It's a good thing I'm nowhere near any heavy machinery

It's ragweed season in Toronto and the only way to prevent an instance of me tearing all the flesh off my body in a fit of histamine-induced madness is to get doped. Good and doped.

We spent the weekend up north near Gravenhurst. Did the whole Ontario cottage thing. Drove around lake Muskoka on a boat, gawked at the enormous cottages, napped in the sun, walked in "the nature" and basically unwound. At least for 48 hours or so. The drive home really made me feel like I was a Torontonian. There's nothing like that Barrie gridlock to make you feel included.

I know things happened that I wanted to write about here, but I think my memory has been suppressed along with my allergy symptoms. I do know that I still can't see my blog from home and that Bell is going to be getting an E-A-R-F-U-L-L.

Today's sing-a-long song: "She's so high" by Tal Bachman

HRH

What is going on!!!

I admit that I'm completely out of my Internet depth here, but I have a problem and it's awfully annoying. It seems that M and I cannot access the server that hosts his e-mail and our blogs... from home. We can access them just fine at our respective work places (not that we'd ever read blogs at work *innocent smile*), but at home, it's just not possible. I'd tried to call up my blog in every browser I have, access it via FTP and smoke signal. I even considered writing it a song to get it to open back up to me. No success.

I understand the idea of a server being down, but I've been on IM with people and they can access my blog, but I can't. I haven't set up anything that would prevent specific IPs from accessing my blog. I don't even know if that can be done and if it could and I could, the last IP I would block would be my OWN! And I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT ANYWAY!!! Did Bell switch something up? Did the ISP switch something up? I don't know and I don't understand. I know so little.

I miss my blog...

Today's sing-a-long song: "Connection" by Elastica

HRH

Edit: So it seems that I can publish to my blog via blogger... just can't look at it at all. WTF!!!!!

Graceless, we'll lose the battle

Despite my efforts to thwart the passage of time, it seems inevitable that I will turn 29 in a month's time. Let me correct that. I will be turning 29 for the first time. The first of many times.

I realize that not accepting age with grace kind of contravenes the whole cool and together vibe I'm trying to get going on here, but you know what? I'm really not looking forward to turning that-number-which-shall-not-be-named. So much so that for the first time in my life, I'm not super-excited about my birthday. Madness, I know. The bad number is over a year away, yet it taints everything. Very sad.

While I'm mourning my age, I certainly don't want to suggest that plying me with gifts won't lift my spirits. Because, my goodness, it will. The gift of staying 28 should be somewhere on that list, somewhere.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Ageless Beauty" by Stars

HRH

Update: With guidance from Mike, I have set up an alternate Ta-Da list account that duplicates my ta-da list account, but I'm making the user ID and password public. You can access it here:(ID: cagpublic pass: To avoid spammers the password is the colour of my cat, followed by his name with no spaces). I will not be checking this list from this point on.

Google Talk

Well I've downloaded google talk and gone through all the set up... and now I wait. Wait for someone else I know to do the same so I can discover how this IM client is the IM client that I really need. Because I really NEEDED another IM client. Really.

Oh and Trillian had better have this bad boy installed soon. Google talk has been out for a day and I'm already making demands!

HRH

Big thoughts that always slip away

I wish I could blog when I have my big thoughts as opposed to when I have the opportunity. I think I'm really profound when I'm on the streetcar. I have big ideas that seem to just slip right out of my head as soon as I step off the car. Kind of like dreaming, but only more annoying.

Like today, as I rode through the end of little Italy, I thought I all life all locked down and sorted out. Then, in a fleeting moment, it was gone.

I wonder what I'm trying to keep from myself.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd

HRH

The sum of my parts

A good many people have come out of the woodwork of late to say "Hi!" and see how I'm doing. I think I can thank google for all these rekindled contacts. It's actually been all good so far, so maybe I should stop being such a worry wart and get on with things.

These new contacts have led me to look back on the three years of posts on TRW, so that I can remind myself of what I've said and where I've been. It's been interesting to look back at it all. I can still read through the lines and see the times when I tried so hard to put on a brave face when I thought my world was falling apart. I read about the times in Prague and I could see the stones of the buildings, hear the noise the newer trams made as they passed our windows, smell the scent of the room where I got my weekly 10 dollar massage and feel the cool fall air on my face as I walked across Vaclavske namesti. I can still see Oscar playing on the floor of our first apartment.

I'm so totally not choking up right now. Not at all in the slightest.

HRH

Frederick Fekkai: Glossing Cream

I recently ran out of conditioner. Tragic I know. Money was tight and conditioner isn't really something I feel good about skimping on, kind of like foundation, brushes or good pants. Since I wasn't able to afford my usual tub of Terax Crema I picked up a sample of Frederick Fekkai's Glossing Cream. Those little impulse bins a Sephora can be handy.

The glossing cream is a leave-in conditioner, something I've dabbled in in the past, but haven't always had the best experience with it. This one impressed me. It gave my hair the right balance of weight and volume, my ends seem to be happy and I keep getting compliments on how much shine my hair has.

My only concern is the concern I have will all leave-ins. Is it enough conditioning to be the only conditioner I need? I don't know. My fear of spilt ends will definitely have me back at the salon purchasing my tub of Italian made hair lard for weekly deep conditioning treatments, but day to day I have to say I enjoy the ease of use and results of this leave in. It's always good to have options it seems.

HRH

I'm paying you why?

You know what might be a good thing to teach in school? Why insurance works (or doesn't work, depending on your perspective) the way it does. Or even better, what would be good to teach people in the insurance business? Manners.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

HRH

It's the little things that go first

I've attained a new and exciting level of fatigue. I can still get the really important things done, the things I get paid for, but it's becoming clear that energy cannot be created, but instead creatively distributed.

It is entirely possible that that last sentence made no sense.

Anyway, usually when things get crazy I can run on automatic with the little things in life. I don't even think about them, I just do them. Cleaning, cooking, getting from A to B, it just kind of happens without a great deal of effort. However the important things are taking so much energy that they've started to tap into my precious automatic reserves. You see, I'm losing the ability to do the little things, like dress myself.

This morning, something that usually takes me all of 5 minutes had me totally stumped. It wasn't one of those "Oh my god I hate all my clothes and I have nothing to wear" things. It was more like me standing in front of my closet and wondering what clothes are. And not in some kind of extistential way, like what do clothes mean and how do they relate to the man on the street, yadda, yadda, yadda. More like what are these things and what am I supposed to do with them. It took me 45 minutes to get dressed today. 45!

Perhaps if I arrange for a caffeine drip I can trick my brain into thinking that I'm well rested and alert. I clearly still have the ability to engage in self-deception. All is not lost.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Survivor" by Destiny's Child

HRH

Adding insult to injury

I'm at work on possibly the most beautiful Saturday this year and almost every radio station I tune into to fill the emptiness of the office is playing the same song; Love Shack by the B52's. I fucking HATE that song.

HRH

Update: from an IM conversation. The hits just keep on coming.

Christopher: How can you not like Love Shack?
Chel: I HATE HATE HATE it.
Chel: So annoying.
Christopher: So you.
Chel: You think Love Shack is a fitting song for me?
Christopher: It's you all over.
Chel: I am appalled.
Chel: If I would summon up all the hate I have in the world and use it for one purpose, it would be to obliterate Love Shack off the face of the planet.
Christopher: Come on
Christopher: And bring your jukebox money
Christopher: I know what you are getting for your birthday now -- me singing Love Shack as Jar Jar.
Chel: ... :-(

Just stop and imagine that for a second. Jar Jar Binks singing Love Shack. There will be a mad rush to see who is lucky enough to kill themselves first.

Update 2: Shopping at Club Monaco this afternoon, scoring some great outfits under the guidance of the wonderful Isis. Purchase made, almost out the door and Love Shack comes on. Seriously, what's going on here!

Delight: Sephora catalogue

I don't know if it's a new thing, but I do know that I squealed with delight when a whole catalogue of products available a Sephora arrived at my door. Kind of like getting a fashion magazine with all the annoying crap cut right out of it (Don't tell me how to fix my life, just show me new fashions and products. That's what we're all here for, let's drop the pretense of depth).

Anyway go here , sign up and see what you like and what do you don't like. I will personally be hooking my bad self up with the Pout Eye Shadow Duo in Miss Scotland featured on page 5 (I think) and some of the Shiseido Accentuating Colour Stick in Bronze Flush. I'm a sucker for that born of the dew look.

HRH

Lectured by the Barrista

I believe that you inspire the treatment you get from others by the way you carry yourself. If you believe that you are good, kind and confident people will treat you as such. I'm concerned that my spirits sunken so low that I am inciting abuse from the barristas a Starbucks.

I go to Starbucks twice at day. In the morning at 10:30 a.m. and I get a tea. In the afternoon, about 3:30 I get my half-sweet, non-fat chai latte. You can set your clocks by me. In the two years that I have frequented the Bucks I have been a very loyal customer and befriended many of the barristas. I see them twice a day. It's usually a very jovial and pleasant break from my day.

So imagine my shock and horror when making my afternoon order on Wednesday I got my head ripped off by a newbie barrista. Maybe he was having a bad day but holy crap. I order my chai and crankiness ensues:

Chelsea: Hi! Can I have a tall, non-fat, half-sweet Chai latte?

Cranky Barrista: (eyeroll) It's naturally sweetened. We can't half-sweeten it.

Chelsea: Okay. (pause) What I'm asking for is a half pump of the syrup.

Cranky Barrista: Then you should say HALF PUMP. (puts hands on hips) THAT'S how you call it.

Chelsea: I'm sorry. I thought I was saying it right. That's how I order it all the time.

Chelsea's Collegue: (interjecting) Yeah, she orders it EVERY DAY.

Cranky Barrista: Well, it's a HALF PUMP. (loudly turns to other baristas) We can't half sweeten a drink. It's called a half-pump.

(The other barristas look at him like he's just won first prize in the jackass of the year award)

Chelsea: Can you make my drink for me?

When I got to the drink pick-up area the other barristas apologized to me as my colleauge and I vented about how rude he was. You just cannot imagine the tone he used with me. I don't know what crawled up his ass a barrista camp, but what ever happened to the customer is always right? I worked retail for 5 years and no matter how right or wrong people were about ordering or asking for things, I was always polite and got them what they wanted without scolding them like a child.

Did the guy actually think I was asking for him to break out his chemistry set and remove half the sugar from the syrup? Seriously.

I did go back to the Bucks today for my morning tea (he wasn't working) and one of the barristas teased me when I ordered "It's naturally sweetened!", but I didn't go back for my chai in the afternoon. If an organization is going to pride itself on offering drinks with all kinds of variables, then they'd best train their staff to actually offer those variables without an small tradegy ensuing.

I'll just make sure to avoid ordering any time Capitan Particular is working the cash.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Black Coffee" by Tricky

HRH

13 Updates to The Royal Beauty

What I meant to get finished on my vacation last week was a good chunk of content on my new beauty blog The Royal Beauty. It's a bit after the deadline, but here it is. Links to the products can be found in the post title and if you've found any products you're liking or if you've had some experience with something I've mentioned, please feel free to comment.

I don't plan for it to just be about products, but about the realm of beauty in general. As always comments or suggestions are always handy. We'll see how long it takes before I burn out from trying to find another new way to say the pretty in new and exciting ways.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Face to face" by Souxise and The Banshees

HRH

Benefit: Do It Daily

An oil-free moisturizer that smells of joy and doesn't cause breakouts? It's something I'd previously believed impossible. Partly because I'd never encountered anything that pleased my skin and my senses and partly because I have this skin care martyr thing going on, so maybe I wasn't hunting as hard as I should have been.

Well what a treat for me. Only after a couple of misfires I found something perfecto. Do It Daily is a super light blend that balances out even the oiliest of skin (read: mine). I haven't tested it in winter, but it gets a summer thumbs up for sure.

One caveat: Because of some lagging Health Canada regulations to get your hands on some of this daily moisturizer with SPF 12 you'll need to make a trip to the US, or get some cosmetics mules in your employ (much like Tyla and I have) to carry the good stuff across the 49th.

HRH

Chanel: Ombre d'eau

I'm a sucker for novelty and things that mix together. I'm sure that mixing eyeshadow and water isn't the most amazing thing ever, but this formulation and the effect it creates on the lids has me coming back to make repeat purchases.

There are two ways to apply this shadow. One is to lightly apply it to the lid using your finger, making everything just shimmer. The other is to apply it directly and intensely. Once it dries, it will hold that glass-like look all day, though the second look is really best meant for nighttime or clubtime.

To capitalize on the whole pink lidded MOD things going on now I purchased Fountain, a baby pink colour that meshes beautifully with dark eyeliner. If only I had the energy to backcomb my hair each day to really perfect the look. A purchase of Ombre d'eau in sand has made the natural look in the morning extra easy. Light, neutral but pretty. It's also very easy to use with a huge payoff. If only all makeup was this perfect.

HRH

Number one

At least for today.

I've been very deliberate about NEVER doing two things on my blog. Never naming my place of work (and if possible never mentioning anything relating to work) and never actually using my last name. This second rule has had it's challenges as my last name is an adjective (amongst other things). Google has become quite the tool for digging up dirt and given the personal and often unfettered nature of my blog I thought it wise to just be Her Highnessness or Chelsea. Pseudonyms exist for a reason my friends.

Every once in awhile I type my name into google and snicker at all the madness that comes up. Given the combination of having a first name that is several geographic locations and a last name that is commonly used to describe people living a kind of lifestyle (in one of those very places no less) actually finding me through google was kind of hard. As my name was used on press releases and on the Web site at work, I slowly started to supplant the record labels, community groups and what not that had previously dominated the search.

I knew that one day I would assume my proper place at the top of the google search for my name, but I didn't think it would be today. I was looking for myself on google news as there was a chance of me being quoted in the media (thankfully no). I switched back to the regular google search, my name still in the search field and blam! The first hit is me. My blog. Doh! Definitely a setback in the separation of personal and professional.

Now this makes no sense to me. My full name is nowhere in my blogger/google/gmail/flickr profiles, so I have no idea of how the engine made the connection between my blog and my full name. I have never even used the word that is the same as my last name and have deleted any and all comments that do. Now this will all change with time of course as google results often do. I'm just puzzled as to how this happened.

I also kind of feel badly for people who are not looking for me, but in fact looking for things relating to that particular lifestyle in that particular place. I can tell these searchers now that I don't think I have any information about what you're looking for, but I hear the shopping is fantastic.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Who am I" by Snoop Dogg

HRH

Just a little too grumpy

One of my friends thinks I'm such a grump that I've turned into an Ogre. Chrek he calls me. Lovely. Another one told me I need to read The Fountainhead again. The best thing a friend did for me today was leave a card with a snorkelling kitty on the cover and a Sephora Gift certificate on my desk. Just the right balance of "suck it up already" and spoiling. Attitude adjustment needed. Time to get my behind out of this mood. Message recieved.

Thank you.

HRH

Benefit: Glamazon & Jewels

There's a reason why people falling in love look so beautiful. It's the flush in their cheeks. People have known this, well, forever it seems. Which is why women have been slathering their cheeks in berries and other such things for centuries.

Aren't we lucky to live in the time that we do. A time where we can use blushes of varying kinds and consistencies. Liquid, powder, cream, matte, iridescent, bronzers, highlighters... oooh the variety.

A little while back, Benefit released it's Glamazon collection. The name alone was enough to compel me to pick some up, being the glamazon that I am. The main product, Glamazon is a liquid bronzer and you apply like you're drawing cat whiskers on your cheek and then blend, blend and blend some more. The effect is a nice glow. Not a lot of colour, but something I find perfect for a weekend natural look.

If colour is more your thing and you enjoy a splash of colour on your cheeks and lips, like it's predecessor Benetint, the Glamazon Jewels are great. I picked up Your place or vine, and while the texture left a lot of be desire on the lips, the results on the cheeks were great. I got this at a time when I was just starting to let go of my pink toned security blanket and see what this whole coral thing was all about. In the bottle it had me terrified, but once it was on, it was a megawatt glow. Who wouldn't be sold.

HRH

Fore!

So I'm learning how to golf. M went to a off-site work day where he got to play golf for the first time and he found it really fun. My Nana was a very good golfer for her time. Not LPGA or anything, but she did have a fair stash of trophies from her days. Hoping that golf skill is in my genes, my father took M and me out to one of the local driving ranges when we were in Kingston for the long weekend.

I think it could have been worse.

I couldn't manage to get contact with the ball when I first tried swinging, but by the end of the weekend, I was lofting a couple up there with promise. M was much, much better that I was (I really have to wonder why I keep getting into sports that he's better at like Tennis and Golf. I should really make a mental note to kick his tail at basketball or swimming more often. You know, to keep things balanced). I need to take some lessons and learn how to do it all right, but already I find the sport really interesting. I like that you can really play it at any age, that it can be social or solitary and that a lot of it is in your head. The swing seemed inherently relaxing, if that makes any sense.

My father was kind enough to give M and I a set of my parent's old clubs to get started with. So maybe after some lessons and a lot of time at the putting green and driving range, we'll get out on the course (then maybe a tour of Scottish golf courses and whisky distelleries, or one of those golf/spa weekends at The Briars). Part of me thinks that we become interested in this sport to indulge in our shared and repressed affection for argyle.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Disconnect The Dots" by Of Montreal

HRH

Pout: Illuminator

Let's glow. Well all look better this way. And in spite of some pretty aggressive sales techniques, I was persuaded to pick up some of this in Love Glow. With the aid of a foundation blush, this can be applied all over the cheeks or mixed into liquid foundation or bronzer to give you a "I was just working out, so I'm a touch flushed, but in the most pretty way."

I knew they would get that into a bottle one day.

HRH