Excuse Me While I Geek Out: Hunger Games Countdown

I don't seriously geek out about a lot of things, but The Hunger Games movie has turned me into a squealing fangirl.

While I know that I'm really not *THAT* cool, I do think that I discovered the series at least a few months before it blew up BIG. I say that because when I bought Catching Fire and Mockingjay they were still in hard cover. I owe it all (blame it on?) Ginger Anderson though (giving credit where credit is due). She's the one who responded to my Facebook post about "needing a new book to read" with this elusive YA title. The book store didn't even have it in stock the first time I looked for it, and it was actually Jason who came home from a visit to Barnes and Noble with it for me. I read the book in two days and went on to finish the entire series in a week, which is quite the feat for a working mom of young kids. 

So yes, I am totally geeking out about the movie. TOTALLY. 

And? I LOVE Jennifer Lawrence. She's adorable and I think will make the perfect Katniss. 

How adorable was she on David Letterman? She's sweet, not wafer skinny and seems genuially excited to be in the position she's in. 

Now, if I can only find a manicurist in the area to paint my nails, my venture into fandom would be 100% complete. 

That's Some Crazy S*$t! PINE MOUTH

Last Thursday night I went out with a few girlfriends for dinner. My one friend had brought along a delicious bottle of Chardonnay and since we didn't finish it, I took it home with me. Fast forward to Friday evening; I was thinking about that yummy wine all day. Making it just barely to 5 PM, I poured myself a glass and settled down on the couch to ease into the weekend. I took a sip ... and almost spit it out. It tasted metallic and almost rancid. I couldn't believe that such a nice bottle of wine could go bad in just one night. 

The next morning my Starbucks coffee tasted strange also. Then the "bangers and mash" we had for lunch. I began to worry I was getting sick. Or maybe I just didn't really like Irish food at all?

Yesterday was much of the same - from my coffee to sips of the kid's lemonade, everything tasted horrible and wrong. This is when my brain went into overdrive. Was I was having a stroke? Did I have a brain tumor? Or was I just dying a slow death? I took to Dr. Google for some good old fashioned internet self-diagnosis and a dose paranoia, but what I found wasn't scary, as is it was odd.

PINE MOUTH

According to the FDA: 

In the past year FDA has received a number of consumer complaints regarding a bitter metallic taste associated with pine nuts. This taste, known as "pine mouth," typically begins 12 to 48 hours after consuming pine nuts, and lasts on average between a few days and two weeks. It is exacerbated by consumption of any other food during this period and significantly decreases appetite and enjoyment of food. The symptoms decrease over time with no apparent adverse clinical side effects.

In response to increased consumer complaints, FDA developed a detailed questionnaire, and collected and analyzed samples from some consumers submitting complaints. The Agency found that the majority of pine nuts associated with "pine mouth" were eaten in the raw state (either as snacks or as a component of salad or pesto sauce). It also found that consumers did not detect a rancid or off-taste when eating the pine nuts. Finally, FDA was able to confirm that "pine mouth" is an adverse food reaction to pine nuts that is clearly distinct from a typical food allergy.

Looking for something crunchy to add to salads, just last week I had bought a bag of pine nuts from Trader Joes. Wednesday, I made pasta and tossed it with some chicken sausage, arugula and pine nuts. 

I've always eaten pine nuts and never had an issue before. Jason ate the same pasta and isn't experiencing any adverse side effects. But me? Day 4 of feeling like I have a mouth full of rancid pennies in my mouth. And according to everything I've read, this can go on for weeks. 

I guess the only thing I can hope for now is to loose a few pounds from this situation.

Gag. 

Hurtin' for a Merkin - Is down there hair coming back into style?

Style is a pendulum. You know when a trend swings so heavily in one direction, it's bound to go back to the opposite sooner or later. Take all the NEON we are seeing for Spring. Didn't we all swear off of those hues in 9th grade? Over the past few years, one of the most radical changes we've seen in beauty and female maintenance has been the acceptance of the Brazilian Bikini wax. Once reserved for porn actress or crab infested Victorian-era prostitutes, a hairless (or almost hairless) va-jayjay is now the norm for most women.

While one can argue that modern media and the popularity of Howard Stern, Sex and the City, and The Girls Next Door has brainwashed women into sexifying themselves for male approval, the argument has been made that in our current society, we just don't need pubic hair. And its removal has quickly become a multimillion dollar business industry. When Holly Madison made the comment about the old days of Playboy, "when girls had fur bikinis," women across the country took note. Fashionable, modern women do NOT have hair down there... or at least not a lot.

But now that the thought that less to none is more, is the style going to change? Just like the thickness of eyebrows have switched back and forth over the years, are pubes now going to be all the rage? Some evolutionary experts think that hair that comes with puberty, such as underarm hair, male chest hair and pubic hair, helps secrete pheromones, making one more sexually attractive to others. And while hairless vaginas have been popular - is it because it was considered "naughty" or risque' when women first started doing them? And now that they are the norm, will the hairy beaver make its comeback? Is it like the belly piercing phenomenon? At first it was deemed wild and crazy, then 16 year olds and 50 year olds started getting them and they lost all their appeal.

Ad from American ApparelIf you follow a basic rule of fashion and trends, then yes, bushes will be back.

Take the latest scandalous ad from American Apparel that shows a model's pubic hair through a pair of lace panties. Admit it - when you look at this ad you are shocked. But why? Victoria's Secret shows see-thru lace underwear all the time, but there is neither hide nor hair of, um, well...hide or hair to be seen. If this picture did not have a dark spot where we are (now) used to seeing a flesh tone - would you even think twice about this ad?

What about famed waxer and "real" NY "Housewife" (who's not married and is a working woman, so how she qualified for that title escapes me) Cindy Barshop trying to bring back the merkin? While these are not your 1800s hooker vag toupees, these modern merkins are brightly colored and made of REAL fox fur. Yes. You read that right. She is selling not only the application of bright fox fur and feathers to a woman's cooch (post wax of course, homegirl still needs her bread and butter money) but she is actively promoting this as the next big thing to hit your nether regions. For only $225 the hippest of the hip can now you can now have a Merkin to go with their Birkin.

You can watch the G rated video demonstration of the process here...

The moral of the story is that bald may not be beautiful anymore. And while we (hopefully) will never go as far back as to the unmaintained wild bush woman days, maybe we'll think twice before having it all permanently removed.

What do you think - will pubic hair make a comeback? And are you willing to grow yours out under the guise of fashion?