Mad Men

Last night I dreamed about two mad men. One with a blue box, one on a ship.

At first, The Doctor (Tenth) was with a bunch of people trying to get them to safety. It was like I was there among them, but also watching the show, like you do in dreams. There was an awful lot of running involved... seriously, a lot. He had on his blue suit and red Converse, my favorite look for him. (No coat, though.) I don't remember much else than that.

Then, the way dreams do, things changed a little and The Doctor was suddenly Captain Jack Sparrow. His is a somewhat different style of running, but now we/they were fleeing a big building, a great big old hotel. I think it was burning down or being attacked or something? We ended up on the beach between the sea grass that led up to the hotel and the waves. It was night.

That was all, really. Two of my favorite fictional characters, two of my heroes. Both quite mad. Brilliant at times, but very, very daft at others. (Texting and scones.) And since there was really no point to this post at all, here are two videos about my darlings running.


Captain Jack Sparrow's signature panicked run:



And a whole song about how much running is involved for The Doctor's companion:

Hello again!

I haven't posted anything for nearly two months, and I can't think of anything much to say right now... so here's a little bit of an update.

There are two weeks left in the quarter. Ten days. Ten days left with a bunch of 13-year-olds who are slowly losing their minds as Christmas break approaches. Pray for us all, that we survive! And, more than that, that we actually learn some things, too.

For a number of reasons, some legitimate and some stupid, our finances are extra tight right now. Therefore, I am going to make most of our Christmas gifts this year. I was going to clean off my sewing/crafting table this weekend, but I watched movies and knit ALL DAY yesterday and ran errands and planned and graded for this week of school today, so it didn't get done. Maybe if I do it incrementally in the evenings this week, it'll be ready for crafting this weekend.

Matt has had a sore throat/sniffly nose/horrible-sounding cough for over a week now. Thank the Lord I haven't caught his cold! (I'll probably get hit the very last week of school.)

Oh, if anyone reads this on Facebook or through an RSS feed or something similar, I have a little widget in my sidebar of my "favorites" on etsy.com. If I see something cute that I like, I add it as a favorite so you, too, can see cute things! It's a fun website where people can sell their handmade items, and it's a lot of fun to poke around on. You can search by craft, key word, or even color! They also have lots of treasuries and collections of similar items (and the collections are put together by sellers, buyers, and people who work there), as well as interviews with artists and articles on a variety of topics. Check it out if you haven't!

It has hardly snowed here at all this winter, and, indeed, has been pretty pleasant all around! During the week of Thanksgiving, we had lows at -3 overnight and highs of about 15, but other than that, it's been sunny or a little cloudy and around 40-50 most days. This is fine with me, since it means I might be slightly less sick of winter than I usually am come February. It is always nice to have a white Christmas, though, and I'd be fine with another snow day this December like we had last year!

I am about to start book 8 of the Anne of Green Gables series. I re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows right before we saw the movie. At school, I'm almost done with Inkspell. I'll probably read Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the 234th time before the movie comes out. I just started Edgar Sawtelle, though I might come back to it later as I'm not sure I'm in the mood for it right now. I'm going to start reading a kid-ified version of Treasure Island to my students, and might read the real version of it myself. I'm also thinking a little bit about reading the original Tarzan, just because. Thoughts? Suggestions?

What are your plans over Christmas break, if you get one? (Or even if you don't, you brave souls who are in retail or other professions who have to work Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, New Year's Day, etc. etc.) I plan to read a LOT, knit almost as much, and hopefully watch as much Doctor Who: Season 5 as possible. Oh, and SLEEP IN!

I took pictures!

With a real camera, even, not just my phone!

This is to show the progress of my tan. It's more pronounced than this, really, so to help you see it I outlined the white parts on my right foot with purple. And yes, I'm putting on sunscreen every day.

Yesterday afternoon, I wanted a little decaf coffee and decided to make it nice. I got out one of the lovely tea cups I have and my nice sugar and creamer. (Sugar cubes, even!) Unfortunately I didn't have anything nice to put the coffee in (and didn't want to wash my tea pot) so it stayed in the ugly coffee pot. All of this on a tray next to me on the loveseat, plus the first Lord of the Rings book, made for a pleasant half hour. I totally understand why people used to take afternoon tea. (By the way, one sugar cube makes that size of a cup of coffee exactly sweet enough.)

They played Mary Poppins (the movie) at the old downtown theater last night and I went with a friend from my old writers' group. At first, I thought of dressing up as a character, but decided to go a little steampunk instead. I've had the shirt and purse so long I don't remember where they came from; the shoes and knickers are from Goodwill and the hat from the dollar store a few years ago. I got the suspenders on clearance at Claire's, the socks from... somewhere (they're cabled!) and I'm wearing Bernice's locket, if any of you remember her. Around one wrist is a "leather" bracelet with a gold ring in the middle, and on the other I wrapped around a length of leather used for a necklace. You can sort of see the leather gloves sticking out of the front pocket of my purse, and I tied on three ollllld keys with a bit of hemp string. It was fun to dress up like this, since I haven't in... forever... and it was great to see the movie in a theater: to hear little kids laugh at the silly parts, everyone crack up at the ceiling tea party, and then clap at the end of the movie.

8 Things Friday

Quick post before the day begins.

1. New header! Go look, if you read this through RSS! (Or, you know, don't. It's not that wonderful, it's just not the same one I've had for the past three or four months.)

2. We're going to look at our new house again today! :) And take pictures, and measure things, and imagine where to put everything, and what colors we want to paint, and lots of other stuff! My mom and grandma are coming, and Matt's dad is coming, too. He's an engineer and has built lots of houses, and supervised the building of lots of houses, so he'll do a sort of pre-inspection-inspection. Mom and Grandma just want to see it! If I can, I'll put pictures of the place up early next week. If not, you'll see them in the next 8 Things Friday post.

3. So, Michael Jackson died yesterday. I'm not particularly sad, though I'm sad for his family. It's not like he was this great, charitable, kind person or anything. It's just kind of weird to think about. His Wikipedia page is already all in past tense. I know Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett died the same way, but they're from a different generation, so I don't even know what to think about them.

4. We're off for the weekend to help friends move, and celebrate a birthday while we're at it. It's pouring rain here, so hopefully the weather will be nicer by tomorrow, since the birthday party is a cookout in the park!

5. I need to find out when I can buy tickets for the midnight release of the Harry Potter movie, and when/if they're letting (making?) us camp out like they did for the last one. Please, won't someone in town go with me? Both my HP friends moved far far away and I neeeeed to keep going to the midnight releases! Who wants to hang out all day Friday, the 10th (I think) and read books and play games and chat and be silly, then stay up ridiculously late to watch a really freakin' awesome movie? I know you do!!! Let me know!

6. I had some cantalope for breakfast. Yummmm. Speaking of fruit, this smoothie recipe looks intriguing, but I don't think throwing cantalope in there would be too delicious. Maybe when I get some strawberries again, and toss a banana in, too.

7. Since Mom closed the tea parlour, she gave me all the vintage gloves and hats she had for people to wear if they wanted to dress up for a high tea or a birthday party. With the gloves I already had, I have something like 20 pair now! And that's after making myself give up three pair. (Along with a few of the hats I didn't love, they'll serve in a trade at the vintage shop downtown that I like, so maybe I'll get a new dress or something!) I also have about 8 vintage hats from about the 60s. I don't think I'll wear them very often, but they will look super cute hanging on the wall in my sewing room in the new house!

8. Yes, sewing room! Instead of making the downstairs bedroom into a tv/game room, we're just going to keep the tv and stuff in the living room, put Matt's computer in the loft area upstairs, and I will take over the downstairs bedroom with my crafty stuff! This will also finally give me a place to hang all my vintage (and non-vintage) aprons! (Instead of in the kitchen, which has a new theme: sushi!)

Off I go!

8 Things Friday

1. Oh my goodness. Once again, it's been a week since my last post. I hate only posting once a week! I want to talk to you all more often than that and (hopefully) you want to hear from me more often! I just feel like I've barely had time to breathe this last week. Taking my online classes has been an adjustment, for one thing. When I'm at home and feel like I could/should be doing other things, I'm doing school work. I spent most of yesterday in the library, and that was great! I got a lot done, I was alone in my little area most of the time with free wireless so I could watch the videos with my headphones on, and text Matt now and then. It was just... a LOT of school. Secondly, whenever I'm not doing school or errands (grocery shopping, laundry, dropping off rent check, etc.) I'm at work! Though I've requested, after next week, to only close til 9:30 once or maaaaybe twice a week. Hopefully I'll work no later than 5 or 6 the rest of the days, then I can go home, make dinner and take a little break to eat it, then do school for a couple hours. And hopefully on my days off I can get a fair amount of school done, then relax the rest of the day. (Pshh. Yeah, we'll see how that works out.)

2. I've been down to totally decaf coffee the last couple weeks--one cup per morning--and today is my first day with no coffee and black tea instead. I've been sort of missing that little caffiene jolt first thing of the day, but since I eased off full-strength coffee slowly, I had no afternoon withdrawal headaches! And I'll still have coffee (decaf mostly, but regular when I need it for early meetings and such) occasionally. Eventually, I'm hoping to get "down" to some green and/or red tea, maybe white, because I do like drinking something hot and cozy in the mornings. Just green/red/white tea will be better for me!

3. Baby shower #2 is this Sunday! I need to run to Wal-Mart or somewhere and grab about 12 cloth diapers for a game (probably "guess the melted chocolate candy in the diaper") and then to give to the mommy because she's going to use cloth diapers. Also need to make HER babies' blankets (this is the one with twins) and finish the hats (need to do the leaf on top of one and weave the ends in on both). I only have a little four-hour shift tomorrow night, so I'll get that done in the morning.

4. I want to start walking again! It's summer and nice out in the mornings and evenings, and I miss it! (So does my aching back!) Again, I have some major time constraints, but I'm going to just say twice a week for a walk. If I can do that, I'll be happy, and if I can do more than twice a week, great! I also do want to start back up with my Wii Fit (once more because of my poor back and hips and legs). I'm going to say three times a week for that, though more would be awesome. Hopefully once my work schedule gets a little more reliable, that will be a possibility.

5. To help with all of this, I want to get a big sheet of posterboard and chop it into halves or maybe fourths, and make monthly calendars. One thing I keep wanting to do is have my work schedule and Matt's in one place so we can plan things. Also trips and holidays and such, and especially school work! I think if, at the beginning of each week, I sit down and figure out exactly what I have to do--how long the videos are, how much research and how much plain reading--I can break it up into managable two- to -three-hour chunks, and have it all laid out. Hoping to get that done tomorrow morning, too!

6. I don't want you to think that I'm super-overwhelmed with school, or that I'm getting discouraged. On the contrary! Here's part of an email I sent my mom a few days ago:

I'm just feeling like this is really where I want and need to be, FINALLY. THIS is what I'm supposed to do with my life. From my few days on campus in class, it sounds like a constant challenge. Yes, it will be stressful and frustrating at times, and I won't always know what to do or how to do it. But all my retail jobs have been, after about six months, "Okay, now I know everything there is to know about working at (store). Ummm, now what? I'm bored." So I quit and found a new job! With teaching, it won't be the same thing every day (to an extent--the schedule and the kids will be, but the material won't). It will be a constant challenge--and by challenge I guess I mean "brain exercise"--to plan lessons and grade papers and figure out what way of teaching and learning works best for what kids. I like leading, I like problem-solving. I like doing little extras (even at work now) to stand out and improve the place I'm at. I just feel completely at peace with this decision, and thank the Lord that things worked out the way they did. Yes, I cried all day when I didn't get accepted to grad school. Yes, I'm sick of retail. Yes, living in Denver/Ft. Collins/Boulder would have been fun and exciting and different. But I love where I live now, and I really think I will love being a middle school or high school English teacher.

So don't worry too much about me, okay? This will all be sooo worth it, and I'm so excited to learn everything and see everything this next year!

7. I watched Taken tonight and it was really good! But (very mild spoiler in the brackets, don't read if you're easily influenced by other people's views on things) {{it seemed to end really abruptly. Like action action action... it's over!}} But other than that, ooooh! I heart Liam Neeson, and the whole thing was very suspenseful and exciting.

8. I am watching some Gilmore Girls now to calm down. I'm on the first disc of Season 6; only one season left after this! :( However, I did just buy the first two seasons of The Tudors on a really good sale! So even though I borrowed Season One from a friend a while back, maybe I'll get into that again. And then Matt bought Season One of the original Star Trek series, and the bits and pieces I saw while he was watching it were somewhat amusing, if entirely ridiculous. (Apparently we're big fans of buying whole TV series on DVD.)

8 Things Friday

1. Fairly brief tonight because we're going to see the new X-Men movie in a couple of hours, and I want to get in as much sewing time as possible between now and then.

2. This is what I've been seeing for half of today:



I've been chain-piecing colored squares to white rectangles (and before that, cutting out lots and lots and lots of white rectangles). I have three strips done, and will probably have ten, total. With the plain white strips between the pieced strips, I think this thing will be big enough for a twin bed!

3. Went to Goodwill yesterday, and made several great scores:



Real leather, I think, and for only $5! Lots of great pockets, but not too many, and they're not too hard to get to. Very steampunk-looking, I think (and would go with my sky pirate/adventurer look nicely), nice size, good strap length, and it could even double as a "manly diaper bag" for Matt when the time comes. IF I let him have it.



Vintage aprons! I'm pretty sure the bottom one was hand-crocheted!!! And the top one has light pink chicken scratch embroidery on it, which you can't really see in the photo (and you can hardly see in real life, but which looks very sweet).



The blue and red is a Martha Stewart sheet (from her line at K-Mart, I'm assuming) which will likely become a skirt or dress, and the pastel floral is a knit sheet that will become pjs--I think shorts and a cami, maybe with a short robe if I have enough.



I didn't have brown sandals! But now I do. Love them!

4. Tweenbots. This is adorable. Someone made little cardboard "robots" and then set them going (in a straight line only) somewhere in New York City, with a flag attatched asking passersby to assit them toward their destination, which is printed there as well. Watch the video, it's worth it!

5. Possibly the cutest handmade toy(s) ever.

6. I've begun tagging my posts, which you should be able to see in the sidebar. I don' think I'm quite halfway through, but maybe 1/3. I'll tag each new entry from now on, and just do a bit at a time from the past ones til I'm all caught up.

7. I haven't really written anything since my last post, but I want to! I'm going to! Keep cheering me on/bugging me about it.

8. I did not put a ruffle on my new halter dress. I'd situated the skirt lining so the nice, even hem of the sheet it was cut from was the hem of the skirt, and if I cut off the outer fabric to shorten it and add a ruffle, I would've had to cut off and re-hem the lining, which would've been more work, and anyway, I'm almost out of white thread and wanted it done LAST NIGHT NOW instead of waiting. I can always put a ruffle on it later if I change my mind (and feel like hemming the lining, and buy more white thread).

So much stuff! (And cake!)

So it's Sunday night and I'm not at the movie night at work. I know this sounds wimpy, but I've worked long shifts the last five days in a row (and I work tomorrow, making six), and I've trained newbies, and the house is a total disaster because when I come home I want to do nothing for a couple of hours and then SLEEP. And we're out of important things like peanut butter and laundry detergent, and I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I want to be at home with my husband and relax a little. And then to help with the overwhelmed feeling, tomorrow morning before work I'm going to clean up the kitchen, then Tuesday, my first day off in six busy days, is Laundry Day. Yes, it needs to be capitalized.

(Note to self: buy laundry detergent tomorrow. And get quarters to do the loads.)

I would've liked to see Iron Man again, and it would've been fun to hang out with work people, but UGH. I'm just SO SICK of that place right now.

Tonight I made Chocolate Mug Cake. It's a little cake you make in a mug (dur) and microwave to cook! It turned out a little spongy, but next time I might just microwave it for a leeetle less time. I got the recipe from Danielle's blog, so I hope she doesn't mind me sharing!



4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. (It's hard to do. Just mix a little and "mix thoroughly" after the next step.) Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. (I have no idea how many watts my microwave is/has, but I'll probably cook the next one about 2.5 minutes, since 3 minutes made it a little overcooked.) The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! I put a plate under the mug for easier cleanup, but nothing much got on the plate.

The chocolate chips all sunk to the bottom, and Danielle is right, it does taste mostly like cocoa powder and less sugary, like the boxed cakes I'm used to. I'm thinking a teeny amount of frosting to go on it next time, drizzled over the top. Just microwave chocolate chips and a little milk, ta-da! Go on and try it, it's a lovely little single-serve dessert, and so easy!

Now I'm going to IM, knit, and watch Samurai 7 on DVD.

Another late-night post of randomness

1. I changed my tattoo design a bit, so it mostly goes up my side instead of all the way across my back. Possibly pictures to come, though I'm not sure how much of me I want to put on the internet for all to see...

2. I'm starting to get excited about NaNoWriMo. Just over a month until it starts! I'm going to do something really different this year; more on that after a bit. Until then, let me introduce you to my main character:


That's her signature, and she has a personality to go with that name!

3. Work is having a movie night on Sunday (i.e. go in to work after we close and watch a movie there), and it's Iron Man. Matt and I saw it in theatres and both liked it, and I think socializing with work people is a good thing now and then. Matt actually said he'd like to come with me (each employee is allowed one gues), so IF I have time between now and then, I'd like to make cookies or something snacky to bring and share. Hopefully that will be fun! (And hopefully some people in my department/that I know will be there.) Maybe I'll bring my camera.

4. The economy stuff is starting to scare me, even though I don't really understand much of it.

5. I don't know if I'm registered to vote or not. Isn't that sad? Is it something you do once and you're registered forever? Do you have to do it every year? I remember voting in '04, the first election year I could vote, and I saved my little "I Voted!" sticker on my bulliten board for a while. :) But I don't think I've voted since then. *Cringe* The cutoff for Colorado, according to the ad on my Yahoo page, is October 6th, so I'd better get with it if I need to re-register!

6. Last Spring, I worked for a local photography place that does school pictures. Sometimes they need an extra person there to help organize the kids--take envelopes with money, get them lined up, that sort of thing. I'll be going again on Tuesday; they just call me every so often when they're shorthanded, maybe a couple times a month. Generally I meet everyone very very early in the morning--4 or 5--and we drive a couple hours, shoot, then drive back. I get paid for the driving time, even though I'm just sitting in the back of the van drinking coffee! And hourly, it's slightly more than my current retail job. So it's a nice little bit of extra money now and then. And it's fun to see the little kids all spiffed up for school pictures. Though there's always that one kid, in almost every class, whose mom forgot it was picture day, so his hair is sticking up and his t-shirt has holes in it. And those couple of little girls in tights and mary janes with their hair curled and their fancy dresses with poofy skirts and big sashes. Cute cute!

That's really all the "news" lately, I suppose.

OH! The wedding! It was fantastic. Beautiful, and probably the most fun reception I've been to. I danced and danced! If any of the pictures turned out, I'll put a few up here soon-ish. I took a thousand, but all the ones at the reception were blurry/had bad lighting. The ones of us girls getting our hair and makeup done beforehand were fun, though. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow night!

I'm a slacker

Ughh, I feel like such a slug. I watched three movies today! My sore throat from yesterday has morphed into a sore throat + sinus pressure + weirdness in ears because of sinus pressure + headache + stiff neck + minor fever. Boo. I called in sick to work and did a lot of nothing.

The first movie was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, yay! I heart Narnia. I reread all the books pretty much once a year, and while a couple of things from the movies bother me, I think they did a really good job with the two that are out so far, and I can't wait for the next one! And reading those books, seeing those characters... it's like coming home, somehow, if that makes any kind of sense. Love them.

Second was Becoming Jane, which I Netflix'd. I think I've read Pride and Prejudice four times now, though I just haven't made it through any other Austen novels so far. I have, however, seen most of the movies and love them, so this quasi-biography was great fun. I don't know exactly how accurate it all was, but as a movie for its own sake, it was certainly enjoyable. And as you know, I'm always willing to look at James McAvoy. Period costume is just extra fun.

Third was Monsters Inc., a classic. Very cute, and very much not requiring brain power whatsoever, which at that point was a good thing. I tried to take a nap this evening but just couldn't get to sleep, though I was and am tired. *Sigh* Matt even came in this afternoon and said, "Aww, you look tired, Babe." Thanks, Dear.

Adding to the tired-ness is the fact that I've barely eaten today. I had a cup of coffee this morning when I got up (at 10:30, making for a good 12 hours of sleep--yet I still feel like crud, so I guess that wasn't enough) and still thought I might make it to work. Then a bit of leftover mac 'n' cheese and a boiled egg for lunch, a glass of orange juice, and about ten or fifteen saltine crackers and some toast for supper. Between all that, though, I've felt that icky feeling in the back of my throat like I might throw up, so I've been wary of eating much.

Hopefully I can sleep way in tomorrow and recover some more; thank goodness I don't work. Ugh, goodnight, all.

Awaaaaake!

I'm not wide awake, but I need to wind down a bit before I get into bed, or else I'll just lie there for an hour staring at the dark. So here's another episode of Heather's Random Thoughts!

1. I'm reading the webcomic Girl Genius from the beginning, and I really like it. It's steampunk-y, which is fabulous of course. The costumes are fun, as are all the "clanks," i.e. mechanical robots. At times it gets very old-school comic book, with the characters saying their thoughts aloud so the reader knows what's going on. There are a few silly gags, too, but it's really intriguing, this world the creator(s?) has built. But he/she doesn't just come out and say "These are the bad guys, these are the good guys. Root for these guys, boo at these ones." Everything is grey, though some things (and people) are more clearly black or white in terms of morality. And everything from the politics to the history to the geography to the characters is so complex! I can't wait to see where the story goes!

2. I haven't sewn a thing since finishing my Ren faire dress! I did this last fall, too, with my Regency day dress. I got the pattern I think five days before the party I wanted to wear it to (a tea party, which I hosted), and sewed like the wind to get it done (barely) in time! Then for a couple of weeks after that, I could hardly look at my sewing machine. It's not that I don't like sewing right now, it's just that I don't feel excited about it at the moment. I really should make some fabric shopping bags like I've been meaning to, though. Something easy and quick to ease me back into things. I've yet to decide whether my next big project should be a cotton vintage shirtdress, while it's still warm enough to wear it, or something steampunk.

3. I still have that free movie ticket! Who wants to see Mama Mia! with me? I have tomorrow (Wednesday) and Friday off. Next week I'll be out of town Monday and Tuesday (I'm so sorry I'll miss our last Dames d'Plume group before A goes back to college!) but I think my other day off that week is... Friday? I'll check. Call me!

4. Forgive me if I've whined about this already, but this is what my Saturday looks like:
8-9am: New-hire meeting - 30 day evaluation
9:30am-1pm: Work
1pm-2pm: Running home, changing, gathering up shower stuff, and dashing to Megan's mom's house
2pm: Megan's bridal shower
Yeah, that'll be a fun day. Hopefully I'll be done with everything by about 4 or 4:30 and can come home and crash for the rest of the night.

5. I'm really having fun building the world my new novel is set in. Steampunk-ness, a family who lives on a train, a boarding school, magic, rebellion, class issues, and fun Victorian-sounding names! I sat and drank coffee at the bread place (you get a free slice of fresh bread whenever you come in! (Don't listen, Carrington)) for about two hours on Monday while scribbling away in my notebook. I really should take a picture of that, I love it so much! I almost want to go back to Borders and get another one. It was only $2.50! Hard-bound, spiral binding, thick, brown, paper-bag-like pages. And gears and swirls on the covers!

6. If any of you like Metallica, here are three videos of my cousin playing some of their songs on his guitar. He's really quite good!

7. I've decided to do my best to stop caring what other people think of me when I dress "weird." This was brought about by messing around in my closet and my costume bag, finding bits and pieces for steampunk outfits. I tried on some of it the other day and thought it looked pretty wicked, but debated with myself about wearing it out. Well, I didn't have anywhere to go that day, so I put my PJs back on and hung all the stuff in the closet, but honestly, why should I care what other people think about my clothes if it makes me happy to wear it? No, you don't generally see a girl in a long skirt and high-necked blouse under a lace-up black suede bustier, especially around here, but oh well! I think it looks nifty, and different, and old-fashioned, and fun, gosh darnit! So from now until I decide otherwise, I'm not buying anything new unless (a) it's an unbelievable bargain (like $5 or less) and I love it a lot, (b) it's a really cute Isaac Mizrahi (LOVE HIM) dress from Target, and is hugely on sale, or (c) I have to have it for work, or to replace something I truly need and cannot make (socks, underwear, a good pair of jeans, and the like) . I'm going to make all my clothes, or get them second-hand, or modify what I already have.

7a. I love love love the Wardrobe Remix people. And now I've decided I would very much like some plaid tights.

8. I want another tattoo, but I'm not sure of what, or where to put it. More on this story as it develops.

8 Random Things

1. I have the lining of my Tudor gown bodice almost ready to go. I used two pieces of muslin instead of one piece of muslin and one piece of heavy interfacing. I would like to breathe at least a little at the faire. But I am attempting the "boning" which means, in my case, zip ties. Cheap, plentiful, and not so stiff they'll squish me. I've sewn the 22 channels, four each in both back pieces, and 14 in the front. The zip ties I got today weren't satisfactory, though, so I'll be buying better ones and inserting them tomorrow. Wish me luck!

2. I haven't been doing so well with my chores this past week. Last week I did none of the weekly ones except my walks, and toward the end of the week I'd stopped making the bed every day. *Sigh* But it's a new week now (if three days into it already), and I'm going to try and do better.

3. If you haven't watched this kiwi video, you need to. *Sniff* (I tried to put the actual video here, but apparently the internet hates me tonight. ARGH.)

4. A woman came through my check-out line at work today wearing two vests. She had on a white t-shirt, close-fitting, with a short vest buttoned over the top of it... and then another similar vest open over the top of that. Both vests had black satin backs, and both had some sort of ribbon-through-a-buckle to tighten them (is there a technical word for that?) in the back. I saw this because the outer vest was shorter than the under. They were both black, though I think the outer vest had thin grey pinstripes. It was most peculiar. I also remember that she had very very long earrings made up of several different types of chains; they brushed the tops of her shoulders. Hm.

5. I cannot believe how fast this month has gone. Actually, this entire year seems to have flown by! In just a few more days, I'll be hosting a picnic in the park with a few girlfriends, just for the sake of getting together to catch up and have fun. And then the following weekend, we'll be at Liz and Jamie's for the Renaissance faire!

6. The faire weekend is also our 5th anniversary! Let's see, five years ago today I was probably.... making the boutonnieres for the men in the wedding party to wear, as well as my bouquet and my bridesmaids' (they were all fake flowers; I still have my bouquet lying atop one of our bookshelves). In a few more days, family would be coming in from out of town. Matt and I were making several trips over the course of a couple weeks up to our new apartment, an hour and a half from where we lived at the time, to fill it with used furniture. We've come so far in such a short amount of time, but it also simultaneously seems like I've known him forever.

7. I want to go see Mama Mia!, and I have a free movie ticket from a friend, but I can't use it until, I believe, July 29th because you have to wait 12 days after a new movie comes out if you want to use that free ticket. I'll be out of town August 1st-3rd for the faire, but would anyone like to come see it with me later that week? I know I'll have the 4th off because I always have Mondays off for writers' group. Let me know!

8. I think I am out of things to say. I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far!

Of Angst and Sewing

Firstly, let me just say that I got my fix of Tortured Hero for the week after seeing Dark Knight on Friday. Oh yes, it was awesome. I could go into greater detail, but this isn't a movie blog, and half of it would just be fangirly squeeing over stuff anyway. Suffice it to say I really really liked it and we'll surely be buying it the second it comes out.

Is "firstly" a real word? I'm pretty sure "secondly" is, so "firstly" must be.

Secondly, I've been sewing. I can't remember my last sewing update, so what I have done for the faire is:

-Megan's pants
-Matt's pants
-Matt's shirt
-My chemise

I'd show you pictures, but the pants are not that exciting, they're just... pants. I might have to redo the @#$%^&* collar of Matt's shirt because it's too tight. I didn't have him around to measure when I made it. And a lady would never show pictures of her undergarments! So you'll just have to wait. However, I have a picture of my gown:



Well, it won't be quite that fancy. It'll be the gold one, but without the rolls at the top of the sleeves, and all in silver and grey and cream with pearl and silver jewelry. :) So lovely! I only work three days this week (ACK no money!) so I should have plenty of time to sew.

While I've been waiting for four yards of fabric to dry, hanging over the shower curtain rod, I sewed this:



I traced onto wrapping paper a shirt I had that was similar, but cropped (so I wear it over a tank top or long dress), and lengthened it, and made a few alterations in the cut of the front. I looked at an online tutorial for a baby kimono shirt for the construction, then went at it.



I wish the back could've been in one piece, but I bought the fabric without a pattern in mind and didn't have quite enough. I LOVE this fabric, by the way. So much of Alexander Henry's line is amazing. And I want a dozen shirts like this! It was so so so simple to put together (I LOVE bias tape!) and it's cool and summery.



Mwah!

Tortured Heroes

Dark Knight came out last night at midnight. Aughhhhhhh I want to see it so badly (but we have no money, boo)! I've been excited to see it since the very first trailer came out, what, last summer? Everyone's saying Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is Oscar-worthy (though I have to wonder if they'd be saying that if he hadn't died, you know?) I'm eager to see Maggie Gyllenhaal reprise the role Katie Holmes did an "eh" job with in Batman Begins. And Batman has always been my favorite superhero. Part of it is that he doesn't have "super powers" like the rest of them. He's not from another planet, nothing radioactive bit him. He has a ton of cash, which helps a lot, but other than that, all his "powers" are from his own training and gadgets and determination, and I like that.

But I always fall for the Tortured Hero character. (Most other superheroes are tortured heroes, too, but like I said, I like Batman better to begin with.) His parents died when he was a kid, and he still thinks it's his fault. He's carrying the weight of the city on his shoulders, and feels responsible to do something since he has the ability. But he also has (insert name of current love interest at the time) to worry about, and the torment of whether or not to tell her that he's Batman.

(If you're intending on watching Batman: Gotham Knight, six short animated stories, and don't want to be spoiled for it, skip to the next paragraph. End of warning.) This is what we watched with Brandon the other night--he'd bought it that day and brought it over. Through one of the stories, Batman's wounded and trying to make his way up from some underground lair of a bad guy. It keeps flashing back to some training he did in (I think) India, but at the end he nearly reaches the surface. He's stuck under a drainage grate on the street, and Alfred is on his way to pick him up, but Bruce notices a gun amongst all the trash there. And another gun, and another. Murder weapons quickly disposed of, just one sign of the terrible crime in the city. When Alfred arrives, his arms are full of these guns that have maimed and killed people. "Give me your hand," Alfred calls down, but Bruce looks up, holding all those guns to his chest and says, "...I can't." He can't accept help or sympathy or love because he thinks he has to be this strong, super-human man in order to save the city, and not a real human being. It was just really touching and heart-breaking.

Anyway, I'm getting a little fangirl-y. My point in this rambling is that I'm more drawn to this kind of hero than to others. For one thing, there's nothing interesting in a story where everything's swell and everyone's content. There's got to be turmoil, and inner turmoil is particularly interesting. And there's very little of interest in a hero that's handsome and rich and has it all together. If I wanted that, I'd read those crummy paperback novels that rake in millions of dollars a year.

No, I like heroes like Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre. Very rich, yes, but not terribly handsome. And he's so unhappy because (spoiler alert!) his life has no meaning until Jane comes into it. He has a lunatic wife locked in the attic, which would understandably put a damper on his new love for the governess. (End of spoilers. :P) And, call me a dork, but I even like the Beast in Beauty and the Beast. He thinks himself incapable of love, and hideous on top of that. Yet Belle (spoiler alert!) breaks through to him, as does Jane to Edward.

Who else is in this category? Mr. Darcy, though to a lesser extent. Severus Snape, from the Harry Potter books, fascinates me. Edward Scissorhands is a great example, with the added bonus of a sweet innocence he's unaware of, himself. Erik from Phantom of the Opera is practically the definition of a Tortured Hero. Who else? Who's your favorite Tortured Hero?

P.S. I went on another walk this morning, and the weather was perfect: about 80 degrees, and overcast, with avery slight warmish breeze. But half a block from home, I realized my camera had absolutely no batteries. My next day off is Monday, so I'll take some pictures then.

Update: My paycheck was a little bigger than we'd thought, so we're seeing Dark Knight with some of Matt's work buddies at 10:20 tonigh, woohoo! Can't wait can't wait can't wait!

10 Things I am loving

1. This fabric:



I got it more than a year ago, when I just started sewing. It's since become 1/4 of a tiered skirt, which I love and wear all the time, and after using a bit for another project yesterday, I still have a little less than 1/4 of a yard, which I'm sure I will hoard for just the right project someday. Love it.

2. My "Chore Pockets" which I made from the above fabric and the leg of some of Matt's old jeans.



Everything starts out in the left pocket and moves to the right pocket as I get it done. The top is daily, the bottom is weekly. It's hanging just to my left as I sit at the desk, so I can enjoy the cute fabric, and be reminded of what I need to do every day.

3. Coffee with cinnamon in it. Some days I'll make regular coffee with about a tablespoon of Caramel Truffle (or whatever flavour I've picked up) coffee in it. That way the splurge on flavoured coffee lasts a long time, and I don't just drink regular coffee every day. But sometimes I'll put a shake or two of cinnamon in the filter before I brew the coffee, and yesterday especially it turned out quite delicious.

4. My husband. It seems kind of silly that he'd be on this list, since of course I love him--he's my husband! But I really do love and appreciate him. Yesterday he worked 6pm to 2am in order to paint his department at work. It was just him and two of his managers all night, and he came home with bright blue all over his pants--he tripped over a paint tray--and flecks on his arms and shoes. I was still awake when he got home, in part from the tea I'd drunk earlier in the night which was, apparently, not decaf, but also because it feels weird to sleep in our bed without him. And I was just so happy when he got home. (Yes, you can go gag now. Sue me.)

5. My hair the other day:


(It's really difficult to photograph the back of your own head!)

I'd washed my hair Friday morning, but the first day it's clean, I have Hermione Granger hair. Not the pretty waves they gave her in the movie (*eye roll* don't get me started) but the insane frizz she has in the books. So for work that afternoon, I decided to fix it fancy, since I had the time. Still damp, I braided the top half of it, then put the bottom half in a bun and sort of wrapped the braid around it. I hid the braid's rubber band with a little butterfly barrette I think I may have worn once since I got it back in jr. high.



It stayed in really well all night, and was, unsurprisingly, still a little damp in the middle when I let it out.

6. My writers' group, the Dames D'plume. I mentioned A___'s writing last night, but I was really really excited to hear the excerpts of our other two members as well (and I hope my own wasn't horribly lame in comparison like it felt). Clearly I was inspired by the meeting, if I couldn't stop thinking about building some steampunk-y world of my own, but just hearing the successes of other writers whom I knew and respected was uplifting. I'm so glad I have it to go to every week!

7. Sewing! I got Matt's breeches almost finished the other night when I posted. They're still waiting to be hemmed at the bottom because he's not sure if he's going to tuck them into boots, or just wear them long. But I also have my friend, Megan's, pants for the faire done. They're loose and baggy, dark green satin. She's going as a belly dancer (*resists rant on historical innacuracy*) and I think they turned out really well! Today I hope to at least get my chemise cut out. The sewing itself is extremely simple--just rectangles fitted together, then a lot of hemming and very long seams--but time-consuming since it's such a large garment. I'll probably wear it as a nightgown in the winter, probably with a shawl.

8. Shawls. I think they're pretty and romantic, and they make me feel old-fashioned. (Or more old-fashioned than usual with all my long skirts and weird jewelery.) I only have two right now. One is black and made of some slick, nylon (I think) cord, almost, with a pretty lacy pattern and long fringe, but it's not warm at all. The other:



was crocheted by a friend and I LOVE it. I think the yarn is just acrylic, not wool or something you'd think would be warm and cozy, and it's very holey, but it really does keep me warm when it's wrapped around my shoulders as I sit at the computer desk or on the sofa with a book. At the Dames D'plume yesterday, I finally picked up and explored a shawl C___ has had draped over a chair every time I've been there. I resisted previously, but couldn't stand it anymore. I stood up and tried it on, a pure white, very light confection of (probably) polyester with delicate fringe and a floral pattern. The other girls said I looked very writerly with my long, full skirt, and made me pick up the quill A___ had brought for us to play with and pose with it.

9. Quills! Speaking of. A___'s looked very like this one, and after Carrington and I played with it, I wanted to come home and get out my pen and nibs, which I hadn't done for years. The pen's just plastic, but I have a handful of different nibs for it, several of which are wide and flat. I used to play around doing calligraphy, and while all of my ink but the silver has dried up, I kind of want to get out my nice calligraphy paper, buy a new pot of black ink, and write a letter with it all! I scribbled a bit with the silver ink on some black paper last night, and did the alphabet as I remembered it (which was not very well) with one of the wider nibs. Fun! Geeky!

10. This song. I watched Once the other night, and have been singing this in my head almost nonstop since. So lovely, such a beautiful harmony!

French Toast

It was fun to hang out with Jamie and Liz yesterday and the day before. Matt found them a really good deal on a nice TV, surround sound, and wall mount for the TV through work, and got the commission off it! In thanks for the great deal, they took us to dinner at Famous Dave's Barbeque. It has been in town for several months, but Matt and I had never gone. We ended up getting The Feast, which was actually a decent deal since it fed all four of us with quite a lot of leftovers! No one really ate the baked beans or coleslaw, so I wish we would've asked if we could substitute something else for those. But ohhhhhhh man, the ribs were amazing, the brisket was great, and even the smoked chicken, which sounds "eh," was delicious. I got all the cornbread muffins to myself since no one wanted them (one there and three to take home) and those were great. Plus corn on the cob and potato wedge-fries. All served on the lid of a garbage can and set on a weird, three-legged wooden server. The atmosphere inside was nifty, too, with "vintage" bottles and tea towels and tin signs and such. (It was clearly new stuff made to look vintage because none of it was dirty enough. If something is actually 50 years old, you just can't get quite all the grime out of the tiny cracks and lines.)

We came home and watched the guys play Halo 3 for a while, then we all watched Hitman. It was okay; I might've got into it a little more if everyone hadn't talked through it. (They'd all seen it before and I hadn't. Yet it was definitely an action movie and you could pretty much tell what was going on even if you couldn't hear all the dialogue.) After that, we suddenly decided to go to the late show of Wanted. It wasn't as amazingly awesome as I'd thought, quite, but it was still pretty dang awesome. It was surprisingly funny, at times in the Office Space, hopeless, "my life is crap" sort of way. Then the action picked up, and the effects were fabulous. James McAvoy really is a great actor. He did the pathetic office drone, the panic attacks, the getting beat up, the being a cool assassin, and all of it was great and real.

With all the Halo, Hitman, and Wanted, I almost turned into a guy last night. So much testosterone!

Sorry this wasn't a terribly thought-provoking post, but this counts as my writing for the day, and I'm sort of brain-dead.

Oh yes, the French toast! I made it for breakfast for everyone, and took a picture of the spread out on the table, but it turned out horribly so I'm not posting it. I even did the thing where when the four slices on the griddle got done, I put them in a pan in the oven to keep warm until all of it was ready! I felt so hostess-y.

The house is nice and clean still. Yay for having company! It forces us to clean. I did not do any of my chores today, really. I don't know if I should excuse that because we had company and then I went to work, and when I came home I fed our friend Brandon and watched a movie with the guys.... or if there is no excuse. But I couldn't exactly leave the company either this morning (Liz and Jamie) or this evening (Brandon) to go pick up the kitchen, fold laundry, etc. Right? What do you think? Cast your vote in the comments/responses.

10.5 Random Things

All right Miss Three-Posts-In-One-Day. We'll just see who gets coffee at the end of the month!

Random Item 1: When I went to look up a book at the library this afternoon, the keyboard and mouse at one of the computers were wet. There were actual droplets of water (or something) on them. I used a different computer and tried not to think about it too much.

Random Item 2: I was at the library to try and work on my novel some more. However, I guess I was novel-ed out, because while I did some freewrite-type scribbling in my notebook, no actual writing was accomplished.

Random Item 3: I was noveled out because I'd written just over 1,600 words in a coffee shop that morning! Since my goal for the week was to add 2,000 words to it (paltry, I know, but I'm working more than usual this week--excuses, excuses), I think I'm doing pretty well!

Random Item 4: Matt got a used, older model Nintendo DS from a friend. Oh yay, now he can take video games with him wherever he goes. He's currently playing Golden Sun (also used) in the bath tub.

Random Item 5: We took photos at Writers' Group this morning! I can't wait to see them on Ein Feisty Berg's blog. I'm sure we're all adorable and look fantastic.

Random Item 6: I should be doing dishes right now, but I have to out-blog Carrington! I'll clean when I'm done posting.

Random Item 7: I have not invented any kind of pocket-y thing for my Duty Cards (they need a better name; any suggestions?) but I have picked out fabric for it, and I have some ideas of how to set it up. Yesterday I got all my cards done, and have decided that if I go a whole week and don't miss a card, then I get some kind of reward. I'm not sure what, though; we'll see when we get there.

Random Item 8: I really really really want to go see Wall-E!!! Everyone I've talked to that's seen it (except for one person, and I'm not sure I trust his movie tastes since he refuses to watch even one Harry Potter movie; for shame!) has said it's the best animated movie they've seen in forever. I LOVE Pixar. I almost cry with laughter each time I watch For the Birds. Ohmygosh, it just made me so happy to watch that again.

Random Item 9: I also really really want to see Wanted. Angelina Jolie is awesome (in movies--don't get me started on her personal life) and I think James McCavoy being in something is more than enough of a reason to want to see it. Mmmmmmm....

Random Item 10: I wonder what I'll blog about tonight so I'm even with Carrington....

Slightly less-random Item 1: Lookit! Writers' Group pictures! (I'm the one in the hippie dress.)