Where the Grass Is Green...

So...did you ever find out a little tidbit of celebrity trivia that truly shocked you? Something that you just couldn't get out of your mind no matter how hard you tried? And, by the way, doesn't it make you feel kind of...UGH...because after all, we don't know these people? Well, y'all this has happened to me.

Earlier this month (drumroll) Axl Rose turned 50. FIFTY.
Why is that earth-shattering? I...(irritated)...don't know. It just freaked me out. Because I think of Axl Rose like this.

Sort of slimy, but pretty.

I definitely do NOT think of him like this.

Heavy, dressed like a banana, and yet looking like he hadn't eaten one in twenty years.

I remember when Madonna turned fifty. That shocked me too, but she's so hell-bent on aging gracefully that that I can sort of pretend that she's not aging (and therefore that I am not aging). Poor Axl...he just looks hell-bent.

Someone get that man a dietician, an organic meal...hell, a diet soda. Apparently too much Paradise City does not equal aging well. Boo hoo sniff sniff.

I've been listening to lots (and LOTS) of GNR this week. Such great rock. So decadent. But you know, I've had the oddest compulsion to start doing yoga. Thank you, Madonna.


*In other news, here's a little riddle. What do you do when it's hard to keep up with having one blog? Start another one, of course. It is about my six month absence, ankle surgery, and new diagnosis of reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Probably boring to most readers, but if you've ever spent six months in a cast only to find yourself not healed, then this blog is for you.

Ooh, I Like This One

I confess that I haven't truly educated my children properly about TV. About live TV, that is. Mr. Lipstick and I have been so hooked on our DVR for so long that Pretty Girl even asks me to fast forward commercials. Oh, we've tried to tell them about how when we were growing up that we had five channels and that we had to actually watch shows when they came on tv, but one of them usually says something like, "why would you do that?" and we erupt in peals of laughter. Then we un-pause the tv and life goes on. So it really it a wonder then that I caught this commercial. It is the new one advertising the Jason Wu for Target collection and it is SO CUTE I just wanna scream. Enjoy!

Unsolicited Endorsement...well, ok Mommy Lipstick Asked Me for My Opinion

I hate water. As in drinking it. I'm all good with swimming in it, but to carry around a chic little water bottle and actually drink the water...well, I'm totally lacking. I want to be one of those people, but the truth is that all I do is cart the unweildy thing around.
Until now.
Have you tried Mio Water Enhancer?

You just add a couple of squirts to a regular, old, mundane, undrinkable bottle of water and suddenly it tastes...great. No kidding. There are a bunch of flavors like Strawberry Watermelon, Berry Pomegranate, Fruit Punch, and Mommy Lipstick's favorite Sweet Tea. JBB loves it too, although he informed me that Sweet Tea tasted like, "an old lady drink." When I gasped, he replied, "you know, like for somebody over age ten." Oh, alright. I feel better then.

You can buy Mio in the water section at lots of grocery stores, and as much as I would like to end this post with, "sponsored by Kraft Foods,"...sigh, it is really more of a Lipstick public service announcement. Since I've actually been drinking water, my skin, hair, nails, and lips look so much better. Turns out dehydration is not that cute. Sorry Diet Dr. Pepper, you have been replaced.

I Have Gotta Get to Taiwan....like, right now

I'm sure Taiwan is fabulous with lots to see and do...but what I really want is to get there so I can fly out of there. In one of these.

Isn't this cute? Ah, I'm gonna melt. And it's for real too. The Taiwan airline EVA Air has partnered with the Hello Kitty company Sanrio to offer Hello Kitty themed flights.

Look at the boarding passes...

Isn't that cute? I don't think I could stop smiling if I were on this plane. Yep, I love Hello Kitty that much.

Speaking of HK, here's a little something from the Sanrio site that I really love...

These little hairpins are super cute, very durable, and very effective at holding your hair. I've gotten lots of compliments on mine. That's my uncompensated endorsement...but oh, how I would love it if they compensated me. Can you imagine it? They could just pay me with Hello Kitty stuff...and of course, a trip to Taiwan.

Seventeen Years Is a Long Time

Bureaucracy can be pleasantly insulating, providing lots of job benefits and maybe a nice schedule or a decent amount of vacation days. The whole system can also make you feel tiny and insignificant because really we all know that being a member of the team is the same as being a cog on a wheel.

Lipstick Pharmacy is inside of a hospital and we give discounts to employees. Today I overheard someone asking a lady, "You work at the hospital, right?" to which the lady responded, "No, I don't. I did, though. For seventeen years. Hated every minute of it."

That struck me as pretty dramatic. Seventeen years is a long time. I get it though. I've been practicing pharmacy for ten years now. It's not ecstasy. What career is? Is anyone really happy? It seems that most people force themselves into happiness with the constant inner mantra of Well-things-could-be-so-much-worse-so-I-should-be-thankful.

I don't do the inner comparison mantra because I am concerned with the ways things are now...not some catastrophic what-might-have-been scenario that my mind produces to provoke gratitude. I am not convinced that it is possible to be happy when the majority of your time is merely career. Content or placated, maybe. But...happy? An illusion at best.

So I Was Watching the Super Bowl...

...cheering for the Giants...saying things like, "Go, Eli!" and I couldn't help but notice that Tom Brady is totally beautiful.

Just sayin'.

Happy Friday

My head was spinning a bit this week. It has been my first week back to work since my ankle surgery. I was honestly afraid that I might have forgotten something major...you know, like the entire computer system. Thankfully, it's been a good week, although tiring. It's just as weird to go from active life to having to lay around as it is to make the transition in reverse.

Speaking of weird...have you seen the news story about Ellen DeGeneres and JC Penney? Apparently she is a new spokesperson for the company (and a former sales associate too - ha!), but an organization called One Million Moms is protesting the company's decision because Ellen is a lesbian. Sigh...yes, you read that correctly. I think the huge success of Ellen's show is not only a testament to her comic talent, but it is validation that there are tens of millions of moms who like Ellen. JC Penney made a nice business decision here, and One Million Moms just heaped on a little extra publicity for free. Heaven help me...I hope OMM is does not claim to be a Christian organization. I assure you that we all don't want to be lumped in with the Some-Discrimination-Is-OK rhetoric.

In other news...it has been a nice week for my mailbox. I would like say that I read long intellectual treatises, but the truth is that after wrestling with remembering the computer system at work and rolling my eyes at the news, all I want to do is read magazines. This week I received Everyday with Rachael Ray, Sports Illustrated, and (squeal!) Elle Decor. It's pretty, it's colorful, it's relaxing...it's inspiring. Perfect lunchtime literature for Friday at work. I hope you all have a fabulous day!