Talent Lists

Friday through Sunday of this past weekend was devoted to meeting up with some of my girl friends. We voyaged to Denver and got in some serious QT. In typical gathering style, we purchased a few bottles of wine, Oreos, chips and ice cream for our first evening together. Our spread looked like we were suffering from one giant, collective break up.  Which, by the way, we are not.

Side note: Who do I need to contact to get Blue bell ice-cream in Omaha/Lincoln? Or am I missing it somewhere? HELP.

Anyways, while we were chowing down, one of my friends mentioned her “talent list.” Wait… what? I don’t have a talent list. Also, what is that?

Apparently a couple of the ladies had previously done this. In short, a talent list is pretty self explanatory. It’s a list of things you are talented at. And it’s supposed to be specific.

As in…

Giving= unacceptable talent list material

Thoughtful gift giver= acceptable talent list material

… or something. I think. So, we started making our own talent lists. Some talents are funny. Some are random based off of past events. Some are obvious.

Even so, it is so much more difficult than it sounds. A million things begin to run through my mind. Mainly, what am I good at, anyways? I don’t know! I can’t think of anything. I am certainly not athletic. I have taken the strengths finder…  are those talents? Nope… too vague.  Panic was setting in as I realized I actually didn’t have any talents. Well, this is upsetting. I am not good at being put on the spot, I know that much. We will call that an anti-talent.

The activity ended up turning into something that I am quite certain a group of guys would never partake in: essentially going around and identifying what we thought each individual was talented at. And let me tell you… this is an activity that you should do with your people. (It is better fueled with wine and sugar, but do as you please).

I am sure you are all dying to know what my talent list ended up looking like. Unfortunately, it’s written on a paper towel and is not in my possession. And it’s certainly not my point. My point is somewhere along the lines of “how we see ourselves is so much more negative than how the people who love and care about us, see us.” See,  I was literally incapable of thinking of more than a few things that I knew I was “talented at”. But these women, who have known me for (some) shorter periods and (others) a long time, had no trouble identifying my talents.

Que: so many warm and fuzzy feelings. And I swear it wasn't (just) the wine.

As an activity (if you aren't hurting for a little free time), jot down a few things that you believe yourself to be good at. If you are familiar with your talents, by all means, continue on! But if you, like many of us, struggle to come up with more than a few, ask a close friend or family member to identify a few of your "talents." You will most likely be surprised to see how you are perceived by the people who know you best.

Let this be a reminder to us to never forget to tell the people we love what we really think is great about them. We all have less than pretty qualities. But for most of us, the good qualities outweigh the bad. Find the good in others… and focus on those things.

  

The Small Things...

It really is always the small things that are the most meaningful.

This past weekend I was able to celebrate one of my closest friend's bachelorette party, and subsequently catch up with a lot of friends.

Sometimes there is nothing better than a full day of girl time-- and we certainly maxed out on that. Lunch, pedicures, supper* (see below), drinks, presents, out on the town...all in all, a GREAT day.

Maybe it's just me, but one of my favorite things is getting ready to go out together. The bathroom is packed with products, make up, curling irons, hair spray... and there is a lot of chatter. I can see how this actually sounds like a nightmare, but it makes me nostalgic for college days when getting ready together in a bathroom, with multiple other girls, was the norm.

It helps that I get strangely excited about new products and make up, so naturally this setting has a certain appeal to me.

Anyways, my good friend (and also ex roommate) Kate and I share a love for make up. We both received Naked2 for Christmas (YAY) and have discussed our passion for other products that we both believe are absolutely mandatory. Kate told me at one of our workout sessions that she also received NARS blush in Orgasm. Like so many of my favorite items, I have read that this blush is simply THE BEST. To be honest, I typically do not even wear blush as my bronzer (or warmth in Bare Minerals terms) does a pretty good job. But, regardless, it's good to have a blush handy. It was just one of those purchases I had not made yet. Of course, I was envious (in the healthiest way possible :) ) that Kate already had the blush.

So- as Kate and I are rustling in each other's supplies and comparing and contrasting, Kate announces that she just so happens to have a sample sized NARS blush in Orgasm. And that I can (wait for it...) HAVE IT.

Okay ladies, consider my day made. Kate was laughing at me because I literally bounded across the room to hug her. Seriously, it's the little things. Anyways, I really do love this color. It almost looks like it would be too bright/pink, but it's a great shade and requires very small amounts to do the trick. And in case you were wondering, the "sample" Kate gave me is actually really good sized and will probably last a long time. I strongly recommend giving this blush a try. If you didn't know this already, Sephora will always give out samples of any of their products to try before purchasing. Yet another reason to love that place.

So many wonderful things this weekend, and my new blush was just (another) cherry on top! Thanks Kate!


________________________________

*On a slightly unrelated topic, is it dinner or supper? Some of the girls were laughing because several of us refer to the meal that takes place mid day as "dinner" (instead of lunch) and the last meal as "supper" instead of dinner. Some of the ladies were joking that they couldn't attend "supper" since they had no idea what that was or what time it was at. Is this a regional situation? This doesn't necessarily make sense as most of us are from the same area. Hmmmm... random thoughts. If you have any input, please do share.

Happy Monday!

Happy Heart

I am writing this post through tired eyes... but I am smiling.
This weekend I decided to go visit an old friend in Iowa. It seemed a little ridiculous that we hadn't seen each other in SIX YEARS, and given that she is only about 4 hours away, I decided it was time.

To put this in to perspective, we met at church camp as Jr. High girls. We kept in touch with LETTERS for years. Yes, folks, LETTERS. The letters transitioned to emails, and, eventually we kept in touch through Facebook. Anyways, Emily holds a special place in my heart as she is so wonderful and dear to me.

There is something extremely comforting and wonderful about spending time with an old friend. We laughed, shopped, ate, discussed make up tips and tricks, shopped some more, LAUGHED some more, (ate some more), and just had a fantastic time.

Luckily, Emily shares my love for products and make up so we spent a lot of time "being girls."

I am so thankful for this weekend and that I was able to spend time with this wonderful person!

*UPDATE*
Emily let me borrow her SUAVE dry shampoo, and so it is necessary that I make an update to the Dry Shampoo post. Ok... this stuff is $2.50. And AMAZING. It smells SO good. I couldn't get enough. I typically don't promote drugstore  brands for haircare, but I can't tell a difference between this and a salon Dry Shampoo. I hate to say it, but this may be even better than the cornstarch alternative. We of course RAN to Target so I could purchase my own bottle.

I HIGHLY suggest this. 

Stay tuned for some of my other makeup discoveries from this weekend...