Tag / About Me

by Lexine

Fragrance Flashback

Looking back at some of my favorite fragrances from my teen years on this National Fragrance Day…

Calvin Klein’s “CK One” – this scent may have been responsible for my current love for unisex smells. I got introduced to it in the seventh grade, three years after its debut. Since I was a total geek in junior high, in my attempt to be cool, I wore what the cool girls wore. And the cool girls wore CK One.

Clinique’s “Happy” – the very first fashion mag I owned was a late 90s copy of Allure, given to me for free by my then-dentist. The date of the mag is lost on me but the two things I remember from it was that supermodel Niki Taylor was on the cover, and an ad for this perfume. Its fruity, citrus-y notes attracted me. When I put this on now, it’s an instant throwback to eighth grade (oh, whyyyy did the Spice Girls break up?!).

Estee Lauder’s “Dazzling” – RIP Dazzling, both gold and silver. A relative gifted me Dazzling Silver, and it was the first perfume that made me feel grown up and sophisticated like Liz Hurley in that ad (even if I was still a geek now in my high school years).

Tommy Hilfiger’s “Tommy Girl” – another scent that takes me back to my high school years. I also used to be a mild gamer then, so now whenever I get a whiff of Tommy Girl, I get this weird urge to play Wipeout XL on the OG Playstation.

Body Fantasies’ “Raspberry Fantasy” – this is actually the very first fragrance I bought. (The others listed here were either gifts, something borrowed from relatives, or a scent I would buy later on.) I think it was, what, $3 at Walgreens then? I know Body Fantasies had other scents, but Raspberry Fantasy was my jam. Sad that this scent no longer around, and the current incarnation of Bath & Body Works’ Sun-Ripened Raspberry is doing its best to fulfill my raspberry cravings, but it’s not the same! (B&BW even messed with the original formula of SRR! Booooo!)

by Lexine

Leap Day Random Thoughts

…that’s too hot and long for Twitter!

Part One of my work-in-progress is complete! I plan on having four parts to my story, with the third part bringing in most of the action and drama. Don’t worry, there will be a nice ending between my protagonists…and that’s all I’ll say about it for now. I’m the type who stays mum about her projects until it’s 100% complete and ready to be marketed. And this time, I know its genre! 😜

Over a month ago, I had a wooden bookshelf that collapsed all of a sudden. *sad face* Won’t say what brand it was, but I’d figure for something worth “$250”, it would hold up for a long while. I actually bought it for cheap from a Craigslist seller years ago, and now I know why the seller offered it for cheap. *sighs* After seeking out similar replacements this past month, I settled for something different: a steel shelf! The one I got is said to hold up to 350 lbs per shelf, so hopefully it holds up over time. I just assembled it (on my own–you can assemble this solo, despite what other reviews say), and reshelving all the displaced books will be my other rainy-day project this weekend.

My new favorite low-carb recipe: Crustless Pizza! Domino’s who?

Something I want to make in the next month: Chocolate Covered Cherry Fat Bombs. I plan on making them as gifts for two friends celebrating their birthdays in March. And for myself, of course.

I find this very disappointing. Voter apathy will be the death of democracy for us all. Not sorry for the bold all-caps, but GET OUT AND VOTE, PEOPLE!! Have some not learned from 2016?

I find this very rad, though. (Yes, I still use 1980s-era lingo.)

by Lexine

Rainbows And Votes

How I’m celebrating this holiday: by admiring the sights of rainbows from my studio apartment and getting out to vote! The weather here still isn’t pretty, but I’ll always enjoy a rainbow sighting (the one pretty thing to come from this icky rain). And my state’s Primary Election Day is in two weeks. If you haven’t yet voted in your state’s primaries, get out and vote! These days, all elections matter!

by Lexine

Trips Of A Birthday Girl

up on the balcony

Ten years ago today: me having some birthday fun in the Hollywood Hills. I remember that Cookies & Cream cake I bought at a Pavilions. I can’t eat that cake nowadays! 

I enjoy traveling, and more so on my birthday. With the exception of 2020 and 2021 (because pandemic), I’ve celebrated my birthday far from home. I do have this rule where I don’t go anywhere on my actual born day, as I do my best to limit outside fuckery that I can’t control. (I don’t want my special day ruined!) But I’d also be in a vacation rental home or in a hotel room. The last time I stayed in my actual home on my birthday was…oh hell…well over ten years ago! It was probably in 2010, but it worked out for me as the SF Giants won the World Series that year, and I wouldn’t have been able to attend their parade if I went on my annual birthday trip.

I know where I was a year ago. Five years ago. Ten years ago. The poolside cabin in Long Beach that was also my first vacation in three years. The top floor penthouse condo in Vegas where I had access to the roof and thus had 360-degree views of Vegas awesomeness, from the Strip to the surrounding mountains. The small apartment in the Hollywood Hills that boasted panoramic views from downtown to the Pacific and even Catalina Island. (Notice a little trend?) I certainly was not in my little Bay Area home to blow out the candles.

My Vegas trip from five years ago. Views of the Strip from the Paris Las Vegas Eiffel tower, and Red Rock Canyon Park. 

This year, I buck the trend and stay home. I could’ve gone somewhere again, and a part of me kept asking myself “whyyyy are you staying home?” Yeah, why am I staying home? Oh, that’s right: next year is a milestone birthday. And I’m saving up for that so I can go all-out for my, uh…21st (for the third time). Till then, I shall enjoy my birthday gifts from my friends, pig out on sugar-free cupcakes, figure out what Halloween costume I should wear, and simply kick back in the comfort of my own home.

by Lexine

A Poetic Anniversary

As mentioned in a previous entry, I had a little surprise that ties in with National Poetry Month this month. (And only until now do I finally have time to post about it.)

Twenty-five years ago, I was in the 8th grade, about to graduate Junior High, and just remembering this really makes me feel old. Anyway, I remember writing a poem for classwork in my English class. Little did I know that when I gave my work to my teacher, it would also be considered for publication in a poetry book by the youths of the time. I don’t remember if it was mentioned that the poems us students wrote in class would be published somewhere. But it happened, and I ended up being one of the two students from my entire K-8 school that got their work published in that book you see above. I still have my copy, by the way!

Obviously, I won’t say which one is my poem as it’s under my real name. I’ll also say that this was not the first time my work has been published. The very first time happened in my local newspaper back in the spring of 1996; it was a prose piece I wrote in 6th grade. (Hot damn, now I really feel old.) Sadly, I don’t have a copy of that newspaper, but maybe it’s been digitally preserved by the newspaper. Since the release of this anthology, my work’s been published a few more times, the most recent being in an anthology of short stories written by women. I’d tell you more on that another day. One thing I’ll say right now is that I always get a little joy when my work gets published. (And speaking of, a project I’ve been working on for years is about to see the light of day soon. Stay tuned!)

Pic courtesy of an eBay listing; yes, you can also buy my work!

by Lexine

Happy Ketoversary!

old & new jeans

And now for a happy story, as I feel like we need more of them after what’s happened this past week.

There’s a big story behind the two pairs of jeans in the header pic. Emphasis on “big.”

It was the day after Christmas, 2021. I looked at naked myself in the mirror right before my morning shower and made the same face whenever I get an unexpected bill. I had some nice Christmas presents that year, but an in-shape figure was not one of them. Simply put, my ass was out of shape. Before that realization, I grudgingly accepted my out-of-shape ass, and if I ever felt the least bit self-conscious over it, I’d eat a little less and exercise more. After all, those were the ways to weight loss, right? But despite cutting back on the bacon & chips and running a little more on my workout days and having my fruit and potatoes, I saw no damn results. I stayed around the same size and weight, and that day after Christmas, something in me actually wanted change. I didn’t seek out to make a heavily cliched New Year’s resolution that day, but it happened.

Then I wondered: how the hell am I gonna make that change?

Right after that wake-up call, I researched all sorts of diets that could help me out. The one that intrigued me the most was the Keto/Low-Carb lifestyle. Back in the 2000s when I first heard of a low-carb diet (then known as the Atkins diet), I balked at the idea of giving up my starches to shed the pounds. No way was I gonna let Dr. Atkins take away my potatoes and crackers. As I read more on the keto way of eating, I found out that it was those same potatoes and crackers that were fattening me up thanks to their high carb/sugar count, which I found unusual considering that I always thought I was eating healthy. Who knew so-called healthy foods were also doing damage? Or so I read.

I can’t say how and why I chose a lifestyle sans refined carbs and sugar, although maybe it had to do with two things. One: I tried almost every other diet/weight loss product out there and nothing worked. I lived through the days of “slimming tea” and Hydroxycut, so I should know. And two: having had weight struggles since childhood, at that point in my life, I’d try almost anything to shed the adipose. If giving up former faves like whole wheat bread, whole grain crackers, and bananas was the way to a new figure, then so be it.

Knowing that it was going to be a bumpy transition from high-carb to low-carb considering my eating habits, I chose to ease into it instead of quitting carbs cold turkey. I’ll admit, my heart ached when I had to say goodbye to my precious chips & crackers (one of my former addictions), apples & bananas (yep, I can’t have too much of them anymore), falafel patties, and croissants from Costco. But as the days went on, I started noticing some changes. Clothes started to feel a touch looser. My energy levels increased, as did my need to use the bathroom. I read that water weight was the first to go upon starting a low-carb/keto lifestyle, and while I also heard about that “keto flu”, I was lucky to not have experienced that (thank you, ketoade). By the end of the month, I had dropped a pant size. It was just one size but I was stoked.

Continue reading →

by Lexine

Me Time Rules

I’ve always been about Me time, but I never knew its value until this past Monday.

I worked a packed schedule for five days straight last week–something I normally don’t do. I’m usually at my day job four days a week, but I had to cover for someone who was out sick. My job happens to be a physical one, and I’m kinda surprised my body is still holding up after doing said job for eleven years. Then there was my commute, all done in the cold, pouring (and occasionally windy) rain. Oh, and my PMS just had to arrive at the same time. When I came home Sunday night, I felt both relieved and fucking drained. Relieved in that my work week was finally over, and fucking drained because obviously. Sure, my paycheck will be looking a little nicer come next payday for that extra day of work. But I felt like I sacrificed something far more important than a few extra bucks on my paycheck: my mental and physical health.

When I woke up from my much-needed long sleep on Monday, it felt like my batteries got recharged. Not really up to 100%, but I was getting there. I’m usually off Mondays and Tuesdays (aka my “weekend”), and that Monday morning, I realized how damn important Me time is. I did as I pleased on MLK day: stayed home (in which I am its only inhabitant, thankfully), watched NBA games, came up with more story ideas for my latest novel-in-progress, making good food if you’ve noticed my Instagram…And once I took a bite of my homemade low-carb pizza pocket (they exist, tastes like the high-carb version, and you can make ’em, too) for lunch, it was as if my skin had cleared up, my debts had been paid off, and all the misogynists, homophobes, and racists in the world were reduced to dust. OK, that didn’t happen, but I did feel revitalized. Even Me time can taste good, too.

by Lexine

Tea Fiend

tea & cup

I haven’t been much of a writing fiend as of late (work and life got in the way), but if I’m unable to write my future New York Times bestseller (yeah, sure), one thing that stays constant in my life is enjoying a hot cuppa. If you saw my tea collection, you’d go guuuurrrl because yes I own that much tea. Not enough to open my own tea bar, but I’m pretty stocked, to say the least. (It’s also hard to turn down a BOGO Free sale on Yogi Tea at Sprouts.) What am I about to brew on this cold, rainy night is one of my all-time faves you see in the pic above, about to be paired with my Evil Queen mug. Trader Joe’s better not discontinue that tea!

by Lexine

Giving Thanks

To my true friends and family

For having this day off from work

To my day job that, despite it being a physical job, pays me well and my co-workers & management are all supportive

To all who voted for democracy during this year’s Midterm elections

To all who continue to fight for abortion/LGBTQ+/voting rights, gender equality, and abuse victims

To the scientists and medical professionals who helped create the Covid vaccines and boosters (happy to be 4X full of 5G microchipped goodness!)

To all the face masks I’ve worn that spared me from getting Covid (I still wear them in indoor public spaces and in large outdoor crowds and I’m not ashamed to do so…but I await the day when Covid becomes an endemic)

To anyone who asks me for an ID as I get another day older (I used to find it so odd when I was in my 20s, but as I near my 40s, I find it flattering)

For being a teen in the late 90s/early 2000s (my Xennial ass is showing here, but what a time to be young)

To all the low-carb websites for giving me all the recipes and carb substitutes when I went low-carb almost a year ago

To Yogi Tea (their teas are 🔥)

To Jackie Collins, Maya Angelou, Dorothy Parker, Sue Grafton, and Sharon Olds, for creating many of my all-time literary faves. My idols, all of them!

To The Simpsons (Seasons 1-10, to be exact), for all the LOLs

To jazz music and its artists, past to present

To thrift stores, where over half of my wardrobe and bedding came from

To the sport of hockey

To Lelo (I’m single; do I have to explain why?)

To Target for selling Lelo products 😀

To the fact that I live in a safe (and affordable) space, all to myself

For living in California

In knowing I had some things to be thankful for in this mixed bag of a year.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!