meghane, as a conflict-resolution specialist I knew used to say, "there's a lot of fear." That's what I ascribe the neutrality cult to be about. HGTV "it'll never sell" "it's personal to the owner" "it's you"...now *sometimes*, unfortunately, one person's color choice is not another person's taste, and it costs money to change out non-moveable elements like counters and backsplashes as opposed to pillows and lampshades etc., so it really is safer, if safe investment is your primary goal. That said, if y'all saw my house you'd know I'm not averse to color...The Hallarum cabinets with green-tea-Corian (with pencil edges -- it actually looks good, folks, don't choke!) with the Sicis waterglass backsplash in two shades of gold, deeper reddish brown, and two shades of green/gray, would prove it :) I love it so much that I hate to think that someone else won't, but what I did with the backsplash was to screw the backerboard in on top of the drywall and put tiles over the screws, so that if someone really hates it, I can just take it off and reuse the tiles in my new house. They can have plain painted drywall or tumbled travertine if they want :) They're stuck with the corian, though, but it is such a wonderful neutral green-gray, like concrete almost, that another backsplash would be easy to choose to coordinate with, IMO.

Our opinions are just that, our opinions! We might be nit picking, but in a good way. Joan Rivers used to say that it wasn't the person, it was the clothing they were commenting about. It's important to keep a sense of humor about all of this. I think it would be pretty boring around here if we all just nodded and only presented PC comments. I have watched Wendy Williams on occasion. She did a breakdown of style that was fun. Lindsey Lohan wore a white, tight short dress to a court appearance. It was hilarious how she commented on every aspect of how she looked. In this case, it was all positive. To be honest, even on a good day, I am not even half as pulled together as our blogger.

My life-style and appearance is the total opposite of hers, but I will say she is creative - and consistent in her art, ad art it is. One sure meets a lot of different folks on these quotation pages. (smiling)

Wow - I have to say that this conversation surprises me. I’ve been told I’m attractive, have certain assets I try and minimize, love clothing and dress well but never “sexy” - especially at, or around work. I also have been in business to business sales for almost 30 years, have dyslexia but graduated college with two majors in four years, have an IQ in the 130’s and call on top ten clients in my industries. I didn’t do any of this by “being pretty” or “using my assets”. Instead I worked my ass off. And throughout my hard work I’ve dealt with others (mostly men) trying to box my progression into their definition of what I should be. Getting unwanted massages at an internship my senior year in college Not married until my 40’s meant years of being asked if I was gay. A client meeting in my mid 30’s with two men and a woman when I asked if there was anything else they needed, getting the answer “ I guess sex is out of the question” heehee Being told not to be so aggressive by SALES managers Being told, and then fired by, a young male manager who said sales has changed and older people don’t understand how it works now And the women who keep talking about how we try to impress others and be sexy to get things and how we dress means we invite others to treat us certain ways ALL are part of the problem. People who want to dominate and push others down do so through two channels. The first channel is direct where their actions lead to their goal. The second channel is by manipulating society into also talking about things in way that supports their goal. This really struck a nerve for me. ETA - I’ve also had plastic surgery and procedures that make ME happy.