It’s so easy when you’re home all day to just not bother getting dressed or make any effort to look good and it can become a really bad habit. I found that I was doing this my first year homeschooling. One day my MIL showed up unexpectedly to drop something off and I was so embarrassed because the kids and I were still in pajamas in the middle of the afternoon. Now I make it a point to shower and dress like I would if I were going out right away even when I’m not. I makes me feel better about myself and its better for my marriage as well. Nobody wants to live with someone who looks like a slob all of the time.

Umm … can we lose the word “should” in the title? You wrote a whole post on that subject recently. Also I wanted to find something relevant for you to read so I searched for the phrase “aging gracefully” because I think you’re having a mid-life crisis or something. Maybe not. Should I duck? But anyways, I found this article in your favorite newspaper – the New York Times – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/fashion/15French.html?pagewanted=all . I liked these two sentences at the end of the article – “Françoise Sagan once wrote, “There is a certain age when a woman must be beautiful to be loved, and then there comes a time when she must be loved to be beautiful.” And many Frenchwomen seem to be well loved as they get older — by their tight-knit families, their friends and, perhaps most importantly, themselves.”