Communication

Oh the Horror

2009-11-14T12:39:20Z

I was up at 4:40 this morning. *dies a little inside*

But today's event, while full of Big Important People, is a well-manned event for 50. We have THREE tech guys AND a sound guy, and a full wait staff.

Unlike, y'know, my one-man show of a professional training for 80 this past Wednesday.

It's not so bad.

Aside from the waking up at 4:40. In the morning.

On Days off in the middle of the week

2009-11-13T14:57:29Z

I had yesterday off, because I'll be working all day Saturday. It was nicely timed, because I had BIG event on Wednesday. It went really well, but I didn't really breathe until it was over, so having a day to decompress from one event before revving up for the next was nice.

It took me until around noon to actually get to the "decompressing" part of the day. Most of the morning was spent glancing suspiciously at my phone, anticipating it to ring at any moment, for the caller to be someone from work, and to be calling because something Terribly Important couldn't happen without me for a day, or there was massive fallout from some heinous mistake the day before. Oh to be a problem solver with no problems to solve but my own for a day. It's a really jarring transition sometimes and it's kind of funny to nod knowingly to yourself as you watch yourself go through all the textbook stress and anxiety behaviors you knew were going to crash into you once you stopped moving long enough.

Nothing a little kitchen cleaning, cat cuddling, and looney toons playing in the background can't help with. Tiggy was so damn happy to get morning cuddles. She just squirreled around in my lap for an hour purring and kneading like if she stopped I'd get up and leave. Zuzu spent the morning wallowing in the warm blanket nest I made for her when I got out of bed.

I took a shower and decided I was going to catch up on a few errands. I printed off labels to return my order from Zappos. Since I had the day off I finally had the opportunity to schedule an appointment for my yearly bit of civic duty ^^. I've been part of NORC's National Longitudinal Survey of Youth every year since the project started in 1997. They must be getting desperate to retain their sample pool. They always give a bit of money as a thank you for participating, but this year it was $50, which is going straight into my "fix the bathroom" fund. I returned two tops I didn't want that have been sitting in my room for two weeks. I went out to the mall and found a really neat top that will need a bit of altering, and I finally found a pair of dress jeans to wear for stuff this winter. I always hate wearing my dress pants, because it feels like work clothes. I can't wear jeans at work so having nice jeans I can dress up for social stuff is exciting!

I also got caught up on my laundry (washed, dried, AND folded!), found most of my bills due for this month (still another pile to mine through), and finally sent out evites for the brother's wedding gathering next week!

I like having a random weekday off here and there.

Weekend: ...wait, it's over?

2009-11-09T15:54:30Z

I feel like I haven't really left my desk chair. The weekend was a blur of motion and things and happening. I'm already looking longingly for the weekend, except this weekend will not be still or quiet or restful either. If by Thanksgiving I have not succumbed to some sort of plague, donate me to science, for I will surely have the cure for what ails you hiding in my veins.

The outcome of all this kinetic energy?

Two hours of my life, on a Saturday morning no less, and $95 out of my wallet to tell me nothing is apparently REALLY wrong with my car and the check engine light is a liar. The occasional squealing is oil leaking on to my drive belt. Which they were happy to offer to fix. For $900. I declined. The belt is still in good shape and the car won't explode. Good enough until I can find time for a second opinion and price estimate. (Oh and my battery is not a full capacity, I should replace that, oh and my spark plugs are getting old, even though according to the maintenance schedule I've got another 10K miles before looking at that, oh and my windshield wipers are streaky, I should replace those..for $70!) On the other hand I have a nice list of "things to start keeping an eye on" from the dealership. It' just annoying that they charge so much, and I have to go to three different places for all of that just to save some cash. Sitting there for two hours did give me some time to read To Say Nothing of the Dog. It's fun when every few pages a book makes you run to Wikipedia to look up some historical reference. I feel a little dumb, but it's still enjoyable. My favorite part so far, aside from Ned's complete fascination and ignorance of cats, was his geek-out fanboy moment on the river when he realized he was seeing Three Men in a BoatK happening.

I had enough time to do some picking up around the house and making up the guest bedroom before my Mom came up. She brought goodies, so I now have a really cute juice glass set with a matching pitcher, and an old piece of glassware that was my grandmothers. I had a billion other errands I wanted to run but I ran out of steam, so we just got dinner and brought it back home. I checked the clock after watching some tv and was appalled to know it was only 8 pm. Out of spite I stayed up until 9. I am a rebel.

Going to bed early never seems as restful as sleeping in. I'm at the point where my brain is interfering and I'm waking up even earlier than I need to be so while I didn't have anywhere to be until 10am on Sunday, I was up at 7. So I did some more unguided puttering around the house, which didn't have enough focus to really accomplish anything, let the cats into Mom's room to wake her up, ate breakfast, and we went out to Umstead to meet everyone for a walk in the park. It was really pretty and really nice out. We came back and got cleaned up before piling out dresses for the wedding into the car and going out to Southpoint to get them altered. I've not been to this particular store, but I've been to another shop they have and liked the work so I'm pretty sure I'll be singing praises to Lee's Tailors. David's Bridal required 4-6 weeks for alterations, these guys will have it ready next week.

We spent the rest of the day at the mall looking for wedding event outfits. Anthropologie had REALLY REALLY cute stuff. And none of it fit quite right. It was fun to look though.

I went to Nordstrom because I was feeling masochistic. I went in for a new bra-fitting. Two or three years ago I went in, they measured me, and then laughed because my bra size did not exist. My "perfect fit" had not only changed, it had become even more absurd...or so I thought! They had CRAZY size combinations. In the store! In cute styles that don't resemble parachutes or bring to mind Great Aunt Mabel!.

I barely balked at spending $250 on three bras. And one of those is a super nice strapless/convertible, which I really needed for the bridesmaid dress. Hooray Nordstom! I was so excited I wore one of them right out of the store.

People I don't like right now: Men. For never having to spend that kind of money on required clothing EVER. Also, the woman two changing rooms down complaining about her A cup.

Then home and food and more avoiding the messes long enough to soak my feet and pamper my toes a bit, because I haven't had time to do more than basic showering lately and all my little pampering has completely gone out the window. The feet are happier today. And so are the ta-tas!

But the weekend was so busy I don't feel like I had a break from work, so it already feels like Wednesday...

Seriously.

2009-11-05T22:55:33Z

Sharing the same four digits in your street address does not mean you've got the right mailbox.

Sharing the same street name does not mean you've got the right mailbox.

Not matching the name on the mail to the name written on the inside of the door on the mailbox DEFINITELY MEANS YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT MAILBOX!

Sure, I didn't check my mail for three days, but I had to brace myself in order to remove the wedge of paperstuffs that was crammed in my box. I had the mail and junk and ads of three different people. It happens regularly, but this is ridiculous.

"Close" doesn't cut it, mailman!

I would like to return this item...it turns out I don't have a need for Adult Life.

2009-11-05T16:50:25Z

I am grouchy about adult life.

The bills I don't have sorted, the mail piled up, the half-done laundry, the work that is all crisis all the time for the past two weeks, my soap that dries out my face, the nagging nagging horrible guilt that comes from putting off responsible appointments like the dentist, eye doctor, follow-up appointments with my doc I've put off for months because I don't monitor my bp at home (freak out!). But now I'm out of drugs and she won't refill until I come back in. Bah.

I honestly feel like throwing a tantrum. But.

I made a follow-up appointment for two weeks from now. I won't be on meds, but will monitor my bp anyway so I have SOMETHING to take to her.

I sold my bedroom furniture and got it moved out within a few days of my new stuff showing up! Michelle is at the top of my Awesome Friends list for doing me the HUGE favor of both purchasing it, and saving me from Craigslist strangers. I hope she loves it as much as I did for so many years! Instead of being smart and just going to bed last night, I dragged my new furniture into my bedroom and put the drawers back in. The cats had a lot of fun running underneath dressers as they slowly scooted across the floor. The mirrors are too big/heavy to get back on by myself, so that will have to wait.

I will have some time tonight after work to at least sort my mail into manageable neat little piles.

Then I go eat dinner that I don't have to cook, and play video games/save the world.

That Was Halloween (Halloween! Halloween!)

2009-11-02T15:33:02Z

So I promised photos of corset, and here it is (and Michael, looking dashingly dead)! Note to self: Corsets hold stuff up. Don't stick a safety pin to your bra to hold your petticoat up, because you don't need it. But you WILL have a safety-pin-shaped indention in your ribs for hours. Also note to self: alter the petticoat so it's not too long and we don't have this issue again. I love all the floof. And I had time to get the ~~tablecloth~~ bustle all ruched properly this time, instead of just draped on my butt.

Franklin Street wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be, but we had an iPhone to help us navigate to parking once they started arbitrarily turning roads one-way. I will sound impressive and committed when I say we parked in Carrboro and walked to Chapel Hill, but it was only a half mile or so.

Also with more of the fabulous things that happened this weekend, Michelle offered to buy my bedroom furniture, which means I don't have to go the Craigslist route and have strangers in my house! YAY!

I was all gun-ho to start emptying drawers yesterday but it was rainy and cold, and I was sleepy, so I priced out a Dell laptop, which probably WON'T be any cheaper than a Mac, for what I want in it, and knitted while watching a Teen Titans marathon, the ninja turtles movie, and half of Bram Stoker's Dracula before going to bed.

Boo!

2009-10-30T15:00:32Z

Halloween isn't even here yet, but already I've been very festive. I love it. My Halloween season started on the 20th with pumpkin carving! On the 24th I was Amelia Earhart for a co-worker's party, and last night I had my own party, themed in Victorian macabre. I still don't know what I'm doing ON Halloween.

I dearly loved hearing all the compliments on the decor. I want to leave my house like that year-round!

I didn't take any photos of my own party, so I'm eager to see everyone else's!

EEEEE!

2009-10-29T00:12:07Z

So, Hocus Pocus just came on. I love this movie and I haven't seen it in forever. And then I sat staring dumbfounded at the screen. Lo and behold, I am staring a a baby-faced adorable Timothy McGee.

I think I screamed. I had a GIANT crush on the young Thackery Binx. I find this hysterical.

No no no, you've got it all wrong...

2009-10-28T12:43:07Z

When I plan a halloween party, I'm pretty sure I requested clear, cool, and crisp autumn weather to go with it. Not 70, muggy, and raining before dawn. Snap to it!

Pumpkin seeds

2009-10-21T19:56:37Z

While everyone else's ovens burned their pumpkin seeds, some of the batch I threw into the oven last night were a little undercooked and too chewy. Mostly good though. But I have a LOT of seeds. I will be cooking them in batches (provided they last that long...do raw seeds go bad?) through the weekend, and I will bring them to next week's Yarn Night to give away if you dumped your seeds in the bowl, and want noms!

Skirt wantus immediatus

2009-10-21T16:24:28Z

So, next time you have something shipped by DHL, and you're not home, and you think you hubby might not hear the delivery man, you can leave a signed note on your door, and your package will be delivered without having to have a warm body to answer the door!

My Bodyline dress was delivered this morning! I think I'm feeling fevered. I think I should go home. A good dose of dress up is just what the doctor ordered, yep.

My corset should also be arriving today! Happy happy mail day!

I noms them

2009-10-20T02:52:57Z

For five hours tonight I made a bajillion cookies, got bean dip ready for the crockpot in the morning, picked up and vacuumed the downstairs, and threw all the garbage and recycling in the entry way to go out tomorrow morning. Of course I have a pumpkin carving event on trash day. So the can will be nice and empty for all those pumpkin guts. Where it will sit for a week. Awesome. XD

Now I go flop into bed, because it's been awhile since I was still active this late at night.

Jubilation

2009-10-19T19:11:56Z

Yay, my new corset shipped today!

Yay, I have maple candy melting in my tea!

Yay, I bought a really cute lolita dress today!

Bloody Awesome Weekend

2009-10-19T14:46:05Z

I wish it had been longer!

Saturday I spent dissatisfied with my closet and its failure to produce an exciting vampire outfit for Nick's vampire birthday party, but I had a lot of fun! And I was happy with how his present came out, and SUPER excited I actually finished it on time!

Any time on Saturday not spent scowling at my closet was spent flailing about the house. I tried to get started cleaning up for the pumpkin carving gathering I'm hosting tomorrow night in lieu of the usual yarn night. But a lot of the Halloween party stuff is still incomplete and in limbo and spread out EVERYWHERE. I was getting distracted and kept trying to work on that stuff instead of clean up, so not a lot of progress was made in either corner of that fight. Starting to panic...running out of time! Ack!

Also found out my parents are going to pick up the furniture we're all buying from my aunt and uncle next week, and will be bringing it all down Halloween weekend. Which reminds me I have utterly FORGOTTEN to measure and write up a listing for my bedroom set. I'm in a bit of a bind because I don't know if I can mess with selling it while I'm trying to get ready for the party, but by the time the party is here and done, more stuff will be arriving and I'll have a whole extra bedroom set just...handing around. Bah.

Sunday morning left me just enough time to take a shower and get ready to pick up people to go to the state fair. It was cold! I liked it though, it meant I could eat lots of hot fried food. I had alligator tail! It was really really good! I also had roasted corn and apple cider. I was seriously contemplating doughnuts, but I thought that might have pushed me over the edge. I regret not taking the doughnut dive. The new fair food this year was a "pig licker". Chocolate covered bacon on a stick.

Michelle won first place for her socks! Very exciting.

There were also cows, and bunnies, and little baby chicks...and goats, which all of my loving friends were happy to point out at every opportunity. But there was always a fence between us, so it was okay.

I had to hit up the grocery store for pumpkin carving dinner stuffs, and to get a pumpkin! For some reason when I got home last night I thought I'd be hungry, y'know, because it was dinner time. So I made food, sat down, and just stared at it before putting it in the refrigerator. By then though, I'd already thrown stuff in a crockpot to make tonight's dinner. I think I'll be pretty good about taking my lunch to work this week. Making foods on Sunday is really helping to keep me on track!

halofire @ 2009-10-16T09:03:00

2009-10-16T13:10:58Z

I keep sputtering, and searching the page to let me know that the words coming out of this guy's mouth is some sort of prank. How absolutely ballsy, and pretentious, and just...ugh. It's like a script from every "recognizing racisim" lesson all rolled together.

halofire @ 2009-10-15T17:12:00

2009-10-15T21:13:14Z

http://emailsfromcrazypeople.com

This site is hysterical. It will also make you afraid to leave your house, or interact with another soul in any way, ever again.

Lace Me Up

2009-10-14T13:46:23Z

So my corset arrived last night! I love it, and the size I picked according to the size chart was perfect.

Just not in love with the fabric. I got a solid black denim, which on the website didn't look acid washed ^^ But the color was too uneven up close in real life for what I wanted for my Halloween costume, so I'm waiting to hear how long it would take to process an exchange, because they ALSO have a few more solid black options that were sold out when I ordered on Friday. Yes, I am impatient.

But excited! Yay corset!

halofire @ 2009-10-13T09:23:00

2009-10-13T13:24:25Z

So I ordered two things on Friday, and I have no way to track them. One I got a tracking label for, but usps doesn't recognize it.

I want to know where my stuff is!

Yum Yums

2009-10-11T23:03:32Z

I do much better with taking my lunch to work instead of buying out if I cook something on Sunday for dinner, and then take leftovers to start the week.

It turned out well! I wonder if it could be adapted as a crockpot recipe? The kale might turn to mush though...

I did't have quinoa in the house, so I made barley. And during the last cooking phase I tossed in some shrimp.

quinoa with mushrooms, kale, and sweet potatoes
from realsimple.com

Serves 4 Hands-On Time: 15m Total Time: 30m
Ingredients

* 1 cup quinoa
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 small sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
* 10 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
* 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
* 1 bunch kale, stems discarded and leaves torn into 2-inch pieces
* 3/4 cup dry white wine
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)

Directions

1. Place the quinoa and 2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all the water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes and mushrooms and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and beginning to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the kale, wine, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, tossing often, until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve over the quinoa and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

By Kate Merker, September 2009

I'm a big girl now?

2009-10-09T14:06:46Z

I just bought my first real steel-boned corset! In boring ol' black, for versatility.

O.O

Now the Trouble Starts

2009-10-08T16:58:22Z

So I'm fiddling off an on with my ravelry account, and getting a feel for it. Profile pics, neat! Profile details, neat! Friends, neat! Stash, needle, and pattern hoard recording, neat! Ohh, I can look up patterns!

...lots and lots and lots of patterns. At my fingertips. Just waiting for me.

I really really REALLY don't want to be working right now, I want to be browsing!

Today you may call me Evie.

2009-10-08T13:21:49Z

I feel like a librarian today. I have a tweed mid-calf length brown skirt, a cream button-up shirt with the fun buttons on the shoulders, and brown boots. I figured a jabot would be a little overkill.

I got up early enough to iron my shirt. Something is clearly wrong with me.

I need to finish up a bachelorette gift for Amy tonight, and clean my house! Mom came up for her birthday yesterday rather than spend it alone with the cats while Dad is out of town. We weren't very exciting, and she even paid for the pizza we went out for. It's really sad when you and your brother pull out wallets to pay for your mother's birthday meal and she doesn't let you because she knows you are broke and/or unemployed. Mothers.

She's staying at my place tomorrow night so I'm making another attempt at paying for dinner. That, or I'll cook something. Not even the woman who gave birth to me is exempt from my belated birthday offerings. I'm going to knit here one or two of the cabled rag mats I made for myself a little while back. ...Just as soon as I find time to tear up more fabric. At the very least I can promise she'll have them in the house when company starts arriving at Thanksgiving for the wedding!

Onto that Dark Road

2009-10-07T15:56:13Z

Okay! I'm halofire on Ravelry. I can stop pestering everyone for patterns!

Self Discovery

2009-10-06T18:40:23Z

As cool as it sounds, I could never survive a 4-10 work week with an office job. Of course starting at 7 and not 6 am on a regular basis might help. But here I am at 2:30 and I'm starting to crash, exactly 8.5 hours after clocking in. I have to make it two more hours!

Some Kind of Special

2009-10-06T12:53:23Z

I was at work this morning at 6 am (the cats were confused).

Yes, AT work.

There's nothing OPEN to feed me at 5:20 am. I'm hungry.

But I get to cut tomorrow short, which is good because it's my Mommy's birthday, and she's coming up to visit for a few days.

On Sunday I bought a coupon book, because I keep losing my Target or Michael's coupons, or forget to use them.

I am thinking about signing up for Ravelry. Insane?: Y/N