this life for rent

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http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/product-p/sp003-hs.htm


This might be the project to force me to get over my (irrational) fear of sewing machines. I'll add this project to the list of "After the move" projects I want to start, but shouldn't, because my time is better spent packing for the move.



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http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/03/how-to-style-maiden-braids-.html

My brother-in-law's wedding is in two weeks. I'm contemplating braiding my hair using this tutorial. It's a daytime, outdoor wedding by a lake in Florida. I need some sort of style that doesn't involve my hair being down. Unless I want to be more sweat than guest at this wedding.

*Currently Reading: (Nonfiction) Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies by Jena Pincott
Currently Listening to : Camille Saint-Saens
Currently Obsessed with: packing.

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http://www.postsecret.com/




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* The last, behind a cut, because it involves a spider, harsh language, and reference to drug use. And no, it's not the video of the spiders on drugs. But that is a good one.

( Read more... )

* Have returned from Dragon*Con 2011. Am exhausted.


*Managed to purchase preregistration badges for 2012 Dragon*Con AND reserve 2012 hotel room as well.


* All that is left is to get started on costumes for next year. Oh, and maybe get some sleep. sleep good.

The Good:

I made neverhomemaker's Frozen Banana Bites today. They are pretty delicious, not even going to lie. Like banana ice cream goodness, without all the intestinal distress that comes from consuming dairy. Yippy! Skippy!

http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/06/frozen-banana-bites.html




The Bad:

I can walk,but stairs are a bitch and by walk I mean, move at a pace so frustratingly slow, I want to yell at my feet.



And the WTF:

And to top it all off, my lower back is spasming.

* The most depressing first world problem is logging onto Facebook at the end of your birthday and seeing nary a Happy Birthday posted on your wall or in your message box.


* Jonathan's cousin hopped the pond from Europe and came into town this weekend. She also brought her 19 month old daughter. I learned through trial and error that she [the daughter] understands French better than English, and spent the better part of Saturday night chatting up a baby in French.


* I am incredibly stressed right now for reasons I can not go into but wish to make note of for my future reference.

* It managed to feel both maddeningly slow and rushed at the same time.

* Having read the final novel will be a handicap in understanding what the hell is going on in the film. Then again, if one hasn't read the final novel that might be a handicap too. Big plot points of the book felt like dvd easter eggs in the film.

* Even being split into two films, this is the worst adaptation of the novels, imho. I believe most will remember their experience of viewing this film fondly because of the camaraderie of the film goers bidding farewell to a movie franchise that has taken up a decade of their life and a book series that got the world reading again. Not the quality of the adaptation of the book into the film.

* I am contemplating cutting my hair. Not a trim, but a full on cut. I am going to wait until after the Disney Princess Steam punk cosplay for Dragon*Con (Labour Day/First weekend of September) is over. I don't know what style I want, and it seems a waste to cosplay Pocahontas without this waist length coif.

I have yet to find a salon in Tallahassee that doesn't butcher my hair. Doesn't matter if it's Aveda beauty school or one of the high end salons where a fringe trim goes for $50. They all screw up my hair.

So I will probably schedule an appointment at a place in Atlanta since I will be up there for D*C anyway.

Granted, I only started to desire a hair cut and style since becoming sick earlier this week. It is quite possible once my head stops throbbing I might be fine with my hair as it is.




* I am sick and American. With the start of this new job, I swore that I would end any bad aka "American" habits developed during previous jobs. Like learning how not to urinate for 20 hours, going without lunch but still clocking out for a lunch break and working through, or coming into work with a 104 F / 40 C fever.

And so far, so good. I have started to eat lunch, drink fluids which end up requiring me to use the restroom on a regular basis and so far, the sky has not fallen.

But that last bit about illness is a hard one to break. I haven't been into work for two days because I am sick. I am certain any people working in my area are grateful I am not potentially spreading the plague in their department. But there is a large, nagging part of me that feels like a slacker for not going in. In my mind, thanks to the decade I have spent working, if I am not bleeding from my eyes, I should go into work.

So I sit here, fevered and hacking and sleeping for the majority of the day, fighting hard to get over the mindset that clocking in to work is the end all be all important task of my life.


* If you are not reading "Scandinavia and the World" web comic, you are missing out on some hilarious and educational comics. Note, if you are American, some strips are not safe for work.

http://satwcomic.com/

* Saw John Waters speak on Friday. I am working on a cross stitch sampler of some of his quotes from the evening. Trying to figure out what a cross stitch glory hole would look like.

* New entry over at Operation: Become Amazon Goddess. Spoiler alert, it involves a bird who dub steps better than I ever will. http://operationbecomeamazongoddess.blogspot.com/2011/03/stats-monday.html

* Tallahassee is covered in three inched of pollen and it's around 85 F / 29 C by 10 in the morning. Feels like spring has finally sprung. Can't wait for summer, 110 F / 43 C by 8am and my shoes melting to the asphalt while I cross the street. Why do I live here again? Oh right, because I like living in a city that makes David Lynch films look sane.

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You know how really good pictures of food are referred to as food porn? Epic Food Time makes food snuff films.


* Going over to Skip's and Jaime's tonight to watch The Human Centipede. Jaime and I have both wanted to watch this film, but didn't want to do so alone. Fun Fact: Jonathan is going into this viewing having no idea what The Human Centipede is about.


* Panama City's Highland Games and Scottish Festival is tomorrow. I hope there is a vendor or a trusting Bodhran player willing to let me try out their drum. Everything I read online says to test out your Bodhran in real life before purchasing.

http://www.panamacityhighlandgames.com/

* Cliff's going away party was a success. We watched MST3K episodes and ate from a delightful popcorn bar. (Giant bowl of popcorn, small bowls to spoon popcorn into and an expansive variety of toppings to mix with the popcorn.) It was an enjoyable but bittersweet evening. This time next week, Cliff will no longer be in town. He will, in fact, have been in California for three days at this point. I am terrible when it comes to saying goodbye. I think, because it is hard for the reality to sink in. Sure, Cliff won't be around next week, but my mind won't write him off as a California resident just yet. I'll assume he went home to visit his parents or had errands to run if I don't see him for a week. It will honestly take me a good six weeks to realize he is gone. But it's a good thing he is moving. There are better opportunities for him in California. Still, it's hard to be excited to see him go.

* I bought a hula hoop yesterday. Hoops have changed a lot since I was a child. My options were retina piercing sparkle hoop with water pocket inside to create an ocean sound when you hooped or neon yellow hoop with three touch sensory LED bands. I went with the latter since the former really freaked me out for some reason. I think I might hit up Toys R Us today to see if they have any normal hoops.

Why the search for hula hoops? I am taking up hula hooping. My plan is to work up to practicing for an hour a day in preparation for Dragon*Con drum circle and the various parties and dances that a hoop might work at. Jonathan has offered to build me a custom hoop for D*C and beyond. I accepted and look forward to my glow in the dark hoop.


*Tuesday is my three year wedding anniversary with Jonathan. According to tradition, it's the leather anniversary. We're adapting that to mean cow and using it as an excuse to eat steak.