I’ve been pretty into four things lately:

1. Healthy cooking, from scratch as much as possible. I got into a rut trying to maximize protein intake, so now I’m trying to find different recipes that don’t compromise on macros but still offer variety in flavors and textures and won’t bother my IBS.
2. Nail polish and nail art. I have probably about 300 polishes at this point, which sounds like a lot to most people, but it’s a tiny collection compared to some I’ve seen! Last year I got really into nail stamping, which lets you create neat little designs, and you can get really creative with it.
3. Working out. I recently moved, and designed a power rack for my basement which is pretty fully featured. My goal was to be able to do all the exercises I could do at my previous fitness club (within reason - no way I’m buying a tank sled and a billion 45 lb plates!). I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, and so is my husband, which I’m glad about because he’s a tall dude and working around the low-ish basement ceiling was a challenge.
4. Indie makeup! Holy Moses I love makeup, and indie brands are killing it. My most recent favorite palette is the Cosmic Brushes Winter Wonderland palette (which came out last year, but is new in my collection). Just look at her!:

Gorgeous, right? No way I’m ever going back to boring neutrals.

Oh man I’ve recently started getting into fragrances… I’d never realized how complex (and expensive) they can be! I discovered Kayali’s Yum Pistachio Gelato from a makeup youtuber I follow and it’s all been downhill from there. Lately I’ve been layering Ellis Brooklyn’s Super Amber with Phlur’s Heavy Cream, and I keep sneaking little sniffs of myself throughout the day… and sniffing my bra when I take it off for the night… send help!

What are some of your favorite unexpected notes to combine?

Rapist Allen Turner, aka rapist Brock Turner, who got a 6-month slap-on-the-wrist sentence for what his father called (and I quote) “twenty minutes of action”? That rapist Allen Turner (aka rapist Brock Turner)? The one who only served 3 months?!

Xmas is in 9 days, so it’s almost over!

I think the holiday season is really overblown, with so much artificial cheer that it’s unsurprising that people get sad at this time. You can opt out of the festivities. You don’t have to do a tree, attend parties, or participate in gifts. People might not like it but you don’t have to go along to get along.

I was raised Catholic but was never a believer. I’m atheist.

Sorry if this is too personal, but I’ve heard magnesium can cause diarrhea. Does that happen to you? Also, what kind of magnesium do you take, and is your bruxism related to anxiety?

Like actually unaware? I’m intrigued.

You gotta get up to get down

Bro…

I clench my jaw day and night, like constantly. Not intentionally, and I wear a mouthguard to protect my teeth at night, but I’m not really in control of the clenching and it causes downstream effects. Some mornings I can’t open my jaw all the way. I had the feeling of water trapped in my ear (I thought it was from using the pool at the gym), but the ENT told me it was from TMJ. At least a couple times a week I end up with a headache that starts in my jaw and teeth, radiates up my sinuses, and on really bad days, results in light sensitivity and blurred vision.

Man, you got that right.

She knows how to use them

Man this sounds fantastic!

Holy shit, that’s so cheap!

Didn’t they? Human B’Elanna had to grapple with her internalized anti-Klingon prejudice, and came to see Klingon B’Elanna as a source of strength and self-confidence. Klingon B’Elanna was disdainful toward human B’Elanna but learned to appreciate her Ingenuity and ability to think on her feet. It’s been a few months since I saw that episode but I thought it was decent (grading on a curve because it’s Voyager).

Billy Idol did a Christmas album. I love him so I might be biased, but I really like it, you should check it out.

If you watch enough of it, you begin to like it

I’m not a fast food person, but the McDonald’s Arch Deluxe was amazing. I’d love to have one again. Also Pepsi Kona (coffee-flavored Pepsi) was really good.

I miss things having actual buttons instead of touchscreen - most commonly, car dashboards. But even my microwave’s interface has a touchscreen feel. It’s not an actual screen but the “buttons” don’t need to be pressed so much as grazed, or sometimes my finger being near the button is enough to “press” it. So it ends up in a lot of false inputs that I have to clear out and start over. I have to be very deliberate which slows down my ability to use the stupid thing. And I mostly only use it as a kitchen timer, I can’t imagine how annoyed I’d be if I used it more frequently!

So yeah, buttons.

…mizu?