Anna Liisa Land

I feel so badly about the Metro train accident that happened today; I cannot shake that "there but for the grace of God go I" feeling about this local tragedy. I hope all the Brunswick area commuters who use the Red Line are OK. I hope all the crash victims and their families are able to heal. It's too soon to say what caused the crash, but whatever the cause might have been, I hope lessons are learned so that future crashes here and elsewhere can be prevented.

• 6,000 lbs of free food
• Info on low/no cost health insurance
• Free clothing swap / giveaway
• CASS Open House
• Foreclosure assistance
• Free carbon monoxide detectors
• Free toothbrushes
• Free blood pressure screening
• Need a job?  Talk with Workforce Services to learn about what jobs are out there and what free training you may qualify for
• WIC and Food Stamp Assistance
• Talk to Salvation Army
• Q&A about cancers and mental health referrals/issues
• Prescription discount cards

Typically when buying bath products I am drawn to sugary food scents like dulce de leche and buttercream frosting, but lately I've been wanting something cleaner and simpler, something that smells pure and natural...and I found just the thing: Chidoriya Hinoki Bath and Shower Gel. Hinoki is Japanese cypress, and this blend of hinoki and camellia oil is all natural, amazingly lightweight and clean rinsing, and imbued with a fresh, green, woodsy scent that feels both purifying and refreshing. The product is also suitable for guys because it has a masculine edge--nothing fruity or floral about it. Plus, it's nice that all the ingredients are botanical and natural, so no guilt over chemical pollutants and industrial compounds. I got my Hinoki Bath and Shower Gel from B-Glowing, but many other beauty websites carry it as well.

1. I don't get as sick as I used to. Seriously. Back when I used to commute by car 2+ hours a day, I  used to come down with multiple colds each winter and also lose a lot of time throughout the year due to stress induced stomach issues. I have been a lot less sick since being my own boss.

2. I know with great certainty every day that the bathroom will be clean, unlike in the icky place I used to work in, where the nasty unkempt bathrooms scarred me for life.

3. Christmas / winter holiday parties are tax deductible.

4. If I need an office supply item like a new printer or a set of 25 spiral bound notebooks, I don't have to go up a 15-person-long chain of command defending my need for a new stapler to each person in that chain--I just run down to the local Staples store and get whatever I need so that my work can resume unimpeded as fast as possible. Gone are the days of writing proposals addressed to the micromanaging company president explaining why a labelmaker is a good investment. and not a frivolous expense.

5. All my office snacks are healthy, organic, low cal stuff bought at the local coop I belong to--no more foraging for salty and sugary snacks in the company vending machine. I have lost weight since being my own boss, too, because I chug less calrie-bomb soda than I used to in order to remain energized.

For all the struggles and long hours...being one's own boss is definitely far better than slaving away for the man. 

My husband and I were parked at That Cuban Place Restaurant in Frederick munching on Cuban sandwiches, plaintains and yucca, calmly sipping our mango smoothies, when we suddenly noticed a girl in the sidewalk walking her dog on a leash...only, the "dog" was actually a dude in a black fuzzy dog costume waving at people and doing disco pointing maneuvers with style and flair. Odd. We waved at them, and the "dog" waved back, then the couple went on their merry way. Customers at the restaurant speculated about whether or not we had all just witnessed some "plushies." Ah, puppy love.

Just this week I saw some of the first signs of spring: my first sighting of a post-hibernation groundhog by the side of the road--a little fella rooting around for yummy plants to eat--and the first snowdrop flower blossoms peeking out in my front yard. We are a mere 3 weeks away from the advent of spring. And yet, here comes our area's biggest snow event of the year! The Middletown Safeway store was full of people lining up for their milk, bread and toilet paper. I was there for milk, too, but not because of snow--because I want some granola for breakfast tomorrow.

So a few months ago I noticed with horror that my forehead had been blighted by little brown scars from pimples past. (Being a blogger who covers bath and body products often means revealing the sick sad truth about the aging process and its effects on my body.) I was wondering if I was doomed to a lifetime of using cakey foundation makeup when I read about a $40 Clinique product called "Even Better Skin Tone Corrector." Forty bucks is usually too rich for my taste, but these little brown spots were doing a number on my self esteem, so I sprang for it. Even though I don't exactly follow the directions, which involve applying the serum twice daily and wearing sunblock religiously, the little brown spots are starting to fade away beautifully after several weeks. I just put the goop on every night after my shower or bath, and it absorbs into my skin nicely so I don't even notice it is on there. Voila! My little discolorations are miraculously going away, one by one. And the little bottle has lasted me several months now, so maybe amortized over all those days and weeks, the hefty price could be worth it. Certainly the effects on my self esteem have been worth it....I no longer fear that people will start referring to me as "Scarface." You can read more about this handy little product online at www.clinque.com .

My superstitious side wantsed to donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in the hopes that it would buy me some good boob karma. I have been lucky so far--I have not been touched by breast cancer in my family or peer group...yet. I feel like this disease is a lurking menace coiling up and ready to pounce on one of my loved ones at any time. I hear those scary statistics about how prevalent this cancer is. And guys, I am so sorry, but you are not immune to this illness either. The good news is all of the dollars being spent on breast cancer research is having an impact: new treatments are becoming available and preventive testing improves all the time. It looks like if we band together and throw enough money at this thing, we can actually beat it.

Donate yourself at: http://www.bcrfcure.org

...but this keyboard sucks. I press the keys with a fair amount of force and yet certain characters fail to show up as they should. Plus my son got the remnants of his recent peanut butter snack onto the keys.....ewwwww. I think it is time for a new keyboard over here. Until we get one, please bear with me about the typos. As someone who has worked as an editor before, these typing errors pain me, but this keyboard is slowly dying and I have no toher at my disposal.