Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Lips

I was talking to an acquaintance over the weekend and we started talking about makeup, specifically lipstick. Well, I love makeup. I love all of it-bath products, makeup, perfume-the works. I always have ever since I was a kid.

We started talking about the different lipsticks we have worn and I was thinking how I don't wear lipstick at work anymore. I still wear eye makeup to work, but I stopped wearing lipstick at work quite a few years ago. Part of it has to do with the fact that I hate work and don't care what I look like all that much when I am there. I started thinking about how much I loathe it here and wondered why the feeling is so visceral. I really think it has to do with the fact that I am surrounded by a bunch of racially retarded, common folk. Yes, most of these people are educated, but education can still only do so much. Their true low-class, common selves shines through. For a long time I thought it was just me, but I talked to some of the other women of color here, and they feel the same way that I do. We are working in/on one big plantation.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the lipstick. I do wear lipstick on the weekends. I have been wearing M.A.C.'s Twig lipstick for years. I just looked at Twig on their site and the color is not that dark in the tube. I have been searching for a red lipstick that I can wear, but I have so much trouble with red. It tends to draw on me, and that's almost every brand I have tried. Even when I tried a lip pencil-the red lipstick still wasn't write.

These days I am a fan of lip balms or light lip glosses. Here are the ones that I use: Smith's Rosebud Salve. I love how this is still made by the Smith family and I also love the product. It gives a subtle hint of pink to your lips. It is also great on paper cuts and abrasions. Actually I like Bag Balm for paper cuts. I have a cute little tin that I keep in my desk at work. A really great product.

Kiehl's Lip Balm #1 is also great. I have been using this since it first came out and I still always have a tube of Cherry Chapstick in my purse. The newest lip balm to join my repertoir is C.O. Bigelow's Mentha Lip Shine. It's infused with peppermint so you get that cool refreshing feeling plus a bit of shine. Very nice.

A cute sight that has oodles of lip balms and glosses is Lipmedic. Some of the other lip balm products that I have tried are Burt's Bee's and some of the different W.S. Badger products. These can be found on the Lipmedic site.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Trivia and Sites

I came across two interesting (at least I thought so) trivia tidbits.

People who collect thimbles are digatabulists.

The late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh worked at the Carlton Hotel in London in 1914 as an assistant pastry chef. He also worked for a brief time at Boston's Parker House Hotel. I wonder if he had anything to do with Parker House Rolls.

Now to the sites.

Last year the incredible Encyclopedia of Chicago was published. Now a searchable companion site has been developed. Lush is the word to describe this site. Hours and hours of fun.

Vegbay is an auction site very much like eBay, but it's for the vegetarian/vegan community. Take a look-very cool.

I've never been much of a cat person. I like them, but I'd never have one. For one thing, I'm allergic. For another they just seem to be a bit too independent for me. There's a newish breed of cat called the Savannah Cat. Apparently a woman bred an African Serval Cat and a domestic cat and Voila-Savannah Cat. When I first saw the Savannah Cat I thought it was an ocelot. I always have an odd feelings about these wild/domestic mixes. I know that there's always a big hoopla about the Wolf/Dog hybrids, and of course there's lots of reasons for those concerns. I just wonder how long it will be until some useless celebutant will be strutting around with one of these Savannah Cats stuffed up under her armpit.

Lastly check out Powertrips. A public broadcasting team, along with journalism graduate students, researched all the privately sponsored trips taken by members of the House and Senate since 2000. They discovered that lobbyists and other private groups spent over $14 million to fly our congresspersons around the world. Look up your own reps to see who's paying their airfare.
Must be nice to have someone else pick up the tab for spa treatments.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Herbal Flash Cards


Herbal Flash Cards Posted by Hello. I have been trying to learn the identification of trees, flowers, birds, etc. for years. I had always said there needs to be some sort of flower flash cards. Many years ago I had even made my own flower flash cards. I cut out flower images from seed catalogs, etc and then would paste them to index cards. I would then write the name of the flower and a simple narrative about the flower.FLOWER FLASH CARDS. I started to get overwhelmed because let's face it; there's a bazillion different types of flowers. I ended up getting discouraged and chucked the lot away. So you can see my amazement when I saw these herbal identification cards in a store. Hmmmm!!!


Bop It Posted by Hello. I spent a ridiculous portion of my weekend playing Bop It Extreme. Now, I have never been overly dextrous, but I thought I would at least be able to do this. It's fun, but I SUCK!!!

Folks, you will have to excuse my clumsy attempts at posting images. Hopefully I will soon get the hang of it.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Things I've Learned Lately

I have learned that perhaps it is not a good idea to attempt to do the Six Flags Dancing Man's dance on carpet-OUCH!!

I have learned that there is an amazing man named George Vlosich that does amazing art work on Etch-A-Sketches. Makes me want to run out and purchase and Etch-A-Sketch and give it a try.

I've learned that Kuwati women are not allowed to vote. Grrr!!!!

I've learned that there is an annoying Choose Life license plate on the scene and that 10 states have these plates. The Ohio ACLU is suing because $20.00 of the $30.00 price tag will go to anti-choice organizations. Of course Ohio is not offering Choice license plates for purchase.

I've learned that the British conglomerate Nestle Rowntree has come out with a annoying sexist candy bar.

All 3 of the above items are via Feministing.

I've learned about my linguistic profile:
60% General American English
15% Dixie
15% Yankee
5% Midwestern
5% Upper Midwestern

I can't tell you how disturbed I am about the 15% Dixie. Yikes!!! I've been living below the Mason-Dixon line too,too long.
Find out about yours

I've learned that there are some really cool things that a crafy person can do with old card catalog cards. Check this out.

I've learned that there is a company that sells tiny house kits. Love the Concord Plan.

I've learned that there is a man named Rusty White who has a blog devoted to entertainment industry deaths. His column is on the Entertainment Insiders site. It is quite extensive and a trivia lovers dream. Now most media will state when someone like Marlon Brando dies or Katherine Hepburn. This guy has obituaries on people like Arthur Trugman. Who was Arthur Trugman? Arthur Trugman(d. 11/11/2003) was a graphic artist for NBC. He also was the person who painted the funny comments on Goldie Hawn and Judy Carne on Laugh In. (You know, when they were doing the Watusi in their bikinis). He also covers industry animals like Keiko, the killer whale in the Free Willy movie. Keiko was 27 years old when he died of pneumonia in Norway, December 13, 2003. The author of this extensive site also included an obit for the Concorde-Last Commercial Flight October 24, 2003.

I've learned that yes, you can make a fire from a can of coke and a chocolate bar. Heaven knows,in my effort to consume as much sugar as possible I would prefer to devour both of those items, but it's good to know that they are multi-purpose items.

It's Cinco de Mayo. How I wish I were spending the day sipping on Margaritas and listening to Mariachi music. Ahh!!! Here are a few Cinco de Mayo festivities.

That is all for now.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Grab a Book....

This is via Wish Jar Journal

A new book meme is circulating and its rules are these:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.


Okay. Here's my sentence:

"They're giant turtle-looking critters, with marshmallow and caramel in the center and peanuts scattered on top"-Steve Almond, (Candy Freak}

Whining and Tupelo Honey

Before I even start on my whining session I will state these things:

I know that things could be worse.

I know that every woman has to go through this.

I know that it's just a natural part of life.


Those things being said-I AM SICK, SICK, SICK of going through the FREAKIN' CHANGE OF LIFE. I am sick of the embarassing hot flashes, I am sick of the night sweats, the weight gain, the never feeling like yourself. Most of all I am sick to the point of daily tears of not having my memory or my words.

Even though I am not a "people person" I still had the ability to carry on a decent conversation with people. I love words and I had the ability to use them. I also had an excellent memory and never had to spend my time searching, searching, searching my brain for the correct words. And this whole process just makes me a nervous wreck. And this has been going on for 7 years. 7 freakin' years. And to add insult to injury for the past year or so I've become a repeater. My girlfriend told me this was one of her mothers problems when she was going through the "change". She would say something and then minutes later say the exact same thing. I didn't even realize I was doing this until I caught myself one day. I asked my sweetie if he noticed this annoyance and he said that he noticed it, but I don't do it all the time. Tactful man that one.

Perhaps if I had chosen Hormone Replacement Therapy(HRT) as a way to deal with this I would be better off. I wouldn't have turned into a non-remembering, sweaty, repeating frump. I would be like I used to be. Older, but not like this. Aging gracefully-I'm raging gracefully. I think aging gracefully is for women who have a lot of disposable income and can spend their time going from doctor to doctor, spa to spa. Unfortunately I am not one of those women.

I guess I am finished ranting. It's not going to change anything that's for sure. Do I feel better. Maybe a teeny, tiny bit.

Now to lighter subjects.

I started watching Veronica Mars late in the season. And now I am a huge fan. It's actually the only show that I really look forward to watching. (I still like Gilmore Girls, but I actually am getting a bit bored with it). Now I understand that Warner will be releasing a DVD of the first season. There had been some media scuttlebutt that they weren't, but now it appears that they are. The wonderful TV SHows on DVD has the skinny.

I love words. One facet of words that I love are names. I have a Interesting Place Names list and I have noticed that quite a few of the list entries are from the state of Florida. Now of course we all know how fun it is to say Tallahassee, but what about Wewahitchka. Such mellifluousness. And what may you ask is Wewahitchka's claim to fame. Why it's the Tupelo Honey Capital of the World.

Wewahitchka is located in the handle of the "panhandle" of Florida and is the only place in the world where tupelo honey is produced commercially.

Tupelo honey is so rare that it is state-certified.
This light, golden amber honey takes its characteristics from the tupelo tree's blossoms. This honey is the only honey that won't crystallize naturally. I wonder if this means that after you use the honey a few times you will be able to actually open the jar without popping some blood vessels. This honey also possesses a high laevulose, low dextrose ratio that makes it a sweetener that diabetics can use. Uh huh. Anywho, the Wewahitchkans host an annual festival to celebrate this "liquid gold".

I found out about tupelo honey and Wewahitchka in the latest issue of Grit. My family subscribed to Grit when I was growing up. It's changed quite a bit since then, but it still has these cute, quirky stories that I love, generally about people living authentic lives. Oh, how I envy them.