How.adorable.is.this.
It’s a zedonk! A zebra-donkey hybrid.
Pretty sure I want one.
A lesson in patience
I received a voicemail today informing me that my doctor’s appointment this afternoon needed to be cancelled due to an emergency, and asked if I could please call back to reschedule.
First of all, let me just say that voicemails and I do not mix. We are not friends. I hurriedly memorized the number they gave me to call, deleted the message and called them back.
Me: “Hi, I received a voicemail from your office asking me to call back and reschedule my appointment from this afternoon?”
Receptionist: “Oh, I wasn’t the one who called you, do you know who left the message?”
Me: Shoot. “No I don’t remember… sorry.”
Receptionist: “That’s ok, what’s your doctor’s name?”
Let me explain. My primary doc isn’t at the clinic anymore so they scheduled me with a different one. Did I write the name down? No.
Me: “Actually, no… my primary doctor left the clinic so I was scheduled with a different one but I don’t remember her name… sorry.”
Then Ms. Receptionist got huffy.
Receptionist: “Well I’m going to have to ask you to go back and listen to that voicemail and call back when you have more information.”
Me: Um, rude much? “Well, my appointment was supposed to be at 4:40 today, is there no other way to look it up?” You called ME, people!
The story ends with them figuring it out and rescheduling me. But then I started thinking about all the times people call into my office saying they saw one of our real estate signs in Auburn, or wait maybe it was Kent? I guess it could’ve been Auburn though? Then we go through the rigmarole of me asking them if they saw an agent name on the sign (“There was no name!”) or a more precise location (“Well how many signs do you have??”), to which my responses would be that I MAKE these signs so I know they all have agent names on them, and that we have over a hundred properties which makes the sign count at least 200.
… ok, so I don’t really respond that way. But I think it. Anywho, I just wanted to say that I identify with today’s receptionist and can sympathize with how annoying it must be to deal with people who can’t hang onto the simplest of information, myself included.
To which I respond, maybe next time they could just send me an e-mail? Then we could all have the information in front of us? Send voicemails to the grave, I say!
Now and then
Isn’t it funny how your tastes and preferences change from when you were a kid?
Then: I absolutely couldn’t stand tights. If I had to wear hosiery then I wanted it to be sheer – opaque was like a bad word to me. Methinks I just wanted to grow up too fast. :)
Now: Tights are all I wear through winter! Well, that sounds bad. But I LOVE them and think they’re the answer to any outfit. I now balk at sheer hosiery and refuse to wear it, inspiring the ever-ongoing argument in my office (between the women, that is) of nylons vs. bare legs. Though I have heard that some offices require nylons… isn’t that strange? I might revolt. I could also say this about turtlenecks in that I was adamantly against them as a child but now think they are genius.
Then: Our Whole Foods outings as kids usually included an 8 oz. cup of carrot juice preceded by a shot of wheatgrass juice. I persistently fought against this infusion of antioxidants as only children do (“I don’t like it! It’s gross!”).
Now: Carrot juice tastes like candy! Ok that might be going too far but I think it’s tasty. On the other hand, I still refuse to touch wheatgrass juice. Superfood or not, it still tastes awful. In other news, I accompanied Mark to his first visit to Whole Foods a couple months ago. When he said he’d never been there before, I said, “Really?! I feel like I was raised in one!” Turns out they have quite the microbrew selection, too! I never picked up on that as a kid. :)
Beauty Picks
I’ve actually been working on this post since Monday but things have been so crazy that I haven’t had much time to put some effort into it! I’ve been loving some new (and old) beauty products and wanted to share them with you.
1. Eyebrow kit by E.L.F.
I’ve always been under the impression that my eyebrows have never needed any help looking more full but a recent makeover I received for a wedding showed me what my brows could be with just a little fixin’. I heard of this eyebrow kit through a makeup tutorial on Extra Petite and the best part is it’s only $3 at drugstores. The left side of the compact contains a brow gel you comb through your brows and the right side holds a setting powder. If I was in a rush and could pick only one makeup product to put on my face before I run out the door, this would probably be it – your eyebrows frame your face and give you a look of completeness.
2. Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer
I’ve always been a huge advocate of finding a daily moisturizer that has SPF in it, and this Neutrogena pick hits the mark at SPF 30. If you’re going to protect anything, it better be your face! This moisturizer applies like silk and I sometimes use it for my hands too since your hands can never escape the sun. Of course, the only downside of using a daily moisturizer with a higher SPF content is your face frequently doesn’t match the rest of your body – but when I’m 40, hopefully my face will thank me. In the meantime, there’s always bronzer. You can find this product in drugstores for about $12.99.
3. Target brand nail polish remover pads
I change my nail polish quite frequently, so I need a heavy-hitter for my remover! Bottled polish remover is a better bang for your buck but I also like having these pads in my purse or car just in case a nail disaster occurs (oh it happens) or I just can’t take the chipping anymore. I can’t find these on Target’s website but I think they run around $3.99 for a pack of 10, and one pad can usually take care of all your nails (stubborn glitter may require two).
4. A blending brush
After watching the tutorial on smoky eyes I referenced above, I became obsessed with blending! I always wondered how people get their eye shadows to look so flawless and the key really is to blend, blend, blend. But you need a blending brush first! I don’t have this exact brush (actually, I don’t even know what brand mine is) but here’s one from E.L.F. At $1, it’s an excellent investment. You can use your fingers to blend as well, but I find a brush works better and is less messy. A tip: don’t be afraid to get a lot of shadow on your eyelids – it’s ok for it to look bad before you blend! That’s what blending will do: even out the shadow “edges” and create natural-looking gradients. Practice makes perfect, I promise.
5. Blush
My cheeks are not naturally rosy so I can’t live without a blush compact. I think this is a step a lot of people skip but blush is instrumental in livening up your face and giving you a little glow. I can always tell when I forget blush because my face looks so BORING. A little blush makes you look alive! My all-time favorite blush was by Bobbi Brown but I have no idea what shade it was so I’d have to go back and get re-matched. I prefer trying out blush before buying because it’s hard to match a packaged shade to your skin tone, no matter what the marketing people tell you (warm tone, cool tone, olive complexion). I’ve had many more fails than wins with blind drugstore buys so I’d rather save myself the guessing game and let the professional match me with a color with which I know I’ll be happy, because once you have the compact then you’re stuck with it!
Now that this is a novel, I hope you’ve gotten some ideas! What are your current favorites?
1. Eyebrow kit by E.L.F.
I’ve always been under the impression that my eyebrows have never needed any help looking more full but a recent makeover I received for a wedding showed me what my brows could be with just a little fixin’. I heard of this eyebrow kit through a makeup tutorial on Extra Petite and the best part is it’s only $3 at drugstores. The left side of the compact contains a brow gel you comb through your brows and the right side holds a setting powder. If I was in a rush and could pick only one makeup product to put on my face before I run out the door, this would probably be it – your eyebrows frame your face and give you a look of completeness.
2. Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer
I’ve always been a huge advocate of finding a daily moisturizer that has SPF in it, and this Neutrogena pick hits the mark at SPF 30. If you’re going to protect anything, it better be your face! This moisturizer applies like silk and I sometimes use it for my hands too since your hands can never escape the sun. Of course, the only downside of using a daily moisturizer with a higher SPF content is your face frequently doesn’t match the rest of your body – but when I’m 40, hopefully my face will thank me. In the meantime, there’s always bronzer. You can find this product in drugstores for about $12.99.
3. Target brand nail polish remover pads
I change my nail polish quite frequently, so I need a heavy-hitter for my remover! Bottled polish remover is a better bang for your buck but I also like having these pads in my purse or car just in case a nail disaster occurs (oh it happens) or I just can’t take the chipping anymore. I can’t find these on Target’s website but I think they run around $3.99 for a pack of 10, and one pad can usually take care of all your nails (stubborn glitter may require two).
4. A blending brush
After watching the tutorial on smoky eyes I referenced above, I became obsessed with blending! I always wondered how people get their eye shadows to look so flawless and the key really is to blend, blend, blend. But you need a blending brush first! I don’t have this exact brush (actually, I don’t even know what brand mine is) but here’s one from E.L.F. At $1, it’s an excellent investment. You can use your fingers to blend as well, but I find a brush works better and is less messy. A tip: don’t be afraid to get a lot of shadow on your eyelids – it’s ok for it to look bad before you blend! That’s what blending will do: even out the shadow “edges” and create natural-looking gradients. Practice makes perfect, I promise.
5. Blush
My cheeks are not naturally rosy so I can’t live without a blush compact. I think this is a step a lot of people skip but blush is instrumental in livening up your face and giving you a little glow. I can always tell when I forget blush because my face looks so BORING. A little blush makes you look alive! My all-time favorite blush was by Bobbi Brown but I have no idea what shade it was so I’d have to go back and get re-matched. I prefer trying out blush before buying because it’s hard to match a packaged shade to your skin tone, no matter what the marketing people tell you (warm tone, cool tone, olive complexion). I’ve had many more fails than wins with blind drugstore buys so I’d rather save myself the guessing game and let the professional match me with a color with which I know I’ll be happy, because once you have the compact then you’re stuck with it!
Now that this is a novel, I hope you’ve gotten some ideas! What are your current favorites?
Contagion
Last night we went to see the movie “Contagion”, a thriller about the worldwide spread of a virus and what that might look like. I had a little scare courtesy of Mark before we left for the theater – he tried to capitalize on my zombie fear.
Mark: “I’m surprised you wanted to go see a zombie movie.”
Me: “I don’t think it’s about zombies, I think it’s like a flu virus.”
Mark: “No, it’s a virus that turns people into zombies.”
Me: “No… I think it’s the flu?”
Mark: “It’s zombies.”
Me: …
Mark: “Just kidding, it’s the flu.”
Me: “GOOD because I was about to ask if it was too late to get someone else to go with you.”
It was a great movie though and I definitely recommend it, if only to get everyone to wash their hands more and stop touching everything! I know I’ve been a lot more conscious about touching my face – according to the movie, we touch our face three to five times a minute. But if you’re borderline OCD then don’t see this movie – it might send you over the edge!
Mark: “I’m surprised you wanted to go see a zombie movie.”
Me: “I don’t think it’s about zombies, I think it’s like a flu virus.”
Mark: “No, it’s a virus that turns people into zombies.”
Me: “No… I think it’s the flu?”
Mark: “It’s zombies.”
Me: …
Mark: “Just kidding, it’s the flu.”
Me: “GOOD because I was about to ask if it was too late to get someone else to go with you.”
It was a great movie though and I definitely recommend it, if only to get everyone to wash their hands more and stop touching everything! I know I’ve been a lot more conscious about touching my face – according to the movie, we touch our face three to five times a minute. But if you’re borderline OCD then don’t see this movie – it might send you over the edge!
Kayaking!
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| Gorgeous day... |
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| Self-portrait |
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| I just thought this was funny - my attempts to take a picture of Mark over my shoulder. Third time's the charm! |
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| Our friends Fabio and Sharon joined us. |
(non) Labor Day
What a great Labor Day weekend! We made it outdoorsy just like last year’s Labor Day weekend and got to enjoy the late summer sun we’ve been graced with as of late.
- Saturday we went hiking off Highway 2 up to Serene Lake, a mountain lake nestled below some craggy peaks. Our friends Maile and Brian accompanied us – they are great hiking buddies!
- Sunday we finally did something I’d never done before: kayaking on Lake Union! Mark had taken out a kayak on the lake before but we’d only had a single kayak so this time I got to join in the fun. I suppose one time we took out a little yellow raft together but it isn’t quite the same. :) We went through a company called Moss Bay, which cost $18/hour for a double kayak – not bad at all. Pictures forthcoming!
- After kayaking, the boys decided they needed some more water time so we headed to Madison Park Beach to lay out and do some swimming.
- Monday was a bit more chill – an unsuccessful shopping trip to look for a new dining room table set and a barbecue at a friend’s apartment where I feel like I ate my weight’s worth in Skittles. Time to floss.
Pioneer Woman to the rescue
I just finished Ree Drummond’s book “The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels” and it was HILARIOUS. I totally recommend it to all those women out there looking for a funny and sentimental read. Some notes:
- STEAK. That is all.
- The book simultaneously made me want to have a baby yet NEVER want to have a baby. That’s skill.
- Ree made me want to try more recipe planning and cooking – I used to be at least halfway decent at meal planning but lately I’ve really fallen off that wagon. So this week I’ve tried to be on the ball with planning out our meals and trying new things like pasta with a thyme-mint cream sauce, a steak marinade, and chipotle-honey chicken. The steak marinade was amazing and I’ll definitely be keeping it in my stash. I’m sure the 24 hours of marinating time also helped!
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