This might be the most fun trip ever.....

We are off to the Royal Wedding!

Well...sort of.....
Last fall Meester and I booked a group trip to England through our local bank's travel club. We'll be visiting Bath, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and London. This was before the Royal Engagement was announced. Turns out we will be in Stratford-Upon-Avon on the day of the Royal Wedding!!! And S-U-A will be rockin' with celebration of this royal holiday.

We.are.very.pleased.

And you know an international trip puts Red into a frenzy of obsessive-compulsive shopping, laundry, and packing. Let's see:

• A three-county search for the perfect cotton skirt in smoky charcoal...which I never found. Feh!
• Ordered a new pair of sunglasses from the pricey local optical shop -- which I've been informed will not be delivered in time for the trip. Double Feh!
• Bought a new carry-on bag -- with wheels. I'm getting too old to haul a carry-on bag on my shoulder through miles of airport concourses. *Sigh*

• Bought a new point-and-shoot camera...and have spent hours figuring out how to use it. (Our old camera broke and I'm camera-challenged.)
• Bought a new travel purse -- of course!
• Got my hair cut -- of course!
• Bought a gazillion little travel-size toiletries and cosmetics.

• I do not like strangers touching my body parts -- so I did my own facial waxing -- ouch!
• And I did my own nails -- and toenails.
• Dusted, cleaned all the bathrooms, and washed the sheets -- in case a robber breaks into our house -- I wouldn't want him to think I'm a bad housekeeper.
• Went outside and pulled weeds when I should have been packing -- in case that robber looks at the garden while he's breaking into our house.
• Watered the plants and put those glass watering ball thingies in the pots.
• Washed every piece of clothing that I own, so that whatever I decide to pack is clean.

I hope I'm ready.

Cheerio!

I don't celebrate the lawn rites of Spring

'Tis finally Spring in Iowa. The grass is beginning to turn green. Though the grass is yet barely an inch tall, the site of growing grass provokes an annual Spring phenomenon. Testosterone-fueled herds of homo sapiens suburbanis charge through the neighborhood displaying the size and strength of their masculine tool -- the lawnmower.

The size of his lawn-mowing tool is usually in proportion to the size of the man.
The larger the waist-girth of the man -- the larger his riding lawnmower.
This ensures that the species preserves the size of his girth, as he avoids any true exercise by utilizing his riding ability rather than walking.

The first chirps of the birds celebrating Spring are drowned out by the roar of gas-powered engines. The Spring breeze is tainted with the wafting scent of gasoline. 
My least favorite part of Spring.

Lament for lotions I have loved and lost

My name is Red...and I am a body lotion addict.....
I love slathering myself in body lotion after a hot shower...letting all the fragrant silky goodness soak into my pores. I have probably gone through a tanker truck of lotion in my lifetime.

I'm also extremely finicky about the scents of my body lotions. No smelling like a fruit salad, or heaven forbid - a cucumber. I usually favor a good vanilla scent; vanilla layers nicely under my perfumes. (Do I sound like a lotion gourmet or a dotty old lady?)

Curel's honey and vanilla was my body lotion addiction for several years. It was so warm and comforting during those long, skin-drying, life-sucking, Iowa winters. Of course, the marketing morons at Curel decided to discontinue it. Feh!

They replaced it with this! Seriously, Curel idiots, do you think any woman wants to be seen holding this product in the checkout line? I refused to buy this - I do not want to see the word "menopause" staring at me from the bathroom counter first thing in the morning.

I haunted the aisles of my local CVS pharmacy until I found this lotion below. More vanilla - with pretty vanilla blossoms on the bottle - yay! I wallowed in this delicious lotion all winter. The bottle was like a little spot of sunshine on my bathroom counter. Then Aveeno stopped making this one. Aack - kill me!

Just when I was desperate for a vanilla high.....what could be better than vanilla?

Chocolate!!!

This lotion smells like a fine chocolate liqueur! I love smelling like a chocolate truffle in the morning. Hmmm...I hope I don't go to work in the morning smelling like I've had cocktail hour before 8:00 AM.

the Rabbits of Spring

Spring is the time for rabbits...
...the Easter bunny, of course.

image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

...and the darling little bunny rabbits that ravage my garden.

...and one of my favorite rabbits...the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are two of my favorite books. When I was a child, I loved the idea of accidentally ending up in a magical place filled with wondrous magical creatures; I still do. You know how I love a good tea party.....

I was browsing the web and stumbled into the the magical artistry of Tartx.
I was enchanted.
I bought a necklace for myself and one as a gift. The necklaces came beautifully presented. O frabjous day!

 

I luff my "rabbit" necklace a lot.