I guess I should clarify the previous post...

I have become a much more social person lately. I like to be around people. I like to have fun, and for some reason, when I open my mouth anymore, I can't seem to stop talking.

I also had quite a bit of fun at my 15-year reunion last year. In fact, some of us want to have a 17.5 year reunion, because waiting another 5 years seemed too long. So, this mini-renunion sounds really fun, and since my parents still live in town, it wouldn't be a huge deal to drive down and just stay overnight. There probably won't be very many of us there, but it sounds like a lot of fun.

But about the whole talking thing...

Okay, Troy's going to laugh at this, if no one else. Would you believe that there was a time when I was really quiet??? I was quiet because I always felt that I was saying the wrong things, or that people would make fun of me, or some other such nonsense. Yes, I put my foot in my mouth on a regular basis, but as I have grown older, I haven't let that fear stop me from talking.

So when John P. got back Sunday night from visiting his parents in Lincoln, and collecting the tapes from the two news programs, I of course asked how the interview turned out (figuring it would have been cut severely, or not shown at all).

"Oh you both did great! And the parts when they didn't show you, you were the voice-over."

Whoops.

So, now I officially talk too much.

I haven't seen it yet, but I know that I'll probably want to die from embarrassment, because I honestly did not mean to talk so much. I was just excited to be there, and having a great time.

T.G. no one here saw it...

Mini-Reunion

Just got an email from a former classmate - Denise:

Was just going to let everyone know that Stacy Vogel is going to be in town on Friday, June 23. That happens to be the same weekend as Greater Crater Days, so if any of you are in town, come down to Big Beeve's (formally the Back 40) in Manson. We'll probably be there around 7-7:30pm, I'm guessing. Pass this on to anyone whom you think would like to join us.
Denise

I may end up going, as I'll need some fun before a full week with screaming kids, and no air conditioning...

Urg... sleep...

I slept like a rock from about 1:30am, until I was woken up by a storm at 5:11 am. I couldn't get back to dream sleep. :(

So, instead of doing laundry and putting things away this morning, I am going to take a nap.

1:14 am and I am wide awake...

Incredibly fun weekend!!!!!

We got back from the Nebraska Renaissance Faire tonight around 11 pm, and were home and unloaded by 12:05am.

Long. Day.

I'll post pictures sometime tomorrow, but here are a few highlights to tide you over:

1. I LOOOOOVE being a pirate (even a wanna-be).
2. We had a great location! Right across from Bud's Root Beer (excellent root beer and cream soda, and great guys), close to the Pirate Stage, Glass blowing, and Tinne Lune/ Squire's Burden - very nice people all around!
3. Bodice. Burn. OMG, the Bodice Burn. I swear, I had 50 spf suncreen on, and applied it religiously, plus carried a sun shade Sunday and Monday. I also got burned through my chemise sleeves. Ouch.
4. I kissed a pirate!!!! (no, it's not what you are thinking! it was on the forehead, with bright red lipstick, as he was in the stocks for insulting the ladies. So, there were about 20 of us ladies who participated, then he got a bucket full of water in the face. Very funny!)
5. I met lots of people, and had a great time!
6. And yes, it was worth it to spend an hour each evening to drive to the Louisville State Park, spend $3 on a day pass to use the 25-cent pay showers. Trust me. It was worth it (15 minute drive, but we usually had to wait).
7. Having my son ask, "What's a hussy?" on the walk back to the van... (not surprising, considering how many times we heard the pirates call out to the ladies, "Oh, you shameless hussy!!!! Showing your ANKLES in PUBLIC???", usually when they were wearing shorts and tank tops). I'm just glad he didn't ask about Scarlett the Harlot...
8. Mango Italian Ice.... lifesaver!!!!

More tomorrow. My back hurts, and I am very, very tired...

(And HONEST, it was the forehead!!!!! There are pictures to prove it somewhere!!!)

Oh, and I was on TV!!!!

Yes, I lost a bit of weight where I least wanted to lose it.

I can definitely breathe in this bodice. I was looking forward to actually wearing something that would accentuate rather than press completely flat (as the green dress did).

And it would have, too, if it hadn't been for the stress monster tying my stomach in a knot and causing me to eat less than half of what I normally eat.

Seven pounds, folks. Seven. And it wasn't in two weeks, it was in less than one (I may have said two earlier, but I was mistaken).

Bad.

Well, I can comfort myself with the fact that this is actually okay. I am eating more realistic portions, and stopping when I am no longer hungry rather than stuffing myself with everything that TASTES SO GOOD. I also cut out sweets, which has helped me stop the low-blood-sugar-nausea when I start to get hungry.

Well just see how this weekend goes...

Side-effect

One good thing about the appetite decrease:

My smallest pair of jeans are no longer uncomfortably tight...

I suppose this means that I had better try on all of the garb I mean to bring this weekend...

Towel Day!

A big reminder to fans of all things 42, HHGTG, and Douglas Adams:

Towel Day: A Tribute to Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

Carry your towel with pride!!!

2nd chemise = done

Yes, my back hurts.

I just have to sew up the back of the red skirt, then the rest is hand sewing.

Most telling quote about Vista...

Beta 2 is a good looking operating system with a number of new features, which will be familiar to you if you’ve played with recent versions of Apple’s OS X.

from: Windows Vista Beta 2: The key word is 'Beta'

Yeah. Like we OS X users didn't see this coming...

Almost there...

At the thought of trying to sew eyelets in my new red bodice, my hands got a little numb, and my brain calculated the number of hours necessary to finish sewing 20+ eyelets and came up with a number that was too large to be feasible if I want to meet my goal of all sewing done by Thursday night (midnight).

A quick search over lunch today resulted in finding some beautiful toggle clasps in the jewelry department. I bought six bags of two, somewhat by mistake, but quickly realized that what I really had were gorgeous flower LACING RINGS. Shock!

So, six of the pretty flower rings are sewn to the front of my red bodice, waiting for their matches on the other side to be sewn on tomorrow night.

I also finished the chemise that I prepared fabric for last night. Totally done, hemmed and everything (hey, the hem is hidden, so it is machine sewn for now).

All I have left to do is finish the red underskirt (eek!), put hooks and eyes on the yellow skirt waistband, and maybe make one more chemise (literally, the one I finished tonight took a total of two hours. I would have been done tonight a lot earlier, but the thread in my machine kept breaking. I had to stop and oil the machine, which worked, TG, or my mother would have had to drop hers off tomorrow on their way out east).

Yes, I am almost done!!!!! And I am so excited about this costume, mostly because I also found the shoes that I wanted!!!!

Eat

The last few days I've had sort of a problem.

My appetite is pretty low right now. When I am hungry, I have not been able to eat much before feeling icky. It's like, "Mini Hungry." I've been closely monitoring what I put on my plate, to avoid overeating for my newly reduced appetite (I tend to just eat what's on the plate, "clear your plate," was drilled into my head relentlessly in childhood).

At lunch today, I decided to treat myself to general chicken, from the Manderin, since I had to run errands anyway. I was not hungry while I waited for my take-out food, and I was not hungry yet when I arrived back and work 10 minutes later to eat it.

I ate anyway, and it was just as good as ever, but I am miserably stuffed, and will probably not eat dinner tonight because of it. This will not be a fun afternoon.

I wonder if it is just stress, or something else?

Stripey Socks!!!!

My socks came today, from Sock Dreams, and they are very nice and soft, not too heavy, and are very cute.

But they only go to just above my knees.

Oh well.

They're still STRIPEY SOCKS!!!!!! Arrr!!!

More fun than a barrel of monkeys

Status report:

1. Yellow overskirt - done except for the closing hooks.
2. Red bodice - outer shell pieces are sewn together. The two layers of lining are sewn together (two matching pieces sewn together, but it is not assembled yet), and the boning channels are sewn. I will have this finished, except for the eyelets (or lacing rings), by tomorrow night.
3. Red skirt (this may end up an underskirt, due to the trouble I am having finding leggings). The gathering strip is sewn to the red fabric, and ironed correctly, ready for the gathering stitches...

Left to do:

1. Figure out how the black overskirt is going to be made. I am thinking that I will just finish the raw edges, and tuck it in my belt, piratey looking. That would save a bunch of time, and if I needed the fabric later, I could reuse it (or finish it as an overskirt later).
2. Make a square-necked chemise. Both of the chemises that I have are not low enough. I am going to use Dawn's Chemise pattern, as it is very, very simple (a total of three four rectangles sewn together, with gathered neck and cuffs. I've seen pictures, and it looks great!). If it looks right, I may just make up a couple, so I have a change of shirts in case of disaster (rain or rips).
3. Finish the red skirt, which really is not going to be very full at all...

I just decided that I am NOT going to try to make a third bodice. I can use the blue one from last year, along with the dark blue skirt (I need to turn up the hem a bit), and wear it with the yellow overskirt, and the red sash. It uses the same pattern as the new red bodice (which I am already in love with). I just altered the front of the red bodice to have a square neckline instead of the angled one.

This means that I just saved myself a bunch of work.

Well, time to get some sleep... visions of sewing dancing in my head, pirates, dancing, singing, yippee!

If you haven't already seen it...

you HAVE to go see Over the Hedge.

O.M.G.

Honestly the funniest movie I have seen in a really, really, really long time.

If we hadn't been in the theatre, I honestly WOULD have been ROTFLMAO, and pounding on the floor to boot.

I want to see it again.

Treasures

This morning, my son and I finally got the flowers planted on the deck. He had picked out Salvia, Assylum, and lobelia. I picked out petunias, moss roses, blanket flowers, morning glory, snap dragons, vinca, and one other that I can't remember. Only the moss roses, petunias, salvia, vinca, and assylum were bedding plants. The rest are seeds that will hopefully sprout and not die on us if it gets too hot and dry. My son had a great time making an extreme mess of potting soil all over the deck. He would have preferred to plant vegetables, but with the limited space we have, they just wouldn't do very well. So, flowers it is. I enjoy them, and he just likes growing things. We also have two trees on our deck, thanks to his habit of picking up seeds and randomly planting them places he isn't supposed to. ;)

I love how the deck looks now! If only I could find the right deck furniture, it would be a very peaceful place to sit and read.

Mom and Dad came by to change for a wedding. They didn't want to drive from Manson in their good clothes, and it was an excuse to get to talk for a bit. Dad worked all morning on my car - the problem was not fuel related at all! A couple of sensors had gone bad. He replaced them, and replaced the fuel filter as well, since it had been about 25K miles since it was replaced. He tested the fuel pump thoroughly, just to rule it out. So, it's done, and we'll go get it tomorrow.

Mom loves her new job. Oh, did I forget to mention that my mom decided to get a full-time job at Target? Yes, my family loves Target. Now two of us work there (Movie Star works there, too).

After mom and dad had left, I took the old grand prix to Goodwill to continue my search for shoes for Ren Faire, and a suitcase. I ended up with a three-piece set of luggage, black, for $4.99, and a gorgeous red satiny stole that had gotten stuck in the curtain section and was only $1.99. It is the perfect pirate sash. I did not find any Mary Janes in my size, nor did I find any slip on black leather shoes for my son in his (the kid's feet are bigger than mine!). However, in the Salvation Army store last Thursday night, I did find a pair of shoes that look a lot like the style of ladies shoes worn in the Pirates of the Carribean movie. They are black suede, with a one inch heel of the right type, and couple of pearl brooches later, they are very piratey looking, if not quite period (I should call myself a privateer to Her Majesty, who lost her ship on a bet, LOL). I still want the Mary Janes for comfort issues if I can find them, but for $1.50, these are a good backup (they have a heel, and I am worried about being on my feet for 3 days straight in them).

Eek! So much to do, so little time!!!

Diet Tip #473

When you feel hungry, just go to Urban Legends Reference Page: Contaminated Food

I'm going to go throw up now...

Bus

At least it had long since stopped raining.

Interesting points about the new bus stop on Dakota...

1. No crosswalk markings on the street at all at the corner.

2. No sidewalk on the east side of the street at all near the new bus stop. It's just a slab of cement in a yard.

But, the buses here are clean, and not too crowded at that time of day, and I got to work about 10 minutes early.

I almost forgot to mention...

Thanks to the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries, I managed to get two of the three layers of my red bodice cut out (I had to iron the fabric first), and finished the gathering stitches for the yellow overskirt (cartridge pleated, and luckily turned out that it shrank a bit in the dryer, which means I don't have to turn up the hem at all! The red also shrank, so I don't have to hem that either. This will save me about 6 hours of work.)

Very productive evening, even after the car fiasco...

Commander Adama for President!

Lately, I've taken to watching DVDs on my computer while I am sewing. It keeps me company, and fills the silence, and lets me get a laugh or two.

Tonight, I am watching the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries, for the sixth or seventh time (I've lost track).

Better than ever...

How am I going to make it until October???

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all...

I am beginning to believe that I really AM cursed.

Yes, if you drove by the corner of Lincoln Way and Dakota, you DID see my car in the right lane, with the hazard lights flashing.

My car died, and refused to start again.

I spent about 5 minutes on hold with AAA, where I had a wonderfully sympathetic ear to my car woes, and a promise of a tow truck within an hour.

After letting that fact sink in, I thanked her, and hung up. I called Mr. B to get Mr. R's cell number, as he was waiting for us in the scout room. My son was not very happy that our night of unearthing treasure in the storage room was cancelled, but he'll get over it.

While I was on the phone with Mr. B, the tow truck dispatch called and said that someone was on the way. Yipee!!!!

The driver was there within less than 10 minutes (We didn't even have time to get bored), was very professional, and had us home in less than 30 minutes after getting off of the phone with AAA.

I am waiting to hear back from my Dad right now... The battery is fine, I had electical power, and half a tank of gas (from Casey's). It just refuses to start. It's probably a clogged fuel line or filter.

I can take the bus to work tomorrow, and maybe he can bring me a loaner. Mom and dad are coming here on Saturday for a few minutes, so maybe if it is an easy fix, he can drive it back to me....

I hope...

I suppose I could air up the bike tires and ride my bike to work tomorrow. :(

Update: Thank you, Dad! He is towing the old car to me tomorrow night, and taking my car back home to fix it. I really, really hope it's not the fuel pump, but with my luck, I had better plan on that being replaced. T.G. for the tax refund, and for not buying those boots that I really wanted...