So for the random question of the day –
When you see a chick wearing silver shoes your first thought is:
1) “She looks like a hooker.”
2) “She looks like she snuck into her grandmother’s closet.”
3) “Metallic shoes just look cheap/stupid/trashy… etc.”
4) “Metallic shoes so rock the summer season.”
So in recent months I have become more and more reliant on the blog-o-sphere for a variety of decision making processes. If I’m looking for recipes, I know no longer check out allrecipes.com or recipezaar.com… I go blog stalking. Same for looking for reviews on music, hotels, books, or restaurants. And it is an absolute necessity when in search of a new beauty product. Because of this process I have found quite a few gems and items I never knew I couldn’t live without.
Because let’s face it – I’m THAT girl. THAT girl is never the girl I aspired to be. But being THAT girl does have some perks. My skin wouldn’t be as in nearly as good of condition as it is now (hell, I’m not even sure I would actually have skin with all of the sloughing that has taken place). My house wouldn’t smell nearly as good (and me too, for that matter). And I wouldn’t be nearly so entertained (and no one wants a Bored Sabine trudging around). Yes, of course, when I talk about being THAT girl, I talk about the fact that I’m a ConsumerWhore.
So as our little universe morphs yet again into its new generation the attitude has gravitated much toward the idea of pay it forward, and with that in mind I’ve decided to start adding reviews to the content here at Hell’s Condo. I do a great deal of reviewing over at the tech site… and in the forums, but I never really brought them here, but maybe it is time… or maybe I just need to feel a little less guilty when it comes to my consumer whoreness.
Now I’m not shopping for me – I’m shopping to save you from buyer’s remorse. (Like that? I liked that.)
To kick things off I’m going to start with the item that has literally saved my skin –
Boots Mediterranean Olive, Almond & Sage Wonderbalm
What they say:
This rich moisturizer with nourishing organic olive oil and almond is perfect for drier areas of the body as it delivers instant softness and smoothness. Its just so versatile, this miracle product can be used on knees, heels, cuticles and lips. The fragrant sage oil will take your mind away to luscious Mediterranean landscapes.
What I say:
This stuff is divine. I’ve used it as an intense moisturizer in conjunction with my Moisture Booties. As a cuticle balm. This is what saved my elbows after the abuse they suffered in Arizona. The scent is a great earthy natural scent. It dries clean with no sticky residue, but you can feel the effects long after it has dried, and at less than $10 it easily becomes one of the cheaper items I rub on my skin everyday. While the tiny jar will last you a surprisingly long time, I really wish they would sell it by the gallon.
The best news is that if you haven’t already noticed Boots (a long time UK beauty line) has finally made their products available here in the US. And they make them incredibly easy to locate – both Target and CVS stores now carry the full Boots line.
Rating: 5 out 5 stars
Link: Boots.com
So happier topics…
The weekend rocked.
Last week as we all know there was some rather shitty feelings going on. When faced with the thought of a weekend at home in bed, I blanched. I’m just not that girl, but I knew that if given half the chance I could become that girl. So I went to the museum, the only quirk being the exhibit I wanted to see was a Pompeii exhibit… in Mobile, AL. But I haven’t had any decent bonding time alone with my car since Gulf Wars so a 7 hour drive to a museum seemed like an excellent idea.
And it was. I got me out of the house early on Saturday, I got to have a great lunch with Mike at a vegetarian/raw bar place he found in his neck of the woods. I reached Spanish Fort, AL mid-afternoon and got some quality shopping time in at one of my favorite shopping centers. A decent dinner where I had given my self permission to cheat, but didn’t feel the “want to”. A decent hotel with really shitty soft water and a good nights sleep. Followed by a museum exhibit about one of the places I’m passionate about, where my only complaint is I wish the exhibit was bigger… but IMHO still worth my drive… not to mention a fairly nifty IMAX film about Greece (it wasn’t “300” on an IMAX screen but not all of us feel the need to one up the other *smirk*). Then I headed home and was safely home and in bed at a more than decent hour.
That makes for an entire weekend of me not being the lazy stressed slug that I could have easily turned into. There were many many highlights… for example –
The Drive? I will fully admit I’m an odd one. I love to drive. I’ll even take it one step further and say I need it. Driving resets my Feng Shui. A long drive alone in a car calms me. It gives me mandatory down time and I’m learning that it actually takes about 3 hours to really turn my brain off the “stuff” and enjoy myself. So about halfway thru a long drive I find myself finally starting to relax… I breathe deeper and I can ponder life’s more important aspects… like finding great shoes instead of dwelling on all the work crap or the life crap.
The Spanish Fort shopping center? I always find the best shoes there. Always. I get excited when I leave Florida and enter Alabama not because I’m finally leaving ThePitOfHell (well maybe that too) but because I know I’m 40 miles away from my next really great pair of shoes. This trip was no different – they are black with the cutest little ankle strap… and Sarah has already said “Oh Look! FuckMe Heels!”
The Sleep? I actually got a really decent night’s sleep. The hotel wasn’t the best and I quite possibly STILL have conditioner in my hair that won’t rinse out. But I slept! Like 7 hours! And woke up rested! With really strange dreams! Yeah, I dreamed what can only be loosely titled as “Winter Wonders: The Musical.” All I will admit is –
- That I play a wicked harmonica.
- That Sarah has some real soul in her to be able to pull off the Christina Aguilera song she did.
- The Bannerman Barbershop Quartet? Nuff said.
- 3 of our favorite Gleann Abhann Knights covering not one but two Papa Roach songs…
- and Big John? Does a spot on perfect Jay-Z impersonation. (which for the record is the second dream I have had in which Big John was playing Jay-Z.)
Maybe I should think twice about letting my Sansa play while I’m asleep.
Speaking of music? I’m going to go ahead and vote that 4 hours into a 7 hour drive on a dark lonely stretch of Florida interstate is not the exactly the best place to discover the newest “sex” song… but it did make the thought processes of the last 3 hours of the journey incredibly interesting… frustrating, but interesting. And for your listening pleasure? I provide you with that song, and tell you that if you haven’t already given the band Finger Eleven a chance… then you, my dear friend, are a slacker.
Ok guys… today is the day I found out just how defunct my uterus really is. It’s funny, I’ve been putting off this testing for so long that my mind goes to a million different places when I start to think about what the outcome of today could mean…so I’m not going to think about it anymore. Just deep breaths and showtunes.
I’ve just finished a long hot bath, and now I’m off for an ultrasound, and then some bonding time with a set of stirrups. And after that? A massage. Cause regardless of what this afternoon holds for me… if my day involves a speculum then I deserve a damn massage… and possibly chocolate (since chocolate is about the only thing “bad” for me that I can eat while doing only raw foods. Which for the record is going stupidly well. Eating has never been so easy. Eating has never been so much fun. I’m amazed at how great having a real appetite makes me feel. Even if I am still sleeping way too much.)
Cross your fingers.
So as I mentioned my health has been sucking ass lately… It is a large combination of occurrences at work and the fact that I’ve gone off meds, started new meds, had other meds fucked with, and am generally feeling like a lab rat these past few weeks. I have no energy. I’m sleeping way too much to be practical. I have no appetite. The primary aspect of my diet is currently applesauce. Yeah I’ve reverted to being a kindergartner.
Every summer, I seem to go thru this. Work starts to kick my ass as everyone and their dog decide that this is the perfect time to uproot their life and move into a new house they can’t really afford. And we all know what happens when I get stressed – the first thing to go is sleep very quickly followed by eating… unless of course you include when Sarah realizes I haven’t had anything to eat in days awhile and insists that I drop what I’m doing and eat something… and due to time constraints I usually end up getting that something from a drive thru. Which makes me feel bad and normally also succeeds in pissing me off.
And so continues the vicious circle.
In talking with my doctor over dinner last week, (Am I the only person who has a good enough relationship with their doctor that they can go to dinner together? Please tell me I’m not that awkward.) I decided (with his full support) to take my normally really healthy diet a few steps past normal. Typically come summer I pull out my juicer and blender and do a basic diet consisting of:
20 oz. of fresh Juice with a granola bar for breakfast.
Yogurt, Fruit, and Granola for lunch.
Salad with protein (normally shrimp, fish, tofu) for dinner.
There are variations of course but you get the gist. It is simple foods, but healthy. But most importantly it makes me feel better. I have more energy. My sleep schedule returns to normal. My allergies lessen to a more manageable point. And for some reason it really helps me in adjusting to our summer climate. That is until I get stressed again and it all goes down the tubes.
Now? As in starting today? I’m going totally raw foods… for the next 3 weeks. In a part system cleanse/part energy boost. The weird thing is that I don’t actually think it is going to be that hard. It is only 3 weeks and I figure the novelty of all the new stuff I’m adding to my diet won’t wear off until well into the 2nd week… then I’m over halfway thru the 3 weeks and I can do anything for 10 days or so… I have that much willpower. Besides I’ve already decided that sashimi counts in my raw food diet and so when I feel the need for something more than fruit and veggies at least I have that… in other words I’m using it as my cheat and probably my Saturday night treat.
After the 3 weeks I’m going to revaluate, but I think that this summer is going to be a vegetarian summer. I’ve given serious thought to it over the weekend. And my life wouldn’t actually change that much… all my favorite restaurants are vegetarian friendly… and some of my favorite dishes are already vegetarian. Not to mention the whole slew vegetarian restaurants around I haven’t tried. And since I won’t be doing it for ethical reasons or because I need to be doing without meat; then I won’t feel at all off when I allow myself to cheat.
When it comes down to it I’m really just curious to see if it offers me any long term benefits. I’ve seen the short term benefits for years now, but I’m curious to see if those benefits taper off after a period time. That and for the first time in more months than I (or Sarah) can remember I’m actually excited about food… actually looking forward to my next meal instead of having to have someone else remind me to eat.
Here? Is where I move on to the more personal items of the entry.
Here? Is where I provide fair and blatant warning to all guys that they probably should stop reading here. This provides James with all the warning he needs to run and hide.
(Read on …)
Okok, I’ve been told I can’t keep silent any longer. I do have good reason(s) for keeping silent – mainly my health and my job are sucking ass this week but those are separate entries for another day.
What you want to know about is Arizona.
Yeah, I went.
You already know that I had some very mixed emotions about this trip. I wanted to go – that part was never in question, but the logical part of my mind (and at times my gut) thought this could very possibly be a bad idea. It was paranoia in its most raw form. I know this because it manifested itself on various planes.
What if it is bad*?
What if it is awkward?
What if he really is an axe murderer**?
What if there isn’t a spark?
What if it is good?
Yeah – you read that right I was worried that it was going to be good. In my head, having something good with a guy all the way on the other side of the country was a logistical nightmare that my head didn’t even want to compute.
The one thing I didn’t take into account was that if there weren’t any axes to be seen… and if it wasn’t bad or awkward… and if there was more of a spark than even I was prepared for… then it would be good….
…and nothing else would matter.
And the paranoia would dissipate.
And I’d be left with something that was natural and good.
That is what I got. A truly wonderful weekend with an amazing man.
I know that the concept of what I want is fluid at best, but I saw last weekend that there are some things that are more important to me than I realized. And the ironic part is they are all the small things, even minute, that meant more than the grand gestures. He reached for my hand when we walked. He groped me under the table. He marveled at the softness of my skin. He stood behind me in the checkout line at the bookstore sniffing my neck cause he couldn’t get over how great I smelled (yeah, that was my melting point). I’m positive that half of Phoenix saw us and thought we were completely and disgustingly pathetic. I loved it.
And did I mention he thinks my shoes are just the sexiest things? Score one for summer sandals.
Right now, all I can say is that there isn’t anything better than waking up in his arms with one of the puppies*** asleep on my feet. I want more of that.
And I’m going to get it (sans puppies, though) next month we are meeting in New Orleans. We’ve decided to spend a few days enjoying the Quarter before heading out to Sarah’s Elevation.
So, yes, it was a good weekend – even great. So great that I didn’t even care that he threw a lamp at me****.
*”bad” of course varying from “bad” to “VERYBAD” and all levels in between.
** based on my track record these are things that must be considered…
*** how can 2 puppies be THAT cute and loving? And he didn’t believe me when I told him that I had never met a dog that didn’t love me, and that bribing wouldn’t needed.
**** That is my story and I’m sticking to it… cause if he didn’t throw it then how in the world did it manage to hit me in the forehead. Don’t listen to his story cause he says that he wasn’t even in the room at the time and that I did it to myself. Now how could I possibly throw at lamp at myself, I ask you? I maintain he did it in retaliation because he believes I taught one of the puppies how to jump up on the kitchen counters. Which for the record? I *so* didn’t. Why would I do that?
