the grand delusion........

i'm not even going to comment on this and any of you who know how i feel about the subject are probably glad because you don't want to read a 20 page rant on the misconceptions that society has been heaping on us for years and years. oops! guess i did throw a teeny, tiny comment in there. but honestly? i'm so angered at this crap that i could spit botox needles!

http://www.parentdish.com/2009/05/26/mom-and-daughter-botox-addicts/?icid=mainhtmlws-maindl3link4http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parentdish.com%2F2009%2F05%2F26%2Fmom-and-daughter-botox-addicts%2F


Mom and Daughter Botox Addicts
by Sandy Maple May 26th 2009 5:00PM

We all know that as parents, we have a huge influence on how our children view themselves and the world in which they live. Mothers in particular play a large part in shaping the way their daughters feel about themselves and their appearance. If a mom frets over her looks and worries aloud about her weight, hair, skin, etc., there's a good chance her daughter will learn do the same.

While most of us try to set a healthy example of self-love and acceptance, there are those who seem incapable of that. If a daughter learns from her mother to accept and appreciate herself the way she's made, what happens to the child of a mother who is obsessed with her appearance and will do anything to achieve her idea of perfection? In the case of Margaret King, she raises a daughter who won't be happy until she herself is perfect.

King is a 49-year-old housewife who has spent about $90,000 upgrading her face and body. She's had two breast enlargements, a nose job, a mini-face lift and a tummy tuck. In addition, she's had regular Botox injections for past eleven years. Given all that, it is no surprise that her daughter, 18-year-old Jodie, has learned to be critical of her own appearance.

When Jodie began to complain that her forehead was too wrinkly, her friends assured her that it wasn't. But her mother didn't even try to convince her that she was beautiful the way she was -- she gifted her with Botox injections for her 18th birthday.

Since then, Botox injections have become a regular mother/daughter affair; the two of them regularly get shot up with ever-increasing amounts of the stuff. "So what if I'm a teenage Botox addict? I can't think of anything worse than looking old," says Jodie. "I'll always find a way to pay for Botox. Now I've started I can't stop."

Despite the fact that many experts don't recommend Botox for anyone under thirty, there is no law prohibiting it. But at least one cosmetic surgeon thinks King is leading her daughter down a perilous path. "It sounds like this young lady is on a dangerous spiral. She's obviously getting encouragement from her mother who sounds like she might be addicted to Botox as well," says Alex Karidis.

"It is very very unusual to have Botox at that age and 18-year-olds should only have it if there is a real facial deformity, not just normal lines when they frown. There is a real psychological danger. This is setting a precedent for using anti-aging procedures for many years to come. The mother needs to be taking responsibility if she is encouraging her daughter to have injections into her face.

"Unfortunately, Karidis' prediction is already playing out. King has moved beyond enabling her daughter to have Botox; she has taken her for a breast enlargement consult and promised her a nose job for her 21st birthday.

Women getting plastic surgery is nothing new and ultimately nobody's business but their own. But I can't help but feel sad that this lovely young woman has been raised to believe that she needs medical intervention in order to feel good about herself. And anyone who believes that there is nothing worse than looking old desperately needs a reality check.

fly to the angels.......

i miss you, little topie boy! thanks for 5 loving years................

this song is for you:

RADIO NOWHERE

I was trying to find my way home
But all I heard was a drone
Bouncing off a satellite
Crushing the last lone American night

(Chorus:)
This is Radio Nowhere
Is there anybody alive out there
This is Radio Nowhere
Is there anybody alive out there

I was sitting around a dead dial
Just another lost number in a file
Dancing down a dark hole (some say it’s “Been in some kind of dark cove”)
Just a-searching for a world with some soul

(Chorus)

I just wanna hear some rhythm
I just wanna hear some rhythm
I just wanna hear some rhythm
I just wanna hear some rhythm

I want a thousand guitars
I want pounding drums
I want a million different voices
Speaking in tongues

(Chorus)

I was driving through the misty rain
Just a-searching for a mystery train
Bopping through the wild blue
Trying to make a connection with you

(Chorus)

I just wanna hear some rhythm
I just wanna hear some rhythm
I just wanna hear your rhythm
I just wanna hear your rhythm
(repeat until end)

(i know it may seem a little odd to post these particular lyrics for my topaz, but it was his favorite song, after all. he sang like mad every time he heard it. big springsteen fan, my bird! i'll think about him every time i hear "the boss," the brian setzer orchestra or african drums!)

my own private idaho......

i'm not much of a tv watcher, and until last year i had mangaged not to watch the first minute of anything considered "reality tv" (unless you consider 'american idol' reality tv) and i haven't watched that in several years.

imagine my surprise to find myself a part of a reality tv show in my dreams last nite. it was entertaining, fun, enjoyable, and a dream i would certainly love to re-visit....in fact.....would like for it to continue to see if i win!!! heeeheeee.. i'll keep the details of "my" show to myself, but just had to "set it in stone" here for grins and giggles. my subconcious imagination takes me to some bizarre places sometimes.........and this had to be one of the "bizarrest!"

flexibility.......

i used to dance when i was younger....took lessons and the whole nine. in fact, my mom told me that i was dancing before i was talking. ;-) (watching 'american bandstand' and doing the twist at age 2!) in my teens....i decided that boys and bands were much more important than dance, so i stopped taking lessons. (my one regret in life!) i did keep dancing, tho, for a long, long time and was extremely flexible and limber. (used to win dance contests at clubs. i was GOOD!) well....as we all know life and age get in the way sometimes, and a couple of years ago i realized that while in years past i could bend from the waist and put my hands flat on the floor effortlessly...........i had gotten to the point that i could barely touch my toes!! i decided to make it a point to stretch more, and i did do that, but not as much as i should. then, last year when i started watching DANCING WITH THE STARS....i really got motivated. i *used* to be in that kind of shape.........dancing shape..........and i decided to start doing a mixture of yoga and dance exercises to get more limber and flexible. well.....i'm not exactly sure of the date that i started, but i know it was sometime in february or march of 2008. i have been doing my stretches/yoga every day but sunday (it's the day of rest, after all. haha!) for a little over a year! who would have ever thought i would have stuck with it this long??? and? i can put my hands flat on the floor, bending from the waist and NOT bending the knees.....and stand that way for an hour if i needed to!! so yeah.......i'm proud of myself. i think i deserve a party!!!!! ;-)

leftovers......

i don't like them, but that seems to be all i'm offered anymore. every once in awhile, it would be nice to be invited to the 'real' dinner.......even if i'm not hungry at the time. oh well....i suppose i should be thankful. maybe this is why i've lost weight.

(and yes.....i'm being metaphorical....or is it allegorical? i can never remember!! lol!)

wisdom from the queen..........

who would have ever thought that one would hear some sheer brilliance on "rupaul's drag race?" well, *i* never would have, but i was watching the obligatory reality show reunion episode, and was totally blown away by ru saying "what other people think of me is none of my business!" he was trying to convince the girls to believe in themselves and not let others get them down. that statement completely hit home with me. in the past few years i've had too many instances of petty, jealous people saying nasty things about me, and saying them to people that i *thought* mattered. (those people believed them) it's been painful, and at moments still is. the next time i start to drift, tho, and feel badly about OTHER people's lies and betrayal.....i hope i can remember ru's words of wisdom. what OTHER people say and what OTHER people believe is none of my business. i know the truth, and the truth, friends, will set you free!!!! and to those of you that i'm referring to in this bloglett (the liars and those who believed them): you might want to launder your karma.................

did hell freeze over?

it must have, because it snowed here in atlanta!!!!! we got 3-4 inches. i know that folks up north who suffer thru blizzards each winter can't understand our reactions to the white stuff, but it rarely snows here, and when it does we aren't equipped to deal with it. luckily, it's sunday, so we were able to just kick back and enjoy the day. i actually went out and *attempted* to make my very first snowman! of course....i have NO idea how to do it since snow is something i never see, and i found out that it's not a whole lot of fun to try to make one by yourself.....but i thought i should take advantage of this rare phenomenon and at least give it a shot! :) i had fun.....even tho he looks rather silly! anyhow....i'm off to drink a cup of tea, crank in some music and read!! how sublime.............

Listen to the briskly whistling winter evergreen

Whispering through the frozen morning light

And tell me what's to come

Saying my time is near

Never fear

How close each year

I'm winter

Reminding me to trade my t-shirts for my woven wools

Trade my sandals for my skis

Whispered warnings in the wind

Saying soon come the dancing snowflakes

They're kissing every tree

They're kissing you and me

Please hurry

Falling

Dazzling dancing diamonds from the sky

Prisms

Rainbow sparkled flurries in our eyes

Whipping across the frozen crystal metal pines of ice

Race the snow

We'll spend the mornings by our bed

They cuddle close and wine and dine

The setting sun

The morning light will blind those eyes

Shooting down the glistening

OutsideScreaming through the whispering pines

The freedom of each day

Will cleanse our minds

I can hardly wait for winter

I can hardly wait for the snow

I can hardly hardly wait for winter

I can hardly wait for the snoW

Snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow

Snow snow snow snow snow snow snow snow

(thanks to CHICAGO for "song of the evergreens")