Bon Voyage, Tout Le Monde!

Today has been hectic, and there’s not enough time to cover everything. I finished Elizabeth Bowens’ The Death of the Heart, and in the absence of a full review, here’s a piece of wisdom from St. Quentin to sum up:

“But I should never write what had happened down. One’s nature is to forget, and one ought to go by that. Memory is quite unbearable enough, but even so it leaves out quite a lot. It wouldn’t let one down as gently, even, as that if it weren’t more than half a fake – we remember to suit ourselves. No, really, er, Portia, believe me: if one didn’t let oneself swallow some few lies, I don’t know how one would ever carry the past.”

Moreover, it’s a Thursday – which means I have to leave you with a little TILT:

Traveling. – Hubby and I leave for Thailand tomorrow! Seems the Prime Minister has resigned…we’re spending a couple days in Dubai, even though it’s Ramadan, so hopefully the last bits of urban restlessness will fizzle out and fade away.
Michael Buble. – Seamlessly soulful vocals. Plus, he’s pretty :)
Perusing the Crate & Barrel catalogue. – I’m particularly addicted to their glassware, kitchen gadgets, and seasonal items. And I really have my eye on the DeLonghi espresso machine…
Donating to a worthy cause. – A really funky woman I know in St. Louis, Missouri is walking for Lupus and taking donations here (sorry, no time to figure out the hyperlink): https://www.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=268375&lis=0&kntae268375=C56CADE5389B46AEBDF57A1C0CB7C75C&supId=0&team=2758088
And SHE is donating 10 cents per photo that YOU submit here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/lupus_awareness/

And finally, a word from your sponsor :)

I probably won’t be doing any more than sporadically checking email over the next few weeks. So, until next time:

Be safe, be well…and every once in awhile, do a mad lip-sync to a Britney Spears song. Because you know you want to.

Adieu, mes chères!

Random Musings On A Blustery Tuesday Afternoon

Yesterday, I ordered four new pairs of jeans online. Today, I had delicious Mexican food for lunch and a cup of mocha ice cream in the afternoon. I probably should have done those two things in the reverse order, come to think of it…

I had to buy the jeans, though, because it’s been ages since I’ve been able to find the brand in stores. They’re called Seven7 and are not to be confused with the uber-trendy Seven For All Mankind label (sidenote: Seven7 had already been around for about 4 decades before SFAM was even a warehouse full of underpaid workers in China).

Not that I have anything against designer jeans – far from it. There was a time when I owned enough pairs of Diesel jeans to...uh…well, it was a lot. What I do have an issue with are label junkies, who purchase these brands, liquefy their legs to get inside the jeans (while their tummies are spilling out the top) and then brag about their superior sense of style. Label junkies across the globe – allow me to clear the air. I’m not buying Diesel jeans these days, because they simply haven’t produced any new styles that fit. And I’m not paying $250 for a pair of jeans that doesn’t make my bum look like anything less than a Kylie Minogue carbon copy. You shouldn’t either.

Getting Closer…

The past few days at work have been uncommonly busy – almost as busy as the start-up phase of operations.

I haven’t been reading as much, and my creative juices are not so much flowing as trickling…dripping, even. Now that we have set a departure date, I really feel like I’m treading water. It’s a combination of lethargy and lack of inspiration. But, it’s all for a bigger purpose, so I’ll just put on my game face and play.

I am anxious to start packing for our trip. Less than one week away! I’ve stopped checking the news for updates, which might be foolish and ignorant, but I don’t care. When hubby and I went to El Salvador, there were no travel warnings and we still had one of our buses shaken down by armed banditos. And while living in New York, I once had a guy try to abduct me at knifepoint. So I’m not scared of a little ‘ole thing like a state of emergency. Sheesh.

I’m 62 inches of spitfire and scrappiness. Plus, I can always hide behind Danny. :)

Things I Love Thursdays

Old things. – Today, tomorrow and forever. A little history gives character.

My sweet puppy, Nyla. – She can really try my patience at times, but when she looks at me with those brown button eyes, all things are forgiven. Even the time she peed on my bed.

Laughing out loud. – What could be more therapeutic than a great, big, belly-shaking guffaw?

Knee-length tights. – Especially the ones I got from the kids’ section at Old Navy, because they were about half the price of the adult version and they have a lil’ bit o’ glittery in ‘em.

June Jacobs’ Mandarin Moisture Masque. – see Monday’s post.

Jack Johnson’s latest album, Sleep Through the Static. – A little funkiness + a little tenderness + one slightly raspy voice = a lot of rhythmic goodness

Such Is Life...

We are supposed to leave for Thailand in 9 days, and the frickin’ country is now in a state of emergency. An eruption of violence last night/this morning claimed one casualty and injured 44 others. Protesting factions are threatening to disrupt public services (overland transportation, electricity, water…) and possibly cancel flights and close some airports.

I’m starting to feel a bit cursed. Initially, when planning our journeys, Dan and I had discussed traveling to India. And wouldn’t you know it – multiple bombs go off in Ahmedabad, killing about 50 people and injuring well over 100. The wounded are transported to a nearby hospital, where the insurgents had planted bombs as well.

We also have plans to visit South Africa in November. And naturally, South Africa is also experiencing unrest, as the native South Africans and the migrant workers from poorer surrounding countries clash over jobs and wages.

I mean, really: what the hell are we doing to each other? How did it come to this? And where will it stop…

We are boarding that flight next week and going to Thailand. We’ll head north, just as we planned, and hide out in the jungles – because at least the elephants aren’t homicidally political.

Life doesn’t stop, and it doesn’t get better or worse. It just moves…and we struggle like hell to keep up.

Pretty Stuff For Girls

The day is drawing to a close, and the only thing on my mind is a June Jacobs Mandarin Moisture Masque. I made a trip to the spa in May (about a week before our wedding) and splurged on three treatments: a detoxifying body wrap, a facial and one sublime hour of full-body massage (which left me nearly as limber as Gumby). Then I was wrapped in a thick, fluffy bathrobe, whisked into a candlelit room garnished with rose petals, and propped up on a pillow-topped lounge chair with a pot of peppermint tea. After this kind of pampering, I was an easy target for a little “upselling”.

The charming beautician that worked with me (an adorably teensy bit of a Thai woman with a tinkling laugh and mirthful eyes) merely suggested, in a voice scarcely above a whisper, that an eye serum and a masque would be beneficial to my dark circles and lackluster skin (my adjectives, not hers). I don’t think I even let her finish the entire sentence before vigorously nodding my head and fishing out my wallet. At that point, I was overflowing with rapture and goodwill and could probably have been persuaded to buy HER some eye serum and a masque.

Really though, if you like what I call “good smelly type stuff”, the June Jacobs Mandarin Moisture Masque is cool and refreshing, and it smells good enough to eat. Off to have one now...