This Really Stinks

Who said Bath & Body Works could discontinue its Gardenia fragrance?  And why wasn’t I notified so that I could stock up?

Just like Yankee Candle — nixing some of my favorites (White Christmas, Wisteria) without my permission.

Hrrrmmmph.

I plan to check out B&BW this weekend to see if I can find (dare I say, sniff out) a suitable replacement, perhaps a new favorite.  Wish me luck.

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Me and My Olympics and More Stuff About the Yard

I have Olympics fever.  It set in a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve even been getting amped for Friday’s opening ceremonies, Chinese style.

Got a secondary, productivity plan in place, too.  Tackle the boxes and bags and stuffed closets of clothes.  I so need to do this.  I know there is a ton of things I can say bye-bye to, and I also know there are a few items I could be wearing if only I could locate them.  Yeah, it’s really out of control.  So, with the frequent commercial breaks, I can dash in and out of the bedroom and grab an armload to sort out at the breakfast bar while watching the Games on my kitchen television.  (I don’t have a large screen television, so no loss in watching on the even smaller kitchen television.)  In a couple of weeks, after all the medals have been handed out, I hope to feel my own sense of accomplishment.  Of course, all this productivity and purging comes after homework is completed.

Yesterday, my opening ceremony plans were foiled.  Good reason.  Bad timing.

My friend Vanessa is in town this week, visiting from Tennessee, where she’s been hiding out for the last few years.  Friday is her only chance to get together with the girls; her and her husband’s families have monopolized the rest of the week.  We will likely end up at Chili’s or On the Border because we need our ‘ritas.  Screw those “Sex and the City” girls and their little pink cosmopolitans.  Real women drink tequila.

Not sure if there will be four or five of us.  Knowing Vanessa as long as I have, I know her other friends, and they’re all good people.  Fortunately, Vanessa’s friend Rosalyn is a definite yes.  She’s such a hoot!

So, yeah, good reason, bad timing.

Sorry, Beijing.  Maybe next time.

By the way, I already have a favorite Beijing Olympian:  Dara Torres.  A swimmer and 41-year-old mother, she will be competing in her fifth Olympics — against athletes half her age.  And just to show she’s no slouch, she set a new American record at last month’s trials.  Did I mention she is 41?  And competing against 20-year-olds?  Who weren’t even born when she was competing in her first Olympics?  Ha.  I don’t care what she does or does not do in Beijing.  She rocks.

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I took advantage of yesterday’s mild 75 degree high and mowed the lawn when I got home from work.  It really needed it (%&!# crabgrass), and I didn’t have it in me to deal with last weekend’s humidity.  Pacing the lawn with the mower, I reflected on how much yard work I have done this year compared with recent summers.  (Hell, I already have a couple of plans for next spring.)

The year Mom was in the hospital and subsequent rehabilitation, yard work was minimal – like, mow the lawn every two or three or weeks and to hell with the flowers and anything else.  The pattern of laziness continued somewhat over the next couple of summers.  Sure, I had my assorted containers of impatiens and put in a few new shrubs, but some of the beds weren’t cleaned out.  They just got worse, and seeing all that work made me even less inclined to remedy the situation.  Finally, this year, I got my act together, and after seeing how much extra “make-up” work I had to do, I’m pretty sure I won’t let that happen again.

Yup, keep up on it, and you’ll have less to do over the long run.  I guess that applies to the boxes and bags and stuffed closets of clothes, too.

Anyway, back to mowing.  It occurred to me that with all my sweat and labor in the yard this summer, I should be losing more weight.  Hey, maybe I shouldn’t be following up the sweat and labor by cooling off with a big bowl of ice cream, not even the no sugar added variety.  Edy’s No Sugar Added coffee ice cream is awesome, by the way, even if you don’t have to be cautious with sugar.

Yeah, yeah, the margaritas, I know.

Suddenly, Nine Inch Nails’ “Discipline” is stuck in my head.  Hmmm.

Rename this post “Discipline” because WordPress won’t let me do strikethrough in the title.

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P.S.  One week ’til Radiohead!