Let's see just how boring I can be

I woke up this morning, lazed around reading and cuddling with Copernicus, and then went to get a massage. My friend is studying to recertify for his therapy license, and he needs guinea pigs. I'm a willing volunteer. Two hours later, I can confirm he is ready to set up business for real!
After my massage, I drove to the Mall for a little more me-beauty time. I went to Sephora and picked up a new face powder. I was going to purchase the powder my sister has (it's from Nars), but I realized it's SPF, and I don't want an SPF powder (I already have one). For those of you who don't know, SPF will make you look like a ghost in flash photography. I ended up with a Benefit powder that I really like.

I also purchased a new Nars lip gloss crayon in New Lover

and a phenomenal new brown eyeliner from Too Faced

to complete my crazy shopping spree. I also got one of the ladies to do my makeup. They get surprisingly excited when you simply say, "Make my big eyes bigger, and bring out the green, please." and then give them carte blanche to use whatever products and colors they want. By the end, I had a trio of ladies telling me how gorgeous my eyelashes are and they were all really excited about my look. I like Sephora a lot, as I've never had a makeup artist there not listen, they generally will tell you the absolute truth ("oh, not that color after all, hmm," etc.), and they all seem so enthusiastic. As a retail manager, I'm pretty good at spotting fake enthusiasm, and these people love what they do.
After the makeover, I went to my favorite nail place and settled in for a splurgy pedicure. It was nice to sit and be pampered.
What a great day!
(Berck, are you bored yet?).

Spaghetti with Italian sausage and fancy salad

Here's how I made dinner last night.
First, take a wok and heat olive oil in it. Throw in some garlic, then haphazardly slice some Italian turkey sausage and throw that in. Heat until browned through, breaking up the slices into smaller slices with your slotted spatula, then remove sausage to drain on a paper towel over a plate. Wipe out excess grease, dump in a can of crushed (or petit diced) tomatoes, and remember that you've forgotten the mushrooms.Throw in the sliced baby portabello mushrooms, and turn the heat up to try and cook the mushrooms through. Add Worcestershire sauce (I used the reduced sodium version), basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram, garlic, salt, and pepper. Once the mushrooms are sliceable with the spatula/spoon/whatever, add in tomato sauce. Reup the spices, and lower the heat to simmer. Boil water for pasta (I used wheat spaghetti). Wheat pasta takes a little longer than the other sort. Drain pasta and dump into sauce and toss. Delicious!
The fancy salad consists of lettuce (romaine's tasty), spinach, cilantro, mint, chopped tomatoes (Roma), cucumbers, carrots, and a raspberry vinaigrette.
And, in the broiler, make a little garlic toast. A pat or two of butter with garlic spooned on top of the sliced bread, and don't forget to sprinkle a little parsley on top.
Super, super tasty!

It pays to ask questions

I started on the process of replacing my lost keys today. First up, car keys at 9am. Now, normally, 9am isn't a big deal, but it's my vacation, and waking up before noon seems like an abomination. I made it a bit early and read my latest find in the parking lot, The Bucolic Plague. It's about two guys from Manhattan who buy a historic farm in upstate New York. It's pretty good. The author is a former drag queen. Yes, it's not your typical fare.
When it was time to pony up the money for the new keys, I asked if the lost keys were covered since I'd bought the car within the last year. The usual person who can find that out is on vacation (it must be that time of year), so I got to read for another half hour while they figured it out. Instead of paying a little over $200 to replace the keys, it ended up being $17. So, that was awesome! Yay for buying a new car!!!
After the car place, I stopped out at TJ Maxx (it's the only one I know of in the city, and it's fairly far out (the car dealership is on the edge of the boonies). I found another bra in my new size, a supercute sweater for $3, and some underpants. TMI? I figured I deserved some new things, especially since I just "saved" $180.
And now I've caught up on Castle, am working on catching up on Bones, and am thinking about dinner. I ate some delicious chicken salad with tomato on a mini baguette (yesterday it was cambozola, tomato, and ham on a mini baguette).  Central Market limeade and some lemon olives were the appetizers. Tonight might be spaghetti and salad. Maybe. Hmm.
I'm such a lame blogger.

What a great weekend!

I had such a lovely weekend with my three beautiful sisters. We went to New Orleans and stayed in a fantastic condo in the Warehouse District. It was lent to us by one of my sister's friends. We visited all the old haunts (Cafe du Monde, Cafe Maspero, Community Coffee, Bourbon Street, the French Market, Jax, the levee, etc.), and then we made some new friends (Herbsaint, Cafe Amelie, and Jazz Cafe). The four of us had such a fun time eating, bonding, eating, walking, going to parades, eating . . . you get the idea.

It's been a while

The idea of this blog was to be private. I know that's funny, not really funny ha-ha, but funny stupid, since the internet is anything but private. That privacy and knowledge that it's illusory has kept me from posting. If I want to share some random thought, I just post a stupid status or link or photo on Facebook. Anything more personal or deep, I bottle up. Or tell Copernicus (my cat).
I think I will try to post more frequently. The challenge of balancing privacy with the need to vent or share will be an interesting one.
Who's out there reading anyway?

Homesick

My daddy (what? I'm a Southern woman) just emailed photos from his trip to Turkey. He's there for the next week visiting our family friends. The photos include his third wife holding the hands of the woman I'm named for. I don't have anything against this woman, but it breaks my heart that it's not my mother. Not that I want my mommy to still be married to that man, as I can't imagine anything more awful for either one of them, but that Mommy would love to see Turkanhanim and Nuranhanim again.
And my heart breaks for me, since I'm the only one other than my mommy who hasn't been back yet.
I had a conversation today about choices and blame. I know that I've made choices and they've kept me from going to Turkey, but sometimes, just sometimes, I let myself wallow in the "unfairness" of it all.
I *will* go back to Turkey one day. I will.

Fairly Stated

Tomorrow I'm headed to the State Fair with $100 in my pocket, an empty stomach, and a map of all the glorious Fair food to be eaten. I will also have a list of interesting events and exhibits I plan on viewing. Photo essay to follow. Yeah, I'm *that* girl.