EAT, LAUGH, SMELL THE LOTION

Lest anyone think that a self discovery journey is all intense introspection and snapping soul-wrenching sunrise pics, please know this:

I don't think I have eaten or laughed as much -- nor have I smelled as good --  in the last decade as I have this past month since moving in with my awesome friend and soul sister, Mary, here in Myrtle Beach.

Laughter, I truly believe,  is the best medicine for whatever ails you, emotionally or physically.

And a Sonic Double Cheeseburger beats a McDonald's Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit for Saturday breakfast, hands down.

Furthermore, what woman doesn't find a new perfume scent from Bath and Body Works inspiring?

Yes, the past 30-plus days have been my own personal version of auther Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir of self discovery, Eat Pray Love. Only a tish zanier. And, apparently, more fattening. But with a fresh Sea Island Cotton scent.

Ever see the  movie, starring Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert?

Eat Pray Love depicts the story of  woman who had looked forward to a contented life of domestic bliss, but ends up seeking her true destiny by first traveling to Italy where she learns to appreciate nourishment, then to India where she discovers the power of prayer, and finally to Bali where she unexpectedly finds the meaning of true love.

Mary and I watched it Saturday night.

Granted, I've never seriously entertained the idea of being blissfully domestic. And I'm in South Carolina, working and writing, not in India gleaning inner peace and wisdom from an ancient medicine man.

(Not to mention that the day Julia Roberts actually eats so much pizza she develops a "muffin top" and has to  lay down to squeeze into a pair of jeans will be the day I  refuse to eat pizza and have the figure of Julia Roberts. But I digress.)

But I do see some vague similarities.

Though too long and a tish compolicated for a book or movie title, one might call the lighter side of my inner journey thus far, "Eat, Laugh, Eat Some More, Laugh, Throw On  Mary's Leopard Vest Over My Coffee Cup PJ Pants With The "Life Is Good" Shirt And Flip Flops To Go Check The Mail...And Don't Forget to Stop And Smell The Lotion."

Take today and yesterday for example.

It was sunny but a bit chilly here in Myrtle Beach this a.m., hence, the leopard vest over the jammies. It just happened to be the first thing I grabbed out of Mary's coat closet. I was, admittedly, a sight to behold.

Not that I am a stranger to being less than a fashionista while running errands when it's cold.

I will never forget the frosty Iowa winter morning several years back when I drove Daniel to school wearing my PJs, robe and snow boots, with electric curlers in my hair. I am sure it is one of Daniel's fondest childhood memories as well.

The beauty of doing something like that here, of course, is that no one in this neighborhood besides Mary knows me. Not that it really matters.

For, those who do know me, no matter where I have lived, are never surprised but are actually intrigued by my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants (PJ or otherwise) nature.

It's just who I am. It's how I roll. And I'm good with it.

Love me, love my fashion sense. Or, somedays, lack thereof.

I've also been known to spend hours in a Bath and Body Works sniffing lotions till I am nauseous in search of the perfect scent.

Nausea aside, aromatherapy is, for me, exactly that...therapy.

I indulged in a little bit of that Sunday afternoon.

"Ma'am, you've got a dab of lotion on the end of your nose."

Yes, darling, you are the third B&BW clerk to advise me of that.

This is, if I am not mistaken, a lotion store. Unless you spy a bumble bee or a pickled artichoke heart dangling from my sniffer, please do not bother to point out the obvious.

I'll rub the lotion in when I'm ready.

There is no rushing aromatherapy.

Thank you.

Ah! Yes! Eat Laugh Smell the Lotion!

(Oh, and the leopard vest! Musn't forget to don the leopard vest! In lieu of an ancient Indian medicine man, of course.)

Who knew personal growth could be so tasty and fun and smell so good, all at the same time?

Happy Monday!