The Brat Pack

It's been 17 years since I graduated from high school. I didn't even know that until I ran into a former high school crush at the mall.

There he was pushing a baby stroller with his wife and 2-year-old in tow. And there I was with my husband and two kids myself. When he mentioned how long it had been since he'd seen me (how the hell did he recognize me?), it made me realize that life really does pass before your eyes.

It's so interesting seeing where your friends end up and the path they follow. It is all happening at this age. Take relationships: I have friends getting divorced or already divorced, friends married to the love of their lives, friends still searching for love and those who are getting ready to embark on a family of their own. There isn't a stone left unturned in our demographic.

Regardless of where we are in so many different areas, we are ALL ready to start what I call chapter 2 in our lives. This is the chapter of life that completes us. It defines living to our absolute potential and what we seek to get out of life. It's about making sure that you focus on the things you want to achieve personally. If you took all my friends and combined our experiences we would have the most complete chapter 2 ever, but it doesn't work that way. We have to do our own thing. It's up to each one of us to figure out how to embark on this new chapter and what it's going to entail and how we're going to do it. How many times have we heard you only live once? Too many times, and that's why we must move into chapter 2: it's where we take control.

Our friends can actually be one of our greatest resources for this chapter. A friend of mine recently sent a form to her five healthiest friends to find out everything about their healthy lifestyles - from their top five snacks to the doctors they use etc... The idea was to give her healthy options to draw from outside of her own choices giving her more options. I think this is brilliant strategy.

It was funny last night when the brat pack got together after a few years. One friend just short of being on the pages of Newsweek for a major business breakthrough longs for a partner. While another friend knows practically everything about all 4 million people who live in town. So Miss Social was immediately able to come up with loads of options for Miss Business to get her ball rolling. For me just hanging out with my crew gives me this crazy energy that makes anything possible. Don't let yourself miss a thing!

Chick Essentials

It only takes a missing suitcase with all of your cosmetics and skincare products to realize just how many items are essential in a woman's world.

We left Australia with two firmly packed suitcases that had two empty bags inside ready for our US purchases. However when we hit our first domestic flight we were over the weight limit per bag. Simple. We broke out one of the empty bags and started to redistribute. My husband immediately grabbed my triple-decker toiletry bag - almost a suitcase on its own - his jeans, three of my single shoes (why didn't he grab a pair or two?), some of his shoes and so forth for the third bag.

When the bag didn't turn up at the baggage carousel at our destination we took immediate action. I called our travel insurance company to find out what and how much we were covered for. They said $1000 for basic needs for the first 12 hours. I got the pad of paper out and started itemizing my toiletry bag. Jack too was keen to replace his shoes and jeans as we only had a limited time frame to cover these items.

My list was no quick fix at the local WalMart either. As I wrote everything down I realized I could easily break the $1000 mark with my toiletry bag alone. I had quite a collection which included a Prive hair texture spray and gloss serum, Clinique moisturizers, Kiehls moisturizers, eye creams, skin serums of all sorts, clay packs, hydrating packs, shimmering lotions, special hand creams, exfoliation cream, toner, Elizabeth Arden eight hour lip cream, StriVectin-SD, four tubes of lip gloss, blush, mascara, Booty Parlor dust up, perfume, a US blow dryer and a brush. I usually consider myself natural and fancy free but with a list like this... it confirms it takes an army of products to pull off the "natural I don't do anything look."

The moment I finished my list and felt a bit guilty that I was long over the claim limit, a FEDEX man pulls up to my dad's house to deliver my husband a package. It was a traveler guitar to go with the other seven guitars he owns. I couldn't believe he was this sneaky and had the balls to buy even more guitars. He claims that anything a man truly has a passion for will always require N+1 as the number he wants to own (where N equals the number he currently owns). He has no idea how this will haunt him for life. Imagine if girls used this one all the time? Well, I'm on the loose in the US with N+1 firmly on my mind.

To kick off my shopping, I had to focus first on my replacement items which were half exciting but as I went along it was actually a harder exercise than I realized. After only a few purchases, thankfully I received the call from the airlines saying they located our bag. The drama had ended. Jack could no longer get his hands on a new pair of jeans and shoes but nor did he deserve it with a prearranged traveler guitar delivery! Let's get serious!

Face Value

May I start by saying I'm the last person anyone would expect to be lining up for Botox. I've always been into natural health and I guess beauty - but that only goes so far... right?!

It began last year when a few of my older friends had it on firm rotation. Even though they looked fab it didn't get me jumping straight away. It was the combination of feeling like a rebel and the reality that my frown lines were coming in for a permanent stay. Who wants to look angry, anyway? Not me, so I booked. It was such a surreal experience when I look back on my first time. The numerous needles and quick jabs in such a short space of time was like grabbing a very expensive cup of coffee to go, but way more satisfying. Within a few hours of the treatment I could no longer frown. I was amazed that my body responded so quickly considering they say it normally takes 2-4 days.

I didn't tell my husband the first time, just two friends. It was sort of naughty considering my husband knows everything about me, but he didn't even notice so I left it as secret women's business. He compliments me constantly anyway so it was part of the "your skin is looking good". I'm sure he put it down to the mask mania that was going on in our house for days before and after the treatment. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. However, for my second time I thought I better fess up and tell my husband what I had done in the past and what I was about to do in 5 minutes. By prefacing the conversation with "I have a confession..." I was able to make botox sound like I was going to the convenience store if you know what I mean.

By the third time I thought I was such a pro that I'd slip it into my schedule without telling anyone. As a self-confessed botoxer I didn't feel it was really necessary to highlight my every move. It was all too easy until I went to pay. My wallet was no where to be found so I was forced to do the dreaded. I called my HUSBAND to use his credit card. Shall we say caught in action! Pretending I was at the grocery without the normal sounds in the background wasn't going to cut it so I fessed up.

My confessions are pale in comparison to the response I got after telling a really good friend that I had gotten botox. She paused and said, "I've got a confession too. I've been getting it for the past two years." How could I not know this? Then I realized as much as we talk about botox being the new coffee, it's still underground even in the tightest of circles. Do you tell?

eBay Confessions

I should have known something fishy was going on in our house. My husband has been eBaying all his old music gadgets for the past two weeks.

And for the first time in five years of living in the same place convinces me he should have the mail key on his key ring since he walks past the box every day. I went along with it and didn't think twice about it until the other night.

Jack arrived home from work and sort of cornered me in the bedroom away from the front door to confess a rather large shop and hide item sitting in the hallway. Before I could make my way to "the box" he made sure I knew it was completely paid for by all his sold items on eBay. The guilt was immense. Possibly because it was a brand new Fender bass guitar to go with the other six we have hanging on the walls. What is up with men and their toys? Jack recycles them just as fast as they arrive.

Apparently the new bass has different pick ups. Must be a sound thing? And the neck is made out of maple instead of rosewood so not only does it feel nice the sound is a little different. Jack tried to speak my language and compare it to fashion. "Sometimes you feel like a bold designer piece instead of the little black dress," said with confidence. It sort of made sense when he was talking about it. But these guitars could practically buy us a Range Rover. My clothes are a far cry from being compared to a guitar. It's like saying I should have a rotation of serious Tiffany rings on hand for the moments I feel like that subtle change.

Well actually I do have a rotation of my own that stems from an ebay confession and it's no ring. Last year I sold all the kid's old toys on ebay because they have new toys coming in faster than you can say the word. I just happen to use the money for myself and not the family in order to sneak a certain purchase past husband patrol. It was for my first Botox experience. Yep. I eBayed my kid's OLD toys for a youthful appearance. Best darn thing I've ever done. Now that's the power of eBay! (and a whole other story that we'll talk about later!)