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  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
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Diplomatka
 

When Monkeys Attack

The Culprit   Here I was, Saturday morning, minding my own business, when I spotted something gray in my front yard. Thinking it was another cat trying to pop a squat in my marigolds, I ran outside. It was a monkey. I saw the first couple of monkeys two weeks ago. They were walking along the front wall of my yard, not bothering anything.   I live in the capital of Ethiopia. I live in the city. I am truly puzzled as to how these primates are making their way into my yard. Moreover, I am pissed off that the little motherfuckers are eating my flowers.   I used to like monkeys--buy pyjamas with monkeys on them, subscribe to Monkey Wire news alerts, enjoy looking at them in zoos--but when they start destroying my property by pulling up plants whose seeds my husband brought from China, well, a monkey ass is going to get a hammer thrown at it.   It's on.
Confection

Confection

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Diplomatka
 

When Monkeys Attack

The Culprit   Here I was, Saturday morning, minding my own business, when I spotted something gray in my front yard. Thinking it was another cat trying to pop a squat in my marigolds, I ran outside. It was a monkey. I saw the first couple of monkeys two weeks ago. They were walking along the front wall of my yard, not bothering anything.   I live in the capital of Ethiopia. I live in the city. I am truly puzzled as to how these primates are making their way into my yard. Moreover, I am pissed off that the little motherfuckers are eating my flowers.   I used to like monkeys--buy pyjamas with monkeys on them, subscribe to Monkey Wire news alerts, enjoying looking at them in zoos--but when they start destroying my property by pulling up plants whose seeds my husband brought from China, well, a monkey ass is going to get a hammer thrown at it.   It's on.
Confection

Confection

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alicia_stardust's blog
 

Hyper!

Nathan is taking me to see Stardust tonight! It feels like I've been waiting for this for ages.   I am so excited that I can't sit still. To make things worse, I just opened up some liquid caffeine. Someone tie me down now before I vibrate with so much energy that I start to float upward.
alicia_stardust

alicia_stardust

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Forget Everything And Remember
 

Whoa!

Oh hey, it might be nice to update this thing, huh?   I'm doing ok overall. Got the house, got into the house. Now just dealing with details, some of which are rather large.
Kitrona

Kitrona

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HJackson's Blog
 

We're going to leave Vonage...

And we used to love them so...   This past Thursday, whilst we were busy moving and such, they charged us for a FULL YEAR OF SERVICE all at once. We had agreed to this and paid for this in FEBRUARY, but NOT this past Thursday. We were understandably surprised when they emailed to say "Hey, thanks for paying your next year's bill!!"   DH called immediately to get them to reverse the charge... we'd already PAID, thank you, this was OBVIOUSLY a mistake. After more than an hour, they claimed they didn't have anyone there who could, and could we call back tomorrow, thanks?   We called back at 3 today, understanding that they'd have been working on GIVING US BACK OUR MONEY. We had a help-desk ticket number and everything... surely they weren't just KEEPING our money? After 75 minutes, John had gotten up to a manager who claimed he was only authorised to give up to $200... and he'd do that within the next two hours, and he'd call back as soon as he had it worked out. DH said fine, but he was going to call back in an HOUR to check on his progress and obtained the guys extension from him. When he called him back an hour later, as he said he would, no one would connect him. It took him another 75 minutes of explaining ALL OVER AGAIN to SOMEONE YET AGAIN NEW what was wrong and why, excuse me, it's not OK for you to take $300+ from us and then wait 7-10 business days to return it. Finally, he got the new guy to credit back as much as he claimed to be allowed, but again, bowing and scraping and making the impression that he wasn't allowed to do that... and if the higher-ups found out he'd returned any of the money, he'd be fired.   Um, no. Getting fired for STEALING our money? OK. Getting fired for refusing to give it back? OK. Getting fired for lying to a customer? All understandable. Getting fired for giving money STOLEN FROM A CUSTOMER? Um, NO.   We'll check on Tuesday. If we don't have every penny back, we'll be leaving Vonage, we'll be making phone calls, and if we have to fight a legal battle, oh, we'll fight, and we'll fight HARD. I'm beyond angry. If it's back Tuesday, DH has decided that we'll finish what's left of the one year we pre-paid for... and then we'll get new phone service. If it was up to me, we'd be looking for a new provider NOW.   Do you have Vonage? Double check your bill... make sure they didn't stuff their hands in your pockets, too.
hjourdenjackson

hjourdenjackson

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Lili's Blog
 

More stuff

Today my mail included a non-BPAL package that is nearly (but not quite) as exciting as one from BPAL...   I got this locket, with the intention of using it as a scent locket. I'm wearing it now...it looks great and smells better!   I also got two big bottles of fractionated coconut oil, which I'll be mixing with some of my imps to put into rollerballs. I'm not sure exactly which imps to mix, though...the thought of diluting the precious (even a little) is painful, but some of them are very strong on me and I want them to last as long as possible.   Finally, I attempted using Caliph's Beloved yesterday to lure my husband into being somewhat less of an asshole...unfortunately, it didn't work, and in fact we had a gigantic fight at bedtime because I laid in bed waiting for him, in lingerie and TAL, for two-and-a-half hours before he finally turned his computer off and came upstairs...and even after he got in bed he ignored me so he could read a book and eat crackers. Jerk. What's that old saying- "I wouldn't kick him out of my bed for eating crackers", right? Well how ironic it is that the crackers were the straw that broke the camel's back!   I'm blaming his utter obliviousness and thick-headedness rather than the TAL- he said I seemed "unapproachable" even though I practically threw myself at him! I now am even more certain that trying to fix our marriage is beating a dead horse. I'll save the sexy oils for others, then! (Don't freak, we're poly and my husband knows I'm seeing other people.)
lilirose

lilirose

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Indigo's Blog
 

*sigh* Let's try this again

Due to a couple charges hitting later rather than earlier, and my transfer of funds not hitting as planned, I ended up extremely, extremely overdrawn. I've fixed it, but paying the overdraft plus the damned fees for being overdrafted cost me money I was planning to spend on Dragon*Con, and other stuff.   So I'm wearing Foundation of Fortune again.   I would really like it if the universe could help me out on this one.
Indigo

Indigo

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Nia's Blog
 

list-making is sometimes hard

I'm giving myself scheherezade because I just sent my advisor a very long email detailing my dissertation's chapter division, each chapter's subdivision, and how much progress I've made in each. It is harder than it looks.
Nia

Nia

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Diplomatka
 

Why I can't blog

Ethiopia has the lowest number of cell phone subscribers in Africa.   The country where my husband is has the lowest number of internet subscribers. While what is wrong with Liberia might be easily explained by years of war that decimated the infrastructure, Ethiopia (besides a few skirmishes with Eritrea) has not seen the conflict on the scale of say, Sierra Leone. No, the situation in Abyssinia comes down to three letters: ETC. Ethiopia Telecom will not allow competition--all of the telecommunications systems go through the government. This is why it took four months for my employer to take pity on me and give me the "consultant" SIM card (the whole time I was in country there were none available and ETC refused to issue new ones) and why, as I write now, I am on a slow dial-up.   The government shut down Skype, blogspot.com, and streaming video seems at least three decades away.   Last week the internet, cell phones and land lines shut down for the whole day. My Ethiopian colleagues thought Somalia had invaded. After living in Afghanistan, I believed them.   So, as you all know, Somalia did not invade. However, after this post I this blog might be shut down.
Confection

Confection

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Indigo's Blog
 

Review: Follow Me Boy

In the imp: Mmm, sweet and rich.   Wet: Ack. Musk. Heavy musk. Overwhelming. Endure. Endure. It must get better.   Dry down: Oh, yeah. There it is. Spicy. Mmm. Yeah.   Much later: A coworker thought it smelled babypowdery. I can smell that underneath, but it's all sexyspicy on top. And the name made her crack up laughing.   So glad I got a bottle of this.
Indigo

Indigo

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Lili's Blog
 

Wheeee!

Two lovely packages from the Labs today- both my BPAL imps and my TAL 5mls.   I got two frimps with the imp order- Black Dahlia and Venice.   Of course I've sniffed every last one, but am forcing myself to wear only one per day until I've gone through all of them and can decide what works and what doesn't. Today is Queen (from the Voodoo collection). It's working really well on me. My husband and my son both like it, also. I'll probably write a review later on, when (if?) I discover how long it takes to fade out.  
lilirose

lilirose

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Welcome to the Abatoir
 

Some Salvation

Today I felt really good about everyone around me at work. They were all complementing me and telling me how good of a job I was doing today. I really appreciated the kind words, after all everyone has been giving me this feeling like I'm the lowest on the toem pole lately. One of the fellow assistants told my supervisor I was "Working my butt off" and I was flattered that she noticed how hard I was trying to do a good job. My supervisor even talked with me about the other assistant whom took the posistion of part time tech, which upset me, and she explained that she was thinking in terms of the fact that I'm in school and can't work certain days that it would be inconvenient. I felt better after she told me the reasons ans also that it honestly never dawned on anyone to mention it to me because they all thought everyone new we were replacing the old girl. Today has made me feel so much more comfortable with the people I work with and I felt a twinge of nostalgia from the old days when I still felt repsected and I realized that today, I finally got the respect I'd been waiting for and I finally got some justice towards the uncontrolable stresses that have been weighing on my mind. What a wonderful feeling.
Meshuganah

Meshuganah

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Thoughts from Yuggoth
 

Aziraphale: Intelligent, Light and Heavenly

Ethereal musk, blonde woods, and dusty Bible accord.

Bottle: Aaack. Alcoholic cologne.

Wet: Still alcoholic cologne.

Drydown: Weird, dusty, woody cologne.

Dry (10 mins): Slightly more interesting. I can smell cedar, sandalwood (I think) and other light, as it says, blonde woods. No "dust" as yet. I think the "cologne" scent must be the musk.

Dry (20 mins): Glad I left this, it's lovely now! Sweet, light musks and bright woods. Very sophisticated and fitting of the character. If I ever have a spare $25 I'll grab a bottle of this!

Verdict: Leave this to mellow! Smart, sophisticated and uplifting. Sit there with your gold-rimmed spectacles and browse your old books.

Rating: 4.5/5

Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Thoughts from Yuggoth
 

Crowley: Don't mess with THE MAN.

Infernal musk, red patchouli, lilac cologne, mahogany, lemon rind, oakmoss, leather, and vanilla husk.

Imp: Sharp-ish, musky cologne.

Wet: Patchouli. Loooots of patchouli.

Drydown: Oh no! Sharp, alcoholic cologne, the kind that made you gag when it came in clouds out of the boys' locker room at High School.

Dry (First): Phew! Still cologne, but much creamier. Still very, very manly though.

Dry (10 mins): Crowley just screams manliness from every pore. Not something that warrants big bottle attention, but nice nonetheless.

Verdict: Don your sunglasses and drive your burning Bentley screaming through the black night.

Rating: 4/5. Would have gotten 5 if it was a little less testosterone-fuelled.

Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Thoughts from Yuggoth
 

Eat Me: Seriously Edible!

Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants.

Bottle: Nothing in particular, quite strong.

Wet: Fruity, tart berries.

Dry & Drydown: Smells similar - warm, sweet cake with slightly bitter undertones of berry. Sorry I can't be more specific - this is one of those mellow, all-purpose, warm, comforting scents, and on my chemistry, it smells divine!

Throw: Everyone I asked "Do you like this smell?" loved it. It lasted about 8 hours before vanishing.

Verdict: Warm, sweet and foody. A 6-part chord of notes rather than an octave.

Rating: A delectable 5/5!

Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Lili's Blog
 

Home from the holiday

I had a wonderful time in Scotland, and better yet, only minutes before I left, I got six imps that I'd purchased from another forum member!   I was in a rush, and wasn't thinking straight, so for some reason I only brought two imps with me and left the others. I took Dragon's Heart and La Belle Dame Sans Merci. The former was a winner, and almost certainly will be a 5m purchase, but unfortunately the latter turned out awful on me. I put more detailed descriptions in the reviews section.   Today I'm wearing Ephemera, and I really like it a lot. Have also added a review for that one.   Best yet, there were two CnS e-mails waiting when I got home! Today is a bank holiday in Ireland so the postman didn't come, but hopefully tomorrow will be full of TAL and BPAL goodness!   Edited to add: as I catch up on the forums I am too tempted by some of the new swaps...someone stop me, I need to at least try the stuff I've ordered before I get more!
lilirose

lilirose

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Nia's Blog
 

Plans

These are my rewards for the next five units:   Unit 26: Masquerade. DONE Unit 27: Morgause. DONE Unit 30: Ode on Melancholy   I'm skipping some because the missing units are likely to change when the school year begins.
Nia

Nia

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Nia's Blog
 

On the second TAL bottle

I've managed to stay away from the computer quite well this weekend. I'm awarding myself 2/5 of a bottle, let's see if I derserve the third ml today!   I'm giving myself other 2/5 because I have been working like crazy in the garden.
Nia

Nia

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Scents and Sensibility
 

The quest begins!

This is the first post under the category "Quest for Chocolate." As noted in this post, I am looking for one or more really true, strong, lasting chocolate (and/or cocoa) based scents. A worthy quest!   So far I have tried the following BPAL scents, all of which are supposed to have chocolate and/or cocoa notes: Vice (smelled like chocolate covered cherries until it dried, then became just candied cherries from that point onward), Gluttony (no chocolate scent was detected at any point), The Candy Butcher (smelled like chocolate cream until dry, then just smelled like cream), Enraged Groundhog Musk (fruity and spicy but alas, no chocolate detected) and Centzon Totochtin (nice but no chocolate).   A bottle of 13 (July 2007) has just arrived, and it does smell like cocoa just sniffing the bottle... have yet to try it (waiting to see where I can get wand caps before using the bottles). Imps of Bliss and Boomslang are on the way, as well as an imp of Intrigue and a couple other editions of 13. So let's hope that at least one of those turns out to be a good chocolate scent on me.   Widening the search, I ordered a few samples from DSH Perfumes based on a recommendation in this thread, and those will arrive within the next couple of days. Meanwhile I have Grog on one wrist and Irish coffee (i.e. Miskatonic U.) on the other to get me through the evening. Hooray for comfort scents!
Vanille

Vanille

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Thoughts from Yuggoth
 

13 (July 2007)

A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits including vanilla bean, white ginger, orchid, golden peach, massoia bark, clove, honey, and starfruit.

Wet: Strangely, I can smell no chocolate at all. Although it is making my stomach rumble. May be subconscious?

Drydown: This smells very "department store perfume".

Dry: Yum! I smell edible! (I love foodies...) The chocolate has come out, but it's thankfully not overpowering (a la Candy Butcher) like I thought it would. The whole scent is rich and smooth - sweet cocoa over the rich fruit and vanilla. The scent reminds me of those special edition hot chocolate flavours that Cadburys released a few months back.

Dry (10 mins): It is official: My skin eats white chocolate. This reminds me quite a bit of Xanthe, with the bright fruits and slight "perfumey" tang. Perhaps a slightly less liberal application is called for. 13 isn't a top three scent for me, but it is a top ten! (Seeing as I only have thirteen bottles...)

Verdict: Slightly "perfumey", but a nice smooth fruit blend with something rich and creamy underneath.

Rating: 4/5

Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Thoughts from Yuggoth
 

IGMO! (13, Eat Me)

My 13 order has arrived!   Ordered: 13th July CnS: 31st July Arrived: 4th August   5ml 13 5ml Eat Me   Frimpies of King of Hearts, Incantation, Erato and Harlot. I swear Harlot is following me about. Incantation sounds interesting though!   I'm quite impressed that this order got here so fast, due to the stupid postal strikes in the UK. I'm waiting on two swap/decant packages as well, both mailed before or around the time of my CnS, so here's to hoping RM don't eat my decants...
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Scents and Sensibility
 

Testing, testing!

Apparently this blog layout was designed without cross-browser compatibility in mind, because the nav strip parks itself firmly over part of my entry and the controls (including, presumably, the "edit" button). Not pretty. Maybe if I put a bunch of line breaks in the entry I can force it down below the nav strip so I can find edit buttons? Let's find out!   [Edit] Yay, sure enough it forced the entry down below that nav bar, and now it is editable. Weird workaround, but it's easier than getting them to re-code the design to work in all browsers.   [Edit weeks later] Well, I finally discovered other skins. It turns out that if you don't use the graphically-hefty default "seasonal" skin you can actually see your editing buttons and other nice things. Otherwise, many things are obscured by the weird way that the page loads. So... if there is anything you can't read here, choose a better skin like one of the "Kiss" skins and you will be able to view the entire entry.   Anyway, this weblog is a place for me to review scents without stuffing up the forums with my opinions. By now most of the scents I am trying have been out for a very long time, and I doubt that anyone will be reading to the end of the topic to view any new reviews -- nor is it likely that my opinion would contribute much at this point.   But hey! It's nice to have a place to discuss my impressions in any case. Viva the blog!
Vanille

Vanille

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a stargirl's addiction
 

Second order from the Lab

After completely falling in love with so many of the scents from my first order, I was very quick to make a second order - this time, going a bit more adventurous and as well as several imp packs, ordering some of the 5ml bottles as well.   5ml Bottles:   ELIXIR II: SUCCOR: Relaxation, calm, finding center ELIXIR X: GRR: Headache relief MANIPURA: THE SOLAR PLEXUS: Dynamic energy, willpower, autonomy, self-esteem, self-expression, ambition, analytical thought, intellectual activity, astral force, the fire of the spirit, assertiveness, laughter, rage Dragon's Milk     Imps:   Fae: A brilliant, ethereal scent: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss Algaea:Three golden ambers, bright musk, peach wine and myrtle Aureus: True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent Bewitched: Deep, luscious green and berry scents that evoke images of woodland witchcraft and the raw power of nature: blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk Black Forest:Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress Black Pearl: Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk   Bon Vivant: An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry Hamadryad: . Seven dry woods with mossy lichen and a gentle breeze of forest flowers The Hesperides: sturdy oak bark, dew-kissed leaves, twilight mist and crisp apple Blood Kiss: Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk Leanan Sidhe: a crush of Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists, and nighttime dew Sudha Segara: Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia   Ulalume: Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note Zephyr: A gentle white scent, breezes laced with the scent of springtime blooms and citrus. Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla Les Fleurs du Mal: The scents of the blossoms of darkness, condensed into one perfume. Features a rose base, softened with lilac and wisteria Midnight: An ethereal bouquet of night-blooming flowers Fallen: Cherubic white sandalwood and golden musk with a dark halo of amber, a breath of imperial florals, unbending woods, and the shadow cast by vetiver and violet Euphrosyne: Gardenia, tea rose, vanilla and jasmine   Sophia: A solemn, deeply profound draught of lavender, soft musks, star jasmine, black rose, delphinium, and gentle spice Thaleia: A vivacious, dazzling, merry scent: honey, ylang ylang, apricot, ciste, blood orange and gardenia with earthy, warm tonka Kyoto: A gentle, soothing blend of cherry blossom, white sandalwood and star anise Imp: Devilishly playful: white peach, amber, golden musk and patchouli Hermia: Pink pepper, golden amber, honeysuckle, and passion flower Titania: A nocturnal bounty of fae dew-kissed petals and pale fruits: white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon   Block Buster: Used to open up options in your life, overcome obstacles, and create opportunities. This blend increases your potential for success, inspires creativity and quick thinking, and helps you to be more flexible, adaptable and open to change Has No Hanna: Brings a rush of good luck, lifts the spirit, and helps alleviate depression High John the Conqueror: A fast-acting, powerful scent used to overcome adversity through positive means Water of Notre Dame: Brings peace to the spirit, a sense of calm and fulfillment, and attracts the aid of beneficial spirits The Dormouse: A dizzying eddy of four teas brushed with light herbs and a breath of peony   (Ordered: 19-July, CnS: 2-August, Received: 8-August)
crushedstars

crushedstars

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