Weekend Goodness

This weekend was the perfect dose of fun, relaxing, working in the garden with the perfect amount of sun, and just bought a new hat and wore it all weekend long goodness. Here's a little of what's been going on in the garden...

This guy protects my new herbs from the giant bunnies that rule our neighborhood after dark.

I don't know which is worse: our view of the alley, or the alley's view of us? These tires and trumpet vines are my attempt get us a bit more out of sight.

Here's Z planting our tree the day after Mother's Day. It will be kinda cool if this tree can be planted in the same year our little babe arrives.

We have the saddest, most sprout-up-where-ever-it-will-look-the-stupidest-and-be-the-most-inconvenient tulips I have ever seen. This one would stick its tongue out at me if it could.

Prom this year was lovely, and a large part of the loveliness is that it's finally over. I get a small stipend for doing it, but man-oh-man, it's hard work... Over 500 guests, party favors, a DJ, really bad tasting punch, sweaty teenagers, and lots of breath-a-lizing. I took the day off yesterday, and spent my time in the sun trying to get our yard back into shape. My biggest accomplishment was prying out the broke-down arbor that my climbing roses were consuming and replacing it with the springs from a bed I found in the alley.

Speaking of mindless tasks, I've been embroidering scenes from Jen Hart's Spaced Out pattern onto an old denim shirt the last couple of nights. It has the same mind-numbing effect as coloring in a coloring book, except when it's done I'll wear it instead of hanging it on the fridge.

Charming

I miss feeling so bored that I start to play with the things that I'm zoning out at. Diem Chau's stuff looks like beautiful playtime to me.

The Dealership

Do you suppose that the general manager at The Dealership would be a lot nicer if I wanted to buy a brand-spanking-NEW car? Do you think he'd be nicer if I didn't schedule an inspection for the not-so-spanking-new-car? How about if I didn't try and talk him down a thousand because the head gasket was leaking fluids? What if I was wearing something a little low cut and didn't have my hair in sweaty-gym-pigtails? Or black ink under my fingernails? And a Frida ring on my middle finger?

Dear Dealer Guy,

Don't wear your pleated khakis so tight. Your face looks like red blotchy indigestion. And you should probably try not to wear that high school hockey = golden days look on your face all the time. It is embarassing. Also, don't come right out and imply that people who race around in their Subaru wagons are dorks. There are lots of us, and we don't need to go muddin' on the way to work, but we might see some cool free stuff in someone's garbage on the side of the road. Oh, and please don't make it so obvious that you're not taking down my number when I tell you to call me when you can come down a thousand. I know you're pissed, but your job is to make that feeling shiny and cold and have a new car smell. Oh, and if you don't mind, you should try and NOT seem like the exact kind of guy that would measure my ass and assess my worth if I'd dare turn around in front of you. While these few tips won't help you make my sale, I they might help you be more successful in the future. Not that I care. I know this sounds really bitter and all, it's not really that I am, but I'm kind of out of things to write about on my blog, and I really kind of think this might make for a good story. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Cheap Skate/Probably a Lesbian Anyway

Crocheted Marilyn

Oh my word, how freaking awesome is this??? I'm still a beginner at crochet, and I need a person-to-person tutorial on changing colors, but this would be such a cool project. For someone to make for me.
This came from Craftster.

49 Sensational Skirts

I've got a lot of skirts in my closet. Skirts for every season. Skirts for almost any mood. Unfortunately, I don't have a skirt for the PROM this year. Yes, I'm still a prom adviser for my high school, and yes, it matters what I wear. I'd wear the off the shoulder peach number that my mom loving sewed for me 18 years ago, but I think she got sick of storing it in her house and donated it to the good will. Anyway, I picked up 49 Sensational Skirts the other day, and the book is fantastically inspiring. This book is not about learning to sew a skirt. Although that is one possibility offered, the book is mostly about taking a skirt you already have and embellishing it. Not with your be-dazzler, but with other cool stuff.
This first skirt is embellished with cordouroy loops, and I think it looks like a muppet. I've got some silk from Thailand that I could cut up to make the loops. I like the idea of the edges fraying a little bit.

This second skirt needs to be a couple sizes too big before you start because this plume will take in about 1 1/2 inches all the way around when it's done. I'd need to go to the the thrift store (if I must) to find the perfect skirt for this one.


I can't decide which one to do...

March Retail Therapy

Oh man, I love this print. Found at anh-minh.

Frida Vans

Z had these painted for my birthday. I absolutely love, love, love them, in the kind of way that makes me not want to wear them, but instead cherish them safely in a box. I broke down and wore them out today, stepping carefully around puddles and other such harm. It's a longish story, but I've got a really-almost-exactly-the-same-extra-pair in a men's size 6 (women's 8?) that are up for grabs, too. If you know someone that might be interested send them my way, I'd be up for making a super deal. Matt Kriske is the talented young artist and he's done a bunch of other pairs too. The x-files pair is lovely and he takes commissions.

Happy Easter!

Today my sister brought over our little nephew Joey at like six in the morning. The coffee was barely even brewing and we still had sheet marks on our faces, but he was awake and excited and ready to play. He spent a lot of the day with us and man-oh-man, he's got us charmed.
Here he is so sacked out that he can't take one more turn around on the sit and spin without a quick little nap.


And here he is wrestling with Zander.

PS: I'm officially on ALL candy detox. The amounts of Easter candy that I've eaten this year is insane. Robin Eggs. YES. Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs. YES. M & M's. OH YES.

Spring Break

We're back from our little spring break in Mexico. It was wonderful. I'm peeling. I'm reeling at all this snow today. Barf. I'm also wasting tons of time today. I'm alternating going downstairs to get another handful of speckled robin egg whoppers with surfing around on the internet. Oh spring break, how I love you so.

Just when you'd stopped checking in...

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Wowza. When times get especially tough for me I hunker down and do the essentials. I shy away from friends a little bit, I get sloppy about returning emails, I neglect calling my grandma, I certainly don't update this thing, I under-water the plants, and I over-feed the cats. I'm not trying to make excuses, just realizing some patterns, and really just wanting to STOP THE NONSENSE. I remember back to waiting tables, when I was on the verge of so-freaking-busy-induced-freaking out, I'd get totally silent and do my job. All other systems would shut down so my machinery could just hum along at top speed until I could collapse in the break room. That system sucked. I still have nightmares about waiting tables, and in my dreams I usually spill water on some fat guy at the Pannekoeken. This all sounds dire, I know, but in the whole scheme of things, I'm doing just fine. Is my marriage falling apart? No. Is my house flooded with sewage? Not yet. Did I start using drugs that make all my teeth fall out? No. Is my health failing me? No. BUT, our adoption plan for Colombia fell through. All those eggs that I put in one basket got scrambled and so did I. SO... We dropped our adoption agency and started over. We've started working with another agency (Children's Home Society) and things are working much differently. Colombia is out and Korea is in... For now, and hopefully for the next 10 months or so! Tomorrow our social worker is conducting part II of our home study at our house. Everything is clean--even the knobs on the stove that never get any attention. We're attempting to appear normal by stashing the Vicodin away and keeping the wine on the counter. And Ben, if you've found this blog, that was a lame attempt at pre-home study humor. Anyway, despite my over-use of cliches in this entry, I'm feeling good and especially hopeful, and even a tiny bit peaceful. I'm ready to start watering the plants again! Speaking of plants, I just got this notice about $25 trees! I guess they go really fast, so I ordered mine a few minutes ago.

In other news, my copy of Rhett Butler's People is in at the library. Too bad it's a hard cover because it is coming with me to Mexico for spring break. I hope the library folks don't mind it coming back smelling like suntan lotion and margaritas. Oh Rhett...

This will be a quick post. We're heading out to a friend's birthday celebration at Buca tonight. I haven't been there in forever, so I'm thinking of a dinner made of mashed potatoes and chianti. Yum.

Here's our little tree this year. I love it. I can smell it when I walk in the door. We have so many sweet decorations for it that friends and family have given us, and it just makes me smile.

Here's a project that I started a little while back. Willy Nelson was awfully important throughout my Nebraska youth. This is my linoleum tribute to him, and one of my first tries at printing with oil-based inks.

When the time changed this fall, and everything got so dark so fast, the only thing I've wanted to do is curl up on the couch and watch a movie with my sweetie pie. I'll watch anything, even if it's not that interesting... Which has been making me feel very not-that-interesting. So, we're turning it off throughout the week for a month, and maybe catching up on a Netflix on the weekends. Who knows if this will extend past this month, but I think it'll be interesting to see how we fill up our time. Today was day 1 of the experiment and I made 2 draft snakes for the kitchen and a gnome hat. I also have surfed the web, talked with my hubbie, made a real dinner, done some reading, and now I'm off to take a bath. It feels like the weekend when I have time for all the stuff I love to do AND it's only a Monday.


PS: I love Jan Von Holleben's photos.

I got a new haircut last weekend, and life was a little more simple when I could just slap my dirty hair back into a ponytail. Now: day 1 hair looks ok, but not quite right, day 2 hair is the perfect amount of dirty and clean so it looks good, and day 3 tries to ride out the same look but it feels a little bit over-polluted with pomade.

Here's my newest and most favorite thrifty find. Someone spent a lot of time latching this rug and I'm going to enjoy it in the kitchen every time I wash the dishes.

Wow, all of you computer nerds out there will be officially not impressed, but really I'm excited to play around with this Vector Magic site (via Boing Boing). I didn't take the time (obviously) to play around with the colors, but changing this picture of our niece took all of about 2 minutes to do.

Smile

Staff pictures are going to be taken at 7 AM tomorrow, and I'm thinking about how I usually look like a crazy woman when I'm posing. Right this second, I'm searching for tips on looking more natural in photos. This is a really interesting test by the BBC on interpreting fake vs genuine smiles.

It's buy one get one free at John Golden's Etsy shop and I'm having a really hard time picking just two.

Have you seen Amy Sedaris' Manhattan house over at Design Sponge? It makes me drool a happy smile.

Now, for a few side-notes:



1. We made it out to the Frida show on Friday night. It was wonderful. I'm almost done with her biography and I think that made the show especially the best thing I've ever seen in my whole entire life.

2. In my early 20's I was at my Grandma's house and I said something about how baseball hats never fit my head because it's too big. At that point I saw my Mom and Grandma exchange knowing looks. This obviously convinced me that they knew about a head swelling disease that I had but they refused to tell me about because they knew I'd freak out. Now that I'm in my 30's, I have the internet to tell me what disease I might have, and the head swelling one is not looking very likely. Nevertheless, I do have a very large head, and I'm working on sewing a hat for it. I've got it all cut out and ready to go but I'm dragging my feet because I doubt it'll fit. Yes, I measured and it says that it'll fit, but those pesky measurements on the pattern backs are more often bullshit than not. I'm using an old wool skirt for the outer fabric and a cotton printed with mallards for the lining.

Happy Halloween!

I don't normally smile with my jaw unhinged, but we were saying "Raaa" for the camera.

Joey's favorite question by far is, "Where'd the kitty go?"

We had such a fun time with family in town! And we just loved getting to know Campbell. I think she might be the cutest ladybug of all time.

Happy Birthday to my Sweetie!

Happy, happy (and just a day late) birthday to the sweetest man I never even knew could be out there. You make me smile every single day.

This website is "funny".

I am Blue (and Barb)

Your dominant hue is blue, making you a good friend who people love and trust. You're good in social situations and want to fit in. Just be careful not to compromise who you are to make them happy.

Your saturation level is very high - you are all about getting things done. The world may think you work too hard but you have a lot to show for it, and it keeps you going. You shouldn't be afraid to lead people, because if you're doing it, it'll be done right. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.
spacefem.com/quizzes/colors
(well thank you internet, this is certainly very flattering, if not-so very accurate)
Are you a Big Love fan? If you're not, I'm thinking you haven't watched it yet. I think it is television at its absolute finest. Apparently I'd be Barb if I were a sister-wife.

I'm NEVER going to donate anything to Savers ever again...

There's a woman at the Columbia Heights Savers that has always been cranky. I think she aims to steal my thrifting bliss by either shouting at someone about something, or at the very least shouting about how stupid the whole wide world is because they take more than three garments into the fitting room at a time. I try and make her happy by following the three garment rule even when there's no one else around who wants to try anything on. In the middle of my trying to make her happy, she has pounded on the door wanting to know exactly how many items I've got and if it is my stupid cart that is so purposefully blocking her from doing the work that she doesn't get paid enough to do. I usually take it in stride. Today I pulled up wanting to donate. I think that would make her happy because I want to give them stuff to sell... Almost no strings attached, except that whomever I unload my crap to should at the very least be mildly courteous. No dice. She was rude. She did everything except spell out and perform an interpretive dance on exactly how stupid she thinks I am because I have never donated items at the back door. Only idiots drive up and want to give away their free stuff at the front door. Duh. So, I drove to Arc Value Village, which is was just a little bit out of my way, and I donated there. I bit my lip at Savers because I didn't want to be mean, which I regret. I basically missed my
chance to tell her how much she sucks. Here's my letter to her.


Dear Savers Lady,

I wish I would have told you that I think you're a pain in the ass, and that because of you I have left your store several times without buying anything because I can't stand listening to all of your bitterness.
I wish I would have told you that even though you were wearing bunny ears and whiskers to work today that you are not the teeniest bit cute or cuddly. The opposite in fact. I bet your grandchildren don't even like you.
I wish I would have told you that Savers has been over-pricing their jeans for about the last year or so. And it's probably all your fault. Just because something has a JJill tag on it, does not mean that it should automatically cost $9.99.
I wish I would have told you that you have bad breath.
I wish I would have told you that are not the boss of me.
I wish I would have told you to take your secret back door donation spot and stuff it down your ankle length tapered jeans.

THE END (of our relationship)

Sincerely,

Julie

Here was my stab at one of the Built by Wendy dresses. I LOVE the fabric, but HATE how I look in this shift-like dress. Maybe it'll work if I take in the sleeve at the elbow. But maybe, shapeless dresses just won't look good on my almost 5'2 and somewhat curvy frame. SHITBALLS. This cool Polaroid montage is done using the Hockneyizer.

Geez, just call me blog-slacker. I don't even have something in mind that I want to write about tonight, I just wanted to get something written, and then hopefully I'll feel more inspired to write throughout the week. I had Thursday and Friday off for MEA weekend, and it just flew by. I spent some quality time at the fabric store. I want to make some bibs and I need velcro for the closure. I made this one out of an old orange towel for the back and then the front panel off of a denim skirt that I don't wear any more. I've only made one and it's big enough for me to wear, but cute. I wish this bib-making was my secret code for a very quick adoption about to occur. I think it's going to take a while, so our babe might just have about a thousand bibs when the time comes. On Thursday night we took my mom and step-dad over to see the Soapfactory's Haunted Basement. I might just be a big fat baby, but I thought it was super freaking scary. Go. I dare you. In other news, I rode my little scooter over to Open Book to show support for who I affectionately call the freaks that like to stay up all night and draw comics. They amaze me. I just couldn't do it. I would have a melt down in front of all those people because I need and love sleep. On the way home I stopped into Surdyk's for a couple of bottles of wine, and had to fight my way through the crowd. I forgot they were having a sale, so I was a little bummed to spend that much time and only be able to take what I could hold on the scooter. I wonder if the sale is over now? The last little tidbit I've got is about microwave popcorn. Recognize us?

My pilates teacher just called to say that class is canceled this morning. As much as I LOVE the class, specifically her class, it just means more coffee for me this morning. And not even in a travel mug. Mmmmm. Zander is going to be busy with fall con for the whole weekend, which is kind of a bummer, but mostly lots of fun for him. You see, I don't really know how to talk about comic books. Me: "So is it funny to you, because I don't really think it's all that funny?" Me: "Cool, I like how the colors look, but why are all the boobs so ginormous?" Anyway, no class and Zander working means lots of putzing time for me. I thrive on putzing. It recharges me. Putzing today makes me want to party tonight. So, I might bake some cookies. (Ginger spice with chocolate chips) I might trade out my dresser for the dresser in the baby room. (And then paint it and add new pulls) I might sew up some cats. (Pictures to come) I might take the necklace that I wear almost every day and have it cleaned properly. (The years of tarnish leaves soot on my neck/shirts) I might throw away my dead outdoor plants. (Super dead) I might-probably-for-sure go to Value Village. (Looking for vest lining or corduroy) I am going to get my hair cut and colored. (3 inches shorter and minus the gray stripe down the middle of my head)

By the way, October is apparently choose to re-use month. Here are some great deals found on Girl Friday.

Happy Birthday Laurie!

This tough guy is having a birthday today. When people think of Laurie, it's so easy to get stuck on all the sweet things about him. He's a good listener, he's calm, he's so good at making sure everyone feels included, and when we visit them, he always makes really good coffee for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's sweet alright, but let's not forget this guy wreaks havoc with a chainsaw, has a not-so-slight pyromaniac streak, shreds the slopes, and has flown through the Grand Canyon in a fighter plane. Happy Birthday--we love you!

I Can be an Art Teacher Barbie Doll

Look what a nice gift came across my desk today! I wish I could find a picture of the packaging, which all by itself is priceless. School is going well, and I'm getting into the swing of things. I'd like to point out that it's 4:56 on Friday afternoon and I have not had even one cocktail yet. Although, I'm meeting Zander over at Psycho Suzie's in a few minutes, so I need to hurry up and change my shoes and start walking. Notice I'm not scootering over there. Boo! We need to get a stupid motorcycle license to drive it, so I'll be studying up this weekend. Have a great weekend everyone!

Giant Origami

Oh man, I want to see these guys in person! Via Extreme Craft.

First camping trip

This little red scooter is what called us out of town in a hurry on Friday afternoon. I'd been scouring Craigslist trying to find a cheap, used one that I can ride to school occasionally and that we could double up on every once in a while. Our seller was only available on Friday night, and I was afraid that he'd sell it to someone else unless we got there ASAP, so we burned rubber out to Lacrosse, Wisconsin. It was far enough away that it really would have been a waste to buy the scooter and return home the same night, so we found a campground and pitched a borrowed tent. (Thanks LA) Unfortunately, we didn't get to the site until well after dark, so setting everything up was a bit of a challenge.

Wow, looking through our photos, we took a ba-jillion pictures of the fire. It was mesmerizing.

It was also much colder out than we thought it'd be, so the fire felt especially nice.


I'm hooked! This whole camping thing is so much fun, and even though it was kinda taxing to get it all organized so quickly, it was extremely relaxing. We were both able to finally forget about work, which (sadly) is no small feat lately. I'd love to go again when the leaves are changing.

1. The Y offers beginning swimming classes for $20. My first class was tonight. It was AWESOME. Zander taught me the basics a couple of years ago, but this will be a great refresher AND a good way to learn some strokes, instead of my doggie paddle (which was called "inefficient" by my teacher tonight).
2. I'm not quite in the swing of things at school yet. The kids are great. It's fun, and challenging, but seriously, working is for chumps.
3. Nothing is happening in the crafty department around here because I'm completely wrapped up in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I normally don't want to see movies or read books, or even looks at pictures about 9/11, but this is my one exception.
4. Our front door now has two coats of what looks like Kraft Mac and Cheese painted on it. It needs another coat (or two), but I think I like it.
5. I NEED someone to knit this for me.
6. The Eric Lappegard tribute was great. Lots of work was done by lots of people and it was very cool. Really, way to go guys.
7. A very mini-camping trip is in our very near future. S'mores, here we come!
Yes, this is a really boring post!

It's 3:48 on Friday afternoon, and by golly, the art teacher has already had a cocktail. It was a lovely first week on the job, and it is even more lovely to have the whole weekend ahead of me. I'm planning on not making too many plans, and just enjoying.

Spell your own name here. Via how about orange.

Back to School

Tomorrow is the day, and I'm pretty excited. While I hate to lose all of this lovely freedom, back-to-school is pretty fun too. To celebrate the last day of summer, we headed to the beach and parked ourselves on a blanket in the shade and just took it all in. I waded a little bit while Zander swam, we both did some reading, and then put together a kite we got at the thrift store this morning. The freaking thing didn't come with any kite string so we didn't get to fly it, but maybe we'll try it out next weekend. Anyway, a day at the beach reminded me how some of the sweetest things in life are absolutely free. We saw lots of families splashing around, my favorite of which was a dad and his two little girls. The littler of the two had her swim suit on backwards. Tomorrow night I'd like to get over to the Walker and check out the Picasso exhibit before it goes away. Has anyone used the free museum tickets from the library yet? What a deal.

State Fair Snapshots

Here are just of few highlights from The Great Minnesota Get-Together. 1) Seed art is a must-see. 2) Maybe right after eating a mound of cheese curds is not a good time to get on the bus. 3) Monkey business 4) Way to go Rita! 5) This is how I looked after 7 hours at the fair. Dirty and smiling.

gizmo trick outs

I have to admit, when it comes to doing things that I don't l-o-v-e to do, I usually opt out. I almost always opt out until I trick myself back on the wagon.

Exercise. It's good for me, but not really that fun... Until I buy a new pair of running shoes and write the date I bought them on the tongue. Now, every time I put on my running shoes, I know that I'll need to buy a new pair a year from that date. It makes me feel smart and oh-so organized, and that's a very nice motivator. Oh yeah, and my little ipod shuffle also gets me, especially when it is loaded up with a bunch of new music, or at least the most recent episode of This American Life.

Flossing. I hate to do it. Most people go to the dentist and the fresh start of just cleaned teeth motivates them to floss more often. Not me. I have overactive saliva glands that give me plaque no matter what I do. My dental hygienist does not believe me when I tell her that I floss. Instead she wipes my plaque on my dental bib and keeps shaking her head and making me answer her questions when her whole entire hand is in my mouth. For two whole years I stopped flossing until Zander's parents put one of those Reach Flossers in my Christmas stocking. I'm hooked.

I also don't like taking vitamins. That is, I don't like taking vitamins unless THEY ARE REALLY JUST LIKE TOOTSIE ROLLS.

Laundry, you ask? I got this Downy fabric softener, and while I still don't love doing laundry, I do enjoy the smell of this stuff, and that makes me a little bit less likely to let the dirty pile get as enormous as it has been known get. And, I prefer folding this sweet smelling laundry before the sweet smell goes away, so I tend to fold it sooner than I used to. Nice, eh?

And the thing that I have always hated to do, but do pretty much everyday now, without fail... Shaving my legs. I have scars on my knees from the horrible cuts that shaving with soap and water have given me. I all but stopped shaving around my Achilles tendon because that spot bleeds like crazy if I knick it. Well, on a whim, I tried shaving cream this summer and now I shave my legs pretty often. I don't cut myself anymore = motivation to shave. No more wearing boots in the summer unless I want to!

Anyone have any gadgets or gizmos that trick you into doing things that you don't like to do?

For Like Ever

The Covington was a lovely place to spend our anniversary. We found out that we can fill it with 11 of our closest friends for less than everyone would normally spend at a hotel. It might have a lot to do with the oftentimes weird things that I think are completely awesome, but this place really kicked ass. As for the anniversary, I know that to some of you old pros we're like babies, but we've known each other for more than 7 sweet years now. With the happy and the sad and the adventures and the non-adventures and the laughing and all the rest that do not even carry words, I am eternally grateful.
This crabby goose welcomed us to the inn.

Yeah, I just colored my hair and it is horrid. Yeah, we just woke up. Yeah, Zander's face is red because I'm sitting on his lap and squishing his guts.
I jumped on the popular band wagon and got us this print for the occasion.