Not so desperate

Kenneth Gladney

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:04:00 +0000

What's with all the sudden searches about birthers and hitting my blog post on Ed Hale and the the suit over the birf certificate?

Hey, if your an ignorant wingnut, BITE ME. If you're just trying to get educated, then good for you.

I have lots to say on the stupidity of Tea Baggers disrupting the health care debate, but I have to go to bed, because I am too sad from seeing how this douchebag, faker Gladney decided to get a lawyer and cry how the "union thugs" beat him up. So now Fox News is giving him air time and manipulating the video.

I hate this. Our country is in sad shape. Please don't let them win.

I'll write more truths tomorrow. The more people who speak the truth, the more we silence the squeaky wheels.

Some fun stuff.

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:55:00 +0000

Others at the walk have much better video and pictures than I got. Here's a cute one:

Also, Men with Heart posted a wonderful slideshow. It's 8 minutes long, but really shows you the whole event start to finish.

Day 2: Spare the hose, douse the walker

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:20:00 +0000

"Sunshine On my shoulders Makes me happy"

…Provided I have adequate sunscreen on. (Read about Day 1 here)

Saturday morning, we were determined to get back to camp earlier than we did Friday. We set our alarm to be up at 5:30, for a 6:30 breakfast call, and to be on the course by 7:00. Of course, I slept like crap, snoozed for 15 minutes because Wendy was in the shower, and by the time we stopped at the medical tent, hit the porta-potty, and filled our water bottles, it was almost 7:30 AM. We were warned there was a big hill on the route today, between Pit Stops 1 & 2. They were offering to bus people who didn’t feel they could make it up to the top. It sounded very ominous. However, despite all the doom and gloom, we made it up no problem. There were several plateaus along the mile-long climb.

Shaws in Belmont had employees outside their store handing out water, iced tea, candy and gum to walkers as we passed. It was so nice!

The weather was much, much nicer. Although, the heat comes with its own challenges. Despite the constant reminders to drink, and guidelines on how much you should be drinking, people still end up with an IV and red-carded off to the E.R.. The mantra at each pit stop is “Eat, drink, pee!”.

One of the fun things about the 3 Day is that you get to be juvenile, and let the little things amuse and delight you. Like Smuckers Uncrustables PB&J sandwiches to eat at pit stops, Purple flavored Gatorade instead of icky Blue Frost, and getting stickers for your credentials. Men dressed as Cleopatra and angels telling you to keep going, singing “Sweaty women” to the tune of Roy Orbison. You smile and thank police officers, as random women ask to press the alert horn, or to be cuffed for a scavenger hunt picture.

We realized early on in the day (based on the route card they give us with mileage and where the pit stops are) that the last pit stop/cheering station was at a Friendly’s. We spent a good portion of that day’s walk with the image of an ice cream cone dangling on a stick in front of us as we walked. I wanted vanilla soft serve in a cone with sprinkles. They only had chocolate so I had to settle for regular ice cream but that was just fine. As we got to the last few miles of the day, we came across a family handing out Hoodsie and Sundae cups. Jen tried to protest saying, “Oh, no thank you, I just had ice cream.” But the dad said, “How can you turn down a Hoodsie from a kid?”

Dad for the win! We all took cups. I got a fudge sundae cup. What was even cooler? A group of kids with trash bags a block or so later.

We ended up back at camp at 6:30, which was no surprise given we had fallen further and further behind at each pit stop, and pretty much closed lunch. Oh well. It’s not a race. I still showered before eating dinner. With both ice creams I wasn’t hungry in the least, and had had enough fluid that I was fairly confident I wouldn’t pass out nekkid in the showers. The only reason to be back at camp sooner is that you can take advantage of some of the activities. I spent dinner listening to the “3 Day Rock Star” finals and icing my feet while I ate. Jen went to visit the remembrance tent, and Wendy was with her daughter who was part of the youth corps. I grabbed fresh ice, and went back to the tent to call Dave and the kids and go to sleep. It still ended up being near 10:00 before we were tucked in. I slept like a rock, despite a 1:30 AM need to pee.

Quote of the day: “It’s gonna take me days to remember to flush!”

P.S. if you click on the pictures they get bigger. :)

Next- Day 3: Walking on Sunshine

The Komen 2009 Breast Cancer 3 Day, Day 1: Raindrops keep falling on my head

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:03:00 +0000

"I'm a-walking in the rain
Tears are falling and I feel the pain…"

Walking in the rain is one thing. Walking in a monsoon is another. That’s what the weather was like last Friday morning as the sun rose over Farm Pond in Framingham, MA. We heard the meteorologists were calling it a nor’easter. Call it whatever you want, it was raining reeeeaaaally hard, and I along with 1500 women and men were about to walk 20 miles in it.

We made a sea of ponchos, cheering as we made our way out of the opening ceremonies and out onto Rt. 135. The ponchos keep you dry for the most part. However they don’t cover your sneakers. The problem with wet shoes in a situation like this is that moisture softens the skin of your feet. Moisture + friction = blisters. People were trying various unique ways of keeping their feet dry. There were inverted ziplocks taped to legs. Some used plastic grocery bags or baggies on the inside of their sneakers, and tied or banded around their ankles. Others planned ahead and bought those rubber foot condoms to put over their sneakers. Some abandoned sneakers altogether in favor of flip flops. That seemed risky to me. Plastic rubbing against wet skin, over, and over, and over with each step? Blister city of you ask me. Maybe if you had trail sandals like Teva or Reefs…

You wouldn’t believe what goes into caring for you feet for an event like this. Everyone kind of does something different. Key #1: change socks often, at least once if not twice a day. 2) Lubricate with Glide or Vasoline. 3) Add powder if necessary. The problem with last Friday was that you could change your socks as much as you wanted, if your sneakers were soaked, the socks would eventually get wet. Then there’s the type of sock; There’s the padding camp, vs. the lightweight, wicking camp. I went with padded socks and found out my feet were sweating too much. I ended up with heat rash, and some hot spots. A hot spot is when you notice a patch of skin getting red and warm from friction. You have to cover it to keep it from getting worse. I’ve been lucky enough to never have to deal with blisters on the walk. I’ve been militant about taking care of my feet. I think the majority of people who end up with debilitating blister problems actually haven’t been properly fitted for sneakers. You should actually be wearing them a ½ to a full size larger than your shoes. You should have plenty of toe room. Then you need to see what kind of support you need based on how your foot strikes the ground.

I did end up with a small blister on my big toe after the end of Day 2, but it didn’t cause me any grief.

I did find a walking partner: Wendy, who I met two years ago on a walk. She had no team this year, so she gladly joined mine. Together, we met Jen moments into the walk. She was walking alone, so we invited her to join us. I felt like I was paying it forward, as I had been adopted by Wendy and her friends when I was alone.

The rain was really awful, as was the wind. We hopped into the first D&D we saw because we needed the bathroom and knew the 1st pit stop would be crowded. Once the crowd starts to spread apart it gets a little easier. Reports had the rain stopping around 8:00 AM. I wasn’t holding my breath. It finally showed signs of slowing around 11:00. We passed a cheering station at the Star Market in Wellesley, and Wendy’s sister and kids were there handing out candy and cheering for us. Jus had hot chocolate! Mmmm.

Lunch wasn’t until like mile 12. It was after 1 o’clock by the time we got there. The rain had started again so they opened a gym at Lasell College in Newton. Got to take off the sneaks, stretch out, and use a real bathroom!! Whoot!

I tried putting pieces of plastic trash bags over my dry socks and under my sneakers. It made a lovely fashion statement. It lasted another 4 or 5 miles, then I ditched it. Too hot. I was steaming my feet.

The sun finally came out. Ponchos were tossed. The last mile to camp was up hill. I couldn’t believe we weren’t back at camp until 5:30. But the crew, Pink Angels, and Men With Heart were all there to cheer us on those last few yards.

Other highlights of Day 1:
The three somewhat-elderly men with pink pom-poms on their sneakers who kept appearing on the route to cheer. They gave us hugs toward the end on that last mile. They were there each day, in the morning and the evening.

Bertucci’s on Washington St, in Wellesley had staff outside with cups of ice water and fresh hot rolls for the walkers. It was a huge treat, as lunch was several miles and hours away!

Thank God for artificial turf. I can’t even imagine having to camp in the mud that would’ve existed on a normal athletic field.

Next: Day 2 “Sunshine on My Shoulders.

Breast Gal Walkin'

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:58:00 +0000

The 3 Day is here!

Tomorrow morning I will be at Farm Pond in Framingham at 6:30 AM with 2000 of my new closest friends. We will embark on our 60 mile journey over 3 days to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer. I plan to blog and Facebook along the way, so please check in. There are cheering stations along the route, and I have listed them here. If you are around Friday or Saturday please consider coming by to show your support. Bring a hat, water and maybe even a beach chair! Let me know if you think you will come and I can give you an idea when I might be passing through the area.

Send sunny thoughts. Rain rain go away!

Cheering Stations
Public cheering stations are a great way to show your support along the route to encourage walkers and let them know that you are with them every step of the way. Seeing familiar faces cheering them on can provide that extra burst of energy that gets them to take that next step or go the next mile. Create banners, hold up signs, bring some music and make some noise - anything to make them smile, get energized and keep walking.

Friday, July 24:

9:00 am - 11:30 am
Hunnewell Playground
Parking at Stars Market, 448 Washington Street
Wellesley MA 02482

11:15 am - 3:00 pm
Learning Prep School
1507 Washington Street
Newton, MA 02465

Saturday, July 25:

10:15 am - 3:30 pm
YMCA-Greater Boston Area: North Suburban Family Branch‎
175 Lexington Street
Woburn, MA 01801

10:45 am - 4:00 pm
Lexington Town Center
Green Area next by the Buckman Tavern
(Massachusetts Avenue between Hancock Street & Meriam Street)
Lexington, MA 02420

11:30 am - 5:45 pm
Friendly’s Restaurant
1111 Lexington Street
Waltham, MA 02452

Sunday, July 26:

8:15 am - 11:15 am
Cambridge City Hall
795 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

Cluck cluck

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:49:00 +0000

I'm going to New York this weekend. As in "the City". I say that because to many people, just saying New York could mean "Upstate", and "Upstate" is not "the City". Though I suppose technically, New York could mean Long Island, but anyone going to Long Island would be from Long Island, and call it Long Island. (Pronouced: lawngeyeland.) Because Long Island is also not the "City."

And all of this is just a mindless preamble to a post about my lil' sister. You see, she has decreed the next month shall be "All Amy, all the time". ;-). Sissy understands the above paragraph. Actually, I remember visiting her office once, and they had transcribed literal spellings of common Tri-State area phrases, like "fugeddabowdit". (n.b. That was from memory, and not necessarily an actually New Yorker's spelling.)

Amy does epitomize New York. I've now lived up here longer than I ever lived in NYC. I lost most of my accent. I lost my walk. I lost that NYC swagger and mojo. Although in all honesty, I'm not sure I ever had any. Not like my sisters did anyway. Biggest Sissy could sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. Lil' Sissy would make sure you were happy with your purchase on the way out, making sure to tell you "how great your outfit was, by the way, and where did you get it?"

We are going to get sangria and chicken this weekend, at Pio Pio. Did you know that "pio pio" is the sound a chicken makes in Spanish? Amy taught me this. Also, apparently, her oldest daughter---who is 3, thinks the name of the restaurant is actually "Pio Pio-Rice-&-Beans". (I guess it's good she doesn't think the name of the restaurant is "Pio Pio-mas-sangria-por-favor".)

So, over sangria and rice and beans, Amy will supply me with insanely amusing anecdotes for me to blog about. Though we also have to do the Celebrity Death Watch.

Mama say, mama sah, mama koo sah

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

It was a Princess Di moment. It was that big. He was that big. And unfortunately because of everything that happened in the last 15 years that impact somehow became diminished. After that point he went through life almost encouraging the farcical image the world has begun to have of him.

But I remember sitting on Terri's stoop in 1979, listening to my copy of "Off the Wall". I was a still a total disco babe then, listening to Disco 92 and Jay Thomas in the morning. I loved that album. I think I loved it more than Thriller. But now if you ask me, I think Thriller has more hits I like.

Sissy Amy called me last Thursday afternoon. I was running around like a nut, trying to get the kids the carnival and pack up my stuff to fund raise for the walk at the same time. I had just talked to her like an hour or two ago.

"Hey, what?" I asked, as I answered the phone.
"So, does Michael Jackson dying trump Farrah?"
"...WTF are you talking about??"

I put on CNN while she said TMZ was reporting he was dead, and with all the little shit reporters they have everywhere they were usually always right.

Bizarre. And surreal. Because it was the furthest thing from your mind. Not that I should really give a shit, because he was a musician far removed from my everyday life but still...

It was a Princess Di kind of moment. This icon of a generation---my generation. Michael Jackson--- who defined music videos; who was appointment television before there were DVR's. He was the man who pushed the envelope, who inspired fashion, not to mention countless performers to come after him. I listened to Justin Timberlake's "Future Love Sex Sounds" and said, "he's totally copying 80's Michael Jackson."

And while my kids seem to "get it", I can tell they don't. And that is when I realized. I am over forty years old, and I have over decades watched as "legends" of stage and screen died. I've watched retrospectives and said, "awe". Paul Newman, Bea Arthur, and countless others have had their obits published in recent years. But while I could appreciate their talents and impact on entertainment, I didn't live through their comet blaze across the sky. Those of us born after 1965 watched the taillights of the baby boomer generation's entertainers fade to black. But they didn't belong to us. MJ belonged to us. He was disco, pop, and MTV. He was an Elvis for the 80's. He is to my kids what Elvis was to me.

He's the first one we've lost. Him and Farrah- who launched a million young boy's fantasies. Who inspired a hairstyle decades before Jennifer Anniston. And not withstanding what happened in this man's troubled life, the impact he had on pop music and culture is immeasurable.

One TV analyst said, "But, could you really imaging Michael Jackson being 80 years old?" And no I couldn't. Not that that's any justification for a life shattered by drama, abuse, and most likely drug addiction. His soul at least is at rest. And God knows, he had a lot of it.

Interesting Tidbit of the day

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:48:00 +0000

Did you know the internets are not kosher?!!! It’s true. Your average, uber-orthodox, Jewish friends can’t surf the Web like you and I do, because while searching for a licensed plumber they might stumble across an ad for low mortgage rates with a woman dancing back and forth for no apparent reason, or pictures of T.V.s and other assorted instruments of pleasure not allowed in the orthodox universe. Que Horror!

That has all changed now, my friends, with the introduction of “Koogle”.

A play on words with the fabulous noodle dish and Google, the site “omits religiously objectionable material, such as most photographs of women which Orthodox rabbis view as immodest”. And of course, there is no posting or shopping on the Sabbath. Koogle won’t let you.

Damn. Now I want Kugel.

(Reuters)

Grub and booze

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:16:00 +0000

I’m trying to decide between cleaning the house, and walking 10 miles. I suppose I could clean the house first, then walk, but that’s only marginally less taxing on my body and psyche. I also need to come up with a design for my “team” tee shirts, and get in touch with Wendy, my lone teammate. Not too mention fund raise more. Crap it’s only 6 weeks to the event!

We went to a wine tasting last night to benefit the library. Maintaining the town library has always been important to me. It always seems to be the thing that has to take cuts, and has been asking for upgrades for ages and never gets approval. It was held at Oak Grove Farm, and pretty much everyone there was as old as the historic farm. After tasting six or eight wines, of which three were decent, we high-tailed it over to our favorite bistro for an little shot of ~~martini~~ vitality. And a lobster fig pizza. Seriously good stuff.

Here are some wine rec’s, some from last night, and a few that I’ve read about and had recently.

Crios Torrontes-2008 from Argentina, a nice rich white that would pair well with appetizers and a seafood dinner. $12

Pine and Post- a Washington state label- This is a bargain. It’s a $9 3 for $25 special that pretty good, especially for the party/BBQ season. Try the Chardonnay and Merlot.

Altovinum Evodia 2007: is 100% Spanish Garnacha grape, and for $12 another really nice drinkable red for steaks, burgers, etc.

Sleeping on the interstate

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Training for this walk is time consuming. Walking miles and miles can be very boring. You do some with friends, but even your closest, physically fit friends don’t want to go 8-10 miles with you.

Even with the music going, your mind has little to do but think about things. I spend many mornings pondering what I have to do once I get home and shower. I mentally tick off a grocery list. Then there is the introspection that comes with solitude, which isn’t always wanted. I get to obsess over how I’m ruining my kids lives, why aren’t you writing or blogging anymore, blah blah.

I have to try to plan my walks so every 3 or 4 miles I pass somewhere to pee, or buy more water if I am out. Usually I make Dunkin Donuts the last stop before home so I can grab an iced coffee for the last mile and a quarter.

One thing about walking around town is that you notice more things than you do driving. I’ve enjoyed people’s gardens and the seeing different variety of flowers. I’ve discovered houses I never new existed set way back off the road. Unfortunately I’ve seen more roadkill than one person needs to in a lifetime, a gross variety of flattened garden snakes, squished chipmunks, skunks in the middle of the road… I wonder who cleans that up? Or does it just sit there until the wildlife takes care of it?

Speaking of wildlife, our neighborhood has a coyote. Fun huh?

See this is why I’m not writing or blogging. This post is supremely boring. Bonus points for the song the post title comes from.

Man I suck

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Fri, 29 May 2009 23:55:00 +0000

So I get all apologetic about not posting, and then make this big deal about revamping the blog, and promising I'll post everyday.

Yeah right. I wouldn't believe me either anymore. The killer is, I waste more time bitch slapping stupid people who comment on news stories at Boston.com. Time and energy I could be writing those same thoughts here.

The thing is, the stupid people don't read them here. I don't have an audience. What's an attention whore to do?

Have faith in herself that's what!

I can write.
I write well.
I can get an audience.
I need to start writing again.
I should keep a journal.
Maybe that novel will eventually appear.

School is almost out. 'Tis both a curse and a blessing as many of you with school-age children know. The lack of alarm and the lure of the mattress. The lazy days, but alas, you also have to feed them lunch. But... we have a new pool going in. We have WiFi and laptops. Sweetness.

Now all I need is a pool boy... ;-)

Rocky Mountain High

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:10:00 +0000

First of all, no one warned me that when my $40 Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer traveled from Boston to 10,000 ft above sea level it was going to erupt like Mount St. Helens. There was no stopping it. It poured all over my hands, the counter, and the sink basin. Same for my travel night cream.

So, while my skin may not have been beautiful, (after burning even with SPF 55 on) the scenery was. I couldn't get over the moutains. White-peaked, and stone faced against the bluebird sky---they were breathtaking. I could've looked at them all day. But that would've made it hard to ski without crashing into something or someone. hee hee. I think one run from top to bottom was more than I ski in the morning at Sunday River! I did some steep bump runs and felt really good.

The snow was amazing. The first day we got there, there was about 4-5 fresh inches. It made it hard for the kids to practice their events, but me and my MissDemeanors loved it. With three kids compting in almost all the events they were elegible for, my skiing was pretty limited, but we grabbed some runs in when we could. I made it to the top of Copper, but never got down the back bowls. I took some tree runs with the Littlest One. Thought I was going to die, as usual. But I made it out unscathed and triumphant. Took a steep bump run off the rim with hubby---it was a blast!.

When we weren't skiing we were hanging out in Copper's Center Village, either listening to awards, (of which Maine grabbed several! More to come...) or drinking beers and margaritas. It was very cool than the kids all pretty much hung out with each other---either at someone's condo watching movies, or at the Woodward gymnastics center, and the grown-ups could socialize.

Tomorrow I will give a full wrap up of how the kids did, how The Maine Mountain Series did, and oodles of pics and video.

Off to Copper, CO!

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:21:00 +0000

I'm headed for a Rocky Mountain High folks. For those of you who don't know (as I have been shouting it to the roof tops) Dave and the kids are competing in the USASA National Championships in Snowboarding. The plane leaves this afternoon!

Send super good vibes for my East Coast competitors who tend to have the deck stacked against them vs. their western mountain counterparts who are on the snow many more months of the year and can train more. I will most certainly update the blog and Facebook with news, photos, and video!

xoxo
G.

Walking the Walk

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:31:00 +0000

I'm doing it again.

I didn't do it last year, and I regretted it. But life was really hectic with the move.

It is the Breast Cancer 3Day Walk to benefit the Susan G Komen for the Cure. This amazing event has over 1000 people, women and men walking 60 miles over three days. We live, camp and eat together. It is a blast-- well, as much as punishing your body like that can be...

As a woman at risk, with a daughter, this cause is important to me. I have added the donation "widget" to my side bar. Please click the link and donate if you can. Even better? Walk with me. This year, I finally did it and registered as "Team Tough Titties". LOL If I can do it, you can. The training can be time consuming, and the fund raising a little intimidating, but it's all worth it. I think there will be a team training blog too, that I will link here.

Cheers!

Obama, Leno, and Wingnut hypocrisy

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Ugh! Obama was NOT making fun of Special Olympians!!! The comment referred to the way Leno “patronizingly” praised Obama’s admittedly poor bowling score. Like you would reinforce the work of someone challenged.

People need to get real. You know, for years conservatives have been harping on liberals being the “PC” police, yet all this umbrage over this? Give me a big fat effing break. Score another #1 on the Hypocrite Hit Parade. I would wager more than half of the people getting all outraged over this haven’t even seen the interview, they are just hearing about it after it’s been distorted three ways from Sunday.

I hate hypocrites. It’s like the people who jump on the bandwagon to protest some purportedly “controversial” book or movie that they haven’t read or seen. People vehemently apposed to abortion but have no issue with capital punishment or how many soldiers and Iraqi people have been killed since the war started.

In other news I had a great shift at work last night. If you leave out the part where my car got towed. Who would think to look for a parking rules sign at a meter????

Probably my last weekend at Sunday River for the season. Ciao!

My Favorite Things

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:07:00 +0000

Look under your computers! Everyone reading gets their own goody bag!

Yeah ok, not. But I would if I could.

You've heard of "products queens"? I am a self-proclaimed "product whore." I could spend 4 hours in Sephora and rack up a bill to rival Imelda's shoe budget. And I've been meaning to share the love, at least in terms of reviews, even if I can't give you all a tube of Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment.

Some of this stuff is a little pricey, but people who tell you there's no difference between this and drug store brand? They're lying. Or they don't wear make-up or use moisturizer. And recession be damned, you should not be skimping on yourself in terms of looks. There's job interviewers to impress, or you know maybe in some cases Sugar-Daddys to seduce. So here are some of my favorite products and "must haves".

Pevonia Botanica is a line of spa products that I discovered getting facials at Bella Skin in Newton. (Love that place!) Like most skin care companies, they have various lines based on aging, acne, moisturizing based on need. The first thing of theirs I tried was their sunscreen. I was looking for something that was more than 15 and better for my aging, big pored, adult acne proned skin. I wear the Hydrating Sunscreen every day, unless it's pouring rain. It's not greasy, it acts as a daily moisturizer and gives me the SPF 30 I want. Then I took home a sample of the Hydrating Cleanser that the esthetician used for my facial. You really don't know the meaning of "soft, and no residue" until you use this and then go back to a drug store cleanser for a weekend because that's what you have up in the Maine vacation house. I was like, "ick" after using the "Oil of Olay" foaming daily cleanser. I have tried a dozen cleansers over my adult life and I have to say, I love this stuff. (I was about to type that I will never use another, but I realized I am lying...as evidenced further in the post.) Work a quarter sized amount onto dry skin with wet fingertips and rinse with a clean washcloth. Finally, Pevonia's Age-Defying Marine Collagen Cream is a joy to put on morning and night.

Another skin care line I really like is Philosophy. Their products smell amazing. Their best know item is probably "hope in a jar". It was a Sephora "Best of" winner last year. I tried this stuff. It's not for heavy moisturizing, or anti-aging, but it is really soothing to the skin. I love it when my skin is irritated from sun or wind. It's like a mousse that is instantly absorbed. The Purity made simple skin cleanser is a bargain, and also very gentile that leaves little residue.

One of my issues was I had a lot of sun damage and hyper pigmentation. I did some micro-derm abrasion to try to get rid of it. It didn't really get at too much. Before taking the next step to laser treatment, I took the advice of the esthetician and tried vitamin C. I was always skeptical about that, because I knew it was very unstable, and any product that claimed to have vitamin C to help your skin aging probably had very little by way of concentration to have any benefit. Well, Philosophy has this turbo booster C powder. You dissolve a scoopful in your favorite serum (such as Philosophy's "when hope is not enough firming and lifting serum") and you have a way to fade age spots, and lighten brown, blotchy skin. And it works! It took a few weeks, like 4 maybe, but I saw a difference in my skin. The next thing I buy from them is "eye believe" and "hope in a tube" eye and lip firming cream. I got a sample and it was really rich and soothing.

Ok. This post is way long now, and I know the average attention span has grown brief in this age. So...

To be continued...

The crazies

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:48:00 +0000

I know I said I was going to write about product rec's, but this caught my eye:

SURVIVAL SEEDS--Plant a full acre survival garden!

Now, this is my blog, so I get to comment however I want without the urge to be politically correct. It's the beauty of the internet. And God knows they do it enough, so...

These extreme Right wing, neocon, wignuts are flipping lunatics. Here are some choice excerpts from the website to illustrate my very judgmental opinion:
You don’t have to be an Old Testament prophet to see what’s going on all around us. A belligerent lower class demanding handouts. A rapidly diminishing middle class crippled by police state bureaucracy. An aloof, ruling elite that has introduced us to an emerging totalitarianism which seeks control over every aspect of our lives.

As the meltdown progresses, one of the first things to be affected will be our nation’s food supply. Expect soaring prices along with moderate to severe shortages by spring. If you don’t have the ability to grow your own food next year, your life may be in danger.

Could you and your family get off the grid and survive in a panic? Do you have enough seeds to plant a survival garden and feed your family? Do you have the right kind of seeds to plant? If you’re answering no to these questions, you need to stop wherever you are and ask yourself… “What would I do if the grocery stores closed?” The answer sadly is that you’d probably go hungry.

And so it goes. Are you envisioning the Branch Davidians hunkering down with stockpiles of ammo, guns, and 16 year-old girls to marry off to older cousins? W.T.F. There are unfortunately, way too many of these people for my comfort. I hope the ATF and DEA are keeping tabs on these people.

Comments

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:06:00 +0000

Are fixed for now. Not sure if more than two of you out there care. I guess the whole "embed at the bottom of the post doesn't work. Sorry J. Back to the pop-up window, since I hate navigating away from the page.

My word on just about everything

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:44:00 +0000

What else is a blog, right? So in order to get over my "blogger's block" I have re-vamped the layout (feedback solicited to the left). So here we go. Not So Desperate is back---bigger and better than ever. Some business on the agenda:

I backed up my old template, not understanding that the data in the little "page layout" widgets would not be saved. If you remember some links I had, and should have back, please remind me. If you want to be linked please tell me.

I want my readers back, and some. So please keep coming, tell your friends if you'd think they like the blog. I will be writing regularly again, and adding features.

Coming soon: The self-proclaimed product queen tells you some of my favorite items.

This place needs a makover

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:01:00 +0000

I just looked over Blogger's templates and they are the same sorry shit they had like 2 years ago. What's up with that?

I'll have to summon up some Google mojo. In the meantime, what's new? Anyone been laid off recently? Had your 401K plummet? Finished any knitting projects? I am being the queen of procrastination. Sort of. I have been keeping up with house and kid stuff, but today, when I have free, quiet time, I am like, I should write! I should blog! I should knit! So naturally I just started surfing the news and getting sucked into wignut vs. liberal political commentary. But I'm weaning myself off I swear. I can to blog instead. Well, I came to putz around with my design, unsuccessfully. So I decided to write a brief love note, to the six or so people who still drop by. I am gradually stepping back into the writing of commentary, rather than reading it.

Promise.

I know, I sound like an abusive boyfriend, all talk. But I will.

Sick, stink, stank.

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:51:00 +0000

I cleaned out the refrigerator this morning and I almost threw up in my mouth. That is the downside to buying fancy, expensive, tupperware---you can't just toss it out when the leftover Spaghetti-O's have three inches of black, furry growth on them. The Gladware from supermarket on the other hand, if I find it in the back of the fridge and have no idea when the last time I looked in it was, it's in the trash without even opening it fast than you can say, "penicillin"!

Ed Hale, Joseph Farah, and Berg vs. Obama; The Freaks and the future of Neo-Nazi America

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:24:00 +0000

Remember a few months (and 3 posts) back when I wrote about all these Freepers and freaks who had this venomous hatred for our now President-elect Barack Obama? These people are still out there. And some of them are obsessed with preventing Obama from being inaugurated on 1/20/09. Seriously, it's like their life's mission, and I cannot for the life of me fathom what drives someone to hate that much. To say things like, "He's not my president. He never will be. I will not obey any law he signs" or to spend your entire life to filing lawsuits to the Supreme Court begging them to listen to your nutty theories on how Obama was really born in Kenya and isn't omg-a-natural-born-citizen-and-we-are-shredding-the-CONSTITUTIONOFTHEUNITEDSTATES!!1!!!1!!!!!. WHY WONT HE SHOW HIS REAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE OMGOMGOMGOMG.

Well I can.~~(racism)~~ But you can't say such things or else people get thier backs up over it. Then they say things like, "I fighted for civil rights for those negroes I'm no racist." "He's a big fraud and Hillary should've been the nominee!"

I want to mention names only so maybe it'll come up on Google. Ed Hale is a freak who has been scamming people's money and claimed he had PROOF GOADAMMIT that Obama was born in Kenya. But apparently the big reveal was an epic fail. He also said he had a tape of Michelle Obama hating on America. He also claims he killed Bigfoot.

Joseph Farah runs World Net Daily. "an independent news company dedicated to uncompromising journalism, seeking truth and justice and revitalizing the role of the free press as a guardian of liberty. We remain faithful to the traditional and central role of a free press in a free society – as a light exposing wrongdoing, corruption and abuse of power." Translated: a bunch of racists Jesus freaks who whore themselves out for Ann Coulter and will pay FedEx to send your letter to the Supreme Court beseeching them them to stop NOBAMA from becoming President because it will throw the universe into chaos. And increase your taxes.

Philip J. Berg is another freak who is obsessed with proving that Obama is not NATURAL BORN GODDAMIT. Because Obama's father was British. And his mother was American. So you can't be both OBVIOUSLY. There's proof she didn't live in Hawaii long enough and beside she birfted baby Barry in Kenya anyway so he's not NATURAL BORN. Those Hawaiians aren't REAL AMERICANS anyway. Not like those red-blooded Texans or Oklahoman's right? POI isn't in the BIBLE. Anyway, Berg is honoring his brother who I gather must have hated Obama too, or must have been another REAL AMERICAN.

You know what I have to say to you freak???? GROW THE FUCK UP. YOU LOST. OBAMA WON. SUCK IT. TAKE OFF THE TIN FOIL HAT AND TAKE YOUR MEDS. And for the love of God and all things holy, stop sending my father all those propaganda emails!!!!

All caps is really obnoxious isn't it? That's how we feel when you do it. Especially when you throw in a few THANK THE LORDs and GOD BLESS AMERICAs too.

I laugh when you rant on about the "Main Stream Media" ignoring the story and us all following blindly like sheep. Oh the irony. Keep reading World Net Daily. How's that ~~manipulating~~working out for you?

You know why no one is reporting on this? Why no one will listen to you? Why the networks refused to air your stupid youtube spot? BECAUSE THERE IS NO STORY. THE SUPREME COURT SAYS TO LEAVE THEM THE FUCK ALONE!!!!

You can't even play Little League without a birth certificate. Never mind go to school, get a driver's license, get a PASSPORT, run for CONGRESS... how on Earth did this man exist for the last 30 years without a VALID BIRTH CERTIFICATE????? OH but the conspiracy started back then, in 1961. The "MSM"(Main Stream Media) was warned Obama was the MESSIAH. Coaches and schools turned a blind eye. The state department let him travel overseas. If he was born in Kenya and had some sooper sekrit sealed Kenyan birft certificate he would've needed a VISA to be in the USofA. THERE ISNT ONE! If he was born in Kenya, and Moma Obama filed in Hawaii the COLB(Certification of Live BIRTH) would have to say "Place of Birth, KENYA" IT SAYS HONA-FUCKING-LULU!!! Or the state of freaking Hawaii would be LYING!!!! Oh but they must be in on the whole conspiracy.

I seriously want to slap all of these people with a giant wet noodle, like Sister Barabara would.

I am not some "obamabot". But get serious in your concerns and criticisms people. If you want to be taken seriously.

Fine, I'm blogging ok????!!1!!1!

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:37:00 +0000

I have bloggers block, ok? It's like writer's block except that instead of being unable to come up with a plot, you feel intense pressure to write something funny and/or witty. It must be interesting enough to make people care to read. For a while I really had some great stuff. I had readership. Then... I dunno. My hits dropped. I felt self-conscious.

I need to get over it.

I need to just use this platform to write, bitch, inform, recommend... It may not be pretty. It may be grammatically incorrect. I will make every effort, but stream of consciousness is one of my favorite things.

Welcome to my head. mwahahahaha

I swear, while I agonized over what to post, the only thing I could come up with was, "Why do I feel I need to look away when my dog takes a shit?" It felt like something Jobee would say. I mean that in all sincerity because I worship the blog she types on. And right now she's in France so she won't see this.

So I will tell you a brief kid story. It was sometime this fall. I was driving my daughter to religious ed, and had NPR's All Things Considered on the radio. They were discussing some farmer somewhere that apparently had advertised to give away food off his fields to people if they brought containers and picked it themselves. We came in mid-report so I didn't get all the details. The gist of it all was they were overwhelmed by the number of people that came. R asked what they were talking about, likewise trying to follow the story in the middle of it.

"This man grew all these vegetable and then just let people come and pick them." I told her.

"Well that's stupid," was the response I got.

I confess I was a bit horrified at that attitude. "Well, times are hard. People need help and it's near Christmas and this man gave people food. I think that's a wonderful thing," I told her.

"Well, I would've at least done a 'buy 2 get 1 free' deal".

Watch out world. My daughter means business.

Tomorrow I will discuss freaks that still think Obama is some illegal-alien-Muslim-anti-Christ.

Rock the boat

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:07:00 +0000

I accidentally put eyeliner on my eyebrows this morning instead of the brow pencil. I was like, "whoa, why is that so dark?" Then I looked down at my hand when I went to put it back. I left it, and just went out looking like Joan Crawford for the day.

I was just going to the soccer field. It was one of those marathon days, with Biggest One being a referee at 10:30, Girlie's game at 11:45, and Littlest One's at 1:00. The athletes went 1-1.

So big changes in the world. I had hope for a while, but I still see so much bitterness around the Web, thinly guised xenophobia, that it makes me sad and mad.

I am hosting Thanksgiving. :) I have done Christmas for the past, oh like 7 or 8 years but this is the first time my NYC family is coming up to MA and letting me host them. So far I am trying to plan a yummy dinner with classic and updated sides, but not make myself nuts either. Once I have the whole menu down I'll post it. We went out and bought this cool soup tureen, because we want to have a soup course. Hubby has taken the reins of this. He will make the dinner rolls too.

My house is near silent. We just got back from Barnes and Nobel and everyone is reading. Can't beat that.

I promise to try to blog more. I swear. Tell all your friends to come back.

I have hope

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:44:00 +0000

Not Obama hope. Well I have that too, but after watching all this viral video of McCain rallies and thinking the country is going down the toilet in a civil war on Nov 5th, I hear a story that restores my faith in humanity.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa081026_mo_auctionangels.151177f7c.html

DALLAS - Two strangers were brought together by a leap of faith and one piece of property that was among 200 North Texas homes up for auction at the Dallas Convention Center.

While the misfortune of others lured hundreds of bargain hunters to the foreclosure auction, Tracy said she came to find closure. The mother took her seat among a sea of investors and strangers to say goodbye to her Pottsboro home, which is located just west of Denison.

"It means so much to all of us," she said of her home that she lost to foreclosure. "It's not just a house."

At the fast-paced and energetic event, Tracy's tears did not go unnoticed.

"She was crying and I asked her what she was upset about," said Marilyn Mock, of Rockwall.

When Tracy's home, "Number 73," came up for auction, Mock raised her hand and bid. With no picture of the property in the auction book, Mock had only Tracy's word on the home's worth.