Sarai declared me Queen Mommy of Windsor Mill, herself Princess Sarai Michaela of Kevsway and Vic, King Daddy of Windsor Mill. Unfortunately, the only tiara she has prominently features purple and pink "jewels." Vic was not so happy about sporting it, but I managed to get the picture anyway. He's not sure how he feels about my posting it on the blog, but I couldn't help myself.
Victor, my husband. I still love him, after seven years of being together. We met seven years ago this month. See those eyes? Those are the eyes that looked into mine that night and told me he would marry me. I was sure that I had just met a lunatic. Turns out - I just met a very determined man. A very determined man who was determined to marry me. And marry me he did.
This is Sarai and I on Monday, right after she'd had her hair washed. Wonder where she gets that hair from? LOL! She's grinning fit to burst because it was the first time in her life that she's managed to get her hair washed and conditioned without shrieking. She decided that, with a new year looming, it was time to "girl up" and get through the hairstyling process without all the crying. Yay, Mumma! She also decided that she wants to add a nickname to her already very long list. She would like to be called "Butterfly." I think that's a fitting name for my little one - she's changing constantly, much to my delight and pain.
There they are: the two biggest loves of my life. I wouldn't sell them for a million, bajillion dollars.
At this time of year, we're supposed to take time out and count our blessings. We're supposed to be grateful for our families and friends, for our health and strength. And yet, sometimes, we take it for granted, amidst the rush of holiday shopping and commercialization at every turn. Well, I'm not one of those people this year.
As you know, in the last few weeks, my family has been hit with some hard times. Just last week, we learned that my husband's grandmother passed away, unexpectedly. She had been recovering from a recent surgery and, by all accounts, was doing well and then ... she just died. It was a shock. She lived a long life (she was 83) and had been married for 63 years. She had children and grandchildren who loved her. Vic had gotten to see her shortly before her passing. So, he has peace with it. But in the last two years, he has buried both his father and his grandmother - two of the most important people to him in the world.
So, this holiday season, I will have fun buying presents and wrapping them for my loved ones. I wlll love any presents I receive. I will sing carols and bake cookies. I will watch the Christmas cartoons. But when I say "I love you" or "I am thankful" this year, they will not be empty words, platitudes offered just in the spirit of the season. These words are heartfelt. I love my family. I love my friends. I love y'all, actually. You, my readers, make it possible for me to do this - I could write a blog just for myself, but it would mean nothing. It would just be self-indulgence. Knowing that people read my words somehow make them important and force me to be responsible for what I write. So, thank you. I am grateful for you. I am grateful that you would take the time to read my thoughts and to grace my blog with your presence. Thank you for your comments, for your prayers, for your thoughts.
Call your family members and friends today and tell them you love them. And mean it.
I just want to thank all of you who have prayed/are continuing to pray for my aunt. Your prayers are still needed. I can feel your support and I appreciate you.
If any of y'all are prayer warriors out there ... if you pray ... I would appreciate your prayers for my aunt, Cynthia. She has been battling cancer for a while now and we were just notified that it has spread to her spine. Please pray for healing ... she needs all the prayers she can get.
Thank you.
I know that today is the day that we celebrate Sarai, but I can't help but feel a little deserving of celebration myself - LOL! I did push her out, after all.
Yes, we should all care about all those who are battling cancer. But I am affected personally, as many of us are. I am participating in Comments4aCure because my father-in-law, Larry Marshall, lost his battle against lung cancer two years ago. He was a loving man - fun, funny, compassionate. He was the only one of my in-laws who truly loved me and I loved him right back. I am helping to raise money for this effort in honor of his memory and because of my husband - I had to watch him break down after the death of his father. I don't want anyone else to feel that kind of hurt.
I donate in thanksgiving for the life of my aunt Teresa, who battled breast cancer and won. I donate in recognition of her strength and her sense of humor in the face of chemotherapy and baldness (she had the best bald head). I donate in thanksgiving for the life of my co-worker, Michele, who beat cancer twice! I donate in prayer for the healing of my aunt Cynthia, who is now fighting bone cancer.
I'm donating because I have a daughter - I want cancer cured in her lifetime. I'm donating for you - in hopes that you never have to fight this dread disease. I'm doing it for me - may I never have to face such a diagnosis.
Thank you so much to all of you who have commented so far. Please keep 'em coming and please visit the other blogs who are participating. Mwah!
Tonight was my cousin Elise's graduation party. She just graduated from high school - a year early! That's a really remarkable accomplishment, especially given that Elise has battled many a health problem over her short life. I'm very, very proud of her. She and I don't spend as much time together as I'd like. So, as her present, I have agreed to give her a makeover, then spend the day doing whatever she wants. I met two of her best friends today and she may want to bring them along on our day, too, which is fine. They're really nice girls.
The house was full of family and friends. I love family get-togethers - being surrounded by the love of the people who've known you all your life is so important to having good self-esteem and self-love.
Last night's skincare:
Today's skincare:
Today's make-up:
Today's fragrance:
Lavanila Vanilla Grapefruit
Today's hair:
Miss Jessie's Curly Buttercream rubbed around the edges of my hair and brushed until my hairline was smooth. Brushed my hair into a high puff and secured with a stretchy elastic. Spritzed my puff with water/lavendar oil/pomegranate seed oil mixture and fluffed with my fingers. Rubbed in Carol's Daughter Hair Milk.
Today's ensemble:
Mother's Day is almost upon us and, as a mom and a beauty junkie, I wanted to give you a few ideas for Mother's Day gifties - Sephora style! (All gift suggestions can be found in Sephora stores or on www.sephora.com.)
For the frequent traveler mom:
NARS Artist Palette. If you know a mom who travels quite a bit (that would be me), this palette is a great gift. It's sleek and thin enough to not add much bulk to your travel bag. It has a mirror and contains ten of NARS' top-selling shades - four neutral shadows that can be sheerly pretty for day or smoked-out for night, two shades of the Multiple - one for highlighting and one for adding color to the cheeks, and four fabulous lipsticks.
For the mom who can't afford an island vacation, but wants to feel like she's been on one anyway:
Carol's Daughter A Mango Melange Moment. Includes a shea souffle, cleansing gel, perfume spray and a loofah. All the body products are scented with Carol's Daughter's amazingly tropical Mango Melange scent. This scent is one of my favorites and never fails to make me feel all island girl-y!
For the beauty junkie mom:
Sephora's Summer Blockbuster Palette. This palette is a scaled-down version of the one that flew off the shelves at the end of last year, only to be seen making the rounds of eBay for astronomical prices. 24 eyeshadows, 24 lipglosses, five cheek colors, one translucent shimmer powder, two shadow applicators, a blush brush, and a lip brush. What else could you need?
For the animal activist mom:
Smashbox Palettes for PETA. 100 percent vegan eyeshadows that have never been tested on animals. Comes in two breathtaking trios: Earth Mother (on the left), which is the neutral set and In the Wild, which contains brighter, springier shades.
Stay tuned here! I'll have upcoming posts with more Mother's Day gift ideas!
My mom took some pictures of Sarai and Autumn and our new puppy, Eclair. She is a shih tzu and Sarai has christened her "Eclair Pupcake" after the two dogs on Strawberry Shortcake. She doesn't know what an eclair is, but that's okay, as the name sounds very chic and French. For her pedigree name, I've dubbed her Lady Chi-Chi Poo-Poo I, Duchess of Kevsway. I mean, all those frou-frou dogs on the Eukanuba Dog Show and whatnot get long, high-falutin' names, why shouldn't my puppy? When someone asks her name, I'll be all "This is Her Grace, Lady Chi-Chi Poo-Poo I, Duchess of Kevsway, Eclair Pupcake." I will make folks refer to her as "M'Lady." Vic is refusing to play along - he's a party pooper. Whatever. All I need now is an appropriate bag in which to carry her around. Yeah, I said it. I'm gonna be one of those women, carrying my dog around in a purse. Like it or lump it.
