I may not be beautiful, but I can be pretty

I picked up Molly Ringwald's latest book, Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick, never expecting to get more than just a good night's read before falling asleep. Imagine my surprise, then, to find myself nodding vigorously for about the first 20 pages, and taking notes as I zoomed through the first 50 pages in less than an hour. This is not War and Peace, nor does it pretend to be, it's just the musings of a newly 40-something woman who's realizing that she's given up on being pretty and instead allowed herself to slump into mediocrity because it's so much easier that way.

First, let's dispel the myth that "pretty" is only for beautiful women: that's crap. You can be the plainest girl in your crowd (I'm putting my hand in the air and waving it around - that's definitely me) but still be pretty. Pretty is a state of mind...it's that feeling you get when your hair is done, you have more than just moisturizer and sunscreen on your face, you LOVE what you're wearing, and you have spent more than 20 seconds choosing the shoes, handbag, and jewelry you're wearing. It's giving a damn. I haven't been pretty in a very long time other than for special occasions. (And really, what's more special than having dinner with my husband and daughter? Or gardening with my 20 year old? Or driving an engineering meeting at work?)

So I'm pledging right now that I will make a concerted effort to be pretty more often. What does that mean to me?

• Getting rid of ugly clothes that I'm keeping just because they fit me. This includes every baggy, ugly, logo'd tee shirt I own. And the pants that fit me in the waist but look like MC Hammer pants in the hips, thighs, and butt. If I don't love wearing it, it's going...even if I only have one outfit afterward.
• I have a hair cut and color appointment tonight and I'm going to do something more inventive than "just make sure I don't have to blow dry it" with my hair. I have slacked off so much of late that I can't remember the last time I tried to style my hair beyond running a brush through it and either putting in a hair band or using my glasses to hold it back
• I ran by Target later tonight to pick up more mascara (mine is more than 6 months old), some eyelining pencils, and a new lipstick (Cherries in the Snow by Revlon). I only have gel liner at home right now and I hate that it always migrates up my eyelid as the day goes by, so I'm going to get one brown and one plum pencil, then commit to using them every work day. (Not sure if I will on weekends or not yet.) My new make up routine will be: tinted moisturizer with SPF 20, loose powder, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. Less than five minutes to feel pretty again? That's a bargain!
• Up my walking from 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week to 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week. That's an extra 75 minutes a week and a step closer to the 60 minutes my primary care physician would like to see me doing. How is walking going to contribute to getting my pretty back? No, it's not the obvious weight loss connection that I'm focused on here, it's about taking care of my body because a body that is neglected and abused is distinctly NOT pretty

That's it for now but I'm sure I'll add more as I go along. I'm sure some of you are thinking that this is incredibly superficial, especially given the health challenges that I have right now (including diabetes and binge eating), but you have to understand that it's all tied together for me...caring enough to put on eyeliner, style my hair, and wear pretty shoes instead of just comfy ones will hopefully lead to caring enough not to binge, to eat fruits and vegetables instead of fast food, and, eventually, to a smaller body that puts less strain on my back, hips, knees, and feet.