Monday, January 31
excellent chinese astology website: http://asiaflash.com/rao/
8:55 PM

Sunday, January 30
happy birthday christopher!
8:25 PM

Honey Cleansing Scrub
* 1 Tablespoon honey
* 2 Tablespoon finely ground almonds
* 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Mix together and rub gently onto your face. The honey helps to moisturize, the almonds help exfoliate, and the lemon helps to diminish redness and blotches. How sweet is that?

Strawberries & Cream Toner
* 2 ounces ripe strawberries
* 1/2 pint lowfat milk
Mix ingredients in a blender and strain through a paper towel. With a cotton ball, smooth the liquid onto your face, and wipe clean with a dry towel. The acids in both the milk and the strawberries brighten dull-looking skin. (It leaves you smelling berry good, too!)

Avocado-Glow Mask
* 1 whole soft avocado, peeled and chopped
* A squeeze of lemon
Mash the avocado in a bowl with a fork until smooth, and mix in lemon juice. Apply the paste to your face and let sit for 20 minutes. (Avocado has natural moisturizing properties to make skin supersoft.) Rinse with warm water and watch your friends get green with envy.

Salty Body Glow
* 1 cup fine sea salt
* 1/2 cup grape-seed, olive, or almond oil
Stir ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl. Spread the mixture onto damp skin and massage in -- the grainy salt whisks away dead skin cells while the oil seals in moisture. Concentrate on the rough spots like elbows and heels. Rinse well, and check out that smooth bod!

Sweet Vanilla Soak
* 1 cup sweet almond oil (light olive oil may be substituted)
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/2 cup liquid soap (plain or flower-scented)
* 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Measure the oil into a medium bowl, and then carefully stir in remaining ingredients until mixture is fully blended. Pour into a squeeze bottle and add about a quarter of the mix to a warm bathtub (this recipe will make enough for four baths). Steep, and soak your cares away.
5:30 PM

Friday, January 28
this has been my favorite song for a few months now. you have to hear it to appreciate it. sometimes words are just that. with music they grow wings. my headphones broke maybe 4 years ago and i haven't replaced them since. i don't wear headphones at the office and can't imagine doing so again. it would be completely isolating. at home i play music but i'm not obsessed. ok, i can listen to a song many many manymany times in a row. but i don't have to. has it changed me? maybe. i don't know. i've found classical music to be soothing for a while now. it's more than soothing, it's a miracle. how could anyone hear such masterpieces and then put them to paper? plus i've heard certain vibrations in -- maybe wagner? or could be mahler's compositions are similar to vibrations from outer space. or was that bach? regardless, it would be great to have a classical music reality show. focus on juliard performers. bring excellence back. raise the standards. challenge the current scene. speaking of, here is the song:

"Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter

And so it is
Just like you said it would be
Life goes easy on me
Most of the time
And so it is
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky

I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes...

And so it is
Just like you said it should be
We'll both forget the breeze
Most of the time
And so it is
The colder water
The blower's daughter
The pupil in denial

I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes...

Did I say that I loathe you?
Did I say that I want to
Leave it all behind?

I can't take my mind off of you
I can't take my mind off you
I can't take my mind off of you
I can't take my mind off you
I can't take my mind off you
I can't take my mind...
My mind...my mind...
'Til I find somebody new"

* what IS a blower's daugher? is it a glass blower? and why does that make her special? is it an irish thing?
1:31 AM

Tuesday, January 25
cupcakes are not native to europe, at least not to eastern europe. i wonder how they came to be. our group has started celebrating birthdays with cupcakes vs. cake. it's festive and has the innocent flavor of childhood. i've noticed a lot of my entries have had to do with age and time and getting older. i'm not sure why this is. ----- today i had a foot doctor appt. i waited half an hour thinking i could get some physical therapy for my left ankle that's been hurting eversince the mouse incident. turns out my appt. was just so the doctor could prescribe anti-inflamatory pills (which i will not take) and fill out a prescription for physical therapy (which i will do). he thinks i have slight tendonitis. i just know i need to get my range of motion back for yoga class. anyhow, while i was waiting a very old couple was checking out. the wisp of a woman had soft tissue in her right wrist and was calling to get an MRI scheduled. her voice kept breaking from a sore throat. her equally old husband came over to her and hovered behind her while she was talking on the phone. emotions i felt: alarm at possibly becoming so frail myself, sadness at having my dad die before he could be that old, sadness at having my mom not have my dad to stand behind her, sadness at having my granddad die, irritation from having to wait for my appointment. ----- good news of the day: the MIN awards came out!
5:39 PM

Friday, January 21
i look forward to the snow storm. and isn't it amazing we have information from titan? how wild is that? wild.
11:41 PM

Thursday, January 20
a couple of korean friends who are also a couple introduced me to asian pears at the end of last year. i'm now mildly addicted. i love the fact each fruit has a slightly different taste. i haven't been able to find/pick one as aromatic as the fruit they brought. the first one had this creamy vanilla taste mixed with refreshing crunchiness. pure deliciousness. unlike other pears, these are round and hard. they're easy to peel but take longer to chew. i like that. they make you work a little, remember you've still got your teeth. a celebration of life. the asian pear. ahhhh
1:48 AM

Monday, January 17
this year feels full of turningpoints. i forget i'm almost in my mid-30s. one of my summer internships during college was to make jewelry. the woman i worked with was 35. i liked her and thought she was awesome. i looked up to her and appreciated her energy and honesty. i vaguelly remember her having boy troubles. i guess those don't go away with age. now i'm almost as old as she was and i still feel "young". a lot is gone of course. i need to find more creative outlets. a passion, a goal with no right/wrong answer.
3:59 PM