Change Is In The Air

Ever get a feeling that change is coming? This feeling feels like the opportunity for a big change and suddenly you are on the verge of something different? Different and good or different and bad?That's the Yin and Yang of life. For me- it's here and now and I feel it rising like the tide. I need to be smart. I need to be really smart and research the hell out of the options. Something tells me this may just be what I need-like that something I have been praying for, asking for during sleepless nights.

Change is good and it comes in all shapes and sizes.

Caitlyn Jenner-"I'm free" are the words she used to launch her new life change. It's a big one too-a "watershed moment", both historic and important for people like her-life altering because life, as she knew it, will never be the same.

David Letterman-His "Late Show" life has come to an end. Change for him was self imposed because "not everything good lasts forever". His change is here and now.

Birth/Death-The beginning of a new life is by far the greatest gift of all-the Yin. Death, by contrast can be earth shattering-the Yang.

Divorce/Marriage-The breaking up of a marriage can be a devastating change, but can ultimately bring both a good or bad change to those who experience it. So can the beginning of a marriage. The creation of a shared life and family is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself-and your mate. As someone who has experienced divorce, I never thought, while I was going through it, that it was good. I often cursed the heartache and pain I went through and wondered what I had done to deserve it. But I know now that it was a blessing.

Change can be challenging and difficult but it can also be liberating. Change takes attention and perseverance and ultimately, whatever the change that takes place, you pray for the knowledge that it was somehow meant to be.

Whatever the change in the air for me at this time-I am ready. I have been waiting for this opportunity my whole life.

Today's Special:Product Highlight

It's summertime in the city and everyone wants to look and feel fresh and renewed! The warm temperatures and the good times are coming so you want to make sure you are looking your best. Who doesn't want to look luminous? Who doesn't want that complimentary, envious glow that makes all your friend inquire about what's different? A highlighter is the key and if you haven't heard about a cosmetic highlighter, it's time to up your make-up game.

Highlighters are the easiest way to give your complexion that gorgeous glow and they are ever-so-simple to apply. I say this all the time and chances are if you have been to my store, The Candy Bar, you have heard me say it;  a product like Kevyn Aucoin's The Celestial Powder in Candelight can take years off your face and make you the envy of everyone you know. Applied evenly to the top of your cheekbone, your brow bone and down the center of your nose, this light, shimmery powder can cause others to inquire about your special "glow". It's like this: You've just bumped into a friend you haven't seen in months at the grocery store. While you are answering her questions about your husband and the kids, her quizzical stare at your face and the distracted manner in which she responds to you is all the answer you need: SHE'S NOT LISTENING TO YOU BECAUSE SHE'S WONDERING WHAT IT IS ON YOUR CHEEKS THAT IS GIVING YOU THAT GORGEOUS GLOW.

Highlighters today are readily available (thank you Kim Kardashian) and come in many packages-creams,  powders and  liquids- and some are packaged with a contour powder or cream to fill in the hollows of your cheeks to expertly to give your face shape. 

A kit like Kevyn Aucoin's The Creamy Glow Duo #4 is the perfect on the go contour and highlight companion. On the right, Candlelight in a cream and on the left, a contour cream in Medium. Users can apply with a brush or their fingers and blend, blend, blend for a gorgeous summer glow.  Apply the Medium cream under the hollows of the cheek (make a fish face ie; suck you cheeks in) and blend a small amount with your finger. Then use a separate finger to apply the Candlelight on the tops of the cheek bones and blend for maximum benefit and shine. 

Grab yourself some summer fun with a fresh, new highlighter and start taking in all the compliments of your friends. Of course, tell them Candy sent ya!

What? Wait? Again?

Am I the only one who is shocked by the latest Tiger Woods news that his break up with Lindsay Vonn was due to the fact that he cheated with a "faceless, nameless, woman"?

I think I am.

I had to Google the news yesterday because I hadn't heard about it on the gossip pages of a trash magazine. That's surprising, don't you think? On the contrary, I actually believed the official statement put out by Lindsay's people that the breakup was due to the fact that they both "lead incredibly hectic lives that force us to spend a majority of our lives apart". It made sense to me. What a fool I am. Or maybe what a fool Lindsay is, but I was sure this time was going to be different. He knew the world would be watching, and they were. apparently he was seen with the woman and decided to "come clean" (no pun intended) to Lindsay about it.

A Tiger never changes his spots...does he?

A good life lesson for all of us.

Too Much Alcohol Is Never A Good Thing

One day there were these 3 men in a bar. They all got drunk and went home. The next day, they gathered together and talked about how drunk they were. 

The first guy said, "I was so drunk last night, I made out with the lamp." The second guy said, "That’s nothing, I got my DUI." The third guy said, "I went home and blew chunks." 

The first and second guy asked the third guy what was so bad about that and the third guy said, "NO! You guys don’t understand! Chunks is my dog!" 

source: http://www.jokes4us.com/dirtyjokes/threemeninabarjokes.html

Sunday Morning

So I walked into a local grocery store this morning, to grab a couple of things before work. The moment I entered the aroma awakened my senses with the most amazing smell...

I looked at the cashier at the door and said, "I smell sausage."

She smiled and said, "Yes! The deli guys are making sausage for the lunch crowd."

The smell was heaven. It smelled, I told her, like Sunday morning. When I was a kid, being the last in a line of 5 children, I grew up to the smell of sweet Italian sausage cooking every Sunday morning. On Sunday, my mom would have a big breakfast waiting for her family. There was regularly an array of breakfast foods at my house on Sunday morning. My dad, 100% of Italian descent, would play tennis with his buddies early every Sunday morning and when he arrived home, breakfast was always ready.

Back in the innocence of those days, food was love. We never thought about fat content, calories and gluten. We ate because we were growing kids and my mother made sure we ate well. Sunday mornings were my favorite because it was the best of everything. We always had fresh fruit; cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries and orange juice as well as toast, assorted danish and pastries, eggs, bacon, pancakes and of course, sweet Italian sausage. Sometimes she even made a breakfast quiche and if you wanted an omelette, my mom would be ready with the frying pan to accommodate.

I was usually the first to rise, my brothers and sisters all teens at the time, would wake later because the yummy smell could wake anyone from a deep slumber no matter how lazy they were. My dad, at the head of the table, ate slowly, with the Boston Globe in front of him and I would happily read the comic page and enjoy the breakfast with my family. Those were some of the happiest memories I have of growing up. It was our very own Brady Bunch moment, and it was part of our routine.

My children love sweet Italian sausage too. Our busy lives today, unfortunately never lent to the innocence of Sunday morning breakfast. When my kids were little there were early Sunday hockey games, lacrosse games or rehearsals to attend, so I tried my best to make Sunday mornings as special as I could. And yes, I cooked the sausage.

It's amazing how that smell this morning brought me such happiness and joyous memories all in a flash.

Frick and Frack are home from college now and you can bet that this Sunday will be special. In fact, I'm making the grocery list now. Be dammed fat, sugar, gluten and calories! I want to make a memory and I think that's far more important, if only for a Sunday morning.

Our Thoughts And Prayers Are With You

Accidents happen, and the latest tragedy to hit Amtrak is a sobering reminder of just that. Seven people were killed and hundreds injured as the train they were traveling on derailed somewhere in Philly. This one hit home especially hard for me as I travel to New York on Amtrak frequently to see Frick. Amtrak is our chosen mode of transportation to get her home time and time again, most notably this Sunday, as Frick has a ticket booked to return home.

I'm not feeling too good about sending my kid home on an Amtrak train right about now.

I am saddened for the families of the loved ones lost and I pray for the recovery of the injured, but how can I knowingly put my child on a train after this? Some would argue that this might be the safest time to ride the train, others may decide not to press their luck. I'm more of the latter way of thinking, yet life goes on. It has to, don't you think? The train service has resumed, everyone more than likely exercising extreme caution to prevent against further accidents, but still I worry.

Maybe I'll drive down to pick her up myself.

Clear View?

So, I just recently started wearing contact lenses. I have been complaining about my failing eyesight for a while now, so on Dec 26th, 2014, I went to the eye doc and got myself a pair of contact lenses. I can't even tell you how my life has changed for the better! I used to be so dependent on my glasses and now? I don't hardly use them at all. It's so much easier at work! I can see everything clearly and I'm not constantly fumbling and looking for my glasses. It is a blessing to be able to do my work without the distraction of searching for a clearer view.

Flash back to Dec 27, 2014: Day One of contact lens wear. It took me a good hour to insert the lenses properly into my eye and after more than a few tears, loud cussing and steely determination, it was mission accomplished!

Day 2: 45 minutes of cussing, frustrated cries for help, but I wasn't giving up!  Finally success!

Day 3: 10 minutes! I may just be getting good at this!

Day 4: 10 minutes and I'm much more confident that this can become part of my everyday life.

Flash Forward to today: Five months of everyday wear, and I've got the insertion of the lenses down to a few minutes. My contact lenses are very dear to me and I can't imagine life without them BUT I discovered today that contact lenses are a very fickle thing.

I insert my contacts after I get out of the shower, before I apply my makeup. I did that today- which was no different than any other day. I got dressed and started to apply my makeup. No problems except for a slight tingle in my left eye-I then began to blow dry my hair and as I was doing so, my phone rang. I looked at the screen and realized immediately that I could not see clearly.

Where was my contact?

I know I put it in and I might even have been able to feel it, but where was it and why wasn't it doing it's job? This is what I had feared. I had heard about contacts that "get lost" in the eye but I never had experienced it till today. I then began the painful process of swiping my iris and cornea searching for the lost contact.

Redness and stinging in the eye ensued.
Black mascara and eyeliner began to expertly pool under my left eye, creating a mess of the artistry I had minutes before created. I couldn't stop though, I knew the contact was in there but I couldn't find it no matter how hard I tried. I decided I may have dropped it somewhere, so I took a pair of extra reader glasses and began searching frantically around the bathroom for it. Nothing. I then washed my hands and began the painful sweeping the cornea/iris process all over again. After several minutes and several tears I decided to give up. It was then that I felt it!! The lost contact was balled up in the corner of my eye and I was able to pull it gently from my eye!!

I swear I shed a tear of relief that I had just successfully retrieved my $$ contact. I then cleaned it off with the disinfecting solution and you know what I did?

You bet I inserted it back into my eye where it peacefully resides right now.
The good truly outweighs the bad with my contacts. I like going through life with a nice clear view.