Check the temp in Hades

Hell officially froze over last night. Work closed. This is the same place that stayed open for the tropical storm that actually hit us a few years ago and had the Wapoo bridge close (the Connector had already closed) right after the boy and I sailed over it.

But I woke up for dinner last night and Mums started chattering about road closings. I glanced at the list online and it was impressive but only one of them was maybe near work or on the way there. Still, we don't have a truck anymore and the flooding was pretty special... so eventually she spelled it out for me (I'm very, very slow when I first wake up) that she didn't think that even if she was willing to try driving in the rain with the boy's car (which she was debating) that we'd get through due to the closings.

So I called work. Only to be told no worries, but that they'd called about an hour ago to say I didn't need to come in because they'd shut the store down and wouldn't re-open til 7am Sunday morning. (So almost now.) I gather, based on a FB comment, that the pharmacist on duty convinced them that this was Sparta madness with the power flickering. I don't know if the assistant manager came in or if the store was legitimately closed all night. That has, to my knowledge, never happened before.

Alas, I didn't get to enjoy my unexpected night off because Widget did some stupid stuff, but I did get about 40 minutes cobbled together where I watched the storm rage. Then the power flickered a bunch and I shut down the computer and found the matches. Which we didn't wind up needing, but that's okay.

And then I eventually went to sleep pretty early and got to stay there, happily snoozing with my cat. I'm about to brave the day and see what's going on outside if I can convince the dog she wants to go for walkies. I'll let you know.

ETA: The dog and I didn't walk all around the neighborhood, but we did almost our entire Autumn Sunday Walkies round-about and there was a surprising lack of tree limbs down (we lost an actual tree a week ago so I expected more debris). It's back to raining steadily so we both got drenched but the flood waters have receded for now. I'd imagine that when high tide kicks in this afternoon things may change, but for now our street is back to being a street and not a river.

The most interesting thing we found was a dead snake. Ick. Oh, and the trash I'd noticed floating in front of our trash corral last night was much easier to spot in the light of day. Included in the junk was a circular saw blade. Workers, that's not really something to leave lying out, okay?

To do list

   So many things to cover today and tomorrow, possibly into Tuesday before work. Let's make a list so I don't forget, okay?

• Catch up on the Gwynnie Bee trial before it ends.


• The new MH and EAH dolls coming out


• Scentsy's overinflated sense of self worth (aka: their holiday collection)


• AG GOTY 2016 Leaks


• Maybe the one possible leak for BF 2016 and her possible release date

Before you say this doesn't sound like a lot, please remember what else is going on:

• the flooding courtesy of our not!hurricane


• decorating for Halloween because October is when my "wait for it" ban is lifted


• the ants go marching...

And most distracting of all: Mums bought me Sisters Season One and Two on DVD and it came the other day and I'm tired of waiting to watch it. Do you know how long I've been waiting for that show on DVD? I don't know how far Mums will make it should they release other seasons because it started hitting home, but we'll have a Sisters post in the future, I'm sure. (You've been warned.)

I should head upstairs and swap out my warmers for more fall/Halloweeny ones.

Oh, and my Scentsy review on Rum Raisin Cookie, just to keep this from being mostly lists:
   I was the most excited for this scent because it kept being described as an oatmeal raisin cookie. I think those smell amazing even if they don't always taste so yummy, so I was super excited. I also have a rum raisin cookie recipe that is so good that even people who don't LIKE oatmeal raisin cookies like it. So I had expectations.

Freshly baked cookie dough sumptuously spiced with rum, raisin and clove will transport you to the corner bakery.

  Something about this combo doesn't quite work for me all the time. I'm thinking it's the rum note that's off, but it might be the way it combines with the clove because it smells too... something. I'd say spicy but that's not quite right. It's too strong initially but as your nose adjusts or the rum gives way to everything else, it settles and is a really nice scent that does remind me a lot of rum raisin cookies. But then the smell turns again and it's too much... and basically I waffled. On the most decided plus side, this is a scent that lasts for days. It was still going strong (in a good way, mostly) on day three. I imagine I'll use it happily for the rest of the bar over the season, but I'm not sure I see myself buying this one again.

GB Update 2

Mallen Sweater
I liked the idea of this one, but like the other BB Dakota item I tried (the sweater dress) it's itchy as hell. It wasn't baggy on me (a size up would've been awesome) but it had these weird little points on the shoulder where I'm guessing it was on a hanger and it molded to that shape. It wasn't cute as it looked like I had horns. I sent it back since it was dry clean only so I couldn't wash it to try and fix the itchy horns.


Spruce and Sage Windmill Print Flate Dress
I put this one in the ol' closet because I was curious. Naturally since it was new, they sent it right away. (If you wind up trying GB that seems to be how it works: if you closet a brand new item in the first couple of days, especially the first day, that's what you'll be getting next if you're up for a shipment.) Annnnnd it looked awful on me. I promise you, it was so bad not even my mother could keep a straight face. Sigh. In the picture it looks kind of like generic shapes but in person and on, sweet Jesus no.



IGIGI Dominique Dress in Cerise Curve
This is one I got in dress and shirt form. I wanted to love the dress so much but... it looked like fall threw up on me. And I'm going to agree with the person who said it's really made for someone with larger breasts and smaller hips. I, alas, am the inverse of this so this thing looked awful on me. Which I could have maybe ignored or worked with (the latter) if the colors looked good on me. Which they didn't. Siiiiiigh.

I really did like that top, though.


XTWO Bree Top
Like the sweater, I was really looking forward to this one. I... don't know why, but I guess I'm an idiot? The sequins (I know) in the picture initially looked like it would go across your chest but in reality, you've got a giant starburst over your left boob. It's just weirdly placed. It's a chiffon top, so it's floaty, sort of, and kind of sheer. But the real downside of this thing is that the bottom of the shirt isn't loose at all, it's actually strangely tight. Like they realized the whole thing might be too flowy, so they had to introduce "structure" somewhere, and it resulted in being squeezed most unexpectedly.
Overall, it reminded me of something Blanche would wear on Golden Girls. Not a look I'm ready to chase just yet.


MM2M White and Black Check Dress
This was another closet on Day 1 get it ASAP. I don't know if I put in for the wrong size or they just sent a size smaller or what, but holy crap. There's very little give to the dress at all, so while I was able to get it on, the top felt like it was going to strangle me. The bottom was kind of flowy, but not enough to offset the being strangled thing.

Oddly enough, I was set to hate how it looked on me, but it actually looked pretty good aside from the hips of doom. So if it had been less straitjacket up top, I might've been tempted to wear this one out and about just for funsies. As it is, back it'll go to end my subscription.



Isabel & Alice Latte Printed Notched Tunic
If I was ever truly tempted to buy one item, it would have been this one. It was freakishly comfortable and I felt adorable in it... until I looked in the mirror. And then I was still comfy, but I was comfy while wearing a thousand sort of mini lattes. It was a weird look. If there less lattes on the fabric or it was a plain blue (actually more of a blue-green shimmer going on in reality) tunic, I would've bought it. Seriously comfy. I'll miss you, latte shirt. I also know that this style is comfy and looks okay on me, it was just the print.


There's one more item I have at home and I'm going to see if they'll send something out tomorrow before I hit the eject button.

Overall, I'd say it's definitely worth a whirl if you're considering it. The free trial, if you keep on top of things, yields a decent amount of items. If you're less call-phobic than I am, you might even get extra time if they screw you over. (Definitely don't bother to email then. I had another issue and emailing was useless. You get a quick answer but it's not going to be one you want.) And it was basically just timing me out of a week's worth of stuff, which might not really apply to you if you're like Cass and hold onto things longer.

I'd also recommend it if you're dieting or sizes for whatever reason, since you'll get new pieces without having to commit to them in the wrong size.

I don't think I'll be walking away with buying anything but I could have if I'd wanted. It wasn't a bad time, it just didn't yield anything permanent aside from the knowledge that wrap dresses are tricky and those tunics are awesome. And that alone is knowledge to help me in the future.