There Are Really Some Very GOOD People In This World!

So I have spent all morning, literally since I opened my eyes, trying to deal with the HACKING of my personal email. My Guy and I were sitting at the kitchen counter having coffee when he informed me that my email had been hacked.  The Email that went out to my contacts read:

From: xxxxxxxx
Date: January 16, 2014 at 7:43:18 AM EST
To: xxxxxxxxx
Subject: Please Help!!
Reply-To: xxxxxxxxx

Good morning,
 I am writing this with tears in my eyes, My family and I made a trip to Kiev (Ukraine) unfortunately we were mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off us but luckily we still have our passports with us.
I have been to the Embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all the bad news is our flight will be leaving in less than 12-hrs from now but we are having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills, I will need your help (LOAN ) financially, I promise to make the refund once we get back home. Please let me know if i can count on you and i need you to keep checking your email because it's the only way i can reach.

Thanks,
Candace Evans-Lucas
The Candy Bar
20 Church Street
Wellesley, MA 02482
781-439-5899

Candybarcosmetics.com

Oh HELL No!

I have received this email before from people and never thought much of it. Pain in the ASS hackers-so I handled it and took the necessary steps to protect my email account immediately.

But then the most amazing thing happened....

People started emailing, texting and calling me. My phone blew up! My family and friends and my Facebook friends all letting me know I had been hacked! My blogger friends, Scope, Cora, Zibsy and BeckEye all contacted me-then people outside my circle started calling. Strangers and even Frack's school teachers!!! All checking to see if we were OK.? I couldn't believe it. People that I used to work with called me , people that I didn't even know reached out to let me know that I had possibly been hacked.

The most touching came from an acquaintance I had met through my son's athletic team. He called expressing his concern. I informed him that my email had been hacked and that I was sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused him and then he told me,
"Candace, I'm glad it is not true because if it were, we would have taken the proper steps to help you."

It's people like that that make me want to squash every single hacker's fingers into a million pieces. 

Their overwhelming kindness and the fact that they could have become a victim of fraud because of me??? I couldn't bear the thought. So I have been all over the place this morning trying to report, catch, intercede and do whatever I can to ensure that my contacts know that this is a SCAM!!! I seem to have lost my address book to send a bulk email, but I'm working on that too. I have posted on every possible social media site, Facebook Twitter and Instagram and now on the Daily Dandy! My apologies if any of you are inconvenienced.

For all the bad that it caused, it sure doesn't negate the good because the good is glaringly obvious.

Three Strikes And You're OUT!

They say the third time's a charm but sitting here today at my computer screen, wincing in pain at the slightest of movements on my left side, remind me that there is nothing charming about Tuesday night's tumble down the front stairs. Yeah, I fell down the stairs, yet again. And it wasn't a small fall. No, this one was a loud ker-thunk, ker-thunk, ker-thunk, kinda tumble that made everyone in my household appear all at once. The fact that it left me gasping for my breath notwithstanding, it took me a good 10 minutes to finally catch my breath and gain my composure enough to laugh at myself.

WTF? Am I a klutz? I wouldn't say that is generally the case. No, I trip here and there, just as much as the next guy. Forever fashion obsessed, I wear the most ridiculously high heeled shoes on a regular basis, yet I never have mishaps or falls. But I can pin point three monumental falls, down entire flights of stairs, in my life time and I was wearing either no shoes or flat shoes each time. Let's see if we can make a case for clumsiness:

THE EXHIBITS:

1. Fall 1 was at my first bachelorette party back in 1992. I was at one of Boston's most notorious night clubs; Zanzibar, with a large group of my girl friends. I know EXACTLY what I was wearing. It was late August and I was wearing a white linen, color block pant suit (quite chic, I might add. It was part of my trousseau) with simple white flats. I may or may not have been completely wasted because of the shots that people were buying for "the bride". At the entrance of the club there was a grand staircase, probably about 3 or 4 regular flights high that we had started to descend for our exit. I don't really remember what the hell happened or how it happened, but I took the entire decent on my ass, from top to bottom. The fact that I had twice the legal limit of alcohol in my bloodstream was more than likely my saving grace. The girls collected me in a pile at the bottom of the stairs and we continued to laugh, whole heatedly, for the remainder of the night. The laughter that ensued may have just been my fondest memory of the evening. I believe I still had bruises on my back on the day of my wedding. (In retrospect it was a sign of things to come, for sure)

2. Fall 2 I shared right here with you on The Daily Dandy. Fall 2 was no laughing matter, in fact Fall 2 included an ambulance ride to the hospital and a serious concussion. Read Part One here and Part Two here . Fall 2 was on a short stack of 4 stairs and I was wearing a pair of Ugg slippers at the time. It was early morning and some deadly black ice had covered my front stairs. That fall was a wake up call for me, to be aware of my footing and my surroundings at all times. It could have happened to anyone in that situation.

3. Fall 3. Tuesday night. I was upstairs with Frick, after dinner, just shooting the breeze. I left her room and went to go downstairs. I was wearing a pair of FAB True Religion bell bottomed jeans, that I wear with a kick ass pair of wedge heels. I had taken the heels off when I got home, so I think I might have tripped over the bell bottoms that were now too long, without my shoes. I did not hit my head at all. This time my ribs or my lungs took the brunt of the fall, and I toppled down directly on my side. I scared the beJesus out my family because I was gasping for air when they came running. After I composed myself, we had a good laugh, but yesterday was a big day at my store and I couldn't afford to be hurt. So I Spanxed myself up, like a brace almost, and plunged ahead all hopped up on Advil. Today I think I'll call the doctor cuz right now I don't feel any better, and maybe I might feel a little worse. I might have pushed it a bit yesterday...but it was worth it.

So you tell me bloggers...klutz or not?

Lost And Found

I lost my mojo and no matter how hard I try I can't seem to find it.

The thing is, I'm not exactly sure where I lost it. I mean, I had it recently, but it has since gone missing. Damn, I hate it when this happens cuz I need it. My mojo accompanies wherever I go and is usually right there when I need it.

But not lately. Lately it has taken a free pass and it gave me the heave-ho. Can't say that I blame it. I've been a real downer and if you're a mojo I guess you don't want anything keeping you down.

Dude, can't we work it out? Come back and I promise I'll behave. We'll go back to the good old days when it was fun and you were the life of the party. We don't even have to talk about it. No questions asked, just come back. I won't ask why you deserted me now, when I seem to need you most. It's ok, really. Everybody looses their mojo sometimes, I just need to find you quick so we can be in sync again. Life is better when we are in sync.

So if you are out this weekend bloggers and you see my mojo, tell him to come home. You'll know him when you see him. He's the one with all the confidence, having a great time and living large. Tell him I'm sorry and that I'll listen to everything he says. I won't blame you if you invite him to stay with you for a day or so, because my mojo can be a great friend. He just makes you feel so good.

I know he'll come back, it's just a matter of when and whether I can hold out until then. Tell him I'm waiting...

Freakin' Friday

Slow, steady and take deep breaths.

Mid morning already and I'm one fender bender away from a mental breakdown. Not really bloggers, but I'm feeling much like my friend in the picture above right about now.

And it wasn't even me who had the fender bender.

It was minor and thank God, but it was my car. Christ, I need a vacation.

Happy weekend bloggers and DRIVE SAFELY.

Epic Fail

Oh boy, do I have a story for you.

So I'm reading the Boston Herald yesterday and I read this:

North End restaurateur Nick Varano is heading to the small screen with a new show on New England Sports Network. The charismatic Strega owner is hosting an opening casting call tonight for a co-host/reporter from 8 to 11 p.m. at Strega Waterfront.

So why the auditions? “None of my friends are good-looking enough,” Varano quipped. Produced by Dirty Water TV productions, “The Strega Life with Nick Varano” will air once a month on NESN starting in early April. “It’s going to be like a variety type show,” Varano said.


So I let this marinate in my mind for most of the morning, I then ask some of the people I work with what they think. You know, like if I'm too old for this at this point in my life and stupid self deprecating crap like that. I gotta tell you that as much as I love being the center of attention, I really don't love being the center of attention.

I was surprised by what I heard. Everyone was all over me like white on rice.

"Oh my God, You HAVE to do this!"
"Candy, this was made for you!"
"You're so gonna get this!"

Later in the day, one of my favorite clients came into my boutique. We were chatting and working together, and she said to me, "Candy, you need to be in the movies." (OK, just so you know, I am not blowing smoke up my own a**, she really said that) I then tell her about the audition, to which I receive the same reaction. Fans, gotta love them. Funny thing is I then started thinking maybe I should do this. My background is in journalism, I've been in front of the camera countless times, yeah, I can do this.

I put my plan into action and did my due diligence. I called the company and asked about the specifics, did some research on Mr. Varano, told my husband, who got a good chuckle out of it and then lent his support and got a good friend to come with me. We arrive at the audition location and I put my name on the list. I was surprised to see of hundred women there, 90% of them had head shots and resumes. I did not, but fueled by my new found rock star status, I didn't care. I was not one bit nervous or intimidated. I actually felt so in control and quietly confident that I barely recognized myself. I was completely in my own head, which was a triumph in itself.

We sat at the restaurant bar and waited until it was my turn to dance. When my time came, I walked into a room with about 25 other women. I was at the back end of the line, about five in from the end. They announced that for this round of auditions, we were to grab the mike, stand in front of the camera, say your name, say you "Live the Strega life" and tell a little bit about yourself and then turn to the judges and do it again.

I watched as almost all of the 20 women in front of me bombed, and began to feel the adrenaline pump through my veins. Suddenly I felt like a crack addict on a bad trip, and I wondered why that girl of quiet confidence who walked through the door minutes earlier had abandoned me like a criminal scrambling from police sirens. I needed to think fast and do something to make me stand out from the rest as the ladies before me were toppling like domino's. Then it came to me! I knew exactly what I was going to say that will make them remember me and I'm going to take a risk.

My turn came and I took the microphone, said hello to the judges, (one of which was none other than Rajon Rondo), and began my shtick. I started out strong, real strong, so I thought. I announced articulately that I "lived the Strega life", and that the Strega life was all about passion, food, fun and fashion, living life to the fullest.

Then I gave it to them, the line I was sure would make them remember me and get a chuckle out of them.

I said in my best Seacrest impression, "And I am the next American Idol."

Crickets.

The rest is a blur, because at that very moment I was revealed to be the poser that I was. I wasn't at all surprised that they didn't ask me to stay and I wondered why I hadn't gone with my original plan. I didn't tell them about my blog, my kids, my shop, my life, and I realized I left them with very little other than the fact that I think I'm the next American Idol.

Epic fail.

In hindsight, I realized that I failed because I abandoned who I really am and I abandoned that quiet confidence of the girl that walked through the door. I should have repeated to them what became my mantra yesterday, before my fateful audition.

"You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket."

And I got a valuable lesson. I realized that sometimes, the only real competition is within yourself.

Trudging On...

Bullets from my sick life:

• Feeling about 40% better today, which puts me in the 60% shitty category.
• I left work yesterday at 1:30, picked up Frick at school who was sick too, and spent the rest of the afternoon curled up on the couch with some Sudafed, watching a Hoarders marathon on A&E.
• Why do they need to see your drivers licence when you buy Sudafed? Either we have been healthy for the past few years, or the world has gone crazy. The pharmacist told me that Sudafed was a key component in Crystal Meth? Wow.
• Hoarders is an unbelievable show. It was bad enough that I was sick myself, but after watching that disaster, I felt even worse. Yet I continued to watch it. And watch it, and watch it, and watch it.
• Now I think I'm a shoe hoarder. I may need a "shoe-tervention".
• I have not worked out in like 5 days...who am I? I think that's making me sick too. Whens it ok to return to light exercise after being down? Today? Will I just re-lapse?
• I read this morning that Kate Gosselein went to Cabo San Lucas with her body guard for a vacation. (Copy cat). Isn't that guy married? I wonder what his wife thinks about all this. Is it just me?
• I'm dying to see that new Michael Douglas movie with Shia Lebouf. LOVE Michael Douglas. God Speed in his cancer recovery.
• On to work now, but really, I just want to stay in bed. Wash your hands a lot today bloggers, and take plenty of Vitamin c.

I Just Want To Curl Up In My Bed And Die

I did something today I NEVER do.

I got my kids off to school, then I went back to bed.

I NEVER do that. EVER. But today is different. Today, I have a terrible cold and as I said, I just want to curl up in my bed and die. But I can't because I'm at work.

Home remedies? Bring it people.
I wanna take a nap.