The Perfect Solution to Ironing

I have friends whom I call The Perfects.

Mrs. Perfect is a gorgeous, six foot tall personal trainer and a great mom. She's sweet, funny, generous, and a loyal friend.

Mr. Perfect is a handsome, brilliant, very successful attorney who is also a gourmet cook. He loves children and dogs. He gets weepy at the thought of grandchildren someday.

The Perfects have three perfect children. The oldest was Valedictorian in high school and top in her class in med school. She is strikingly beautiful. Her sister, also Valedictorian, was recruited by one of the top MBA programs in the country, and is right up there in looks with Mama and Sis. Little Brother Perfect is good looking, popular, smart, and is destined to be every bit as successful as his sisters.  Oh, and did I mention that he is a valedictorian as well?

Exceptional good looks and brains obviously run in the family. But so do good values and generous hearts. And the kids? Well, they are just not normal party loving young people destined to learn about life the hard way. Nope, the Perfect girls came home for the holidays and spent their vacation cooking with dad and making a gingerbread house the exact replica of the family home. Makes you kind of sick, huh?

I had dinner with Mr. and Mrs. P one night and we were discussing domestic matters, specifically sheet thread counts, fabrics, etc. Mrs. P told me they had ordered wonderful bamboo sheets (that I have yet to try, perhaps when I do they will be worthy of a nugget) that are incredibly soft and well worth the price.

Then she hit me with it. I still can't believe it.

Anti-Anxiety: What's In and Out

My friend B smokes, but she is not a smoker.

After dinner, she quietly goes to her purse, disappears, and finds a private place to smoke one cigarette.

She relishes the relaxing effect the nicotine has on her. She totally enjoys every drag. Smoking puts her in a peaceful mood. During a few short minutes, B's cigarette gives her a calming respite to a stressful day.

But she doesn't want anyone to know.

Smoking is so yesterday.

Back when smoking was allowed on television and in the movies, it was used to show a level of "coolness" and sophistication. Think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Did anyone mention to Holly Golightly that she smelled bad, or that her hacker's cough was unappealing? Was she concerned about lung cancer?

Smoking is now considered so bad, it has been banned from television.

And yet, over the past month, I have witnessed on TV and in the movies a totally acceptance and embracing of masturbation!

Masturbation is the new smoking. Talking about it, being cavalier about it, is now cool.

Recently, a good friend pointed out a shop called Love Boutique and told me that is where she buys all of her sex toys. She might as well have been telling me where she gets her tomatoes. She's much cooler than I am. 

Remember when people said that masturbation caused blindness? Now it's smoking that causes dreadful diseases. Remember when masturbation was something people did shamefully in private? Now people are openly discussing Fifty Shades of Grey, while others (like B) embarrassingly slink off to smoke.

Remember when people smoked when they were nervous or anxious? Nicotine is an incredible sedative. The difference between smoking then and masturbation now is that back then you could smoke at your desk, or around the children, or with your mother-in-law. So if you needed to alleviate your anxiety, you could just light a cigarette.

We have not yet reached a level of acceptance that has allowed us to whip out the old vibrator front of the family. At least, not in front of my family.

I have discovered a wonderful way to help calm you, help you sleep better, and give you a nice feeling of peace without making you go blind or give you lung cancer. And you can use it in front of your mother-in-law. (In fact, you should tell your mother-in-law about it!).

You don't need a prescription and it is not addictive.

It is called L-Theanine.

I was first introduced to L-Theanine by my doctor. I was complaining about feeling anxious and, well, "bitchy," due to hormone imbalance. She recommended that I take 100mgs of L-Theanine two times a day, at 10:00am and around 2:00pm. She said if that isn't effective, I can raise the dosage to 200mgs twice a day.

She advised me to buy a good brand, and look for a company that uses the Suntheanine brand.

I don't like taking drugs and I sure didn't want anything that was going to make me loopy. She assured me that L-Theanine is made of the main ingredient in green tea, only much more concentrated.

At first I didn't really notice anything, but I took it for about a week. Then I went off of it. I started feeling anxious. I saw the difference between taking the L-Theanine, and not taking it. Believe me, it works.

I now take it as needed. I took it just before I gave a talk in front of a huge audience, and I was as calm as if I were talking to a good friend.

I take it in the middle of the night when my mind just won't shut off.

I take it before any potentially stressful situation.  I often take it before bed to help me sleep.

I have recommended L-Theanine to many people. They always thank me for turning them on to this amazing product.

At first I bought L-Theanine in 100mg capsules. Now I buy the 200mg capsules because I know that dose is effective for me. I buy the Source Naturals brand from Vitacost.com for about $15.00 for 60 capsules. I also like the Enzymatic Therapy brand.

I have to admit, I used to smoke. I used to LOVE to smoke. Nicotine was definitely my drug of choice. It had an amazing calming effect on me. 

But that was so yesterday. Today I have L-Theanine. And whatever I can find at the Love Boutique.






To order 200mg Source Naturals L-Theanine from Vitacost, click here.
To order L-Theanine from Amazon.com, click here.

Golden Locks From a Box

Does she or doesn't she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure.


If you are old enough to remember that ad, you are old enough to remember when stylists were called hairdressers.

The ad was referring to coloring hair, not confessing sexual escapades to your hair stylist.

Is it true blonds have more fun? Be a blond and see!


This ad was a real downer for brunettes.  It featured the poor wallflower with brown hair, all alone in the corner, while the vivacious Marilyn Monroe look alike was getting all kinds of play from a group of frat boys.

The brunette goes home, bleaches her mousy locks, and guess what! The boys start swarming!

Wow. You've come a long way, Baby.

A Decadent Treat for Cavemen

My doctor put me on a diet.

I wasn't overweight, but my cholesterol was sky high.  She suggested I try the Paleo Diet.

The Paleo diet is also called the Caveman Diet. Basically, you can only eat what was available to cavemen. It's "low carb" only much worse. No wheat, oatmeal, rice, beans (!), starches, sugar or dairy. No peanut butter, no popcorn. What? What do you mean, no popcorn?

Some people thought I was crazy. My friend Patty dryly commented that cavemen had a life expectancy of about 25.

I decided I would try a very modified version for a few months to see what happened. I changed the wording from "no" to "try to avoid." I stocked the fridge with things from the accepted Paleo list-- fruit, veggies, hard boiled eggs, lean meats. I made a lot of protein shakes with almond milk. And I allowed myself to have popcorn.

After much research, I was delighted to read that a few of my guilty pleasures were allowed on the Paleo Diet. Almonds, I love almonds. And it seems the cavemen had dark chocolate! Who knew?

My biggest challenge was dessert. I am not one who considers fruit as dessert. I am the person who eats two pieces of cake at weddings. To me, cookies are a food group. My favorite Italian food is gelato.

But I satisfied my sweet tooth with a special treat that even a caveman would love......

Nuggets of Inspiration

My friend Ellie is an inspiration.

Her ever positive spirit has given her the strength to fight a life threatening illness. Not once. Not twice.

Three times.

Most people don't have to deal with Ellie's hardships even once in a lifetime. And yet Ellie feels she is so lucky. Lucky to have a body that has fought and won during impossible odds. Lucky to have friends and family who support her. Lucky to be alive.

Ellie enjoys life to the fullest despite hardships no one should have to bear. She loves to travel. She loves to read. She loves good linens, the perfect cup of coffee, and a shower head with great water pressure. She loves music, movies, and a great pair of boots. Everyday things give her joy, every day.

I have found a couple of great nuggets that will inspire you to look at life the way Ellie does.

A Letter to My Readers

Dear Readers,

With the Christmas holidays before us, be sure to read a few of my past nuggets for great suggestions.

• "A Video from Santa", is a MUST for any child (or adult) on your list. Read Here.

• If you have a special little girl, read, "Enchanting Fairy Books." It's not too late to order one of these beautiful pop up books!  Read Here.

• For the woman who wants to really see a positive difference in her skin, read, "Beauty is Only Skin Deep."  Read Here.

• To give the gift of an extra comfy bed, read "Princess and the Pea." Read Here.

And a little note from Annie.....

I started writing my nuggets because I thought it would be an easy way to tell my close friends about the wonderful "finds" I discover while "mining" on the internet and elsewhere.

I am amazed that there are now Annie's Nuggets readers all over the world! As I sat at the keyboard typing out my nuggets, I never imagined that people from several different countries would be reading my words! Just this month alone, we had readers from Russia, Greece, United Kingdom, Sweden, Mexico, and many from all parts of Canada. Not to mention the readers from every state in the USA!

Thank you for letting me share my nuggets with you, and for passing them on to your friends and family.

xxoo
Annie

A Shopping Gold Mine

When I was a little girl my mother made all of my clothes.

I hated my "homemade" clothes. Why couldn't we go to the store and buy clothes like normal people? Why did I have to spend Saturday afternoons feeling fabrics and picking out patterns, when other girls were buying the latest fashions in a real department store? And could I plu-eze have a "real" sweater, instead of one that my mother knit for me?

Today, I would kill for one of my mother's carefully stitched creations.

Now, "homemade" has become "handmade." Mass merchandising can't touch the quality and uniqueness of an item made with care by a real person.

If you stop by any well organized, high quality art and craft show on a Sunday afternoon, you'll see how popular handmade items have become. Original art, jewelry, quilts, clothing, pottery, candles, furniture.....the list of beautiful handmade items is endless.

A while back, my daughter Sarah introduced me to a website where you can easily shop for any handmade item you can imagine. It's called www.etsy.com.

Digging Black Popcorn

My friend Ellie and I love to go to the movies.

When we used to live in the same city, we would call each other and talk in "movie code."

"Fifteen minutes, K-Mart theater, monster bucket, front-left."  Notice we didn't even say which movie we were seeing. It didn't matter. We knew whatever the other person had selected was just fine.

It was sacrilege to sit in the back on the right. And so was anything smaller than a monster bucket of popcorn, which we would share, no butter, thank-you.

The two of us could really put down some popcorn.  In fact, the movie often was just an added bonus. The real attraction was the popcorn. We even gave preferential treatment to the movie theaters with the best popcorn.

Ellie and I don't live in the same city anymore, so I often go to movies by myself.  But now I go just for the movie, because I found a popcorn that is so exceptionally good, you'll want to curl up with your own monster bucket at home.

If you are a popcorn lover, you are going to love this nugget.

The Help for a Fast, Healthy Breakfast

I loved the popular bestseller, The Help.

If you haven't read The Help, it is a fun read that captures the essence of the Deep South during the 1960's and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The dialog is authentic, and the story is full of hilarity, tragedy, history, and warmth.

When I saw the movie, the audience applauded at the end. People left the theater with big smiles and tears at the same time.

The story is just like that, a delightful combination of contrasts--acceptance and prejudice; love and hate; funny and sad; Skeeter (nice girl) and Miss Hilly (mean girl); Aibeleen (sweet) and Minny (feisty).

One of my favorite Southern women is my friend Leigh. I would best describe her personality as a Skeeter/Minny combo. She is smart, sweet, funny, and feisty. She can cook grits and cornbread like Paula Deen, but she's all about eating healthy. Leigh is truly a contrast, a great Southern cook with 20% body fat.

Leigh likes her food low fat/low carb, and it better taste good. So you can imagine my surprise when we were out one morning, and she pulled into the drive thru at Dunkin Donuts.

One Number, One Nugget

I can recall a time when people actually memorized other people's phone numbers.

Yes, I know. I must be ancient.

Back in the dark ages, before texting, before Skype, before facebook, email, and even before cell phones, yes, way back then, people communicated by calling each other on their "home" phones.

They picked up the phone, and dialed a number. No one's name was programmed into the phone. Everyone memorized the numbers they called frequently, and if they didn't know the number, they looked it up in what was called a phone book. 

Families had only one number. To call anyone in the family, you called one number. Simple.

Kids only had to learn one number.  Doctors, teachers, soccer coaches, plumbers, grandmas--could all easily reach someone in the family with one number.

I have a nugget that will give you all of the benefits of having one phone number, and soooo much more.  And it's FREE.

Good Sleep is Golden

A wicked fairy disguised as a harmless old lady casts a spell on Sleeping Beauty, causing her to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall asleep for 100 years.

Snow White eats a poison apple given to her by the evil Queen disguised as a farmers wife, and falls into a deep sleep.  Her buddies, the dwarfs, think she is dead and put her in a coffin.

In real life, the fairy tales would go like this:

Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger on the poison spinning wheel after months of insomnia. She knows that spinning wheel poison is addictive, but she is frantic to get some zzzzzs. She overdoses and sleeps for 100 years.

Snow White meets a farmers wife at the farmers market who tells her that if she would eat more fruits (like apples) and veggies and less sugar she will sleep better.  Snow changes her diet, and finally is able to fall asleep. She wakes up after only 3 hours of restless sleep because she had a vivid nightmare about 7 small men putting her in a coffin.


A good night's sleep is golden.

Good Sweat, Bad Sweat

Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.


This is one of my favorite quotes.  I picture the Statue of Liberty, in all of her glory, greeting millions of immigrants as they approach the United States, full of hope for a new and better life.

It is also what was running through my mind during the last painful fifteen minutes of my first Zumba class.

Tired, yearning to breathe. The huddled mass of sweaty Zumba students, trying to mimic Mindy, the J-Lo/Madonna-rolled-into-one instructor. Tell me again, why I am doing this at 6am??

There are some people who enjoy getting out there and sweating. I don't happen to be one of them.  Any kind of prolonged exercise where my heart rate stays at an aerobically efficient level is pure torture for me.

Forget water-boarding.  If you want me to talk, make me sweat for over 45 minutes.

My idea of exercise is a long walk around the Seventh Arrondissement of Paris, with a few espresso breaks.

I must admit, however, that after Zumba, I was secretly proud to be one of the cool, sweaty, spandex crowd.

Help for a Heavy Burden

I admit it.  I used to have an addiction problem.

It caused a lot of stress in my life.  It was a heavy burden.

Sometimes it got so bad that I had to pay people to help me get from one place to the next.  I could barely get up the stairs by myself.  I even missed some airplane flights because of it.  No matter where I went, I had to consider how I was going to deal with my personal baggage.

Then I found help.

Now, when I try to discuss the subject with someone who has this addiction, they get visibly upset. They protest. They cry that they can't change.  Some get angry and won't listen. Others beg me to help them.

Maybe you are one of these people.

AOL is FREE!

I want to tell you about an unethical business practice going on so that you can pass the information to your friends and family.

I recently discovered that three of my friends have been prey to this deception. They are savvy, frugal, worldly women who had no idea that they have been paying monthly for a service that has been FREE since 2006.

Shout it from the rooftops: AOL email is FREE.

Flatter Tummy in a Week

I have to admit, I do discriminate against some people.

For example, my friend Carey is an excellent personal trainer.  She works hard and gets amazing results for her clients.

But I could never go to her for a very superficial reason. Her looks.

I know what you're thinking.  She must be overweight.  Who wants to go to an overweight trainer, right?

No. Carey is six feet tall (she calls it 5'12") and is gorgeous.  Her washboard abs are about 2 1/2 feet long. Her perfectly toned legs come up to my waist. We probably weigh the same and I am barely 5'4' (if I stand very straight).

If Barbie (the doll) ever came alive, she would become Carey.

No way am I working out with her.  But I listen carefully when she talks about what she eats and what she recommends to her clients.

Carey gave me a nugget that I swear made my tummy flatter in just a week. It did not involve any exercise.

Anywhere Files

My very organized niece, Emily, is getting married.

Emily is a successful business person with an MBA. Her role as "bride" is synonymous with "project manager." She and her mother (assistant project manager and financier of the project) gather information for the wedding, Emily types up her notes, and emails them to her mother. Emily has a spread sheet of the final arrangements, from the exact colors of the flowers (citrus), to the flavors of the cupcakes (carrot, lemon with lemon curd, strawberry, chocolate). As information is added, Emily updates her spread sheet and sends revised copies to Mom.

I had the honor of joining Emily and her mother at the bridal shop to select a dress. Emily arrived with a dog eared manila folder containing her copious, neatly typed notes.  Every imaginable detail about the wedding was in that folder. The originals were safely saved on her laptop.

I have a nugget that can help Emily be even more organized, if that's possible!  It can also help anyone who wants to easily access and share updated files on any computer and/or smartphone.

The Second Best Sunscreen

Ah, those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer.

Remember when sunscreen was called sun tan lotion?

Remember baby oil and iodine?

Remember the dark amber bottle of sweet, thick coconut oil that was called "dark tanning oil?"

All I have to do is take a big sniff of Coppertone and it all comes back to me......

The Two Week Manicure

When my friend Ellie came to see me, she thrust her hand in front of me and declared, "two weeks!"

I looked at a nicely manicured hand and asked, "What? What do you mean, 'two weeks'?"

She told me she had a manicure two weeks ago.  Two weeks ago.

Not possible.  I looked at her hands closely.  I could see that her nails were perfectly polished, except for the slight growth near her cuticles.

A two week manicure?  Now, that is truly a nugget.

House Guest Nuggets

They say house guests are like fish.  They start to smell after three days.

I happen to like having house guests.  A different kind of relationship evolves with a person who is drinking coffee in your kitchen in his/her jammies.

Because it can be awkward to stay at someone's home, I do my best to make things extra comfortable for my house guests.

After three days, they don't start to smell, but they sure are spoiled......

Mad about Looking Young

I'm crazy about the show "Mad Men."

I love the whole Sixties thing.

I love the fashions, the history, the story lines, and the characters.  I love the constant drinking and smoking, the male chauvinism, the politically incorrect dialog.

I love watching how "back then," a woman's power was determined by how well she used her femininity to entice powerful men. Marilyn. Jackie. Even Grace Kelly, already an iconic movie star, elevated her status when she married Prince Ranier and became Princess Grace.

Sadly, I don't have any nuggets that will bring you a handsome, powerful man. But I do have a nugget that could keep you from looking like you remember when the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.