Wed.Nes.Day

Holy sh*t it's Wednesday already?
This week is speeding by, where have I been?


The Photo

The Scene... it's gloomy here and my condo is cold. My condo also seems messy, which it isn't, it never is. Maybe I've been watching too much hoarders?


The Song...the K.D Lang version of Hallelujah, way better than JTs.


The Advice...wash your face with cold water, it closes your pores and refreshes your skin


The Entertainment... this week was definitely devil-kitty. Devil kitty enjoys hiding behind walls and lashing out at you while you pass by, or running so fast up and down the hall causing my condo to sound like the Kentucky derby.


The Inappropriate...way to get attention, and that's through your Facebook status. Vaguebooking drives me crazy. Not sure what vaguebooking is? Vaguebooking involves a status update somewhere along the lines of "Laura wishes it was easier" or "Laura knew it was bad news" and so on, the status update that doesn't quite tell all, but warrants a "what's wrong?" or another pity comment. I get that we all have personal drama, but if you are looking to your 1,997 Facebook friends to lift you up, you're looking in the wrong place. This may be cold, but I don't log on to facebook to make sure you had a good day or to see if you're back in that relationship that you weren't in yesterday but were in the day before. I log on to facebook to stalk you.


The Obsession...is coconut oil. Coconut oil isn't only for cooking, it's amazing for your skin and your hair. I've been putting coconut oil in my hair the night before I plan to wash it (maybe once every 3 days) and I practice my french braiding skills. Leave it in overnight, shower in the morning as usual and when I blowdry my hair I'm left with super soft, super shiny hair - apparently coconut oil is one of the few oils that actually penetrates deep into the shaft [wait what?] of the hair [oh, ok] instead of sitting on top like other oil treatments. I've also been using it as an eye makeup remover (awesome) and on my skin where I have any little irritated patches. I've used it just after I shower all over my body as a moisturizer and my skin glows all day - it's honestly amazing. This is such a great alternative to expensive hairmasks and it works better IMO. You can buy coconut oil at health food stores - you want to look for organic virgin coconut oil, and it comes in solid form. Coconut oil melts very easily at around 24-26 degrees, so taking a small chunk and rubbing it in between your hands creates a nice silky formula that glides on to your skin or your hair, never leaving a greasy residue, or causing you to smell like a pina colada.


The Frustration...is with my coordination. One of the things I wanted to do this year was take dance lessons and I believe it was listed as my obsession a couple Wednesdays ago. I've always, always loved contemporary dance and am now in love with the classes I take. Problem is, 18 years of gymnastics is doing me a disservice. You should see the girls float across the room so delicately, their jumps so pretty - and then there's yours truly, coming down the diagonal like a horse [Kentucky derby]. Gymnastics is very different from dance, besides the fact that I can only do the moves on my right leg [these girls look perfect no matter what leg they leap off of], but I am so heavy on my feet that graceful is the last word you'd use to describe me. I can do the moves, but I can do the gymnastics version of them and it's not so pretty. I'm a coordinated person, but I can't believe how challenging it is for me to adapt my body not only to a hardwood floor, but to a softer, longer, more delicate individual. I don't want to do it my own way just to do it, I want to look like a dancer, not a gymnast [which I've gotten many times]. PS, I also have horrible turnout. Contemporary dance FAIL.


The Shoutout...is to a beautiful young lady moving out west tomorrow, to start a new chapter of life with a wonderful man and a much larger cell phone bill. You will be missed!!


Well, that is it, that is all - c'est finit.

xxLM

To Do [it] or Not To Do [it]?

I wrote a guest post a while ago for Mommy Brain [surprised? read on] and with what seems like a million preggo girls out there, it seemed fitting for today. Enjoy. Xx

When I first started my job we had to attend training sessions in Montreal. This was my first big girl job and I tend to be quiet and shy around people I don't know - I try to feel them out to see if my sense of humor will be understood, otherwise I will keep my thoughts to myself. I was lucky enough to meet a very beautiful, intelligent, and motivated young girl that was just as sarcastic as I was - my first words to her were "do you speak English?" and her response: "Oh God Yes, Finally!" WIN.

Needless to say, three years later we are still friends. Even living across the country, we kept in touch: we both got married around the same time, both felt the same way about our jobs, and both wanted to take the plunge and go blonde. Even though she is no longer working for the same company, we still stalk each others facebook profiles on a regular basis. The only difference? My page is still littered with funny pictures, makeup status updates, and politically incorrect videos. Her page is decorated with pictures of her beautiful, adorable, pinch-her-cheeks cute baby girl. Suddenly, I feel ashamed of my videos and my status updates proclaiming my love for NARS Gipsy lipstick [cool toned gals looking to try out a red lip?... this shade is money]. Why I feel this way I'm not sure. Minus the bigger boobs, this girl is still the same beautiful, intelligent, and very funny girl I met three years ago. I read her blog daily, not just because I love her, but because I am still in limbo with myself over the decision of whether or not I want kids someday. Half the time I read her blog and decide yes, absolutely. The other half, I have to log off due to impeding panic attacks. FAIL

Do I want kids? Can I raise a child?

There is no rush for me obviously, but I feel that I'm at the age where I should at least know the answer to this question. The only thing I know, besides the fact that babysitting terrifies me, is that I am 100% undecided. I love babies. I love to hold them, play with them, and dress them in cute fuzzy sleepers. I like to watch them sleep, watch them bite their fingers, and watch the bond with their mother develop. When I see a baby crying for mom, I want that. I think I could do a fantastic job with a baby [I know, easier said that done, I've read the blogs remember?], I also think that I am responsible and mature enough to have a baby. A baby seems exciting to me, and every time I am around a baby, I want one. Where the decision takes a turn is after baby.

Babies turn in to children.

Children become teenagers.

Teenagers become... me.

This may seem crazy, but I continually have to remind myself that babies last forever. They don't go away, and I can't swap them for the MAC Hue lipstick I am currently coveting. Knowing that eventually this baby will be one of the high school kids with a facebook page full of high school drama is very hard for me to get over. I do not want a teenager. That may be harsh, but it's the truth.

Like I mentioned earlier, I read Mommy Brain every day and frankly, it seems like a lot of fun. Even though there are panic moments [first night in the crib, loved it] and general frustrations with feeding and sleeping, all of those seem to fade away as soon as the baby smiles. I laugh at the mommy brain mondays and I get nervous when I hear about crib recalls, but underneath all those emotions, I can't shake the thought that this would never be me. I simply can't picture myself as a mom. Is it that high school kids annoy me, or is it because I am missing the mom gene?

To all you moms - could you picture yourself with a child (not baby) before you got pregnant?

I have been wanting to write about this for a while, but I was hesitant because I don't want to offend anyone. The last thing I want is to have someone calling Child Services when they find out I am pregnant some day. I know that I am not ready for a baby. I know that I do not want a baby today, tomorrow, or this year. But I also know that when I am older, I want to have what my parents and I have. I want to have the relationship that my mother and I have [ps, we bought more tea today, thanks Steve]. I want to have family vacations and holidays spent playing euchre, chase the ace, and rumoli - losing big money and laughing so hard we cry. I want to be able to drink with my kids [Child Services] and learn from them. I also hope my daughter dresses me, makes sure I never buy mom jeans, and picks out a nice nursing home for me when its time. So I guess I do want kids someday. Or to have a baby, give it away when it's time for school, and have it come back with a career and a bottle of McManis. Wait, is that what boarding school is?

Again, I stress that I know I am not ready for a baby. The only thing I know, is that I was lucky that my parents were ready. I am lucky that I had parents who gave me the childhood that I had [minus the haircuts, shame on you], and I am so lucky that my parents taught me to be respectful, kind, and humble. I still think that I would be great with a baby, but my skills would stop there. I don't know if I will ever be ready to influence a life and shape a child into a responsible adult, so to all you moms out there, congratulations, you are amazing. And to the creater of Mommy Brain, you are amazing, intelligent, pretty and funny, and I miss you very much.

Oh Wednesday...

It's mid week of a short week, does that make it technically not a Wednesday?
I've got Olympic fever and it's distracting my ability to watch Criminal Minds and drool over Shamar Moore, who, as I just found out met my one of my beautiful friends. In person. Told her she had beautiful eyes. Quiver.

It's Wednesday and you love me don't you?
You'd want me to be happy wouldn't you?
Well, for the next two weeks at the end of each blog, one click from you can make me very happy.
I'd like to be the W networks Beauty & Style expert, and you can help by not only giving me a nice little 5-star rating [I'd do it for you] but clicking on the link each time you read my blog, or as often as you want to [I'd do it for you] because this girl is greedy, and not only wants a perfect 5 star rating, but to have the most viewed video as well. I'm going to need it too, because of all people, my mother rated me a 2.

The Photo
[courtesy of Style.com]

The Scene ...it's cold and grey outside, I'm about to put coconut oil in my hair, Olympics on TV and Fall/Winter 2010 RTW Fashion Week pictures on the computer screen. Badgley Mischka dress above? Quiver.

The Song ...is that "I Believe" Olympic song. I hate it.

The Advice ...love your treadmill? Instead of running at the same speed for a period of time, mix it up with a couple minutes of uphill walking, sprinting, and jogging - alternating will help keep your muscles sharp, and will help you burn more calories

The Entertainment ...is absolutely the Olympics. I love Olympic time because at any time on any channel, there's something to watch - and with this Olympics, there's always some wild wipeouts to cringe to as well.

The Inappropriate ...eye contact, or lack of it I should say. I'm a firm believer in keeping eye contact with someone when you are talking. It drives me crazy to watch someone in a conversation who is looking at the floor, the table, or their hands while talking. It's okay to let your eyes wander within the general movement of a conversation, but 95% of the time your eyes should be on the person [or people] you're talking to.

The Obsession ...this week is with mixed berry yogurt topped with All Bran. I'm not a huge fan of breakfast but this I can handle, and I love it. I find myself looking forward to it every morning - lame, I know.

The Frustration ... is with not having a Target in Canada. When I'm writing my MM posts on Try This.Buy That, a lot of the great finds are from Target brands and us Canadians are truly shafted. I miss walking the aisle's of Target for hours, so excited about those quality finds that Wal-Mart just can't produce here. Never been to a Target? Shame on you.

The Shoutout .. goes to my dad this week. For those of you who don't know my dad [shame on you], he's pretty amazing and has landed yet another sweet gig to add to his repertoire. If I could grow up with half the brains, a quarter of the motivation, a third of the patience, and an eighth of the grey hair that he has, I'd be a happy girl. xx


Hey! It's the end of the blog, and you know what that means.
Shameless self-promotion time!

http://experts.wnetwork.com/Entries/Details.aspx?ID=314&Search=LDMsLDE=

I thank you in advance for making this your homepage, and continuing to rate me whenever you can :) Unless you're going to be like my mom, and rate me a 2, then please continue on with whatever website you're browsing.

xxLM

A Valentine's Emergency

Happy Valentines Day!


I'm not sure how I feel about Valentine's day, I can't say I've ever been a huge fan nor seen it as a big deal, but I appreciate that to a lot of people, this is a big day, so I wish you all well.


Remember the days back in public school, when you were required to bring cards for the whole class? The kids with the cool mom's brought cards with chocolates taped to them; all we had to do was sign our names and everything was gravy. Why can't it be that way now? Now, we are all on the search for the perfect Valentines card that says all we want to say in pretty fonts with just enough glitter, and just enough room to add in a sentence or two of your own. 


For me, I'm having trouble finding a card that says all I want it to say. 


Where are the cards that say "I'm so proud of you" and then go on to mention hours of work on personal time, meetings on Friday nights till seven, and managing the frustration of building a business. The card would also mention the appreciation of working now to enjoy later, because that is a very admirable quality.


In what aisle are the real life cards? The card's that balance out the years of bliss with a simple "I know it's hard sometimes, but I can't picture my life without you." Relationships can't be described in a few paragraphs, let alone a few paragraphs that make it sound as if everyday is an all expenses paid trip to the Bahamas. I'd like to find an honest card, a card that says all of that mushy stuff, and is capped off with "...but today I find you annoying."


What bothers me the most, are cards with the phrase "I love everything about you." Is this true? Am I the only one who feels that this is a heavy statement? My ideal version of this card would read somewhere along the lines of "even though you forget to put soap in the cat's dish, I love you for feeding him every morning." Or how about "I love your smile, but could you please stop eating my candy and not replacing it?" 


I like the cards that come with little coupons, little promises to do things when the coupon is given. From my knowledge these are available in all ranges of favours from taking out the garbage to something with "that thing" - but I've never found one with real promises. Why are these favours done only in exchange of a coupon? Why not have cards in which you promise something that can benefit both of you [and not involve that thing]. If I could make my own, mine would say "I promise to smile more often" and "I promise to take the time to correctly open packages." If I ever found a card that said "I promise to include you in my plans more often" or "I'll do my best to rinse out my tea leaves right away" I'd buy them in a minute.


Lastly, why isn't there a card that can bring everything into perspective in one sentence, with no glitter and no fancy writing. A card that reminds you of your past promises that still hold true today. A card reading "I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple and when it is an effort."


I have looked at cards for weeks and none have said any of the above. 
It is officially Valentines day now, and therefore I am out of time. 
This will be my first Valentines day that I don't have a card to give and this year I really wanted to give a good card. 


I wanted to give a card that would make you stop and realize that at the end of the day, I'll always be there for you, I'm always on your side, and that you do make me happy. A card that includes not only parts of the above, but all of it - because I really do mean it, and I really will work on my promises. 


I don't think I'll ever find a card like this and that's too bad, because my words are important and I need to find a way to get them across. 


I guess I'll just have to get creative.

The Breakup

Dear All My Laundry,


It's not you, it's me. I need to be on my own to grow into what I know I can be. I need space. Space to flourish and to show the world that I am the best source for all things beauty. This will be good for you, you are now free to share your thoughts with the world, without being overshadowed by me. 


I hope you know I will always be here for you, and am only a click away.


With Love,


Try This.Buy That

Wednesday Mash.Up

It's Wednesday bloggettes and this b*tch had an exciting day.
Details to follow. Video to follow. Rates to follow? You betta.

The Photo

The Scene... 10:45 pm [cutting it close I know], skyping with my true love, in full runway makeup and hair. Ooh la la


The Song...Glitter in the Air by Pink - but the live Grammy version. Did you see that ribboned suit? Break me off a piece of that.


The Advice...Want an extra shine boost to your hair? After you rinse out your shampoo & conditioner, before getting out of the shower turn the water on cold and rinse your hair again. The cold water will seal the cuticle and increase shine. Bling Bling.


The Entertainment...tonight was via myself. No more can be said, link to follow.


The Inappropriate... way to cancel plans. High up on my list of "I hate when people do this.." things - I can't stand when I have plans with someone, and on the day of, they disappear. Don't answer calls, don't respond to texts, and never say anything until two days later when its "Oh I'm so sorry I was so busy." Riiight. If you don't want to hang out with me, tell me.


The Obsession.... this week goes to NARS Easy Lover lip gloss - the perfect clear glossy hot pink lip that I've been coveting is finally mine. WIN.


The Frustration... is my new found lazy eye in photo's. Have I always had this, or is my left eye suddenly slacking? Is it trying out a new semi-wink pose because it's always the "bad" eye [you know, the eye that your eyeshadow always seems worse on] - Either way, I need to submit a headshot for a few  things coming up and if this continues, I'm going to have to part my hair on the other side. Huge. Dilemma.I.Know


The Shoutout... to a west-coast beauty on her way somewhere very warm, to see someone very hot, and to enjoy some time together that has been very long coming. I'll watch extra Criminal Minds for you these next couple weeks. Safe travels Xx.


I hope you've all had a wonderful hump day, filled with lots of...


xxLM

'Tis Wednesday

"I believe that sex is a beautiful thing between two
people. Between five, it's fantastic" - Woody Allen

Happy hump day bloggettes.

The Photo:

The Scene: rushing around getting ready to leave while trying to decide between pants or a skirt for work today. The skirt looks better but the frigid cold air feels better on my legs through pants, than through very thin patterned tights.

The Song... "Put It In A Love Song" - Beyonce & Alicia Keys. It's a Thursday through Saturday night song that should require leather leggings, stilettos, and a hot dance partner. Any takers?

The Advice... for all you brides getting married this year [or all you girls with an 'I.must.look.good' date in your head] - the week before your wedding or event, drink as much water as you possibly can... I'm talking bottles and bottles a day. A day before your event, cut the fluid consumption by a good 80%. Because you've been drinking so much water, your body will be flushing out toxins and fluid retention quickly [aka, lots of bathroom trips] - when you quit fluids a day before, your body won't register the drop in consumption so you'll still be taking regular bathroom trips - but since you aren't taking in as much fluid, your body will look extra toned :)

[as a disclaimer, I understand that not all my methods can be classified as super healthy but you know what? Your wedding day or that hot TIFF party where you think you'll run into George Clooney (sans the Italian beauty) is a day you want to look your best, so why not help yourself out a little bit?]

The Entertainment...this week I have two YouTube video's on replay this week. First, Pink's Grammy performance was amazing, as is her body. Girl crush? Think so. Second and somewhat embarassing, I've been watching a video of a headbanging baby over and over again and each time it gets funnier and funner. Wait, 'funnier' isn't a word is it?

The Inappropriate...handshake. Weak handshakes are a big pet peeve of mine and make me extremely uncomfortable. Is it too hard to put some strength into your grip when you meet someone? I'm not asking you to break my hand, but a little firmness would be greatly appreciated [thats what she said].

The Obsession...is dance. I have always loved dance and besides 5am weights, dance on floor was one of my favourite parts of gymnastics. This week I started taking dance classes again, Saturday was contemporary and last night was Power Barre [the workout responsible for Kelly Rippas ripped bod...also the workout responsible for my inability to sit, walk, or bend over today]. Next on the list is intermediate contemporary and hip hop contemporary and I can't wait. Besides the surface pain, it feels awesome to dance and move my body in different ways again and I can see this obsession getting stronger as time goes on. WIN.

The Frustration...is with the combination of winter and my iPhone. For all you iPhone users you'll understand without me even having to explain, but for those of you stuck in the Blackberry generation [or worse] - the iPhone touch screen only registers skin contact, which means when you're wearing gloves you can't use your phone. FAIL.

The Shoutout...this week is to the hard working FA who knows his business inside and out - I'm proud of you!

Au revoir...

xxLM

On Mistakes...

"Some mistakes are much too fun to make only once"

Some of the best moments and things in my life have come courtesy of a mistake and I wouldn't change them for anything. The more I grow up, the more I realize not only that life goes on, but that life is good, mistakes and all. I've learned that we all have different views on what constitutes a mistake, and to judge one another by their choices is a lot of effort for a lot less payoff. I would never expect anyone to live their life according to what I see as right and wrong, although I do think some people could benefit from a healthy dose of vitamin V[odka] more often.

Yes, there are times when I would have given anything to be able to ctrl+alt+delete myself out of certain situations which shall remain only in my memories [or my iPhoto in some cases], but regret is not the way I wish to spend my time. Well, except the time I decided to pass on Chanel's sale on Rouge Noir nail polish...that I still regret and will continue to regret until I get that fabulous blood red shade on my nails.

The moral of the story: with the exception of major legal no-no's, you decide what constitutes a mistake in your life and if you feel good about a choice you made, all the power to you. Life is too short to judge, and your life is too short to worry about what others think of you. Surround yourself with a variety of people and take comfort in the fact that most of the time, no one notices your mistakes, they're too busy concentrating on their own.

I mean unless your mistake ends up on TFLN --- that everyone notices.


Wishing you a mistake-filled Tuesday.

xxLM.