Guess what time it is?

Because it has been requested (I swear. No, really) I've decided to bedazzle you with yet another round of THINGS ALISHA LOVES!

- Caffeine.

After six months of staying straight, I had my tea "fully leaded" this morning and baby, it was beeeutiful. I was like the ARMY - I got more done by 11 am that most people get done by noon! I changed the cat litter, did the dishes, figured our finances and made a full brunch - all before hitting the gym! You should've seen me on that treadmill! I was hiking up that incline setting like a sherpa on Everest. If coke is anything like this, keep me far, far away. I'd be running for President on that shit. (Come to think of it, did our President run for president on that shit?)

- Housing Works Thrift Shops

I suspect I've told you all about this place before but man oh man, it is good. Even though I was practically on my death bed yesterday (you should see the cold sore that's eating my face), I still hauled my shriveled, grumpy ass out over there in order to be the first one in. Lest you think I'm turning into a crazy person lining up a half an hour early, there were a good 30 people waiting by the time 10 am rolled around. (It was me, several panicky elderly ladies and a clutch of still drunk gay men; clearly a tribe that knows a bargain.) I was there for an adorable Marc Jacobs-meets-Girl Scout jacket that I'd spotted earlier on a mannequin and lo and behold, they were having a "50% off all clothing" sale. My adorable MJ-meets-GS jacket? A mere $5. (Designer, alas, unknown. I have my suspicions as to who it might be - MJ, I'm talking to you - but the tag was cut out.) I also spotted a full-length, fire engine red Prada coat (50% off-eted to a mindboggeling $80 which, luckily for my bank account, didn't fit) and a rather underwhelming plain black Prada blouse (down to, oof!, $22). Take that, Target!

- www.shesabetty.com

The subtitle of this site is something like "single girl solutions" which I find odd, seeing as how the whole thing is about shopping. Maybe she thinks that only single girls shop (a belief I would be happy to correct). Still, the stuff she finds is usually interesting and she's a good writer, which pisses me off a little, but I'll get over it.

- Swiffer dusters

I hate dusting. Scratch that - I LOATHE dusting. While nothing is worse than mopping (I would rather wade through poo infested waters than mop) my distaste for dusting comes in at a close second, which is why Swiffer is my new god. Now I've been down with Swiffer for awhile (if only I'd thought of attaching a cling sheet to a pole, I'd be a quadillionaire by now) but I'd stayed tight with the floor models, never even considering the high-reaching options. (Unless you're a giant, you'll want to get the kind with the extendable handle.) I dusted things that, frankly, may never have never dusted - ever. Things like the tops of doors and window sills and picture frames - things that my regular Swiffer (with its flat, square head) kept knocking over. I'm trying not to think about the biodegradability of the Swiffer sheets (so not biodegradable, she frets) but... nah, I have no rationalization so I'll just pretend I didn't have that last thought.

- Whole Foods' giant bottle of body lotion

Sure, maybe it's not Creme de la Mer, but until I can afford to rub $150 worth of celebrity endorsed cream (ahem, "creme") on my body, I'll be happy with this. I find Whole Foods overpriced most of the time but they're doing me right with this stuff: 32 ounces, $3.79. 32 ounces - that's bigger than my bathroom. Awesome, bargain hunters. Awesome. And it's good too! Very thick, nice and creamy, doesn't smell bad. (Here's a tip for all you curly headed people out there - use body lotion instead of hair goo. It's trick I learned on set. The emollients keep the frizz down and make the curls shapely. Don't go too crazy or you'll border on the jeri curled, but if you use it on the ends of damp hair and it's great.) This lotion is also fab because it doesn't contain parabens.

- Alba Terra Tints lip balm

I'm not a huge fan of lipstick (smudgy, expensive, untasty) or gloss (sticky, goopy, hair sticks to it) but I look Amish without some color. This stuff gives me the moturizing feel of Chapstick but with a strong shot of color. I know a lot of companies are rolling out similar products (Burt's Bees, et al) but Alba seems to have the strongest pigment. Plus it has an SPF 18 and no petroleum. I love the "Blaze" (a nice berry) and "Sienna" (good for redheads), and Matt likes that it tastes all pepperminty. You can get them at any health food store for roughly $4.

- JASON Vitamin E oil, 45,000 I.U.

I have no idea what an I.U. is, but the fact that this oil boasts of having 45,000 of them probably means it's good. I was having really stupid breakouts for awhile and couldn't figure out why.
While I still don't know what caused them, I do know that they went away a few days after I replaced my usual night cream with vitamin E oil. Granted it is not sexy, it will not firm or tighten or primp or pamper, but I get a lot of complements on my skin and I think this stuff might be why. (Don't forget your high SPF sunscreen every day too.) I goop it on after I wash my face and let it soak in overnight. (You might want something richer around your eye area.) I like that doesn't seem to clog my pores the way other stuff did and has the bonus of being chemical-free.

- Heather Smith Jones

Some of her new stuff doesn't appeal to me ("Confronting", "Holding Up My Thoughts", "In This Place", I'm talking to you. "About Mama", "Learning To Overlook Yourself", "Little Bird & Orange", you can stick around) but her combinations of needlepoint pointilism (best I can describe it) and paint are really beautiful. I keep promising I'll buy something when I get some money. Man, I ready for some money...