In preparation for days in sunnier climes

I finally found some self-tanning moisturizer* that doesn’t smell like someone’s butt. Nair, on the other hand, still does. “Vanilla Smoothie” scent? Yeah, no. Besides, I’m not too keen on slathering some cream on my skin that will chemically melt my hair. Eep! (mutters to self: I don’t know what I was thinking.) But hey, time for my seasonal razor-blade replacement! I really have to get better about doing that more frequently.

*Hemp Bronzing Moisturizer from the Moist Products Company in St. Paul, MN. Woo, shout-out to my BFITWWW in the Twin Cities! Its bronzing efficacy remains to be seen, but at its worst, it’s a nicely-scented moisturizer with lots of “natural” ingredients (fruit and flower extracts; coconut, sesame, olive, sunflower, tea tree, and jojoba oils, and obviously hempseed oil) and it isn’t tested on animals. So it has that going for it.

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biologically predisposed

I believe the theory that humans are biologically predisposed to crave sweet/fatty foods, because once upon a time our survival depended on getting enough calories…

But why do we thrive in sun, and get depressed on rainy, dark days? How did those traits prevent our extinction?

Just wondering.

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long weekend

To be precise, my weekend was the standard-issue, two-day length. It began for me after work on Friday, when I shampooed my carpets in preparation for dinner guests on Sunday. My carpet cleaner doesn’t have its own heating element, and relies on hot tap water for its cleaning power. I thought that heating water in my electric tea kettle instead was a brilliant idea! I poured the recently-boiling water into the container, screwed the cap on tight, brought it out to the cleaner, and couldn’t get it back into place. Hmmm… hey! The buildup of steam had expanded the container. I unscrewed the cap, and set the container aside to cool.

Half an hour or so later, I upended the container back onto the cleaner… but forgot to tighten the cap first. Dammit! Well, the carpet was going to get wet anyway.

Scrub, scrub, scrub. Um, scrub. SCRUB! Damn, the “high-traffic” areas are filthy. I did the best job I could, but will soon hire a professional to do it right.

Saturday was moving day for my friends Megan & Joe. After hearing the panic in Megan’s voice during an early-morning phone call, I headed down to their townhome just after 8am. Sui joined us shortly thereafter, followed by a steady stream of friends. Megan and Joe were fabulously well organized, with boxes stacked and clearly labeled, so all we had to do was stack them in the truck. And stack, and stack… where were they storing all of this stuff? Then it was time to drive the truck to the new house, and unload… with the contents of their little townhouse, we filled four bedrooms, the office, the kitchen, the living room, and the basement! I threw in the towel around 7, but others stayed until the job was done a couple of hours later. Many congrats to M&J; the new house is beautiful and has terrific mountain views, to boot.

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This End Up.

I spent Sunday preparing my annual Feaster Dinner. Apple cobbler made with apples donated by Alison, Mandy’s mother’s carrot soufflé and pineapple stuffing recipes, warm Irish soda bread from my mom, mashed potatoes with turnips from Jessi’s kitchen, a final opportunity to hang out with Jackson, Erin’s younger brother… it was truly a festive feast. With Dave & Jessi and Tim & Erin all moving out of state this summer, there will be fewer and fewer opportunities to gather together like this. I cherish every chance!

And then I was officially pooped. I was eager to get to bed, but accidentally forgot to feed the cats… Rocket tried to tell me ALL NIGHT LONG but I didn’t catch on to why she was being SO FRIGGIN’ ANNOYING until I stumbled into the kitchen this morning. Sorry, kids. It will probably happen again.

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headache break

I have a raging headache that is threatening to go migraine on me, but I’ll fill you guys in on “what I had for lunch” this weekend when I’m feeling better. Short version:

  1. Cleaning
  2. Moving
  3. Feeding

Hopefully followed by sleeping, very soon.

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Gettin’ my quote on

I’ve been madly cleaning house in for a dinner party I’m hosting on Sunday. Among the things in my clutter was a 2007 pocket datebook, which I was about to throw away… when I noticed the notes I’d taken during my trip to Europe with Mandy last spring. Okay, it’s a keeper. Written inside the front cover is this quote by painter Georges Rouault, which I remember copying down while at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam:

You might as well deprive me of air, light, wine, coffee, and white bread, or of my precious friendships, as take away from me my “painterly keyboard.” 

I wrote it down because it spoke to me, it spoke directly to the passion that I feel for my line of work, at a time when I was afraid that the creative aspects of my job might be pulled out from under me when I returned to the States. I often think about how lucky I am that I’ve known, since childhood, what I wanted to do for a living.

If you’re not doing something you feel passionately about, you’re starving yourself.

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