WIP monday

Knitmoka gave me this lovely sock yarn for the new year. I took it right down to the yarn shop and learned how to use the complicated ball-winder at last. To alleviate some of the look-how-small-that-yarn-is jitters, I also bought some of the fattest yarn I have ever seen -- I balled it by hand last night, and the thing is nearly as big as my head!

I made some little fabric play blocks for a baby in the wings, and I am still working on butterfly PJs for my elder niece. I hope to get a lot done on those tomorrow -- I had to stop working on them until I fetched some interfacing and pregathered trim.

It feels like I've been busy with crafts, but I don't seem to have a lot to show for it. I guess these days I am just considering myself lucky to be the only person I know not to have gotten a cold (yet).

dollars and cents

In my daily life, I collect all the discarded money I reasonably can. Pennies mostly, of course, usually on the sidewalk, at the a store checkout counte, the airport floor. When I was 16, I started collecting the pennies in memory of my late grandmother --- a sort of teenaged idea of being profound. In fond childhood memories, she had helped me with my math skills by rewarding successful rounds of flashcards with pennies (nickels for the harder ones). The habit stuck into adulthood, and about four years ago, I decided to keep track of my annual haul by keeping all of the coins I found (and rarely folding money) in a change bowl separate from the regular change bowl, and then count it up at the end of the year. I have developed quite a game at it -- setting rules and guidelines. My friend Matt plays along now, and we have even come to have moral discussions about the pennies (afterall, what would your mother do?). I admit, I get a little obsessive about it from time to time -- I find myself scanning the floor at the grocery store, nearly to the point of being rude to those around me. Not to mention that I probably look mighty suspicious to the guy watching security camera footage.

My first year, I collected something like three dollars, and then six the next year. Last year, I believe I had something like ten dollars. This year though, I found forty dollars in a crosswalk on my birthday, which brings my final collection* to (drum roll, please)......$50.37

Happy New Year!!

* One of the rules is that I don't have to place the exact coinage that I find into the annual haul bowl (i.e.: if I find a dime, I can put ten pennies from my regular change bowl into the annual haul bowl), so providing a breakdown of the coins spread before me on the floor as I write this wouldn't be accurate, but I will say that this figure includes a ten Euro cent piece (and applying the current exchange rate of 1 EUR = 1.45964 USD), no Canadian coins (surprising, considering where I live), and it does not include the two novelty stretched pennies I found (one bearing the likeness of a sea otter from the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the other with the ten commandments in teeny tiny letters).

winter holiday: part 3

Eric and myself at Fort Point, San Francisco

While we were in the bay area, we visited old friends, saw A Tuna Christmas (a silly play where two guys play all 20-odd parts, it is, it is), walked all over San Francisco, saw more friends, and went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I've always liked the aquarium, but I do believe that it just gets better and better. Jellies, Mola mola (aka: Sunfish), a great white shark and hammerheads, flounder, bat rays, decorator crabs (love those guys), snowy plovers and of course, the sea otters! Then the long drive back to Seattle, via Shasta Lake City, where we stayed overnight with friends. I am sad that I forgot to take pictures of all of these friends I just mentioned.... oh well.

The Golden Gate Bridge was feeling especially photogenic on Friday, and I took full advantage...

Jellies and Mola mola at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Part of our mission this trip was to haul back to Seattle some furniture that my parents acquired in Maryland: a bench, an area rug and a dresser. The latter two fit into the car, but the bench had to go on top of the car, wrapped in a pair of big black garbage bags. Inside the bags, supported by the upsidedown bench, we also nestled some boxes with dishes and towels. With those boxes at one end of the bench, and the bags taped securely all over, the load resembled a blocky human figure: torso, legs and feet. We saw more than one smiling face in a passing car window, apparently amused with our load. The bench now resides in our mud/sun room (depending on what season it is), the dresser will go in our second bedroom, which we are furnishing into a guest room, and the area rug is in the living room, already replete with white Finn hair (and black too, I suppose, though you can't see that).

Eric is working today, and Finn has been asleep nearly all day, finally on his own, after eleven days sharing the canine spotlight with at least one other dog. So after a five-mile sunrise walk, I've been cleaning the house, restocking the fridge and writing thank you cards, while it snowed for several hours.

I hope you and your family are happy and warm this holiday season -- and my best wishes to you in the new year!

Final's and Christmas prove to be difficult

I have recently undergone finals and now I am spending Christmas in Tennessee with unreliable internet. Both of these things have proven to be problematic when it comes to updating posts.

Please be advised that this mini hiatus will not impair my ability to deliver quality blogs about "the issues" in the future. Keep checking back- I heart you.

P.S. I actually got a new laptop for Christmas, so blogs should be a little more frequent. yay!

A preview of things to come is above.

winter holiday: the soundtrack

Characters: Three dogs, Finn, Maggie and Lucky. One person, name irrelevant.
Setting: the kitchen.

Person: Finn. Lucky. Maggie. Sit. Lucky. Maggie. Sit. Finn. Sit. Maggie. Sit. Lucky. Sit. Sit. Siiit. Finn. Maggie. Maggie. Maggie. Lucky. Sit. Sit. Finn. Sit. Maggie. Sit. Maggie. Lucky. Lucky. Sit. Finn. Sit. Finn. Finn. Lucky. Maggie. Sit. Siiit. No, I said Maggie. Maggie, Sit. Sit. Sit. Maggie. Finn. Lucky. Sit

Finn: Bark!

Person: <groans> No!

Maggie, Lucky & Finn: Barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark

barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbark!

Person: Dogs! Dogs! Dogs! Maggie! Lucky! Finn! Maggie. Sit. Finn. Lucky. Maggie. Sit. Maggie. Maggie. Lucky. Sit.

winter holiday: part 2

We left Seattle on Friday night: I had packed up the car much later than I'd planned, because the clothes dryer developed a lint clog and wouldn't dry the laundry in the anticipated timeframe. So in the dark and the rain, I packed up Finn's crate, our luggage, gifts and dog food, headed south to pick up Eric from work, and we headed out from there. I drove us from Seattle past Portland to Wilsonville, where we stayed the night. Finn was quite funny running around the room crouched low to the floor and sniffing everything.

Eric did his homework earlier and the week and had indentified off-leash parks for us to run Finn around in Wilsonville and Roseburg in Oregon, and Redding and Sacramento in California. The dog park in Wilsonville is a work in progress and was covered in mud -- not just wet soil, but that kind of mud that cakes and creates little snowshoes around your feet. Slippery and really fun to watch the dog slide around in. It was a good thing we brought an extra towel for Finn.

The rest of the trip was largely uneventful, except that we found that Finn--who otherwise seems to have gotten over his carsickness--really hates windy roads. I-5 over the Siskiyous had him panting and shaking, but not actually sick, fortunately. We pulled over in Hilt, California, to let Finn walk off his queasiness, but as soon as we hit the road again, Eric discovered three deer ticks on Finn, and one on himself. So we pulled off at the next exit for a tick check. None found this time, but in Redding, we picked up a flea comb, a concoction designed to calm the dog down, and some extra treats.

We drove through Sacramento (and nearly vomited at all of the new development in the north end, where we used to live), and veered to the east, towards the Sierra foothills. We travelled the historic Highway 49 through the foothills, then highway 4 to Arnold, our final destination, after some 14 hours on the road.

We rolled in late, but Zoe was waiting for us the next morning. She loved her new sushi pants!

A nice relaxing weekend was had by all... games of multiple solitaire, Booby Trap (below) and play with the baby....

Family tradition is to have dungeoness crab for christmas dinner, after which we opened gifts and generally sat around, fat and happy.

We headed for the bay area on Tuesday so Zoe and her parents could catch the red-eye to Boston. But first, Eric and Finn and I headed uphill to catch some serious snow time... It was Finn's first time bounding through more than the occassional three inches we get in Seattle...

He loved it. Can you tell?

winter holiday: part 1

I know you're supposed to love all of your Christmas gifts equally, but I am especially enamored of this one from my sister:

BlarneyYarn is the yarn shop of a friend of my sister's. She handdyed this yarn according to my sister's specificiations, just for me! And there's some roving (wool that's just waiting to become yarn) and a drop spindle -- the trials and tribulations of my learning how to use it will no doubt provide much blog fodder. I can't wait!

Blood Butterflies

Ive just bought this t-shirt from Threadless - Flowers in the Attic. Its running out of stock though as they are having a $10 sale. This shirt seems totally emo. I bought several other shirts while waiting for this one to be reprinted (it was so popular, I knew it would be eventually). Fortunately it only took two weeks before the magic reprinting notice! I'm wearing it now. One of those designs that just sticks in your mind forever. I love it so much. Visit Threadless for a bunch more wonderful tees.

Blood Butterflies

Ive just bought this t-shirt from Threadless - Flowers in the Attic. Its running out of stock though as they are having a $10 sale. This shirt seems totally emo. I bought several other shirts while waiting for this one to be reprinted (it was so popular, I knew it would be eventually). Fortunately it only took two weeks before the magic reprinting notice! I'm wearing it now. One of those designs that just sticks in your mind forever. I love it so much. Visit Threadless for a bunch more wonderful tees.

WIP Monday

The term paper is nearly done! Fill in a few blanks, get my references in order, add a photograph here, a map of Golden Gate Park there, and voila! A term paper! I think it's pretty good, too! Now to study for the exam....

But since you can't just work on a term paper all weekend, I finished this scarf yesterday....




And not a moment too soon, because it is going to be chilly today!



And as is usual for this time of year, the crafting table is a pig sty....

tiny success!

When I finally got the tiny pants to have a right leg and a left leg (who knew knickers were so complicated?), I was so thrilled, I do what everyone does to celebrate: I put the tiny pants on the dog....

EMO T-Shirts

Image from BleedingStarClothing

Emo, which is a shortcut for “emotional,” is an important fashion trend nowadays. Emo clothing is rooted in other fashion styles, such as goth and punk. Emo fashion is associated with dark tight-fitted clothes, with occasionally flashy accessories.

Emo t-shirts are important pieces in the closet of any emo. Emo t-shirts can be very symbolic and expressive of the person’s feelings and interests. If you want to dress like an emo, here are the basic characteristics of an emo t-shirt that you need to know.

• Emo t-shirts are typically dark colored t-shirts. A plain black t-shirt is a favorite among emos.
• If you are not into wearing plain dark-colored t-shirts, striped or checkered t-shirts will also do.
• Dark colored t-shirts mixed with other colors, such as neon, can also be worn.
• Typical designs for emo t-shirts include various ghoulish symbols, such as a skull or a broken heart.
• Emo t-shirts may also have logos of emo bands, such as Dashboard Confessional and Hawthorne Heights, printed on them.
• Emo t-shirts are usually slim-fitted.

Emo t-shirts are best worn with pencil-tight jeans, studded belts and oversized belt buckles, and a pair of Vans or Converse shoes. Also consider getting a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and a black messenger bag. To complete the emo look, it is advisable to get an emo haircut and put on some simple black eye make-up, such as eyeliner or eye shadow. These tips apply for both guys and girls.

Although these are the clothes commonly worn by emos, you should not be limited to these. Remember that being emo calls for a sense of creativity, individuality and non-conformity. Your clothes say a lot about who you are and what you are feeling at the moment. Be true to yourself! Be emo!

EMO T-Shirts

Image from BleedingStarClothing

Emo, which is a shortcut for “emotional,” is an important fashion trend nowadays. Emo clothing is rooted in other fashion styles, such as goth and punk. Emo fashion is associated with dark tight-fitted clothes, with occasionally flashy accessories.

Emo t-shirts are important pieces in the closet of any emo. Emo t-shirts can be very symbolic and expressive of the person’s feelings and interests. If you want to dress like an emo, here are the basic characteristics of an emo t-shirt that you need to know.

• Emo t-shirts are typically dark colored t-shirts. A plain black t-shirt is a favorite among emos.
• If you are not into wearing plain dark-colored t-shirts, striped or checkered t-shirts will also do.
• Dark colored t-shirts mixed with other colors, such as neon, can also be worn.
• Typical designs for emo t-shirts include various ghoulish symbols, such as a skull or a broken heart.
• Emo t-shirts may also have logos of emo bands, such as Dashboard Confessional and Hawthorne Heights, printed on them.
• Emo t-shirts are usually slim-fitted.

Emo t-shirts are best worn with pencil-tight jeans, studded belts and oversized belt buckles, and a pair of Vans or Converse shoes. Also consider getting a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and a black messenger bag. To complete the emo look, it is advisable to get an emo haircut and put on some simple black eye make-up, such as eyeliner or eye shadow. These tips apply for both guys and girls.

Although these are the clothes commonly worn by emos, you should not be limited to these. Remember that being emo calls for a sense of creativity, individuality and non-conformity. Your clothes say a lot about who you are and what you are feeling at the moment. Be true to yourself! Be emo!

wish list

I thought I was going to ask for nothing this holiday season.... I'm not sure how long I thought that would last.

so if anyone has $50 burning a hole in their pocket, I found something I want.....

How Do I Make My Curly Hair look Emo?

For those who have curly hair and want to look emo, here are some tips that would somehow help you achieve the emo look. These are all taken from the comment section. Thanks to all who have taken time to write these mini guides.

Oh, wow.
This could be a lot of work, but if you are willing to be dedicated to it, then it would look awesome.
Emo guys are so hot!
Alright, first off..
HOT TOPIC IS YOUR FRIEND!
I know some people are scared of it, but there is nothing wrong with the people there.
Just go. Almost every single thing in that place will make you look emo.
You don't necessarily have to wear skinny jeans. Regular jeans are ok too, as long as they are a dark color.

Ok, now for your hair.
You don't really have to dye it if you don't want because your hair is pretty dark as it is.
But you will need a straightener.. hate to say that but it's true.
Or you could get it chemically straightened, but that is like really expensive.
You might want to grow your hair out a bit, but it's not required, because emo is all about being yourself.
[Cough, cough.]
But you will need to have it straight.
Go to a stylist, or get a friend to cut it for you. You will need side bangs. Lots and lots of side bangs. And make sure they cover at least one eye.
One side of your bangs needs to be longer than the other side.
Cut the back part on top of your head kind of short and spike it up.
The best type of gel is Got-2-B-Glued.
Or, if you don't like that, you could try a faux-hawk. They are pretty cool.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. SHOES!
Oh, how I love shoes.
You will need Vans slip-ons or Converse. Or some black skate shoes like Etnies or Adios.

And the best type of hoodie for an emo guy is either a plain black one, or a band hoodie, or one that is a zip-up with, like, black and grey wide horizontal stripes.
[Like one Pete Wentz would wear.]

Here's the part where I would tell you to try to be yourself, but it's a little too late for that now.
Hahahahaha.

Well good luck, I think it will look great!
I wanna know how it comes out.

By: Katie

First off all,
u have to straighten it.. its a must.
if u cant dye your hair, and u've straightened it, buy some moisturizing spray so it looks like your hair it makes your hair dark and messy. style it so it comes across your forehead at an angle then use hairspray to lock it in place.

after that, go to your hair dresser and ask him to layer the back and think it out and little but not take any length away from it.
then buy your self some hair clayy and go wild. pull your hair away from your head and then sort of twist it with your fingers and srunch it up. it gives it a reli messy spikey look. then hold that in place with hair spray. u dont have to spike it. if you dont comb it down constantly.

Becuase your hair is quite short go buy some reli huge womens sun glasses which will cover your eyes and try to pull you hair over your glasses.

Next if you cant buy any good emo-ish shirts go to like a childrens store and buy the tightest and smallest spiderman or transformer shirt u can fit into. dont worry if its a bit short and your belly is showing it just adds to the 'i'm not afraid to show my self and i dont care what u think look'

then buy some reli tight jeans and either vans old school skate shoes or slip-ons with a reli funky or childish design. if u cant the converse will have to do. Start listening to quality music like faber drive and as i lay dying ,which reli express how u feel then buy your self the bigeest head phones u can afford and have them on all the time it stops people from talking to you, and is reli anti social. Then find a tight zip up hoodie that is black, dark purple or pink. Wear your studded belt side ways also if u've got 2 put the other one on aswell.

By: Richard_died-inyourarms

The best way for me to get the emo look is to get a hair straightner and some straightening gel. If you have money to throw away, look into japanese hair straightening. Make sure to get heat protecting spray as to not fry the hair. Then for me I have to straighten twice a day so it falls flat and doesnt poof on me. Then apply palmade or clay. I should also add my hair is extremely thick so I had to get it thinned a bit as to once again so it wouldnt poof on me. My picture on thier is a month or 2 old. Ill get a new one soon.

By: Robdoghihi

Hey that dude with curly hair, what you should do instead of frying your hair with the irons, go to the hair salon and get a CHEMICAL straightner on it. Then you will have straight hair full stop. It's like a perm, except they make it straight instead of curly. Styling wise, I've seen your myspace. Dude it's a mess. Get it cut. You have a fairly long face, so it's best to keep your hair long all around. Get it cut just above the eyes and stop the spiking at the back. Keep it flat. It won't look like a mess. That's for the long hair look. Looking at your other pictures with your short hair, personally i think you look much better with short back and sides :P

anonymous

Personally I don't think people with curly hair should bother with the emo style. If you have curly hair, you're lucky, i love the ringlets lol. Emo guys, if you want emo hair just give it about half a year to grow and go and see your hairstylest mate. If you're afraid of your hairdresser like me and cut your own hair. Here is how.



You need some basic tools first.
Scissors. Not ones you cut paper with PROPER scissors.
A Sharp Object. Maybe a blade. Prefrably a rasor, small one.
Comb.

Okay the razor will be used to cut your sharp pointy fringe at an angle. Start from the left or right however you want to do it and about half way down your forehead. Cut it whatever angle you want.

Used the scissors to just trim down the sides of your hair and the top otherwise you will end up with the thickest, gayest and afrolikish hair. Not too short. Juut trimmed. Same with the back.

Comb it through and check your results. But note: USE A MIRROR and use two mirrors to cut the back of your hair.

By: The guy that is a master at cutting emo hair

How Do I Make My Curly Hair look Emo?

For those who have curly hair and want to look emo, here are some tips that would somehow help you achieve the emo look. These are all taken from the comment section. Thanks to all who have taken time to write these mini guides.

Oh, wow.
This could be a lot of work, but if you are willing to be dedicated to it, then it would look awesome.
Emo guys are so hot!
Alright, first off..
HOT TOPIC IS YOUR FRIEND!
I know some people are scared of it, but there is nothing wrong with the people there.
Just go. Almost every single thing in that place will make you look emo.
You don't necessarily have to wear skinny jeans. Regular jeans are ok too, as long as they are a dark color.

Ok, now for your hair.
You don't really have to dye it if you don't want because your hair is pretty dark as it is.
But you will need a straightener.. hate to say that but it's true.
Or you could get it chemically straightened, but that is like really expensive.
You might want to grow your hair out a bit, but it's not required, because emo is all about being yourself.
[Cough, cough.]
But you will need to have it straight.
Go to a stylist, or get a friend to cut it for you. You will need side bangs. Lots and lots of side bangs. And make sure they cover at least one eye.
One side of your bangs needs to be longer than the other side.
Cut the back part on top of your head kind of short and spike it up.
The best type of gel is Got-2-B-Glued.
Or, if you don't like that, you could try a faux-hawk. They are pretty cool.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. SHOES!
Oh, how I love shoes.
You will need Vans slip-ons or Converse. Or some black skate shoes like Etnies or Adios.

And the best type of hoodie for an emo guy is either a plain black one, or a band hoodie, or one that is a zip-up with, like, black and grey wide horizontal stripes.
[Like one Pete Wentz would wear.]

Here's the part where I would tell you to try to be yourself, but it's a little too late for that now.
Hahahahaha.

Well good luck, I think it will look great!
I wanna know how it comes out.

By: Katie

First off all,
u have to straighten it.. its a must.
if u cant dye your hair, and u've straightened it, buy some moisturizing spray so it looks like your hair it makes your hair dark and messy. style it so it comes across your forehead at an angle then use hairspray to lock it in place.

after that, go to your hair dresser and ask him to layer the back and think it out and little but not take any length away from it.
then buy your self some hair clayy and go wild. pull your hair away from your head and then sort of twist it with your fingers and srunch it up. it gives it a reli messy spikey look. then hold that in place with hair spray. u dont have to spike it. if you dont comb it down constantly.

Becuase your hair is quite short go buy some reli huge womens sun glasses which will cover your eyes and try to pull you hair over your glasses.

Next if you cant buy any good emo-ish shirts go to like a childrens store and buy the tightest and smallest spiderman or transformer shirt u can fit into. dont worry if its a bit short and your belly is showing it just adds to the 'i'm not afraid to show my self and i dont care what u think look'

then buy some reli tight jeans and either vans old school skate shoes or slip-ons with a reli funky or childish design. if u cant the converse will have to do. Start listening to quality music like faber drive and as i lay dying ,which reli express how u feel then buy your self the bigeest head phones u can afford and have them on all the time it stops people from talking to you, and is reli anti social. Then find a tight zip up hoodie that is black, dark purple or pink. Wear your studded belt side ways also if u've got 2 put the other one on aswell.

By: Richard_died-inyourarms

The best way for me to get the emo look is to get a hair straightner and some straightening gel. If you have money to throw away, look into japanese hair straightening. Make sure to get heat protecting spray as to not fry the hair. Then for me I have to straighten twice a day so it falls flat and doesnt poof on me. Then apply palmade or clay. I should also add my hair is extremely thick so I had to get it thinned a bit as to once again so it wouldnt poof on me. My picture on thier is a month or 2 old. Ill get a new one soon.

By: Robdoghihi

Hey that dude with curly hair, what you should do instead of frying your hair with the irons, go to the hair salon and get a CHEMICAL straightner on it. Then you will have straight hair full stop. It's like a perm, except they make it straight instead of curly. Styling wise, I've seen your myspace. Dude it's a mess. Get it cut. You have a fairly long face, so it's best to keep your hair long all around. Get it cut just above the eyes and stop the spiking at the back. Keep it flat. It won't look like a mess. That's for the long hair look. Looking at your other pictures with your short hair, personally i think you look much better with short back and sides :P

anonymous

Personally I don't think people with curly hair should bother with the emo style. If you have curly hair, you're lucky, i love the ringlets lol. Emo guys, if you want emo hair just give it about half a year to grow and go and see your hairstylest mate. If you're afraid of your hairdresser like me and cut your own hair. Here is how.



You need some basic tools first.
Scissors. Not ones you cut paper with PROPER scissors.
A Sharp Object. Maybe a blade. Prefrably a rasor, small one.
Comb.

Okay the razor will be used to cut your sharp pointy fringe at an angle. Start from the left or right however you want to do it and about half way down your forehead. Cut it whatever angle you want.

Used the scissors to just trim down the sides of your hair and the top otherwise you will end up with the thickest, gayest and afrolikish hair. Not too short. Juut trimmed. Same with the back.

Comb it through and check your results. But note: USE A MIRROR and use two mirrors to cut the back of your hair.

By: The guy that is a master at cutting emo hair

Nick needs Help

Very cute Nick here needs some help. Lets help him become an emoboy. Post your thoughts on the comment section.

Hi my names Nick. I saw your advice on emo hair.
I am guessing your emo. Or whatever.
I want to look like that.
I just don't know what to do.
I don't know if this matters at all but heres my description along with pic.
I am 5'5 (short I know) i have about to my top of my eyes (when straight) brown ungodly curly hair. I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT. I wear hollister (not emo I know but what the heck idc its clothes) I have an awesome studded belt. I want to look emo. I also am a little like pudgy. I don't like it I want ab's. I am 14. I am NOT a kid and I know what I want.
I'd really appriciate your help.
Thanks

Nick needs Help

Very cute Nick here needs some help. Lets help him become an emoboy. Post your thoughts on the comment section.

Hi my names Nick. I saw your advice on emo hair.
I am guessing your emo. Or whatever.
I want to look like that.
I just don't know what to do.
I don't know if this matters at all but heres my description along with pic.
I am 5'5 (short I know) i have about to my top of my eyes (when straight) brown ungodly curly hair. I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT. I wear hollister (not emo I know but what the heck idc its clothes) I have an awesome studded belt. I want to look emo. I also am a little like pudgy. I don't like it I want ab's. I am 14. I am NOT a kid and I know what I want.
I'd really appriciate your help.
Thanks

WIP monday

The weekend was a good craft weekend for me. I worked on the tiny pants for tiny people (for the two daughters of a friend)....

these tiny pants are nearly done....

and this was a pair of tiny pants, but had to be disassembled and restarted....

winter solstice cards are in production....

and of course, the term paper....

rain day

My office building was evacuated this morning due to the storm we're in. What's more, I have a carpoolmate who works in the call center of an area energy provider. She had been expecting to work late tonight due to the storm, but that building was evacuated too! So don't expect a prompt answer when you call to report an outage tonight!

I am always torn on what to do when I end up at home due to weather conditions (snow , ice and and wind storms in both Portland and Seattle). I didn't have time to prepare any work to bring home, which would have been my normal plan, so here I am, lunched (on the aforementioned leftover stuffing) and with a mug of tea, tempted to curl up with a book or some knitting.... but my term paper isn't exactly writing itself, either.



here are a couple of photos from Northwest Cable News website of flooding near my office...


totem lake area near kirkland, no photo credit, collected from nwcn.com


woodinville flooding, photo by Bob Brothers, collected from nwcn.com

ps: what did I end up doing with my free afternoon? I fell into a vortex of unlabelled photos on my computer. they're all labelled now, though not any more organized. I thought I'd been at it for just 30 minutes or so when Eric came home...

stitch 'n' botch

d'oh! instead of a right leg and a left leg, my tiny pants featured a front leg and a back leg....

stormy weather

Don't know why, there's no sun up in the sky

Stormy weather, since my man and I ain't together

Keeps raining all the time

I'm not nearly as sad as the song implies -- I just thought it was fitting since it has been raining and snowing all weekend (we saw about three inches at our house yesterday), and Eric did work all weekend, so I really didn't see him much.

But I made the most of it. On Saturday, I worked on some tiny pants for tiny people, and when I realized that I had screwed one one pair up royally, I decided to remove myself from the vicinity of the sewing machine and the window it sits next to and hole up in the library for awhile to work on my term paper (whose deadline was generously postponed by a week).

Between the library and going home to get ready for the events of the next paragraph, I stopped at the fabric store for some braided elastic. The fabric store is located in a local strip mall in a busy retail district. The strip mall building is two stories, with stores on both stories. As I was walking up to the doors of the fabric store, I was hit by a snowball thrown from the second story, square on my uncovered neck. Very annoyed and quite ticked off, I cursed under my breath, and quickly resolved to not give any acknowledgement at all. I figured it was some pre-teen or teen aged kid, either seeking, or at least expecting, some sort of response, and I'll be damned if they were going to get that from me. I warned a couple of shoppers inside the store of the overhead pest as I scooped slushy snow out of my collar. Not horribly upset, I was nonetheless cheered when I crossed paths with a friend from work before I left the store.

Come evening, it was time to go see Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe (often called the Canadian Prairie Home Companion [but better, in my opinion]). I met Eric downtown in the freezing slushy dark (they opened they show: "well, this is the type of weather you get when a bunch of Canadians come into town!"). The music was fine (especially the piano solo--the type where an extremely talented pianist blends about thirty well-known pieces into a ten minute frenetic piece. I love those), but for me, the Vinyl Cafe has always been about the story telling, and Mr McLean did not disappoint! He's a bit jumpier than I had imagined though....

Sunday was largely a repeat of Saturday (working on those same tiny pants, except here all the work was to be done with the seam ripper instead of the sewing machine. I settled onto the couch with my book on CD from the library (Atonement by Ian McEwan) and my coffee. Seems ripped, but not wanting to stop listening to the CD, I got started on the Winter Solstice cards. I got the prototype finalized and got some of the pieces put together before I was distracted into making other sorts of cards (sympathy, birthday, thank yous and blank notecards). During that activity, I concluded that I am going to hang up card making. I have been considering this for years -- between jewelry making (beading and metalwork), quilting/sewing and knitting, and oh yeah, non-craft activities, cardmaking might just be one too many hobbies. For about a year, I have planned to dedicate a weekend to a massive card making marathon, using up all of the supplies I already have, developing a huge backlog of cards, and then finding a good home for the remaining supplies (rubber stamps, mostly, but also papers, stamp pads, an embossing tool, scissors, and various ephemera). I still think that would be a grand idea, but in one year, I haven't found one weekend in which to actually do it, so I am beginning to wonder if it wouldn't be better to just hand all the stuff over to someone else now and be done with it? Anyone need a shoebox full of rubber stamps?

The other thing of note that I did today was that I cooked a pared down Thanksgiving dinner on a whim. Delicious as our Thanksgiving dinner was, I know Eric loves the traditional turkey, dressing, cranberry relish, potatoes, green beans and pumkin pie dinner. Though I'd gone to the store for only a few things, I left with the makings for a two-person feast. I substituted cornish game hens for an actual turkey, made Grand Central Bakery dressing, cranberry relish with orange, green beans almondine and two pumpkin pies. We will not discuss how I was a little miffed when Eric came home, immediately praised how good the house smelled (I had told him that I was making him a special dinner), and upon being introduced to each of the dishes, asked "where are the mashed potatoes?" Besides, it was all quite good, and for once in Thanksgiving dinner history, there is leftover dressing instead of leftover white meat, which is a much preferable situation in my book.

Mel is Getting Skinny

So, I went for a research study follow up and I was going to put a chart on here with all of my numbers, but I lost the paper that I wrote it on. So here goes: I now weigh 227.4. That is a 29 pound weight loss in 4 months!! That is like five of the beg ones below and 4 of the little ones. These are models of what 5 and 1 pounds of fat look like:





Sick! Well, that is all off of my body and now I'm moving closer to my goal of one hundred pounds in a year!!

Please pray for me as I continue my cardio and weight training 3 times and week and I stick to a low GI diet.


In other News:
my students, JT, and I will be going on the overnight hunger simulation tonight (see previous post on World Hunger Farm) so please continue to pray that we will be changed through this process. I rely on food for comfort, while others can't even rely on it for sustenance. That's almost sicker than the fat model.

Grace and PEACE

A sticky little secret

I had someone ask on my other blog how I got this hairbow to stick to Little Squishy's head. I tried EVERYTHING to get them to stick to The Princess's head when she was an infant. KY, Karo's Syrup, etc. They would just fall off and leave a sticky mess. I just resorted to brain squeezers, which aren't my favorite, but what do you do?

When I had The Pea, a darling nurse in the hospital told me a little secret. Use Elmers Glue. It is water soluble and if you just get their hair wet before you wash the rest of their body at bathtime, by the time you get around to washing their hair, the glue is soft enough to be scrubbed out. Make sure you catch the ribbon. I have had more than my share almost go down the drain.

WIP Wednesday

I usually remember to post WIP on Mondays, but execution is a different thing entirely...

I made a little something for Zoe, but incase she's perusing the blog, I have to just give a hint...


I agonized a little over making Winter Solstice cards this year, what with the "waste" of paper and all, but I decided to go for it anyway. Recycle your cards, everyone!


I got two more huge log cabin blocks done...


and I've finally found some fabric for the artsy quilt, which I also now have a plan for...

The Daily Bite: It IS easy being green

Every once in a while, my inbox is blessed with the presence of the Ideal Bite, short and sassy emails about green living. Ideal Bite offers small ideas for "light" green living, so if you aren't interested in selling your car and buying a moter scooter or switching to washable feminine hygiene products just yet, this may be the site for you.

I really love the small changes that I have been able to make through these emails. Recently, I took a personal oath to bring my own travel mug to the coffee shop or at least ask for a "for here" mug. I'm currently working on knitting my own coozie, so that as a last resort, I at least can forgo the paper sleeve. Let me know if you need a knitted coozie of your own.

Another big-small difference I have chosen to make is to swear off plastic bags. I made my own shopper purse out of an old t-shirt (photos coming soon) that I take to the store to transport my goods.


Calculate your ECO-FOOTPRINT using one of these websites (or google eco footprint):
Earth Day Eco-Footprint
Conservation International Eco-Footprint

and then check out the ideal bite website or blog (in my links section) and find out some practical things you can do to reduce this footprint on the world.

Coming Soon: My reflections on THanksgiving with JT's family.

GUIDE: HOW TO GET AN EMO HAIR

Emo hairstyles are similar to the hairstyles of music artists in the 1980s and the punk hairstyles in the past decade. Commonly, emo hairstyles include straight black hair with long bangs or fringes styled to one side, covering part of the face and eyes. However, the emo hairstyle is not limited to this anymore; styles have evolved so that anybody who wants to have an emo hairstyle can get one.

CHECK THE SHAPE OF YOUR FACE

The shape of your face is important when choosing a specific emo hairstyle. For people who have longer faces, a longer emo haircut would fit. For those with rounder faces, long fringes and short hair at the back would look best.

FIND A PICTURE

Now that you know what kind of emo hairstyle would look good with the face of your shape, the next thing to do is find a picture with the kind of emo hair you want. There are numerous sources of emo hairstyles from the Internet, especially musicians. Bring this along when you go to your hairdresser, and have your stylist cut your hair the same way.

GET YOUR HAIR CUT

Before you can get an emo haircut, you need to grow your hair a little first. This allows your stylist to cut in the emo style into your hair. Ask your stylist to cut the sides and the back of your hair in layers. The bangs should be made choppy. Although emo bangs usually have one side longer than the other, some emo styles can also have bangs cut straight across, covering the forehead. The hair at the crown should also be cut short, keeping it spiky with hair products.

HAVE YOUR HAIR COLORED

Have your entire hair dyed black or dark brown. If you want to add highlights, you can do so in a variety of colors. Emo hairstyles tend to use unusual hues in order to create a glaring contrast to the black hair – white, blue and even bright pink, for the more outrageous, are typically used. Highlights are usually added under the bangs and at the nape.

STYLE YOUR HAIR

Having emo hair is high maintenance. Styling emo hair typically involves the use of a lot of hair products. You can choose to either straighten your hair with a hair iron or create a messy, unruly look. For those with curly hair, try straightening even just the front part of your hair. When ironing your hair, remember to do so in small sections so that you go through all the parts. If you are a guy, you can also spike up the back of your hair, while keeping the front pat down. You can also use funky accessories and clips to style your hair.

CONCLUSION

Getting an emo haircut is an important part of living the emo lifestyle. Although these are simple guides on how to get a basic emo haircut, it is important to incorporate your personal ideas to create your own one-of-a-kind emo hairstyle. Try it!

GUIDE: HOW TO GET AN EMO HAIR

Emo hairstyles are similar to the hairstyles of music artists in the 1980s and the punk hairstyles in the past decade. Commonly, emo hairstyles include straight black hair with long bangs or fringes styled to one side, covering part of the face and eyes. However, the emo hairstyle is not limited to this anymore; styles have evolved so that anybody who wants to have an emo hairstyle can get one.

CHECK THE SHAPE OF YOUR FACE

The shape of your face is important when choosing a specific emo hairstyle. For people who have longer faces, a longer emo haircut would fit. For those with rounder faces, long fringes and short hair at the back would look best.

FIND A PICTURE

Now that you know what kind of emo hairstyle would look good with the face of your shape, the next thing to do is find a picture with the kind of emo hair you want. There are numerous sources of emo hairstyles from the Internet, especially musicians. Bring this along when you go to your hairdresser, and have your stylist cut your hair the same way.

GET YOUR HAIR CUT

Before you can get an emo haircut, you need to grow your hair a little first. This allows your stylist to cut in the emo style into your hair. Ask your stylist to cut the sides and the back of your hair in layers. The bangs should be made choppy. Although emo bangs usually have one side longer than the other, some emo styles can also have bangs cut straight across, covering the forehead. The hair at the crown should also be cut short, keeping it spiky with hair products.

HAVE YOUR HAIR COLORED

Have your entire hair dyed black or dark brown. If you want to add highlights, you can do so in a variety of colors. Emo hairstyles tend to use unusual hues in order to create a glaring contrast to the black hair – white, blue and even bright pink, for the more outrageous, are typically used. Highlights are usually added under the bangs and at the nape.

STYLE YOUR HAIR

Having emo hair is high maintenance. Styling emo hair typically involves the use of a lot of hair products. You can choose to either straighten your hair with a hair iron or create a messy, unruly look. For those with curly hair, try straightening even just the front part of your hair. When ironing your hair, remember to do so in small sections so that you go through all the parts. If you are a guy, you can also spike up the back of your hair, while keeping the front pat down. You can also use funky accessories and clips to style your hair.

CONCLUSION

Getting an emo haircut is an important part of living the emo lifestyle. Although these are simple guides on how to get a basic emo haircut, it is important to incorporate your personal ideas to create your own one-of-a-kind emo hairstyle. Try it!

Hello, this is my first post here, so I thought I'd just say something. I'd wanted to get a blog for quite some time now, and I thought it was time to do something about that... I really love writing, and I think it would be nice to express my thoughts and dreams, and whatever is on my mind like this. This blog will be about anything - at least for now.

I am thankful for...

...Eric. I am thankful for having Eric in my life, and for the opportunity to share every day with him. He is all I could ever dream of in a partner, and I love him with all of my heart.

Eric and I had thanksgiving dinner at the Spiral Farm with Frank heading up the cooking with a menu of Indian food, and Matte deep frying a farm raised turkey. Company was enjoyed, nearly full moon on a cloudless evening was admired and we went home stuffed and happy.

turkey a-fryin'....


two pages of Indian recipies!


baby naan....


and by the time we headed home, it was pretty chilly out....

all gone!....continued

What, you're not satisfied with a shot of my amputated braid? You want to know what my remaining hairs look like? Alright, here you go....

Another Emoboy with a Heart

Got this tru email. Another hot emoboy with a really nice emo hair. His name is Charles Brindle. Visit his myspace profile and be inspired.. He also cut his own hair and do the same for his friends.. talented..

I'm a fairly extroverted person who enjoys reading, hanging out, poetry, artwork, and computers. I spend a lot of time working on artwork and reading particularly. You'll find me in coffee shops most of the time, probably working on one of these things. I absolutely love coffee and without it I probably wouldn't get as much done as I do. Starbuck's frapicinos rule 2, along with BK Joes, and Sheri's coffee. Helps to curve my ADD anyway (at least that’s what I keep telling myself.)

Right now I'm running a small business and trying to make my way through college. Life for me is usually crazy but I've been living in a mad world so long I find it more enjoyable then a boring life. Better to live your life as an adventure then not live it at all. I also really like to help people out however I can. I personally think that the greatest way to spend your time is to be spending it helping others.

If you feel like you ever need someone to talk to, send me a message and I'll do my best to get back to you. The time I spend here is not to judge people, just here to help them out as best as I can.

I've got a lot of problems and I'm far from perfect. Actually I'd say I'm a pretty screwed up person and I'm trying to rebuild my life from the ashes of other people’s mistakes. But God is there to help me along the way, and I believe I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today without Him. If you don't believe in God or share this view that’s okay. I think people should have the choice to believe in what they want (shouldn't everybody have the right to that?)

-Charles Brindle

Another Emoboy with a Heart

Got this tru email. Another hot emoboy with a really nice emo hair. His name is Charles Brindle. Visit his myspace profile and be inspired.. He also cut his own hair and do the same for his friends.. talented..

I'm a fairly extroverted person who enjoys reading, hanging out, poetry, artwork, and computers. I spend a lot of time working on artwork and reading particularly. You'll find me in coffee shops most of the time, probably working on one of these things. I absolutely love coffee and without it I probably wouldn't get as much done as I do. Starbuck's frapicinos rule 2, along with BK Joes, and Sheri's coffee. Helps to curve my ADD anyway (at least that’s what I keep telling myself.)

Right now I'm running a small business and trying to make my way through college. Life for me is usually crazy but I've been living in a mad world so long I find it more enjoyable then a boring life. Better to live your life as an adventure then not live it at all. I also really like to help people out however I can. I personally think that the greatest way to spend your time is to be spending it helping others.

If you feel like you ever need someone to talk to, send me a message and I'll do my best to get back to you. The time I spend here is not to judge people, just here to help them out as best as I can.

I've got a lot of problems and I'm far from perfect. Actually I'd say I'm a pretty screwed up person and I'm trying to rebuild my life from the ashes of other people’s mistakes. But God is there to help me along the way, and I believe I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today without Him. If you don't believe in God or share this view that’s okay. I think people should have the choice to believe in what they want (shouldn't everybody have the right to that?)

-Charles Brindle

all gone!

I did it! The ponytail is off to Locks of Love, and I am experimenting with orange peel sculpting goo... My head is finally free!

Hip Hop and Worship

Last Sunday and today I worshipped at Church Under the Bridge here in Waco. CUB is an interdenominational church that gathers outside under the I-35 bridge every Sunday, rain or shine. The congregation is truly multicultural and consists of homeless brothers and sisters, a local biker group, Baylor students and faculty, high school kids, etc. As I walked up under the bridge I watched as people from all walks of life greeted each other with the peace of Christ. How beautiful is the body of Christ!



As the band finsihed up, Pastor Jimmy Dorrell (director of Mission Waco and Truit Seminary proffessor) approached the microphone and spoke of the man posessed by demons that Jesus cast out into the pigs. Jimmy and I have worked together in the past and as I try to expose my students to people that are different than them he has been very instrumental in bridgeing the gap between "the us" and "the them." He took 15 of my students on an "other side of waco" exposure tour, where he drove us around town to the places that most Baylor students do not usually get to experience. As we came back to Mission Waco, Jimmy pointed out the youth building. Graffiti was purposefully sprayed on the side of the building (words like peace and joy) and Jimmy explained to us that he hopes to turn one of Mission Waco's buses into a HipHop Christian Party bus.



This week I have been thinking about an article that Jimmy wrote about HipHop church services. He feels that there is a great need for these types of services. In fact, CUB holds HipHop church services from time to time.

I was informed that in South Bronx, an Episcopal church that has a HipHop service and Father Alex at the Episcopal Student Center let me flip through his copy of the HipHop prayer book.

(excerpt) Psalm 23 as adapted by Ryan Kearse
The Lord is all that, I need for nothing.
He allows me to chill.
He keeps me from being heated
and allows me to breathe easy.
He guides my life so that
I can represent and give
shouts out in his Name.
And even though I walk through
the Hood of death,
I don't back down
for you have my back.
The fact that you have me covered
allows me to chill.
He provides me with back-up
in front of my player-haters
and I know that I am a baller
and life will be phat.
I fall back in the Lord's crib
for the rest of my life.



Some say that the HipHop church thing is weird and too strange, possibly too much. Some say that it is the embodiment of loving people, and that you have to be truly intentional about getting to know those that are different than you.

I think I'm going to take this week to reflect on what Paul means when he says to "be all things to all people."

(photos by Matt Lester)