"EYEBROWS SHOULD BE SISTERS NOT TWINS..."

That's an interesting thought.  Tricia owner and creator of LOOK FABULOUS FOREVER shows how to create natural looking eyebrows even if you have none and how to to fill in and darken eyebrows that have lightened with age. 

This is brilliant... enjoy!

HEAVEN

... is under our feet as well as over our heads  

Henry David Thoreau

As a kid summer vacation meant water. I couldn't get to the pool fast enough. Now, a little older, I've been bitten by the "travel bug." I want to see this great big beautiful world first hand. School will be out in two weeks and I have made a mental list of things I want to do. 

I'm going camping the first week of June in the beautiful Heber Valley (hope I see a moose) 

I will also spend some time with the grandkids at the "cabin"  We need to continue our game of "slap jack" (hope I see a moose)

 

Beyond that I plan to ...  "float" down the Snake River at Jenny Lake ...

This is my kind of camping!!

and spend a week on Nantucket. I am bringing back a Peter Beaton hat!



Got to squeeze the most out of every day!!!  All you Easterners... what's a "must" on the island of Nantucket?

Summer's Coming!

MEET BETH ...

A remarkable woman pursuing a career as a fashion illustrator at the ripe old age of 50 and enjoying and savoring every minute of her "second chance"

"They say that what you enjoyed most before the age of ten is the best indicator of what your life's passion will be. From the moment I first held a crayon I was drawing flowers, pretty outfits and dreamy portraits."  Beth Briggs

Beth was raised in a creative home... her dad, an architect and her mother, an interior designer. Right from the beginning drawing was her passion. It transformed her world into a place that was filled with beautiful feminine images.

Fashion and fashion illustration became her focus. As a young girl in the 70's she religiously watched the Sonny and Cher show. Lying in front of the TV with her art supplies, she would draw Cher's glamorous outfits. 

Beth had her heart set on an art degree but her parents insisted she get a liberal arts education so she attended Wellesley College and received her BA.  By the time she graduated her life had taken a different turn and she became a mother to three wonderful children, living the life of a suburban "soccer mom."  

Now... with one daughter through college, a second pursuing her dreams and an autistic son doing well in a residential school, Beth has entered a new phase of her life... she has her "second chance"

Having taken multiple courses in fashion design, fashion illustration and children's book illustration, Beth was ready! She has developed her own style using watercolor pencils and a palette of assorted dry colors with paint brushes to build layers of fast drying washes. 

This is the "Blessing Dress" Beth painted for me from a photo I sent her. I LOVE it!

Beth sells prints, note cards, and custom illustrations including bridal portraits, in her ETSY SHOP  Prices range from $25 to $150 

You can FOLLOW HER BLOG at...  www.bethbriggs.com

Beth is truly a remarkable women, a talented artist and an amazing example of following your dream!

MUSANA JEWELRY ... 

 Melissa, Rebecca and Kristin, three incredible women who make a difference!

In Uganda, a woman's status is measured by her ability to bear children, many have 4 - 6  Their biggest common dream is to have a house where their children can safely sleep and to be able to send them to school. Because of social norms, widowhood, abusive husbands and the HIV epidemic, most women in Uganda are the sole providers of their large families and survive on less than one dollar a day. 

When three friends, Melissa Sevy, Rebecca Burgon and Kristen Wade, all BYU grads, witnessed this dire situation first hand, they pooled their resources and started Musana Jewlery, a self-sustaining nonprofit social enterprise backed by Ugandan Artisans.

What started on a student budget has blossomed into an organization that provides work for around fifty women in Lugazi, Uganda.

This is their mission statement... 

Our Mission

To empower Ugandan women through a vibrant social enterprise that provides stable employment and educational opportunities, thereby building the capacity of artisans to end their cycle of poverty and become advocates for change in their communities.

Our Vision

A Ugandan society where families have the resources to provide an education for their children and lead healthy, productive lives as active participants in the development of their community.

"I think all mother's have something in common. We want to support our children, we want them to be healthy and strong... Musana helps the women of Uganda reach these goals and more."

Florence Abbo 

See and purchase their unique jewelry online...

www.musanajewelry.org

Famous Musana "PAPER BEADS"

Made from newspaper

MOTHER'S DAY IN YUGOSLAVIA

Found this bit of trivia on the Internet and I couldn't resist posting it.  Some countries have strange customs when it comes to Mother's Day. Perhaps the most bizarre is found in Yugoslavia. Two weeks before Christmas the children sneak up on their sleeping mother and tie her to the bed. When she wakes up her children chant...

Picture by Aliki from the book Mother's Day by Mary Kay Phelan

"Mother's Day, Mother's Day... what will you pay to get away?

She then bribes them with candy and toys that she has hidden under her pillow. Once satisfied they let her go.  

I'm sticking with cards and flowers.

ONE LITTLE DRESS

My mother gave birth to six sons and three daughters. My two sisters only survived a few hours, so when I arrived healthy and robust my parents were thrilled. 




Money was always a little scarce but my mother was an incredible seamstress, so when I needed a dress to wear for my "baby blessing"  she bought a simple piece of cotton batiste, cut her own pattern, made tiny tucks, inset strips of lace and embroidered down the front. It was her own little work of art.

Never one to throw things away, my mother tucked the dress in a drawer. When my first daughter was born  and I needed a dress for her "baby blessing" my mother retrieved it. I gently washed and pressed it. It fit perfectly.  What a lovely day that was.

This pattern followed for my next two daughters and when my children married and began families of their own it was worn by my eight granddaughters. This "little dress" has taken on a life of its own, being worn by 12 baby girls.

I fell "over the moon" in love when each of my children were born and although I was not a perfect mother I value every moment and every effort that we shared together. 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ONE AND ALL!

THEN AND NOW...

There's no getting around it. We are all headed in the same direction!

I found this sweet picture in the newspaper. Its fascinating to see that adorable cherubic face transformed into an older woman. Although her youth has faded her essence is still there. Her eyes still twinkle and her mouth still turns up at the corners. What a "cutie" then and now.

OK... I will admit it, most days I read the obituaries. I know, it sounds a bit macabre. Once in a great while I will actually see someone I know but the real reason I read them is for the stories. You get a little glimpse into people's lives. Those born in the 20s 30s and even 40s have a much different history than the younger generation. They grew up on farms, they fought in wars, they valued education and hard work and most of them had rather large families. But its the pictures that really bring the details to life and the best pictures are the "before and after" 

So in honor of mother's Day here are the "before and after" pictures of two very sweet women... my two grandmothers.

Meet my maternal grandmother Mary. When she and my grandfather fell madly in love a jealous friend tried to keep them apart. Heart broken Grandma took to her bed until my grandfather figured out the lies. He traveled for two days to declare his love and all was forgiven. They had 13 children and spent most of their married life in Mexico City where my grandfather was a religious leader for the Mormon Church. Grandma was a widow by 50 but carried on, staying until she was 90.  I remember she had the softest skin. 

This is my paternal grandmother Clara. She raised her seven children in the Mexican Colony of Chihuahua. They were poor but grandma was a hard worker and a thrifty shopper. As a child, my father ate a lot of pinto beans and bread and no matter how hard my mother tried, she could never make them quite like Grandma. She loved hats and would watch and wait until the one she wanted was finally on sale. She was only 60 when she left us. It still makes me smile to remember the jelly beans she carried in her apron pocket... just so I could find them.

I would be lying if I said I don't fight aging. I do and I don't like it one bit. I have often said, "I would like my 65 year old brain in my 25 year old body." That's not going to happen, at least in this life. So, I have made a conscious decision to accept where I am on the "road" ... wrinkles, tummy and all. Maybe I will even throw out the scale!



I hope that when it is my turn to be featured in the "obits" someone looks at my "before and after" pictures and says "Isn't she the cutest little old lady?"