Atypical 60

Broaching a Taboo Subject! Leaky Lady Parts and A Solution!

Posted on May 1, 2021 by Catherine

I honestly don’t even know where to begin with this but here goes because it’s quite a taboo subject. Bladder leakage!

Hey my dear friends–someone has to broach the subject!!

Almost 38 years ago I gave birth to my first child. Upon delivering a ten-pounder, it was a great experience that changed my life. I felt so overcome with a love that I never experienced before. And due to the fact that my ob-gyn allowed me to partake in a completely natural childbirth (I was very Crunchy-Granola at the time), my “Origin of the World” went through some changes.

My reaction was slightly different. but being self-centered quite similar. I said “He’s BIG. So BIG. Am I OK”? to which the nurse curtly replied “YOUR BABY is healthy”.

I had a fourth-degree laceration which warranted having a catheter shoved up my love canal for four days. Trust me when I tell you that I loved it at the time because it made for voiding very easy. But when it was taken out, I wasn’t too eager to void! I’m not even going to talk about the back door exit!

Regardless, that birth paved the way for the next two deliveries which were easy-peasy bladder squeezy.

And yes, I did Kegel exercises upon returning back to work. Every moment spent in an elevator was kegeling. And even as a stay-at-home mom, I continued the Kegels randomly.

I dunno know if a machine like this would even help!

But a weird thing happened. I began to age. My young “origin of the world” was now an old piece of real estate. Instead of a leaky roof, I had a leaky basement. Not ridiculously leaky but leaky enough that I had to, and still do, hang around the throne a bit till the faucet stops dripping if you know what I mean.

And upon arising, there’s sometimes a bit of hidden bodily precipitation that manage to ever-so-gently slide down the thigh. Not enough for surgery but enough that I really should wear a pad. But the fact is, during my productive ovary years, I went through a ton of pads and they were uncomfortable AF. Presently, I deal with it and do the laundry more often than not.

In the movie “Billy Madison” perhaps it was cool to go pee pee in your pants but I’m sorry, I don’t wanna be Miles Davis. Nor do I want to be Miles River!

My current concern is the wedding party I’m attending for my bestie’s daughter later this month—Memorial Day weekend, in fact. My great concern is dancing. Trust me, when there’s a party, I’m on that dance floor. The Frenchman sits at the table and I’ll grab anyone that has a heartbeat and can breathe to run up to the dance floor to boogie with me. And therein lies the issue. My bladder MUST be completely empty. This is a challenge because I also enjoy partaking in adult beverages at any sort of social event. I don’t get plowed but I do enjoy a drinkie-poo or three.

This is the dress I’m wearing to the wedding party. It’s made for dancing with that slit–but I don’t need anything that resembles lemonade dripping down my legs!

So, I’m usually, emptying, dancing, leaking. Emptying, dancing, leaking. On repeat. At Oona’s wedding it wasn’t bad because I wasn’t drinking. Well, just one drink, and after that I remained dry—everywhere!

Remember Oona’s wedding? I think I was the happiest Mother-of-the-Bride on earth. And I made sure I was dry!

No longer am I able to make like Jack La Lanne and perform jumping jacks—it turns into Jumping Jack Flash Flood. I cannot dance around the house like a happy little fool because I get a bit leaky. Trust me on this, it’s not to the point I need to call my doctor—it’s just at that little annoying point. And I’m not exclusive. It’s an issue many of us face as we pro-age.

Note to self. Write to Mick Jagger and ask him to update the song “Jumping Jack Flash” to “Jumping Jack Flash Flood” I wonder if he has leakage issues.

Anyway, you can just imagine how intrigued I was when the people at Zorbies, a new brand that makes absorbent panties reached out to me and asked if I wouldn’t mind the panties out for a little review. Since it’s a product that is conducive to our demographic, I jumped on the opportunity.

It’s a new brand and it’s nice to be able to give a shout out.

I received two pair. One pair I haven’t used yet because I’m saving it for the wedding party.

Here’s my thoughts.

The panties came in separate plastic zip-topped bags. Personally, I like that because it lends itself well for travel.Upon taking the panties out for observation. I noticed that they are designed in the USA and made in China. If you have no issue with that as I have no issue, please read on. If you don’t purchase products made in China—just out of curiosity, please read on anyway.

The brand is pretty transparent in giving information regarding the panties. Notice that they also give you the information on the various fabric layers in the bads. As I like to air-dry many of my items, I would dry these on a rack.

I ordered the size “Medium”. And although I’m still (pass me those chips please) making an effort to lose pandemic weight, the medium fits perfectly.

The panties are actually quite nice. Not granny looking but not hotsie-totsie either. Very pragmatic in design. I like that these come just below the belly button!

The waistline falls just below the belly-button which makes for more comfort. A high waistline can oftentimes roll down—especially when Spandex is included in the mix.

My leggings come up mid-belly. The panties are cut with a lower waist which is great because who wants their panties sticking out from the top of their trousers, skirt or leggings?

The only bulk is my naturally flabby gut. Even my butt has no added bulk–and there’s padding there too!

The padding—these panties, upon first glance, may appear somewhat bulky, but all that changes once you put them on.

Turned inside out. Honestly, when I saw how much padding there is I was concerned about a bulky appearance but they aren’t bulky at all!

The trim around the legs is wonderful. I don’t know about you, but many stretchy panties have that elastic trim around the leg opening that has a tendency to “cut” into skin. These don’t which adds to the comfort level.

The leg edges/trim/hem–whatever you want to call it doesn’t cut into the skin at all. I love that because it definitely adds to the comfort level!

The fit. Now, I promised my husband that I would not model these panties so that my image wearing them would not be splayed over the internet. But I will attest that the padding is not bulky. Below are photos of me wearing a pair of J. Crew leggings over the panties. The leggings are somewhat thin but there’s no bulk from underneath. The photo from the side is the same –no added bulk, just my piggy-belly.

These leggings are pretty thin but opague. You can’t even tell I have absorbent, padded panties on…

Again, a side view and you still can’t tell. The only thing sticking out is my gut.

The padding also covers a large area where leakage might occur. From the entrance to your origin all the way to the back. And excuse me for being vulgar but—the padding in the back is great to absorb booty juice. There. I said it. Some of us due to Irritable Bowel Syndrome or hemorrhoids or lack of muscle in the anal area do have a bit of the booty juice dripping out. And with the padding reaching to the back, having a larger area of absorption is a good thing!

The back view and there is padding at the back door! So go ahead and eat that gassy food!

Today I’m wearing these and without going into too much detail, I can honestly tell you, that these are working. I literally drank two liters of Diet Peach Sparkling “Beverage” and am on my third. (Don’t judge—I know regular water is healthier). I turned-on Black-Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling’ and danced around the house, ran up and down three flights of stairs, and did jumping jacks. I also played “Chase “with Chippy (who is now underneath the coffee table hiding from me), and these panties absorbed lady part precipitation.

Chippy is hiding from me. I wore him out and my paadded panties didn’t fail me!

The padding now feels dry because—well, the moisture was absorbed. There’s no odor. And I plan on keeping these on all day. I’ll be headed to the mall later and I feel absolutely confident.

With this padding, you are definitely well-protected!

Let’s talk price. The Ladies Classic Moderate Classic Style, which I have runs $33.25 for a single pair and $99.75 for a four-pack. The price is fair. The disposable brands of absorbent underwear retail for a lot more when you have to keep purchasing. So overall, the price point is very fair.

I would say the price is very fair–especially considering the cost of disposable absorbant panties!

The brand also has other options such as Period Underwear and panties where you can use removable pads. The period panties are in the “Why-didn’t-these-exist-when-I-had-my-period” category. When I think back to those days of tampons and maxi pads on heavy flow days—arrgh! The tampons would leak (and I shoved two up there), the pads, even with the wings, would move and I would be left with panties that I would have to fight with my dogs to get them out of their mouths and into the wash. Many times, I just trashed the panties. These would have been a godsend! Plus, they are great for new moms after delivery!

All this absorbent padding would have worked well to keep my dogs from appearing as though they were in lust with me during my heavy flow days!

In addition, there are also models for men.

More transparency from the brand!

These are sold exclusively in the continental US through the Zorbies Website www.zorbies.com and through their eBay store if you want items shipped outside of the USA.

My overall view is very favorable!

What’s my overall view? These are great. They perform well. Aren’t bulky. Won’t stink and you can wear with confidence. My only issue per se is with the use of the word “incontinence”. For me, it’s up there with “anti-aging” and just sounds negative. While I realize that the incontinence term is used by physicians and the medical world as well as the brands selling products to help. If I could create a word to use it would be “absorbitence”, or a more body-friendly term. But hey, that’s just me!

Thumbs up people! It’s really a great item. I’ve often thought about purchasing disposables but the Zorbies are just so much better, more cost-efficient in the long run and comfortable!

So, jump up and down. Dance. Run. Chase the dog. Shake your Booty. And live with confidence if you have the leaky-lady-faucet or if other areas of your lower body are a bit—leaky!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Absorbent underwear, Baby Boomers, Bladder leakage, incontinence, Senior Issues, Tears after childbirth, Zorbies absorbent underwear | 18 Comments

Styling v. Wearing—Is There a Difference?

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Catherine

There certainly is a difference and it’s something I’ve wanted to write about for a while but never got around to it. Until now.

If you aren’t familiar, I post on Instagram. A lot. I post on a mostly-daily basis of outfits that I’m wearing. Overall, how I wear the ensembles oftentimes showcases my style. And basically, style is how you wear clothing:

Almost every morning I post on Instagram the outfit that I am wearing for the day. I’m not styling a thing. I’m merely wearing clothes!

Style is defined (as a particular way of doing or saying something), or refers to a unique form of clothing or way of arranging your appearance.

As quoted above, it pretty-much describes what I’m talking about. What I find daunting is the misuse of the word style when it comes to fashion. It is up there with my chic pet peeve. Chic is another term that is ridiculously misused. There are very few women who truly personify the description of chic. It is elegance and sophistication blended with style. That’s a tough mix to come by. I’m veering off topic…

I have no idea who this woman is, but she personifies chic in it’s essence. Check out her hair. It’s gorgeous and styled without looking like a “do”. She’s elegant while being casual. Nothing fussy. She is both chic and stylish. On to the subject matter.

“Style” as a noun is used to describe the kinds of clothing and the way someone wears those clothes.

A little look-see at my personal style for work. blazer, heels (MUST BE POINTY TOED–that’s my style) and a scarf. I wear these clothes. This is my style but I don’t style any of it. Kabeesh?

For example: My personal style, I would say is more of classic-with-an-edge. A sort of preppy-going-outside-the-lines. And my style is literally based on the school uniform I wore for many years. Shirt. Skirt. Blazer. And I play off that. It could be jeans, tee shirt and blazer. Or pants, shirt and denim jacket. Or skirt, shirt and blazer. Or skirt and sweater. It’s very simple. But—it’s my style. My mode of dressing.

…or plaid kilt (PLAID is my favorite color) with sweater and tights (tights only in winter otherwise I’m bare-legged) with ballet flats.

And my three-season favorite weekend outfit (Fall, Winter, Spring when the weather is still chilly) Jeans, tee, scarf, blazer and loafer on sockless feet. It is my style–and again, I haven’t styled a dang thing!

My summer style is the dress. I would call it “”Lazy Lady Style”simply because I can’t be bothered wearing a lot of clothing during the warmer and heated months.

I’m a big Lilly Pulitzer fan for summer dressing. The bright colors are fun–it’s what I like to wear..

And when it comes to summer travel, I’m all about the dress. This photo was taken in St. Tropez in 2017. I just took this dress out of the storage bin and hung it in my closet. I paid ten bucks for it at Old Navy–this will be the fifth summer I’m wearing it. And it wears well–hmmm maybe my style is frugal!

“Styling” as a verb is where the over-use and misuse of the word comes in. Throwing on a pair of shoes is not “Styling”. It is “wearing”. Adorning those same shoes with embelishments such as bows or ribbons or gemstones is styling the shoes then placing the embellished shoes on your feet is still wearing. Sliding into a pair of heels or sneakers or flip-flops is not styling. It’s wearing and again, so many get it wrong.

This plain pair of pumps has been embellished. They have been styled. The owner of these shoes worked on styling them and she will wear them.

And don’t even get me started on this look. First of all the young woman is gorgeous. However, I’m tired of this look and even more tired when influencers say they are “styling” with accessories such as the hat. For the love of Pete, will someone PLEASE tell these women the hat is supposed to be worn lower on the forehead. This is not styling. It’s a trendy look that will be dated by next year. Oy vey!

And basically, I wear clothing. Sadly, I’m not much for styling and it’s mostly because I just don’t have that certain “thing”. I’m lousy at accessories. I’ll wear the same earrings until they lose the gold plating or they break. I have a necklace of big fake pearls that were purchased a few years back at J. Crew Factory. I wear them on repeat all year.

Quite honestly, these fake pearls have been worn so many times I cannot believe they aren’t discolored. My jewelry style is purely costume but I don’t style my fake jewelry–I wear it.

Scarves? I wear the basic double loop or tie it up on my neck to hide the turkey wrinkles! In fact, this winter I mostly wore but one scarf. It seemed to go with everything I wore and I wore it more than often!

My most-worn scarf this winter. I didn’t exactly style it but I did manipulate it to cover my turkey neck!

And the only other way I know how to wear a scarf is the double loop.

But here’s the thing—I wear clothing well. Trust me I’m not bragging or being full of myself. I know my body. I try to wear clothing that fits me well when I gain weight and when I lose weight. But as far as a unique ability to make a simple frock or pair of pants look unique, by styling– I’m not gifted.

Presently I’m in a “heavier” stage that has remained in place since February. But because I know how to wear clothing, these paper-bag waisted pants look okay. Nothing on this outfit is styled. I’m wearing the pants with a fitted knit top and pointy toed leopard shoes.

And therein lies the issue on social media. Wearing a pair of jeans with a shirt and sneakers is not style. It is simply wearing clothing. I see this all the time too. Women wearing clothing and telling how they’ve styled it—throwing on a pair of slides is not styling an outfit. Donning a sweatshirt is not styling.

Looks such as this are splayed all over social media–especially by the mature woman as “styled”. I’m sorry but this is not a styled look. It is a fine outfit for raking leaves or running errands but I would not say it the very “styling” is appropriate!

I’m going to show you two examples of proper styling:

Last week I was perusing through my Instagram feed and came across a little video post by Susan of Une Femme du Certain Age Blog. She showcased how she took a pair of jeans and a tee shirt that she was wearing and she styled it. The video is on the blog which I’ve linked. The addition of a Chanel-esque tweed lady jacket, a chain bracelet, earrings and white driving loafers changed the simple look into a stylish ensemble. And the little extra was the front tuck of the shirt. Honestly, I was so happy to see a bona fide style video I practically did a happy dance. She got it. @susan_unefemme

Oh look! Susan is wearing jeans and a tee! (Sorry about the blurred image).

Now she takes a Chanel-inspired tweed Lady jacket..

..and she STYLED her look. The use of a lady jacket with jeans is unique. The little front tuck of the tee shirt is that little nuance that adds the extra. The driving loafers and bag complete the styled ensemble. It’s taking that one element and styling a look. Had a barn jacket or windbreaker been worn with the tee, jeans and sneakers replaced the loafers, it would not have been a styled look.

Another Instagram true styler is my friend Josie of @living.la.vida.fifi. I honestly have never seen anyone work the magic that Josie does with a scarf. Her knack, knowledge and ability put her in a class of her own. It’s crazy. She simply does not wear a scarf. She styles them. She gets it. And I swear to you I’ve tried to copy her scarf looks and I just can’t do it.

One scarf, two looks…

..oh wait–there’s more!

Can you believe this? I can barely loop a scarf around my neck. THIS is how styling works with a scarf!

My big style moment came last week. I have a Dr. Fauci basketball tee shirt that I ordered from Regis High School, where he was a student. (Dr. Fauci is my hero). I wore it with a pair of black leggings. Simple enough—right? But I decided to turn those two items into suiting. I took a black J. Crew Schoolboy blazer and a pair of heels. Voila! I styled otherwise ridiculously casual items into a more professional style.

My bit styling moment from last week. I styled my Dr. Fauci tee and leggings into suiting. I tell you this tee shirt is epic greatness! I only wish it had been delivered before I had my second vaccination!

So, there you have it. You can wear clothing without styling—but the way you wear those clothes can be stylish. And when an outfit is styled to the true meaning, thought goes into the look. And it becomes unique.

I don’t think this counts as styling, but I love wearing a blazer with shorts. It reminds me of my high school days.

What are your thoughts on this? It’s been a while since we had a long comment discussion. You think I’m on track? Do you agree with my wearing v. style. I’m really curious because I’m wondering if others feel the same way! Don’t be shy now! Let’s hear it!

Posted in Uncategorized | 28 Comments

Traveling After that Second Vaccine-And More Owen Time!

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Catherine

Last Thursday evening we flew to Cincinnati to visit Oona, Sam and………. grandson Owen. It’s been a hectic few day since our return on Sunday.

Destination Cincinnati! And I love flying at night–it’s like a light show when you make the landing!

Presently I’m in the midst of baking a birthday cake. It’s for me and my stepdaughter. Saturday evening I’ll be hosting a post-vaccination dinner with me, my husband, my son Roman, my stepdaughter Clare and her husband and daughter.

Actually, I made the cake yesterday. I procrastinated this post. Why? I was busy taking yesterday off from work to cook and bake. BTW, this is the Momofuku Milk Bar Birthday Cake and I use the recipe from the Milk Bar Cookbook. HOWEVER, I’m posting the link for the recipe from Boston Girl Bakes because her recipe is so clear and concise that I think you’ll appreciate it should you want to attempt this: Boston Girl Bakes Birthday Cake Reccipe!

So yeah—I’m making my own cake. It’s a process that I startedWednesday night. Tomorrow I’m going out to dinner with my friend Grace and Friday, my official birthday, I’ll be home from work and cooking for the family.

Actually, I ended up baking TWO cakes. I want chocolate..

And because I don’t like waste–I make Cake Truffles from the leftover cake scraps!

And…the cakes are in the freezer now until this evening!

The best thing about this upcoming dinner is that everyone will have been vaccinated. We won’t need masks. We were together at Christmas but it was stressful. I made anyone coming into our home give me proof that they were tested negatively for COVID. It just …. well, it was just different. And I have to say that mentally, it’ll feel a lot safer now that we’ve all received our vaccines.

Which brings me to the original topic of this post.

We traveled together by air for the first time since returning from Paris in December of 2019. Our last road trip was March of 2020—a week before the infamous lockdown. We spent a weekend in New York City and it was eerily empty.

TBH, I love traveling with my husband-we are a great travel team and it was just like old times to be traveling together again!

Now—I’ve traveled by air twice during the pandemic. In November to visit Oona and Sam before Owen was born and in February, a week after Owen was born. During those flights, I took every precaution known to humanity. Double masked at the airport and during the flight. Wore my eyeglasses for protection and upon arriving at the house, took my travel clothes off, jumped in the shower and scrubbed any and every germ that happened to come my way.

Second dose received and one mask!

But this time, things were better. Both Bonaparte and I having had our second vaccinations, it was both a relief and feeling of protection. That’s not to say we have a false sense of security because we don’t. It’s just that being vaccinated has given us hope—and a measure of emotional stability during this time and a safety net.

The bags were packed—those little jaunts are perfect for carry-on luggage (and mine was half-filled with baby clothing. The masks were in hand and away we drove to Philadelphia airport.

The less I carry-the happier I am!

Now here’s where I bitch and complain. When we fly from Philly, we normally park in the economy lot and take a jitney from the lot to the terminal. The lot is huge so the process takes a while. Because of the pandemic, and due to the fact that people aren’t traveling as much, the lot happens to be closed. Now, when my husband gave me the news about the closed lot, I was overjoyed. It meant parking in the short-term garage directly across from the terminal. Park the car, and walk through an enclosed overpass to the tunnel. Easy—right?

I ALWAYS take a photo of where we park. Trust me, it’s the best travel tip I can offer because it saves a ton of confusion!

Well, not exactly. You see, where other airports (JFK in particular) have proper signage and more concise direction to parking lot space, Philly airport has the bare minimal signage and absolutely no direction whatsoever. After circling the airport twice, we finally figured out how to get to the garage. We park the car in the designated area for Terminal F, unload our stuff and head to the terminal. But we couldn’t find the exit to Terminal F. There were NO SIGNS!! No arrows pointing the way to the overpass. Nothing. We ended up two terminals away and walking to our much-needed Terminal F. As in eff-you-see-kay. Quite frankly, Philly airport is one of the absolute worst airports I’ve ever had to deal with.

Thursday evening at Philadelphia Airport. It’s empty yet there were a ton of cars in the garage!

We had a couple of hours to kill because we left directly from my office. It didn’t matter because we figured we could grab a bite to eat and chill.

Now here’s where the reminders that we are still in the midst of a pandemic come in. The Food Court. In this huge rotunda of all things fast food, all but two places were closed. At that point I was salivating over the thought of enjoying a pillowy soft, salty Philly Pretzel—but the Philly Pretzel stand was closed. In fact, the only two opened were Sbarro and Smashburger.

And the owners (if it is a franchise) of these two establishments are geniuses. Both made a small killing while we were there and I can just imagine the bucks made during the entire pandemic. It was the first time I’ve ever had sweet potato fries and they were quite good.

It is an enigma as to how my refined Frenchman who demands only the best in dining, is so hooked on fast-food burgers! But he is! And thank the Lord Smash Burger was opened for a quick bite to eat!

The plane wasn’t as crowed on the way to Cincy as it was during our trip back—but in being fair, we did fly home on Sunday! And as empty as Philadelphia airport was last Thursday, on Sunday you would never even know there was a pandemic. Lots of travelers. They all must’ve felt mighty safe because most of them looked like they just rolled out of bed. Dirty feet and flip-flops abound. Things are getting back to normal.

BTW, to all those who insist on wearing flip-flops to showcase their fungiesque and filthy feet and pajamas, a little black jersey dress that doesn’t wrinkle and flats are just as comfortable and stylish.

And as we made our way back to our car, wondering how long the walk would take us, we saw a sign. It was a small sign. The printing was not eye-glass wearer friendly, but more of a 20/20 vision entitlement. But we spotted it anyway. It was a sign leading to the overpass to get to the parking lot via Terminal F. It took us less than a minute to get to our car!

And as we exited the short-term lot, and got ready to enter the toll, it was a surprise to find that the cost of parking from Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon was Seventy dollars. Yes. $70. Seven-tee bucks! The airport spared no mercy to those who were unable to use the economy lot. Bonaparte was fine with it but I wasn’t. At JFK, we park for five nights and days and the cost is $38.50. No jitney. A few feet to the little train that takes us to the terminal.

Regardless, we had a great time. It was great to be with Oona and Sam and Owen and their dog, Gracie. And it was wonderful to be able to travel again and not feel stressed or afraid.

Gracie-girl and French Grandpa! She’s so adorable..

And loves her attention–is she competing with Owen?

It was so much fun to be back with Oona, Sam and Baby Owen. He’s just so adorable and I wish I could see him every day!

Tummy Time with this l’il nugget is so much fun!

It’s been two months since I last saw him but he’s just growing by leaps and bounds.

He’s looking so serious. He was absolutely mesmerized by Bonaparte’s speaking French to him. Most likely because my family is so loud and he speaks so softly..

The weather was kind enough to allow Sam to grill burgers and brats and we enjoyed dining al fresco. Bonaparte was in his glories!

The only indication of His Supreme Gaulness is the wine!

We had such a wonderful visit. The two-day journey was just enough to allow the new parents to be great hosts and then get back to their life as a new family!

And he slept the entire ride to the airport to drop us off. I cannot wait to see him again…

And back to Philly we flew..

My new jam is the mobile boarding pass. My old-fashioned husband was indifferent!

And now it is back to reality! Hope you enjoyed our little visit and things are looking good as we get back to baby-steps of travel!!

Posted in The new travel, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Random Thoughts on Aging. Or, Aging Ain’t For Sissies!

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Catherine

Before I go further, allow me to give credit where it is due. I didn’t come up with “Aging Ain’t for Sissies”. The credit belongs to Instagram poster tine_tibby0824 and I had to steal it.

Anyway, in less than two weeks, April 16^th to be exact, I’ll be sixty-six years old. It’s a bit difficult in some ways and its other ways it’s pretty cool. Turning 65 wasn’t a big deal but there’s something about crossing the line from 65 into the high sixties knowing that you’ll be closer to seventy.

And chances are, I’ll be baking my own birthday cake..

And it’ll most likely be the Milk Bar Birthday cake recipe that I love!

I’m more aware of my mortality. And without being morose or maudlin, I become scared when I think about it. I mean, chances are I won’t be around for my grandson Owen’s thirtieth birthday. It bothers me.

Seriously. I wanna be around forever so I can enjoy this guy as he enters into his thirties!

It also grates on me that after a divorce, and being a stay-at-home mom for over twenty years, my return back to the workforce has been a steady stream of shitty jobs. Women who stay home to raise children work 24/7 as nurses, doctors, chefs, bakers, seamstresses, referees, diplomats, cleaning ladies, therapists, problem solvers, project managers, fashion consultants, personal shoppers, coaches, taxi drivers, event planners…and that’s just within the family! Yet, these multi-tasking skills are for naught when looking for a job. Human Resources is interested only in your up-to-the-second resume and your current job.

All this and more while raising three children. And Corporate America couldn’t give a shit about the multitasking that a SAHM does!

I shall exit this earth as we know it as a professional failure!

Yes. Aging is a harsh reality and it hit me hardest the day I had my cataract surgery. Pre-surgery, I saw life through foggy lenses. My face looked—well, it looked almost wrinkle free. And the uneven skin tone kind of blended into a blurry but attractive rosy color.

This is how I thought I looked before cataract surgery. No wrinkles and a rather ethereal aura! Little did I know…

And when I took a look in the mirror with my near-perfect and new eyesight, I was shocked, appalled and started to cry. The reflection that stared back at me didn’t look anything like the one prior to the removal of the cataracts. I was wrinkly—as in really wrinkly. There was no longer a distinction between freckles and age spots. My skin was a myriad of uneven tones. And, I could spot the chin hairs so distinctly.

That THIS was how I really looked! OUCH!

I wanted to get into my car, head to the surgery center and have my cataracts placed back into my eyes!

It’s true. Aging Ain’t for Sissies and I’ve put some random thoughts on the subject below. Maybe you can relate? Maybe you cannot. Maybe you’ll laugh at yourself along with me. Maybe you won’t. But here we go.

That’s right. Aging Ain’t for Sissies. We gotta be warriors!

Do you notice that you’ve been searching through the bowels of the linen closet or the cabinets in the bathroom for those maxi-pads you wore before menopause made you love every month? Only now, the pads are used for that little drip of pee-pee that drips out when you sneeze or laugh or jump up and down. Yeah.

I swear to you that when I found a supply of Oona’s maxi pads, I jumped up and down for joy. Then I leaked so I had to open the pack and put one in my panties!

Not to be vulgar or crude, but do you experience the Farty Party? You know, when you are walking fast and from out of nowhere little puffs of air in the form of flatulence randomly exit from your butt? Ahh. I remember a time in life when all it took was a squeeze of the cheeks to hold those little passes of gas back in.

Come to my farty party. It’ll be a real gas!

It’s the same thing on the other end. Do you ever think about a time when you thought it was disgusting to burp and belch? These days, I let it all out. I would rather release that garlicky or onion-scented burp than hold it in!

When you are in your Sixties, it is a surprise if you find a food that DOESN’T cause you to burp. Ohh. I just burped!

The hair apparent. Apparently, it’s moved. The hair on top of your head, the tresses that used to be, at one time, your crowning glory, has fallen.

The hair on my head has fallen

Some of these hairs miraculously landed on your chin—or worse, under your lower lip. Or worse are now growing in your nose. The brush which you faithfully gave your tresses 100 strokes a day has now been replaced with a tweezer in which you pluck 100 times a day! Oh…and let us not forget the magnifying mirror.

To my chin.

The tweezer is now my preferred beauty tool! Excuse while I go pluck around for a while!

Our mid-sections have expanded quite a bit but it is the expansion of the nose on the face that has us mystified. How did my nose grow as I’ve aged? Is it to hold my snotty attitude of my youth? Or is it to house the new nose hair?

The reality of it is that our noses DO grow as we age!

There was a time when I could scrub floors and jump up from all fours when I was done. Now I’m lucky if I can actually get up without crawling to the nearest table leg or chair to hold on to as I slowly make my way to a standing position.

At least she had a good reason for not being able to get up. I can just about get off the sofa!

My body makes noises now. I’m not talking about the farty-party noises either. My knees crack. My stomach gurgles. And when I eat—I make eat noises that used to gross me out when I was younger!

My body makes more noises than a one-man band these days!

I’ve actually passed by reflective windows and mirrors and scared myself with my reflection.

This happens on a daily basis! I’m not scared of my own shadow but I am scared of my own reflection!

I’m beginning to tolerate the scent of moth balls, old-lady perfumes and Ben-Gay! Clothing with elastized waist bands is looking rather stylish these days.

J. Crew and J. Crew Factory have perfected the elastic-waistband. It looks normal in front and from behind it’s totally elastic! I wore these pants with a tucked-in-the-middle Tee and sandals. I”m the cool granny!

I can’t stand the music that younger people listen to. Give me classic rock like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Now that was music.

Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. Then. And Now. He’s looking pretty nice these days but I do think he should let go of the super-long hair!

I’m constantly amazed at big corporations pontificating their do-gooding Equal Opportunity bullshit. Until they include hiring people over 50, 60 and the like with that group of Gay, Trans, Bi, Yellow, Black, Brown and disabled persons, they are not inclusive. Think about that for a moment!

Spot the old person. That’s right. The old person isn’t represented. There IS no inclusion until older people are treated equally.

With Cancel Culture brings a Pandora’s Box of sorts. Do you realize that All In the Family; The Jefferson’s; Maude; Barney Miller; F-Troop; Hogan’s Hero’s and possibly MASH would not be aired on TV simply because anyone could be offended by the content. People don’t laugh at their shortcomings anymore.

And believe me, as adorable as Patty Duke and Sally Field were, someone today would find reason to be offended by these two nuggets of cuteness and great clothes!

I continue to be perplexed when I see TV commercials showcasing bratty, entitled children who refuse to eat what their poor working mother makes for dinner and then out of nowhere packaged Macaroni and Cheese appears and the kids, although still entitled brats, are suddenly happy. For god’s sake, make a meal and if the children don’t like it, tell them to either eat what you made or go to be hungry. Chances are hunger will take over.

Have you seen any of the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese commercials? It is nothing more than teaching bad parents how to be worse by giving into their entitled offspring.

And speaking of children…I recently saw a House Hunters International episode where a couple was taking their four children to live in Brussels. They went to a bakery during the show and the baker gifted the family with treats. Not one person in this family, parents or children, said thank you. I guess manners are a thing of the past. Oops. I’m showing my age every time I say “Thank you” or “Excuse Me”.

Wouldn’t YOU be thankful for a free sweet like this? You know you are old when you are shocked at bad manners.

On the other hand, our aging has given us wisdom. We are more confident about ourselves. We say what we want without worrying what others will think. We wear what we want. If we want long hair—we’ll wear our hair long whether it is real or fake!

That’s right. I will wear the longer hair–even though it’s fake. And the makeup. And the old sweatshirt…

We can wear the short dress and the jeans and the hoop earrings.

…and I will always wear that short dress!

We can travel without worrying about when the children have to go back to school!

And, we’ll be returning this Fall. We had our vaccinations!

We can make every night a date night!

At our age, every night can be date night! We don’t have to get a babysitter!

But most of all, we can thank our lucky stars that we are aging! It’s something many don’t get to experience. So let’s toast to aging!

Here’s to aging!

Posted in aging, birthdays | 42 Comments

It’s All About the Body-Friendly Pants!

Posted on March 28, 2021 by Catherine

Trust me. I know the title is weird but you may thank me later.

Truth be told, I’ve hit a plateau in my weight loss journey. I’m not really that mad about it simply because I’ve been eating with nary a care in the world. And now I am back on track. But I have to tell you, there’s a brand of pants that I’ve been really loving during this weighty time.

The pants are by Gretchen Scott and they are the Gripeless Spandex Jeans and are wonderfully flattering and stretch in all the right places. I’ve written about these pants in the past but it is time to revisit.

One of the number of Gretchen Scott pants I own. These are so body-friendly and I love ’em!

Another great attribute of these pants is the prints. Now under normal circumstances, I’m not much of a printed pants woman. It’s solids or plaid for me. But these pants—they are just different! And with a 97% Polyester/3% Elastane content, these stretch in the right places! Machine washable and cool-dryer friendly, I remain faithful to air-drying!

The prints are fun and colorful–and the many colors add to different looks!

Something happened the first time I laid eyes on the brand’s Gripeless pants and jeans. It was the prints and the colors. The prints are fun and whimsical and really disguise any flab you might have in your gut. And trust me, I know gut! My gut is that one part of my body that’s the most challenging. Due to my stomach issues, there are days when I’m bloated. And if I eat too much bread, I get bloated. And if I eat too much dairy, I get bloated. And if I eat onions and garlic and get all gassy—I get bloated.

Therefore, my biggest issue is the waist/torso area.

The pants stretch to accommodate the widening waist!

What I love about the Gretchen Scott pants other than the fun prints and vibrant colors, is the fit of the legs.

I’m especially fond of this India-inspired “Animal Kingdom” print! It’s just loverly!

They are skinny with a bit of give so that they are never too tight. The waist area stretches to perfection and is never uncomfortable. I think this is essential for post-menopausal women since our middle area has a tendency to spread a bit. The pants are sized nicely too. The brand takes all body sizes into consideration with a size range that runs the gamut from Shrimp which is XXSmall to Diva which is XXXL.

Worn with navy heels for a more dressy and polished look or..

…worn with bright flats for a more casual look, the pants are versatile as well as practical.

And despite any weight gain I’ve endured over the time from my brother’s death at the end of 2019 through the pandemic, the Medium sized pants have managed to stretch with my body. Allow me to give you and idea of how some of the pants fit me.

Notice the fit through the leg. Slenderizing but not super-tight. There’s some give here.

..and worn with a bright tank top–this is a nice summer look!

Next in line are the more trendy, loose-legged, wider legged, and paper-bag waisted pants. Let us not dismiss the elastic waistband. There are pants with an elastic waistband that are not frumpty-dumpty.

Let’s take a look. Shall we?

I never expected to love the paper-bag waisted pants as much as I do. keeping in proportion, my feeling is that it’s best to go with a more fitted tee or top when wearing these pants! These were purchased at Target and I really need to have another pair in my closet!

I’m loving the look of this outfit and it’s very body friendly. The top is from Amazon and I’ll add it to my idea list that I’ll post below. I don’t feel like shaving my legs tonight so I’ll probably wear this ensemble to work tomorrow!

Now a look at the J. Crew Factory Jamie Pants. The ones below were purchased yesterday. There was a 60% off sale at the store and we happened to be at the outlets, so I took advantage. And that’s also something else I wanted to touch base on. I’ve changed the way I’ve dressed during this pandemic. Pants are now a larger part of my wardrobe than dresses are. It is very odd indeed because I’ve always considered me a dress kinda gal. Now it’s the pants!

These are the navy Jamie pants purchased yesterday. I also have them in black. The photo was adjusted with more light so you could get a better look at the detailing. The pants come above the ankle and I love this length. I’m wearing with a bright v-neck tee, also from J. Crew Factory.

A view from the side-I wanted you to see my gut. These elastized-waist pants are very tummy friendly!!

And now for the wide-leg version of the Jamie Pant. I actually like these better because the wide leg is rather intriguing. They look good even though I’m out of focus..

Here’s a better look at the wider leg. Not too long so that I’ll trip over the fabric, these graze the ankles as well. I like these better with heels than flats!

And allow me to reiterate how important the tops are in keeping with a flattering look.

Here I’m wearing a cotton tee. It doesn’t look bad but…it does add a bit of volume to my upper body. A more spandex-type fitted shirt is better.

As an aside, there are dresses that are body-friendly as well. The dress below, another Gretchen Scott Designs item, was purchased from Mercari, cost me $34 which is a steal considering the average $169 price tag on most of the brand’s dresses–and was received in never-worn, new-with-tags condition.

Yeah. The gut still sticks out but at this point, I don’t give a shit. I LOVE this dress and for the most part, it stretches in all the right places and as I lose weight it’ll look better! It’s a size Medium and I’m a happy camper!

As far as the dresses go–I’ll definitely be wearing more in the summer as the weather gets hot. But..I’m slowly switching it up to more pants.

Has the past year affected how you dress? Let’s talk about this!

Here’s my idea list that you can check out. The Gretchen Scott Pants I’m showcasing on the blog post aren’t on Amazon but similar items are.Rember to take the list when you go shopping! I’ve added affordable pants that come close to what’s in the post: Idea List_Body Friendly Pants

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Body Friendly Dressing, Fashion for mature women | 9 Comments

It’s Okay to Let ‘em See You at Your Ugliest! It’s Okay!

Posted on March 21, 2021 by Catherine

Yesterday I did a thing. I filmed a video for my YouTube channel and I went outside of my comfort zone.

I did a “GRWM” or, in layperson’s terms “Get Ready With Me” video.

This type of video is remarkably popular. I’m sure it has something to do with our curiosity and wondering just how others manage to pull their makeup looks together. Most of these videos are filmed by younger women. Those with peaches and cream skin. You know the type I’m talking about.

I don’t know who this YouTuber is but even though she’s younger, I give her lots of credit for the before pic. Yeah. She’s got perfect skin. And yeah. She’s tons younger but it’s about the fact she is pretty honest with the no makeup look. And I have to say. She’s gorgeous without makeup. But..we’re a lot older!

It’s the woman who hasn’t entered into the realm of serious ageing. Her skin isn’t full of wrinkles or age spots and the uneven skin tone hasn’t set itself into her complexion yet. Ninety-nine-point nine present of them, I pass by simply because they are not relevant to me. My only exception is the wonderful Shelby Wilson, who always manages to do the fresh face and natural face video. The. One. Exception.

This is Shelby Wilson. She is the ONLY younger YT makeup guru I follow. and I’ve gotten a ton of great tips from her. Her looks are multi-generational! Please allow me to strongly suggest you watch this video: Doing My Mom’s Makeup

But—what bothers me and, quite frankly, upsets me to no end is when I see the mature, over-50, over 60, old lady, proaging woman, whatever you chose to call her, filming these videos and using a filter to erase the lines and wrinkles and other signs of ageing she has acquired over the years.

No. Your computer screen is not dirty nor are your eyeglasses smeared with Vaseline. It’s me with an over-filtered photo. And it is ridiculous. And it is one of the reasons I left many online wig groups because older women INSIST on filtering their faces. Sure. The wrinkles and flaws are visually erased but it isn’t REAL. It isn’t what an older woman looks like (correction unless she is able to afford the best face lift on earth). I shake my head.

And it drives me equally crazy when women of the mature age-bracket, use filters and Photo Apps on their Facebook posts and Instagram feeds. If you must resort to this way of catfishing people, then you are not happy nor are you pleased about ageing or your looks. And it goes against the thought process of ageing gracefully. Or gratefully.

Hey. I didn’t look this smooth since I left my mother’s womb–and I’m sure upon first sight I was wet and wrinkly. But seriously folks–I’m 65 years old and if anyone believes that this is what I really look like, I have a bridge to sell you.

To be honest, I’m grateful that I’ve aged thus far. In three weeks as I enter into my 66^th rotation around the sun, I am very aware of my flaws. In fact, I’m going to go further and be completely transparent.

Over the years, I’ve had the pre-cancerous Actinic Keratosis zapped from various spots above my mouth due to sun damage. This has left me with a very blurred lip line and very uneven lips. It is something that I’m very self-conscious about and for my birthday, I’m treating myself to Juviderm to give myself a more defined lip line. I’ve been saving up for this for six months as my husband isn’t thrilled about my choice. But—my mouth. My choice. In the meantime, it doesn’t stop me from showing how I really look.

I’ve had at least 8 spots on my upper lip burned and zapped off by my dermatologist. It has left me with a less-defined lip, a blurry lip and a very uneven mouth, which has left me very self aware and unable to wear red lipstick. I want to wear red lipstick again. I also want my mouth to be well-defined again.

Truthfully, the only fakeness about me is my hair and my nails..

Speaking of which, I need to get a fill-in next week. And I need to reapply the fake tanner that Chippy licked off this morning…

…..at least my titties are real. I can usually be found lifting them up at least a dozen times a day. I know, I know–sometimes I’m naughty!

And that’s my point. It is okay to let people see you at your “ugliest”. And by that, I mean it’s okay to go without makeup. It’s fine to allow others to see you as you really are. You don’t need to hide behind a filter. Granted, I’m not going to go all filler-crazy and spend every last cent on fillers. No way. I’m just merely correcting the results from sun damage.

Let’s go from ugly to acceptably normal–shall we?

Back to the Get Ready With me. I showed a step-by-step, which I’ll go through below in still photos. To see the video, click this link: Get Ready With Me. From Ugly to Acceptable

Bare Faced and completely hideous to some degree. Look! I have freckles, age spots, scars from accidents and acne, sun damage, a scar from skin-cancer surgery. Wrinkles. I’m the whole package of a flawed face—and it’s okay!

A lazy, naturally crossed eye. Redness. Age Spots. Scars from accidents and surgery. Freckles. Wrinkles. A face only a mother could love–and my own mother loved my sisters’ faces better!

So, after moisturizer and primer, I went in with my beloved Well-Rested to cover the blue and any discoloration around the eyes. And yes. It is a mineral powder and if anyone notices it enhances fine lines then you are too close to my personal space.

I’ve been using Well-Rested since before my face was a wrinkled raisin! I can’t stop using it. I love it. It works to get rid of the discoloration and blue tint. And you can wear cream shadow over it!

Next it was eyeshadow and liner. For the everyday, I go with a very light shadow and I make a very fine line at the edge of my lid with a cream-based liner crayon. I also tightline with it. I also applied my favorite mascara—L’Oréal’s Voluminous Mascara. It’s inexpensive and great!

See what a difference a hint of shadow (Bobbi Brown Shadow Crayon in Stone), Liner (Thrive eye liner pencil) and Mascara make? Hey. Look at my good eye please!

Then I went in with the cream foundation—this by Seint (formerly Maskcara), applied and blended the bejeezus out of it. You can be rough. That skin has toughened over the decades. The more you blend, the more natural the result!

Next I went in with my Seint cream makeup. My facial expression is quite unique–isn’t it?

And after blending with a brush, I go over it all with this InStylish sponge. This is the only one I have left. I had three. Chippy ate the other two.

See? We’re looking a bit better now! The skin tone is evened out. This is NOT a full-coverage look. It is simply evening out the skin tone and distracting from the flaws!

Then a bit of contour, again by Seint and cheek and lip color. I used the Boomstick Color stick and applied with a Real Techniques brush. I cannot praise those Real Techniques more than I do. I LOVE these brushes!

Boomstick Color stick on my cheeks applied with a Real Techniques brush. (I got hooked on this brush after watching a Shelby Wilson video. I now have eight of these).

See what a little color om the cheeks does? I feel so Gidget!

Brows all done. A bit of a finishing touch with setting powder under the eyes to ensure the mascara applied to lower lashes won’t smear and a bit of glimmer and I’m done.

Momma Mia. This brow crayon/pencil from Trestique is an HG item.

Wow. I look so…so….NORMAL!!!

See. It’s so easy to go from “ugly” to decent in a matter of minutes. And let us not forget the hair. I’m wearing Reeves by Estetica Designs.

I tell you that a woman’s crowning glory is her hair–even when it’s fake!!

Mature Beauty Tip! My go-to beauty tool these days is a tweezer. It gets rid of lady whiskers and—ugh—those stray nose hairs. I’m beginning to think the term “menopause” was put into place because you acquire manly traits like chin whiskers and nose hair. Thank God I don’t have ear hair sticking out!

…and those pesky lady whiskers appear out of nowhere. Any time of day.

More of the ugly truth. I stick the tweezers up my nose as well. I’m just waiting for the ear hair. Trust me, it’ll come.

So, do you prefer bare-faced “ugly” (I use that term loosely and with a sense of humor) or do you prefer a cloudy, filtered face. What helps you decide when it comes to cosmetics? I’m curiously nosey on this one! What’s your opinion on filters and face apps? Am I the only one against them? Do tell!

As an extra, I created an “From Ugly to Pretty” Shopping list on my Amazon Store. Seint cosmetics is not available on Amazon but I did find dupes in cream foundation and contours. I do receive a small commission from sales on Amazon, so please don’t think I’m shilling. You can print the list and keep it in your purse so when you go shopping you can compare! thank you!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Before and after, Get ready with me, Makeup for Mature Women | 22 Comments

More Makeup for the Proager! How I Boom! Boom-Dee-Yada-Boom!

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Catherine

Okie Dokie! So, for the past couple of years I’ve received comments, and even emails from readers of the blog, and friends and relatives, such as my sister-in-law, Linda extolling the praise for Boom Sticks.

I’ve always shied away simply because I wrote to the company asking if they had mini-sized products to try but never received a reply. I get funny when I don’t receive a reply.

Yeah. I got all like this. All I wanted was a reply….

Anyway, during that past couple of years, my skin has changed. Be that as it may, it seems that as we proage or skin can sometimes speed that process up. My skin is now blotchy. It is more wrinkled and my features are seemingly disappearing.

3/4 of the hair is gone and I’m left with “little” hair. The neck–I can’t even. The skin has changed so quickly. Blech! It’s blotchy AND wrinkly. I need help!

Sadly, I cannot iron the wrinkles out of my face the way I do with clothing. And my funds do not allow me to enter into the hallowed operating rooms of New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery to have some special nips and tucks into my face.

Trust me. If I had the funding, I would do this. Sadly, I’m a Paupered Princess so I cannot do this!

Instead, I rely on makeup to assist in my endless endeavor of pulchritude.

Whoda thunk? Just a bit of makeup can make me look presentable. Read on my loverly friends…

And with the plethora of Instagram ads for Boom, I finally bit the bullet and made the purchase.

Every day. All over the internet. I was boomed with these boomsticks. I caved. Yes. I did. I caved in and made the purchase!

I was curious to see if these three little sticks would, in fact, be all that is needed for a fresh, proaging face and I wanted to see how they worked.

Boom’s founder, Cindy Joseph was a makeup artist come model—and a later-in-life model. Quite honestly, she was a very beautiful woman. And it’s sad that she passed. After watching a few of her videos demonstrating the products, she came across as such a genuinely nice woman. She was very charismatic.

Cindy Joseph, Boom founder, was such a beautiful woman. I don’t think she needed much makeup. But her pro-age ideology is right up my alley.

Besides, how could I not be drawn to her and her brand which pontificates the importance of proaging? Seriously, she was a huge proponent of the proage movement and her brand still carries through on that ideology. And that is a wonderful thing itself. The website is also ridiculously refreshing to see because all of the women showcasing the products are of the mature demographic. I think Boom just may be the only cosmetics company to do this and it is well-needed and well-appreciated.

The three products, the Boom Sticks, are housed in a cotton pouch. They aren’t oversized and yet, are not miniscule in size. They are a decent size for every day use. The sticks, in the pouch, will slide right into your purse or travel case. And that’s a good thing.

This handy-dandy pouch houses the products but now that I thnk about it, this would make a good mask….

The products are Boomstick Glo, a yellow moisturizing stick. Boomstick Color, a deep mauve stick that can be multi tasked all over your face. Boomstick Glimmer, which is a radiant highlighter of sorts. It’s a lighter mauve with a nice satin finish.

From Left to Right. Boomstick Glimmer; Boomstick Glo; Boomstick Color.

Can the products truly work for everyone as the brand states? I’ll let you know further in the post.

Since these sticks arrived, they’ve been used every day. Every. Single. Day. However, and this is big—I don’t use them on their own. And this is what kind of goes against the belief of Boom because the brand gives the vibe that all you need are the three sticks for a beautiful face.

I swatched the best I could in natural lighting. The bottom is the Color Stick–it’s very pigmented. On top of that is the Glimmer Stick, a very subtle hint of highlight giving a dewy and shimmery glow, and on top of that the Glo Stick it’s pretty-much invisible and is great as a face-balm if you will or..as I use it as primer!

So, let’s get on with how I Boom and what I think of the products.

I’ve got a comparison of sorts here. I applied the products on my naked face. Then re-applied on my face after applying foundation and a few other items.

First is the Glo stick.

I mean. this face is scary naked! I’m using the glow stick which I’ve applied on my lips (it’s a great balm) and all over my face.

This is very moisturizing. It is an opaque stick that has, as do all the sticks, a slight tackiness to it. Trust me, the slightly tacky texture isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, I like it because the products stay in place!

And, although this is a moisturizer, I use it more as a primer. Using this as a primer gives me more hydration after I’ve applied my regular moisturizer. In addition, I use this as a lip balm before applying lip color. It has no scent at all and a little bit of this goes a long way.

Next, we have the Color Stick.

The Color Stick. I dunno about using this on my naked face. I’ve got a lot going on here. My face is ruddy and blotchy. Granted it does give a nice flush of color but I’m being very honest and realistic here. I may be a pro-ager but I do need a product to even out my skin tone.

This is both the most intriguing and confusing of the three products. Again, it is an opaque stick with a bit of tackiness. Whereas in the little room where I apply my makeup in the morning, the lighting gives this a very deep mauve appearance. I’m now in my dining room writing this and the late afternoon lighting is giving this more of a brick-reddish brown appearance.

You can use for an all-over sun-kissed look. Some use it as a bronzer and this can also be applied to the eye lid or as a shadow of sorts. In addition, it is a cheek and lip color. Now—here’s the thing. I watched Cindy Joseph apply this to her bare face. Let me tell you something, she had beautiful skin. Like really great skin. No blotchiness. Her skin tone looked very even. She didn’t appear to have any redness either.

I, on the other hand, have freckles, age spots (and they aren’t proage spots either-these are age spots), redness on my nose and chin. I also have scarring from various incidents of clumsiness and acne on my chin. My skin is textured and now rather wrinkled. The Color stick does not work on my naked skin.My pasty Irish coloring doesn’t lend itself well to using this stick as an all-over product.

However, this is great as a blush. The shade is very natural and very pigmented. Not too pink. Not red. It’s just a nice flush of natural blush. But the really incredible thing is this stick as a lip color. I was freaking blown away! First of all, there’s a lot of natural pigmentation in my lips. And surprisingly, it can be an issue with lipstick. Most lipsticks, unless they are pink, oxidize on me due to the natural pigmentation. Most lip color ends up darker on my lips so I was skeptical. And I couldn’t wrap my head around the thought process that as we pro age, our lip color should match the color of our gums (that was in one of Cindy’s videos). I was questioning that.

Until I put it on my lips. It definitely works on the naked lips as well as lips with a touch of foundation on them. I was blown away by this stick as lip color. Honestly, it’s pretty remarkable.

Last is the Boomstick Glimmer: It’s very subtle. The stick is a lighter mauve shade with a glimmery sheen. It is quite loverly (as Eliza Doolittle would say). Applied to my bare face, you couldn’t really appreciate the luster of this stick. Applied over the Color stick on the lips it gives the prettiest satin finish. It doesn’t come off as frosted—just as a nice satin finish.

Here’s the glimmer stick. It really is great but just..on my freaking bare skin just doesn’t give the product justic. But take a look at the lips. I put some over the color stick and I LOVE IT!

With a bit of eyebrow pencil, mascara and liner, thngs look a hella lot better–especially with the bare naked face! Trust me there is something to be said about eye makeup–even if you are cross-eyed as I am!

Now here’s the about these sticks on the naked face—while they don’t work for me now, during the summer, they might work wonderfully when I’m tanned (after lots of SPF that is). I’m thinking these are probably gorgeous when your skin has that evened out tan.

The only decent no-makeup pic of me. I was tanned. It was for Oona’s wedding and I can just imagine how great these sticks will look when I’m well-tanned and fake-tanned!

So, I applied some foundation and eye products and then re-applied all three sticks. The difference was astounding. I’m big on cream makeup these days and I applied Seint cream foundation on my face. I used Trestique Brow Pencil, Monoprix mascara, Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Cobblestone and Thrive eyeliner.

So after I decided to add a bit more makeup, I used the Seint cream makeup (I know, I hit pan put I have backups)

The other products I used were Trestique’s brow pencil (which I love), Thrive eye liner pencil and Monoprix mascara that I purchased over two years ago in Paris. (I know. I’m disgusting as all get-out for using two-year old mascara *French Shrug*) I also used my beloved Subtl Beauty concealer!

I used the Glo as a primer and applied extra to my perpetually chapped lips. Then I went in with the foundation. Over the foundation I applied the Color stick on my cheeks and lips and went to town with the Glimmer stick.

Yeah. NOW we’re talking! And just enough of a light touch with foundation and concealer and the Boom Sticks work wonderfully!

All three work beautifully with other cosmetics.

And yes. For me, they don’t work on a bare face but with a bit of cream foundation and concealer, they are pretty darn worth every cent!

And I want to say something about that. We’re all different. We all have different cosmetic needs. Some have gorgeous skin and can bypass the foundation, concealer and brighteners. Others—well, we need a bit more assistance. If a product doesn’t work for you the way it is meant to, it doesn’t mean it won’t work. Just because the products don’t work on my bare face, they are not wasted. They work exceptionally well on my face that has been primed and foundationed. (Is that even a word? It is now.)

Cindy Joseph was so beautiful that I could stress eat over her perfect skin. I’ll be she’swearing abit of face makeup here. If you get the chance head to YouTube to watch some of her videos. Her voice is so soothing. She really seemed like a very kind woman!

I think these Boomsticks work well for women who are not into makeup because they can enhance cheekbones and other areas of the face. And they are easily applied. They also work well for those of us who are makeup addicts because we can incorporate them into our routines with additional products!

Overall, how would I rate these sticks? They are honestly between an A and an A+. The only thing keeping them from a full-on A + is that they don’t work for a naked skin tone that needs to be evened out but with other products, work beautifully.

What I would love to see (hint, hint if anyone from Boom ends up reading this) is the brand develop a foundation stick. That would be the icing on the cake. A super-hydrating stick with a bit of tackiness to keep it in place and coverage where we need it would be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Boom-dee-ada! These nuggets are keepers!

If you use Boom how does it work on your bare face—I’m really interested to know!

Posted in Boom by Cindy Joseph, Proage beauty | Tagged Boom by Cindy Joseph, Boomsticks, Makeup for Mature Women | 10 Comments

The Vaccine Saga Continues. I Received My First Vaccine Yesterday. But..

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Catherine

And there is a but. BUT, I’ll get back to that later.

So, let me tell you what’s been happening. As you are aware, I pre-registered with Montgomery County in the beginning of January to get my Covid_19 Vaccination. Updates were being sent but nothing updating my spot on the list.

And after three months, it was becoming quite frustrating.

Time sure flies by quickly-even when you are waiting for an answer!

Flashback to this past Thursday. The Development we live in has a Facebook group. One of our neighbors, a nurse, posted about a vaccine “Pop-Up” shop that was taking place on Saturday, March 13 (yesterday) and posted the link to apply. This pop up was hosted by our local school district and The Medicine Shoppe, a local pharmacy.

Shout out to The Medicine Shoppe in Boyertown. It may be a half hour from our home but moving forward, we’ll be sending our prescriptions here! Thank you for hosting this!

In order to receive the vaccine, one needed to be living in our local school district. Mind you, I was at work when I found out about this so I immediately went on a break and filled out the application. I had very low expectations as the Montgomery County Debacle was driving me crazy.

Lo and behold and there by the grace of God, I ended up being accepted to receive the vaccine. What I find to be absolutely incredible is the County I live in, failed to get in touch with me and within eight hours of applying to receive the vaccination through the school district and pharmacy, I had an appointment.

Ever the skeptic, I was still having issues believing this would take place so I sent a letter to my local congresswoman. I haven’t heard back from her.

I wrote a letter to Melissa Shusterman-I voted for her you know. She’s very pretty. But she pretty-much ignored my humorous but snarky email!

And with my husband getting his second vaccination tomorrow at Paoli Hospital, I was really getting anxious over receiving mine. Well, all doubts were put to rest when I received a second email confirming my appointment with specific instruction on where to go—what building—etc.

And here’s how it rolled:

My Covid-Vaccine ensemble was comfortable and appropriate. A fun tee with short sleeves to roll up so that I could welcome the vaccine. J. Crew Pixie pants because they are stretchy and comfy and J. Crew ballet flats because they are freaking comfortable–especially on long stints of standing. I was dressed for success!

My appointment was 3:45. And as I no longer have children of school age, I had no inkling where the school in which I was receiving the vaccine was. We did a dry-run. And at first it was confusing because it was early—but that was a good thing. We spotted signs leading the direction we were to head to. We saw a police officer and his son happened to be one of the volunteers. We asked if this was the correct place, and they assured us it was. Both men were extremely friendly and helpful. They also said to arrive a few minutes earlier than the appointed time.

So off we went and I felt really good.

Upon returning, things ran smoothly and efficiently. To the point of being perfect. We arrived and our automobile, with us in it naturally, were placed on a line. Then, about five cars would leave the line to make the way to a parking area. I was asked if I had mobility issues. Since I don’t, the car was led to another parking area.

Volunteers abound and leading us to the right spot, it was run like a finely tuned needle (I guess that’s the phrase) and every singly volunteer was so helpful and friendly and the vibe was incredibly positive!

As I exited our parked car, my husband ended up taking a nap as I headed into the building. Once inside, I was greeted with a thermometer to the forehead and was asked for my name. With a normal temp, I took the form given to me, headed into another room and filled the form out.

I filled out the form and headed to wait patiently (and I’m not a patient woman) on the line!

After filling the form, I waited on a line in the corridor of the school. Another volunteer handed all on the line a card and a pen. We were told to take outwear off to make things easier.

The line was single-file, long and went quickly. I felt like I was back in school! And look-there’s an ice cream freezer to the right. Ever the gluttonous piggy, I thought we were being gifted wtih ice cream. The vaccine was actually the gift though!

My Vaccination Card. Best ID I’ve ever had!

Did I mention when applying, it was requested that we have copies of our prescription and medical insurance cars with us. The administrative assistant in me made color copies, front and back and stapled them. I also wrote a cover letter and placed all docs into a yellow folder that I brought with me. Trust me, I was prepared!

Ever the nerd, I was pleased as punch when the volunteer told me I was awesome for copying front and back and stapling. Rather than awesome, I was just desperate to comply because I wanted this vaccine.

Yes. I AM that nerd girl. Even as a child I dared not go outside the lines when I handed my homework in. I also hovered over my papers so nobody else could cheat off of me. It is only befitting that I would make perfect copies and staple them. A + for me!

The wait on the line wasn’t long at all—I swear this was efficiency at best.

There was a quick stop at another table before entering the gym where the shots were being administered. Again, my temperature was taken and I entered the gym to receive another form and stand in another line.

I received the Pfizer vaccine and trust me, drugs never looked so goo!

And then it happened. I was called over to a table and received my vaccine! Took two seconds. A band aid was placed on my arm where the vaccine was injected and I was given the date of the return for the second vaccine.

Don’t mind the bra strap. At least I wore underwear! And just like that–I had my first dose! Ohh I like this camera angle because my upper arm looks so good! IRL its a mud flap!

After receiving the needle, I was led to a desk. On the desk was a timer. The timer was set for fifteen minutes. This is the wait time between receiving the vaccine and exiting the building. Just to make sure there is no reaction.

Can you believe this? I mean, HOW organized is this? A timer no less!

After the fifteen-minute allotment I exited thanking every last volunteer. After I receive my second dose, I want to sign up to volunteer. The positivity and upbeat vibe from the volunteers were truly exceptional.

My favorite volunteer. She’s a music teacher and gave up her Saturday because she is so passionate about everyone receiving the vaccine. I want to be best friends with her! It’s a good thing we had to leave after fifteen minutes. I would have stayed longer just to socialize–it’s been a while!

So, I get into the car and tell Bonaparte the date of my second dose and he looked at me. (This is where the “but” comes in) He very seriously reminded me that on April 10, we will be in Cincinnati to visit Oona, Sam and baby Owen.

How could I possibly forget about this nugget of love and cuteness. WTF is wrong with me? I KNEW I would mess something up. I knew it!

Dumbfounded, I realized I was so stinking excited about receiving the vaccination that I forgot about the trip. And I also realized that I simply cannot—and I repeat CANNOT do any thing right! I couldn’t re-enter the building to correct the date. Surprisingly, I didn’t panic but I got in touch with the woman that I had been corresponding with who was a tremendous help.

Head to the dictionary and look up the word Moron. You will see the description: Catherine Lartigue

I sent and email explaining my dopey error. And it isn’t looking promising for the second dose. But things have a way of working out so I’m not giving up on this.

And last night at dinner, I was still talking about the great experience and Bonaparte told me that was one of the things he loves about Americans. He said no matter what our politics are, we are still willing to assist others with a smile and genuine kindness that you don’t see in France.

I know. I know. I am stereotyping. But the fact is, my husband–at times, IS the cranky Frenchman and he admits it. And that’s what he loves about we Americans. We’re just happy and nice!

I thought that pretty-much summed up how we really are as a people. It’s been a year. There’s hope. We have hope now because we have the vaccine. I’m hopeful that things will return to normal at some point. I’m hopeful that everyone will be vaccinated.

I got a big family. This makes me look forward to a big family par-tay in the future! Or…getting back on a flight to France! But most of all, I can’t wait to see my grandson!

And I’m hopeful that I will receive my second dose!

Have you been vaccinated yet? Are you struggling to find a way to receive it? Is your area organized? I really am quite curiously nosey about this. Do tell!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Covid Vaccination | 32 Comments

On Mr. Potato Head, Dr. Seuss and Then Some

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Catherine

Let me begin this post by telling you, just in case you are not aware, that I am a socially liberal woman (Yes. I’m a woman. I have an Origin of the World. I enjoy being referred to as a woman) but I abhor extremes with any social ideologies. Extreme conservatism is not a good thing. Neither is extreme liberalism—or, as we are now calling it, progressiveness.

Yes. I truly do believe that women are empowering among many others..

Honestly, I hope I’m making myself clear. I’m a proponent of the Black Lives Matter movement and at the same time, I make no apologies for my pale skin tone and freckles. I’m rather proud and happy of my Irish roots.

Although I’m a Roman Catholic, I respect my Atheist, Agnostic and Non-Christian friends. In fact, unless you are an extremist in your religious or non-religious ideologies, I respect you.

In addition, it’s always a good idea to have a sense of humor when discussing religion!

Body-shaming isn’t my jam. In fact, I lost a number of followers of this blog due to one “popular” and quite funny and eccentric well-knows bloggers because she body-shamed a woman on a post and I called her out on it. And her make-believe liberal friends mad at me for that! No matter what size you are, it’s your body. I respect you.

Poking fun at how others look isn’t my thing either. My preference is to make fun of myself because if I can make one person laugh at my imperfections or shortcomings, I’ve done a good deed.

My favorite fun shirt at the moment is “I gotta good heart, but the mouth tho” is very much on target. I have a complete gutter mouth but I’m charming and everyone gets a laugh out of this shirt because they know its true!

If one wants to be referred to as “they” or any of the gender-neutral references, please let me know in advance so that I may comply. In the same vein, I don’t mind being referred to as woman, female, lady, even broad. Its all good and I’m not offended.

Yes. Gender is a spectrum and I’m of the woman spectrum. I respect your gender. Please respect mine.

Gay pride is something I am passionate about. One’s sexuality is their business. If two men want a relationship. That’s great. If two women want a relationship. That’s great. Everyone is free to love the person they want to love. And same-sex marriage should have been put into place a long, long time ago.

But presently, I’m having some issues. And those issues stem with the recent turn of events regarding both a childhood toy and an author who assisted in my, as well as others, learning to read for pleasure and honing in on our ability to rhyme and speak in sing-song voices.

I’m referring to Mr. Potato Head and Dr. Seuss.

Last week, Hasbro decided to drop the “Mr.” from Mr. Potato Head to make the toy more inclusive. (Hasbro article)

Now, if you are of my generation, you will remember that Mr. Potato Head had a partner—a wife, in fact. Okay, maybe she was the wife of a different potato—perhaps a Butter Potato or a Sweet Potato but there was, in fact, a Mrs. Potato Head.

The original Mr. And MRS. Potato Head in all their styrofoam glory!

And if you are familiar with the vintage Mr./Mrs. Potato Head TOY, you remember the TOY as it were originally, with the thin head made of Styrofoam. After a few uses, pieces of the Styrofoam would break off and it got a bit wonky. And so, we would head to the pantry or fridge, depending where mom stored the potatoes, take the vegetable and place the embellishments into a real potato. Giving new meaning to playing with your food.

Might I add that the Potato Heads were a rather diverse couple as they could be changed from a potato to fruits or vegetables. I’ll call the Mrs. Pepper for now!

To be honest, I have no idea WTF suggested this re-naming of Mr. Potato Head but I think it’s inane. It is ridiculous. And children, for generations, did not give a shit what the gender was simply because you could turn a potato either into a woman or a man with the help of the little plastic features that came with it.

I pondered the gender of this potato last night. It had no ding-dong nor did it have a love canal. It was a vegetable. So I cooked it and ate it.

In my mind, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head were made for future makeup artists, no matter what the child’s gender. A young boy that leaned toward a future of makeup and beauty could pretty-up a potato with eyelashes and red lips. Not to ignore the stunning dress, shoes and purse but this was also a future fashion designer’s dream!

And for the girls who were tomboys (am I allowed to use that word), perhaps they could dress Mr. Potato up to be the image they wanted to be.

It’s true. All my more masculine girls could have a toy that they could relate to. So then tell me, just what is so bad about Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head?

My point it we all know that any potato has no gender. A potato will grow eyes if you leave it uneaten for too long but it is a vegetable. And if the toy version is referred to as “Mr.” it is fine. It is non-offensive.

Actually, I find the more modern Potato Head couple to be less attractive then the ones I grew up with. They are too cartoonish looking. Not that there’s anything wrong with looking like a cartoon….

In fact, my favorite Colorforms toy of all time was “Miss Cookie’s Kitchen” I freaking played with that toy for ages, rearranging the various items in her kitchen. God forbid this would ever be sexist due to the Miss in Cookie’s Kitchen. But subconsciously, this Colorforms set actually started my love of all things cooking and kitchen related. And did a fine job indeed.

So sexist. A woman in the kitchen. Then why are there so many male chefs?

But let’s talk about the wonderful Dr. Seuss. Shall we?

All the good he’s done with giving the gift of imagination and reading to children and now six of his books are banned. That is messed up!

Six books by Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss are no longer being published. The two banned books I am most familiar with, because I loved both of these books as a child, are “And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street” and “McElligott’s Pool” These two books showcased the talents of Dr. Seuss’s illustrations beautifully. I loved both stories but more so, I was mesmerized by the uniqueness of this drawings.

“McElligotts Pool” is no longer being published due to the “Eskimo” fish illustration.

I LOVED this book. And often took it out of the library to mull over the delightful illustrations. Not once did the book give me a racist or ethno-centric thought!

I never realized that the term “Eskimo” was so offensive. I remember enjoying “Eskimo Pie” ice cream which has, as of June in 2020 been renamed to “Edy’s Pie”.

This–the illustration of Eskimo fish is what got the book banned. I’m still shaking my head….

And I make no apologies for feeling that the term Eskimo Pie is a lot less offensive than Edy’s Pie. Think about that one. Yeah. Edy has some pie!

As a child, I never recalled the term “Eskimo” to be a derogatory term for Indigenous Arctic people. I never used the term in a snarky way. In fact, the only time I used the word was when referring to the ice cream or a furry jacket I had back in the early 1960’s which was called an “Eskimo” jacket. It was simply what the jacket was called.

Back in the early to mid 1960’s I wore Eskimo jackets as that was what the outwear was called. It wasn’t offensive. Nobody thought any less of Artic people. In fact, these jackets were a great source of warmth in the winters!

“And To Think That I Saw it On Mulberry Street” is no longer being published because of an illustration of an Asian person. A Chinese man to be exact. Again, as a child, I knew better and was more diversely educated than to think that this illustration depicted the usual person born in China.

The book, first published in 1937 is merely about a boy named Marco who walks along Mulberry Street and the visuals of his wild imagination come into play. That’s it.

And excuse me for eating with chopsticks every time I eat Asian food.

..this is the illustration that got the book to no longer be published. Now, I don’t know about you, but even as a child, I knew very well that the term Chinaman wasn’t used and nobody I came in contact with from China looked like this. Let us use our common sense.

Do all Irishmen look like the Lucky Charms Leprrechaun?

The only thing I find offensive here is that children are subjected to eat this garbage.

And to all those who are offended by Seuss’s so-called racism. Didja know he was a liberal who despised Hitler? Where’s your liberalism now???

I’m guessing those who condemn Seuss have no idea he was quite liberal politically.

I see him as more inclusive. While not banned, the book, “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” is about everyone having different qualities.

I cannot even remember how many times I’ve read this book…

Whether thin or fat.

No size-shaming here. Everyone is equal!

Whether your teeth are yellow and you are slightly weird. It’s all good.

And I never thought this guy needed to get his teeth fixed either..

It brings a message that it’s ok to be different.

And thanks to Seuss for including all ages–such as old! And thank you for encouraging children to converse with their parents.

I don’t think Dr. Suess was thinking anything derogatory with his Eskimo fish or with his Asian man eating with chopsticks. It’s all about how the overly-sensitive and extreme progressives interpret these books.

I think it was just about releasing imagination!

And it is a shame because growing up, I didn’t give a second thought to ethnicity. It just wasn’t a big deal. It didn’t matter whether you were Chinese or Italian, Catholic or Jewish, brown, black, white or yellow. Perhaps parents and the overly-sensitive should take a look at what offends them and teach their children better from it.

The only thing I found offensive in Dr. Suess’ writings was the mess Thing One and Thing Two made in the house! Had I messed the house like that as a child, there would be severe repercussions.

Seriously. I found the mess Thing 1 and 2 made far more offensive than the Eskimo fish!

Look. Racism is wrong. And ethnocentric behavior is questionable. But to all those adults who feel Mr./Mrs. Potato Head should be gender neutral and for those who feel Dr. Seuss is a racist monster, remember that actions speak louder than words.

Teach your children. Educate yourself on how to treat others. Step down from your self-righteous horse and look around. We are surrounded with more pressing issues at the present time.

What’s your opinion on this? Perhaps I’m not sensitive enough. Let me know your thoughts!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Banned Books, Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potato Head | 43 Comments

It’s Been a Year! One. Entire. Year. Of. COVID.

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Catherine

I was cleaning out my iPhone the other day and came across a few photos that hadn’t been deleted.

They were from last year. The first week of March, 2020. Today is the first day of March 2021.

And let us hope the winter coating can be stored away in a few weeks!

On that first weekend of March last year, we decided to spend the (click this link for last year’s blog post about our) weekend in Manhattan.

Hard to believe this was taken a year ago and even more difficult to believe we are entering year two of the pandemic!

We stayed at the Marriott in Midtown and before arriving at the hotel, we drove to Nyack to visit my husband’s grandfather’s grave. A lifelong Parisien, he moved here due to work obligations and passed away due to a heart attack. He was living in an old house in Nyack and was buried in the town.

We stapped first to have a little visit with Bonaparte’s grandfather!

It’s a bittersweet sentiment for my Frenchman because his entire family is in France so it gives a connection here.

But more about the weekend.

We heard about this “virus” but really hadn’t known the seriousness of it. Yet.

What we did notice was traffic was eerily light. And lighter traffic is always a good thing but this was different. And it was more noticeable as we approached the City.

And once in the city, we were astounded that traffic remained so light. I mean there was no traffic at all. Under normal circumstances driving in the City, I’m usually cursing every five seconds and flipping the bird every 15. On that day, I remained unsarcastically angelic!

This was the heaviest traffic we encountered–in Times Square it was rather eerie!

And when we arrived at the hotel we were greeted as though we were royalty. In fact, Marriott upgraded us into a rather large suite. Little did we know it was because a great number of travelers opted out of staying at the hotel!

We had great views in this corner of the suite. And a year later, the hotel closed. It’s so sad.

After unpacking and headed out and about for an afternoon walk, we didn’t notice a smaller number of people. That area of the city is usually pretty crowded and the locals were going about their normal weekend errands and whatever it is they needed to do. We had a lovely dinner at Le Relais de Venise Entrecôte and the restaurant held a good crowd. It was business as usual.

We had a lovely dinner here–it’s actually our “usual” place in The City. And I”m happy to announce it has remained opened a year later!

MMM…Steak!

And despite some of the normalcy, we had a hunch that something was about to happen.

The next day, we left the city and arrived at the Holland Tunnel in record time. No one was on the road. We exited a metropolis that had morphed into a virtual ghost town.

We had never witnessed such empty city streets. It wasn’t a sign of good things to come.

It was not until the next day that I realized the severity of this virus. We were now experiencing a true pandemic.

The office I work in was now under a lockdown of sorts. Staff was now ordered to work from home. I was one of three people who volunteered to come into the office. (For me, it was a dream—not having to be with most co-workers was a delight)

Only I wasn’t sorry. I was delighted! It was so productive!

And thus, life changed. Restaurants closed. Malls and stores closed. People were now ordered to wear masks. There was no cure for this mysterious illness but we all knew it was bad. Very bad.

And last March, I had no idea that I would still be wearing a mask during the November voting process!

In the beginning, for me, it was a pleasure to drive to work with no traffic. It was even more of a pleasure to work in an empty office. I mean, it’s a beautiful thing to not have to deal with the office gossips or the slackers or the moles who spy on everyone while spending less time on their daily duties.

A year later, I think back on the empty office. There is now a handfulof people working onsite but we keep a very safe distance!

After all, how long would this pleasure of being alone last? A few weeks? A month at the most? Oh boy, were we all in for a rude awakening! Weeks turned into months and those months turned into a year. A year later, I’m not as delightfully giddy as a was during the onset of this pandemic.

I must say that I DO miss my friends! A lot!

A year later, I miss people (except most co-workers) who are my friends. I miss random conversations with strangers while we are waiting in line at a store or elsewhere. I miss seeing young parents with their babies and telling them how cute their baby is.

Suffice it to say, I even miss standing on lines like this to see a movie!

I miss going out. I’ve been a semi-prisoner in my home for one year now. No contact with family. Sure, I did get to visit Oona and Sam twice and I got to spend time with my new grandson Owen. And Roman came to visit. But Jake is still out in L.A.

Thank God I have memories of my visit to Ohio to see my new grandson!

But there were no trips to Long Island to see my sister. Our trips to France, two of them cancelled with a possible third in the queue of cancellation. For 2021 No weddings. No barbeques. No random restaurant meals. No wedding showers. No baby showers. No birthday parties. No nothing except one trip to the beach last summer.

Something tells me we won’t be hanging here in Antibes this coming summer.

And please—do not even broach the subject of Zoom events because it is simply not the same as being in a room with real human touch.

Zoom isn’t cutting it for me.

As we enter into Year Two of this pandemic, I honestly don’t have much hope for 2021. Montgomery County here in Pennsylvania is a joke—an absolute joke with the handling of the vaccines. Smokers and obese individuals are receiving their vaccination before soon-to-be-66-year-old me along with peers of my age group.

Smoking? You’ll get your vaccine first!

Masking it has become the new normal. Caution has taken over our lives. Hand sanitizer is the new eau de toilette. Take out and curbside pickup is the substitute for dining out. Amazon is now the Mall of America.

I haven’t purchased any perfume in a year but I’ve got a steady supply of this!

A year ago, I was delighted to be away from people. A year later, I long for the company of people (except most co-workers). I daydream of arriving home from the office and having my husband suggest heading to downtown Phoenixville for a bite to eat rather than the typical weeknight dinner at home.

I want to return to France. I want to be on a TSA line that is so long that I’m cursing up a storm and my patience is tested. I want to be bitchy to overly-aggressive sales assistants but want to be kind to the nice ones.

That’s right. I want my naughty mouth to get working on a long TSA line!

I want the opportunity to mull over an invite. I want to go shopping to purchase a gift for someone special and wrap it and adorn it with ribbon and embellishments.

Ahhh. Christmas. 2019? I long to make pretty wrappings again!

I don’t want a daily count of the deaths. I want this goddamned pandemic to end.

2020 was the year that wasn’t. I felt as though an entire year of life was wasted and it won’t come back. And as I age, time is of the essence. Hopefully 2021 will see a return to life as it were. And I’m not alone. It seems that the year mark has thrown many over that mountain of patience and hope.

This is how a feel about last year.

This first day of March marks entering into the second year of COVID-19 but, this first day of March also gives an awakening that Spring is just around the corner. As the air begins to change from frigid to cooler and the days get longer our spirits will start to bloom. And as the Crayola-Spring Green crayon color appears as a sprinkling of buds on the trees, and the grass turns from stiff blades and becomes, once again, barefoot soft, our hearts will also soften.

I want real-life Spring Green back…

And next month, it’ll look like this–it’s be welcomed and we’ll be a bit happier and sunnier!

It’s been tough. We all feel it. But let’s look forward to spring and the warmer weather.

We can do this! Think happy thoughts!

How have you been coping with the realization that it’s been a year? I think it’s good to talk about this so you know that you are not alone!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Year Twoof COVID | 19 Comments

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