January Sunsets

In Southern California, January is the month of beautiful sunsets.  Since January is almost over (where did it go?) I thought I'd share a photo that I took last night.  This is taken from the balcony off our master bedroom.

While I'm sharing photos, here's one of Justin, Sarah and Sarah's friend Tilda on their snowboarding trip to Colorado.  Tilda lives in Denver.

   

Justin and Sarah made it safely home Monday night.  Before they left, he texted me a photo of their plane with the wings covered in snow.  Their flight was delayed while the plane was de-iced.  I could've gone all day without seeing that photo.  Yesterday, Jeff and I took Sierra back to Justin's house.  She's a great little dog and we'll miss her.  Justin was busy working from home but we all grabbed a quick lunch at Chipotle and then we headed home before rush hour.  Today, the boys will be here and will probably be here the rest of the week.  Other than my little storytime dates at the library with Jacob, we haven't had the boys here much so it will be nice to see them both.  

Boo-Boos

I've had these "Make up Tips" for "mature" women in a word document sitting on my computer desktop for a long time now and was meaning to share them.  Since I was busy Sunday night watching the SAG Awards, I thought this would be a good time.  I thought it was all very good advice.  I added a few of my favorite products.


Mistake #1: Using Too Much Foundation

A foundation that's too thick will settle into fine lines and sap the luminosity from your skin. Only use foundation where you need it to even out discoloration.  You don't have to cover every inch of your skin.  When buying a foundation, avoid those described as "matte," "velvet," and "long-wearing"; look for sheer liquid formulas with light-diffusing pigments. If you have dry skin, foundation can look patchy and accentuate discoloration, so exfoliate two to three times a week and always apply a moisturizer after cleansing.  I skip a foundation altogether and use a tinted moisturizer by Laura Mercier.  I buy the oil-free version.

Mistake #2: Over-Concealing Your Under-Eye Circles

A thick concealer that comes in a stick or pot will eradicate the shadows under your eyes, but it will also draw attention to the crepiness and fine lines that usually show up in that area first (because the skin there is thin). A better option: A brush-on highlighter pen (like Neutrogena Healthy Skin Brightening Eye Perfector $11.99; drugstores) that uses illuminating particles, not opaque color, to camouflage dark circles. Apply it only near the inner corners of your under-eye area, where shadows are most prominent (and lines least).  I'm going to try this product.

Mistake #3: Wearing Deep, Dark Lip Colors

A dark color makes any surface look smaller--a welcome illusion perhaps on your hips but not your lips. To make your mouth look fuller (one hallmark of a youthful face), choose bright lipsticks and glosses (peaches, pinks, vibrant reds) over deep shades (burgundies, wines, browns). Makeup artists use another trick to create the illusion of luscious lips: Before applying color, trace a highlighter pencil along your upper lip line, then buff it out with your finger.  I don't wear lipstick at all... just a gloss occasionally.

Mistake #4: Finishing with Powder
Youthful skin reflects light. Powders prevent light reflection and tend to magnify lines in the skin. If powder has been the final step of your makeup routine since high school, it can be difficult to quit cold-turkey. Here's a three-step program: First, switch to a very sheer translucent powder (like Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder, $35; lauramercier.com). Then, start using it only on your nose and chin. Finally, trade the powder for a packet of blotting tissues--use one, only on the T-zone (nose, chin, and forehead), if you're shiny midday.

Mistake #5: Wearing Black Eyeliner

Don't skip eyeliner altogether--it's a great way to make your eyes look more open--but choose brown over black, which can be harsh. And keep the color diffuse. You want to define the eyes with softness and blending, not strict lines.  A thick liner can leave the upper lids looking heavier than they are.  The best technique: Trace a brown pencil liner along the upper lash line (into the roots of the lashes), focusing on the outer corners; smudge it with a Q-tip.

Mistake #6: Going Overboard with Lip Liner

A lip liner can define your lips and prevent color from feathering into any lines around the mouth--but choose one very carefully. If you line your lips too heavily, or with a color that's too dark, they'll look tight and pursed. For the most natural effect, your lip liner should match the color of your lips, not the color of your lipstick. Choose a creamy formula that won't adhere to any dry patches, and use it to fill in your lips entirely, so it wears evenly.

Mistake #7: Using Liner and Mascara on Your Lower Lashes

Playing up your lower lashes can make your eyes look droopy and draw attention to dark circles. Instead, curl your upper lashes and wiggle a volumizing mascara into their roots and slowly through the ends for the most uplifting effect.  Try Maybelline Volum' Express MegaPlush Washable Mascara- it's new and getting great reviews.  I prefer a washable mascara!  Also don't forget an eyelash curler which also helps open your eyes and shows off your lashes.

Mistake #8: Skipping Blush

A rosy flush on your cheeks brings instant life to your face. And, if applied correctly, blush can offer a little lift. Smile, find the fleshiest part of your cheek and apply color just slightly above it. Blend the color out toward your temples in circles, not a line, using a big fluffy brush. You want to avoid a stripe of color that stretches along your cheekbones, which can make you look drawn and hollow.  Just be careful you don't look like a lot of old ladies with those Raggedy Ann cheeks!

Dingo Delivery

Sierra, Justin's dog, is here with us.  Sarah, Justin's girlfriend, gave Justin a trip to Colorado for Christmas and they are leaving this morning at 7:30 AM and will return home Monday evening.  Sarah's best friend lives there and they are all going to go snowboarding and tubing.  They are lucky that Colorado is pretty warm right now compared to the big chill going on in the Midwest and back East.  The temperatures in Denver during the day have been in the 50's.  You may remember that Sarah is a travel fanatic and they have already planned their next trip.  They are leaving in mid-March for two weeks in Europe.  They are flying to Venice, Italy via Amsterdam.  They still haven't worked out the details of where they will be going from there.  Maybe Germany or Prague.  Their return flight is from Dublin to Paris and then to Los Angeles so they will probably spend some time in Ireland and France.  They want us to join them but we are reluctant to go in March when the weather will still be too cold for our liking.  We did however get going on getting our passports.  We found we had to get certified copies of our birth certificates so we did that last Tuesday and they should be here in a couple of weeks.  Here's a photo of our little visitor, Sierra.  She's a Carolina Dog which is also known as an American Dingo.  Justin rescued her as a pup from a group in Orange County that saved her from the pound on the day she was due to be euthanized.  She's a great little dog...really smart and well-behaved.

Hi Sierra!

In case you missed my last post, take a look below at our snow day with the boys!  We all had the best time!

A Perfect Snow Day

We had the most perfect day in the snow with the boys on Monday.  It was warm so no one got cold and, while a little icy, there was plenty of snow for sledding, making snow angels, having snowball fights and making a snowman.  And we did all of those things.  Here are a few photos I posted on Facebook and after the photos is a video of the boys sledding.  You can hear how much fun they're having by their joyful laughter.  I'm sure Pat, their dad, was a little shocked to see how fast they were going but all went well and no one got hurt.  Ryan did slip once while walking on an icy patch and landed on his chin getting a little scrape but no incidents on the sled.  It was so nice and sunny that we were able to have a picnic lunch on campground tables in the snow.

We did not make that big snowman!  The two bottom parts where already there so we made a head and added the arms, buttons, etc...  I would suggest you watch the video larger by clicking HERE.

Snow Day from Darylynn Mills on Vimeo.

You can see both Kanan and Cooper in the video.  They had a great time, too, and Cooper rolls in the snow just like he does in the sand at the beach.

Snow Bound

We changed our plans... due to our big warm up, we decided to take the boys and the dogs to the snow today rather than wait until Thursday.  We were a little worried about crowds since today is a holiday- Martin Luther King Jr. Day- so the kids are out of school but we decided to chance it rather than have all the snow melt before we get up there.  Here's a sample of our 80 degree weather.  We had lunch at The Landing at Westlake with Chris and Liz and it was a gorgeous day!  This idyllic setting is less than 10 minutes from our house.  There are three restaurants there and lots of outdoor tables all with umbrellas so you are comfortable and this is the view.

There are lots of ducks and swans gliding through the water and only sail boats or quiet electric boats are permitted on the lake so it's very peaceful and quiet.

Kanan has been to the snow before but Cooper has only seen patches of snow when we were hiking in the high country of Yosemite so it will be fun to see how he reacts.  He made a spectacle of himself rolling in the little patches so I have a feeling he'll like it.  The boys have never seen snow before so this will be a big first for them.  They are so excited!  

Problem Solved!

Got a call from the recreation center early Wednesday morning that the second class for Jacob was also cancelled due to low enrollment.  Commenting on my blog, Jules reminded me about looking for children's activities at our local libraries.  I got online and found there was a "Winter Preschool Storytime" that very morning at 11AM.  When we got there, there were lots of little kids with their moms. grandmothers and housekeepers.  I had remembered meeting housekeepers while at the park one day and they were mentioning the library classes.  Here's a photo of Jacob during the class.

He made a snowflake crown

Between three local libraries there are classes he can go to every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  Two of the libraries are withing 5 minutes of my house.  Today I can take him to "Music & Motion for Toddlers" at Agoura Hills Library at 9:30 and then "Preschool Storytime" at Westlake Library at 11AM. He's really excited about it (despite what it looks like in the photo above.)  These classes are all FREE so now I know why the rec center wasn't getting enough kids to sign up.  They are all here!  While at the library, a lady came up to me and said, "You look really familiar to me."  Turns out our kids went to kindergarten together!  Considering Jessica is now in her 30's that was a long time ago.  She was with her granddaughter.

Jeff and I have continued working on seeing all the Oscar nominated films.  We saw Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained.  The only movies left are Life of Pi and Amour.  The Academy Awards take place on Sunday, February 24th.

Fun Cancelled

I signed Jacob up for a little class at our local recreation center.  It was called Busy Bees and it was only once a week, Tuesday mornings, for about 45 minutes.  Here's the description:  As a first time separation class, Busy Bees provides structured activities to stimulate a toddler’s senses and introduces them to valuable preschool skills and routines. Your toddler will be exposed to pre-reading skills such as the ABC’s; pre-math skills, the 123’s and other preschool themes in a fun supportive environment.  Anyway, he was really looking forward to it but I got a call saying the class was cancelled due to low-enrollment!  Bummer!  So they wanted to refund my money but I asked if there was any other class available for him.  I looked at their online brochure and told them to shift my money to another class called Page Turners:  Join us for story time! Page Turners is a fun way to get your child excited about reading while teaching social skills, listening comprehension and the foundation of reading through letters. Each week we will read a book from the collection of Eric Carle.  Songs, arts-n-crafts and movement activities are incorporated into the day’s theme.  I asked how many kids had signed up for that class and she said one!  What?!?  So with Jacob, there's two.  I asked how many they need for the class to go forward and she said four.  I'm ready to go out trolling for toddler's in the local parks.  I'm really surprised by the lack of interest.  All I can think of is there are many working parents in our area and their kids are in preschool full time.  So I'm expecting another phone call today saying Page Turners is a no go too.

I feel  bad for Jacob because he really wants to go to school.  He has a one hour a week speech class that he goes to.  Yesterday was his first day to "share" and he was so excited about it.  Jessica said he came downstairs weighted down by his backpack in which he had put every truck he owns.  Somehow, they had to get him to accept the fact that he could only share one toy. It's nice that both Ryan and Jacob enjoy school.

Sno Pants

Didn't mean to disappear on you.  I've been having some computer issues.  I'm know it's my graphics card by the error message I've been getting.  I tried updating my graphics card driver but that didn't seem to help. I updated everything else I could think of.  One suggestion I read was that it could be caused by your computer overheating so I had Jeff vacuum out the inside of my computer, make sure everything was seated well and I'm starting to turn off my computer instead of leaving it on 24/7.  We'll see if it helps but so far (knock wood) the problem hasn't returned.

It's been so cold here in LA, actually freezing over night.  I've been gathering together everything that the boys need for our trip to the snow.  They have jackets, glove and mittens, hats and snow boots but they were missing one thing.  Excuse the blurry photo from Jessica's cellphone but can you guess what they're missing?

  Yep, sno-pants!

I found some nice snow overalls at Target.com for only @ $14.00.  Perfect.  Don't want to spend too much on things they'll outgrow by the next time we go to the snow.

Writing this before Sunday night's Golden Globes award show.  I enjoy this show because it's for both TV and movies and it's more fun than the Oscars.  Everyone sits at round tables eating and drinking so it gets quite loose.  This year's hosts are Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.  They have suggested a drinking game which could also be used at the Academy Awards.  You could make up your own version but here's theirs.

Tina Fey's and Amy Poehler's Golden Globes Drinking game:

• Drink any time an actress cries during her speech
• Drink any time you see a person actively not listening to someone onstage
• Drink any time someone says, “I didn’t prepare anything!”
• Eat a meatball sub any time someone thanks Harvey Weinstein
• Take off an article of clothing anytime they show Judi Dench
• Take off an article of clothing [for] anything Maggie Smith wins

Pain in the Butt

Here's something I've never heard of before... Piriformis Syndrome... and I think I've got it!  It's a pain in the glute muscle.  HERE's an article about it.  One of the causes is sitting too long.  Oh, oh!  Too much time at the computer!?  One of the recommended treatments is stretching exercises.  One doctor suggests using a High Density Foam Roller which I've ordered from Amazon.com.  I am not a fan of taking medicine so I will always try alternative methods or treatments first.  I have several YouTube links for exercises if anyone else has a pain in the butt!  Jeff can use this roller for his back, too.  At first I thought maybe I banged my hip area but there aren't any bruises and then I thought it might be from going up and down on a stool to take down Christmas decorations but that should be gone by now.  The oddest thing is when I go up the stairs, my toe next to the big toe tingles.  I happen to have my yearly doctor appointment this Thursday so will discuss it with my doctor.  I'm sure he'll be annoyed that I've self-diagnosed by researching on the Internet.  They hate when you tell them that or when you say you heard it on Dr. Oz!  But guess what... Dr. Oz says your doctor probably googles your symptoms, too.  He gave a list of reputable medical online sites the other day and you can find them HERE.  

I have something new to add to my "Seriously?" category.  It's the HAPIfork!  The HAPIfork is an electronic fork that monitors your eating habits. The HAPIfork gives you precise information about your eating schedule. The HAPIfork alerts you with the help of indicator lights when you are eating too fast. Every time you bring food from your plate to your mouth with your fork, this action is called:  a "fork serving".

The HAPIfork also measures:
     • How long it took to eat your meal.
     • The amount of “fork servings" taken per minute.
     • Intervals between "fork servings".

This information is then uploaded via USB or Bluetooth to your Online Dashboard to track your progress.

The HAPIfork also comes with the HAPILABS app plus a coaching program to help you eat better and change your eating behavior.  And it's expected to cost @ $99.00.  For a fork....

Seriously??? 

Going Downton

Jeff and I have been on a marathon of Downton Abbey.  We've heard so much about it but didn't have room for it in our busy TV schedules but thanks to the "winter break" absence of our favorite shows and our new Amazon Prime Instant Videos, we were able to watch the whole first season over the past few days.  We are really enjoying it and the 3rd season began last night on PBS so we are recording that and will finish up Season 2 on Amazon Prime.  The best part is, it's all free.  I have missed a good soap opera type show since the cancellation of All My Children so this kind of fits the bill.  So who else watches it?  Amazon Prime is working out to be a really good deal for us.  In addition to all the free shipping we got over the holidays, we were able to cancel Jeff's $9.95 per month X-Box Live subscription which we were really only using to watch movies.  We don't need Netflix either so between Amazon Prime and Redbox, we have access to all the TV and movies we need.   We can also watch everything from Amazon on my iPad and Jeff's Kindle.  Pretty cool!

Snow Boys

Ryan and Jacob are so excited about the prospect of going up to the local mountains to play in the snow.  We took them to Costco yesterday and picked out a Body Glove snow board.  Don't know what to call it really- not quite a sled or toboggan but more of a boogie board for the snow.  It's made out of foam and has a slick back and in the center at the top is a little light show of flashing lights caused by friction as you slide down the hill.  There are handholds for two riders so should be perfect for Ryan and Jacob.  Here's a photo.

Not sure when we are going to go yet.  Jeff's getting over a sore throat and cold and Jacob still has a lingering cough.  When we do go, we will take the dogs, too.  

Jeff and I are going to go see The Impossible today.  It's a true story about the 2004 tsunami that hit Thailand.  I have a teacher friend who also narrowly survived that disaster.  She was separated from her family for many hours not knowing if they were alive or dead.  Fortunately, they were all okay.  We always try to see the likely Oscar nominated films and performances.  So far, we've seen Argo, Lincoln,  Les Miz, The Hobbit, Silver Linings Playbook, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Skyfall.  We still need to see Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, Django Unchained and maybe, The Dark Knight Rises.   Next Thursday, January 10th, are when the nominations are announced so then we'll know for sure what ewe have left to try and see.

Organizing

It's funny how once it's a new year, most people feel like organizing.  I think it's a way of sweeping out the old year and starting anew.  You see ads full of containers, storage boxes and other ways to get organized.  That and all the weight loss products and exercise equipment for those New Year resolutions.  I like the idea of decluttering.  I think a cluttered room/house/desk clutters the mind.  I reorganized our kitchen pantry.  I like using OXO storage containers to put things like sugar, flour and cereal in.  You can get them at Costco (sometimes) or Bed, Bath & Beyond.  They are less expensive at Costco but you can use 20% off coupons to buy them at B,B&B.  They look like THIS and they keep your food fresh as well as being an easy way to see what you have.  So do you have any things you like to do or use to get organized?

I find a lot of good ideas on Pinterest and I saw this idea for displaying photos or artwork that I liked.  I haven't wanted to put framed photos on the wall over a bed because, living in earthquake country, I am always worried they'll fall off the wall and hit someone in the head.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and I might use it.  You can hang photos on a curtain rod which would make them much more secure than on a little nail or picture hanger.  You can find really nice decorative curtain rods so many places and they aren't very expensive.  Here's a sample photo.