It amazes how total strangers stuck in endless grocery checkouts can start chatting and end up like old friends while waiting in line. That’s how I got to know this woman who was in line behind me at the Jusco sale recently.

Looking at us deep in animated conversation, you would never have guessed we’d never met each other before. But we were talking about everything under the sun. Seriously.

She told me she’d been living in the States and was just getting used to life here when she got slashed by a robber right in front of her own home in broad daylight!!

Gosh, the poor woman, she had a deep gash on her face, of all places!! That must’ve been an awful experience, all the more frightful as she had two young children at home at the time.

She had to have plastic surgery done. If she’d still been in the States, she would’ve consulted with Dr Grossman of Denver Plastic Surgery. He is a reknown plastic surgeon assisting people with their looks.

But you know, I looked at her face and I couldn’t see her scar at all. I mean, every woman wants to look beautiful and I’m really glad she’s none the worst for her nasty experience.

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I got my nails done, woo-hoo and just in time for the long weekend too! Like ‘em? Wicked, huh?

No, I didn’t spend hours having my nails painted on at the nail salon. Neither are they press-ons. Guess what? A laser printer did this for me !

As you can see, I have a different floral design on each finger. I’m wierd that way, always the rebel. It’s pretty cool actually, I picked a different .jpg file for each finger and the laser printer did the rest.

You would’ve thought my hand was a freaking sheet of paper being fed into the printer. The printing itself only took a few minutes and voila! I absolutely love this crazy idea !

If you want to have yours done, find out where you can go. Offer is only on this weekend.

I confess, I love fashion jewelry, just that I don’t wear them enough. If I’m hanging out with the kids on a weekend, I dress casual and don’t bother much with accessories.

But if I’m going to some formal event, then I’ll take great pains to make sure my accessories match my outfit. I have a Swarovsky crystal bracelet which I made myself that’s similar to this faux sapphire tennis bracelet.

Aren’t these sapphires just so pretty? They somehow remind me of the sea and I’m invariably drawn to them. I don’t know why, maybe I used to be a mermaid in another place and another time . Sounds like something lifted straight out of a romance novel.

So yes, I definitely do plan on getting one of these bracelets to match a sapphire ring I have. Then I can have a set to wear to a couple of weddings coming up soon.

I took this quiz yesterday while sulking that I wasn’t going shopping after all. Hate to admit it but big girls sulk too *bawls*. Well, I shouldn’t have taken this quiz because it made me feel worse afterwards.

It says I’m not even much of a shopper! Aargh! Funny, I always thought of myself as a die-hard shopaholic. Maybe I’m not so hot after all, huh? *bawls again*

You’re a Window Shopper!

You know that shopping’s a blast, but you prefer to save your money You hardly ever give into an impulse buy, unless it’s a total steal You’ve always got the most money of your friends - and you never have to borrow And you’ve got a nice wardrobe too … of classic pieces that last years!

Well, to be honest, most of what it says here is true. I love to shop but my days of impulsive shopping ended when I had my kids. Let’s face it, you can’t buy disposable diapers and baby food on impulse .

True, I have a closet of clothes that I’m happy with. I’m not a slave to fashion. Doesn’t matter what’s in fashion and what the whole world and their half-sister-in-law is wearing.

If it isn’t comfortable or doesn’t look good on me, I’ll pass. Bleh! I think at some point, we have to be completely honest with ourselves. That’s how I look at it anyhow.

.. to be taken seriously? I’m not sure. You’d think since I’ve been a mom for almost 17 years now, I should know. Maybe I don’t. I need someone to tell me.

I was supposed to be at Raine’s Open Day. Instinctively I reach for a tank top to go with my jeans. Of course! What else? I’ve got a whole rack of them in different colors. Given the insanely hot days we have here and me doing an insane number of errands a day, tanks are my standard daily garb.

Oh but wait a minute! If I’m going to a school event, I’d better cover up just a little bit. We’ve actually received a circular from Skye’s school some time ago instructing parents how to dress when we are in school premises. I think it says we’re not supposed to wear anything (ahem!) sexy .

Ack, I just know what the other moms are all going to be wearing. The working moms will come in their semi-suits and tick-tock shoes (read: heels). Some stay-at-home moms will come in their frills and tick-tock shoes while others will come in their baggy t-shirts, long pants and practical shoes.

And me? Ack, I’m going to look like some overgrown schoolkid wannabe if I show up in my cute little tank and hipster jeans. Well, so what? Only problem is I’m a mom and moms are supposed to act be all seriousness and authoritative-like and covered up!

Or so society would have us. Of course, I don’t believe the half of it. I think it’s crap! Still I decided to wear a cap-sleeved T instead of my tank top. Just before you go wondering - no, it’s not white !

Non-conformist that I am, there are times I need to be seen trying to fit society’s mold of how a mom should dress and talk and behave and what she should eat for breakfast, eh!

But just between you and me, I could be in a tank top and still be darned serious, know what I mean?