Peppermint tea

Sore Throat? Peppermint tea. Feeling crabby? Peppermint tea. Good for breakfast. Good for bed. Caffeine free. Fun filled. Especially if its nice and strong. Aveda's loose tea is a little weird, but I guess it's supposed to be especially 'natural'. It kind of coats your throat a little bit. Peppermint tea is the kind of thing I have to be in the mood for, but when the mood strikes and there's some around it's allllll gooooooooood.

My New Bike

OOOOHhh.

"She's not Getting it Together"

St. Louis

Took pictures/spent time with Abby. She is noticeably more infirm, in pain, and disoriented everytime I go home. Ominous Anxiety.

Mick and Will, and some family/friends from their wedding all met up at O'Connell's Pub. Drank/smoked too much. Mick dragged her ass out of bed at 10:00 for some Uncle Bill's. Then got laid off two days later.

My dad was laid off 1/30/09, last day 4/3/09, which ends up being a better retirement than the one he was already planning to take this spring, but also a little scary for a workaholic. I think mom and I keep thinking of new things that can give him purpose, but they seem to be in our service. How he's going to carry extra weight with house chores and make dinners she will eat (pork and beans - his specialty - are not acceptable), how he can go camping with me for Months! to all the places I want to go.

Made thank you cards with insincere intent with mom's friends. The cards ended up being better suited for sincere cards. Worthless for maleficent aim, but I came out ahead. Her friend, 'Mary Engelbreit,' made salad and mostcacolli, served with 24 oz Coke and Cheesecake Factory for dessert. I need to send her one of those cards...

Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree Oil is a great natural solvent. It won't hurt your skin but is a bit harsh if you apply full strength to your face. (And it will burn like hell if your pores are open [if it's steamy]). But a drop of it will pop a balloon.
Uses: antiseptic moisturizer for skin irritations (wounds or pimples), can help clean grease and paint stains (?)

I put some on my face after a warm shower, following some time in the sauna. The only time I remember my face burning so badly was when my dad told me ammonia would clear up whatever rash was on my face and failed to mention that I needed to rinse it off immediately and then I woke up in pain with that pretty bad chemical burn. Oh yeah, remember that time?

Those were good times. It's the cheapest way to have a chemical peel, if you don't mind gambling with blindness.

Simple Vegetable Soup

I spent 2 hours cutting vegetables and effing around, that the veggies and ingredients are still in my fridge 2 days later and I haven't actually made the soup. Instead I got distracted trying to take cool pictures for my blog demonstrating the awesome Bert & Ernie Sing in the Tub record I listened to about 6 times that night. Between this and the opera, my independence is revealing I AM A NERD. I don't know how long this blog will last. I'm trying to be married to these little things I talk about in the blog, not to the blog. Meanwhile, I've got a food diary and a personal journal and there is no life left. But if a blog gets me to figure out manual settings on the digital camera, then the blog it is! The food diary's making me feel a little crazy woman anyway.

Madame Butterfly

30 below outside, lots of old people in fur coats.

A little bit scary at first by myself, and a long, slow show which made it that much more powerful at the end. I totally cried, even though I couldn't wait for it to be over already.

Picture: My special opera shirt.