I am trying to reduce the amount of time the internet sucks out of my day. So far I am failing. What I do realize though is that most of my time on the net is passive (ie reading, lurking, not much posting or interacting) and somewhat redundant (I see the same content cross posted to Twitter and FB and blogs) I realize I cross post too and I blame all the new social media tools for the loss of centralized connection.

I am not sure where LJ fits. Is it just another time sink, another place to cross post and keep track of or do I want to start investing energy here again. I don't know. What I want is everything centralized into one spot that is NOT FB, but everything is connected to FB these days. I hate it.

I click links and read blogs and fall down a rabbit hole of self loathing because I "should" be doing other things with my time. There are other things I *want* to be doing. But I keep thinking this next article about creativity, or this YouTube video art tutorial will be "the one" to give me the flashbang of insight that will get me moving on all these project I say I want to work on. But one link just leads to another and before I know it my day is gone.

Maybe I need an internet fast.

This post has no answers. I just needed to vent. Time to go to work.

This is not a real post. It is a place holder and a notice that I thought about posting today. I even started one that has some meaning! But it is not ready yet. SO I am putting this up instead so you all know I haven't forgotten. And I will be back with actual content(tm) soon. I hope.

Hi LJ. Um, I still miss you. Can we go back to the way it was before? When all my friends posted here. Posted longer thoughtful things about their lives. Posted silly quizes and passed around memes. Commenting on each others posts with words and thoughts and not just a thumbs up Like. Before everyone was shuttled off to Facebook because their other friend were there. Or went off and started individual blogs, which are hard to keep track of. I miss my one simple friends feed. It was busy and full of chatter and conversation. Daily updates, pictures of lives lived and random rambling, comment threads that went on for days. The pages are silent now. My own included. No one around except the LOLCats and the feeds I subscribed to, all empty of comment conversations.

I come back here occasionally and try and blow off the dust. The ghosts stir and then are silent again. We don't live here anymore. But I cannot seem to lock the door and walk away. This place holds my memories, my treasures, moments of connection and lessons learned. A piece of me still lives here. And always will.

I got my hair cut last weekend and it's been about a month since I last used henna, so I decided to touch up my color and have another go with Las Cacas.
( See pics behind the cutCollapse )

No, not in the boozy woman who drinks to much kind of way, but as in a fan of the company Lush. I love their products, I use them daily, there are more than a few I can't live without, and I enable others by sharing my love and product knowledge whenever possible. Some might call me a Lush pusher, I prefer to call it being a pampering enabler.

This comes as no big shocker to some of you out there, I know.  ;)

So anyway, since I want to keep up the posting habit, and they say write what you know, today's topic will be Lush. Saturdays seem to be the day I can indulge in a long shower and take time to scrub and condition and generally pamper myself so Lush is on my mind today. I have a ridiculous amount of product knowledge so I figure I can pass that on to those of you who might be interested. :)

Today's shower product line-up consisted of:
Reincarnate solid shampoo and Jungle solid conditioner (thank you artemis112  for reminding me how much I love this combo)
Snowcake soap all over and for shaving (No link for this one, it was a Christmas soap and is no longer available.)
Half a Sugar Scrub to scrub arms and legs (breaking these up and just using a piece at a time makes them last longer, they tend to melt away once they get wet)
Ocean Salt scrub on my face (I only use this once or twice a week for a deep exfoliation treatment, but I love it, it smells like a margarita!)
After my shower I slathered myself with Dream Cream.
I went for a very herbal line up of scents today. Depending on my mood I have other products that leave me smelling like a cookie (according to Greg LOL)

This evening I used one of their fresh face masks, BB Seaweed, as an extra treat. These are only available in the stores as they require refrigeration. They have no preservatives so they only keep about 3 or 4 weeks. I'm a few days past the date on this pot, but I'm hoping to get one more use out of it. It still smells and looks fresh so I'm not too worried. This is the first time I've tried one of the fresh face masks and I've been really pleased with it. Last week I was at the store in the Woodfield Mall and they were doing free facials. They used Catastrophe Cosmetic on me and I really liked that one too. It had blueberries in it.

Last week I got adventurous and tried their henna product: Caca Rouge Mama.
Now, I've been dying my hair with henna for about 7 years, so I am familiar with the process and what to expect. And over all the Lush product wasn't much different from the henna powder I normally use. The process to prepare it is similar (although the Lush Caca is ready right away, where the henna mix needs to sit overnight to let the dye release fully) the application is identical and both took about the same amount of time to work. I leave it on 3-4 hours to develop the vibrant red I like. My only complaint is that after an hour or so the cocoa butter was really drippy. It was running down my neck a bit. But I think I could solve that by wrapping my head better.

I think the smell is wonderful, not everyone likes the smell of henna but I love it. The Lush henna has rosemary and clove essential oils that add to the fragrance, which stuck around a day or two, even after washing. Time will tell if the color will last as long. Some reviews I read claimed it washed out after a few weeks. I have never had that happen with regular henna powder. Once it's on your hair, it's there to stay. The color will mellow and roots will begin to show, but my hair stays red. Henna is henna, it stains the hair cuticle, so I don't expect this to act that differently from the normal powdered stuff.

Next time I do it I might document the process to share on the Lush forums and I'll post it here as well. I wish I had done some before and after pictures.

Anyway, that is enough product rambling for now. Thank you for indulging me ;)

Yesterday the parking gods were on my side. At this time of year the gym is packed (unsurprising) and there seemed to be zero spots in the lot. I circled a few times and was ready to give up and head home when someone pulled out right in front of me, so I snagged the spot. I was on the fence about going in the first place, so I was pretty quick to give up looking. But as is always the case, when I was done I was glad I went.

Today I didn't do as well. I was tired and cranky after work. It was snowing, I didn't want to deal with the crowds at the gym and I just wanted to go home. So I did. Greg had dinner ready when I got here and we just had a mellow evening, which was nice. I feel a little guilty for not going, but I will go tomorrow and that's good.

There is a trainer at the gym (Brian) who helped me set up a workout plan and is acting as my "accountabilibuddy" now that I'm no longer in the group training class I was taking all summer and fall. (I had to drop it for budgetary reasons, it was an extra cost on top of my membership) I don't actually work out with him, but he's keeping tabs on me cuz he's a nice guy. Well, as nice as any trainer ever is, heh. He set up a schedule for me. And when I don't stick to the schedule, there are...consequences. Which means my ditching tonight will cost me a 1,000 meter row at some point soon. That is gonna suck. But as for tonight, I am warm and cozy at home and I had a beer with dinner. It's all about balance, my friends. :)

Forgive me LJ friends for I have sinned. It has been 9 months since my last post. I know I lamented this same thing 9 months ago and then never posted again save for a Grove video. I am deeply shamed and will do the required penance.

I do want to get back into the posting habit. I miss LJ and the ability to talk at length about things rather than in 140 character bursts. I'm happy to see more of my friends coming back to LJ with the new year. I hope the habit sticks for us all. I still read my friends page daily and I'm always happy to see real content rather than just LOLCats and RSS feeds.

So I won't try and sum up everything from the last 9 months, but here are some highlights:

I've settled into my life up in the far NW suburbs. Still hoping to meet more people up this way. Greg and I plan to throw more parties.

I got a new (to me) car after Lola suffered a fuel pump failure.

The job is about what I expected. I don't love it. I need to start looking for something else but the market up here is slim pickings for things I think would be any better. And I still don't know what I really want to be doing anyway. I do miss working with people though. I don't get much human interaction in the office and it SUCKS.

The side benefit of not much of a social life up here is that I've managed to make a habit of going to the gym after work (it's also a great way to avoid rush hour). I've lost a fair bit of weight, which is great, but what I'm more pleased about is the gains in strength and endurance. I feel better. I'm running again. I have biceps!

An unexpected result of feeling better about myself has been a renewed interest in girly things like make-up and beauty products. Probably not super interesting in the long run, but it brings me small pleasures everyday to take time to pamper myself with something that smells nice or feels nice on my skin. My skin has cleared quite a bit since I am now in the habit of washing my face every night, something I used to be really bad at. Lush and Sephora have been my suppliers of late. I might even go so far as to write some reviews of stuff I'm particularly in love with. Hey, if it gets me in the habit of posting I'll take it.

So that is really all I'm up to these days. It's not terribly exciting, I know. Maybe this is why I haven't been journaling LOL.

I did go to a tarot Meet Up this afternoon and met some nice folks. That was fun. I want to start reengaging in some of my old hobbies. I just feel like I have less free time to do so. On days I go to the gym I don't get home until after 7:00. By the time I eat and poke the web, maybe watch a show on TV,  it's getting late and I need to be in bed or near to it by 11:00 so I am not a zombie when the alarm goes off at 6:00 so I can start the whole process over. It's kind of lame. I should see to that.

It's not all lame. Greg and I manage to do some fun stuff. We go to Madison to go dancing at the Inferno. Later this month we're going  up for the Fire Ball. And this Friday we will probably be heading to the goth night at Medusa's in Elgin. So clubby/dancy fun is being had. I just miss the low key social hanging out over beers spur of the moment kind of stuff. That type of thing is hard to manage when 99% of your social circle is an hour or more away.

Anyway, speaking of needing to be in bed, it's about that time. Hopefully my next post will be more interesting, and not 9 months in coming, heh.

The land of Diana's Grove is still up for sale. This beautiful, magical land has been held as sacred space and stewarded by those who love it. Now the land needs its new stewards to find it. Please pass this link along to anyone you think might be interested, or might know someone who knows someone who might be interested in taking on that role.

Get a glimpse of the land through this beautiful narrated photo tour some of the staff put together.



Regardless of the sale of the land, Diana's Grove Mystery School program will continue next year. We will be working with the story of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, the story that was told my first year in Mystery School (2002). I'm so excited to go back and revisit this tale.

Here is a taste of next year's story:



If you are called to the story of the labyrinth and the minotaur, or if you are called to myth (or myth calls you), called to the life within the myth, the life within you that is ever-expanding, ever-mysterious, then come to Diana's Grove in 2011. This story is told by Cynthea Jones. www.dianasgrove.com

Oh LJ, how badly I've neglected you. I know I've been speding time with FB, she's so easy, but you know you're still my favorite, baby.
The more time that passes the more stuff I have to post about.

Let me explain...no, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Winter was dark and cold and long. I did some fun stuff, I did some holing up at home.
My relationship with G is awesome and everything is good there.
So good that we decided we want to take the next step and try co-habitation.
G bought a house in Cary, IL
Spring finally arrives and it is glorious.
I found a job near Schaumburg, IL 30 minutes away from Cary.
I'm moving into said house in Cary in...a week and a half. EEP!

The job is a new direction for me. I'll be working for a small publishing production company that works mostly in the educational publishing field. I'll be starting at the bottom, but I will be trying my hand in the editorial field, something I've always wanted to do. And it's not a CSR/phone money job! So I'm pretty elated. Also I will get to work with artemis112  which I am very excited about in a Grove world meets real world=oddness kind of way. :)

Everything just came together so smoothly,  I am still amazed. It feels like it was all meant to happen this way. The job search could have taken MUCH longer, that was my biggest worry, that I would search and search and my lease would be up down here with no job up there. I sent out 3 resumes. Had 2 interviews and it was done. I almost feel guilty, knowing how hard it's been for others out there looking for work. But it helps to have friends on the inside **cough artemis112 cough** I am so grateful.

So, big changes are afoot. I'm sad to leave CU. I've loved living here. 6 years is the longest I've lived anywhere as an adult and this town has truly been a home to me. I have great friends here and I will miss them terribly. But it's time to start a new chapter and I'm excited to see what the next 6 years has in store for me. I know plenty of folks in the Chicago area and  new adventures will present themselves. I'm happy and excited. Life is great.

Yes, it's been ages since I posted on LJ. I miss it. I still read every day but not until the evening since I'm pretty limited on net time at work. My posting activity has been limited to FB via Twitter. My life in140 character bursts. There is plenty exciting going onbut I should probably save it for a regular post. This was just supposed to be a test post to try out the ELjay app for my new Andriod phone (Moto CliQ) So far I'm really digging it. I've been sick of my BB almost since I got it and hve been really torn between getting an iPhone or an Android. This phone finally tipped the balance to Android. Not willing to give up a real keyboard.

So let's see how this works out.