breathe

I feel like an all new me. I just finished serving on the Steering Committees of two huge nonprofit events. I was so stressed I wasn't sleeping. Insomnia is not a pretty look for me. Can you say huge under-eye circles? But now they're done. I can breathe again. Dare I say it? I'm back! Woo hoo!

JFS's A Yellow Tie Affair

JLSJ's Eye Candy Fashion Show

acne

dear my face,

i am completely over you and your acne. in 2010 i turn 30 - totally okay with this! please know that i am not trying to relive my youth. i would, pretty please, like to return to my somewhat normal late 20s skin. the current state of my face - 15-year-old-acne-covered - is sooooo not okay! not okay at all. i'm sorry i ever complained about my 'old' acne. i'd like it back the way it was.

love,

the little wife

p.s. i still use the clarisonic every darn day. apparently my acne is now so awesome that it is no match for it. awesome. i just said awesome a lot. that's because i'm that enthused by my acne.

update

Purge update:

It is now January 13th. I posted the purge post on January 3rd. The clothes have been packaged up for days ... done by my amazing husband ... and are now sitting in the entry waiting. Waiting for me to drop them off. 11 days and counting. Tomorrow I'm actually working. 12 days and counting. Well, 13 minimum since I'm not going to even think about them until Friday. Crap. These bags are never leaving our house.

black

I decided to do a little New Year's cleaning this afternoon. I got rid of a ton of clothes. Man it felt good. Gone are 6 pairs of jeans (could have tossed out 2 more pairs but opted out), random pants, numerous skirts and sweaters, and some camis. I love it. Now I have to package them all up to take to my local battered women/homeless shelter. Right now everything is sitting in the dining room (along with hubby's discarded items). It feels like I'm prepping for the JLSJ Rummage Sale. I'm not. That's still a year plus away. I refuse to keep this stuff for that long. Hmm I wonder just how long it's going to take me to get the stuff to the shelter?

So the point of this story ... black pants. I don't own any. Unless you count the black jeans I found today. WTF. Black jeans. Who owns them? Me. What in the heck do I wear them with? Nothing. They've never been worn. They still fit (2 plus years after I bought them). But seriously, what do I wear with them? HELP

Back to the black pants. Or lack thereof. I decided what this means is that I'm not a serious person nor do I have a serious career. I'm never going to be a serious person. Just not happening. Ask the husband. He has a couple of personalities: business husband, husband around his family, husband around my family, friend husband, and just plain old husband (around just me - my fave of course). So how many personae do I have? One. The little wife. That's it. Again, probably why I don't have a serious career. Or a career at all. Oh well. That's probably best saved for another post.

Right now I want to get back to the fact that I own black jeans (which is so shameful and astounding it doesn't matter that I don't own a single pair of real black pants). WTF.

grey

A week after I turned 27 I found my first grey hair. Freakin' grey hair. What is a girl to do? Call a girlfriend and freak out. What girlfriend? One of my faves ... Red Head Jen! She gave me sage advice ... stop freaking out and just pluck those suckers out. Thanks Jen! Done and done!

Since that first fateful discovery, a few more have shown up randomly in the two years that have followed. Yesterday, two weeks after I turned 29, I found yet another grey hair. So not okay. This time I didn't freak out {okay, there was a little freaking out, but not terrible} ... I remembered Jen's advice and was ready to pluck that sucker out. I stood in the mirror for about 5 freakin' minutes attacking that gal. Guess what? No dice. That 1 1/2" long grey hair was not budging. Apparently she likes me and doesn't want to leave. I have a new friend. Maybe I should name her? Maggie the Naggy Grey (Maggie for short)? The name sounds great, the fact I lost this battle to Maggie ... so not great.

Maggie the Naggy Grey - 1

Little wife - 0

hanukkah

Happy 5th Night of Hanukkah, y'all*

If you're wondering what to get the fabulous Jew down the street, look no further. {note: I realize in some neighborhoods and groups of friends there are lots of Jews. That's just not how it works in our world}

Without further ado ... drum roll please ...

THE FREAKIN' MENORAH CORK!

How gosh darn amazing is this thing? One of my Junior League girlfriends {not Jewish herself - but engaged to a Jew} got one as a gift and decided to post its awesomeness on facebook.

Now don't everyone run out, google menorah cork, and purchase one for us. We've already ordered one {and ordered one as a present for hubby's non-Jew best friend who just happens to be dating a jew - smart guy, I know!} If you're just a hankerin' to purchase one you can buy one for my sister who lives in Philly. We were too lazy to order her one because we'd have to do transactions and pay double the shipping fee. Yah, we're all class. We're forcing her to pay $12.95 for her own wine cork menorah. Okay, I'm not a terrible sister ... we did get her Uggs for Hanukkah {which makes us awesome in my book - I bow down to Uggs}.

* I realize I was born and raised in Cali and have lived here almost my whole life - not counting the summer in Chicago - but one of my most favorite girlfriends is from Texas and I kinda picked it up. Gosh y'all is such a great word. I should do a post on y'all ... eegad sidetracked yet again.

clarisonic

Yes, that's right. I got a ridiculously expensive face wash thingy-magigy for my birthday and could not be more excited! Such a dork. After reading (stalking) about them on a number of blogs (Pretty In Pink Megan and My Blonde Reality + others) I convinced my mother to take pity on my adult acne and get me the pink beauty that is the Clarisonic Pro (part of the proceeds from the pink version go to breast cancer research).

I have used it a total of 3 times. Unfortunately there are not instant results (shoot instant results are my absolute fave). But my face does feel amazingly clean after washing (much more so than when I wash normally). I should probably take a before pic and then a few progress pics as I begin my Clarisonic-anti-acne journey. Now I just have to remember to do so. Yeah right. Me and my memory. Not a chance.