Kissing Potion

Who remembers these Kissing Potions from the 1970’s and 1980’s?

I remember being completely obsessed with Kissing Potion roller tip lip glosses when I was a preteen and teenager, so I was delighted when I found out that Tinte Cosmetics sold these awesome retro glosses. My favorite scent/flavor was Bubble Gum, an iconic, true bubble gum vibe which Tinte Cosmetics captured beautifully. Of course when I placed an order on the website, I had to get Strawberry Swirl, another favorite flavor. The consistency of the gloss is thick, the finish is very glossy, and Tinte nailed the scents so well that I was transported back to the days of roller rinks and drive-in movie theaters. I might have to order Watermelon, Piña Colada and Cherry Smash so that I have all the varieties I loved as a youngster.

Here’s the description of the Bubble Gum Kissing Potion:

Bubble Gum KISSING POTION ® Roll on the ORIGINAL Sweet Shine! TINte Cosmetics will take you back to the 70’s & 80’s with our delicious KISSING POTION ® ! As ultra shiny and thick & slick as you remember. Each with its own roller-ball top. Roll on our shiny, sweet gloss over bare lips or roll it on over lipstick it’s the perfect product for creating sweet shine that lasts. Get ready for the complements. As always each of our products is enriched with nourishing Shea Butter. No color, just great glossy power and delicious shine. This product is paraben free, and as always cruelty free. 

Education Is VERY Expensive!

My mother struggled to send me to excellent schools because she wanted me to have the best education possible. I know that she borrowed money from her family to send me through my senior year of high school, which back in those days was pretty expensive at around $4,200. Had she opted to pull me from the school I had been at from fourth grade on and put me in public school during my senior year, I probably would have been really screwed up from the shift, so I am very grateful to her for what she did.

It has been 31 years since I graduated from high school. I figured the cost of an education at my alma mater had risen, but when I checked out the school website to see what tuition was these days, I got the shock of my life. Here is the current tuition schedule, not including books and other fees, for the 2014-2015 school year:

TUITION 2014-2015
Elementary School (K-6) $27,690
Secondary School (7-12) $32,690

How does anyone begin to afford such an expensive education?

For those of you who are curious about my alma mater, you can click on the link here:

http://www.campbellhall.org/index.aspx

Ditching Chapel

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Many of you don’t know that I attended an Episcopalian school for nine years, from fourth through twelfth grade, and that part of my daily school experience included attending chapel. During chapel, we would sing hymns, recite the Lord’s Prayer (just hearing “Our Father, who art in heaven…” triggers the rest of the prayer in my well programmed brain) and listen to a daily sermon from our dean. Every year during the school’s Homecoming, we would visit St. John’s Cathedral, and though I enjoyed the beauty and majesty of the church, it was all sort of lost on me because at my core, I wasn’t an Episcopalian. Every year we observed Lent, and I agreed to give up something during that period that could be considered a vice for a child.

By the time I reached high school, I was fed up with being force fed a religion I did not practice outside of school, so I gradually began to rebel. When we were in chapel, I would refuse to sing the hymns or recite the Lord’s Prayer. By the time I was a junior, I had fallen into the occasional habit of completely ditching chapel and taking that 45 minute period to hang out in a quiet spot on campus with my best friend Diane or with my friend Shari. Though there were a couple of occasions in which we nearly got caught and spent a few tense minutes standing on toilet seats in the bathroom stalls and stifling nervous giggles, we never got caught. Diane was my best friend, soul sister, bad influence (according to her mom and mine), partner in crime and fellow bad Christian, whereas Shari was a defiant Jewish girl forced to attend a strongly Christian school. Between these two girls, I had rationalized the chapel-skipping behavior quite convincingly.

Looking back at the nine years of chapel which helped to shape me, I am actually grateful for the experience. I may not be a religious person, and I may not attend chapel or go to church, but I truly believe that the Christian environment I was exposed to gave me structure and discipline and helped me to find my way spiritually. Even when I dodged chapel, I learned a great deal about friendship. Teenagers need to challenge constraints every once in a while to help them find their own way.