I Am A Lotion Junkie

I don't know how it happened. One day I was in my 20's and buying the cheap store brand lotion and just using it on a less than religious bases. Now I'm in my 30's and I've got so many bottles of lotion on my nightstand and vanity, it makes my husband laugh.

It wasn't a conscious thing. I'm not even buying ones that fight the good fight against age and wrinkles.

I'm just buying lotion because every time I see an add or a commercial for dry skin, I think, 'that looks interesting.' It's like I'm on a permanent quest to find the best, most lotiony lotion, and I must try every brand there is.

I clip every coupon for lotion that I see, so my beauty section of my coupon holder is bursting with tiny squares of paper. I can stand in the lotion aisle of the commissary with several different brand name coupons in my hands, while I debate the choices. Go with the cheapest after the coupon? Go with the one that promises to quench thirsty skin? Or how about the one that is unscented, since I worry about getting a headache from something too perfumey?

I will also try anyone elses lotion. So if you leave it unguarded in your bathroom or on your office desk, I'm going to try it. That has once led me to try a lotion that actually turned out to be a fancy hand soap, but I washed my hands twice....that's not a bad thing in the bathroom.

I currently have four different lotions in use: two different kinds of Lubriderm (one on permanent kitchen duty), a body butter by Arbonne (in two different scents: vivacious and flirtatious), Oil of Olay for my face, and a very nice Working Hands for my, well, hands! If you count my sparkly body balm, it actually makes five. That is not counting the ones I've tried, but haven't finished by the time the urge to buy a new brand hits me, that still sit on my vanity gathering dust.

Five lotions I use every day.

But you know what? I must be doing something right because I am 34 and I just got seriously carded last week when I ordered a Margarita. The server gave my ID a close scrutiny, doing a double take at me and the picture of me.

Now that is totally worth being a lotion junkie!

Side note, has any tried the new Gold Bond lotions? I have a coupon....

Blanket Man

I am always a bit freaked out when I walk so early, and it's dark and worse, foggy. Especially, if it's so cold I have to pull my two sweat shirt hoods over my head, to keep my ears from freezing, but that muffles anything I might be able to hear coming up behind me.

So Emma, Sarah and I are walking on a long straight stretch of sidewalk. I can see ahead of us a lumpy thing. At first I thought it was one of those construction diamond signs, standing up, but then I realized it was something walking.

Now I say something, because it very much reminded me of some kind of creature you'd see if you watched Labyrinth. At that moment, Emma jumps about a foot and turns backwards to stand at attention. I stop walking, look, see nothing, but hear the sound that freaked her (and Sarah too) out....someone was scrapping their car window.

Keep walking towards the lump. It keeps walking towards me. How to handle this politely? In the dark, it could easily be a fat lady, bundled up, trying to exercise. Or it could be a crazy guy wrapped up in a blanket, from head to knee, yelling at passing cars.

I guess we're going to go with the second option.

I got all the way off the sidewalk and walked in the road a block before we even had to, with my don't mess with me face on, and this is why I love my dogs, both stayed in the grass as we walked, keeping themselves between me and the blanket man, and they were very menacing, stiff legged, fur up, Emma was doing her growling woof thing and Sarah was backing her up with a mean dog stare.

And wouldn't you know it, the crazy guy decided not to yell stuff at us. He just kept going, but I could tell he was staring at us, not because I could see his face (that was too much in the shadows of his blanket cape) but because the blank spot where his face would be was turning to watch us.. We picked up our pace, even Emma was racing ahead, to get away from him, and to get home.

I kept my eye out for him when we got closer to home, but I didn't see him, until I was walking in the alley and heard him start yelling again. He was crossing the street towards downtown, just across the road from our house, and I forced both dogs into the house and locked the door behind me. Some crazies are harmless, but some give off a bad vibe, and I am a firm believer in trusting your vibes. He gave off a bad vibe. He's long gone, didn't even glance at us again, but it was still very unsettling.

I miss day light!

Sarah Keep Your Pants On!

I just uttered a sentence I thought I would never say, ever. Sarah is our darling 7 month old puppy, who is getting spayed February3rd....and who has decided now would be a perfect time to go into heat.

Yep.

And I've been hoping it would not be too messy. And when I came home from work and saw that it was getting messy I did what anyone else would do. I took a pair of my daughters too small underwear, cut a whole for Sarah's tail, cut the sides so I could tie them on like diapers, and voila, Sarah had a pair of red pants.

She wore them for quite a few hours, and I was thinking this might work. My furniture might be safe.

Until she discovered she could chew on a knot and untie it. I put them back on. She started to do somersaults and insane back wiggles to get them off again.

And that is when I said it. "Sarah keep your pants on!!"

Being a dog, and very much like a child, she went into the kitchen where I couldn't see her, and took them off anyway.

She did look insanely silly. Insanely. Notice the crazy in her eyes.

I guess it could just be the doggy PMS, but I think it's the indignity of having to wear hand me down underwear, out in public. And people, ahem, Grandma K, laughed at her!

I haven't had the heart to wrestle her back into them. I'm just going to cover all the furniture with old sheets and we will all be much happier. With less crazy eyes I'm sure!

Six Little Words

I just read a challenge I can't refuse: express your love in six words.

I immediately thought of my sentence. I had a moment of doubt because as I was counting the words in my head, I realized I have been playing the DS Brain Age game too much and was actually counting the syllables instead. BTW, I rock at the syllable counting test and my brain age is 20!

Love can all be boiled down to this simple idea for me:

My heart's desire: Him, Kids, Beagles.

Today's Top Ten Things To Do

1. Wash the dishes....how did we use all the plates in our house in 24 hours? It's only the four of us!

2. Three loads of laundry, at least.....when the old man is wearing his green army socks, I know it's because he's run out of white ones.

3. Put away Christmas Decor....the tree is down, but everything else is still up, including half of our outside lights, and the tree is only tossed outside our front door, so it needs some care too.

4. Reheat a cup of coffee in the microwave....not quite as good as a fresh brewed pot, but you work with what you've got.

5. Do some more craigslist surfing....I don't really need anything right now, but what if an amazing deal is sitting out there waiting for me? I don't want to miss it!

6. Sweep and mop the floors....all of them. With all the snow and now rain, it's a muddy mess outside and with two kids, two dogs and a soaking wet motorcycle riding husband, my floors are a bit on the dirty side.

7. Get lost in a romance novel....um, not sure when I'll fit this in, but I'm going to try!

8. Check meal plan....shudder at what I've written down, then dutifully get the meat out to thaw.

9. Take D to guitar.....but first, borrow a car to drive him there, since hubby was cold this morning (wonder if it has anything to do with him driving through flood waters on his motorcycle yesterday?) and asked to take our truck.

10. Waste ten minutes blogging.....when I could have been reading my book! Now "Mr. Cavendish, I Presume" will have to wait until later. And with this work load, he might have to wait until tonight before I have another moment to sit!

Well, Hello 2009

We started 2008 off with a midnight call from my deployed husband, and we ended it with a hug, a kiss, and a toast, together.

2009, you are off to a much better start already!

2008 brought new tattoos, new floor, new puppy, our first year with a teenage son, both kids at middle school, and some great craigslist finds (I love my $50 couch and chair set!). It also brought a deployed husband home, Mama Mia with it's kick ass soundtrack, and 7 pounds I can't shake off...

Still, worth every moment!

I'd just like to take this moment to say, "Hi, 2009. So far, so good!"

And to those last 7 pounds, a warning. You are going down!