Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Puggly

/ Sarah / 2 Comments

I believe I’ve found the way to create world peace. Get a puppy.

But not just any old puppy. You need a Pug puppy.

WHAT. A. FACE!

WHAT. A. FACE!

Little Sister recently lost her beloved poodle (RIP Lance!) and the ache just wouldn’t go away. She saw a Facebook post that one of her friends had a litter of pups and couldn’t resist the puppy pull.

Now, you have to understand; we were raised with German Shepherds. BIG dogs! I am guilty of making comments about little dogs just being cats with dog tags. But that was before I met Eco.

Eco – as in Echo, spelled incorrectly, not as in Ecological. Little Sister does things like that.

We recently enjoyed a day at the beach with wee Eco. It was a slow start for his first day at the shore.

Pugs have breathing issues. Not aided in this instance by the fact that he's crammed his head into layers of blankets...

Pugs have breathing issues. Not aided in this instance by the fact that he’s crammed his head into layers of blankets…

Eco wasn’t really “into” much of the whole water, sand thing. But he really shone later on in the day. We like to go walk about after soaking all the sun we can handle. It’s nice to move around, see the local shops, maybe get some deals. It usually takes about an hour and we grab a snack before heading back to the parking lot and hit the road for home.

Unless you are with Eco.

Then it takes A LOT longer.

Hotter than Bieber, I tell ya!

Hotter than Bieber, I tell ya!

Little Sister bought a sarong and used it as a pup carrier, since it was too hot to let him walk on the sidewalk, and let’s face it, someone would step on him, then they would have pug all over their sandals. It would be a disaster.

Okay, let's walk!!

Okay, let’s walk!!

Finally we shake off the spectators when this happens!

#$&@!

#$&@!

We’ve moved about 20 feet – just to give you some perspective. Again, we move along, after answer what will be the same three questions; 1. What kind of dog is it? (He’s a Pug) 2. Is he full grown? (No he’s only 8 weeks old) 3. What’s his name? (Eco)

Then we decide to pop in to a store, having found something that catches our eye!

ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!?

ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME?!?

Now we’ve got store clerks fawning over him. Let’s completely forget the fact that dogs aren’t likely welcome in the shop. It’s a puppy! It’s a Pug! It’s Eco! Even while sleeping, completely adorable!

Ok back on the street. Let’s move!

What happens when you stop for 5 minutes to order Dairy Queen!

What happens when you stop for 5 minutes to order Dairy Queen!

Second Born Son wanted to experiment. Was the attraction the puppy, or the owner?

Pug pups = people magnets!

Pug pups = people magnets!

Needless to say, he slept all the way home!

Give Peace Pugs A Chance!

 

A Conversation with Myself

/ Sarah / Leave a comment

It was an innocent enough question.

“Uh, so what is your age now?” she asked. A light little voice with a Romanian accent.

“I’m 40,” I reply.

“Ah,” she breathes. Now I’m worried. She ever so delicately asks me what skin products I use and what my routine is. She then asks me if I have any products for Mature Skin. I have dry, sensitive skin which is the BEST skin EVER if you want to age prematurely. All I need is a heaping helping of leathery skin from OD’ing on sunbathing and it’s the perfect storm of old lady skin. She’s giving me advice, every so kindly, about taking care of myself; making sure I have the right products; the proper routine and regimen.

Here we go….

I’m laying in the dark with lovely, relaxing Nature Music playing. Little Sister has started the two-part process of covering the greys. My head is now turbaned and I’m getting a variety of lotions and potions applied to my skin. One feels like water, the next feels like Jell-O before it sets. I get a mask and a neck and shoulder massage before my little European friend leaves me alone in the dark while the mask seals on to my skin.

Vanity is not a tolerated characteristic in my family. Look good, yes. “Maintain” yourself? Who do you think you are? My big indulgence is the dye job (sorry Little Sister – “colouring”) but my nails aren’t always done. I give my own manicures and pedicures, mostly in the summer time when they are exposed. LS and I have talked about me going grey, since that’s what my hair has had in mind since I was 19. So I’m starting to think, why fight fate?

But as I lay in the dark I start a conversation….with myself.

“This feels SO good! I really need to do this more often!”

“Really?? You have the time to come down here and get all pampered and primped for most of a day once a month!?”

“But I think it’s good for me! This is the most relaxed I’ve been in a long time!”

“That’s great, but where are your priorities?”

“Well I try to take care of everyone else, why can’t I take a break for me too?”

“Really?! Sounds rather self-indulgent!”

“If a doctor told me I had to take something for my body’s health, I’d do it. What’s so different about my skin?”

“Vanity.”

“I’m NOT being vain!”

“Sure sounds like it!”

You get the idea. I focus on the babbling brook running through down through the speakers and into my head. So much better than my inner voice.

In my truck on the way home – with a jar of moisturizer beside me, the second chapter of the conversation begins. But it includes the information given to me by my new little friend – the magician who makes me look fresher, if not slightly puffy from spending two hours flat on my back in the middle of the afternoon.

“I’m going to do this! I’m going to start taking care of myself.”

“Of COURSE you are.”

“Well, you know what? She told me it’s easier to start taking care of myself now, than it is in 10 years when things REALLY start to slide.”

“Next you are going to be shooting crap into your face.”

“NO that’s GROSS!”

“Well then you’ll end up with surgery.”

“I don’t want plastic surgery!!”

“Ah! You want a nose job!”

“Well that’s different – it’s a genetic thing!! It’s a brutal nose.”

“And your eyes?”

“Well I’m convinced I’m going to wake up one day and won’t be able to open my eyes – and I can thank my father for that too!!! Freakin’ droopy eyelids! You know WHAT?? I don’t want to CHANGE myself, I just want to TAKE CARE of myself.”

“Sounds like justification to me….”

At this point I turn up the radio and sing, because honestly, how does one end an argument with one’s self?

One books next month’s appointment…..

Good Genes – AKA Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

/ Sarah / 3 Comments

I don’t tend to get hung up on “beauty”.

For starters, the concept is subjective – thank God. While you may think blonde hair and blue eyes is the definition of beauty, someone else may go for red heads with piercing green eyes.

My grandmother was considered a beauty. She had raven black hair, flawless skin and amazing bone structure. She did dabble in modelling. We have photos of her wearing early 1950s wedding dresses, with outstanding workmanship since young brides could finally feel good about wearing a big white dress post-war. What she learned during her time as a fashion model stayed with her entire life; never look directly into the camera, never stand straight on, and never, ever leave your arms hanging down by your sides.

When I started my love affair with photography, Gramma would look at my images and even those that weren’t top-notch were deemed perfection by her. She would analyze the light, angle and emotion in the photograph and announce, “This isn’t portrait, this is a STUDY.”

This was the highest form of compliment one could hope to get. Gramma would say not everyone could be a model. There was a certain quality one needed to have; an attitude if you will, that came from an artful soul. All the foot posing and gazing into the horizon couldn’t make someone photogenic. It had to come from within.

Fast forward several decades to this past Monday. Little Sister owns and operates an environmentally responsible hair salon and spa. She wanted to promote the business and her stylists by holding a portfolio day. Five hours later we had shot six models with numerous styles. One of those models was my niece, M&M.

The irony here is that M&M was the poster girl for Tomboys growing up. She identified with animals, dogs in particular, and was the first one to dive into a snowdrift when it came time to play outside. Sign her up if you need a ball player, or want to go for a hike. But makeup? Hairspray? GLITTER??

LS wanted a highly stylized look for her models. I wasn’t sure M&M was going to buy into the idea, after all, there was a lot of primping going on.

But once I got her to myself, something happened.

and again….

Gramma would be proud….

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

/ Sarah / 1 Comment

There are very few weekends where I get to “do my own thing”. While I spend them doing things I enjoy, usually with the boys or as a family, this past weekend was all about “the girls”.

My dear friend is getting married next week in Dominican Republic, so it is only right that we celebrated her last weekend as a “free” woman with some quality estrogen time. For blogging purposes, let’s call her…. Val.

This is Val.

Don’t worry, she’s very happy about getting married. I think the veil is giving her a headache. And it’s borrowed, and every woman knows a borrowed veil can make a girl a little down in the mouth. Don’t worry, she will look happy very soon.

 This is Val’s cake. Maybe the reason she looks the way she does above, is because she never got a piece fo her cake……

This is Val, getting happy. As you can see, she is a talented person and her favorite color is blue.

This is “Chandy”. She was the hostess and is the Maid of Honor. Please excuse the poor quality of the photo – it’s an action shot as Chandy was teaching her guests the proper technique for her Smurf drink. She has a lovely home and had a great spread of food – which is the goal of every capable hostess.

 

This is Chandy’s living room. As you can see, there was a conference underway at the same time as the pedicures, which necessitated the presence of the Crackberries…. Fortunately, this took place BEFORE the Smurf drinks came out. Here you also see “Janine” and…uh…”Ellen”.

Val is happy here – it’s before the veil fell out the first of 174 times in the evening. “Jody” thinks it’s a sign of very healthy hair. Jody is Val’s stylist for her destination wedding. Yes, Val has “people”.

This is Chandy taking pictures of “The Sisters”. These two are pee-your-pants-funny and should be hired for every bachelorette party, bat mitzvah or Friday night. This camera is the one that recorded parts of the evening that you will not find here…and has hopefully been confiscated by Val….

This is Val being brave and allowing “Lesley” to fit her with false eyelashes. Val just wanted to be as aluring as Lesley. Since Lesley is the local “Lash Pusher” it only made sense that she put them on Val.

This is everybody. Everybody gathered at Val and her beau’s place before painting the town red. The plan was to hit a couple of bars…we hit one – or did it hit us back?

This is Val going to bed. You can tell she used to be a dancer – she’s so graceful! I don’t know how she got up the stairs. I don’t know how she got undressed. I do know how she got in my truck and it involved assistance. She doesn’t know…

This is Val the next morning. Look at how bright and chipper she looks! She made sure she was up and cooked a full breakfast for her out-of-town guests. Val will be a good wife! I would have told them to be quiet as they left to get their Egg McMuffin.

Congratulations to you both. Will be thinking of you next week!!!!!!