My DIL called me one day, describing a somewhat heated debate she and my otherwise perfect son had about what he calls her “shopping problem.” Normally, I don’t like to intervene in their marriage (okay, that’s a lie…Hubs has to physically restrain me most of the time), but I told my son that if my darling DIL has a […]
Men. If You Want to Drive Us Crazy, Here’s a List to Get You Started
I wrote an essay about things wives do that makes our husbands a little nutsy, and my female readers immediately put up a group shout for equal air time. My favorite request was from a close friend who said, “What about us? We love our husbands, so we can’t shoot ’em, but sometimes they make […]
Sexy After 60? Nine Tips to Get You There Fast
Invisible. Matronly. Indifferent to her looks (and to sex). Old. That’s what we’re led to believe by a society obsessed with youth. At a time in our lives when many women say they have more energy, a greater sex drive, and more common sense and empathy than during any other decade, we struggle against a […]
Couples Who Shop Together…Are Out of Their Freakin’ Minds
Hubs hates clothes shopping. Hates. It. His entire closet is full of “gently worn” t-shirts he buys in bulk 3-4 times a year on eBay, preferably with college team logos emblazoned across the front and free shipping. Jeans are purchased during random trips to the local Wal-Mart simply by checking out the size tag (34 x […]
“I Cannot Tell a Lie,” Said No Wife, Ever.
Doing a little research on why our culture has such a high divorce rate, and I discovered that experts, while not necessarily in unison about the ranking order of the most common reasons, do agree on the topics. Lack of communication (the Mars-Venus thing), finances (one of you is a penny-pincher, one of you spends […]
Casual Job, Casual Life, Boring Wardrobe? Fast Fixes That’ll Step Up Your Game
One of the benefits of living in a small town is the casual dress code. You can go to work, take in a Zumba class on the way home, and go to dinner at almost any restaurant in yoga pants or jeans and a t-shirt. Excluding proprietary uniforms for Oil Can Henry’s or the wait […]
The Seven Deadly Sins of Beauty
One of my favorite and most enduring Momisms from childhood is “The only difference between an ugly woman and a beautiful woman is either God or a boatload of money.” Setting aside the whole “inner beauty is the only true beauty” argument that has been gaining a foothold in our culture over the years, I’ve […]
Jeans Shopping. The Reason God Invented Yoga Pants
Stop the first ten women you meet in the street and ask them for their least favorite clothing item to shop for. Eight of them will say “swimsuits.” But, bikinis aside (since most boomers haven’t tried one on since 1989), even well-cut, one-piece swimsuits have a way of outing our last dozen diet failures and […]
10 Things You Need to Get Out of Your Closet Right Now
Stop the first dozen women you see on the street and ask them if they’ve ever thrown out anything from their Hub’s closet that he continued to wear 5+ years after it died. Ratty t-shirts, saggy sweatpants, pilled sweaters, stained sweatshirts. Nine women will admit that, yes, they’ve secretly tossed an item or two into the alley dumpster […]
What I Learned After 30 Years in the Beauty Industry
I love beauty products. I love the whole beauty industry (except the part where women over forty are unfavorably compared to twenty-year-old swizzle sticks). Over the years, I’ve learned a lot through it, written a lot about it, and bought a lot of it. I’m turning 59 this year, which got me thinking about beauty […]
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