Stop and Smell the Roses

Lately, I've been fascinated with the sky.  I have a 22-minute commute to work that winds along the Indian River so I usually see the rising sun against the sky.  Some days it's cloudy while others are clear.  Each day is different.  I feel like I need to stop and pull over to capture the morning sky at that particular moment.  When I don't stop, I regret it.  So, I figure if I really like the sky that day that I should stop and take a picture.  That way, I'll always have a memory of how beautiful that day was and no two skies are alike.  It's another way of saying, "Stop and smell the roses."

One-quarter Inch Thinner Toilet Paper

It’s not your imagination that the toilet paper seems to be getting smaller. I recently noticed the new toilet paper roll had a lot of play on its holder. I compared it to the empty discarded roll and it is, in fact, one-quarter inch narrower. Manufacturers are smart in that they don’t raise the price, but give you less for the same price. This has been happening for years, if not decades, but this was noticeably smaller. You get fewer tissues in a box; less coffee in a bag; and now thinner toilet tissue. There were no announcements either. No “new and improved.” No “smaller and better.” No mention of it. Just wanted you to know I noticed. Can you think of any other examples?

A Deluxe Gift

My husband gave me a gift certificate for a “Deluxe Pedicure” at a salon I regularly patronize for pedicures. Saturday morning, I went into the salon and signed in for a pedicure. I was told to sit in one of the massage chairs and dipped my feet into the hot spa. When I told the technician that I had a gift certificate for a “deluxe pedicure”, she asked to see it. I told her I didn’t even know what it was. She took it to the shop manager, came back to me, and said, “How about if I don’t tell you what it is and you just enjoy it?” I said, “Okay” since I knew what to expect from a regular pedicure. Then, she asked “Would you like a glass of wine?” I replied “Is that part of the deluxe?” She said, “No, we just started doing that.” I said, “No thank you. It’s a little early for wine.” She didn’t offer me any coffee, tea or water and I didn’t ask.
The technician proceeded to trim, file, and buff my toe nails. I pressed the arm chair buttons to start the rolling and compressing massage on my lower back and to receive the full benefit of this experience. Meanwhile, she exfoliated, masked, moisturized, and massaged my legs and feet. Never before did I have teal and purple gels smeared upon my legs, one of which was an exfoliator made with eucalyptus and the other a mask. Then, she dipped my feet into hot lavender wax four times to form a hard shell and wrapped them in plastic. Wow. When all of that was done, my legs felt like running away because they were so energized by all this attention.
When she asked me what nail color I wanted, I said, “Red for the fourth of July.” She showed me four different shades of red to choose from. I picked the lightest one called “Real Red.” She painted it so perfectly on my cuticle-less toenails. She asked me if I wanted a decoration painted on them. Thinking this might be part of the deluxe package, I said sure. (It wasn’t.) She painted on white, blue and silver glitter fireworks on both big toes. Very pretty. I felt like a pampered queen. I doubt that I will ever spend the extra money for the deluxe package or the decoration, but it was a very special gift that I’ll long remember.

Priceless!

If you have a 14-year-old, figure on some unplanned weekly expenses. So far this year, it seems like every weekend has brought a new expense. Our son is playing junior little league baseball, therefore none of last year’s baseball clothing and equipment fits. So, a trip to Sports Authority using a $25-coupon towards pants, slider underwear, cleats, and a glove cost us approximately $200. But when he catches that grounder at second base—it will be priceless!
This past week, he informed me he needed a second pair or change of shoes for his field trip to Washington, DC. He was going to buy some canvas slip-ons and pay $30 of his own money for them. I took him to the mall and he decided to get some lace-up brand-name skateboard shoes at twice the price. They are sharp shoes and should last longer than canvas slip-ons. His decision—priceless!
While at the mall, I decided it was a good time to buy him some dress pants, a white shirt and tie to be worn at confirmation and graduation this spring. I picked out some black pin-striped slacks and a crisp white shirt on sale. We couldn’t agree on a tie so that will have to be purchased later. He tried on three sizes of slacks before he found one that fit and modeled them for me outside the dressing room. What a handsome young man and his dressed-up look—priceless!
Today, he wanted to go to the beach. He said he couldn’t go because none of his four swimsuits from last year fit. They are all size 28-inch waist and now he has a 30-inch waist. We’ll have to buy a new pair for our spring break vacation next month. If we can go one month without buying something for him, that would be priceless!