There is a large mirror in my front hall.

After a run one sunny day, I caught a glimpse of myself in a tennis skirt. — (I don’t play tennis, but I wear tennis skirts to run in. Reference my post, ‘To Go or Not To Go…Commando” and you’ll understand why). — Anyways, my immediate thought was that I really needed to pull up my pantyhose; never mind that I haven’t worn any since 1990 when I’d taken my last National Board exam.

Though I was looking lean that day, my thighs were sagging. That’s right, SAGGING! Who knew thighs could sag?

Boobs? Sure. Neck? Yup. But my freaking THIGHS?!

As far as my share of life’s stages go, I think my thighs went straight from the “so plump the heat index rises when you walk” look, to the “blown-out balloon” look. I don’t think I even got one bathing suit season worth of, “wow, she’s got some great legs!” Life can be so unfair (and God, I know there are much bigger burdens than saggy thighs, and you know I’ve juggled my share of those, so let me just say… I’m grateful I don’t have more).

We all need to resign ourselves to the fact that as we age, the supporting structure of our skin – a.k.a. collagen – starts to wane. You ever lay eyes on an individual pushing one hundred-years-old? They didn’t go from baby bottoms to saggy drawers in one day; it’s a part of life!

Things like sun exposure, smoking and a poor diet can accelerate this. Yo-yo dieting also contributes to saggy skin, hence the balloon reference. In my case sun exposure and weight fluctuations over 4+ decades have taken their toll. But would I trade my life for tighter thighs?

Let’s see…

Although my weight has been up and down all throughout my life, pregnancy was by far the greatest contributing factor to my chubby thighs. Bring it on. I have two beautiful daughters because of it. How about the sun exposure? I’m sure to take some hits for this, but I love the sun. My dad was Italian and thankfully, he passed on his olive skin to yours truly. My dermatologist gives me a once-over annually, and I wear sunscreen…most of the time. But I love the beach, and maintain that tan fat is way better than pale fat. So, all things considered; no. I wouldn’t trade my countless days of loving life at the beach with my family for skin that doesn’t resemble a Birkin bag.

Like most things in life, I strive to find a happy balance, but you can be sure that when given the choice between sitting on the sidelines and diving in, you won’t find me on the bench. And I take the repercussions of my choices with a big smile, sunspots, saggy thighs and all.

I suggest you do the same!

Beautiful Women Eye Close Up

Hello, Gorgeous Lashes.  Where’ve you been all my life?

Have you noticed that every woman in People magazine seems to have mink eyelashes? Every. Single. One.   And a few of the men, too.  What’s the deal with all the lush lashes?

I’ve been using drugstore mascara since forever.   A friend of mine has been raving on Facebook about this new mascara she was using.   And frankly, she was getting a little annoying about it.

“It’s just f*cking mascara!!!”, I’d thought a time or two.   (Sorry, Aimee). Finally she reached out to me personally and told me she was sending me some, and that I should shut up and try it.

The only reason I even cracked it open was because, along with other horrible and unsightly things that happen when you approach a certain age, I seemed to have a case of disappearing eyelashes. Yes, girls.   Something else to look forward to.

Oh, sweet mama!

There’s really only a couple of products that get me juiced up about my lashes.  Now, mascara by Younique is one of them.

The first day I tried it someone said my eyes looked “Ah-mazing” – without solicitation.   The second day, two of my friends seemed to be looking me over a little too closely.   I got a little “Jersey” on them, and was like – “What the eff are you staring at?”.   “We’re trying to figure out what’s different about your eyes.   They look Ah-mazing.”  Again with the Ah-mazing.

I guess there is something to this stuff.

The Younique mascara is a two-tube kit (sold in a cute little case for $29.).   You put on a coat of the gel, immediately followed by a coat of the lengthening fibers, and then a final coat of the gel.  Voila! Kardashian-worthy eyelashes are yours.   The instructions say you can put several coats on, but truly, I was really impressed after just one coat.   I did get a little wigged out after I first applied the fibers; it looked like little black dust-bunnies were camping out on my eyes.   Immediately after the second coat of gel, though, those smoothed into the longest, thickest lashes that had ever graced my eyeballs.  I’m a show-me-don’t-tell-me kinda girl, so here’s a tutorial:

The three coats went on in a quick minute, didn’t make a mess on my cheeks, and stayed on all night.   They washed off my lashes quickly, but I did have to scrounge around under my sink for some eye makeup remover because it did make a bit of a mess on my skin.

All in all – I’m pretty darn impressed with Younique mascara. You get the look of false lashes or extensions at a fraction of the inconvenience and cost.   Give it a try.   And if you order here by July 3rd, Aimee will send you a FREE lipgloss ($15 value!).

Numbers don’t define me. Not my age, my weight or net worth.  

My clothing size, however, stumps me. Not so much because I care what that number is, but because on a given day, I can fit into pants that are a size 8. Or 4. Or possibly 6.

What’s up with that?

Why is there no standard in clothing like there is in shoes? Do some manufactures really believe that if they put a Size 4 tag on a size 8 pant that I’ll somehow feel thinner or sexier, so that I’ll buy more?

In reality, it just pisses me off.  

I don’t care for shopping to begin with, and don’t really have a favorite store. With that being said, is it really necessary for me to bring 3 or 4 sizes of every piece of clothing into the dressing room? Just to be sure?

Let’s get real; vanity sizing is enough to make me run for the hills.

On a recent trip to Athleta — and I love Athleta — I bought two pair of yoga pants. After trying on my two favorite styles in every freaking size, I ended up with a small in one style, and an XL in the other, and they were the same brand! Wait, what?

And then I had the bad sense to go jean shopping. I know, I know — I said I don’t like shopping, and I don’t.  I just had a few free hours sans responsibility, and truly, the last time I bought workout pants and jeans was circa 2012, so don’t judge me.

Back to the jeans. I was happy to wiggle my way into a size 27 Hudson jean, and pulled a pair of Seven for All Mankind‘s in the same size off the rack just to see which ones made my booty look better. Couldn’t get those over my knees. The 29’s? Nope. Finally, I got into a size 31, but that still gave me a muffin top. What the hell?  

Can someone please give this girl a break?

2-4-6-8. How many sizes at this weight? 8-6-4-2. I have not a clue, do you?

The takeaway here? Don’t get down because you’re a size 31 in one brand and a 27 in another (respectively). How you feel about yourself and where you are in pursuit of your individual health goals, is all that matters. At the end of the day if you love how you look in a pair of pants, well then, that’s the end all be all.

PS: I ended up with the Hudson jeans, and to their credit, my hot hubs wolf-whistled me when I wore them that night. Mission accomplished!

Don’t you love to kiss? I most definitely do.

I found out recently that there’s actually a support group for lip balm ‘addicts’. I can pretty much relate because I’m so acutely aware of keeping my lips soft. A truly nourishing product like Burt’s Bees lip balm (or it’s generic cousin, Trader Joe’s) will be therapeutic, and not just gloss over the dry skin temporarily.

What do I mean by that, you ask?

Unfortunately, many of the lip balms on the market are made with petroleum products. So, though they may make your lips feel better when you first put them on, pretty quickly you feel the need to reapply. And hello, do you realize that much of what you put on your lips ends up IN your body, and not just ON it?  How much petroleum do you think is safe to eat?  Uh – none!

Next to petroleum-based products, there’s not much worse than dry, chapped lips; whether you’re the kisser or the kissee! It feels bad and looks worse, doesn’t it?

Enter Burt’s Bees Lip Balm (excuse me while I gush for a moment).

I love the glide, flavor and slight tingle that I get after I apply Burt’s or TJ’s. The best news is that once I apply, I’m good for the entire day! I apply my lipstick over it, and hours later my lips are still soft and smooth. The only time I need to reapply is after I brush for the night.

Since my editor was shocked when she read that I wear lip balm to bed, I’ll elaborate. My bedtime routine includes a good teeth-brushing and face-washing. When I say face, I include my lips. I use my washcloth to scrub off any remnants of lipstick or dry skin. Then, just like I use an eye cream and facial moisturizer, I use a little lip balm to moisten the old kisser, since I just stripped it of any natural moisture.

Next time you’re out and about, hit up the lip balm aisle and read a few labels. At $2-3 each, you can try a few and see what suits you best, just make sure it has the ‘good stuff’ – like beeswax and olive oil –  and not petroleum products in it so you can be healthy and kissable.

XO!