Memorial Days...Day 3...by Marlene Terry and Gina Waite

What a bittersweet week of reminiscing!  I mean I love re-reading and reliving my Mom's thoughts through her stories but it doesn't come without longing to call her and talk with her about them!  Man!!!!  She was a gifted writer!!!  I mean the gal could be sitting at a booth for lunch and she would grab a napkin and pen and jot down the last paragraph of an upcoming blog she had in her mind!  I'm telling you, it happened...and she read it to me and without even knowing what the rest of the blog would be about...I had tears in my eyes from the wrap up!  She was the master at more than just writing!  I always thought my Mom was such a beautiful, put together lady...like as beautiful as a movie star!  However, I don't think she ever really knew how lovely she truly was...which is why it was so fun to doll her up!

Which brings me to my favorite Nutshell!  It's a sum up of a very fun and memorable weekend for the Terry women!  It had a name... GOW...Girls Only Weekend...and boy, was it fun!  We screamed at Lagoon together, and shopped at the craft boutiques til we dropped but the most enjoyable time spent during our GOW trip, was the brief afternoon when our Mother, the most selfless woman I know, LET her girls dote on her!  Spoil her to the point where she looked, and felt...Fabulous...there's no "Almost" about it!   Here, allow me to let a far superior writer tell you the rest of the story!  Take it away Mom...

Originally posted November 4, 2013 on Facebook and at Marlene's residence at: www.marleneterry.blogspot.com


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Almost Fabulous...

Make·o·ver  

Noun. An overall treatment to improve the appearance or change the image of something undesirable.

… At least that’s what a makeover is supposed to accomplish.

And I believe that to be true ... at least temporarily. 

I mean I did think that I looked more fresh and colorful than I had for weeks. … In fact … almost fabulous!

If the truth be known I actually glistened a little.

That is, I glistened after a team of miracle workers, including a Merle Norman employee and two of my cute daughters, worked very hard to minimize my pores (I have no idea what that is) with expensive mineral makeup, arch my eyebrows at the correct place … instead of where my eyebrow pencil got tired and stopped (my technique), and apply lip liner, lipstick and lip gloss, all at once, as well as several shades of eye shadow in order to highlight my older eyes and make them appear youthful, dramatic and gorgeous. … Or so they said.

Have to admit I’d been feeling a little diminished lately. You know, the time in our lives that happens when especially women wake up, look into a mirror and suddenly notice that they're beginning to resemble the grapes in her refrigerator. ... Those that have been there longer than they should have been and have lost their once vibrant color, and are looking a little wrinkled and as if all the juice had been sucked right out of them.

… Believe me when I say, that look is devastating at times ... much more than just growing older!

Needless to say it was really a lift for me to emerge from the makeup chair that day with new hope.

… "Just maybe," I thought, I didn't look as old as I felt!

The best part of that experience was my girls all chipped in and gifted me with everything I’d need to be able to keep up the new look.

... Three lipstick pencils complete with liner and lip gloss to match. A triple combination eye shadow kit to create sexy, smoky eyes, and another for everyday wear, along with lid glitter, highlighter, brow powder, applicators, brushes and … SPACKLE.

… Or maybe the spackle was what I picked up at the hardware store earlier, and it got placed into my makeup bag by mistake. … I just can’t remember.

I was also gifted with some rosy cream blush and an egg-shaped sponge to apply it, along with the entire process, hand-drawn out on a piece of notebook paper by a sweet daughter who I’m sure was happy to see me looking ... LESS TIRED!

... In other words I had everything I needed!

The only problem?

 … Now that I’m at home alone, with just the memory of that day and expert help that made it happen not readily available … does anyone know how to OPEN an eye shadow compact?

… I’d really like to know!

♦ Hope you'll let me share YOUR stories and photos here at my residence "In a Nutshell." Email me at nutshellstories@gmail.com.