Jennifer Slattery’s Beauty for the Broken Tour

Julie’s note:

It’s my pleasure to hand the blogging reins over to Jennifer Slattery today. Not only is she a talented writer, but her post today is part of her Beauty for the Broken tour. Please follow her instructions at the end, taking the time to vote helps not just you, but has the opportunity to help many. Thanks, and enjoy!

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I’ve heard it said, “Real men can wear an apron without breaking a sweat.” Others say real men know how to cry. I say the true measure of a man is how well he handles himself at a Mary Kay make-over party. Fighting over the tube of lipstick is definitely out, but following us gals around with a video camera and loads of compliments? Now that’s my kind of hero. 🙂

 

In March, a friend of mine invited me to participate in a Mary Kay charity event, and I managed to talk my poor, unsuspecting husband into joining the affair. As a photographer, mind you. Had he gone for the catalog I would have been slightly concerned. Unless, of course, he was shopping for Mother’s Day.

 

It was a blast! A handful of ladies and I gathered in my kitchen for a good-old-make-up party. It kind of reminded me of junior high slumber parties, only this time we had permission to slather on the cream and gloss. I loaded the kitchen and coffee tables with popcorn, chocolate, and nail polish, and my friend spread out the make-up. My daughter joined us, which made the moment extra special. (Minus her “can you buy me” list.) My neighbor brought her daughter as well. In all, we had six ladies, seven counting our consultant. That’s seven females … in one house … elbow deep in glimmer and glam.

 

My poor, ESPN-loving, railroader husband!

 

So here he was, surrounded by giggling, chattering ladies. Instead of lounging in his easy chair, eating potato chips and watching the basketball game, he followed us around with a video camera in hand. Maybe you’re different than me, but get a camera in my vicinity, and I have a tendency to turn cantankerous.

 

“Don’t get so close. You’ll zoom in on my wrinkles. Maybe if we dimmed the lights … Shadows? What shadows? Oh, those are under eye circles. Try shooting from an angle. Wait, step back a little. No, closer.”

 

Luckily the other ladies weren’t quite so finicky, but that didn’t prevent my husband from having to move from room to room, patiently awaiting that “perfect shot.” Of course, once he got the tri-pod set up, I’d get distracted by a lip gloss color or a conversation on purses. But it was for a good cause.

 

You’ve gotta love those patient husbands able to stand their own amidst a household of ladies! We’ve been married for sixteen, soon to be seventeen. Sixteen years of shoe shopping, ballets, and Mary Kay make-overs. It’s probably time we hit a ball game or two. 🙂

 

Help make my honey’s time worthwhile by popping over to Mary Kay’s website  to vote for my not-so-lovely mug shot. If you do, and let us know in the comments, you’ll win a $10 Mary Kay gift card along with a free make-over (in person or via Skype) donated by Mary Kay consultant, Sharilyne Cochran . If I can drum up enough votes between June 5-15, Mary Kay will donate a total of $5,500 to two orphan ministries: the Raining Season, and Go Threads .

 You can vote up to five times a day, so keep clicking. 🙂 And invite your friends.

 

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Jennifer Slattery lives in the Midwest with her husband and daughter. She writes for Christ to the World Ministries, the ACFW Journal, Internet Café Devotions, and Jewels of Encouragement. You can connect with her online at her devotional blog at http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com or via Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte