The motivation behind the Febreze poll.
As you know, for many years now I've been biking or jogging to work most days that I'm not teaching. We have a fairly casual workplace, so I just bring my clean clothes along and clean up when I get there. I hang my clothes up to air out on the back of my office door, and set my bike shoes and helmet under my desk.

It never used to really matter that I had sweaty gear in my office, because I was exercising so much and hydrating so well that there was virtually no smell in my sweat (you know, as long as I didn't leave the stuff there for days). But that's only true, it seems, if you're exercising a lot. Which I was.

And there's the problem.

With a baby, and dangerously hot summer weather (for a little one, I mean-- I can handle the summer just fine!), and not enough hours in the day to even watch a sitcom once in awhile, I no longer get my requisite 2 hours of training every day. And now my sweat has a sort of musty smell. Not so much stinky, more like a "presence." So, months ago, I bought a bottle of Febreze antimicrobial (orange label) and used it on my clothes/shoes/helmet. BUT-- by the end of the day, the clothes, helmet and shoes were flat-out-stinky. Way worse than if I had not used the Febreze.
I gave it another chance. And another. And another. Every time I used the Febreze, it left my clothes smelling like a high school boys' locker room.

Yeah, I am sure you wanted to know that.

Anyway, I am at a loss, except to start carrying a separate kit for riding/running home, and just putting my helmet and shoes into a bag during the day (which, eww, I'd like them to get aired out a bit). I won't be one of those people who sprays cologne all over their sweaty stuff to mask the smell. When I worked at the gym people did that and it was nauseating.

So, the poll was because I was trying to figure out whether anyone else had the same experience. The commercials make it seem like you can spray Febreze on something and it becomes not only un-stinky, but downright heavenly.

Which is true, if you think that Treavor McNeighborhood Football Player's socks smell heavenly. Maybe it's just the antimicrobial kind, and regular old Febreze is OK. Or maybe it's that Febreze is bad on technical fabrics. Or maybe it's that my sweat is radioactive.

OK, let's just change the subject. This weekend, SNG and I (read: SNG and I)build a new deck just below the existing deck. In honor of the construction, e-baby donned her rust-colored Carhartt's that her Grandpa gave her for just such occasions.

SNG will be blogging about the new deck project soon, complete with pictures.