Non-Post: Shea Butter and Chapstick

Since I've grown wiser and less greedy over the years, I've gotten much better at not taking every freebie offered to me. A few weeks ago when I was at the ASHA Convention, I selectively picked up a few cool freebies, like some cold putty for kiddos with sensory needs and a "Toobaloo" for voice and fluency kiddos. My one and only "junkie" freebie was this lip moisturizer:Suffice it to say, I am so loyal to Chapstick -- can't leave home without that and iPhone -- and generally do not take free lip moisturizers b/c they usually suck. Well, two things happened after I got back.

1. H2B told me about a new shimmery/glossy lip moisturizer by Blistex so I picked up the Silk & Shine. Total disappointment at full-cost! It smells nice and it has a sweet taste, but it doesn't give any glossy finish and the moisture is gone after a few minutes. Shortly after, I saw a commercial for Chapstick True Shimmer. That's when I realized that I should have stayed loyal to my Chapstick brand all along!
2. I've been on a huge shea butter/L'Occitane craze so I was so surprised so see that in the generic lip moisturizer from Phoneix Children's Hospital, one of the ingredients is shea butter! I was shocked and disappointed to see that Chapstick doesn't even have shea butter!

I may need to redefine my lip moisturizer brand loyalty. The True Shimmer Chapstick may be its only redemption.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm addicted to Chapstick.

Vons

I really don't like going to the Vons just down the street from us. It is the most super-ghetto Vons/supermarket that I know. I only go out of convenience and if I have to quickly pick up an item. Otherwise, I avoid it at all costs b/c I always come home complaining and disappointed. Last time, I bought 3 cartons of ice-cream b/c there was a spectacular sale...I should have had a clue when more than half of the shelves were empty and the cartons were feeling kind of mushy. When I got home like 7 minutes later and opened one up, it was half melted! Gross!

Imagine my giddiness in stopping by today to pick up some lettuce (Lil F hasn't had lettuce for 6 days b/c Momma keeps procrastinating)...and seeing that they've tore up the entire floor! The renovation is FINALLY beginning!! Yayayayayay! It's about time! All the other Vons I've ever been to -- Lawndale, Rancho Cucamonga, Rancho Park, etc. -- were all renovated at least a year ago. It's about time Mar Vista caught up to the times!

Moritification

I haven't had an uber-embarrassing moment in a long time so I guess I was long overdue for one.

This morning, I went to use the unisex faculty restroom and apparently, I locked the door prematurely (as in pushed the pop-lock before I closed the door; if you do that, then the door unlocks once you close the door). I was already doing my natural thing when the door opened and immediately closed. I was mortified!

Thankfully, it was a woman (don't know who). It could have been worse by 1) a male co-worker opening it, 2) there could have been two people using the xerox machines (the restroom directly faces the xerox machines less than 2 yards away), and 3) the lady swinging the door wide open.

Let's hope I can avoid any more uber-embarrassment for the rest of the school year at least.

P.S. I just discovered that if I blanch sweet pea crisps, they taste even more delicious! And that hard-boiled Omega-3 egg whites actually have a sweet taste. Who knew!

Semantics: effect vs. affect

When I was in grad school (I make it sound like it was so long ago when it really wasn't), one of my profs used to give us heat every time we mixed up "i.e.," with "e.g.," and vice-versa. It was her biggest intent that we get it right before we graduated...and I would like to think that we all did. I, at least, learned the difference from her (amongst more important neurological concepts).

I often think of her when I get annoyed at how many people misuse "effect" when they mean "affect" (verb form, not noun form). I know it's lame to get annoyed at that, but it's like misspelling a word. Well, yeah, in a sense, I guess that really is what it is.

Thank goodness my textbook is using them in the right sense. Despite all the intellectual writing, the authors would lose ALL credibility if they mixed that up...

Back to the readings...just taking a brief moment to procrastinate.

Random: Life in L.A.

Yesterday, as I desperately searched for a fan at Target, a little girl (~ 4 y/o maybe?) was with her Dad. When they came out of the aisle, the little girl saw something and exclaimed, "Holy $h!+!" I looked at the Dad (containing my shock), but the Dad's expression didn't even change; it was as if the girl never said a word. The un-innocence of it all kinda bummed me out.
...
Today, I went into Jack-In-the-Box and a guy was waiting for his order ahead of me when another guy walked in. Something about the first guy's body language made me think that he was moving away from the counter in an awkward way for the 2nd guy to get up there. Turns out they knew each other. The first guy said to the second guy, "I heard you were dead." (Not joking.)
...
I thought I was tech-savvy enough to figure out this program to run student reports, but apparently not so! I am currently browsing through a 55 page manual (and needed a break). I need to run a report by tmrw AM...

ADD Confirmed

I just made some low-fat peach fro-yo and was scraping off the remains from the cooler thingamajiggy in front of the TV ("summer vacation" rules!). BF was channel-surfing and deciding b/t two movies, when he concluded that we could watch one On-Demand later. He switched back to Godfather II and said, "You haven't seen this movie, huh?"

I had a deer-in-headlights-expression because I was embarrassed that he has discovered yet another classic that I have not watched.**

He said, "You haven't! Because you have an attention span of a two-year old!"

=O My ADD is no longer a secret in our relationship!

Just this AM, he was asking me why I always fall asleep during movies. I am beginning to think it is a hereditary thing. When we were younger, my gramma used to always fall asleep to movies. Now, I totally do.

**My bro read me some of his old journal entries a few nights ago from when he was in Japan. One night, he wrote something about how it's nice that BF & I are together now because we watch more movies. Hahahaha!

Update: BF just said, "I know why you can't watch Godfather...because you need subtitles!" Yet another secret that is no longer a secret! I missed about 60% of dialogue in "Shooter" b/c Marky Mark mumbled about 80% of the time he spoke. Yet I understand KidSpeak. Nice.

Feedback

(Waaaay) Back in the days, it was the highlight of the last few days before school to get cool messages from classmates in our yearbooks. In elementary school, the messages were pretty generic, "Have a cool summer!" Junior high got a little more personal and even cooler with the acronyms, "It was fun being in the same math class. See you next year. K.I.T....F.F." High school is when it gets competitive -- how many messages can I get that are: 1) long; 2) personal; 3) positive; 4) not embarrassing?

Sometimes I feel like the grown-ups equivalent of yearbook messages are feedback from buyers or sellers. Just recently, I sold a bunch of stuff on eb@y, and I check my feedback compulsively. The moment I see that I received feedback, I scrutinize the comment. And I lamely get all excited when I get something like, "Highly Recommended! A++!" A++? That's better than any grade I've received since elementary school!

Dude, when did I get so dorky? (That is a rhetorical question.)

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Thanks to the new feedback system, you can now view what purchases I've made (and what products I've sold). I told BF the other day, "How embarrassing! What do people see? What bras I bought...and the size." So much for privacy.

The Small Things

This is life~

Waking up to a nice breeze to have a tasty breakfast of a gourmet cupcake (compliments of bro's friend) and my favorite drip coffee, Starbucks Christmas Blend.

My coffee is even black and in decaf, something very new in my book.

Drinks in Shards

Yesterday, BF and I went on our annual home improvement spree and we picked up new silverware, beverageware, and other knick-knacks.

En route, wee had a lovely spousal spat at Target, over which beverageware to purchase. Call it childhood issues, but I just don't like cups made from acrylic, plastic, or similar material. I like drinking from a glass cup. (Styrofoam is the worst.)

BF insisted on polycarbonate cups based on one redeeming characteristic -- they are virtually unbreakable. You know you've been living together too long when your S.O. knows what can and cannot survive under the same roof.

Glass simply breaks around me. I've broken so many glasses...to the point that I don't even have to lift a finger and they quiver in fear, topple over, and break. Classic example (no exaggeration): I washed a mug, one of 3 remaining glasses, and a plate. I hadn't even touched the glass, when it slid about an inch in the sink, and then toppled over and broke! I couldn't believe it.

Good thing the breaking a mirror curse isn't the same as breaking glass. Did I mention I've broken 3 mirrors in high school? I don't think BF knows that either...

Vending Machine

The other day, when I was shopping for Younger Genius Cousin's grad gift, I speed-walked through Macy's. A vending machine the span of 2.5 soda machines caught my eyes.

Ladies and gentlemen, you can now purchase iPods (and related Apple products) via vending machines.

Now I've seen it all.

I really believe that...

• music sounds better in BF's car, especially Red Hot Chili Peppers.
  
• Elsa, my Passat, drives better when she's clean (at least on the outside).
• if I buy a (nice) pair of pants that I can barely fit into, I'll be motivated to lose weight to fit into them.
• Lil F still thinks she is little, even though she just measured a whopping 6.5 inches tonight!
  
• gym memberships should cost less since there is a national campaign to decrease risk of obesity, stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular diseases.
• (This is moreso a late realization...several years later) French Fries are one of my favorite foods (never mind that I just mentioned stroke and other cardiovascular disease).
  

Just thought I'd share some of my random thoughts from my lovely Monday (or "Sunday for Cheryl," as my classmates might call it) full of errands, a smidget of research, 24 Hour Fitnessing, eating, and a little R & R in between.

Celebrity Gossip

I totally think that there are so many closet celebrity-gossip-column/blog-readers out there.

When PDF and I discovered that we both read celebrity gossip, we laughed so hard I thought we were gonna get into a car accident. Fortunately, she was driving (she is a far superior driver than me). I'm sure that if I were driving, we would probably not have been as lucky.

I also discovered that my bro is a closet reader, too. What did I do? I didn't confront him. I just added more bookmarks. Ha!

After the Countdown, the Dick Clark show had all those celebrities performing so we watched in a stupid stupor. Linz, the girl of the first couple that arrived for the New Year's countdown at FBM's, also admitted to reading celebrity gossip. Totally rad. Maybe that's why she asked FBM for my number. ;)

Why are we so into such trashy gossip?

I wish I was more into reading current international events and the latest research in SLP. When we got back from Vegas on Friday night, we ran into our baking neighbor, and BF and her had an hour and half-long discussion about politics, war, and history (is that redundant?). I just stood there freezing and had nothing to contribute. How sad is that?

Speaking of her, she baked us delicious oatmeal spice cake, chocolate chip and walnut cookies, and ginger cookies. Not only is she extremely fascinating and sweet, she is such a great baker!