smallvoice

So, I'm about 5 pages in to Kushiel's Chosen, but I am tempted to re-read Kushiel's Dart, just because there was SO MUCH to follow that, even with the chart at the beginning, it was difficult to keep track of everyone. I'm going to spoiler tag the rest of this entry, because I hate having plots ruined, and I plan on divulging some plot points. Pretty major ones, in fact. However, before I do that, I want to say that I was enchanted by this world and it should not be categorized with romance novels. It is so much more! On the subject of Kushiel's Chosen, Ugh. It's been a long day, and I don't really know what else to say about this... I had a ton of stuff in my head about it after I finished, but I don't have the energy now.

It's about time I reviewed this scent! This is a rich, foody, creamy and sugary sweet blend, as you may guess from the description. Oddly enough, Midway is the only scent that comes to mind as comparison, but Beaver Moon is much more and there's no dusty scent to it at all. I love this and I'm finally going to be able to start wearing it more regularly! I don't get any strawberries at all. Then again, I don't get specific foody components out of it. Just sweetness and richness. ETA: Is there cassia in Beaver Moon? I just got a bit and it sort of smells like cassia.

After much angst and self-doubt, I dropped precalculus... and I know I could've done it. Maybe that's all I needed, though. I still feel disappointed in myself. The former housemate who owes us massive amounts of money just told us that he bought himself a nintendo DS. The hell? That's not the only thing he's bought himself, either. And I know he has a right to do nice things for himself, but it pisses me off that he's letting repaying us slide. Or maybe he's not. Maybe it just seems like it's been a while since he sent anything. He was also a dumbass in a self-destructive mode and went to see this crazy bitch that he swears he's over, but then he's still in love with her, and whatever whatever whatever. Boo-frickin-hoo. I sound insensitive, but it's just ridiculous. He knows better. He needs to focus on himself if he's going to get well anytime soon, and doing shit like that -really- doesn't help. I just keep HOPING that he will get it together, and when he gets self destructive, I get pissed. Anyway. School. I needed one of my books to arrive in the mail today, and it didn't, and I'm sort of freaked out now. I am in love with linguistics and have found myself fully engrossed in the textbook at times. BUT. It doesn't count as a humanities credit?? Uh, the hell? It's just an elective credit, which I certainly don't need. It is listed as a humanities credit in the catalog, and if I'm not mistaken, they're sort of required to honor that, so I'm going to have a visit with an advisor and mention that. Why would linguistics not count for humanities? That's just insane. Then again, my college also wouldn't count Lord of the Rings as a lit credit. But, whatever. Because I'm so not getting rid of this course. They'd have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. Or something like that. We've spent the first week of Biology covering the chemistry used in biology. I like her well enough. She's married to my favourite instructor, and it's interesting to see her style as well. My lab instructor, though... heh. Is he even old enough to cross the street by himself? Somebody in the class was like, "Should we call you Mr. So-and-so?" I about choked. There's no way I could address that kid that way- to my great relief, he begged us not to. He's nice, but he seriously doesn't look old enough to be out of high school. (I may be exaggerating. I told my husband he was 12, so I am getting a little better.) Anyway, so I think I'll like finally having a lab, but it is on friday, which means I'm driving out there 5 days a week... much, much more gasoline. Huh. This is a pretty long entry. I'm just really restless. And... I am a bit forlorn with a turn in Kushiel's Dart about 250 pages from the end. For some reason, I just didn't see that coming. I know at some point I said that her writing was a bit pretentious, but I think it's because I had been reading things like Dresden Files and Women of the Otherworld and Weather Wardens. It's just a different genre and a different style of writing. I'm actually quite enthralled by her, and I had to get the second book, as well as the first book of her new series. (I finally nabbed a bunch of used books and made a run to the bookstore. I love that- we came out with 10 books and it worked out to less than one dollar each.) Okay. I'm going to end this now. I'm so freaking thirsty. Merfolk should not be thirsty.

I wanted to really, really love this one. Carnation, honeysuckle, lemon and white musk! Woo! But, somehow, the combination simply does not work out for me. There is a distinctly peppery tone to this blend and it gets all up in my nasal passage. I think the honeysuckle and poppy are creating some unholy union on my skin, as well. This just absolutely does not work for me.

So, at first application, this is not singing beautifully on my skin or anything. Several hours into wear, however, and the floral incense with a white musk backdrop is really unexpectedly beautiful. I'm going to have to give my nearly passed-over imp a chance. It's a really rich scent- my imp looks a bit aged, so I'm thinking that the myrrh and other notes might've really had a chance to come through because of that. EDIT: There IS no white musk listed in this. Huh! It's still lovely, and I'm doing a full wear today.

Bewitched has such a bright and refreshing sage, and it is gorgeous paired with the berries. I heartily second the rec.

I'm sorry you're feeling badly! I hope you can find a scent that is uplifting for you. The problem with that is it sort of depends on what you find comforting. My mood lifter is Whitechapel. Well, that's one of them anyway. Of the ones you've listed, I'd suggest Kyoto, because it's so light and refreshing, or the Crossroads, maybe.

I turned a blind eye to the red musk and stubbornly jumped at the chance to own a bottle, unsniffed. Bad me. Everything else smells heavenly, but the red musk! Gah. It simply will not back down, and turned my afternoon headachy. Yeah. Ultimately, the only sign of this blend is the overpowering red musk... ah, well.

So, I have problems with severe anxiety, and today I started a new quarter at school. Someone kind frimped this to me in a recent swap and while I enjoy the scent, I have faith that the focus of this blend really works for me. I faced my day. The enormity of that is really something I'm unable to express. I know I have to credit myself, but High John deserves some recognition, too. I am seriously contemplating a bottle. On to the scent, very quickly. Lovely, light, fruity and perfect for spring, for me. I love the vague sweetness that lingers on my skin even hours after I (very sparingly) applied, not knowing how it would react on my skin. This is lovely.

I'm sure you'll all be relieved to know that there was no drama today, save me losing my schedule and finding it shortly thereafter. I'm kind of afraid. I sort of like all of my classes and feel comfortable- they're not necessarily going to be particularly "fun", but that's okay. I tentatively like my instructors. I think I may keep this schedule. Yeah, that's all.

Tiiiiired. Some of you may know why. I'll explain more later. Anyway. So, I stumbled to my computer this am, and was like, "OMG, somebody hacked my account and added this garish skin and how do I get my f@#%$ing Alice back and I will DIE IF I DO NOT REMEMBER HOW TO CHANGE THE BLOODY SKIN!!" Uh. Right. So, happy April Fool's Day- I've definitely been fooled. School starts tomorrow, and as of today, I'm keeping precalculus. You all know how that can change in an instant, though! I've got linguistics, then a break for an hour, then cell biology and then precalc. I'm actually quite looking forward to it, to be honest. (Too tired to panic. Y'all know I must be all kinds of tired. Hee.)

I am still undecided. I want this quarter to be a really good one! I don't want to regret not taking precalc. Um. That's about it. Hope you're all doing well!

Yeah. I... passed. I shouldn't do precalc. Annnnyway. Trying to stay focused. I may drop it. Dunno yet.

Grades will be posted on tuesday, so I'll know for sure that I passed. My husband is being ever supportive, but I'm freaking out. Dude. I am almost positive that I only did 5 of 6 essay questions on my LotR final. (We get to choose 6 of 8 topics, and I'm thinking I split early without realizing it.) So if I did that, who's to say I didn't choke on my math final? Blarg. Hope you're all doing well, lovelies. Eee, school starts a week from tomorrow. AND THE SCHOOL STILL HASN'T POSTED THE BOOK LIST!!! What the hell is up with that?? Okay, off to snuggle with the boy.

Tobacco tends to choke out every other note, so I have been really nervous about wearing this one. Lime plays white knight and rides to the rescue, but it's such an odd pairing that I'm not sure what to make of this. The tobacco is tempered by the lime, as I said, but I can also smell a hint of the bay rum and the cookie sweetness, but it doesn't meld well for me. I asked my husband if he liked it, and he said, "You smell good... but it's not my favourite. It's still good, though." He may've just said that to placate my feelings, but it's pretty much how I feel about good Mr. Nancy right now. It's nice, but not necessarily among my must-haves. I think I'll be holding on to the decant, though!

I got an awesome haircut from my sister. It's the shortest it's ever been in my entire life, and I really love it. Math final tomorrow. SO. STRESSED. Among other, more fun, less stressful things.

Shortest it's ever been! In the back, it's above the nape of my neck. It gets longer as you get closer to the front. I wish the difference were a little more dramatic, because it sort of looks like it was just cut a little unevenly, heh. But I still love it and I'm going to be keeping it short this summer. Hooray! And it shocked the heck out of my math class, hee.

I don't know how I did. There were four questions that I flat out guessed on. Four... out of 25. I have to get at least 12 right. As I've obsessively mentioned before. Sooo... yeah. My head hurts. And I'm nervous. But I'm doing okay.

I'm going to do the precalc sequence and then statistics. I hate not having calculus done, but I don't see the point in only partially doing it. Plus, it'll allow me to take other classes I want next winter and spring.

I'll second Dee and suggest Penny Dreadful. It had a very earthy feel to me.

Math. Why am I taking precalculus? I have this image of myself and I won't be "smart" if I can't do math, if I don't have a degree, if I'm not good enough. I don't want to drop it, but I don't want to be taking it for no reason at all. Or for no good reason. I mean, is it healthy to take it so I can prove to myself that I am capable of understanding higher math? I feel like I may've really screwed up. Even if I took the second half of precalc this summer, I still wouldn't get the full sequence of calculus unless a. I don't get into the program or b. I sneak in the last one in tandem with the radiology tech program. Neither of those seem like good options. OMG. Somebody tell me to calm the hell down.

Sooo... now that I'm all registered for the maths next quarter- precalculus, to be exact- I'm starting to feel anxious about passing the final. I've done fine in the class and I've had reasonably few problems grasping the concepts, but if I choke on the final... well, I can't get higher than a 1.7, even if I had a 4.0 going into it. I know I'll pass. I know I'll pass. I need to pass. Oh, and just in case you're lurking, Indi- I dropped History of the Modern Middle East, not linguistics. I need my fun class, and while I'd prefer archaeology, linguistics works out pretty well anyway. Now I'm obsessing over how to work my schedule from here on out. I have 4 more quarters (counting Spring) before I can start the radiology program, though I have to be accepted first. Classes I have to take: A&P 1 and 2, Statistics. Possibly one other thing. Classes I want to take: Precalc 1 and 2, Calculus 1-4, English 201, Intro to Genetics, Archaeology, Physical Anthropology. A lot of classes to fit into three quarters, since I'm already registered for spring. Fall: A&P 1, Precalc 2, English 201 or Genetics Winter: A&P 2, Calc 1, Statistics Spring: Calc 2, English 201, archaeology ....yeah. I didn't really think that one through all the way. I just really want to learn this. Why didn't I tackle math sooner? And why is calculus a 4 course sequence?

Whitechapel instantly elevates my mood. The Lion, Bengal and Queen of Sheba also work well for that, as do Et Lux Fuit and Alice... and Boomslang... and.... Katharina... and then there's Punkie Night... and... oh. But none of those work quite as well as Whitechapel.

My presentation went well! And I missed one problem on my math exam, because I made a stupid mistake. -1 squared is not -1. So obviously I'm not going to come out with -6 in the end! Bleh. But it's a really good score and I'm happy with it. Happy enough that I'm considering pre-calculus instead of history. (I think precalc is all full now, though.) Let's see. So, yeah. I had a good presentation. Oh! But the reason I came here to write an update? I found my pilates dvd that I stuck with!! And my husband ordered it for me! Hooray! It's called The Method Pilates: Target Specifics. That one for the arms is really, really good. I'm going to do a segment hopefully every day. My first goal is twice a week, though. I just can't wait to get it! Eventually I'll cycle it with the other pilates dvd I have, and maybe get some more. In other news: I've discovered FlyLady, and she is helping me gradually establish a routine to eventually declutter. Her tone is annoying sometimes, but I generally like her, and her ideas really work for me. I'm totally that person she's talking about. I'm currently doing the 31 days of baby steps and I'm on day 5. (My husband is using Convergence spending money to bribe me to stick to it, and considering how gradual it is, it's a nice motivation.) Now somebody needs to talk me into cutting down to skim milk. This is a huge deal. I drink loads of milk, and grew up drinking whole milk. Sooo, I don't know. I also need to start making quick and easy snacks, before a craving hits. Hard boiled eggs are so easy to make and stick in the fridge, and I love them. What are some other snacks that are healthy and good to eat? I have SUCH an addiction to sugar that not a lot will get rid of those cravings, but I'm trying. Any help would be much appreciated!

I am really allergic to almonds, but I love pistachios and peanuts- however, I love the salty planter's peanuts with that spicy baked seasoning- it's the original stuff, but it's sooo good. Just not so good for me. I think I'll work my way down on the sugar scale- I'm going with some frozen yogurt and reduced sugar/fat ice cream, eventually moving to sugar free ice cream... I'm slow. And seriously addicted. Nutella and apples are working out well for me, too. I know Nutella isn't really good for me, but... small steps!