Monday, June 3, 2024

School's Out

All ten grandchildren are on summer break! Last week I attended an award ceremony for my twin-kies. They both received honors for scholastics and attendance and my granddaughter received the top student award! I had to leave home at 6:15 am to get to the school by 8:30. I drank two large coffees on the way. (and one of the reasons it takes that long to get there is stopping for restrooms, too). Then I went out for coffee with their mother and other grandparents.  Then I stopped at a Tim Hortons on the way home for another coffee. I got back home at 2:30 pm.  Yes. I vibrated the rest of the day. 

Three of my grandchildren who attended one school district finished the same day as their teacher mom in a different school district. I didn't see that one coming. Usually they are here a week! We did have two from another school district here last week while mom finished her teacher days. 

And today was the first day of summer break for the last two. They start sports camps tomorrow so the car pools begin. They are of a useful age, one helped grampa mow the lawn today. 

Last week was crazy. An extended family member had a health crisis and after a few days in two hospitals they figured it out. What was diagnosed as pneumonia after a hip replacement is actually cancer and she is getting a battle plan. 

I also have extended family coming this Friday and staying through Tuesday. Since we live in a small town, it has been a mental stretch coming up with entertainment ideas. I did rope my adult children into hosting dinners at their houses for a change of scenery. So I am thinking I need to go to bed early tonight so I can spend 48 hours scrubbing my house. 

Today I registered children for summer reading. There was a two hour window for which you could get a coupon for a free cotton candy from the cotton candy lady. Four hundred and fifty children and adults registered for summer reading. Would you like to guess what that experience was like? I did ask the grandchildren if next year we could register them late and I would just buy them all some cotton candy! 

I hope everyone is having a good start to summer! My lettuce is growing like crazy and we have already had two tomatoes. The first bite of those real tomatoes is one of my favorite parts of summer. 

Now I have a funny part to share.  This is my "influencer" "promotional" moment.  

I am not a professional make up artist. Since I retired my philosophy on my personal appearance is that, since I can't see what I look like, what do I care? My make up routine is normally - wash my face.  I do have one fatal flaw.  I was a natural blonde in my younger days and still have invisible lashes and eyebrows. The older I get, the less it looks like I have eyes. 

So, when I am preparing to face the world, and have the world face me, I add mascara to make it easier to see where my eyes are.  I so rarely want to face the world, I rarely need to replenish my mascara supply. Inevitably the product I use has been discontinued or the packaging has changed so I can't locate it.  This happened recently. 

I ordered a mascara from Amazon that said it was something special. I applied it and I can't see a difference.  A blogger I follow suggested a new mascara she found and I looked it up. It was $48 a tube. 

So I went to Amazon and ordered this mascara for $4.49. 


This worked wonderfully!  I am sorry to inflect this photo on the masses, but as you can see - I have eye lashes on one eye where it has been applied. Disclaimer - I receive nothing from this review. It was my own idea in case anyone else has need of a new mascara and spends as much on make up as I do. 

Please disregard the wrinkles and crow's feet. I am not wearing my large framed glasses to help cover them. (another make up trick) 





13 comments:

  1. We have another 6 weeks before the grandkids finish for the summer. I don't know how you manage to keep up with all the comings and goings of the family. You must be super organised.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You look fine and the mascara looks great! I've never used mascara or make up since my mom was one of those that didn't do make up. My sister did, but as a teen she over did makeup like crazy.
    It looks nice! We all get crows feet and wrinkles, ...they are just smile lines from having all those grand kids!

    I'm laughing at the vibration from coffee. I went to decafe 3 years ago and if I have 'leaded' coffee, .... even one cup now, I vibrate like crazy!

    We have had tons of rain again and now farmers are concerned for trying to get in their crops of hay this year!

    Sounds like you have a very busy summer planned ahead!

    You know you get the Best Grandma of the Year award, right?

    ReplyDelete
  3. You've been busy! All that coffee would have kept me wired for months! Love that mascara.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HAPPY SCHOOL'S OUT!! I think of you a lot when the buses go past in the afternoons, if you are standing ready for the group, or just the sweet closeness with one, or if crafts or braces or outings are the order of your afternoon. And now!!! Wow. We had a 2 1/2 to live with us for a year and a half, and that was a wonderful time---I was much younger, and we were untiring. Then years later, two days before I reached Social Security, another local Grand was born, and she came to me at six weeks three days a week, all the way through middle school. I just multiply that in my mind, divide it by one, then add appointments, sports, shopping, outings, movies and snacks, and get sheer exhaustion. You're a Grandma in a BILLION, and I envy/admire/try-to-imagine all the fun. (that one who stayed with me three days a week just went out the door on Mothers' Day and got into the WRONG side of the car, gave a happy little tootle of the horn, and drove them away home).

    ReplyDelete
  5. I use the same makeup trick. I would wear my glasses even if I didn't need them!

    You are so active it makes me tired, holy cow! I had almost black hair and dark lashes and brows. Post menopause I have not much left. Oh, well, no one cares, almost, but not quite, including me. I'm going to try the mascara.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I need to try some mascara. Thanks for the tip and recognition.

    Your grandchildren are lucky to have you in their lives.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are such an amazing Grandma! I wish I had at least one young one close by. Piper is in middle school now. I've always wanted to have a little, little one close by. Diapers and all of that fun.
    I have no eyelashes and not much in the brow department either. All I do is wash my face with water. About 10-12 years ago, overnight I developed allergies to both mascara and eye shadow. The only things I used to wear. So, no make up for me at all now. Dennis says he likes me like this so that's all that matters to me. :-)
    Enjoy your summer my friend and rest sometimes.
    Blessings and hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good Vibrations. *Winks* I actually felt the COVID Masks were quite flattering as a Vanity Trick. *Ha ha ha* School being out can be a mixed Blessing, great until they bore and drive everyone Mad. I'll be glad when Princess T has High School wrapped up and earns that elusive Diploma, it's been 10 miles of Bad Road for her in High School with the Learning Disabilities and Social Anxieties she has. So sorry to hear the Diagnosis of the extended Family Member, I Hope the Battle Plan goes well for them, but glad Docs finally pinpointed the Disease appropriately so that one could be made and it wasn't too late being Diagnosed. The 48 Hours scrubbing your House made me LOL since I'm only a Domestic Goddess if I'm going to have company like that.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I gave up on makeup. Carmex on the lips for gloss is as fancy as I get:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. 10 grandchildren! That's wonderful about your granddaughter getting top achievement, and while I know nothing about makeup, I think your eyes look very nice. 🙂

    ReplyDelete
  11. School is out for the summer and yes, granddaughter is free for 2 (and a half) months... at least that's how she feels and I'm happy for her! She will be over here a lot and that's fine with me.
    As for make-up, it's one of those things you tend to give up on once you reach your seventies. (Well, my mom didn't - she wore make-up and jewelry and dressed up daily - well into her 90's). But I tend to go without unless it's a special occasion. And yes, with white hair and eyebrows, I find glasses hide a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It sounds like you have a very busy summer!

    I enjoy wearing makeup, but I can't imagine spending that much on a tube of mascara.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your posts always make me chuckle as i adore your sense of humor.....I think with how busy you are, you have to have that sense of humor.....I wear makeup because i look dead without it I noticed that not only is my hair gray but my eyebrows seem t be getting gray too so I have started for the first time in my life wearing eye brow liner so I do not look like i shaved them off or something...During the day if I am not going somewhere, i wear powdered makeup on my face, blush ( so i will not look dead and frighten neighbors of they see me) and a bit of lip stick...When I go out , I also wear eye makeup...My mother was never seen without make up on so I guess i got that form her.... I hope you are enjoying your week!!
    Hugs,
    Deb
    Debbie-Dabble Blog

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit! I love your comments and suggestions and read them all. Due to spam, I will now have to approve all comments. Sometimes it takes me a hot minute to authorize comments due to grandchildren commitments. I apologize but I can't let those scammers get the upper hand!

Miss Merry