Plastic, please.

In my old age, I’m realizing some of my quirks that began in my childhood.

Smell is a BIG thing for me. Would that make me “smelly?”

There’s a common breath smell, it seems, amongst some non-meat eaters. Don’t get all mad at me, I’m just telling it like it is (and it’s not EVERY one). Maybe it’s because they eat foods that are more spiced and flavored to make up for the missing meat. It’s kind of a garlic smell, very tart.

Some clothes manufactured in India smell of sulfur, kind of a matches scent (which you can eventually get out with vinegar and sunshine). Years ago, I bought a pair of pieced overalls (when they were all the rage) from eBay for a pretty penny (I think they were about $60 – they were only sold in boutiques with a boutique price). They wreaked even before I got them out of the box! After all the work I put into getting the smell out, they were out of style and I never wore them. What a waste of money! (P.S. I’m embarrassed to say they’re still hanging in my closet, and it’s been over six years.)

I remember one day at college in the recreation hall (bowling alley, arcade, billiards) when I walked past a particular game that gave me a whiff of my 5th grade friends house. The smell reminded me of white bread with margarine, Pepsi, scrambled eggs, M&M’s in the camper, and fried potatoes. No other game in the room smelled, at least not as noticeable as that one.

Nostalgia… I think that’s what my smells are all about. Most of them remind me of an event from my past. Polo cologne reminds me of EVERY guy in High School (hahaha). There’s a shampoo that reminds me of our family friends, the Everett’s, in Clovis, NM. Aqua Net hairspray reminds me of Maria Mares; that girl layed ON the hairspray nozzle. Lady Fingers firecrackers reminds me of Teresa Beardain’s back yard when someone stuck them in her swing set poles and set them off (never could fish them out so the burned stench remained). A butcher shop reminds me of our old Golden Retriever, Barney; we’d bring home cow legs for him. Lavender is one of my favorite smells that’s not really associated with a particular event except that sometimes it takes me back to the time Cathy and I took our little kids down to the Young Living Farm in Mona, UT (Yardley of London lavender liquid soap specifically reminds me of Carrabba’s in Orem). Miss Teenie’s house has a certain smell that I sometimes get a whiff of at a boutique store (she’s not sure what scents she uses, but she has plug-ins, soaps, and lotions that carry through her entire 14,000 sq ft not really but it feels like it sometimes house).

The other day we realized the shower curtain liner needed to be replaced. At $3 each, you’d think we’d take care of it before HAVING to, if you know what I mean. That bathroom is so moist, pink mold and mildew is kind of inevitable… so we replace the curtain instead of going through the hassle of cleaning it (about once a year). Yes, I do feel guilty about putting it in the landfill (I am partial to being GREEN, but don’t really do much yet), but I DO recycle so that lessens the guilt a titch. Ben hung it and I couldn’t help but shove my face into the newly unveiled plastic smell. Probably not the best thing for my lungs to be absorbing, of course, but it’s crazy how happy it makes me feel (maybe it’s the toxins talking). I think that obsession started when I received my first brand new Barbie doll. They have that same stench when you first pull them out of their package. Sniff, inhale, sniff. By the time the odor wears away, I’ve gotten my fill (so it’s not like I’m obsessed to the point that I SEEK plastic things to smell).

Q: Am I weird, or is this common?