World Traveling

Anne Elizabeth is gone to Australia. Here, she illustrates how much her cousins, Katherine and Lauchlin, love her and will miss her while she is gone.

Thankfully, we can keep up with her through her blog: www.anneinaussieland.blogspot.com

Where I Begin

Well, I began on props for the movie, in which I am involved, Where I Begin. These are some bad-ass t-shirts. They are for Jacob, the lead in the movie. They are so fantastic and cool. Just like you. You know you want one. But, you can't have one because you aren't in the movie. Sorry so sad. Maybe, if you like it a whole lot, after post production, we will make more and sell one to you.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend...

This is love. It has to be. It's the ONLY explanation.

For those that haven't given up on me and my blog, you will be pleased to know about my life altering weekend plans:

Camping in Arkansas and digging for diamonds.

How does one pack for that? I haven't been "camping" since the summer debacle of the 5th grade Katherine at the infamous Mississippi Girl Scout Camp, Camp Wahi. I'm still scarred by being chased and bitten repeatedly by horse flies, stepping on a snake on the way back from showering at the latrine and in my frantic motions, dropping my only bar of soap I had for the week. Not to mention the nightmares that still haunt me when I smell something akin to the dead possum rotting under the wooden boards that supported my tent, or think about the clean-up detail punishment of the counselors cabin (riddled with cigarrette butts, trash, and piles of laundry) I was given along with my tentmates because our neighboring tent of total middle school bitches scared the be-jeesus out of us one night by smacking the canvas of our tent and causing us to scream...I hate that week of my life. My mother has the post cards to prove it.

I'm nervous. I've never slept in a tent that was on the ground.




So far, I've packed a first aid kit. I need to get moving on preparing better. Yeah, I was one Hell of a Girl Scout...and I'm proving that now.


If, you read this before I leave, please text me the answer to this question: How does one get morning coffee at a state park? Do I let the park rangers know what time I need my wake-up call?

The true story of Maxwell and Debbie.

At Po-Co Book Club (that's the Post Colonial Book Club) back at the end of June, Debbie (local bad-ass and one of my favorite women of ALL time!) asked me what brand of coffee I brewed for the meeting. She liked it and wanted to try it on her husband Paul (who is also a total bad ass). I told her the truth, it was Maxwell House. Shocker, I know, right? It's good, really good, and the stay fresh lid may have something to do with it, not sure, but probably. The handle is nice, too. I wonder if I should keep the containers, fill them with sand and make myself some new work out dumbbells? hmmmm.
Regardless, I found a new go-to coffee. There are some silver linings in the dark clouds of temporary poverty.
Try some next time you run out of your typical java bean.

Fun trivia:
Maxwell House was originally brewed by Kraft Foods for the Maxwell House Hotel inNashville, Tennessee.
http://www.kraftbrands.com/maxwellhousecoffee/Pages/default.aspx

I'm looking forward to this summer after all!

Wow!

4 months down the toilet

My physical existence since Thursday November 5, 2009 began as a mix of pain, pain medications, brain candy, bruises, black eyes, 2 splints, frustration, and general mental havoc. Now, after 4 months, I can do more, feel more, and am still attending hand therapy 3 times a week (which has saved my soul from spiraling into a dark abyss). The fractures have healed but nerve damage occurred due to my oh so graceful head-over-heels and landing on my noggin fall down the stairs at Meek Hall. I've developed this rare and irritating disorder called RSD/CRPS. So, I've been busy taking care of myself, primarily focusing on getting back my grip (with my hand and with my life).
In that vein of recovery, I shall catch up on my product testing and revelations I have had over the past months, where my "life as usual" changed to a new life that is most unusual.

Cleaning the toilet.

Cleaning the toilet is a chore better left to a Samantha nose twitch. This house hold task ranks in the TOP 5 ass-aching duties as a person who has been self-diagnosed as somewhat OCD (before the brain candy, mind you. Lately, I just really don't care, unless company is coming over.) I have since learned that one handed toilet cleaning is a total bitch, worse that Endora. Enter my attempt to make the toilet clean by itself, the Scrubbing Bubble Way. I purchased the Fresh Brush Toilet Cleaning System that has both scrubbing pads and touch up pads. This system is quite useful when you have one hand and nimble toes (I had to hold the pads in place with something). Now that I have the use of my hand again, it is still a useful system and I really like how it works. Big thumbs up! In the interim of marathon toilet scrubbing, I tried the stick-on Toilet Cleaning Gels. Well, this item was hard to assemble with one hand, and nimble toes couldn't help this time. Eventually, I got it working and stamped it into both toilet bowls. Using the disc in the most used bathroom worked well. The less used toilet didn't fare as well. A friend asked if the greeen circle on the toilet bowl was for aiming. By appearances, it could be a guide for the wary urinator. When the dot dissolved away, I didn't restamp. Using the touch-up pads was much easier.

The Bath and Body Works Phenomena

Sorry...ok- so it's been a while. My first job, being a University Professor and famous artist -ahem-that's me on the right sporting the new lighter hair and my printmaking wardrobe (all black)- has kept me, well, busy. Shocking? It's mid terms and I am about to head out on the road for many different pursuits, little sistah's wedding, recruiting for Grad students and new majors at Wash U in the STL, and panel chair/presenter at an art educator's conference in Mobile, AL. I am sooooo tired that I can't sleep. So, as promised, my Bath and Body Works experience.

None of these are tried and true.

The first is the scent that brought me to it. I was washing my hands in Allison's apartment back in 2004. The smell from her hand wash was so phenomenal that I brought my friend Heather into the bathroom to wash her hands so she could smell it. It was the talk of the evening, including the borscht, depleting bottles of wine, and the fact that the 5 bff's of Mrs. Fowler's art class hadn't gathered together in some time ( at that date I think it had been since 2000).

The scent was from the then New Aromatherapy line-Jasmine Vanilla.












Fast forward to 2008.
Visiting family in Vicksburg and low and behold there is a new Bath and Body Works outlet. Now, I've been a firm supporter of The Body Shop and the causes of Dame Antia Roddick since I was a young beauty product slut. When I found a Body Shop approximately 7 blocks from my studio at the Glasgow School of Art I was in heaven. Hell, I even worked for The Body Shop for a time. So, naturally, my purchasing items from Bath and Body Works was not even going to happen (they were The Body Shop's main competitor) and I was convinced (and may be still) that they had so much alcohol in their body sprays that the cost of using Body Shop products was worth it because the BS (Body Shop shortened) used a higher ratio of essential/perfume oils than B&BW. It was all cheaper than my true love-Chanel, so I really had no complaint.

The smell changed it all for me. When I stepped foot into that store and saw that they had the Jasmine Vanilla in a hair conditioner I bought 2 and went back to St. Louis and used it sparingly. I hid it when I had visitors. I would sometimes put it in my hair when it was dry just so I could smell it.

Fast Forward 2009.
Now that I frequent Vicksburg more often, I bought the body wash. I bought the lotion (in pump form and 2 travel bottles). I bought the body spray (on-line along with hand sanitizer for the swine flu epidemic that has hit my students at Ole Miss and some lip plumping lip gloss with glitter in it...ummm it was only $3). I wanted to layer the scent. So far, the lotion is the only smell that sticks. I will continue to use the other Jasmine Vanilla until it runs out. If BS hadn't discontinued Eau De Zitron I wouldn't be in such a mess. The glitter in the lip plump is too much of a throwback to my days of wearing plastic trousers, halter tops, buffalo trainers, and paying student prices for entrance to dance clubs. The plump feels like you made out with a porcupine or decided to wear wasabi paste because you were out of lip balm. OUCH!

While I was loading the bag down with sensual aromatherapy trial and error, I also grabbed some Patricia Wexler crap. See, Janie, my momma, started using it because Oprah, ahem, yes, Oprah, said it was the best stuff to get rid of wrinkles. Why my mother, who already looked 10 years younger than everyone else her age by sticking with Noxzema and Maybelline Eye Make-Up remover, all of a sudden had to follow the Oprah train, I will never know. On top of that I shake my fist at her for giving me some of the Wexler stuff that she didn't use, and by Golly! Oprah was right (naturally)!










So, that is reason #1. Reason #2-I have mid 30's freakish pimple incidents that I seriously have a complex about. Wexler had some face wash and acne potion and it was 50%off. Done.

Face Wash Reality:
I've been using it for 2 weeks now. I found after day 3 that I can only use it every other day. I got chapped lips. It also smells like the breath of this frat boy in college who wanted to make out with me during Spring Party weekend at the Delta Tau Delta (Delt) House. We had been playing "golf" and we were at the 5th hole (the Delt House) where we were to imbibe Gin drinks. I passed (for those that know -this is no shocker) and took a huge hit to my score card. He, however, made up for it and the smell of his breath was so revolting, I passed on his "sexy" offer, too. The smell of this face wash brought back very un-fond memories of that moment. As I put it on my face I feel my throat begin to swell and I begin to imagine everyone that smelled it on me would think I just left the bar. So, I've been using it in the shower and I rinse very quickly before my admixture of memory and imagination get the better of me.

The Acne Night repair gel, however, is pretty good. The smell is not repulsive and I've used it on other areas than my face and the frontne/backne is going away successfully.

I got some of the 30 SPF moisturizer and it feels good, smells like the acne repair stuff. So far, so good. No stinging like others with SPF. Thumbs up for that.

Wrinkles? None, yet.