Hey Feisty Females…Have you been good about managing your budget and not using your debit card as we discussed May 7, 2007 (see the article under our Hot Topics Category on this blog). Are you ready for a little time off, but your pocket-book still won’t let you? Well don’t despair, here is how to have a mini-vacation for under $50.00
A few of us were ready for some kick-back-girl-friend time, so our writers group-Swirl-(Six women/writers involved in real life)-decided to have a pot luck girly-girl evening. Let me start by saying, I am not one of those who takes care of myself in this way, but at 47 and way to many years baking with coconut oil and reflectors in the Florida sun, it is time to start looking in this direction! So, one of our members asked fellow therapist/skin goddess, Annie McIntosh to guide us in using her line of luscious Eminence Handmade Organic Skin Care products out of Hungary. Annie has been using the line for about a year and she tells us friends have asked her if she has had "work done." She enjoys telling them that there were no knives involved, only fruits and vegetables. Annie invited us up to her beautiful home, with breathtaking views of our mountain ranges. You can see Carbondale’s Mount Sopris jutting up in the middle of the window.
Here’s Skin Goddess Annie…
The products are so organic she tells us you can actually eat them! Here is a photo of our group with the chocolate mask on. Putting the mask on was about as sensual an experience as you can get-alone-and the scent of cocoa remained on my hands the rest of the evening. Here we are with our masks on, there were a couple of tongues wagging in this shot!
I am extremely sensitive to perfume. Many commercial grade skin care lines have an overpowering perfume scent. Not this one! There were all sorts of scents, pomegranate, plum, stone crop, even a
tomato basil! Each scent was light, intoxicating and aromatic. I felt like I was walking
through a garden when we opened each jar. The sound of women oooohing and aaahing could be heard around the table as we gently applied the creams and masks "in an upward motion." Think When Harry Met Sally here…
Are you sitting down…I am ready to take out a home equity loan to purchase this skin care line! No, I am just kidding-sort of. I know, I have to walk my talk when it comes to the debit card and budget idea, but my skin was actually glowing by the time we finished the evening! It looked and felt like it did when I was a teenager.
To celebrate my new look and since we are a writer’s group (in theory) the girls made me pose for the "jacket of my book," following a brief eye make-up lesson from SWIRL member Lisa Wilson-a true, girly-girl extraordinaries. It was really pretty funny, as this is not me at all, but it sure made us laugh hysterically, which was the point of the entire evening. Thank you so much Annie for a wonderful evening!
Sunday afforded me a long overdue visit to Aspen and the Music Tent for a $15.00 rehearsal morning. I went with Nancy, my mountain mama. Nancy was born and raised in Durango. Her dad Fred, was a miner and I love hearing the stories of her life. She is my elder, mentor and spiritual mom and I can only hope that I am just like her when I am in my 70’s.
Nancy is the ultimate Feisty Female. For her 70th birthday, her kids-my Colorado siblings-bought her a parasailing flight off Shadow Mountain in Aspen where she has lived and raised them since the 60’s. I was not there to witness the event, but I have no doubt it was something to behold. I can almost see her smile as she flew over her beloved town.
Nancy’s favorite saying to me is, "Why not, of course you can!" She is the reason I applied for my scholarship to Italy in 1990 and lived there for 3 months. Thanks to my mountain mama, "Why not," is now the motto I live by. It is a great question to start asking yourself at least once a day.
Here she is with her Eurovan, her gift to herself when she retired from
her years as a physical education teacher with the Aspen School
District.
As we walked out of the tent we came across Barrett Rose, who was ankle deep in ditch diving. About 10 adults-many of them in their 60’s-stood watching her with huge smiles on their faces. I was taken by the moment as she appeared to draw us together to remind us what it’s like to engage in the simple things in life, like getting your feet wet in the ditch. Her parents told us she was quite the Feisty Female and apparently she had been in that water for quite some time and showed no signs of tiring of the experience. For those of you with children, when you are feeling stressed, stop for a minute and go find them. They can help you remember how to find your way back to the present moment and remember what is was like to be a child.
The cost of my mini-vacation?
- Pot-luck girly-girl evening-$10.00 for food
- Day in Aspen-Music Tent $15.00, brunch $15.00
- Gas for the weekend-$5.00
How I feel today on a Monday?
Priceless..
Do This:
- To find Annie and her delicious skin care line call her at The Alchemy of Skin, the number is 970-379-8855
- *Create a mini-vacation for you a few girlfriends for under $50.00 in August.
- Plan ahead, set the date and don’t let anything come between you and that time!
- Report back to the Feisty Females Living Our Dreams blog. We will even post photos from your mini-vacation to inspire other Feisty Females. **Our writers group has our next date planned for leaf season… in mid-September.
by Heart Light Digital