One massage later..

It's been a long week.

So I decided to visit my favorite Holistic Place and let the little Chinese Acupressure people do their thing. After taking a beating... my body did something weird. Like.. I don't know how to say this.. but it made me sick to my stomach.

But I think it was a good thing.

For me, it's as if I was holding toxins in - and my body just flushed them out. Then I felt super dehydrated. So right now I am just guzzling tons of water.

I did feel loose.. now I feel tight again. I think it is just my body trying it's best to fight the relaxation. However, I have to tell you - the whole purging thing (physically) was interesting. My massage therapist said, "You are too tense."

Remember, only 2 weeks ago I had a massage. And just last night I took a muscle relaxer.

WTH?

Our bodies are super freaking smart. If we would only listen to them - they speak loud and clear.

I hear you...

I hear you.

Happiness Project - Writing

I am doing another update on my Happiness Project.
Sooo.. I know I started out trying to do one resolution a week, which the book does not recommend. The author states you should work on one a month. THAT is as far as I have gotten.

First of all, I am working on having more energy. Ironically, I have been sleeping non stop. I think it is a way my body is decompressing. I am going to bed earlier, I am getting more exercise, I am decluttering, I am trying to spend a little time outside. (Not too much time - the daily temp is in the upper 90s with a heat index over 100 and humidity that will take your breath away.)

I mentioned that one of the "joys" in my life is writing.

I have tried to get more involved with my writer's group. I have been asking more people for suggestions for stories.

That's where I am turning to you.

I need topics.

Please. Anything and everything - nothing is off limits. I appreciate the little "survey" things you guys send from time to time, but I need actual story topics. Please send them - either in the comment section or to my email. I believe there is a link to "contact me" on this blog somewhere.

I am also picking up some books on creative writing. I want to see if there are any exercises I could learn from.

It's Thursday! In just a few days I head home.. my blogging may be more sporadic for about 10 days.. or it will be spot on. Who knows, my calendar is filling up quick with visits with old friends!!

Have a wonderful Thursday guys. Besides my being excessively tired and not feeling 100% - this has been a fairly good week (outside of Monday.)

Until next time..

Update

Between nap - muscle relaxer and a few "stress relieving" conversations..

I think I am going to live to see another day.

LOL

Disregard last post. ;-)

What's going on?

I get a little concerned when I sleep too much. I know that may seem like an odd thing to say, but anytime I "over" sleep, eventually I end up really, really sick. Like meningitis sick.

I happen to have suffered with at least 3 bouts of this viral infection. Apparently, like mono, if under large amounts of stress or anything else that can lower the immune system, it can "reappear."  My doctor and I discussed it, and apparently, since I had chicken pox at an older age. That virus is also a trigger for allowing  my immune system to accept the meningitis. Since I am not a doctor, it's hard to explain. Apparently, we all come into contact with these germs/viruses/bacteria etc, every day. However our immune system can fight it off.. apparently mine cannot.

Each time I have ended up with this (and a stint in the hospital,) it always starts off the same: muscle tightness in my back and neck that will not break, headaches that start off as if they were sinus headaches, then dizziness, followed by a few days where I want to do nothing but sleep.

I just woke up from a 4 hour nap. I went to bed last night at 8:30pm.

I never nap. I never go to bed early.

I was sooo tense today, I finally popped a mild muscle relaxer a little while ago. I left a tv station today and almost lost my balance from dizziness. My head has a dull ache. I feel like crap.

Maybe it's just stress, but man - does this all feel familiar.

Maybe my body is fighting something off.

Whatever it is, vacation needs to get here and quick. Sounds like I need some time off.

Here it is 10pmish, and just woke up.. and I could easily head right back to sleep.
*yawn*

Just to educate you on what I am dealing with:
Source - Meningitus Foundation of America -

Recurrent
Mollaret's Meningitis
Mollaret described a syndrome, rather than a disease, of benign recurrent meningitis with characteristic spinal fluid picture in 1944. In 1962, Byrum proposed the clinical diagnostic criteria of:
Recurrent episodes of severe headache, meningismus, and fever

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis with large "endothelial" cells, neutrophils, and lymphocytes

Attacks separated by symptom-free periods of weeks to months

Spontaneous remission of symptoms and signs

No causative etiologic agent detected
Then in 1979, Goldi observed that Mollaret's meningitis could occur without fever, have symptom-free periods from days to years, increased CSF gamma globulin, and transient neurologic signs and symptoms.
Information
General:
Mollaret's meningitis is characterized by repeated episodes of fever (up to 104 degrees F), meningismus, and severe headache separated by symptom-free intervals. It's a rare, poorly understood disorder, whose cause remains obscure and its diagnosis by exclusion. Even though Mollaret's meningitis doesn't pose a threat to patients, its early recognition may prevent the repeated extensive diagnostic investigations.
Long-term transient neurologic abnormalities such as seizures, diplopia, pathologic reflexes, cranial nerve paresis, hallucinations, and comas occur in over 50% of cases.

The most difficult to differentiate from Mollaret's meningitis is the aseptic recurrent meningitis caused by epidermoid tumors. The cyst ruptures and the contents, which become hard to find, contain cell debris and ghost cells identical to those seen in the CSF of patients with Mollaret's meningitis. Associated viral infection is often suspected but seldom confirmed. Viruses that have been associated with Mollaret's meningitis include Epstein-Barr virus (something that people who have experienced mono typically had as a child, and did not know it,) Coxsackie viruses B5 and B2 (typical virus in the digestive system in children,) echoviruses 9 and 7 (another gastro-instestinal virus children can pick up and is common,) and herpes simplex viruses (types 1 & 2, plus, the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles.) 

Symptoms:




Irritability

Fever (below normal)

Headache

Stiff neck

Muscle aches

Fatigue

Individual attacks are sudden with symptoms reaching maximum intensity within a few hours. They persist for a few days, but can be present for 3 weeks. Symptoms can reoccur for years then disappear as quickly as they arrive.

What is meningitus? Meningitis is an infection of the fluid of a person's spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. People sometimes refer to it as spinal meningitis. Meningitis is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Knowing whether meningitis is caused by a virus or bacterium is important because the severity of illness and the treatment differ. Viral meningitis is generally less severe and resolves without specific treatment, while bacterial meningitis can be quite severe and may result in brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability. For bacterial meningitis, it is also important to know which type of bacteria is causing the meningitis because antibiotics can prevent some types from spreading and infecting other people. Before the 1990s, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, but new vaccines being given to all children as part of their routine immunizations have reduced the occurrence of invasive disease due to H. influenzae. Today, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis are the leading causes of bacterial meningitis.


At the end of the day - don't worry. I am not self-diagnosing, I am just being self-aware. When the constant sleep reappears, and some of the other symptoms, I know I need to take it easy.

Again - stress, according to the Infectious Disease team at UAB - is a trigger for this.

Luckily - vacation is a just a few days away. I am just trying to be calm until then.

PS - The past two days have been lovely, then again - in the evening, I slept through most of it!

Sleepy Head

I'm a sleepy head.

Sorry for the "missing in action."

I did not sleep well on Monday night. Random reasons.. and I wake up early (early for me) to take the egyptian to work, then get myself to work. Needless to say, rushing in the morning, and only getting 1/2 a cup of coffee can take a toll on you.

My manager was in town to do media visits with me. We stopped by one of my radio sponsors yesterday and had a really nice, long chat. My connection there was truly complimentary and that was nice to hear. Again, like I said before, it's all about relationships. Later, we stopped by a potential TV sponsor and all signs point to yes, and then wrapped it up with a lovely meeting at one of my newspaper sponsors.

All in all - it was a good day. (Oh, I forgot to mention - she and I went to FLIP again. I am in love with the burgers there.) Not the most heart healthy, but it was my one meal for the day!

Last night, I got home and finished a movie I had tried to watch on Monday night. It was called, "Beyond the Dark" ` sort of almost a B film.. and well.. weird. That's all I can say about that.

I ended up crashing around 8:30 - did you read that - 8:30PM. It was glorious. Then I got up around 12:30am sooo thirsty, took care of that and crashed again. I had the most bizarre dreams. I only remember glimpses of them now..... just weird.

Today is another super packed day - three meetings: Cable sponsor, TV sponsor and another Radio sponsor. It's all good.

After I finish up with the radio sponsor, I am going to stop by and see a friend who has been sick recently. Maybe having a little girl time will be good for me.

As for my vacation next week, I think, my plans have changed. I believe I am just going to go home for the week. The driving back and forth is not good, and truly, the egyptian and I need a little vacation from each other. I believe it's good to spend time apart, helps make you appreciate one another more. Plus. I want to hang out with my friends, just me - and not have someone over my shoulder freaking out if I buy something, or say something.. or whatever.

Okay.. time to finish up this up of coffee. This is the most random "catch up" post. I promise to be more theme oriented once I catch up on all of my sleep.

I consider these morning ramblings my 10 minute morning pages. Someone told me years ago, the first thing you should do in the morning is just brain dump for 10 minutes.

That my friends is what I just did.

Forgive me - going to hit publish without spell check. My apologies - coffee is calling.

Musical Theater

I am sure I mentioned I was a theater kid.. right?

Yeah, I was. But not until the 5th grade. Prior to that fateful year, I was strictly a little dancer. And a damn good one, might I add.

By the 5th grade my mom FORCED me to audition for the Red Shoes, luckily it required acting and dancing - so you had to do both in the audition. And yes, I got cast as one of the dancers. BUT - the good news is, I actually read lines.

I was terrified.

That summer I went to theater camp.

Everything changed. I want to say, that theater camp, that I spent almost my entire summer in, is what made me the loud mouth I am today, I have several people I could thank - Sylvia Haynie, John Jones, and Melissa Turnage. Sylvia taught me how to incorporate dancing and singing and acting all into one. John taught me how to do improvisation and really pulled me out of my shell. Melissa made me into an incredible dancer that summer. All through a little group that Danial Skylar created called, "The Community Children's Theater of Macon." You would be amazed at the those of us who came out of that group. Ever heard of Carrie Preston? Ever watch True Blood? (And a handful of other movies..) Yep, that's her. Several of the other kids are off in LA doing theater, acting in bit parts in movies and tv shows. Another set ended up in NYC, performing on stage.. while others went on to become Theater teacher.. and then some, like myself, went on into TV.. only to come out the other end (corporate side.)

But don't worry.. we all got a lot out of those summers. Every year, through high school, I auditioned for every thing I possibly could. I got a wide range of parts, eventually landing in the female comedic roles.

Here I am now, very much comfortable on a stage, publicly speaking.. and very much comfortable dancing.

As I was listening to some old songs, I remember the days of listening to my mom's Broadway musical records, and always, always, ALWAYS choreography songs/dances.. etc. My sister and I had this huge walk in closet, and I would make my mom and dad come in and watch yet ANOTHER performance.

You can only imagine how much fun I had as a radio DJ in college. Or how excited I was in my TV production classes as we created a "news" show. Then only to go off and actually work in that field. I guess it was the nerd in me, and the practical side. News/culture/politics always made my heart skip a beat - why not combine the two - performance/story telling with worldly facts?

But there will always be soft spot in my heart for musical theater. Here are just a few songs that I used to "perform" to at home with my little sister. I think she, more than anyone, will understand this post. ;-)





















Oh.. I could go on all night.. ;-)

Reaching for the Positive

I am trying. Trying to reach for the positive.

In the spirit of a gratitude journal.. I am going to dig deep to list out 5 things I am thankful for today.

I am only going to reach for 5.

1. I had a wonderful vanilla latte this morning.

2. I got through two fairly tough meetings, with the greatest of ease.

3. I finished all of my major projects.

4. I ate a strawberry cupcake with cream cheese icing.

5. I don't bruise easily.

Have a great night.

An Army of Angels

"Angels descending, bring from above,
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love."
~Fanny J. Crosby

I decided I might as well call in the big boys.

In this pursuit for happiness, I know there will be weeks that are a little more tough than others.

This, my friends, is the week.

Why not get a little metaphysical? Spiritual? Use those praying skills I have been sharpening all of these years.

Breathe. Focus. Pray.

That, I can do. That I can control.

Now - time to go face this week with my army of angels by my side. :-)

Southern Summers

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world." ~Ada Louise Huxtable

Okay, I am finally starting to truly get into the summer spirit. Please excuse the previous posts - it was post argument, and the only way I can purge is by writing. The only difference with my journaling experience, is that maybe a couple hundred (or more - take a look at that ticker to the left - WOW!) may be reading this dribble.

Truth is - the pressure is up up up - and vacation is JUST around the corner. I am taking a week off, and I am thrilled to spend 1/2 with my niece and the other 1/2 with the rest of my family and friends. Perfect little break for someone who does not get enough time with the people she loves.

Summertime in the south is really quite a treat. For one, it's humid as a sauna. How is that fun? Well.. makes coming inside to the cool a/c and a nice big glass of iced tea even better. The weather is typically SUPER sunny, outside of a few powerful thunder storms. Fresh cut grass, GREEN every where, crickets at night as well as all of the lightening bugs (or fire flies as some like to call them.) How about the heat - lightening? I don't know if it's the scientific term, but down here there is always tons of lightening in the sky at night.. nothing to worry about. It only happens on those super hot nights.

There are also so many songs that remind me of the good times down here. You know I love music, and I certainly love that I can share sooo many of the songs that I love so quickly by typing in a random word on You Tube.

I have a playlist on my Ipod called Southern Summers. I used to play it while at the beach, or if I am at the pool, it is what I listen to. I picked out a few songs that 1. Epitomize Southern Summers 2. Make me think back to a special time...

Listen to the lyrics.. get past the music (if it is not your style) - it's just cultural.. a southern culture thing. ;-)


This song reminds me of summer vacations to the beach. My favorite "southern" beachside bars are AJ's in Destin and the FloraBama in Orange Beach, Alabama.


This next song reminds me of growing up in the south - as a teenager. Just something about it.. the lyrics.. etc.


I know he is singing (technically) about Michigan.. but it could easily be anywhere around here.. the song makes me laugh, because I was around the same age in 89. LOL Instead of lakes.. we actually have ocean. :-)


Summer Nights.. and young love.. :-)


A little southern beach song..


Isn't this the truth? Come down here.. things are just a little different..


This song just reminds me of the beach.. and vacation time.. warm summer breezes..


Another good one.. Very southern summer..


Another great one!




Finally - how perfect is this? LOL

Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake

When I am bored, I discovered a pattern I have. I bake.

Last night, around 10pmish, the egyptian went out with friends, and I was sitting at home - alone on a Saturday night. Now, the way I set that sentence up, you would think I was not happy about it. Au contraire, I do enjoy time alone- especially when he and I were locked up in the house together most of the day. The only time I left was to go to Zumba.

Last night, after picking a few random songs to download from iTunes, I made strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing. For no reason other than, because I could.

Weird.

It did have a calming effect on me. This whole baking/cooking thing. That's what I have discovered. It not so much that I actually want to eat what I have prepared, I just enjoy preparing it. Does that make sense?

Dare I say it? It made me HAPPY.

Speaking of happy, my dear pregnant friend that many of you have seen in pictures had her baby last night! FINALLY! 6 pounds, 4 ounces, little Miss Veda Jane Rowe made her appearance into the world. I got permission to share some of the photos Laura has posted on her blog. (Which I want you guys to see.) She is VERY creative, and totally created most of the items in her nursery.

It's been fun for me to watch the process of V.J. making it into the world. I still remember Laura coming into my office, with tears in her eyes, telling me she was pregnant. She and Eddie (her husband) were thrilled, but like all new moms-to-be, she was both excited and scared about the future. See, her husband has one more year of law school.. so the timing was a tad bit off for them, but they were excited all the same. We sort of laughed about it, she wants 5 or 6 kids - so she might as well get started now!

First of all - here is my favorite little couple - Laura & Eddie.

This was their guest room

One side of the guest room - is now the NURSERY. You have to go to Laura's blog - she did most of these details herself. She makes/sews/pastes.. you name it. Visit her DIY blog - HERE. PS - These are all of her photos.. she is ALSO a photographer.

She made ALL OF THIS. Blows my mind.

I mean - she even used a magazine rack to store the diapers. Who thinks of these things???

And now.. without further ado.. this little one we have all been waiting for:

This was taken by Eddie - and he sent it via text message, right after Veda Jane was born.

Welcome to the world little Veda Jane.

Congrats to my dear friend Laura, and her husband Eddie.

May God Bless them.

Now... I think I know who I can take those cupcakes to!!

Random videos

I was going through my You Tube channel. Trust me, there is nothing earth shattering on there - but there are little hints of my life.

I got to thinking about how people percieve me. You get a chance to read my inner-most thoughts. You, my dear reader, know my mind.

But what about my actions? Do they contradict? I am not sure.

I am posting a few random videos of mine from You Tube. Each one is merely a few seconds long. Just click play and check them out. Then tell me - am I so different from my writing?

Also - it's fun to see the past. If nothing else, my closest friends will enjoy seeing these videos again. :-)


Ooooh.... this is my cat, Lestat the Vampire Cat. He was my baby. The egyptian made me get rid of him. This video was taken before the egyptian moved to America. Don't worry - Lestat lives with my family and is now the most spoiled pet of Autumn.



A little fun after work. Happy hour with friends in Bham at a local pub.


Here is a little night out with my old room mate and one of my closest friend's - Keli...


Hanging out in downtown Birmingham


Hanging out with friends at a picnic



Early in the evening at my wedding reception.
You will see my adorable niece..


Got to love this one.. the egyptians at our wedding reception start having fun!


My husband actually dancing!


Funtime at the beach


A little vacation video


This video was taken just a few months before the big gulf oil spill.


Hanging out in the Lakeview District, downtown Bham


Friends at Christmas..


Another quick hotel - vacation video


A little of what I do for work..


Watching my friend/instructor - Irene performing Flamenco. Not sure if you knew, I took lessons for about 6 months.


Me at a local bar!


St Patty's Day fun in Bham


An Autumn afternoon with friends..


Walking through an art gallery, we came upon a piano..


Me attacking my niece..


Birmingham and my family


I do love a good fashion show..


What I do on Saturdays & Wednesday!!


Rare moments in the south..


My friend, and local meteorologist - Kalee getting into the spirit..


Another shot of what I arrange - work wise..
(You see my friend Cristina/Zumba instructor)



Friends at my birthday party.. lol







Business trip - alone at dinner


My oldest video - my trip to Egypt




Looking back - 2009




This one is a little long -

Decisions

Decisions become easier when your will to please God outweighs your will to please the world. ~Anso Coetzer


If only it were that simple.
 
:-)
 
I have wonderful news. I actually identified one week that I did not have one single meeting on the books! It's a miracle - the week of July 4th. I decided to take that week off for vacation.
 
My original plan was to go home for the week. Then Mr. Sour Puss himself said to me, "How will I get to work?"
 
Thus my need for vacation.
 
You would not know this, but I used to travel all the time. I went on little weekend trips with "the girls" and had a blast. Since I have married the egyptian, a man who makes people who are frugal look like shop-a-holics, we don't go anywhere. And when we do - he complains about how much money we are spending.
 
He says to me, "Why don't you just stay here. We can do stuff here. Maybe go to the movies or something like that."
 
Right. Translation - I wake up early drive him to work. Come home. Clean. Go back to pick him up. He gets on the computer and chats with friends and family back home. Then he announces we are going to a movie. A movie of his choice.
 
Does not sound like a vacation to me. It sounds like every day. Plus - he never lets me pick the movie. I swear.
 
I told my friends back home, that I was going to come home for a week. I am from middle Georgia, about an hour or so south of Atlanta in a city called Macon. It is about a 4 hour drive from Birmingham. Not too bad, but long enough that you want to take your time.
 
Then I began to feel guilty.
 
But why? It's not as if he said, 'No don't go. I will miss you.' More like - 'What about me?'
 
I asked him to request the time off, he does not even want to try.
 
Sooo.. even though I deserve to go home and just get away from the BS, I have decided to compromise. I think I am going to drive home on the 1st or 2nd of July. Spend one night with family (not see any friends) - then grab my 5 year old niece and drive back to Bham on Saturday or Sunday.
 
I believe I will keep her with me through at least Thursday. I think it would be a kick to spend time alone with her - which by the way - I have NEVER done this. She is finally at that fun age, and there is no changing of the diaper! lol  I found 3 places I would loooooove to take her.
 
One place was IJump. Man this sounds like a kid's dream place.  For about $5 your kid gets 2 hours of indoor inflatable fun. There is even a rock wall and some go carts. but I figure, at her age - the running around and playing on all of those inflatables in the a/c is perfect! How much fun would that be? There apparently is an adult cafe I could wait in, but knowing me - I will be taking 5 million pics of her just going crazy. Maybe I should give her an ice cream before we go.You know - sugar her up and let her just use up all of that energy, then we come home and crash! LOL
 
Then I thought one of the days we could go to the Birmingham Zoo. Since it is so hot these days, we would need to start early. Plus, I could take her to the Sea Lion show, let her run through the Kangaroo park, ride a camel, take the train, ride a carousel, we could spend almost an entire day there! If I am strategic enough, I could map out when all of the various animals feedings are and we can watch! I am not sure if she has ever been to a zoo. This would certainly be a treat. Plus, I just love animals, about as much as she does. We could have a blast!
 
Finally, I want to take her to Alabama Adventures. Two great parks in one - an amusement park and water park.  I called home to figure out this inches thing, to see if it would even be worth it to us. Apparently she is right under 4 feet tall. (Is that tall for a 5 year old?) I was thinking, I am only 5'1 she is going to be TALL.
 
After a few days in Bham, visiting these places - maybe spending our afternoons at my pool, going to see some kid flick (yuck.. but it will be worth it to see her happy,) making home made pizzas and snow cones... then I would drive back to Macon. Spend a couple of nights there and see all of my friends and enjoy time with family.
 
Is it crazy? Is it tiring? Would it feel like vacation? Oh I don't know... but I would be with people I love. I would have the time to spend with my niece, and I could still make sure the egyptian got to work. THEN - I would still get to see friends in Macon.
 
Compromise. I think it's a good thing. Plus, I think we all win in the end.
 
Any suggestions for spending time with a 5 year old?

Preference

Earlier this week, my co-workers/friends - Laura and Jamie, were discussing the products we use on our hair or face. It started out with Jamie noticing that my hair smelled nice in a meeting. We sort of laughed about it, and I shared with her what it was.

Then as we moved to Laura's office, we began discussing how we took care of our skin, or what we used for make up.

That sort of inspired this blog post.

I thought I would share with you the actual products I use on a daily basis. The ones I TRULY love. The ones I would truly endorse - right here and now.
Let's start with when I first wake up. What do I use? Well.. here you go:

This is the exact tooth brush I use. I purchased mine through my dentist - and it was a little over $100. My dentist highly recommends this set. So far, so good!

This is the very tooth paste I use! I LOVE it.

Next it's shower time:

I am in love with this razor/trimmer combo. I want to say it costs around $12 and I got it at Walgreen's.

This what I use to wash my face. The bar lasts FOREVER, and costs only around $4. It is the only thing that keeps my skin from breaking out, yet also moisturizes.

I use it twice a day.

The best shampoo in the world - the Rosemary Mint from Aveda. My hair smells AWESOME! And it gives me lots of volume. I wash my hair every other day.

My body soap. My husband and I both use it, and it's "Fair Trade." It smells great on my skin. I buy it at Sojourn's Fair Trade for about $5. Lasts about 1 month.

I exfoliate once a day - in the morning. This is what I use and I TOTALLY believe in it.

Conditioner that totally rocks. I have dry hair - so it adds just the right amount of moisture I need.

After the shower - I do a few things:

I will admit it - I have dry heels. This is a miracle worker for me.

I usually on do this on Saturdays. But I love my little cucumber pads. It just feels good. I don't have puffy eyes, but.. then again.. I use these once a week. Coincidence? I think not.

This is the body lotion I use. I use it day and night. It's Shea and Cocoa Butter. It smells sooo clean and is light. I love it. It's simple - and cheap, and one bottle lasts at least 4 months.

Once a week - I apply my little green mask. It makes my skin feel tight and glow a little. I can always tell in pics, if I used this that day. 100% believe in this product. I am not going to tell you how much it costs. Just know, it's worth it - and one jar will last about 6 months.

I carry this in my purse, and I try to use this a few times a day. I hate when your cuticles are hard.. this helps.

While my hair is damp - I use the Moroccan Oil on my scalp - then extend it to the tips. It smells sooo good, and after I blow dry my hair, it is sooo soft and shiny.

My FAVORITE hand cream. Best of the best.

I always put this on right before I do my makeup. It's a tinted moisturizer with a decent spf. I am  a BIG believer in wearing lots of sunscreen - daily.

This is the night cream I put on each night.

I put eye cream on morning and night. I LOVE All About Eyes.

After I finish my shower, this is my basic day time moisturizer. Yes, I add the Aveeno Tinted moisturizer also. The key is cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize and wear sun screen!

Next - I add my concealer. BIG believer in concealer. I like the line smoothing by Clinique in Light

Next- I use Clinique's Superbalanced foundation. I have NEVER found anything else that I like. It get it in Light.

I use Glow powder. It's AWESOME. It makes your skin look luminous!

I actually apply just a light brush of bronzer by Clinique in the color "Sun kissed." Not to look tan, just to not look dead.

This one is for Jamie and Laura - this is the stuff I was talking about. Want to know the trick to NOT creasing your eye shadow and actually getting it to stay on all day - this is it. I have it in neutral, pink sheen, and gold glimmer. I always use it as a foundation for my eye.

The base color I use for eye shadow (if I am not using a fun color) - I wear Lucky Penny by Clinique. That's the color.

Black liquid eye liner from Chanel is my favorite. I wear it more often than not. It's a basic choice. I carry a pencil called Black Diamond by Clinique in my purse.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this mascara.

I wear this color - Sunset by Clinique for blush. Hasn't changed in 5 years.

I apply Red Dahlia chapstick by Burts Bees as a base for my lips.

My favorite "Perfect Red" lipstick is by Chanel

I usually dab a little Blue Oil Balancing concentrate in the middle of my scalp and right at the back of my neck. It keep me cool for hours. And.. um.. the older I get... the more I need to feel "cool." Yeah... I get a little "warm" from time to time. ;-)

One of my signature scents

I have been wearing this one the past 2 weeks...

My all time fave perfume.

My hair spray I use

My fave nail polish color.

Now - what about you??? Got some faves? Want to try some of my products.

I am A STICKLER for stuff that works.