Insomnimusing: Allons-y!

We're Waiting for You! Rachel invited y...

I don't really experiment too much when it comes to my shampoo and conditioner. I have my tried and true that I keep in the shower at all times, and I only stray when I get a sample, because "waste not, want not" - ya know? Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Weightless Shampoo and Creme Rinse was a part of my Birchbox selection, and it kind of took me a while to get to it. Can I just say, my hair feels so great I might have to buy the full size? Seriously. My hair is naturally a medium brown, very thick, wavy-to-curly, with a somewhat coarse texture that wants to frizz - a lot. That's what it is naturally - that is NOT what it is now. What it is now is bleached to the point that I can't get it to even hold a mild haircolor (I'm trying to bring it back up to a more natural tone - gonna have to go more hardcore on the color to do so, I think, but I digress...) It's stripped, definitely prone to frizz, and frankly, a bit woolly Well, I'm not...

I love a good, luxurious body wash, and Oribe's Cote d'Azur Refreshing Body Wash did not disappoint. It formed a light and creamy full lather on my shower pouf, and a moderate amount was sufficient to do a full shower, as well as a leg and underarm shave, without relathering the pouf. The lather also was creamy enough to give me a nice, smooth shave. The scent was spicy and warm, reminding me of Shalimar (remember that?). My skin felt clean and smooth afterward, with a light touch of the scent remaining and no dry, taut feeling.  I followed the shower with the Oribe Cote d'Azur Restorative Body Cream, and this one threw me a bit. Mainly, the scent was not exactly like the body wash had been. Where the body wash had a warm, amber, musky sort of scent, the body cream was much "greener" in its scent.The body cream was still spicy, but it was not as complex a sort of spicy blend. In fact, it was very unusual (for a body cream) in that it seemed ...

So far this year, the girls and I went to see Maroon 5 and Magic! I took Munch to see Train and The Fray. I took Gin to see One Direction and Icona Pop in Indianapolis (our third time seeing 1D!), and the next day we drove on to Chicago (well, Tinley Park, really) to see 5 Seconds of Summer and Hey Violet! Next week, Gin and I are going to Columbus to see One Direction AGAIN! Hey, don't judge. I got a Groupon for that one.

Swagbucks may have already celebrated their birthday last week, but it's all of us who get a birthday wish come true! During their brithday celebrations, they asked their members to vote on a birthday wish. Well we all voted and it really is a wish come true: On Thursday, March 6th, Swagbucks will have the Solar Vortex Swag Code Extravaganza ! Starting at 6am PT to 6pm PT (9am - 9pm Eastern), the day will be filled with fun in the sun, games and some extreme heat – something to help you forget about all the snow and cold this season! In fact, on Thursday only, you'll be able to earn up to 36 SB in Swag Codes alone!  If you haven't tried out Swagbucks yet, Thursday's Solar Vortex Swag Code Extravaganza is your chance to learn how much fun getting Swag Bucks can be, AND it'll give you a nice leg up to earning enough SB for your first free gift card! Swagbucks has helped me get enough gift cards for Walmart and Applebees . So if you're ready to make your time on...

The girls and I are back home from our trip to Michigan where we saw One Direction (with 5 Seconds of Summer) at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The show was fantastic. The boys were amazing. And speaking as a grown woman with fully functional organs, I think I might have ruptured an ovary about halfway through. Niall was his usual charming self. Louis was fun, as always. Zayn was flawless. Liam was a dancing fool. And Harry... Ah, Harry... Harry was absolutely smouldering. I have to say, though, if I weren't a hardcore Harry girl, last night probably would've turned me into a Liam girl. He was so full of energy and light and life. I can't believe there were some so-called "fans" there with cruel signs abusing him. Honestly, how could anyone not simply adore him? We arrived at the hotel to find it full of Directioners and a wedding party - about a 50/50 ratio, it seemed. We had three hours before the gates opened and it was only a few minutes' drive from the v...

I'm sitting in a hotel room listening to girls screaming in the hallway. I'm not alarmed. I'm in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and there's a One Direction concert in three hours. Gates open in a little over a hour and a half. I'd better get ready. I should have bought ear plugs.....

Yes, I've been gone forever. We've got perfume and album announcements and all kinds of other stuff. Oh, and the boys not only are on my continent - and in my country - they even were in my own state! (We'll be going to see them in another state.) But today, I'm being bombarded with reports of the impossible happening. After we were told that Modest! Management forbade the boys from having their girlfriends on the tour (they're a distraction), Eleanor showed up to attend a concert in Ohio. That was Tuesday. And how about the reports of what supposedly happened Wednesday? (Note: I've confirmed nothing at this point. I'm at work and just being flooded with text messages.) What I'm told happened Wednesday: -Louis and Eleanor broke up -El's dad is officially a Modest! employee (thus reinforcing the notion that the whole relationship was a ruse) - Harry was "outed" by his friends (of course, this happens frequently) - Harry sang op...

Someone was clearly trying to kill me today by sending me these pictures of Harry and Lux. Oh yeah, it was my daughter. She's so cruel sometimes. Sorry I don't have photo credits for these, but thank you - sincerely - to whomever took them. Seriously. Thank you.

I put the mp3s on shuffle while I worked Friday night and attempted to drown out my coworkers. I kept a faithful log and refused to cheat, so here was my complete and unedited soundtrack for the night. Moments - One Direction Closer - Nine Inch Nails Need You Now - Lady Antebellum They don't know about us - One Direction Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel This is the One - Stone Roses Up All Night - One Direction Over Again - One Direction Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz Calabria - Enur feat. Natasja Last Thing on Your Mind - Lights Do Me - Bel Biv Devoe Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla The Year 3000 - Jonas Brothers Over My Head - The Fray Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley and the Wailers Lonely No More - Rob Thomas Sanctified - NiN How to Save a Life - The Fray Buttons - Pussycat Dolls Tell Me a Lie - 1D Mockingbird - Rob Thomas Barely Breathing - Duncan Sheik True - Spandau Ballet Stay - SafetySuit Suddenly I See - KT Tuns...

The  One Big Announcement  due to occur just after 7 a.m. EDT. Yes, alarm clocks are set. 

So, the wax figures of our favourite boys were unveiled at Madame Tussaud's in London today. Sugarscape captured exclusive video of the reveal Here's more on that. Um, what did he need that tape measure for? How lifelike and fully accurate are they? The official poster for "This is Us" was debuted today. Are you ready for it? BAM! There ya go! My lovely little Harry stopped by the bakery today where he used to work before he got all famous and stuff. Harry at the bakery. Harry at the bakery now and then. Aw, let me just squeeze his wittle cheeks ... or his buns. Oh, and let's not forget that today marks 1000 days since the boys were put together as a group! Ok, this was brief, but busy, no?

In honor of my daughter getting a follow on Twitter from the one and only official and VERIFIED Savan Kotecha today, I thought I'd devote today's post to him. That "follows you" is, of course, for her, not me. Considering he's followed by 463,101 people, and he only follows 25,196 himself, that's a pretty big WIN for her. We all got to meet Savan on X Factor when he treated us with this little number about our favourite boys. But if you want some real pearls of wisdom, you can check out his YouTube channel here  Savan wrote not only One Direction's first smash hit, "What Makes You Beautiful," but he's also the songwriter for a whole slew of our other favourite 1D tunes, like "Live While We're Young" and one of my personal faves, "I Wish." In fact, Savan is credited with writing on all of these One Direction songs: "Live While We're Young" "What Makes You Beautiful" ...

Oh, my little curly imp likes to advocate healthy snacking by setting a good example. (credit in pic) Yes, that's Harry Styles yet again munching a banana while on stage. Word has it, when the boys popped up through the stage for their opening in Nottingham tonight, Harry was crouching and eating a banana. "Five seconds, Mr. Styles!" "Oh, ok, I can finish it then." "Nice banana!" Oh, stop it! Harry decided the people of Sheffield also needed a lesson in healthy eating, as he snacked on a banana there too - while performing "Live While We're Young." He clearly was not advocating table manners at the same time, as he attempted to sing with his mouth full. Then he signaled an apology so he could try to chew and swallow a little faster. And yet, I forgive him. Based on the other stories that came out of Sheffield, well, I'd say "healthy consumption" was further from his mind.... But anyway, in other news today,...

There's tragedy in the world every day. There's death in the world every day. Some people have made it their mission today to very sactimoniously point that out. While many are looking at the horror of the bombings in Boston, they are noting that it's all the more evil because of the total innocence of the venue. Indeed, this race is iconic. It symbolizes health and strength and self-sacrifice and endurance and determination and will and hard work - and it was attacked. There are runners who trained for months and years to get their bodies into condition to run 26 miles - 26 MILES - who reached the finish line to have their LEGS BLOWN OFF! Three people are confirmed dead. More than 50 are seriously or critically injured. Nearly 100 more were injured as well. Yet when the world sends its support and tries to offer words of comfort, some arrogant ASS points out that there were deaths yesterday. Where were your sympathies when soldiers died? Where was your heartache at d...

It's not a Backstreet Boys album, an album by The Necessary (later to become House of Fools), a song by LL Cool J or a duet by Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler. For Directioners, "This is Us" is the much-anticipated One Direction 3D movie coming out this summer. Did you know there was so much else that was "This is Us"? It kinda makes me wish they'd gone with "1D3D" as the title instead. Still, I don't think there will be much confusion as the release date gets closer. Sony and Columbia pictures have released a few movie stills to whet our appetites, but I think I can speak for all of us when I say, "We want more!!" You can follow the latest updates on the official movie site here . And in case you haven't seen it yet, here's the teaser trailer. So, this is them, then. :) And have a look at how the Newcastle "trial" went for Harry, Liam, Niall and Louis went!

Some of us would LOVE to spend a day playing around at a real premier league football (that's soccer for the Americans) training ground. Of course, my first choice would be Manchester United's Carrington, but, ya know, "when in Rome" ... or in this case, Newcastle.  What better way to get a football club to let you play around their training pitch all day than to say, "Hi, we're 4/5 of One Direction! And we've got these big 3D cameras following us around, so you'll get massive publicity from our film and probably lots of merchandise sales!"? I don't know if that's the approach they used, but it worked. So the boys brought along the cameras - via @1Dliveupdates on Twitter Louis got well into the action (he's known to be a damn fine footballer) via @Navigating1D on Twitter Liam looked mighty fine even just hanging out post play, here with Josh Devine, their drummer, and Andy Samuels, Liam's longtime friend ...

Anyone who's been exposed to the 1D fandom for more than 2.6 seconds has encountered the name "Larry Stylinson." I mentioned the ship names of the confirmed couples in One Direction in an earlier post - Louis and Eleanor are "Elounor," Liam and Danielle are "Payzer," and Zayn and Perrie are "Zerrie," but many fans believe there's an unconfirmed and not-so-secret couple in the group - "Larry Stylinson." That's Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. Some Directioners like to ship all the boys in every possible configuration (Ziam, Narry, Ziall, etc.) but the biggest and most popular,  and simultaneously most hated and most controversial ship in the group is Larry. Loads of evidence has been given for the relationship by its supporters - corresponding tattoos, secret hand signals, etc. Frequently the boys even seem to confirm it themselves. For some pretty compelling evidence (mixed in with some pretty anecdot...