Better Tomorrow than Today

Fiorella likes to fix things, especially herself.  Yes, Fiorella is the self-improvement queen.  Born with Haverlock teeth, she went through orthodontics as as adult, later acquired a couple of caps, and recently had the last of her silver fillings replaced with porcelain.  Currently she's considering Invisalign.

And then there's the cosmetic surgery--the upper eyelids, the lower eyelids, the lower face and neck lift, not to mention the botox, lasering, and electrolysis.  It's a wonder Husband and kids still recognize her.

Fio also gets her hair highlighted semi-regularly and strives to maintain the forty-pound weight loss she achieved last year.  And if there's any medical problem, she signs up immediately for the appropriate treatment.

You could say that Fio is insecure in her own skin, but she thinks of it as presenting her best face to the world.  Smile--you're on Candid Camera!

Forty-three Forever

The faint lines and wrinkles are returning as the swelling goes down, and those pretty cupid-bow lips have thinned out.  But, so what?  Fiorella doesn't want to look like a perpetual sixteen or even twenty-five.  She just wants to look her own age.  Well, except better.

And to think, all this started with an upper eye lift because Fio ran a red light she didn't see. What next?  Maybe Fio will get her arm flab taken care of somewhere along the line.  Or maybe a tummy tuck.  No, not a tummy tuck,  She's heard those things are P A I N F U L.

Fio's Addiction Rebounds

Fio's at it again--cosmetic botox this time. She got her forehead done last week and has been admiring herself in the mirror ever since. Later this month, she'll also be talking to the doctor about a facelift. Not that she's planning to sign on with the first plastic surgeon she talks to. Your Fiorella has just one face and doesn't plan more than one lift so she wants to be sure she gets someone who will do a good job right off the bat.

Then again, she may decide to leave things as they are--it all depends on fate and circumstance.

Don't Blink!

The surgery's over and Fio is in recovery.

The upper lids were lifted a couple of years ago, and yesterday the lowers were done. She's working her way down. Maybe next year she'll get those jowls taken care of. Then there's . . . well, who knows to what depths she'll sink?

The Plunge

Don't hold your breath, but Fio's thinking of taking the plunge, the plunge of the needle that is. The botox needle. Yes, Fio's considering youthifying her forehead, especially those frown lines between the eyes.

And she might get some fillers too, depending on how much they cost.

But then, what price beauty?

Hyperdrive

Fiorella is in holiday hyperdrive, which means she doesn't have time to spend half an hour every morning critiquing her face in the magnifying mirror.

Ever since Fio got her vision fixed, she has been fascinated--and horrified--by what she has discovered about herself. Thus the eyelid surgery and the minor facial clean-ups. And the decision to have a face lift as soon as she wins the lottery.

Fio understands she can't look sixteen again--it might get her husband arrested if she did--but she'd rather not look like Methusalah's grandmother either. Or like her father's sister, which is what the people at his nursing home seem to keep thinking she is. I mean, Aunt Julie is dead.

But such pondering will have to wait a week. Yesterday Fio set up two deer in the front yard and finished off the Christmas cards. Today she has three wreaths and four swags to hang. Then it's off to the airport at 11:00 p.m. to pick up Younger Son.

Merry Almost-Christmas!

Plastic Surgery Postscript

One more note and then I'm through--
I just realized I hadn't told you
That although my eyelids are red in hue
I now can distinguish between black and blue!

Yes, people, I could never tell whether something was black or navy blue before the eyelid surgery allowed the sunlight to shine in! It's a whole new world!

New Outlook

What a surprise!
You would not believe
The size of my eyes.
What a view--
And eyelashes too!
Peek-a-boo!

Eyelid Snippets

Fifth day out: As autumn leaves turn to gold, the red on my lids is fading to yellow, nicely contrasting with the blue-colored stitches, which, until yesterday, I thought were black.
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As I check myself out in the bathroom mirror for the umpteenth time today, I remember that old saying--a watched eyelid never heals.
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I cannot help but wonder if eyelid surgery is a gateway drug--in the distance I hear the siren song of a browlift.
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Enlightenment

Literally and figuratively, Fiorella has a new outlook.

First the literal new outlook:
At some time in the future Fio assumes she will be LOOKING more like Eternal Springtime than Bride of Dracula, but right now she is just thrilled to be SEEING so much better. At first it was somewhat frightening--all that light assaulting her from every side. In fact, Fiorella wondered if she had made a big mistake because her world was so vastly enlarged from the day before and the colors were almost painfully bright. But then, during her first solo driving expedition since the surgery, Fiorella realized she was more aware of the traffic around her than before. And when going through her wardrobe, she discovered a dress she had previously thought was black-checked was actually blue-checked. So now Fio, who prefers reality--and safety--to disaster-ridden shadowy fantasy, is more than reconciled to her choice.

Now the figurative new outlook:
Fio has been converted to plastic surgery. She is thrilled that the sagging flesh above her eyes is gone and, when her ship comes in, is planning other procedures. Nothing drastic--just a full body make-over. Also, Fio is so pleased with the possibilities of her new look, her second chance, that she has decided to live up to it by losing weight. Nothing like looking in the mirror for inspiration.

Update on Uplift

My Name's Jeanell, I look like hell,
But I can't resist the urge to tell--
My lids are red, my eyes are green
The scariest Christmas you've ever seen--
In fact, I look like Halloween!
So I can hardly wait till I am healed
And my new look will be revealed.

Vanity, Thy Name Is Fiorella

Fio has finally come of age--of a certain age that is. She keeps a perm in her hair and gets it streaked regularly. She paints on nail strengthener and has actually had a manicure for the first time in her life. She rubs Hydroquinone on three tannish spots on the back of her left hand. And her eyelid surgery is scheduled for tomorrow.

All day she has been looking in the mirror and lifting the skin in front of her ears and wondering.

Plastic Dreams

I want to win the lottery
Which I would use responsibly:
Donate to church and charity;
Help out the friends and family;
And buy myself, quite honestly,
Selective plastic surgery.

I know just where it would begin:
Lift the forehead, then the chin--
Erase the bags beneath the eyes,
Lipo out the bulging thighs;
Buy myself a nice lap-band,
And dermabrasion with fine sand.

That's all I need, my dears, you see,
To be myself, quite naturally.