Look Like a Fresh Faced Bride!

In honor of Royal Wedding Week... an Anti-age set made in the UK, that is sure to put that 'Just Married' look to your skin.  After all, who doesn't want to look like a 

bride every day???

I will get back to regular blogging in a few weeks.  Please be patient with me... things around here are...

 how shall I say... not normal :)

~Teri

Romantic Tip of the Day

At our wedding reception.

I have found that with all the stress and pressure of what Scott and I are going through right now, I have to be very deliberate about our day to day relationship, or it's really going to suffer. Starting with our first trip to Paris, we have become much more romantic in our lives. This has continued for the past five years, and it really, truly makes life sweet. Here's just a small romantic tip I think you might enjoy. Let me know if you have any great romantic tips...I am on the lookout ;)

I also did a Perfect Nude Lipstick Review on my channel...click here if you are interested.

Have an awesome Easter!  Our daughter leaves on a mission trip to Brazil TONIGHT, and Scott took next week off, so we are going to have a lazy week of laying by the pool and eating out... sounds like a winner to me!

~Teri

Lorac Eye Shadow Review

Hey friends... I did another video for my You Tube channel.  If you're confused, read the post right before this one...enjoy!  Although this video is not perfect, I had fun doing it.  Since I don't know how to edit, and frankly don't have the time to, I have to do them in one take with no practice, so take that into consideration while watching.  Doesn't matter...I'm having a blast :)

Scott and I are doing well...counting down the days. 

Two weeks down, six to go!

~Teri

Product Review/Olay

WOW... I decided as a creative outlet, and kind of as a dare with my 26 yr. old daughter Meagan, (mother of the famous Leila...Disney Princess extraordinaire) that I would post some videos on You Tube.

As you know, I have some time to kill each day while Scott is receiving treatments, so I sit in the Dr. office with my iPad and headphones, and watch Beauty Guru You Tubes.  I am completely obsessed.  These girls know their stuff...problem is, most of them are in their teens or twenties, so while I've learned a LOT, some of their makeup choices won't work for skin that's been around as long as mine has.  I searched the internet for women in their 40's or 50's doing these same videos, and I haven't found any.  What's the deal? Have women my age given up?  No... I think it's because women my age aren't watching You Tube so there is a lack of women my age making videos. 

As you've noticed, and may not even like, I LOVE doing short little videos on my blog.  I love posting videos on product reviews and Paris.  So that's what my You Tube channel is going to be all about... but as my blog has expanded, so might my channel... I have no idea where this is going, or even if it will go.

I need a creative outlet, so this is it.  I started it yesterday, and I will be posting videos at random, and always let you know here when I've put a new one up.  The bonus for me is, it usually takes FOREVER to download a video on blogger...drives me crazy.  I posted this video on You Tube...only a couple minutes and it's all done.  I click share, and instantly it posted to my blog...GOTTA LOVE THAT!

I will still be blogging about normal stuff as well.  If you could do me a huge favor, click over to YouTube from this video (at the bottom where it says YouTube) and it will take you to the site.  When you get there, you can watch the video, and if you want to see what else I've uploaded, click where it says TeriGigi and it will be on my official channel page.  I would LOVE it if you would subscribe.  I'm not sure how to get subscribers and I only have ONE... my daughter who got me into this in the first place!  This all started yesterday, so I've only uploaded a few videos, some of which you've seen if you've been reading my blog awhile.  You can always watch the video here by just hitting the play arrow.

So this is my new adventure. Kinda silly, but kinda fun as well.  It may last a week, a month, or longer. I have no idea...that's what makes it an adventure ;)

P.S. If you are reading/watching on a mobile device, the video box will look different than I've described.  Also, I realized after I posted this, that I do have other videos on my channel that I have not put on my blog.  If you want to go there and check it out, click here.

Gator Hunt

There is excitement in the air around here... my son who moved to Hollywood last April is coming home for a visit tomorrow for the first time since he left!  We are killing the fatted calf that's for sure.  He also gets to meet his 9 mo. old nephew for the first time :)

So as I shared, Scott and I drive everyday to Sarasota for treatments.  We leave the house at 2:30 and arrive back home at 6:00.  I've always heard you can tell the health of your marriage if you have things to talk about.  We are putting that to the test, spending two and a half hours in the car with no distractions, Monday-Friday!  The scenery on this particular drive is... how shall I say... BORING BEYOND BELIEF... but more on that later.

We do pass over the Little Manatee River and the Big Manatee River going and coming, and the other day we reminisced about one fateful night, years ago.  Here's how it went down...

Phone rings...

Scott: "Hey Teri, a buddy of mine from work drew a tag this year so we are going gator hunting tonight."

Me: "Why do you have to go at night?"

Scott: "It's the best time to catch them." (said with authority... like he's been doing this his whole life)

Me: "Uhhh... ok. Have fun."  

(this was of course said without having any clue to what this actually meant, and of course I thought the chances of them getting a gator were nil)

About midnight the phone woke me up out of a sound sleep.  Scott's end of the conversation was said with major excitement and breathlessness...

Scott: "Teri!!  WE GOT A GATOR!!!!  It's huge! It almost got us.  It drug us around the lake for an hour with the boat in reverse!!!"

Me: (yawn) "That's nice honey. When will you be home?"

Scott: "I have no idea.  We are taking it back to the house to take pictures.  We still have to skin it and cut up the meat.  We are having the head mounted.  He's big! 

He weighs over 800 lbs. and is 13 ft. long."

Me: (yawn) "Great honey. Don't wake me up when you come in."

We lost the other photos which show the size better, but imagine the head was 2 feet long by itself.  See how small Scott's hand looks on his back.

As you can tell by my reaction... the size and weight of the gator did not register in my sleepy head.  Here's what I found out... He and 2 friends were in a 15 foot boat.  They drove around in the complete dark with a spotlight, looking for glowing eyes.  When they spotted the gator, they noticed how far apart his eyes were... they knew he was big.  They got up to him and hit him with a spear with a removable head connected to a rope and a float.  Scott was leaning over the side of the boat, and his buddy yelled at him not to do that... the gator could have easily jumped up and took his head off.  Obviously angry, the gator drug the boat around while they had it in reverse for over an hour.  He would not give up so easily.  Finally he tired out and they killed it with a "bang" stick right on top of his head. 
Now it was time to load it in the boat.  

Did you note the gator is 800 lbs... and 13 feet long???  They were trying to haul it up and over the side of a 

15 foot boat!!!!! 

My question is, where did they stand/sit once this monster was in???? Scott told me the boat had a center console, so the three men had to stay on the opposite side of the boat to try and balance the weight so the boat wouldn't tip over.

I did not in anyway appreciate the whole thing, until the next day, when in my den I stepped off 13 feet.  I was in shock!  A few days later the pictures came in... more shock. I can't believe they made it out alive.  They had the head mounted, but luckily, it only stayed at our house a few days, and went to the boat owners home to live :).

They were such heros.  One photo even made it into Scott's company national magazine. And oh joy... we had gator tail for dinner.  Taste like chicken!  

Something is Missing...

Ever feel like something is missing... 

something's not quite right? 

You wake up in the morning with a general feeling that something is off... 

then it hits you again...

whatever the problem is.

Could be a wayward child...

unpaid bills...

a loss of some kind...

or a loved one in pain...

could even be you are the one in pain.

I wake up like this sometimes, well, most times lately.

I simply get up, shake it off, and go on about my day.

Everyone seems to think I'm holding all my feelings inside.

A friend even told me I was being mysterious...

obviously she doesn't read my blog...

out there for the world...

or at least for the ones that read regularly.

What do people want me to do?

Talk about cancer 24/7?

Tell them I'm afraid?

Tell them I cry myself to sleep every night?

Even if these things were true...

why in a million years would I burden them with it?

Doesn't seem right, or productive.

We've been going through this on some level for three years, and someday I'm going to do a post about what I've learned from this experience...on how really to help someone going through a difficult time.  It's taught me what really matters when people reach out to you...

what really helps.

Truth is... even with all that's going on with us, 

I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

I found my soulmate...

My best friend...

 When I think about that...

there's nothing much else to say.

Is it really that simple?

  

Probably not...

So anyway,

here's the update I promised a few posts ago.  
I think I've told you most of this, but I honestly can't remember.  

Thanks friends!

~Teri

Praise God!

Even when life has difficulties... there are always

 silver linings.  

Here's our youngest daughter.  Last night she was baptized in the Youth building of our church.  They built this baptismal on wheels.  Students can be baptized here or in the sanctuary of the main building.

PRAISE GOD... HE IS GOOD... ALL THE TIME!

It's a Good Thing...

From my heart to yours...

There is a Brave Girls Camp you can attend in Idaho, which is sold out for the next year.  However, you can do the online class... click here, and look to the right where there is a big blue/green box that says 

Soul Restoration I and II.  

There are also random videos on You Tube if you type in Brave Girls Club.

Be brave!  

Take a chance!  

You won't regret it :)


~Teri
Update on Scott...next post.

A Princess Is Born

Things are a little crazy around our house.  We have started daily radiation for Scott, and in the middle of it, he gets the flu!  When it rains it pours.

Here are the promised photos from my granddaughter's birthday.  We took her to Downtown Disney to the 

Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boutique. 

Hope you enjoy!

Her birthday dinner the night before...Fairyland.

Even a princess can love Buzz Lightyear!

The Paris dress...

The next day... 

Before...

Leila was chosen to be made up in the front window!  

The transformation begins...

Here comes the hairpiece...

Make-up, sparkles, and fairy dust...

    

Here's my mom and I watching through the window. Lexi is watching from inside. Little brother Luke is in the stroller.

   

Almost finished...she has not seen  herself yet...

Seeing herself for the first time... how precious when a little girl figures out that they really are a princess and that dreams really do come true!

Taking part in the Princess Parade...

The king and queen with their princess...

The cover of the next Disney Magazine!  Yea...I think so!

Have an especially princess-y day!

~Teri

Fashion Week

I thought I'd do a quick post while my coffee pot descales itself and my oven cleans itself

 (don't you just love modern appliances?).

I noticed somewhere on TV yesterday that it's fashion week in Milan and soon to be fashion week in Paris.  I thought this a perfect time to share with you our experiences with Paris fashion week in October.  

I had heard it was going to be fashion week when we were in town, and as our week progressed, big white tents were being set up all over the city.  At night if we had the TV on, the only mildly interesting channel was the fashion channel...all in French of course...but you could tell by their enthusiasm, that something big was going down.  As we walked though the city, we began seeing other clues that the fashion gurus were upon us.

 I knew we couldn't get tickets to any of the events, but we could see a lot of tents were being set up in the Tuileries Gardens. I made Scott go there on a spy mission one day, and look what we found...

 

I had already looked up the time for the show, so we went for a quick lunch, and headed back to rubberneck the whole event from behind the security fence.  At first I will admit that Scott thought this the dumbest thing he had ever seen, but soon he got into it, for reasons I will share in a bit... here are a few photos we took watching from the sidelines.

Our favorite outfit of the entire day...

 A huge, giant celebrity couple arrived, but we never got to see who it was... the cameras were going crazy and they practically tackled the couple.  We found out later it was the CEO of Dior and Kate Moss.

We watched all of the arrivals, and soon you could hear music booming from inside the tent... the show had started.  While the show went on, we walked around with all the other nobodies without tickets. We wanted to wait until the show was over and see the beautiful people (?) exit.  I had on my new leopard coat, so in my mind I could easily have been mistaken for a model...

 

oh how soon my bubble was burst!!!!

We were standing by the fence, and I saw this man approaching us with his camera and microphone.  I was so excited... I was going to be INTERVIEWED!!!

 This man walked straight up to SCOTT, and began asking him questions in English, but with a very heavy French accent.  The camera was pointed directly at Scott, and he could not understand a word the man said.  Finally, in my desperation to get into the shot, I began interpreting his questions to Scott... Let me give you a rundown of how it went...

Scott's words and actions are in blue...

mine in red...

interviewer in black.

"Hello sir.  How are you today?"

(Scott gives him a blank stare...)

"Where are you from?" 

"Florida."

"Could you tell me sir, do you know the new color for spring?"

(this was all said with such a heavy accent, I had to interpret all further questions)

"No."

"Well sir, could you tell me what you think of beige as the new color for spring?" 

(Beige was said with such an accent...you have no idea...)

(Scott continues to stare... )

"Honey, he wants to know what you think of beige?"

"Well...it's kinda like brown isn't it?"

(Blank stare from interviewer...)

"Well... yes, it's kinda like brown... but what do you think of it?"

"I guess brown is okay."

"Do you think it's the hot new color for spring?"

"I guess..."

"Well, your jacket is beige."

"Oh, I thought it was brown..."

This exchange continued until the guy gave up.  He never for one second pointed the camera at me.  Depressed does not even begin to express to you my feelings!

A few minutes later... this woman walked up to ME with her camera crew...

OK... so she was 100 yrs old, but here was my chance to be interviewed.  I smiled at her and waited for my first question... however, she never got around to asking me anything.  Instead, she put her hand into a claw like position, and began scratching at my arm... as she scratched over and over, she GROWLED at me (was it my leopard coat?).  It was beyond bizarre, and let me tell you, Scott thought this whole scene HILARIOUS.  Finally, I had to walk away.  So much for my 15 seconds of fame.  

Why couldn't this girl from MTV interview me???

 Soon, hangers on and freak shows arrived...

  

At the very end, we actually saw two of the models leaving.  We later saw other models on the metro.  I thought their life was way more glamorous than riding a subway!!!

 For the next two days, whenever we were in the apartment, we had the fashion channel on religiously, but never saw Scott's interview, or thankfully, MY sort-of interview.

All in all it was a crazy-fun experience, one we will not soon forget!

Great Deals!

Self explanatory...
(these are all very short...promise!)

And of course...a touch of Paris...

Oh...and Happy Valentines Day!!!

P.S.  Forgot to mention... the jeans were only $32.99!

California Bound

Wow... an entire week has past since my last post.  Doesn't seem possible.

I have been quite busy.  I'm in the middle of a 6 week online class which has 

rocked my world... but more on that in another post. 

For now... I will tell you... I am CALIFORNIA bound.  Scott has a business trip, and Lexi and I decided to tag along.  The hotel is in Laguna Beach.  I've been there a few times, and it never disappoints.  The biggest excitement revolves around the fact that I will get to see my son, who I haven't seen since last March... almost a year!  He moved out there last spring, and with all we have going on here, I haven't made it for a visit.  

Get ready Wes... HERE WE COME.  I know he is excited to show us the sights of North Hollywood where he lives, and the other hot spots in L.A.  Believe me when I tell you I will post pics when we get back.  For now, I will share some pics of Laguna Beach taken last time I was there.

Our Hotel... The Montage 

Hanging around town...

I have been reading all your blogs, but haven't been commenting much...

 I'll get back to it soon!  

Love you all so much,

~Teri

Il Dolce far Niete

One of our favorite places in Paris is Luxembourg Gardens.  The first time we went there, we walked around the big lake where the children sail the boats, sat in some chairs, and thought the whole place wonderful.

A few years later, we rented an apartment one block from Luxembourg, and as we entered the closest gate, we didn't recognize anything we saw.  We literally spent the entire day wandering around, and never even found the original lake we remembered.  We were awed not only by the sheer size of the park, but the many, many, intimate settings you could find to sit and relax, and feel like the park was there just for you.  

There's a huge children's area, along with basketball and tennis courts, and pony rides,

a puppet theater, 

  


food areas, 

huge green spaces, 

(stay off the grass, s'il vous plait)

 an art museum, numerous statues,

even a pavilion for concerts, 

 other lakes and fountains, unbelievable trees and vegetation, fruit trees, and even an area full of tiny, adorable bee hives, occupied by french bees! 

 I could go on and on.  We ended up going to the garden every single day for the entire week.  The weather was perfect that year, and we fell in love with 

il dolce far niete

 (Italian for 'the sweetness of doing nothing'). 

 I have never done anything like that on a vacation.

 It was heavenly.

A favorite of Scott's, was sitting by the Boules Court, and watching the men play boules. They take it very seriously.  If you've ever seen Samantha Brown on the travel channel when she goes to Paris, on one episode, she plays boules with some really cute, elderly men...I hope you've seen the episode, it will make this clip a lot better if you have...

We spent a lot of time watching them...free entertainment... and I could tell, Scott was imagining himself doing exactly this, in this exact spot, in his old age.  I had to video on the side, and talk super softly, because they were really serious about the whole thing.

Here's another clip.  I won't point out the obviously hilarious double meaning in this clip... I think you'll get it all by yourself...it was accidental... I PROMISE!  But later that evening, I showed it to Scott, and as we listened to it, we went into hysterical fits of laughter.  
Hope you get a laugh too!

~Teri