Dimples

I won't say much because I don't want to upset my family that reads this, but on Friday my family had to put down Dimples, one of our border collies. It wasn't expected.

She and her sister, Peanut, have been in our family for 10 years. She truly was just a wonderful dog. Whereas Peanut is like a human and makes you work for her love--and holds a grudge while she's at it--Dimples just loved everyone. Yes, she was skittish, with the sound of her own butt hitting the floor scaring her sometimes. And yes, she was a bit of a ditz. But she also had the happiest smile, sweetest demeanor, and most intense tail wagging you've ever seen in a dog.

She was also my New Year's Eve company last year and I'll be hard pressed to find a more loving date anytime soon.

Wednesday Words

"Writing is risk.  If you don’t feel that when you’re writing, for god’s sake stop.  It’s a shitty job.  Give it up if you can. ... Risk entails writing what scares you most—pushing beyond the perimeters of just telling a story via plot and pretty words, and instead reaching something deeper, more frightening and profound. Write until it hurts, and if you don’t bleed a little, it isn’t worth much."

-Gina Frangello, Risky Writing

Sunday, Sunday

It's Sunday evening, I'm curled up on the couch with my belly full of Dominos, watching the Giants/Packers game, with the lights from the Christmas tree reflecting off the laptop screen and the scent of fake pine in the air.

I haven't blogged in more than two weeks and haven't really missed it. I can be crazy self-involved -- rarely on purpose, I swear -- but sometimes I just need a break from "I." Sometimes I don't want people to ask me how I am, don't want to have to talk about my weekend, don't want to have to talk about my life at all. Honestly, as sick as you are about hearing about me, I promise that I am, too.

I'm taking a personal essay class -- which may be another reason I'm sick of myself -- and in one guy's essay he pointed out that when typing, in order to select the "I" key, you use your middle finger. So, basically, you're giving the finger every time you type "I."

There really is no point to this post because we all know I'll soon get back to posting about the mundane details of my life supplemented with poorly lit iPhone photos. While giving myself the finger in the process.

Wednesday Words

"People are looking for a way forward--and it's not with grand ambitious gestures, it's with little baby steps, little incremental changes. People are searching for happiness and moments of fun to help them through the dark times. So, the point of that was just to say...baby steps, incremental changes, little moments of happiness and fun...and it will all be okay."

-Jan Ward,
in a Gchat conversation with me

Sometimes you have days where nothing's really wrong and nothing's really right. And on those days you should have a friend like my friend, Jan. Because after I Gchatted her something along the lines of, "no reason, just tell me everything is going to be ok," she came back with the above. Like a writer, like a genius, like a best friend.

My life...

...is a little nuts right now. Work is never ending. Writing class is wonderful but taking up more time than anticipated. Friends are amazing and thus I keep doing happy hours, dinners, and nights out. Basketball just started which makes me insanely, deliriously, unabashedly happy. And a week from today I'll be home and able to take a break from all of this madness. Phew.

I went out on Saturday night with some friends to the concert of a coworker who is also a musician. In between errands on Saturday I tried to find a new top to wear because, well,  I love buying new clothes. But after an absurd number of stores I couldn't find one I liked enough to justify buying this close to the holidays. So instead I went with this. (And I found out later I played a very small role in a little bit of a fight that happened after I left, so, good or bad choice?)

Blazer: Pretty People Vintage in Old Town; Sweater vest: The Limited, almost four years ago; Jeans: Forever 21 for $10.25; Shoes: Ferragamo by way of Ebay; Clutch: Loulou Accessories; Hair: Straightened with a straightener for the first time, just to see if it could get any straighter.

Things I Should Stop Buying: Magazines

I've always been a big magazine reader. As a teenager I got all the big ones: Teen, Seventeen, YM, Teen People, and Cosmo Girl. Then I picked up Entertainment Weekly and kept it until a few years ago when I also had Vanity Fair, Time, and Glamour. But I wasn't reading them so I cancelled them all. However, being such a voracious 'zine reader for so long, I started to miss them, and got a few subscriptions for Christmas last year. And then I added a few more and that bring us to this dilemma. (I couldn't find my ruler but my foot is about 11 inches long.)

That's about two and a half feet of unread magazines. Yikes. So I sat down last weekend and attempted to read as many as possible. It's slow going but I only have the top row left. I think I'm caught up on cultural references from six months ago, and expect to be caught up on today's references in another month. Hopefully.

Wednesday Words

"I'm only marginally qualified to give advice at all. My body mass index is certainly not ideal, I frequently use my debit card to buy things that cost less than three dollars...and my bedroom is so untidy it looks like vandals ransacked the Anthropologie sale section. I'm kind of a mess."

-Mindy Kaling,

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

I had been looking forward to this book of essays for months and read the bulk of it on Saturday. Basically, I want to kidnap Mindy and make her join my circle of friends. When I'm willing to commit a felony, you know it's serious.

Did you ever see such a sight in your life?

Last week was...intense. There was a lot of work work, work for my writing class, and then a few social activities, some of which I had to cancel. But the week started off well, and in costume, for our annual work Halloween party. I mention every year that I don't like Halloween so I won't mention it again. But this year was really simple and dressing up with a group is more fun. Thus I present the Three Blind Mice of Alexandria:

And to show the level of commitment, me and my tail. Miraculously, I only had the tail (gently) grabbed once and heard the comment "nice tail" just twice. (During college Halloweens, sans tail, I had my "tail" grabbed way more times and heard many more suggestive comments. Work Halloween > Franklin Street Halloween.)

Thanks to this job I've acquired a ladybug's tutu, antenna, devil horns, a giant hat, and now mouse ears, nose, and tail. I'm quickly becoming a one-woman costume shop.

Wednesday Words

"Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending
is a very powerful thing."

-Snow White, Once Upon a Time

Pinterest Challenge, take two

Back in August, I linked to/participated in the Pinterest Challenge started by two of my favorite bloggers, Katie from Bower Power and Sherry from Young House Love. They’re doing it again so last weekend I got to work crafting something I’d pinned.

For months, many of the craft blogs I read have worked with ruffle fabric. I finally got around to ordering a yard of the smoke more than a month ago.

This one was my main source of inspiration:

 

And I loved the styling on this one: 

I thought it would be a good light fabric for the warmer months and then, paired with tights and boots, good for the winter months.

I sat down shortly after I got it to make it wearable, but then got scared. I’ve been sewing off and on for several years now, but am still very much a novice. However, thanks to the Pinterest challenge, I finally committed to fashioning myself a skirt on Saturday. I think one of the tutorials said it only took her 45 minutes. Well, mine took half a Carolina football game, an episode of “Friends,” and the majority of “Hocus Pocus.” But it really wasn’t difficult, just a combination of my less than perfect sewing skills and a few mishaps.

1. Taking awhile to lay it out and pin it so the ruffles all laid flat.

2. Putting the pins in wrong and having to sew like this.

3. Cutting off too many ruffles and having to re-attach some.

4. Having to thread the elastic through the waistband 3 times before I could do it without it rolling. (Of course, I made it more complicated by sewing the elastic inside a casing instead of attaching it to the top like in all the tutorials.)

But I stuck to it and didn’t curse or get frustrated once. And here is the end result:

    

    

It’s a bit more ruffley than I thought it would be, and I’d still prefer it a bit shorter, but it stays as is for now. I wore it yesterday with the tights and shoes above, plus a blousy, white, long-sleeved t-shirt and my yellow belt. No one screamed, “Gross! Homemade!” at me so I take it as a good sign.