Mike needed a pink shirt for work tomorrow. He's always been bothered by the amount of leeway women have in business dress but men don't have much at all, essentially the same outfit for a century for business dress. One day earlier this month, a woman he worked with made comments about how men shouldn't wear pink shirts. That just rubbed that annoyance all wrong. So tonight we went out looking for a pink shirt in his size. He and a few of his male co-workers are planning to wear pink shirts. Love that man. Not only did he decide then and there to get a pink shirt and wear it to work, but he convinced some of his co-workers to do the same.
After we went out to eat at Cafe Amsterdam. Cafe Amsterdam has decent food and truly impressive beer list with a lot of good local brews on tap. I had the same thing I usually have, an avocado melt, which is entirely too much of a very good thing. Mike had a salad. For an appetizer we had a really garlicky hummus served with pita triangles, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and feta. Yum yum! I decided I was in the mood for beer, and look at their tap list (really, who would drink bottled when you're someplace that has tap at perfect drink temperature?) I opted for Midnight Sun Brewing Company's Fallen Angel. I admit it, I asked the waitress what kind of beer it was like it wasn't just the name that convinced me. She didn't know, and I ordered it anyway.
Oh my.. it was so good. Crisp and yeasty which usually don't go hand in hand in a beer. The bubbles were very fine and the head was dense and solid. The fruity flavors were reminiscent of some white wines I've had, but all backed with that nice yeasty bready flavor. I took a sip, and then a swallow and offered the glass to Mike. He asked "How is it?" and I said "I like it!". He took a sip and said "This is good!". Mike started drinking wines in Italy as a teenager, and at 18, he was in Germany. His palate for beers is pickier then mine. So it was nice to have my first taste validated. We shared the beer and got just a tiny bit buzzed since we don't really ever drink. Turns out that nice crisp flavor and mid-light amber color hid an 8% alcohol content. We are SO going to the brewery to pick some up. Yep yep. YUM! Plus, I've GOT to try baking with it.
Other then that, I spent the day restringing a pearl necklace, and working on a couple projects in between playing Mafia Wars on Facebook. So very E.H.'s fault. I was curious to see what she'd play and got hooked. If you play Mafia Wars on Facebook, please look me up and add me as a friend so I can increase my Mafia size!
After I finish knotting the pearl strand, I've got a couple book reviews to write, then I'm working on a printable box for cupcakes. Well.. it should all be done in the next few days, and I have a new bread recipe to finish up typing up. But Friday we are heading out to Eagle River to pick up some stuff Mike saw on Craigslist he wants. In theory, we will hit a couple shops out that way I love too.

Oh? The title? At Cafe Amsterdam, the clock on the wall is stopped at 4:20.

You see, since I got the bag of ties at the thrift store, she's been wearing them. With teeshirts, with turtle necks, not so much with button down shirts. So at some point I need to go through her brother's old shirts for her, but yesterday we bussed up to the thrift store to get her a couple shirts to wear with her ties. The SA right next to Value Village as usual had dress shirts terribly overpriced, but were having a 10 books for a 1 sale, any books. Hardcover whatever. Well, it was actually hard to find 10 books I wanted, but I did. One of them being a Dr. Who book for E which made her super happy.
We stopped by Terra Bella for a snack. Terra Bella has locally roasted organic coffee and organic treats. E had a green tea cupcake and I had pumpkin/chocolate chip bread. We decided we needed to come up with a pumpkin cupcake recipe soonish.
Mike came to get us and took us out to dinner where we discussed E's current wardrobe choices. See.. almost everything she wears these days is inspired by one doctor or another. She's a little obsessive about them.
Since her b-day is coming up, I ordered her a sonic screwdriver pen with a psychic paper wallet.
In other news, I'm starting to like Facebook more and more as I get back in touch with people I've missed. It's nice in a way talking to people I haven't seen in 15 or so years, but as close as I was to those people at that point in my life, it's really nice getting in touch with people I've "met" in the last 12 years on the net who have come to mean something to me, who have been inspirations to me in this part of my life, who have encourage me to grow as a person, and who are just amazing people themselves.
I tried to make a list of the people who have changed my life in a lot of ways since way back when.. I can't really, not and be really fair to each of them and the influence and encouragement they gave me. So I'm just going to say thank you.
And!! Miss Teri found me a pterodactyl for my Torchwood bag! Yay!!!
On the subject of yesterday's losses...
The first time I ever danced on a stage in front of an audience of hundreds, it was to Beat It. I remember my costume, I remember most of the choreography. It's a treasured memory because of the feeling of rightness, that was what all the training and practice was about, that moment on the stage. So yes, I had the Thriller album. I remember practicing for hours to make sure every move I made was on count. In the mid-80s, on some level, I realized the tragedy of his life, and after that, every time I saw him in a video or interview, it struck me again. That all those normal moments in my life that were set to a soundtrack that he was a part of, were things he'd never know. I felt sorry for him, and never quite got over that. Mike and I have talked about it a lot through the years and the scandals. A lot of celebrities made the choice at some point, I'm not sure he knew the choice was there to be made until he was far too famous to make it, to make a choice for a normal life. Rest in peace. You deserve some rest and peace.
Farrah wasn't a big thing in my life. I enjoyed Charlie's Angels, but I was just a kid and she wasn't my favorite Angel, but I do admire how she kept fighting, and my prayers are with her family and most especially with Ryan today. I may not have cared for her films, but love.. I do care about love and lovers, and he loved her so very much.

I've been using my Captain Hammer bag forever, and today was the first day people recognized the logo. Ironically, today was also the day I finally found a purse that fit my needs. Big enough for the electronics I carry regularly and my glasses case for my sunglasses, made in the USA, and made out of post consumer waste. It's made out of truck tire inner tubes, reclaimed water hose, and reclaimed wood. It's even fairly grown up looking. I have a grown up purse! I told Mike grown up shoes are next.
( our day at the Solstice fair )
And the day ended with herring. It was really kind of a perfect day even if my pain levels were really high for most of it.

My printables page, done. New layout, thumbnails for everything. Yay!
The shampoo bar from Gladheart Acres.. LOVE. The scent just floored me of course, but most of their soaps get me that way, and buying soap from them is something that the kids and I look forward to during the summer and for the shows they do in Anchorage in the winter. I decided to try it for the first try without a vinegar rinse, just see how did on it's own. TONS of lather. I've used shampoo bars before, but I've never used one that lathered up this much and this easily. After my hair dried, it was comb-able and clean with a faint hint of the scent of the soap. It's not at all dried out and it feels good. I've found my shampoo bar for the gym! I'm not sure how it will do on E's flaky scalp issues, but I told her to try it out. My previous experience with shampoo bars had me wondering. I've liked a lot of them, but most of them did best with a vinegar rinse, but because I've loved Gladheart's soaps so long, I was eager to try it. I figured, at the worst, I had another bar of their wonderful soap to shower with, instead, I have a nice portable shampoo bar that I really love. It's in the soap category, listed as Essential Shampoo Bar.

We use their "Moosetakes" which aren't on their website for handwashing, some clothes washing, and for felting as gifts. We use their nice 4 oz bars in the bath and shower so we can just really indulge in the scent of them. My son is wild for the Ginger Lime, and E just sniffs soaps until she finds a couple she wants.

Craft mag posted this cute project. Love! E will enjoy it a lot.

( Dinner, tourist style )
Today, Mike's got to do some coffee related research, so I'm going with him to do that. Apparently his boss asked the execs "Which of you is the coffee fiend?" and Mike said "My wife." I was a little taken aback by that. I don't do 5 dollar cups of coffee often. So when he explained this to Dad and I, I said "I'm not a coffee fiend." and dad said "Yes, you are." and Mike just laughed out loud and said "Uh huh.. why won't you drink Starbucks?" We have a bunch of GOOD local coffee roasters who don't burn the beans. I don't think this makes me a coffee fiend. But good coffee is like good beer or good wine. You can taste notes and flavors in it, but when the beans are burnt, the overwhelming flavor is that burn. You lose the complexity that inherent in a good cup of coffee. Coffee can taste bright, or creamy, have chocolate-y or berry notes, burnt is not the flavor I'm looking for.
But I'm not a *fiend* about it. I've never even gone to a coffee tasting or done any research on it. I just know what I prefer. Fair trade, shade grown, beans drum roasted dark. I like French, Espresso, and Turkish roasts, but I want the beans to be drum roasted to a uniform dark, and still oily to the touch. A good dark roast IS shiny and oily and not dark, matte and dry. Drum roasting helps keep the beans from scorching. Dark roasts also have less caffeine then light roasts so they make good after dinner coffees.
I think today I'm also going to work some on beading, and I wrote a book review for Beaded Chain Mail Jewelry by Dyson Whyte, it's a great book if you have any interest in small scale mail for jewelry.

( What we did yesterday )
Well.. still working on new earring patterns with an eye towards a slim volume of brick stitched earrings. I'll need to find beaders to bead up samples of some of them.
Music- Did you know that Miracle Laurie has a ukulele cover band? If you like ukulele covers, it's worth a listen. Uke Box Heroes Myspace.
Also for NIN or Jane's Addiction fans out there.. you can get an ep of unreleased material here, 2 NIN songs, 2 by Jane's Addiction, and 2 by Street Sweeper.

Marian Call's album, Got to Fly, is available on iTunes now. If you click here you can hear Vera Flew the Coop, and It Was Good For Too, which is just a great song from Saffron's perspective. The album has a truly great Jayne song on it. The world needed more Jayne songs, and this one has Mike's recommendation too. Which only means something if you know Mike. He's not a music slut like me, and really only wants me to put songs from my "Joss Whedon is My Master Now" playlist on his ipod by request. (and he's made it clear he doesn't want the song "Joss Whedon is My Master Now" on it. I think he's afraid of ukuleles.) He wants those songs.

We were talking about my Joss collection. I haven't yet ripped the audio from Commentary! The Musical for it, but I've got Velvet Chain's Buffy, Vixy and Tony's Apprentice, and of course, P.J. Otaku's Joss Whedon is My Master Now on it, as well Once More With Feeling and other obvious things.

Mike put me in absolute hysterics by saying "Well.. whatever wrinkles your vampire."

Anyway.. yeah. Marian Call is local. You can tell by her very funny song about wanting to be a real Alaskan girl (which is closer to truth than I want to think).. but really, her songs are good, and it's a great album for a Browncoat.

But 3 hours of being mostly on my feet hurts. If I ever needed convincing there is no way I could go back to tending bar, today proved it completely.
First thing we did was stop by Arctic Brewing Supply and pick up a couple different kinds of rootbeer extract to make some rootbeer. I also grabbed a book on making soda, and noticed they had Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation which is on my wishlist for books I really really want. I didn't get it, but I told Mike they had it there. It's a great store. It absolutely inspires me to try brewing my own beer. The bottles and bottle caps, the scents of barley and hops.. it's amazing.
The zoo. Too late for b-day cake, but in time for s'mores. A volunteer toasted marshmallows over a fire in a barrel, and another did the assembly, and everyone was able to get one each. The polar bears *loved* their big ice cake, and were playing and having fun. Everyone went "AWWWW!"
The area they have set up for water fowl was full of birds, the swans were noisy, and there were an awful lot of ducks. Actually, with the unseasonably warm weather, all the animals were active and enjoying it. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died before I even got all the pictures of the birds I wanted. It was a lot of fun though.
Then.. Mike needed a shirt for a thing he had to go tonight, and so we stopped a couple places looking for a shirt and shopped, and Wm said that Dad has been complaining about needing a new beard trimmer, so we got him one for his b-day. Stopped to get comics as long as we were in the area, and also go some sparkling water to try the various rootbeer extracts in so we could decide which one we were going to carbonate with yeast first.
Finally, we got the things we needed to get, and got home, and now I'm relaxing while he's doing the smile at people thing for work. I hurt so bad, but it was such a nice day with the kids.
( 2 pictures from the zoo )

I saw on the scrolly message thing at the golf pro shop by my house that Wings and Things will be re-opening soon. Poor syntaxdarkness. Don't worry, I'll eat some for you. *grins*

We went to Terra Bella yesterday for coffee and treats. E loves the place, and I'm pretty fond of it too. Fair trade organic coffee, locally roasted. Which means "Guilt free". Even reasonably guilt free for getting a carryout cup, since I was planning to use it as a form with the record cuff idea, and the lid is recycle code 6. (shrinkable!)

Going through the new Donna Kato book. It's yummy. I'll write a review of it soonish. But this one I'm actually really reading, not just scanning then skipping to the projects, because it's super informative if you're at all into polyclay.

The zoo was a lot of fun. Every year, the newsletter says "Hot tea and popcorn" and every year, it's not hot tea. This year it was hot cider and hot chocolate. Mine wasn't stirred enough so the top was a watery chocolately flavored drink, and the bottom was pure sludge. My own fault. I gave E the chocolate sludge and she was happy.
There are a couple orphaned cubs there, and they are so cute, brown bears. You just want to take them home and snuggle them. Or maybe that's just me. I love the brown bears. My camera was having battery issues, and my fingers were having "it's too cold to take your gloves off" issues. I did get a couple pics of the kids and Mike, but I used point and shoot rather than fuss with settings while I was freezing, so we will have to see how they turned out.
We hit the animals we most wanted to see, then went to the gift shop, for the month of December, purchases at the gift shop are 20% off for passholders, and for Christmas For the Animals, the only people at the zoo are passholders, so they don't ask to see your card. W has been wanting a plushie from there for a while, so today I let him pick one out. He got a fox, and was insanely happy. E got a little gadgety thing with a bunch of lenses and stuff.
We brought fruit, rolls, and extra lean ground beef chubs for the animals. It was a lot of fun, but really too cold to stick around long, and a lot of work for me walking those trails since I woke up hurting from the cold.
Sicily's Pizza, a local pizza company has one buffet place, they only charge 9.99 per person, and the food is really ordinary, but it's fast, inexpensive, and the kids will always eat their veggies there since they have a really boring salad bar, and a fairly decent fruit selection. I like it because it's quick and easy and no clean up for me!
After we got home, I was simply wiped out. So I crashed, and slept hard for a 6 hour nap. *laughs* The kids and Mike watched movies.
----
Red Green and duct tape? Here, it's Red Green at the 3m duct tape factory in Canada. Red Green is a family favorite, and used to be E's favorite show in the world. And duct tape just is a happy thing. This video shows how it is made.

It was a day for spending our accumulating pile of gift cards we've gotten over the last year since last December. Not particularly wanting to seriously shop at Penney's, Mike suggested I get some cologne. Smart man! *grins* As much as I love my custom rose scent, I'm a scent whore, and there are some commercial scents I have a lot that goes back years, I'm not fond of candy scents, or the modern very clean scents. I like strong scents, a lot of them, the scents my mother used to wear.
My favorite, Opium, was reformulated a few years ago, so the Opium knock off I can get at the same place that mixes my rose is closer to the original Opium scent then the new one, but I love the new one too. So that's what I got.
Other favorites- Chloe's Narcisse, L'Air Du Temps (old formula though, or a good knock off of the old formula),Guerlain's Shalimar and of course, always, Chanel No. 5. All classic floral blend scents. Mom's favorite perfume was Chloe's Narcisse when it came out, before that, she loved L'Air Du Temps. My grandmother wore mostly Estee Lauder's Youth Dew, but also had a lot of other fragrances she wore regularly too.
Coco Chanel suggested putting perfume everywhere you wanted to be kissed, which I don't quite do, but I do spray it directly on, and not just into the air then step into the scent. I want more then a light mist. Then I spray my hair, so it just takes tilting my head slightly to move my hair for me to smell it.
So.. I feel absolutely decadent, with my big bottle of Opium, but we did get in and out with that gift card pretty quickly.
Then we went to see Dad and W, and they were just heading up to the comic book store, so we followed them, and suggested after W got what he went for, that we go spend another of those cards at Bear Tooth Bar and Grill, and had a wonderful dinner finished with their creme brulee. More decadence.
So I didn't get much done today. I was too busy being spoiled. *grins*

Well.. E wound up with something like 5 lbs of candy, which she made clear she intended to share with everyone in her family, she also got one packet of popcorn and a New Testament. No toothbrushes though!
( a bunch of pictures )
So it's over finally. But it was a lot of fun. My brother wasn't home when we hit his house, but we ran into him while E was trick or treating. W is TALLER then him now. I mean.. I probably knew it if I thought of it, but W is still a kid in my mind even if he's a young man really, and my brother is an adult.
As far as my hair goes, the beer made it very soft, and full of body, not quite as absolutely straight as usual. I wouldn't use it every time I "shampoo", but for special occasions, I think it's a winner.

( Yeah.. trying to sell the world on real soap again )

We always have leftover bottles of beer. Not because we drink a lot, we really don't. But people give Mike bottles sometimes, and occasionally we buy a 12 pack of a beer we like, and it lasts us about forever. I do plan to make bread with some at some point. Today though, I grabbed a bottle and used it instead of ACV after washing my hair with baking soda. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Today is the spinning class E and I are taking together, I asked Kim if she wanted to go, and at first she thought I meant spinning like the exercise, and was thrilled, then she found out I meant making yarn, and decided against it.
I'm excited about it though. This is something I've been wanting to learn to do for awhile.

Last night, Mike decided he wanted to take me out. I'm not sure where or what I was thinking. I knew we had to go to a bead store, and we did that. And I was dressed completely informally. Black skirt, cute teeshirt that said "Go Away, Get off my planet!" (which is what I'm wearing today too. I only had it on for a couple hours yesterday, and I need to get laundry done. Don't judge me. You've done it before too.), my alien necklace from Gina, and my gitd alien bracelet and my alien earrings.There was definitely a theme going. At the beadstore, Cat said she thought the alien earrings would look cute in the size 15 delicas, but for some reason, I didn't register she meant *my* alien earrings, so I asked her which ones. She said "Didn't you make alien earrings?" then noticed I was wearing them. I felt.. umm.. really really stupid?
After though.. Mike wanted to go out to a grown up restaurant without the kids together. We stopped by the Bear's Tooth, but they were, of course, SLAMMED. An hour wait for a table. Then we decided on Italian, and he took me to Villa Nova.
Oh wow.. it was so good. He asked me what kind of appetizer I wanted, he was looking at a few things on the regular menu, but on the specials for the day was an artichoke/crab/gruyere dip. So we ordered that. It was so rich, it was foreplay. The meal was the foodgasm. I tend too often to just eat for fuel, and not indulge often. This whole meal was an indulgence. Dessert was something like a chocolate cream puff. Fresh, handmade puff pastry filled with chocolate mousse,topped with a chocolate ganache, served in a puddle of chocolate sauce with bits of chocolate in it. All high quality chocolate. We shared. It was so good. I did wind up ordering one to go at the same time for E. I felt a little guilty, since my leftovers from dinner are going to be given to W. I wondered if E would be able to eat the whole thing. I know at Nordstroms she can't not eat a whole slice of chocolate cake because it's so rich and dark, but I guess since the mousse wasn't dark, and with the puff pastry to cut the total chocolateness of it, she had no issues and ate the whole thing happily.
Dinner? ( Cut to spare the vegetarians, vegans and anyone anti-meat )
It was lovely, and the waitress complimented my earrings and teeshirt, which made Mike all smug because I'd snarled at him "If I'd known we were going someplace nice to eat, I'd have dressed for it." But Alaska being what Alaska is, honestly, I can't think of any restaurant in town you can't get away with casual clothes. We tend to be fairly casual people, even when we go out. He knew what he had planned, and wore a long sleeved Metallica teeshirt.
Well.. my opinions aside.. what did the guy who went to high school in Italy think? He liked it. The chef hasn't Americanized the dishes, or given in the "more garlic means more authenticity" habit. He does wish that more restaurants in the US had parking like in Italy. Where you park someplace 4 or 5 blocks away and have a nice walk before and after the slow take your time meal. He was thrilled with the chocolate dessert. Which I picked. They recite the dessert menu there, and it was hard to keep up with. Usually I *don't* order chocolate desserts. I'm picky. But their cream sauces were so perfect, I figured the chocolate would be good too. The only disappointment for Mike and I was the bread. It was plain, white, boring and predictable rather then the artisan breads we've been getting used to in those sorts of places. Mike likes bread with texture and bits of grain. I really wish I could understand why the big chains like Outback and Chili's are so popular when for pretty close to the same amount, you can go to a local place with amazing food. And wow.. I'm absolutely sure that right at this moment, the other Cat.. the one in California? Is seriously seriously wishing she were in Alaska.
E of course, thought Mc Donald's (which we also picked up for her on the way home) and a fancy dessert make nearly the perfect meal.
Tonight I'm making chicken teriyaki for dinner I think. With a ton of veggies to help make up for the total indulgence last night. Plus I think when I get to the gym, I'll do a half hour extra cardio.
But.. it was a lovely evening!

Yesterday was a lot of fun, and a LOT of walking, but I found 3 things I have to brag about. Links and pictures of all but one of them will follow later.
The one I'm not taking a picture of by request of the artist, is my favorite. And I'll post her email link later when I find her card. It was a pretty hinged stained glass necklace with two layers. The first layer was a scrap of glass, and under that, a layer of metal with embossed foil tape with one of my favorite John Lennon quotes on it. Yay for quote necklaces, double yay for John Lennon quote necklaces.
"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
At the bead show, Karen had magpies. Well.. 2, and I bought one. Because I *heart* magpies. It's a pretty little pin with a very canny looking magpie.
AND one of the artists at the bead show had lampwork eyeball beads! I only found blue in a matching pair, but I'm so making myself a pair of eyeball earrings.
Other then that.. lots of soap of course. I'm not sure if I ever reviewed Gladheart Acres soap, but the other I did. So I'll link back to that review, and add in the now working link to her site, and the Gladheart Acres is an old favorite of my whole family. I got W 2 bars from them.
I considered a diamond willow cane, but I know I don't really have the money right now, plus it would require my admitting it really is a part of my life that isn't going to change, and I'm not willing to do that yet.

Well.. time to get to the gym. I did a lot of walking this week and haven't been to the gym almost all week. It's time to get back into the lifting thing.

I'm pretty sure I posted this before, but Google didn't turn it up when I searched for it (yes. I use Google more then my tags, it's quicker), so I'm probably reposting it, but this time with the key words so I can find it.
Like bread recipe shala baked homemade.
( my favorite bread recipe )

Remember recently when I posted about Alaska Birch Syrup's cranberry sauce? Well.. another product recommendation.. not mine this time, I'm not a big fan of mustard except occasionally, and certainly don't know mustard well. But E says their Kahiltna Gold Birch-Orange Mustard is possibly the only mustard she'll ever eat. If you're not willing to take a 13 yos opinion seriously, Mike, who lived in Germany for a few years and certainly DOES know mustard loves the stuff, and just called me to find out where their website is to recommend it to people at work. I'm not sure if he meant the chef, or just in general, but he doesn't recommend products unless he really likes them. It's under Syrups and Confections. He had some on a plain cheese sandwich. Well.. sort of plain cheese sandwich. We've been buying a decent aged cheddar lately, and a smoked gruyere cheese he really loves. But he told me the next day "That mustard you got? The orange stuff? That's GOOD."

I found the book I was looking for this morning. It's Aranzi Cute Stuff .
I love every Aranzi Aronzo book I have, but this one is just great for E and I both. Lots of Japanese style mascots and crafts, and many of them are made with felt and can be done by hand. Tissue covers, easy running stitch embroidery (that's just impossibly cute), water bottle holders, and lots of bags. There are some simply adorable keyring patterns I can't wait to try. It's fun and inspiring. I think I'm going to have E decide on a project, then draw her own character up we can make a pattern for. So very worth getting if you're into small, quick and absolutely adorable projects. Your local Michaels might have it, so watch for one of their good coupons if you want to get it.

Well.. this weekend was a bit rough. I pushed it too hard again, and despite the pretty Potter's Marsh icon, I didn't go there.
( long, lots of boring detail. Skip )
So I planned on doing some beading, but I never get to it this weekend. Instead I worked on knitting another kerchief, this one I think for Mel, it's in rainbow-y colors with a triangle design worked into it using yarn overs, k2tog, and ssk. Nobody told me that ssk looked better on the opposite side of a symmetrical design then k2tog. C'mon ladies and gentleman.. you know I'm a beginner! Help a girl out! I'm not going to follow patterns except my own, it's sort of the way I work... so I need all the helpful hints you can give me.
Next up, for knitting, is either an eyeball pouch or a fair isle pouch, so any hints on changing colors, carrying colors, etc.. please?
The hardware store was full of stuff I can see using soon. All sorts of meshes I want to play with to make things out of. I also got the oak dowels for the sets of dpns I'm making for people for the holidays. I'm thinking of getting some dowel caps and beading them with geometric peyote designs for straight needles or hair sticks.
For the gym yesterday, I braided my hair into a long braid down the back, then coiled it up into a bun and pinned it with 2 dpns, it wound up looking very fancy for going to the gym in a pair of shorts and a Linkin Park teeshirt. I think I need to teach E how to weave ribbons in my hair when it's up like that. Easiest method is just to thread 1/8th inch ribbon through a plastic yarn needle and "sew" it through your hair to help pin it into place and to decorate.

( Picture of soap )
That's not the bar I took my shower with, I used the Vanilla Mint. That bar is the one E picked, and it's called Glacier, also very minty and cool smelling.
First off, how it looks, the picture doesn't do it justice. Because this is a HUGE bar of soap. She sells smaller bars less expensively, but I like the huge chunk of soap. The packaging is minimal too. A tag, a piece of embroidery floss. It smells amazing. The Vanilla Mint was more mint then vanilla, but a sweet mint. It smells like mint candy.
It's not superfatted, or at least not terribly so. Sometimes handmade soaps can be a bit TOO moisturising to use on my face. This wasn't. I feel clean, my skin doesn't feel dried out, but it also doesn't feel oily. It smelled so good using it, I almost scrubbed a second time just to enjoy it again.
If you like patchouli, she makes one called Earth Goddess (I think?) that's patchouli and ginger that smells fantastic. Unfortunately, patchouli makes me sneeze. I was tempted though, it smells that amazing.
I think this soap will be what I use all summer. My skin can get oily and dirty in the summer and prone to breakouts, but since this isn't full of extra fat it won't aggravate the problem. During the winter, I'd use a body butter after showering I think.
It's 4 BIG bars for 30.00, or 5 little ones for 20, the little ones are 3-4 oz each (about the size of a standard bath bar) and the big ones are 7-8 oz each, so it's really reasonably priced. She does make vegan soaps too, including a vegan unscented bar if you've got sensitive skin or allergies.
You can get the soap from BathBucket.com

Well... I mentioned to some of you, I got a bottle of rum, this stuff. SN 938514 if you're curious. I also have a smaller bottle up too high for me to reach it to see if I can find a review of it, also from the Dominican Republic. I don't drink. Mike doesn't drink. This stuff got a review that makes me wish I did, I used to like rum and cokes. You know, when I drank.

I'm not sure if I'm going to the zoo today. The hotel is being renovated, and Mike had to work. E and I went to the Saturday Market though yesterday. First day and it was a blast.
( cut because this could get long )
In other news, last time I bought cologne, I got a bottle of violet. The scent is totally not making it for my family. Mike says "It's nice, just not what I'm used to." and E flat out says she doesn't like it, and wants me to wear rose or that other stuff (Opium). Ah well.

Well.. singingwolf had life going on last week when we ran out of soap. Since the car has been broken down, we haven't had a chance to get soap from any of my favorite local sellers, and I need to do something. So I bought 4 bars from Special Needs Handmade Soaps, one of the bars was peppermint, which is a good thing, because since I've been using Mike's Dr. Bronner's, he was out too, and forgot to get more. I LOVE the bergamot citrus which is the first bar I opened.
I was trying to explain soap to a friend a few weeks ago.
( soap )
When Mike and I got together, he was an Irish Spring user. Since he switched to real soap, he hasn't looked back. He uses Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap. To him, clean is a tingly feeling all over.
Well.. now that I've told you more then you *ever* wanted to know about soap..
Currently working on:
Update for Beadwork at BellaOnline
More boxes. Nearly done with boxes. Thank goodness. Had to redraw a lot of art in the last couple of days.
Thinking of: Melting crayons and maybe making some caramel popcorn later. I don't actually want to EAT caramel popcorn, but it's so pretty to make.