More retirement thoughts

Ok - I am only 37 but is it ever too soon to think about retirement?

We were eating at the pizza shop tonight and I was telling husband about my retirement thoughts and we came up with a couple more.

• I want the ability to keep the house at whatever temperature is comfortable to us. That means heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer (provided we remain where we're at which I highly doubt but no matter where I am - I want comfort). I do not want to have to layer in the winter and succumb to heat stroke in the summer.
  
• I want the ability to still buy down comforters and pillows. I am a creature of comfort.
• As long as chenille robes stay cheap I'm cool.
• Ideally I'd like to take two trips a year. If we're living in a really cool place, than one trip a year may suffice.
• Opera. I need to go to the Opera.
• Good shoes. I have horrible, horrible feet and I need my feet taken care of. They are, afterall, the only feet I'll ever have. I walk on broken bones and while it's under control right now (the pain and inflammation) I need to be really careful that they don't get bad. My feet respond best to Danskos although Naot's and Birk's seem to suffice as well. I will not ever wear old lady shoes. Ever.
• I will be a good steward of the environment and will continue to support local businesses and those that give a damn about future generations.
  
• I hope it's never so bad that I have to shop at Walmart. I'd have to be just above living on the streets for that to happen.
• I would love to be able to be the one footing the bill when the family all goes out for dinner but it really does depend on the number of offspring my children produce. I will be on a fixed income, you know!

That's all! Oh yeah...we did drop $4 on Powerball tix (up to $300M!) tonight so wish us luck. I'm feeling good about our chances. Short of winning the lottery, we're probably looking at another 30ish years of working and I'm already tired.

On that note...I'd sure make a good lottery winner! Sure I'd spend some of my winnings on some frivolities but I'd be kind and generous (not stupid generous though) and would be a really great employer to my chef, massage therapist, and housekeeper. I'd work in the nursery at the hospital holding babies and would also volunteer at the Crisis Nursery of Minneapolis. I could never *not* work but I'd definitely do something that made a difference.

Man am I a windbag tonight.

Rambles

What's pale, doughy, and downright scary? Me on a Friday. And today's Friday so yup - you guessed it! I'm tired out from the week (I get pale when tired), feeling rather doughy (the weight loss is going well but I had fair-fare yesterday and chicken pad thai today) and a titch scary (did I mention I was tired? I get awfully cranky when tired...).

Anyway - thank GOD the weekend has zero planned. All I know is the lawn needs mowing (husband's chore) and I need to get to Super Target. That's it! I love weekends like this...nothing planned but a ton of quality time with my family. I hope to finish HBO's Big Love Season 2 and maybe get in a Netflix or two. Curl up on the couch with my honey (said lawn-mower) and stinky dogs and just relax.

But the weekend ends so quickly. Why doesn't the week go that quickly? Not fair!!!! Next week at work is uber-hectic and uber-important. I'll be praying to the god of "make it all work" and we'll see how it goes :).

My eldest starts school in a couple of weeks. He'll be a Senior. I feel old but I'm not. I'm old enough to not be hip and cool anymore (but really...was I ever?) but too young to be fuddy-duddy. Where does that leave me? Oh yeah - middle aged. I love that with age comes wisdom (unless you're stupid). I may by lumpy frumpy dumpy but man have I had some cool experiences. I was thinking about retirement on the drive in to work (isn't it scary how your mind checks out while you're driving?) and for me - the things that are important are experiences and my family. I don't care about clothes or cars or having a big house...I want to have enough to go to the theater, buy good food (not restaurant food - good food I can prepare at home), travel, etc. I want experiences! I want memories of doing things I love - things that challenge me - educate me - entice me.

I've found a new etsy favorite - CS Designs - I bought earrings and had a custom bracelet made to match.

Have a great weekend!!!

Aquaman is HOT!

How can you not love a guy that swims with dolphins and wears really cool tights?!? He's like the ultimate beach bum. And have you seen his ride? A giant sea-horse. Very very cool. My husband recently returned from Wizard World (Chicago) and snapped this pic for me. My husband knows I love him and all but my first love will always be Aquaman. I have my daughter, Sawyer, in training. She has an Aquaman action figure that she sleeps with from time to time.

Fragrance Oil Overload!!!!

Holy crap. I have hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS of sample sized fragrance oils laying around. I got a bright idea today to go list a lot of 50+ on ebay but of course I had to sniff each and every one of them to make sure I truly wanted to let the little boogers go. So of course...I have a slight headache going :). Stupid, stupid, stupid! I do hope they go to a good home. So if you're looking to try a bunch at a really great deal...check out my auction! This is seriously at least $150+ of oils. And they're all excellent quality but because I've decided not to sell, I just don't need that many!

In other news...I'm trying a new recipe tonight that I got off the Weight Watcher boards - Molasses Grilled Chops with Horseradish Sauce. Can you say yum?!? The chops are marinating in soy sauce, molasses, garlic, and red pepper flakes right now and I can't wait to try them for dinner.

Ablutions-Spa is the best! And Amsterdam! And Thai?

I just got a new order in from Ablutions-spa (my face just loves her stuff) and she included a full-size Sea Goddess scrub - talk about spearminty goodness! I highly recommend anything and everything she carries.

My very spontaneous friend cajoled (she was relentless! <just kidding>) me into going to Amsterdam with her late Nov/Dec and of course I had to say Yes! I'm very excited as this will be my first time there (her third so she can show me around). She's an awesome travel partner and I know we're going to have a blast.

I somehow managed to have both Indian and Thai this week which means I ate entirely too much and have gained a lb. Sigh. How can I complain when the food was so worth it? I'll try to behave this weekend and eat sensibly...but it sure was worth it! I've lately become obsessed with Chicken Pad Thai and must have it once a week at my local Thai place (Taste of Thai in downtown Minneapolis). I really need to find a good recipe so I can make this delectable delight at home!

Honey & Patchouli

I've been on a honey kick lately...trying to find *the* perfect honey for my soy candles. It's not happening. Most of them are too cloyingly sweet. I have a couple more to try but what I have found is an absolutely amazing fragrance oil from Flicker's called Patchouli Honey. It's heavenly. It's the right amount of honey and the patchouli rounds it out nicely...gives it a natural earthiness (go figure - it's patchouli!) like you've just opened a fresh jar of honey from your local farmer's market. I've just spent the last 1/2 hour luxuriating in the tub with a body oil I just made and when I got out, slathered myself even more! Sadly, the Patchouli Honey isn't working in my soy candles but it's a definite keeper (and favorite) for B&B products.

Speaking of honey, my very favorite is from a guy local to me called Ames Farm's Single Source. My favorite is his Bergamot but it's very hard to come by. The honey has a cinnamon-like background that is just wonderful. I haven't been able to find it this past year...I'm hoping he has it at the market soon!

I'm going to do it!

The title may grab your attention but I'm certain the rest of the post won't :). I've been dying to try steel cut oats in the crockpot...they're a pain (imo) to make on the stove top but I love those little buggers. Talk about nutty crunchy! The recipe I'm making today calls for skim milk but I'm going to try fiber-fortified soy milk instead. This will be my first foray using soy milk...hope it turns out because it's a big batch! I also cut up some apples and loaded it up with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Yummmmm. If this works out (in the crockpot), I'm going to give it a try with cranberries. Nice tart cranberries...perfect for heading into Fall!

You know...now that I'm thinking of it, I should go throw some of my homemade vanilla extract into the oatmeal and maybe a vanilla bean or two!