microsoft Way

Oh, y'all. I have been getting The Blue Screen of Death.
I am working feverishly to fix this, because I have urgent matters that need to be posted...vitally important things like Mr. Lipstick's and Pretty Girl's birthday celebrations and a visit from Nonna and Mommy and Daddy Lipstick. Sigh...soon I'll be finished with all this un-installing and disc cleanup and defragmenting messiness. See y'all then.

P.S. Aren't they pretty?I wish I had renewed my subscription to InStyle.

Obsess Much

Last night I finished Breaking Dawn (the fourth book in the Twilight series for the uninitiated). Wow.

I can't wait to start reading the series all over again. Now, I know that sounds a little, er...crazy, but all four books were such page-turners that I feel like I ravenously devoured them like a frat boy at a keg party.

This time I will be more like a connoisseur at a wine tasting. I promise to read slowly, deliberately, and savor all the things I inevitably missed the first time, or perhaps is that what happens on the third time around?

Zzzzzzzzzzz............

I've been sleepy since about 10 am. I have made it through work, supper, baths, two meltdowns and some big snuggles. It is time for me to relinquish the fight against the drowsy demon, turn off all media (I think I can, I think I can), and go to sleep like a big girl.

For those remaining wakeful...check out Cute Things Falling Asleep

The Attention Deficit (or Thank You Stephenie Meyer)

When did TV get so boring? My precious House (sigh...) is the only show that captures my full attention. Every other show is really just background noise for me while I peruse fun and fabulous things on The Internet.

I was starting to think that I was becoming one of those multi-media, multi-tasking, over-stimulation addicts, but then...along came Twilight.

I admit I bought it almost begrudgingly, just wanting to see what could possibly be soooooo fabulous about an awkward teenager falling in love with a vampire. I read the first few chapters without any speed or urgency. I was starting to think that I just didn't get it, but then before I knew it, I was completely hooked. It took me longer to read the first five chapters of Twilight than it has taken me to read Eclipse.

I have rediscovered the pleasure of being curled up under a fuzzy blanket while being completely engrossed in a book. Remember that phrase, "willing suspension of disbelief"? I am pretty sure I learned it in somewhere in high school English. Stephenie Meyer is the new master. Her juxtaposition of the mundane with the mystical makes the whole vampire story seem...well, logical. I mean, my goodness, I want to be a Cullen too.

The last five or six hundred page book I read before this series was in pharmacy school. It was not fun. There's nothing like school to make you hate books. I could probably count on one hand the number of actual books I've read since graduation. The first year out of school I think I only read People magazine or if I was feeling intellectual, In Style.

Now I can't wait to find another engrossing book. I am almost sad to finish Breaking Dawn. I am going to miss Edward and Bella. So I need some suggestions. What are your favorite books?

And finally a thank you to Stephenie Meyer for providing some blissful distraction during a painful week isn't the only gratitude I have.

Thank you, dear blog friends for your comforting comments. Thank you for reading my last couple of grief-stricken posts. I don't know what is more therapeutic...writing it out or reading the responses, but y'all, I feel better. I wish I could hug you all. I would even be wiping away tears of joy right now if I weren't so determined to not have to throw away a third pair of contacts this week.

Protein Deposits

I have worn contacts since the fifth grade. I suppose I would be a good candidate for LASIK surgery, but I rather like that because of their presence an accidental jab in the eye with mascara is rendered completely painless. That probably sounds extremely silly, but I am not in the mood to care. As much as I love that my little eye discs save me from make-up trauma, they are in a near constant state of fuzziness these days.

It's the crying. My friend's funeral. Baby Cora. Baby Grace. That little girl missing in Florida.

I want to write something funny.
I want to write something fun.
I want to be excited about some new clothes or some long-wearing, non-drying lipstick.

I want to write a BIG thank you note to Sasha for her techy expertise. I am now lipstickatthemailbox.com.

I want to gush about how totally addicted I am to all things Twilight.
I want to brag about how Jillian's Thirty Day Shred is getting easier.

I don't have it in me. I am grieving for people I know and even people I don't. My heart feels raw and exposed. I don't like it.

Who doesn't prefer to glide through the day with light-hearted, pseudo-concerns? It's easy. It even feels real. That is until something truly real grabs your heart and forces you to gaze into the blinding light of pain and grief.

Joy and Grief

Today Mr. Lipstick and I attended the funeral of a dear friend whose body finally succumbed to the catastrophic effects of cancer. He went to Heaven about 5 am on Thursday morning. His passing was peaceful, he was surrounded by the ones he loved, and he was secure in his faith. It was everything you want...when you think about death.

His death was also everything you don't want. He was 45 years old with a beautiful wife and two young children. The cancer was aggressive and so was the treatment he endured.

The death of a friend elicits grief on so many levels. There is, of course, the sadness that you feel for the loved ones remaining on earth, and then the inevitable evaluation of your own mortality.

Today was thoroughly beautiful and poignant. The service was held at our beloved church. There were pictures of our friend and his family everywhere, even scrolling by on the monitors in the hallway. Notecards were placed on two large tables in the foyer so that we could write messages to his children. Two of our pastors spoke eloquently, the choir director sang "I Can Only Imagine," a business associate read a thank you letter from our friend's wife, and the service concluded with the "Hallelujah Chorus."

I believe with every fiber of my being that our friend now resides in Heaven with the Savior he so loved. It's just sad in our little corner of earth right now.

ETA: I cannot stop crying. Please pray for this family who just lost their 11 month old daughter after a two and a half week battle with cancer.

In Living Colour

Have fun with The Warholizer

Hair Do

 

So I am completely over my little bob. Time for a change. I would like the cut on the left for now, and I would like to grow my hair out into the cut on the right. What do y'all think?

Love Bites

I finished it.

It is awesome.

I now join with the throngs of 14 year old girls who are in love with Edward Cullen.

I am buying the second book TODAY!!!