dawndie

DH and I have a saying: "Everything comes back to Seinfeld." Name some weird personality quirk or awkward social situation, and "Seinfeld" probably addressed it. On the show there was a competing comedian named Banyan (spelling?) who worshipped Jerry and wanted to be like him. This woman sounds like that -- she mimics what others say because she wants to be liked, like you and the others are liked. Doesn't explain the food-smacking though, eww. No one likes food spraying everywhere

Maybe something called "Drama Queen" or "Emotional Vampire"? I'm getting the image of someone sucking the life force from the air around you when she comes around. What a beat-down to have to deal with

I didn't post after the Carnaval Diabolique update because I wanted to wait for Chrysanthemum Moon to place an order. So now that Chrysanthemum Moon is up: HOLY CRAP! What a great update! I'm truly blown away by the size and scope of CD, and that there are more scents over the next year to look forward to. The art! The descriptions! The potential wonderful smellies! I didn't think I'd like Chrysanthemum Moon, but sure enough I read the description (linking to CD, natch) and decided to go for it. I also ordered bottles of F5 and Mme. Moriarty. CDs I would like to try in upcoming orders: Carnaval Diabolique -- what the heck will opium smoke smell like? Gennivre -- I haven't tried much of the tea blends, and this sounds nice Midnight on the Midway -- sugared incense?? This I gotta try! Xanthe -- this might go on the back-burner just because of all the fruit. I love the fruity blends, but more so when they're paired with something dark or boozy (like Perversion or Bordello) And the GC additions were great! I want to try: Caliban -- ugh, it's been so hot here and I've really been trying to find a nice summery fun blend to wear, as most of my BPAL bottles are dark and brooding. So salty seas, wine and tropical ferns sound great Cockaigne -- milk, honey, sweet cakes and wine? Yes please! Death of the Gravedigger -- snow and soil sound intriguing Les Bijoux -- skin musk and honey? Yum! Lyonesse -- so many favorite ingredients, like vanilla and amber and musk, but with sea moss added? Weird and cool! Port Royal -- see above re: summery scent

Oh, state plates! I've found a couple of good ones at estate sales: a matching set of Kentucky and Tennessee, maybe 1960s. I love souvenirs and state plates are so crazy and great. Some are like, "How many landmarks can we possibly squeeze onto this 10" round space?"

She probably didn't understand what you were talking about re: cost v. accrual accounting, because it wasn't a passionate black v. white issue that she could wrap her brain around. It is hard to be a moderate-anything nowadays *sigh* Any extreme, whether radical or reactionary, is so irritating because there's no thought put into it, it's like talking to a brick wall.

I really want to put together some sort of joke involving Andy Garcia in his Ocean's 11 suit, strappy sandals and a Cuban pedicure yelling "ARGH BLARGH!!" but I'm too hot and ... stupid ... right now ... zzz

OOH, hardwood floors envy! And ocean-y coastline envy! Yay for House of Snark pics! And we've seen more pics of Snarky: Hitler-Bangs Snarky, Snarky Getting Eaten by Giant Tree, Benatar Snarky ...

I've wondered that about Austin City Limits myself -- most of the time it's 2 acts, but are they taped one after the other? Ooh, your order sounds good. Oh! And did you see the description for Les Bijoux: skin musk and honey? As in: SMUT-O-RAMA???

Never underestimate the tunnel vision that some people will have It seems like a few people who don't have much discretionary income (or claim not to, but find the funds for concerts, clothes, etc.) would rather focus the blame on someone else. At one point someone complained that the update posting early was a "bait and switch." Honey, you don't know the meaning of the phrase if you think such a magnificent, exciting update was done solely for the purpose of screwing a few whiners out of $2.50. OK, I feel better. Now back to reading these great descriptions and planning an order!

I know how you feel -- in a society where women are often defined by their uteri, if you decide not to have kids the first question is almost always "Why not?" It's your personal decision, just like your job. I guess it boils down to finding your own path -- if you are fulfilled in your marriage, your job, or your home, you most certainly are not a "slacker."

You have a good memory! Reverend Jim was my favorite. The one bit I could remember was when Alex took Jim to take his driver's test. He's standing at the little counter taking the test and gets stuck, so tries to get Alex to help him: Jim: "Psst! What do you do at a yellow light?" Alex: "Slow down" Jim: "Whaaat dooo yooou dooo at a yellllllow liiiight?" Alex: "Slow Down!" Jim: "Whaaaaaaat dooooooo ... " etc.

We set a record this weekend: we went to four estate sales and didn't buy anything. Which got us debating and deciding what is an estate sale, because 2 of the houses didn't qualify in our opinion. (We pulled these assorted addresses from a list of the local paper's, so estate sales were listed differently than garage sales.) One house was a young family obviously in the process of moving and had all their crap out in the front yard, and you could go into the living room and see the old-timey piano (which was pretty cool, actually), but you couldn't go anywhere else. That is not an estate sale! The other one, after we visited we were creating this whole backstory: stylish anorexic bobblehead mom and her bobblehead daughter wanted to sell ex-husband's stuff (because they got the house and some of his stuff in the divorce), but couldn't muster the carbs to lug the furniture out to the driveway, so they called it an "estate sale" so they didn't have to move from the couch after the filling lettuce leaf they had 3 hours before. Yes, we amuse ourselves It was a few pieces of totally overpriced furniture, and when I asked if they were selling the house they said "no." So it wasn't an estate sale or even a moving sale! Rip-off!! So our new rule is: if there aren't other cars in front, we're not going in. The first place and the last place totally passed that rule; the last place a bunch of cars and had so much stuff, we couldn't even look through it all. Most of it wasn't great, though, and the lady in charge wasn't giving any deals (even thought it was 3:00 on a Sunday) and at one point someone asked about the shoebox full of old postcards and she said they were $1 each! Ripoff!!! The first place was awesome: a local actress from the 1930s who built this beautiful house on a hill in this cool hidden part of town. We were having total Hollywood Hills flashbacks -- the house was seriously beautiful, gorgeous floors and ceilings and archways and staircases. There was almost nothing left to buy, but I was so jazzed to be able to walk through it, it was this great house and they had pictures up of her in her heyday. I left dreamy-eyed That's what I like: seeing a cool old house, that people lived and loved there. I like taking a piece of that back with me -- not like a vampire, but an appreciator.

Silicon Slick D. Flex, representin' Is the "Iced Out Cross Cross" like a double-fantastic version of an Iced Out Cross?

Your dress is beautiful!

You must have looked pretty dolled-up to get such compliments. ArrrOOOOO!

Hey, I just noticed your new name! Cute!

Mmm, I'm a fan of Monsieur Bourdain. With his love of good food and wine, he seems very carnal

Yuck for the crusty heels. But how were the shoes?

It's hard to be peppy and perky when it's brain-meltingly hot outside. Bah!

I went to two different sales this weekend, which is unusual. One was on the way home from work on Friday, and there must have been 15 cars parked in front of this house. I thought, "Wow, this sale should be great!" and went in. Unfortunately not a whole lot was there, but I did get for $25: --a Scooby-Doo lunch box from the '70s (no thermos) --3 boxes of Japanese coil incense Then DH and I went to one today that was in one of our favorite neighborhoods, Hollywood Heights -- yes, the houses are all little 1920s bungalows and I wish we could afford to live there. We got for $3: --a few albums, Mahalia Jackson and a couple of touristy "Songs of Old Mexico" and "Songs of Hawaii" which I picked for the cute front covers --a handful of old 45s of stuff DH liked, like Roger Miller (King of the Road!) and Allan Sherman (Hello Muddah!) --a hurricane glass from Pat O'Brien's bar in New Orleans --a little clay dish with a lid (for salsa or guacamole, I'm thinking ) with Mexican-type designs --a green 4-dish appetizer set from a pottery co. in California, probably 1940s So I probably paid too much at the first one, but made up for it at the second

No problem! I'll definitely keep an eye out for that lunch box. A Quest! DH found the listing for the 2nd one online, so maybe your paper would do that too. I don't have to talk DH into going to estate sales as he likes checking out the old houses -- what condition they're in, the neighborhood and price, etc. We're not looking to move, just nosy

In bottle: light grapefruit Initially on skin: lots of citrus, then here come all the stampeding florals. Look out! I’m not a big florals gal, but I'm not overwhelmed. Half-hour later: amber and honey warm up, hooray! But it’s a tug-of-war with the spicy carnation. In conclusion: ELF and Litha will always be linked in my mind, as they are both sunny summer florals released closely together. Litha has a slight edge as the carnation in ELF amps on me and it's not one of my favorite notes. All in all, a nice warm floral blend.

In bottle: faint bubblegum Initially on skin: I really get the rice wine right away, boozy and sharp. Plus no bubblegum, just a sweet candy smell without being too foody. Mmm, I love the ginger candy action Half-hour later: more green and herby with a little bit of ginger candy. This stays close to the skin. Not too heavy, and really nice for summer.

--I know I’m evil, but I laughed out loud at the title of a thread in Get Personal, “Anyone ADD?” by “capricious.” I don’t know this forum member (who hasn’t logged on since March) and it’s nothing personal, but how funny is that? A word that means “impulsive or unpredictable” is starting a thread about Attention Deficit. Hee! I haven’t read it, but I want to hop into the thread and say, “oh yes, me too, I will be doing something and – ooh! Shiny! That reminds me, I need tinfoil from the store. What were we talking about again?” I’m going to hell. --I’m not an Oprah fan, but now that my work schedule includes working from home, and afternoons are quieter than the mornings, I’ll have it on in the background sometimes. She had a great series last week called the Debt Diet which revealed what I have long suspected: many people are living way beyond their means and using credit to inflate their earnings. They followed 3 families, one of which seemed nice enough (2 schoolteachers), but the other 2 families were flat-out clueless. Seriously, one family ate out for every meal, they never cooked, they didn’t own a toaster or coffeemaker or dishes and ate everything off plastic plates and cups. They had 5 cars for 2 people! So a big part of the series was not just saying “stop spending money” but asking why. At one point one of the women was saying how she didn’t even think about spending money, she just shopped. She didn’t know how much they owed for the second mortgage or credit cards, she just kept it out of her mind. When she was asked, “Why are you absent from your own life?” it was a lightbulb moment. “Oh, so this is my life? It’s not at the mall? It’s not in InStyle or Lucky? It’s not getting the jeans that Jessica’s wearing, or getting my glowing orange MysticTan?” Celebrity culture is nothing new – I have a Photoplay from 1926, and in between movie reviews are “the latest fashions from Paris” so you could presumably throw out all your old clothes and run out to buy the new ones. But it’s so pervasive now. How do we know where Britney is shopping for baby clothes? Because the store manager is calling every news outlet to report it. Why should we buy the new $500 Louis Vuitton bag? Because they sent a free one to Lindsay Lohan to be photographed as she’s buying coffee. So be like Chuck D and don’t believe the hype! Yeah boyeeee!

Yes, circe_blue, that was one of the clueless mothers. I did laugh when the financial advisor made her go into her daughter's room and count bras She had like 26 nice bras from Victoria's Secret. The mom just yelled, "You have 26 bras! You have two boobies!" About a year and a half ago I had my credit card number stolen and used at a trendy jean store. What really floored me was someone paid $160 for a pair of jeans. I felt like adding that to my affidavit to the credit card company: "And I would never pay $160 for a pair of jeans! My wedding dress was $100!"