December 2020 - Week 4

Who else is on count down to 2021 with high hopes? Yep! But here's the thing - you have to change if you want things to be different. (Because y-o-u are the constant in the life you don't want.) 

It may mean you stop tolerating things. It may mean you get in shape. It may mean you say "yes" when you are scared or "no" when you are overwhelmed.  And forget resolutions and word-for-the-year! (Over. And passive.)  

Make a CHOICE. Then, set yourself up to succeed in that choice, over and over again.

Books

- Next Girl to Die by Dea Poirier via Kindle Unlimited was enjoyable but a touch shallow. Echoes of Lily Bard in the detective, with a different trauma.

- Curvy and Cursed? by Rosalie Hunter via Kindle Unlimited which was rift with detail holes. I won't read the next. (Skip)

- Sweatpants and Spells by Keira Blackwood via Kindle Unlimited which wasn't bad. I'll read the next.

- Magical New Beginnings by Brenda Trim via Kindle Unlimited which was just bad. No two ways about it. Skips whole swathes of narrative and feels like it starts in the middle. I won't read the next. (Skip it.)

Cooking: All the Hungryroot! These are great. I love that they send all the stuff (see giant picture). You just start cooking. I did tell them I like stir-fries so there seem to be a lot of those. 

Outside of that, I'm still not cooking much. (One box of mac and cheese hardly counts.) We may scale back this feature until I'm regularly cooking again.

Gratitude: Friends who drop off cookies. Friends who offer to come get you when you are trapped in your drive-way. Warm, comfy pants. Black squirrels.  Friends who make you mimosas!

Listening: Check out Episode 47 of this podcast on goal setting! And you'll hear me. 

Things 14 Said: She came over a couple times and we built a cat tree. She has approved of the new space.

Watching - Gossip Girl. I finished it! But, I got issues: How did Daddy Van der Woodsen go from music director to doctor?  What happened to the actual son Lily and Rufus had? He's been AOL for many seasons. How did Carol go from Lily's big sister to her little sister and then back the next season?  However, for all the drama, there is something to the understated way Lily and Elinor handle drama moments with their kids - kind of understated. Queen of the South. Which I killed off - joke intended!

Wearing

Perfume

Sticking with one brand of scent for the rest of the month.

Sucreabeille

- We Are Stardust - Scent notes: Daisy crowns and sandalwood, a bouquet of peace lilies, vanilla cream fresh from Max’s dairy farm, and a drop of patchouli. I needed the reminder. We are stardust. And I still don't understand how Sucre came up with a patchouli that I don't mind and somehow I don't get daisy (cat pee) off this! I get a delicious cream and lily deal with a sandalwood base that I could wear all week.

- Ruthless B-Word - Scent Notes: An unbelievably juicy blend of blood oranges and lychees. White amber and ginger lilies blend to give a sophisticated presence. For me, this is a light floral that lasts one hot minute on my skin. (Seriously - maybe 2 hours in my hair. Something in it - maybe the citrus - is gone against my skin.) And I would expect "ruthless" to have a darker note. But it's a fun scent.

- Sinister - Scent notes: Freshly cut jasmine, Egyptian geranium, oud, a lavender field, eucalyptus, a musky attic. The name freaked me out. I hesitated to try it. Somehow this reminded me of La Gram Russe's beloved My Sin.  It had lovely depth.

• (Lanvin My Sin (Mon Peche) was created back in 1924 by a mysterious Russian lady called “Madame Zed”, who worked on several more Lanvin fragrances. This feminine, provocative and dangerously seductive fragrant composition begins with aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, clary sage and neroli. The middle notes are: ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose, clove, orris, lily-of-the-valley, narcissus and lilac. The base is oriental – woody with vetiver, vanilla, musk, woody notes, tolu balm, styrax and civet. The perfume was discontinued in 1988.) 

There is not much the same between the two. Jasmine. There are a few reminiscent scents (woody notes  and oud; orris + ylang-ylang + lily of the valley = lavender) but not so much cross it should bring My Sin to mind. But it does.  It lasts hours on me - 6+. And softens as it lingers - it ends in nearly a powdery floral for me.

Skin

These were better skin weeks. Kept it the same as last week. Continuity.  Did throw in 2 face masks. Naturallogic Unmask Detox Hydration Mask  and Malaya Advanced Repair Mask (both courtesy of Boxwalla on different moths.) That hydration mask is the BOMB for winter skin. And the repair mask (with neem flower honey) is fantastic on the now ubiquitous mascne. 

 - Day time - Standard in-shower wash of tea tree cleanser followed by a third finger (gentlest finger) tapping into the skin of 100% Pure's Super Fruit Oil Nourishing Eye Cream, then the Votary serum and topped with the Votary day oil (yes a switch). And I've added the Votary cream some days because my skin is starting to be dry for the winter. Moved the shot of Monastery Aloe Hyaluronic Moisture Boost on the forehead and neck to days when I have Zooms!

- Night time - 1st cleanse with 100% Pure's Blood Orange Cleansing Balm following with a 2nd cleanse with my DHC Washing Powder for a little extra exfoliation. Liking the Naturallogic Elemental Advanced Hydration Red Wine Essence (last month's Boxwalla) as the first layer to restore moisture and fight off lines. The follow up moisture set has remained Votary night oil and cream (via the Boxwalla). Plus the Grown Alchemist eye cream.

(Boxwalla has a every other month beauty box that is the BOMB. Highly recommend.)

Random -  The value of promises builds over time. Break one and they are all worth less, until your word is worthless. (Yo, Peter, you paying attention?)

Also I miss samosas. (Indian potato food. Yum!) 

Take-away - New year doesn't mean a new you. Not unless you make different choices. Welcome to 2021. May we all be healthy and happy. Catch you on the flip side.

All photos by moi! And you can tell...

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For the Love of Disney

A friend, Daniel, wrote this piece. To my knowledge, he loves two things most dearly - music and Disney. He writes often and eloquently on his own blog about music. I asked him to share in this space his love of Disney.

When I was a child, the word "Disney" represented something very different than it does today. In the 1970's, Disney had 2 theme parks, had television shows like "Wonderful World of Disney"  & Mickey Mouse Club, and its hit movies were "Freaky Friday" and "The Love Bug". Its animation was struggling, and Pixar wasn't even a glimmer in anyone's eye.

But for a little boy growing up in Southern California, Disney was mystical. 

Circle Patterns

Have you ever noticed that life moves in a pattern?

A few weeks ago, I stopped by my grandmother's house for a visit. Her bathroom looked like a pharmacy. I was unaware she currently needed that much medication and was concerned. She said it was from last year when she was sick. (She was super sick last winter; we thought we were going to lose her. Should have known better. She's going to be 89 this year - tough as ever.) She knew not to flush the medication but found the Triad pill drop option too far away as she no longer drives much. I offered to drop them at the next Triad for her. So, the unneeded medication came home with me and was placed in a brown bag labelled "5/16 - TRAID"  - that way I wouldn't forget. The very next day I got an e-mail from my church - that Sunday we were collecting unexpired prescription medication to be given away on a medical mercy mission to Cuba. Problem solved!