Time to celebrate our resurrection by announcing the winner of our long-delayed Caption Contest. Recall, if you will, our arresting image of a couple of weeks ago:

Leigh Says:
April 10th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

“Wow, the slots here pay out WAY better than they do in the US!”

Congratulations and imaginary swag to Leigh! And now for the iPresentation of the eSwag, in this case, a slightly Americanized wardrobe choice: an authentic and jaunty cavalry Stetson.

Is Earth Day a bunch of propaganda, or just a nice way to remind ourselves that we need to take care of the planet instead of polluting it?

I’m in the latter camp, and I try as much as I can to do my part by saving water, recycling, using as many green products as I can, and cutting down on my family’s waste and consumption.

My secret shame, though, is that I can’t seem to give up the fifteen minute showers.  I mean, hey, I’ve got really long hair, it takes a while to shampoo and condition that stuff!  Excuses aside, no matter what I do, I can’t seem to get my shower under fifteen minutes. 

You can go here to view some great Earth Day activities for kids, one of which includes watching or reading Dr. Suess’ The Lorax with your kids. Or go here to see some events that might be happening in your neck of the woods!

And if you like, share your favorite “green” tip with us!

My favorite is using recycled materials to make your own drip irrigation system, such as the one found here.  Not only are you recycling, it really cuts down on the water you use for your plants, while at the same time delivering them enough to thrive!

He came up to me about two weeks before Easter while I was reading a book. He sidled up to the bed with a perplexed look on his handsome young face.

“Mommy, I have a question.”

“OK,” I said, “go ahead.”

“Mommy, I want you to tell me the truth. Is the Easter Bunny for real?”

Crap.

Was I really getting this question already? Why had I thought I had more time?

“Wellllll…” I tried to stall for time. “I, uh, will tell you the truth if you really want to know the truth.”

“Yes, Mommy, I really want to know the truth.”

Sigh.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Fine. I can’t straight-faced lie to the kid, can I?

So the truth was told about who the Easter Bunny really was, which quickly led to similar conclusions about the Tooth Fairy, and finally that last holdout, Santa.

To be honest, we both were a bit teary eyed at the loss of these childhood fantasies, but I think I took it a little harder. Actually, it didn’t take long for him to start crowing about what he had learned to family members. On pain of having no Easter hunt, Easter Bunny or no, he was threatened cautioned to not tell anyone his newfound knowledge.

On Easter Sunday we had an egg hunt with family and friends, one with children of all ages, including ones younger than him.

I sort of held my breath as a non-family member suggested where the Easter Bunny had left some eggs, and I heard him say loudly and for the benefit of the three year old next to him, “Oh yes, the Easter Bunny did a good job at hiding the eggs!”

Good lad.

But my goodness, the Manolosphere is having problems, isn’t it?

It’s gotta be raincoaster and those darn Jesus posts. Jesus will get you every time.

Kidding! Kidding! Lord knows we don’t need any more problems, right?

Listen, I’ve got the best Hot Mama Tip there is, a fifteen percent off code for Sephora. This can be used online, but only toward the purchase of products, not gift cards or e-cards or things of that ilk.

As you know, Sephora rarely has sales, so this one is definitely one to jump on. It expires on April 21, 2009.

Enter code BD2T9CB5 at checkout, and have fun!

I just restocked on some Bare Escentuals, and now I’m ready for summer.

Easter. It happened at Easter. While we at the Manolosphere blog have no pretense of divinity (despite Plumcake‘s having the hots for the Archbishop of Canturbury) we do find it somewhat fitting that the story of our death and resurrection should happen at this time of year. Some of you may be curious as to the cause and even moreso to the solution of the dreadful outage. Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and god knows the Manolo’s not paying me for a thousand words, so here goes.

It was all very simple, really:

At this, the most solemn time of the year for Christians, I beg of you to turn your back on the pagan-associated-and-entirely-oversexed Easter Bunny and remember the TRUE source of our greatest blessings.

Although I normally consider myself a liptsick gal, I make an exception for CARGO Lip Gloss.

It comes in a convenient, easily transportable tin that houses not one, but two colors of lip gloss. The great thing is that each color coordinates with the other, if so desired. Or, you can wear them one at a time, it’s up to you. You can choose the tin that focuses on the hue combination you’re looking for, whether it’s berries or pinks or mauves.

The gloss goes on lightly and is non-sticky. My only complaint is that I wished it lasted a wee bit longer. But, you get lots of product in each tin, so it really does take a long time to run out! The gloss is priced well at $14.00, which sounds like a lot, but the tins are really big, so it’s actually a pretty good deal.

CARGO Lip Gloss Duo

Or, if you really want to go wild, you can opt for the CARGO Lip Gloss Quads.

Seriously, Paul McCartney had no chance. British invasion, British inshmasion. Paul was given a complete and utter drubbing by none other than Paul Newman.

And with this next challenger, I think that if the inimitable Mr. Newman wins again, I will retire him to the CDF Hall of Fame. Because he is indeed one delectable bit of man candy to be sure.

So, here goes…

VERSUS