It’s 3:19 am on Thursday morning as I type this. I woke up to the sound of the freezer door closing. Which can only mean one thing… The Girl was taking {or putting back} one of the 2 pints of ice cream the HH brought home to his Valentine’s last night. I tossed and turned in bed for a good 5 minutes before getting up to make sure it wasn’t the Chunky Monkey.
Luckily, she went for the Java Chip. Which of course means I am now sitting here at 3 in the morning eating ice cream and writing to you. In other news, I think I may have just noticed my first grey hair. And I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Would you feel comfortable buying exposed bars of soap from a display in a well trafficked grocery store? Don’t get me wrong, the soap is beautiful, but there is something about thousands of people walking by the soap on a daily basis, coughing, sneezing, and touching the soap that gives me the heebie jeebies. Also, the fact that the amount of soap displayed never seems to change makes me wonder how much of it they are actually selling.
The mobile order pick up station at Starbucks. There are just so many unanswered questions.
- How long has the drink been sitting there?
- What if two different people named Betty order a similar drink and you accidentally grabbed the wrong one?
- What if you go to all the trouble in your busy life to order a drink from the Starbucks app while you are sitting in traffic and then you get out of your car to go claim your beverage and someone has stolen it?
- WHAT IF SOMEONE ELSE TOUCHES YOUR DRINK?
- Doesn’t it bother you that people are judging you for being too inconvenienced to stand in line?
- Remember when the only time someone would stop to get a hot beverage was when they had time to walk into an establishment, sit down, order a cuppa and enjoy it for 10-15 minutes while reading the newspaper? When did that all stop? Where did all the waitress named Flo go? Why are we always in such a hurry?
Speaking of Starbucks… Did you know you can get a pupapachino for your pooch at the drive thru?
I think it’s pretty safe to say that if you find yourself in a restroom with giant cut outs in the bathroom stall doors…. You are probably not in a good neighborhood and you should leave immediately.
{Clearly, this picture was not in the same town as the half bathroom door restroom}.
Someone explain the toilet paper stand to me. Is toilet paper such a valued commodity these days we must appreciate it with it’s own stand? Is the toilet paper stand a sign of affluence? Are we supposed to appreciate the toilet paper more because of the way it’s displayed? What percentage of people are toilet paper stand people vs toilet paper dispenser in the wall people? And other than being a dust magnet, what’s up with fake plants in bathrooms?
Some people’s bathrooms have like 3 things in them… Others, it’s like walking into a hospital gift shop filled with knick knacks.
And last but not least, when was the last time you went to the mall?
- Did you see anyone else there?
- What were you there for?
Curious minds want to know…
Have an AWESOME Thursday everyone,
~Mavis
Jessica says
Ok, gotta know your age. Im 43 and still dont have gray hair! Im purposely not coloring it as I am wanting to see when and where the first gray will pop up. Weird, I know. My younger sisters have a strand or two of gray and Im so curious why I dont!
Cindi says
I’ve had gray coming in since I was 30!
Mrs. C. says
For me it was 32.
Patty P says
I’ve had gray hairs since my first year of teaching…I was 23…I notice more and more every year (I’m now 37).
Shari Harniss says
I was 23 and pregnant for the first and only time. I wasn’t happy, to say the very least. But, I finally embraced the grey by 40. SO MUCH EASIER!
Athena says
I found my first gray hair at 23. Plucked that sucker out faster than you could blink! Then I noticed a few more and decided to heck with it, let ’em grow! I have many gray hairs now (age 36) and you can’t really tell they are gray unless you look up close. They just look really shiny! 😛
Joanna says
My friend has a toilet paper stand because there was no place to put a holder. On the right side the vanity is too far back, in front is the tub, and the wall on the left has pretty oval and circular glass tiles she didn’t want to drill through.
Dina says
Similar situation. There simply is not wall space that makes sense to install a wall mounted tp holder in my bathroom.
Ginger says
Same situation at my previous rental home. Plus with our tp stand, you could load like 5 more rolls on there so you’d never be left without….which is so important when you’re the only female in a house of boys who don’t always think to replace the roll. =)
Mariah says
Same here. We have an old house with a small bathroom, no convenient place to mount a tp holder. It was either a stand or leave a roll on the sink.
Mrs. C. says
Same at my house.
Diana says
Wow, you’re just now seeing your first grey hair!? I’m 31 and found my first one probably two years ago! And the toilet paper stand, I had one in apartments because they weirdly didn’t have the wall mounted ones, or they were so small they didn’t fit Costco toilet paper. Apparently toilet paper rolls in the 60s when my apartment buildings were built were much smaller than now!
Rita says
You’ve come a long way baby if you’re just now seeing your first gray hair!! Don’t pull it out!!
I’ll never be able to walk by those home made soap displays in the same way again. You are right though!
Linda says
I got my first gray hairs while I was still in high school!
I have to admit, that cut out bathroom door has me freaked out. That makes it so unsafe! Specially with the purse hook so conveniently located right next to it for a quick grab and steal!,
Nicole says
Oh NO! I would not buy that soap. I make and sell artisan soaps and farmers markets and festivals. I make shore my bars are shrink wrapped. People pick it up and smell it. Had a lady stick a bar IN her nose, I told her she could just have it not to put it back. Wish i only had one gray hair I’m 40 and have lots. And can not even color it with pro color or store color. I have an allergy to something in it.
sharon says
The last time I went to the mall was to exchange three pair of pants that I had bought online for my husband for Christmas. Buy one get two free and free shipping! The store wanted me to pay to ship them back and pay to ship the new ones! Wasn’t happening. I combined the mall trip with some other errands. I was actually surprised at how few people were at the mall. Also a lot of stores had either no one inside or very few people shopping.
Shari Harniss says
It’s been years since I was in a mall. Couldn’t be happier.
Leanna says
We have one of those TP holders. We used it for my MIL when she would stay with us for her favorite TP (Charmin).
Susan says
You are a very kind and thoughtful daughter – in – law!! 🙂
Susan says
The last time I went to a mall….they still had Mervyn’s!! A couple decades maybe??
AJ says
Last time we went to the mall, we stopped by the Windows store to try out the virtual reality headset demo. I didn’t think it was going to be that great, but it was actually really cool! If your mall has a Windows store and you happen to be there on a weekend/holiday, you should totally try it. 🙂
Shannon says
You probably buy exposed produce that other people have touched and sniffed (and then you take it home and wash it). And don’t ignore the fact that many other people are touching (with questionably clean hands) other products (bags, canned goods, boxed goods) before you bring them home and touch them yourself. At least soap is meant to be washed!
Terri says
Your comment was just what I thought, too. I read an article sometime ago that said during testing for bacteria and such, the group discovered a computer keyboard that had more germs than a toilet!
Julie says
I have a family member in banking and she has been saying for a few years now that Commercial Real Estate (aka malls) are the next market we will see crash.
Marcia says
this has already been happening all over the country. I have a friend in PA who walks every day, and on really cold/ rainy/ snowy days, at the mall. Mostly empty stores.
Sara says
I had my first grey hair at 25. Now I’m 32 and find a few a year. They are always a different texture than the rest of my hair, too. It’s so weird.
The last time I went to the mall was on Black Friday, so I definitely saw people there. 🙂
I never thought about the soap getting gross stuff on it! I guess I’ll stay away from those from now on.
debbie in alaska says
I think you and I are close in age (I”m 44) and I noticed my first gray hair this year too. I’m going to rock it and embrace it and see how that works for me. Also, I prefer my TP be anchored to a wall — and roll out from over and not under. And I prefer it to be not tissue paper thin. Lastly, I’m a fold the squares of TP neatly before use kind of gal — I know others who are wad it up kind of TP users — wonder what that says about us?
Aunt G says
I found my first gray hair in high school. I’m 45 now and sport a silver, red and black do. (All natural) I get stopped on the street at least twice a week and asked who colors my hair. I answer ‘God’. They usually gasp a mutter something about it costing $150/mo to have it done that way at the salon. Uh no thank you, I would rather use the money for vacation.
Anyways. There has never been a better time to embrace the gray, granny hair is hot right now. (Not that I care. Just sayin’.)
E in Upstate NY says
Gray hair? Ha Ha! Am blonde. Discovered my first BLACK hair in my twenties. Pulled that sucker out when ever it got long enough. Grew in the forehead hair line and was coarse and stuck out. If it grew in my neck hairline, wouldn’t care. Now, have lost most of the “blonde” hairs and am a shade of light silver. Oh well.
Knico says
Got my first gray hair when I was 15. Over the many decades since then, many more have popped in and stayed. I’ve learned to live with them and they’ve learned to live with me and not to get too unruly.
Now as for the TP stand… who wants to twist all the way around to grab the paper if the holder is mounted on the back wall when you’ve got zero wall space available to the sides or in front of the throne.
Jeanie says
First off, I’d like to know if that is your hand in the Starbucks/Lucy picture. For some reason my mind’s eye has never pictured you having such a professional looking manicure. Interesting…..
Secondly, I have one of those dumb t.p. stands in one of my bathrooms. The vanity and wall are too close to the toilet. No room for a wall mounted holder. I hate it and my people ALWAYS leave it empty and set the toilet paper on the vanity top. Ugh.
Third, I wouldn’t buy unwrapped soap. Weird. Do you just place it in the bottom of the cart amongst the groceries then? Does the kid that bags the groceries touch it? Ick.
And finally, I hate the mall and haven’t been there in many years.
Mavis Butterfield says
The Girl. I couldn’t even tell you when the last time I owned a bottle of nail polish. High school maybe? 😉
Mary Ann says
The downstairs bathroom doesn’t have a convenient place for the toilet paper, so we have a stand. But our decor is log cabin, so the stand is a bear. Upstairs we have an artisan wood carved toilet paper holder mounted to the wall.
I don’t even remember when my first gray hair came in. I’ve had highlights put in my hair since my late 30s (56 now) and can’t cover up the gray at my temples anymore. I will NOT completely dye my hair dark, ever, so I’ll live with whatever gray the highlights won’t hide.
I’d never buy handmade soaps, so I don’t have any thoughts about that. I kinda think bars of soap are gross anyway. I prefer liquid soap in dispensers in the bathroom and kitchen and shower gel. I’ll occasionally use a bar of oatmeal soap, but just in the shower.
Carrie says
My bathroom is so small I don’t have space to mount a roll holder on the wall or side of cabinet or use a stand! My TP goes on the back of the toilet in a cute basket.
Karen says
On to soap – I found that those fancy wrapped soaps from England or France that are $3.99 at Home Goods last for almost 3 months compared to 2 weeks or so for a regular bar. They don’t dissolve and get all gummy.
Deb says
The reason those soaps last so long is that they are dried. If you unwrap regular soap and leave it in the linen closet or dresser drawers (it makes everything smell nice!) it will dry out and harden and last just as long. It is one of the reasons artisan soap makers leave the soap unwrapped.
Deborah says
I have been in many bathrooms with the bar that holds the paper gone, so it’s either on the back of the toilet or even on the floor. I’ll take the stand every time!
As for gray hair, y youngest got her first one at 10. And me being a blond, got my first black one when I was about 40. Now I have all colors, from black to . . . Yes, gray. LOL
Betsy in MN says
I started greying in my mid 30’s. Just highlighted to blend the greys. Now I am 47 and am 85% grey, just the section above my forehead and the back of my neck have some color, or else completely white. I have not colored it except for the highlighting. It used to drive my mother nuts, as she had a monthly standing appointment to get hers colored. Now she has finally let hers go grey too, at the age of 75! I get tons of complements on my hair. I wear it long past my shoulders and have it trimmed about 3 times a year. My hairdresser used to roll her eyes at my choice of hair color, but now she thinks it’s kind of cool too!
Zoe says
I would buy the soap! If it’s weird to you, just rinse off the outer layer!
No gray yet. But I have boring mousy hair so I might not see it for a while.
We go to mall occasionally. Our date nights usually end up with us running there for some clothing article. We don’t shop for clothes online. I buy mostly second hand but not everything.
Katherine says
After our remodel I bought TP stands for both bathrooms because I could put extra tp rolls on each and I didn’t want to mount anything on the walls.
Gray hair, I have a few especially around my face. I’ve colored my hair for a few years now and I went to my stylist in January and told her I was going to grow out my color and had her put in a few high lights to make the transition easier.
I never buy bar soap but even Whole Foods has their “homemade” soap unwrapped and sitting in a high traffic area.
Diane says
I go to the mall that’s about 3 miles from my house five days a week, in the early morning, to walk with my friend – or alone if she’s not in town. It’s safe, and warm, and DRY (here in rainy Portland), and it’s like a village square at that time of day. Groups of older people meet there every morning to play cribbage, or sit and schmooze over coffee. We know many of the people who walk there, at least on a “hi, how are you?” basis, and start worrying if we don’t see them for a few days.
As for SHOPPING at the mall? I never do that unless I want to buy something very specific that I can’t find anywhere else. This mall still seems to generate a lot of traffic on most days, but I have no idea how the retail sales are going. Many stores have closed during the past couple of years.I hope it doesn’t shut down, as I have no idea where I’ll go walking if it does. My neighborhood has zero sidewalks, and it’s more than your life is worth to walk farther than about 1/4 mile down the street.
Brenda Schilke says
The mall is the best place to walk in bad weather. I go there frequently. In addition to walking over 3 miles while I am there I get a cardiac workout doing the steps. And there is usually no one there to get in my way, lol.
Tracy says
Girrrrrrrl, you gotta learn to let it goooooo!
Angelia says
I have had grey hair since I was 12. By 30 I was fully grey. Oh well at least it looks good with my grey eyes..
Lynda with a smile says
I have a small streak of grey hair across the front. Other than that have natural high lights. I am 71 and still have dark brown hair. Have never felt the need to color my hair. On the soap issue, I have bought unwrapped homemade soaps at flea markets. Never thought about germs. Interesting. Smile
Heather says
TP sits on the counter or back of toilet so cats don’t play with it. I will change any roll I have access to, to roll over the top, not under.
Last mall I was in was overseas. Haven’t been in one close to home in a few years. Amazon delivers to my porch.
Soap that sits out, unpackaged is supposed to last longer. Everyone in my house has different likes when it comes to soap. I buy bars for travel because of allergies. I imagine lots of things have gross germs, can’t avoid all contact without being totally self sufficient.
Starbucks is a treat, not a daily occureence, so we enjoy reading the menu and drinking from real cups at a table.
Revonda B Brumfield says
Check if the soap says it is “French milled”. The process has been around for ages. Many soaps used to advertise themselves that way to “justify” a higher cost. A secret I have found to help regular soap last longer is to take it out of its packaging and let it dry out for a month or so. I use a natural lavender soap so I put both the soap and the paper packaging with my lingerie, socks and pajamas. Great sachets!
On soap being repackaged and people touching your coffee, I’m not so concerned. Whenever I’m in public places I touch as few things as possible and immediately wash hands when I get to home or office.
Regarding Online Starbucks ordering, I love it. Place order before leaving home, drive to store, get drink, and head to work. If my drink is missing(has happened a couple of times) I tell the barista and they immediately provide me with a new drink and often a card for a free drink on another visit. I can’t say Starbucks has best coffee, but they have great employees and are always friendly and helpful. And like “Cheers”, everyone knows my name! (At least most of them do.)
Melissa M. says
My almost 81 MIL still dyes hers!
Lauralli says
And THIS is the problem! My soon to be 80 year old MIL still colors hers! Of all her friends there’s only about 2 that don’t! It’s very difficult to go gray when all of these ladies well older than us are still coloring theirs. I need to give up the coloring but I’m having a difficult time of it–I guess I’m vain! :/
Julie P says
My sister and my son and daughter started going grey in their teens, I wasn’t much behind in my early twenties. My sister was white by 30 it’s a family thing but it didn’t happen to me I went almost all over by mid 40s except for a clump of very dark hair at the back so at 47 after all those years of having almost black hair I went blond! Ten years later and I love it, I tried to grow it out last year I went 9 months without colouring and the black/dark patch at the back is still there it’s hideous.
To the malls, Our malls, we have two, in Norwich, Norfolk UK are busyish even mid week too but not like 20 years ago it’s the internet. I am guilty of this too why bother with the hustle and bustle when you can have just what you want delivered to your door. We have visited a mall here in malaga, Spain several tines now and it was empty each time, the only bit that had any customers at all was the big carrefour supermarket inside the mall the rest of the shops were empty. It’s basically the same everywhere.
The soap, yuk!
The toilets with the cut out doors, scary, I do like a bit more privacy or I wouldn’t be able to go!
I love these posts, so funny. Hope he move goes without a hitch.
Suzanne says
I have to go to the mall soon to buy Sees candy. I haven’t been in years.
Carrie says
Soap is self cleaning. I love the Good Soap that Whole Foods sells. Even if soap has sat out it only lasts 10 days with just me and my partner. If it was just me I can make it last a month. I unwrap 6 bars of Dove Sensitive at a time and I don’t see any difference in longevity.
Leah says
Mavis – when you have a free moment you should type in “Dead Mall Series” into youtube – he goes into these abandoned, about to be demolished, or barely hanging on malls. My husband stumbled across these gems – we both were strangely fascinated by them after 5 minutes of watching.
Aggie in Ohio says
If men look handsome and distinguished with grey hair, then women with grey hair look wise and wonderful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!