free therapy

Crafts make me happy. By that, I mean... I can avoid costly in-patient mental evaluations if I only continue to self medicate with the proper amount of designer paper and cleverly creative project ideas. Today's awesome therapy session will actually relax me later, too.

I made coconut & tea tree oil sea salt scrub. If you want to make some, too - here's how:

All you really need is 1:2 (any) oil & (any) salt/sugar. Salt is scrubbier, sugar is gentler. Optionally, you can add essential body oils - 5 drops per 1/2 cup of oil.

I made mine following this formula:

1/8 c. Virgin Coconut Oil

1/8 c. Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 c. Grapeseed Oil

1 c. Sea Salt (no iodide )

1/4 c Epsom Salts

5 drops Bergamot (100% Pure Essential Oil)

5 drops Tea Tree Oil

Simply stir together (I heated the coconut oil first for 5 seconds just to soften, mixed the oils first, added the salts, stirred, and then added the drops.) I found most of the ingredients in the regular grocery store/drug store. The essential oil was in a local drug store, but I had to check a few before I found one that carried them. The Tea tree oil and coconut oil were found at a local health food store. I plan to use the left over oils to cook with because they are the "good fat" type oils.

I already made some bath salts a while back by mixing just the epsom salts with the bergamot and they were awesome and gone really fast.

Last week, I experimented trying to make something for my hair resembling with the goal being like Schwarzkopf Mess Up. I melted in the microwave a few spoonfuls of Murphy's Superior Hair Dressing Pomade which is basically just bees wax and too heavy for my hair. When it was liquid, I used my blender to whisk in some L'Oreal Studio Heat Seeker Hot Straight until fluffy and the desired weight of the product I wanted - a soft tacky cream. The end results is the perfect product for my hair. I'm a bit bummed that it is a disgusting yellow color and separates a little bit. It isn't as pretty as the Mess Up, but it works just as well and I could make a gallon of it for under $10 - the real thing is usually $18 for 4 ounces. Next time, I will use a different wax to make it clear.

What's next, you ask? Why all the emphasis on relaxing? Why, because study season is back in full force, is a horse, of course. Which is a matter of remorse, I source, unless of course it's the famous "wish I'm dead."

i can't say it better than he can

"I don’t particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it"

"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end"

"I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn’t here"

"I’ve coined new words, like "misunderstanding"

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions"

"I think we agree, the past is over"

(Don't get me wrong. I don't expect Obama to do it better, just more eloquently.)

not bitter

I'm done grieving over my overwhelming failure on my exam. I got my score and I was one point away from passing. That makes me feel better. Sorry, internet, if I hurt your feelings with my last post. It was written in ironic humor, laughing while writing. The Man said it came out sounding mean. This is exactly what Evan is talking about when he says that The Man is the most persevering human on the planet (to deal with me for so many years.)

So, the reason for this post is last night's dinner.... I may not have mentioned that my new crusade is to make homemade, healthy dinner - 4 nights out of 5.

I had all this cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole leftover from Monday that I didn't think I could keep eating every meal. So, did this:

Chopped up the casserole.
Added 1/2 cup cottage cheese.
Wrapped it into Wonton Wrappers
Fried the little packages in olive oil & sesame oil
Separately fried up a package of fresh, spicy ramen
Added some veggies, water chestnuts.
and served the two in complement.

It was awesome, but way more calories that I thought. A good treat on day-off-the-diet Day (which yesterday wasn't.)

for all those people who said, "just think positive"

May you all experience your own devastating failure and have someone say, "you'll get it next time."

re:solution

i do not feel like i need to tell you how awesome christmas was. i don't think christmas cannot never be not-awesome, if you know what i mean. they should call it awesomemas. new years is another matter. sometimes new years sucks. i'm just sayin cuz it's happened. it's not 100% guaranteed to rock the chimney the way awesomemas is. so, it's worth mentioning that new years this year KICKED BUTT! Not in the fireworks and champagne days of yore way. But in a 'hanging w/ my man and chilling in the snow' sort of way.

First, we spent all night hanging out. He showed me where he worked, and I finally got to see how completely understated it is when he says that he sees deer. (They sit 20 feet from his office and let you walk within 5-10 feet of them.)

Then, AFTER I had been up for over 24 hours, we realized that we both had the same day off. This has only one meaning at our house: road trip! We went to the mountains early (delightfully beating the rush.)

I showed Mark how to make a snowball and sat still while he threw them at me. (I only have one bruise from before I showed him that you make them out of the soft snow, not the ice you kick loose from the curb. ha ha.)

We did not make that snowman. We just found him and played with him.

the front usually doesn't fall off, for one.

Youtube is a rare expirience for me - Mark showed this to me on new years. It's really special.