Adventures of a Tofu Slut

This is the third time in as many weeks that I have attempted to reference a specific conversation that I *know* was had on LJ, but haven't been able to find it. Brain*spork!

Anyway, that was all leading up to the fact that today I am wearing Lampades, which I am quite certain was the subject of a conversation with sarcasma, in which she declared, based simply on the ingredients, that it was obviously designed just for me and they should really just name it after me.

And she's right.

The Lampades are the darkly beautiful nymphs of the underworld, also called the Lethe Nymphae Avernales. They are the daughters of the Gods that govern the many rivers of Hades. The Lampades are Hecate's torch-bearers and accompany the Goddess on her hunts, quests and revels. Their scent is the crisp, inviting bittersweet tang of cranberry with smoky dark lilies, heady, sensual musk, a tingle of ginger and a brush of Mediterranean spices.

Absolutely brilliant. Juicy cranberry - and by now I know that I'm a complete sucker for berry scents - with an underlying hint of Queen of Sheba-esque spices and something darkly warm (the musk?). And the floral isn't overwhelming at all. Love it so very much. When I first put it on, I was so excited I started jumping around the room, that's how much I love it.

Bewitched

Deep, luscious green and berry scents that evoke images of woodland witchcraft and the raw power of nature: blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk.

This goes on sweetly berry and ends sweetly berry, but it has a wonky flowery perfume in the middle. So far, I haven't gotten much of the sage or tea, but I think I need to try it again and see what develops.

I miss sarcasma! She needs to come back from vacation. No more fun in the sun, missy.

Ok, that was SNOW on the rooftops this morning.

Nooooooo!

I'm not ready.

And, I'm sure, neither are you, because now begins the winter phase of my obsession with the weather. Lucky you! I know I've said this before, but I never read, talked, or even thought about the weather before I moved out east. I don't really remember having weather while I was growing up. I certainly don't remember ever thinking about it to the stupid extent that I do now.

Oh well, I guess the fact that we've dropped below zero means that I should drag out the winter hat and coat (which, by the way, I did not manage to get drycleaned, even though that's been on the to-do list since about April, and there's a drycleaner across the street).

On the plus side, there is now no excuse not to buy more tea. Mmm, tea.

It's been decided -- we didn't find anyone to sublet, so vestra is packing up all her stuff and putting it into storage, before heading back to her cruise gig, and we're giving notice at the end of the month.

Which means I have to move. Blech. I mean, I'm not exactly sad to be leaving this place -- it's cute, and it's been very good to us, but the new management sucks and doesn't do anything around the building, so it's getting a little nasty. Plus there's the whole 'takes forever to get anywhere' thing, aka 'Why the hell aren't we on a subway line? Waiting for the bus sucks the very life out of me.'

But moving is a pain. Literally, in many cases. This time, though, I'm not making anyone help me move (not that they would, after the disaster that was last time -- I still feel guilty about that). I'm going to suck it up and hire movers, even though the thought freaks me out. I'm not nearly grown-up enough to deal with this. If only my parents didn't live on the other side of the country.

First, though, I have to find a new place to live. And I don't know - by myself, or try to find a roommate? I think I'd like to live by myself, but rents are so high here that I'm not sure I can afford it, especially not in the areas that I want to live (meaning, closer to downtown and on a subway line). But the thought of moving in with someone I don't know is kind of frightening. What if we hate each other? I know one person who's looking for a flatmate, but he really needs someone right now, plus his place is even farther away than mine, although on the other side of the city. And there's one other person who may be needing a roommate for February, but she lives in a very scary neighbourhood. Yes, I'm picky. So?

ANGST.

I guess I need to figure out how much I can really afford, and then start looking around, seeing what's out there. I'm pretty sure that if I can bring myself to live with strangers I could find a place fairly easily, so I'll look around for a one bedroom first. Preferably somewhere that's not hours away from sarcasma's or starfishchick's, and then maybe people will come over more. :) Also, people who have been to my apartment, I am getting rid of the Free Couch of Suckitude. That bitch is not making the move with me, no way. So you might actually be comfortable when you come over (once I buy a new couch, that is, because until then we're all sitting on the floor).

Dude, between Christmas, going home, all the theatre that's happening right now that I want to see, buying a new couch and moving, I'm going to be enjoying quite the credit card debt. Whee?

(Meanwhile, I went for a walk at lunch, and now I'm eating orzo lentil soup that I made last night from genarti's recipe. It's very tasty, although the orzo sucked up most of the liquid, so I should probably just call it stew at this point. And one of my co-workers has a CD I need on her desk, but she absolutely insists it's not there. I'm waiting for her to go for lunch so I can steal it.)

It's very grey and rainy outside. Not exactly conducive to leaving the house. But we're going to brave the weather and go for brunch. Mmm.

First, though, I must shower. I am covered in (mostly) not particularly flattering perfume oils. Yes, our enormous BPAL order finally arrived. And no customs charge, which is shocking. We're going to have a smelling party, but vestra will be likely gone by then, so we were trying her oils and some of the free samples. Florals and me are unmixy things. Also, I have about 12 different scents on, so it's a little overwhelming.

I was lazy and chose sleep over yoga this morning. I've been so tired lately that I think that was a wise decision. Even so, I'm just about ready for a nap. Maybe brunch will wake me up.

Plans for today: brunch, groceries, handwash (which I already did, go me), clean kitchen, date (eep!).

There now, don't you feel better for hearing the minute details of my life?

The end of the world is nigh!

The apocalypse is here!

I have a date.

Seriously, this is a hell freezes over, blue moon, once in a lifetime, never-before-never-again event. So obviously it's a portend of vast, worldwide disaster. Tidy your affairs, kiss your loved ones, and beware floods and screaming hellbeasts on Saturday.

Happy birthday angiv!

~

Things I learned from Monday Report:

1. For Better or For Worse is ending sometime in the next five years.
2. Olympic gold medalist Kyle Shewfelt is very adorable.

~

I'm a little sad that I won't be able to watch the second half of the terrible disaster movie that I accidentally sort-of watched on Sunday, but Wednesdays are too full of TV as it is. However, my disappointment is nothing compared to my excitement that The Amazing Race starts again tonight! Yay! Another season of pretending that I could totally climb that ladder faster than anyone else.

~

It was really crowded at the gym last night; far more than usual. I had to wait for every machine, even when I shuffled my program and did some substitutions. I don't like it when it's that busy, partly because I'm a selfish whiner, but also because with that many people around I feel like I'm in a cult or something. And what is it about personal trainers that inspires people to tell them such private stuff? The woman on the bike beside me was definitely taking the 'personal' part too far.

~

If Tomato Nation disappeared, I would be very sad.

~

Running total of days in which I have managed to not spill yogurt on myself: Zero.

It's perfect soup weather these days, don't you think? ("You", in this case, meaning people who are experiencing the same fall-to-winter, hovering around zero weather that I am.)

So I am soliciting for soup recipes. Vegetarian, please, but other than that I'm easy; I like pretty much anything.

And, because turnabout is fair play, here is the recipe for the extremely tasty black bean soup I made last week.

( Mmmm, soup )

Of course the problem with the bonus day off in the middle of the week is that it's very hard to get up the next morning. I have a vague memory of the alarm going off, but I managed to fall right back to sleep, staying zonked out through Andrea Ratuski, that damn annoying thingy that announces the top of the hour, World Report, weather, sports, and Tom Allen's opening remarks. Bleargh. And I've been craving a chai soy latte all morning. This is not unusual -- I often crave the chai soy latte, because the chai soy latte is, in fact, crack* -- but I don't ever do hot drinks in the morning, due to too many years of burning my tongue on the hot chocolate that my dad used to make for me before school. A nice idea, but not too easy to drink when you only have 10 mintues for breakfast. Dear Body: Do not confuse the listersgirl. She is plenty enough confused without your help.

Ok, y'all. My man Tommy Douglas is still in first place, and Don Cherry has fallen in the standings, so I don't have to kill myself. I'm getting a little worried for Tommy, though - apparently London (Ontario, not England - I'm pretty sure they don't care) is running a huge campaign to get everyone in the city to vote repeatedly for Frederick Banting. Now, Fred was a great guy, developing insulin and all, but I don't think he deserves to be Greatest Canadian, because what he did didn't affect Canada specifically in any way.

The episode on Lester B. (aka Mike) Pearson was fabulous. Of course, it had the advantage of a) a subject who was around during the TV years, so there was lots of footage to use, b) someone who, were it not for Tommy Douglas, I could easily see myself promoting, and c) Paul Gross as advocate (who, incidentally, is filming a movie in the parking lot under my bathroom window on Monday. I think I feel a cold coming on). Also, there were no gratuitous driving shots. Sort of. There were gratuitous bumper cars, trains and airplanes, but at least that was new.

( Lost ramblings, the non-squee version - it's safe to click, llamacran )

Spam: STOP THE PORN
Me: But...I like porn!
Spam: *PORN* *PORN* *PORN*
Me: Ahhhhh! Ok, not your porn.
Me: ::runs back to safety of porn with proper punctuation and good grammar::
No, I did not actually *open* the spam. What kind of fool do you think I am? The subject lines were scary enough.

ps. mistress_wanda! There's an icon here that you need. No, really.

*And I remember having a long discussion about this somewhere, but I can't find it. And the supposed 'search this journal' function does not, in fact, search this journal. Bah.