I feel like yonder second photo isn’t nearly as flattering as the first one, but it does show off my duo chrome liquid eyeshadow a bit better. Color shifts from violet red or red violet, to green, to sometimes black, depending on the angle.
One of my coworkers said my eyes looked like mangoes, which I thought was fun and sweet. She really loved the look.
I decided I should restock, since I seem to have misplaced the other two shifting shades that came with this one. When I peeked at past orders to find the brand, because I really dug this one, I discovered it has been A VERY LONG TIME since I bought this eyeshadow. Definitely in the realm of it should be in the trash, because cleanliness, etc.
Not that I am strictly careful with cosmetics in that regard, as much as I know that is probably terrible for my skin.
BUT fear not… I have replacements on the way! That shade, and the two that come with it in a 3-pack, and a SECOND 3-pack, one of which is like an iridescent white that shifts to a frosty blue!!!
That one reminded me of a color I had seen I think by E.L.F. called “Venus Envy,” which I reference in Mystery Train, by color name not by brand, since it struck me as something Dorian would find amusing.
Haven puts that color on him, to bring out all the blues in his eyes, which Jared later calls “vampire blue,” impossibly-vivid, to the point of looking supernatural, other assorted metaphors. Good times.
BUT I have SO MUCH to catch you up on!!!
Just to make sure that I didn’t spend money I would need to get her a gift, I bought my mom’s Mother’s Day stuff early, as planned, and got a bag of candy for myself, just like hers. What the hay, I’m a mom, too.
Here’s what the tag on the bag looked like. I did take a photo of the whole shebang, but it looks like that one is out of focus. Alors. Ignore the backdrop. It’s a Halloween oven mitt, which I am DELIGHTED now fits me (part of a set). For the longest time, I couldn’t get them all the way on.
Here’s part of the bag, and a small sampling of what was inside. There was also a chocolate covered Oreo with a sugar flower decoration, some caramels, some mini meltaway bars, a caramel and chocolate “snapper,” a full-size meltaway bar, white-chocolate-dipped ginger cookies (two of them), and a small pouch of Jelly Belly jelly beans (MY FAVE KIND!!!).
The square you see on the left is a chocolate-dipped graham cracker. Their bigger pretzels similar to the one on the right, surrounded by peanut butter and THEN dipped in chocolate, are also AMAZING! It’s like a Take 5 without the caramel, with better quality, fresher chocolate.
That was the haul from my last payday– treats for me and my mom, and a very cute card (similar, I think, to ones I have seen before… not sure if we ever bought her this one before, but it made me laugh): “A good mom lets you lick the beaters…” and you open it to read, “A great mom turns them off first.” I guess she loved it enough she had meant to take it with her somewhere to show to any women who might also be mothers.
AND she had expressed some curiosity about the May themed treat bags, because I had said their mixed bags are so much fun to open and a great deal, lots of variety. I figured I best get her one, before she bought one for herself, and spoiled the surprise!
She did ask if I’d also gotten one for me. I think if I had said no, she would’ve bought one for me, which is kind of her.
So that was Friday.
Yesterday, Saturday, I had to work, as well, but had requested to start later on, to make sure I had plenty of time to attend an author event at my local library branch. I AM SO GLAD I WENT!!!
Did I mention having gone to Poetry Night at a local indie bookstore and reading my Dance/Poetry Collaboration Project poem? Well, I had found a paperback copy of one of the visiting author’s books, purely by chance, and bought it. Even had a credit for over $3 from donating books for them to sell. I had thought maybe she’d sign it for me.
NOT ONLY did she sign that one.
Someone in the audience who’d come in a little late asked if she had any copies of her books for sale. She did not, just one copy of the first 3 books in her current series. But she offered that person their choice of any of those 3, then said she’d raffle off the other two by whoever came closest to a number she’d guessed between 1 and 100.
Myself and another person were 5 numbers off– one 5 over, one 5 under. So as we had tied, she said we could EACH get a book. The other winner allowed me to choose first, which was great, since the other available book was the one I had already purchased. At this point, I had books one and two.
And I won a book tote bag, for participating in a cryptid trivia contest.
AND toward the beginning, she had apologized, since she’d been booked to come to the library 2 previous times. Once, the event was cancelled due to snow. The second time, she had a scheduling conflict. She had a bunch of hodag magnets and offered them to anyone who had come to either of the previous events and been disappointed, but still had plenty leftover after that.
I suppose this makes me sound like a spoiled brat. Maybe it’s only child syndrome. Maybe I am just sometimes too extroverted for my own and everyone else’s good LOL. But I raised my hand and said, “I wasn’t at either of the earlier events, but I would love a magnet.”
She gave me a little look, I think, but she allowed it LOL.
So, now there’s a hodag magnet on the fridge.
And she had some Nessie bookmarks.
Here’s my swag from that night, along with pics of the signed and dedicated books. She was so incredibly nice, and her story was very inspiring. The one that advised me to always believe in myself legit made me cry.
Here are the title pages of the books:
“Don’t go in the water” she said! HA! So cheeky and fun. That’s the one about a lake monster in Lake Michigan.
That’s the Bigfoot story. So the belief in oneself is maybe just riffing off the idea of believing in Bigfoot. There are memes aplenty along those lines. For all I know, she has standard, pat dedications for each of her titles, at the ready. THAT ASIDE, it meant the WORLD to me to get that kind of encouragement from a traditionally-published writer.
Sometime last night or this morning, I think, I came across a really b!tch!n’ Jim Morrison quote, apparently referenced in a relatively-new compendium of poetry and such, compiled with the blessing of his sister.
If that screenshot raises any eyebrows here, I swurrr I will delete the empty slot and manually type the whole thing in. This seemed easier in the meantime. And it’s not like I shared the accompanying photo– an absolutely stunning shot of Morrison.
I was utterly flabbergasted to see something so lacking in psychedelia, attributed to Jim Morrison. But then, I haven’t read any Morrison biographies or poetry in a very, very long time. May have to pick that one up. Glowing reviews!
So that’s kind of a fun discovery!
Speaking of books, I had a wonderful, lengthy chat with kiddo tonight, since she has tomorrow off. Not sure if she had requested it or what the reason was. She has to wake up by 5 AM for work, and I work nights. So it can be challenging to find good times for us to chat. Especially since I work most weekends.
BUT… tonight, she asked when Mother’s Day was, and said she’d likely have to get me a belated gift. I was a little sad I never got anything from her for Christmas, but I think she was having a particularly rough time of it, then.
I guess maybe it was sadness mixed with a bit of unfair frustration, since I had REALLY spoiled the bejesus out of her, over the winter. I started sending her stuff I think over a month in advance of Christmas, so I could spread the gifting out over more than one paycheck. All stuff she needed. Clothing in her better-fitting size.
She’s been struggling with weight recently. But she’s in pain almost constantly, works a sedentary job, and often falls back on drive-thru dinners because she’s so fatigued at the end of her shifts.
Either way, weight up or weight down, it helps to have clothes that fit your body, and make you feel good. Maybe especially weight-up, so you don’t have that added self-consciousness of trying to wear things that are now too small. Plus-size fashion can be a real game-changer.
Mother’s Day, however. I don’t think she’s ever failed to get me a Mother’s Day gift since she moved? At least, we have started a tradition of her browsing my “To Be Read (Once Acquired)” book list online, and sending me a book. It’s still a surprise that way, but something I definitely wanted.
I BAWLED the first time she did it, because all I knew was that she was sending me something. It was 100% her idea to snoop through my book list. And the book she sent me had been quoted in something I had just read. I’d also had it suggested as a must-read by a professor, in graduate school. In other words, it was PERFECT.
We had a great chat tonight. Long enough that I think I ran out of things to say LOL. Which is saying something! She was playing World of Warcraft but stayed on the line with me, until they were facing down a really challenging boss, that would require more of her focus.
Books:
We have a points-based rewards system where I work, as a benefit for achieving performance milestones. I’d had my eye on: a weighted blanket (which had sold out), a hair dryer with diffuser (I always air-dry my hair, even in the winter, and do have a hair dryer… just not a diffuser attachment), and a wall-mounted, electric fireplace with color-changing flames. I was only about halfway to the fireplace and, after more thought, realized I wasn’t sure I could mount something like that where I live? I think the former tenants here had mounted their TV, but I just wasn’t sure.
AND I had discovered they had all KINDS of books available, as well! I favorited a bunch of them. Many sold out before I nabbed them, but a few lingered, yet available.
I decided last night that the moment was NIGH and ordered no less than 9 books, totally free, with free standard shipping.
- Non-fiction books on writing, from Annie Dillard and bell hooks
- Green Lights by Matthew McConaughey
- The Man Who Fell to Earth, which inspired an earlyish David Bowie movie I have yet to see the whole way through as my father deemed it inappropriate for me at that age after I had checked it out from the library, and which I will absolutely NEED to see now, once I read the book.
- folklore books that respectively cover bits from all of North America, and the other, specifically, myths from Ireland
- Burn It Down: Women Writing About Anger
- a fun-sounding Henry Miller title (still have to read the diaries of Anais Nin, I think)
- lastly, an LGBTQIA+ graphic novel, in time for Pride.
When I interviewed for a library position, I said I was finally making more use of the library rather than buying books, because I was running out of space. One of them said, “I suppose you’d never run out of MONEY for buying books.” We all laughed. But I have mostly been book-frugal, lately, apart from Lost Souls, and e-books (and many of those were free, or nearly so, AND they don’t take up shelf-space).
I still have some Witcher series books, a couple anthologies, and more waiting for me. The rest of the stories in the Poppy Z. Brite collection, Wormwood. Etc. Still, I think it’s a nice treat to have luxury in some form (okay, so this week, it’s fancy chocolates, and eyeshadows, and BOOKS… and playlists for days).
Hm, putting this post together has helped me appreciate how much I really do have, even if I will also concede I need to start cutting back on the extras, or planning so I can set some aside for savings, again, somehow.
It was very helpful that kiddo reminded me of my reading list, because as it turns out, it needed updating. A couple things on it, I had picked up from other sources, or checked out from the library and didn’t feel the need to also possess, myself. And I added some more things. A couple cookbooks. Barefoot Contessa’s memoir. I had a coworker at a call center who would call ME Barefoot Contessa because I would wear flip-flops to the office (very casual dress code), slip them off under my desk, and sit criss-cross-applesauce in my chair.
I guess in that one instance, I do fit the meme stereotype of how bisexuals can’t sit normally in chairs? I’m not a big user of finger guns, however, and don’t often cuff my jeans. Even boyfriend-cut jeans, I like to wear down. Ah, the internet…
I had seen a cute meme of David from The Lost Boys. An actual still from the movie, where Kiefer Sutherland’s character is seated in what looks to be a very old-fashioned wheelchair, one leg thrown haphazardly over an armrest. It was captioned, “I sit like this because I’m bisexual, Michael. Haven’t you heard of the internet, Michael?” Naturally, he HAS to say “Michael” twice, because “Michael” and variations of it like “Mike” or “Mikey” far and away dominate the dialogue.
Failed to relocate it when I wanted to share it, so I remade it, with an app.
I did, however, meanwhile find a very funny and spicy meme someone else had made that said something like : “The Lost Boys: you either become a vampire, or live long enough to get railed by one.”
GAH I can geek out about that movie to infinity and beyond. I think it’s fair to say it should be my new go-to answer for “What could you talk about for an hour without notes?”
That whole rectangular block of text thing is totally new to me as a feature to use, but I think I may check it out again! It happened by accident, actually. Then I tidied it up and found a pic to go with it. All the sparkles, and the Pride.
OH WOW ALMOST FORGOT… MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!!!
Here’s my self-care birb celebrating, and earning a “light sword” for the occasion.
Only 8 more minutes of May the 4th here. I best add my tags and get this posted! Hope your week ahead rocks your socks off, in the best way.
All the Bright and Sparkly Things 
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