Rebecca A. Foster

1. My wireless mouse 2. Paid housecleaning 3. A video iPod for traveling 4. MAC 'Underage' Lipglass 5. Bananas

Orange and electric lavender eyeshadow, fun and bright for summer. No upper lid eyeliner because this was daytime, but you could make this very dramatic with eyeliner and false lashes. Make Up Forever brand, #s 18 (orange) and 9 (purple). I picked out this bike and then it was sold out! Waiting for it to come back in stock. I'll attach a basket to the back for groceries and whatnot. If there's one thing I learned from T. it is the importance of me wearing a helmet while biking, haha, so I hope to find a semi-cute one. (We only had one helmet and I *always* had to wear it. "No offence", he'd tell me, "but you need this way worse than I do." He was right. I can't wait to send him pictures of me on my bike with the helmet, he'll love it.) Gold leather high-heeled sandals. Very impractical for summer walking, so of course, perfect. (Actually, pretty comfortable due to the cork platform and Sofft-brand cushioning.)  And, so far t...

NOTE: Um, I just realized I didn't forget V; V is for Vixen. I'm sorta dumb sometimes. But I wrote all this, so I'm leaving it up.   Sometimes I mess up the alphabet. UVW/KLM, I always have to stop and think about the order of those letters. Is it just me? Okay then. I love the message of India.Arie's song 'Video.'    If you haven't heard it, it's worth a listen. Don't get me wrong, I totally buy into the Beauty Industrial Complex. I own a ton of makeup, I color my hair and shave my legs and pluck my eyebrows and exfoliate and moisten and shine or un-shine, as needed. And I like doing it. But it's a good message to be reminded of: I'm awesome just for being me. In all the world, no one else is me. (If you know me, maybe you are thinking this is a good thing!)  No one is replaceable. I cherish my friends, and I hope they know how much I value them for being individuals and who they are.  __________________ I also love my little violi...

I'm revisiting my last letter, I realized I had more to say about it. My last two posts were pretty serious, so how about something more light-hearted for now? 1. Old Things. My mom abhors old things, so I know I get this from my dad, in some cases literally. This little desk was his nightstand during college, but I remember it as the place he stored wiring and electronics, etc. He gave it to me, I painted it black (not well-- needs to be redone) and I use it to store toiletries/medicine cabinet stuff. I reckon this little chest is about 40+ years old now. I love it because it was my dad's. He also gave me his Army toolbox, and a really cool old Army messenger-type bag from the 1940s. I think he got it at a surplus store, but he used it as a fishing bag and I cherish it. It's in storage right now and I have a cold and am too chicken to venture out in the snow for it. I'll share a picture another day. I bought my bed at a used furniture store for $200. It's b...

At work I have not one, but two 22-inch high def monitors, plus my 17-inch MacBook Pro. When I come home, my 15-inch laptop seems soooo small and quaint, like I'm using an old Atari or something. I am definitely spoiled by my big, high-def monitors. ___________ I'm a make-up junkie and MAC has some of my favorite colors. It isn't my favorite make-up; I prefer Chanel, Dior and Urban Decay for quality. But MAC has some great pigments that work well with darker, golden-toned skin. Such as: "O" lipstick. This lipstick is magic, y'all. It's berry infused with gold, so it is just the right mix of red and brown. It makes your skin glow . I've heard it's a bit strong for some fair-haired peeps, but if you have a darker or golden skin tone, try this lipstick. You might love it like I do. One of my staples. MAC Paints. I only wear them on my eyelids, although technically you could wear them anywhere on your face/body. They look like oil paint tubes ...

I first became interested in Buddhism when I visited Thailand several years ago. Two of my favorite quotations from Buddha: "What we think, we become." "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world." Our minds are powerful; I'm trying to be more conscious of where I direct my thoughts and energy. I have found it is easy with practice to let go of material things, but it is tempting to me to hold on to thoughts of anger and resentment; they satisfy the ego very well. My ego struggles with letting go of these things, but slowly, slowly, I am seeing the wisdom of it. It's not my job to mete out punishment for wrongdoings. When I let go, I can move forward, and as for the other person? What will be, will be. It's actually a relief it has nothing to with me and is not my responsibility. I don't "lose" when I let go. This is what I'm working on making my ego truly believe. I do be...

I get along well with youngest children; most of my best friends and men I've been out with are youngest kids. I'm an oldest, so perhaps it's just an easy paradigm to fall into. My second year, most of the new volunteers assigned to Chongqing were guys. (New volunteers arrive every July; because we serve for two years, you serve with a different group your first and second years.) And almost all of them were youngest children. Because I'd already been in Chongqing a year when the new volunteers arrived, I was happy to take on the role of 411 if they needed it. I told them about getting around the city and food and shopping and whatever else they needed to know. But then I started getting calls from restaurants, asking me to talk to their server to order their dinner. One of the girls sometimes called me and she was always "Hey, can you help me out? I've tried and it's not working." But the boys were like, "Hi, order my food, 'k thanks bye....

Caution: this is kind of a girly post. For those who don't know me personally, I am half Chilean, half American. I inherited my mom's darker Chilean coloring and my dad's American features. I'm a mutt! And all my life people (salespersons, friends, etc.) have been telling me my coloring is Winter, because I have dark hair and dark eyes. Winters have pink undertones in their skin and look great in lots of white, black, navy blue, cherry reds, purples, etc... And gray. I LOVE gray. My mom would always tell me I looked like I was constantly dressing for a funeral because I wore so much black, gray, and white. But I noticed in lots of pictures, I looked kinda terrible. I thought I just really didn't take good pictures. So one day I'm in China innocently looking something up on the internet and I read that many Latina and Asian women are not Winter, they are Autumn: dark hair and eyes but with gold undertones to their skin, not pink, and that a quick way to check...

A short video I made of some...interesting products I have come across here. I made a few English mistakes, oops! I know you still love me, even though my English can be crappy these days.

My birthday weekend in Vegas was awesome! Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I forgot my camera (again!) but I have been to Vegas several times. Here are some of my favorite pictures from past trips: A view of Las Vegas Blvd: Me and a friend I met there: A bride waiting at a bus stop at 2:00 AM: Kids playing a joke on David: Vegas, there really is no place like it in the world. I had a great time at Sephora, Rebecca bought some super strong pigment silver eye shadow ( Urban Decay in Vapor ) and nail polish ( Sephora OPI in Queen of Everything ) for my birthday. I'm really into strong metals these days. My little brother got me this awesome Michael Kors costume jewelry perfume ring from Sephora. I love it! My friend and I had a good time, and I ate many delicious foods. (That is Chinglish, btw; they aways say 'delicious foods' to describe all foods.) I'd say more, but you know the rule! Haha. I have a few more days left here, I'm trying to get everything done. Time...

Hope you all had a nice Christmas; I ate lots of foods I am not used to anymore (read: dairy and processed meats and sugary treats sent by our various fams) and got a tummy ache, which made it seem like kid Christmas all over again, so that was kind of awesome. I got together with friends and bought myself some lavender/silvery eye shadow, so it was a great Christmas! And yes, I now get excited about eye shadow, it's a luxury purchase for me here. China: helping you find joy in the little things all over again. Andrew and I hosted the Christmas pageant on Wednesday night. Here is my report: -I didn't get to wear the dress! And the reason is very Chinese: they told me the shop had made a mistake and didn't reserve the dress after all, and someone else had rented it out. But I was not asked to go pick out another one instead. So I think they went over budget and no longer had the money to pay for it, but they couldn't admit that to me, it would be 'losing face...

Please know, I have a Chilean mother, and in Chilean culture, appearance is extremely important. I have been conditioned to never leave the house without wearing make-up, especially lip gloss. That Peace Corps stereotype of the granola girl who doesn't wear makeup? Yeah, so not me. I looked at my make-up supply the other day, and here's what I packed for my two year stay in China: 4 eyeshadow quads 4 eyeshadow singles 2 blushes (1 cream, 1 powder) 6 liquid eyeliners (purple and brown) 14 tubes of lip gloss 5 tubes of lipstick 7 lip liners 6 pencil eyeliner/brow pencils 4 eyelash curlers 19 jars of Bare Minerals (foundation, concealer, mineral veil) I'm NEVER going to use all this make-up while I'm here. What was I thinking? (Panic, that's what I was thinking.) Definitely overprepared.* Anyone need any lip gloss? *Better over than under, though, because makeup here is 4x as expensive as the U.S. Not sure why.

(See English text on the packaging): Skincare in China = weight loss in America. A national obsession. Beauty masks like this one are very popular here and cost only around $.50 each. My favorites are infused with green tea, tea tree oil or red wine. And I hate to brag, but my skin looks like a baby's butt after I wear one. Here's what they look like out of the package: Yes, you look like a burn victim while wearing it. It's worth it. You can't find diet foods here, but you can stick all kinds of things on your face. I'm now addicted to glowing skin. Also, I'm pretty and charming. Thanks, China!

1. I have never been so white in my life. I don't like it. There is no sunshine here, so it's very difficult to get any kind of tan. Of course, this is a selling point with the locals; because white skin is prized as the most beautiful type of skin in Chinese culture, people are always saying Chongqing girls are the most beautiful in the country because they get no sun and it's very humid here.  Well, I have to admit part of this is true: my skin as never been so clear and moisturized. On the other hand, I don't like being this white!  What I would give for a tanning bed. 2. The stuttering. Those of you who don't know me in person don't know that on occassion I stutter a bit. It started about 2 years ago. It's always so weird to me when it happens, I just cannot get the word out that is in my brain!  Anyway, it's still happening on occassion. Does this happen to everyone? I'm just letting you know so when it turns out I have a brain tumor, none of yo...

W is a high fashion and society magazine, with interesting photography and a cataloguing of all the beautiful jewelry, clothes, accessories and beauty treatments I'll never be able to afford. It's my little piece of cotton candy Neverland, the equivilant of playing Halo all day long.  I've had a subscription for over a decade. W forever! But I canceled it when I came to China. Big mistake! I really miss it. I just bought the monthly issues I've missed on Amazon, to be shipped to my mom's house for me to read while I am home on vacation. And I renewed my subscription. They'll pile up at my mom's house while I am gone, but I am going to read each and every one at some point when I return.  There are very few non-essential material things I really miss about my old life in America. W is a big one. What this says about me, I am not sure. (Another? My boots!)

I bought this to carry my chapstick, lube, extra energy gels and car key during the marathon. Instead of hooking it onto my waistband, I clipped inside the center of my sports bra. I thought it was more comfortable near my center of gravity than on my hip. It worked great, I highly recommend it. (The only downside is it soaked up sweat sitting next to my skin, but it's washable.) As far as the marathon, I didn't have any injuries or illness, not even a blister. I wear Brooks shoes and Nike wicking socks and they served me well. I ran in a running skirt, rather than shorts, and I recommend that as well, more comfortable in my opinion. I hit the wall around mile 25 and walked a half a mile, but then picked up and ran the last 1/2 mile. I really wanted to cross the finish line running. I took a 1 minute walking break every mile or so throughout.

1. Schick Intuition razor: FloJo bought me one last time she was in town; any new gadget, she has tried it and gives me stuff she thinks I'll like, what a good friend. She was spot on with this one, it shaves everywhere, over every curve, super-close and smooth with no irritation. Bless the designer who came up with this one, the engineering just works. More expensive, but less than laser treatments and this is your skin, eh? Worth it. 2. Trim brand eyelash curler: they sell this brand at Walgreen's, half the price of the Revlon etc. brands and a tighter curl to boot. And forget those expensive self-heating ones, just blast your hairdryer at this one for 10 seconds or so before using, lashes stay curled until they get wet. Sometimes the old way really is better. Just don't burn your eyelids. 3. The Body Shop liquid eyeliner: some people are afraid of liquid eyeliner, but the crispness and longevity are worth getting it down. This brand has a great applicator and a dark bro...

This berry-flavored gloss has menthol in it, so it tingles where you apply it. Made for nipples, but great for lips. And I haven't tried this, but I think it would be funny to kiss someone without telling them you are wearing it. Surprise! But since it comes in a jar, not a little tube, a bit harder to pull off. I also like this dried-honey shimmer dust. It smells good and adds a nice sheen to bare legs, especially in the summer when you're a bit tan. (My friend is a distributor for this brand, but you can find similar products in other brands.) Bosom Buddy , $8.50 Dazzle Dust , $8.50

I'm a blotter, I admit it. Not in public, but I keep a little pack in my bag and go through them like kleenex. I have semi-oily skin, which is actually awesome because we wrinkle at a much slower rate. But unless you want to reflect back the late afternoon world you encounter, you gotta blot. (This is also the benefit of having olive skin, fewer wrinkles due to greater sun tolerance. If you wear the wrong color you look vomitous and green, but once you learn to live with blue undertone colors and blotting papers, olive/semi-oily skin is actually quite nice in the aging aspect.) My favorite blotting papers were the rice ones at Bath and Body Works. They came on a little pad and you ripped them off and they were awesome. But they stopped making them. I tried the Body Shop ones, but they are small and too thin, they don't absorb well. Don't get sucked in by the pretty colors and flavors. Green tea sounds great, but really, they don't work that well. So now I use Clean a...

Fishnets have a saucy and minxy reputation, and they do make the wearer feel a bit more sass in the pants just by slipping them on, but here is the dirty little secret about fishnets: really, really comfortable. Regular pantyhose are nylon (silk if you're lucky and/or living in 1927) but fishnets are cotton and lycra, the same material used to make baby doll t-shirts and you know how comfy those are. Plus, the webbing pattern massages your legs when you move, making them relaxing and therapeutic to boot. In the heat of summer, if your legs must be dressed up at all, this is the only bearable alternative. (I've paired them here with my favorite black sandals. I'm 5' 10" in these shoes. I heart them.) A couple of things about fishnet stockings: 1. They come in more colors than just black. I recommend beige with Stila Sun Shimmer Dry Oil for a dressier but still nearly invisible summery look. I recommend chocolate brown for a cozy winter look. Red is for when you real...