Smooth Away Product Review

OK, so you all know I am a big fan of the "As Seen On TV" products. Some of them are very good, some not so much, but I am always intrigued and usually if one of them catches my attention I am going to buy it and try it. My latest product to try was the "Smooth Away" pads to remove hair supposedly easily and without any pain or problems. Sounds too good to be true doesn't it. Well, yes it is in one way. The product cost approximately $10 and it comes with three medium pads and three coarse pads. My legs, I am ashamed to say, had not been shaven in over a week so I set out to find out if these pads actually worked. The medium pads didn't cut the mustard so to speak. I went on to the coarse pads and they did work, but I had to put a lot of muscle into it and it took longer than shaving my legs would have. I had no reaction to the pads so there was no irritation. They did leave my legs feeling silky smooth. So there are some up sides. However at $10 a pop I am thinking this could get expensive. One pad done and gone. I have two of the coarse ones left and as I said I found the medium ones to be worthless. It all comes down to what you want I suppose. I find it hard to believe these would work on the coarse hair of a man though too. Sorry guys, if you want to try them I'll give you one of the pads I have, but I don't think that tough, sexy, stubble of yours would be phased by these pads. If anyone knows the answer to that feel free to speak up. So on a scale of one to ten, I have to give this product a six. It was slightly better than average, but not so great that I would run right back out and buy it.

What Would You Do for A Million Dollars...

Have you ever thought about what you might or not be capable of doing for a million dollars? I have. Have you really thought it through though? I mean in the heat of the moment that is a lot of money, but could you live with the choice you made afterwards? It's something friends and I have talked about. It's something I have given a lot and I do mean a lot of thought. We've all seen the show "Fear Factor". I miss that show. Some of those people were willing to do some really awful and gross things for just the chance at a million dollars and I'm sure their fifteen minutes of fame was in there somewhere. What do you think they would have been willing to do if it was guaranteed? This is just one thing I thought of yesterday as I was walking and yes the pictures in this blog were from yesterday so I would say the seasonal flowers are a little confused by our strange weather. Think someone promised them a million dollars?

Time May Heal But It Never Forgets...

I've watched people all my life move on from a relationship and never look back. To hear some of them talk they never miss whatever it was that made that person so important to them to begin with. Sometimes what I would give to be one of those people who could do that. I mean don't get me wrong, on one hand I believe I am blessed to be a person who loves so deeply that every one who enters into my heart stays there forever. On the other hand sometimes that is more of a curse than a blessing I would suppose. I'm also not saying I haven't removed people from my life. I have. Some I cared about a great deal and still do. Others were never people I really cared that much about anyway. I suppose everyone is that way on some level. Today I spent most of it going over in my mind how my heart could so truly still belong to someone I removed from my life a little over fifteen years ago. I happened to run into him last night. We had gone to the same place. When he came up to me and started talking my heart literally felt like it had been ripped right out of my chest. How is that possible after so long? At the same time there was a sort of peace and eagerness in speaking with someone so familiar to my mind and heart. For a moment those fifteen years seemed more like they had been minutes instead. Some things about him had changed. I seriously doubt the ones that matter, to me, have though. I had spent time bracing myself for the fact that I could run into him anywhere and any time. I have a few times in the past few years, but no where that I was going to be for a long period of time. I had braced myself for the scenario where he's with someone new. I had braced myself for the scenario where he's distant and unfeeling and perhaps doesn't even acknowledge me. I had not prepared myself for friendly, welcoming, inviting and showing that warm side that I had loved so much. Such is my life. He looked good,except the tacky choice of outfit. He was friendly. As a friend said earlier tonight. When you see an ex you want them to look like hell and acknowledge you little if at all. Less painful to the heart that way. And for me it sucked realizing that after fifteen years my heart still skipped a little beat at the touch of his hand on my face. I didn't stay long after he got there. I didn't want to run out on my friends, but I also know there is a big big reason he's an ex and not a current. So time may heal and I think for the most part my heart has healed... maybe it cracked a little last night, but time never forgets. At least it doesn't let me forget.

In My Own Skin...

On Saturday night I did one of my favorite things. I simply sat with friends and talked. We played a few games but for me the best thing was simply being with them. I’m always a little saddened when the evening comes to an end. At the end of the evening it was just myself and one friend sitting there talking. That is another one of my all time favorite things is to have a “real” conversation. Not that all conversations aren’t real, but in this I mean ones that are deep and from the heart. For me sometimes I forget that not all people are comfortable with these kinds of talks but luckily for me this one is. In talking with this friend I often get to see myself through someone else’s eyes. He is fairly frank and candid with me and I love him dearly for that. One thing I realize more and more all the time is how unusual my candid and direct nature is. I simply am what I am. I have no trouble when in the company of good friends and people I care about talking about any subject or any topic. I really don’t think there is one that is taboo to me. I’ve found some people to be very welcoming to this type of realness while others I think are taken quiet back by it. I also have no trouble accepting what people tell me about them. I don’t find myself judging them. After all it’s not my place and I am far from being a person who should say what feelings are normal and what ones are not. I have found that more and more though I am getting comfortable under my own skin. What an odd feeling that is too. I mean I am not in the shape I want to be in by any means yet, but I am growing to realize that although my nature is odd at best it is who I am. I love life. I love people and I believe we should all be able to be who we truly are without judgment. It shouldn’t make a difference what someone wears or their choices they should still hold as much value as anyone else. For me the realization that I am worth “it” whatever “it” might be is a good feeling. To know that my nature has found friends that welcome me without judgment as I welcome them is truly special and leaves me feeling extremely blessed. Yes for now I am growing to be quiet comfortable in my own skin. After so many years I’d have to say it’s about time.

Chris Young: "The Man I Want To Be"

Yes, that is correct! Chris Young's new CD is on sale now. It was available as of Tuesday, September 1, 2009. Of course I did go out and buy it yesterday. Can't resist a tall, dark and obviously otherwise gorgeous man with a great voice. The original release date for this album was suppose to be August 26, 2008, but was put on delay. Not sure of their reasoning for that, but I am sure as with everything else in life it wasn't probably anything good. I have to say although the album is well worth the money I paid for it, I was a little disappointed. Not because the songs weren't good, they are, but because he chose to fill it with more slow songs than anything else. I like his feisty up tempo music more myself. I do have to say though that I would probably sit for hours and listen to this man sing the alphabet song to me, and it couldn't hurt if I was in his arms while he did it. Either way there are ten songs altogether on this album. Four of them are up tempo and the rest are slow. My choice songs off the album are "That Makes Me", "Voices", "Rose In Paradise", and "Twenty-One Candles". I can honestly say I am not real fond of the title track, "The Man I Want To Be". Over All though I give it a thumbs up. Anyone wanting to listen to it pre-purchase just see me. I'll be glad to let you take a listen.

What Doesn't Kill Us...

"What doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger." You know I use that line way more often than I know I probably should and the truth of the matter is I hate that saying. It's what we tell someone when they are facing life's tough choices, issues, or problems and I somehow so very much doubt it's ever really made anyone feel better. The thing that really sucks is that the saying is absolutely true though. Through our hardships in life we grow stronger. I talk way too much I also realize about my past two years and the changes and the feelings and emotions. Things people will either agree with me on or get annoyed that I bring up over and over. So it will be of no surprise I suppose that this blog post is no different. Yesterday was hard for me on so many levels. I barely ate anything. I had a Nestle Crunch bar and a hand full of pretzels and then I didn't really want those. I had no appetite at all. All day and all evening there was a feeling of dread and almost depression like feeling I carried with me. It wasn't depression though. I have had that. I know that feeling. This one was so off and so hard for me to mark in my mind what it could be. Then this morning or last night, which ever you consider midnight, I went to Meijers to get a few things. Not a rough trip in that nothing looked good to me so there were no temptations. Just went in for dog food, water, diet A&W and some bleach. Walking around I felt an empty pang in the pit of my stomach. No, it wasn't hunger. As a matter of fact food thoughts didn't even enter my mind. I did force myself to eat a sandwich when I got home, but it tasted bland and I almost forgot I was eating it. I knew in the back of my mind what these feelings were. Anyone who's been there knows what these emotions were. They were the emotions of worry and dread. Yes, I am not a person who worries that much or dreads that often. Usually if it's something out of my control I just leave it in Gods hands, but yesterday I spent dreading today. Today was a day that could have changed everything. It could have made all the rules go out the window. If you recall six months back I had a mammogram. It didn't turn out normal. I have a place on my left breast. An abnormality. OK so most things about me aren't normal, but this worried me. I had an ultra sound. Agreement from doctors that it wasn't normal. Then came a decision to watch the place and see what happens. For six months I have waited for this day to come. Not one day has gone by that I haven't wondered if cancer was spreading through me as I breathed in and out the daily air. Most days though it has been just a fleeting thought. Then today I went for the exam to find out. No, it hadn't grown. As a matter of fact the doctor said he believed it had gotten smaller. This means they can almost surely rule out cancer as in it would not shrink, but they want to be safer than sorry some day so another six month wait. No heavy weights lifted completely off my shoulders, just a few pounds released as in I have dodged the bullet this far. So I still won't tell my parents. No need to worry them needlessly. I will wait and try to believe with all my heart that the next six month test will show the same if not better. I will keep working on getting healthier. I will keep my chin up and yes perhaps I will be just a little stronger after today than I was yesterday. After all, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Doesn't it?

As Time Stands Still...

Today my mother asked me to copy some old photos for her. I love looking at old photos and I thought I would share a few of them with you, as in the only place that time ever stands still is in photographs.

To the left here is a picture taken around 1955. In it my grandmother Jezzie holds her daughter Arlene (Jib) and is standing beside her step daughter Hermajean. Mom said Hermajean was about twelve in this photo. Both my grandmother and my aunt Hermajean are dead now. One died in 1985 and the other in 1986.

The photo here on the right was taken the same day as the one above on the left per my mother. It's again of her mom and her sister Arlene.

The next picture is of my mom's mother and what she believes to be her baby sister Susie that died when she was a small child. It was also taken on the same day there in 1955.

This next picture here on the right shows a cousin of mom's, then her brother Orbin followed by another cousin and then of course the girl in the picture is my mother.

This last picture starting back row left is my uncle Ray, my uncle Orbin, my uncle Jr, my uncle Ellis, Front row left is my brother Ritchie, my uncle Robert, my grandmother and me in front of her holding my cousin Orbin Ray, my mom behind me, my aunt Arlene holding my cousin Nickii Michelle. This picture was taken around 1977 I believe. Ritchie correct me if I am wrong. So time stands still in photos only, but sometimes just a little in our mind as we look at them. So many changes since those days... Just thought thought I would share some old photos. After all there are so many things we can learn about life and history in these delicate memories of days gone by.