Reflections and self-spoiling

Today is my mother's birthday. She would have been 59. Perhaps this is what led me to search for her name yesterday, when I stumbled across a post someone left in a guestbook for one of her online obituaries. She left a sweet little bit about how she, my mother, and one other lady had all been best friends in high school. N--the other lady--died in a car accident at the age of 19. Nobody had reached out to this poor woman when my mom passed, and she did not find out until about a year and a half after it happened. So I think I'll be sending her a letter soon. If I tracked down the right woman, that is...otherwise I'm sending a letter to a woman I have zero connections to, and she'll simply be confused. Anyway. All this Debbie Downer-ism kind of left me in the mood to share one of my favorite things. Chocolate Sugar Body Scrub. Originally found on Pinterest, I've traced the recipe to Chasing Cheerios, and it is indeed wonderful. In a bowl, mix: 2 cups brown sugar 6 tablespoons cocoa powder 2 tablespoons vanilla extract 1/4 cup olive oil Put in an airtight container. The bad news: it makes a total mess of the bathroom. The good news: everything will smell like brownies! Plus your skin will feel soft and wonderful. It's a nice treat at the end of a bad day. Note that everything in it is edible, but just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD. It is not delicious. Anyway. Thinking of my mom today, and her wonderful friends. And getting ready to go spoil myself with chocolate. And then perhaps some chocolate.