Hi Gabrielle,

I've been reading the posts and following your progress, and all I can say is you go girl!

It takes a lot of courage to get back in the dating game, and I'm really impressed by how you're handling it and with your outlook on it all.

The vacation at the end of May is a great big step forward!

For what it's worth, I'm going to share a secret. Apparently, men love the scent of grapefruit. There's a post about this on my midlife women's blog, and, according to some research I did, when men detect the scent of grapefruit on a woman, they believe her age to be six years younger than it really is. info on grapefruit and men

OK, I admit that I'm a sucker for the power of suggestion, so I've been wearing a lot more grapefruit-scented products since I uncovered this little piece of interesting trivia.

The guy I'm seeing, in his unscientific opinion, seems to think there might be some truth to this grapefruit theory.

I don't know. But I think it's pretty interesting, so just thought I'd put it out there. Maybe pack some grapefruit-scented lotion in your suitcase?