Do you ever feel like you can't escape advertising? It's everywhere. Companies seem to always be on the lookout for new places to position their ads. I try to talk to my 4-year-old son John about advertising and not believing everything he sees and hears on commercials. In general, I'm a nonconsumer. I hate stuff. I dream of empty shelves and bare rooms. I can't stand shopping and I don't care about labels or status. However, there are a few products or items that I love--things that really do what they're supposed to and hence make me happy.
Here is my list of Six Material Things That Consistently Make Me Happy (in no particular order):
My Eyelash Curler: I have terrible eyelashes. They are short and thin and stick straight. My mother's eyelashes are the same way. I don't wear a lot of makeup, but one thing I like is looking like I have eyelashes. I've been using an eyelash curler (and mascara) ever since high school. People who don't have eyelash problems tend to tease me about my devotion to the eyelash curler until I show them a demonstration: one eye "curled" and one eye not. The difference is dramatic.
Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil: I almost don't want to write about this, because I want it to be a secret. Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil is this delightful, light oil that you can either pour into a bath or smooth on your skin after a shower. It feels lovely going on, moisturizes your skin, and doesn't feel greasy afterward. However, the greatest thing about this product is the smell. When you wear this oil you smell like you just got back from the beach. In my opinion, it's better than any perfume I've ever encountered. When I put this on my skin and smell the amazing fragrance, I'm instantly in a good mood.
The LEGO Brick Separator: In a previous post I mentioned how my two boys are very into building with LEGO blocks these days. I recently discovered that there is a new LEGO store in the Roosevelt Field Mall, so I popped in to see what they had. It was a wonderland of LEGO. I bought the boys a few new blocks and some wheels, but the greatest thing I found was the Brick Separator. It's an actual tool that you use (instead of your teeth) to take apart the stubborn blocks. It looks something like a bottle opener. You just place the end of this tool on the LEGO that's stuck, gently bend it upward, and it pops right off. Is it one of life's necessities? No. But it fits in the LEGO bucket, costs only $2.99, and keeps trachea-sized LEGO blocks out of my kids' mouths. That's enough for me!
The Tupperware Orange Peeling Tool: For people like me, with very short, weak fingernails, peeling an orange is no easy task. Have you ever seen Tupperware's orange peeler? It's very exciting. It's basically a long plastic stick that has a sharp, hooked point at one end. What you do is take an orange in one hand, hold the peeling tool in the other hand, and carve a vertical groove down the side of the entire orange with the hooked end of the tool. Make similar vertical grooves all around the orange, about an inch apart. Then you can easily peel it with your fingers. Again, this may not be a necessity, but it works so well that I had to put it on the list.
Avon Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover: When I first started wearing makeup in high school, a friend introduced me to this creamy eye makeup remover from Avon. It worked great, didn't bother my eyes, and was very inexpensive. Twenty-five years later, Avon still sells it and it's still the best. And if you buy it at the right time, you can get it for 99 cents a bottle. Can you beat that?
The Penny Arcade Coin Machine at TD Bank: Don't get me wrong: I love rolling coins. There's something very satisfying about having a giant jar of coins, sitting down with the wrappers and something I've been wanting to watch on TV, and organizing it all into nice, solid, rolled tubes. The drudgery comes when I have to bring them to the bank. I can never seem to get there during their open hours, so the rolled coins sit in a bag for weeks and weeks. However, that phase of my life is over due to the coin machine at TD Bank. Anyone can use it, not just people who have an accout there. You walk over the machine, make a guess as to how much money you have (the machine asks you to do this), dump your coins into a metal tray, push a few buttons, and out pops a receipt showing how much money you put in. You bring it over to the bank teller and get your cash. There are no fees at all. It's that easy. Enjoy!
Vocabulary
- escape: to get away from something or somewhere
- can't stand: do not like
- devotion: a feeling of strong love or loyalty
- delightful: very pleasant
- greasy: covered with grease or oil
- popped in: went for a short visit
- stubborn: refusing to change your ideas or stop doing something
- grooves: long, narrow cuts or low areas in a surface
- inexpensive: doesn't cost a lot of money
- drudgery: boring, difficult, or unpleasant work
Vocabulary Practice
- After I went to the bank, I ____________ for a quick visit at my mother's house.
- The children rode over the cement before it was dry, so it had deep ____________ from bicycle wheels.
- Ella has a strong ___________ toward her religion.
- Gardening is a _______________ way to spend a spring morning.
- Henry was happy to find an ______________ booklight that was sturdy and worked well.
- Most people think balancing a checkbook is __________, but I enjoy it.
- Michael is so ___________ that he refuses to even consider doing his banking on line.
- Sometimes the dishes still have a ___________ feeling to them when they come out of the dishwasher.
- I really ____________ grocery shopping; to me, it's the worst chore there is.
- It's nice to ____________ from everyday life once in a while.
Grammar Point
Using an Apostrophe to Show Ownership
When should you use an apostrophe? There are some special cases, but usually we use an apostrophe for two reasons:
- To show ownership (used with an s)
- To form contractions, which is how show that letters have been removed
- my mother's eyelashes
- life's necessities
- Tupperware's orange peeler
Grammar Practice
In the following examples, add the missing apostrophes. There should be one in each sentence.
- The lions cubs slept next to her in the shade.
- That cars tire looks flat.
- I want to read more of that authors books.
- The presidents speech was quite interesting.
- Jims father is coming to stay for two weeks.
1000 Awesome Things
I recently came across this wonderful blog (and then sought out the accompanying book) by Neil Pasricha. He writes about one awesome thing every day. Some examples are finding money you forgot about in your pocket, that smooth feeling on your teeth after you get your braces off, and bakery air. Take a look and prepare to be happy:
http://1000awesomethings.com/
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