The Death of Feminism?

Her Majesty likes to disappear.

I usually start looking in all of the places she shouldn’t be, and I almost always find her in front of my make up drawer. This morning, she has slipped away and I find her poised in front of the open drawer running her fingers against the end of a large brush.

“What are you doing?” I know the answer, but for some reason motherhood requires I ask the question anyway.

“Making my eyes pretty,” she says with a grin.

I put her glasses back on and pick her up to better examine her eyes. “But your eyes are already pretty. You don’t need make up.” I twirl her for good measure and place her back on the floor.

She points proudly to her left eye. “But this one is prettier because I put the pink stuff on it. I like the pink stuff.”

I sigh. “I know you like the pink stuff, but are you supposed to be in my make up?”

“No.”

I usher her out of the bathroom, through the bedroom and into the hall where she turns to look at me. “You forgot to put your make up on!”

“Maybe I don’t want to put on make up.”

“Why?”

“Maybe make up is based on the needs of a now defunct patriarchal society but advertized as a necessity in order to drive up sales for a product I don’t really need.”

She considers this for a minute. “But it would make you prettier. Maybe if you added a little lipstick…”

And it’s moments like these where, for just a moment, I think I’m having a conversation with my mother instead of my daughter. 

4 Reasons Why You Should Sign up for M&M 2011 Right Now!

1. Our Keynote speaker is Eloisa James. She's a NYT Bestseller 12 times over and a USA Today Bestseller 16 times over. She also graduated from Harvard, which I think is pretty darn cool. If you haven't read any of her work, you can also get a copy of Duchess in Love for $1.99 in e-book format. Click here to learn more.

2. Our GRW Featured Speaker is Karen White, also a NYT Bestseller. In fact, she has a book out right now, The Beach Trees. She has another book, The House on Tradd Street, which I think is really cool--especially now that I've been on Tradd Street.

3. Our Special Craft Speaker is Leigh Michaels. She's written over 100 different books, including Just One Season which was just compared to Jane Austen.  Find out more here. She also has a book on the craft of writing romance called On Writing Romance.


4. We could run out of space this year. Yes, that's right. Registration is hopping along.  Hotel rooms at the discounted rate are almost gone.  Pretty soon we're going to have to take the fire code into consideration.  People, you want to be here to hear these 3 talented ladies in addition to all of our other awesome workshop presenters and the opportunity to pitch to some of the best editors and agents in the business.  If you don't believe me check out the workshop schedule and the editors and agents who will be here this year.

Register fast! And make those hotel reservations even faster!

We can't wait to see you at M&M this year!

P.S. Whatever you do, don't click on the next post.
P.P.S. Okay, so go ahead and click on the next post. It's funny. My daughter did that. I'm a writer, and I can't make this stuff up.

Caption Contest!

I can't resist. Take a look at what I stumbled upon in Her Majesty's doll house and feel free to whip up a caption.  Try to keep it at least a little PC!  (Winner gets...uh, bragging rights or possibly a beer if we run into each other in the next year or so)

I Came. I Saw. I Waxed.

All women of child-bearing age know that nothing good ever comes of being led to a small room with a paper-covered tabled and being told, “Strip from the waist down.”

Okay, so that’s no entirely true, but I have to say that waxing is not for the faint of heart.  Instead, it’s about weighing your options: a) using a razor and/or cream and having horrible razor burn for 2-3 days only to have to repeat the process in less than 5, or b) experiencing several flashes of debilitating pain for just under 30 minutes with only 1 day of razor burn and at least 2 weeks of not having to shave the bikini area. I got about a week on the underarms and legs—that’s it. (Of course, there’s always option c: go hairy and dare someone to make something of it. I have seriously considered this option on more than one occasion)

But you wanted to know more of the gritty details, didn’t you?

I went Brazilian Wax by Andreia, the location just off Roswell Road by the Harry’s. They are lovely ladies, and it was all very professional. You can get a whole body wax for $65 or so. That doesn’t mean they dip you in wax, rather that you can wax as much as you’d like. I passed on the upper lip since I had more pressing concerns.

Would I do it again? I can’t afford to go once a month, which is what she recommended for maintenance. That said, I would absolutely consider another visit before a long trip that would require swim suits. Thirty minutes of pain far outweighs the hassle of having to shave or the subsequent razor burn. Surprisingly, only a few curse words were involved, although I did call for help from a higher power more than once.

A few things I wish I’d known:

• You are expected to leave a tip. Duh. I did leave a tip, but I hadn't budgeted for it.
• When she suggests the back of the legs, you should probably go for that.
• And this one's really important:  a Brazilian is the whole enchilada. You can instruct your aesthetician to do something a little different, but if you ask for a Brazilian, you need you know what you’re getting yourself into.

I lived to tell the tale—anyone swayed to give it a try?