Gaudy Granny

Hi! My name is Shelley and I'm a 21 yr old trapped inside a 57 yr old body! I"m starting this blog because I LOVE to shop! I'll post occasional pictures of some of the things I buy. You may hate them or love them, I really don't care!  I know, I know, some of you must be thinking, "doesn't this old woman have anything better to do with her time"? Really, I do, but I love to write almost as much as I love to shop so this is like therapy for me! I've had a rough year and this takes me away from reality if only for a short while! I also know that I'm putting myself out there asking for a lot of insults...not asking for them, but I know I'm going to get them! Who knows, maybe if I get enough of them, I will change the way I choose to dress, wear my makeup and my hair? I've always beat to the tune of my own drummer. I probably break every rule that I've ever heard or read about aging with grace. I'm sure most people think I wear too much makeup (I just do not believe for ME that less is best), I still wear my hair, with the help of extensions, down to the middle of my back, and I still sometimes shop in the junior dept. Oh and my choice of a bathing suit...STILL a bikini! I also love to change the color of my eyes with colored contact lens, and I love my sparkle and bling! I'm loving that sequins are in style!  I'm like a kid in a candy shop when I step into a sephora store with all that glittery and sparkly makeup! On one of my Sephora shopping trips, while looking at all the Nars sparkly makeup, there was a woman and her teenage daughter standing beside me, I overheard the woman tell her daughter that NO ONE over the age of 15 should wear makeup that sparkles....I picked up my gold flecked sparkle eyeshadow and headed to the counter to pay for my purchase of Nars Galapagos eyeshadow! I figure if I'm not hurting anyone, why should anyone care what I choose to wear, or how I wear my makeup or hair? I know there are people who probably think I look ridiculous, but it wasn't UNTIL I entered a beauty pageant on facebook... the "Christmas Dreams" pageant, that anyone ever SAID (or typed) exactly what they thought about me! The minute I saw this pageant I knew I was going to enter it!  The money you pay to enter is used for charity to help those in need for the holidays. It's used to fill gift baskets with food, and for toys and other gifts for less fortunate families. I figured it was a win/win deal...you get to get all dolled up, and put on a sash and a tiara while helping to brighten the holidays for other families. The day my sash arrived in the mail I couldn't wait to put it on. I had never entered a beauty pageant before. I never even thought of entering one. I put on one of my gowns I bought for a cruise (my husband and I go on a cruise or two a year and of course, my favorite night on them is formal night), I had to look on line to find the correct way to wear a pageant sash. My husband Pat took a picture of me and I posted it on my facebook site. I figured this was a good way to get others to join in with me, I wasn't looking for compliments, and I sure wasn't looking for insults! I just wanted to share this pageant with other women, in hopes that they would join in on it too. I was shocked when a woman saw my picture (thru another friends facebook) and asked "is this a joke? Is this everything a fifty some year old woman should NOT do"? I was on my facebook when her comment came thru and I immediately posted back that it wasn't a joke, that it was for a good cause"...well, she wouldn't let up...she said I was " a joke and a pathetic sister"...first of all, I am NOT her sister! My sister would never say anything to hurt someone else. I was mortified, I deleted her comments and my picture and I hate to admit it, went into a bit of a funk over some womans' (who I do not even know),negative comments about me. I've been called names in my life, but never a "joke" or "pathetic". For some reason it really bothered me. It hurt my feelings and made me question just how many other people who I do know and love and care about, including my own kids, might be thinking the same thing, but would never say it because they would not want to hurt my feelings? I talked to my daughters, MY sister and brothers, my mom and some friends about it, I asked them what they thought? They all said not to worry about it, that there is always going to be someone out there wanting to bring other people down. Some said that this woman was probably jealous. I don't know about that one? They all told me to repost the picture..which I did, and I'm glad I did! They told me that without my "sparkles and long hair and sometimes wacky outfits, that I wouldn't be "me"! They all told me they love me just the way I am!  This got me to thinking about judging other people. When I talked to my husband about it, who is one of the sweetest men I know, he told me that he thinks we all judge others by the way they look and dress. He doesn't agree with it, but he said he even does it hiself. He just isn't mean, (like this woman on facebook was), in telling others what he thinks. When I went to my hypnotist ( who I see once a week for a medical problem) and told him about it, he tried to reassure me that I do not look ridiculous or like a stripper...gee thanks, I think?!! Btw..he's also a Baptist pastor! I have a brother, Rick, who I've never heard judge anyone for the way they choose to dress or look. He has five children, all grown now, but even I judged them when the girls got their noses pierced. I THOUGHT, "oh my...they're putting holes into their beautiful faces", but I NEVER told them this! Of course, they may be reading this post now..if so, sorry girls!
Today my husband and I went to the mall to get our fix of Auntie Annes pretzels. We love to go and get them with extra butter and extra salt and just sit in the food court and people watch. While there today, a woman walked by us, she was heavy, had her head shaved bald, and was covered in tattoos. She had them all over her head, some on her face, and some on her arms. She was in blue sweats and a tee shirt that looked about two sizes too small for her. When I saw her the first thing I thought was she must have had radiation for some kind of cancer and lost her hair and then got the tattoos to try to make something fun out of the hellish ordeal she must have gone thru. Of course I have no idea as to what her real story is..maybe she just loves having her head shaved and is into tattoos? If she had been close enough to me, I'd have complimented her and told her how cool I thought her tatts were! Even if I didn't think this, I would have told her this! My husband on the other hand, thought she looked ridiculous, but he would never have told her this. He, like me, would never intentionally hurt anyones feelings. He would just follow the rule "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all". I'm a compliment giver..I always have been, and I'm serious when I say that I can find something beautiful in everyone I see. Be it their eyes, their smile, or even their sweet spirit shining thru...if you look, you can find beauty in everyone you meet too! Why not make someone else feel good and let them know when you find them beautiful? I mean, what good does it do if you keep it to yourself. Keep the negative thoughts to yourself while you're at it. Why hurt someones feelings or make them feel bad?

I'll end this by saying that I am not a shallow person who thinks that life is only about how we look. I KNOW our body is just a shell for our spirit....and when all is said and done, our spirit will be what really counted here on earth! This is just a fun blog, not to be taken serious! I just happen to love fashion, even if I do have "guady taste"! I used to joke around and say just call me "Ru-Parton", a combination of RuPaul and Dolly Parton! Drag queen makeup and hair teased as high as I can get it to go and as long as I can get it to grow! A drag queen trapped inside a straight womans body! That's me! I like to have fun with fashion...after all, if we can't laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at?!! Don't answer that one! lol!
Oh, and if you want, send me pictures of your outfits that you really love...and I"ll post them here too! Im not sure how to work this blog, but if you want you can send them to my email address at anniewheels@gmail.com and i'll figure out how to get them posted here!
This first picture is of me and my oldest grandaughter Eve, dubbed "Diva" by her old grandma! This was taken right before we headed out for the color run race (this past August) in St Louis. The proceeds of it went to "autism speaks", a cause that is near and dear to my heart! This was the first race I have ever been in and definately not my last!  We had a blast! I blended right in with the crowd in my rainbow (autisms colors) tutu! Of course, the prettiest girl in the entire race was my little Diva! I love you little Diva!!