(43-208) LOVELY

I have the sweetest; most thoughtful, husband EVER!!  I've mentioned before that Luis is not the biggest gift giver; but let me tell you; when he chooses to give me a gift, it's always something that's inimitably ideal.

When I wrote "The Gift Of Laughter," I told you that Luis had given me the perfect Valentine's day gift... A laugh; and I meant it.  Well, a couple of weeks ago I was at Kohl's with Michelle M, and I smelled a perfume that I have not been able to get off my mind; "Lovely" by Sarah Jessica Parker.  I wasn't in the market to buy a new perfume, so I didn't splurge right then and there; but EVERY time I went into a Kohl's after that day, I would go spritz myself generously with the fabulous fragrance.  I told Luis about it, and let him smell it; and he agreed that it was, in a word; LOVELY.

If you haven't had the pleasure of smelling Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely for yourself; I found a delightful description of it, on garden.co.uk "Lovely perfume is inspired by her love of layering unexpected fragrances, Sarah Jessica Parker blends a scent of pure innocence with the exotic nature of a precious oil and the sophistication of a fine perfume. Lavender, orchid and amber mingle with apple martini, paper whites and musk. The result, Sarah Jessica Parker's casual glamour fashioned into a fragrance."

Does that sound heavenly or what?   Well, a few days ago, I received my FAVORITE piece of mail... my discount advisement from Kohl's.  Just in case you don't know what I mean by this; I'll explain that if you have a Kohl's credit card; at least once a month, you receive a coupon on the mail which reveals that you get an additional 10, 20 or 30% off your entire purchase; for whatever the designated period of time is.  Well, as luck would have it; I got a 30% off coupon; AND I also had  $10 in Kohl's cash; so I asked Luis if he would mind if I bought Lovely.  Luis told me that he'd actually thought about buying it for me for Valentine's day; but since there was no discount available at that time; he delayed.  Truly this was a case of it being the thought that counted;, because honestly, I'm glad that he didn't pay full price for it when by waiting just a few days we were able to get $30 off.

After Luis got home from work this afternoon; we went to Kohl's and purchased my perfume; and it was well worth the wait.  Without a doubt; I now smell LOVELY!
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

100 And Counting

I think it's safe to say that this years Oscars were a HUGH-GE Success!

I think Hugh Jackman was a fabulous host;and I'd love to see him there again. I've even wondered if his success might inspire Billy Crystal to take another stab at it - hmm. Hugh was the consummate performer and I found him thoroughly entertaining. He really set the tone.
I truly appreciated the Academy's efforts to save money by having the same presenters for multiple awards; however,I thought it was EXTREMELY tacky of them to pan to Angelina while Jennifer Aniston was presenting her awards. Yes, Yes, I know that we were all wondering what was going on in the minds of Jen, Brad and Angelina; but everyone at my house gave a big old "Oh know they didn't" when that happened.
Although I really enjoyed the show in its entirety; some of the highlights for me were, when Kunio Kato (who won the Oscar for his animated short La Maison en Petits Cubes) was accepting his award and after thanking his pencil he said "Domo arigato Mr. Roboto." CLASSIC! Now THAT was funny; and when Sean Penn began his acceptance speech by saying "You commie, homo-loving sons of guns;" loved it!
Then of course, there was the fashion. My faves included Sarah Jessica Parker , Natalie Portman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslett and Meryl Streep

The misses for me included The Black and Blue girls; Queen Latifah and Reese Witherspoon. I adore them both, really, I do; but their dresses were dreadful. Tilda Swinton just plain scares me. I think Peter Jackson must have dressed Phillip Seymour Hoffman for the night. If he were alive I might have guessed that Ray Charles dressed Whoppi Goldeberg for the night; (I mean leopard print moo-moo really?) And what can I politely say about Sophia Loren? I can't even bear to show you a picture of that one; but suffice it to say she looked extremely weathered and was dressed as a lamp from a French bordello. Ok, so maybe that wasn't SO polite - sorry Sophia.

I was VERY happy for Kate Winslett's win as her performance really was outstanding. I think it's a mark of a great actress when you forget who SHE is, and see her totally as the charachter. This was the case for me with kate and "The Reader. I'm very happy that the World has embraced "Slumdog Millionaire' and if you haven't seen it yet; it came out on DVD on Feb 24th.

It is genuinely surreal to me that another Oscar season has come and gone; and that this is actually my 100th post. I feel like I've got a lot of kinks to work out; but I'm hoping that you'll stick it out with me. During the past 99 posts, I know that I've had a couple of real hits and I've really tanked some as well; but I'm going to try and toughen my skin up and press on. I have been the Queen of Self Doubt lately (OK; not just lately) and I have really been questioning my decision to pursue a writing career. I honestly can say that every fiber of my being tells me that I should be a writer; but I know that I need to be even MORE selective about my subject matter. You know they say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Well I guess I can cancel my reservation at the local sanitarium, because I don't EXPECT different results; however, I am fully aware that I have made some bad choices - and I am dedicated to not letting that happen again.

I thank everyone that reads The Bumpy Ride; and I hope that you will continue to do so. I think there may have been some problems with the feed lately, so if you notice that you aren't getting at least a weekly post, please try to sign up for the feed again.

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING