Liquid Silk from Eden Fantasys

For a couple of years now, I've been involved with a review program at Eden Fantasys, and I've always been very pleased with the process. I've blogged a few times before about the sex toys and products they've generously supplied me with, and I have another to share with you.

This time around, I was lucky enough to be able to sample the Liquid Silk. The many lubricants offered on the Eden Fantasys website were a little overwhelming at first, but upon reading the 300+ reviews, seeing the super-high safety rating, and knowing that all of my customer service experiences with Eden Fantasys has been positive (in case I hated it, yanno), I tried something new.

Unscented, clean feeling, and without residue, Liquid Silk added even more comfort and pleasure to my already steady sex life. With the easy "pump-action" topper, using this lube didn't take away from the intimacy or the spontaneity of sex. Clean-up was unneeded, and I noticed that on the parts of my body the lubricant soaked in were supremely soft.

I would recommend both Liquid Silk and getting any of your favorite lubricants from Eden Fantasys. Their customer service is quick, motivated to please and easy to deal with. Their products are high quality, rated for safety and stand the test of time.

(Disclaimer: I provided this review in return for a free product. Eden Fantasys allows me to share my honest opinion openly and in no way influenced how I truly feel about this product. Mom, this blog post is fake, I don't have sex. I am pure and innocent.)

Happy Holidays, you have no job

I lost my job last week. I'm coming to terms with the fact that it's ultimately not my fault, and that I was miserable at the place anyway, but after a vacation to Portland (I will never move back), I am coming back to the "real' world and remembering that I don't have a job. I also used half my income from my project management job to pay rent & living costs and the other half to pay down debt. I have some small debts left, but I have hardly any savings.

*sigh*

I have a $30/week writing offer, which I will accept, but other than that, I'm applying to jobs all over (ALL OVER) and trying not to let the money-based stress overtake me. I'm taking my medications, trying to keep my depression at bay, but I'm worried. I have no appetite, I only want to sleep, I feel like losing myself in reality TV, and I'm striving not to pull away from everyone and everything. A and I have talked about rejoining a gym together (thank you to The Biggest Loser, perhaps?) and have a few creative outlets I can use to help.

*sigh*

Money is tight for me. A knows it and is going to be supportive, I have faith in that. However, I don't like to depend on someone for help in just keeping my head above water. So I apply. My goal is another 100 jobs before the weekend ... which will make almost 250 jobs in the past two weeks. 250 jobs and I've not received a single call back from them.

*sigh*

I need my friends right now.
I need my friends to remind me that it will get better.
I need my friends to support me as I pull away and get quiet.
I need my friends to share more love with me now than ever before.
I need my friends right now.

Likes & Dislikes

Thanks to MrsHeatherMe and Ewokmama, I feel the need to share some things I really like with ya'll. But first? I'm gonna share some things I really don't like.

Dislikes

• stomachaches (heartburn, indigestion, ugh ugh ugh)
• not being able to sleep in, yet wanting a nap two hours after I get up
• headaches
• not being allowed to have milk products regularly
• my job (and the subsequent need to apply elsewhere)

Likes

• A ... he's keeping me sane right now
• Brussels sprouts (see yesterday's dinner)
• strong coffee (yes, I'm back on the coffee)
• reality TV
• feeling motivated to go to yoga classes and get back to the gym
• having California plates
• pumpkin
• the excitement of traveling back to Oregon for the Thanksgiving holiday
• straight teeth
• a good burp

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Fennel

Last year about this time, I learned that I love Brussels sprouts, and I've had them at least a dozen times since them. (I love vegetables in general, but these are damned tasty things!) I've only eaten Brussels sprouts that someone else has made me, though, so tonight I braved my own Brussels sprouts recipe. It turned out so very tasty I knew that I had to share it with you.

We got three bulbs of fresh, organic fennel in our produce box last week and I  had heard from a coworker that fennel it was an amazing edition to Brussels sprouts. I had a goal in mind. I bought a bag of Trader Joe's Brussels sprouts that were "microwavable in 3 minutes" but opted not to follow that path. Instead, this is what I did.

Preheat the oven to 450*F. 

1. Wash the sprouts. Talk lovingly to them.

2. Put sprouts into a bowl, and drizzle with olive oil.

3. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

4. Shake bowl to cover all sprouts with seasoning.

5. Put sprouts into baking pan (or cookie sheet) and roast in oven for 8 minutes.

6. While sprouts are roasting, cut up fennel bulbs, rinse, and talk lovingly to them.

7. Put fennel into a bowl, and drizzle with olive oil.

8. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

9. Shake bowl to cover all bulbs with seasoning.

10. Remove sprouts from oven, add bulbs to the mix, put back into the oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

11. Take pan out, put sprouts on plate, insert sprouts into mouth and let your belly be happy.

Two things I will change for the next recipe, though, include buying absolutely fresh Brussels sprouts (just because I can) and cutting them in half before roasting them so that there is more seasoning on them.

Tomorrow I try my hand at Caldo Gallego as well as old-fashioned baked apples. If the recipes turn out well, I'll share those, too!

Inoculatte-ing You

I've moved. Again. If this annoys you, I'm sorry. (Well, I'm not really, but I'm saying it hyped up on caffeine knowing that I'm doing the right thing for myself.) I go through phases like this, and I'm pretty sure it's how I lose people in my life. I'm good at losing people, things up, moving things around, backing off and pushing forward, just to give myself some solace. It's probably not the most healthy way of doing things, but sometimes you just need a little kick-start to recharge yourself and move ahead.

It's not that I'm ashamed of who I am, at all, but it's that sometimes a fresh start is the best way to make a big change and it's time to realign, rework and renew who I used to be, who I want to be, who I am.

Welcome to Inoculatted. [ih-nok-yuh-lah-teyd] Inoculatte is defined (by the oh-so-lovely Urban Dictionary) as the process of taking "coffee intravenously" (when you are running late). I rarely run late, but I love the idea of being inoculatted and OMG coffee coffee coffee. I metabolize coffee slowly (thank you genetic testing) and so any sort of coffee in the morning keeps me going all day long. Coffee in the afternoon, well, that's probably part of the reason I take a sleeping pill at night.

To me, being inoculatted can also happen when there isn't any caffeine in my system. Feeling refreshed, energized and ready to go are things I constantly strive for, but oftentimes fail to reach. I am rethinking my life choices at this point in time to create a continually (but not caffeine-based) inocullated state. I hope you'll pour yourself a cup and skip beside me.