You’re instantly drawn to her. Maybe it’s because we all have a piece of BeBe Baker within us. Fallen from grace, beautiful no more, and recovering from a form of self-destruction. The words are griping at times. There is someone, out there, right now, living these words. It is this thought that makes reading Pretty by Jillian Lauren so haunting. It may be a work of fiction, but this could be my neighbor, a friends, a loved one, even me.

I was instantly shocked and moved. My personal life is no where near Bebe’s, but at a young age, I was up nights with an older sister fighting addiction. Cops at our home all the time. Fights my sister instigated, usually with family, even her teachers. I saw this life at a young age, and saw what it did to my sister. Like Bebe, she finally found the semi-greener side. Almost a peaceful relief.

You may in no way be able to associate yourself with Bebe, or the life she lives, but you will be moved by her determination and the strength she has found within herself.  Bebe finds a new life, on her terms, and finally succeeds in finding pretty within herself.

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One of my closest friends in high school always used Carmex® Lip Balm. The iconic jar with the bright yellow lid and a splash of red showcasing Carmex across the top was a staple in her front pocket of her jeans. Always at the ready. I never caught on. I used another brand. But, I did have to send her an email the other day letting her know that I am now a loyal Carmex fan!

As a member of the Carmex Blog Squad, I was sent a two of their newest flavors, Lime Twist & Vanilla click sticks, to try out, along with a Carmex Moisture Plus™ lip balm. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to part with my current lip care and make an instant decision to switch to Carmex.

Both of the new flavors, Lime Twist & Vanilla, are extremely moisturizing, effective, and last. Once placed, it stays! You don’t feel the need to continually re-apply and the flavors (lime and vanilla) don’t interfere if you are eating or sipping a drink. Something that I appreciate.

No one wants to taste their lip products with each sip they take!

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I am the most disorganized organized person alive. I love the thought of being organized and believe deep down everything has a place… and should always be in its place. But lets face it, organized is the last thing that my life is right now. Between family, work, school, family  activities, and the chaos that comes from extended family, my life is more disorganized by the minute. I try, I really do, to be organized, but the mess is everywhere and I have become overwhelmed by the “just get it done” syndrome.

One of Those Moms

Yep, I’m one of those moms. Not that I don’t want others to do things around the home, I want them to, trust me. I’m exhausted after working, attending class, working on my weekly web show, taxing kids to and from the daily activity, and whatever is happening at 6pm, that when I get 5 minutes, I want those 5 minutes to enjoy a glass of something other than kool-aid, instead of putting away clothes that have been sitting in the basket for two days. But, that is me at midnight, the mom putting away the two-day old basket clothes because the kids have developed “I forgot” syndrome.

It just seems so much easier to do it myself, then ask, wait, ask again, and it get done half-way, or not done at all.

What does this mean? I’m terrible at delegating. Don’t get me wrong, I do delegate, I’m just terrible at following through and making sure that my kids actually stay on top of things and get the task done. And I’ve learned from experience, if I don’t keep reminding them, it never gets done, regardless of the list given to them, or the chores they know they are responsible for. What it gets down to – I have become a nag and I hate waiting.

Thankfully, Pretty Neat Has a Chapter for that!

When I was given the opportunity to review Pretty Neat by Alicia Rockmore & Sarah Welch, I was probably a bit more excited then I needed to be. Following the Get Buttoned Up site for some time, I relished the thought of maybe not so much conquering the mess, but hopefully finding a balance to at least tame the unruliness. So, you can imagine my relief when I opened up Pretty Neat to begin reading and the word delegate jumped out at me. Of course I jumped ahead and began reading chapter 3.

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