True Beauty

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in facial or figure perfection, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

By Sam Levenson

Photo shoots show me what I cannot see……

Things to do/Rules to follow before Plastic Surgery

 

1. Take a shower and wash every crevice you think you have and then do it again in case you missed a spot.
2. Shave EVERYTHING that needs shaving and wax the rest. Assume everyone in the entire office will see your naked ass.
3. Color your hair prior to surgery because you can’t do it for (in some cases) 2 weeks later.
4. Get your nails and toes done because no one wants to look at your funky nails or toes.
5. Tan a day or two before surgery so when you come out of surgery, even though you will look like shit, at least you have tan.
6. Pack the night before-minimal stuff needed. Robe slippers, toiletries, pillow, computer, & drugs.
7. Get snacks and drinks that will settle your stomach in case anesthesia makes you puke your brains out, then take your dumbass over to your pills and take the one that stops vomiting.
8. Ask for help getting up and getting back into bed even though the drugs that have kicked in tell you that you are fine and don’t need help. You will regret it when you fall down and bust a stitch or worse.
9. Follow all doctors’ orders before and after surgery-including leaving all bandages on until nurses remove them or tell you to remove them no matter how bad you want to see what it all looks like-trust me-at first it ain’t pretty.
10. If something goes wrong because you failed to follow rule #9 you only have your dumbass to blame. 

NERVES

So obviously, this next surgery is not my first rodeo. I am almost having flashbacks to when I did the body lift in June 2006.  The incision for an outer thigh lift that is needed in order to make sure all the burn scar is cut off starts on my back side and ends right in front of my hip bone about 3 inches on both sides.  If there was not soooo much tissue (and a little fat) that needed to be removed doing this on my left side would not be necessary, however that is NOT the case and in order for my body to look even I have to take off the left what comes off the right. Then I am having my front scar revised from my c-section to make sure that “matches” the rest of what I am doing on my outer thighs, and corrects a deep indention that was made after my c-section scar opened wide up 3 days after Priscilla was born due to all the fluid I was carrying around in that area, and the doctor allowed the wound to stay open and the fluid to continue to leak out. When it finally healed it didn’t make a pretty scar-it left a wide scar and indention!  To say the least there will only be about 3-5 inches on my back side that will not have an incision, so basically I am 3-5 inches short of a body lift AGAIN.

I am excited, yet nervous all at the same time.  A regular body lift take a full year to heal, so my “almost” body lift re-do will take about the same amount of time. Swelling goes down in about a month or so, so I can see results pretty quickly, which is very nice.  The stitches internally feel like wires from the outside of the body, but they are dissolvable, so eventually they go away. The feeling of tightness can be a struggle sometimes because I feel like I should somehow crouch down when I walk. I can stand up straight, but I can’t lean too far to one side, or lean too far backward or forward because it pulls on the incision.  Last time I had this surgery within 6 months, and before I officially was 100% healed my husband got the idea that having a baby would be fabulous.  Even though I loved the idea too, I wish he would have had this bright idea before my surgery.  Regardless his bright idea turned into Priscilla, and we are so happy to have her.  Any repercussions my body went through after surgery in order to carry her are worth dealing with any day all day. I never said I did things in my life in order anyway. So I am just rollin with it. It is what it is.

I am FINALLY,  after waiting a long time going to do right by my boobies, and get them BOTH lifted at the same time so that I get perfect symmetry.  Lefty has never been lifted, which means that even though nipple placement on both breasts is the same they still look a little more like sisters than twins. One year after the breast lift I will (Or one of my best friend’s Tish will) tattoo flesh colored pigment (the same color as my nipples) over the breast lift scars to “fog” out the incision line and scar so that they look like they have never been touched. My right breast was lifted several times over the years to correct symmetry, and you can’t see the vertical scar unless I lean back in a certain way, in a certain light and actually point it out.  I am grateful I healed so nicely from those lifts, I am hoping the same thing happens with this one.

And lastly if it is not one thing it is another-my scar tissue in my lips, which holds the implants in place has ripped at some point making my super fabulous lip implants lose their positioning.  This could have happened during a dental visit, or multiple visits over the years by stretching my lip too far too soon after I got the implants not allowing them to heal properly.  Who woulda thunk it? My top one is too far to the right, and bottom is too far to the left.  I am the only one that notices it, but we are going to fix it.  The good doctor may just reposition the implants I have, or he could opt to switch them out.  If he opts to switch them out I am going to ask to see in my hands the size implants I have now, and then one size smaller, and if there is not a huge difference (there is actually 1mm difference between each implant size-3mm, 4mm & 5mm-I have 5mm) I may go down to a 4 if he and I agree that is the best thing.  I may need a longer implant to prevent this incident from happening again.

So these are the trials and tribulations that come with plastic surgery, and maintaining what you have done before, especially if you do anything to “undo” what was done to start with.  That is why I call it the plastic surgery train, because once you get on, if you want to keep that “look” to some degree there will be more surgeries in your future-especially where breast augmentations are concerned.  After this surgery I am hoping to maintain my appearance with my body with no problem, and maintain my appearance with my face through little things like Botox, and fillers, and then some time when I am around 38-40 I will do a very conservative lower face lift, so that I get just a little lift on my lower face and neck.  If I have to repeat this process at 50, again in a conservative way the results will be phenomenal because I will be able to still “age” very gracefully without ever looking stretched or pulled, which is EXACTLY what I want to avoid at all costs.

When I turned 30 and had my body lift and breast implant replaced I got a conservative lower eyelid lift so that the excess skin under my eyes could be taken off, but as requested, it was done in a very conservative way so that no one would be able to tell, and thankfully that is exactly what I got. I had a friend who discussed this procedure with her doctor and she is 39 now and he said he would never do anything like that until she was older.  She doesn’t look near 39, but she complains of the same problem I had of the excess skin under my eyes that my make-up would settle in, and did not look good in pictures.  The problem with doctors being overly conservative and not allowing women to do work that in a lot of ways is “preventative maintenance”, is that when they finally DO get the work done at 50 or later there is such a drastic change you can tell they had work done, because they LOOK different.  I would like to maintain my look, and have changes I make (especially with the face) be so subtle that no one could tell unless I told them.  To give you an example that proves my point to a certain degree-At one point Dolly Parton got a face lift/brow lift/neck lift done.  When she did it the results were noticeable.  People could tell she had work done and she didn’t deny it….BUT, from time to time I am fairly certain (a little birdy told me) that she goes back and gets a little maintenance done on these areas so that she stays looking fresh, and now no one can tell if she has done more work because she looks the same.

For all of you “grow old gracefully” women/men, I intend to allow myself some of leeway to look close to my age.  I won’t get rid of every single fine line or wrinkle (that just about impossible anyway), but I DO intend to “grow old gracefully”-SLOWLY, and this is very possible to attain with little maintenance botox/fillers, and conservative facial surgery in time.  I never want to look “surgerized” and so far I think I am doing good.  Admittedly after my brow lift at 25 I DID look surgerized for awhile until all the nerves and muscles connected again and movement was restored. That was the price I had to pay to avoid looking pulled in my 40’s or 50’s by doing that part of the work at 25.  At 40 or 50 I may need a touch-up brow lift, but if I do, I will do the endoscopic one, instead of full coronal one (the one where the incision is ear to ear-like my first brow lift) so that it is not extreme looking.

In the meantime I hope you will send good thoughts and prayers my way for surgery next Thursday. Before surgery next week I will post pre-op pictures, and then afterward I will post post-op pictures so you can follow the progress, and see for yourself how it is going.  You can subscribe to this blog, and it will email you when I update it.

Peace~

Jenny Lee

Cilla & Me (Maria Bernal Photography)

Surgery for me in February!!!

Ok, so I have gone in excess of two years to have some “Maintenance” done to my breasts that is long overdue and also to have the horrendous burn scar removed off my right hip.  In order to remove the burn scar off my left hip a LOT of skin, tissue, & fat has to come off too. In order to make my left side look the same as my right side my doctor is going to duplicate the procedure on my left hip so they match.  The Technical terminology for this is an Outer Thigh lift, even though that is not the purpose of the surgery that is what it is called.  The scar takes up a large portion of my right thigh.  If there were any other way to remove it, I would try that, but other than a skin graft, which looks worse, this is the best alternative.  I will also have the incision along the front of my body lift revised where I “blew out my C-section” to make it look better, and then I am going to FINALLY have both breasts lifted (implants removed, breasts lifted, implants replaced). My lip implants need a little tweaking so I am going to see what we can do about that.  This surgery has been planned for awhile now, and paid for long ago,  I am just waiting for timing to be right, and also I have to lose some weight to give the doctor enough extra loose skin to tighten these areas.  I had dropped 10 pounds and was on my way to surgery weight and then I had a bunch of dental issues come up that HAVE to be taken care of before I can proceed because once my lips are tweaked I cannot have a dentist pulling on my mouth as it will disrupt the scar tissue forming to hold the implants in place.  Anyway, the only thing that will delay my surgery would be if I did not lose all the weight I need to loose in the time I have left. I have my last appointment for my crowns today for the temporaries, and then the real crowns come in and then are seated and I am done.  Once that is completed then no more dental work for awhile.  So as of today I have about 15 days to lose about 15-20 lbs.  If I get remotely close I will be okay, but that is the goal.  After today I will probably get out before the kids get up and run around the block (1.7 miles one time) a few times to burn some cardio and then do some yoga and strength and stretching stuff afterward before work. Once this work is done I am hanging up the surgical end of my journey for a little while and stick to injectables.  This really is just damage control from having a baby. I would love the 18 year old body back and ripped, however getting ripped will have to wait until I am healed.  I am lucky to have a supportive husband, friends, and family that understand that I did not plan things to be this way, something’s just turn out to where you have to do what you have to do, and I am tired of thinking about it all, and I have been patient. Wish me luck on the weight loss (or I will have to postpone for a week!), and on the surgery!

~Jenny Lee

P.s. I will post before and after pics to the blog right before surgery and right after!

Heidi Montag-Plastic Surgery

Everyone these days seems to have an opinion on the plastic surgery that Heidi Montag has had. I first heard about her surgery when a producer called from CNN asking me to be on the panel that evening discussing Heidi, and her procedures. On my way there I asked for the list of what she had done. I can’t comment on anything unless I know what she did. So a producer got it and called me back and read the list off to me, which I jotted down in short hand. My first reaction was “these aren’t all surgical procedures”. My second reaction was other than a butt augmentation, and fat transfers, I have done all these things done. Whatever questions I was going to be asked I knew that I would not be the one throwing any stones while living in a glass house myself. I am not one to judge anyway. That being besides the point let’s look at some facts with Heidi’s story.

First, she made it known since her 1st plastic surgery when she got her nose done, and breast augmented she had put lots of thought into what she was going to do next. She officially boarded the “plastic surgery train”-one that is hard to get off if you plan on maintaining your look. Fast forward 3 years and she decides to get the surgeries and cosmetic procedures she wanted. Honestly I have to say that giving yourself 3 years to consider what you want done and wait it out that long is pretty good. She says she met with her Plastic Surgeon many, many times discussing these procedures. So this was obviously something she did not do on a whim. I am sure her doctor informed her of what she was getting into.

Spencer’s part in all this has been criticized a lot and I am not sure what to make of it. He hasn’t really said a whole lot except, “I am not in charge of Heidi’s body”, and that he told her on multiple occasions that maybe she was taking things too far. Here is the deal for any guys who might be reading this. If your wife/girlfriend comes to you and says “I have been thinking about doing ___________(fill in the blank with the cosmetic procedure)”, she has already made her mind up that this is what she wants to do. If you disagree with her decision, it is best to say “I love you the way you are, but I also love you enough to support what you want to do”. If you tell her no, or “forbid” her to do the procedure all it does is cause confusion within her. I am not saying that Spencer did the wrong thing, because it is obvious he was there by her side the whole time, helped her document the procedure and how she was feeling, and was there for her during recovery and sure it was hard for him to see her after the surgery when she looked beaten up. My husband felt the same way-he was like “Whoa-I wasn’t expecting that!”. He has made the best of it, which is all he can do and be supportive of her decisions, even if sometime he doesn’t agree with them.

Now from an aesthetics point of view where symmetry of facial features are concerned the nose and chin are “supposed” to be in proportion to each other. Many people who have large noses and weak chin structure get chin implants when they get their nose done to even out the proportion on their face. Heidi says that people kidded her about having a “Jay Leno” chin, and it made herself conscious, so in her particular case she did the opposite-Brought her chin in to be in proportion to her nose. Heidi wanted her brows to be arched like Angelina Jolie (I could have given that to her via Permanent Makeup very easily), and a brow lift is one way to go to achieve this look. There are pros and cons to her doing the brow lift at her age (23)….The pros are that she won’t need any Botox on her forehead for quite awhile, and it DID give her brows the arch she wanted. The cons are she will most likely have to re-do the brow lift in 10 years or so because the type she had is not as aggressive as other methods, and with any brow lift, the reconnection of nerves in the forehead can take awhile so full facial function takes time. That being said I think Heidi will do what she needs to do maintain the look she is pleased with.

I have some thoughts on the reasons Heidi has done these procedures. She says she has done them to be competitive with the people in the music business, and that there is a certain look that you have to have. I partially agree with what she is saying, and I get it, you don’t want to be fat and ugly and try to be a pop star…the other part of me says you were beautiful before surgery, let your voice speak for its self. I believe the ONLY reason someone should have surgery is for YOURSELF, and that is it. She did mention in the People article that she has been teased about her chin looking like Jay Leno, and that she felt like she “chiseled away” those comments. I do have some insight to this for her. When she looks in the mirror now, and sees her new chin and her new look, she will probably think less and less of those comments that were made about her appearance that contributed to her having work done on that part of her face. Overall if those comments still affect her emotionally surgery will not make them go away and she will need to speak to a counselor about them and maybe do some cognitive behavioral work. I wore a rubber band around my wrist for awhile and when I started thinking negative thoughts my counselor told me to pop the rubber band as hard as I could so that it would hurt and sting, and remind me of the pain those comments made. Eventually I stopped thinking about them or obsessing about the issue with the reminder of the stinging rubber band that it was not worth the thought that crossed my mind, and that all it did was cause me pain and was unproductive.

There are people who say she did the surgery for publicity, and if this is true so what….If you don’t like giving her the publicity, don’t watch, buy, or listen to it. There is such a thing is an OFF button, avoid buying the magazine, or reading what is written about her. The public feeds the publicity frenzy. If you don’t like it, stop judging her and turn it off. It is not your place to judge her or anyone else. I have been in Heidi’s shoes and I have dealt with TONS on criticism about it. They say if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I have sat in the hot seat and answered some of the toughest questions that can be thrown at me…Questions about my kids, my family, friends, and the list goes on. Heidi is now in MY shoes answering these same questions.

I spoke to a very good friend in the plastic surgery world and he made a very valid point. At what point has Heidi ever announced that she wanted to promote herself as a role model to young girls? Never to my knowledge. She is not a teenager, or someone like Miley Cyrus, who young girls DO look up to as a role model, and who Miley admits she is a role model and tries to fulfill that role. She does not bill” herself as a role model to young girls and she has said she wants to be the best she can be, and if having those procedures done make her feel better then mission accomplished.

The difference between Heidi and just about anyone else in Hollywood is that she decided to go public with what she did….The public would have figured out instantly that she did something in the plastic surgery department, and if she would not have “come out” with it, then all kinds of speculation would have gone on, and then she would have been accused of doing more than what she did, or doing something that she didn’t do. I can only hope that in the event her surgery has no impact on her musical career that she is pleased with doing the surgery in the first place….secondly I hope that whatever she decides to do in the future she does for herself and for no other reason.

I will say this about Heidi and the feelings that are hurt with her and her mother, and any other family member that doesn’t agree with what she has done. There is NO WAY she will be able to get support from everyone….Least of your entire mom. No mother truly wants to see their beautiful daughter have surgery on their body, let alone their face. I will speak from experience that having surgery on your face, especially when you resemble family members does affect them in some ways. When you change the features you share with your mother, father, & especially sisters, they start to question if there is something wrong with their features, and start wondering if THEY need surgery to fix it too. So it is really important when deciding to have surgery to your face and alter a feature that you share with your family you let them know that it has nothing to do with them or the way they look, it has everything to do with you. I did not think of this prior to having surgery that drastically altered my face, and I did not realize until years later how it affected my sisters who I shared some of the same physical features. I had a lot of apologizing to do.

I do think maybe to reduce the shock of the surgery to her family, she should have told her mom about it. I have had to make the call many times, and it was something like…. “Mom, I am having this surgery, I know you don’t agree with it, and I am not asking for permission, I just wanted you to know”, and then I let her digest it. It is not something up for discussion so I let her know I don’t want to talk about it with her or anyone for that matter. I do this with everyone who is “concerned”, and I feel it is better for them to hear the news from me rather than from a television show. I don’t expect them to understand because they don’t. It is just something we don’t see eye to eye about. Heidi felt the need to handle it in her own way, which she has every right to do. Maybe in the future, Heidi will consider letting her mom and close family know what her plans are before surgery so that they know in advance and are not blindsided. God forbid if something happened and there was an emergency, a call after the fact to the family would be worse if they did not know about the surgery. Who knows, they may blame Spencer for not telling them, and it is not his place.

So in a way I am blogging about Heidi because A. I have been in her shoes, and in the hot seat. B. I have had my mother furious at me for doing things surgically that she did not understand or agree with and C. To offer my opinion on a situation that is familiar to me as I have been judged, misjudged, called horrible names, and the list goes on. As long as you put yourself out there every time you get something done, you will get tongues wagging. I am planning on having surgery on the 25th of February and I am prepared for the scrutiny. There will come a time when I won’t announce or have a television crew follow me to my surgeries anymore and I will just do my thing and have everyone “guess” what I am doing to maintain myself. Until then I will use the media outlets to help educate women (and men) on the steps they should take in order to make sure they have the best possible outcome. That is my goal. If any other opportunities come out of my public appearances, or documentaries, or weigh in on an expert panel then it’s all gravy.

One last thing I will point out…when polling my friends, clients, and anyone who will give me an honest opinion without jealousy, everyone says although Heidi does look drastically different than she did before surgery, and she was very pretty to start out with, they do admit that she is smoking hot now, and I agree. A sly grim comes across my face when they agree what most people think, but don’t have the balls to say.

If I had a message to give to Heidi it would be to be careful what, or how much work you do to your face…over the years you will require some maintenance; however do things conservatively so that it is not overly noticeable. If I were on a television show I probably would keep future procedures under wraps, and lastly if I had to guess you probably got silicone gel implants-high profile, in the 650CC-800CC range. I have 800 cc’s and yours look very similar to mine. Be careful if you try to go bigger. Your size right now looks great, and if you go bigger then you enter into the “porn star” look, and getting people to take you serious in the music industry or Television industry will be difficult to do with outrageous breasts, not to mention the back pain you will soon be experiencing. Practice standing like a ballerina pushing your back up from right under your breasts and strengthening those muscles and practicing good posture. It will also keep you from slouching and when you slouch your big breasts can make you look fat (which the paps would love to make that a headline if they catch a pic of you sitting in an unflattering position). Your breasts look great right now, and personally I would not go any bigger. Get used to these for awhile, and wear a bra of some sort CONSTANTLY, or they will sag, FAST!

Lastly I hope that you can patch things up with your family. You have gotten a good taste of how people react to your surgery, and how they make things out to be different than they are. That is sensationalism for you. I wish you the best of luck in the future, and if you need an ear, you know how to reach me.

For those of you who have something nasty to say about my comments here, or disagree with my opinion, save yourself the energy of responding as I really don’t care. I am making comments about what didn’t get to be said on TV when discussing Heidi, and personally expressing my thoughts to her as someone who relates in more ways than one. And for those who keep saying that she could have used the money from the surgery to help victims in Haiti, in case you can’t do the math, the Earthquake happened AFTER her surgery which was supposedly November 20th, and the Earthquake was January 12th. Stop digging for ANYTHING to attack someone who has done nothing to hurt you. When you write or speak negatively about people your jealousy shines brighter than the sun.

Peace~

Jenny Lee

www.jennylee.TV

New Plastic Surgery website coming soon!

So, many of you have asked for You Tube Videos, Answers to your questions, and want to know where I get all my information.  I have decided that I will create a website exclusively for you, for that purpose.  One question I get asked in the media alot is what my purpose is in appearing in public forums talking abou tplastic surgery and my life.  First of all, I don’t seek these forums, they seek me.  Since this “responsibility” has inadvertantly landed in my lap I figured I might as well make the best of it, and do something good with the opportunity.  Being able to direct you to specific sources, and post you tube videos, and answer your questions on a site dedicated to that purpose makes the most sense to me.  When I get it up and running I will let you know.

Many of you ask me if I am writing a book, or if I will.  The answer is YES, I am writing a book and it is in the works.  For me this is a long and sometimes very painful process as I have to go back in time and re-visit periods of my life I had buried long ago.  It is not easy re-opening old wounds.  I tend to be brutally honest at times, and I don’t want to be sensored.  In some ways I will have to “brace myself” once the book comes out because people will ask me about things I don’t want to talk about.  I guess when that happens I will just have to say “read the book”.  Anyway, it is a process, one that I think about often and work on, on a regular basis.  Stay tuned!

Jenny

Holiday’s “My Favorite Things List”

Well, Oprah is allowed to have one, I guess I need one too, after all, don’t we all want what Oprah has?  I have a tradition when I am buying a very special gift for someone (like I did for Oprah).  I make a beautiful basket in their favorite colors, and I fill the basket with all MY favorite things, along with a list of WHY they are my favorites.  The list is a combination of many different things, so to make it easy for you I will divide the list into categories:

Beauty Essentials:

Aveda’s fantastic paddle brush: Link to Aveda Paddle Brush $18

This brush has 118 reviews and gets 5 stars.  I personally own 16 of these brushes.  Aveda makes several other brushes that are really good too, and it all depends on the type of hair you have.  Since I have long straight hair, I need a brush that won’t snag tangles, and massages my head.  It literally feels GOOOOOD to brush my hair.  I started using this brush about 12 years ago when I got my hair done at an Aveda Salon, and I have never found another that beats this brush.  They last forever, and make great gifts.  I have so many brushes because I want one within arms reach all the time.  In my car, purse, bathroom, etc…Plus I have a brush thief around my house…so I started writing my name on them.  Ha Ha!

 Aveda Brilliant Emollient Finishing Gloss: Link to Aveda Finishing Gloss  $24.50

This is another favorite beauty tool for several reasons.  First a little bit goes a long way.  You can use it sparingly before you blow dry your hair, or after you dry your hair.  You can apply it to dry hair “sparingly” before flat ironing it, or after you are finished flat ironing your hair to smooth away any flyaways.  It smells fantastic, like you just washed your hair with Aveda shampoo, and gives a nice gloss that is not “greasy or heavy” looking, as long as you don’t go overboard with it.  It feels like it is silicone based, and like most products oil, or silicone based, it is easy to cross a line between shiny healthy hair, to greasy dirty, weighed down hair.

 FHI Runway Flat Iron: Link to FHI Products $450.00

Ok, first of all, try to avoid sticker shock. I KNOW that $450 bucks is a chunk of change to spend on a flat iron.  Many CHI users want to know what the difference is, and why it is so much better, and Sooooo much more expensive.  First let me give you my history with it.  I learned about 5 years ago while in LA that many movie stars not only own their own RUNWAY FHI flat iron, but they insist their stylist use the tool as well.  FHI has several models of the flat iron, but the RUNWAY model is the best.  The inventor of it was tired of seeing the hair of movie stars, which typically has to be styled daily destroyed by flat irons.  So, he set out to make a flat iron that actually reverses damage, split ends, breakage so that these stars could have longer healthier hair.  To prove a point he put the Runway up against other similar products and challenged them to be used daily for 30 days.  At the end of 30 days the hair that the Runway was used on was healthier, shinier, and looked better than the other hair that the other tools were used on, which left the hair damaged, dry, broken, etc…. When I heard about the Runway, and the likes of Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, and many other celebrities using it, because they had to style their hair daily, I had to have it myself.  My hair is so long I cannot afford to have a styling tool ruin it.  I made a commitment that if I was going to have hair this long, this blonde, I had to be very careful how I treated it.  I also decided that I should sell it because it is hard to find.

 gloMinerals & gloTheraputics: Link to gloMinerals Make-up  Link to gloTheraputics Skin Care Reasonably Priced!

In my opinion there is not enough that can be said about the “glo” line, whether it is make-up, or skincare.  I love every bit of everything they make. I use the skincare with my Clairsonic facial scrubber, and I use the make-up to give me as little or as much coverage I need all with a flawless, porcelain skin look.  Recently over the last few years I realized that I needed to start taking care of my skin, and these products are sold by (me of course) Plastic Surgeons, and Dermatologists.  The pharmaceutical ingredients, vitamins C, A , K & E, tea tree extracts, anti-oxidants, and on and on just make it that much better.  Who knew that a make-up like could give you such amazing (and healing results if you have breakouts), and leave you looking like a rockstar? You want some of this? Call me! 

 Books and Magazines

 If you stepped into my office, or my bedroom, you would notice very quickly that I like to read-EVERYTHING.  I always wanted a Library in my house and I have an entire wall in my office that is just that….I wish all 4 walls had shelves to devote my books to, as I have enough to fill them.  My collection is never limited to certain subjects, or types of books, but a very WIDE variety.  My daughter came to me not long ago and said she needed to go to the book store to get a book for school.  When I asked what book, she said Ellie Weisel’s “Night”…I told her, come to the office, I already have it. She thought that was pretty cool, and so did I.  So here are a list of SOME of my favorite books and magazines:

 In the magazine department:

 Real Simple www.realsimple.com – For me life is busy and complicated, and anything I can do to slow things down and simplify my life I am all for it.  I have learned the neatest tricks from this magazine-like hanging a clear shoe rack on the door of your panty to store snacks and miscellaneous things that usually don’t have a “place”, or using a seam ripper from a craft or fabric store to clean the hair and lint off the brush in your vacuum.  The list is endless.  You can even go online and see tons of tips, tricks, cleaning schedules, gift lists, and on and on. I think it should be in everyone’s mailbox monthly.

 New Beauty www.newbeauty.com – I like this magazine for it’s insight into what new up and coming beauty treatments that are available.  It only comes out 4 times a year, but a lot of thought and professional insight goes into the magazine.

 O Magazine www.omagazine.com – Everyone wants to know what Oprah has going on, and I am no different.  I have had the privilege to meet her twice, and I can say this for sure-she makes decisions that influence people to want to be better, which in turn hopefully is making the world a better place.  I love her piece in the back of the magazine “What I know for sure”, and I keep all of them from the magazine.

 In the book department:

 My selection of favorite books is so big I feel the need to narrow it down to some titles you may not have heard about.  Some may freak you out a bit like the book How We Die which focuses on what happens to our bodies when we die.  At some point we will all be faced with the death of a loved one, and understanding how the body works, what organs stop functioning, etc. make it easier to understand, and hopefully to some extent come to terms with the end of life.  If you look at it from a positive stand point, you may be able to recognize something that is happening to someone, or yourself, and be able to save their life.  I know it is an unpleasant thought to read a book like this, but in my opinion, and the opinion of millions of others, it is necessary. Pep up, there are happier books I am listing!

 Here are two of my favorites that are “sister” books: Everything You Pretend to Know About Food, And Are Afraid Someone Will Ask and Everything You Pretend to Know, And Are Afraid Someone Will Ask are filled with information you HAD NO IDEA EXSISTED.  Go there,  I dare you.

 For some humor, and incredible enlightenment- The Tao of Willie – This book is by far one of the best reads ever.  I am sure most would not have expected this, but it is incredibly insightful, and at times it had me looking like a fool laughing so hard tears were coming out of my eyes.

 In case you are lost and are looking to see who you are, how you would handle things and situations, your accomplishments, regrets, fears, and everything else in between, get this book If, Volume 2 (500 Questions to The Game of Life) and write down your answers, and the answers of your loved ones.  Sometimes the questions can spark debates, are funny, sad, happy-regardless you are sure to learn things about yourself, and the ones you love (if you share the book with them) that you never knew before.  I did a part of this book (we aren’t finished yet) with my husband and in two weeks while we were driving in the car from place to place I learned more about him than I have learned in 12 years.  Sometimes you don’t know what kind of questions to ask, and this book leads the way.

 I have so many favorite things that this list could go on forever.  I think for now I will let it be.  Otherwise I will start telling you my favorite wine, tequila, colors, actors, movies, music….you see where this is going. I figure that is what Face Book is for!  Let me know if any of my favorite things end up being yours too!

 ~Jenny Lee

It’s Not About The Number

It’s Not About The Number

A story of breast implants and the fixation on an implant size

Written by Jenny Lee

www.jennylee.tv

 It is funny how sometimes you find yourself on the other side of the coin sometimes, and when in that position what you learn from a different perspective.  So far all I know is my own experiences, and research, and stories from others but for once I took the journey over several years with someone else and got to see the flip side of the coin.  What I learned is that as with many things in plastic surgery there are a lot of misconceptions.  I think there are more misconceptions with the breast augmentation than with any other procedure.  Maybe because it is one of the most popular procedures and women talk openly about their experiences among each other.  So over the last few years a good friend of mine wanted her breasts done.  She did the right thing by visiting several surgeons until the right one came along, and that level of comfort, and peace settled over her, and she felt like she was in the right place.  Now there was the money issue. Being young, and not having an excess of cash to get her surgery she put it on the back burner until her situation changed. Finally fate stepped in and she catches a windfall, and now suddenly, what seemed financially impossible became a matter of “how quickly can you get these implants in me?” kind of thing.

 All along she had been asking advice from me, and many other friends, and I will say some of the stuff she was told was ridiculously. Her friends were misinformed to say the least, but again I am a spectator in this ride with her.  I was almost embarrassed for her to ask such silly questions, but I felt like people have to learn somehow, and asking questions is how it is done. Lord knows I have asked my share and then some.  The weeks preceding her appointment my friend SWORE that NO ONE was going to  influence her into a size she was not comfortable with. I said nothing. She would decide on her own with the doctor. I said, “Good idea, you gotta walk around with these things, better make sure you get what you want”.  She comes to my house and raids my Playboy collection from a LONG time ago when I used then to scour the pages trying to decide how big I wanted my breasts to be. As I scoured those pages I was looking at breast size and the woman’s body shape, and I not once fixated on a certain size implant.  I figured the doctor is truly the expert and HE knows what size implant will get me to look like the picture I brought him, and he could decide what would physically fit into my body. I could not decide that, as when that decision was finally made I would be knocked out.  It boiled down to trust in my surgeon.  Sure I had an idea of what size implant he was considering, but I never fixated on that. I always woke up from surgery and asked the nurse “So what did I get?”, and that is when I found out how big my implant size was.

 My friend had her stack pictures she selected from playboy. Her very favorite was Carmen Electra and then her stack of “too bigs”, “too smalls”, “too far apart” etc…. So we get to the doctor for the pre-op/paper signing appointment, and the surgeon has a new machine that is very odd shaped that takes a 3D digital picture of my friend, and puts it on the screen and then the nurse can plug in different implant sizes to show my friend what size implants will likely present the results she likes best. I am thinking already this is a bad idea for my friend….not for everyone, just those who are hung up on a number.  See before we left for the surgeon she was adamant about not getting implants any bigger than 350cc’s. To her anything bigger was not an option.  She was convinced she could get her Carmen Electra look with 350cc’s.   She had seen other friends who had 350cc’s or in that range and she wanted to be their size, and felt if anything she may go smaller than 350cc’s. Knowing that would never happen with what she was working with genetically I sat and watched this machine pump her VERY realistic 3D image to 350, then 400, then 425, then 450, and watched her face in shock when she realized that if 350 was her number, she was throwing money out the window and would be disappointed. For the first time she looked at me (after telling me NOT to express my opinion) and said “what do YOU think?”.  I put my hands up and said “Don’t ask me, this is YOUR deal”.  We left after the imaging and went to dinner, knowing surgery is scheduled for the morning, and she was in (her words) “sticker shock”. What a decision she had to make.  Based on that fairly accurate 3D imaging she has a serious and lasting decision to make. The surgeon said they usually get within 50 cc’s of the imaging (he was right), and it is a helpful tool, in addition to knowing what cup size a girl wants to be, and also bring pictures in.  The more examples, the better, as they are all useful tools.  They can also contradict each other, so it helps the surgeon go through the options to figure out what the patient really is trying to achieve.

 At dinner she had lost her appetite, and when we talked about her sticker shock I explained that in the general population 90% of women who get breast implants felt they went too small after surgery.  I personally was a part of that statistic.  This surgeon had about a 30% rate of women who felt they went too small, because of all the tools implemented, and conversation had over the size made it a lot easier to get it right the first time. So at dinner after telling her this I said she had a decision to make.  Worst case scenario there would be two sides of the fence. One side is the “I wish I had gone bigger”, and the other side is “I think I went too big”.  Best case scenario, she gets exactly what she wants, however she still has to decide which side of the fence she wants to be on.  If she chooses the “too small” side then she will feel like her money is wasted, and then have to save up for a removal/replacement for larger implants.  If she chooses the “too big” side then chances are they won’t be so crazy big that she will obsess about going smaller…most likely she will adjust to them, and then go smaller when it is time to replace them.  Now here is the million dollar question. I asked her “What side of the fence will you choose?”-her answer was “too big”. Smart girl.  She HAD to give the surgeon at LEAST a 50cc to 100cc range to work within, and this leeway would most likely be decided in surgery once the implant pocket size was established. I knew this doctor was going to be able to get her where she wanted to be or as close to it enough that she would be satisfied.  I also knew 350cc’s was out of the question. I told her I had chosen a number in my head in which I would keep to myself and reveal after surgery.

Morning of surgery I am there with her, and her photographs, and the doc walks in to discuss size again, and go over all this one more time. I told him about her sticker shock, her being stuck on 350cc’s and that the 3D imaging just threw her for a loop, and more than anything confused her.  He reviewed her stack of papers, of “too big”, “too small” and Carmen Electra.  One thing I noticed (but did not say anything) about her “too small” picture is that the implants were probably about the same as what Carmen had, but Carmen had a lot more skin, breast tissue, and a completely different body build then this petit woman on the “too small” picture.  The surgeon noticed the same thing.  Based on the pictures she provided and the physical description she described (wanting them to be a little wide on the sides, which equals a larger circumference of an implant if a person can physically hold it), he explained that if you lined up 5 women of similar size and proportion and placed the same implant in each woman, they will all look different because everyone’s body make-up, breast cavity, tissue, fat, etc. was INDIVIDUAL.  What was good for her friends at 350cc’s was not going to get her a Carmen Electra breast.  I made the comment to the surgeon “She just doesn’t want to be as big as me”, and I have 800cc’s of Mentor high profile silicone gel implants.  He reassured her that she would not be near as big as me (funny from my view they don’t look THAT big, but I know they are).

So they discussed the 3D computer imaging and 400/425/450cc’s.  He looked at the Carmen Electra picture again and after going over the shape she desired and cup size, he asked if she would be willing to discuss, based on the Carmen Electra picture and the wonderful tissue my friend had to work with would she allow him to discuss the possibility of 500cc’s for her.  By now she got the hint that it was going to take more than she anticipated to look like Carmen Electra, but not overdone, or outwardly fake.  She gave him permission to do whatever he thought she needed and could handle to achieve that look.  By this time I am exhausted at this going back and forth, and hearing about her other friends and what happened to them, yada, yada.  Finally, we come full circle to where the conversation started with me, and that was, go to Victoria’s Secret, choose a bra size, look at pictures, and then let the surgeon tell you what is possible to get that look. WHEW, that was exhausting! She went into surgery and came out smelling like a rose sporting some bea-u-ti-ful 500cc’s High Profile Mentor silicone gel implants.  The first question she asked was what number did I have in my head that I would not tell her beforehand. I said 500cc’s (I really thought 500-550 though). She said “that’s what I got!” and she was so happy.

This was quite and experience for me, being on the other side of the fence.  It prompted me, as an expert and educator to write an article on this experience. Too many times women walk into a plastic surgeons office demanding a certain implant size, shape, and number of cc’s without regard or consideration of “what exactly can my body hold safely, comfortably that will achieve the look I would like to go for?”  That is the conversation you need to have with your plastic surgeon, and then leave it up to him to ultimately decide, based on your desires, what will work for you.  Go ahead and look at all the nudie pictures, and go to Victoria’s Secret with socks in your purse to try on T-shirt bras to help you decide what CUP size you want to be, try the 3D imaging to see what you may look like with certain implants.  But do yourself (and your surgeon) a HUGE favor, and forget about the number, because at the end of the day that is all it is.

Words for Women to Live By

1. Aspire to be Barbie – the bitch has everything.

2. If the shoe fits – buy them in every color.

3. Take life with a pinch of salt… A wedge of lime, and a shot of tequila.

4. In need of a support group? – Cocktail hour with the girls!

5. Go on the 30 day diet. (I’m on it and so far I’ve lost 15 days).

6. When life gets you down – just put on your big girl panties and deal with it.

7. Let your greatest fear be that there is no PMS and this is just your personality.

8. I know I’m in my own little world, but it’s ok. They know me here.

9. Lead me not into temptation, I can find it myself.

10. Don’t get your knickers in a knot; it solves nothing and makes you walk funny.

11. When life gives you lemons – turn it into lemonade then mix it with vodka.

12. Remember where ever there is a good looking, sweet, single or married man there is some woman tired of his bullshit!

13. Keep your chin up, only the first 40 years of parenthood are the hardest.

14. If it has Tires or Testicles it’s going to give you trouble.

15. By the time a women realizes her mother was right, she has a daughter who thinks she’s wrong.

16. Be Better, not Bitter.

17. The worst thing that has ever happened to you may be the best thing that has ever happened to you, IF you don’t let the worst of it get the BEST of you.

18. Cultivate Gratitude, and always be thankful for what you have. In a second it could all be gone.

19. You get what you give, so be generous with your love, your time, your friendship, and if you have enough, your money.

20. Never forget Karma is a Bitch! Think twice before getting even. Is it really worth it? If it is, then make it count!

21. Keep crazy locked up, but know when to let it out and unleash it!

‘Good friends are like stars………You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there’ ‘Remember yesterday, dream about tomorrow, but live for today’.

Home

I just got back from Pensacola, FL.  It was nice. It is not my first choice for a vacation spot, but it was sure better than nothing.  I tend to like places a little farther away, but it was good to stimulate the US economy.  I do count my blessings (and I know I have a lot of them), and after not having a vacation for several years it was nice to get away.  We wanted the baby to see a beach. Pensacola it was.

I think I had more fun watching my kids play in the water and sand.  I wish I could have spent more time on the beach or at the pool, but I was sick the first day, and the second and third days had LOTS of trouble with my back, so staring at 4 hotel walls was not exactly my idea of a vacation. On top of all this we DROVE to Florida-something I have never done.  I don’t do well in cars for long periods of time.  This time was different.  I guess having those DVD players strapped to the back of each child’s seat so they could watch their own movies was helpful (Oh, what a wise investment!), and having my laptop and wireless card was nice too.  I started to think I could…heavy emphasis on the word “could” let someone drive me across country. Before this trip it was never up for discussion, as I would bitch and moan and complain the entire time….except this time.  The only concession was that I could NOT be pressured to be packed and leave by a certain time (it sends me into a major panic attack).  Married to a Military man, this is difficult for him, but he did a good job, and sat back and watched me run around like a chicken with my head cut off. When I was ready, he calmly got in the car and started trying to calculate our arrival time, all without complaining.  Same thing on the way back. 

 

Overall it was nice to get away, but I have to say that I will have a new found appreciation for my bed tonight, and I will unpack my things tomorrow and get ready for my very busy rest of the month. No matter where I go, I have to say there is no place like Texas, and seeing the signs “Texas State Line” brings a sense of peace over me.  I feel like no matter where I am in Texas (as large as it is), I am never far from home.  I know people who have lived all over the place, but where do they really call “Home”?  Maybe they don’t. I know people born and raised in Texas know what I am talking about, and there is no way to explain it. Many people ask me if I would ever move anywhere else (I get this a lot when people ask me if I would ever move to LA and I always say if work brought me there I would get a small place there but never leave my place in Texas), and I can honestly say even if I won the lottery, I would keep a substantial place in Texas, and satellite homes in other places I love.  There is no place like Texas, and no place like home.  I hope that no matter what your circumstances are you take a few days to go somewhere and blow off some steam, and relax.

~Jenny Lee