Adornment

Everything needs to feel pretty. Like my super ugly, heat-radiating dining room light.

It got fancied up this weekend with it's own necklace thanks to a 1lb bag of glass beads:

The other table accoutrement were also new for the weekend (thanks for the runner & candles World Market).



When I waiting in traffic yesterday I saw this adorned truck:



And since I had my camera out, thought I'd show my own adornment.
I LOVE these cute little earrings:





Boy, that is some ratty looking hair! I booked an appt, but the only time that was convenient for me and open is in 1.5 weeks. oh well, what's another week or two?


later


-b-

Devil is in the details

Ahh, the details. They can add so much to an outfit and attitude with so little. Here is me in a semi-boring outfit last week:

But the details were interesting (if to no one else but me)

Boring, sedate tennis shoes for when my feet are tired:
Turned fun:

Pearl necklace that I fixed myself:

Blue shirt with flowers: (it's easier to see in the stock photo from NY&Co).

Um, yeah, scrunchie in hair. Not good, but I did think my morning laziness was humorous


Black nails (which I think looked better with the shadows from the blinds...ohh....creepy).

During the day, I also rocked the red lips. I should’ve reapplied before the photo, but I’m sure you can all pretend.

Seriously, I think I'm finally going to cut my hair! I haven't cut or trimmed it in a year. YEAR! That's some serious time. Usually I can last a while, but this was admittidly lazy of me. I once had a scheduled appt, but then there was a hurricane and well, I just never rescheduled. Everytime I thought about it, all of sudden my hair would look fabulous. Not anymore. It's tired and wants a trim.

I found a stylist, Gerri, (check her out here) that specializes in curly hair at a salon that three of my pals recommend. Three recommendations to a place is pretty good and I think this will be my first 'styling'. I usually hit up the Regis at the mall for my haircuts, but thought that an expert might be worth a little extra. I'm a little skeptical, but my friends that use the salon say that it isn't too spendy. I also saw reviews of this woman on Naturallycurly.com

Now i just have to cross my fingers when I call tomorrow morning that I can get an appt this week.

Last week was my first week of half-marathon “training”. I did alright. I overdid some days and underdid (? Is this even a word?) other days. This week will be a little off also, it’s the start of a new Co-ed soccer season at the Y and they were too late getting everything together. So instead of playing tonight, I'll play tomorrow. eh.

-b-

Avon

This year is the first time I’ve really been exposed to Avon. A coworker of mine sells it and a couple women here are regular customers. We compare products we’ve tried, what we like and what we don’t. I figured I’d include y’all.

At one point I was considering these

Yeah, they are denim leggings and some find that offensive from the get-go, but I like the idea of them under dresses in the winter (or super long sweaters that aren't quite dresses). I thought that denim legging would prevent wintertime jean-induced poochy-belly. Erin at Workwithwhatyou’ve got had tried them and said they were awful. I nixed that purchase as she has tried several pairs of denim leggings and seems wise in their ways.

Has anyone else tried their clothing? Here are some things I’m considering, but I’m not sure if I want to make the leap.

Slimwear black dress:

Not so much because it is slimwear, but that’s the neckline I like. But $39.99 for an Avon dress? Not sure of the quality and fit.

Booties:

These are adorable, but not real leather and 3 inches high (which could be too high for my daily wear). Not sure if their shoes are decent, crummy, good steals, etc….And technically I own 2-3 pairs of tall brown boots, why would I need booties?

Since I’m asking your thoughts, here are my thoughts about some of their products.

Mineral Lipstick: Feels great on my lips, never drying, but super light color. I think I have the Coral one.

Magix face perfector: Love the clear formula! It doesn’t perform magic, but does seem to eliminate some shine and make my skin look better.

Magix face perfector compact: HATED it. I swear it gave me super shiny skin. I returned this one. I thought it was the same formula as above, but for some reason my skin didn’t react the same way to this product. Ick.

True Color Eyeshadow Quad: I really like mine! The colors are nice and don’t seem to disappear after a couple hours. I think i have the sandy corals quad.

LiivBotanicals line: I have 4 of these products (serum, eye cream, day lotion, and scrub) and really like them. I’ve been using them for about a month and my skin has looked nice, even without makeup. The website says that the day lotion is fragrance free, but I think it has a unique plant-y smell. I could see some people not liking it, but I like it.


That's my little avon roundup. So far their products seem reasonabley priced and pretty decent quality. Do you have any favorites?

Training starts um, NOW! What are you doing, MOVE IT sister!

Last year was the first time that I ran a half-marathon and I loved the experience. The running was a little tough, but it was such a cheerful and positve day that I immediatly signed up for January 2010's run. Here is me last January with a post-run glow

Based on a recommendation from a super fit pal of mine that has run multiple full marathons, I use John Bingham's Marathoning for Mortals as my training guide.

For the 1/2 marathon, I have a 14 week training schedule that I've stretched out over 17 weeks. I have duplicate weeks to make up for things like traveling to see pals, Thanksgiving, and Christmas b/c I'm honest and know that my tush wants to eat/drink on those occasions and I probably won't complete all training.

This week is supposed to be my first week, so I set up the schedule this morning. Here is what it looks like for end of Sept/October:

Click to enlarge. I put checks or the little cross out circle afterwards to mark whether or not I accomplished my daily goal.

It's a little goofy this year and I've made some big changes to the schedule in the book to fit in soccer. Last year I was on one team and it was in a lower division. This fall I'm playing on two teams (one coed and one womens). In addition, I moved up a couple divisions and the games are a lot faster and tougher.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that this will work out for me. If I start feeling too tired or worn after the first couple of weeks, I'll have to modify.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to add the Daily Mile widget to my blog (ala FIT THIS, girl)

Maybe I'll get that together this afternoon/evening!

later

-b-

Blarg, it's monday...let's talk music to cheer up

ugh. Usually, I'm not one of those people that 'get the mondays', but this afternoon has been chock full of work annoyances (seriously, I'm thisclose to offing an engineer in my office, thisclose people!).

But, I'm listening to movie soundtracks today and that's getting me through it all....here are some of my favorites:

Moulin Rouge: Seriously, I don't understand how anyone could not love this one. I loved Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman in this movie. It was such a young-love type of romance in this movie. The Elton John covers were fab as were the costumes and dancing. Listen to samples on Amazon.

Love Actually: Yep, loved it. It's got songs from Kelly Clarkson, Dido, and Joni Mitchell. I adored the "Take me as I am" song. And I love love loved the movie's version of All You Need is Love by Lynden David Hall. Listen to samples on Amazon .

Happy Endings: I really enjoyed this movie, and the music was such an integral part of the story-telling. I think that Maggie Gyllenhaal has a really pretty voice and I liked her cover of "Just The Way You Are". We actually danced to this song at our wedding - it was our official song. That's how much I loved it. You can listen to a sample on Amazon.com

(500) Days of Summer: I just got this soundtrack on Friday from the library. Again, another movie where the music helps tell the story (and isn't just background noise). How can I not laugh when I listen to "You Make My Dreams"? All I imagine is Tom dancing around. You can listen to sample on Amazon.

Garden State: I liked the movie, didn't LOVE it, but I did love the soundtrack. I loved the use of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy In New York". Sometimes, that is just how you feel.

Listen to a sample of this song on amazon.

Dazed and Confused: I'm from Central Florida and pretty sure I listened to this stuff in the womb. My mom is full-on a fan of southern/classic rockn'roll and I was born without a choice. I dig man, i dig. Don't lie...after a listen, you'll admit that you do too. {Plus, how cute was Matthew McConaughey in this?}

Slumdog Millionaire: Just plain fun to listen to, with great beats and rhythm. It makes me hopeful and happy!

Oh, there are so many more loved soundtracks (snatch, chicago, Dave Chappelle's block party, Forest Gump...) But alas, it's a long list and I've got to get back to not maiming coworkers.

Hope you cheered up with me!

-b-

Skates

Last night I was really fighting myself about working out. I didn't want to at all, but at the same time I've been making a concerted effort to get more active the last couple of weeks and I didn't want to let myself down. I pulled out my old-skool skates and figured that I could at least have some fun!

And what fun it was. I had a blast tooling around my neighborhood. I'm not very good and there is a lot of flailing around. In addition, the wheels are old and worn and my skates pull me in different directions than my feet are pointing.

But harrowing can be fun too!

And it was a good workout. Roller Skating Assocation International tells me that I probably burned a couple hundred calories in the time that I skated. And my bum muscles are sore, which means that they were utilized. sweet.

I need to get some new wheels, but don't have the foggiest clue where to start on that one. I did a quick search online and found a bunch. But, i think i'm going to venture into the skateboard/surfing shop by my house this weekend. I expect the store to be kooky - it's been around since the 60s and the same people own a popcorn & candy store next door. I went in to buy some popcorn once and the dude was all kinds of spaced out and goofy. I'm not sure what to expect from the actual main store.

maybe I can get a different color? My wheels are red, but doesn't purple sound fun?

here are some photos of my cat interupting the session...it was SUPER hard to find a good spot, set the timer, skate into position, and not hurt myself or a cat in the process. Under the circumstances, I guess the photos came out okay..

There are whiskers in this one.

Cat butt in this one.

She practically dared me to roll over her on my way to this one.

-b-

Purse dumpage

Since I figured that some have shared the contents of their purses, I would follow suit. Plus, once I saw the contents of mine today I was laughing and thought you might too.



I believe you can click to enlarge, but let me know if not. There are a couple avon products because I got them this morning. My coworker sells it and I love the delivery days. It’s like Christmas (except I have to cut a check – and actually that’s the only reason I even had my checkbook in there today).

There is a lot of lipstick in my purse; I always like to have something on my lips even if it’s a nude gloss.

There are also a lot of sharpies in there. I find them extra useful and always throw one in my bag.

There are coupons that I got from Glamour magazine. I thought I might use them at the mall, but I didn’t want anything from those stores. Eh.

The jaguar pouch holds my electronic stuff: camera cord, mp3 player, and jump drive.

When I carry a small purse, that is the first thing to get kicked out!

I'm a big fan of pouches right now. I have another pouch that I use for my ladytime products, but yippee thats not today :)

That's what I'm lugging around today.

-b-