Welcome to another Running with Spoons Thinking Out Loud link party where stream-of-consciousness is the name of the game! Thanks to Amanda for hosting!

1.) I’m amused by the fact that no one is ever surprised to learn I’m big on essential oils. I use these every day before going to work or other situation where I’ll be dealing with lots of people and their energies. Having a morning ritual helps me feel centered and set to start the day. It’s basically how I get my brain into the mode of, “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this thing.” 

2.) The other day, a couple made fun of me when I tripped on the sidewalk. Seriously? I like to think karma takes care of these things.

3.) Because I’d never made artichokes in my life before and figured it was time to give it a shot, I made roasted artichoke based off this recipe the other night, and it was lovely with some of my rosemary white bean dip.  

4.) 20 Eggplant Recipes from Serious Eats. Yes! Proof I am not the only eggplant freak out there.

5.) Since the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in February, I’ve been getting some interesting junk mail. Case in point: an entire box of samples from a company called Luvena arrived for me the other day.  On the one hand, my science-y left-brain is all, “Wow—I never thought about prebiotic vaginal moisturizer—what a cool idea!” The other side of my brain is all, “Oh dear. Did I write a post about ____ and the aloe vera gel incident and forget about it or something? Must Google the hell out of myself to make sure.” 

6.)  While we’re on the topic of the vagina and things one should/should not put in there…you should really read, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. I should probably hate this book for its protagonist, but it feels so real that I can’t help but want to high-five author Adelle Waldman for her stunningly accurate portrait of literary Brooklyn’s That Guy.

In other words, I’d glad someone went there so I didn’t have to.

7.) After years of envying fellow subway riders their e-readers, it finally dawned on me this week that I could—duh—buy myself one. Getting the email from Amazon saying that it had shipped and was headed my way made me feel like a kid on December 23rd.

 So. What’s on your mind this Thursday? Any favorite books recently I should download? Do you ever google yourself?