The Importance of Pampering Oneself

I am not a high maintenance kind of girl.  I own makeup, and occasionally I even put it on for family pictures and the occasional night out with the hubs.  My fingernails are usually kind of chipped and funny-shaped, so I just cut them as short as I can.  I tend to have my hair in a ponytail most of the time, because it's just more practical.  But there's something every girl should do, and that's get a pedicure.  Yes, it's nice to have pretty toenails when flip flop season comes around (which seems doubtful this year), and that's one reason to get a pedicure.  But did you know that they also massage your feet and calves, scrub and scrape off anything rough off the soles of your feet, and they exfoliate, too.  This sounds great, doesn't it?  It's the best kind of pampering.  And think about it.  What part of your body gets the most use during the day?  (Don't be naughty.)  Probably your hands.  But, at least for me, my hands get attention:  lotion, soap, sanitizer, etc.  What about your feet?  If you're like me, and spend most of your day on your feet, those poor feet get just as much wear and not nearly enough attention.  If I think about it before bed, which is kind of rare, I slap some lotion on and fall into bed.  Those tootsies deserve some pampering!  And that, my friends, is why I think every woman deserves regular pedicures.

A little jaunt to California

We went to California this past week, and if you want to see a bunch of pictures from our visit to Disneyland and the beach, check out my other blog.  There's a link over on the side of this blog.  It was a good time.  We did a bunch of kiddie rides that were a blast, but I got to do something for me on the last day there.  I know a bunch of you are now addicted to my friend's blog, Rachel Says So, so you know that she is a fantastic person that also happens to be a long time friend of mine.  She lives in Southern California, and we don't get to see each other often, so she made the drive over to Anaheim and met up with me and my family at Downtown Disney for dinner.  The food wasn't awesome, but the company was fantastic.  It was so great to see her, and this time neither of us were puking (see her blog for this curse we have).  The only thing missing in this picture is that we don't have Easter egg painted lips.

Another TV post

I know I just posted on a TV show.  But I have something else to say.  Actually, a few things.

1.  The last few weeks have been like Christmas when it comes to my shows.  Every week I think I'm getting the season finale, and then there's a preview for another episode.  And each episode of each show (Vampire Diaries and Castle, to be specific) has been meaty and exciting, which is why I keep thinking it's the last one of the season.  It's nice to get decent episodes, and not crummy fillers.  Bonus!

2.  For those of you who watch Vampire Diaries, are you feeling a little down today?  Last night's episode wasn't a bad one, by any means, but after watching it with my friends, we all sat there in silence, wiping our eyes and feeling down.  Usually, after watching, we get giggly and chatty and spend the next hour or so talking and joking.  Last night, none of us were in the mood to giggle AT ALL.  This is very unusual.  It was a relief more than a pleasant surprise that there is another episode next week.  I know there are some who haven't watched it yet, so I won't tell you what got us so down, but I will say, CW, you had better resolve that issue you left us with at the end of last night's episode in a happy way.  Or I will walk away from the show.  Yes, I care that much.

3.  I'm currently addicted to HGTV.  Maybe it's because the shows I record at night are a little dark, but I find myself getting sucked in by people looking for their first house (I yell at the TV "You can't change the layout but a can of paint is cheap!  Buy the house!"), remodeling their dated living rooms, and getting Yard and House Crashed.  It's my dream right now to go to the Home Depot to buy light bulbs and have an HGTV contractor come up to me and say, "May I please redo your dysfunctional eating area/living room for free?"  House Hunters International is another show I really enjoy, partly because they go to places like Italy and look at amazing old farmhouses that have been converted into beautiful living spaces.  Partly I think it's funny that some people are so rich that they feel the need to buy a 5 bedroom vacation home for half a million dollars that they'll use for 3 weeks out of the year.  It's called hotels, people.  Cheaper, low maintenance, amenities, housekeeping.  Maybe if I become ridiculously rich I'll suddenly have an urge to buy an expensive second home in St. Croix.  But for now, my dream is just to go to lots of different places all over the world, and not get tied to one vacation spot every year.

4.  One last thing.  There's something about interesting and unique shows that gets them cancelled.  My friend clued me into a show that was available on streaming.  It's called "The Gates."  It's about an exclusive neighborhood that turns out to be a refuge for vampires, werewolves, witches, and other supernatural beings.  I know it sounds too familiar, but it's quite fascinating.  Think Desperate Housewives with a supernatural twist.  And it was cancelled after season one.  With the event of the DVR, people like me skip over ads for new shows, which makes it difficult to hear about shows until they have already been cancelled for lack of viewers.  It would have been nice to see where they were going with the show.