I'm a kid at heart and when it comes to things from my childhood days, I get excited. Like sparklers. Remember those? I couldn't wait for the 4th of July to come so I could play with those glittery, sparkly sticks of light. I used to see how much I could write in the air before the light would fade away where I started.
Turns out sparklers aren't just for kids anymore. People are using them as wedding sparklers to add light and pizzazz to their wedding photos. The pictures are spectacular, and if I had it to do over again, I'd definitely include sparklers in my day.
Check out these photos and tell me you don't agree. :)
Yes, I designate a day to clean the bathroom. Why? Because I hate it so much, I have to psych myself up to do it.
"OK, Shawn. Tomorrow is bathroom cleaning day. You've put it off way too long, so tomorrow's the day. It can't wait any longer. Things are starting to take on a life of their own behind the toilet. It's scary. No more excuses. Tomorrow you clean the bathroom."
Want to know why I hate cleaning the bathroom so much? It's the toilet. With so many males living here, the toilet......gross. I can't even think about it without nausea setting in. I swear they do it on purpose.
"OK, son. It's up to you and me now. With your brother away at college, we need to step up our game plan. Your mom, she's starting to feel a little less needed around here. By making sure the bathroom is a disaster, she will feel better. "
"But Dad...."
"No buts. We're doing this for your mother, son. Never forget that."
"OK Dad, but...."
"Son, just shut your mouth and do what you're told. We'll split the duties. I'll take the toilet. I'm taller and can create more of a splash. You take wet towel and dirty laundry duty. Make sure to leave your wet towels balled up in the corner and stuff some dirty underwear behind the toilet so when I take my morning pee, they will be sure to be part of it."
"Alright, Dad, but I don't think....."
"I'm not asking you to think. Always remember, this is for your mother. Now, go get 'em!"
The husband remembered, too, and told me 'Happy Birthday' before leaving for work. AND, my mom and dad called to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me before they left for work.
All before 7am!
It's the little things like this that make it all worth while.
The other night, after brushing my teeth, I crawled into bed and snuggled up next to the husband.
"What have you been eating?" he asked with a look of disgust on his face.
"Nothing! I just brushed my teeth. Why?" I responded, a little hurt by his question.
"Your breath smells like pickles," he said, still with that look.
"Fine," I thought. "No sex for you tonight."
I rolled over to my side of the bed and went to sleep. I vaguely remember him asking me what he had done to make me mad as I drifted off to sleep.
A couple of days later, the daughter rudely burst into the bathroom as she's known to do when I'm in there. I was brushing my teeth, and she began to ask me something about this, that, or the other, when all of a sudden she stops and says, "It smells like pickles in here."
Whaaaa??
I spit and rinsed, than asked her to repeat herself.
"It smells like pickles in here. What did you cook downstairs?" she asked hoping it was something she liked.
"I didn't cook anything," I said, narrowing my eyes into slits while clenching my teeth.
She continued on with whatever it was she had come in the bathroom to discuss and left.
I took the tube of toothpaste out of the medicine cabinet to make sure I wasn't brushing with something other than the "Close-Up" toothpaste I had bought. You know the brand. It's the only one that has a cinnamon-y flavor and a silhouette of a couple kissing on the package. I'm the only one in the family that likes this toothpaste, so I'm quite happy to have the tube all to myself, free of the dried toothpaste goobers and lost caps that plague the other tubes in the downstairs bathroom where everyone else brushes.
Didn't Close-Up used to have something about being "kissably fresh"? How the hell is someone supposed to be kissably fresh when they smell like pickles?
Here's an old Close-Up commercial. Seriously. These people must all love pickles.
