AlienChangeling

Yeah, he was an imp if I recall aright. And he could cause all kinds of mischief that Superman couldn't stop, and make him look like an idiot. And he couldn't be made to return to his home dimension until he could be tricked into saying his name backwards. As the comics progressed he went from mischief to malevolent.

Mara, how "floral" is LPSS-Humidity?

If I were a rich chick, Deedle deedle deedle deedle daidle dum All day long I'd sniffee sniffee sum If I were a wealthy chick...

I think I'd like a bottle too, with cops, please...

By the by, guys, thanks for the agreement and support. I was terribly afraid my initial post was going to come off way too harsh and that I'd come back to this thread to find myself practically ostracized. But I've been there and I know what I'm talking about, and frankly I felt so passionately about the matter that all of that just came pouring out through the keyboard.

Fair enough. But no, what I'm saying is that it takes BOTH. BOTH have to work at it, both have to want it, both have to be committed to it. The problem I perceive here (ymmv) is that what is occurring IRL is exactly what you're saying - SHE is putting all the work into it and he's letting it drift.

Yesh.

No, it isn't a lot of Protestant work ethic. It is LIFE. You'll also note that I told her if he wasn't willing to put in his share of the work on the relationship then she needed to find someone else who did. It depends on how emotionally invested you are in the relationship. Are you willing to do what it takes to hold it together when the storms come, when the coronary artery blockages and the mutant cysts from hell and the unexpected losses and the financial disasters come? Because come they will, in one form or another. And if you ARE willing, you'll come out the other side with a stronger relationship, believe it or not. And if you're not, it'll unravel before you can sneeze. And yes, MT, it DOES have to come from both sides. One person can't do all the work in a relationship. It has to be 100/100. Notice I didn't say 50/50. Each one has to be totally committed to making the relationship succeed. If you aren't, if it's a 110/90 or a 200/0, there will be problems commensurate with the degree of imbalance of work.

Yes. For public appearances like that, PP is my go-to. I just wasn't sure how Trav would react to it. He was extremely positive, though.

Calii, yes, I stayed with the PP. Occasionally when I thought about it, I'd apply some Topper before leaving the house but am afraid to carry the glass bottle in my purse. It's big enough to take a hit and break, whereas the smaller rollers are like lipstick tubes. I've thought about getting a metal refillable spray bottle but am not keen on my decanting abilities. Late in the day I'd refresh both my fragrance and my PP, so the fx stayed strong. Yes, Trav is hot. If he and I were single, I would likely go cougar on his butt. (Or not. My experiences with making the first move back in my dating days were distinct and obvious failures.) But we are both happily married and I am not going to go messing with what we've got. He has been known to make some Freudian slips when he's talking and I'm in the audience, though. And when he's on a panel and I'm in the audience, I'm one of the people he will focus on. When we are on panels together he tends to sit next to me. All in all I'm happy with the relationship.

Oh good heavens! That is like laying out the parts of a Swiss watch and waiting for them to assemble themselves! A relationship has to be worked-at, not allowed to just go wherever. Today was my 29th wedding anniversary (it was an arranged childhood marriage(!)) and we are all the time having to do this, say that, deal with something. He had open heart surgery. Serious stuff. I was his nurse for six weeks, ordered by the cardiologist never to get more than a 15 minute drive away from him, having to help him in/out of bed because his sternum was cut and only wired together. Cleaning incisions. Doling out meds, and him on the highest strength Vicodin dosage available, TWO at a go. This is not "if it was supposed to work out, it would." This is "I love this man, I don't want him to die, I will do whatever it takes to care for him." And when I had my giant mutant cyst from hell and they slit my belly from a few inches below the sternum down to the pubic bone, he did the same. It was, "I love this woman, I don't want her to die (yes I could have), I will do whatever it takes to care for her." And afterward he snored, and I had hot flashes. He's still trying to combat the snoring ten years later, bless him, and if I was all, "Oh well, Fate has intervened and I can't sleep for this racket; I'm leaving," I'd be missing out on the biggest tent pole in my life. And in turn, I went out and got HRT when I couldn't stand it. And I was in so much pain for such a long time afterward that I simply didn't have a shred of patience left, and he put up with all of that. He could have been, "Oh well, she's become nothing but a bitch, I guess it's not going to work anymore," and left. I explained to him, "Honey, I'm not meaning to snap. It isn't anything personal. I'm making everybody mad at me, I know it, but I can't seem to help it, because I'm in so much pain all the time, I don't have anything left to deal." (My back was in agony because my abs were cut.) And he was so looped after his heart surgery from the pain meds that I had to stay on him all the time to make sure he didn't forget and do something he wasn't supposed to - like his first day home trying to pick up the cat. Or leaving his wallet at the drugstore. But we dealt. We worked at it. We got through it and came out the other side, and we're happy. He gave me a card today that told me that I was his WORLD. Not the center of it, the totality. This is a wonderful thing. Relationships don't just happen. They are developed. They are made. They are created, formed, shaped, transformed as we grow and change and get old(er). Your man needs to get that notion of, "it's just gonna happen, I can just lean back and let it flow, and if it doesn't, I walk," out of his head and put some work into your relationship, or you need to get him out of your life in favor of someone with some emotional maturity. I'm sorry if this comes off as harsh. But I've been with this man of mine for 31 years, counting the marriage AND dating years. My one and only. I know that we decided early on that communication is important, and I know that there have been times when we have had to work at that. It hasn't been 31 years of wine and roses by any means. We have had our fights. We have to work at getting it back functional after those fights, too. So I think I have the experience to say that your man has a completely skewed view of what makes a relationship, and he really DOES need counseling to get his head on straight about it.

Man, it really went great! I'm going to end up with at least a scene or two in the final version of the TV episode - they filmed part of the show at the con, so since I was helping him, they got a couple scenes of me interacting; and they want to interview me for inclusion also. (YES, I mean the Rocket City Rednecks TV show! NOT the YouTube videos!) I'd be walking along and hear my name and turn around, and somebody from someplace else (often that I didn't even know but who recognized me) would come running through a crowd to hug on me. I had people coming there especially to see ME. I got multiple compliments about how great I looked. And when you have the editor in chief of a big publisher come up and introduce himself to YOU instead of vice versa, and when later that evening after a private single malt tasting party to which you've both been invited and at which he's quizzed you about the science in your novels, he bends low over your hand and murmurs, "Enchante," and when a famous Hugo-winning writer and a famous multi-Hugo-nominated artist sit with you into the wee hours, chatting, it doesn't get much better, you know? I'd say in general, congruence was reached. Edit for terminology fail.

LOL Yeah he is and he's a lot of fun. BFF=Best Friend Forever. We were on a panel tonight and it was absolutely hysterical by the end, BUT IT MADE SENSE! It was videotaped and will be up on YouTube later. I wore Elementary 2010, PP, and just the baaaarest dab of OCCO White. ETA: In case you can't tell, that's a rocket he's working on in the photo.

LOL yeah, he is, but: 1) I'm happily married, 2) he's happily married with 2 kids, 2a) me and hubby and he and wifey all get together and do stuff, 3) I'm older than he is (by an undisclosed amount). I suppose hypothetically if he and I were both single I might try a cougar move on him but I doubt I'd get anywhere. I'm not his type and the cyst from hell surgery and resulting hormonal dearth has done a bit of a number on my looks. I'm quite happy having him for a dear friend and adoptive family. The funny thing is that he is my bff, but one of the guys on the show is his bff, bc they've known each other since elementary school. But he knows he's got a loyal friend in me, and he appreciates that, and reciprocates. He and I have written several books together and we have an ongoing collaboration on some projects. We think a lot alike and are interested in the same things, so our collaborations are pretty good. He's been trying to figure how to get me on the show but I am unskilled with power tools. That seems to be a prerequisite for their projects, lol. ETA: and it's the other way around. I'm not helping HIM get someplace in the career, HE is helping ME. He's my writing mentor. He's just snowed this weekend and needing me to be there to back him up for stuff.

Beccah, have you ever considered writing thriller novels? I would suggest Popularity Potion and OCCO.

OK, I will just go with PP. Oh, I can. This guy. Dr. Travis S. Taylor, star of National Geographic Channel's Rocket City Rednecks, rocket scientist and NYT-best-selling author. ETA: if I had had a brother, and had gotten to choose who, it would be him.

I have a convention this weekend, but not much to do at it - there's a LOT of big names at it so everybody gets a couple shots at being in the limelight. My BFF is also going to be there, and we've really started bonding lately. I've used PM around him to good effect, usually in Portmanteau, though I also have it UN. Normally at a con I would use PP, and since I feel a tad bit slighted by the con chair, am tempted to slather in that, but then I don't want to put off BFF, who is also a star - literally - in his own right. He's also a bit frazzled since he's the toastmaster for the convention, AND will be shooting an episode of his TV series this weekend, and has flatly asked for my help - among other things to keep an eye on his pre-teen daughter who wants to come. (Mama doesn't much care for the cons.) So I want something that doesn't compete with him, and helps him relax - but I want something that'll make the con chair (and publisher) sit up and take notice. HELP! I need to know by tomorrow afternoon!

The earthy thing is the truffle oil. Nom.

Now an alcohol based blend, I'd reapply a little more often, because of the volatility, especially in the heat. Alabama here, so yeah. Oils, yup, 1x morning, 1x midafternoon. Cops, 1x morning. Alcohol sprays, 1x morning, 1x lunch, 1x dinner (if going out or summat). If late night party or such, I might postpone the dinner one until right before the party.

I spray it directly on chest and have not experienced acne and if anybody would, I would.

I am now one of Superman's biggest annoyances, it would seem...

*sigh* No scrubbies for me for awhile. They're right outta my price range, especially after all the $$$ I dropped on teeth in the last month. (Get my last two permanent crowns Th - for THIS year...I hope...) Probably no smellies for a month or two also, unless something drastic changes.

I sniffed the bottle and didn't get anything I recognized as mint. Eh. *shrug* My eval of Spark in the Dark is different from most of the rest of y'all too. I wonder if it's because I'm having all this dental work done and I have so much local anesthetic in my system that even tonight I'm feeling like my lip and cheek and tongue are slightly numb.

That's...fascinating. I didn't find it dark, and I didn't find it powdery, and I didn't find it had a large throw. In fact yesterday when I had it on one arm and Luv Truffle on the other, the Luv Truffle massively overpowered it. And while it did stay around, it was the barest hint of fragrance. I wore it and only it today, refreshed it partway through the day, and still only have a very light whiff if I stick my nose in my shirt. I do love it for a light summer scent, though. It's very elegant.

I get to start a review thread! YAY! Topper I put on to see if I got self fx and boy did I! It hit within probably a minute and continued to increase for about fifteen minutes. I was almost giggly at that point I was so cheerful. I used about 2 sprays in the cleavage area. Well, top of the cleavage area. Interestingly, although I know roughly when it faded away, I have remained in a cheerful mood the rest of the day and night and am open to new adventures and suggestions of new directions to take my career. And new directions have opened up.