3 Kids and a Breakdown » Health/Beauty

Effing Snow!

Trish — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:33:56 +0000

It’s a sad, sad day here at the Breakdown house. My bestest friend and most favorite person in the whole wide world (don’t freak out friends, you are close seconds) was supposed to arrive this afternoon. She wanted to spend her 40th birthday celebrating with ME! Me! She has a ton of friends (with her personality and charm, of course she does) but she wanted to usher in her 40th year with little ole me!

And we have been so excited! Making plans and dinner reservations, buying wine and goodies. But, alas. This fucking snow storm has put the kabosh on all that fun and merriment. I held out hope – and so did she. She was on the plane, people! She even purchased snow boots! But conditions are just too bad. The restaurant where I made my reservation called this morning to tell me they wouldn’t be open today. The airport runways are iced over. And we currently have freezing rain.

So she and her husband (who I also love a bunch!) are making the best of things in their sunny hometown of San Diego. I believe they are dining al fresco and sipping cocktails to numb the pain. But we miss each other! And we’re bummed! And she really, really wanted to celebrate her big day on Bainbridge Island with the best broad she knows!

However, plans have been altered. She and her husband and hopefully their amazing kids, whom we all love, will be here for MY birthday in March! So we’ve agreed to say that it’s her birthday too and we are both turning 40! Why not, right? Lemons = lemonade.

I love you, Lisa. I hope you read this (she’s my bff and the catalyst behind this blog, but she only reads it twice a year. I refuse to nag her any more about it. I do have some pride, people).

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

Trish — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:34:24 +0000

Pin it

PrompTuesday from SanDiegoMomma: Please describe a hair atrocity. What horrible hairstyle did you once wear? (Pictures, please!) What haircut were you compelled to try despite all conventional wisdom? Did you ever dye your hair a color not represented in nature?

Oh my. I could fill a book with my hair atrocities from 1980 – 1989 alone. Think big hair, bad perms and terrible dye jobs.

Let’s see . . . there was the bangs-in-my-eyes look of 3rd grade. The Dorothy Hamil do around the same time. Bad perms that were ugly and fried my hair. The highlighting fandango that resulted in tiger stripes of orange and almost-black. Big, fat tiger stripes. The bleaching attempt that left my hair an ugly yellow-y, orange tint.

Cuts that were just too short for my big ears. And one jackass who shaved off my widow’s peak! Live,on stage at a hair show (remember hair shows? So 80′s!). I recall my mother saying something a long the lines of, “What sort of sick sonofabitch shaves off a girl’s widow’s peak?!” She was out for blood. I was 17. The growing out process was not pretty. Is it ever?

I won’t be posting pictures. You’re welcome.

Looking Good

Trish — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:58:10 +0000

Pin it

I’m reposting this because seriously, if you live in San Diego you MUST book an appointment with Cody and let him change your life. That’s no exaggeration. And if you don’t live in San Diego? Well, you can follow him on Facebook and Twitter so that you can get some great do-it-yourself skincare tips. Also? You can order his fantastic, life-changing skincare products online and have them shipped right to your door. Isn’t the internet great?

While I was in San Diego partying like a rock star, I managed to get a little pampering along side my drinking. I, of course hit Pretty Kitty just as soon as I could. Still the best, fastest, least painful Brazilian wax I’ve ever had. I also took my girls and myself for mani/pedi’s. So fun! But the absolute best beauty treatment I had while in San Diego? Well, that would be a facial and a chemical peel done by the incomparable Cody Montarbo!! Seriously.This man is a witch! And I mean that in the good way. He’s like magic!

My bff has been raving about him for over a year now. So of course I had to see him while I was in town. Not only is he super smart, funny and nice, he is amazing at what he does. I had a facial for the low, low price of $39 and immediately my skin looked better. I am fortunate in that I don’t have many wrinkles (I’ve been accused of using Botox more than once), but I do have sun damage and acne (still! when is that going away?!). After one treatment my skin was noticeably improved. A few days later I went back for a chemical peel for the low, low price of $75. Yes, it hurt. Like a mofo, but not for very long. I didn’t cry, whine or curse, so you know it couldn’t have been that bad.

I have to tell you that right away my skin looked better! To the point that my husband couldn’t stop commenting about it. So imagine how much better it looked after I finished peeling! My skin is glowing! And it’s clear with a much more even skin tone. And those faint little crows feet I did have are gone! Magic. In addition to his facials and peels, Cody has a line of skin care products. Now if you are anything like me, you try every cream that comes out from drugstore brands to the most expensive lines you can only purchase at Neiman’s. Well, I am done with all that! The Montarbo Skincare line is fantastic! Magic, I tell you!

I have had dark skin under my eyes and on my eye lids for more years than I’d like to admit to being alive. I figured it was due to my Eastern European heritage. But Cody told me it was sun damage. And then? He gave me his magic potion that lightens such spots! Amazing! I know I keep using that word, but really, it is. And so is his sunscreen, which is not at all heavy or greasy; and his Vitamin C moisturizer which is an oil that somehow leaves your face glowing but not at all oily. His face wash is this great foam that is light as air. Honestly, I don’t know how he managed to make everything so moisturizing, yet not leave you feeling greasy. He also has this incredible scrub that is unlike anything you’ve ever used before. I mean it! I know I tend to exaggerate, but I’m not this time.

You should know I was not asked to write this post nor am I being compensated in anyway. If I love something, I want to sing it’s praises and make sure everyone knows! You’d be crazy not to book yourself an appointment immediately. Log on to his website right now! http://www.montarboskincare.com/

This is probably where I should post a pic of my glowing, clear, even-toned skin. But because I run an insane asylum and am not completely with it myself, I have lost the charger for my camera battery!! But soon I’ll either find the damn thing or buy a new one and I’ll post pics of my gorgeous face!

Getting to Bliss

Trish — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:01:45 +0000

Pin it

This week’s PrompTuesday (disregard it’s actually Wednesday, please) from San Diego Momma is What does your bliss look like?

My bliss looks like. . . .

3 healthy, happy, gorgeous girls

1 healthy, happy marriage

A beautiful home, fully decorated and furnished where the five of us are happy and comfortable and have fun and so do all our fabulous friends when they come to (party) visit

Writing and getting paid to do so

Vacations, day-trips and random afternoons filled with love, laughter and good memories

Designer Maternity & Baby

Trish — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:02:34 +0000

Pin it

Dudes, I’m so excited! I got me a job!! A paying job. A part-time, work from home, paying job!! Yay me! I’m so fabulous!! (I have a new thing where I refuse to say anything negative about myself. Either to myself or to anyone else. So excuse me if I get a little obnoxious saying great things about myself. But it needs to happen.)

What’s this gig, you ask? Social Media Extraordinaire for Designer Maternity and Baby. It is a new business started by my extremely stylish, beautiful and smart friend. Seriously. This is going to be A-May-Zing! If you’re pregnant, plan to get pregnant or know someone who is, you’ve got to check out the website, read the blog, “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@TheStylishMommy).

I’m super excited! I’m going to have something to do with my time other than housework and yell at my kids. And I’ll be writing/working for a company I really like with a fabulous boss! Plus, earning a little mad money for my martinis and Brazilian waxes. Woohoo!! Also? I’ll be building up my confidence and my resume for when the time comes to take the bar exam and get a full-time job.

Don’t you just love a new year and a new start?

Out With The Old, In With The New

Trish — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:53:15 +0000

Pin it

Another year gone. Doesn’t seem possible. Only last week I was making my resolutions for 2011. How time flies when you’re having fun, right? Or trying not to lose your shit daily due to the high jinx of 3 little crazies. Ha! Same thing. Because life is nothing if not fun. Complicated, messy, up and down, but fun.

I have a good feeling about 2012. This is going to be a very good year. Things have started to brew these last weeks of 2011 and I just know lots of great things will grow from them in the coming months.

My Goals for the New Year:

1. Don’t yell so much

2. Have more patience

3. Push myself to do things outside my comfort zone

4. Join the gym (and actually go on a regular basis)

5. Spend more time with friends

6. Finish painting the house, turn the office into a guest room and finish decorating the master bedroom/bath

7. Travel more

8. Cook more

9. Do things with the kids I don’t want to do (this will mean letting them paint and spending a lot more time at the aquatic center. It will also mean someone will visit me at the old folks home in 40 years)

10. Drink more (I like to put one in there I know I can keep)

Get to the Finish Line

Trish — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:30:09 +0000

Pin it

This is some powerful stuff, y’all. I found it on dooce’s blog. This has been a great year for me, but it’s also been a year of struggles. Lately I’ve been thinking about how I need to build confidence. Believe in myself. Push through the walls and not give up. On myself or my dreams. Not finishing is not an option.

ESPN: The Finish Line 2 – Short Feature from Evolve Digital Cinema / IMG on Vimeo.

Holiday Party Attire

Trish — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:14:41 +0000

Pin it

Writing Prompt from Mama Kat this week: Put together a holiday outfit you’d love to wear at a holiday party should a holiday party ever be on your list of things to do.

A holiday party actually was on my to-do list recently. However, I didn’t put my outfit together. My extremely stylish and creative 8 year old did. I asked her to go into my closet and pick out something for me to wear. She also chose the accessories, shoes and told me how to wear my hair. I think she did a pretty good job.

Not too bad, right? I think she’s got a future as a celebrity stylist. But, if I had an unlimited budget and wore a size 6, this is what I’d wear to a holiday party.

Shiny green shoes? With a red dress? Yes, please!

My Mama

Trish — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:21:42 +0000

Pin it

A repost from December 11, 2010. I can’t believe she’s been gone 10 years now. . . . . . .

Nine years ago today I lost my mother. She was 76 years old and had lived a happy, full life. I was 32, happily married and had been on my own and out of her house for many years. But still. It’s hard to lose your mama. She drove me absolutely crazy and pushed all my buttons (which she so conveniently installed as all parents do), yet I loved her deeply. She was my best friend. I spoke to her several times a day and saw her almost everyday. I still miss her terribly. Each and every day.

My mom was a very special lady. Way ahead of her time, she was strong and independent and didn’t take shit off anyone. She was funny and outgoing and not afraid of anyone or anything. Except maybe her kids breaking their necks or being kidnapped. She was a wee bit over-protective. She was married 15 years when she had my brother and 23 when I came along. She liked to say that it took her a long time to have her children and she wasn’t going to lose them! That’s why she discouraged my brother from climbing trees and wouldn’t let me ride my bike in the street. It’s also why she told me to never leave my drink unattended or take short cuts home.

She was full of sage advice. When I started kindergarten she told me not to act like a priss. That nobody liked a prissy girl. True, no? When she signed the permission slip for me to take 6th grade sex education she told me not to act like I already knew everything. She taught me to stand up for myself and to question authority (not hers, of course). She told me I could do anything if I put my mind to it. She showed me how to have a good time, what it means to be a friend, wife and mother and about loyalty. She always had good advice about men. I used to disregard anything she said. I’d think “You’ve been married for 40 years! What do you know?” Then one day it finally hit me: She’d been married for 40 years! She was an expert.

When my college diploma arrived in the mail she cried. I had recently gotten engaged. When I laughed at her and said she didn’t cry when I got engaged she told me she always knew I would get married one day, but she never thought I’d graduate from college. To be fair it did take me 11 years. But when I failed the Bar Exam? She was shocked. She said she thought if I made it through law school, I’d certainly pass the Bar.

My mother had a lot of friends and was loved dearly by them all. My father loved her most of all. On the way to the funeral he said to me, my brother, Big Daddy and my sister-in-law that he’d been married 55 years and never a dull moment. I think that pretty much sums her up.

I miss her so much and I feel bad for my girls that they never got to know her. But I feel extremely fortunate that she was my mother and I had her for as long as I did. She’s no longer with me, but she still helps me get through my days. I can always imagine what she would do or say. And when I hear myself sounding like her it makes me smile.

A Deal’s A Deal

Trish — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:00:47 +0000

Pin it

I love to get a bargain! Absolutely love it and love to tell all about it. If someone compliments me on something that happened to be a great deal I can’t help but squeal, ” I got it at Marshall’s for $5! Can you believe it?” Ha! I never play it cool. Always proud of my deals and steals. So here are my latest finds:

An elliptical in perfect working condition for FREE!! Yes, some ~~crazy person~~ generous soul gave away a $600 piece of exercise equipment because it was making a grinding noise (that Big Daddy fixed in about 10 minutes after reading the manual). Now I have to actually use the damn thing! And once again, I’ve made a promise to myself that I will exercise regularly and eat healthfully. So I had Big Daddy park that bad boy right in front of the TV. He pointed to the cup holder and said, “Look! A place for your cocktail!” Smartass. Although it does sound like a great idea, I think it might defeat the purpose, don’t you?

For $49 I got a 24″x30″x1.5″ photo-print reproduction on gallery-wrapped canvas (a $192.95 value)!! Do you use Groupon? I know you do. Who doesn’t, right? That’s how I found this. And what makes this a smoking hot deal, is that the photographer (who happens to be my sweet friend) GAVE me the photograph!! Which is freaking AMAZING by the way and is now hanging in my dining room!! I will one day take a picture of it. You know, when the room is painted and my camera skills won’t ruin the beauty of her talent.

Now to start hunting down Christmas bargains. That don’t involve the mall or crowds. And are hopefully all found either locally or online. With free shipping.