Thursday Thirteen

I'm feeling a wee bit out of sorts today. The reason? I couldn't sleep last night. And here are the thirteen reasons why.....

1.My recent submission got rejected. I was wondering where I'd gone wrong.

2.I'm worried about my eldest son at his gifted and talented maths school.Another boy was picking on him yesterday.

3. I had been gardening all day and felt so tired, that I was just restless.

4. I had eaten too much. We had takeaway last night and I was so full.

5. I was thinking about my vampires game.

6. I was wondering if I should repaint the bathroom.

7. I was thinking about the plants I want to buy today and where I should put them.

8. I was thinking that perhaps I haven't done much with the boys this summer.

9. I was wondering what the noises were in the garden.

10. I was wondering what the noises were tapping at the window.

11. I wondered if we had mice.

12. I wondered where the cat was when I needed him.

13. I was wondering if I would ever fall asleep.

Thursday Thirteen

I got some good news yesterday regarding my holiday next year. So, with that in mind, I've been thinking about other places that I like to visit. Some, as you will see, are not places to go on holiday. Nevertheless, they are places that are special to me.

1. Blackpool: a seaside town in Lancashire, England. Situated along the coast of the Irish Sea, it has a population of 142,900, making it the fourth-largest settlement in North West England behind Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington. It lies 40 miles (64 km) north-west of the city of Manchester, and less than 30 miles north of Liverpool City centre. Also, a stones throw away from where I was born, so a particular favourite from my childhood.

2. Eastlands:The City of Manchester Stadium, also known as COMS or Eastlands,is a stadium in Manchester, England. Originally designed as part of Manchester's failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, the stadium was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games at a cost of £110 million. After the Games, it was converted for use as a football ground and became the home of Manchester City F.C., which moved there from Maine Road in 2003 after signing a 250-year lease.The new home of my favourite football team. A fantastic place to watch them play, but I still miss Maine Road.

3.The Trafford Centre: a large indoor shopping centre located in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. The planning process for the Trafford Centre was one of the longest and most expensive in the history of the United Kingdom. Shops in Manchester, what more could a Northern girl want?

4. Edinburgh:the capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437.[1] It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow. Wonderful for a long weekend. If you can, go there by train, the views are spectacular. Ghost walks and Mary Kings Close are my particular favourite past times here.

5. Paris:the capital of France and the country's largest city.Shops, history and the amazing Opera House.Another wonderful place to go to for a long weekend.

6.Central Park :a large public, urban park in the heart of New York City and is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year. Central Park has been a National Historic Landmark since 1963. For me, this is the most romantic place in New York.

7. Stratford upon Avon:a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, receiving about three million visitors a year from all over the world.I love taking a picnic to the park here and just watching the world go by. If you love teddy bears, then a visit to the museum is a must.

8. Warwick Castle: sits on a cliff overlooking a bend in the River Avon. Warwick Castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 within or adjacent to Anglo-Saxon burh of Warwick. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century, when Sir Fulke Greville converted it to a country house. It was owned by the Greville family, who became earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978. The medieval weekends are great fun and I can easily spend the whole day here.

9.York:is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. Take a picnic to the park and sit in the ruins by the river,it's wonderful. I've loved visiting the museum ever since I was a little girl.

10. Crete:the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Many happy family holidays have been spent here.

11.London:the capital of the United Kingdom and England.Has some fantastic book shops.

12.Corfu:a Greek island in the Ionian Sea.I've had some some wonderful girlie holidays here with my mum.

13. The Palace Theatre Manchester: one of the main theatres in Manchester, England.I've spent many a long hour here, watching some amazing shows.

Food of Love

I was thinking this morning about how so much of our lives revolve around food. And I'm not talking about eating the stuff.My new hair colour is French Eclair (I'm trying the brunette thing), my conditioner is pink grapefruit and my favourite soap is honey scented.It's no wonder that I've started my diet again LOL. I'm probably putting weight on by just being in the bathroom.

So my thoughts were drawn to what other food scented products are available to a girl with a healthy appetite, such as my good self. Apparently one can purchase coffee and cream body scrub;well, I like my morning coffee, but I'm not sure I'd want to smell like coffee. There's lemon custard lip shine; I know I'd lick that off right away LOL. And sticky toffee pudding body spray; I like the idea of it, but it may be too sweet for me.

And here is a very interesting article that I found on my travels, revolving around all these thoughts on food smells. I hope you find it useful (grin).

"It appears food odors elicit the greatest sexual response," says Dr. Alan Hirsch, author of "What Flavor Is Your Personality?: Discover Who You Are by Looking at What You Eat" (Source books, Inc., $22.95). "Get rid of the cologne and get some Good & Plenty candy."

Preparing a juicy steak for your beloved might be nice, but serving it with some garlic bread, a cucumber salad and pumpkin pie might be even better, according to Hirsch's research.

"It gives new meaning to the phrase, 'a way to a man's heart is through his stomach,' or maybe more through his nose," said Hirsch, a board-certified neurologist and psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of smell and taste loss.

His book examines how what people eat reflects their personality and features quizzes analyzing food likes and dislikes. One quiz even tells people whom they might be most compatible with based upon their favorite ice cream flavor or snack food.

In research at the Chicago-based Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, where Hirsch is neurological director, he discovered that certain food scents trigger sexual arousal in men and women.

In 1994, he studied odors and male arousal in 25 medical students using floral and perfume scents. The researchers also picked the scent of baked cinnamon buns as a control because they didn't expect cinnamon buns to elicit a sexual response.

"The cinnamon rolls turned out to be the sexiest odor," said Hirsch, who has appeared on CNN, "Good Morning America," "Dateline NBC," "20/20" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

In 1995, Hirsch conducted a study of 31 Chicago men ages 18 to 64 asking them to smell 46 odors and combination scents, including perfumes and foods.

The pumpkin pie-lavender mixture increased male arousal -- as measured by penile blood flow -- an average of 40 percent. The black licorice-doughnuts mixture increased male arousal an average of 32 percent. The pumpkin pie-doughnuts combination increased male arousal an average of 20 percent. The smell of buttered popcorn increased male arousal an average of 9 percent; cheese pizza, an average of 5 percent; baked cinnamon buns, an average of 4 percent; and women's perfume an average of 3 percent.

Hirsch also learned that:

The licorice-cola combination increased arousal more than either odor alone.

Older men responded more strongly to vanilla than did younger men.

Men who said they were satisfied with their sex lives showed a greater response to the strawberry scent.

Men who had the most active sex lives responded most strongly to the lavender scent as well as Oriental spice and cola.

No odor diminished male arousal.

By L.A. Johnson, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Article taken from http://www.post-gazette.com/magazine/20010214scentoflove2.asp

And if that doesn't help you out when planning a romantic meal for two, you can always pop over to my website where I have a section all about recipes for love.

http//www.meganrose33.webs.com

Thursday Thirteen

Today I'm going to share with you 13 series or mini series that I love watching. In fact, I have 4 of them on DVD and video. Can you guess which ones?

1. Scarlett, The Sequel to Gone with the Wind: starring Timothy Dalton as Rhett Butler and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Scarlett O'Hara, aired in 1994.

2. North and South: With Patrick Swayze. North and South is an American television miniseries set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War. It was based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes and follows its general storyline, despite some deviations. The three series were produced in 1985, 1986, and 1994 and follow the novels quite closely, although there are considerable differences, especially in Book Two. All three series (called "books") aired on the ABC-TV network in the United States. The first two series, entitled Books I and II, were an enormous success with audiences and critics, and remain among the highest-rated television miniseries in history.

3. Larkrise to Candleford: Julia Sawalha, Olivia Hallinan, Dawn French, Brendan Coyle, Olivia Grant, Mark Heap, Ben Miles and Liz Smith star in a ten-part adaptation of Flora Thompson’s magical memoir of her Oxfordshire childhood for BBC One, Lark Rise To Candleford, a love letter to a vanished corner of rural England and a heart-warming drama series teeming with wit, wisdom and romance.

4. Sons of Anarchy: an FX television series starring Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, and Katey Sagal about the lives of a close-knit motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town somewhere in Northern California.

5. Sex and the City: an American cable television series. The original run of the show was broadcast on HBO from 1998 until 2004, for a total of six seasons.

6. Grey's Anatomy : an American medical drama television series. It follows the lives of five surgical interns, later residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. Besides their careers the series also follows their personal lives. The pilot episode, "A Hard Day's Night" premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC. Since then, five seasons have aired, with a sixth announced.

7. Ghost Whisperer : an American television series created by John Gray. It first premiered on CBS on September 23, 2005.
The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a young woman from Grandview, New York, who has the ability to see and communicate with the dead. While trying to live as normal a life as possible, Melinda helps them pass over to the other side by working as a paranormal investigator.

8. Friends: premiered on NBC (National Broadcasting Company) on September 22, 1994. The series revolved around a group of friends in the area of Manhattan, New York City, who occasionally live together and share living expenses.

9. Map and Lucia: based on the books by E.F Benson. The TV series based on the three 1930s' books, produced by London Weekend Television, was filmed in Rye and neighbouring Winchelsea in the 1980s, and starred Prunella Scales as Mapp, Geraldine McEwan as Lucia, Denis Lill as Major Benji Flint, and Nigel Hawthorne as Georgie. There were ten episodes, (two series of 5 episodes) broadcast on Channel 4 in 1985 and 1986.

10. Cutting It was a popular BBC television programme set in Manchester, England, which ran for four series between 2002 and 2005.

11. The Apprentice (UK TV series), the UK edition starring Sir Alan Sugar.

12. CSI: an American crime drama television series. CSI premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It is filmed primarily at Universal Studios in Universal City, California.

13. The Bold and the Beautiful: an American television soap opera. Set in Los Angeles, California, the show centers around the Forrester family and their fashion house business Forrester Creations.

I'm out for the day

As you can see, there's nobody home (no comments about my mental state please ) . I'm at author Ginger Simpson's blog today. So feel free to drop by.

http://mizging.blogspot.com/

There's a whole bunch of Red Rose Publishing authors dropping by throughout the day and we are asking the burning question: What is it that helps you decided to purchase a book? As well as Ginger and myself, other contributing authors are: MaryAnn Miller,Anna K. Lanier,Margaret Tanner,Tricia McGill,Katie Hines,Kayden McLeod,Ron Berry,Lisabet Sarai,Raven Starr,Antonia Tiranth,Donaya Hammond,Janis Susan May,Marie Rochelle,Joan K. Maze and Angel Martinez.

Scrub a Dub Dub!!

Like most women, I'm more than happy to try the latest product that promises to make me look 21 again. However, I also have no patience. And I really do mean that. When a cream promises results in four weeks, I tend to double up on my application, just so that I can see my results in half the time. I think that we all make this mistake, especially when go on holiday. You can always spot as Brit abroad, as we tend to be the red people wandering about looking shell shocked. I remember one summer trying to tan my back. Sadly my bikini bottoms were a little skimpier than I realised. Needless to say, it was my backside, not my back, which felt the brunt of Mr. Sunshine that day. Dinner was a very uncomfortable occasion that night.

My weekend experience in the bathroom, has been another such occasion when my impatience has been my downfall. I love a good exfoliating session. It not only leaves the skin feeling refreshed, but it looks a lot shinier too. And we all love to have nice fresh looking faces don't we, ladies? But do we want to look like a chemical peel on a bad day??? Perhaps not. And maybe I exaggerate. My nose isn't quite so sore today and I have an excellent tinted moisturiser which is covering up those strange red patches on my nose.

The moral of my story? I must remember to be less heavy handed in my exfoliating. The youthful glow may be attractive, but the scrubbed red raw look is not. Well, I'm off to attack my oven now. You see, there are some things in my home which will appreciate my Brillo pad and a good old scrub. I just need to remember that those things do not include my face!!