A Most Frivolous Post (about makeup)

A few weeks ago I spent all of five minutes shopping at the mall. If you remember, I was there with Jonathan who (desperately) needed some clothes. Because he absolutely hates shopping, we made this agreement: it was to be a quick trip with no added stops.


Quick for him meant selecting an assortment of tops AND  pair of shoes in under five minutes.


No added stops meant no Sephora for me.


I wrote about that little adventure in a blog post appropriately entitled: Five Minutes at the Mall.


I have since been back to the mall twice, both times with one son or the other, and both times no Sephora. Then, on Mother's Day Jonathan (who may or may not read my blog) (he just smiles when I ask him) gave me a gift certificate to ... SEPHORA!!!!


So last Friday, WITHOUT any member of the male species in accompaniment, I went to Sephora and came back with:

• Nars The Multiple Stick in Orgasm (sorry, I don't name them): This is an all-in-one, cream-to-powder, multipurpose makeup stick. I have been wanting to try this because I have two trips coming up this month, and the stick doubles as a blush, highlighter, eye shadow, and lipstick which means that's all the makeup I need to pack. Most of my gift certificate went toward this purchase.
• Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Volume Mascara: This was a freebie. I like the mascara but not the wand. But it's a good travel size, it's waterproof, so I'll use it until it runs out.
• It Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream™: I once received this as a freebie, fell in love with it, but when I went to purchase the full size I didn't feel like paying $50. But now I have another free sample and it will be perfect for traveling.
• Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Color Paint Shadow (in matte taupe): HOLY MOLY I love this eye shadow! Made in France, this is the description on the Sephora web site: A 24-hour wear cream shadow that delivers easy blendability and ultra-pigmented color. It also states that it is waterproof, smudge-proof, and crease-resistant ... all true, true, true! Which, let me tell you, is a blessing if you live in the south. And like the Nars Multiple, it's very versatile because you can use it alone, as a liner, or as a base for your favorite shadow.

So there you have it. I apologize for the frivolity of this post; really, there are much more pressing matters in the world which no amount of makeup will ever solve, but at least I can venture forth with a little je ne sais quoi.


maybe ;-)

 

Text Recipes

"Mom, this summer I want to learn to cook."


The words, spoken by our eldest son, were music to my ears. In a few weeks he will be off to Denver, CO for training and then Little Rock, AR where he will be living. He will be in a new place, working in a new environment, and while he can grill a burger and cook pasta he wanted more ideas in his arsenal.


Which is where I come in. But I know my son: the fewer the ingredients, all the better; the quicker the cooking time, all the better.


So enter the text recipes.


Here's how it works: When I get ready to teach him a new recipe (today it was grilled tilapia on steamed rice, served with seasoned tomatoes), I gather all the ingredients on the counter and take a photo. Then, after we are finished cooking I take another photo of the finished product and TEXT HIM BOTH PHOTOS for him to file away.


This way, he has a photo of all the ingredients. He has a photo of the end result. And without actually writing down a recipe he can figure out how to get from photo A to photo B.


He's a computer engineer. He can figure it out.




Weird Saturday

Today is weird.


There are roofers pounding on our roof; there are shingles flying everywhere.


Timothy is not here; he is spending the weekend on Kiawah Island with a friend.


It's noisy with the roofers; it's quiet without Timothy.


I just had a smoothie with cashew milk, blueberries, and Vega One protein powder. It was a funny purple-green color.


And now I'm going on a canal hike.

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker

Meet Benedetta from Fatto in Casa da Benedetta.


She has a Facebook page, a blog, an Instagram account, and a YouTube channel which I follow because she cooks delicious, authentic Italian food. She recently published her first cookbook which you can purchase on Amazon, but before you place an order please be aware that it is written in Italian.


Aside from her good food and the easy-to-follow recipes, I love to watch her because she personifies the Italian kitchen. Her door is always open, and very often children will come in during a video shoot  and she will stop what she's doing to give them something just hot out of the oven.


Then there is this photo which she recently posted on Instagram. She is standing next to bricklayers (a father and his two sons) who are working on a few small jobs around her house. She took this photo to express her thanks to them (and others like them) who work hard, and honestly, and help people's dreams become reality. And because it was lunchtime, Benedetta not only fixed them a huge pranzo, but she sat down and ate with them.

I love this. I love how she took the moment to highlight the importance of laborers and how she used food to show her appreciation. Really, I look at that photo and it makes me smile.


Then yesterday, a work crew arrived to replace our roof. It is backbreaking work pulling up old shingles, it's hot climbing on a black surface in the open sun, and it's very dangerous (we have 10-foot ceilings on both floors, and with a third floor attic our roof is high and very steep). And just like Benedetta, I wanted to feed them.


So now, as I am writing this post there is a small crew of roofers eating lunch in our backyard. We moved two tables under the trees and set out sub sandwiches, chips, fruit, iced tea and lemonade, and a few minutes ago Timothy carried out a tray of homemade chocolate chip cookies.


It takes all kinds of people to make this world go 'round. Not everyone can be a physicist, but not everyone can be a bricklayer, either. Every person is just as important as the next one and every person -- whether a doctor, Wal-Mart cashier,  teacher, sanitation worker, police officer, janitor -- deserves the same respect.


Providing subs and a shady place to eat is not much, but maybe it's enough for them to know that we care about the work they do.

Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty

Yesterday I wrote about our summer of college campus tours, all of which have been fun, informative, and have shown our son a future bright with opportunities. It was our way to showcase the great big world out there, and to have our son see himself as a vibrant part of it.

I realize this may sound idealistic, perhaps even naive, but knowing what is out there is a great place to start. It’s great to have choices (they are gifts!) but we also know choices eventually whittle down until, ultimately, decisions need to be made.  

This, then, is the nitty gritty part of life in which we ponder, weigh, compare, analyze, formulate, calculate, and question. So, while we want our son to reach for the stars, we also want to teach him the practical aspects on how to navigate in order to get there. And there are so many things to take into consideration.

First and foremost, finances. Our son has a good life. He lives in a nice house, he goes to a private school, he has traveled to Europe, and he has a loving, supportive family. But part of being a good steward of God’s gifts is not taking anything for granted, and my husband and I are not going to just hand him four years wrapped up with a nice, neat bow; rather, he is very involved in the financial aspects of his college education. He knows we will help (a lot), but he also knows that there is the entire family to consider and that he has another brother who is just behind him. He knows that he has to do his part.

Location is another consideration. How far away is too far away, and how close is too close? We laugh about this sometime, and on bad days Joe and I think, Alaska is good. We also have to consider that fact that Georgia offers the Hope Scholarship (tuition is mostly covered if a certain grade point average is maintained), and while this is a huge incentive for choosing to stay in-state, it’s just that, an incentive, and not a done deal.

Then there is gut instinct, that visceral reaction which should never be ignored.  There have been campus visits in which, right away, we just didn’t feel it. It wasn’t something specific, just a feeling. On the flip side, we knew we were on to something when we heard our son say, “I can see myself going here.”

Oh, there is more to decide and consider. We could go on and on about student loans, meal plans, early admission, study abroad possiblities … ay, ay, ay.

On our dining room table is a huge black box with hanging files containing scholarship information, application deadlines, essay prompts, and test scores. The nitty gritty in all its glory. We look at the box, and yes, each of those files is calling for a decision to be made, but here’s the thing: we don’t need to make all the decisions at once.

Know what, then see where.

Decide where, and then work on the how.

And through it all we pray, which helps the nitty gritty not seem so … nitty gritty.

What a Baby Brother Does at His Older Brother's Graduation

It's funny how you can look through photos and realize how people can experience the same event in totally different ways. Take, for example, Nicholas' graduation as seen through the eyes of Timothy.


Allow me to introduce Exhibits 1-4.


1- Plays his Nintendo DS while waiting for commencement ceremonies to begin.

2- Tries to pronounce the foreign names in the program.

3- Takes ONE photo with his shirt tucked in, untucks it for every photo thereafter.

4- Follows everyone blindly. Doesn't have a say-so in anything. He's basically ignored all day long.

Reading for Pleasure

I recently spent the afternoon packing Nicholas' books. Boxes and boxes of them. Here is a stack of books he read not because it was required reading in college, but simply because he had never read them before.  #lightreading