icecreamicecreamicecreamicecream!!!!!

Summer is officially here, and I am already working hard to fulfill my self-designated ice cream/frozen treat quota for the season. I was able to check #4 off of my summer to-do list yesterday when I visited the "King of Pops" boutique "paleta" stand on North & N. Highland Aves. There were many good options. I was initially torn between Lemon Mint, Strawberry Cheesecake, and Mocha/Chocolate Sea Salt. Pops cost $2.50 a pop (literally! How often do you get to say that?), but he was running a special: $1.50 for "mystery pops" from the previous day. I'm not afraid of adventure, so I got a red one, which ended up being Strawberry-Basil, which I loved. My companion got Honeydew Lime, which I tasted and was very refreshing.

I noticed that the Dairy Queen's Blizzard is celebrating 25 years of life this year, and since I'm a sucker for advertising (especially when I'm hungry), I went to get one this afternoon. I was in a peanut butter frame of mind, so I got a Reese's PB cup blizzard with some hot fudge on the top. Dee-licious.

What frozen treats do you reach for in the summertime? What form of high-fructose-corn-syrup-precipitation tickles your tongue? What big chain or homegrown ice cream-habit-enabler is your favorite? Let me know!

Duly Noted/Black Humor

The church that I thought was going to hire me found that they didn't have the money in the budget after all, so I've decided to return to Arkansas for the remainder of the summer slash until further notice, because a divorced, religionless, ex-minister with half a completed master's degree isn't truly humiliated until she moves back in with her parents at age 27.

On a totally unrelated note, I heard a high-larry-ous joke today on "Last Comic Standing":

"When I was a little kid I just couldn't wait to be a grown up. Now that I'm grown up, I can't wait for death."

To: Lovers of Nail Polish ---------- From: The Earth

I love nail polish. When my toe and finger nails aren't polished, I feel naked. I love all different kinds of colors, and have very specific and very anal-retentive rules for how and where I wear them.  I credit my weekly mani-pedi with getting through my first year of seminary with any degree of sanity. No, really, and here's why: it takes a good 2-2.5 hours to do your nails, during which time you can't really move or you risk ruining it. During that time I really couldn't do anything besides watch a movie. It was forced relaxation time. I would do my nails every Sunday night, then plan my week's outfits around whatever color I was wearing. I think one of the best things about summer is getting to show off fun and prettily-polished toes. However, if you're like me, the harsh chemicals and strong smell of the polish is a huge downside.

This month, in honor of Earth Day, Zoya Nail Polish is offering six new shades of its eco-friendly polish when you mail in six old bottles of polish as part of its Zoya Nail Polish Exchange. You pay $3.50 per bottle for shipping, or $21 for six new bottles of Zoya polish. Each bottle normally goes for $7. Zoya Nail Polish is free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor. Through June 30, 2010, send in six (or more) bottles of old polish of any brand besides Zoya, Qtica or Nocti, and they will send you six colors of your choice.

Here's the link: http://www.zoya.com/content/38/category/Nail_Polish_Exchange.html

Have fun choosing! And let me know which colors you get!

Random Goodness

Date Pictures

Event #1 - Dinner @ Leon's/Dessert @ The Chocolate Bar

I had fun dressing up. My friend, Rose, who used to do costuming in theatre, helped me get dressed. The '40's outfit called for, I felt, a proper cocktail. I had a "Spring Chicken" - strawberry, lemon & grapefruit flavors with a whipped egg white. It was very refreshing.

I'm not trying to be self-absorbed by posting three pictures of myself; which one do y'all prefer? I'm thinking about using one for my new profile picture.

I wanted a nice, atmospheric pic of my dessert coffee. I took about 10, but won't subject you to all that jazz. I'm still experimenting with features on my camera.

W. didn't know I was taking this - he probably would have smiled if he had.

Event #2 - The CNN Center/ Centennial Olympic Park (Today)

I ran into Wolf Blitzer in the lobby. He wanted to make out with me, but I was like, "Dude, my boyfriend might get jealous." So we just posed for this picture instead.

On Hope

"Hope is rooted in our human incompleteness, from which we move out in constant search, a search which can be carried out only in communion with other people. As long as I fight, then I am moved by hope, and if I fight with hope, then I can wait." - Paulo Freire, "Pedagogy of the Oppressed"