Hot And NOT

In an effort to take a break from my draining weight loss battle, I’d like to talk about what’s keeping me hot and what’s soooo not. For starters, let me first say I had a hot day. I believe it was right smack dab in the middle of my month of laziness.

My friend Michelle has been a stay at home mama for four yeas now. She has two sweet, beautiful daughters. After spending so much money on photography for those little ladies the past few years, she decided to just invest in a nice camera. She has quite a knack for photography and in just a few months has begun her own little business. While trying to build up her portfolio, she asked if she could do some family shots of Sophia, husband and I. I was a bit hesitant at first. I had planned to do our first family portraits when I wasn’t embarrassed to be in them. I realized that my weight loss goals were a long way away and we should probably do family pictures before we had to schedule Sophia’s senior pictures. I decided to take Michelle up on her offer. After all, I was certain she would at least capture some good ones of Sophia she could use. Of course then I needed something to wear. After literally an entire day of shopping (which is VERY difficult in a town with 5 department stores), I found something that would work and go with things I had selected for husband and Sophia. I was and am still very excited about my skirt purchase. It’s a light khaki color with a linen feel. It sits at the waist with a dark brown belt which insinuates that I have a waistline. It’s also a size medium. I wore it with a white v-neck top and brown gladiator sandals. My hair hadn’t been so much as trimmed since well before I began this blog. I made an appointment with a dear friend who is an absolute magician with my mop of a head. She trimmed, relayered and styled my hair more perfectly than ever. By the time Michelle was ready, so was I. Sophia, of course, stole the show, but my hair was a close second. I found out Michelle’s art is just as magical as my stylist’s! That girl can zoom, crop and edit away my figure flaws, leaving me without a single complaint. Thank goodness for good mommy friends who really know what a girl wants! Michelle gave me a disk of like 80+ photos; I loved every one! Now I have a display in my living room of four of our family pictures and I look nice in all of them. I even was inspired enough to begin a family scrapbook. My girls made me feel pretty, maybe even a little bit sexy!



(To check out more of our family pictures and Michelle's photography visit meshellePhotography.blogspot.com )

That said, of course there are a few products/occurrences that are having the opposite effect. Ever since I saw the Neutrogena HealthySkin foundation commercial, I have wanted to try it. I try to use products that are good for my skin and they assured me that this stuff was so great you could sleep in it. I looked for this product for quite awhile before locating it. When I saw that there was a skin clearing version, I thought I was in heaven! Good for my skin and clears/prevents acne? Check and CHECK! I was sold. I began using my new foundation with such excitement I didn’t even wait for my old to run out. I had one little zit on my forehead and that guy was gonna be a goner in no time. After using the foundation for a solid month or more (and not even wearing it overnight, I might add) I never, ever experienced a single day blemish free. It also didn’t seem to be as smooth as my old brand. The day after I went back to my old brand leftovers, I had completely clear skin again. You tricked me, Jessica Alba!!!

As for my current hair state- my friend gave me a great cut that works well as I continue to try to grow it out. Unfortunately, it still never looks as good as I want it to because my flat iron has left me for the afterlife. I am living life without as I hate buying cheap styling tools that don’t get the job done. I got laid off two weeks ago so I can’t justify spending real money on something wonderful. On the upside, without going through routine heat torture, my hair feels really soft and maybe the break is doing some long term good.

And finally, medical laws are keeping me ugly. I ran out of contacts and tried to go buy another box. Apparently it has been a year since my last exam, so I cannot purchase more contacts until I have another eye exam. My prescription has not changed in the slightest since 9th grade!!! I go through this every year and every year it drives me crazy. And as I mentioned before, my financial state doesn’t leave me with a couple hundred buck to blow on an unnecessary exam and new contacts. My glasses that I got within the last few years are ok but are bent crooked, which seems to be QUITE unflattering on me. That leaves me with my glasses from….9th grade. I can see perfectly, but why bother with how dorky I look. Yesterday husband was flipping through TV channels as he passed The Princess Diaries. I made him stop and I stared in horror. Anne Hathaway’s pre-makeover character and I were rocking the same style. My frizzy (though soft) curls framed my identical glasses with eerie similarity. DAMN! I shoved my hair into a fluffy ponytail just to fight the likeness before leaving the house.