Quotable Friday
“Act as a master of your life by putting
your health,
well-being
and happiness first.”
— Marianna Olszewski
The Biggest Back-Handed Compliment I’ve Ever Gotten
My New Year’s resolution this year was not about giving up anything. I always like to DO something as a resolution (giving things up also tends to involve a lot of will power).
So I decided January 1st that I would bury my sweat suits and dress a little nicer. And this turned out to be pretty darn easy because my sweat suits were my uniform: the gray one with a long sleeve t-shirt, the green one with a long sleeve t-shirt; you get the picture.
Since the first of the year I’ve been wearing khakis or jeans or a couple other pairs of nicer pants and you guessed it- long sleeve t-shirts. I’ve been feeling a lot more pulled together-
gee, go figure.
Then, I was talking to a friend of mine about make-up (the kind of friend who always looks like she just ‘threw something on’ from her fabulous wardrobe and is perfectly put together).
She joked that I had never seen her without make-up.
“Sure I have, you’re not wearing any now.”
“Yes, I am.”
Hmmm. I started thinking. Maybe I should start wearing a little powder or something. Maybe I could start off just trying to put on some make-up a few times a week…
So I did.
This doesn’t seem at first like it’s life-changing, but it is… just a little bit.
I always make sure my son looks nice and put together, and now I’m spending a few more minutes in the morning so I do too.
I was at the grocery store with jeans on, a relatively nice long sleeve shirt tucked in and make-up on. My hair was even down, not up in a clip.
All of a sudden I get that feeling that I’m being stared at and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up just a little. I look up from the Havarti I’m studying, to see the young woman behind the bakery counter staring at me. She’s staring at me intently… with squinted eyes.
I didn’t think much about it… maybe she needs glasses, thinks I’m someone else, etc.
Awhile later I had made my way over to the cereal aisle when I see the young woman from the bakery counter walking toward me with a smile on her face and she says, I kid you not,
“You look COMPLETELY different!”
The ‘completely’ really got me… Completely?
“You’re wearing make-up…”
“You look so pretty!”
Wow. That’s so nice… Then my mind goes into overdrive… Do I really look that different with make-up on?
That’s still nice… wait- how BAD was I looking without make-up?
How sweet of her… wow, I must have been looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame every time I’ve come into this grocery store.
Still, what a nice compliment… I’ve been coming to this same store for 5 years, has everyone thought FOR 5 YEARS- ‘that woman should wear a little make-up’?
Wow.
A second later, I started grinning as I walked down that cereal aisle. There was a compliment in there somewhere.
Beauty is only skin-deep, but looking better can help you feel a little better too.
And my New Year’s resolution is validated!
* I actually wrote this a while back for DC Metro Moms… I wear a little make up EVERY Day now… 
Quotable Friday
The minute I heard my first love story
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.
_ Rumi
Jake Ryan vs. Blane McDonough
So EVERYBODY knows who ‘Jake Ryan’ is… I won’t even dignify it with an answer.
But who is ‘Blane McDonough’? …
Blane is the guy from Pretty in Pink…
Remember- ‘Blane’… (Andrew McCarthy).
Yeah, I know. I had to look up Blane’s last name onWikipedia… I didn’t even remember it.
Which brings me to my topic today; it’s a topic for the ages-
Sixteen Candles vs. Pretty In Pink.
Which one is the better movie?
Before I make my argument,
I must tell you why I’m taking valuable time from my life to even write this…
A few weeks ago I read an interesting article in Vanity Fair on John Hughes, the creator of both films, and then I just read a blog post on Culture Brats, that I found via StumbleUpon, (I know, I can’t believe I’m being so ’social media-savvy’ either) that discusses this very topic. Karma? Or maybe I just have Sixteen Candles on the brain right now?
Anyway, while the blog post on Culture Brats was extremely well thought out,
and I respect both sides of the argument…
It really comes down to one question:
Jake Ryan vs. Blane McDonough
and is there seriously anyone out there who can make a good argument for Blane ?
“Anyone… Anyone?” (to quote from another John Hughes movie, Ferris Buellar’s Day Off)
Jake Ryan was cool and and popular and a dreamboat… and kind and honest and liked a girl for the whole package- what was inside and out.
Who didn’t daydream about Jake Ryan? I did. And I’m not the daydreamer type.
Did you ever, honestly, pine over Blane? We was a wimp; he only stood up for himself and ‘his girl’ at the very end of the movie… and he seems kinda-boring!
Who would you want to date- Jake! or Blane...
‘Blane’ doesn’t even sound cool in comparison to ‘Jake’!
To quote from another great movie, The Sure Thing’ from 1985 (substituting ‘Jake’ for ‘Nick’)-
“Yeah, Jake. Jake’s a real name. Jake’s your buddy. Jake’s the kind of guy you can trust, the kind of guy you can drink a beer with, the kind of guy who doesn’t mind if you puke in his car, Jake!”
And what about Farmer Ted (Anthony Michael Hall) vs. Duckie (Jon Cryer)?
Farmer Ted totally wins! I’d kinda wanna be friends with Farmer Ted. He’s a nice guy, basically. He actually a ‘cool geek’. And most importantly, he doesn’t get Samantha, but he recovers and isn’t pining over her.
But to get back to Jake Ryan, because he’s dreamy-
Jake still holds up today! I’d date Jake (if I were single) right now, wearing exactly what he wore back then. Blane and his friends in linen pants and linen blazers?! That didn’t even look good back in the ’80’s’ !! And the story! That still holds up too! In fact, I said in myMovie Review of Twilight,
“Teen angst, first love, plus vampires thrown in… and they are good vampires– are you kidding me?
This movie is 16 CANDLES and Jake Ryan is a cool vampire.”
So there you have it: Proof that Sixteen Candles wins over Pretty in Pink and thus,
Jake Ryan wins over Blane… whatever his last name is
But we already knew that, didn’t we
What do you think?
* I originally wrote this about this time last year, it’s such a fun question, I had to post it again… maybe I’ll post it this time of year, every year
Quotable Friday
“Overcome the notion that you must be regular.
It robs you of the chance to be
EXTRAORDINARY.”
My Ode to DC… or ‘DC- I Love You Even Though’
It’s the beginning of May. Memorial Day is around the corner, and that means seeing Rolling Thunder around the beltway traffic, coming into town… and remembering what Memorial Day is all about.
But the thousands of motorcycles (which are very cool, especially to my 7-year-old) that come into town every Memorial Day weekend also make me think of vehicles, driving … and traffic.
So here it goes –
My Ode to DC and the Traffic, or rather,
DC– I Love You Even Though:
I love DC even though it isn’t really a grid. Numbered streets run north-south and lettered streets run east-west. This starts at the Capitol building… but there are exceptions. And you have to pay close attention to the endings on street signs- NW, SW, NE, SE or you will not end up where you wanted to be… and everyone that you’ve made late will be annoyed (another long story).
Avenues run at diagonals across the city and are named after states. They are supposed to be fast cross-city short-cuts, but I’ve lived here my whole life,
and the thought of using Wisconsin Avenue as a ‘short-cut’ is laughable.
Have you ever been on an ‘avenue’ with so many lights?
Streets start and stop… and then start up again.
And then there are the circles.
There are at least 10 major DC intersections with circles. Just one of the problems with these ‘circle intersections’ is that the street you entered the circle on- may not continue on the opposite side of the circle or may jettison off at some weird angle that you weren’t expecting… and pass.
I love DC even though some streets, and I mean major streets, change from two-way to one-way, depending on the time of day.
This is CRAZY!
I used to work on 15th street, which changes to one-way for evening rush hour… and see people driving the wrong way. What was really crazy was that it didn’t phase us after a while, my co-workers and I would just shake our heads and say something like, ‘yikes, somebody didn’t read the street signs.’
I love DC even though Metro Center has about 15 different exits and if you choose the wrong one you seem to be half-a-mile from where you meant to be (another long story).
But I love that when I walk down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol, I still catch my breath.
I love that there are SO MANY museums, and activities and sights to see and do with my son… most of which are free.
Growing up here, I’ve always thought of DC as a very small city, with a Very Big Name.
The DC area is a place where you can run into people and old neighbors, and old friends, and schoolmates… walking down the street.
And you know what?
I really like that.
God Bless America !
GOD BLESS AMERICA,
The land of the Free
and
The home of the Brave.
-
I Was In The 2012 Show !
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