Thanks a lot, Novusfemina, Kiraela, and Lisabelle. As absurd as the idea of them having *special* baked goods is, it's cheered me up. As for the brownies, the only thing I can say is that they met in the 70s and my dad told me he was impressed by Uncle Mike being able to eat a couple while he couldn't finish one, so...I'll just leave it at that.

Yeesh, I feel like I'm painting a picture of my dad being a total stoner. He wasn't or else my mom wouldn't have married him. I think he just did it on the weekends and he stopped before I was born. Still, that didn't stop me from teasing him that the residue must have stayed in his body or else I would be more normal. He replied, "Good!"

Angel Spun--Wow, that's pretty interesting! What kind of tattoo are you thinking of getting? I dunno, my dad's idea of heaven would probably include magic brownies, Cajun music, cute Filipina girls, and/or Jamie Lee Curtis. He was, err, a character.

Sakina--While I've considered various ideas over the years, the one that's been a constant--a phoenix on my shoulder with the tail feathers trailing down the top half of my upper arm. If I do go through with it, I'd get that design. Thanks for the tip. Did it hurt a lot when you got your tattoos? Right now that's the only thing that would prevent me from getting one.


BPAL--I've come to realize that florals don't do very well on me, especially iris and jasmine. I seem to do better with foody scents and those of the Oriental variety.

Kiraela, they have a ton of variety so maybe you could try some he might not be allergic to. Just a thought. I'm not trying to enable you at all, I swear.

*Bewitched, Bewitching Brews GC: blackberry, sage, green tea, berries, musk. It started off a little musky/musty, but as it dried down it had a nice berry scent. While it was lighter than Midnight Kiss, it's a heavier perfume compared to something like Dormouse. Overall, it's a nice scent. 5ml bottle perhaps?

*Psyche, Love Potions GC: Bulgar rose, Chinese white musk, lavender, orchid, frankincense. I didn't get any of the lavender, but I could really smell the rose. It was nice, but I'm not sure if I'd get a full bottle. I might use the rest of the sample, though.

*Kathmandu, Wanderlust GC: saffron, sandalwood, Himalayan ceder, lotus, chiuri bark, Nepalese spices. Kind of woody/incensey. Got a lot of the ceder after it dried down. It's a nice scent, but I'm not sure it makes me smell like wood chips or not.

*Kumiho, Diabolus GC: white tea, ginger. A very simple, refreshing oil. It reminded me of Origin's Perfect World toner with some ginger added to it. I like Origins so it's a definite yes.

Things are cooling down considerably here and the leaves have turned lovely shades of red, orange, and yellow. I wish we had "real" falls back home.

Work--Been going pretty well the past couple of days. Whenever I'm at an elementary school, I always wonder if my kids are having fun, especially the 5th and 6th graders because they seem the hardest to please. Well, yesterday with the 5th and 6th graders at N Elem. School, I did simple shopping conversation with them. They didn't seem to into it until I gave them fake money to cut out and use for their shopping simulation. I broke them into groups and had them take turns being customers and salesclerks. They had to ask the prices of things I brought from my apartment and pay for it. The kids seemed to have fun and I was really pleased when their teacher went "sugoi!" (trans. WOW!) when she saw the play money. I was even happier when she got the digital camera to take pictures of the kids going "shopping".

Today when I was at M Elem. school and was eating lunch with the 1st graders, they were worried about the JHS teachers that were going to come later in the day to observe. It's a tiny school so the four 1st graders were saying that the JHS teachers are scary. Their teacher told them that I'm also a JHS teacher and asked them if I'm scary. The kids said no and I was so happy. I know the kids could have said that because I was in the same room, but since the conversation was in Japanese and they could have assumed I wouldn't understand, I think they gave an honest answer. I always doubt my competency as a teacher and whether or not the students like me so it's always a huge relief when they enjoy my lessons or seem happy to see me.

Hair--Doing well so far. The air is getting drier and I can feel a difference in how moisturized my hair seems. I tried using the CV soap bars as a shampoo bar a couple of times. I know they're not formulated the same way as the shampoo bars, but I wanted to try it anyway. I liked how my hair felt after it was completely dry, but until then it had a gummy feeling. I also learned that the soap bars aren't good at getting all the oils off from my oiled fenugreek soaks. The third time I used the bar on my hair, I just used it on my ends and final C'd with the mud-charcoal-hinoki oil conditioner. That combination seemed to work pretty well. I think I'll do that again the next time I need to wash my hair.

Got a hair compliment from the 1st grade teacher today. During lunch she said that my hair looked nice and asked to see the back. I was kind of surprised because it was just in a simple (and slightly lumpy) cinnabun. I obliged and the teacher and kids were going "wow!" She asked how long my hair is and motioned to BSL length. I said no and had to stand up so I could point to my rear. The girls were going "whoa!". Those were nice compliments and I'm glad the teacher didn't tell me my hair is too long. Sometimes it's still weird to be in a place where hair past shoulder length is uncommon.

Whipping Butter--My MRH order arrived last week and on Sunday I tried making another batch of whipped shea. This time I heated kokum, coconut, and shea butter in a cup I partially submerged in hot water. The butters melted, but it happened a lot more gradually then when I put it in the microwave. I added rosehip and camellia oil and this time I used an actual whisk to whip the butters and oils. I had to add lavender EO because the shea smelled too much like rubber.

The batch came out a lot fluffier than when I used two forks and somehow it doesn't seem as greasy. It absorbs quite quickly and I've been using it as an after shower treatment on my legs and hands. Last year I had problems with dry skin in those areas and judging by the results I've gotten so far, my dry skin problems might not be as bad this year.

BB--Thanks a lot! Some of my lesson plans could be more exciting, but for the most part I *think* they're okay. I wish the education system here was always integrative, but alas, no. I don't know about the high schools but the junior high school students don't get too much practical use with English because they have to prepare for high school entrance exams. It's sad that in a lot of prefectures, if they fail the high school entrance test, they either have to go to a technical school or start working. With that kind of pressure, the teachers really have to focus on the textbook. I think I'll just leave it at that since after working here for a year, I can see so many things that could be changed for the better here. As for the elementary schools, since there isn't a set curriculum for English, I have a lot more freedom and can introduce the students to things they can use in a real life situation. Whether or not they remember is another story.

Okay, taking a break from a major attempt at cleaning my apartment. I bought two BPAL limited editions from someone on BPAL.org the other day and just discovered Nocturne Alchemy (crap, like I need another obsession ). I realized how much I've spent on perfume oils and feel totally guilty. In order to assuage some of that guilt, I'm doing something I really don't like: cleaning.

Well, the bottles I bought from BPAL.org are:
*Red Moon--warm amber, red musk, heliotrope, dragon's blood resin, sunflower, crushed orange peel, chamomile, rue, elderflower, and marigold.
*Enraged Groundhog Musk--cranky groundhog musk sweetened up by chocolate covered black cherries,cardamom, French vanilla, and caramel.

Limited edition purchases from Nocturne Alchemy:
*Vampire Pharaoh--cypress, myrrh, blackberry, dark musk, merlot wine, grapefruit zest, Egyptian and Indian karnataka sandalwood, fresh Egyptian herbs.
*Phumpkin Pharaoh--cinnamon, honeycomb, sweet milk, vanilla bean, red amber, Egyptian black rasberry, Egyptian blackberry, hazelnut, black vanilla, caramel, pumpkin, tea leaf.
*Ra's Chocolate Chai--dark chocolate, black tea, honey, milk, cacao, spiced chai. 

Nocturne Alchemy bases their blends on ancient Egypt, hence all the pharaoh references. Now I need to get back to work and resume wondering what happened to me. I hate store brand perfumes, but can't get enough of BPAL and now I've started on Nocturne Alchemy. *insert freaked-out icon*

Lisabelle--Eeek, must not look at Villainess site! Oh, who am I kidding?! Enable me, 'nee san!   Sigh, those blends at Nocturne Alchemy look yummy, don't they? My poor debit card...