Rebecca A. Foster

Hot baths are a favorite way to end my day, especially if I have sore workout muscles. No bubbles or smelly stuff, just super-hot water and a good book or magazine. (You can always tell my favorite books because the edges are steam-curled from bathtub readings.) And of course, the deeper the hot water, the better the bath. This handy little plastic deep-drain cover stops the water from draining and lets you fill your tub to the top. My sister bought me one for Christmas. Blissful. I wish I'd had it when I stayed with my cousin in his older Washington Heights, NY apartment, huge claw-footed bathtub included. I had to try it out. He'd never taken a bath in it and there was no stopper, so we had to jimmy-rig a drain cover for me. He thought it was weird, I'm sure, to go to all that trouble for a bath. I would have packed this drain cover in my luggage with no shame. Deep Drain Cover , amazon.com, $4.97

I'm going to switch the address of this blog to a new domain name, www.beccaplaying.com. Supposed to take a few days and happen automatically. We'll see if this works.

My mom is from Chile, so in addition to traditional "American" holiday foods we also have Chilean foods at holiday meals: raw veggies such as cucumbers and turnips sliced thin and combined with lemon juice, olive oil and salt; pasta combined with lemon juice, olive oil, cilantro and salt; three kinds of meat at dinner; plates of fresh avocados; empanadas. One of my favorites is Chilean style salsa, which can be eaten on chips but in Chile is eaten as a topping on meats, seafood and potatoes. Chilean salsa is not tomato based like the Mexican style salsas more familiar to Americans. It is made mainly of chopped onion, cilantro, olive oil, salt and very hot peppers (my mom uses serrano, not jalapeno) chopped fine, along with some chopped tomato and garlic. When we have visitors, we warn them not to choke on the salsa as it is very hot and strong. She makes different strengths, though, to accommodate the wussies. I ate a lot of this on Christmas Day.

You know when you eat too much and you just want to lie on the couch and not move until you feel normal again? Kitten tummy. Named after my kitten who would eat too much and lie flat on her back with her arms and legs extended, little swollen belly. I felt just like that yesterday after dinner. Mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie get me every time.

I got invited to a 'Cocktail Dress' Christmas party, my favorite kind.* But my cute cocktail dresses are all matched with cute strappy, non-snow-suitable sandals. I've broken down and purchased a coat, gloves, hats, and scarves for winter in the Rockies, but the majority of my shoe collection? Still chanclas and strappy sandals. And 3-inch heeled boots. Not exactly walker-y in snow and ice. So I went shopping for suitable "snow" shoes I could wear with a cocktail dress. Guess what? There are no cute shoes that are snow-suitable. This is why snow sucks. But I did purchase these shoes, close as I could get. If I must wear bulky winter shoes, I love peep-toes. Visible toes means winter hasn't broken me. Yet. Caparros 'Scottie' pumps, about $68 *I didn't go, this is how much my dentist hurt me . I kinda hate him after all.

Most days I eat alone, all three meals. I like simple foods just as much as the more exotic ones I eat when out with friends or on vacation. Crackers and cheese, broccoli and tomatoes, corn tortillas and black beans, sandwiches, mushroom soup, my little veggie thingies, as my mom calls them. This is what I eat when I eat alone. I get this from my father. He ate like he lived his life, very unpretentiously. The last meal we ate together was vegetable soup and sandwiches. I had gone over to eat dinner with him on a Tuesday night. I didn't know he was going to die on Sunday and I didn't know this was the last meal we would share together, or the last dinner he would actually eat. (I learned in the days following that when people are preparing to die, they stop eating because their metabolism shuts down in preparation for death.) Perhaps it's better we don't know these things. But if I had known, would we have chosen something different? Something grandiose and complica...

So I have a new dentist. I wasn't prepared for how good looking he is. I mean, I prepared by brushing my teeth and wearing clean clothes, but I was NOT prepared for a young, hot dentist who stroked his index finger back and forth over my lower lip to indicate where the numbing should take effect. Nor a young, hot dentist who accidentally dripped water down my neck , then gently wiped it up with a soft cloth while saying, "You didn't know I was going to give you a bath today, did you?" Or told me I have beautiful teeth. And a quick intellect and wit. AND gave me a blanket to keep warm when he saw me shiver slightly. So new young, hot dentist, I forgive you for putting me through two hours and fifteen minutes of dental torture, for using not only a regular drill but an air hammer drill on my back molars, for opening my mouth wide enough that I resembled a snake trying to eat a sheep and then sending me home without any prescription-grade pain killers. But just barely....

"If nothing on my body is uncomfortable, I'm not dressed in cute enough clothes." Word.

I love whimsical photography. I regret I didn't bookmark where I came across this. The photographer named it Lonely . I think that little look of "Ahhh...what now?" on the toy's face is how I feel in my head most of the time. I took this pic myself in NYC, on the LES. I just thought it was funny that A: someone set a rubber duck on a police/fire call box and B: everyone passing by let it be. I'd like to think it's because they found it as whimsically amusing as did and wanted others to see it too.

On my list of things to do before I die: 11. Learn and perform a sexy striptease to this song . 12. Get appreciated for it.

I love corsets. They just feel good to wear. I had a black satin one custom-made when I was in Thailand and I bought this blue one from seamstress extraordinaire angrylittledeadgirl on eBay (although she has a separate online store as well now). (A little story about this corset: W. took me to a concert at Emo's in Austin for my birthday and this little blonde girl walked by and said, "Wow, great corset!" then started running her hands over it. After she moved on I turned to W., laughing, and told him, "That girl just felt me up!" W.: "Um, yeah. It wasn't bad to see.") angrygirl has some new designs up and I covet this pirate-style one. How great would this be for a night out with some simple, well-cut jeans? And this zipper one. Very fun. And just a wee bit naughty. Which is kinda what a corset should be. But I do prefer them with jeans and boots. I like the casual/formal/wee naughty dichotomy. SugarKitty is another amazing seamstress and a great ...

Yeah, I'm a little late to this party, but that's when the party gets good, right? I felt a slight twinge of peevishness when 30 Rock beat The Office for the best comedy Emmy this past year. But then I watched 30 Rock . And guess what? It's better. It pains me to say that, John Krasinski, but it's true. And I don't have broadcast TV, which means I go out of my way to catch up on 30 Rock . Rent it, borrow it, buy it, watch it on YouTube, but just get it. I'd tell you why, but if you watch it, you'll know why. If you must only watch one episode, I recommend Black Tie . Or The Source Awards . LL Cool J and Alec Baldwin sparring, does it get better than that? It does. Which is why this show is amazing. Other fave moments: "Guns! What is it with men and guns?" "I think I speak for both of us when I say 'metal penises'" Will Arnett. And "You can settle it with a talking like this contest" Tracy's "Imagine...

I hate the cold, but snow can be very beautiful. Snow out west is very dry; I knelt in it, stood up, brushed it off, no wet mark at all. Much different than the gloopy stuff in the Northeast. If you want to see more winter pics, click on the 'My Photos' link on the right. Trees, view from my front door. My new wool mittens. The tops flip back to reveal fingertip-less gloves. Useful for texting and taking pictures in the cold. I also got a matching hat with ear flaps. I feel like a Swedish snow maiden in it. REI.com, gloves $25, hat $28