Got 3 boxes from my folks, but no coins yet. This time around it was mostly bath, body and bedroom stuff. A pretty shower curtain. A hideously ugly comforter that I’ve got underneath the sheet for extra softness. Then there’s this really soft brown thing with zippers and snaps on it that I can’t figure out for the life of me what it’s for. I decided to use it as a drape in the front bedroom window. It should block out the fierce morning sun quite well. There were two sets of sheets. Again, they were dull earth tones, but one of them is kind of satiny which is cool. We could really use extra sheets too, no matter what the color. There was a throw that appears to have been a 50th anniversary present from the drama queen in 2001. Where was I then? Suffering in jail partly due to her.

There was a pair of Capri’s and two pairs of shorts for Tom that are too snug. Now we both have robes cuz there was a huge, white terrycloth robe that he can enjoy in the winter.

There were a couple of large, beautiful mugs with palms on them. I love palms and cacti.

There were a few hair accessories like headbands, combs and brushes. Shampoo, conditioner and some lotion that came in perfect timing. The hand lotion I keep on my desk ran out, so now I have more.

I see they’ve been hotel hoarders too, as there were soups and shampoos that obviously came from places like the Days Inn and La Quinta. There was also some makeup, but I won’t tell her that some of it will go back to Florida and to Mary, even though they always said to do what I wanted with whatever they sent. Some of the lipsticks, and one of the eye pallets, just aren’t my color.

I’ve been wanting to try Jergen’s glow lotion that’s supposed to darken you a few shades in a few days but didn’t want to spend money we didn’t have on non-necessities, so I was glad to get a tube to try, even though it’s for medium to dark skin and not for the whole body. One’s for the face, the other for the legs, though I don’t see why I couldn’t use it elsewhere. For now, I’m just starting with the face to see what it does.

I love Olay products, but due to how expensive they are, I never buy any. But I sure love getting Regenerist samples, though, and I’m sure I’ll love this facial stuff she sent.

I’ve also been wanting to try that raw mineral foundation, though I don’t know that it does much for me. Maybe I’ve just gotten so ugly that nothing helps, LOL!

The Caramel Latte and Nude lipsticks were practically invisible on me. I prefer to go with brighter pinks and I prefer glosses to sticks for the added moisture they provide.

One of the most interesting things was this hair-removal thing that’s painless and doesn’t leave any razor burn to have to deal with. You basically rub these little sandpaper-like things wherever you want to remove hair. Between the legs would certainly be a nice place to start, but I think I’ll have to trim things a bit down there first to make it easier. It seems promising, though, based on the test spot I did on my forearm.

There was also some toothpaste Tom could use, and some breath-freshening gum for me, since Tom hates gum. He hates nuts too, so the rats and I are enjoying the Spanish peanuts. Well, they’ll be enjoying them more than I will cuz while I like them a lot, my teeth don’t appreciate them at all, and nuts are horrible diet food being so high-cal.

Speaking of teeth, that sour candy they sent in the first package nearly killed me. I was in such agony that I was seriously contemplating pulling my teeth! I still think I’m going to eventually have to numb the gums with Ambosol and pull one tooth at a time. I’m simply no closer to having the money or the insurance needed to see a dentist. For now, we’ve agreed that it may be wise to get a $30 Water Pik from Walmart to at least help with plaque and shit like that. Today I also got these stick-like things for flossing and they seem to be easier to use than the wooden ones I used to use. These are flexible ones with rubber tips.

Let’s see… what else? Baby powder, band-aids, scissors, sunscreen. All kinds of things we could always use. Even some office stuff like pens, tape and paperclips. All stuff we really appreciate them taking the time to send.

Anyway, tomorrow I gotta really jump back on the diet wagon, and hopefully get Rosa’s letter done and do some more proofreading on both my story and old journals. With all the other things we’ve had going on, I haven’t been doing as much computer work.

Every now and then I have these moments when I think to myself, aw, screw Larry, but at least patch things up with Tammy. You guys got along better and better as you got older, she’s not all bad, you’re not perfect yourself, and don’t you miss laughing and joking with her about whatever and want to know what’s up with your nieces?

But quite frankly, and as cruel as it may sound, I don’t care what’s up with anyone, I can laugh and joke with others, we still don’t have much in common, we still live nearly 3000 miles apart, and she still caused me to end up in jail. Not knowingly. Not intentionally. Maybe not even directly. But the fact still remains that she did. And nothing can change that.

If my nieces suddenly showed up at our door starving, I would give them food despite the fact that two of them are virtual strangers, and no, I wouldn’t run the other way if I saw my sister walking down the other side of the street, but I don’t think I could ever bring myself to feel differently if I tried and if I wanted to. Do I want to? Do I really want to? I don’t think so. I think I like the comfort I get from keeping a safe distance.