Editions of Me

To say the least. In this episode of the further adventures of Thu Is A Parent Now, Thu deals with a legitimately sick Jolie these past two weeks (meaning, she didn't just have a runny nose, although she had that too). It never cease to amaze me, how many things there are to worry about when you're a parent. When you're a young adult, you generally think you're immune to certain dangerous things - "Oh, I can drive a bit faster, I'll be FIIIINE," or "Meh, I don't need a jacket in this weather, I'll be FIIIINE." But when you're a parent, it's no longer just you. When you were young, it was fine to walk around in the rain in flip flops, but as a parent, I need to make damn sure that my daughter has socks and proper shoes to keep her feet dry and warm. I need to obey speed laws, especially in the rain. Etc, etc. Everything that I'm normally afraid of, PLUS a lot of the things that I'm not, are now all Threats To My Daughte

Ha! You assume that I would even HAVE a wedding.That said, if I did, I wouldn't have any dancing. Jimmy and I would probably have this song played at some point, just for the fun of it. Maybe a slideshow or something.

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When I'm sad, I tend to wallow. I listen to other sad songs and feel MORE sad, instead of listening to happy songs to make myself feel better. (Yes, I too can be guilty of feeling sorry for myself.) This song is pretty good for that sort of thing:

I've been waiting for these to hit stores before buying them, so I can swatch them in person and decide which ones I want to buy first. Lo and behold! A random, spontaneous trip to Ulta, and THERE THEY WERE. What were they even doing there? They're not supposed to be in any stores yet! My heart stopped when I saw the Spring 2011 collection just SITTING there, waiting for me to squee. I've been planning for this as my major splurge for this month, so do not be alarmed when I tell you that I bought SIX of them, half of the collection of pencils. I went home and eagerly threw on a couple different looks, one on each eye, to test their blendability with the 24/7 Blending Brush, which UD created especially for these pencils (and which I already bought, because I was going to test them out with my NYX Jumbo Pencils). Haul #1, L to R: Morphine, Delinquent, Mercury, Narc, Wasteland, and Sin They DON'T disappoint. They blend really well, and then they just DON'T budg

It's hard not to want to share your happiness with the Flaming Lips as your soundtrack. :)

Very apropos, considering the day I had yesterday. I don't actually listen to music when I'm angry - I'm kind of a "stew in silence" sort of girl. But I guess if I had to pick something, I would pick this:

... if I didn't have my heart so set on becoming a marathoner, I would've taken up smoking by now.

I've already posted my entire favorite album (from Radiohead), but in particular, here is my favorite song from my favorite album, "Letdown" from OK Computer . You'll know, you'll know where you are with You'll know where you are with Floor collapsing, floating Bouncing back and one day I am gonna grow wings A chemical reaction Hysterial and useless (You'll know where you are)

So, my makeup-specific Rav group is going to attempt a weekly eye look based around a theme, and our first theme is "Your Favorite Drink," and this means ANY drink - alcoholic or non, fruity, coffee, even water, whatever you like to drink! Mine is Orangina. I love that it's light and refreshing, and I love the slight amount of pulp, and I love those round bulbous textured glass bottles. I am particularly inspired by this piece of Orangina artwork, which I have a postcard of, hanging in my classroom in my corner: I totally love this style art, and so I set about to make an Orangina-inspired eye makeup look.

Kind of an odd question, because if I wanted to hear something that didn't get played on the radio, I'd just put it on my mixed cd, no? So I'll answer this question a different way: This is a song I wish I could've heard on the radio at the time that it was released. And I'm totally going to confess that I cribbed this answer from Jimmy. I thought it was such a brilliant answer that I couldn't think of a better choice. The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever (Linked because embedding was disabled)

I've been hearing this one a lot lately, and I like it a lot! It's great to drive to. It's got a kind of swagger to it. Their new single "Howlin for You" is pretty good too. I think I might want to consider checking out the rest of the album. PS - I've never seen this video before now, and it's kind of adorable.

I rarely ever put on a full face of makeup, but today, I decided to try it because 1) I just got matched for my MAC foundation shade (NC40), and 2) I wanted to see how long it would take (*quite a long time). I probably won't do this every day, but it is definitely nice to see my face all evened out and everything. (Although, my chin is driving me crazy.) Face: - MAC Studio Sculpt in NC40, with Fix+ Lavender Mist sprayed onto the brush and on my face as a primer - Wet n Wild Color Icon blush in Mellow Wine applied with a fan brush Lips: - Bare Escentuals Buxom lipgloss in Brandi Eyes: - UDPP - UD shadow in Toasted on the lid into the crease - UD matte shadow in ABC gum on the brow - NYX jumbo pencil in French Fries along upper and lower lash line - Tarte emphasEYES inner rim pencil smudged into upper lash line - MAC Opulash mascara

I only hate this song now because I hear it ALL THE TIME (along with every other Nirvana song ever). If it got played a lot less, it wouldn't bother me so much.

Well, she was an American girl Raised on promises She couldn't help thinkin' That there was a little more to life somewhere else (That's not the only part of the song I felt described me, it was just the most quotable =P)

This is a tough one, because... what DO people expect me to love? I don't know what other people think about me. I would hope that people think I have enough range in my musical tastes that they would not be surprised? Okay. Here's one, although, if you know how much I love the movie Love Actually, it really shouldn't be all that unexpected. (And I really do like the version from the movie with the little girl singing it better!)

Because I totally fell in love with these two eyeshadows immediately upon swatching: Top color (lighter) is Striptease; lower color (darker) is Camisole One of my fellow Ravelers owns her own mineral cosmetics company called Sweet Libertine , and I finally placed an order because the colors look so beautiful on the site. I ordered Beginners Sets 1 and 2, which each consist of four basic colors that look good on anyone. I knew as soon as I saw the two above  swatched on my hand that my life would never be the same :) Camisole looks gray-ish purple in the container, but comes out all gorgeous and sparkly. And Striptease looks like a basic light gold in the container, but when swatched, all of these other colors came out (on me, I saw hints of purple, but from what I've read, depending on your skin and/or whatever other colors you're wearing, it might take on a different shade), and I think that's just insanely awesome. It's like magic to me :) They were both gor

(Sorry, I haven't thought of a cool name for this look yet!) I wanted to play with the Pixie Epoxy for this one, so here's what I've got. (And I apologize in advance for my bad skin - when I'm not getting enough sleep, it really shows.) I was wearing MAC's MSF Natural, but I think it's all but worn off by now. On the eyes: - Pixie Epoxy - On the inner half: Fyrinnae's eyeshadow in Polar Bear, a pale gold (I received it as a sample), patted on as suggested on their website. - On the outer half: UD's Flipside - In the crease (to blend the line): UD's matte shadow in Foxy - Tarte emphasEYES inner rim pencil in Lapis on the upper lashline - MAC's Zoom Fast Lash mascara Make no mistake - I took extra time and care to apply the shadows on top of the Pixie Epoxy. But it was worth it, because the effect is beautiful.

I don't think this one needs any explaining :)

Grades are done. Lessons are planned. Baby is napping. What do I do with myself? Play with my makeup! First off, I have been obsessed with this eye makeup look since the first time I saw it, in UD's Spring 2011 preview video : Because you KNOW how much I love purple eye looks! I figured it would be using a bunch of the new products, but when UD finally posted the face chart for this look, I was surprised at how many of the items I already had: So I decided to try and do it myself, using as many of the products that I had, and duping the rest: Obviously, my face is nothing like the model's, especially my eyes, so the proportions are slightly different, but I managed to do most of it. See here:

Again, not going to dignify this with a link. I hate Kid Rock. Any of his songs would work for this thing.

I'm home today taking care of Jolie, who's sick, so while she was napping, I took a little break from grading to get in some playtime :) First up, I got some... well, I don't know what to call it, it's not exactly primer. I guess I'll just call it what it is: Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy. It's kind of like a glue for glitter eyeshadows - it holds everything on (no fallout), it gives shimmery shadows a nice foiled effect. I bought it after seeing this post from Lipglossiping,  showing what an awesome effect it has on the Black Palette shadows. I decided to do some swatching of my own: On the left, it's the shadows swatched over Eden PP by itself, on the right, on top of Pixie Epoxy (layered on top of Eden, as instructed by Fyrinnae's site). You can see there's definitely a difference - over PP alone, it's a bit murkier - they actually just look matte to me. On top of Pixie Epoxy, there's a crisp metallic quality, as there should be. And you

Aw, this one's easy. How about a whole entire album?  It's my favorite album. As always, I recommend putting the music on REALLY loud and listening with your eyes closed, so you can feel everything.

I wish _I_ could go back to sleep right now. "Fiction" by Belle and Sebastian - sorry, couldn't embed this one.

Um, I'm not a dancer. I've never been into clubbing. I've always hated school dances (attending them OR chaperoning them - ugh, teenagers are disgusting!), and I'm the one who stays firmly planted in her chair at people's weddings. Should I ever have my own wedding, I would bypass the dancing portion altogether. That said... I have always wanted to learn how to swing dance. I've been obsessed with swing culture since I was in high school, and Ms. Intersimone, my English 2 Honors teacher had us analyze the movie Swing Kids . I love the style, I love the music, I love the clothing, I love that (in that movie, at least) it was a form of rebellion against the government. I love that there was an art to this dance, and it wasn't about trying to be sexy.* So, here, I give you a song you can dance to, a song I COULD dance to if I knew how, "Sing Sing Sing" as played by the Benny Goodman Orchestra: *I know between today and yesterday's music p

I'm really agitated and upset and angry about some news I just heard, and I can't sleep, and I wish I had my baby here to cuddle. But, alas, she's staying at her Grandma's tonight.

And I will actually type them all out for you right here. I promise, I'm not cheating. (Not that you should take into account the videos for any of the songs I post, since the focus should be the aural and not the visual, but I do believe that Paul Thomas Anderson, Fiona Apple's then-boyfriend, directed this music video.) Fast As You Can - Fiona Apple I let the beast in too soon. I don't know how to live without his hand on my throat. I fight him always and still. Oh darlin', it's so sweet - you think you know how crazy, how I crazy I am. You say you don't spook easy, you won't go, but I know, and I pray that you will. Fast as you can, baby, run, free yourself of me, fast as you can. I may be soft in your palm, but I'll soon grow hungry for a fight, and I will not let you win. [That's my favorite line right there.] My pretty mouth will frame the phrases that will disprove your faith in man. So if you catch me trying to find my way into y

I know, I know, I'm on a derby break at the moment. I have to take this moment to SQUEE at the fact that my name finally is registered. Albeit, to the wrong team, but hey, I am Viva Glam no matter what!!! In a few months when they update it again, it'll say The Great Maulers of Milpitas, which will still be wrong... haha, I think I need to find a team and stick with them.

As happy as I get when I do a good job of putting ON makeup, I am equally happy when I can do a good job of taking it OFF. I have been using either makeup remover cleansing towelettes or UD's Clean and Sober makeup remover to take off my eye makeup - both work, but neither are miraculously effective. I have to scrub and scrub with both of them - the towelettes completely sting my eyes (I'm standing there over the sink tearing up!) and Clean and Sober works fine (smells great!) but it still doesn't remove everything, and leaves a sort of heavy gel feeling on my face.  So after reading a thread on eye makeup remover suggestions, I decided to go use some Sephora store credit to purchase this baby: Clinique's Take the Day Off and it was every bit as wonderful as everything I'd read about it. My online makeup community friends (shut up, don't laugh) totally lauded this thing like it was holy water, and I was kind of skeptical and not particularly anxious to spe

Let's take a look at the matte shadows, the remaining four glosses, and the eyeliners On the whole, I'd have to say that I was largely unimpressed with the matte eyeshadows. Mattes don't show up well on me anyway, in general, but these seemed even less pigmented than other ones I've tried.

No complicated story here - this song was my high school class of 2001's graduation song. I have graduation on the brain lately because not only are my officers graduating this year (*sniffles*), but my ten year reunion (which I won't be able to attend!!!! grr!) is this year as well. We did our processional to a piano version of this song.

Shimmer eyeshadows (1-16) and lipglosses There are so many things to play with in this jewelry box, I thought I'd start out by swatching. I did put together a quick look the other day, but it was more just to test out the formula than for the color. (I just went really basic.) So without further ado, here are the shimmer eyeshadows, which are numbered 1-16 and occupy the top level of the box:

I decided to try something new today, makeup-wise - I tried to use as little UD as possible, instead giving some love to my other brands. Specifically, I wanted to give my mineral eyeshadows a try - ages ago, I'd purchased some small sample-sized ones from Everyday Minerals (good quality, very affordable), so I wanted to give them a try:

I went to grad school at UC Irvine, which is Orange County. My seminars were Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays during the summer, which gave me long weekends, perfect for coming home. I would often take 101 the entire way home, because it took me by the coast, and I loved seeing the ocean as I drove - even though it's a longer drive, it's a heck of a lot more interesting than taking I-5. I had two SoCal-themed mix CD's that I would listen to as I drove. Driving back down to Irvine, I would pass a town called Carpinteria, where there was a little tiny island just off the coast, with a long bridge/pier that jutted out to connect it to the mainland. And every time I hear the following song (from one of my mixes), I think of that island and the Southern California sunshine gleaming off the waves and the whizzing by of the highway.

I'd have to say that one of the most personally painful experiences I've ever been through is to have lost respect for another person. I'm a deeply loving person, and I always want to think the best of people I care about, but having to stare down a mountain of d-baggery and then realize that I have no choice but to admit it is really, really painful for me. This has been on my mind a lot lately, and I can think of more than one person to whom this statement applies. It makes me really sad when I think of people I've known, who at some point really hung the moon. I really thought they were the greatest ever, and they added so much to my life, and I just felt, like, SO lucky to have even been ALLOWED to hang out with them. I felt such a strong connection to them that I thought would last forever. And then to find out their true natures - that I never really knew them at all... I found out that they were just AWFUL people - immature, selfish, inconsiderate people who

For today, it's only fit to mention the person who has been the number one musical influence on my life, Jimmy. There are lots of songs that remind me of him, just because he's been absolutely integral to my musical development. However... I'm not going to talk about Jimmy. For once, I'm going to talk about another very important person in my life - my dog Belle: As you can see from the photo, Belle is kind of a wonky, silly little creature. She and Semos are mixed breeds: half Croatian sheepdog, a quarter pug, and a quarter boxer. Semos looks more like a Croatian sheepdog (their mother), and Belle I can only assume looks more like their father, whom I've never seen. Being half pug and half boxer, I can only imagine that he's kind of wonky looking. If you look at Belle's face, she's a teensy bit buggy-eyed like a pug, and her muzzle is a bit shorter like that of a boxer (whereas Semos's face is sleeker and less unusual). When Belle's excited

I'm streaming this album right now at work, and I LOVE it. The band is called Warpaint, and they are an anomaly in popular music today, as they are all-female. The music is just EXACTLY my speed right now. I'm totally going to buy this album because bands like these need the support! You can listen for yourself by clicking below to stream the album, and if you like it, please pass it on by clicking "Share" and copying/pasting the code for this music player onto your own blog!

This song never fails to make me tear up. I've been familiar with Tom Waits' music for a while, but I first heard this particular sad, beautiful song used in the film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , which itself is a sad and beautiful story. The face forgives the mirror The worm forgives the plow The questions begs the answer: Can you forgive me somehow? Maybe when our story's over We'll go where it's always spring The band is playing our song again And all the world is green Pretend that you owe me nothing And all the world is green We can bring back the old days again And all the world is green

A lightly-smoky brown eye look today: Here's how it was done:

So, right now I'm working on Tulip Top , but after I'm done with that, I plan to finally learn steeking (which, yes, is item 6 on my 30 Things list). And because I like to aim high, this is what I plan to make: Little Birds by Ysolda Teague I already have the yarn ordered from Knitpicks - their brand new line of yarn called Chroma . The main body will be done in Natural, which is a pure white, and the birds/leaves will be done in the colorway Regency. Chroma's colorways are self-striping, and totally gorgeous: Chroma Fingering Weight in Regency So yeah, I'm excited. This is totally outside of my comfort zone. I've only done colorwork once, and it was totally basic and didn't involve steeking, which is a method whereby you reinforce a section of knitting and then CUT THROUGH IT (with scissors!) so that you can attach sleeves or a button band or whatever. Cutting knitwork goes against every fiber (haha) of my being, so I'm scared.

I have a feeling that it's going to be impossible to choose only one song for nearly all of these topics. There are different kinds of happy, of course. And I have a different song for each type: Proud-of-myself happy: "Queen Bitch" - David Bowie I always imagine myself crossing the marathon finish line to this song, and then sauntering off into the sunset. (Because it WILL take me that long to finish one.) I think I get this idea from the end of Wes Anderson's film, The Life Aquatic , because it has Bill Murray walking off triumphantly at the end to this song. Cheerful, peppy happy: "Say Hey (I Love You)" - Michael Franti and Spearhead This isn't my usual style of music, but I can't help feeling happy when I hear this song on the radio.It's just so bouncy and happy! Peaceful happy: "Playground Love" - Air Air is just great chill out music. This song in particular languishes in its rhythm and vocalizations. This isn't a

I finally got my UD 15th Anniversary Pencil Set!!! This is the box of my dreams! 15 full-size versions of my favorite pencils, 6 of which are exclusive shades to this box set. I took a minute to swatch quickly: L to R: - Stray Dog - which at first glimpse reminds me of their (semi-exclusive) eye shadow color called Mushroom - Midnight Cowboy - creamy, iridescent and beautiful - Perversion - blacker than black, patent-shoe black - Zero (not new - for comparison next to Perversion) - Uzi - a dark gray, more like what I would think Gunmetal SHOULD be but isn't - Asphyxia - like the eyeshadow color, a fuschia-purple with tinges of blue. (not shown) Corrupt - a perfect brown. I didn't swatch it because I have a mini version of it from a previous 24/7 set. But it's never before been available in full-size. This pencil set is limited edition, but luckily not sold out yet. If you get the chance, you really should get it, because it's an amazing value. All

You know, as hard as it was to narrow down my favorite songs, it's even harder to come up with my least favorites. There are LOTS of songs that I will instantly change the station for because I do NOT want to hear them, and usually it's because they get played way too much. But a song that actually is my least favorite? Maybe one that actually pisses me off? Okay, here's one (and I'm not even going to link to it): Katy Perry's "Ur So Gay." I HATE it because obviously, it's using the word "gay" in a pejorative way, and if you know me, you know that this is something that really grinds my gears. I spend all my time trying to tell my kids not to do that and tell them why it's wrong and derogatory and homophobic, and then you get some pretty pop singer DOING THAT VERY THING. And of course, who are they going to listen to? It makes me want to punch her in the face. Also, the songwriting is just crap anyway! The chorus goes, "Ur so gay

I know it's cheating, but I have two: "Lovesong" by the Cure For no other reason than that I just really like it. It's haunting and romantic. It's not a "Oh I can't live without you baby" sort of love song - I like that he says "you make me feel like I am free again" because I think that's how love should be. "The Prettiest Star" by David Bowie This is the original version with Marc Bolan (T. Rex) playing the guitar melody. Again, haunting and romantic. I love this song so much that I named my daughter after it.

Taken from my brother's blog. All music themed. Topics: Day 01 – Your favorite song Day 02 – Your least favorite song Day 03 – A song that makes you happy Day 04 – A song that makes you sad Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to Day 09 – A song that you can dance to Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep Day 11 – A song from your favorite band Day 12 – A song from a band you hate Day 13 – A song that is a guilty pleasure Day 14 – A song that no one would expect you to love Day 15 – A song that describes you Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio Day 19 – A song from your favorite album Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry Day 21 – A song that you listen to when you’re happy Da

Last night I read an article that pretty much seemed to postulate that platonic friendships between men and women were not truly possible. (Note: the article referred only to heterosexual men and women - no discussion of the dynamic in a friendship involving homosexual or bisexual men and women.) It was kind of a dumb article - it seemed to support one of the men it kept quoting, who said that platonic relationships were not possible because men are primarily only interested in sex, and there's no way men are willing to invest time in a woman without getting something back. (Obviously the guy is a douche, and no self-respecting woman would want to be friends with a guy who feels that way anyway.) It did get me wondering though, about the male friends in my life. I'm not going to presume that they were sexually attracted to me - I have no way of knowing, and if they were, they didn't make that known to me. (Plus, not to get all pity-party on you, but I just don't think

There's nothing I love better than a good sale... Hautelook recently had an awesome Urban Decay sale. Look what I scored! Four Big Fatty Colored Mascaras (worth $68), an Ink for Eyes (worth $22), and an Urban Decay Rocks set (worth $18), all for just TWO BUCKS EACH!!!

Today begins my week 2 of doing the Couch to 10k program (which is actually week 4 in the program - I skipped the first two), and I'm really happy with the little progress I've made. One, that I've made it to week 2 AT ALL (we all know motivation and commitment are not my strong points), and two, that my body feels stronger already. Even though my run interval has increased, my body is having an easier time with it than it did with week 1, and I'm sure it's because I spent the last week eating better and exercising more than I have in the past year. My weigh-in on Monday put me at four pounds down, which I know is technically a lot for one week, but hey, I'm not going to complain. In addition to running, I've gotten back into Bikram yoga. I'm taking some time off from roller derby, and I need to make up for the lost sweating time somehow, so I'm heading to YogaSource Los Gatos on the days that I don't run, for an hour and a half in a sweaty sau