Your Mission Should You Choose To Accept It!

At the beginning of 2009, Comedienne, Talk Show Host and soon to be American Idol Judge, Ellen DeGeneres, gave voice to a rather unorthodox New Year’s resolution. She decided she wanted to do something, that as of the beginning of last year, had never been done before by anyone but Oprah.  Ellen decided that she wanted to be on the cover of O Magazine.

Of course, Ellen being Ellen, she launched a most amusing, no holds barred campaign to accomplish her goal. This included lengthy calls to underlings on Oprah’s staff, public on air appeals and comical mock ups of suggested cover designs. Unless you’re living under a rock, you know this multi-faceted approach worked.

Since I love stories like this and since I think a lot of both of these women, I had to buy this magazine. Inside it was an article titled, "Pretty, Quick" which really caught my attention. It proposed a beauty focused twist to the traditional child-centric advent calendar.

You may have one of these kids’ calendars in your home. If you don’t, I’m sure you’ve seen them. There are a gajillion different versions of them, almost all of which feature a Christmas themed motif and numbered pockets or little doors designed to hide candy and/or small toys. They are quite popular this time of year and they are usually prominently displayed in the family kitchen.

The "Pretty, Quick" calendar in the magazine is not nearly so showy. In fact, it can be folded up and put in a purse or a nightstand drawer. The "Pretty, Quick" calendar consists of a schedule of thirty one activities, one for each day in the month of December.

Now, before we go any further, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that I’ve lost my mind to suggest that you add thirty one more things to your already jam packed December To Do lists. You'll stop thinking this when you see what's on the calendar.    

Per the lead in paragraph in the article, each of the featured tasks can be accomplished in less than fifteen minutes per day and each is designed to improve a woman’s looks and/or to lift her spirits. Though I rarely do it, I’m all for the concept of pampering myself. If someone wants to put me on a schedule to make sure that I do more than address cards and bake cookies for other people this December, I say, sign me up!

Anyway, I’m going to do this and I think it would be fun if you did too!  To make that easier, I will keep you posted on my progress every day and I'll remind you about the following day’s assignment.  

Alright, at this point, I need to send a little love to a Chicago writer by the name of Robyn Okrant, who did something very similar to this in 2008, though on a much bigger scale. Robyn decided that since Oprah is always encouraging women to read certain books, buy foods from favored restaurants and make particular lifestyle changes, she would see how doing these things (yes, all of them!) would impact her life. She documented this journey in a blog called Living Oprah and she has since turned her experiences into a book.

When I first heard about Living Oprah, I assumed Okrant was a rabid fan. Not so much! She isn’t a hater or anything, but she does view Oprah’s admonitions with a healthy does of skepticism. In fact, one of her quotes encapsulates the basic premise of what she did and why she did it: It reads, “I’m not attempting to prove Oprah wrong or right, but I am trying to encourage women highly susceptible to the media’s influence to question the sources.” Duly noted, Robyn!  :)

Guess I should preface these next couple of paragraphs by explaining my perspective.  It's not that complicated.  I’m an unapologetic fan! I watch the program.  I read the magazine and I have her website bookmarked.  I've been known to quote Oprah and on occasion, I will pratically beg close friends to watch a particular show if I think that show has merit.

I'm a fan, but I’m a fan with a brain!  While I don’t take spiritual or political advice from Oprah and while I don’t blindly follow her (or anyone’s) suggestions about how to live my life, I will miss the show when it goes off the air in 2011. I think Oprah has done a lot of good for a lot of people. Even when I do disagree with her on a particular issue -and I do from time to time- I believe her heart is in the right place.  I have learned a lot by watching this show over the years.  I think she has done women a great service.  I appreciate that she almost always takes the high road.  I admire and respect her and I’m SO mad that my September trip to Chicago ended ONE DAY short of her big Season 24 Kick Off Street Party and Flash Mob.  Did I mention that we had been staying on Michigan Avenue, where the show was filmed, and that they were already shutting down the streets while I was leaving to catch my flight???

To those who are not as enthusiastic about Oprah as I am, I have this to say: Lighten up!  :)  This is not about Oprah. This is about us.

Anyway, December 1st: Day 1 Today’s assignment is to organize. The specific instructions are to go through your daily make up supplies and pare them down to five items. The article suggests the following five: concealor, lash curler, black mascara, berry lip gloss and rosy blush. I have a few comments. For starters, I don’t see any foundation on this list and I sneeze when I attempt to apply mascara, so I’m switching those two. Also, I have no intention of throwing out any costly products I’ve aquired, particularly not before I attend the Hot Heads event this coming Sunday. Until then, I’m going to go with six items in a little makeup bag in my purse: concealor, foundation, blush, lip gloss, eye shadow and pressed powder.

Day 2’s Assignment – Wear a great red lipstick!

I’ll let you know how it goes. Have a great evening!