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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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kiio's Blog
 

Wishlists

Okay, so either you're looking to swap with me, you're my switch, you're my parents (hi mom, hi dad!), or you've won the lottery and want to fulfill all my needs and desire, this is the list for you. Please note, some of this stuff is way out of all but the lotto winner's price range and is only here to show you what I think is awesome (or so I don't forget where they are). No going broke.   Most important for bpalers: My dream scent would be called Jarnsaxa and be white musk, white sandalwood, a bit of iron, honey, and dandelion. Sadly, I have never found anything that even remotely smells right. But some day I shall TRIUMPH and either spend my Noble prize money having Beth or Fabienne or the Arcana crew make it for me.   Also, I love partial 5 mls, even ones with just one imp in them!!   I do also lust after actual BPAL and other perfume scents...   I REALLY WANT: MECHANICAL PHOENIX BPTP- GULA BATH OIL Green Phoenix Tamamo No Mae Monsterbait: Bigger Critters Dios de los Muertus 07 Fairy Wine Diwali Eggnog an empty or partial 5ml bottle of the Sea of Tranquility   BPTP things that are cool: Frenum Bath Oil Ugh Massage Oil Aeris Massage Oil Alchemist Local crew neck t-shirt size XL Black Moon crew neck t-shirt style XL Skelator librarian Magnet   The retail only scents I lust after: Wezwanie/Hold pending Haloes pending Judith and Holofernes Mad Kate Parsifal Rozpustnika   5mls/Decants/Imps that I would love and cherish: White Phoenix Schrodinger's Cat Hi'iaka Pumpkin III 07 Archangel Winter El Dia De Reyes The Fruit of Paradise November Scorpio Vampire Tears Lady Una Ivanushka Sagittarius Pollution Coyote (partial 5ml)   GC Imps Mania Death of the Grave Digger Azathoth Brown Jenkins Dragon's Bone The Dodo     Salon decants: Judith Victorius Lantern Ghost   Hard to Find imps F54 Lughnasadh Spooky     Possets All of the Girl's Love... from the Midsummer Update Arcana Alhambra Each to Each Shambala     Skindazzles: Bath Bombs: Any and All!! Bath Meringue:something foodie Misfit Tarts   Fantasy Bath Bombs: Sundust in Wake Up Sleepyhead Any bath bombs, especially- Merry Cherry Cheesecake Blackberry Brew Boom Boom Currantly Unavailable Irish Meadow It's my Birthday Key Lime Pie Lemon Drop Wylde Child   Cobalt Blends: Beatitudes Coldwater Fire Keeper Pishtashi-Oh Sugared Moon Gunslinger   Villainess: Pyromania smooch Canaan Bombs   Lush: Ma Bar Bathos Marathon In the Nude Dreamtime Elixir   Propaganda: Any of the new Constellations in lotion Atmospherium Sadako's snow Any of the new stuff   Oyin: Poo Bar Honey Wash Honey Hemp Conditioner Greg Juice   MythosMixtures: Saturnus Encantados   Sugar Lips: Mango Sugar Scrub   Arcana: Frozen Heart The Ulda Winter Mirth Fezziwig Fezziwig Sugar Scrub   Conjure: Bhai Dooj Ded Moroz Saint Lucia The Light Maiden Shining Flame Heaven Shine Loki Epona Thor   Ilse of Eden-type scrubs: Anything foodie.   Muppetk's Bath Beads of Doom   As for non bath and body type stuff, well I love that sort of thing too. I love handmade things, and local stuff. I'm a foodie (local maple or fruit syrup, maple candy, maple butter, honey, hot cocoa, odd candy, chewy sugared ginger, are all excellent, I also love sushi, indian food and the farmer's market I cannot have corn syrup. I like weird shaped cookie cutters (growing up, Christmas cookies meant Dinosaurs, the Star of David, and trains... my mom having the coolest collection of cookie cutters ever. While I don't do Christmas, I still love cutout cookies, and make them for both Yule and Midsummer). Pagan-y theme cookie cutter would also be awesome.   I'm also into making my food look cute, though the complicate science of bento making Cool bento boxes: Porcupine box Orange Pokadots Bento Yum Sets   Sauce Containers of cuteness: Sugarcharms   Bento OBento has the coolest bento accessories.     These are the coolest tarot cards ever: Elemental Hexagons   I love Steampunk: Clockwork Wings     And I'm also into emergency preparedness and green living.   Awesome T-shirts: Obey Gravity , Just Shy and Historical Pre-enactment Society   Beads: I love SRA lampwork beads. I haunt justbeads all the time and love the stuff juiceglass makes. I also like swavorskis, czech glass, gemstone/semi precious stones, etc. If you're getting rid of your stash, email me, I LOVE beads!   Earth Shift   Jewelry:I mostly wear bracelets, but can be talked into necklaces, but not earrings. I love things made by hand that are unique and interesting. I like blues, greens, reds and oranges! I really need to build up my bracelet and necklace/pendant collection, so make a suggestion. I also really want to learn more about metalcrafting and metal formed jewelry. I'm hoping to find a class to take locally.   Red Coffin w/ Bat Darwin Molecular Creativity Prince White Waves   Random Other Things: Tsunami Kanzashi Koi Magnets Scuba Lion     As for Books, I love books, fiction, non-fiction, whatever! (I've read a huge amount of scifi (Elizabeth Bear, Terry Pratchet, etc), but will always read more!). I've also started reading more in depth on sustainable living and paganism, and am very interested where those things intersect.   SCA: I'm a flexible viking, and thus anything viking-y will interest me, especially broaches or viking-y beads. Even earspoons, scissors, or other female viking accessories would be great. Feast gear, also a plus.   For Mom (and the lotto winners): I'm also in the market for new armor, garb and a period viking style A-frame tent.   Historical finish stainless steel 5 splint archer's arms -inside stainless splints -stainless rivets -strapped -midweight option http://spiers-saddlery.stores.yahoo.net/st5spargoar.html   Historical finish stainless steel archer's fanless splinted leather legs -inside stainless splints -stainless rivets -strapped -midweight option http://spiers-saddlery.stores.yahoo.net/starfasplele.html   Gothic Gauntlets with finger bucklers http://members.aol.com/knightsarmoury/knightsarmoury.htm   Lamellar shirt kit in brown http://www.skaldic.com/Pages/torvaldrbodyarmor.htm   SGS74 Viking woman's Knife, Medium http://www.jelldragon.com/knives.htm
kiio

kiio

0
Do you have a flag?
 

Worry about my nose.

Sometimes I worry about my nose. My sense of smell, I mean. Particularly about perfume.   The problem is that over the past year and a half or so I've tried so much BPAL that I can discern notes. I guess that's a good thing, but it's also kind of a bad thing.   Like, grapefruit. I used to dislike it, but I've grown to like it. I remember when I first started trying BPAL oils, when I smelled grapefruit I'd think, "Ugh. Who wants to smell like breakfast. Bleah. Next!" And now I've tried so many grapefruit ones that I appreciate that sparkle it can give to a scent. There's really nothing like it. Manhattan is one of my favorite scents.   But, when I wear it, do people who aren't used to grapefruit scents think, "Ugh! Why does she want to smell like breakfast? Bleah."   There have been many times that I get an imp and look up my old notes where it says that I thought it smelled like bathroom cleaner or lemon pledge or something else undesirable. And then I smell it again a year later with my trained nose and think something like, "Say, that's quite a nice tea and lemon scent, I wonder why I thought it smelled like lemon pledge before?" And then I start wearing it.   Maybe it really still smells like lemon pledge to most people but I just can't tell anymore?   I don't want to walk around feeling like I smell like a playful berry with a hint of some herb but in actuality I just smell like bathroom air freshener. I can smell nuances, but can other people? I honestly don't know. When I started collecting BPAL I couldn't tell. It smelled good, bad, strong, cheerful, spicy, odd, musty, citrusy, etc. There was no "gosh, I really love the grapefruit peeking out from under the violet, and the white sandalwood underneath it is a subtle but warm touch." It would have been "This smells funky. Pass."   I hope I'm not walking around smelling weird but thinking I smell fantastic.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

2
little black book.
 

imp collection

Bewitching Brews: 6 Antique Lace / Lurid / Masquerade / Mata Hari / Tushnamatay / Red Devil   Sin and Salvation: 3 The Bow and Crown of Conquest / Black Dahlia / Jailbait   Love Potions: 4 Brisingamen / The Lady of Shallot / Nefertiti / Siren   Diabolus: 2 Maenad / Kuang Shi   Mad Tea Party: 3 Alice / Eat Me / The King of Hearts   Illyria: 1 Antony   Wanderlust: 9 Manhattan (x2) / Crossroads / Cairo / Paris / Whitechapel / Cairo / Yerevan / Tintagel / Eden   Ars Draconis: 1 Dragon's Hide   Rappaccini's Garden: 1 Belladonna   A Picnic in Arkham: 2 Shoggoth / Y'Ha-Nthlei   Excolo: 9 Eos / Nyx / Penthus / Xiuhtecuhtli / Alecto / Vechernyaya / Liber Resh Vel Helios: Ra / Liber Resh Val Helios: Tum / Iambe   Limited Edition: 15 Midnight Kiss / Angeronalia / Archangel Winter / Diwali / El Dia de Reyes / Gingerbread Poppet 2007 / Jólasveinar 2007 / La Befana / Lick It One More Time / Midwinter's Eve 2007 / Peacock Queen 2007 / Rose Red 2007 / The Snow Storm / Snow White 2007 / Dia de los Muertos 2007   TOTAL: 56
fragileasair

fragileasair

0
this and that from Antaria
 

Family problems 8th or - what's going on?

On Sunday I we have been to a new chineses restaurant and Ollis parents, his grandma and the boy from his sister have been there, too. It was really nice but ... something was diefferent. Apart from his mom telling me 300 times that it was so nice that we came too and that she did not expected us to come she told the boy several times to behave.   Sometimes she even said stuff that I would never have told him (like not going to often to the buffet table to get some food) and some things I would have said too (like trying to sit at the table and not to run trough the restaurant or to scream).   I really had the feeling "What is going on? Is she doing it for me? Or what?   After the restaurant we went for a walk and after that we made a quick visit at Ollis parents house. And what was on the floor for the boy and his toy cars?? Yes! A carpet! So what happened to the "don't be concerned about your wooden floor, if children play it is okay if it suffers some damage?"   Could it be that they thought about what I told them and came to the conclusion that a carpet is a good place to play on?
Antaria

Antaria

0
this and that from Antaria
 

Between

Well, I am somewhere between great and really bad. Why? Okay, lets start with bad (so that the good stuff is the stuff that I keep in mind in the end): - my imac at work crashed - I had to send it away so that they look up whats wrong with it and it will take approx. 3 weeks till I have it back - or was it till they know what is going on? - I have to work with a mini mac which is sooooo lame, 512MB RAM - it has only 10.3 installed (so I can't connect my ipod nano to it) - I have to do a lot today and I only want to sleep - I want to go home - all my data are gone because I was not able to make any backup-DVDs because of a DVD-problem - my BPAL-list is gone, too - my BPAL-order is not at home yet - my ipod case is not there yet - I am hungry   Lets start with some of the nice things: - I love gym - my mom and Olli are telling me that I look already better, healthier, not that white any more - we bought an ipod - and I love it - I copied some Yö CDs on it and realized how much I love them - I ordered the newest Yö-CD and I hope it arrives this week - the sun is shining - we had a wonderful weekend - this weekend is the game trade show and I am allowed to spend quite some money (oh, but I forgot, the newest version of my wishlist was on my imac, too) - I think about buying a Yö-T-Shirt - I will get some French Fries today   Okay, I guess that's it. It's really an up and down.
Antaria

Antaria

0
Forspecial Plate's Blog
 

Lily!

Over the weekend I tested a number of scents including Kostnice and Sepulcher. Both of them turned horribly soapy on me. I guess lily is the note that they have in common, that caused so much trouble.   They both developed a soapiness that got stronger and stronger until it was unbearable, and I had to wash them off. Not only that......both scents seemed to 'ruin' my nose for a good hour or two after I had washed them off. In other words, I tried putting on other scents that I really like, just to 'chase away' the horrid soapiness/memory of it, and nothing smelled right to me. It was kind of like trying to drink orange juice after brushing your teeth......everything smelled off in the aftermath of the soapy lilies!   I don't think all lily notes have this effect. I swear I've tried other scents with lily that didn't cause such a violent reaction. But from now on I'll be eyeing that note warily. Already I'm afeared for 2 of the Yule scents (Noche Buena, and the one with candy-charcoal). Now, the candy charcoal one, I was already not real hopeful about because of the violets and lily. But I really want to like Noche Buena. We shall see!! I've already ordered decants of both.
forspecial_plate

forspecial_plate

0
Abstract Associations
 

Beaver Moon 2007

BEAVER MOON Traditionally, Beaver Moon is named thus for a very obvious reason: during this time of year, beavers are hard at work building their dams and preparing for the onset of winter. However, we at BPAL rarely let an opportunity for sleazy campiness pass us by! For your pleasure and amusement, we present this year's incarnation of Beaver Moon: wild cherry with vanilla cream accord, and a hint of strawberry.   Reviewed 10/14/2007   Oh yum. This is absolutely delectable.   Wet I get a strong cherry note, almost exclusively. As it begins to dry there's a distinct cake-y smell, like vanilla cake batter before it's baked, that pushes the cherry into the background. Just as it's about to get overwhelming, the strawberry comes up and it all blends together amazingly. The throw is very very subtle, and as AEris mentioned is only really detectable for about half an hour unless I go nose-to-wrist and sniff for it. It does last for a long time, but even if I slather it on it stays very light. Usually I like a more distinct throw, so I'll be hunting for a locket or something to make this stand out a bit more.   Even with the subtle throw, I am so in love with this oil! I'm glad I bought three bottles of this, it's definitely one I'm going to hoard.
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
Whiskers and Whispers
 

Update Rave, Postal Delays Rant

I am bowled over by this update! The scents this Yule are amazing. Instead of last year's predominantly icy/snowy theme, this one contains scents of all different kinds. There are icy/snowy ones, but there are also foody, floral, resinous/incensy, woodsy, spicy, old and new, drawing from traditions the world over, including Jewish, Greek, Icelandic, Indian, Mexican, Italian...there are scents based on poetry, history, mythology, or just plain tongue in cheek humour (lick me baby one more time! I can't wait to see what the label for that one looks like!) and that's what I love so much about this update. I am getting loads of decants, and I've bought a few bottles too. I'm glad that the LEs in this update are all long term, so I didn't feel pressured to order. I think the Lunacy order will be a big 'un. My mum will be enabled with Sag (depending on notes), and I can't wait for new Gaiman scents!   Now. The rant. I FUCKING HATE POSTAL STRIKES. Ok, they may be over, but so many of my packages have been held back in the backlog chaos that ensued from about five days of strike. And I get the feeling there are still strikes going on. The packages that made it through so far are: BPAL, Nocturne Alchemy, Heaven and Earth, the Atrocious Attic decant from Tramp, and my Mythos Mixtures Halloween decants from Evil Enablers. But there's a whole lot of stuff that hasn't arrived, I'm still waiting for packages from: -Mythos Mixtures -Silk Road Soaps -Magical Omaha -Blooddrop -Cobalt Blends -Heaven and Earth (I made two orders, this second one may not be sent yet, so it's early days) -Love Potion -Possets -Callisto -Aeaea decant received! -October and PPIII from Aevalin -Chilling Cellar and Forbidding Foyer from Nursekins -PPV from LJ -Perilous Parlour -Bonfire Night recieved! -All souls 07 from LJ -Death of Autumn -Massage oil decants -Decanting vials -Queen's Salon decant -Pumpkin Cheesecake and Spiked Punch decants (it's still early days for these)   I may be missing some things. I'm also expecting tickets for the Tut exhibition but I have no idea when those will be sent. I'm just listing my pending orders and swaps to keep track of what has gone MIA and fear will be lost in a strike-induced black hole never to be seen again. Some are replaceable, but others (like the Caffeinated Death in the MO package) are not. I am not blaming the companies or swappers/sellers for the losses at all so don't worry. I am blaming all this crap on the shoddy postal service and the postal workers who decided to go all on us these last couple of weeks.
yeahbutnobut

yeahbutnobut

0
RogueFeenix's Blog
 

whine about me health

I have a lot on my mind.   School should be my main focus but it isn't, my health is. Some days I feel fine, others I feel like my body is falling apart.       I have always had joint pain, but when I was heavy it got to the point that I was in pain every night. Losing weight helped a lot but it is still there. I also had bad headaches. I thought I had found the trigger. Gluten, more to the point Celiac Disease, I can't eat wheat, and a huge host of other things.   I did not get a blood test to confirm it, no cameras down my throat to see how damaged my intestines are. Although sometimes I would like the solid confirmation. I just stopped eatting it and it helped alot. I noticed that I didn't get sick from eating dairy anymore like I would before. I didn't have weird stomach aches in the middle of the night, no massive gas, and the joint pain went WAY down.   Lately thought the joint pain has come back like before. Either I have been eating something with gluten in it, ( which I can tell you I haven't) or I have a secondary problem. Either way it sucks. I don't want to feel like an old lady when I'm only 26.     I went on Antidepressants awhile ago, I had my meds switched because of a number of reasons the biggest one being I was having some bad bruising. I had up to 13 at one point, about half black and blue. All of them went away when I switched meds.   I'm on zoloft now, and had noticed I had about 4 tiny but dark bruises. I didn't really think anything of it. Till today I noticed a huge dark one on my thigh and 3 on my arm. That's 8 in less than a week. It worries me, plus I have noticed that it takes me forever to stop bleeding if I cut myself. I do NOT want to have to switch meds again. I can't, it was bad enough the first time. The 2 or so weeks to took for my body to adjust (coming off the old stuff to the new) I reverted to the sobbing, angry, depressed OCD mess I was before I got help.   I looked up the side effects of Zoloft on 4 different sites and none of them list major bruising or thin blood as one. I don't know if this is something else, a rare side effect of the meds (like before) or somehow linked to the celiac.     I just want to feel healthy, not like crap. I want to not have pounding headaches, major bruising and pain. I know I'm luckier than a lot of people, mine isn't day in and day out. I just wish I felt better. Most of the time I'm ok with everything, I can deal but today and the past few days I just have had enough.
RogueFeenix

RogueFeenix

0
Forspecial Plate's Blog
 

10ml madness

I posted an ISO for 10ml bottles, and already I've got 3 coming to me! Well, 2 partials and one empty, but that's okay.....I can decant into the empty one (Morocco), if I get some imps or even a bottle (if I like it a lot, which I can barely remember what it smells like.......but I remember I liked it). The other 2 are Bloodlust which I've never tried, but looks promising, and Urd, which I do like, and have never really had an imp of my own....now I'll have plenty. So, that was more of a response than I was expecting! : )
forspecial_plate

forspecial_plate

0
Whiskers and Whispers
 

Aging beauties.

I'm slowly sorting out my collection of BPALs and seeing what imps/bottles I still like and which ones to sell. And I've discovered that some of these are aging gorgeously. I tend to notice the difference when I haven't worn a certain scent for a while, though I'm sure scents I wear regularly are also maturing gracefully as well. There are some scents which don't change much and still smell the same as before-which, if it's a scent I love, is a very good thing. Here's my list of scents that are even lovelier now:   Et Lux Fuit (aged about 1 year and a bit)-the oddly soapy scent it had when fresh is fading, the amber is getting stronger, and the honey! Now this reminds me a little bit of Al Araaf and Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree. Alone (aged about 2 years)-OMG! At first I was worried this would be a bit too sweet but then the patchouli, richly matured, shines and mingles with cardamom, labdanum and sandalwood in the most amazing way. The floral notes in here are also prettier. Berenice (aged about a year and a bit)-it's lost it's 'designer perfume' scent and turned into a feminine Mr Ibis. Svadhinaopatika (since February)-OMG!! The amber in here has become wonderfully rich and golden and magnificent. This now smells like a honeyed version of the Lion. O ain't got nothing on this unspellable stunner! Hope (since February)-the sugar/vanilla musk really becomes richer and more beautiful, softening the rose. Meskhenet (since February)-the frankincense has become stunning, and that odd 'gardenia' note it had when fresh has faded considerably. Now it smells like Nefertiti. This oil is now thicker and there is residue at the bottom-a scent to roll. 13, the original (since June 05)-ohh! The chocolate has become richer, the sharp tea note is mellower, the iris pops out more and there's something almost honeyed to it. Haloa (since December 06)-oh wow! Now this smells like mulled wine and incense with sweet cakes! So festive! It's lost the odd 'sherbet' scent it had when fresh. Lotus Moon (since summer 06)-the amber has become richer and the scent has more oomph now. Black Pearl (about a year old)-the musk and iris have become much richer. Dee (two year old imp)-DAYUM this ages magnificently. I can't wait to see how my bottle gets. Hymn to Proserpine (about a year old imp)-I swear this gains Snake Charmer nuances when this ages. I get plum and cherry as well as the pomegranate/currant and amber now. Have a bottle, hopefully it will age like this. My new bottle of HtP smells spicier/sandalwoodier than my imp. Penny Dreadful (at least two years)-when I last tried it, my imp was a year old. The notes get richer and more floral and it smells stunning, though not as earthy-foody as when fresh. There's a vetiver note which really shows up with age. Anubis (two and a half years)-the sharpness this had when fresh is much calmer and the resins are much richer, more honeyed. Bastet (almost three years)-like a cat, this one's personality changes, each time I wear it. (but it always smells good!) But the myrrh note gets much stronger over time. Zorya (at least two years)-richer, stronger, more beautiful and well mixed floral. One of the few 'plain jasmine' scents that doesn't turn stinky on me. Nefertiti (at least two years, maybe more)-the woodsy incense notes become richer and smoother, loses it's greenness. Aged Nefertiti is amazing. Queen of Sheba (about 1-2 years)-I swear there's Egyptian amber in here. I get a lot of something that smells like it under the spiced honey and almonds now. Black Lily (1 year)-loses that odd metallic coldness and becomes pretty much all lily gorgeousness. Magdalene (2 years)-the rose and orchid just mature so beautifully. Snake Oil and Charmer-what can I say that hasn't already been said? The Lion (about 2 years)-the amber just gets more intense and lovely with time. Great Cry in Egypt (since summer 06)-the red musk is really intensifying in the best way, and so are the resins. Regan (2 years)-I swear there's honey in here. It's been a year or so and it smells really, really honeyed now, like floral O. Not complaining-I love this honeyed orchid scent! Bengal (1.5 or 2 years)-OMG this becomes like a more intense and spicier version of the Lion when aged. I'm sure there's amber lurking in here. Queen Mab (2+ years)-gets more intense and rich and full bloomed with time. Haunted Palace (since late 05)-who says citrus notes degrade over time? The orange in here has become creamier and softer, if anything. Beautiful amber-rose-orange-musk.
yeahbutnobut

yeahbutnobut

0
alicia_stardust's blog
 

A Career Ghost

I walked into an art store yesterday and was surprised to find that there are still package designs of mine on the shelves: a number of drawing and sketch pad covers, some watercolor tablets, boxes for pastels and oil pastels, and packaging for canvases. I'm sure there was more but I didn't explore the whole store in search of my work.   It's hard to quantify my response to seeing my work in a random art store two years later in a different city and state than where I worked on all of it. In some ways it is bittersweet to see it. Even though that company was really bad for me in terms of stress and psychology, I was doing big things. I had an inventory of 50,000 items where it was only a matter of time before I would have had them all at my desk for a package redesign. They were distributing those items to thousands of art stores in the US. They are all nationally recognizable art brands like Canson, Pentalic, Connoisseur, Strathmore, Rembrandt, you name it.   Yet when I see my work in art stores I sometimes wonder at my uneasy, dark response to it. I see the "what-if" part of everything. It was good, but it was also bad. That company was part of my downfall when it came to my health problems and stress levels. Tom had very real anger management issues. They had management and deadline problems and supervisors that would lie about what they had told you if it meant saving their ass from Tom's anger. It also bothered me the way they nosed around my health problems when I was too sick to walk on my own let alone work their insane deadlines.   I am such a different person than I was back then. I was on this huge career path and it was all I truly wanted. I have different priorities now and a different sort of wisdom about what is truly important in life. Believing you may die really knocks some perspective into a person. Right now all I know is that I want to maintain my health, I love to do art, and I'm still interested in design though not on a level where I'm willing to whore myself out just to get picked to create a logo design for someone who's rude because they don't want to pay for your skills yet can't do it themselves.   Right now I find myself at a crossroads where I must figure out what I want to do with my abilities and what opportunities to search for or create. It's not the career I had, and yet I don't know what it is that I do want. I feel like it's just out of my line of sight right now.   I guess... I guess seeing that stuff in the art store is sort of like seeing a ghost. I can look back and see an entirely different path and life and it would have led me to such a different place than I am right now. For the most part, I do not want anything to do with where that other path would have led me. But sometimes it's hard to still the voice in my head that wonders if I have lost the one big career opportunity of my lifetime. Is my potential lost? Will I find a new path? Will it be something I love? Do I already have that now?
alicia_stardust

alicia_stardust

0
Forspecial Plate's Blog
 

testing at the laundromat

More scent blogging because I'm boooored......   The one good thing about doing laundry is, it's a good place to test scents. It's good because it takes a couple hours, my mind kind of wanders, and with the movement of my hands there is plenty of wafting so I get a good idea of 'throw'. So as my mind is wandering, I might forget what scent I put on, until it wafts up at me again. And the whole process has a little bit of zen that I enjoy.   Other than that......I hate doing laundry. : )
forspecial_plate

forspecial_plate

0
this and that from Antaria
 

Gym - we did it!

So, we did it. We went there, we made a contract for 2 years and we had our first training. And I loved it!   For the first time in quite a long time I felt healthy and great and I was in a wonderful mood - well, I am still   It was great, I would like to go right there again. NOW!   Well, but now I am stitting in our living room - alone - Olli went to meet with a friend to fly their model planes, I'm not really happy with being alone, but it's not that bad.   I just watched the last 2 episodes of Friends - I'm addicted to them and now I'm again trough all the seasons. Since we don't receive any TV-channels we often watch DVDs - will have to search for something to watch again to relax after work and so on. Or I simply start over again. Hmmmm. Will have to think about that.
Antaria

Antaria

0
this and that from Antaria
 

Gym - or not?

We are thinking about a membership in a gym. It is really cheap, the place looks good and so on - but we have to sign in for a 2 year memberchip. For 19,95€ each. Inclusive isotonic drinks and all kind of classes.   And since we moved together, we haven't done any sports. I stopped horse riding when we started to date, stopped my normal dancing but went on with ballet. Now I'm doing nothing and I obviously gain weight + I don't feel good anymore. So - I need to do something. But gym? Haven't been there! Don't know if I like it. But it would be good for me ... and we still can't decide ...
Antaria

Antaria

0
heartbreakangel's Blog
 

Huh.

I think we've come to an agreement on wedding bands. Unless something else jumps out and kicks me in the shin next time I'm at the jeweler, we've got stuff picked out.   This is weird. I figured planning all of this stuff out would be way harder than it already has been. I mean, the invitations and getting stuff like that sorted will probably be like herding cats, but this was always something I'd watched other people get incredibly stressed over.   And yet, in 24 hours, we've got it basically covered.   So now the list is whittled down to the following:   picking a date that isn't during next May/June's freakin' Mercury Retrograde invitations food sorting RSVPs when they roll in maybe setting up a wedding registry somewhere clothing flowers   I'm probably forgetting something somewhere in there. Gah.
heartbreakangel

heartbreakangel

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heartbreakangel's Blog
 

More forward progress...

Picked out my engagement ring today. C. has been shown a picture from the catalog I was given to bring home regarding the wedding jewelery sale going on until the end of the month.   She had the anticipated response, and began singing the praises of my father for covering the remaining balance on it when I do finally go up there to get things sized and such. I just have to wait for him to get his end of things together, and that's all set.   From here, we just need to deal with wedding bands, and then this entire ring thing is done. One less issue to worry about. Which is amusing, since most folks I know that are married didn't even deal with wedding bands until really close to their wedding date. Our's is tentatively set for June, so we're waaaaay early on this one.   The next big hurdle with planning will be the invitations. I'm still dawdling with going out looking for stuff to put them together myself. All I can do right now is estimate costs, anyway. Probably won't even touch actually starting to deal with picking up supplies and working out the rest of it until after Christmas.   And I still have to tell my mother that I'm getting married. Oh God, that's going to be nerve wracking. She's probably going to throttle me for not telling her until well after the fact. I just keep getting distracted by loads of other stuff, and I'd kind of like to actually have my ring on my finger when I talk to her face to face about this.   Everything else that needs to get dealt with revolves around school, at this point. I anticipate a nice TAL purchase somewhere in the not too distant future, so I can get rid of some of my scatter-brained problems with not being able to concentrate on an as needed basis.
heartbreakangel

heartbreakangel

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Diplomatka
 

As If

(from the BBC)   US targets Ethiopia for sanctions   Correspondents say Ethiopia has come in for increased criticism over its human rights record since the violent crackdown on post poll protests in 2005; opposition leaders imprisoned as a consequence have subsequently been released.   And since Ethiopia's went into Somalia last December to help the transitional government- a rebellion in its eastern Ogaden region which borders Somalia has escalated.   'Correct wrongdoings'   The US representatives approved the Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability Act on Tuesday, which puts Ethiopian government officials at risk of being denied entry visas over human rights violations.   It also threatens to withhold military aid of at least $1.5m   Mr Payne said the bill was bipartisan and secured unanimous approval.   "It's something that's been discussed ever since the killing of civilians, gunned down in the streets of Addis [Ababa] almost two years ago," the Democratic Congressman told the BBC's Network Africa.   "There was a feeling that Ethiopia, being an ally of the United States, should have an opportunity to correct some of the wrongdoings, and that has not happened.   "Two years later people are still being imprisoned. There's still problems in the Ogaden region. People are having food kept away from them. That's why we finally said we need to move forward with it."   Samuel Assefa, Ethiopia's ambassador to the US, called the bill "irresponsible" and said it would hamper efforts to improve things.   "The legislation also would undermine regional stability in the Horn of Africa by jeopardising vital security cooperation between the United States and Ethiopia," he said in a statement, Reuters news agency reports.   The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says as Ethiopia is such a strong ally of the US in the Horn of Africa, it is unlikely that President George Bush's administratation will be sympathetic to the bill.
Confection

Confection

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this and that from Antaria
 

Dreamy mood

Today I'm in a really dreamy mood.   It's really nice.   I enjoyed the strange bird-voices I heard this morning, I was thinking about the "Phantom of the Opera" musical. We saw it approx. a year ago and it was so wonderful. Well, after I was there I had a strange problem coming back into real life again. It took me weeks.   I think I will watch the Phantom movie when I go home. And enjoy my chocolate yogurt. I bought it yesterday. I don't even like it very much - well I like parts of it. There a tree: One tiny sort of skin on the top of it which is great. Then comes the yogurt itself. Not so interesting. And at the bottom there is 1mm of a kind of cocoa something. Well, I eat the yogurt because of 1mm skin + 1mm cocoa. Great. But I'm really looking forward to it.   Somehow I don't take this day very seriously. And I like it.   For Olli it will be serious - he has to make a call to make an appointment for a job interview. He's so excited. I really hope he gets the job even if it would mean that he has to drive even more than now. But his current job is just too boring for him + his (female) boss is a pain in the ... but I don't dare to hope. I'm always afraid to hope anything ...   The last 2 weeks have not been so good for me and I was so happy about my BPALs - even in the worst mood and in pain I started to smile while sniffing my wrists. Now I want a smile from Olli - because he can quit his current job and somehow I hope that he tells why he is quitting - because the pain in the ...
Antaria

Antaria

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Review Round-up!
 

Dragon's Claw

In the imp: Sharp, almost bitter sandalwood, and the lilac air freshener scent that is dragon's blood to my nose.   On wet: Sharp and bitter is duking it out with woody, almost peanutty sweetness. Ah, and here comes the detested DB...   Drydown: The sandalwood's totally taken over (yay!), and I smell divine! I'm getting the sweet, pink-gold sandalwood that's present in Tushnamatay, another that's dry and woody, and another that's almost spicy - although I suppose the dragon's blood could be contributing to either of those effects. DB's only ever made me smell like a bathroom spray, so I can honestly say that I'm absolutely clueless as to what it might be doing at this point, lol!   Overall: I fully expected the dragon's blood to kill this blend for me (because it hates me with a fiery passion), but thanks to my beloved sandalwood, I smell fan-freakin'-tastic - something I *never* thought possible where DB was concerned. I am positively delighted at finding my first wearable dragon's blood scent. 4.5/5
furygrrl

furygrrl

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Review Round-up!
 

Lady MacBeth

In the imp: Sweeeeet reddish-purple-fruity-berry-ness. A hint of what I think is thyme.   On wet: Kool-Aid!   Drydown: 10 minutes in, and it's faded quite a bit. It's lost a lot of that berrylicious/fruity edge in favour of just pure sugary sweetness - it's actually making my teeth hurt every time I inhale! There's also a soapy, shampoo-esque thing going on now, too. I'm reminded of the "perfume" I used to get as a kid - the kind that wasn't much more than scented pink liquid in a pretty pink-capped bottle. I can't recall exactly, but I think the brand was called Tinkerbell (no relation to Disney). Not getting anything even remotely boozy or herby.   Overall: WAY too sweet for this grrl - though I'd definitely recommend it for the junior BPALers out there. A kid-friendly scent to be sure - and SO much nicer than that chemical playtime crap I'm sure is still being sold today. As I am no longer a kidlet, however, this ranks a 2/5 on my skin.
furygrrl

furygrrl

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this and that from Antaria
 

First LE Order

I am pretty excited about my first LE-order. I tried to avoid LEs because I'm the kind of person who won't use something that might be unique and only once in a lifetime. Or I buy 3 or more (in this case bottles) and use the first one. But I think it is time to move on and to learn that even such things should be used. It makes no sense to keep them for years and then you realize that they are not good anymore.   So here is my order: 5ml: 1 Beaver Moon, 1 Pumpkin Patch III, 1 Blood Amber, 1 The Perilous Parlor, 1 Dragon’s Blood   (I wish I did buy Dragon's Milk ... well I will order again when the yules are online - Dragon's Milk then!)   2 Imp packs containing: Windward Passage, Kill Devil, Dragon’s Eye, Dragon’s Heart, Squirting Cucumber, Obatala, Eclipse, Miskatonic University, Event Horizon, Cathode, Moon Rose, Bloodlust   Everything with Dragon's Blood just seem to be perfect for me - so I am really looking forward to Dragon's Heart and Eye and as I recall Bloodlust was with DB, too.
Antaria

Antaria

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