Simplify

Hi gorgeous people!

It was an absolutely lovely day today and after I spent four hours in the library working on a paper, I went for a walk and watched for a few minutes as 5 year old boys played a game of T-ball. The cuteness quotient was definitely 100%. One squirt would smack the ball, about five little dudes would fall all over themselves trying to catch it — and miss — and when one finally ran after it and retrieved it, he’d toss it to first base, where the baseman would fail to catch it. Meanwhile, the batter would still be standing there at the T while one of the coaches yelled, “Go! Go! Go run to the base! Atta boy!”

Every single batter got to first base. There were no “outs.” Everyone had a chance at bat. In some cases, and I’m not sure why, some little guys had the ball actually pitched to them by one of the dads, who stood about 3 feet away and lobbed the ball over the plate over and over and over again, saying the same encouraging words each time. Patience of a saint, I tell ya. It was really sweet.

I forgot to tell you that all the little guys were wearing UNIFORMS! Tiny t-shirts paid for by Cathay Hanover restaurant and a local tire store. Also, of course, shrimp-sized baseball caps and pants. Too adorable.

So anyway, it’s that time of year that I just want to pull on a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt in the morning and get out in the day, which is how I spend my summers. I don’t really want to wash my hair and style it, or to wear any make-up or to think about what matches or fits. I stopped getting my nails done about 6 weeks ago, and my paws look all chewed and awful. I haven’t had lots of special events lately so I’ve just accepted it for now. I’ve been getting my nails done about every two weeks for four years and I’m on a break, mama!

I’m only doing full make-up for Sundays and special-ish occasions now — the rest of the time it’s lipstick and mascara and maybe some blush. Every single one of my weight loss efforts have been short-lived and unsuccessful, so I’m in a phase of “just try to be healthy, just be comfortable without going to Slobsville.”

And I’ve done something very helpful that I recommend to you, too: I went into my closet and took out about 75% of my stuff so that the only garments that remain are things that fit, that I like well enough to actually wear, and that are season-appropriate.

Sometimes it helps to remove visual clutter.

Summer_vacation_is_coming! Lord, hear our prayer!

2 Replies to “Simplify”

  1. Everyone has her limits, and getting my nails professionally done is just one of those things I Will Not Do. What I find does work is to keep them clipped neatly (about 1/16 of an inch) and use Sally Hansen Nail Pencil under them each morning. This keeps them nice and clean-looking. If I am wanting to look extra spiff I’ll use Neutrogena Instant Nail Enhancer on them. This is an instantly-drying conditioner that gives a nice gloss for about a day. It doesn’t last, but on the other hand, you don’t have to take it off.

  2. I’ve finally admitted to myself that I don’t like
    to have manicures either–an occasional pedicure is nice, but they are each in their own way hard to “wean” off. If they use any thing stronger than a pumice stone, and heaven forbid if they cut your cuticles, they look and feel great for a day and then look like crap and you have to get it done again. They also like to file them into a square, which is impossible to maintain and looks a little overdone in my opinion.

    I get about two pedicures a year. Otherwise, I use cuticle remover (drug store variety) and a tool to push them back. I file my fingernails in an oval, if they’re long enough, and I use clear nail polish. Hand lotion a couple of times a day keeps them looking OK, I save about a hundred dollars a month, and I don’t have to worry about cuticle infections (I got one the last professional manicure I got, not so much because of unsanitary conditions but because of the cutting of the cuticles).

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