Sitting around work yesterday, a colleague who should have been doing actual work was busily flipping through one of those celebrity rags commenting on the lives of those featured and judging them as good bad or indifferent. Under the best of circumstances I find that fascination with the "celebs" is the province of whiny people who either are insanely jealous "what's so beautiful about Angelina Jolie" or so uncertain about their own tastes that they need Oprah to choose their reading and Martha to decorate their kitchen.
Yesterday, after snippy remarks about sundry celebs the focus turned to that family who has the twenty kids. Without reading the "story" she pronounced the family "disgusting, just disgusting", not because of their behaviors or because they are dependant on the public largesse...because there is no reason to believe they are..just because of the fact of twenty children and the perceived detriment to the polar bears and snail darters. She waxes boringly philosophical about how people should have licenses to have children to preclude this sort of excess. This colleague generally thinks that having more than two children is "disgusting" and stated that she "hated" anyone who had a van or an SUV. In fact, I guess you could say that she professes the sort of liberal orthodoxy that keeps talk show types like Limbaugh in business.
Like many of these people who'd like to dictate what we can drive, what we can eat, what sort of home we can own and how many children we can be "permitted" to have, she is a forever young unmarried lass in her mid-forties with NO children. Maybe her disgust for those of us who have families and nice homes is firmly rooted in sour grapes and jealousy, "if I can't have it, nobody should" Maybe she spends her little life plotting this philosophy, who knows. But I had had enough. I finally spoke up against this nonsense and said "it's none of your business how many kids someone chooses to have". She was very defensive and stated that if there was a magazine feature about someone that their lives became her business. Flapadoodle.
My annoyance with this person has been growing for some time, but yesterday I just had to say something. Both of my parents came from families of eight and nine and there was nothing disgusting about them. My grandparents raised their kids without help from the public trough and without advice from Oprah, Dr. Oz, Martha Stewart or this childless wonder, sterile cuckoo busybody. Their kids all became productive citizens and had families of their own. Nothing "disgusting" about it.
Perhaps most amazing to me is that if a woman chose to have multiple abortions or chose to live a totally "me first" life, this colleague would be singing her praises and admiring her courage. Love of family and focusing on the future (unless its the future of meerkats or lemurs) apparently is the choice of the weak and selfish. Only a life without posterity is good and meaningful.
Jealous or stupid?
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
More stone necklaces!
Last summer I bought myself a vintage silver wrapped stone necklace, amethyst, agate, citrine, carnelian and whatever. The dangly clangy nature of this piece won many compliments and it therefore became the official summer necklace of 2008. I found a bracelet in all aquamarine with a similar look which I mixed with a sultry collection of silver bangles and I was good to go for the whole summer.
It was a good look then and it is a good look now, but I have the maximalist urge to have variations on the theme. Vintage is sort of out as this jangly look is pretty popular on ebay, Tias, and other antique sites, so I have been rooting around ebay and etsy for other pieces with color and movement and facets. After all if you are looking for quantity of looks at a reasonable price these are the places you go. Using the search "necklace stones sterling dangle" I browsed through hundreds of items on etsy without finding what I was looking for. There were some pretty necklaces to be sure but nothing with the "look" I want for this summer.
I did better on ebay.
Lately I have been noticing a virtual stone jewelry explosion and plenty of these pieces claim to be precious stones, meaning emeralds, rubies, or sapphires. I have seen these locally at craft stores and with price tags in the 250-600 dollar range. Not what I am looking for at all.
Ebay is a mixed bag always and no matter what the sellers say and no matter how fine their feedback is, it is a crap shoot. But in this case it was a cheap crap shoot. A seller from Delhi was offering many many dangly necklaces in a variety of stones. You could get citrines, amethysts, rubies, sapphires and yes, emerald (all said to be natural, read occluded and not Cartier quality) at a good price. I went for the emeralds. A very jangly emerald and sterling necklace with matching earrings became mine for about 45 dollars. I know I will not be tricked out like Catherine the Great but that is of no importance. The goal here is a swingy necklace for summer!
I would post a link but the seller has her name Kaya_Jewels posted on the pics so I dare not try it. But as soon as I get it in the mail you'll see what I did with my money!
It was a good look then and it is a good look now, but I have the maximalist urge to have variations on the theme. Vintage is sort of out as this jangly look is pretty popular on ebay, Tias, and other antique sites, so I have been rooting around ebay and etsy for other pieces with color and movement and facets. After all if you are looking for quantity of looks at a reasonable price these are the places you go. Using the search "necklace stones sterling dangle" I browsed through hundreds of items on etsy without finding what I was looking for. There were some pretty necklaces to be sure but nothing with the "look" I want for this summer.
I did better on ebay.
Lately I have been noticing a virtual stone jewelry explosion and plenty of these pieces claim to be precious stones, meaning emeralds, rubies, or sapphires. I have seen these locally at craft stores and with price tags in the 250-600 dollar range. Not what I am looking for at all.
Ebay is a mixed bag always and no matter what the sellers say and no matter how fine their feedback is, it is a crap shoot. But in this case it was a cheap crap shoot. A seller from Delhi was offering many many dangly necklaces in a variety of stones. You could get citrines, amethysts, rubies, sapphires and yes, emerald (all said to be natural, read occluded and not Cartier quality) at a good price. I went for the emeralds. A very jangly emerald and sterling necklace with matching earrings became mine for about 45 dollars. I know I will not be tricked out like Catherine the Great but that is of no importance. The goal here is a swingy necklace for summer!
I would post a link but the seller has her name Kaya_Jewels posted on the pics so I dare not try it. But as soon as I get it in the mail you'll see what I did with my money!
New From Yves Rocher
I have no warmth for fragrance snobbery and love to find myself pleasantly surprised by a yummy cheapie scent. B&BW have some great deals, and Ava-Luxe is niche on a budget with some of the most scrumptious gourmands ever.
Now I'm going to chat a few about some rock bottom bargains from the land of haute parfumerie, France. There are bargains galore if you hunt online and if you get tres lucky at TJMaxx or Marshall's, but for consistent cheap fun I have turned to Yves Rocher, originally a mail order beauty emporium with a great website. I think of it as France's answer to Avon, a nice quality product, a versatile range of options and always something on sale.
The makeup and moisturizing options are pretty similar with points going to Avon for adopting more sophisticated formulas more quickly. Yves Rocher features natural oils and extraits, but if you want modern science Avon is the way to go.
I give a decisive TKO to YR when it comes to fragrances. Soliflores abound and they came out early with the ubiquitous tea scented eaux. They also offer a nice line of standards and always have and offer fun summer limited editions which are truly limited, so if you love them do stock up.
I started buying YR as a college girl (MSU 1970s) after I spied an introductory offer in a magazine. I bought a shampoo for redheads, some lipsticks and most importantly a bottle of Ispahan, a deep dark oriental fragrance that was unlike any of the woods and florals in my price range at the time. I was hooked back then on their natural chic and they were among the very first to employ the charm of nature. Sure there was Cornsilk makeup of the "An ear of corn gave its life so you could be beautiful", but nobody had the depth of the YR line. I have been a devotee ever since.
Anyway, back to the present. If you are on a budget or a shoe fanatic who just doesn't care to spend a lot of money on perfume, you can quench your thirst for fragrance at the Yves Rocher website AND have the added plus of not being able to sniff yourself all over town. Let the other females buy the latest CK or Escada summer flanker, you can laugh all the way to the bank by choosing good old Yves Rocher and can rub their "green" cred in your friends' faces too! What's not to love?
You also have options galore. Are you the soliflore type? Indulge in their gardenia, lilac, or lily offerings. If you want to crank it up a bit and choose a sultry floral Rose Absolue and Iris Noir are swankier, spicier florals that can be had cheaply with a discount or coupon. They also give you soli-fruits, if their is such a word, and their strawberry scent is second to none for realism. Yum. And it comes in a bdy lotion too. Double yum.
Hunt around and take a look at their Comme une Evidence, Neblina and Cocoon lines. Make it natural and try Naturelle. Go retro with Clea or the Ispahan reissue or do what I did and opt for the nouvelle summer scent Green Summer. I am really enjoying this one. Citrus galore, it is cool for the hot days and has enough floral presence to make you feel feminine too. The lasting power is just okay, but the bottle is 75ml and will last a long time. For twenty dollars, give it a whirl and they will also send you some fun freebies.
Now I'm going to chat a few about some rock bottom bargains from the land of haute parfumerie, France. There are bargains galore if you hunt online and if you get tres lucky at TJMaxx or Marshall's, but for consistent cheap fun I have turned to Yves Rocher, originally a mail order beauty emporium with a great website. I think of it as France's answer to Avon, a nice quality product, a versatile range of options and always something on sale.
The makeup and moisturizing options are pretty similar with points going to Avon for adopting more sophisticated formulas more quickly. Yves Rocher features natural oils and extraits, but if you want modern science Avon is the way to go.
I give a decisive TKO to YR when it comes to fragrances. Soliflores abound and they came out early with the ubiquitous tea scented eaux. They also offer a nice line of standards and always have and offer fun summer limited editions which are truly limited, so if you love them do stock up.
I started buying YR as a college girl (MSU 1970s) after I spied an introductory offer in a magazine. I bought a shampoo for redheads, some lipsticks and most importantly a bottle of Ispahan, a deep dark oriental fragrance that was unlike any of the woods and florals in my price range at the time. I was hooked back then on their natural chic and they were among the very first to employ the charm of nature. Sure there was Cornsilk makeup of the "An ear of corn gave its life so you could be beautiful", but nobody had the depth of the YR line. I have been a devotee ever since.
Anyway, back to the present. If you are on a budget or a shoe fanatic who just doesn't care to spend a lot of money on perfume, you can quench your thirst for fragrance at the Yves Rocher website AND have the added plus of not being able to sniff yourself all over town. Let the other females buy the latest CK or Escada summer flanker, you can laugh all the way to the bank by choosing good old Yves Rocher and can rub their "green" cred in your friends' faces too! What's not to love?
You also have options galore. Are you the soliflore type? Indulge in their gardenia, lilac, or lily offerings. If you want to crank it up a bit and choose a sultry floral Rose Absolue and Iris Noir are swankier, spicier florals that can be had cheaply with a discount or coupon. They also give you soli-fruits, if their is such a word, and their strawberry scent is second to none for realism. Yum. And it comes in a bdy lotion too. Double yum.
Hunt around and take a look at their Comme une Evidence, Neblina and Cocoon lines. Make it natural and try Naturelle. Go retro with Clea or the Ispahan reissue or do what I did and opt for the nouvelle summer scent Green Summer. I am really enjoying this one. Citrus galore, it is cool for the hot days and has enough floral presence to make you feel feminine too. The lasting power is just okay, but the bottle is 75ml and will last a long time. For twenty dollars, give it a whirl and they will also send you some fun freebies.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Pain
I read another blog today in which the blogger wrote about receiving discouraging comments from parents. She said she would have rather her parents said "You can do it" instead of "there's time to change"(career directions). I'm not 100% sure what it is she was trying to do, but it sounded like a teaching job, and you know, I bet she would be a great teacher.
There are a lot of challenging jobs out there. And not all of them pay spectacularly well or require some secret innate talent. Some just require a long adjustment period, before you feel totally comfortable, before you "hit your stride". Sometimes it takes a while to obtain that special sixth sense, a feeling that you instinctively know what to do, how to respond or what to say.
Take my job for instance. I am a psychiatric nurse. It is not glamorous but it is challenging and it takes years before you truly trust yourself to make correct decisions and even then you second guess yourself alot. The reality is that you can learn about medications and state laws and you can practice cognitive therapy techniques until you're blue in the face and it doesn't always work out.
The job is dangerous. Patients are frequently not ready to accept a diagnosis and they lie to your face. They are frustrating. But when it all comes together and you help someone dig themselves out of their state or understand the chronicity of their illness and learn to love their life anyway, the rewards are breathtaking.
The frustrating parts are real. And the danger is unpredictable, anything can happen.
I have learned not to complain because even at my age people say "It's not too late to change". Yes it is and I don't wanna.
So miss L, you'll get there and you'll thrive.
But you're wrong about something. When it comes to job hunting and networking sometimes luck has everything to do with it. And that's unpredictable too. What sort of "luck"? You never know. In my case when I applied to my dream job I thought it was futile. But I got in, in fact the HR person said "I really want you". I was elated, thinking that my qualifications and interests were key. They were not. It was my name. Seems she hired several other people with the same first name and they had worked out well, so she chose me. If my first name had been the same as somebody who quit before orientation had finished or who was fired for cause I would have never been hired. This was corroborated by others who had watched this trend over time. So luck matters, sometimes.
There are a lot of challenging jobs out there. And not all of them pay spectacularly well or require some secret innate talent. Some just require a long adjustment period, before you feel totally comfortable, before you "hit your stride". Sometimes it takes a while to obtain that special sixth sense, a feeling that you instinctively know what to do, how to respond or what to say.
Take my job for instance. I am a psychiatric nurse. It is not glamorous but it is challenging and it takes years before you truly trust yourself to make correct decisions and even then you second guess yourself alot. The reality is that you can learn about medications and state laws and you can practice cognitive therapy techniques until you're blue in the face and it doesn't always work out.
The job is dangerous. Patients are frequently not ready to accept a diagnosis and they lie to your face. They are frustrating. But when it all comes together and you help someone dig themselves out of their state or understand the chronicity of their illness and learn to love their life anyway, the rewards are breathtaking.
The frustrating parts are real. And the danger is unpredictable, anything can happen.
I have learned not to complain because even at my age people say "It's not too late to change". Yes it is and I don't wanna.
So miss L, you'll get there and you'll thrive.
But you're wrong about something. When it comes to job hunting and networking sometimes luck has everything to do with it. And that's unpredictable too. What sort of "luck"? You never know. In my case when I applied to my dream job I thought it was futile. But I got in, in fact the HR person said "I really want you". I was elated, thinking that my qualifications and interests were key. They were not. It was my name. Seems she hired several other people with the same first name and they had worked out well, so she chose me. If my first name had been the same as somebody who quit before orientation had finished or who was fired for cause I would have never been hired. This was corroborated by others who had watched this trend over time. So luck matters, sometimes.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Two more cheap thrills from B&BW
Today I wended my way into the local Bath and Body Works to see what I could see and if anything struck my fancy among the new offerings. I tend to prefer their older scents and have not had much luck with the new pretties, but today I found two that were very enjoyable and more in keeping with their "classics".
Being fond of green scents, I was first I was drawn to Rainkissed Leaves. Just as the name suggests this one is leaves. The site says "watercress" supply the leaves in question but the effect is more outdoorsy than salady. I would hazard a guess that there are more leaves involved or maybe a generic "green note" and the site claims muguet (lily of the valley) and woods, but these are rather unobtrusive. A naturalist wonder, you'll smell like you spent the day pruning in the conservatory.
Next on the list is Butterfly Flower. The notes from the site are tea, tangerine, cyclamen, banana leaf , orchid, syringa , mimosa, coconut milk, and musk so I guess "fruity floral" springs to mind, but I did not really notice the tangerine or for that matter the coconut in Butterfly Flower. I did get a rush from this one. I am not able to discern which note was so startling to me but it reminded me of a flower I smelled long ago but hadn't smelled lately and I am assuming it is the cyclamen. My grandmother grew them and I remember them being lush and lovely but not sunny. I remember her removing caterpillars from the plants and I guess these did turn into butterflies! Butterfly food. Anyway a charming and old-fashioned pretty girl floral scent!
As always, both come in a full range of bath and body products. The Butterfly Flower is longer lasting than the Rainkissed Leaves and both can be had at a great sale price.
Being fond of green scents, I was first I was drawn to Rainkissed Leaves. Just as the name suggests this one is leaves. The site says "watercress" supply the leaves in question but the effect is more outdoorsy than salady. I would hazard a guess that there are more leaves involved or maybe a generic "green note" and the site claims muguet (lily of the valley) and woods, but these are rather unobtrusive. A naturalist wonder, you'll smell like you spent the day pruning in the conservatory.
Next on the list is Butterfly Flower. The notes from the site are tea, tangerine, cyclamen, banana leaf , orchid, syringa , mimosa, coconut milk, and musk so I guess "fruity floral" springs to mind, but I did not really notice the tangerine or for that matter the coconut in Butterfly Flower. I did get a rush from this one. I am not able to discern which note was so startling to me but it reminded me of a flower I smelled long ago but hadn't smelled lately and I am assuming it is the cyclamen. My grandmother grew them and I remember them being lush and lovely but not sunny. I remember her removing caterpillars from the plants and I guess these did turn into butterflies! Butterfly food. Anyway a charming and old-fashioned pretty girl floral scent!
As always, both come in a full range of bath and body products. The Butterfly Flower is longer lasting than the Rainkissed Leaves and both can be had at a great sale price.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Weird and guilty pleasures
I love soda.
Whether you call it pop, soda, or choose to go back in time and use the archaic expression "phosphate" I will join you in one and pronounce them all bubbly and delicious! In fact, some of my oldest and favorite memories take place at a parlor that was called "Loud and Jackson's" that catered to not only ice cream enthusiasts but also carbonated beverage lovers like me. There you could order up the phosphate of your dreams: vanilla, cherry, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, strawberry, grape, chocolate or any combination! You could even mix and match them with ice creams if you liked that sort of thing. Paradise.
Today our options are limited and quite frankly that annoys the heck out of me and I sit here sipping my Diet Sunkist longing for something else.
True, if you live in Michigan you can get Faygo in those wonderful strawberry, grape or key lime flavors, but I am stuck here in New Jersey where I can't even find a decent bottle of ginger ale, ok! There is no Vernor's in New Jersey and you can only get Faygo in orange or orange if you can find it at all and orange was never their strong suit. So there! Nehi is but a distant memory, too.
So I have to slake my thirst with colas, with diet-rite's smeasley collection of less bubbly flavors that do not tickle my nose, and hope for New Jerseyans to develop a broader definition of soda.
Sigh.
Suggestions welcome.
Whether you call it pop, soda, or choose to go back in time and use the archaic expression "phosphate" I will join you in one and pronounce them all bubbly and delicious! In fact, some of my oldest and favorite memories take place at a parlor that was called "Loud and Jackson's" that catered to not only ice cream enthusiasts but also carbonated beverage lovers like me. There you could order up the phosphate of your dreams: vanilla, cherry, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, strawberry, grape, chocolate or any combination! You could even mix and match them with ice creams if you liked that sort of thing. Paradise.
Today our options are limited and quite frankly that annoys the heck out of me and I sit here sipping my Diet Sunkist longing for something else.
True, if you live in Michigan you can get Faygo in those wonderful strawberry, grape or key lime flavors, but I am stuck here in New Jersey where I can't even find a decent bottle of ginger ale, ok! There is no Vernor's in New Jersey and you can only get Faygo in orange or orange if you can find it at all and orange was never their strong suit. So there! Nehi is but a distant memory, too.
So I have to slake my thirst with colas, with diet-rite's smeasley collection of less bubbly flavors that do not tickle my nose, and hope for New Jerseyans to develop a broader definition of soda.
Sigh.
Suggestions welcome.
Cheap thrills of the smelly type
Few scents are more cost effective than B&BW's very delicious White Tea and Ginger or their Brown Sugar and Fig.
Both capitalize of the prominence of tea and fig notes in perfumery today and manage to smell rich and beautiful despite their cheapo cost. Brown Sugar and Fig captures the fig note wonderfully and adds brown sugar for a fun gourmand flair. White Tea and Ginger gives you the brewed tea chic of a Bvlgari or a L'Occitane for a small fraction of the big league price tag francais!
And if that was not enough, B&BW fragrances come in matching lotions, creams and shower gels, so what's not to love?
The lasting power of these body sprays is not too shabby either but at B&BW prices you can spritz all day and not break the bank or you can layer these sprays with the cream and lotions for smooth feeling and luscious smelling skin!
I love these fragrances!
Go on, perfume fans, give it a try. Outside of a few rarified circles nobody knows the difference anyway.
Both capitalize of the prominence of tea and fig notes in perfumery today and manage to smell rich and beautiful despite their cheapo cost. Brown Sugar and Fig captures the fig note wonderfully and adds brown sugar for a fun gourmand flair. White Tea and Ginger gives you the brewed tea chic of a Bvlgari or a L'Occitane for a small fraction of the big league price tag francais!
And if that was not enough, B&BW fragrances come in matching lotions, creams and shower gels, so what's not to love?
The lasting power of these body sprays is not too shabby either but at B&BW prices you can spritz all day and not break the bank or you can layer these sprays with the cream and lotions for smooth feeling and luscious smelling skin!
I love these fragrances!
Go on, perfume fans, give it a try. Outside of a few rarified circles nobody knows the difference anyway.
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