And it's going to be one fun-filled exciting day!
Yesterday, since my nephew and niece are here, I got a call to meet them for lunch, a trip to the Bellagio Buffet, in which, I never eat at buffets (because they're so cliché here), but I have to say the one at Bellagio is first rate. We sat and grazed. LOL, yes, but it's ok that I graze...my metabolism loves it. From fresh California Rolls, salad with balsamic vinagrette, and an oodle of fruit to flank steak, button mushrooms, truffle infused ravioli and a itty bitty spoonful of Key Lime Pie, I was stuffed to the gills.
Then it was off to the mall. Nan needed to pick up a little something for the man who actually grants Christmas wishes...her groom, the wonderful Carl. So, with Ryan, Caitlynd and I in tow, we buzzed around the Meadows Mall for a good two hours, followed by another grazing session at my sisters after Nan and Carl picked up their marriage license.
While Nan and Carl were out doing the marriage license thing, I got to hang out with my sweet boy and sweet girl. Sitting listening to them laugh together and talk, I realized that I am so lucky. I'm so very fortunate to have young people around me like the two of them, and KP's three darlings, Drewbie, T.J. and Kai. My heart felt like it was going to pop with how much love I felt for them.
Well, while we waited for them to come back, Cait, Ryan and I attacked Pac-Man on PS3. (Yes, my very cool big brother has a PS3, with the Playstation Move, be jealous...) I found that Pac-Man has evolved. Yes, yes, it's been 30 years since that little yellow guy started eating pellets, but let me tell you, they 'roided that little sucker up! They gave him bombs and ghosts that sleep around every corner. Pass the ghost, it wakes up and starts the chase. Instead of randomly zooming around the board, they all just try to chase you down. Cries of "Whoa!," "Yikes," "Criminy!" and so forth were being hollered out as we ducked, dodged, and weaved to get the little yellow guy eating those pellets and power ups so Pac-Man could have his graze too. We laughed for a good hour just playing that, dodging Wrecks the Doberman's mustard gas farts (remember the Jeff Dunham skit "Achmed the Dead Terrorist?" yeah, Saddam's mustard gas has nothing on a Doberman fart...), and Nan's little fox terrier mix Zoe hopping from person to person looking for attention the entire time. So it was all Pac-Man, dogs and laughter.
When Nan and Carl got back, they brought enough food with them to feed an army. Veggie trays, cheeses, summer sausage, macaroni salad, chips, dip, you name it, they had it. The funniest part is when Nan broke out a Carrot Cake, in which Cait and I had tried the Bellagio Buffet's Carrot Cake at lunch and promptly pushed it away, saying "Um, no," because they had fooled with the Carrot Cake recipe, adding some kind of orange flavoring to it, making it taste terrible. As Cait said, "You don't mess with the Carrot Cake." So as Nan pulled it out, Cait and I broke into peals of laughter. We commenced to graze again and play Brunswick Bowling on the Playstation Move. After bowling and grazing, it was time to head home because I have a very big day today.
My alarm, believe it or not, hasn't even gone off yet. I sacked out at 12:30 last night, OMG, say it with me, that's friggin' early for me to be sacked out, but let me tell you, after all of the activity yesterday, I was wiped out. As soon as I turned out the light and my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.
I turned over this morning to my clock that read 8:07 a.m. My alarm was set for 9 a.m. so I'm already an hour ahead of schedule. And am I glad. It's giving me time to write and do my other little buzzing around before I hit the showers.
Today's schedule is something to see. At 11 a.m., I'm off to get my hair done, then at 1 p.m., I'm due over at MAC at the Forum Shops to get my make-up done. Now, the trip to MAC is going to be a real treat. When the news came down that Nan was getting married, we all were excited, but nothing was more exciting than Nan looking at me and asking about a trip to MAC to be done up. I had told her about my trips to MAC to have my face done and she always laughed, but this time she looked at me and said, "Can you call them and set me up an appointment?" I nearly keeled over. I jumped on it so fast, I had dialed the number and made the appointments (I'm going too) and then gave Nan the appointment time 15 minutes later. So, today at 1 p.m. Nan and I will be sitting side by side in the make-up artist's chair.
Now, why is prospect of sitting next to my sister for the make-up so incredible? Well, when I was a kid, Nan used to sit me up on our bathroom counter top and she'd put make-up on me. I personally think I was her practice mannequin so she could see what would look good on her... Every time I'd flinch or make a face, she'd pinch me and say, "Sit still!" So I learned how to sit like a statue for make-up application. Every time I've been to MAC to be made up, they have always commented on how still I sit. Now Nan is going to hear first-hand how well she trained me to do it. I was really tempted to tell the make-up artist at MAC to pinch her every time she'll flinch, but I passed on that. But to sit next to the beautiful Nan, my childhood idol, the arbiter of good taste, fashion and style, and have our make-up done together? A childhood dream come true. So, get ready MAC, the Sisters are coming to see you!
Between games of Pac-Man last night, I told Caitlynd about what Nan and I were going to do with our make-up. I pulled up the MAC website on Nan's laptop and showed Cait the make-up. I finally came clean about what they think are my extravagant tastes...the reason I have make-up consultations, personal shoppers for clothes and so forth is because I have no earthly clue what looks good on me. I'm serious, I'm a fashion accident waiting to happen and if I didn't have make-up folks to pick out what colors for me to wear, a colorist to get my hair just right, clothiers to dress me so I don't look like a total goober walking out my front door, I'd look like a train wreck. I have almost zero style of my own and horrible taste in clothes, so I need a lot of help. That's where the shoppers, make-up artists and stylists come in. When I've got money, I've got an army of folks just so I won't look like a fashion accident.
I explained my make-up choices to her. My face, for its aged imperfections, is still holding up pretty good, my complexion is clear but I'm a little dry in some places and oily in others. The dryness is from my Hashimoto's Thyroidits, the hormone imbalance reeks havoc on my skin, making it dry and flaky. So, to counterbalance it, I wear lots of moisturizer (and when you live in the desert that's a must anyways) and as a base, I don't even wear foundation, I wear a very nice powder from Clinique on top of the moisturizer to keep it light. When I have lots of money to throw around, I go to Prescriptives and pick up a $35 tin of Magic Powder which feels like water on the skin when you apply it. It's super hydrating, so with a combination of moisturizer, sunscreen and that powder, I've got a face that's got plenty of moisture without being too much. Then, I add in the MAC color Blushbaby to my cheeks, then Shroom, Cork and/or Coquette on my lids (applied with a brush, NEVER sponges, sponge applied eyeshadow ewwww...), then finish it off with Clinique's black cake eyeliner (you add water to the brush, then take the amount of color you want off of the cake and apply it) and mascara, followed by just a hint of MAC's Butterfly eyeliner around my bottom lid to emphasize my eye and take attention away from the circles beneath them.
Well, when Cait saw everything and I told her about how fantastic the MAC make-up was (it's the equvalent to wearing a Prada, Coach or Dooney and Burke handbag), she wanted to go with us, so I called up the store and made her an appointment for 2 p.m. She'll hop into the chair when Nan and I get done. Poor Cait, she's stuck living in the sticks and the closest good make-up they have is Merle Norman...*personal shudder*...so she is all sorts of hip on sitting in the chair at MAC.
To be honest, I'm looking forward to my personal consultation today...the combination of Shroom/Cork/Coquette/Blushbaby was prescribed for me a good 15 years ago...I want to see what an update they're going to give me or if what I'm wearing still works. I told Cait about what a nightmare my face was before I took it to MAC. I was wearing purple eyeshadow and applying with a sponge applicator (some sponge eyeshadow applicators can damage the tissue around the eye, causing wrinkles & other problems)...go ahead cringe with me...it did NOT work on my face back then. Who knows what they're going to do with me now.
And talking about MAC, I've got to give a shout out to my buddy Mejan, who also has sat in the chair at MAC for an application...hugs to you Mej, I'll be sitting in the chair thinking of you!
The consultation/application will cost us $50 a piece, but it's a small amount compared to what we'll look like coming out of those chairs. To boot, we'll get a free mascara out of the whole deal, so that's good. The whole thing that I cautioned both Nan and Cait on is that they'll try to sell you stuff (I mean come on, they've got to take their opportunities...it's ok, it's the nature of commerce). The most important thing, when you sit down for something like that is that you keep in mind what you need and what you don't need. Take for example my concealer. I use a Clinique concealer because the color is better and I prefer the coverage. MAC concealer doesn't come in the right shades/coverage for me so I prefer a different brand. The Clinique soap, moisturizer and clarifying lotion I use has been going on my face since I was 13, and it works well for me, I get comments a lot that I look like I'm in my mid-30's when I'm sneaking up on 40, so something's right...so I don't need foundation, powder or anything else outside of what I use from MAC or Clinique. I go to MAC purely for the eyeshadows, blusher, lipliner, lipstick and mascara I use, the rest comes from Clinique so I only get what I need, not what they say I should get, keeping the expense down and getting more bang for my buck. I put Cait in on the skinny...that a color palette from MAC will last a good 3 to 6 months, at $11 a refill, you're looking at $22 a year on the outside for one color...which is not bad. Other eyeshadows have to be reapplied and touched up over a days wearing...MAC doesn't. If you apply it right, it'll stay on all day without being cakey or overdone. *Swoon* I love MAC.
So, three girls with three fresh faces will be coming out of MAC at 3 p.m. When we get done, it's off for a snack and time to get dressed because at 6 p.m. Nan walks down the aisle. I have to say, this is sure a nice change from Nan having to go through chemo. She's so excited. I mean, think about it, Carl is one heck of a guy, he's seen her through her mastectomy, chemo and the gamut, the guy is a total keeper. Besides, I'm a bit greedy...I get a big brother today and I'm thrilled to pieces!
I'm wearing the suit I wore to my nephew's wedding, so I'm ready to go as soon as the other stuff is taken care of. But, in all things, I have to say, I sure wish KP was here, I'd love it if he'd see me all fixed up like this. I'd love to knock his socks off like he knocks mine off every day. Sorry, must have a KP swoon moment...*swoon* Besides, I'll be the 7th wheel today with no date, but it's ok, I'll wait. I've been patient for the last year and a half, I can be patient some more.
OOH...look at the time! Gotta go! Time to hit the shower, grab a bite to eat and get over to the hair salon!
Oh, and for Cait and Nan, the song of the day is just for you...a tune which mentions MAC make up and getting all dressed up...Jennifer Hudson's "All Dressed In Love."
No comments:
Post a Comment