Jump to content
Post-Update: Forum Issues Read more... ×
BPAL Madness!
Post-Update: Forum Issues

Blogs

Featured Entries

  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
    • 7,708 views
Korshka's BPAL Ramblings
 

Wedding Stuff and Cake Decorating

Now that the initial - Holy Cow I'm Actually Engaged - it wearing off. There is actual stuff that needs to be done. Mr Man and I have decided to go check out possible reception sites next Sunday. Between now and then, I need to research options. We are checking out Clearwater Recreational Center. It's supposed to be a nice site and a good "blank canvas" to work with and fairly cheap. Other than that - I'm not sure where else to look. Of course if I'm going to compare it to a hotel - I need to figure out catering prices too as most hotels include catering. Ya gotta compare apples to apples, ya know? This also means that Mr Man and I need to nail down an exact date.   On a plus side, I picked up Tampa Bay's Premier Bride Magazine at my salon last week. I didn't have much hope as it was free, but I gotta say it has a lot of good info. In fact, I think its advertising to info ratio is actually higher than the $10 bridal magazines at the store. In addition, all the advertising is for local businesses and not just outlandish dresses and rings. So far I'm liking it and getting some good ideas. It is definitely worth is free price tag .   I still need a wedding planner book. I picked one up last weekend, but I'm having second thoughts and am starting to wonder if I should keep it or not. I'm just not sure what would be best to help me get though this.   I have cake decorating again tonight. I still have to make the icing when I get home from work. I had all plans of taking care of it last night; however, those plans were changed when I went quickly around the corner of our kitchen to head off Mika (and give Brutus a little break from her) and slipped on a big puddle of Brutus's piss. That damn dog. He was doing so well with potty training, but the past week or so he has backtracked some. I'm mostly ok from it, I just bruised up my ankle pretty bad. I had to hobble around for the rest of the night and try to rest it as much as possible. Which meant - no icing making. Thankfully, I had just taken the cake out of the oven when it happened. Unfortunately since Mr Man was sickly, I couldn’t just lie on the couch and get waited on - instead I had to do the waiting on.
korshka

korshka

0
Odd Thoughts from an Odd Duck
 

Hmm...

A journal for extra Switch Witch info sounded like such a good idea when I read it on Freya's post. Now I'm not sure what to say. The questionaire was easy because I had prompts.   Let's start with some ideas for the Switch Witch on a budget. Here are some cheap or free ways to brighten my day:   *mix cd's of music you think I would like   *e-cards of course   *links to particularly odd "news of the weird" type stories (as long as they don't involve an animal being injured or killed -- the husband has to prescreen all animal movies before I'm allowed to watch them. This weekend I was reading the new Lyndsay Sands book, and toward the end I got to a scene that looked potentially Duckie-unfriendly. The dog was bounding down the stairs to protect the heroine from the bad guys. I handed the book to the husband and said, "Please read the next few pages and make sure Julius is okay." Yet I have no problem whatsoever with movies that have a high human body count. Go figure.   *I love getting postcards (memo to me: sign up for the March Purple Ink Postcard exchange. I miss doing that.)   *links to yummy sounding beans and rice recipes from different cultures   I'll add more as I think of them.   *a link to a beginner-friendly, active board on natural/alternative healing topics would be wonderful   *If my Switch Witch happens to be handy with those awesome icon stickers, I would love stickers for imps of any of the scents I listed as favorites.   *Handy with photo software? I'd love a collage of Johnny Depp pics to use as a background for my laptop.   (I'm trying to guess talents that a Switch Witch might possibly have, so don't feel bad if you don't know how to do this stuff -- I don't either or it wouldn't be on my list, lol.)   *stickers. I particularly like Lisa Frank and am on the lookout for something similar but "darkly inclined"
odd_duck71

odd_duck71

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Phantasm

mmmm....lemon verbena with just a hint of jasmine and neroli. As it dried the green tea come out, but not overpowering. A very nice summer scent. I will definately be keeping the imp, but probably not a bottle.   ETA: As it dried down further, it reminds me of maybe bathroom cleaning products? Or something, not quite sure. But I don't like it.
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Jezebel

At first, all honey. Then the orange starts to come out and I think, wow I really like this. Only the slightest hint of rose, luckily.   But the all of a sudden, BAM! Baby powder.   Off to swaps.
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Intrigue

This is an interesting one. At first it's all woods, but as it dries the fig comes out and sweetens it. Not getting any of the cocoa.   I do like it, though I doubt I'll get a bottle. I am glad I got to try the imp.
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
Whiskers and Whispers
 

Worried for my kitty...and a mad idea.

I'm really worried about my kitty Tingle now. She's not been eating or drinking and she's worryingly thin and frail. I went to the animal hospital and she was given a checkup and put on a drip because she just won't eat. The vets think it may be a kidney infection, I hope it's curable (and not too expensive) but I'm just worried it may be something worse. I just don't need my only other kitty passing away at this time, not when I'm already bogged down with study stress and loads of coursework. I'm actually a little scared for her-I know she's old but I don't want her to leave me now.   Anyway, my idea. I'm toying with the idea of writing an article for the uni newspaper about BPAL, I'm sure there are many people at my uni who'd be interested (and I'm getting bored of the stink of Lynx spray and Eau de Chav that I often smell round my campus). I'm also a little nervous about having an article and having it published since I've never been involved with the uni paper at all, and I'm also a little scared about being 'a little bit famous', and having people at uni-even friends-suddenly come up to me and ask about the article...I know that sounds really stupid but I am terribly shy with subjects that I don't normally talk about outside the internet (my talk about BPAL is strictly online, with the exception of meet-n-sniffs) I think one idea would be to wear BPAL to uni and note any compliments/comments, I'd take that as interest, and maybe I could get writing. I also need something else...lots and lots of TIME. Which I have none at the moment, with coursework and all.
PurringPulsar

PurringPulsar

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Spring Fling Switch Witch!

The deadline for getting your questionnaire to the switch witch account is February 24 at 6:00 PM EST. They're going to try to have assignments out by March 1, and the end of the round will be May 10, with no grace period- essentially, the grace period is included, I'd think. Here's the link to the actual post!
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
How difficult could it be?
 

some kntting thoughts....

but i am now halfway through the ribbed scarf. i cannot wait for this to be finished, but i think i might be looking at another whole month....damn me having a full-time (and then some) job!   i read somewhere of a woman whose job is designing and hand knitting a range of clothes. if i had to live on what i made from knitting i'd need to charge £10,000 per item!   i think i might have finally understood knitting in the round - not that i've tried it yet....'walking before i can run' etc etc ad nauseum.....   i am starting to realise how expensive knitting is. i wanted to make a bath mat from a pattern and worked out that it would cost me $212 (without shipping to UK) for the yarn. if i can't afford to buy a bath mat then i most certainly can't afford to make one!
Nemesister

Nemesister

3
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Beaver Moon update!

Duck Mountain contacted me today, with the intention of clearing everything up and resuming activity on the forum. I do believe she intends to complete the swap and I am ecstatic about that. I am also quite impressed, because it takes guts to own up to something like that, and not everyone would do it. So! As soon as I have Beaver Moon in my hands, I will update the swap feedback, notify the mods, and post here to let you all know. Plus, we get a forumite back! Like I told her, it just didn't seem like something she would really do, so it's a relief to know I wasn't wrong.   I just thought I should pass along the information, in case anybody sees her about.   Welcome back, DM!
smallvoice

smallvoice

5
Do you have a flag?
 

Psychology of Retail Therapy

I'm really enjoying my psychology class. It's Psych 110, just the basics. I resist the temptation to play amateur psychologist armed with only half a quarter of 100-level knowledge (because it ANNOYS THE HELL OUT OF ME when college kids think they're an expert on a subject after taking one semester of it), but my professor has a PhD in cognitive psych from the University of Chicago and she's a damn smart woman to boot, so I trust what she says.   Last night we were talking about motivation and emotion. She was discussing the various reasons why people are motivated for certain behaviors, and she briefly touched on compulsive shopping and hoarding. Her explanation was that people use this behavior to fill the void in their lives that is usually caused by depression. If someone experiences a sadness mood, they are motivated to change circumstances in their lives. Some people misdirect this motivation into changing material things in their lives (selling a bunch of their own crap on eBay and then buying a bunch of other stuff) rather than changing the things that SHOULD be changed (i.e. their partner, their job, whatever). Ultimately this makes the person more depressed because they've just racked up a bunch of new bills and the new material things didn't make a difference to their depression.   I was all set to get defensive and huffy about this because I hoard perfumes and bath/body stuff, and I also sell stuff I don't want and buy things that other people didn't want. I don't think it has anything to do with trying to fill a void that's caused by depression -- I actually LIKE swapping and hoarding. I feel very pleased and happy when I look at all my BPAL bottles. They're little bottles of beauty, and I'm glad that they're in my life.   If I feel particularly sad one day and I try to soothe myself by buying a BPAL bottle from somebody's swap post, I don't think I should feel bad about it from someone telling me that I'm screwed up psychologically for doing this. Dammit that perfume DOES make me feel better, and I love the anticipation of waiting for some lovely BPAL to show up in my mailbox.   So as I was feeling all defensive and ready to raise my hand and tell the professor "You're WRONG, I indulge in retail therapy on occasion and it's not due to depression it's because I LIKE IT."   And then she said, "People who exhibit this behavior will buy 40 sweaters in one day and never even take them out of the bags, they'll stash the bags in hiding places around the house so that their significant others won't see them. They get no pleasure from actually having the things they bought, they just feel a compulsive need to buy something. Then they'll have no money when it's time to pay the rent or the electric bill or the car payment, so their depression becomes even worse."   Oh. THAT kind of compulsive shopping. Um, yeah. That's not the kind that I do.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

2
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

The Wild Men of Jezirat al Tennyn

At first I thought that this was going to end up being too masculine for me and that once again another oil was going to huby.   But then I was pleasantly surprised! The vanilla and amber came out and sweetened it. I wish it stayed spicier longer, but it could be that I'm trying it on the top of my arm instead of my wrists. Now I'm going to go wash off the scent I tried before and I'm going to reapply it on my wrists. Either way though, it's quite nice and I'm glad I picked up a bottle.   (yes, that was the most useless review ever LOL)
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Iambe

Wow, something with rose in it that doesn't immediately go old lady on me.   At first it's mostly warm gardenias but as it dries, I catch a hint of the tea and perhaps amber? I'm not getting much of the patchouli or rose (thank god).   This is a very warm seductive floral. I think I really like it and I will definately be keeping my imps of it. Not sure on a bottle yet.
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
giant squid!
 

oh the conflict...

Sometimes I love it here, sometimes I hate it. I really wish I could make up my mind. I talked to Mario today (he actually had a free minute, what a surprise) about how I was disappointed in the lack of lessons I was getting, and also about the problems with my other teacher being such a royal bitch to me for no reason (that I know of...). I have to say, just talking about it to him made me feel a lot better. It was a lot better than holding my thoughts inside for one more week. He actually said it was ridiculous that I had the in tandem lesson slot and that next quarter I will switch to him full time. I hope he actually means it. Sometimes he is too busy and forgets his promises.   That being said, my lesson went quite well today. We actually talked about what I have wanted to talk about all along- artistry. No technique, no stupid requirements, just the philosophy behind the pieces I am working on. Perhaps that is because I had really busted my ass to learn all of the notes and etc. so that we would have no choice but to work on what I wanted. note to self: do this more often Actually I think it was because I just tend to play low flutes better, they fit with me naturally, I suppose. He has so many amazing thoughts on artistry and musical philosophy, it is a shame that many of my earlier lessons were wasted with us arguing whether or not it is valid and beneficial to perform from memory. Or whether or not I should play Paganini violin music on the flute. ew.   I got asked to sub for the "most in demand" flute player in Strasbourg. I am pretty excited. I am going to play a Xenakis piece for flute and three guitars, and I adore his music! I feel so lucky to have gotten asked to do this, it makes me feel so guilty for being in a bad mood and wanting to leave just yesterday. But I guess that is the rollercoaster that is my feelings and/or life.   Ok enough about my work! I spent the good old V-day drinking beer by myself and watching the L Word on You Tube. Go me. I have such an Alice fixation, it's not even funny. And you know, that was fine for me, I never liked to make a big deal out of VDay anyway (although I read Ah Xia's post somewhere in the forums about the carnations and totally had a sad moment remembering that I too had to deal with the "no carnations for you" thing on VDay in high school. ick. I so wanted to forget about that memory...).   This evening was also good. More beer drinking and pizza eating with friends. A good way to finish off an improvement of a day, in my opinion. Although, my ever expanding waistline did not consider this an improvement. Although I better go to sleep and gear up for a weekend of crap, prelude to giant week of crap that is about to smack me in the face quite soon. At least it will be followed by vacation and the much anticipated trip to Paris with a good old friend from my undergrad (who is conveniently on a fulbright in Germany quite close by). I can't wait...                  
euterpe414

euterpe414

0
circe_blue's Blog
 

Birthday

For my birthday, the boy came up to spend the weekend. He came bearing gifts Yay!   I recieved- A live recording of the last Pixies show in DC from 2004. This was one of our first dates   Audiobook of The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, read by the author. I've been looking for this for months and months.   A box of yummy chocolate from Schakolad. The box itself? Chocolate   The chocolates!     The boy (+ chocolate)   Me!
circe_blue

circe_blue

2
Birdsongs
 

Evil Retail Conspiracy Day

I've always thought Valentine's Day was stupid, even before I started working in retail. Which helps when you have no one special to spend it with. I bought myself some dark chocolate squares with caramel filling at work (50% off!), though I haven't eaten any yet. Talked to the roommate for a while (she gave me some of her Girl Scout Samoa cookies - true friendship!), surfed online, & watched Office Season 2 on DVD, which was fun. Still being awake to hear the ex come home at 4:30 am after spending Valentine's Day in Denton with the new girlfriend he took up with immediately after breaking up with me three weeks ago? Not so much fun. Bleah. That did puncture my hard-won feeling of peace & hopefulness that had finally come over me this week.   No worries, though. I went to the eye doctor today (to use my insurance in case I leave Borders & it runs out next month) & will be getting contacts & new glasses soon. The glasses guy seems very pro-plastic frames, anti-metal. I did end up getting plastic frames, but the black or heavy-framed ones he picked out at first were all rejected. It takes a certain force of personality to take something from gaudy or ugly to adventurous & fun, & I don't think I have that. I'm all about the subtle ... I liked the ones I chose, even if they weren't a bold statement. And soon I'll be seeing better, because my prescription has changed some. Yay for better vision!
spanishviolet

spanishviolet

5
What ever happened to Generation X?
 

Changing the definition

I miss living in the city. When I lived in Chicago, in Rogers Park, it seemed like I was only a short walk, bus or el ride from fun and good times. Even on nights I chose to stay in my apartment, I had the knowledge that I could be out the door and into a bar, coffeeshop, or other public place within minutes, if I so chose.   Maybe my problem is that I can't accept the reality of my life. I'm a 39-year-old mother of two (with a third on the way). I live in the suburbs; I have a mortgage, a job, and a host of responsibilities. I'll never live that young, carefree, urban lifestyle again. And I find this depressing. Is everything "fun" over? Or do I just have to get used to a new idea of fun? Is the "fun" of my life supposed to center around being a parent and doing family things, instead of hanging out with friends? If so, how do I adjust my perceptions to find that these family activities are "fun" and not just a lot of work?
parrot_suspect

parrot_suspect

3
Sourball Ho!
 

Let's have a Crab-In!

I have the worst attitude towards others sometimes, and it’s difficult to blame on Aunt Flo when it happens at any time during the month. I guess I’m not a very social person. I could do without interactions most of the time; the whole farcical song-and-dance is a big energy-suck.   --you come into work on Monday, and are asked about your weekend --every morning you’re asked about the previous evening --on Friday you’re asked about your weekend plans   I understand that people are just trying to be polite, and the big picture is that we’re all here just killing time until we die. I don’t initialize these exchanges, I just say “fine, how was yours?” I’m a hypocrite. Maybe if I was “brutally honest” like others so proudly call themselves, people wouldn’t ask me anymore. Spoiler “My weekend was great! I sat around on my fat butt, drank too much and blew my husband. How was yours?”   There are a few people who as they’re walking by need to say “Hi Dawndie!” every time they walk by, even if they walked by before and it’s later the same day. Can’t you just smile or nod? I don’t like interrupting people when they’re trying to work, but I don’t get the same courtesy. The secretary desks are basically in the walkways in front of the attorney offices, and sometimes people will knock on my desk as they’re walking by -- I guess if I don’t pay enough attention to them. :curses under breath:   Then there’s one person here who will go out of her way to butt into the conversation if she’s nearby. Does she do this with everyone, or am I just lucky? My desk was near Noseyperson previously (not recently, like 4 years ago) and if you were having a phone conversation and then hung up, she would usually have some comment about your phone call. Seriously, what was I supposed to say? It’s impossible not to hear when our desks were so close together, but can’t you try to ignore it? Isn’t it rude to insert yourself into someone else’s work or personal life without invitation?   I do have a friend here at work, and I don’t mind eating lunch with him most of the time because he’s funny and very dry. I guess we’re anti-social together. We were in the lunch area recently talking about suck-in movies -- the ones you flip by and you end up sucked-in watching, even if you’ve seen it 20 times before. I said DH was watching one of his suck-ins last night, Ocean’s 11 (yes, with the ARGH BLARGH!! at the end, although he had flipped it by then). Noseyperson at the next table (not even sitting with us!) pipes up, “Which one?” I mumbled “the newer one” and Noseyperson comments for a few moments on how none of those “hunks” “do anything” for her. (Noseyperson, if any of those “hunks” saw your Jabba the Hutt’s Grandma ass, they’d run in the other direction.) She then blew her nose really loudly and I had to put my head down to keep from busting out laughing. GROSS. But I won’t say anything to her, unless Brutally Honest Dawndie blurted out, “Noseyperson, we weren’t talking to you. We don’t care what you think. Please go far away, especially when it’s time to empty your sinuses.”   OK, I actually feel better after my crab-in. I know a big part of this is I went from semi-working-from-home back to a big office, and I just need to build up my tolerance, or Zen Out like Valentina, or be like Snarky’s meditating turtle. Ommm…
dawndie

dawndie

7
Forget Everything And Remember
 

Happy whatever.

UGH. I am sick. My head feels like a huge, slightly dried-out ball of snot, and I need a shunt to get rid of the crud. This makes me cranky.   Oh yeah, and happy whatever holiday. Hope it was tolerable.   *shuffles off to infect someone*
Kitrona

Kitrona

0
Eoywin's Blog
 

V-Day

This was meant to be a LJ entry, but LJ is being stupid   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Valentine's has never been important to me at all, so today was just another day.   I did make the mistake of getting up and saying hi to Todd when he got home. I was awake, and I missed him. Of course 'hi' turned into talking for about a 1/2 hour, and when I got back to bed, I couldn't get to sleep, and mostly just tossed and turned the rest of the night.   So, I was very sleepy when I dragged myself out of bed this morning, especially since I dragged myself out of bed a 1/2 early so I could get to work early and leave work early (I had to go to the PO which annoying closes the same time I usually get out of work).   Work was fine, though busy. I went to Sonic for the very first time for lunch, and that was pretty good.   I get home (after the PO of course) and I have a white (maybe yellow, I can't tell) rose waiting for me. I thought this was very sweet since I told Todd about a month ago not to get me anything.   I've been cleaning and trying to deal with the flea situation after I got out of work, and now it's nearly time to go to choir.
Eoywin

Eoywin

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Tezcatlipoca

Wet: Wow, COCOA with a hint of incense. Not sure about this one. Drying: the leather is coming out with a hint of the flowers. Not much of the patchouli. This is starting to remind me of a smoking room: deep, rich, slightly sweet but very good pipe tobacco and leather.   Not sure if I would wear this, I'll try it again, but I'm defaintely going to have hubby try this one!
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Registration

My bio class was all full, so I had to sign up to take it from someone else, later in the day. Ugh. So here's my schedule, for now:   9-10: Intro to Linguistics 11:30-12:30: Cell Biology 12:40-1:40: History of Modern Middle East   I don't know if that's what I'll keep, though.
smallvoice

smallvoice

2
×