Can You Guess My Favorite Scent?

She stretched out on the couch, remote control in hand. The scent of her cucumber-melon votive candles made the living room smell like a fruit basket, even as she munched the red Twizzler candy licorice ropes.

The channel she selected showed mouthwatering yeast rolls dripping with honey butter. She bit off another chunk of the cinnamon-flavored licorice and clicked the next channel. A Jeopardy question. Awesome! She leaned forward.

“200 for Game Show Hosts, Alex,” the student with the cowboy hat said.

“POV, HOH, and CBS….Rachel.”

“Who is Julie Chen? Game show hosts for 400.”

“Answers, not questions….Rachel again.”

(laughs) “Who is Alex Trebeck?”

“Right again..Who knew I’d be in my own game show? Rachel, select again.”

“Same category, 600.”

“This show will leave you stranded, unless you have a strong alliance in the game….Justin.”

“Who is Jeff Probst? Game show contestants for 800.”

(Whooshing sound) “You’ve located the Daily Double. Justin, you can risk up to 1000.”

“I’ll bet 1000.”

“Okay. Here’s your answer: He didn’t know his sister would be on the same show with him.”

“Ummm……”

The bag of Twizzlers slipped from her lap. “I know that one!” She leaned forward as time ran out.

“I need an answer Justin…”

“Ummm. Russell Hantz?”

(Groans) “Oh, so sorry Justin; the answer is Cowboy.”

Her companion laughed as she reached down for the red ropes of candy. “Maybe you should audition for the show. As much as you're obsessed with some of the male contestants..."

“I’m much better at Wheel of Fortune. I used to win all the spelling competitions at school, but got beat in the Statewide Spelling Bee. Maybe I should apply.” She stretched out again to watch the rest of the show. "And I am not obsessed with men!"

"You cried when Jeff was voted off of Big Brother; you cheered when Russell was voted off Survivor; you screamed when Brendan was brought back; and oh yes, you voted for Dr. Will on everyone's email addresses, plus your other two. And anyone else who would let you vote on their computer." He ticked them off on his fingers. "And let's not forget the name of the cologne you buy me all the time!"

So how did you do? My favorite scents are:

Fresh bread

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Cucumber-melon

And Obsession For Men:)

Beating The Heat and Needing 'Me' Time

Yes, I've been a baaad blogger lately. The past two weekends have been extremely busy, plus our heat wave BROKE finally! Which is weird...usually once the temps hit late 70's and early 80's, on go my shorts and T shirts, and maybe even a tank top. And since the spouse tends to open the windows and doors, I'm even happier.

Enter the 90 degree temp. Spouse closes up the house and the a/c is engaged. Suddenly, I'm wearing sweats in the house and stripping off a layer to go outdoors. And yes, carry a sweater with me to restaurants, in case of freeze-out. I admit it; I'm a split-personality in the summer.

But with kids running in and out, the house has been hot even WITH the a/c! I sleep in my 'granny gown' to stay cool at night. Tank tops and shorts rule, even in restaurants. Maybe I'm having hot flashes due to menapause?

Younglings #2 and 3 leave...and the 98+ temps and 105 degree heat index left last week....and suddenly Kenzie is back in her fleece jammies at night. Yes, you read that right; Kenzie sleeps in FLEECE all year round (with the exception of when she's having hot flashes...and with the addition of her thyroid meds, that has been cured, somewhat...).

I attended a mini-HS reunion last week, and the family laughed at me, because I didn't know what to pack. Tank top and capris, yes. But to wear the pink one with a shrug over it, or my dressy black one? I packed both. And ended up wearing the black one:)

And since the next day was a birthday party, wear a T-shirt with capris or a white tank and shorts? Went outside at 11am and it was nearly too humid to breathe. Tank top and shorts, coming up!

I also drink massive amounts of iced tea; we took the kids to the movies one day, since a friend reported the water at the public pool was near bathwater temps; and in 'normal' situations, cook inside as little as possible. I love my grill! ('Normal'=paragraph #2)

I Loves The Quiet!

I'll admit it; people think I'm strange. Most moms can't wait to spend time with their kids. Maybe I've spent too much time? I look forward to fall, when they all go back to school. I get 'my life' back! In the summer, unless I'm 'in the zone' or editing, I'm at their mercy. Running them here and there, be it ball games (1998-2002), playdates, the library, or whatever. I can't even watch TV anymore, or play my music (unless I'm downstairs in the shower or doing laundry, lol! I've also been known to pop a CD into the laptop while I'm cooking or doing the dishes!)

And the spouse reaaallly needs to get a hobby. I'm tired of him hanging around the house all the time. I need the house filled with MUSIC, not the sounds of Syfy channel, Food Network, History, DIY, or Discovery.

A neighbor absolutely baffled me twelve years ago. Her baby entered kindergarten, and she called me an hour later, sobbing: "I'm sooooo lonely! What am I going to do all day without her?"

Within two weeks, she'd volunteered to be a room mother, and was babysitting two other kids in the class after school (this was when kdgn was half day).

When my then-baby entered kdgn, I spent the mornings doing errands or on the computer! And when she started 1st grade, I literally threw myself a 3-day party: Lunch with a friend and a massage on day #1; dragged my spouse to the State Fair on day #2; and grocery-shopped and gave the house a thorough cleaning on day #3. Finished up on day #4, and settled down to write the following Monday. Did I miss the kids? Hell no!

So what do I need in order to write?

-Everyone out of the house

-Loud Music (when I get 'in the zone', I actually tune it out; go figure!)

-Plenty of iced tea in the kitchen (it means I'll get up every once in a while!)

-Cookies, preferably chocolate chip or Fig Newtons:)

And no spouse threatening me to get of the computer! Go away and leave me alone!! (Case in point: He's gone to church and I'm sitting at home, writing this post, lol! Tired and in too much pain to attend this morning.)

I Haz The Rage...

What makes me see red? Injustice, stupidity, and just plain stubbornness.

In Life:

I vented my rage here. I don't feel like copy/pasting; it's rather long and not pretty. If you're up for it, feel free to tell me if I'm just suffering from a massive case of PMS or if my family needs a cast-iron skillet upside the head. Or if I need to just go away and calm down for several weeks. Maybe it's just stress.

What makes me mad in books?

When the H/h don't talk to each other! A classic case can be found in Barbara Huffert's Deal of a Lifetime. The H/h spend most of the book making assumptions about the other, despite their inability to keep their hands off each other. I wanted to jump into the book and lock them in a room until they TALKED to each other, expressing feelings/emotions/misconceptions and kissed and made up. Yeah, I know; that would be a boring book. And I admit, it kept me reading. And since Barb is a friend, and I've read that book several times since, I don't think she'd mind a little free publicity for it:) (Love you Barb, if this shows up on a Google Alert, lol!!)

I just finished reading Jean M Aul's Land of Painted Caves. And I'm in agreement with the one review I saw: Enough of the damned cave paintings already! I skipped over much of the description and went straight to the dialogue. There were places where the story could have been more exciting, but instead, she went for the 'safe' approach. Several times I thought I knew how certain sub-plots would end, only to have them fizzle out. But still, this made me want to go back and reread Shelters of Stone, since it's been eight years between books. And even book #3, Mammoth Hunters, made me want to lock Jondalar and Ayla in a room until they admitted they loved each other. I sincerely hope A does get to reunite with her Clan and son before this series ends. And in case you're wondering, yes, I will buy LOPC when it arrives in paperback. I borrowed the hardback from the library.

So what gets YOUR dander up? What makes you so mad you want to punch something?