darkitysnark

That's 'cause the mosquitoes ate them. There's a phenomena that only happens in a few places on the planet where the lightningbugs will blink in sync. One of those places was about a day trip away from us Back East in the Western NC/Eastern TN mountains. We didn't get a chance to see it, unfortunately. I'm wearing a sweater today. Seems like we got a teaser for summer about a month ago (90 degree weather!) and have since plunged back into a soggy, overcast Spring. My old measurement for when it is Officially Summer around here? When my kneecaps come out of hiding. But I'm on a supah pale kick lately (plus again with the suddenly brrr! weather), so maybe I should revise to "when my toes come out of hiding".

Chez Snark is evolving. Unfortunately, Snarky has been a bit slack about documenting the evolution. Here are some older pics to bring everyone up to speed: They didn't have a working shower for almost a week while the subfloor was replaced (and then the looong wait for the Asian Tiger). A week! The original color scheme for the bathroom: white sink, white toilet, white shower surround, black tub, pale pale blue walls. Bleah. Snarky was oddly fond of the vaguely gothic tub, but the chips and dents had to go. With the door put back in place, this is the best "after" shot of the tub Snarky could manage. Whitey white white white! The Snarks employed the local Miracle Method franchise and highly recommend them to everyone. One big caveat: prepare to endure at least three days of intense chemical stench. Another shot of the itty bitty bathroom. This is supposed to be a memo holder, but has become the Snarks' precarious-yet-cheeky soap holder. The Mister decided to sponge opaque copper paint over the glowing firelight in the exercise room. The experiment has since been dubbed a bit of a dud, but The Mister had a fabulous mani for about a week. The Snarks' real estate agent gave them a housewarming gift. Instead of a basket 'o goodies they got a treasure chest! Guess who snapped it up for her own nefarious purposes? Also of note: the crazy fuschia/pink ante-room is s-l-o-w-l-y evolving into a half eggplant purple, half light spring green room. The spring green is mostly done (and they even managed to hang artwork after Snarky hulked out and smashed all of the glass in the frame) but the purple will require an astonishing third coat to reach their preferred level of opacity. After that, (and a little more purple-ing of the hallway on the first floor) the Snarks are Taking a Break with the Painting, Already.

Ah... but then where would I utilize all those LUSH bath bombs I've got hoarded away? It was a tough choice, but I went with a more conventional separate tub/toilet situation. We've had bathrooms in the past that were almost that tight. You could basically reach the sink and the tub whilst perched on the throne. With a little stretching (and crazily talented toes) you could probably open and close the door too.

It happens. Sometimes you're the monster in the cage, and sometimes your the kid with the pointy stick. I think you made a clean apology (no qualifiers and no excuses) and whatever else happens is because of everyone else's monster/stick issues. Some sort of drama is going to flare up in the retail threads about similar companies just because of the topic and audience involved. We are all here, after all, because of a more-than-passing affection for perfume oils, right? PS caught your comment on the Spring Switch Witch thread. Gave me a warm fuzzie.

This was a generous frimp from The Perfumed Ferret. I'd put my standard jasmine disclaimer on here, but over time and through various circumstances (mostly frimps from the lab, but also other generous forumites) my jasmine prejudice has been worn down to a tender little nub. I'm just not getting the "meat flower" scent I used to. Strange how that all works. Having said all that AMGP starts out all jasmine, as all jasmine blends do on my skin. Perhaps sensing that this would happen, I backed off on my application... or maybe it's just the nature of this blend, but AMGP is extremely subtle and gentle. I'm getting almost no throw on it now (about four hours later) I do get the slightest hint of the lemon peel and sage wafting up from my neck, a very slight tinge. This is just about the most lovely lemon of the lab's I've ever had. Most lemon comes off as Pledge for me, so this is a huge accomplishment. Maybe "peel" is the way to go for me. Close to the skin the jasmine is all but gone. In its place is a creamy, summery scent that I'm guessing is the sandalwood and musk (which are always lovely on my skin, but usually not this... diaphonous?). This is not at all anything I would have picked for myself, but I'm very glad it found its way to me (thanks again, PF!). The "aftertaste" is very similar to another BPAL blend I tried very early in my BPALing, but I can't quite remember which one. Possibly Sudha Segara (less Pledgy) or Queen of Sheba (less sultry).

S'OK. Breathing is good. Tummy rubs are even better.

No rest for the wicked. While the paint is... curing, the Snarks will be playing around in the dirt and trying to destroy the monster curly willow overtaking the front yard. Odd that for someone with a Very Black Thumb, Snarky is a horrible tree-killer.

Well you know. Sometimes you've gotta... stretch it out... to fit... and. Oh man, I just went to a dirty, naughty place.

A generous gimp from my Spring Swith Witch lexile! Fruit and I have a very hit-and-miss relationship. While grapefruits and blood oranges get along well with my skin (meaning they smell like they ought), currants and lemons become cloyingly artificial/medicinal/yuck. Luckily, this particular blend of a bazillion fruits seems to be all pluses! This is beautifully blended. My nose isn't educated enough to pick out the lunar base blend, but it did manage to snag onto a fresh, juicy cantaloupe during the wet/drydown period. This is incredibly sweet, but not sugary sweet like candy. This is a natural, fruity sweet. There's a bit of the Juicy Fruit gum thing going here, and a bit of the Flintstones Daily Vitamins, but not enough to get cloying or medicinal. This is a great nostalgic blend that doesn't tie in to any particular memories of my own, but seems to feel like it should evoke some long-past summer night anyway. Lovely.

Online she posted words 'bout underwear. She smells of O and Smut - from toes to hair. And on the BPAL boards her kindred find: The Phaaaaaan-tom of the Phah-ha-allus is here inside our mind(s)! Er... not so good a rhyme... s'the best I could do on short notice!

I've never been much into the Lunacy oils before (Though keep in mind I was also "not much into" any LE's at all and now I own... four of them. Heh.) but HGM really, really tempted me. Alas I resisted. But I can't wait to start reading the reviews! Madrid keeps coming back to me as a frimp or a swap... I think the smelly fates are trying to tell me something.

Somehow my mental image of your front porch didn't involve a 12 foot bench... but OK, reconfiguring... and there. Aaaaw. Puddy has a whole "room" to herself, eh? I'm with minilux on hoping for a "...and then we all fell in love" happy ending. Either way, I know that Puddy is one lucky kitty to have been attracted to your happy animal karmic aura. Oh, and dunno about you, but The Mister and I are decidedly anti-Heat (really, we're just anti-Shaq) so we enjoyed the game last night. Alright, that's a lie, he enjoyed the game, I enjoyed the Tony's.

Aw! Wonderful story! Minilux's guinea fowl story reminds me of a mystery bird that took up residence one night on our side stoop. It was a large, roundish, grey thing with a tiny quailish head that we ID'd as some sort of mourning dove. It was just hanging out on the stoop. We cooed at it a couple times and it actually came closer. We used the front door to leave and it stayed put even as we warmed up the car and drove off. Haven't seen him since, but there was evidence of his being up there about a week later. Valentina, you really have a way with animals!

The Snarks are what you could call DINKs (Double Income, No Kids - Snarky just learned of this acronym last week because she is culturally out of it). They aren't wealthy, nor are they well paid, but they are comfortable and able to indulge in small luxuries like restaurant dining when they want and the occasional pair of new (but sensible!) shoes. They know they are lucky to have managed their previous investments well enough to be in their current house (which they love just a little more each day even with all the blemishes that every old house has). Though she hasn't been completely willy-nilly about their post-real estate orgy, Snarky has been feeling like the other shoe must drop from their recent "fixin'/preppin' the house for total habitation" purchases. And that shoe got dropped yesterday over the phone with The Mister. He wants to give notice at his current job. He plans to have his last day be the Friday before the Labor Day weekend. He won't start looking for another job until about a month before his last day. Snarky knows the contributing factors to this major decision are not flippant ones, but she can't help but feel a bit of panic, a bit like the rug was pulled out from underneath her feet. He hasn't been happy in that job almost from the beginning. He has been dealing with depression and poor health exacerbated by the high and constant stress. At one point last night he turned to her and said "And if a year from now, if we are both in jobs we really love but that don't pay as much, is it that much of a loss if we can't keep this house?" And Snarky was torn. She wants him to find his place in the world, she does. She would even like to find out exactly what she should be when she grows up. But this house... this house is already so special to her. She'd like to have her cake and eat it too. Snarky has been taking pictures like a madwoman, but instead of downloading and formatting, her evenings have been taken up with weeding and painting. She hopes to give you updates soon on the continuing evolution of ChezSnark. There's been hardwood floor refinishing, tub resurfacing, Asian Tigering, and even more painting of retina-searing hues. She just hopes she won't be covering all of this up with eggshell in a year's time.

Antimony, all Snarky can say is she's glad you are applying your giant egg brain for good rather than evil. If the actuary thing ever becomes tiresome for you (and she really doubts it, you are one of the few people she knows who has a concrete Plan) you've got a promising career in Life Coaching. The Mister and she are occupational magpies (Ooh! Shiny!) and are just beginning to make Plans on where they really want to be. So much of their life together up until now has been getting through one crisis or another. This is the first time Snarky has really felt like they are settling down into something more... solid. Something with a future. Thank you for making such salient points and asking exactly the questions they need to be asking themselves.

I bet he says that to all the girls! And if he catches them looking at another guy's package, he points at himself and says "Scoreboard!" Oh no they DI-IN'T! Y'all so totally, totally did. :snicker: I feel so unclean now, having such thoughts about the VEEP.

One of the first nights in our old house back East The Mister had to get a stunned bat out of our bathroom. He used the same box/piece of cardboard trick to get it out except he was so freaked that by the time he made it to the front yard he just sort of threw everything out into the night. And were was I during all this drama? Cowering under the covers.

I'm really digging (har dee har har) your progress pics! I have a black thumb and have just planted some tomatoes and basil. If they don't make it, I'll at least be able to garden vicariously through you. That hanging tomato plant is growing like crazy! Is it supposed to eventually droop down at all, or will it continue to branch upwards? I am a little distracted by the "vegetable" tag in the strawberry pot. I know ladybugs are supposed to eat aphids, but I have no idea how one would wrangle them to stay around the roses. (Tiny little leashes?)

Snarky was feeling less shaky this morning after an evening of birthday celebrations and trough eating, but y'all responses really cleared the lingering ick. She feels... buoyed. Snarky believes this too, mostly. It's that little panicky rabbit part (very closely related to the manic monkey brain part... they might even share some synapses) that sometimes spontaneously screeches during slow moments. She just needs to figure out how to... pet? The rabbit? Feed it? The metaphor is unraveling quickly. Snarky suspects it's his concern of looking less-than-attractive to future employers by saying right off the bat: "I can't start work until mid-September". He picked the two weeks following Labor Day Weekend as his possible gap of employment because Snarky's parents are coming to town at the end of August, and then the Snarks will join them for a cruise (in the heart of hurricane season) mid-September. He feels obligated to give his current workplace a long notice in order to give them time to prepare for and train his replacement. Snarky thinks he's being a bit too generous with his time committing to up to a three month notice, but he seemed pretty set on it at the time. Oh, and "suburban cream" is not only apropos, but also a bit... nefarious sounding. Oh! How 'bout a MINK (mono-income?) Or SLINK (Singly-Lucred Income... OK, that was a stretch. But c'mon, SLINK!) Wow (re: the stretches of your Mister's unemployment). Kudos to y'all for pulling through a tough and unsure time. Much like her ideas of how she should have gone through school (HS diploma, Bachelors, Master's, and PhD in one uninterrupted stream of academic immersion), Snarky's idea's of being in the working world have made dramatic shifts over the years. Some of her most rewarding work has been as a temp and/or contractor. She knows that The Mister will work with her to meet high-priority expenses no matter what their future financial situation and hopes to acheive the same ruthless pragmatism as yours that might be needed. Having said all this, The Mister came away from his various birthday celebrations last night very torn. His co-workers took him out to a local brew pub. I met him there and we eventually ended up back at his workplace where his boss's boss ushered us inside to sample some finger foods set up for one of their many "seduce the designers" events (another aspect of his current company caters to high-end housing). One of his co-workers even baked him a huge carrot cake! Last night he confessed to Snarky that he feels very torn about deciding to give notice now. He truly enjoys the people with whom he works. He knows how hard it is to find a department that meshes as well as this one does (even after a fairly dispruptive merger with another company). Snarky assured him that she still stood by whatever he decides to do, but also pointed out that he might want to go back to his doctor to try another anti-depressant (the last one worked to alleviate work-related anxiety, but broke him out in hives). She reasoned that no matter how much longer he decided to stay at his current job, this kind of medical therapy would help with the constant, suffocating stress that has been souring his work week. She doesn't think a Magic Pill will make it all go away. But maybe it will help him to see his situation with a more balanced perspective. Again, thank you all for your support and concern. Even if the worst case scenario were to happen, Snarky knows they will be able to make a home and a life wherever their little ship gets tossed.

Courtesy of sookster's Aerosmith contest \m/ (you ROCK!). Jasmine jasmine jasmine jasmine JASMINE! Like most blends that contain jasmine, my skin seems to suck up all the other parts of the blend and just throw back jasmine with great force. But this jasmine, unlike the others I've tried, doesn't go meaty on me (thank goodness). I'm assuming that the juniper and rose geranium play a tempering sort of supporting role here. I can't really pick them up, but I'm also not trying to run away from my own wrists so something is working here. This is a great lush summer scent. I want to give it a couple more tries to see if I can coax the other two kids out to play. Funny how the lab takes everything I though I hated (rose, jasmine, pathouli) and turns them into if not grand loves, then at least lovely daliances.

Very chilling, indeed! I remember feeling the same way when they started putting televisions with store-specific programming up in Wal-Mart (I was living in the South at the time and Wally World was all we had). I think my exact thoughts were "Haven't you already trapped us enough already?!" There's a main drag in Vancouver, WA that has traffic surveilence cameras not just at every traffic light, but every single street lamp. I have no idea why the coverage is so... redundant. I mean, it seems that cameras placed that closely together would pretty much give you a seamless shot of every single inch of that road way. Why?

Leave it to the actuaries to come up with a way to self-assess after an exam. I'm cautiously hopeful for ya. Aw heck, who am I kidding, you got this!

Al-Shairan A wonderful gimp from Valentina! Me + clove = a deep and abiding love Me + patchouli = casual, sometimes hostile acquaintances Me + fruit = sometimes it's pull-my-pigtails like me like me, and sometimes they just wanna pull my pigtails Me + incense = the love that dare not speak its name (while clove is around, because clove can get kinda jealous) So add that all up and you get a real jumble. This is heavy and sweet but also a bit light and soapy, and the sweetness is grounded (and sometimes ground out) by incense and pathouli. I really can't make my mind up about this one. It's both compelling and repelling all at once. I can say with certainty that this is a scent best worn by me in cooler months, so I'm gonna let this one age a bit and save it for either an upcoming cool night (we still get those around here) or next fall. This is probably one of the more complicated blends I've worn in a while.

I've been wracking my brain trying to remember what the "arghblarghs" are.. and am coming up with nil. But I do have a great, fuming, sexy MentalAndy stomping around in my head now, arms akimbo, hair all slicked back-yet-becoming-disheveled, going: "ARGHBLARGH! ARGHBLARGH!" The first time I became aware of Mr. Pitt was when he was in cohoots with La Paltrow... and they sort of looked like twins. So I see him as a sort of jawey-yet-femme emo boi wanely mugging for the paparazzi. I like 'em tall dark and handsome, m'self. (Though at 5'2"-and-change, just about anyone is "tall" in my book.)

Valentina recently asked about favorite romantic movies and Snarky, as is her MO, twisted it all back to the tummy. She suspects this close association between heart and hunger is genetic as her entire family has spent a combined gazillion hours of their most memorable moments either consuming, making, or planning meals. As per her comment on Valentina's blog, Snarky's all time favorite "it's all about the food" movie is "Tampopo". This is a classic of not only modern Japanese cinema, but of all foodie cinema the world over. It is a collection of short stories concerning various people and their obsessions with food. There's a main story involving a John Wayne-esque ramen-loving trucker (I kid you not) and a struggling noodle shop widow. This was the first movie that opened my eyes to food as love-play (and no, I hadn't seen "9 1/2 Weeks" yet) and sparked my life-long romance with teh ramen noodles . This just says everything Snarky wants to say about how important food is in her life. Other movies that come to mind are "Like Water for Chocolate" (Snarky still wants to make some of the recipes in the book), "Babette's Feast", "Big Night", and "Eat Drink Man Woman". She does not count that one with Penelope Cruz ("Woman on Top"?), because it was just. Not. Good. Bleah. So much wasted potential. Maybe it was because the "rival suitor" was the same actor from that meh sitcom "Good Morning Miami", also he played the optomotrist Miranda faked orgasms with on "Sex in the City". What are your favorite foodie movies? Today, thanks to Valentina, Snarky smells of Al-Shairan.