As I gaze upon the multitude of glossy women’s magazines at my local book store or pharmacy, I see that all of them have a beautiful celebrity, model or professional athlete staring back at me. Their incredible beauty and style has been assisted, either by a daily personal trainer, a fashion consultant, or graphically enhanced before publication.  Inside each magazine are articles about cute sequined sneakers that cost just $300, meals you can make with ingredients you’ve never heard of, or style and beauty tips that look great on an 18-year old.  Even that small handful of magazines targeted to my age demographic (sigh, over 40), show a gorgeous celebrity, and boast pages of articles about women “re-inventing” themselves, climbing Mount Everest, or tossing away their careers to volunteer in a third-world country.

Where are the articles congratulating REAL women on just making it through another 40+ hour week, managing a busy family, and getting dinner on the table most nights?  Where does it say it is ok to feed your family 5-minute meals made out of “cheater chicken”?   What tips are there on truly affordable clothes that make you look like a million bucks, and can be thrown in the washing machine?  Where is the relationship advice for when you and your spouse are both going through a mid-life crisis?  And where can we see REAL women, like us, no photo re-touching, no special lighting, who are truly beautiful because their smile lights up a room, or they have an infectious laugh, or they are simply fabulous humans?

Well, guess what.  Welcome to my Real Women blog.  HERE is where we will tell the truth. We will congratulate each other on being amazing every day. Here is where we will share tips on great deals, swap easy recipes, vent about the men in our life (or praise them)… here is where we will recognize our multi-tasking abilities, love our dysfunctional families, share our stories, have just a few minutes of the illusive “me time”….and laugh.  Because there can never be enough laughter in our lives.

Here is where we celebrate REAL women, and their true beauty and strength – no matter your size, your age, your culture.   I will be sharing my observations, my stories, my own tips and tricks that I come across.  And I encourage, no, BEG you to share your own.  Because, face it, real women…. We are FABULOUS.