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Adventures in Swapping

I think I realized why this recent swaplifting has me so more upset than the first one did. I think it's because I lost a unique bottle in this swap, whereas I'd just paid Mistress Tera for the bottle and decants the first time it happened. But this time... My Chaos Theory is just GONE. I can't swap for it again. There isn't anymore of it. It was one of a kind, and it was mine, and... yeah. It's not anymore. And I don't have anything to show for it. I'm thinking of sending them both Christmas cards (or holiday cards, I guess) and asking politely for a refund of what I gave them in it, but then I just get too angry and don't even want to deal with it. I think I might sell my bottles from here on out. Hoping for the best is just wearing on me. Of course, I won't. I'm too addicted to swapping. Here's the thing, though- I can't even say that I'll just limit it to reliable swappers, because both of these people were reliable prior to swapping with me. WTF? Please, please, stop choosing the time that I'm swapping with you to wig out and leave everyone hanging. I think I included frimps in with the CT.

December 8, 2006

#4 - Bliss

A shot of pure, self-indulgent euphoria! A scent that is very, very wicked in its own way: the serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate. (GC - Bewitching Brews) Imp: Creamy milk chocolate. Wet: Ack! That sickening smell of too much melted bittersweet chocolate. It's briefly overpowering but I'm giving it a little time to mellow. Dry: It got a little better. I have this cocoa butter lotion from Jergens or some other Walgreens brand, and it smells exactly like Bliss once it's mellowed. It's nice, and I'll have to see if my boyfiend stays true to his word by not keeping his teeth off tasty-smelling me. Verdict?: Imp only. I won't wear it often enough to warrant a bottle.

December 7, 2006

#3 - House of Mirrors

Antique amber frames a series of distorted, eternally warping clear crystal and glass notes. (LE - Carnival Noir) I got a 5mL of this from happygophucky in a fairly unbalanced swap (I definitely came out ahead!) because she's unable to wear aquatic scents due to asthma. It found a good home! Bottle: Crystalline and a hint of citrus. Wet & Dry: I initially feared the amber note, but it's gorgeous and soft. The crystal notes remind me of the ozone I love in Lightning. Drydown is quick, but I get wafts of it all day and don't feel the need to reapply. Verdict: This one stays on my shelf for when I'm not wearing rose blends.

December 7, 2006

#2 - Two, Five & Seven

A huge bouquet of squished rose petals: Bulgarian rose, Somalian rose, Turkish rose, Damascus rose, red and white rose, tea rose, wine rose, shrub roses, rose, rose, rose… …and just an itty bitty bit of green grass. (GC - Mad Tea Party) I can already tell I'm addicted to rose scents. Two, Five & Seven was one of the first imps I ordered from BPAL almost a year ago. Imp: Roses. Wet: Roses. Dry: Roses. I love this. It's not too cloying, and the drydown leaves the roses smelling sweet - not like the potpourri in your grandmother's closet. Has great throw and wear - I usually repply once during the day just because I like being surrounded by the scent. Verdict?: Bottle! Need! More! Roses!

December 7, 2006

#1 - Alice

Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot. (GC - Mad Tea Party) I got this because I love carnations and roses, and wanted to like the honey notes (though the SN of Honey goes rancid on me). Imp: Lightly floral, threatening to go powdery. Wet: Heavy on the carnation. Surprisingly creamy. Dry: This smells exactly like chai tea on my skin! Pity it fades pretty quickly, because I can't stop sniffing my wrist. I've reapplied twice today because the scent is gone after about two hours. I like this one a lot, but I think I may have to swap it away because it doesn't last. Edit: Forget swapping this away - I'm keeping it and hording more! I'll just have to slather. Verdict?: After the edit, I might need to get myself a bottle of this. LOVE.

December 7, 2006

Whys & Wherefores

Here's the grouping I expect them to fall into: Woodsy: Anne Bonny - A scent several people recommended for Zoe -- woodsy & sexy to boot! Tintagel - ancient magical forest! Hamadrayd - I remember fiddledragon especially liking this one - deciduous forest. Aquatic: Sea of Glass - it sounds so clean & makes me think of Ys. Also recommended by zankoku_zen. Neo-Tokyo - Recommended for Serenity & Steam Punk, according to zankoku_zen. Prague - After all the raves on Danube on the Aquatics post, people said this was the river version of the saltier Danube. Sexy: Blood Kiss - debated between this and Blood Rose for all the reviews, went with zankoku_zen's rec. O - "defiled utterly" sounds more my style than "sugared with vanilla". Lust - Lust in a bottle & highly recommended in the sexy stuff thread & by zankoku_zen. - Slinky subset: Swank - Pommegranate (my favorite fruit) that doesn't sound too sweet like Persephone. Recs in sexy thread. Sin - Described as slinky in a dark blue dress. - Exotic subset: Scherezade - Exotic, highly recommended on the sexy thread & by zankoku_zen.

December 6, 2006

Tolkein

Unlike the Firefly post, there are few suggestions in the Tolkein post for what actually exists. I am trying to revive the thread & steer it that way, though.

December 6, 2006

First Order - Two batches of 6 imps.

Thanks for your help, zankoku_zen. I am now placing my first order for the following imps: Bewitching Brews: Anne Bonny Blood Kiss Hamadrayd Scherezade Swank Love Potions: O Sin & Salvation: Lust Sea of Glass Sin Wanderlust: Neo-Tokyo Prague Tintagel

December 5, 2006

Diplomatka

Accumulation

Over the past four days, it has snowed in Kabul. This is strange because usually there isn’t snow until after the first of the year and usually it doesn’t snow for more than a few hours at a time. As a result, the airport has closed. The Kabul airport has no radar equipment, and therefore the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF, i.e. Coalition Forces) who runs the airport would not allow planes to land without three miles visibility. My boss (Suka) has been stuck in Dubai for the past three days and there are consultants and various others stuck either here, in Dubai, in Pakistan and in other parts of Afghanistan. Welcome to the 21st century. Snow is not the only thing accumulating in Kabul. Consider the following, clear indications that it is time to get the hell out of Dodge: 1. My boss (Dutch) has requested that all international staff submit to him, in sealed envelopes, three proof of life questions in case we get kidnapped. (This reminds me of when my coworker was kidnapped last year and the security guy when to her house to “get some DNA” in case she didn’t come back alive.); 2. This article and 3. The Taliban Code which inclues this passage: Those NGOs that come to the country under the rule of the infidels must be treated as the government is treated. They have come under the guise of helping people but in fact are part of the regime. Thus we tolerate none of their activities, whether it be building of streets, bridges, clinics, schools, madrases (schools for Koran study) or other works. If a school fails to heed a warning to close, it must be burned. But all religious books must be secured beforehand. (I work for an NGO.) Next week I am interviewing for jobs in Africa and Southeast Asia. I can't wait until I can file all the "things I worry about" under "not my problem".

Confection

December 5, 2006

...

Muse's BPAL Scent Wishlist :)

^ Denotes scents I have tried via Imps and have fallen in love with and am longing for a full size bottle * Are the TOP scents I want to try in each category. All other scents I'd love to try the Imps (where available!)! When I buy/trade off, this list will be updated! This list is MOSTLY a reminder for myself, but I'm adding it to my wishlists 'cause someone I adore suggested to do so. I think she secretly wants some hehe. I'll be buying a 6pack of IMPS every month or so, so this list will deplete quickly and eventually turn into a swap page, lol. =========================== Bewitching Brews Hymn to Prosperpine ^Empyreal Mist Anne Bonny Incantation Scarecrow Sudha Segara *Leanan Sidhe I Died for Beauty The Coiled Serpent Zephyr Aeval Saint-Germain Veil ------------------- Funereal Oils Embalming Fluid *Twilight Darkness Haunted Shroud Eternal Sheol ------------------ Dark Elements *Undertow Hurricane ----------------- Sin & Salvation Sea of Glass *Black Dahlia Death on a Pale Horse Fallen Envy Gluttony Dirty Anathema Lust Pride The Scales of Deprivation ------------------ Love Potions The Temptation Snake Oil O Perversion La Belle au Bois Dormant Severin Suspiro *Muse (Of course!) Succubus Saturnalia ---------------- Diabolus *Wicked Baobhan Sith Rage ------------------ Mad Tea Party Cheshire Cat The Unicorn *The Queen of Hearts Alice Frumious Bandersnatch Drink Me The Pool of Tears ----------------- Illyria Titania Oberon Tamora Ophelia Katharina Rosalind *Goneril Regan Desdemona *Juliet Caliban Viola Titus Andronicus ----------------- Wanderlust *Bayou Uruk Prague *Kyoto Delphi Jezirat al Tennyn Neo-Tokyo Eden Whitechapel Santo Domingo Danube Lyonesse Versailles Port Royal Venice Manhattan Yerevan he Hanging Gardens * Niflheim --------------- Ars Draconis * Ladon Tanin'iver Dragon's Musk ---------------

Muse

December 5, 2006

This Old Snark

Snot 'n Snarky Shiksas

Well, Snarky isn't sick. YET. But The Mister is. Woefully so: fever, sinus pressure, just the general nastiness + malaise that tends to strike 'round this time of year. Snarky fixed him up with a round of Nyquil (he was up all night, which means that Snarky was up all night too ) and set some frozen chicken thighs to thaw in the fridge for some Jewish penicillin tonight. Actually, there is a type of chicken soup DarkityMa used to make when members of the DarkityFam were under the weather. She had a special clay pot with a sort of funnel in the middle - it looked like a bundt cake pan crossed with a clay donut - that she used to steam up the chicken. The pot sat on top of another pot of boiling water, and the funnel directed the steam into the donut and cooked the chicken she had placed in the bottom of the clay pot. The soup formed from the steam and random cooking juices released by the chicken and aromatics. Snarky suspects that Chinese mothers and Jewish mothers have a lot in common. Her proof is still pretty flimsy, but this still might be something worth investigating futher: - both provide food, usually in the form of soup, as the panacea of choice (there's the aforementioned chicken soup, plus all manner of sweet soups for sore throats and mucus issues... Snarky disctinctly remembers a sweet soup her mother made with white wood fungus that was supposed to help her blood somehow, and she also recalls a berry/astragalus root tincture/soup she took roughly once a month for her wimmin issues) - both are violently addicted to mah jong - both consider Chinese Food a perfectly good holiday meal alternative/standby - both are highly skilled in guilt-ninjitsu, case in point: "How many Jewish/Chinese mothers does it take to change a light bulb?" (heavily sighing) "Oh, don't mind me. I don't want to be a bother. I'll just sit in the dark."

darkitysnark

December 4, 2006

I'm tiiiiiired

Yeah, poor me. Hah. I am actually okay. My husband and I were grumpy at one another tonight and so I was in a bad mood- it's strange, because we rarely have arguments; we're pretty good at straight-up communication, I think, but every now and then we just sort of misfire and get on one another's nerves, and that's what happened tonight. BUT I'm trying to let it go. I made six loaves of bread today, and studied in between. SIX, people! I gave one to my parents. Does anybody know how many cups are in a gallon, approximately? I need to figure out how many loaves of bread I get out of a gallon of milk. So, when I was brand new, a few people sent me free imps just to get me hooked. Every now and then, when the spirit moves me and I have extras, I offer to send some out. I did that recently with someone I'd been corresponding with and feeling pretty friendly with. So I sent them to her, and it's like she fell off the face of the planet. She quit coming to the forums a few weeks after it should have arrived, and I sent her a couple of messages telling her it was on the way, and then asking if it had gotten there safely, and I heard nothing from her. This bugs me. It's not like I wanted her to shout it from the rooftops or anything; I know plenty of other people do this, but just some acknowledgement via PM or SOMETHING would have been nice. Arg. My brain is all over the place. And I can't remember where in the brain Wernicke's area is. Finals are scary!!!

December 4, 2006

Do you have a flag?

Wolf Moon update thoughts!

I'm procrastinating studying anatomy right now. Again. So here are my thoughts about the glorious update! Wolf Moon. Winter air, Terebinth pine, juniper berry, dusty orris, deep amber, white sandalwood, black musk, blue cedar, and tonka. If this smells anything like the previous version, I'll like it. I enjoyed that cold and sort of aquatic feel to the first Wolf Moon -- it was good with the musky scent. Got a bottle. Lycaon. A monstrous, brutal, and bloodthirsty blend: blackened myrrh, crushed olive leaf, black musk, spikenard, frankincense, cypress wood, opoponax, white ginger, and patchouli. Sounds monstrous for sure. I have no idea what to think of it. Spikenard is probably the ONLY note I can count on ALWAYS hating. Ick. However, I really like opoponax, myrrh, and patchouli, and I think that crushed olive leaf would be interesting too. Got a bottle of this too, but I think it was kind of a risky choice. The Salon!!!! I honestly could not afford to get all the bottles I want right now (Christmas coming up and everything), so I just got an imp pack. The Arrival at the Sabbath and Homage to the Devil, Antoine-François de Saint-Aubert. Bourbon vanilla, benzoin, caramel, Mysore sandalwood, aged black patchouli, carnation, and iris florentina. Holy moly. Um, yes please!!! If I could have picked just ONE bottle, this is the one. The Cup of Death, Elihu Vedder. Peach blossom and peach tree leaf, Mysore sandalwood, French lavender, bois du rose, myrtle, and blue yarrow. Hmm. Possibly too feminine for me, and maybe too herby. I don't know what blue yarrow smells like in perfume, but I know what yarrow smells like in the wild. I think the myrtle and yarrow combination might make the whole thing smell a bit too weedy for me. Cupid Complaining to Venus, Lucas Cranach the Elder. Apple blossom, fig, white peach, honey absolute, red sandalwood, and wild thyme. What is honey absolute? I've never seen that. Everything in this sounds fabulous except the thyme... and maybe honey absolute wouldn't smell like play-doh on me like honey usually does. Fingers crossed! The Ecstacy of St. Theresa, Gianlorenzo Bernini. Frankincense, iris, white gardenia, Roman chamomile, amber, and agarwood. I bet this smells breath-takingly lovely. Sigh. Blends like that make me wish that I was breath-takingly lovely so that I could wear them. Unfortunately, scents like that are usually at odds with my Dr Martens' boots. Garden Path With Chickens, Gustav Klimt. Damp grass, ivy leaves, morning glory, daisy, rose geranium, heliotrope, white gardenia, climbing roses, peppery nasturtium, phlox, begonia, verbena and sun-warmed herbs. I know people are going ga-ga over this, but I will tell you a secret. I hate chickens. I've hated them since I was a little girl on my grandparents' farm. And this blend sounds like it'll be way too flowery for me anyway. The Great He-Goat, Francisco Goya. Haitian vetiver, Egyptian amber, carnation, black musk, pomegranate, patchouli, and smoked ginger. This one, on the other hand... yeeeessss, that's more my style. This one's gonna be a doozy. The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun, William Blake. Daemonorops, vanilla, Indian sandalwood, Mexican copal, hyssop, muguet, sweet pea, amber, hazelwood, galbanum, hiba wood, and orchid. I'm concerned about the sweet pea but there are so many other notes in there that I love. I have high hopes for this. Itasô Kansei Nenkan Jorô No Fûzoku, Wada hori Yû. Osmanthus, white honey, ti leaf, hibiscus, and sugar cane. I've got no frickin' clue what this will smell like. I can't imagine. Can't wait to try it! Judith Victorious, Lucas Cranach the Elder. Chestnut blossom, lily of the valley, King mandarin, French magnolia, and golden musk. This is going to be glorious and triumphant, I just know it. If I had been able to choose bottles to buy, this would have been the one that I picked because it sounded so good even though I couldn't tell what the combination would smell like. La Mort Qui Danse, Félicien Rops. Black pepper, white ginger, Calla lily, and lily of the valley. Oh... sad and funereal. But white, and clean. My favorite kind of floral! The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa, Shunkosai Hokuei. Black tea, cherry blossom, ho wood, calla lily, rice wine, and white mint. There are only a couple of blends with mint that I like, and I honestly think this is going to be one of the good ones. That whole combination just sounds fabulous. Les Anges Déchus, Edouard Cibot. Khus, blonde tobacco, life everlasting, orris root, black currant, cabreuva, Spanish moss, leather, and ambrette. I love this painting. And I want something that has the ingredient of "life everlasting." Even if I'm unsure of the Spanish moss. Lot and His Daughters, Hendrik Goltzius. Indonesian black patchouli, petitgrain, brandewijn, incense, saffron, lemon peel, myrrh, skin musk, bourbon geranium, and tangerine. This painting makes me feel uncomfortable. I think this blend will make me feel that way too. Melancholia, Albrecht Dürer. Blue lilac, white sandalwood, stargazer lily, paperwhite narcissus, ylang ylang, delphinium, and cypress. Blue and sad. I bet this will be a lovely shade of blue though. I have my fingers crossed for this one as well. The Sailor's Den, Félicien Rops. Orris, bay rum, palm, coconut meat, oak wood, tobacco, linen, blue lilac, and leather. Woohoo! This one's a shoe-in for me. I can't imagine that I won't like this. Bet it'll smell great on the hubby, too. Three Gorgons, Gustav Klimt. Egyptian amber, mandarin, tangerine, black pepper, tobacco, and vetiver. Oooo. Dark and smoky with bright tangerine top notes. I bet I'll like this one. And... of course, Shub-Nuggurath. A blend of ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices. Pass! Guess I'm the only person in the world who didn't care for this one. Ginger's tricky with me, and I like Gingerbead Poppet a lot better than Shub.

filigree_shadow

December 4, 2006

Sourball Ho!

Update!

I'm getting all screwed up with these three-day Lunacy updates -- I convinced myself it would be live on Monday, and yet when I stumble to the computer on Sunday morning there it is! Not that I'm complaining, heh. Wolf Moon -- I had a bottle of the previous Wolf Moon (the first Lunacy I ever ordered), and while it was nice it ended up a little too men's-cologney on me and I swapped it away. The previous one didn't list any notes, so it may be a completely different blend, but with the pine and juniper it becomes a no-no Lycaon -- this sounds really interesting, a lot like Schwarzer Mond, but I'm a bit concerned about the "blackened" myrrh -- I don't want something to smell burnt on me. All the new Salon scents sound great, just like in Act I. These seem to have a lot of thought put into them. I would like to order imp sets of both eventually, but I'll wait until the job situation sorts out. And the Resurrected scents are still here! I told myself if I was re-employed I would splurge on a bottle of Glasya, but alas, nothing's happened so I thought I would miss it. Now I can order! Plus Glitter! I'll take this as a sign that I should order these while they're here. In conclusion: I'm ordering Carnaval Diabolique, Glasya and Glitter. Yay!

dawndie

December 3, 2006

Sooo...

I am just wiped out. 3 more days of classes and then I'm done with this quarter, and I am SO READY for it to be over. So the birth of my new nephew has me daydreaming about having a baby, which I know is so incredibly wierd in light of my recent total spaz-out over the thought of a parasite living inside me, but... I don't know. It's not quite as disgusting as before, because babies are just so amazing. Yeah, I'm a freak. But my nephew is frickin' gorgeous. (And I really wanted to be able to go down there for the holidays to see him. Sigh.) It will be a few years before we make any decisions in that area, though.

December 2, 2006

"Sexy"

Ok, I've gone through the Sexy, Smutty, Seductive, Proactive thread about as much as I can stand -- 15 pages. I was looking for specific categories, and of course it all depends on what makes you feel good about yourself, but: 13 #20 Love Oil Aizen-Myoo Alice Anne Bonny Antique Lace Antony Arachne Aureus Baghdad Baobhan Sith Bastet Bathsheba Bathsheba Bearded Lady Beaver Moon Bengal Bewitched Bewitched Black Dahlia Black Lotus Black Opal Black Opal Black Phoenix Bliss Blood Amber Blood Amber Blood Countess Blood Kiss Blood Lotus Blood Rose Bordello Brisingamen Carnal Carnivale Casanova Cerebus Chaste Moon Chimera Coiled Serpent Come To Me Crucible of Courage Dana O'Shee Debauchery Depraved Desire Dia de los Muertos Dirty Dorian Dragon's Heart Dragon's Milk Elegba Embalming Fluid Eve Fae Faustus Fenris Wolf Fire of Love Follow Me Boy Formula 54 Freak Show French Creole Frost Moon Glasya Gluttony Golden Priapus Grog Harlot Haunted Hecate Hellcat Hellfire Hell's Belle Hetairae Hollywood Babylon House of Night Hunger Hunter Moon Incantation Jack Jailbait Juliet Kali La Belle Au Bois Dormant La Belle Dame Sans Merci La Petite Mort Lampades Laudanum Lenore Lilith Lolita Love Me Loviatar Lust Malic Marquise de Merteuil Masquerade Mata Hari Midnight Mi-Go Morgause Morgause Morocco Nemesis New Orleans Noir O Old Athens Old Morocco Old Port Au Prince Old Scratch Old Shanghai Old Sybaris Omen Othello Persephone Perversion Pink Moon Psyche Queen Queen Mab Queen of Hearts Queen of Sheba Rakshasa Rapture Ravenous Red Devil Red Moon Regan Rose Red Sacred Whore of Babylon Salome Samhain Scherezade Seraglio Silentium Amoris Sin Siren Snake Charmer Snake Oil Snow Bunny Snow White Snow White Spanked Spellbound Spooky Storm Moon Succubus Sudha Segara Sugar Skull Swank Tarot: Temperance Tarot: the Empress Tempest The Lion The Star The Unicorn Three Witches Tombstone Tzadikim Nistarim Undertow Urd Veil Velvet Venom Vixen Voodoo Wanda Wanton Water of Notre Dame Whip Wicked Xiuhtecuhtli Yog Sothoth Zombi The ones I am most interested in trying based on the comments are: Blood Kiss Blood Rose Love Me Loviatar Lust Morocco O Scherezade Silentium Amoris Sin Snake Charmer Snake Oil Spellbound Sudha Segara Swank The Lion Vixen

December 2, 2006

Woodsy

Also according to the General Recommendations Post, here are woodsy scents: Anne Bonny Aquarius Belladonna Black Forest Burial Capricorn Darkness Golden Priapus Hamadryad Intrigue Jabberwocky Kweku Anansi Loup Garou Omen Seance The Hesperides Tintagel Tombstone Ulalume Umbra Val Sans Retour Wolfsbane I am most interestedin more hardwoods type forrests, with dirt & leaves, and mosses... the following look most promising based simply on that post: Burial Hamadryad Kweku Anansi Tintagel Val Sans Retour Ok, well Val Sans Retour wasn't in that post, and it isn't even out yet, but I had to read the reviews earlier. After all, it's the Val Sans Retour, in Broceliande, Breizh.

December 2, 2006

Aquatics

According to the General Recommendations Post , folks recommend the following aquatics: Amsterdam Apothecary Bayou Black Pearl Blue Moon City in the Sea Cold Moon Cthulhu Danube Desdemona Dragon's Tears Dublin Empyreal Mist Glasgow House of Mirrors Hurricane Jolly Roger La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente Lightning Lurid Mock Turtle's Lessons Neo-Tokyo Niflheim Obatala Old Glasgow Ophelia. Paris Penthus Prague R'lyeh Sea of Glass Shattered Szepassony Tarot:Temperance Tears The Isle of Demons The Lady of Shallot The Pool of Tears The Unicorn Two, Five & Seven Ulalume Undertow Virgo/Harlot Water of Notre Dame Yemaya Zephyr Some sound more floral, etc. I will need to see how my skin reacts. From the descriptions there, the most appealing look to be: Danube Empyreal Mist Jolly Roger Neo-Tokyo Niflheim Prague R'lyeh Sea of Glass

December 2, 2006

This Old Snark

She's Crafty

The first year Snarky learned to knit (the third time, when it stuck) she committed a common knewbie act of ginormous hubris: she decided to knit all of the Darkity's gifts to their family. It wasn't as bad as it could have been - Snarky only knit for the "-in-law" side of the family, but she had an ambitious - and schizophrenic - to do list: * a pair of convertible fingerless gloves (that turned into mittens) * a Peruvian style fair isle hat (with the ear flaps and braided cords) * a cardigan (Sitcom Chic from Bonne Marie, if you were curious) * a therapy roll filled with flax seeds, chamomile, lavendar, etc. * a felted bucket hat * scarves * beaded eyeglass chain (OK, that one wasn't knitted, but it was crafty!) * cute little tags to amp up the DIY feel of all the gifts By the time the Day of Giving and Oohing and Aahing finally arrived, Snarky was too delirious from sleep deprivation due to too many nights spent way past her bedtime squinting over poorly lit last minute knitting to really enjoy the season. There are pictures, at least. But before Snarky could say "never again!" she decided the next year to make felted stockings for every single one of her Aunts and Uncles (and Grandma M) on her mother's side of the family. Because Snarky is some kind of craft martyr. That must be the reason. Last year the crafting was focused with laser-like intensity on DarkityMa. She received one shawl, a cabled chemo cap, and a fuzzy rasta hat (chemo cap that got too big). She also still has a shawl marinating in the back of the hall closet, but she doesn't know about that one because Snarky is not able to look at it without having knitting-in-the-rain running-after-the-runaway-skein flashbacks. This year, Snarky thinks she's dialing it back, but maybe she's too far into it to have perspective. She's working on a commissioned Where's Waldo hat, she has two pairs of Fuzzy Feet felted clogs to make for the Darkity'rents, she needs to continue her enviro/animal friendly/yet-still-soft yarn research for a hat for DarkityBro, and there's the matter of a long-delayed sculptural snake scarf that The Mister really, really wants (so far she's using Panache from KnitPicks - cashmere and alpaca and merino, oh my! - and Meunch's Touch Me, which is about the most sinful shiny chenillesque yarn EVAH) (Sometimes Snarky wonders if The Mister is very secretly some sort of drag queen.). She is designing little logos to silk screen (using the freezer paper method) onto t-shirts for the troubled DeathRockFamily. If this experiment works, she will be making more t-shirts for just about everyone because how cool is that? And finally tonight she and The Mister are going to some sort of Nerd Mecca to find geekish gifts for her geekish compatriots. There's nothing crafty about this last bit, Snarky's just excited about being able to get her geek on tonight. Speaking of which: new Doctor Who and BSG tonight! And now Snarky is officially sidetracked. The point was: seasonal craftiness is absolutely fine. But much like holiday eatings, holiday craft-making must be done in moderation and with a sense of pacing... or else tragedy will ensue. Snarky hopes everyone had a fabulous Turkey Day (she had pot roast instead after meeting up with the just-as-lovely-kind-and-generous-in-person Cordia and her Mister and Award Winning Cake). She is still trying to come to grips with the fact that Christmas is three weeks away!

darkitysnark

December 1, 2006

Drama queen suckage: Updated

I suck. Gah. Sorry for the drama queen syndrome. I just got the results of my last math exam and I sucked, and it pulled my GPA down and I'm really really depressed over it. So, yeah. I got a little intense with the poor me and thus we have suckage.

December 1, 2006

Skin Impacts Scent

I have several concerns with scent usage, as follows: 1) I have rather dry skin, and I am afraid that I will need to be a slatherer. I would like to have good unscented lotion that I can use to couteract this, but I don't know what to look for. There was a thread, but I lost track of it. I am alergic to some things, so I have to look for a number of options, just in case. Right now, I am using 100% Cocoa Butter, which -- logically -- makes me smell faintly of chocolate. On the other hand, I had good staying power in the past with just a few drops of Planitary Perfumes on the pulse points. 2) I would like to find (or make) good unscented moisturizing soap, shampoo & conditioner that would work well, and also not conflict with my BPAL scents. For reference, currently, I use Oil of Olay bar soap with shea butter, Aussie Moist shampoo, Garnier Nutrisse Sleek & Shine conditioner. I also use leave in conditioner. My favorite is Sheer Blonde spray in, but I am now using Garnier Nutrisse, or Sheer Blonde detangler & shine gel. Some of this should become unnessisary after I cut a good two feet off of my hair, but I'm not sure how soon that will happen.

December 1, 2006

Firefly

The Firefly thread might be useful. I'd follow the pattern of Zoe or Inara. According to the thread, that would give me: Zoe: O Snake Oil Dead Man's Hand + Bastet or The Lion Anne Bonny Dirty Dragon's Heart Loviatar Inara: Kurukulla Silk Road Lust Scherezade Snake Charmer Queen of Clubs Seraglio Hetairae F'54 Aglaea