Sunburn

Tip: When attending rehearsal outdoors, in sunny weather, do not forget the sunscreen.

We were outside from 9:30 to a bit after noon, quite a bit of that in the sun. I did not have time to put on sunscreen before we started, as I was hosing off my feet and legs (and capris) behind the castle. My cross-golf course trek landed me in mud up to my ankles rather suddenly. Flood mud. Icky, smelly flood mud. Luckily, I was wearing flip-flops that were washable.

Anyway, the new opening gate show is really funny, and our first rehearsal with the Predators of the Sea went well (only two were there, due to work schedules). Dancing went well, too, and we have a new royal court member: Merriweather Milquetoast is joining us!

It was a long but productive morning, as we had to block the opening gate show, move the trailer, and discuss changes and additions to the shows. After the rehearsal, we had a little excitement crossing the bridge from the faire site.

The site flooded during the big flood, and washed away some of the ground around the supports. So, we had about a foot jump to get up to the bridge, and on the other side, a narrow trench between the edge of the bridge and the ground. That wasn't the problem.

About halfway over, I suddenly realized that the bridge was swaying rather alarmingly with so many of us going over at once. So, we all stopped in our tracks, then proceeded more carefully, trying to walk so as not to start things up again. I was glad to reach the end, as things had started to sway again.

I didn't realize until I had gotten home that I was a bit crispy. Really starting to itch...

Up too late

Giggling over the commercials on Comedy Central... boy do things get weird after midnight...

Of course, the reason I am up so late is that I had a hard drive fail in my computer earlier this evening. Luckily, the drive that failed was not the boot drive, but a second drive that had Classic on it. Unfortunately, it also had my music and photos on it, too. Which meant I had to run to work to find an old copy of DiskWarrior, and borrow an external drive to shuffle data. Took about an hour to find what I needed, as I was looking for a CD, only to remember that I had purchased Diskwarrior as a download and the CD copy came later. Found it on my computer at work. Duh. I copied the MacOS 9 stuff to one of the FW drive partitions, booted from it at home, and managed to copy about 99% of the files after Diskwarrior couldn't repair the damage. I'm just lucky that 9 could mount the drive...

Moral of the story is: backup.

Okay, time to sleep now before I nod off at the computer...

Harumph...

Anytime it takes more than 25 minutes to bake a frozen pizza, and it's still soggy on the bottom and in the middle, you know something's up...

I think my oven is conking out. And probably the stove top, too, as pasta is taking forever to cook lately, like the temp isn't steady enough. :( Luckily, I rent, so I just have to call up the maintenance folks tomorrow, and have them see what's up.

Unfortunately, that means that I had to spend precious time cleaning the stove, and straightening up the apartment. All on the one evening I actually could have gotten to bed early, due to NOT having to stay awake to monitor the extremely bad weather we've been having.

So, I'm done now, and exhausted, and I am two steps away from falling asleep at the desk. And my house is clean. Yay!

Exhausting, but great day!

Good-bye icky old car, hello gorgeous midnight-blue 2002 Buick Century!

Yep, the water pump was the last straw. Monday morning, my mom called very early, and told me that she had found an incredible ad in the Fort Dodge paper. Monday was a flurry of talking with the bank, getting an application faxed to me, and then faxed back to the bank, and approved. Mom and dad test drove it Monday night, and I filled out the papers and picked it up today!

What a relief...

Photos from Dubuque!

Here is a pic from the last royal audience of the faire. I was exhausted, but the music in the air made things quite bearable. :)



Here are some links to show what you missed!

Dubuque Renaissance Faire 2008 - AtTheFaire.com

Digital Dubuque - Renaissance Faire

Flickr Set from cdedbdme The photo at the top of the post is a crop from one of this user's pics, used through a Creative Commons License.

This is what I have for now, as far as links. If you attended this faire, and have photos to share, please leave a comment on this post, and I'll add your link! :)

Wish list...

First thing I am buying after next year's tax refund...

8 yards of Periwinkle Blue Silk Dupioni - I666

A bit spendy, yes, but I love this shade of blue, and have been dreaming of a gown made of this color for ages... this summer is far too busy to make a new gown for myself anyway, so I can wait patiently...

Insult to injury...

First, let me say that this weekend at the first annual Dubuque Renaissance Faire was extraordinarily fun! This event was very well produced, and we had many people (vendors and entertainers) comment that the faire was more like an event in its fourth or fifth year than its first. Just fun!!!!!

And now, because I have had more than my share of bad luck this spring than is fair, for the bad.

#1: car. leaking antifreeze. My poor dad came to tow it from Dubuque, as we were unsure that it would make it home. Luckily, Chris gave us (and our luggage) a ride home to Ames. We actually had a great time, and kept each other awake (we didn't leave D. until after 8, and had to stop at the QD in Dyersville for supper). Just got home.

Bad thing #2: we lost electricity sometime over the weekend. Now, my math is probably off, but it was 12:01 am when I went into my room and saw that my alarm clock read 6:01 pm.... So, I have no idea how long we were without electricity. Which means, everything in the fridge and freezer will have to go, because I have no idea if it was off for five minutes or five hours. Guess this is an argument for an old-style plug-in non-digital clock...

Okay, tired now, going to bed as I have to go to work tomorrow...

Let's lighten things up a bit...

Falling off of my chair laughing...

Horrifying.

Iowans Sort Through Massive Tornado Damage

I am just feeling overwhelmed by this right now. On the heels of a weird spring, this round of severe weather just caught me off-guard mentally.

And we are not even into summer yet...

Trials and Tribulations

Sigh.

Where to begin.

I am distracted right now, by many things. On the one hand, I have a ton of sewing to do this week and next, to get ready for the Dubuque Faire (May 31- June 1st!). I also need to clean my house, because a friend and her daughter are coming over tomorrow evening, so I can shorten the straps on a prom gown (for a fifth grader for a dance recital). And believe me, after six weeks of sewing projects, the end of the semester, and more sewing projects, it needs it. I am also distracted by huge hardware failures in our PowerMac dual-2.7GHz G5s. If you are a tech on campus, you may have already heard this one. If you haven't yet, you will at the next MacOS X Admin meeting, provided I haven't gone nuts by then.

However, the most irritating thing that is distracting me right now, is the most annoying thing that a seamstress who has to wear contacts in less than two weeks can have.

Conjunctivitis (pink eye) and blepharitis (which is probably temporary, and caused by the pink eye).

Anyway, my cleaning break is over. Back to cleaning. Have to scrub the kitchen floor and dust the living room. Then, on to sewing until at least 11 to catch up.

If I can stay awake that long...

Finally, (for better or for worse): Steampunk article in the New York Times

Steampunk Moves Between 2 Worlds

Photo by Robert Wright for The New York Times

For better or worse, a mainstream newspaper has picked up on the Steampunk movement.

Quaint to some eyes, or outright bizarre, steampunk fashion is compelling all the same. It is that rarity, a phenomenon with the potential to capture a wider audience, offering a genteel and disciplined alternative to both the slack look of hip-hop and the menacing spirit of goth.

The elaborate mourning dresses, waistcoats, hacking jackets and high-button shoes are goth’s stepchildren, for sure, but the overall look is “not so much eyeliner and fishnets,” said Evelyn Kriete, who sells advertising space for magazines like Steampunk, The Willows and Weird Tales, and who manages Jaborwhalky Productions (jaborwhalky.com), a steampunk Web site.

Ms. Kriete and her eccentrically outfitted cohort of teachers, designers, writers and medical students, drew stares last week at a picnic at the Cloisters in Manhattan, but provoked no shudders or discernible hostility.

“As a subculture, we are not the spawn of Satan,” Ms. Kriete said. “People smile when they see us. They want to take our picture.”

Robert Brown, the lead singer for Abney Park, a goth band that has reinvented itself as steampunk, echoed her sentiments. “Steampunk is not dark and spooky,” he said. “It’s elegant and beautiful.”

While I normally play in the Renaissance, I have been picking up patterns for Victorian costumes, with a mind to modify them for everyday wear ala Steampunk (to be fit for work, of course). Believe it or not, my son is extremely interested as well, especially in Steampunked tech. Geeks like costumes, you know.

I think we'll see more of this on the runways next year, which would be refreshing...

"“I’m so sick of baggy pants hanging off your bottom,” he said. “This is more refined. It goes back to a time when people had some dignity.

“It’s a new day.”" - Mr. James

Great diet-friendly find!

I just have to say, with summer around the corner, I found a great treat to have on warm afternoons:

Edy's Fruit Bars: No Sugar Added (Strawberry, Tangerine, and Raspberry)

Zero. Points.

Ohhhhh yummmm....

So, what did I do today on my afternoon off?

Well, for starters, I ended up leaving nearly an hour and a half late, due to needing to finish the DASH posters.

I went home, had lunch at 1:45 pm, and then sat on the couch, "for a few minutes," and fell asleep about 20 minutes later.

Good one.

I have tomorrow off, too, but it is scheduled breakfast to dinner with non-stop sewing. Oh, and I have to pick up the corsage at 4:00...

I totally did not want to waste this afternoon, but it felt great to snooze with the windows open....

Milestones...

Well... it had to happen sometime.

My son will have his 14th birthday this coming Monday.

And next Friday...

He will have his first date!

!!!!!

He asked the girl that he likes to the 8th grade semi-formal. Apparently, he's been thinking about it, and trying to figure out how to ask her for about two weeks. He finally told me about it Wednesday night, and I gave him a couple of pointers.

He had decided to ask her yesterday, and was a little scared when I asked him if he was still going to ask her, as he was leaving for school. Then, turns out that she was gone yesterday.

So, this morning, when I asked him if he was still going to ask her, he had a very firm "yes" as the answer.

He called me when he got home from school, and I could tell right away that he was smiling. "She said yes!" And apparently was smiling the whole time she said it.

And from what I understand, he's one of the few boys who actually asked a girl in person, and not through post-it notes left on lockers... It took guts to just go for it, and I made sure he knew that I was proud of him. :)

I am very happy for him, and at the same time, I'm feeling incredibly old right now...

And...

The Boomstick has it! (Joint poll between blogspot and renspace, and lab monitors!)

Okay, quick poll...

Buying my son an iPod shuffle for his birthday (the red one). It comes with free engraving if you want. So, I'm torn between two quotes. Can I get a quick vote from people as to which quote?

1. "'Tis only a flesh wound!"

or

2. "This... is my boomstick!"

Any thoughts????

One major project hurdle passed...

I am now at the halfway point on one of my major projects! The most complicated part is finished, and the rest should be really simple. I learned some new fabric finishing techniques, and am really excited about the results.

And this post degenerates into a series of nearly unrelated items. Enjoy!

Well, McDonald's had cheeseburgers for 59 cents and hamburgers for 49 cents today. My son begged and begged to have cheeseburgers for supper tonight, even calling me at work to remind me about the deal. So, I bought him three cheeseburgers, fries, and a coke for supper. You would have thought I was buying him an iPod or something. ;)

And speaking of iPods...

My son is turning 14 next week, and as a mark of his new maturity level, instead of video games, he's asked for a red iPod Shuffle (1GB model). I have to go back to WalMart tomorrow night, and see if they got any red ones in, because the last time I was there, they only had silver and purple left. He's already planning what songs he wants to put on it if he gets one. He he!

And because this is Iowa, turning 14 means that you can take the test to get a learner's driving permit.

!!!

Obviously, he has a lot of studying to do, and he needs to bring his grades up a bit before he can take the test. I did, however, stop by the DMV to pick up the book for him. Here's a hint: Don't go to the Ames DMV at 4:45 pm on Tuesday. The place was PACKED, and the line went out the door. I was very glad I only needed a book. He was a little surprised when I handed it to him. :)

Okay, time to try to sleep tonight. I slept great last night thanks to that Tylenol PM. My leg is feeling much better (no limp now - I had forgotten how awful a strained muscle can feel), so I am not going to take any tonight. It was nice to not wake up a bunch during the night, though. I didn't wake up until the alarm went off, and normally I wake up around 5, and then try unsuccessfully to get back to sleep until the alarm goes off at 6:30. If this lasts much longer, I am going to talk with the doc about it. I'm a night owl, and I cannot, repeat, cannot get up at 5 if I can't sleep until 11:30 or midnight. Tried it once, and it was the worst day... I was sleepwalking through the whole work day. That is a recipe for disaster in IT.

Seriously, good night. Hope you enjoyed the weather today!!!

End of a long day, beginning of a long week.

(I'm sure I've used that title before...).

I got a lot done today. I didn't sleep well last night, due to noisy neighbors during my optimal "drift-off" period. It was VEISHEA weekend, so it was a given that it would be louder than normal. The iPod did an okay job of drowning out the drunken college boy yells, but not quite enough.

I was up later than normal anyway, due to trying to copy out a list of materials needed for this massive costume project for the Des Moines Faire. I was also trying to get some research copied out, so Holly and I could work on our outline for the show we are going to co-write with Lynne (Queen Catherine of Have Court, Will Travel). We are putting together a show for the ladies, since the men have their weapons talk (very well attended last year!). We will be dressing a lady of the court from pretty much the undergarments out, and explaining the various articles of clothing of that era, along with historical information. It will be both amusing and informative, and should be really fun! There are nine pieces of clothing that we will have to create, so we are anxious to get the planning out of the way so we can start immediately after the Dubuque Faire.

Speaking of the Dubuque Faire, Holly and I are trying to put together a short version of this show really quickly. Since there will be only two ladies in attendance, besides the Queen, it has fallen to me to be the model for the talk. There should be some great jokes in there, as we have toyed with the idea that I would be "late" to the show, as I felt it was inappropriate to accept the Earl of Oxford's generous offer to help.

Anyway, I think the Tylenol PM is starting to kick in. My legs and shoulders are in a great deal of pain, due to the enormous amount of sewing, cutting, ironing, and general costume creating that took place this weekend. Every single night this week has to be dedicated to sewing so I can complete everything I need to finish on time. I have a very hectic schedule pretty much starting this weekend, until after Dubuque.

I think it's really great that the court is booked at three faires this year. We have so much fun together! I'll have a post with all of the faire information later, as I am really sleepy right now. So much fun just around the corner!!!! :)

Snow

Yep. It snowed. It is snowing, just a bit. Obviously, we did not go to the parade (which just started about 10 minutes ago). I have a problem with standing in the snow to watch a spring parade.

Anyway, so I decided to start working through the massive list of things I need to do this weekend. Laundry is in the washers (three loads - one of the benefits of apartment living).

I got out the project I am working on, and discovered that I cannot find my good fabric scissors anywhere. Just gone. I have looked every conceivable place in my newly rearranged (and organized) bedroom, in the kitchen, and living room, and came up empty handed. I even looked under the couch. I am baffled. I really do not want to have to go out and buy another pair, as they can be pricey. I also don't want to use my paper scissors to cut fabric, as the sharpener I have is for the good pair, and may not work so well on this pair.

Anyway, I know they haven't left the house, and they will probably turn up where I least expect it. And my house is not that unorganized. I left them on the dining table, next to the pattern pieces that had been cut out. The teenager claims he didn't borrow them.

Well, I have to get back to my search. What a waste of time....

Blogging Drought

Sorry. I meant to blog more frequently, but I've been working late nearly every day this week (and to be honest, for the last three weeks). Yesterday was the first time I was able to leave on time for awhile, and I was able to repeat that feat today. Yippee!

So, what have I been doing this week?

Well, last Saturday, we drove to Manson so I could work on my mom's computers, and my dad could change the oil in my car. We had a great time!

Can't remember what I did on Sunday. Drawing a blank. Monday through Wednesday were spent wrestling with a problem on our new printer (which is INSANELY BEAUTIFUL), nicely resolved by finding the correct drivers for the Macs. Thursday was spent adding the fix to the labs and rewriting installer scripts.

Oh, now I remember what I did on Sunday - I was sick all afternoon. I woke up around 8:30, after not really sleeping well (we didn't get home until nearly 11). I slept on my right shoulder wrong, and was in a fair amount of pain. I still managed to rearrange my bedroom, mostly because I had started before I started feeling ill, and couldn't just stop at that point to rest. Anyway, the reward was getting to take a nap afterwards, with the windows open. I slept a solid four hours without moving, and then of course, couldn't sleep that night.

And that was the theme for the week. Not able to sleep at night, extremely busy days, little time at home in the evenings. I slept well last night, and still managed to doze off for an hour this evening. I am hoping to be able to sleep well tonight, too, so I can get a bunch of things done tomorrow.

My son really wants to go to the parade tomorrow, but I am not so thrilled about the idea. We have a 50% chance of rain or snow flurries, and it's going to be windy and cold. We'd have to take the bus, as parking on campus will be insane, and I just cannot be out in that type of weather right now. I can't afford to have my cold get worse, as there is too much going on in the next seven weeks or so.

Anyway, so that's the update. Not terribly interesting, but such is my life right now.

15 Minutes to BSG...

So many questions....

5th cylon cannot be Baltar...

Long day yesterday, but even better than I had expected!

After getting home around 12:30 am, I was too keyed up to sleep right away. I think I fell asleep around 1:30 or 2.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon, we had our first rehearsal of the year for Have Court, Will Travel. I say rehearsal, but besides reviewing the dances, it was mostly a meeting about what changes we are going to make this year, what new shows we are adding (I'll get back to that in a sec), and what we are going to do at Dubuque (if we get to go - crossing fingers!). All that and about about 15 minutes of us all talking over each other because we were so happy to see each other again!

So, the big news for DMRF for this year is the addition of two shows: The Royal Wedding (which will replace the coronation), and something we have dubbed The Fashion Show, which will be the ladies' equivalent to the men's weapons talk (which is always our most heavily attended show).

I am really excited for both of these shows, but even more excited about the Fashion Show because....

I get to work on it! Hollie (the Duchess of Kent) and I are putting together the research and clothing, and with the help of our Queen, write this show. L even told us that this was our show! We will be dressing a lady in waiting from the smock and corset out. And since this particular lady is new, we will be sewing every stitch of this new garb, and will make it as historically accurate as we can possibly get. No theatrical shortcuts whatsoever. We will also dispel some myths of renaissance life, like the myth that they seldom bathed (maybe not in a full tub of water, but most of the middle and upper classes washed every day). I think we can really pack a lot of information about renaissance clothing and day to day life into this show.

I'm so excited!!!!!

Anyway, Hollie and I figured out that we have nine separate pieces of clothing to make for this demonstration. We set a general schedule, and will be meeting a bunch to work on this stuff over the next couple of months.

In addition, I will also be making garb for another court member, plus my son once he's done growing a bit more (I never start his garb until July, or I run the risk that he will have grown out of it!).

Anyway, more on all of this later, as we start working.

I am going to have a great summer!!!!!

Way too many things to do today...

But I still slept in for the first time in a month. Now I have to get my behind off the couch and get busy. It's going to be a pretty good day, if I can get things done as planned. :)

Byers, and Frohike, and Langly, oh my!

Okay, so I have a small Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi problem. It used to be a straight Dt. Pepsi problem, until last May, when I was forcefully reminded of the negative health benefits of caffeine on someone with high blood pressure and a history of stroke in the family.

So anyway, I have a flavored, carbonated water addiction.

This addiction has translated into a ton of those yellow bottle caps (orange if you buy it from a convenience story or soda machine) with the Pepsi points codes. I have been accumulating points and have entered 115 codes (and have another 25 caps waiting to be entered once I get really bored).

If you are unfamiliar with the Pepsi Stuff promotion, head on over to the Pepsi Stuff site for details. You can get free MP3 downloads, TV downloads, CDs, DVDs, and assorted crap electronics by collecting points. Free stuff is good.

So, awhile ago, I had earned enough points to get a DVD. And in the list of available DVDs, I spotted a blast from the not-so-distant past: "The Lone Gunmen: The Complete Series". I just had to get it! I had forgotten about this show, which is weird considering how avidly I watched it, and how terrible I felt when they canceled it (everything I like gets canceled).

The DVD arrived today, and I had the pleasure of introducing my son to yet another geek classic. :) He loved it! So, between working our way through the entire Star Trek Next Generation DVDs (Net Flix), season 3 of Battlestar Galactica (massive marathon necessary this weekend in prep for next Friday!), and now The Lone Gunmen, we're set for awhile.

8 days to season 4 of BSG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep feeling like I am forgetting something...

1. Laundry - Check
2. Wipe off counters - check
3. dishwasher loaded - check (not full yet, so can't run it)
4. crochet for 20 minutes - check +
5. Groceries - check (bought and put away)
6. Diet - still on track, but getting harder. Damn restaurant commercials.

And yes, I did not forget about taxes, I'm just feeling allergic to math right now...

CBS you suck.

Just watched the last episode of Jericho, and I cannot believe that CBS is so stupid as to cancel it.

This literally was the last show on network TV that I watched regularly, besides the news.

Every other commercial during Jericho was for shows that are finally starting up after the end of the writers strike.

Every single commercial was indistinguishable from every other commercial. Only the characters are different. This is what we have to look forward to. And reality shows...

Sorry. I'm done with you.

Please, SciFi, please buy Jericho! We can't be left hanging like this.

Seriously meant to blog more this past week...

Spent another day sick at home. Friday, I barely made it to lunch, and had only gone in because I needed to cover the lab because the lab monitor was sick. Got home, slept for four hours straight. Fever never hit above 99°F, and was gone by morning.

Saturday morning, my stomach felt fairly normal, but I had the hardest time concentrating on what I needed to do to get ready to go to my parents' house for the weekend. I finally made myself sit down and eat a snack around 11, just before hopping in the shower (did laundry and packed all morning). Had to take my son to get a haircut, and to pick up the Easter candy. Felt fine the rest of the weekend.

And then, this morning, I woke up with body aches, icky stomach, chills, and a low-grade fever again! Of course, we had nearly no food in the house, because I didn't do the shopping this weekend. I dragged myself to the store around 11:30, and it was a huge mistake. I really couldn't sleep either, so I am worn out.

So far, the fever appears to be gone, but I still feel achy. I started to get restless around 7:30, so I pulled out some crochet that has been long overdue for attention. I struggled for awhile with the way I was attaching the second row of loops, then had the a-ha moment that finally made everything go faster. I ripped out the ten inches of the second row, and started over. I finished the second row in less than an hour, where it had taken me well more than an hour to get the ten inches done (40 inch strip of crochet, tiniest thread and hook I've ever used).

The only problem with crochet is that for every hour I do it, it is as hard on my hands as 3 hours of hand sewing or beading. I am all over the place with my typing right now, as my fingers just do not want to move normally. I tend to try to keep crochet time limited, and never when I also have to do hand sewing or cutting out pattern pieces or fabric. This piece should be finished in a couple of days, though, even with limited time. I just want it finished, as it is for someone else.

Okay, there is the rambling post of the week... I may have time to post tomorrow night, if I am not upset by the very last episode of Jericho...

Diet Progress

Things are going pretty well with the diet. I was a little disappointed in my supper choice tonight, and couldn't finish it. Then, I thought I would try the baked Doritos and salsa, because I was still hungry, and I have been craving it for the last couple of days.

Baked Doritos = gag.

Over that craving.

So far, 11 pounds lost, mainly due to the fact that my parents keep cramming good food down my mouth on the weekends. :) Oh well. :)

Anyway, still have the determination to lose this weight once and for all.

Thank God baked doritos don't taste even half as good as regular....

This is what happens when I get bored.

(cross-posted from my renspace account)

I was bored the other night, and decided to try my hand at making a necklace to wear with my noble garb. I had bought red glass beads, "gold" metal beads, and spared a few 8 mm glass pearls from my collection. The tear shaped pearls are from a Christmas ornament from Hobby Lobby (plastic. unfortunately). I used beading wire as a base. I love how this turned out, and my son thinks I need to make more and sell them. About the only problem with that would be that I can't seem to find glass pearls in the tear drop shape, and these would end up being fairly expensive. It has a nice weight to it. I think I'll be redoing my girdle belt with the wire instead of beading thread.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

Spring is a beautiful thing

It's days like this that give me hope that spring will actually arrive, winter will end, I will lose forty pounds without being hungry, find eternal happiness, and live happily ever after.

Well, the first two, anyway...

It got up into the 50s today. Squee!!!! The entire week looks good so far, including the weekend. This winter has been awful, and I am overcome with spring fever now that it looks like it might be winding down.

I'm cautiously optimistic in hoping that we won't end up with a late spring snow storm/ice storm/tornadoes, etc. Of course, this is Iowa, so we'll probably get all three next week...

Of course, I am also in a good mood, as we will be starting Royal Court rehearsals soon, and got a little information about bookings for this season. We have two solid bookings, and one that we just found out about today (doing a happy dance! Once it's booked for sure, I'll share!).

Things are looking up!

Fiasco of an afternoon...

My son was absent from school yesterday due to illness. This afternoon, when he called me after getting home from school, he was really upset.

Basically, when he opened his locker this morning, his textbooks were missing.

The 8th graders basically have only two real textbooks (don't even get me started on that subject) - American History, and Science. Both were missing.

His teachers were no help, basically told him the books hadn't been left in their rooms, and told him that he had to find them himself. Eventually, he found the American History book on the top of his row of lockers, which was NOT where he had left it (in a padlocked locker). He couldn't find his science book.

So, after telling me this, I called the school to find out what we could do. That was another exercise in futility. The school's phone system is completely messed up. I managed to leave a message with the dean of students, but couldn't get through again. Finally, I left work early, picked up my son, and went to the school.

We met one of his teachers while we were looking in their work room (where all found textbooks are supposed to be returned). We didn't find his book in the room, and the teacher kept telling Ian that he shouldn't have left his books on top of his locker, because people will take them. We kept trying to explain that he never leaves his books out of his locker, and that I was concerned because it meant someone else might have his combination. Just didn't seem to get that this was a real problem.

After some searching, we finally managed to find his science book on top of lockers in another wing of the school. Went back and told the teacher we had found it, and where exactly we had found it. Turns out, that row of lockers belongs to some troublemakers who give my son a hard time.

What a mess, but at least we found his books....

Pizza Quiz

What Your Pizza Reveals

People may tell you that you have a small appetite... but you aren't under eating. You just aren't a pig. You consider pizza to be bread... very good bread. You fit in best in the Midwest part of the US. You like food that's traditional and well crafted. You aren't impressed with "gourmet" foods. You are dependable, loyal, and conservative with your choices. You are definitely unique and artistically inclined. You should consider traveling to Prague. The stereotype that best fits you is geek. You're the type most likely to order pizza to avoid leaving your computer.

What Does Your Pizza Say About You?

Very short quiz... Kind of interesting.

Damn, I want pizza now...

Weekend Plans - It is actually going to be above freezing!

I have big plans for this weekend.

Spring. Cleaning.

I am soooo ready for spring. It is supposed to be in the 40s this weekend, so the windows are going to be opened, and the house is going to be cleaned from top to bottom.

My son is going to go through his room, box up all toys except Lego™, and pack them away to take to my parents' storage room. You see, we were going to do that before Christmas, but since I've felt like I was sleepwalking since before Thanksgiving, it didn't get finished. Now that the sun has been out a couple of days, and the snow is melting, I feel finally awake and ready to work at this. And I have a very willing helper. A helper who is going to be sucking up big-time for a very long time, and has nothing better to do, as he is grounded.

Don't even want to talk about it except to say that he has received his first and last D, and is fully aware of the mistake he made when he kept telling me that he was doing well in math this trimester. Whoops.

We've worked it out, and set out the restrictions he is going to have. I want to say that he learned a valuable lesson, but I think I'll have to wait to see if he really got what I was trying to say.

It was so much easier in elementary school...

Sigh...

Disappointed in Project Runway.

If you were watching, you know that Chris is out and Rami is in.

Yuck.

Honestly, I loved Chris' clothes, and if I had the body and Budget, I would wear them in a heartbeat.

Rami's clothes were boring. Honestly boring.

Okay, I'm going to go back to reading a book and waiting for next week, when Jillian had better take the prize, or we'll know this show is rigged.

Don't even ask me how the weather is up here...

Especially if you are a telemarketer from South Carolina who has the guts to ask an Iowan how the weather is...

Today was an interesting day. Morning started out rough, with the accmulated snow and ice needing to be scraped off of the car. I left the house 20 minutes early, and it barely was early enough. The roads were awful in town, but cleared up by noon.

The diet has been going surprisingly well. I think I am more motivated than I can ever remember being about losing weight. I am going to make this work. Follow the program, learn to make good choices, and take off the damn weight. I am not as hungry as I was last week at the beginning of this. Part of that is timing and content of snacks. :)

Anyway, today's totals:

Breakfast: shredded wheat - 3 pts
Morning snack: Fat-free pretzels - 2 pts.

Lunch: Smart Ones Chicken Alfredo - 7 points (not terrible, but not the best)
Broccoli - 0
One slice of bread - 1 point

Snack (3:00): animal crackers - 3 pts

Dinner: 3 oz baked chicken - 3 pts
8 oz steamed potatoes with butter spray and Lawry's Salt (oh yummy!) - 3 pts (this was a serious amount of potatoes, if you've never measured. almost too much to eat)
winter mix vegetables - 0

Evening snack (8 pm) - pretzels - 2 points

Totally not hungry now at all.

Total: 24 points - very good!

Accidental Art

From this month's issue of National Geographic:



The God Particle

Yummy pics of the Large Hadron Particle Collider, and a very interesting article, too. We haven't gotten our print edition of this mag yet, as we always have a gap in our subscription due to renewing through the magazine sales at the middle school (then we get two months at once). Can't wait to get it!

Visit the article, and see more incredibly beautiful images of this collider. To me, part of what makes it so beautiful is that the design of the collider was dictated by its needs, symmetry combined with practicality. I would love to be standing were the man in the photo is standing. It would be overwhelmingly lovely!

Geek Outing

Yesterday, for a scout activity, the kids had planned to go to the Science Center in Des Moines. The plan was to explore for a few hours, then go to an IMAX movie.

Well, it turns out, the only people who were able to go were my son and I, and one of our assistant scoutmasters (we have a very small troop, and initially, two more boys and their father were going. But, one of the boys was behind in homework, and so they called to say they weren't coming). We still had fun. I can't remember getting to explore the center in such detail before.

I knew it was going to be a good visit when we walked in the front door, and found this:



The teenager wanted to take it home with him...

I especially like the space room (surprise, duh), and we spent a long time there. They had huge binders with collected space news, and good info and shots from current missions. They had a nice display about an astronaut from Iowa who was a commander on a recent shuttle mission (nice ISU shirt!). We built Lego spaceships (the teenager built the Galactica, of course, in the amount of time it took B and I to even put parts of generic ships together), and the teenager helped little kids play with the marbles in the gravity well.

I even did something I never thought I would do in my entire life.

I touched a snake.

Yep, I really did. One of the staff had one out for people to see and touch. Non-poisonous, of course (they have plenty of poisonous ones there, too).

Lunch was good, but we all ate too much. My son had a cheeseburger, fries, and a piece of pizza from my personal cheese pizza, and one from B's meat-lovers pizza. We also shared an order of breadsticks. I know the teenager had skipped breakfast to be able to eat there, but I had no such excuse. 13.75 points for the pizza*, 3 points for the breadstick, 1 for the sauce. Oh, but it was good. The guys said the cheeseburgers were really good, too. My son declared the cheeseburger and fries better than Culver's, which made me regret not getting that instead of pizza.

Anyway, we never had a chance to get bored at the center. My only complaint would be that they are not maintaining the exhibits as well as they should be (which was a problem in the old science center, too). More things were broken than should have been. For some, things that a simple blob of glue would fix. For example, in the reptile room (not its real name), they have drawers with fossils, rocks, and leaves. In some drawers, the individual pieces had come unglued, and were loose and out of place in the drawer, making that drawer pretty much unusable for its intended purpose (identification). At least two drawers, out of six, in each of the three towers had problems. I wanted to tell someone to give me a screwdriver and the glue gun, and I would fix it myself.

In all, I counted five activities that were actually broken (that would take more than glue to fix), and that didn't include the problems with the Galactic Jukebox, where you could put together clips of what you wanted to see in the Star Theater. The putting together of the show worked, but when we viewed them, everyone's shows had clips that would suddenly drop out early, or the wrong audio was with the wrong video. It was weird. We made sure to tell a volunteer about this, so they could fix it. It was more disappointing that anything, because when it works, it's really cool.

One exhibit room was completely blocked off, with no signs to explain why (were they putting together an exhibition?). We weren't the only people to comment on this.

All in all, it was a good day, but I could have gone to a regular movie theater to see Spiderwick, and been happier with it. I wouldn't have had kids kicking my seat and talking through the ENTIRE MOVIE, nor would we have been sitting next to adults who treated the place like their living room (what adult needs to leave THREE TIMES during a 90 minute movie???). From what I hear, that's a Des Moines thing... And yes, I did ask the kids to please quit talking, but if the parents don't back that up, it's a losing battle). For the love of God, teach your kids how to act in a public theater before taking them to one.

We did, however, decide to go back next Saturday morning and see the Mars movie. That would be worth seeing, and I doubt any little kids will be in that one.

All in all, a good day. :)





* 17 for a whole pizza hut personal, regardless of toppings, so really, it was probably slightly less points total. I am not going to post a complete points breakdown for yesterday, but believe it or not, by good breakfast and dinner choices, I stayed within my points for the day.

I'm honestly not really trying to bore you all...

I'm just not the most interesting person in the world. Sorry. That's what happens when you take the chocolate away from me. Seriously.

Okay, today, I did okay on the diet. I saw a slight improvement on the scale this morning, but it's too early to count. Anyway, here is today's totals so far:

Breakfast (broken record):
shredded wheat - 3 pts.
BTW, this shredded wheat is the Strawberry Delight frosted mini-wheats. Very good!

Snack:
fat-free pretzels - 2 pts.

Lunch:
Smart Ones Fettuccine Alfredo, with extra broccoli: 7 6 points. Loved this!

Snack:
more pretzels - 2 pts.

I've been chewing gum to get through the early evening until dinner, so was able to cut out a snack.

Dinner:
4 oz chicken, cut up and fried with Pam - 4 pts.
wild rice - 3 pts
water chestnuts - free
soy sauce - 1 (less than 1, really. Only 10 calories per tbsp.)
onion - 0

Yes, I need a snack right now. Not sure what it will be. Maybe an apple or applesauce, and pretzels...

Day 2

Breakfast: shredded wheat - 3pts.
mid-morning snack: same - 3pts

Lunch:
Weight Watchers, Smart Ones: Slow Roasted Turkey Breast, with mashed potatoes: 4 pts.
green beans: free
bread, three slices: 3 pts. (hoping to avoid afternoon cravings)

Snack: Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips: 4 points - helped bridge the gap, as dinner wasn't ready until after 7.

Dinner:
4 oz. chicken breast - 4 points (baked, with butter spray, and crushed Italian croutons, less than 1/4 serving)
cauliflower - 0 points
instant mashed potatoes*, one serving, with butter spray and garlic: 2 points or less (did my calcs on the info on the box for the prepared mix, but left out the butter)

Snack:
One serving fat free pretzels: 2 points, for 32 pieces. great snack, couldn't tell they were fat free at all.

Guilty pleasure: 1 cadbury caramel chocolate egg. I told myself I wasn't going to eat it, but that would be like telling Riker he couldn't go on an Away Mission. I ate it, I'm owning up to it: 4 points.

Total: 29 points, but probably less considering I used no butter on the potatoes.

Disappointing. But, I had points left over yesterday, so not a terrible start. Tomorrow night, I'm adding exercise.

* Note: The only reason I used instant potatoes was due to the fact that the bag of potatoes I bought last week smelled musty when washed. I hate it when that happens. The garlic seasoning helped mask the school-lunch taste.

Day 1 - Diet Begins

Accountability is key. My range: 22-29 points. If you are familiar with WW, you will be able to guess my weight. I am very alarmed by it myself, because it snuck up on me. This is the first step to getting rid of bad habits and getting healthy. And getting into my corset and court gowns...

Breakfast: yum!
1 serving Frosted mini-wheats = 3 pts.

Lunch: very good, and filling!
Weight Watchers, Smart Ones: Slow Roasted Turkey Breast, with mashed potatoes: 4 pts.
green beans: free
bread, two slices: 2 pts.

Snack: work, 3:15
one serving animal crackers: 3pts
100 calorie snack pack, Ritz Snack Mix: 2 pts. - YUCK. I should have just poured the salt straight down my throat. Couldn't finish this.

Dinner:
Healthy Choice French bread pizza - cheese: 7 pts. Yuck. Too much sauce, and the sauce was not good. Waste of 7 points and $3
1 cup unsweetened applesauce, with nutrisweet: 1 pt.

Evening Snack: (Yes, I'm a snacker. That's how I got into this mess!)
one serving microwave kettle corn: 3 pts.
one apple: 1 pt.

Today's total: 26 pts.

Still hungry, though, and I shouldn't be. Tomorrow, I'll actually cook dinner, and I shouldn't have any problems. Heck, I really started this last night at dinner, and didn't have any problems. Wasn't hungry at all last night. Tonight... should have had soup instead of the popcorn and apple. Same points, would have been more filling.

Anyway, more updates tomorrow...

Something I forgot to add to the last post...

Is there any reason why I should have my third sore throat in three weeks??? Seriously, this is getting ridiculous... I really do not want to have to go to the doctor again this month (had a checkup two weeks ago). No fever or anything, but this is not normal. WTF is going on? Maybe I do have mono after all...

P.S.: The reason I am up so late posting, is because I fell asleep on the couch at 4, and did not wake up until nearly 7, when my son woke me up because he was hungry for dinner. I could have slept until morning if he hadn't.

How I spent my lazy Sunday evening...

Second week in January, I went to Hobby Lobby, to scope out the 80% off Christmas items sale. I picked up some really great stuff, including this bead garland, for $1.



I spent a bit of time last night trying out possible "edits" to this garland to turn it into a renaissance girdle belt, playing off different styles seen in paintings of the period, and a little jaunt to the Sapphire and Sage site for inspiration (if I had the money, I'd spent a LOT there.).

I discarded the first variation, then spent more time tonight trying different options before coming up with this final version. This is just the section that will hang down from the center front of the belt.



This is the bottom edge, showing the bottom decoration.



This photo shows the center section, so you can get an idea of the pattern to the design. Nearly all of the "gold" plastic (shudder) beads are from the Christmas garland. The except are the gold metal beads that are placed next to the larger pearl crosspieces. The large pearls are from a Christmas ornament that I bought at the same same for 50 cents (and I had pearls of enormous size left over). Again, plastic. Yuck. But, they will do. The smaller pearls are 8mm (oyster) and 10 mm (ecru) glass pearls. The red glass beads are 6mm, and quite a lovely red (not so bright red as in the photos). The red oval-ish beads at the bottom of the piece are acrylic, and I have had them for years.

I was worried about using the plastic beads, but this ended up being pretty heavy as it is. I can't imagine what it would weigh if I had used all metal and glass beads... Besides, no one is going to get close enough to be able to tell the difference. The designs of the beads are within period bounds, so I am not too worried. I am creating a look, not 100% accuracy. Besides, the dress itself usually weighs enough that saving weight elsewhere is essential.

This was a great project for a blizzardy day...

Note: This was a "stash" piece. I did not buy anything to complete it, with the most recent purchases being the garland and ornaments. I am trying to see how many jewelry and garb pieces I can complete without additional purchases (with the exception of duct ties, for bodice boning, because I am completely out). The only additional allowable purchases will be thread, fastenings, and maybe cotton for lining.

Another Valentine's Day Escapade...

When I woke up this morning, I felt like I had been standing for hours or walking for days, or climbing hills in flip flops for miles.

All day, my legs hurt, at the top where they join my hips. As the day went on, it got worse and worse. I couldn't figure out why.

It wasn't until my son and I were getting ready to go shopping that I remembered a reason why I might be in such pain.

Yesterday, while getting out of the car at HyVee, I realized I had parked in a 2 inch deep puddle. While trying to avoid stepping into the freezing cold mess, I kept my right foot in the car, and gingerly extended my left foot to higher ground.

And promptly slipped, plunging my left foot into the water, and overextending my legs.

I managed to keep myself from falling into the puddle, and breaking something, but in the process, must have pulled some muscles. But, the important thing is, I didn't fall further, and break my hip. Because then I would feel really old, and really stupid, instead of merely in pain that will eventually get better.

By the time we got to Walmart tonight to buy a new DVD player, I was regretting leaving home. Walking is not fun at all. To make matters worse, I forgot to buy more Tylenol...

I just hope I can manage to get my housework done tomorrow...

Fabulous Day...

(no, really, I mean it...)

Here was my reward for working so hard today:

1. Upset stomach,
2. Way too much to do before tomorrow morning (cleaning),
3. and a broken DVD player.

Yep, my DVD player decided to quit working. It just doesn't power on at all anymore, no matter where it is plugged in. This really sucks. Now I have to go buy a new one.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Someone shut off the jackhammer in my head...

I have been fighting a terrible headache since noon. Nice wrap-around headache. Nothing is touching it.

Wha huh wa?

Yes, we all know it's Fashion week, and that the Project Runway Season 4 is kind of off in its airing schedule, either by purpose or screw up.

Being bored this afternoon, I decided to go to the PR site and read some blogs, commentary, etc.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a link to the Project Runway Season 4 Fashion Week collections!!!!!!!! ?????????

Of course, I clicked through, and it shows collections for the remaining 5 designers, Chris, Sweet Pea, Jillian, Christian, and Rami. So, yes, I know this doesn't tell who wins, and that all we know is that all five showed a collection of some sort (and so did Victorya). And the teaser for next week's episode has Tim saying 2 designers will be out.

I'm slightly disappointed to have seen the final set of clothes, but I am ga-ga over Chris' collection. Just perfect. I love the use of color and prints.

Chris' Collection

Costuming work - Gold Forepart and Sleeves

I finally am nearly finished with a project I've been working on since mid-January. Here are a couple of pics of a new forepart and sleeve set for my black gown:





The gold is a piece of fabric I got on sale at JoAnn fabrics, for $10/yard. It was originally $40/yard, so it was a great deal. I barely had enough at 2 yards. I am using the paned sleeve and the forepart patterns from the Margo Anderson Ladies patterns. The forepart is backed in cotton drill, and has about 200 4mm and 8 mm pearls sewn to it. The red and gold trim has a pattern of stylized flowers. This was a Hobby Lobby clearance find at about $1/yard.

The sleeves are lined with two layers of quilter's cotton, and embellished with 4 mm, 8mm, and 10mm glass pearls and gold cord. I still need to finish the top edges of the one sleeve, and sew the panes together for the other.

The gold cord was in the Christmas ribbon section at Hobby Lobby, for $2.50 for a roll of 10 yards. I had two rolls, and used about 12.5 yards on these two projects. I really wish I had bought more, as there is another project I'd like to use it for. Now I'll have to wait until they put the holiday stuff out again in June or July, and hope I have enough time to add it to the new dress.

This has been a fun project, as I am not rushing through it to get ready for faire. I have months to go before our first booked faire at the end of May, and even if we work at the Amana faire again for the court, I have plenty of time. I can't wait to wear this!!!

Disoriented.

I hate falling asleep on the couch, especially on Friday night.

As best I can figure out, I dropped off around 8 and woke up at around 10. Now I feel like I am forgetting something extremely important, and I can't quite figure out what it is exactly. So, I can't go back to sleep, as I am feeling anxious. Nothing scheduled for tomorrow. Laundry is mostly caught up. House needs an hour to get back into shape. No real reason for anxiety. Bummer.

So, it's time to fall back on the old standby - channel surfing.

I managed to find Bridget Jones' Diary on Bravo, although it loses something in the editing for TV. Such a sweet story, really. Too bad it's nearly over.

I doubt I'll find anything else on at this time of night. And no, out of general principal, I do not watch the Lifetime Movie Network, because seriously, every movie they show has one of four topics: 1. abused wife/girlfriend flees psycho spouse/boyfriend/stalker, 2. daughter/single/divorced mom beats incredible odds while dealing with personal tragedy, 3. woman/girl with eating disorder, 4. woman/mother with cancer or other terrible disease.

In other words, the same four movies. Only the names of the characters, and sometimes the actors that play them, change.

Boring night...

Everything all at once, or nothing at all.

I stayed home from work today, because I had a terrible sore throat still this morning, and had spent most of last night with the chills. By 3, I was feeling almost human, despite the fact that I knew my son had a band concert at 5, and needed to be at the school by 4:30.

As we were getting ready for the concert, he dropped another bombshell on me.

High School orientation at 7:00 pm tonight.

So not ready to have a freshman in high school.

Be careful what you wish for...

feel even worse this morning, and I now have a fever. :(

The only thing that could have made me feel better tonight just happened.

Ricky finally, finally, finally got voted off of Project Runway!!!!!!!! And Chris won the challenge!!!!!!!

Okay, now I can go to sleep... Out of tylenol pm, so I may not be able to accomplish that, but I am going to try.

How can I fell this crappy and not have a fever???

I either have strep throat or the real flu. And my thermometer has to be broken, because I'm reading really low (78.9°F). My bones ache and my throat feels horrid...

Sad news...

A couple of years ago, this person I didn't know left a comment on one of my posts regarding a time my son was sick.

I started reading his blog, which documented his struggles with ALS, and his decline.

Well, Saturday, Brainhell lost his battle with ALS.


:(

Further cementing the whole geek thing.

On the way home, while talking over our Super Bowl party plans for tonight, my son and I realized that we had no desire to actually watch the game. We would basically be watching for the commercials and half-time show.

So, we broke with tradition, and had an Enterprise/Next Gen marathon.

We did catch the last bit of the game, so we saw the upset.

And that was enough for us.

Next year, all out Battlestar Galactica marathon...

Are you there, God? It's me, geekgirl...

I don't mean to complain or anything, but can you cut me a little slack? I mean, I know it's nice to be busy and all, but just a little time to stop and catch my breath at work would be great. Oh, and that master list I have? If you would please let me actually mark things off as finished, I'd really appreciate it. And I guess I should add that I'd like to not have to add five things to it for every one thing I do get to mark off. Because that has sucked so far.

Also, could you help me out by not making me so grouchy at work? I'm trying to keep the wrinkles from settling permanently into my forehead. You know, that whole aging thing? Really not your best work....

And while we're on the subject of aging... I'm going to be 36 in a few months. I'm not trying to pressure you or anything, but you were the one who gave me a biological clock in the first place. It's ticking pretty loudly right about now. Tick, tick. Between that and the raging PMS, it's no wonder my eyes can cut through metal.

I really wasn't going to say anything about the weather. You've probably heard it all by now, but seriously, can you make spring come a little earlier this year? I'm so ready to not have to wear a stocking cap and mittens to bed.

I will have to thank you, though, for giving me such a wonderful family. And for letting me get to spend so much time with them the next two to three weekends. My nieces and nephews make all problems just disappear. As for the teenager, thanks for making him a sci-fi nut, and for making him a kid who will be very unlikely to make me a grandmother in the next six years. I'll be adding that line to my evening prayers, btw.

And while I may have wished more than once to be an only child while growing up, I wouldn't change a thing. That which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? I have my sisters to thank for making me as strong as I am today. Please watch over them, especially as they have children of their own.

Okay, I think that about wraps it up for now. It was nice talking to you, God. I hope things are going well with you. Keep up the good work!

Love,
Geekgirl

You know, this is kind of getting old.

Wind chill = -27°F.

Seriously longing for summer right now.

Back

Finally got my cable modem working again. Not a lot to chat about tonight, just digging the faster speeds... Turns out, the guys who replaced my cable modem way back last fall forgot to register the new one to my account. Therefor, the new one was hampered speed-wise, by mediacom.

Anyway, all is fixed now...

You're kidding me...

I woke up early today, because I had a bunch of errands to run (work, Panera to pick up bagels). I was checking my email when my son came into my room.

"Mom, I've got funny bumps on my arms..."

He has the hives!

The only thing I can think of is that we ate the red M&Ms from a bag of valentine's M&Ms (we needed just the pink and white ones for the shower). It may have been just enough of Red 40 Lake that it prompted an allergic reaction. He rarely eats M&Ms, and never that amount of red ones before.

So, I called First Nurse, and they said to just give him some benadryl to help with the itching, and to get him to the doctor if his face swells and he has trouble breating.

Poor kid is miserable...

Updates and such

About the sign thing - no worries there. Yes, there were six signs that were not very nice, but they were not terribly threatening. Pretty immature stuff, complaining that the lab was closed on Monday. Because, you know, they didn't get the whole "University Offices closed" thing.

This week has been very busy, and this afternoon was doubly so. I am enjoying a quiet evening, watching old episodes of Star Trek, Next Generation Season 1. The last two, in fact. My only question is, where the heck is Wesley? Now we have to wait for NetFlix to deliver the season 2 disc 1...

Sewing stuff is going well. I really, really love my new sleeves and forepart. I am still working on the sleeves, but I have one sleeve decorated, and ready to be tacked together. I still haven't figured out if I want to use single pearls to catch the sleeve panes together, or if I want to do something slightly more elaborate. I don't have time constraints on this project, so I really can take my time and make them gorgeous.

The next project will be to add the decorations to the black bodice and skirt. I have trim on the black gown already, but it needs more to make it really special. I am, of course, going to try this gown on first. I am making very slow progress in my weight loss goals, and I want to be realistic about my body shape. If the gown fits, then I won't feel quite so bad about the extra 8 pounds. If it doesn't fit, then I have to make a concerted effort to lose this weight. Ideally, though, my goal is to lose 30 pounds by the end of the year. However, whatever size I am in May will be the size I stick with until after the Des Moines Faire. I won't have time to do too many alterations if I keep losing wieght after May.

And if you are wondering - no I did not gain 30 pounds since September. I gained about 10. I just want to be slimmer. And yes, you may not think it to look at me, but there is 30 pounds there to lose. I'm just sick of being chunky in certain areas.

So far, this week I have lost about 2 and a half pounds. I am simply cutting out snacking, and portion sizes. I am not really hungry or anything, so I must be doing okay. We'll see how this goes. I just don't want to be this size any more, even if it is average.

Okay, so I got my internet fix for awhile. I am going back to my sewing. I am going to watch Knight's Tale, which is one of the favorites I pop in when I sew garb. I am still sad about Heath Ledger. I think he was just someone I thought would be around for a really long time. I've honestly watched Knight's Tale more times than I can remember, and was really looking forward to new Batman (just saw the trailer Saturday night, and didn't even realize he was playing Joker - too blown away to even see the credits).

Okay, that's enough for the evening. Geek Girl must sew, so she can relax!

Major mistake

Thought I was feeling better when I woke up at 2:00, ate some soup... not good.

In a daze...

Can't sleep, despite needing to get up for work early tomorrow, to avert a mini-disaster. No, it's nothing I did, nor anything related to the labs. I am not sure how seriously to take any of it. I know, I am being cryptic. Not really sure what to thing right now.

My horoscope for today:

Taurus: Don't overreact to a mini-crisis. Stay calm and you'll get through it just fine.

Prophetic, really.

I'll have a longer post about this tomorrow night, but suffice it to say that I am weirded out. And no, nothing physically happened to me or any of my family, and I am just waiting to see what the next step is.

Basically, there was a small amount of vandalism at work, consisting of signs being posted that were obscene, in the words of a friend and employee who found them (one of my lab monitors... poor girl). Signs posted on my labs, and on my office door. I have no idea what they said or showed. She took them down, as she was appalled and didn't want me to see them. I did ask if she saved them, as this will have to be reported to DPS. She did. I don't know if this was random, or targeted, or if any other place in the college also had signs posted. This is not how I thought I would spend my morning, tomorrow. I'm going to have to see them, as imagination is always worse than the reality. I don't want another sleepless night.

I am just nervous, and a little befuddled. I can't think of any reason why anyone would have done this. Best case scenario is that it was a random, drunken thing that was just done for fun. Worst case is that someone out there has a grudge, and I don't know why or who it is.

I'm hoping it was random.

If not, this may be the end of my public blogging, as I just don't feel comfortable with a real name blog anymore... I'll decide by the end of the week.

Sunday morning rambling

I must say, waking up at 8:30 this morning with a sore throat, and a sore right shoulder really put a downer on day two of my 3-day weekend. That, coupled with the fact that my son is having a friend over at 1 to work on a project, just made my day complete.

I just finished giving the house a run-through, and sorting the laundry. I am about to hop in the tub, in prep for running to JoAnn Fabrics to exchange some things that I need (wrong color), and to the grocery store. It's Really-Fracking-Cold-Out!™ again, so this out to be soooooo much fun.

And it would all be okay except for that stupid sore throat, which means this will be the third time I have been sick in 6 weeks...

Whoa.

End of a long day here...

I'll write a bit more about the Lego challenge tomorrow, once I get my laundry started, and the house somewhat back into shape. My son is having a friend over tomorrow afternoon to work on a social studies project (a Lego™ representation of the Battle of Bunker Hill - yeah, they like Lego™ a lot). So, everything, including my run to JoAnn to exchange some things, and to the grocery store, will have to be done in the morning.

This also means that I will not be able to sleep in tomorrow. And since I've had more caffeine today that I have had since May 18th, 2007, I will probably not be able to sleep tonight. Oh, and my left heel hurts like crazy, my legs and back hurt from standing nearly all day, and since we just got home from seeing I am Legend, that will also probably keep me up tonight.

Break time.

I ran back to my office after the first round of competition, and the Project Presentation. Things went fairly well, except that the robot was having problems. Hopefully they can work that out before their next competition time at 11:37.

The project presentation, however... it was good, but the kids needed to be coached to not say certain things. You do not mention at the end of your presentation, during the Q & A, that some people didn't do as much as others.

Nor do you mention your idea of burning dead bodies for fuel.

Can't wait to see how the teamwork interview goes...

How cold?

It is -7°F right now, with a wind chill of -24°F. Very cold.

And yet, I saw some kid in a t-shirt and shorts, helping carry stuff from a van to Howe Halls. One of the kids competing in the Lego™ competition. I really couldn't believe that any adult in that group would have allowed that. It was even colder at that time (7:45). And there was a wind chill advisory out, too.

Just shaking my head at that...

Downsides of apartment living in a college town.

The neighbors at the end of the hall are having a party.

With a karaoke machine.

What time do we have to get up again?

Big Lego™ League Competition tomorrow, so my son has to be to campus early tomorrow morning. Should be lots of fun. The only part that won't be fun is the fact that the wind chill is supposed to hit -20°F tonight. Hope the wind lets up tomorrow before it's time to scrape the car windows...

In other news, I am still working on the new forepart. I have 64 of the pearls sewn on, with another 84 to go, minimum. I keep finding more details I want to accent. I will be using the same treatment on the sleeves. The fabric is so beautiful that I really want this set of sleeves and forepart to be outstanding. Less than five months until the first faire of the season, and six and a half until the first court booking (1st Dubuque Faire - watch the sidebar for links). I have lots of things I want to do before then.

For now, though, I am going to take a bubble bath, then get some sleep. I'll need it.

Frozen

Very cold right now. My stomach is upset, probably due to eating very fast at dinner time, although it was a bit upset right before lunch, too.

Classes started up again yesterday, and I have been working like crazy. I didn't get home for good until 9:00 tonight, and I had a total of 15 minutes at home for dinner (which I ate too fast, and too much). I am wiped out, and it isn't even Friday yet.

Tomorrow, in addition to the cold, we are getting a winter storm. 5-8 inches of snow. The watch is from tomorrow afternoon to Thursday afternoon.

Fab. U. Lous.

The eighth graders are set to go skiing in Minnesota on Thursday, and were to leave at 5:45 Thursday morning. It will probably be rescheduled.

Okay, gotta go throw up now...

Wow - I actually sewed garb today!

Surprising, isn't it?

I have been trying to get to that gorgeous gold fabric for months now, and just never could find the time. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, which is rare, and I have to say it is going to look even more gorgeous that I had thought.

Here is a progress pic on the forepart:


The trim is just pinned on in this photo. There will also be gold twisted cord following the edges of the trim, and pearls added to the flowers on the fabric of the forepart. This is truly lovely in person, as it is difficult to see the stylized flower design on the trim (flash on metallic thread doesn't show up well). I have enough that I am going to add it to my old forepart as well, to spice it up. In fact, I really want to find more of it, so I can use it in my new red gown that I have planned, but that may be going overboard a bit...

Did I mention there are sleeves to go with this? I am making paned sleeves, with gold cord on the edges, and perhaps a bit of thin satin ribbon right next to the gold cord, in the same color of red as the trim on the forepart. I like the paned sleeves, because they allow AIR to get through to my arms, thus cooling me a bit. I have the gold fabric and the lining cut out, but I didn't want to sew them yet today.

I am thinking that I may need to flat-line the outer fabric, to give it more body. I used cotton drill for the lining of the forepart, but I don't want to use anything that heavy in my sleeves (I'll already be wearing four layers, with my corset and bodice. No sense putting it in my sleeves, too.). I have some more quilters cotton in a light buff color that I suppose I could use. I chose a gold in a shade darker than the outer fabric for the lining, but I don't have enough of that left. Together, that should make the sleeve appear to have more weight, but still be fairly cool.

Anyway, I can't wait to see the final product, as I think the set will be quite lovely. I am excited to be finally getting started on 2008 garb!

The end of the week

Long day today. By 4 o'clock, I could barely keep my eyes open. Still, I finished up the sweeping in the labs, and helped my boss carry the old metal power strips down to the loading dock (4 flights of stairs).

We only got stuck once, in the stairwell from the first floor to the ground floor, because we used the open stairwell as long as we could. Since I was on the tail end of the strips, I had to lift them up nearly over my head (youch!), so my boss could pivot them enough to get around the curve. Finally, after well over 10 years in the open lab, the custom metal power strips are gone! I will not miss them a bit, as they were getting old and unsafe. Considering that the decision to replace them was somewhat spur of the moment, I think we made an excellent decision.

We started our lab network upgrade yesterday morning, and originally thought it would take us maybe a morning or most of a day to do all of this. We were slightly off in our estimation, but it was a project that was well worth the time it took.

And my gigabit ethernet is smokin' fast. Applying my Cinema4DR10.5 transcript to the 20 MacPros in that room took less than 15 minutes, which included me logging into several machines at a time, launching radmind, getting updates, running fsdiff,, and while that was running, logging into a new set of machines, doing the same, then going back to the original machines and applying the transcript. I was giggling the whole time, it was so fast.

After the power strips were tossed, I finished cleaning up the labs, and our output center, and ended up with just a couple of things I need to go back into work to take care of (scheduling, including the temp schedule for next week). Plus, our color printer was being fussy when I tried to print some signs I needed to post before Monday. The drums aren't aligning correctly, so the colors weren't registered correctly. So, I am going to get some colorful paper and run the signs through on the black and white printer, and get a service tech in on Monday morning (I hope).

So, i am tired, and achy, but we got a lot accomplished during break, and we are ready for the new semester. Now, if you are asking me if I am psychologically ready for the new semester... well... that's an entirely different matter...

A Post in Rapid Succession to the Previous Post

I forgot to mention my "Oh Crap" moment from earlier today.

I have been working on a new poster for the laser cutter area. I used to have a hodge podge of posted signs that were put up as needed, instead of unified, and easy to read. I spent most of the morning trying to work out the points that needed to be covered, and the order of presentation on the poster. I used Illustrator to layout the poster, because I didn't need anything enormously complicated. I set the background to "College of Design Red," as I call it, with white text. I set apart the three main areas by adding rectangular borders with a 2 pt. line weight. I was pretty pleased with it, so I decided I was ready to print to our wide-format color printer.

Right before break, we had run out of paper. The order came in before Christmas. For some reason, the boxed rolls came packed inside larger boxes filled with Styrofoam peanuts, instead of just in its normal packaging. This made no sense, as they have never done that before, and the normal packaging is more than sufficient to ship safely. Anyway, the point is, I had to manhandle a heavy 100 foot roll of 36 inch wide paper, by myself, and try to get it out of the stupid box. At one point, I had to lift up my foot, and kick the outer box off. And I hadn't even opened the actual paper box yet.

So, I threw the boxed roll up onto the computer desk, opened it, and started to remove the inner packaging. There are two square end caps that fit on either end of the roll, to keep it from shifting and getting damaged. I was carefully removing the first of these, when I forgot the cardinal rule of moving heavy stuff alone.

Don't let any body parts get between the heavy object and the desk (ground, whatever).

As they say, gravity works, and my ring finger on my right hand did not quite make it out from between the roll and the desk in time. I'm sure I looked quite amusing, having 20-30 pounds of paper suddenly fall 2 inches, and squishing my finger. The only thing I could do was whisper, "Oh FUCK!" and cradle it to my stomach. I didn't even want to look at it, for fear it was crushed, that was how badly it hurt. Luckily, it wasn't flat, and I was eventually able to get the paper unpacked, loaded on the printer, and the printer nozzles cleaned enough to print. I swore under my breath the entire time...

So tonight, I am sitting here, my finger still aching enough that the pain is traveling up my arm, but it is still a normal color, and is not visibly swollen. It hurts like HELL, and I have to be careful when typing to not use it, as that's a nice refresher course in pain when that happens. I'm taking a wait and see approach to this. Tomorrow ought to be fun, as we are going to be recabling the open lab for GIGABIT ETHERNET!!!!! (SWEET heavenly surfing and renderfarming!!!!!)

And the bitch of it is, after all of that, the damn poster turned out a luscious shade of hot pink rather than the bright and spicy Design Red it was supposed to be. I'm keeping it, of course, because it's a great pink, but this means I have to figure out why the color was so far off... Never enough hours in the day....

What?!??!?!?!?!?

Just finished watching Project Runway, and boy am I upset.

The challenge was to create a prom dress for girls from a high school in New Jersey. Some incredibly beautiful work came out of this challenge, with my favorites being Chris and Sweet Pea. Gorgeous work! I was not thrilled by Jillian's work, and I am still not sure why she won over Sweet Pea.

But the shock moment of the evening was yet to come.

Christian, my least favorite designer, managed to once again stay on the show. His dress was Awful, and he blamed his client. The back of the dress was shorter than the front, and it did nothing to flatter the poor girl. Seriously looked like a bad flashback to the 80's, just like most of his work. He never bothered to pad the dressmaker dummy to his clients measurements, so it fit poorly. Try a seriously large gap in the back that he had to fit. He also spent most of the show whining as usual. His youth shows whenever he's expected to do anything outside the normal fashion box.

And yet, he still remains, and they kicked off KEVIN!

KEVIN!

They kicked off Kevin and let Christian and Ricky stay. And Jillian won.

Did they start fixing the competition????

I guess overtly hideous wins over the mildly aging.

Mission Impossible?

While I was sick this weekend, I was still absolutely set on getting my closet completely cleaned out, purged of excess, and organized. On Friday, when I should have been resting at lunch, I went to Wal-mart, and bought a metal shelf to put in my closet (to go with the other two already there). Friday night, when i should have been resting, I spent 90 minutes putting the stupid thing together, at risk of cutting my fingers the entire time (damn edges were SHARP).

Saturday morning, after pulling myself from bed, I hesitated. I was torn between parking myself on the couch to rest and watch DVDs, and a feeling that if I didn't start this closet clean-out, that I would somehow be a loser and a failure at the one task I set myself for the entire weekend.

So, I did what any perfectionist would do. I started pulling things out of the closet, instead of taking a sudafed and going back to bed, like any doctor would have recommended.

After two hours, I had my closet reorganized. Which is to say, I had the shelf in place, the new storage boxes neatly labeled on the shelves, with the fabric, trims, and other sewing items inside. I even finally had room for my noble garb inside the closet instead of hanging over the door on a hook. It was beautiful!

You see, though, there was just one problem. There was the little matter of all of the rest of the stuff that had been in the closet. It was now stacked (neatly, of course), in my bedroom, and my living room, waiting to be gone through, purged, shredded, tossed. I had turned my beautifully clean apartment into a maze of boxes and rubbermaid storage containers.

So, I spent four hours going through a stack of boxes (and not a single one of the seven rubbermaid containers - four large, three half-sized). I pulled out stuff I wanted to keep, and tossed items to shred into a paper box, to join the other two ledger boxes and two smaller boxes of stuff to shred. All of the other boxes of "To Shred" items, were from my Great Closet Clean Out of January 2005.

By this time, I was practically sleepwalking. My son helped me carry out the garbage bags and boxes of trash. I shoved the rubbermaid containers and the non-shred boxes back into my closet, without incorporating them into the organization. This led to crap still being left out in my room, and boxes in my living room.

It was 5:30 pm, and I was a mess, emotionally, and physically. I took a hot bath, ordered pizza for supper, and sat down to eat in my less than clean dining room, and wanted to cry.

The next day, I started off in the same way. I did laundry, seven loads of it, when I should have been sleeping and fighting off my stupid cold. I went through boxes off and on all afternoon, but somehow never felt like I was making any progress. And the boxes were still bugging me to no end. And I was still sick!

Finally, tonight, after spending some quality time with the shredder, I decided that enough was enough. I went to my room, threw on my iPod, and started taking the containers out of my closet. When I had "organized" my closet on Saturday, I had quite a bit of room left on the shelves (three shelves, two of which were nearly half empty). I did a quick check of the cardboard boxes, to see what boxes held items I wanted to keep, consolidated a couple, then found homes for those boxes on the shelves. I rearranged the rubbermaid containers, so that they fit underneath the built-in shelf along the east wall of the closet (BTW, my closet is a pretty big walk-in closet). I stowed my camping gear and extra sheets and towels a bit more efficiently.

In the course of rearranging the big tubs, I made a great discovery. Two of them were full of blankets that I had been meaning to get rid of. Two comforters, and two blankets that were fairly worn. So, I was able to empty those containers, nest them, put a bag of old videotapes inside, put both lids on the top, and stowed them away for a future need.

I also decided to put the remaining boxes of things to sort back into the closet, at the front, so that I can do a little at a time, rather than trying to force myself to keep working at every spare moment. I knew better than to try to be superwoman about this, but I let my pride get in the way of my physical and mental well-being. Little bites.

So now, instead of a stack of boxes in my living room, I have a stack of empty boxes, and a couple of garbage bags in my dining room, ready to go out tomorrow once the garbage guys empty our dumpster. And yes, my Christmas tree may still be up and decorated, but I will get to that this weekend. It was extra beautiful this year, so I am going to enjoy it for a bit longer.

And when I do take it down, it will be a little bit at a time, rather than all in one go. I just need to remember to do that with everything in my life.

LOLZ

On the eve of the beginning of my strict diet, I offer this: (as seen on Dooce)

Hands down, the worst cold I've had in at least two years...

At least, one that remained essentially a cold and didn't develop into a sinus infection.

Still hacking, coughing, and using way too many tissues here in the geek apartment. I think my son is ready to buy some earplugs, as it always gets worse right around the time I need to go to bed. Hence, the fact that I am still up at 11:30 on a work night.

In about five minutes, I think the sudafed will finally do its job and reduce some of my symptoms enough to help me sleep. I am thinking I should have gone to the doctor on this one, and might still, if I don't see drastic improvement by Tuesday (day 9).

And no, I am not a hypochondriac, but I play one on TV.

Time to try to get some sleep. I promise I'll write a non-sick post soon...

Helpful Hint #4876

If you have a bad cold, coughing, sneezing, sinus pressure, and body aches, do not decide that it is the perfect time to put together that new metal shelf that you bought that uses bolts in the construction.

90 minutes later, I want to fall over.

Excuse me while I go rid myself of the contents of my lungs...

All together now...

Please don't let this turn into a sinus infection.

Lather, rinse, repeat...

To exhausted to caucus

This cold/sinus thingy has really worn me out. I went back to work this morning, despite not being able to sleep until around 3 am, and even then, sleeping only fitfully. I was okay until around 1:30 pm, when things started catching up on me. I finished up a project I was working on that pretty much required me to be on my feet (thanks to all of the boxes marked "fragile" that were piled up in front of the computer I needed to update. I could reach the keyboard, but not sit in the chair, and I had to stand at an awkward angle, oh for most of two hours, off an on).

I bummed a sudafed off another cold sufferer in our main office, and that, and some caffeine helped me get through until about 4:45, when I got up to leave for the day. Immediate dizziness. very fun, you have to try it some time.

The plan had been to go to Walmart to get this certain type of shelf that apparently, you can only get there. Instead, we went to the grocery store, and then home, were I ate a large bowl of chicken tortilla soup, and felt much, much less light-headed.

However, now that the sudafed has worn off, a good four hours before bed time, I am in no condition to go lock myself in a crowded room for three hours to caucus.

I know, I am a terrible person for not doing my civic duty at this time, but I am comforting myself with the thought that at least I will not be exposing them to whatever it is that is making me sick.

So, my hats off to all of you Dems in the caucus places tonight: pick good candidates, please. I'd be there if I weren't sick.

P.S. Tomorrow, i am going to bask in the glow of NO MORE POLITICAL PHONE CALLS. Must they call every 30 minutes (been going on for the last week, with a minimum of three calls every night for the last month and a half)?

I really could not be more miserable.

Seriously. My throat is raw, my bones ache, and I am starting to get a sinus cold. I hope it doesn't turn into a sinus infection, but knowing my luck it will. I only have a slight fever, but I have been having chills off and on again today.

I think I am going to turn that leftover chicken into more chicken tortilla soup tomorrow... I doubt I will make it into work. I'll probably get the joy of going to the doctor again tomorrow... I definitely have swollen glands under my jaw, too.

Yep, I should have ordered a pizza...

Maybe it is just because I can't really taste anything, due to my cold. I should have stopped at the ruined pumpkin pie. The cornish hens did not turn out as good as I had remembered. I doubt I will make them again, and I doubt that I will eat any of the leftovers. My son enjoyed it, but I just didn't care for it.

Luckily, there was plenty of other food. The rice was good, and the green bean casserole was excellent, and the buns were great. Dessert will also be good, as I bought a chocolate marble cheesecake. I am in no danger of starving.

What I am in danger of is this stupid cold ruining the rest of my last day of vacation. I am miserable. I really do not want to miss work tomorrow, as I need to get back into the swing of things ASAP, in order to not be stressed out about the beginning of the semester on the 14th. We have an extra week to get ready, or I would really be stressed right now. I am going to go to bed early with some cold medicine, and hope that this sore throat goes away overnight.

What a way to start out the new year...

I have a sore throat, a cold sore, and felt like I wanted to sleep all day. Our plans for a late lunch turned into plans for dinner, due to a pumpkin pie disaster, and somehow forgetting to put out the rolls to rise, and the cornish hen to thaw earlier. Now, then hens are in the oven, along with the green bean casserole, the rolls are baked, and the rice is ready. I still feel like I want to sleep, but I need to stay awake, because I have to go back to work tomorrow. At least I am cooking enough food that we'll have leftovers for the next couple of days. Unfortunately, I probably would have been happier ordering pizza.

Maybe I really do have mono...