Christmas Time

Christmas Time

It's that time of year! You know, the one where people get you stuff you don't really like, but they are sweet and lovely people so you pretend to love it, but then have to make the journey to the mall, which feels like a Mecca on its own just so you can return them for things you do want?! Yea, that time of year!

This time I made a few trips and here are the stores that were hit and why I am returning my so-called gifts:

Victoria's Secret: I received their sleep set which consisted of a long shirt and legging-type pants. Here's the problem. I am 5'0. That means anything that is marketed as a "long sleep shirt" ends up at a very awkward length, mainly I look like a child wandering around in the 18th century for Santa to come along. And I don't care who you are, just because it says Victoria's Secret on the front does not make it attractive. Therefore, anything that is marketed as "long" is just not meant for me. So, in short: RETURNED.
Bath sets: This particular bath set had a lotion and about a million sprays in it, none of which was to my liking. I find this particular part of the store abhorrent from the get-go because the nose was not meant to be attacked by thinks marketed as "passion" or "seduction" all at once (or in my opinion never). So unless you know someone who has a specific want for these, don't ever buy them. Bath and Body Works does the same thing, but cheaper and less nose-assaulting. RETURNED.

The Exchange: I instead opted for some silk sleep shorts, which are just VS's fancy girl boxers and I must say I love them! They are soft, silky, don't ride up and come in so many pretty colors. They are pricier than most any kind of boxer but adorable. So I say yay to these! Additionally, I have been on the hunt for the perfect robe. One that was short, didn't scream housewife, but still remained a bit warm and I was surprised to find it here. VS's satin kimono collection is nicely fitted, makes you look cute, gets you to the bathroom at night still a little warm and doesn't make you look seductive or frumpy. So, way to go. It was also relatively cheap (at $42, not bad for VS style) and has a matching slip in all colors, in case seduction is what you are looking for. Another option I was considering is Gap Body's robe collection. They are soft and comfy, but the pockets are huge, and I don't really need pockets when I sleep.

LUSH: Lush and I go waaaaay back. I love their company for so many reasons I cannot imagine not buying something from them purely for the sake of doing so, but they make good stuff. They are eco-friendly in that they do not test on animals, use minimal packaging, and will always tell you exactly what is in all their products. They also really do care about their customers. Example: Since they have such a minimalist attitude when it comes to product production, they do not keep everything bottled in warehouses for years waiting to be sold, therefore things that aren't selling, sell out and cannot always be on hand. Yet, if you voice your opinion it is heard. They developed Retro-LUSH which allows them to make small batches of products we all adore! How fantastic is that?! So here's what's in my basket and do's and don'ts:
Bath Bombs: They are akin to cool parlor tricks. Nice for baths, give off a nice scent, but just plain too pricey for one bath. Also the ones with flowers and salt in it like Fox in the Flowers and Geo-fizz seem like a neat idea until your drain gets clogged and you need to wash your tub. A little less relaxing, when cleaning is the end result of any bath. Same goes for the bath melts.
Bubble Bars: Again, pricey for the bath, but well worth the luxury. The trick is do not use the whole thing per bath. Break it in pieces and hold over the tubwater to get tons of bubbles. Blue Skies and Fluffy clouds is my special favorite turning the water ocean blue and smells lovely. Another is French Kiss, which gives the true scent of lavender in the whole room.
Soap: Now my mother and I were soapmakers for a small stint, of which I still own logs and logs of soap in the basement so it takes a lot for me to buy a bar of any other kind of soap, but with LUSH I made the exception: Queen of Hearts (which is now Retro) is lovely. It smells like a rose garden, and not in the stinky Elizabeth Arden version of a rose garden, but an actual rose, not too frilly not too overpowering. It makes my skin feel nice and soft and I even use on my face as well. Also liked mudflats, but it leaves mud all over the bathtub and doesn't necessarily give you a clean feeling at the end, but did clear up the bumps on my back, however read above to hear my feelings on cleaning the bathtub after such an adventure - not a fan.
Shower Gel: Narcotik is the best invention ever! The smell takes some getting used to, but now I love it. It made my sensitive skin put back into shape. I liked that it was liquid and I even liked the pretty blue color it made my washcloth. Again, this has also gone Retro, but I demand it back and still order it online every chance I get
Hair Stuff: I am distrusting of shampoos and conditioners in bars, so I was nervous to try these. So far, Jungle, while smells lovely is a lot of work and not worth it. I need some TLC for my curly dry locks and this just couldn't do the job. Also trying to work it into my hair was a process and when you are a girl, the less process, the better. I am however, pleasantly surprised with the shampoo bars. I got the soak and float since I have awful dandruff issues, so TBD on how that works out but I tried Karma and it smells lovely, lathered quickly, and left my hair softer than I expected. Considering I didn't expect much from this little guy, I was pleasantly surprised. Still needed a deep conditioning treatment afterward, but I recommend you go try one out. It also helps they are currently on sale and are some of the cheapest things in the store.
Coolin is awful. It didn't help my hair at all. Though it smelled nice, I still needed someone to help yank the knots out of it after using it, which is never the desired result. The Hennas are AWESOME though. Since I believe myself to be a redhead at heart, I love using their henna. I will warn: It is a big mess and takes hours upon hours in the sun to work, but does the trick perfectly. My opinion is: take a sick day, pour the boiling water over the mess. Sit outside in a dirty t-shirt, old towel, and throw it in, put on a cap and sleep the day away. The more time in the sun the redder or richer the color. It takes forever to wash out (at least 3x), but I couldn't be happier with the results.
Face Stuff and the rest: I used to only use baby face, but in the summertime it melts significantly so not a good bang for your buck. Angels is a great exfoliater and smells nice, but all in all their deodorants, shin care and moisturizers are not worth the money and take a lot of prepping, so in my opinion, not really worth it.

I got a sample of the ever expensive Rehab shampoo which I am dying to try out and seeing as it is the most expensive thing on the LUSH menu I will have to check back with that, but all in all, still one of my favorites.

Newest New Resolution

Newest New Resolution

Every year I make the same resolution on new year's, "This year I will give up being a product junkie and not buy anything new unless I run out of it. I will use everything I have and I will only buy something I absolutely need," and every year I break this resolution. Some years I justify by saying, "well, I will only buy them as gifts,"which inevitably leads to me buying one product for someone else, and three for myself. Or some years I say, "well I will only buy products that are eco-friendly," but every year some fancy company comes out with something I feel I must try and cannot give up. So this year, I have decided to embrace my product junkie-ness, and go all out and buy what I want (within reason of course, I am still on student loans), but review them so I can see which products I like, which ones don't work and can help other poor souls who get sucked into clever advertising. So here it is! My newest resolution. I can't promise I'll be adamant, but I can at least promise to be honest. I am a sucker for most any good advertisement ploy especially those that target eco-friendly activities.

Let me first tell you a bit about, well, me. The reasoning for this is simple: products work differently depending on what your type is. I'm not going to get all hippy dippy and say I am an ocean or an earth, but curly-haired and straight haired people are different. Its the separate but equal philosophy, only put to good and proper use.

I am short, 5'0 to be exact, not skinny, but not quite athletically built either. For all intents and purposes I am small, don't really have a butt, but was given very wide hips, and that's all I care to say about that.

Now down to the important stuff: I am fair, irish fair, which means I pretty much burst into flames when sunlight hits me. A few freckles and a few specks of reddish highlights, but for the most part light brown hair. My hair is a bit of a mystery to all. I cannot tell you its true color or shape because of all the years of blow-drying, coloring, and who knows what else I have done to it, but in good times it tends to be wavy/curly, dry, damaged, and frizzy.

And that's me in a product nutshell.

Under the Boardwalk...

Tuesday:
basic breakfast, sat on porch-reading, went to the beach, made chicken parm at night

Wed.:
Donut Day at fractured prune, inside day, porch time, slept

Thursday:
Boardwalk -
Pizza Challenge: Tony's claims the best, Dough Roller def won
Dough Roller: sweet staff, got Pepperoni and mushroom. Mushrooms were kinda bland, but pepperoni was good, good grease and awesome crust
Tonys: too greasy, bad pepperoni, but staff was nice enough to give an extra slide because we would ahve to wait for the cheese

Fried Oreos: Highlight of the trip! Awesomeness. Gooey, comes with 5, covered in powdered sugar, and totally worth every signle of the ten thousand calories...must try the fried cheesecake bites next time

Carmel popcorm controversy: There are about 4-5 places to get popcorn, but I selected Fisher's mainly because it takes up an ENTIRE block on the Boardwalk, but also because when you glance by you realize there are about 30 workers, all busy, a line around the corner, AND they open at 9:30 in the morning. The next point is that this must be a good place if there is a necessity to have this place open and ready to go at 9:30 in the freaking morning!
Result: It was aweomse, gooey, well done caramel and still a little soft. Perfect. And it kept for the whole day.

Down-side: it was expensive, and you couldn't get a tin unless you got the enormous amount.
Next time try the white cheddar

Wockenfuss: Ryan's german chocolate shop
It was pretty good of a chocolate shop seeing as my standards are extremely high for chocolate considering my mom.
What we got:
Swedish jellies were awesome, but its hard to go wrong with those, but the swedish fish are as they should be
Chocolate pieces: average and pretty good considering the candy stores in the area. Chocolate cherry cordials were nothing to write home about, but the chocolate covered honey comb was pretty special and really good: sweet and melted but not too sweet. Another surprise was the chocolate coconut which was awesome and clearly made with real coconut. Also dark chocolate almond bark was really good. Ry said the PB cups were good, but again, must just trust him opinion.
Ryan digs the licorice pieces and the twists, but I'm not an anise fan so I have to just take his word on it.
Bonus: Had a great selection of sugar-free truffles and chocolate for my mom, which was very exciting. TBD how they actually are

Crab shacking: We were actually looking for Coins because all the online reviews stated it was the best of the OC, but it turns out it no longer exists. We think it was turned into Bootys, but couldn't be sure. After 3-4 times driving down the street and 8pm, we gave up and just went to Higgins. I had the softshell crab sandwich, which was a a little disappointing. The sandwich was on plain white bread, the tartar sauce was average and the crab was small. Not worth the price. Ryan got tuna steak which was excellent, a bit spicy and well done. We looked around the crabs which seemed decent in size and the all you can eat seemed like a good idea, but the atmosphere was a little lacking. It could be the hour of the night or the fact we weren't really in the mood to be out, but either way, not the best it could ahve been, but it had the benefit f existing, so it beat Coins, and they had my Bud Light Lime, so couldn't complain.
Next time: Would really like to try Phillips because it has the coolest building and though probably the most expensive choice, seems like it might be worth it. Also, want to try Crabcake Factory USA, on the upper side of town.

Friday:
Went to the pool, had an awesome pina colada and kick-ass cheese fries, and Ryan loved his Goombay smash (though he believes it was watered down)

Made sauteed veggies and hot chicken fingers for dinner. It was perfect.


***********UPDATE!!!**************

Sometimes Life Just Needs a Soundtrack

While reading in bed and basking in the loveliness of not-law, I was gripped with an overwhelming sensation to listen to old Pixies songs and then horror struck: I had absolutely no idea where my ipod was. This may seem like a bit of an over dramatic reaction, however if anyone has ever felt the need to hear a specific song at a specific time, then you know what I am talking about. Now, I claim to be-and very snarkily, I will admit-to be a music snob so it would seem a bit ironic the fact that I have no idea where my ipod was located at this particular instance. The truth is, I have two ipods...ok, the truth is I have three. I know, I know! But the nano is for running, and therefore does not feature soulful or artsy music, thus will not contain my coveted Pixies album, and my mini I may have dropped one or two occassion too many, and it therefore lost its winding-ball, which doesn't matter much since you cannot see through the faceplate anyway. This leaves my last video ipod which contains 29GB of music or roughly enough to last me a song for every moment the characters on LOST have been on the island (this was an accurate reference until that whole time travel scenario warped time and my interest in JJ Abrams' endings). In searching for my ipod I first checked the stereo, but it was not plugged in, so the next logical place I could think to look would be the car. I opened the glove compartment, but instead of finding my ipod I did find 4 very lonely looking, dishelveled cds. I looked at them a bit trying to remember when I decided to keep them in there. I always keep one or two on hand in case I cannot get the blasted ipod converter system to work (if you haven't figured it out already, I'm not a technicalogical person). So I took out the cds and here is what I had on-hand for my emergency music: (1) homemade country mix cd given by an ex-(very ex) boyfriend, (2) Liz Phair's least selling album, but has my favorite cover on the front, (3) Cyndi Lauper's newest attempt at her comeback from last summer which I have listened to a grand total of twice and that was only to be polite, (4) the only listenable cd in the collection which was DeathCab's summer release Narrow Stairs, which I picked up the day it was released because I knew I was going to the concert in a few weeks and I was all jazzed up.

It was a symbol of the summer actually because I ran into one of those old posh cd stores off the main drag in Santa Barbara where the two teenage boys behind the desk look at you like you are ancient and you know nothing of emotions or music unless you can relate the depths of Hoobastank to MCR. I was too jazzed to care about these esoteric youths until I got to the DeathCab section and found it extremely lacking. Normally, in any of these stores they always stock the DeathCab a few rows worth because this is a band both hipsters and normal people who like music with good lyrics can appreciate. On this particular day, in this particular store, of the 12 albums DeathCab has created only a scant 3 were in view and barely a copy of each. However, this was a release day. I looked at the wall and the display that clearly indicated each should be holding the wealth of Narrow Stairs, but all empty. I therefore had to make my way back to the youths and ask, 'what gives?" We then had a detailed 10 min chat about the name, the spelling of DeathCab for Cutie, and the name of the album. Suddenly, in a moment of clarity, I heard it! "Cath..." rang through the speakers of the store bearly audible over the chatterings of the store. "That!" I yelled at the youths, "turn it up!" We all listened for the moment and the Yellow-haired youth understood. "Oh, is this what you are talking about?" he asked as he held up the beautifully colored jewel case. "This is the store's copy. It's not for sale and all our inventory is empty. You'll have to try back again. We get our next shipment in 3 weeks." This was unacceptable. "What will you give me for the store's copy?" I asked, a bit out of line. "Umm...we don't really sell them. They get given away to the employees when they aren't used in the stores anymore." "Well, why don't you let me buy it off the next person who is supposed to get it off the employee list," I asked. A perky haired girl from way under the desk said she was next in line and offerred me the used ticket price of 9.99. I told her sold! The jewel case has a crack in it from its wear around the record store but I took it back, put it in my cd player and rode all the way to the beach with it. I listened to it probably a hundred and one times in the car, on a walk, on the beach, and when the concert came we all knew all the words to every song. It was a phenomenal experience and far outbeats the cds curling up at home in my car.

This trip down memory lane left me with this final revelation: I love cds. I love their look, I understand their process, and I'm sad our culture has such little use for them any longer. Everyone used to be able to hand them over and trade and when you were really edgy put up the front art on your walls, have cd walls arranged by artist or genre. Cds were a major part of growing up and listening to music. This experience is almost completely obliterated in our current culture. For all the good things ipods and itunes and youtube has brought with it, it has killed the romance out of our lives. I remember sitting up all night with my girlfriends coming up with songs about which boys we liked and which we hated and which ones described us today and where we will be further in our lives and it took time and energy to do so. Cds have become so completely outdated, but it is by this labeling that makes me think that this even enhances its romantic appeal. To make a mix cd you had to have the music yourself, you must have to flesh out the meaning of each song and convert it into something newer and purer for another to understand your motives for this stream of movement of music.

I have friends who still do this. Occassionally we give each other life playlists and it is nice, but nothing can beat getting that one special cd with the cover art and labeled songs just for you. They were giving you a part of them and creating a part of you, at least this was the hope. These days are getting fewer and further between. Why don't we do this anymore? Did you know my boyfriend doesn't own cds?! Even if he ends up being the one I want to spend every day with and we create our story, the one piece missing from our story is a soundtrack because we will never have one. I will never get my mix cd signifying love, passion, romance, and intelligence about our relationship. I will never want to give one for fear of giving away too much and so our love will never have a voice or a song. Playlists really can make and break the relationship and people don't realize it. The move away from cds has been a move away from an experience.

I want my cds back. I climbed down to my basement and dug through boxes and finally found one. It had mismatched cds in different jewel cases and showed of many names forgotten, but I grabbed by headphones and had a music lovefest. I spend a while walking around with the spin doctors and thier forgotten careers. Had a glass of wine with Sheryl Crow and Liz Phair because I think those girls are pretty awesome, if only Shryl could be a little less dippy and Phair to like men a little more. I think they can teach each other. Then I rocked out with Beastie Boys and ACDC who were happy enough to come out and be heard. On cd you can almost tell when your favorite part is coming up in the way the cd player winds up to deliver your favorite song. But as a final finale I brought out the reason for the night: The long forgotten Pixies: I put in the Complete "B" Sides and danced around for a bit, but we all know what I really wanted was the holiday song, so I put on Surfer Rosa and blasted it and it felt good and it felt sad, and it just felt.

The next need I had was to fulfill my longing with the Velvet Underground. I had now switch to hard liqour clincking from my glass hitting the scattered wrekage, but this was what I needed; I needed "Heroin." Its soft, but never simple. Its the way any addiction starts out. Its drugs. Its a rush. Its seduction. Its a crush. Its love. Its the way a guy who doesn't know love tells a love story.

But things can never end this intense for a wednesday night. We must switch mediums. Back to the old record player upstairs that I begged mom not to get rid of. I have hundreds of vinyls I will never listen to, but precisely 5 I will always listen to and the number one is the Belle and Sebastian single I got for a dollar in a record shop you would expect to find it in L.A. So after the drinking and emotions and rage and tears, we end with this. Belle and Sebastian on vinyl: I'm a Cuckoo...
I was high from playing shows... / I'm a little lost sheep
waking up this misery... / wondering how things could have been... /
I'd like to see you, but really I should let you settle down / I've got no claims to your crown... /
I was there when you were sad... / I need to get you by my side
There's something wrong with me, I'm a cukoo.......................

and that is how a night should be ended. If I were writing a playlist for you right now, dear listener, that would be the final song of the album with album art drawn from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I still don't know where my ipod is, but my soul is settled. Sometimes life just needs a soundtrack for a little while

No More Hippies

I don't want to be a hippie chick, I really don't. The main reason for this is because this classification truly doesn't exist for 98% of people who get described as such. "Hippie chicks" only have two classifications, (a)flighty, with very little need for thought outside of peace, harmony and happiness, (b) crazed lunatics that try to blow up large corporations because PETA has told them to. I'm actually quite the opposite. I have anxiety about nearly everything and my brain is usually overloaded with thoughts about how the world is a far scarier place than the average person thinks it is, plus I am way too lazy to ever concoct a plan to blow up anything. Therefore, I sit far outside of both of these "Hippie chick" mediums. So I find myself having the spend a significant period of my existence trying to explain to people I just meet that I am in no way inclined to act in either of these vanes mainly because someone has described me to them as a hippie chick. Yes, I like the idea of the world being in harmony. Yes, I believe that watching cherry blossoms on a windy day is a transcendental experience. Yes, I like tie-dye. However, my questions is not what makes these types of things hippie-esque, but why does the average person not like them.

I've heard people describe the way someone else thinks as, "she likes puppy dogs and rainbows," and the person they are speaking to nods his head in recognition. Does this mean the descriptor does NOT like puppy dogs and/or rainbows? Does it mean this person cannot comprehend ideas more complex than that of a puppy dog or a rainbow? If so, this is highly misguided because I actually think rainbows take up a good deal of complex thought.

All I'm saying is that we all tend to be too judgmental with each other, especially with people who tend to have a positive outlook on life, mainly because it is a lot easier to make depression look intellectual than it is to make happiness look as such. I prefer the latter. I would also prefer that on first impression, people would not assume because I want the world to be better I have nothing valuable to add to a conversation. I'm not a hippie chick. If anything, I'm a wannabe.

The Begininng of the End...of Days=My Pho-Blog

The Writing Part:
It seems inevitable that I would resort to the blogosphere. I love to write, I love to read, I avoid doing work at all costs, and I spend far too much time on the computer reading others' blogs, so why wouldn't I? However, I really hoped this day would not come. First of all, anyone can find this, and in a weak moment I could completely see myself going on a rant about some politician's bad move or boyfriend's insensitive comment, and now will forever have to pay by never being elected into some fictitious office appointment or have to apologize a million and one times to boyfriend for posting his words for all of the universe to read (and depending on how mean said boyfriend's comment was, have to make him dinner every night of the week for naming him specifically and calling him a jerkface). I wouldn't put it past myself. Yet, the time has come that I have decided I must get back on the horse (or trolley if you wish) and face my fear of writing. Ever since the disaster of my honors thesis and withdrawl from the Ph.D program, I have been scared to write for the public eye. I love to read and love to edit other's work, but am terrified of criticism of my own. Yet, I have been frightened and avoiding for far too long. I have spent the last few years avoiding what I love and what I want to do because I was too frightened to find out what it was or if I was any good at it (and it has lead me to this god-forsaken degree, so, many mistakes have resulted from this fear). This is my baby step back into the literary/writing world, and it really is all about the baby steps.

The Internet Part:
Technology is a dangerous, dangerous thing and for all of the time I spend on it, I still hate it. It has degraded our ability to communicate with one another, and caused numerous people to join fictitious worlds in order to escape the reality of life. Now, I am all for escaping the reality of life in certain ways, like books, movies, and chocolate, however this internet world is so easy to get sucked up into that some people do not come out. Not to mention man's steadily decreasing ability to spell or use grammar correctly (who needs to with Word correcting all of our little mistakes?!). Yet, it can do wonderous things to bring people together from across timezones and continents and connect, which is amazing when you really stop to think about it. So I struggle with the concept of using the internet as the medium of choice for my voice.

I have a close friend that truly believes that the End of Days is coming (hopefully, he doesn't think soon because that would be kind of creepy), and the machines will be taking over everything. I want to believe that technology is just a fad and that future generations will realize how far away we have gotten from the written word and communication between each other that we will go back to the days of hand written letters and gold embossed seals. Neither seems likely in the near future, but I cannot help but feeling like I am part of the problem by putting my thoughts and feelings out in the world here, rather than calling a friend or writing in my book. But here lies an obvious convenience and opportunity I can no longer ignore.

Therefore, I kind of see this blog as not an end to my beautifully written-in scrapbooks under my bed, but as an expanse to it. In physical writing, you must carefully choose each word and craft it as you go, but this is my stream-of-conscious, Jack Kerouac, need-to-vent-so-I-don't-lose-sight-of-the-big-picture-while-struggling-through-this-awful-degree-type blog. Here, I seek to be able to lose myself and be honest for tiny bit of the day, while trying to reconnect with myself. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the ride with me.