My 5 Top Beauty Tips

I doubt you woke up this morning thinking you didn't look your best so you better rush over to blogland to see what Sherry had to say.
LOL
But I did wake up this morning thinking about some things I've seen and some conversations I had this week and decided to pass along some advice, solicited or not.


So here are my top 5 beauty tips, in no particular order:

1. Know that your value is NOT derived from your outward appearance but from your character.
   Practice the true beauty of love & kindness. 
   Have integrity.
   Remember your life is not just about you; you are here to  make this world better for the people you encounter everyday.
   Act beautiful.
2. Know that you are beautiful.
   Even tho true beauty comes from within you need to remember that you are outwardly beautiful. 
   Stop listening to the bullies from middle school who now reside in your head. 
   Stop giving the cruel adult power over you now.
   You are beautiful. 
   Know it.
3. Smile.  A lot.
   I mentioned this in my post about looking younger.  A smile covers a multitude of "flaws".
   Smiling has this funny cyclical thing going - you smile and you feel both happy & confident which makes you smile more.  And happy, confident people are attractive ~ others will be drawn to you in the hopes that your happiness will wear off on them too.
4. Stand up straight!!!
   Okay, I could go on about this for hours!  It absolutely drives me nuts to see women all slouched over - stand up straight and your clothes fit better, your figure looks better and your back will thank you one day.
   And while I'm sounding like a Mom, pick up your feet when you walk!!
   (sorry to nag)
5. Moisturizer with Sunscreen ~ face, neck & décolletage ~ everyday
   I don't mean just for anti-skin-cancer reasons, I mean for your looks.
   There are two great big things outside of you that work against you as you age ~ things we need if life is to survive on this planet but that take a great big toll on our appearance:
   gravity and the sun
   I haven't heard of an anti-gravity cream (please, please call me if you do) but there are anti-sun creams and your 50+ year old self will bless you for using them. I can't tell you how many times when I look in the mirror now I wish I'd used sunscreen when riding in the Miata with the top down.  You're going to have to take my word on this becuz photos will not be provided!!
   

Ladies, looks aren't everything.  Who you are to others is what matters.
But I know you care and there is nothing wrong with that.
And putting your prettiest self out there is easy and inexpensive when four of the five are decisions.


now if I could just figure out that anti-gravity cream . . .
 

lessons I learned about looking younger from a photo

Mom	Dad's Mom	Mom's Mom

I am a big collector of family photos and as you can see my mother and grandmothers could have all been movie stars ~ perhaps some of it was the black & white photography, but I tend to think they were all just hotties.  I'm sure you can understand why I want to believe it's genetics ~ hehe.

But I learned a lot more about looking younger from this picture taken when my grandmother was older than from any of the pictures taken in her youth.  And I will share my "secrets" with you

Mom, Grandma Cook, Me, Great-grandma Dennis

* smile ~ we were celebrating Christmas when that photo was taken but you sure can't tell if we were having fun or not!  Smiles might not make us look younger but being happy is better than looking young any day.  (Mom says it's cuz it took so long for pictures to be taken back then!!)
* wear clothes that suit your shape ~ I don't think anyone looked good in those shirt dresses besides Barbara Billingsley on Leave It To Beaver!  No matter how you're shaped, there are clothes that emphasize what you like and others that show what you prefer to keep hidden.  Choose accordingly.
* hair ~ what can I say?  You don't have to color your hair ~ several of my friends don't and they look amazing.  I'm not quite there in the bravery department!  But whether you color your hair or not, if you wear it like an old lady OR like you did in high school, your age is going to show.
* overall image matters more than the details ~ if you could look closely at this picture, you would see my grandmother has no wrinkles!  Her skin is soooooooooooo smooth.  But that's not the first impression you get from looking at this picture.
* be prepared ~ this photo showed me that double chins and weight gain are just as likely to be in my genetic code as movie-star good looks so I already have a chin surgery fund!!  Okay, not really but I've joked about it for a long time.  I do prefer photos be taken from slightly above so my chin, well, only has one layer.  When I got my drivers license renewed this year I noticed that my chin line is a lot less distinct than it was 4 years ago!  yikes! 

Right now my age is half-way between the ages of my grandmother and great-grandmother in the photo above.   I think you'll agree that one of the above lessons took ~ I sure know how to smile and laugh!!

Exercise

Over on Facebook I have been complaining about walking in this rediculous heat - I just don't like to exercise - what about you?I'm sure that you know all the reasons why we should be exercising just like I do.  But doing it?  That's a different story.  (If you read my other blog, some of this will be familiar to you - hope you don't mind.)

Here are the top three reasons I don't like exercise:
#3 - SWEAT

I know some folks who barely sweat.

I am NOT one of them.  Not only do I sweat, my hands and feet swell and my face turns red.  Basically, I look like a very plump, very ripe tomato that has just been washed.

A photo of me looking this way does not accompany this paragraph!

#2 - PAIN

Whoever came up with the idea of "No pain, no gain" must have been a masochist. I mean, really, why does everything good for us have to be so painful?  I wear some of those funny shaped walking shoes that are supposed to make your butt look better (mine are by Fila and I really do love them tho not nearly as much as I love my Christian Loubotin high heels - but I digress) so when I'm done walking, my calves, thighs and padunkadunk all hurt.  While this means I might possibly be beginning to achieve my goals, I still don't like it.

#1 - TIME

This is the one thing I know we all agree on - there just is NOT enough TIME.   And exercise takes up a lot of it.
Nuf said.

Here are the top four reasons I do exercise (at least sporadically):
#4 - HEALTH

As I mentioned earlier, we all know WHY we should exercise. And this is it. Reduced risk of heart disease, alzheimers, cancer and even osteoporosis. And so much more. This should be enough of a motivating factor, especially now that I'm so old, but...NOT!!!

#3 - MIND-WANDERING

This is my favorite part about walking. My mind goes anywhere and everywhere. For instance, I composed this whole blog post about how much I hate to exercise while walking. (Now, this one does NOT work when I'm weight lifting. I have to count and all sorts of stuff that doesn't allow my mind to wander.  But let's be honest, I can't even FIND my weights these days.)

#2 - TIGHTER

I will never be skinny again.  Thank goodness! I mean really, check out these knobby knees ~ they're awful!

but I do want to have fewer jiggles when I move and fewer rolls when I sit.

#1 - EATING

The number one reason I exercise when I do is cuz I LOVE TO EAT. Good food. Bad for you food. Fast food. (Unfortunately, I don't like veggies. And salad, as far as I'm concerned, is a START to a meal, not a meal. Unless it's full of meat & cheese & other fattening foods.)  When I exercise, I can eat more and not gain weight. ALRIGHT! This is more motivation to me than a longer life. I know. That is sooooo wrong, but I'm trying to be honest with you.

So there you have it.  Why I usually don't exercise like I should.  Why I do exercise when I do. 

What about you? How do you stay motivated?  Or do you?

Well, now that I've cooled off I can go get in the shower.

Then I can hop in the car, waste some fossil fuels by driving to the 7/Eleven and buy myself a Milky Way Midnight.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm - that was worth the walk!