I am feeling a little touchy, feel-y today so when I saw this article it went right along with that, and it also happens to be a great suggestion for the weekend! So here you are- a few facts about kissing!

1. Two out of every three couples turn their heads to the right when they kiss.

2. A simple peck uses two muscles; a passionate kiss, on the other hand, uses all 34 muscles in your face. Now that’s a rigorous workout!

3. Like fingerprints or snowflakes, no two lip impressions are alike.

4. Kissing is good for what ails you. Research shows that the act of smooching improves our skin, helps circulation, prevents tooth decay, and can even relieve headaches.

5. The average person spends 336 hours of his or her life kissing.

6. Ever wonder how an “X” came to represent a kiss? Starting in the Middle Ages, people who could not read used an X as a signature. They would kiss this mark as a sign of sincerity. Eventually, the X came to represent the kiss itself.

7. Talk about a rush! Kissing releases the same neurotransmitters in our brains as parachuting, bungee jumping, and running.

8. The average woman kisses 29 men before she gets married.

9. Men who kiss their partners before leaving for work average higher incomes than those who don’t.

10. The longest kiss in movie history was between Jane Wyman and Regis Tommey in the 1941 film, You’re in the Army Now. It lasted 3 minutes and 5 seconds. So if you’ve beaten that record, it’s time to celebrate!

(Laura Schaefer (not me) is the author of Man with Farm Seeks Woman with Tractor: The Best and Worst Personal Ads of All Time. Article courtesy of Happen magazine, www.happenmag.com and yahoo.)

Now thats a record I wouldn't mind chasing!


When's the last time you really just made out with your significant other? Go for it! Get out there and get smoochin' this weekend!


Lots of love to you,

Procrastination...Temptation Tuesday

This weekend Mr R, my Mother In Law, and I went to Vegas for the Previous Mrs. R's 70th Birthday! So in honor of our trip, here are a few hotel/casino temptations from Vegas Baby!

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas!

The beautiful Bellagio.

 The exotic Luxor.

 The stately Ceasar's Palace.

 The ever rockin' Hard Rock.

 The Oh! So Chic! Paris.

 New York, New York never sleeps.

 This is where we stayed. The elegant Aria.

 Fireworks from atop the Aria in The City Complex.

 The Vegas Stip. Alway hip. Always happenin'!

(all photos via)

It was such a great trip and a fantastic birthday weekend! More about our trip and what we did to come...

Joke for the Day

Just a little joke to ease you into the weekend:

A psychiatrist was conducting a group therapy session with four young mothers and their small children. 
  "You all have obsessions," he observed. 
  To the first mother, Mary, he said, "You are obsessed with eating. You've even named your daughter Candy." 
  He turned to the second Mom, Ann: "Your obsession is with money. Again, it manifests itself in your child's name, Penny." 
  He turned to the third Mom, Joyce: "Your obsession is alcohol. This too shows itself in your child's name, Brandy." 
  At this point, the fourth mother, Kathy, quietly got up, took her little boy by the hand, and whispered, "Come on, Dick, this guy has no idea what he's talking about. Let's pick up Peter and Willy from school and go get dinner."  

Shareen Vintage

I just read some exciting news about a wonderful woman that I have known for quite some time- Shareen Mitchell. Shareen is the force behind the popular Shareen Vintage stores that are in Los Angeles and New York. If you aren't familiar with her you really should check out her website. She has an amazing eye for vintage clothing that she makes look new, fresh, and up-to-date, and she also creates her own pieces as well. Now she is getting her very own reality series on Discovery's Planet Green channel which will show how she puts everything together!

My Mom, Sisters and I have been shopping with her for years- starting when she just had a booth at Melrose Trading Post. In fact, one of my sisters did some modeling for her and can be seen on her website.

It isn't that we are close friends, we haven't ever been out to lunch, and don't socialize, but once she did an incredible thing for me that had nothing to do with shopping or clothes. Mom and LAG took me to her store for my Birthday and as she was helping me try on a piece, Shareen noticed that I wasn't feeling well. We started talking about how I had been having a health problem for a while, that no doctors had been able to help me, and that I couldn't work because of it. She told me about a woman she used to see and recommended that I contact her.

Like I said, I had been out of work and was thinking that there was no way that I could afford to go to this woman, and as if she was reading my mind, Shareen insisted that she would pay for my initial work up and visit! I couldn't believe it! I really needed something and here she was offering her help, and asking only that I get better.

She really is such a fantastic and generous spirit, and I am so happy things are going well for her. Best wishes to Shareen! I will be watching and supporting, and I hope that some of you will too!

(photo courtesy of The New York Times- Gordon M. Grant)

Happy Birthday!

Today is my Precious Girl Darla's 6th Birthday! Mr. R, my Darling husband, thinks I am completely crazy for making even a mention of this. Why? Well, if you have looked at the photos of our children you will find that My Precious Girl is actually a dog. (DO NOT tell her that!)

I never really understood before her how completely attached you can become to your "pet". I kind of thought that people who treated animals like they were children were more than a little crazy. But, now I am in love! Sometimes I wonder if I will love and fuss over my human children this much. (Probably.)

Anyway, take a look at this face and tell me what's not to love...

(poor thing was still drugged from having teeth removed)

(this is her serious shot)

(she's a sleeper -just like her Mom- and loves to nest in any clothes she can find)

(snuggling with her best stuffed friend Elephante)

(she loves to travel)

(this is her scruffy puppy "I didn't do it " face )

So, with a face like that and inspite of my husband's laughing at me, I want to wish my little angel a very Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Day!

I

U

!

Don't forget it! No matter how down you might get there is someone who loves you. Even if you don't know it.

Spread some cheer. Smile at a stranger. It just might make their day, and it sure won't hurt yours!

Attitude IS Everything

I got the below story in an email from my Aunt. She said it made her think of me, my Mom, and Sisters. I was so flattered because I really try to live my life with a positive attitude, and believe that positivity makes a difference. Is it hard sometimes? Yes. But attitude is everything! You CAN have a great life no matter what your circumstance, you just have to see it that way!

Enjoy...

"John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!' He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!' 'You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?

'He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood I choose to be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or....I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.

He continued, '...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked. 'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude....I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Temptation Tuesday

In honor of the up coming season finale of this season's Bachelorette I thought we would make today's Temptation Tuesday about Engagement Rings. They are so personal and should be a reflection of a couple's (read: woman's) style. Here are just a few of the hundreds of different designs.

(via)
You could go Cartier
How about a pop of color? (via)

You could go Vintage

And what girl doesn't love Tiffany !

What style of engagement ring tempts you?
Do you have a great engagement story?

Friday Fun

I am so happy it is Friday! I don't have any terribly exciting plans this weekend and that is exactly how I want it. As I write this I am thinking of all of the great things I plan to do since I don't have plans...isn't that a little contrary?!? Oh well...

(via)