Very cool. I'm all about unrefined Shea butter for light moisturizing!




I do need a good tailor. I have a long coat that I love but it needs a new lining - the old one is shredded.


You're on! To be fair, this has to be after school when I have time to put myself on the market, ahem. Only ten weeks more and I'll have all the time in the world (or at least a lot more).

Very cool. You don't know how excited I was to see that since I've already done a huge purge ("The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up") and now ONLY have clothes that I love. The wardrobe is a bit light - but colors that don't flatter, old things, icky things, things that made me feel bad are all gone. The only criteria is does it bring me joy. There was one beautiful red dress that I loved, but the waist was too high so I always had these weird feelings of 'this could be perfect but this one thing is not right and bothers me...'. Gone. Done with that. Things fit (as you said) or they are not in my keep pile.

I'm going through the list, in the order she says too. I've done clothes, books and now am on papers. It is so helpful, because my papers are all mixed in with mementos and photos. So now I'm like "nope, into a box with all the other photos (or mementos) and I'll deal with you LATER". So useful, and is keeping me from getting stuck.

Making room, making room, making room....

both!!!

Shellac is long lasting nail polish - you can Google it... And I meant French manicure - white tips and nude nails - it looks very simple and very chic. You will love your nails!

Obviously, you need to try all to find what works for you and, what your skin likes...If something feels uncomfortable on your skin, too heavy, or too greasy, or too dry - just know, it's not your type of product.

I, for example, have allergy for most of Dior skincare range - though the quality is good but just not for me.

Thats interesting because I have sensitive skin and can't tolerate most foundations but I can tolerate Dior. I really loved Estee Lauder double wear, for example, but it really irritated my skin.

I sometimes rub animal blood on my forehead for the "awesome warrior look" when I go out looking for a date.
Or sometimes, I rub charcoal on my face to look like Mad Max after walking away from an explosion effect.

I have sensitive skin but it doesn't bother it too much.
Have you tried either of these methods?

Get off our thread!!!!

"animal blood" indeed!

Haha - I actually do like the charcoal look, which is good because somehow my eye liner slipped and today I looked slightly racoon-ish when I walked out of the shoot. Or maybe it was the mascara - wee bit mortifying! Lol!

Lol, it's all war paint !

Part of my need for physical attractiveness in a man is that he looks like a prehistoric hunter-gatherer doing some sort of ritual right of passage, so Jedi Knight might be on to something.

Given the "hunter-gatherer" reference, the need for domestic support is being addressed, too.

Agreed!

Oh boy, feeling some anxiety here. My mom has offered to let me go back to the midwest (big city) and live in the top floor of her house for free as long as I watch the place over the winters while they are snow birds. She is also a bit depressed and I think wants me there... she is married, but her husband might be overwhelmed. I've helped in the past.

First off, the winters. I was just getting used to CA and no snow!

Second, I'm afraid of going backwards career wise. It is a big place, with a top notch theater presence, movies being made and a little TV, but it isn't LA. Of course it also isn't LA in that I wouldn't have to worry about a career that may not pay for years, while also juggling a $1200 rent on a tiny studio.

If I go back, I can just work on my pilot specs, features specs for contests, produce a play in the annual Fringe Festival and probably shoot (produce and direct) a feature I wrote within two years. I've already got the locations locked down and they can be the hardest. I am a good producer - I know that. The last short I produced, I got the comment from someone that it was the most organized set they had ever been on.

There are also improv classes, and a school I went to that I could revisit for more directing and producing experience.

Someone said to go back and spend two years preparing to return to LA with some serious credentials under my belt. I think that's a good idea. But I'm still anxious about going back there and somehow losing my drive. I guess that's up to me.

Also anxious about going back to the land of more women to men ratio. It's a hard place to date. Maybe it will be easier with the better understanding of MB principles.

There is a group of writers there I do miss and could see weekly.

So lots of changes, lots of good things, but also the challenges of not being defined by work/school schedule and having to be the source of all motivation. I know people would be grateful for that opportunity, so I'm calling it a self-funded (family-funded?) fellowship. The guy who wrote Little Miss Sunshine gave himself an 18 month fellowship and wrote a bunch of scripts during that downtime. So it can be done.

If you aren't financially solvent with no debt and six months of income in the bank, it may be a wise move to go rent free.

I am semi-retired actually. No debts, and retirement saving mostly done. I just have to pay my current bills, which I keep low. Thank goodness I refused to pay xH's wanted 30k a year tuition and spend two to five more years supporting him. Boy was he mad about that.

I told him to get a loan in his name if was so important to him. Apparently it wasn't.

Went to a wonderful director's guild open house yesterday for students. It reenforced my thoughts that the most important thing for me to do right now is to produce things.

One of the guest speakers and I made a lot of eye contact at the networking lunch, but I didn't chase him in anyway. Now, in hindsight, I actually have a few questions that I would have liked to ask, but sometimes I'm slow in that way, usually preferring to glean information from other people's discussions.

Also took a personality quiz. I am INTJ - pretty rare, but especially in a woman - and the way my mind was whirled the last five days it is clearly right on. I have a compulsion when it comes to strategizing. Feels weird to do so now, since after five years of planning for two (mostly for him, I'm afraid) it is back to just me. Anyway, one site said my type can be bad at relationships and the best way to attract someone is to do the things I like to do. Makes sense. Plus this ups the chances they have the same interests and there would be less hard work making our lives compatible. So in a weird way, making a movie is my way of putting myself out there in the dating scene.

There is a screenwriting meeting next week all day. I'm playing with the idea of wearing a dress and seeing if the male reactions change. I have *one* dress that I like, although the only shoes I have for it are more along the combat boot style, but not that extreme. It would be a unique look.

Speaking of PA, the hair is finally growing out after falling out in the efforts to have a child (long story). It is also used to water only washing at last - curly and soft, instead of frizzy and wavy from product buildup. The best of both worlds - simple and cheap, and it looks amazing. It's naturally curly, so it has to grow quite long to look long. If someone has a specific attraction to curls, I'm the woman for that.

Luna, it is so good to hear you doing so well! My mom told me something similar, to go back to for my Master's to meet a man interested in doing things with his life, but I was so impatient! Good for you for making plans that are truly in your best interests.

My DD has unmanageable curly hair, is it really as simple as that, use water only? How often?

It helps that I have a natural interest in this. Perhaps the master's degree topic was just not the right one...


The water only has been good for me. My scalp was so sensitive to almost anything.

There is a transition period where your hair learns to make less oil and it can be, um, not so pretty, i.e. you have to be willing to look a little greasy. I found it took about two months total. There is an initial down turn of oil, then a period where there is stuff caked on your scalp and then that goes away too.

Right now I rinse it with cool water every 3-7 days and let it get damp (not too wet) on other days. I let it dry with clips on the roots for a little lift, using a cool blow dryer and diffuser if I'm in a hurry. You can rub the scalp gently with finger tips or a bone comb before getting in the shower to loosen the dead skin.

It won't be slick, like when you use product, so don't try to comb it when wet. Let it dry first. You can then finger comb it right before the next rinse to detangle and pull out the loose strands. I find most of my loose hairs come out that way and very little in the shower.

You can also finger comb it when dry if you just want to loose up the curls a little bit. I have an eleven tooth 'bone' comb, but rarely use it. My fingers are my main tool.

You can jump start the process by rinsing with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted into two cups of cool water. Try to not get it on the scalp - it made mine itchy. It strips oils, as well as product residue so don't do this a lot. Curly hair tends to be dry and needs all the natural oils it can get.

Some people put a tiny bit of coconut oil on damp ends in the beginning to combat dryness.

There are lots of water only blogs about this. Google "water only washing" and "curly hair" and you'll find people talking about this and posting pictures to go along with it.

My hair does not smell. I know sometimes people wonder about that.