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    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!
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Goth Hobbit's Blog
 

Well, I'm back.

By all rights, I should be in bed right now, but I'm at the point of "too awake to sleep and too tired to be properly awake". This is not a good state for coherency, but an excellent one for random thought-dumping.   A month on the road, almost exactly. Driving from south Florida to Minneapolis, and then to Denver -- alone, no less -- is not the sort of thing that I would recommend doing on a regular basis, but it gave me much-needed time to sort some things out in my head -- when I wasn't dodging 18-wheelers, that is. Trying to get used to the idea that Granddad's car is now my car, as he doesn't need it anymore. Granted, he hadn't driven it in about three years, but Mom offered him the option on a regular basis. Trying to get used to the idea that the heirloom vase that was always Granddaddy and Grandmama's is now mine as well; not so much a possession as a trust, and certainly worthy of its own entry. Trying to get used to a lot of things, in fact; some of which I will have help in adjusting to, and some of which I'll have to process on my own.   There is quite a lot that I want to say, some of which will have to wait.   I can say that the more I see of Minneapolis, the more I like the city. I have good friends there, and people who have potential to become good friends. There's a thriving arts scene, lots of interesting architecture, and beautiful scenery. I spent almost three weeks there this time, and I'll be there for almost a month on my next trip. I'm looking forward to it, even if it means my first taste of a Northern Plains winter.   My Dear One says that I still move like a dancer, and told me that one of the many things that he finds so attractive is my grace. Given that he knows that I had a reputation for being able to trip over the pattern in the linoleum when I was younger, this means more to me than almost any other compliment that he could have paid me.   Thinking about the future occupies a great deal of my time lately. The immediate future involves holiday shows which I need to firm up, and all of the work that I need to get done for them, as well as the hope that grinding myself to a nub will prove to be lucrative. Long-term plans are forming as well; some of them I can shape, but others depend on things which are out of my control. Oddly enough, it's the ones over which I have the most mastery that are causing me the most stress, because they're the ones into which I have to put the most effort. In that respect, the stress that these plans are causing isn't odd at all. Such is the way of these things.   Further typing is going to have to wait for another time, though. Sleep is calling my name, and while sleep may not completely knit the raveled sleeve of my cares, it will probably manage a solid basting stitch. Enough to go on with, at least.
goth_hobbit

goth_hobbit

1
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Hooray and ow!

I'm not pregnant!   I almost wrote a post here last night that I thought I was pregnant, because I was having huge anxiety over it, but then I freaked out about how saying it might help it to be real or whatever. Anyway, I'm not. Hooray!   I hurt my neck today somehow. It is not comfortable. I think I'm going to try and sleep now, though. Just wanted to share the good news!
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
Sourball Ho!
 

All the time in the world

This was the 2nd week of unemployment; I have several resumes sent out, and a placement service sent me to another law firm where I've gone through a couple of interviews and will hopefully hear something on Monday or Tuesday. I know it's funky timing with the holidays coming up, so I'm trying to relax while waiting.   In the meantime, I've actually completed a project: I reupholstered the dining room chairs. It's not a huge deal, because they're rattan and basically consist of a seat cushion and an attached back. Here they were before: The seat cushions on a couple chairs were really wearing through. Here they are now: You can't see the fabric well, but it's coffee brown with light green and blue circles. It reminded me of our funky lamp from Pier 1 that DH hardwired into the ceiling (which has a green center, but it looks yellow/orange in the picture).   While we're in the dining room, I'll give you a tour. Here are the souvenir plates recently acquired in estate sales; Darkitysnark motivated me to hang them up where they can look swell: We have Six Flags Over Texas, Disneyland, Ohio, Hawaii, New Mexico, Hollywood, California, Wyoming, New York City, New Orleans, Victoria BC, Winchester Mystery House, Tennessee and Kentucky. I have an Arkansas one too, I need to get another plate hanger.   Well, that's the tour of the dining room!
dawndie

dawndie

3
Whiskers and Whispers
 

It's almost a year to the day since...

...my cat passed away because of a tumour.   I know some might find it odd still mourning the death of a pet long after it happened, but to me animals are just as important as people to have as company, my cat was like a sister to me, a warm, fuzzy, purring companion, and cats don't have the emotional complexes that humans have.   It was also the closest experience I've had with death for a very long time. I can't really remember when my grandfather and aunt passed away as I must have been five at the time, but my kitty's passing is so vivid. That last stilted purr she gave me at the animal hospital was such a sorrowful sound, the way she looked so pained and couldn't move made me cry, and will haunt me forever.   My mind still sometimes thinks she's not 'dead', but she's just moved on to a place that's inaccessible to me, but where she'll be happier. I'm still not clear cut on my ideas of what happens after death but when she passed away, that came to mind almost intuitively, that she's in a place that's intangible to the living, but still there, in a way. I also believe she's still visiting me in spirit, in dreams, in some of those dreams she actually protects me from anything malevolent. And one thing's for sure, the memories will stay alive for a very long time.
yeahbutnobut

yeahbutnobut

0
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Stevie Nicks on satellite radio

I have my satellite radio in my car and it is such a novel experience for me, because I'm used to playing CDs all the time and generally controlling what I listen to. I have all my presets so I can move around if a station that I'm on is playing something that I don't like. But today, at noon, it was like a train wreck. I wanted so badly to change channels but something was keeping me there. Before the signal came over the radio, the digital read-out was telling me "Stevie Nicks." Then I was "treated" to Stevie playing the piano and talking in this dreamy-stoned-stream-of-consciousness way about Rhiannon, what a beautiful name, and how she loved her story, oh Rhiannon, the name, the story...and then the music rose a bit and she began to sing "Rhiannon rings like a bell in the night..." but all I could hear was "baaaaah-baaaah-baaaah." The woman bleats like a goat. I swear the reason she wears those long floaty dresses and big-ass platforms (even when they weren't in style) is to cover up her cloven hooves. (Hmmm... french manicured hooves?)   So then I did switch channels, because vomiting and driving just don't go hand-in-hand. If I have a bitch about Sirius, it's that whoever is doing their music blends gets into a rut and they play the same stinking people ad nauseum on any number of channels. For instance, for the last two weeks, Dave Matthews and Coldplay were getting flat worn-out. Now they're on a kick where if they can find an excuse to play Bob Dylan or Springsteen, they will. It is wearisome. I switch to jazz or electronica when that happens.   I also get a kick out of the Met Opera channel, especially when they're playing the ending of an opera, and the announcer is talking about what's happening on stage during the curtain call, describing the costumes, what the audience is doing, and all that festive stuff. It reminds me of listening to golf when they're broadcasting from the actual green that the players are on, and they're whispering "and now, for a birdie on the 16th hole..." I don't think they do that anymore when golf is on TV, do they? The announcers are in a remote truck somewhere? It's not like I watch a lot of golf. Maybe they do it even if they are in a remote truck, because it's just fun to whisper melodramatically.   If they did a wrap-up of a Stevie Nicks concert over the radio, the announcers would be saying: "And now, the audience that actually purchased tickets to see Ms. Nicks are standing and applauding, and their companions who came along as part of their martial obligation or who simply lost a bet are removing their ear plugs. Ah, Ms. Nicks bows again, and oh, now a lovely, lovely curtsy with her long flowing gown, oh my, her mammoth platform shoe just ripped a piece of her dress! Oh well, no one will notice on that tattered hemline anyway. Oh, and how lovely, how dramatic! Now the goat-herding Australian Shepherds and Border Collies are escorting Ms. Nicks from the stage..."   Oh, that was just too mean. I did see Fleetwood Mac in concert once because the guy I was dating got free tickets, and I was never so bored in my life as when Stevie was on stage doing her Welsh-witch ballerina swirling around bullshit. I think we left before the concert was over, because it did make me want to go drink beer and listen to the blues at The Zoo Bar. If anyone is a fan of Ms. Nicks, sorry, but that faux witchy woman behavior always drove me crazy. If she'd just gone with the California hippie chick all hopped up on coke image, I would have a lot more respect for her.
valentina

valentina

4
CardSwap Faery's Blog
 

Winter Holiday Card Swap 2006

Group 1: Mandragora, Freya, Babylon, bliss, mountainwitch, porcelain72   Group 2: Rackham's Vanity, Tribal_Woman, boxinghelena   Group 3: Freya, yeahbutnobut, eoywin, aritei   Group 4: Tesseljoan, wikkidraven, emma2403, euniceb, crazyredhead17, eviltemptressdq   Group 5: Evanesce, Ghost_Light, evilmistressoftoast, Nekomata, juniperus intrepidus, salixnoir   Group 6: Elspeth, euniceb, Evanesce, couscous   Group 7: Pkthunder, portalkat, couscous, eoywin, evilmistressoftoast, crazyredhead17   Group 8: Eviltemptressdq, Ghost_Light, couscous, aritei
CardSwap Faery

CardSwap Faery

0
Review Round-up!
 

Thirteen - October 2006

In the bottle: Cocoa, vanilla, lavender - yum!   On wet: Mmm...the same as above. The lavender is really singing, too - such an amazing melange of notes.   Drydown: A complex jumble of subdued deliciousness that is SO incredible. It's saved from the 'too foody' category thanks to the fresh zip of lavender and the rounder sweetness I'm attributing to the starfruit. As the day progresses, the scent smooths out like a river of warm, creamy goodness - less lavender, a more pronounced vanilla/sandalwood presence. And YES! This is definitely reminiscent of Underpants.   Overall: I was another who couldn't wear the previous 13, so this reformulation was such a welcome surprise! Not only do I LOVE this new interpretation, there wasn't a single aspect or stage of this scent that I didn't enjoy. A most certainly well-deserved 5/5.   This will likely smell amazing on the right guy, too. Not too sweet, not too feminine, that smidge of lavender that is so often found in cologne = 100% edible manflesh!
furygrrl

furygrrl

0
Review Round-up!
 

Wanton

In the imp: Sweet, sugary rose.   On wet: Sweet, sweet, *sweet* rose and an almost dirty patchouli - oh, did I mention that this is SWEET?   Drydown: Absolutely. Gorgeous. The diabetes-inducing sweetness from moments before has deepened under the grounding influence of the sandalwood and patchouli (not certain what the palmarosa smells like, so no clue where it fits into the equation). It's gone from overpowering sugared rose to this sultry, slinky, exotic, lickable SEX CANDY kind of scent. Excuse me while I continue to swoon...   Overall: Aside from the occasional dab of Rose Red, I don't care for rose scents - or at least that's what I thought. Wanton not only changed my mind, it seduced the anti-rose right outta me and made me her bitch. Big bottle purchase - stat. 4.5/5
furygrrl

furygrrl

0
Do you have a flag?
 

Yum!

I usually get a drink from the vending machine when I'm at school. More specifically, I usually get a Mountain Dew. I like the taste, and the caffeine keeps me awake during class.   Tonight, I decided to be a grown-up. I'm 35 now, after all. Probably time to stop drinking sodas. I'm afraid I'm at the age where I can no longer tell myself that I will address my bad habits when I'm older. I am older now.   So... I chose the Diet Lipton Green Tea with Citrus instead of the Mountain Dew. And get this: It was good! I mean, spectacularly good. I really like it. I feel kind of stupid for drinking so many Mountain Dews when I could have been drinking this tea drink instead the whole time. The taste is great, and it has zero calories and no carbonation. (One of the reasons I like Mtn Dew is that it seems to have fewer bubbles than other sodas. Not a fan of the bubbles.)   I'm never going to like carrots as much as potato chips, but I wonder how many other healthier things I can find to replace other bad habits. I did already replace most of my cheeseburgers with Boca cheeseburgers (yummy!), and now I've found this diet green tea drink instead of Mountain Dew.   I think I'll make an effort to try new things for the next few weeks and see what I find.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

0
This Old Snark
 

beschäftigtwerk

(Translation: busy work. Snarky has no idea why she suddenly went German.)   (Huzzah! for making it back onto page one, by the way.)   Snarky had the realization at the end of last week that she had turned into an internet taker, rather than a giver. She was reading blogs and posts and doing the general surfing about she could squeeze into her new schedule, but she wasn't making any contributions. Selfish Snarky!   Needless to say, the thing that is worse than de-Garboing oneself is regaining any sense of flow and light-footedness in one's prose.   Referring to oneself in the third person definitely sandbags that whole "light-footed" effort. Still! Snarky shoulders on.   Work is fantastic. Well. Today it isn't. But that's not too horribly bad considering Snarky has been here for sixty days (she should know, her 60 day review is this Friday). Today has been diminished in fantasticness simply because Snarky is a problem solver and her problem was not. Getting. Solved already! Her addiction is more to the sense of accomplishment rather than the journey, and this particular journey was starting to feel like an endless turn on a traffic circle rather than the euphoric A to B that usually measures her day.   "Big Ben!"   "Parliament!"   "Big Ben!"   ... you get the picture.   On top of the slightly stuck feeling Snarky is having today, she's also slightly sick. The atmospheric controls for her office don't, so she and her co-workers have been running between the extremes. Some days they keep their jackets on and wrap scarves around their faces. On these days Snarky looks like a technicolor urchin with her turqoise and rainbow arm warmers and slightly haunted expression. Other days the office becomes a sort of greenhouse/sauna. Heavy, humid air hot enough to warrant short-sleeved t-shirts (yesterday one of the supervisors was wearing what amounted to a nice tank top. In November!). All this wishy-washy weather (interior and exterior) has caused the quick dissemination of Seasonal Crud that runs the gamut from tickling cough to full on phlegm attacks.   Snarky has yet to succumb, but today she feels the closest to "unwell" that she has felt since starting work here.   Ah, but the fantastic stuff! It truly is fantastic. Snarky is surrounded by passionate, funny, educated people. The industry is very different from The Cracker Factory. Snarky gets to work with manufacturing types and artistic types and IT types and sales/marketing types. She gets to type really, really fast, and is apparently the heir apparent to the new CRM system they are trying to implement. What does CRM stand for? Hold on... Snarky needs to look it up.   Customer Relationship Management   Of course! Anyways.. what Snarky knows of the CRM is that she is trying to merge four different databases into the one thing... and also train herself up on the new system in order to train everyone else up on the new system... and also customizing and reporting and data crunching and... um... yeah. Just a little bit of everything. If Snarky was the Office Monkey before, she's more like the Office Gorilla now.   Along with all the newness of being in a different work environment working in a completely different industry, Snarky has the added bonus of tests! Product Recognition Tests, that is. She finally managed to pass Test One (correctly identifying 82 samples) after two tries. Next up: Test Two, which requires the mere memorization of about sixty-some-odd pieces. No big whoop. Test Three (and this is the final test) Snarky hopes is under re-configuration... as most of the test is over soon-to-be-discontinued product. Snarky realized, after failing her first go at Test One, that the last written test she had taken prior was for her driver's license. This definitely felt like a return to the days when one's value hinged on the passing of a test (though to be fair, Snarky would not have been fired had she failed the test again... she would have just been stuck in test limbo, having to re-take the test every two weeks until she got it right).   Beside the failing her first test ever part of this experience, Snarky is really enjoying this whole "learn the product" process. She is starting to feel a bit nervous about her performance review on Friday because it has been so long since she geniunely cared about her job that she just might cock it up. (Snarky has been dying to use that term all week. Sorry if it abruptly offended/shocked anyone. Snarky seems to be good about cocking up the flow of things today. Hee!) (From where did that term come anyway? Is it gun related? Or just more blatantly phallic?)   Snarky hopes things go well and that she can remain the resident office monkey gorilla. Bananas are good.
darkitysnark

darkitysnark

2
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Secret Santa thoughts, already

In my office, we draw names for the holiday Secret Santas. It's a small office, we know each other well, and we like to be creative in our endeavors. Several years ago, the two support staff in the office decided that we shouldn't have just one day of Secret Santa, we should have stockings and 5 days of Secret Santa gifting. This was met with great reluctance by the professional staff, as we're typically very busy in December. However, over the years it has evolved into a process that is much-loved by the professional staff, and the support staff would like to end it. (insert sadistic laugh here ) It seems that a number of people become fond of the notion that there could be a week of gift themes, some seriously clever hide-and-seek games that include notes and clues, wicked funny gag gifts, and general opportunities for creativity, giving someone shit or just good humor. And in all of it, we're really pretty nice to each other. We had a gift limit that used to be at $10, then went to $15, and has inched closer to $20 in recent years. We don't really eat out as a group or shell out money to buy gifts the rest of the year, so we take this in stride. The support staff has come to hate the expenditures (even though they are paid more than entry level professionals), the time and the effort involved to keep up. Too bad. We like our little reindeer games.   Last year I drew my troublesome, loud, insane co-worker's name. She fancies herself as a bit of a foodie, and when she sent out her "hints for Santa" email -- something else we all do, which is a bit of a creative writing and/or humor opportunity -- mentioned that she always wants things for the kitchen. I gave her small, polite items 3 out of the 5 days, with the intention being to throw people off of my trail. Usually the over-the-top gifts that include notes and gags are instantly blamed on me. (Why? ) But her last two gifts did go over the top, and of course, she DIDN'T GET THE JOKES.   The first one addressed her tendency to rant and rave at people rather harshly, especially people outside of this office. I gave her a citrus reamer and a tube of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. An accompanying note said something about now she had both the tool and the remedy when she wanted to ream someone's ass, but then felt guilty afterwards. She didn't get the humor. She was happy to have a reamer, but was mainly mystified as to what she would do with a tube of Butt Paste. (This is diaper rash ointment, BTW.) I did catch a number of other staff people huddled in other corners of the office, laughing about the gift and talking about how she truly didn't get it.   For the final day's gift, I was able to secure, at T.J. Maxx, a piece of cutlery at an astonishingly cheap price. The item was a 6 inch stiff boning knife by the A.B. Dick company. The note on her stocking said: "Pardon me, but are you having a Merry Christmas, or is that a 6 inch boner in your stocking?" On the package, another note said: "Santa heard you'd like a stiff Dick for Christmas." She was befuddled by the jokes but elated to get some cutlery. Everyone knew it was either me or my coworker Scott who had her name, since we're the only two who would risk her ire by leaving such notes. Scott high-fived me when he realized it really was me who had her name; he enjoyed the jokes the most, except maybe for the guy that my coworker always "flirts" with by hollering his name and sticking her tits in his face. He nearly peed his pants when he read the stiff dick note. She kept saying to him: "But no, look at this boner!" And he'd laugh harder. And then she'd say: "Have you ever heard of the A.B. Dick company? I hadn't." And he'd laugh even more. He had to leave.   So this year I have Scott's name. He's getting little things from me for the first part of the week -- fun little things that he'll like, but I'm saving most of my money for an item that I'm bidding on in eBay. I hope I can get it for a good price. If I lose this auction, there's plenty of others out there. Scott is a Gen-X'er, but his musical tastes tend to be Boomerish, and he loves Led Zepplin. Most of all, Jimmy Page. And I introduce you to the Jimmy Page action figure: http://wizarduniverse.stores.yahoo.net/feb063823.html (Sorry, the hyperlink doesn't work on this computer)   He will absolutely die. He will freaking love it. This is what I love about eBay, doing a search for Jimmy Page items resulted in this little gem. I am so excited.
valentina

valentina

1
Filling the Periodic Table
 

Hyperventilating!

In just over 4 hours, I will be a home owner!   The scay part is getting the enormous cashier's check. I've been just staring at my bank account balance all weekend, all of my down payment money is in there, and I've never had so much money all at once.   I'm going to own a house! I'm so excited!
antimony

antimony

4
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Portland, OR

So! I am going to be in Portland for a couple of days for Thanksgiving, and I know there are a few Portlanders out there- if anybody would like to meet up, drop me a PM. I also know it's a busy time and a lot of you might be out of town, so I'm not banking on it or anything- I just thought I would offer. Aaand... I should know what part of Portland, right? But I don't; not for sure. I think Milwaukee. I'll have my car there, and I'm pondering a trip to Powells- anyway, just let me know.
smallvoice

smallvoice

1
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Moussaka, myrrh and maturity

I made moussaka for dinner tonight and it was yummy. I can't eat lamb unless it's ground up and heavily spiced (I don't like the way it smells), so normally if lamb is served at my house, it's because I'm cooking Greek or Indian. For a white woman in Nebraska, I tend to do better at ethnic than whitebread meat-n-taters-midwestern.   I am re-testing La Petit Mort and I have determined that myrrh is my nemesis. It goes powdery on me every time, damnit! I am also going to try something that has ylang-ylang in a different combination. I've always assumed that I didn't like it, but I'm beginning to think in another blend, it might work. This last order of mine -- 13 and an imp pack -- wasn't one of my greater success stories. I'm glad that I ordered imps and not bottles! But BPAL, when it works, really works. I went to Omaha yesterday to buy some Arcana soap at Magical Omaha, and I picked up some of their scents for a friend. The owner gave me a bunch of Arcana samples, and they don't work on my picky body chemistry. None of them. But like I said, when a BPAL works on me, it's beyond glorious, and I'll take that any day.   I think that men are somewhat predictable creatures, especially the ones in my general age range, probably because I've simply been dealing with them for so long. But younger guys, I don't get them. There's the young guy at work (25 or 26) who very earnestly flirts with me, although we all know he's just a little poonhound. The senator he works for isn't much better, so my friend Ron and I call the young staffer "little dog" and his boss "big dog." Little dog has been emailing me lately, just being friendly and chatty, but his notes read like he's using a thesaurus for every other word. He's trying really hard, it is kind of sweet and I'll give him credit -- he's a bright guy, and I think he likes having a conversation about something more than drinking beer and watching football. I'm good practice for him, because some day he's going to meet a smart woman in his age range who can have conversations about things he talks about when he visits with me. I think he's afraid to show younger women his more intellectual and artistic side, and that's sad.   Then there's a guy who works at the health club I go to; he's the weekend front desk person. I think he's a grad student, so he's early 20-ish. His parents are professors, he's really smart, kind of chunky-but-cute, very friendly. Or, I should say, he was very friendly -- he spent a ton of time talking to me a few weeks ago and was trying to get me to take tai chi at the club. He already does tai chi, but wanted to try a different instructor, since he'd never taken from the guy who teaches at the club. I'd taken a session with this instructor, and while the guy knows his stuff and is very nice, he is almost incomprehensible as a teacher. Anyway, the front desk guy and I got into a big discussion about eastern disciplines and I gave him the name of my yoga teacher and told him to call her if he ever wanted to drop in on one of her classes. I told him I just didn't have time to add a tai chi class to my schedule. All was fine until about two weeks ago -- now he won't look at me, just types in my member number when I give it to him, halfway rolls his eyes at me when I walk through, and acts like it's a relief to see me leave. I want to say, "Pardon me sweetie, but WTF?" All I've ever done was be polite to him and chat with him a little bit. Christ, I'm old enough to be his mother, maybe he figured that out, but there's no need to act so strangely.   But you know, maybe he's nuts, or maybe he now has a girlfriend, so he's rather immaturely blowing off everyone that he used to get attention. It's really sad -- sometimes I think my intentions can be misinterpreted simply because I try to treat people as actual human beings. I work around the legislature and I'm fairly immune to being treated as a cog in the machine, as a means to an end, but there are times when a thank-you would have been nice, and then there are the times when a thank-you or a simple acknowledgement meant everything in the world. So I try to be genuinely cordial and polite to people; that's all. Everyone deserves that much, and it is a goal of every day of my life, although I forget about it entirely too often.   I was telling a friend the other day, I read things that I wrote when I was much younger and think they are alarmingly rational, considering what an interpersonal pinhead I used to be. It would be OK to be physically younger and cuter again, but hell, it's true -- I'd never go back to being younger because never again do I want to be that much of an emotional retard. Nor would I want to return to dealing with younger guys who were even bigger 'tards than me. Not that as people age, they necessarily mature emotionally, but a few do, and damn, they come as a relief.   All of you who are young and self-aware, you're pretty amazing. There's quite a few of you on the forum, showing you are smart about more things than how to smell really, really good.
valentina

valentina

1
Squash Soup
 

yum yum yummy

I got my 13 order yesterday and I'm in heaven!! 13 is such an interesting scent. At first it starts out a bit chocolatey and then the citrus emerges and gives it an aquatic scent. I couldn't stop smelling myself! After completely drying, it became Underpants! This is like a more masculine Underpants ----> Manties! I might have to accidently spill it on that special guy!   Also in the order were Snow-flakes, Snow Maiden and my beloved Loviatar! I'm wearing the latter today and feeling particularly domineering because of it.   Now I just have to wait patiently for my next order of Lick It Again!!!!!!! *fidgets*
jessiesquash

jessiesquash

0
cranberry's Blog
 

filigree_shadow #4 - All reviewed

filigree_shadow #4: Ace of Swords - reviewed The Chariot - reviewed The Devil - reviewed The Emperor - reviewed The Empress - reviewed The Magician- reviewed The Tower - reviewed Euterpe - reviewed   picked this up 11-8-06. I've sniffed most of the tarots already so I should be able to turn this right around.   11-12: yay, all done - this is ready to send on to the next person!
cranberry

cranberry

8
Squash Soup
 

Christmas Order Planning

Damn all the fabulous resurrected scents! Now I'll have to totally reevaluate my order plans.   Before December 1, 2006   Pumpkin Queen (2) Yoki Onna Glasya (not sure about the dragon's blood but taking the chance anyway.) Glitter (i've wanted to try this for awhile now.)   $70.00   Before February 1, 2007   Jacob's Ladder 2006 (sounds divine) Sol Invictus Stardust 2006 (dying to try!) The Penitent Magdalen   $70.00   Holy crap, I'm going to be broke after all of this! I'm trying very hard to ignore Purple Phoenix because it is pretty much guaranteed to not work for me and I'm trying not to buy it anyway. I'm also not counting anything that I fall in love with and need more of because I'm expecting that will happen at least once.
jessiesquash

jessiesquash

0
Welcome to the Flophouse
 

I think we're growing apart.

We're just not communicating anymore. We don't have the same things in common.   Sure, we used to be like two peas in a pod - finishing each other's sentences. We always knew what the other was thinking. But now? We're just not clicking.   First it was Carnival Diabolique. Your words were so pretty, but you scents just didn't add up. Carnival Noir was so dead on - everything I smelled just enhanced the experience. But with CD, we're just not on the same wavelength. Nothing you said made sense.   Then Tavern of Hell - a complete disappointment. This should have been so perfect! But no connection. And Horreur Sympathique is the proverbial nail in the coffin. Fruit? How did we ever see eye to eye?   Sure there have been a few good times. 'I Died For Beauty' - wow. you were so eloquent, it touched my soul. But like all good things, the feeling didn't last.   There's still a chance we can save this. But, I have to be honest, I'm finding myself attracted to others. Others who understand me more. No, really, it's not you - it's me. I'm changing. You were my first - and that will always be special to me. But maybe it's time for us to explore new options.     *Dramatical note: yeah, this sounds like teh drama. I've often watched people make Le grand exit - selling off all their bpal because 'they just don't want to be a part of this'. I ain't selling it - I love what I have! To be honest, the reason for all this is to make me so embarrassed about my dramatic departure that I won't sign back in. I really need to break myself of this addiction that is the forum. I doubt I'll succeed, but hell, it's worth a try. And it's all true, at that..
Kittyflop

Kittyflop

0
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Very random. Very, very random.

I got my CnS on Friday for my order of 13 and a set of imps. And then the Lunacy/Anniversary update arrived later on that night, and what to do, what to do? Actually, I'm not in as much of a quandary as some people, all of you lucky/unlucky ones who are able to wear a lot of different fragrances. (I say lucky because you get to wear a lot of different things, but it's unlucky for your bank account.) I'm still more jazzed about the new GC scents that showed up in the Halloweenie update, Mania, Horreur Sympathatique and Love Lies Bleeding -- they're in the imp pack. And I've also never tried Misk U, La Petite Mort or Nosferatu, so they're rounding out the six pack o' imps. I just know a GC bottle order is going to emerge from that set of imps.   For the sake of my bank account, and maybe my sanity, I feel rather fortunate that the GC scents seem to be my favorites and LEs don't tempt me that much. Except for the Lupercalia update last year, the LE releases usually don't work that well on me. I'll be interested to see if the release for Valentine's Day LE scents will be as wonderful for me as last year's. (I suppose it makes sense for someone with a forum name of valentina, huh?) And usually by the time that update arrives, I am ready to indulge myself -- it's the dead of winter, holidays are over, I'm in the midst of the legislative session. Ah, fingers crossed.   The election is tomorrow, and it's about time. I'm sure anyone here in the U.S. is probably sick of all the political ads, yard signs and mailings. Tomorrow I meet friends for coffee at noon in a downtown establishment, and it is always nuts downtown over the lunch hour on election day. Usually there's different candidates for some significant political office standing on the corners of the main downtown intersection, their supporters waving signs, whooping it up,and all that nonsense. Actually, it's pretty funny to watch. I remember several years ago, I was walking down the street, and a candidate for U.S. Senate was on the corner. His wife was with him, and I wasn't really paying attention to them until I got relatively close, and I looked up and caught her giving me the most wistful, plaintive look. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to just join me and walk down the street, away from the noise and glad-handing. The life of a political spouse -- you get to be with your mate once in a while, but generally, they're always "on." People dream of being famous, but really, I think it's more of a nightmare than a dream.   And say, you of the female persuasion, do you shave your armpits? A couple of years ago, for whatever reason, I decided to let my pit hair grow unchecked, starting in November. I think I relented and shaved it in late February. By then, I'd tired of it and the novelty had worn off. I had never, ever done that in my life, and I just wanted to see how long it would get. I felt so Euro. And it didn't turn into man-like pit pelts, anyway. But it just seemed a little nasty and sexy to let it grow, since in general I'm a rather groomed creature.   So do any males shave their pits? I have a gay friend who once drove to Denver (about an 8-hour trip), checked into a motel, shaved down his entire body and dyed his brown hair plutonium blonde. Now, WTF? I never did figure out if the shaving/dying project was the reason for the drive, or he decided to do it while he was on his little road trip. I asked him if he enjoyed being a girl, and he said it was entirely too much work.   I bought a Sirius radio car kit and installed it on Saturday, proof that it's so easy that a monkey could do it. I actually felt rather accomplished and it's fun to have even more options of stuff to listen to than what I already have going on in my car. I have the presets all established: two jazz channels, one acoustic singer-songwriter music, one trance/electronica, alternative rock from the 90's, a channel with only Canadian musicians, CNN news, Talk Left (of course, no Faux "fair and balanced for me), and the Met Opera. That is what is fun about satellite radio. And if I don't like anything on the 100+ channels, I shut it off and listen to Bob Schneider, for they don't have an "All Bob" channel yet. Howard Stern, no, I don't listen to him. Nor the comedy channels. On a long roadtrip (maybe to Denver to dye my hair and wax my entire body ), I'd listen to comedy for a change of pace, but generally, music is where it's at.   It's Monday. I don't want to work, but I suppose I should get coffee and consider it.
valentina

valentina

3
Do you have a flag?
 

Making progress...

This evening I was reading articles about clinical trials in the New England Journal of Medicine for a research paper I've been working on. After reading two of them, it suddenly dawned on me that this is the first time in my life I have understood enough about medicine, medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology to even have an idea of what they're talking about in those articles. In the past it's all been way over my head.   Today, I got it.   This has been a good day.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

0
Sourball Ho!
 

Update!

I logged on today thinking there would just be a Lunacy blend and that's all, and there were all these others! I already had my order planned, and since I bought a bottle of 13 I was only going to buy 2 bottles, Quincey Morris and Wilhemina Murray. Now I'm pondering changing that   --Bitter Moon -- the ingredients list reminds me of Chrysanthemum Moon, but with extra flowers. I'll pass --Purple Phoenix -- this one I'm torn about, as some of the ingredients sound great and others (violet, fig, lilac) haven't worked in other blends. But who knows?   What a surprise to see more discontinueds released! I actually squealed a little when I saw Glasya -- this was a frimp in one of my first orders and was discontinued soon after I got into BPAL. It's one of those magical wonders, in that dragon's blood and civet are "yuck" on me, but Glasya is this beautiful dark incense that doesn't morph. I even put some on today to help me decide, and I still can't decide! *grr*   The other DC's were never tried and I'm not jonesing for any particular one, even though Glitter has a loyal following.   Decision time: I'm ordering Quincey Morris and Purple Phoenix. While Mina Murray sounds nice, it's been compared to Alice and Parlement of Foules and I have bottles of those already. I think I'll be happy with my Glasya imp, as I have a bunch of other BPAL-incensey blends that I including Snake Charmer and Mme. Moriarty and Hellion -- those seem to have an extra "oomph" included.
dawndie

dawndie

2
Squash Soup
 

broke but smellin' good

I'm pretty broke right now which leaves me jonesin' for a little retail therapy. Instead of causing further damage to already bruised wallet, I'm going to do a little advanced planning for my next order which will have to include some Christmas gifts...but also a handful of nice things for me!   Pumpkin Queen (I adore pumpkin but Jack hated me and according to reviews, this isn't at all like Jack. I thought I'd give it a try!) Lick It Again (I'm really not a foodie person but this sounds so yummy, I just have to try it! The thought of smelling like a sugary candy cane definitely has it's allure.) Jacob's Ladder 2006 (This sounds perfectly wonderful although I'm not sure if I want to get this now or later. I suppose it will depend upon my budget at order time.) I want something from the GC but I haven't decided which one yet. I was thinking about getting something appropriate for cold weather but I can't decide yet. I'm thinking Sloth, Black Rose or Anubis. My friend Leslie gets an imp pack but I haven't decided if I want to get her a mix of love potions or the Salon set. Because of my budget, I'd have to split up the Salon set between her and someone else. If I did the love potions set I'd probably do; Lucy's Kiss, Whip, Les Petite Mort, Libertine, Les Bijoux, and Snake Oil. It will be fun. I'll be gift-giving and enabling all in one fell swoop. Glorious!   I was also thinking of using imps as random extras with gifts so I'll have to acquire a few for that purpose. Maybe the Wanderlust with different scents for those interested in various places. Actually I have an idea! I should make a spa package for my cousins based on where they like to go. A Kyoto/Neo-Toyko/Kabuki one for my cousin Mindy (who lived in Japan) with some candles and bath stuff along that theme. All cherry blossoms and pink!   I love Christmas planning!
jessiesquash

jessiesquash

0
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Politics in my state

Since I work around politics, you're going to have to get a bit of it today, but you'll be entertained enough, since I'm not going to go on a rant.   The 3rd Congressional district in my state is basically the western two-thirds of the state, and it can range from typically midwestern farms to very western ranches. (I don't live in that district.) It is also Republican as the day is long, but this guy is running as the Democratic candidate and he might just win. The race is so close that el presidente is actually coming to campain for the Republican candidate this weekend. This district hasn't sent a Democrat to Congress for 40+ years, I believe. There's no incumbent in this race, the retiring Congressman is the ex-football coach. Yes, I'm serious. The major newspaper in the state endorsed the Democrat, something nearly unheard of. This is an entertaining race to observe, and women statewide have been happily watching his commercials. Go to his website and see why: http://www.scottkleeb.com Even though he's a Democrat, he is a Midwestern Demo running in a conservative district, so temper your expectations if you're a blue state Demo.   But I love a good barnburner of a race with a new candidate who is creating excitement and buzz. And I really am talking about it on a political level. A lot of people aren't being so wonkish -- many women talk about him the way I talk about Bob Schneider. I do think he's inordiantely photogenic, although he's not ugly on video. (You can watch his commercials on the website.) And if you look at the photos page, notice all the hysterically giggling women wherever he goes. Some of those women probably haven't squealed like that in years. I think some women have an involuntary physical response to cowboy boots and jeans, worn very, very well. They just can't control themselves. Whatever it takes to get elected, baby! Even if he doesn't win, it's not the last of him. Anyone who can come out of nowhere as a Democrat in a district that usually gives the Republican candidate 80% of the vote isn't going to be held down.   It's stuff like this that makes me remember why I do enjoy politics. And even if you're apolitical, you can just look at the scenery.
valentina

valentina

0
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