I apply the lotions and potions in the morning, after a shower and always before I go to bed and anytime in between. I keep myself lubed up and well hydrated from the inside out. I take good care of myself.

but with the dry cold weather..

and we are in for a deep freeze (stock up on the hot chocolate and wood!)..

my skin and throat are in need of some extra care. 21% humidity in my Y-Town appartment(comfy is 45%). I am sensitive to the air changes..

I keep zapping my cats and anyone else I touch with static electricity. Joe walked by my face and his tail and my cheek made a spark!! Their fur is sticking out on end and so is mine. Its HAWT!

I'm thinking of buying a humidifier- somethng that will take care of a few rooms. I don't want to boil water or hang laundry to dry or place bowls of water around.. I wish to buy an apparatus that will take care of the job.

My question and reason for this post: Any reccomendations, thoughts, suggestions? What kind, where to buy, etc?

I love the site, How Stuff Works. This link tackles the subject of humidifiers.

I'm about to slide into a tub of hot oil and stay there until we thaw
actually, that sounds kind of nice..

thanks in advance!

stay warm :)

eat cookies!!! mmmmm

Be an artist- even if just for a few minutes. Check out the following link. It will bring you to a blank canvas in which, with your mouse as a painting medium, you can create designs, ala Jackson Pollock. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) was an American painter and the commanding figure of the Abstract Expressionist movement. He is best known for his 'drip and splash' style where he poured and dripped his paint from a can onto the canvas.Go replicate his style using this web site:


Use the left click to change colors. Simple amusment. Great for desk jobs!

tried to save my 'art work', but it didn't happen. Believe me, it was a masterpiece ;)

snagged Pollock work from Google images:

Sounds like some band and the title of their cd. ha, sounded fun strung together to me.. it doesn't need to make sense. word.


anyway..
I can't stop giggling over a girls reaction to my shaking her hand.

I came home last night to the immense pleasure of seeing (e:flacidness) , who's trip to B-lo I was unaware of. Yay! He came with his family of friends..

With introductions, I prepared everyone verbally that my hands are freezing as I had just walked in from the cold- not just from my car, but had also been walking around outside for a bit prior to that- and I had left my gloves in Sean's truck.

The shaking of hands proceeded as expected until the last one. How so? The girl recoiled her hand as if she had just been electrified by my touch and suddenly covered in ectoplasm, which she proceeded to wipe on her hip.

yes, i said, 'ectoplasm'.

I bust out laughing- finding such intense humor in it. Nothing negative, just an observation that I found to be really funny.

I hung out with the group- my beloved roomies and travelers- dancing to Kimya, Tony!Toni!Tone!, shaking my top and bottom to Beyonce, giving the men new 'hair dos', (floofy is SO in) playing 'dress up (e:terry) ' (he is such a doll!) and stealing sips of (e:Paul) 's screw driver. Just feeling light, feeling good, always enjoying time with friends.I wanted the evening to keep going as it was fun to relax with everyone. Instead, I grabbed a few belongings and headed back out into the night. I had some stuff to take care of, that out of responsibility, could not be put off. Coming in for an hour or so was a nice bonus to an already really lovely weekend. My needing to go back out wasnt a chore, as I new that shortly thereafter I would be able to go to bed- sleep that was much needed. I knew that my best choice of sleep arrangement for last night was to go back to Y-Town, so I could check in on my beloved furblobs, snuggle under a mound of blankets and get the rest needed to wake up fresh and ready to tackle some phone calls and bill paying. Mmmmm soft flannel sheets, a heated mattress pad and my stuffed turltle made for comfy and warm nocturnality. Indeed, I slept well, good dreams were had and remembered. It leaves me with a decidedly pleasant feeling... a continued effect of spending time with really wonderful people.

A weekend seminar was shared with new friends. Everything that was discussed has been a strong part of me for as long as I can remember. While some people went to learn or build upon what they know, I went for the experience, curiousity, the connection and to tweak some areas of my thought process. Bijan is indeed fun and informative, yet all that he says is all that I have long ago embraced on my own accord. tres cool..The absolute best part (which it was all good, even when literally running around Niagara Falls looking for lunch *wink*) is just spending time with friends and experiencing something so personal together. (e:inspiraysean) , (e:laurajean) and a few other most excellent people got together for this weekend. We had fun. fun. fun.

Meditations were deeply touching; I really like the guided variety. I am able to focus and follow someone elses words. When left to my own mental device- I go from meditating to another form of 'imagery" ;) or fall asleep. Right now is a time for me for sharing and strengthening a life time of observations and continuing with having a "can do" and "will do" attitude as opposed to the reality that many of us were brought up to beat down our abilities- whether by parents, friends, media, teachers, society in general. Much of this contemplation is infused in my writing- but it is not as overt as other writers.

In a speech by Nelson Mandela, there is a line that I have long ago thought to simply make sense. "...We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?..." exactly- really now, who are you NOT to be freakin' fantastic? Why wait for someone else to tell you or make you feel that way. You are and can be if you just allow it. Anything is possible, nothing is impossible- if you want something, if you want something more. That is why I keep at it- saying and doing things in a certain manner.,It just is. I just am. I will work on articulating my thoughts, as I have plenty of them :)

Right now I am just feeling through it all as opposed to being able to form words. I began this post to quickly jot some thoughts down as I down loaded some tunes off of Lime Wire, but I sense it going for a lot more than what I originally intended. I categorize posts that will have less than 500 words as "quickies satisfy"- which I typed in as I was only going to relay the humorous handshake. I have a few articles I am in the process of writing. Some pertaining to lessons learned early in life others relating to subjects that I havent written or read much about in awhile, such as Quantum physics, Quantum mechanics, chaos theory- fun stuff! (e:theecarey,133). I intend to use this post and accumulation of thoughts from this past weeked, as a spring board into writing about those topics.

While I have a few concerns, I am not a worrier- actually I am quite free spirited and laid back. And knowing this, I need to deal with it head on and let it go. I am very close to my child-like ways, so I never abandoned the fundamental need to have fun and to have a life that is pleasant and abundant in everything you want. Simple pleasures.. every day.. and each day is mine for the having.. and I like to share.

While my ruminations are usually subtle- occasionally I put it out there stronger. Yes, I am positive, but I am not deluded. I am well aware of the world and reality around us. There is no need to sugar-coat-- but there is a need to be kind to ourselves, to be grateful for what we have and who we are. Its easy to beat ourselves up. "I'm not good at that", "I'm out of shape", "I am always fucking up", "Drama always find me". Sometimes we put that on others, "S/He is like all the others, and will lie, cheat and be irresponsible, etc" If you have low expectations of yourself or others, you are usually correct in the outcome. If we can control just some of it- we can be better, feel better for it. Go ahead and tell yourself that you are a decent human being capable of anything. I figure, its all in my favor, so why not go for it?!

In the sociological and psychological applications, this is ground in the principle of 'self fulfilling prophecy'-a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the original false conception come true. This can be used to produce positive effects. With the Pygmalion Effect, this is directly applied to expectations set for another. Studies and literature primarily exemplify this in the form of student-teacher scenerios, where when teacher expectation of students were high, the students indeed tended to perform better. These studies were done to support the hypothesis that reality can be influenced by the expectations of others. In the 'spiritual' sense, you may find terms such as "manifestation" and 'power of the spoken word". There are many other 'effects', and hypothesis grounded in various fields of academic and life study. What they all aim to understand is how our perceptions- real or not will produce a very real outcome based on those initial thoughts.

So I choose, because it fits my life, to say and do things that support my attitude relating to this. I love my friends and family and all of the wonderful opportunities that come in to my life. I love making new connections and living in the moment. I have let go of a lot over the years and I understand that I accept me and you, right now, as is. Improvement will continue as I choose this. What I have said and done in the past that was shameful is just that: in the past. Awareness of areas that I want to improve is key. Before I open my mouth or make a move, I can decide if it is the best thing for me. Maybe it is, maye it isn't- but it will be my choice and ramifications good or bad are all on me. I am grateful that I often find humor and adventure in less than perfect situations. Not all great things will happen, but if I can get a laugh out of those other times, or use it as an opportunity to learn and grow- then I do. It may not be great while you are in it, but knowing that this will pass, and that you will get out of it- well, can be a profound experience. The last quarter of 2006 was a trying time of figuring out what the next step is. By reveling in my abilities and understanding where my heart and passion is, the situation I was dealing with dissolved and another door opened. That very night I was beaming bright with gratitude- (e:theecarey,356)

And so I am through that 'wall', that 'door'-- and I am not looking back. I am where I need to be and I am in a good place, for me.

2nd post.
I realized that I drastically under ate today. I will certainly survive ;) Some veggies this afternoon then some yummy pomagranite green tea (thanks, Sean!) was it. I just sometimes forget, especially when I am super busy, such as today. However the effect of looking through a home magazine that almost every page had food pictures on it, worked its way into my having a voracious appetite by the time I got home just a short while ago. I needed a nibble of something. My bachelorette choice for 'nourishment' this late evening:

Sauerkraut and a little rice crispy cereal w/ vanilla soy milk.
very.. beige.
Not my first choice, certainly not (e:mrmike) 's pot pie, but it sufficed. Dont like to eat late- but it is better than a growly belly in the night.

I found this odd- A small can of sauerkraut is broken down into 14 servings. really, 14? There isn't much in the can to begin with. So at 5 calories per serving, the whole can would be oooh 70 cals. don't go hog wild now. I always rinse the extra briney salt off. I just really dig the 'kraut sometimes.

Well, time for bed, so much good stuff going on tomorrow. ooh, but before I do, I must get the garbage out- there is a lot! brrrrrrrrrr!

As I finshed up the main portion of my personal purge and clean expedition, I found my thoughts in alignment to the task in a symbolic way. My generally tidy (but not too clean) apartment took on a whole new look and feel as I began (two weeks ago) to open up every drawer, cupboard and closet. What makes this different than prior purges which had a more functional motive to it, is that it began directly in relation to the beginning of a new chapter in my life; the full focus on myself. In the physical process of 'cleaning out my closets", I had made a huge mess. For the past two weeks, as things became simplified, they have also become more complicated (chaos theory)- yet in an exquisite, relaxing, grateful way; new projects arose from this- which will be worked on over time, no need to force it. In the symbolic process of 'cleaning out my closets', there wasnt so much a mess, but what was at first complicated is now so much more simple. Thank you!
Immediately I realized that I have an abundance of material items that are no longer necessary in my life. I gave away what I could and threw out the rest. Bringing garbage out to the road has been a delightful work out. Tonight it will need to be dragged through the thick snow, but it will get there. It is so nice to see the extra baggage leaving my sight. I began to make room for better as opposed to holding on. Its nice. Energy is flowing.

What originally brought me to post is that it had also been atleast two weeks since I have vacuumed, as I could not see the floor until just recently (I said I made a mess in this process!). Tired and hungry I considered saving the vacuuming until another day, yet I felt strongly compelled to finish. As I pushed and pulled the vacuum back and forth across the floor, varying thoughts and scenerios played out in my mind. Most revolving around the last quarter of 2006. Picking up bits of dirt and rummage was like picking up bits of these past few months. They were no longer needed and served no purpose other than to clutter my spirit. My thoughts weren't negative but they were cumbersome. When I realized the vacuum in essence was sucking up the last bits of residual work-related matter, my vacuuming efforts were now enjoyable, as just minutes before I *really* didn't want to do it. Oh boy, I felt better by the time I finished. Looking around, I know things are better.

very cool, and as I have been saying for years- I am grateful for that.

stay warm, peeps

wow-- my neighbor just came up my driveway with his snowplow. Now my taking out my garbage will be so much easier!