Empty Nesters

Last weekend my husband and I took our daughter to move into her apartment, to begin her junior year in college. Where has the time gone? She can't possibly be a junior. She's my little girl. 

Now this weekend, we moved our son (the baby) into his dorm room at college. He is about to start his Freshman year. We shopped for everything he could possibly need, and hauled it all up to the sixth floor.

When we got up there, we were surprised to find out that Nick had his own bedroom in a suite of four other guys. We weren't expecting that. He was pretty excited!

Nick deserves such luck. He is a great kid. He works hard, and he always seems to do the right thing. Still, I was nervous leaving him there. He will always be  my baby.

It makes me feel better that he is only thirty minutes from home, and that the campus is so nice.

I don't remember dormitories being this nice when I was in college??

Now that we're back home, we are trying to settle into a new routine. It is eerily quiet around the house. I miss the chatter of kids, cooking for them, and just having them around. I am on the hunt for a new job. A new life. It's a little scary, because I really liked my old job. I really liked my old life. It's strange for my husband too, but he was always at work five days a week. It's not as much of a dramatic change for him, as it is for me.

Still, it will be nice to focus on being a couple again. Not that we ever stopped, but the dynamics are different when you add kids to the mix. He is definitely still the person I want to be with the most. I feel lucky and Blessed for that.

So here we are... empty nesters. I can hardly believe it. It is certainly bittersweet. I'll try to focus on the sweet!

What's In Your Polish?

While I don't miss the chunky, fake looking acrylic nails that I used to sport, I do miss having a manicure that stays put for two weeks. That was really convenient. But the drill they used on my nails was scary, and if the manicurist was wearing a mask... shouldn't I be? Years ago, I decided to nix the acrylic nails.

Then I learned about the gel manicure that was supposed to last 10 to 14 days. This manicure supposedly doesn't destroy your nails, and there is no drill or mask used by the manicurist. I had to try it, and I was pretty happy with the results. They had pretty colors to choose from, and the manicure did last two weeks. Although they did not use the drill, they did buff the top of my nails pretty severely. The gel manicure is placed under a UV lamp, and it is literally completely dry in 2 minutes. Talk about convenient. So I enjoyed the gel manicure for a few months, but I could absolutely feel that my nails were getting weaker. I decided to give my nails a breather, and boy did they need it. They were very weak underneath. I don't think I will consistently get a gel manicure, but it is a great idea for vacations, special occasions etc...

So I was still on the search for a beautiful and safe manicure.  During my search, I found this line of nail polishes called Julep. 

The fun website is what drew me in. You can take a style quiz to find your style profile. They will then direct you to the line of colors available that they think suits you. My profile was "Bombshell". Love it. I started to read more about this line, and really liked what I was learning. Julep polishes have none of the 3 major carcinogens that many nail polishes contain. Those being, formaldehyde, toluene and DBP's. Scary. This is something I probably wouldn't have thought about in my 20's and 30's, but by 40... I have seen they devastating affects of cancer. I know better than to ignore the danger warnings of carcinogens. 

So I ordered a few of these Julep nail polishes, and I really like them. The colors are beautiful, and the brushes are a nice size to make them easy to use. I ordered the New Neutral pack.

  If you can remember, I tried another safe nail polish line awhile ago called Acquarella, that I absolutely hated. It literally began to chip within hours. While this polish does not last as long as a gel manicure, it does seem to have a fairly long lasting effect (several days, not hours).

What kind of manicure are you getting? Are carcinogens a concern for you? 

L-U-V-Madonna?

L-U-V- Madonna, Y-O-U, youwanna!  Yes, I wanna!  I've been a die hard Madonna fan since I was 16 years old. She has always been controversial, and it has never bothered me before. Cut to last week when I first saw her new video for "Give Me All Your Luvin'".  I posted on my facebook page that I must be getting old because I just watched the video, and found it disturbing. 

In the video you can find Madonna dancing with pretend high school kids. She seems to walk all over the football players, while the cheerleaders are making out and laying around what look like vodka bottles. Then to completely throw me off, she pretends to nurse a baby doll, which she throws for a touchdown at the very end. Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe because I have high school kids, I'm a little sensitive and worry about what message the video is sending. 

Of course I didn't mind her controversial ways back when I was the young and impressionable one. I loved dancing to the racy music and singing her sexy lyrics at the top of my lungs. I don't know who I'm kidding, I still love singing and dancing to her tunes. But now I feel a little different. Today I think about the messages in our pop music a little more. I hope that the kids listening and mimicking will be mature enough to know that the lyrics are sensationalized, and are just for fun. Madonna and I were pregnant at the same time, and we have daughters at right around the same age. I'm surprised that she wouldn't be feeling a little different, as the mother of a teenaged daughter too.  

                          

I'm sure everyone watched Madonna-bowl yesterday. She put on quite a show at half time during the Superbowl. That woman is 54, and can still get her groove on. The music took me right back to my youth. It made me feel happy and bop my 41 year old bod around the room. Perhaps I shouldn't begrudge today's teenagers that same happy feeling.  After all, her song "Like a Virgin", didn't cause me to lose my virginity. "Papa Don't Preach", didn't get me pregnant. Maybe I should have a little more faith in teenagers today, and allow them to get "Into The Groove" without worrying so much about what messages are being put out there.

I'm torn. What do you think?

My Favorite Day

Today was my favorite day. I always love, and look forward to the day I have my regular hair appointment. It was so time to freshen my color, and trim up the split ends. It makes me feel like a new woman. I go to a pretty posh little salon, and it is always about a three hour long process. I never mind though, I enjoy the sights and sounds of the salon. As I was sitting in the chair, I was checking out all the other ladies around me, having their favorite day too.  Most of them were my age, or a little older (just go with me on this one, it makes me feel better). I was pleasantly surprised to see all the different styles, lengths, and colors. We are no longer doomed to boring, short haircuts just because we are 40 and over. 

Many of the ladies are rocking the long, wavy hair styles that are so popular right now. There was a day when it was sad and a little pathetic to see a woman trying to pull this style off at our age. Not today. The women who opted for shorter styles were not looking out dated either.They were getting beautifully sculpted hairstyles with fun color options that keep them looking fresh. All of these women looked strong, beautiful and confident. I felt empowered being surrounded by them.


Of course beauty comes from within, and no hairstyle or color can make the woman. Still, a fresh mane always puts a little bounce in my step. Isn't it just about time for your favorite day?

Wait... when did I become middle aged?

Well, hi.  My name is Tricia and I am 41 years old.  This is my first ever blog entry.  I have been following and reading different types of blogs for some time now.  I find people, and their ideas so interesting.  Most of the blogs I follow are written by clever young twenty/thirty-something year olds, just beginning their journey through life.  I thought it might be interesting and somewhat entertaining to blog the life of someone heading into her middle aged years... and trying to do it gracefully.

This is not an easy thing to do.  I didn't wake up one day and feel older, or ready for middle age at all.  When I pass a mirror, I am always a little surprised at who I see in the reflection.  I expect it will still be that fresh faced girl, far from perfect, but at least perfectly young.  Wrinkles crept up on me. The hair on my head is graying and thinning, while obnoxious thick hair grows in places I had never imagined.  Gravity is no friend to any of my parts.  And while I still consider myself mainly a stay at home mom, I do have a very part time job in the beauty industry as an esthetician.  I'm sure being in this industry makes me more critical of myself, and of my appearance. The physical part of aging sometimes leaves me feeling defeated.

That being said, I know now at 41, that I am wiser.   I know that I understand, and appreciate things more completely.  I know how to love, and how to be loved in return.  I know that I am so close to accomplishing what is, in my mind, the best thing anyone can accomplish.  I am raising two of the most amazing kids, who have already shown signs that they will be productive and compassionate human beings.  I have a daughter who is a senior in high school, and a son who is a sophomore.  I am not done parenting them yet, but I am so proud of the people they are today.  My next challenge will be learning to let them fly on their own.  I can't believe that day is almost here.  This is going to be so hard for me.  But I can do it.  And I will keep trying to do it gracefully...