I'm fruity, not flowery....

Let's talk about smells, specifically how our house smells. I have a neighbor, Janet, whose house always smells WONDERFUL. She told me that it's due to Bath & Body Works Plug-In Diffusers, you know those little thingies that you plug into the walls. She tends to buy what's on sale, mostly flowery scents, and her house always smells really fresh.

Marti went out and bought scents from Bath & Body Works for her house, and again, it smelled great. She bought flowery scents, too. So, naturally I have to jump on the bandwagon, and I load up with all kinds of scents. I had brown sugar vanilla in the den, and clean linen in the bedroom, and some kind of flowery scent in the living room.

Lindsay and I were shopping a couple of weeks ago and I decided I needed to try Juicy Nectarine. Unfortunately they were sold out at our store, but she picked one up for me on her recent trip to Nashville.

I'm in love. Oh, I can't tell you how good this smells, ladies. No more flowery scents for me, nope, it's fruit for me from now on. I should have realized this because Yankee Candle's Pineapple & Citrus has been my fave for a couple of years now. And ever since Ang introduced me to the Febreze scent machine, I've been using their Tropical Scent Stories Disks. I've never been a vanilla girl like Ang and V, Nisha, too. Never been a spicy/cinnamony type either, too 80's for me. But I've found my niche with the fruity stuff... It's ME, it's REALLY ME!!!

And the clerk at Bath & Body Works told me that they have a new pineapple scent coming out this month. I'm SO there... I'm replacing EVERY ONE of my plug-ins with Juicy Nectarine!

If you aren't on to these things, give them a try. They have a huge assortment, they smell mahvelous, dahling, and you can decide if you are a fruity or a flowery girl....

I got this note from Cyn tonight...

Seems like I'm not the only one eating oatmeal, and she's only in her 30's! Here's what she had to say about the perfect oats -

I hate to tell you, but since last summer, I have been queen of the Oatmeal.  I live for it.  I eat it for breakfast everyday--and sometimes have it for dinner, too.  In the summer--sometimes breakfast and lunch.  The standard instant is too sweet.  Sometimes I can't get the seasoning in the old fashinoned right.  This is the magic formula.  (after MUCH experimentation)

Into a bowl, but 1 pack of Quaker Weight Control Maple and Brown Sugar (I like it b/c it isn't as sweet)
Then add,
1/4 cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 cup of milk (I use whole b/c Alisha does)
3/4 cup of water
Microwave it for 2 minutes
Add 6 almonds.
Add a sprinkle of salt, stir,  and........heaven!

It's official, I'm old!!!!

I just ate oatmeal for dinner supper. That's it, it's all over, now. I've been teasing Hooterville about eating cereal for dinner supper for years, now I'm doing it.

Holy Batman and Robin, I actually I ate OATMEAL for dinner supper and I liked it, I really liked it! It's a sad day in Heavensville, girlfriends a sad, sad day....

It's a new month, a new look...

Thumbs up to the talented artists at KB&Friends for the elements I used to construct my header. The goofy looking little leprechaun reminds me of an old nerdy grade school teacher of mine... Oh, he was such a trip, he used to stand in front of class, with his pants belted and hiked up underneath his armpits and would stand there in front of us and daily scratch his nether regions. As you can imagine, he was NOT one of our more popular teachers. Harmon Stein, that was his name, now that's a blast from the past, I haven't thought of that old fart in years! And do you know that our grade school secretary is STILL the grade school secretary at my old school, Booth Elementary. OMG, and I'm fifty-seven years old!!! She is well into her 80's and they say she is still as sharp as a tack! Talk about a TRIP!!! You go, Lois!!!

I've been SO nostalgic lately, ladies... Ever since my gleaning popcorn post, I've thought of all kinds of childhood stories to share, and I will. You will all find it boring, I'm sure, but it's a healthy thing to do - talk about your childhood... I didn't think mine was all that unusual at the time, but when I put pen to paper, I realize that it was far from normal. A single Mother, young daughter, living in the country on a dirt road, heating with a coal stove, no television, no running water, no bathroom. Jeez Louise, I'm beginning to sound like the Waltons! But on a more positive note, the lack of television forced me to read, to listen to classical music, it was actually a gift that has stayed with me thru my life. Well, I also listened to the Grand Ole' Opry, but I have no love for twangy, hillbilly music. Hey, two outta three ain't bad....

G'nite John Boy...

Boy, do I have an opinion about this!!!

Paul McCartney's estranged wife, Heather Mills, says her prosthetic leg should not pose a problem for her when she competes in a U.S. dance competition reality television show.

She told TV entertainment show "Extra" in an interview set to air Wednesday that "it's very unlikely" her prosthetic leg will "fly off" when she competes on "Dancing With the Stars." She is the show's first contestant to have an artificial limb.

To prevent such an incident, she said she will wear a special strap.

And what do I, a fellow amputee think about this. Well, you didn't ask, but here goes -

First of all, I would doubt very seriously if her leg flew off, but it would be pretty funny if it did. And second of all, I can still shake my booty with the best of them, you dance mostly from your hips, not your ankles, but those intriquete steps will pose a real challenge for her and she is gonna have to be one helluva dancer to not look awkward. Fatigue will be a real problem for her, too, because she is going to have to expend so much more energy dancing than her co-stars that it will be extremely grueling for her. If she overworks herself in rehearsals, she will have to deal with friction burns on her leg, which will be horribly painful.

And she's been an amputee long enough that she should be past the stage where she is trying to prove to herself and everyone else that she is "normal", because she isn't, for pete's sake she is missing a foot! And I don't care how much she pays for a fancy schmancy prosthetic leg, and even if she gets out there and dances her little heart out, there are going to be moments when she looks "unnatural."

What will interest me is to see how they costume her - if her costume flares high, people are going to see that strap, and it isn't pretty, trust me.

My question is why the hell is she doing this? What is she trying to gain from this? Sympathy? Admiration? Acceptance? Or maybe she is just looking for attention? But in my opinion, this is just not right. Sorry gang, I can't jump on the Heather Mills bandwagon on this one.

I'm sure there are radical amputees jumping on their soapboxes and saying, "way to go, Heather" - but not this lady. Most amputees are just average people, who don't want to be singled out for their "handicap." Does it bother me one whit that I have no feet, or that people know it. Of course not, I have absolutely no problem telling anyone that I'm an amputee, in fact I've been known to gleefully tell rude people that I'm a double amputee just to get their shocked reaction. Yeah, I know, I'm a little devil but sometimes people deserve it. But seriously, I'm really proud of myself that I manage to get up and walk on my own two feet every single day but I don't feel like I have to broadcast it to the world.

I think this silly woman needs to step back, be grateful for what she has, and not put herself out there for John Q. Public to ridicule. And trust me, they will - the late night talk show hosts will have a field day with this one. And I will feel no sympathy, this was her choice. Silly, silly, woman...