Valentines day, the most romantic day of the year, is coming up and many of us are in a quandary. Even an old married lady like me likes to feel pretty and–cover your eyes kids, if you’re reading this–sexy. But at my age I usually try to conceal and minimize my assettes, not display them. And when I finally get psyched enough to go shopping for lingerie I invariably find items designed and sized for anorexic or surgically altered bodies, not for the normal, average sized woman.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the average American woman stands not quite five foot four and weighs 152 pounds, NOT six foot two and one hundred pounds like most of the images of the runway models we’re routinely assailed by…I can’t remember the last time my face was airbrushed, either.
My husband tells me that there is nothing sexier than a woman who feels sexy, and I think most men would agree. So this Valentines day, go for it! Throw your man a curve or two. There are lots of shops that sell plus size lingerie or purchase some flirty little underthings for him to unwrap! You don’t have to be a size two to feel sexy!
Are you an old softie? Do you wear your heart on your sleeve? If so, then this hoodie is just the thing for you. It’s made of silky-soft cashmere and features a bright red heart on…you guessed it! The sleeve. Comes in small, medium, large and extra-large. And guys, this would make a great gift for your sweetie on Valentines Day!
As little as a couple of years ago I still shopped for everything in brick and mortar stores, now the web is my starting point for most everything we need. We live at least an hour from anywhere so online shopping has been a huge boon for us, especially with the rising gas prices. And did you know there are all sorts of sites where you can get online coupons for your favorite stores and restaurants? Just a few clicks can save you a bundle!
I had a strange dream last night.
I dreamed my husband and I just jumped in our mini van and took off! We didn’t tell anyone where we were going, just took off like we didn’t have a care in the world! I kept asking him where we were going and he’d say, “I don’t know, lets just head in a direction and drive till we run out of gas.”
“And then what?” I asked.
“We’ll bed down in the back of the van and go again tomorrow!” He said.
For some reason the dream had a really powerful effect on me. It’s been on my mind all day and has colored my thoughts. Even though taking off that way is completely out of character for us. We NEVER do anything without at least some planning. We have our kids and our pets to consider and my mom and sister freak out if they don’t know where we are, and his job demands that he be accessible in case of emergency. And I really can’t see us “bedding down” in the back of the van, either. We aren’t good campers, we both have bad backs and allergies, in fact, I sold our camping gear at our last yard sale.
Still, that dream keeps popping into my head.
Every winter I ask myself, why do I live in Illinois? Why do we put up with the worrisome tornado-prone springs, the sticky, sweltering summers and the miserable frigid winters. Autumn is generally the only decent season in Illinois. From November to April landscape is bleak and gray and depressing.This time of year the temperature ranges from low to below teens, with wind-chill below zero. We’ve scraped ice off the car windows every single morning, my Weenie dog has worn both her sweater and her little red coat with the fur trim, to work everyday. I’m sick to death of winter already and it’s still January…we have at least two months of miserable weather left to endure.
Every winter I ask myself, why do we live in Illinois? Why not look into some Florida or Georgia land for sale?
I guess it’s because my entire family lives in Illinois. For me, family trumps crummy weather.
I love thermals! They’re toasty warm, fit snugly and won’t tangle or bunch up. And these thermal long jane pajamas come in nine great colors and patterns, with contrasting trim at the neck, sleeve and ankle and a cute little drawstring at the waist. Made of comfy cotton, from Victoria’s Secret.
I don’t know about you, but most days I have a hard time coming up with new and interesting meals and we end up eating the same old things day after day. Recently I’ve begun checking out various cooking blogs and I’ve found a great one! It’s called “My Wooden Spoon“. The title of this tasty blog is a little scary for me because when I was growing up wooden spoons were used to whack naughty children on the head! Lori, however, uses her wooden spoons for wonderful things! I’ve already jotted down several recipes I can’t wait to try, I’m thinking the first one will be the Baked Rigatoni, since hubby’s a huge fan of Italian!
I love the French Country style of decor, and nothing quite says French Country like a big glorious strutting Rooster! This hand-painted ceramic fellow is the perfect accent for your French-country kitchen or dining room! Rooster measures 11″ long by 8″ wide by 14″ tall.
I keep a lot of plants, green plants are beautiful and healthful, cleaning the air of harmful chemicals…but too many plants can look messy. Here are a couple of great vintage look planters to corral and showcase your favorite plants.
This gracious stand would work in Victorian, French Country, Tuscan–just about any decor. It measures 42″ long by 15.5″ wide by 33″ high. There is some assembly required so have a handy person standing by…
The Iron Planter Stand has a tall central planter and side by side containers two below. The planter is made of of wrought iron, with three faux copper finished containers. The planter measures 26 1/2″ by 10-1/2″ by 24″ tall.
My husband and I are planning a trip to New Orleans this summer. I’ve always wanted to go there, in fact, we’d planned to stop through on the way back from Florida on our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, but at the last moment we decided we would need more time than just one day and so we went to Asheville North Carolina to see the Biltmore estate instead…also a really cool place to visit.
I’m dying to see the above ground cemeteries and the French Quarter, and I plan to do lots of eating. The only bad thing is, we’re going in July and I never handle heat very well. On the other hand, I get sick with one thing or another every time we go on vacation. I’m surprised my husband doesn’t leave me at home. When we went to Hannibal Missouri, I had an allergic reaction to a spider bite and we had to leave a day early. I got a horrible sinus infection on our honeymoon, more sinus misery in Texas, the flu at Disney World, food poisoning at Hermann. Hmnn, maybe we should look into travel health insurance…
