dawndie

Aw, thanks you guys! *mwah* I really do miss spending time on the forum. But dialing up and waiting for alsdlfjsldkf-ing pages to upload is trying my patience. We've had Earthlink for almost 10 years and have been pleased with the service, but this latest snafu has really put a bumblebee up my butt. I hate to be all "If I don't get proper service I shall take my business elsewhere! Hmph!" but it's been 4 full days of waiting and I need DSL for work. In fact, I'm on hold right now! *grr*

I forgot to post a congrats in the previous thread, so now I say Congrats! Was this the house that you posted pics somewhere before? I can't remember where as my brain is mush. Home ownership can be frustrating and draining (financially and otherwise) but when I can't sleep at night I lie in bed and feel safe in OUR house that we don't ever have to leave if we don't want to. I am in favor of following along with "Snarks' Old House" too.

I think my allergies finally cleared up, as I've been able to wear my nice BPAL smellies without breaking out in rashes for the past couple days! How I missed Hellion and Masque and The Star and ...

I love all the rose blends. This SN is clean and bright. Not unlike Rose Red, except that LE had extra greenery to it. Not very long-lasting, but it's forgiven. So pretty!

Just south of Cincinnati is Big Bone Lick State Park. Nearby is Big Beaver Lick -- I think "Lick" is a reference to a river/stream nearby? That's all

DH and I usually spend Sunday running around doing errands -- today we went to Michaels for a few little things (black silk cord for pendants, sewing needles & thread) and Cost Plus (outside lights and Cafe du Monde coffee), but if we see signs for estate sales we'll pull over to check it out. Estate sales are like weird garage sales -- garage sales are when people bring stuff out of the house to sell, and it's strange to be walking through someone's house where everything there has a price tag. We went to one several months ago where it was obvious the guy died and if he had relatives they weren't interested in much of his stuff. The house was great though, I wish we could have bought it. We got a way cool telephone table that just needed a new seat cover for $24, plus some souvenir state plates and an electric clock for $1 each. The one today, from what it sounded like, was an elderly couple who were probably moving to an assisted living place and didn't have room for a whole house full of stuff. They had some really nice things -- lots of crystal and silver, and it seemed weird that no other family members wanted it. Maybe they didn't have any close relatives and once they took what they wanted, didn't want to hassle with the other stuff? Who knows. I got some 45's of Harry James and Woody Herman in cute little box sets -- the Woody Herman one is called "Dance Date on Mars." Far out, man! But my favorite is a "Host & Hostess Book" from 1940 -- recipes and menus for occasions such as "Week-End Entertaining" and "Give a Barn Dance" and a whole chapter on crazy games to play. My favorite recipe so far is one "For the Calorie Counters": Hot Clam Boullion with Pimiento Whipped Cream. All together now: ewwww.

Maybe a "diet" back then was to have food that looked and sounded unappetizing, so you don't eat and therefore lose weight! Those box sets were 50 cents each and the book was $1. Score!

I don't consider myself a good cook, but I like it when we're home at night and we can have a simple dinner. I like to try a recipe if it pops up and sounds interesting, the easier the better. Food Network is a total staple of mine. DH is a steak-and-veggies type of guy, so there's never anything too complicated. We were at Red Lobster the other night, home of the awesomest Cheddar Biscuits. We scarfed a couple down but they seemed a little off. I said, "These taste kinda salty" and DH agreed. Then he floored me by saying, "Yours are much better." I stopped and turned to him, agog: "What a nice thing to say!" Mine have a twist -- instead of using milk or buttermilk I use beer, so they become Beer-Cheddar Biscuits. I can't use something cheap, like Miller Lite; I like using something hoppy like Bridgeport or Trademark Pale Ale. I made a batch tonight while watching the end of Ghost Whisperer, which is slowly becoming a favorite TV show, but I'm a huge fan of bangs and false eyelashes.

Yeah, they're totally easy: 2 cups biscuit mix, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, 1/4 cup chives. When those are mixed I start pouring in beer to make everything stick -- it probably ends up being 2/3 cup, not very much at all. Bake for 10 minutes at 450, and then eat!

In bottle: astringent with a tiny bit of fruit On skin: dark fruit and wood. This wood isn't overpowering though, like Cathedral where the wood overtook everything. I wish the fruit was stronger, but I love the fruity-foody blends, which must make me a froody Half-hour later: slight spicy cinnamony with the wood in the background In conclusion: a nicely blended scent, which reminds me of other dark favorites like Morocco and Perversion. Those blends last all day for me, and this one is not as long-lasting which makes me sad. Oh, and Seamus is adorable

After reading darkity's previous posts about going to see Thomas Dolby, I just had to post about old skool concerts. Granted, it's been awhile since I've gone to a show -- I'm at the point now where seeing someone "live" means paying $50 to go to a crowded, smelly place and hear someone perform the CD that I could be listening to in the comfort of my home. Bleh. So here's my index: First concert: Rick Nelson at the Palomino in LA, about 8th grade, 1984? This was the ex-50's-teen-idol-turned-country-singer and my friend had an obsession with him. He was pretty good! And looked damn fine! Most memorable concert: Jane's Addiction, Pixies and Primus at the Hollywood Palladium, December 1990. I remember Primus started, and while I had never heard of them they were amazing live, great musicians. Pixies were next, and they were about to break up and probably couldn't stand each other -- Frank Black screamed a lot, that was the gist of it. Jane's Addiction was great, I love them. Other concerts: (this is me looking through my ticket stubs) --Monkees reunion tour in 1986 *hangs head*, but I was a sophomore in high school! What do you expect? --Duran Duran at the Forum in July 1987 (with Erasure opening) -- I love both of them --David Bowie at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, August 1987 -- this was the first instance where I got up at 5:00 a.m. to wait in line for tickets, and we had the worst nosebleed seats ever! Never again, I swore. He was OK live, but Siouxsie and the Banshees opened and they were fab --Sting at the Forum, March 1988 -- he was great --Hothouse Flowers at the Coach House (teeny restaurant/club in San Juan Capistrano), February 1989 -- they were great, a crazy Irish jam band --Midge Ure at the Coach House, April 1989 -- lead singer of Ultravox, yum. He didn't have to play a note and I would have sat there dreamy-eyed --Replacements at the Hollywood Palladium, May 1989 -- just before they broke up and they probably all hated each other at that point. All I remember is LOUD --Love and Rockets at Irvine Meadows, July 1989 (Godfathers opened) -- they were pretty good. Dang, I went to a lot of concerts in 1989! --B-52's at Universal Amphitheater, January 1990 -- they were great --Pearl Jam at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, November 1993 -- they were great live, but it was butt-ass cold standing outside in a field. My cousin and his wife live there and we all went to the concert and stayed overnight at their house so we had a great time, I just remember COLD COLD COLD --Dave Matthews Band at Riverbend in Cincinnati, June 1997 -- I thought they were incredibly boring live. I'm not a huge fan, but every song I recognized sounded exactly like the songs on CD or the radio. *yawn* We wanted to see Los Lobos open for them, then we left afterwards. Los Lobos is great, always -- we saw them at Jazz Fest in Columbus (2000?) and the place was mobbed. --Beck at Veterans in Columbus, Ohio, February 2000 -- he's crazy and the show was a heap o'fun. Hank Williams III opened and he brought the house down, everyone went nuts. --Moby at Newport Music Hall, Columbus, October 2000 -- since DH worked at Virgin Music we were able to meet him before the show. He was very nice and signed our ticket stubs and CD, and drew little pictures. His show was GREAT -- seriously, I thought it would be him noodling on a keyboard but he had a full band and was jumping all over the stage That's really been it -- since we've moved to Dallas we haven't gone to a concert. I'm old.

Hee! We probably saw the same Monkees and DD tours. And yes, John was my favorite too

That is a Guilty Pleasure song. My favorite part is the line, "Or has it just begun?" sung in his best faux-British accent

Right out of the imp, it's a blast of garden greenery. It morphs slightly from general "garden" into what I remember from the tomato plant in our backyard growing up. Lots of greeny green green. Beautiful!

"Blessed are the Cheesemakers." I enjoyed your post yesterday, but I also enjoy sammiches.

DH and I kid each other about music tastes -- he managed music retail stores for over 10 years and his tastes run the gamut, while I'm more in a rut. I grew up listening to one of the biggest "college rock" stations in the country, KROQ in LA, so my CDs are a ton of Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Siouxsie, Cure, old U2 and REM. He likes those too (how irresistible is a man with a Kate Bush CD? ) but makes fun of me for listening to nothing past 1987. But I do! The most recent CDs I burned off iTunes to play in the car are Killers and White Stripes, but he says they don't count because they "sound retro." I listen to some things he's brought home -- I like the Chemical Brothers, Twilight Singers (Greg Dulli from Afghan Whigs' new band), Beck and Fatboy Slim. But Radiohead? Flaming Lips? (I just typed Flying Lips, that's how out-of-touch I am ) They're arty and I don't get them. We've been together so long that it's just a part of our relationship; he's more diverse in music than I am and if he talks about something enough I'll try to listen to it. But I'm stubborn and like my old skool stuff. Now where's my Adam Ant?

Oh, you had ones in there I forgot: Concrete Blond and B-52's! I saw the B-52's in 1988 on the Cosmic Thing tour. *aging myself* You sound the same as us -- we don't beat each other down with our favorites and don't give each other a hard time like, "You're listening to that?!?" I do call DH a music snob sometimes, though

This is a strong bright floral, with a tinge of lemon juice -- not fake Lemon Pledge-smelling, but tart juice. Or could it be lime, or grapefruit? Some elusive citrus juice that floats above the skin and makes me a bit sneezy. This SN was a big player in Titania for me, peppy and girly.

I was appreciative to try Single Notes as I don't feel I have a very sophisticated nose at all, and to be able to sniff "pure" scents that are part of these great blends is a treat. I expected darker incense and got a very sunny dusty woodsy scent. After doing a search, this was in so many blends that I liked for the "dusty woodsy" aspect -- Masabakes, Glasya, Athens, Hecate, Hymn, and Lex Talionis are the several I tried that listed myrrh and which I noted variances of "dusty woods." This is a stellar SN that is so evocative of the overall BPAL experience -- mysterious and surprising.

Ugh, these allergies are driving me crazy. I never had them growing up in Southern California, but when we moved to Ohio after college, to a place that actually had "seasons," I started getting them. Most of the time it's nothing more than sneezing and nose issues, but this spring has been irritating, literally. I have "dry head," where it feels my sinuses are dry and crackly. I wake up in the middle of the night with my sinuses hurting, they're so dry. My eyes are red and dry and itchy, and I have that weird empty-head feeling like after you've cried and you're done and feel better -- "airy head," maybe? But the worst is I haven't been able to wear any nice BPAL smellies for 2 weeks. I'm breaking out in red itchy rashes wherever I apply, and it doesn't matter what I wear. I love the fruity winey scents the most, and just received bottles of Masque and Montresor, and while both smell great when I apply I end up with rashes that last for days. I'm debating buying a locket, but will probably try a cheaper one first before shelling out the $70 for a BPTP one. Plus my very favorite Triple Dagger is sold out. They have some cute ones at www.necropolis.biz -- I like the celtic cross and knot, and they're cheap enough for me to try and not feel guilty about more jewelry.

Don't feel bad about not posting "public" -- at least you caught it eventually! It's so complicated. Do you have target neighborhoods in mind to move to? You need to be within 635, baby!

Cats rule, dogs drool Seriously, I've had a couple of cats growing up, and so has DH, where they seriously thought they weren't just dogs, they were people. My cat George liked to go for car rides -- he would sit on your lap in the passenger seat and put his feet up on the dashboard. Tiger (DH's cat) ran the neighborhood; even Moose next door (Lab mix) was scared of him.

I actually "cast a spell" today, but it wasn't anything serious. I was reading the TAL threads thinking there may be some rules with oils that I wasn't aware of, but from what I gleaned there weren't -- it's respecting the spirit in which oils are created, and belief in thought, and how there isn't good or evil power, it's simply perspective. So I got a round votive candleholder in blue glass, one of my favorites. I filled it with coarse salt, because I wanted to anchor a thin candle and it felt natural. I coated a green candle with patchouly oil (that's how it's spelled on the vial) and thought about how grateful I am that finances are going well -- we both have full-time jobs, the house isn't falling apart, our cars aren't asploding -- and put the candle in the salt. After it was lit, I put it on top of the checkbook and stood for a minute, just listening to the house hum around me. There's so much I want to do with the house, but I need patience to have the money to do it. That was it! The rest of the day was OK; I'm still breaking out in rashes from my BPAL applications, which is pissing me off, but I feel good about us and our personal situation. We'll see!

This was on my "maybe" list until I got a frimp at a Meet-n-Sniff. In bottle: spicy fruity and nice. On skin: weird astringent, like cherry Nyquil. I like Nyquil personally when I'm sick, I just don't know if I want to smell like it. Half-hour later: oh dears, this is the nicest wine scent ever! It's like Wanda without the rose, Madrid without the clove, Perversion without the leather. I can't stop sniffing my wrist, and can't believe the change from the Nyquil stage. What a morph. In conclusion: This has hopped into my all-time favorites, just by the drydown alone. Fruity winey YUM! An instant favorite.

Currently listening to: "This Side" by Nickel Creek -- I this CD Currently smelling like: Port-au-Prince, then Montresor My unofficial goal with this blog was to go 1 full month of entries, and I couldn't even accomplish that -- I created an entry yesterday, but deleted it as so craptacular I couldn't post it, lots of familial complaining. So what's happened since then? Yesterday: my Mom turned 60! I can't believe it. That sounded so old when I was growing up. DH even said, "Your mom is 60? She doesn't look it." She doesn't act it either. That's my goal: to not act my age. My mom has so many hobbies and interests, plus she and dad own their own business, they're busy and interesting. I admire their lives and want to be more like them in that aspect. Today: we probably spent too much at Home Depot, but I told DH as we got in the car, "I like going into those stores, I just wish we had the money to do what we wanted." It was outside stuff, topsoil and grass seed and stain and waterproofing for a little wooden bridge. Then we went to a pub and drank beer and I had the best baja spicy shrimp tacos EVER and then came home and watched Sopranos. Oh, and both the Suns and Mavericks won their playoff games, so DH is happy.