Friday, May 17, 2013

New fabric

First, posting pictures from my cell phone is proving challenging. It appears to be attached somehow, but I have no clue where it is.

Second, I bought fabric for a lap blanket. There is a picture of it around here somewhere. It is to be a simple nine-patch rag quilt, but there is a possibility that it will morph into 6x6.

Now my thumbs are tired. More updates to come

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Outfit post: cream cardigan

Today I wore a crinkly ankle length skirt with a tiny floral print paired with a t-shirt belted at the waist and a v-neck cardigan. I also dug out my little point-and-shoot and tested out the timer feature. It is an improvement, but the picnic table level perspective is a little off when I am standing. It is a work in progress. Without further ado, the outfit:

 And here I am seated:

Useful quote of the day:
I have found that all ugly things are made by those who strive to make something beautiful, and that all beautiful things are made by those who strive to make something useful.
-Oscar Wilde





Saturday, May 11, 2013

I don't do mornings

Normally, my alarm goes off about an hour before I have to leave the house in the morning. I flail at it until it shuts up then turn on my lamp and close my eyes. It goes off again, and I again flail at it until the awful noise quits, then laboriously haul myself vaguely vertical, and sit until it goes off the third time. Then I pick it up, turn it off properly, and start to get ready for the day.

This morning, my alarm went off, and I missed it entirely. I finally reached a fuzzy sort of consciousness about 20 minutes before needing to leave. Sitting cross legged on my bed, I looked at the clock, saw the time, told myself, "20 minutes, get moving or be late to work," and proceeded to not move at all. I did make it work almost on time, but to say I was awake would be overstating the matter.

We are told that if you wake up early enough to not feel rushed and start your day on a calm and collected note, everything will go smoother. What nobody explains is how that magical thing can happen. I would love to wake up peacefully when my alarm goes off, but I sleep like a rock. I remember, as a child, waking up at the other end of the hall from my room where my sister had drug me in an effort to wake me up for school. I've slept clean through window rattling thunderstorms, tornado sirens, and earthquakes.

How do you wake up in the morning. Are there any morning challenged people who have learned to "rise and shine?" What is the secret? Please share...

Quote of the day
The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath. 
-W C Fields.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Outfit post: Navy and Grey

I have a fondness for crisp button down tops which does not mesh well with my laziness and dislike of ironing. I actually ironed this shirt a couple weeks ago though, so it was ready to be worn.

 I don't really have anything to say about this. My posture is terrible, but it's difficult to stand nicely while trying to take a picture of yourself in a giant mirror with terrible lighting while rushing to get to work on time. I need a new system. I'm feeling very negative about this picture in general, but I can't tell if it's me wanting to be asleep already, my horrid posture, or the outfit. Anyway, here it is with today's scarf selection:
Giraffes!
Shoulder not dropped so badly, but what am I doing with that hand. New photography methods must be devised.

Since it is very hard to see, the shirt is navy with shiny grey buttons, the skirt is woven of black and white threads resulting in an overall greyness, and the scarf has mustardy giraffes alternating with squares of black and white giraffe print.

Unrelated quote of the day:
Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-Paul
For what I'm doing here, read this.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Outfit post: Polka Dot Skirt

I'm wading in to this fashion thing. Every few months I realize that my wardrobe is a difficult, unpleasant sort of beast, but I don't know what to do with it, so I quietly lapse back into not much caring what I look like. I'm tired of not caring though. I still don't care if the rest of the world thinks me pretty, but I want to have clothes that make me feel pretty, or daring, or even stunning when the mood strikes. I still don't know what to do about it though. That's where this comes in...

I'm going to be blogging an unusual sort of fashion. I will post what I'm wearing now. I will not attempt to change my ways for the sake of a blog. Each post will include the pros and cons of the outfit and individual pieces. Later, when I'm ready to clean out my closet again, I will go back over the pictures and get rid of things that don't work. Every time I try to clear out the closet, every item I own instantly becomes my favorite, so hopefully photographic evidence will provide will-power. If you have something to add to my assessments, please leave a comment. I'm clueless here.

Today's outfit:
Polka-dot silk skirt with a cream silk knit shell and a tan cotton knit cardigan. The cardigan has a matching shell, but I prefer some contrast.

The air-conditioning in my office frequently blows down the back of my neck, so I grabbed a scarf just in case-

I like this outfit overall. The tan cardigan is a good match for the dots. What bothers me about it is the wonky necklines; they're too close to be contrasted and too different to match. The scarf improves matters a bit by covering that up and by adding an accent to draw attention upward.

I'm wearing my black flats. These are the shoes I wear almost every day.

For church tonight I dressed it up with the addition of my red heels


I also had buttoned up the cardigan because I was a bit cold. My intention had been to undo it before photographing, but I'm glad I didn't because now I see that it really looks great buttoned. It has a nice shape that is lost when it is left loose. Also, now the necklines are aligned. Still, those two items don't play well together.

Shoes! These are a size too big and the toes are stuffed with tissue. I don't wear them often, but they are adorable and I should.

Quote of the day:
I know who I am. No one else knows who I am. If I was a giraffe, and someone said I was a snake, I'd think, no, actually I'm a giraffe.
Richard Gere

Monday, April 22, 2013

Another go...

So, I haven't been near this blog in a while. The sister mentioned in the last post is nearing her second anniversary and they seem to be doing well. I did finally get them a wedding gift after Christmas last year (for those of you keeping score at home, that is roughly 19 months late. I was unemployed when they got married, and so promised a raincheck). The bedroom in the previous posts is not the same room, but is still a mess, though not as bad as I remember it being at that time. I also am still writing when I should be sleeping - some things never change.

Anyway, I have been reading blogs lately. In some cases, I feel like these people, like Jenn over at Epbot, are becoming friends; however, the relationship is distinctly one sided since I haven't contributed much. Others, like Fleegle, showcase skills I can only dream of having the patience to develop. Some display adorable vintage clothing, or have a fierce sense of humor, or just talk freely about things I'm frightened to express.

Over the past three days or so, I've been forced to re-evaluate a long held assumption about myself and my body image. I've added many (many, many) blogs about body image to the list. I've also had a couple of conversations with friends. And I've come to a conclusion - I am every bit as interesting as anyone else on the internet. My blogging has always been a bit slow because I wanted to make sure that the posts would be interesting to someone else, or the topics were relevant to something, or fit a theme. But I have interests; they are my interests, and I should write about them. I will never find anyone who shares these interests if I keep them secret, waiting for someone to pry them out. Same thing goes for opinions.

I'm spastic and ADD. I'm inconsistent. I'm creative in crazy ways. I don't follow directions. I have brilliant, hare-brained ideas which become laughable by the light of day - or occasionally actually work. I am socially awkward. I am an interesting person who can make a valuable contribution the internet, someone's life, the world, but only if I put myself out there.