Scents and Memory

     One of the very first scent-based memories I have is of my mom bending down to tuck me into bed when I was a little kid.  She was wearing Emeraude, a deliciously scented perfume that is still available. I didn't know what it was called when I was a kid, and I am not sure I was even that aware that she was wearing perfume.\; it was just the scent that I associated with her.  When I get a whiff of this perfume today, I am instantly transported back to my childhood and although the smell is not at all kid-like, it soothes me and brings me enormous pleasure when I smell it.


Me and Mom

      It is still a perfume I enjoy as an adult.  In fact, I wear it often.  The smell is amazing, and I get the added bonus of it bringing me the instant memories of my mom.  I wear a lot of different scents, depending on my mood and I didn't realize that I was out of Emeraude until I decided to wear some the other day and I discovered the bottle was empty.  I knew that the department stores don't carry it.  In fact, the one time I "foolishly" asked about it in a department store, I was told by the haughty (bitchy) saleswoman that Emeraude was only sold in drug stores. Can you say perfume snob?!?

     I wonder if that is why more women don't wear it.  Does wearing a perfume purchased in a drug store/Wal-Mart/Target make it less appealing than one purchased at Macy's/Nordstrom's/Saks?  I have perfume that was bought for me and that I myself have bought.  I don't care where it comes from. In fact, the less I have to spend, the happier I am.  I guess I am going to enjoy my little secret and continue to wear Emeraude.  (I just ordered two bottles of it to be sent to me from Amazon...less than $20 bucks - SCORE!!)
     I didn't intend this to become an ad for Emeraude perfume.  I just think it is amazing how memories and smell are so intrinsically linked together.  There are many other scents that take me back also, but this is one that I can revisit with just a quick spray!  Thanks Mom!!

Pleasant Things

     Occasionally I catch myself being negative or grouchy.  I don't know whether it is because I am tired or worn out, or if Nick did or said something to irritate me (he IS a teenager), but I recently decided to make a conscience effort to be more positive.  To that end, I am looking for pleasant, pretty, or worthwhile things in my daily life to enjoy and share with my friends and Facebook community. 

     I think that by making a concerted effort to find the good or pleasant aspects of life I will become more aware of the positive things that surround me.  I sometimes tend to be pessimistic and I am trying to change that in myself, so I am giving this a shot to see if I can make a noticeable difference.

     Here are the first 5 images I have found.  Some I photographed, others I "borrowed," but all of them remind me of the simple pleasures that are all around me if I take the time to look and enjoy them.  (Boy I sound really preachy don't I???) I am trying to post one each day, but that isn't written in stone.  If I make this too much of a "job" then it'll become a chore rather than the pleasure I am hoping it will be. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Pleasant thing #1

Pleasant thing #2



Pleasant thing #3 (Happy Easter)



Pleasant thing #4 (My favorite so far)

Pleasant thing #5

Where the Heck Have we Been?

     I have no idea if anyone reads these posts or if I am being self-indulgent by writing blogs about me, me, me.  In any case, if anyone is reading and has been wondering where I've been, my life turned totally upside down and sideways in the last 9 months!
     I accepted the job with the company I interviewed with in Washington, D.C. and Nick and I  moved to the east coast in June!  Sounds simple, huh?  The reality was anything but...I had movers come and pack us up, load the truck and move our things to a storage facility someplace in Virginia. Then I had to arrange for an auto transport company to move my second vehicle (Honda Passport) to Virginia. Once all of that was done, I had to figure out how to pack enough clothes for me and Nick for a month, the two dogs, our cat, Willie, Nick's PlayStation, and other necessities in my Volkswagen Beetle for the 1000 mile drive from Arkansas to Virginia.  The drive was uneventful, but LONG!!!
     I keep saying Virginia because for the first month of our new adventure on the east coast, we were living in a high-rise apartment building in Arlington, VA while I looked for permanent accommodations.  We eventually ended up in Maryland, but the Virginia apartment was a nice experience.  We arrived here on a Sunday and I had to report to work the very next day.  Nick had his PlayStation, so he was happy, but I was concerned and feeling guilty about leaving him alone all day in a strange place.  He adapted beautifully and I began my new job.  The dogs figured out they had to go up and down in an elevator before they could go outside.  That was a pain!!  Taking two dogs for a walk at 5:30 in the AM is NOT fun, especially when they are not used to doing their business while being walked.  Eventually they got the idea and that became a much faster process.
     We are now living in a 4th floor walk-up In North Bethesda (formerly Rockville).  The apartment is nice (the stairs...not so much), but it was not my first choice.  I put a deposit on a 2-bedroom town house in Chevy Chase and about a week before my corporate housing time was going to end, I found out that we didn't get the town house.  I didn't have much time to look around, so I  rented the apartment we're in pretty quickly.  It is a great apartment, but hindsight being 20-20, I could have found something just as nice for (a lot) less money.  Thanks goodness the grocery store delivers, so when I need to do a large shopping, I place an order on-line and the groceries are brought to the door.  Pretty cool!!!  (The stairs are a pain, but bringing groceries up is HORRIBLE).



Great Falls, MD

      Nick loves his new school which is pretty funny considering he complained very loudly and consistently to whomever would listen about how he did NOT want to move here.  He has a lot of friends and loves being close to D.C.  Most weekends we spend at least 1 day exploring museums, or walking around the monuments, etc.  He is really liking all there is to do here.

Nick at the Washington Monument

     My step-dad, Wayne Stone, passed away in November.  He had successfully battled throat cancer the previous year and then was given a diagnosis of lung cancer.  He fought as much as he could and then it was done.  He spent some time in hospice, which was a fantastic experience for all of us, before passing away.  Nick and I flew out with the dogs and were able to spend some time with him before he died.  I'd like to think he knew we were there, but only God knows the answer to that.  He didn't suffer and thankfully, for both him and my mom, he didn't linger either.  We had a small service in Hot Springs, and then his brother demanded that he be buried in a cemetery in Tennessee near his Aunt Willie's farm.  We weren't thrilled, but because Wayne never definitively said what he wanted, my mom allowed Uncle Tommy to have his way.  Frankly, it was so stressful and upsetting that we didn't want to fight with him about it.  Nick and I were able to stay in Arkansas about 2 weeks, but I had to get back to work and Nick back to school.  It's been hard on my mom, but she has her place up for sale, so hopefully we'll be able to be together again soon!
     Christmas was spent in Virgina with my Dad and step-mother.  It was sad for me and Nick not to be with my mom, but there was no way we could go back to Arkansas after having been there for so long in November.  We had a fun Christmas and I think being in a different place with different people made it more bearable since it came so quickly after Wayne's death.  I hadn't spent a Christmas with my dad since I was 15, so I enjoyed the time this year especially.  We had a really good time!!

Christmas - 2012

     It is now the end of March.  Winter is trying to hang on, but there are signs of spring popping up all over.  I am looking forward to the cherry blossoms and I've promised Nick a weekend trip to New York once the weather is nicer.  I'll try to be more consistent with this blog.  As I wrote previously, I don't know if anyone reads these, but it's nice to have a record of what is happening in our lives.


Me at the base of the Capital Building




Nick at the reflecting pool near the Capital



Me at the Jefferson Memorial

I've included some photos from some of our excursions in the city!  Cheers!!