I think my bad hair day today prompted me to write this post.
I remember the days in my 20's, 25 to be exact, the year I met my husband. I loved my hair. I used to get it cut at Bumble & Bumble, a top salon in NYC. My hair was the most important accessory then and it continues to be now. Only thing is, back then, it really looked good. I paid practically half my salary to get my haircut (I was an editor at the time and made next to nothing). I had such a full head of hair, it was very wavy and I wore it a bit longer than I do now. I never had to color or highlight it. It was always shiny.
Fast forward 25 years and two kids later...they never tell you that kids take all the curl out of your hair! After I had kids, my hair was flat as a pancake. It never grew back the same way. And now, my hair is not only thinner, but I also have a receding hairline. I notice a lot of other women my age have receding hairlines too, except my mother who at 85 still has a full head of thick hair black hair (thanks to Loreal color treatments)...guess I take after my dad's side of the family..I have heard that receding hair is heriditary. Men are allowed to lose their hair, but it doesn't look as flattering on women.
There are also the gray hairs that need covering up. Since I now color my hair almost every six weeks, I don't notice the gray roots as much, until about the fourth or fifth week...that's about where I am right now...that's why I'm having a bad hair day. My hair gets dull and limp and has no body...no matter how much hair gel, mousse or extra strength hairspray I put on it. And believe me, I have a bathroom cabinet full of gel, mousse, hairspray, color shampoos, extra body conditioners, etc, etc. ready to come to the rescue. I've tried many products that are supposed to transform your hair and am always looking for the miracle cure. If you know of one that works for you, please share it with me.
Tomorrow, I'm going to get my hair colored and highlighted. I find that when I get highlights my hair has much more body. Only issue for a person like me who has short hair is that you have to let it get longer, so they can put the highlights in your hair...so the foils stay on your head. That means about every 10 -12 weeks, I have about seven bad hair days until I can get my hair highlighted again. My haircolorist highlights my hair every other visit, about once every 12 weeks, and I get it colored in-between too to cover up the roots. Then I have to go to another salon where I get my haircut...doesn't make life any easier! I keep a calendar so I remember, although, I really don't need to because my bad hair days automatically let me know it is time to schedule an appointment.
It's interesting to note that my husband and son think I spend every other week at the salon getting a haircut. They don't even realize the difference between color, highlights and cuts, needless to say the important role each plays in the perfection of this accessory. When your hair is short the cuts are very subtle, but a few snips here and there can make the difference between a good hair day and a bad one. A good color brings back all the shine...and highlights...well, that's icing on the cake.
So, I know tomorrow may not be a better day since I will have to go through the entire work day with bad hair until I get my highlights that evening...but Wednesday, yes, Wednesday, I'll be smiling with my rich shiny hair and brilliant blonde highlights.
Do you know when I googled HAIRCARE there were 62 million sites that came up? Guess I'm not the only female whose hair is her most important accessory!
Judi
P.S. - Couldn't go through all 62 million sites, but did check out the third listing at hairboutique.com...it was a fun site all about hair....will have to bookmark that site and go back to it when I have more time...when I'm not blogging that is.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Incredible Shrinking Feet
Why does it seem that while my hips are expanding my feet are shrinking? Gone are the days when it was simple to buy a pair of shoes. I used to be a size 8 or 7-1/2. I never had problems buying shoes. I always had a narrow foot, but now my feet are slightly smaller than a size 7-1/2 and too large for a size 7. Now I have to buy a size 7-1/2 and add two Doctor Scholl's inserts to each shoe so the size fits. I also add heel grippers to compensate for my narrow heel. Next it will be the orthopedic inserts and then I'll need to add a podiatrist to my list of doctors. Shoe shopping is not a favorite pasttime anymore...wish I was like Carrie Bradshaw from "Sex and the City" whose foot fit every pair of Manolos or Jimmy Choo...not that I could afford to buy such luxurious shoes, so I guess it's just as well that I don't have perfect feet.
While I know Easy Spirits and Naturalizer are the "mature woman's" shoe, I don't like to admit that I actually have these shoes in my closet. If I do admit this... does it mean I'm now considered a "mature woman?"
Mules...Forget about shoes with open backs...the shoes they call mules. I don't know how women walk in these shoes, let alone drive. Every time I've tried to wear a pair my feet fall out of them...I end up walking barefoot and the shoes are somewhere five steps back!
High Heels... I also can no longer wear high heels, too much pressure on the ball of my feet. Although, I did wear a pair of sandals with high heels to the wedding I recently attended. I was able to stand and walk for a few hours...very surprising...Ann Taylor to the rescue (again!)...maybe they were just the right heel height for the shape of my foot. They had stretched out a bit since I originally wore them and did require constant strap adjustments throughout the evening.
Kitten Heels...Kitten heels are about the highest I can go...love the Franco Sarto and Arturo Chiang brands. I think they were made for narrow feet.
Flats...So glad flats are back in style. They are not as sexy as heels, but way more comfortable. The Enzo brand makes my favorite brand for summer flats and are available in every color.
Patent Leather Shoes...these bring back memories of my childhood. My black patent leather Mary Janes were my favorites when I was a kid...so shiny! If you like patent leather shoes...check out the new Bloomingdales catalog or Bloomingdales.com website...there are red patent leather flats by Arturo Chiang called "Gigi" (loved that movie, maybe that's why I love the shoes)...I may have to splurge and buy these shoes.
Boots...are also not fun to shop for either. I have thin legs so most all the high top boots are too wide for my legs. I did purchase a pair of Nine West lower brown boots this year and liked them so much that I went back to the shoe store and bought the same pair in black. Now that I have wider hips and my older suit pants inch up I have to compensate with boots...that way the length of the pants don't look too short.
Maybe I'll find some neat new shoes when I go to Italy. I do love Italian shoe designers. As Michaelangelo said, "What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed."
Judi
While I know Easy Spirits and Naturalizer are the "mature woman's" shoe, I don't like to admit that I actually have these shoes in my closet. If I do admit this... does it mean I'm now considered a "mature woman?"
Mules...Forget about shoes with open backs...the shoes they call mules. I don't know how women walk in these shoes, let alone drive. Every time I've tried to wear a pair my feet fall out of them...I end up walking barefoot and the shoes are somewhere five steps back!
High Heels... I also can no longer wear high heels, too much pressure on the ball of my feet. Although, I did wear a pair of sandals with high heels to the wedding I recently attended. I was able to stand and walk for a few hours...very surprising...Ann Taylor to the rescue (again!)...maybe they were just the right heel height for the shape of my foot. They had stretched out a bit since I originally wore them and did require constant strap adjustments throughout the evening.
Kitten Heels...Kitten heels are about the highest I can go...love the Franco Sarto and Arturo Chiang brands. I think they were made for narrow feet.
Flats...So glad flats are back in style. They are not as sexy as heels, but way more comfortable. The Enzo brand makes my favorite brand for summer flats and are available in every color.
Patent Leather Shoes...these bring back memories of my childhood. My black patent leather Mary Janes were my favorites when I was a kid...so shiny! If you like patent leather shoes...check out the new Bloomingdales catalog or Bloomingdales.com website...there are red patent leather flats by Arturo Chiang called "Gigi" (loved that movie, maybe that's why I love the shoes)...I may have to splurge and buy these shoes.
Boots...are also not fun to shop for either. I have thin legs so most all the high top boots are too wide for my legs. I did purchase a pair of Nine West lower brown boots this year and liked them so much that I went back to the shoe store and bought the same pair in black. Now that I have wider hips and my older suit pants inch up I have to compensate with boots...that way the length of the pants don't look too short.
Maybe I'll find some neat new shoes when I go to Italy. I do love Italian shoe designers. As Michaelangelo said, "What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed."
Judi
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Taking Risks
I was thinking about risk-taking this morning on my drive to work. While I am not a risktaker, as I've mentioned before, everytime I have taken a risk it has always turned out for the better.
So why am I always so scared?
For example, I remember when I moved to New Jersey and missed out on a beautiful house I wanted to buy because I was scared of purchasing a house that cost more than my husband and I had planned to spend. I was not as experienced with owning my own home, since I grew up in an apartment and was used to apartment living even after I graduated from college and moved back into the city. In hindsight, it was a price I probably could have afforded and if I had bought that original house, it would be worth much more today and I never would have needed to move. I blamed it on the fact that the owners would not budge on the price and I thought that you were never supposed to pay the asking price on the house. In reality, I think I used that excuse to cover up my fears.
Thirteen years later, I took a risk the second time around...when we decided we wanted to move. We wanted a ranch house all on one floor because my husband has trouble climbing stairs. The realtor showed us houses that were above our price range...as they always do. This time I was also wiser and more experienced. I knew what I had missed out on before and was more willing to take a risk. So, when I fell in love with a house that the realtor showed me I knew I had to bite quickly. It was more than I wanted to spend and I was afraid, but I did it. I went ahead anyway. Even better...nine years later and the house has almost doubled in price and I have been able to make the payments every month. Now, my goal is to pay off my house by the time I turn 55...it sounds so far away, but that's because I'm only 49!
When we get to 50 are we able to take more calculated risks because we are wiser and we know more? Or for those like me, does it get harder because we get more set in our ways?
Judi
So why am I always so scared?
For example, I remember when I moved to New Jersey and missed out on a beautiful house I wanted to buy because I was scared of purchasing a house that cost more than my husband and I had planned to spend. I was not as experienced with owning my own home, since I grew up in an apartment and was used to apartment living even after I graduated from college and moved back into the city. In hindsight, it was a price I probably could have afforded and if I had bought that original house, it would be worth much more today and I never would have needed to move. I blamed it on the fact that the owners would not budge on the price and I thought that you were never supposed to pay the asking price on the house. In reality, I think I used that excuse to cover up my fears.
Thirteen years later, I took a risk the second time around...when we decided we wanted to move. We wanted a ranch house all on one floor because my husband has trouble climbing stairs. The realtor showed us houses that were above our price range...as they always do. This time I was also wiser and more experienced. I knew what I had missed out on before and was more willing to take a risk. So, when I fell in love with a house that the realtor showed me I knew I had to bite quickly. It was more than I wanted to spend and I was afraid, but I did it. I went ahead anyway. Even better...nine years later and the house has almost doubled in price and I have been able to make the payments every month. Now, my goal is to pay off my house by the time I turn 55...it sounds so far away, but that's because I'm only 49!
When we get to 50 are we able to take more calculated risks because we are wiser and we know more? Or for those like me, does it get harder because we get more set in our ways?
Judi
Monday, January 22, 2007
Remembering the C's in a Relationship
Today is my 23rd wedding anniversary. I was married on Superbowl Sunday in 1984. It feels like just yesterday. I always look at my wedding album each year on my anniversary and remember how I looked back then, when I was a 26 year old newlywed with longer hair and no wrinkles on my face, a flat stomach before the kids were born. I was a runner back then, even ran in some 10K races.
I remember my wedding ceremony. The rabbi commented on the 5'Cs of marriage. I can actually only remember the 4'Cs...if any reader knows the 5th one please send a comment. Maybe your rabbi or clergyman gave the same ceremony at your wedding. Anyway, here are the 4'Cs I remember:
Commitment: the act of commiting or trusting yourself to someone forever;
Compassion: a feeling of of sorrow or pity for the sufferings or misfortunes of your spouse;
Communication: the imparting or interchange of thought, or information by speech, writing, or signs (that includes the non-verbal communication we have with our spouse...sometimes this sends the strongest signals to a spouse, especially the sound of silence); and
Compromise: a settlement of differences by mutual concessions. I've done a great deal of compromising throughout my 23 years of marriage. I'm sure my husband would say it is mutual.
After 23 years, I think I would say the 5th C is Contentment: a state of being satisfied. Do we become content with our mates after many years of marriage? Women's magazines always write about how to keep a marriage exciting after the initial luster wears off and the kids come along. It is hard. After the kids are born, they take priority for at least the next 18 years of your life...until they go away to college and you become an empty nester. I've got one year to go before my youngest child goes off to school...then hopefully, my oldest who is graduating from college doesn't decide to move back in.
I was surprised to read in the paper yesterday about how many single Americans there are today. According to the article I read, it said that 51 percent of all women live without a spouse, and about half of all men are in the same situation. The number of people marrying has dropped off in the last 45 years. It goes on to elaborate that the marriage gap isn't about men and women, but rather about class and education. The statistics reveal that college educated women are more likely to marry than non-educated women.
Is it that women (and maybe men too) don't want to practice the 5'Cs? Let me know your thoughts on this one.
Judi
I remember my wedding ceremony. The rabbi commented on the 5'Cs of marriage. I can actually only remember the 4'Cs...if any reader knows the 5th one please send a comment. Maybe your rabbi or clergyman gave the same ceremony at your wedding. Anyway, here are the 4'Cs I remember:
Commitment: the act of commiting or trusting yourself to someone forever;
Compassion: a feeling of of sorrow or pity for the sufferings or misfortunes of your spouse;
Communication: the imparting or interchange of thought, or information by speech, writing, or signs (that includes the non-verbal communication we have with our spouse...sometimes this sends the strongest signals to a spouse, especially the sound of silence); and
Compromise: a settlement of differences by mutual concessions. I've done a great deal of compromising throughout my 23 years of marriage. I'm sure my husband would say it is mutual.
After 23 years, I think I would say the 5th C is Contentment: a state of being satisfied. Do we become content with our mates after many years of marriage? Women's magazines always write about how to keep a marriage exciting after the initial luster wears off and the kids come along. It is hard. After the kids are born, they take priority for at least the next 18 years of your life...until they go away to college and you become an empty nester. I've got one year to go before my youngest child goes off to school...then hopefully, my oldest who is graduating from college doesn't decide to move back in.
I was surprised to read in the paper yesterday about how many single Americans there are today. According to the article I read, it said that 51 percent of all women live without a spouse, and about half of all men are in the same situation. The number of people marrying has dropped off in the last 45 years. It goes on to elaborate that the marriage gap isn't about men and women, but rather about class and education. The statistics reveal that college educated women are more likely to marry than non-educated women.
Is it that women (and maybe men too) don't want to practice the 5'Cs? Let me know your thoughts on this one.
Judi
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Lifes Little Pleasures
January 20, 2007
As I age, I find that it is the little things in life that make the most difference. Not too long ago, I used to get excited at each new purchase. I was somewhat of a shopaholic. I was always buying new clothes. And when I wasn't buying new clothes, I would do my "weekly watch," which involved a trip to the mall on the weekend to see when the outfit I wanted went on sale. It was usually a Jones NY outfit, in autumn colors. They were my favorite suits or ensembles for work.
Now, I get excited by the little things in life. Yes, I do still shop for clothing, but not as much as I did several years ago. And Jones NY clothing just doesn't appeal to me anymore. Beyond the bath (as I've mentioned in previous posts), I also enjoy:
- Hot chocolate with marshmallows on a winter day. It was so cold today that I went and bought mini-marshmallows and went home and made a hot cup ofchocolate and topped it with lots of min-marshmallows;
- Starbucks decaf skim latte (grande-size). These lattes are good warm in the winter and chilled in the summer. It's lighter on the calories with skim milk so I don't feel guilty;
- Buying an issue of People magazine and taking an hour to read it from cover to cover;
- Reading chicklit. This usually only happens when I'm on vacation. I never read books anymore when I'm not on vacation...either I'm too tired at night...or I'm reading the newspaper or a magazine;
- Watching an old Audrey Hepburn movie. My kids bought me the Audrey Hepburn DVD collection with Roman Holiday (my absolute favorite Hepburn movie); Sabrina and Breakfast at Tiffany's;
- Exercising on at the gym on Sunday. While it used to be my shopping day, now I'm a weekend athlete;
- Eating pancakes for breakfast on a Sunday morning (before exercising!);
- Reading the Sunday New York Times (cover to cover). This may soon require a sabbatical with all the sections that now are in this paper;
- Going out to Panera Bread for a cup of hazelnut coffee (mostly decaf mixed in since I'm not supposed to have any caffeine) and a cranberry walnut bagel with cream cheese.
I'm sure I could think of more of life's little pleasures. Even a good night's sleep would do. I think I'm going to try to treat myself to these pleasures more often on the road to 50. Notice I'm not committing to anything...I did commit to writing everyday in this blog and have not held true...but, at least I'm trying.
That's why I'm signing off now to go enjoy my new issue of InStyle magazine...or maybe my new issue of Vogue... What's your list of life's little pleasures...write a comment and let me know.
Judi
As I age, I find that it is the little things in life that make the most difference. Not too long ago, I used to get excited at each new purchase. I was somewhat of a shopaholic. I was always buying new clothes. And when I wasn't buying new clothes, I would do my "weekly watch," which involved a trip to the mall on the weekend to see when the outfit I wanted went on sale. It was usually a Jones NY outfit, in autumn colors. They were my favorite suits or ensembles for work.
Now, I get excited by the little things in life. Yes, I do still shop for clothing, but not as much as I did several years ago. And Jones NY clothing just doesn't appeal to me anymore. Beyond the bath (as I've mentioned in previous posts), I also enjoy:
- Hot chocolate with marshmallows on a winter day. It was so cold today that I went and bought mini-marshmallows and went home and made a hot cup ofchocolate and topped it with lots of min-marshmallows;
- Starbucks decaf skim latte (grande-size). These lattes are good warm in the winter and chilled in the summer. It's lighter on the calories with skim milk so I don't feel guilty;
- Buying an issue of People magazine and taking an hour to read it from cover to cover;
- Reading chicklit. This usually only happens when I'm on vacation. I never read books anymore when I'm not on vacation...either I'm too tired at night...or I'm reading the newspaper or a magazine;
- Watching an old Audrey Hepburn movie. My kids bought me the Audrey Hepburn DVD collection with Roman Holiday (my absolute favorite Hepburn movie); Sabrina and Breakfast at Tiffany's;
- Exercising on at the gym on Sunday. While it used to be my shopping day, now I'm a weekend athlete;
- Eating pancakes for breakfast on a Sunday morning (before exercising!);
- Reading the Sunday New York Times (cover to cover). This may soon require a sabbatical with all the sections that now are in this paper;
- Going out to Panera Bread for a cup of hazelnut coffee (mostly decaf mixed in since I'm not supposed to have any caffeine) and a cranberry walnut bagel with cream cheese.
I'm sure I could think of more of life's little pleasures. Even a good night's sleep would do. I think I'm going to try to treat myself to these pleasures more often on the road to 50. Notice I'm not committing to anything...I did commit to writing everyday in this blog and have not held true...but, at least I'm trying.
That's why I'm signing off now to go enjoy my new issue of InStyle magazine...or maybe my new issue of Vogue... What's your list of life's little pleasures...write a comment and let me know.
Judi
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