A present from Hanifa

Sooo I have been totally missing in action forever. Work and lazing around has gotten the best of me. Hanifa had gone to the UK for a short trip during the Eid Holidays and she got me this cute snow-globe like candle. The scent is fig and spice ( I love seasonal candles!) and it holds one tea-light candle. Hanifa is one of those painfully thoughtful people. Its such a nice gesture--shes has much appreciatoin for old-world charm, hand-written letters and hand-embroidered handkerchiefs. That kind.

So M.I.A

I was just reading some of my older posts and realized that it's been a while since I actually wrote in-depth about my life. I think I am becoming more of an objective person with time. My life is so much different from when I used to be in Buffalo. But then again its the same in some ways too.For example, my activities are pretty much the same---I watch a lot of TV when I am free, I browse the web a lot and I am constantly getting up to brew some green tea. But its different because I live with my parents and my sister but I don't mind it so much. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think I am back in Buffalo, on my always-cold futon mattress, with a sliver of a view of the snow-spackled window. Then I'll spend some minutes in bed (on weekends, of course), eyes closed, thinking of the streets, the food, the grocery stores of Buffalo. Some people might want to come beat me with a stick because I speak of Buffalo in such light. I know Buffalo has the reputation of being a ramshackle city. To me though, it has the reputation of being a homely, rather cold town with friendly people. I made some great friends while I was there and I know that some are friends for life (you know who you are!). Anyways, so thats my nostalgia portion for the night. Last week was the first week after ramadan and Eid so it was (still is) back to the regular schedule of 9-4. Work's been a bit hectic so I can't make time for much exercise and the pounds seem to be piling on. I need motivation to lose weight...I might be going to Bangladesh in December or January, so I might step up by game around then.

I've been eating a lot of chutneys lately. Mint or coriander are my favorites! I mix yogurt, garlic, fresh coriander, lemon juice, cumin powder, salt and pepper and eat it with some rice and beans. Its so zesty and fresh, I love it! Well, I better get going and make some teaaa :)

What Dreams May Come...

Sooo, last night, I saw a dream. A real detailed one and I am going to write about it as much as I can remember. Before I begin, let me tell you that I watched parts of Wolverine: X-men Origins yesterday evening. I say that because I read somewhere that dreams we see are results of the thoughts of that particular day.

It is a bright sunny day. We are in front of a house getting ready to go somewhere. I and some other people are going in a car, a beat up buick type car and there's a blue Colemans lunch box packed with food. We are going to Sydney, Australia. I saw glimpses of some relatives. Then I fall in love with some random person whose face resembled Tom Hanks. We are sooo in love. Then, all of a sudden, all the people who were in the car including mr. tom hanks lookalike and me are in a japanese facility in Japan. The background is now ashen and sombre. Everyone looks naked...everyone has brusies and a scratches on their faces. We are all being biologically altered for future weaponry. I walk around, look at the lines of people, they are waiting for something, blank stares on their faces. I am then informed that everyone's memories has been erased. Until now I am not too sad because I am aware of everything around me and also that my memory is intact, in fact I am happy. Soon, in that line, I see my lover. He too is erased off his memory.I feel immense pain after seeing how blank he looked. I then go to get my memory erased too.


Then, I wake up because its time to go to someone's house for Eid lunch.

Earringss

So I went to Aldo's on Tuesday and bought these earrings!!

More food pics

So for those of you don't know, according to the Islamic Calendar, it is the holy month of ramadan now. It started August 22nd, and will end on September 20th or 21st, I am not too sure. I have been trying my hands at something new almost everyday, depending on my level of energy after coming back from work. Yesterday, I whipped up a pizza and some sticky buns. I used the same dough for both lol. They turned out pretty good, except I like my pizza toppings a little more undercooked.

Soft cheesy garlic buns

So this blog is turning more and more into a food blog. Well, I will definitely write updates about my life but I am a foodies, so all things food tend to dominate.
Okay..so I once attempted to make buns maybe 3 years ago. It turned out harder than hockey pucks and just was wrong wrong wrong.
However, since the last 3 years...my interest to delve into culinary escapades coupled with copious amounts of watching Food Network, has heightened my ability to cook. However, I seriously lack baking skills...its all about luck when it comes to baking for me. Sometimes its good, sometimes its bad. So yesterday, I stumbled upon this blog which had this recipe for pull-apart garlic bread. I was instantly attracted to how soft and buttery the buns looked. I followed the exact same recipe except I added a generous amount of grated mozarella cheese atop of mine along with a sprinkle of oregano and pepper and voila! I have buns! I took pics after everyone finished eating half of it. It looks like a big piece of bread but its actually little buns tightly placed next to each other. Seee....


The taste and texture reminded me a lot of Domino's cheesy bread (this picture can be found at Dan Bruno's photostream on Flickr!)

A fun tuesday :)

Yesterday mommy drove me to work. Yes, I don't have a license (yet) and my mommy and daddy drive me around...still. It's a shame and its a disgrace but trust me, I have this fear of being behind the wheel. I feel like I won't have control. I know those are petty excuses...I will get on the bandwagon soon. I won't say that I've never 'driven' before. I did drive Atanu's car one time from the a grocery alley parking lot (Wegmans)to the school gym (Alumni Arena). I did pretty well. Atanu was and I am sure still is one of those few people who will probably throw a grand pary the day I get my license! Let Ramadan pass, then I'll take my road test. So okay, I totally got sidetracked. Mommy drove me to work yesterday and I kinda finished early so after that we went to the mall where they have Marks and Spencer. I bought a whole bunch of goodies:

1) All Butter Shortbread cookies. See the ingredients

Moving on, a little packet of buttery macadamia nuts. I love these gems. I might save some to put in a cake I bake one of these days.

And then mommy was intrigued by this organic new zealand honey. It has natural looking bubbles at the brim. Organicy.

To end the spulrge, I got this pepper mill. We had one of those mcormick ones that I got from Buffalo but it wasn't refillable, hence this monster.

Total spulrge: $30 (12 Rials).

Discoveries

8/11 was my dear sister, Naima's birthday. Daddy bought cake from our favorite cake shop (since we were 4), the Intercontinental hotel delicatessen. They make the most fabulous cakes and after having tasted a lot of cakes from different countries, I can safely say that, none of them come close to this place. They use the freshest whipped cream and crispy golden roasted almonds to decorate their cakes, not to mention fresh marzipan, hazelnut creme, edible flowers, etc. It's all too good. Why the two cakes? Because this year, we didn't have cake for my bday so my dad wanted to make up for that lol. Like I am 5!! Anyhoo, we had a quiet family dinner at home (we got take out from a continental place!).
So I discovered that some very special people read this blog *blushes*. I have been slacking in updating this blog because I have been so bogged down with work. I am trying very hard to get out the monotonous humdrum of work-eat-sleep-work schedule. And now with Ramadan coming up, I hope to channelize my inner karma and bring it all together well and good. Summer session just ended at the university (where I work) so the campus is all quiet again. Speaking of quiet, the sudden outbreak of H1N1 flu in Oman has struck everyone with severe panic. I read in today's newspaper that it has triggered what health officials have referred to as 'panic absenteeism' among students (and parents of students I am guessing)--- which essentially means they are afraid to to go to school in fear of contracting the flu. My thoughts on this: if you are going to get, you are going to get it...there's nothing you can do about it. Its not going to be pretty but you have to take it in stride. Recently, I've been thanking God so much for things such as a long streak of good health, continuous electricity, abundant supply of water and food and other things that sometimes we start taking for granted. Moving on, Hanifa returned from Zanzibar 2 weeks ago and brought me some lemon pickle and chilli pickle (zanzibari style). They are both delicious, with rice, bread or even biryani. Here's pic:

Stir-fried Mung Bean Noodles

So last night, mom and dad went out for dinner with two friends and as much as I wanted to go, I had a lot of work to do, so instead stayed home! I made a quick stir-fried mung bean noodles. You know the cellophane noodles I talked about once, sometime ago. They just need a little prior soaking in warm water and you're good to go. This time, I flash steamed all my veggies to keep them crisp and crunchy and then sauteed some of the other veggies as a base.


On another note, check out the kitchen counter (or tea counter) in our kitchen, there's enough types of herbal teas to make a Teavana. There's Cardamom green tea (I lurveee this now!), Lavender green tea (thank you Julie!), Jasmine green tea, Green tea with mint, Green tea with lemon, Morocco tea, etc. I have one particular Strawberry Chocolate tea (Its black tea infused with strawberry dipped chocolate flavor). I am not a big fan just because its weird...I mean you want strawberry dipped chocolate instead, right when you get a whiff of it.

In other news, not much has been happening. Work, food, sleep, tv...etc. I have become this crazy sleep lover. I just want to doze off all the time. I dont know it is because I started drinking a bottle of water mixed with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in it, which I learnt about here. It's supposed to be a body cleanser/detoxifier/metabolism rever-upper/ph balancing wonder food. So far...nothing much has happened other than me feeling reallyyyy sleep right after drinking a lot of it.

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Check out my beauty blog at :

Bangla Makeup

Hello Hello

When life throws papers and research work at you, you make papereserachade?

Okay, not funny. I am losing 'funny' for some reason. Anyways, work has been good. I have been getting sunburnt though going to and coming back from work. Its so hot here, I can't say it enough. All the world's aloe juice, rose water and milk and yada can't beat the burn. I am currently using Neutrogena's dry touch sunblock in 55. If I put a full squirt on, I look purple. Like a duochrome purple lol. So I apply it sparingly to my face and then slather it on my hands and neck. I don't care for getting tan but of course I don't want to get any wrinkles! I see so many people at work not caring enough to apply sunscreen lotion! They say whats the point, would you believe it? Ummm...so what else has been happening? I have to start my 'toning' event soon. I have completely stopped doing all kinds of weight exercises, possibly thats why I gained some weight that I had lost 3 months ago! I am stripped off all energy once I come home. The sun tires you out if not anything else! I am thinking of buying a cross-trainer. Our home treadmill has reached its limit, its been 11 years now since we've had it! I need to get on this soon!!! If anyone has some really effective exercises they know (especially for lower body) do share! Ummm the pic is of me in the car with my mom, we just came back from a lunch at an aunt's place. It was nice :) I have a MAC haul post coming up soon, watch this space xoxoxoxox

I bought a baby TV

So...I have been totally totally MIA. Oh I watched the entire memorial service for Michael Jackson. It was really well put together and most of the people who spoke said some touching things. My favorite performance of the night was 'Smile' by Jermain Jackson. That song and 'childhood' are like two of my favorite slow songs of MJ. Ah, what a loss. Anyways, I bought a TV last week. We already have two TVs in the house and I know its crazy that there is a 3rd one now but everyone is watching different channels all the time! So.Its a Sanyo 21 inches, 'Amazing Slim' TV. Its good for my room since my room is kinda small and I didn't want a huge obnoxious thing overlooking me as I sleep. Yes I have 'big-tv-in-room-so-can't-sleep' phobia. Go figure. Anyways, its a cute tv and doesnt occupy much space at all. I saw a movie on this channel two days ago, called Lonesome Jim, it was nice. Ummmm....so yeah, I have to work now :-/ Ttyl peeps.

Busy bee

Yes very busy. Too busy. No time to even watch TV.
Gah. Its so hot now. I am like getting basted in 'blood orange' shade everyday. Yes, I saw Bride Wars. Love Kate Hudson in it. Her makeup was so fabulous in it! I loved it!

Birthday time!

Sooooo, my bday came and went. I didn't do much.
It has been more of a non-event ever since I was 13! And that's fine by me...
However, yesterday, Hanifa bought me this beautiful earrings for me in a the most cutest scented gift box ever! Okay, this women is a darling. She works here and shes 64 but shes my buddy! I love her to bits already! So thats the picture of the earrings, I can't wait to wear them!
And that tea bag is from one of Lipton's new line of 'real' exotic teas. This one is called Morocco infusion and Hanifa gave it to me as well :)
Can you see the ginormous pieces in the tea bag? There's actual pieces of rosemary, chicory, cinnamon, mint and orange peel and other amazing stuff, I totally have to go and buy me a box of these tea bags! I totally underestimated them when I browsed the tea section at the grocery store. I thought 'meh, lipton and exotic herbal tea? nah' I was sooo wrong. Uhm, Okay enough blabber about tea. I love my tea.
Back to work now...

My new work bag!

Bought this bag this past weekend at Steve Madden. Its spacious, roomy, glossy, beautiful and has a zip-top that I love!
I love it to bits!

Playing-with-the-webcam-at-work

Yes, I do silly things at work. Don't you.
So here are updates:

-I started two different antibiotics for tonsillitis (yuck)
-I hate HATE hate being sick!
-There's these mega HUGE sales at all these stores and I can't go!
-Kuwait had 18 cases of swine flu from US soldiers, now that's sad.
-I had this Omani dessert 'Um Ali' (bread pudding-esque) for the first time at lunch yesterday and I bought some for home too :)
-I am going to dye my hair natural black because now my hair is doing that golden straw thing and I don't dig that look.
-Someone sweet calls me everyday and it keeps me going.

The sinusitis attack-majiggy!

I hateeeeeee it when my sinuses flare up and there's that constant feeling of a strong sneeze coming on, coupled with burning nostrils! Argggh!!! This one nasal spray I am using gives me relief for a an hour at most. This is the one bad thing of Oman. It's so hot everywhere outside that if you are in an air conditioned room and then back outside in the heat one too many times, there are chances of having some kind of allergy/cold situation.

Anyways, so it seems like everyone is getting married or engaged this year. It's great! I just feel sad that I can't go to any of them and get to play make-up and dress-up. I just have to rely on good ol facebook for pictures :).

I just came back from a presentation that was given by a british visiting professor in text mining. It was mighty interesting and enlightening.

So I made Mung bean noodles (also known as cellophane noodles) for the first time last night. They are super easy to make and taste awesome!!! They look like plastic threads that can't be broken or bended or anything but after soaking them in a bath of hot water for 20 minutes, you can chop them into 3/4 inch pieces and then add them to some sauteed veggies and cook again. Delish!

Burn that finger

Lookit! I burnt my thumb while using my new straightener. It's Babyliss's PRO Ceramic Titanium straightener and boy does it get hot! Its for really, really coarse hair. It goes up to 450F but I only use it at 370F.

I am at work now.

Just came back from lunch at the Staff Club.
Twas gewd.
Now I am feeling lazy lol.

P-p-poker face

No, I am lying, I have a very bad poker face. Anyways, I have been waist-deep in work. I like it so far. My peers have expressed positive feedback regarding my work. Its been 18 days and I have already worked on more than 8 case studies. Most of them are incomplete as more information is required in some areas.

I have gotten used to the idea of waking up at 6:45am everyday. For a person who was waking up at close to noon a a few months ago, this is actually very good. It has gotten very, very hot now. It's like someone with a fat pipe is blowing hot air into your face just for kicks. I better go to bed because its 12am already.

I have been eating this really 'you-can-tell-its-bad-for-you' croissant sandwich at work almost everyday. Its got some kind of meat in it and fries too. Its disgusting but I eat. Today was last day to eat that (have to promise myself).

Time to write

So…Why am I one of those people who can’t blog when they have a job. I just can’t. I think I am too exhausted from going and coming back from work. Trust me, you’d know what I was talking about if you got a taste of the Arabian sun. Its like needles that have been freshly dipped into molten lava digging into your skin. And its not like you get heated up externally but after being out in the sun even for a few minutes, the heat seeps deep into your body and it stays there. I have bottles of rose water in our refrigerator along with other goodies as fresh aloe vera juice (courtesy of our neighbour’s aloe vera plant) to be splashed all across my face and neck. I take ice-cubes and roll on them on my head lol. I do know the pains of living in an extremely cold place too. But going back to my Buffalo experience, the whole- cold- freezing- your- brains wasn’t so bad. Let me explain. Once you’re out of the cold into a warm room, you’re good to go. I mean I used to trek from school to home and vice versa everyday and while those few minutes outside was good enough to burst my epidermis to bleed, once I was in a heated area, it would’t take me too long to warm up. Ahem, I do have the enormous layers of fat on and in my body that helps a lot but jokes apart. I just feel that heat is exhausting. Cold can be bad too and the really down side of living in a 6-months-snowed-in-place is the acute case of depression you have to go through. Even the chirpiest of people get sullen once the sky wrapped up in a big grey blanket not willing to move. I went clothes shopping this past Thursday because I needed some stuff more ‘work- friendly’ and also more ‘accustomed-to-the-people-here’ friendly. They are all cute tunic type tops that I got for around 3 and 5 rials ($8-$12). I like them a lot. They are conservative yet trendy; at least I think so. Today I brought my own supply of coffee, tea, milk, honey, spoons, etc. to keep at work. Just knowing that I can make coffee or tea anytime is a relief! I could scoot over to the cafeteria for some but I just don’t think I would like it. I just found out that most coffee beaneries flash roast their beans in 6 minutes as opposed to the conventional 18-22 minutes (courtesy of Costa Coffee case study I am studying at work). Apparently, the flash roasting results in unevenly roasted beans which ultimately result in bitter coffee. Interesting. I don’t think I gave a proper rundown of my job. Okay so, first of all it’s at the most reputed university in Oman. It’s called Sultan Qaboos University. It’s a government-owned institution and only the crème-de-la-crème go here. My job is at the College of Commerce and Economics. I work with an assistant professor and the assistant dean of the graduate management program. They have a research project underway where they are investigating some business stories (successful and unsuccessful) of the Arabian gulf. There are about 5 Research assistants working on it and I have been appointed to be their Research Coordinator. So, for this project, all the various cases that are being worked on by these research assistants are going to be looked at by me for verification and further additions. Later, some of these cases are going to be used as lecture material for an entrepreneurship class. I like the job so far. The place might be for from my house but it’s a nice atmosphere. Everyone is really nice (so far at least) and what else? Its summer vacay/commencement time at universities and colleges in most parts of the world so happy holidays and/or congradulations respectively.
P.S.: My weight status: Man, I gained some back already. Please don’t look at me like that. I just don’t feel like gorging on sprouts and beans when I could potentially be having some juicy kebabs or shawarma. Ah, I really hope some good reason comes up soon for me to get back into shape (anybody getting married, any big party coming up?). If you ever came to my house and walked past the kitchen, you’d see a picture hanging of me from 2003, you’d think it was someone else. I was *ahem* quite foxy then with my clavicles popping out , a slender waist and a minimal posterior. Ahhh those were the days but I must say I had worked my a** off to look like that. Dozen laps around the track, eating salads and cereal, being on the run, etc.. I don’t even have that many digital pictures of me back then. I have some hard copies but then who has the energy to scan them. Just think me thinner and hotter. LOL. Now, I feel like Susan Boyle. Nuff said.

Full-time

Full time work.
Not permanent yet but still, full time.
Nice office
Nice people
Great office.
Nuff said

Work shmirk

So one of my research assistant position requires me to assist with a conference to be held in January 2010 on Salinity issues in Arid regions. I made a poster today at work using powerpoint lol. Dorkus central.

Hmmm

Long time again I see. So my friend Julie from Buffalo came to visit me here in Oman this past week. She left yesterday and it was a fun week! We did as much as we could in the week that she was here. From tasting authentic turkish food to taking long strolls in the beach, we did all the things she wanted to. Now that she is gone, I have to go back to work. I am so tired because it has gotten so hot here. The true color of Oman: scorching hot! I still haven't lost any weight. I have gotten so darn tan these few days, its annoying the crap out of me. I am not one of those people who loves fair skin but I like my controlled tan. Now I am like 4 shades darker than I actually am. I am trying things like grated cucumber but to no avail. Hopefully my original color will return. I am lazy right now so will write more later.

Stuff

The pic is from when I went shopping with the mom and dad this past Thursday. Yuck look at my hair and my fat face, belch! Check out my sweet mom though :-)
I forgot to mention here that I am currently using the phone I was using in the US, the timid blackberry pearl. A dear friend ordered the unlock code and I got it to work and all but the bluetooth function won't let me accept any file transfers. I can send files to other people but not the other way around. So i thought, okay let me transfer the pictures of my phone to my laptop. So I attempted to set up the bluetooth on my laptop and couldn't do that. I know that I am not completely technologically retarded considering I have a masters in informatics. So anyways, I still don't know whats going on. I am pretty sure its something little and I promise to find it out by the end of today. So other than bluetooth issues I haven't been upto much. Isn't it so annoying when you've moved to a different place and then you get an email about a job interview from the old place? Yes it happened to me and although I was happy, I was waiting for that call for sooo long and the HR manager told me it wouldn't be around february before they could do anything. Well, they mailed me like a week ago. It was a business intelligence position at a really good consulting firm in Buffalo. I don't want to mention names and such here but yeah, missed out on a good thing:) I haven't really started job hunting here yet. I am doing a part-time stint at a really good government university here called the Sultan Qaboos University but in the mean time I will my eye open for other things. I also got an offer from a really good university in Bangladesh but truth be told, the idea of moving to Bangladesh is not too heart-warming, considering the current state of the country. I love Bangladesh, it is much, much more fun than Oman but there is no safety there unless you've lived there all your life and know the tricks of the trade. Anyways, so that's whats been happening. My weight loss plan hasn't taken off yet. Ate out 4 days in a row lol. *yawn* today might go for some aerobics in the evening. Half the time though I am laughing there, the instructor yells out in arabic and english and it just sounds funny lol. But it is a mighty good workout. Okay, soooo I saw Vicky Cristina Barcelona and I looooooooooved it! Penelope Cruz gave her best performance ever and now I know that, that Oscar was well-deserved. I absolutely adore Javier Bardem as well. He's like so big and scruffy gruffy in a lion sort of way, lol but very handsome. Okay, nuff chat for now, need to find out whats for lunch :) Stay beautiful evryone

Just what I thought...

So right before starting this blog I said to myself "I will not leave this blog unwritten for more than a week or 2 weeks" and look what happened. I did just that. I just don't feel like writing these days and I know thats not a good thing, so today, I promised that I would put a few words here about what I have been upto. My current mission is to lose alll (well not all but some) of the weight I have gained in the last 7 months. I didn't realize it until I came here and my mom and sister told me how big I got. All my jeans and pants are laying happily inside the closet, folded and everything. They don't fit. I need to stop losing and gaining weight all the time. I need to keep it off in a stable manner but as a girl, its hard. Emotions and all kinds of stuff take over and the only place where I can find solace is the fridge. So anyways, I have started doing some exercising but my body's gotten so rigid that a few moves and I am sore as a ...throat? I don't know, I need to really straighten up my act and get into shape. I am turning 26 and I don't want to look 36. Argh. So thats the physical fitness part. I am loving the weather in Oman now...the rain, the semi-cool breeze, the sun...the mixture is great, considering I came from layers and layers of blistering stark white. I saw a movie last night that I had but didn't get the time to watch, The Constant Gardener. Ah, what an amazing movie! I was in shambles after it ended. Its worth watching. Okay so I will write more soon, until then, take care:)

A long post...hopefully!

Its been 10 days since I have landed in Oman yet all my toiletries, makeup, trinkets, etc. are in quart-sized ziploc bags lying on top of the living room table. I still have my carry-on with all my other trinket-y kind of stuff in it, half open somewhere by the couch. I need to realize that my home...is now my new home lol. Ugh---this is what happens when you don't write in a long time, you forget how to. As for my bedding, I didn't mention this but for the last 3 years I have been (I was) sleeping on a futon mattress (which I dearly loved and dearly miss). Its been that long since my back has slept on those move-with-your-every-motion spring mattress. So right now, while there's 2 beds waiting for me, I have laid out myself a mattress on the living room floor and while my parents have to live with astonishment everyday, I am happy with my arrangement lol. I guess old habits die hard! I've been cooking a lot--not a surprise I guess. So one thing that is annoying me by its and bits is the fact that I can't browse online to my hearts content. Why you ask? Although we have Broadband at home, our monthly bill increases depending on data downloaded. And by download I mean visiting blogs with a gazillion pictures to opening a simple attachment. So yeah---bummer there. I am sticking to things like limited facebook, excessive gmail and moderate blog-reading. I am browsing jobs online too. But other than minor issues like limited internet browsing, everything is good. Ma got very, very sick recently and she still is. Its viral and its mimicking symptoms of dengue, typhoid, etc. and although it hurts me to see her in pain, I am glad I am right here, by her side to look after her. Hope she heals soon :) Oman is a quiet, quaint place and very very clean. I love the fact that we get these small red onions here, fresh grated coconut at your fingertips and best of all, a line to dry your clothes crisp in the sun.


But, I do miss Buffalo and my little room and the little window.

In Oman

So fellas and fellis,
I am in Oman now!
Got here 2 days ago. Its nice to be back :)
My trip to Bangladesh was mighty fine as i got to attend my wonderful cousin Shababs wedding! I wouldn't have it missed it for the world! The weather did a number on me (hot, humid, bugs, stench, the works!) but I enjoyed the fact that I got to meet my relatives after a while! More coming soon! Stay healthy and happy!
P.s. I just came off azithromycin so have some real bad cramps and stuff associated with the med.

RIP

Buffalo plane crash has me in shambles. Read more

Long time

Nothing much has happened other than me getting fatter and fatter.
I am in love with the following:

~Fresh glazed donuts
~Butter croissants (translucent from the butter lodged layers)
~Long John Silver's Fried fish (a real CRISPY outer)
~Thai Iced Tea (LOVE!)

So I've been making a serious plan to eliminate Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) containing products from my skin care regimen. SLS is a major component of most facial cleansers, scrubs and even shampoos in the market today. SLS is exactly the same as you would find in a car wash or even a garage, where it is used to degrease car engines. I know that undiluted feeling of satisfaction you feel when you've washed your face (or hair) and hear that squeaky clean sound. Even gentle cleansers such as Cetaphil has SLS in it. SLS in the long run causes irritation to skin and actually leads to over production of oil by the skin. Anyways, enough of my overnight-turned-environmentalist blurb. I have ordered a bar of all-natural handmade soap from Camellia Rose, an etailer I learnt about via another blogger. I ordered the coconut cream shea butter bar. Can't wait for it :) I am also thinking of making my own facial scrub using ingredients such as brown sugar, lemongrass oil, etc. But that's another post. For now, I am taking it one skin-care product at a time. As much as SLS sounds evil, I like how it cleans but for the sake of my already poor skin, I might as well do it a favor by switching to things from the nature. What else? Oh yeah, I know, writing about all this skin stuff right after listing donuts and croissant. Gah, I love food.

Its 4 in the AM and I am awake!

Yuppers! Thats what happens when you've successfully mastered waking up at 2 or 3pm everyday. Well todays reason I can explain a little well. So today I woke up at 7am because it got so so soooo cold. I woke up, turned on my space heater, put sweat pants on, hoodie on, socks on, tons of blankets on and just couldn't sleep. I am one of those with poor circulation and yada yada so my body takes much longer to heat or warm up. So yeah then I was awake till 1 and then fell asleep again till 4. Man its been cold. My back and everything has been sore because I keep shaking due to the cold and just clenching my body in general. I guess the cold makes people hungry and want to eat a lot of food. I ate a whole chicken finger sub and three grease-smeared garlic knots in less than 10 minutes with a side of ocean spray cranberry juice (light). LOL. What else? Life's weird now. All I can think of at this moment is just to thank God that I have running heat, running hot water, warm clothes and food to eat. There are people dying in numbers everyday (Gaza at the moment) and there are people like us who have everything yet find something to complain about. Okay, although I bid you goodnite here, I am actually STILL not sleepy~argh! ki kora jaey (what to do in bangla)! Just watch informercials and browse. Toodles~

I got bit by a spider :(

So, um yeah, 2 days ago I was fast asleep and woke up with a hard itch on my hand at 7ish (went to bed 3ish)...kept scratching and immediately ruled it out as bed bug bite then noticed later that it was actually a spider. Jeez Louise!!! Why me and why a spider! This reminds me of the time when I was visiting Bangladesh and a (gasp) rat climbed on my face while I was sleeping! I kid you not! I, like many girls, and boys and old grown men am very afraid of bugs, rodents and creeps but to no avail---they somehow always find a way into my life! Anyways, after much benadryl application, benadryl consumption and eucalyptus oil slathering I am okay! Alive! It took 2 days to heal and I am still left with this wrinkly, raspberry colored spot but will do, that itch was to die for, literally! I could have amputated my hand it was that annoying! So yeah I am so excited for Jan 20th and Jan 21st:

Obama's Inaugural Ceremony: Jan 20th
LOST Season 5: Jan 21st

Yummy things!
Oh and yes over here, its a wonderful 9F (and feels like -9F)

Golden Globes and more...

So it was a thrill watching the Golden Globes tonight, especially because 'Slumdog Millionaire' sweeped so many awards, including Best Motion Picture. I think Danny Boyle is pure genius, he made this movie what it is. I was particularly irked when they mispronounced A.R. Rahman's name twice. The second time David Duchovny came on stage to present an award and prior to doing that he goes: 'The person who won the award his name is actually A.R. Rumen'. I was just like wow...in attempt to correct it you mess it up even more. Anyways, it was nice seeing the show. I was so happy that
Kate Winslet, Laura Linney and Wall-E won awards. So guys, its funny how at the end of the day natural remedies are the best remedies. Remember I was using that Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment for like 6 months, we-ell, that one busted my skin a lot and left a hell lotta scabs on my face that I have been trying to get rid till now. But last week I went and purchased Burt's Bees Herbal Blemish Stick which is 100% natural and is basically a concoction of various oils suspended in natural alcohol. This thing has been working amazing. I mean it has dried out a few pimples and is not making them any worse or leaving scabs behind. I still have a long way to go in terms of getting scab marks lightened but just seeing a slight improvement makes me feel so much better! Stay away from that Clean and Clear spot treatment, it's pure evil!

Violet eyes~

EYES:
MAC Paint pot in Painterly (base)
L'oreal Black eyeshadow (on lid)
MAC pigment in violet (on top of violet)
MAC eyeshadow in nocturnelle (in crease)
Lancome eyeshadow in off the rack (inner corner)
MAC fluidline in blacktrack
Maybelline Intense XXL Volume Mascara


CHEEKS
Cargo blush in rome

LIPS
NYX lipstick in thalia
some ol lipgloss :-)

gosh i am so bored right, anyways, so yeah today hung out with my gurlies in panera bread for a while. Went there yesterday too and had the weirdest tasting tomato soup ever. It did have asiago cheese flavored croutons in it but it just felt like I was eating spoonfuls of marinara sauce. Anyways, so today was fun, we had girly chat over tea, coffee. I got a carrot walnut muffin and got a piece of shortbread to go lol. Just a foodie me. Okay, i will ttyl peeps. Makeup junkies, check out my girl's makeup blog here at www.xinarox69.blogspot.com

Happy New Year

So yeah, things have been kinda slow. I mean its the new year and all but everywhere you look, there's devastating news all around. The whole ongoing Gaza episode just makes me nauseous because on one side there's that and on the other side there's people ushering in the new year with much joyfulness. I mean to each their own, but I just couldn't do it. I never really did anything on new years except for sit around and watch basic cable. I have been thinking how to be more optimistic this new year and once I find a really good reason to be so, I will let you know. Oh fyi, MAC is having a 25% off sale on their website right now until the 8th or 9th I think. So for makeup junkies, couldn't be a better time to get goodies. On a completely different note, how did Valerie Bertinelli get so so thin, dang that jenny craig diet.

Stop the war

Dear Readers,

The current situation in Gaza is beyond upsetting and although as mere civilians theres not much we can do but we can do little things. I always think like this: It could have been one of my loved ones or me.

Please sign this petition
http://www.iacenter.org/gazapetition/