As It Turns Out, I Am Invisible

It is a typical weekend in the Mid-Atlantic which means I am dressed in my weekend attire of jeans and a tee-shirt. When the weather is cool (as it is now), I generally wear a hoodie or some sort of sporty jacket to stay warm while running any errands I need to do during the weekend.  Unless I am called upon to attend a wedding or funeral, I go sans make-up as well.

My weekend persona suits me. It’s easy and it’s kind of nice feeling like I’m invisible. I move about the outside world barely noticed and therefore mostly unimpeded as I dash from place to place.

Little did I know that I would become truly undetectable until the unfortunate incident at the credit union today (yes, it’s my favorite place for an altercation amongst the indigenous populace).

My husband and I had driven “into town” to do some banking. His business took him into the branch while I stood in the queue at the ATM. I waited behind a tall man while the woman at the machine completed about fifty transactions. A couple of old ladies came out of the branch and got in line behind the fellow behind me. He was standing quite a bit back from me and they confirmed with him that he was in line. Hubby came out of the branch to ask me a question and I was searching in my purse for the information he needed when one of the old bats….um, I mean older ladies informed me that the line was behind her. I told her that I had been standing in my spot in line the whole time. Apparently she noticed my husband come out of the branch, but had not become aware of me until he came over to talk to me.

She continued to insist that I had not been standing in line and pursued the point when she asked the embarrassed young man in front of her if I had indeed been there all along. He quietly told her that I had. She still went on grousing that she hadn’t seen me there. Luckily the machine freed up and I was able to walk up and do my banking. As I stood there punching away at keys and selecting menu items I heard her tell someone else that the end of the line was behind her.

Apparently the poor dear had the heart of a law enforcement agent, but alas, had never had the opportunity to pursue her dream vocation.

I finished my business and went on with the rest of our tasks without an apology from my accuser. If anything, the old woman seemed even more miffed as we left the parking lot as if I’d pulled off some cunning sleight of hand and gotten the better of her.

Perhaps if I go out tomorrow I’ll put on a little blush and lip gloss so I don’t unpleasantly surprise anyone else with my presence.

Friends E-mail Share

My friend Jacque sent me this:

And my response was:

I hope I fall under the category of full coverage, but then that would make me a granny panty, wouldn’t it?

That would explain the dry rotting!

Following Up on Perfume Post

Back in December I wrote a post about perfume. I meant to follow up with another post after my mom and I discussed it, but as usual I got distracted with other things. You know, like Christmas.

Anyway, what I wanted to touch on was that there are a few classic scents I still think are nice and worth revisiting.

Opium – spicy, exotic, smells especially nice during warm humid weather.

This perfume will always remind me of being on vacation, specifically in theBahamas.

Lauren by Ralph Lauren – sweet yet sophisticated.

Flashback to bars in D.C. dancing to the Go-Gos and Billy Idol drinking Tom Colins’ and gin & tonics.

Chloe – sweet and warm, smells its best after an hour or so.

My 80’s boyfriend had been out with his buddies and for whatever reason they had been cruising the perfume counters at Hecht’s (now Macy’s). One of his friends sprayed this one on before they left for their next destination. Apparently all the guys in the car loved the scent. That sold me right off the bat. If guys like it, I will wear it.

Mom’s picks:

Obsession – This is herBahamasfragrance and she got turned onto it the same time that I bought my Opium. Maybe Santa will bring it next year for Christmas.

Xia Xiang – I don’t know anything about this other than it’s discontinued and hard to find, but my mom likes it so it’s on my list.

As for my mother-in-law, she is one of the many ladies who still like Aliage by Estee Lauder.

Estee Lauder actually discontinued this scent (which was launched in 1972), but the uproar from the fans of the perfume was so great that the company is continuing to manufacture it. Power to the people!

Classic scents purposely left off the list: Emeraude, Youth Dew & Channel No. 5.

Bleck!

P’s Hair Raising Thought of the Day!!!

Our hair defines us. It’s how we express who we are to the world. It’s one of the things that others judge us by when we meet for the first time.

I don’t know what made me think of it in the midst of my Monday morning routine, but Albert Einstein came to my mind and I thought:

If any woman from Albert’s time or even present day presented herself and her ideas to the world with her hair in that mad disarray, no one would take her seriously and she might even be committed.

Men are able to get away with a lot more in the hair department than women are. Please note Donald Trump. If a woman tried to pull off that hideous hair swirl she’d be laughed out of the boardroom.

Would you hire Einstein if he came in to apply for a job at your place of work??? You might think twice, right?

I’ve run the gamut with hair styles and colors. I tried in vain to have “wings” a la Farrah back in the 70’s (flop). I bought into perms in the 80’s (ugh, I was like a horrible cross between a poodle and a brillo pad). Finally I came to my senses and gave up my terrible perm habit. Even though I think the straightening craze these days looks strange, it’s much better than crinkle-head.

I used sun-in to lighten my hair each summer once I hit 9^th grade. I started to get highlights in my 30s before finally giving up and dying my hair blonde. DIY didn’t work out so well and within a couple of years, I had that striped down towhead with dark roots look. Not pretty.

Sorry Kate! I'm not diggin' your locks!

When I hit the job hunting market after my layoff I decided that dark hair was going to make me a lot more marketable especially since I was mostly doing temp work to get my foot in the door. I was still doing the DIY thing and my first attempt to convert myself into a serious looking woman resulted in a strange auburn color. I eventually went back to the lady I had used to cut and highlight my hair and had her take over making me look presentable.

Mostly what I looked like was a middle aged goth, but I did eventually find full time work.

After a while I just got sick of the maintenance and let the whole thing grow out. My hair seems like it’s somewhat color resistant so I’d only look good for about three weeks before the color started to fade. I knew I wasn’t going to be blonde anymore and was okay with my medium ash brown.

Mine might have had a hint of white

Of course a few years into that, I got sick of being a total brunette so I took myself over to a salon near my office. A girl I knew when I grew up drives a half an hour or more to get her hair highlighted there (she probably passes 40 salons between here and there) so I figured I’d give it a shot. I’ve got to tell you, I’m pretty pleased with the results. My colorist isn’t as conservative with the blonde as my last stylist was and I have a nice, bright look that I think looks very attractive.

If I decide at some point to embrace my inner genius and start to invent fabulous things to benefit mankind, I think I’m going to have to take a page out of Sinead O’Connor’s book and trim it down to fuzz. Fabulous geniuses don’t have a lot of extra time to spend washing, conditioning and blow drying.

She can probably pull off a 5 minute shower with this do

Actually, this one's kinda cute!

 

Don't Let Bad Hair Happen To You!!!

Today’s Fortune

“Wisdom is only found in truth.”

(…and the truth hurts) was my next thought.

It’s been one of those kind of days.

Outside At National Harbor

Sunday morning was cold and we all had places we had to be so we just did a little walking around before hitting the road. Not much was open before noon anyway.

I missed a shot of “The Awakening” but you can probably google it and get a better image than I would have been able to capture anyway.

I didn’t see any live eagles while we were down there, but here’s an eagle sculpture:

Eagle & Neat Roof Cut Out

Tile Mural

Weekend At National Harbor

My good goddess friend Cindy had timeshare points she had to use at a Wyndham property so she booked a room at National Harbor and then invited all of her goddess friends to join her. Almost all of us did.

A View from Our Room

After we unloaded our stuff in our very nice three bedroom suite with kitchenette, we made our way to our restaurant of choice, McLoone’s Pier House.

Wasabi Tuna – Lightly seared tuna served with a salad, garlic mashed potatoes & sautéed mixed peppers.

Everyone enjoyed their meals and we were all sharing bites of what we’d ordered.

After a very enjoyable dinner, we walked over to Bobby McKey’s a dueling piano bar place. There were no available seats so we climbed up to the balcony area, got some drinks and mingled with the other standers.

The place draws a young crowd and it got very full. Finally I had to tell my girlfriends that I had run out of personal space and we should probably relocate to a place where we had a little more room to spread out.

We ventured across the street to Harrington’s Pub where we immediately found a table and our personable waiter set us up with many drinks and a few snacks. I have to tell you, I really like fast paced Irish music. It’s sort of uplifting, like I could just get up and start River Dancing with the best of ‘em. Goddess of the Dance? Probably not.

Not long after we got there, the music switched over to dance club mode….and not long after that, the goddesses were out shaking their groove thangs! I’m not sure what the young men in the bar made of us, but we had an awfully fun time.

Luckily when we got back to the room goddess Stephanie had brought her doctor bag of remedies to stave off any ill effects our over indulgence may have caused. We all woke up hangover free, had a very nice bagel breakfast (thanks Teresa) before heading out to check out the Gaylord National Hotel.

What a spectacular place!

 

Village Inside The Gaylord

The Wilson Bridge To Virginia

Pictures of Fells Point, Baltimore

One of our awesome newcomers in my department at work planned a fun, fun outing for us at Fells Point. We took a walking tour and ate snacks at five different eateries as well as stopping by the historical society and seeing many interesting historical landmarks.

Here are some pictures:

Bond Street Building

We started out at Ze Mean Bean Cafe and had pierogis with adult beverages. I had something called a Tatonka (sp?) which was a sort of cider beverage. It was very tasty as were our appetizers.

Hungry Andy’s has super tasty pit beef sandwiches with a fabulously tangy barbeque horseradish onion sauce. Check it out!

An off-center shot of the Broadway Market (obviously I can’t walk and shoot very well at the same time).

Structural Stars – keeps the brick façade on the buildings from bowing out or falling off.

Festive Red Doors

Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella with caramelized balsamic vinegar

From

One-Eyed Mike’s – Try the Grand Screwdriver! It’s divine!

Blue Trim

Fell Family Grave Marker

 

Painted Building Prohibition Sign

As you can see, the people of Baltimore felt very stronging about their alcohol. There was a whole lot of brewing going on in the city back in those days. From what I’ve read, they fed the leftover mash to the pigs. Those must have been some hoppy hogs.

Meg Ryan’s House From “Sleepless In Seattle”

Model Ship Builder

This kind fellow gave us a very detailed talk about clipper ships. I had no idea that the masts were adjustable.

Former Highway Plan – This would have been built through the heart of Fells Point and destroyed its charm. The defeated plan hangs in the restroom thus indicating what the people of Fells Point thought about it.

Bottle Tree

I’d love to, but I’m allergic!!!

This is where we finished up our tour. We had deep fried peanut butter sandwiches which had been dipped in French toast batter and chased them with white Russians! Delish!

Interesting DécorThe fellas liked it!

 

And Such A Good Deal Too!!!

See Ya Later Hon!!!

 

 

Feeding the Pig – Pocket Change Adds Up!

A couple of years ago I bought a ceramic piggy bank at Marshall’s. Actually, I bought three, but I gave two of them to our daughters.

I love my pig. It’s big and beautiful and has become my icon for saving on a small scale. It has become my habit (and my husband’s too) to “Feed the Pig” when we get home from work and change clothes. Every day one or both of us have Pig money in our pockets and we feed our little pet.

The nice thing about having a smaller receptacle for our pocket change is that usually once a month we empty it out and take it to Navy Federal where the magic machine counts it and deposits it into whatever account we tell it to (SAVINGS!!!). Even better, that money starts earning interest right away.

Yeah, I know that savings accounts don’t earn squat these days, but it’s a lot better to have it earn something now rather than waiting years to fill the five gallon water bottle that most people use for their copper & “silver”.

As an added bonus, that coin machine is super fun to dump coins into and doesn’t cost you anything (the ones in the grocery stores charge 10%!!! :-0). You should totally check it out!

Remember: Feed the Pig every day. Dump the Pig once a month. Watch your savings account begin to grow!

Holiday Reading – Book Reviews

During the weeks before Christmas and during the holiday break I’ve actually gotten back on reading again, which is nice. I picked up a couple of books I ordered over the past couple of months. Honestly, I have so many books crammed into our house that I need to start reading my way through my collection and then jettison them out into the world. I’ve made a little pact with myself to keep book ordering to a minimum until I can cull down my collection. I’ll probably pass some of the newer books on to office mates and sell the classics on eBay (where I purchased them to begin with).

Anyway, the first book I read was “The Hamiltons” by Catherine Cookson. I liked the general story line and writing style, but as far as the way she treats her characters, she’s right up there with Stephen King as far as brutality goes. Yikes! – Physical and mental abuse along with animal cruelty and pyrotechnics just for good measure.  Cookson is a talented writer, but I will not pick her up as a light read again. Also, it galled me just a little bit that the main character was depicted as being so needy that she’d readily jump from one marriage in order to stave off loneliness.

The second book I picked up was much more enjoyable for me: “Sister” by Rosamund Lupton.

It took me a little while to get into the voice of the main character addressing her dead sister, but once I got into the “dialogue” I was able to progress easily through the book. I very much enjoyed the twists, turns and characters in this book as well as the merging back and forth between interviews, mostly one-sided conversation and descriptive scenes. Lupton did a wonderful job of weaving the plot line throughout changes in narrative.

I am not a fan of the medical/hospital mystery. It’s been years since “Coma” was written but I still remember how much I disliked the cold, clinical, sinister feel of that novel. I had read another book that was sort of like it about a doctor who was transplanting fetuses in an effort to further medical strides in infertility. I didn’t like that one either. “Sister” does venture into the medical research vein as part of the plot line, but it never becomes cloying with clinical menace (for which I am glad).

“Sister” was an enjoyable read and though I hate to sound cliché, I really did not want to put it down. Amazon currently has the paperback listed at $7 for a used copy (don’t forget to include postage).

I’m off to read “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” and am hopeful that I won’t be disappointed after coming off of such a superior read as “Sister”.