I sense a bout of self-improvement coming on. All the signs are there: Yesterday I parked my car downtown and walked to my errands, despite the cold. The day before, I chose salad for lunch. And today I shopped for new and exciting toiletries (e.g. a scary, unknown brand of mascara). Yup. I’m about to embark on a self-improvement binge.
This sounds like a good thing but, like ice cream in my freezer, it never lasts. Soon the soup cans will appear on my dresser, standing in as free weights for a nightly twelve-minute toning routine. I’ll vow to straighten the living room and put away clean dishes every single night, and actually intend to keep the promise — will find it easy to keep, in fact. For a few weeks I may even get really crazy and do my laundry before the basket overflows, though that would be pushing it.
It will probably culminate, as it usually does, in my buying a do-it-yourself Clairol kit and dyeing my hair auburn. Thank God so far I’ve had the good sense to use a 28-day dye each time, though it still obliterates my hard-earned natural highlights.
The biggest sign of reckless self-improvement would be easy to miss. I nearly did. But here it is: Today I bought makeup. The last time I so thoroughly replenished my supply, every store was ad-splashing the 2003 Back-to-School specials, and Hubbs and I were getting ready to take the big marriage plunge.
I brought my goodies home and dumped the plastic pharmacy bag on the kitchen counter, along with groceries and the video I picked up on my way to the library. Even now the sack of unopened cosmetics sits, hunched, in the darkened kitchen, its menacing presence hidden but still on my mind as I wonder if these colors will finally work the magic I’ve been wishing for. Will they make it worth my while to wake up early? Or, like their predecessors, will they make about a 1% difference, not enough to compensate for shut-eye lost? I’m voting for the latter and hoping for the former.
To complement my new beauty routine, I’m even thinking about dieting. And I know it’ll work for me, because I plan to use the same trick every successful dieter uses: I have a scheduled start date. Everyone knows that setting the date is half the battle. Yesterday I planned to start today but, well, that didn’t work out. I had leftover chocolate pie in the fridge, and it’s never a good idea to start a diet with that sort of disadvantage. Plus, I hate to see good breakfast food go to waste. So today I did my duty and polished off the pie. Took one for the team, if you will. I’ll start my diet tomorrow for certain.
Or, on second thought, maybe the next day. Tomorrow’s not good for me.
No matter what, though, I plan to keep flossing and taking my vitamins. Nothing can stop me now. I’m on a self-improvement roll.
Slouching Mom, thank you for your confidence in me. Actually, how about I write a nice self-help book based on my own successes? I’ll be sure to make it very motivational? Of course, I should probably actually read a few self-help books before trying to write one, but why be picky?
Not anymore, Patti! Yum! Thanks for reciprocating my visit, and for your comment. 🙂
Emily, there’s no doubt such a thing can start a day off just right, even if it does inspire a little guilt.
Oh, Jordan. I didn’t even think of Sephora. Now I’m in trouble. I haven’t actually visited their site yet, since I’m not a big makeup person, but I’ve heard it’s amazing, and now that I’m telling myself not to go, it’s extra tempting…Oh, crap. I just stopped by out of curiosity, and they’re having a sale. Well, free shipping on orders over $75. Free shipping gets me every time. It’s why I never shop Target online–the shipping’s outrageous.
i sometimes get the makeup bug. i really liked bold burgundy eye-shadow on others so i got some and felt ridiculous wearing it. i saw an ad with a woman of my coloring wearing turqoise eyeliner so i bought one. It looked great but i am lazy. And there’s the clean up. Again with the lazy.
In regard to household chores- oh i will get my clean on! Add new chores to my clean routine without a problem. But when it comes to dieting, meh. i like butter. i like sugar and chocolate is my lovah. i have, however, been striving to cook healthier. Everyday i tell myself i am going to walk the steep hill near our place, but stuff comes up- napping, yakking it up on the phone, web-surfing… 🙂
i encourage you in your endeavors, however long you chose to pursue them. It’s exciting sometimes to change things up a bit.
Good luck with your self-improvement! :o)
Good Luck!
I’m about to start back at the gym tomorrow and I’m getting hair cut etc… this is the start of a whole new me too!
c, I wear makeup so infrequently that I feel overdressed when I put on lipstick. Of course, I live in a pretty informal town, and the lipstick of choice is Carmex or Burt’s Bees lip balm. Whenever we visit my husband’s family in the Southeast I always start wearing more makeup, since I’m surrounded by it.
Thanks, Zen Master!
Ooh, how fun, Sally! Well, the hair cut, at least. The gym? That’s debatable.
The biggest sign of reckless self-improvement would be easy to miss.
Too funny the way you phrase it. And yeah, I can spot those a mile away. It must be something about this winter. I’ll cross my fingers for you that this time the “reckless self-improvement” sticks around for a while.
LOL – hope the self-improvement drive goes well – and yes, one should absolutely never even think of starting a diet when there is chocolate pie in the fridge! 🙂
Great post and soooo like me. 😀
Hugs, Jj
Thanks, Melissa! You know, I hadn’t thought about it in conjunction with winter, but I can totally see that. The weather is so relentlessly yucky it’s like I’m trying to find something else to make me feel happy.
Thanks, Absolute Vanilla! I still have a little leftover Halloween candy, too. Wonder if I should get rid of that as well?
Glad I’m not the only one, JJ Loch! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Oooh, new mascara? What brand? I bought some kind of MAC waterproof dealio a few months ago and it’s works ok. Not that I put on make-up too often. My computer screen doesn’t seem to care if I do or don’t. I’d put out the effort more often if it threw me a compliment here and there.