Yesterday I had the day off and I was going to make it all mine! I got my hair trimmed, ran a few errands, did a little shopping and then I headed to Andy's house to hang out before he got home. Having a key to your boyfriend's house is a trip. He just finished building his house back in February and it is beyond quality for an average soon-to-be 26 year old (I know you're Birthday is in July, but you know how much I love to tease you about dating someone who was in middle school when you were driving). It's just nice to step into your boyfriend's house and see what it is like when he leaves in the morning. I saw his shoes neatly lined up in front of the counter, how he makes his bed, where he puts his remote control, how he leaves his mouthwash on the bathroom counter...just little details that make me stick out my bottom lip and make me fall deeper for this boy. Little details are neat to me. Just seeing his house when he isn't there is just...well...cute. My favorite was opening up his fridge to get a bottled water and seeing Mott's individual packs of applesauce. All I could do was stand there and mutter "He buys applesauce."

Of course, the absolute best part of coming home to Andy is Tanner, his 3 year old Boxer. Tanner is a big dog baby. He is absolutely gorgeous, cuddly and a lot for me to handle since he is big...at least for me. Andy leaves him in a cage while he is out since he doesn't quite trust what Tanner would do if he wasn't there. The minute I walk in, Tanner gives me this look like "What? Who? IT'S HER!!! YAY!!" I immediately get him out and start playing. I can't play rough with him because he can get really ROUGH. I just usually jump up calling him "Tanny Boy" and turn around, flail my arms, and run in place. I'm sure it is very humorous. He ends up doing the same and trying to jump on me or jumps and turns mid-air.

I get him on his lead and take him outside to do his business. Then he starts to run around me in a circle. Andy says he only does it when I am around...to show off. Then we come back inside where I give him fresh water and head straight to the den to watch some television. Of course I don't quite know how to work his television because of the way to difficult HD remote that could send us in World War III. I head to his bedroom where I jump in his bed, letting Tanner up, and I turn Foodnetwork on (I need help because I watch this way too much).

About an hour later, Andy comes home to find me laying in his bed with his tv on. Then Tanner jumps up to let him know "Hey, she lets me up here!!" All Andy can do is jump right in and give me a big kiss. Now isn't that sweet?

We went to eat at Downtown Sullivan's in Maryville. If you ever want to eat at a good restaurant with some history, I suggest you go to this one. The restaurant is in the old J.C. Penney building next to old theaters and record shops. It's so neat!

Harumph!

So...I find out Andy ("The Boy" I often refer to him as) reads my blog but doesn't comment. Can this be considered a type of neglect or emotional abuse? It does hurt a little...

FINE!! Let's see if I ever cook you another brilliant meal...that I learned off the foodnetwork.

Just kidding my darling!

It's about FREAKIN' time....

My mom is quite a passionate person. She has done it all...owning clothing stores, television, public speaker and now you can say she is onto one of the biggest changes in the beauty industry. After she left the television gig, my mom wanted something she could control. She had worked in the skin care/makeup industry for years through retail and through television. Oh, you can also add national spokeswoman for a skin care line. Anywho, she jumped on the trend and her true passion...skin care. We started working with some of the best in the business. My mom was trained, educated, and fueled with a passion that not your MAC cosmetic salesperson could even compete with. It wasn't about making someone pretty by slapping some lipgloss on...it was about educating women on WHAT they were actually putting on their faces. Heck, you guys should even listen.

The whole "natural, oraganic, holistic" trend has its causes and let me say some disadvantages. These terms are being used way to loosely. We worked with the number one mineral makeup company in the world. Now, let me get lingo for you...mineral makeup is the fastest growing trend in the beauty industry. It replaces the cheap filler ingredients with actual grounded up minerals from the earth (foundations, eyeshadows, blushes, skin care, you name it). Sure, they are natural...but not necessarily toxic free. A few years ago, my mom started catching up on something. She started looking into ingredients and finding out how incredibly toxic our everyday products are. Did you know that our sweet FDA does not review or REGULATE cosmetics products or ingredients for safety before they are to the public and has no legal authority to require safety assessments of cosmetics? Now, this doesn't just limit the girls here...we all need to be looking at our deodorants, toothpastes, lotions, shampoos, soaps...yada yada yada. It seems you turn around and you hear about more cancer or hormonal defects...and we wonder why? Our everyday necessities that we don't think about are potentially causing most health problems in our own bodies. Its bad enough we live in such a toxic environment already!

Luckily, there seems to be a change! Many large companies are noticing this...and it's about time. You may hear "Oh, there hasn't been any link to cancer and deodorant by studies!" REEEAAAALLY??? You don't think there is conspiracy behind a billion dollar industry???? Go look at your deodorant right now...and on ingredients...do you not find propylene glycol? Oh you do? Ok...thats basicaly antifreeze. Yeah...sweet! I could go on and on. BABY powder is one of the most toxic things on the market...and it goes right on our lil' babies booties. Go check out your toothpaste!

My mom actually cultivated a non-toxic makeup line. No, I'm serious...and her feedback is getting better. I am technically co-founder but lets be real...I was born with a compact and lipstick in my hand. Many women (and men) don't like the change and figure cheap products won't harm them. If they weren't seeing this then The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics wouldn't be underway. Many companies are seeing the change and have signed to change their products for a non-toxic approach to beauty and health. You can check it out at www.safecosmetics.org/companies/signers.cfm. You can look into your own favorite products to see where they fall before you grab that bar of soap your bought for a dollar. Hopefully this industry is changing for the better and we can all smell soundly.

I'm sick...and it sure is not fun. So if my writing is a bit off...be understandable.

Anywho, I thought I would take this time to plug a few movies that I have seen recently both by DVD and by actually going to the movie theater....

The Illusionist: Definitely worth your time. A movie rental but you will really enjoy Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. Jessica Biel was actually pretty decent. The visual stuff is pretty impressive and the story is perfect for an easy Saturday night. I highly recommend this one.

The Prestige: Okay, maybe I was bias because of the um...two leading men in the movie (which I have spoken of before) but its another "worth the rent" stamp from me. You can tell the style of the movie is very similar to Batman Begins (same director) and the storyline is pretty good. It can be a little difficult to follow but the end was pretty awesome. I will admit I liked the previous magician movie mentioned a little better but this one is still enjoyable.

The Science of Sleep: I giggle as I am writing this because Andy bought this movie before seeing it because he thought it would great since it came from the guy who did Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Ok, props for the visuals but...man....did it suck. Some of you may like it but I found myself enjoying the fact that Andy wasted his money instead of the movie. In my eyes...it was "The Village" type of bad...I would pass.

Blades of Glory: Will Ferrell is a favorite of mine but this was disappointing. Will is great as a character but it was a bit too out there funny. Sure, you had some moments that I was snickering (since I did ice skating for years I could laugh at the mockery of the sport) but definitely wasn't hilarious.

The Holiday: It's alright. A definite chick flick and a rental. It fell flat on some parts and really wasn't as cute as I thought it would be but if you got time to waste...go for it.

If you got anymore suggestions...please let me know. Thats all I got for now kiddies.

OH...some of you may remember going to see "The Mummy Returns" back in high school. My sister had a moment of comedic genius when she thought someone she saw looked like the little pixie mummy things in the woods from the movie. Let's just say she did a perfect impression and I almost split my sides. It brought back memories guys...memories. Especially you, Allan!