Stuff I Like, Volume 5

I'm totally ignoring the tidal wave of junk that's been bringing me down this week. Having date night with Jason Tuesday night was a high point; we had dinner out and saw Beauty and the Beast at the Saroyan Theatre in Fresno. I curled my hair and wore dress pants, both of which I hardly ever do anymore. It was good to get out of my usual at-home uniform of old t-shirts and sweatpants, and feeling pretty and put together lifted my mood quite a bit. It was a lovely night away from reality and I only thought about Jason's upcoming 6-8 month deployment a few (hundred) times while we were out.

So as not to dwell, I'm keeping things 100% materialistic today. I cannot live without these things:

• Progressive International collapsible salad spinner: How is it possible that I've been exclusively herbivorous for well more than a decade and only just got around to buying one of these contraptions over the summer? I don't know, but I have been gleefully spinning all manner of washed leafy foodstuffs since I got it. It also stores washed, shredded lettuce nicely in the refrigerator for a few days--longer than the bagged stuff stays fresh. Plus, look how itty-bitty it smooshes down to!



• August-to-August day planner from Mixed Role Productions: I got my first one in 2001 and have had one every year since. I write birthdays, appointments, and other events in it, of course, but I also keep a schedule of Jasper's insulin injections and what the cats have had to eat each day--important when managing kitty diabetes. They also have a traditional January to December version, but I got used to using the school year-based version so I've just kept on buying them. Picking a color is one of the most agonizing decisions of my entire year.



• iHome iH15 LED Color-Changing Speaker System: Jason got this for me for cheap by cashing in his expiring frequent flyer miles. I'd been coveting it for months because of the color-changing light feature. It makes a great night light and/or dance party mood-setter. It doesn't have a clock built in, but that's fine with me--I got it because I want to take it from room to room with me without having to constantly reset a clock. I use it as a night light (shut up) when I'm sleeping alone. It's bright enough to illuminate the creepy corners of our room but not so bright that it prevents me from falling asleep.



• Burt's Bees Soap Bark and Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream: Had this face wash been around when I was a teenager, I would have used it every day on my Exxon Valdez spill of a face. I'm now approaching 30 at warp speed and don't need to combat oily skin as much as I used to, so I only use it every few days. It's a brisk, refreshing departure from the milder cleansers that I use the rest of the time, and it leaves me with that squeaky clean feeling that some cleansers for "mature" skin don't have.



• Samsung Intensity II phone: I finally upgraded my phone last weekend. Gone are the days of the flippy phone; I'm now all systems go with a QWERTY keyboard and internet access. Fancy! The Intensity II comes with the Social Beat app that lets you access Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, and more through one interface. If you're not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on an iPhone, Droid, or Blackberry, this is a reasonably-priced alternative. But the biggest selling point for me was that it's bright blue. It also didn't hurt that one of the pre-loaded ringtones is called Popple Tone. Popple, as in these guys:

I'm pretty sure that phone was made with me in mind.