Krista's dream vacation

The cartoonist and writer, Barry McWilliams, recently personalized this cartoon for me. I love it!

Want to share a dessert?

Helpful hint to men in the dating world:

Every woman's different, but I think I can safely share two universal red flags that women watch for:

1. He doesn't like you just the way you are.

2. He's a cheapskate.

Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that, on the list of Things to Never Say on a Date, you must add, near the top:

"Want to share a dessert?"

For many women, me included, that question implies A) that you think I probably like dessert too much and you want to encourage me to cut back from now on, and B) you don't want to fork over the extra $5 for two separate desserts.

Both are deal breakers, fellas. Just FYI.

You're welcome.

Mother's Day 2009

Mom was on the phone talking to my brother, who lives in Alaska, so Dad and the kids gathered around her in my laundry/office to get a photo.
(Molly, Betty, Jim, Matt, Mitch)
I love this!

A gorgeous spring day at Shepp Ranch on the Salmon River, Idaho

Last month I went on a jet boat excursion sponsored by the City of Riggins and North Central Idaho Travel. We boated up the main Salmon to famous Buckskin Billy's place, had lunch at Mackay Bar, then stopped at Polly Bemis's ranch and Shepp Ranch on the way back.

Everything was in bloom in the canyon and it was a wonderful, pretty day to be on the river!

Tanning trials

I have entered the world of self-tanning. I love to sit in the sun and I love having a tan to even out the varicose veins and camouflage the cellulite. However, I’ve been watching a little strange spot on my face for a couple of years and it has me freaked out about skin cancer.

When I saw a gushing presentation on the miracles of Faux Tan on QVC, I picked up the phone to order it.

At first I was afraid to try it. The bottle sat on my kitchen counter for a day or two. Finally I remembered the sad truth that no one sees my bare legs these days, and we are a ways away from shorts and Capri weather, so I went for it.

This stuff isn’t like the old-fashioned self-tanner we used in high school that smelled like dirty socks and you didn’t see the results of your handiwork until the next day. Oh no, this stuff smells like dirty socks and you can see results right away.

I woke up in the next morning after nightmares about suffocating at the bottom of a teenaged boy’s gym locker, threw back the sheets to get a look at my lusciously tanned legs… and behold, giraffe legs. The healthy-looking brown, so meticulously applied, had morphed into large, orange-brown blotches.

My feet were a mess. They aren’t my best feature, anyway, but the orange “tan” highlighted my calluses and toe deformities. I immediately thought of a little Aborigine woman filthy dirty from a 6-month walkabout in the Australian outback.

I have 30 days to use Faux Tan before returning it to QVC for a full refund. Do I keep trying it, believing that I’m smart enough to figure this out, or do I return it and admit defeat, sparing myself the possible embarrassment of going to work smelling like sweaty Nikes?