Natural Wonders

Christmas was good. Got a Wii from my amazing husband. Yay! More about that some other time.

I think it's a really good thing that I have an East-facing window at work. At least it's nice for that short time right before sunrise until right after. Then from just after until about 9:30 or 10, it's hellish since the sun is right in my eyes even though I've rigged up a visor-headphones system. I digress. I don't know if it's normal, or if it's just the way that I am, but no matter how down I'm feeling, it really helps to see the sunrise. It's peaceful, it's gorgeous, and it's astounding. It just makes me stop and reevaluate everything.... I mean, it makes me realize that there's a lot more to everything at minor people problems, like money, or bills, or time or have-tos or any of that shit. I really need nature, be it sunrises, or rocks & trees and streams to realize that I get way too caught up in the little stuff, the people stuff, the things we create to make ourselves miserable because it seems like we're not happy unless we're miserable if that makes any sense. I'm so glad that we live where we live now. Our old apartment was kinda scrubby-urbans sprawlish. You had to seriously go a ways to find much that was natuaral. Now we live in an area that's more suburban by just a little bit. Sure, we can't exactly walk to the metro anymore (actually, we can, but it would take 45 mins), but I can walk two streets behind me and get a heavily wooded glen to stare at. After a 5 minute drive, I can be lost in a marshy nature preserve (great for bird watching - and it's where I mainly go running). Another 15 minutes and I have a choice between a park trail with another marsh on the potomac and a lake with a nature trail. God, I love rocks, trees, & water... and wind.... I love to go out and let the wind buffet me on a day that's a reasonable temperature. Mmmmm....

Binkle's Patented Shopping Workout

Yesterday, in a panic that I wouldn't get everything done before I leave tonight (not happening by the way - dang ice-storms-in-mountains, but now I just get to relax...), I took part of the afternoon and went shopping and ran errands. It seems normal and mundane, except that I literally ran errands. There were two or three different instances where I needed to hit 3 stores in a shopping center, so I parked in the middle of all three and then ran from my car to the first, ran back, ran to the second, ran back, ran to the third, ran back, etc.... They seemed like short little bits compared with what I normally run, but maybe I was running faster than normal? I don't know. All I know is that my legs and a$$ hurt today. Sore. Wow! Then to top off the workout, I found a case of duralogs, 6 pieces at 5 lbs each = 30 lbs. So I picked that up, carried it around with me and then carried it out to the car. Oh, and yeah, there was the large bottle of laundry detergent too. It was a good workout.

There are two things at play here:
1) I hate carts - I hate getting stuck behind them, I hate making people stuck behind me, I hate them - so for years I've made it a point to not buy anything that I can't carry (except rare occasions where it's unavoidable, i.e. bathtubs, couches, etc.). I use a hand basket if they are available, or I bring my own bag and hope the stores don't think I'm trying to steal stuff as I shove items into my bag, or I balance things precariously as I rush to the register.
2) I believe in "if you don't use it, you lose it." and have a theory that if I get used to a sedentary lifestyle without lifting, moving, bending, etc... then I will lose the ability to do those things. I don't want to be one of those people who can't get up off the floor. It may happen some day, but I'll try to prolong the inevitable. For a while I was seeing a chiropractor who specialized in Biomechanics and he said the muscles used for supporting the knee as it bends past a 90 degree angle and responsible for keeping it in line tend to be very weak in westerners because we don't do movements that require it very much. It was really very fascinating to learn about all the physics in musculature while talking with him. If I ever have a mid-life crisis, I'll probably go back to school for Biomechanics.

Random rant of the day: Frickin'! I've been waiting for about two weeks for my Donut Panic Woot shirt to arrive and the Fed Ex tracking estimated that it comes today. Goodie! Just in time for our trip! Well, no, I checked the tracking and it was delivered to the local post office today and will probably come in tomorrow's mail. Looks like I'll have to wait until next Monday for my precious shirt. Dagnabbit! My preeeccioooouuuusssss.... *hissing while stroking hands together*

Many Apologies & Happy Holidays!

I think it's safe to say that none of you are getting Christmas/Hanukkah/generic-holiday cards this year from us. New Years cards - maybe. Random, January Happy-the-holidays-are-over kind of cards? Most likely. : ) Yeah, we're running behind, but I think I got everything else done. Not much has been going on here except holiday prep-work. We did go and freeze our tuckases off for the lighting of the national Menorah on the Ellipse in from of the White House. That was fun. Got free Latkes, Sufganiyots (jelly donuts), and apple sauce though. Then we headed up to get bar-eats at the Old Ebbitt Grill. They have really good food and I was surprised that the prices were comparable to somewhere like a TGI Fridays or some such. My drink cost more than my sandwich and I'm not sure how I feel about that. At least I got to try a good Hot Toddy. Yum!

Here's some holiday cheer for you all... a Winter Wonderland courtesy of Cake Wrecks Blog, and some Latke art!!!

uh....

So I just found out that my happy little morning clerk at the 7-11 also works the registers at Target in the afternoons or evenings. I find this out as I'm in the check-out line... HIS check-out line... with two new packs of underwear. Not only does the man have my morning drink-habits memorized, but now he also has an intimate knowledge of my underwear. Hmmm....

Help, HELP! I'm trapped!

So it was an eventful weekend. I still have not started holiday cards, so don't get worried. They will most likely end up being New Years cards. I also have not started wrapping (which will consist of throwing things in gift bags or boxes to minimize paper waste) or the making of Rum Balls (consequently they will be strong again this year).

We did start the weekend off with a viewing of Washington Revels, which does a Holiday show every year that follows a different holiday tradition of a particular location and time period. This year's show was based in a 19th century French Canadian frontier town. It was nice and reminded me of Dave & my trip to Canada when they mentioned Poutine! : )

Saturday my friend, Adi, took us trap shootingat Bull Run Regional Park. We took the 40 minute gun safety class which turned out to be a two hour class. Then we signed up for some of the Wobble Trap games. That part was fun. I'll have to go back when it's warm out. The only thing that wasn't fun was waiting the hour for the games and taking the 2 hour class because it was quite cold out. Ah well. I found it something more than mildly amusing, but then again I feel the same way about shooting galleries (the ones with the bar scene and targets that make things happen like the piano player plays or the vulture ruffles its feathers) in amusement parks. I'd do it again for a hoot. I definitely have to beat down my recurring thoughts of "there are a million and one different ways this gun can kill me", but eh...

Saturday night was our Vintage formal dance for which I got to wear my slinky black dress... I still hold that the dress was only labelled four, but I don't care.

It was a good time with fantastic people as always. I was sad to find out that my favorite old guy, Roger, is planning to move away to Cincinnati within 6 months... Boo! I also must admit that there was more food than you could shake a stick at & I nibbled so much that I nearly got sick during a Waltz. I think that's the sign of a good party!

AH-Ha~! Hahahahahahaha.... I just now, while writing, uncovered the solution to a mystery that has been plaguing me for weeks now.... I feel quite a bit like Nancy Drew (or I feel quite dumb, I'm not sure which). So my iPod has been randomly turning on before I touch it for the morning and it keeps going to a particular playlist (Calm International). My purely scientific brain (that has a degree in Physics), had one of two thoughts.... something in my purse is hitting the "ON" button or it's haunted. Most likely option is "it's haunted" - obviously by some benign spirit since it keeps choosing the Calm International playlist. Just now I put together the fact that I keep finding it on in the mornings and that it's ALWAYS the same playlist - I decided to check the alarm settings. Yes, indeedy, the alarm clock feature is still turned on and set to go off at 8AM on that playlist. I am brilliant. It must have been doing this since Thanksgiving. *grumble* : )

Sunday night ended the weekend with joining my sister & her family for the walk-through light show at Brookside Gardens. It was fantastic to drive into the site and listen to my little nephew pipe up "lights!" He doesn't have many words, but that was loud and clear! I love the holiday season, I love lights. I always have. I'd wear lights if I could. Actually, I have worn lights, now that I think about it...

Oh well anyway, it's been so unbelievably and uncharacteristically dreary here this year that I really, REALLY need the lights this year. I went out & bought 400 more lights to put on out back deck (400 lights do not go as far as you'd think). Darn! The rain's back. I'm going to bed & pretend like I don't see it. : ) For the record, I'm going to try to cook my meatloaf in a crockpot tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Sizable Update (or update concerning size)

Three nights ago I was cleaning and pulled a few pieces out of my "skinny clothes from freshman year swing dancing" box... The two ultimate skinny dresses that I had both fit! Yahoo! So I pulled those out of the box to put in my closet. Yesterday I tried on my senior prom dress. THAT FITS TOO! Here's a pic of my senior Prom:

I will probably end up seeing if I can wear it to the annual Strauss Ball at Glen Echo this Spring. I am right on the border of a 6 and 8 in pants, depending on the brand and cut.... I just went and bought myself a size 4 dress for the formal on Saturday. That makes me happy. I don't think I've ever owned anything that's a size 4.... Also, I really wanted to lose the extra 7 lbs until my goal weight (135), but I'm really not sure I should. I'm looking good and feeling good and I'm the same size I was 10 years ago when I was 127 - meaning more muscle. It really confirms to me though, that I can probably never go by conventional weight charts and BMI indexes and such. I'm not quite in the "normal" weight range for my weight, or maybe I'm just on the line... it seems to depend on which chart you look at, but I'm right at the line between normal and overweight... and I'm a size 6-ish? Doesn't make sense. All I know is that major support bras are fast becoming my best friend since I've lost a lot of mass in that area and now, wellllll.... let's not go there. Age + weight loss and you can do the math. : )

Oh, and FYI.... I'm having to get rid of almost everything in my closet, so if you're ~ size 12, let me know. I can probably pass along some good stuff!

Can I get a USB port installed in my head?

Right, so i just had a totally random day full of those moments when you just WISH you had a little spycam attached to your glasses so that you could take a split second photo of that thing you're seeing that will be gone before you can blink.... This is the reason that I carry my point & shoot camera with me at ALL times... so I can whip it out and take pictures of those totally random or fascinating or "you wouldn't believe me if I told" you moments... Like this picture.... it was taken on the Washington Beltway.... yes, that's right, I-495.

or this one of my window buddy the other day:

Yesterday was full of those. Unfortunately, the instances yesterday were so fleeting that it was impossible to get a picture even if I whipped the camera out because they were already gone. I generally have a photographic memory and wish there were some way to download all the little snippits of images in my head. So I was walking past a Starbucks and this man and woman were seated at a table in the front window. They were having an animated conversation and the woman just makes this face (the type of face that would be a good black mail photo), gesticulates wildly and laughs. A) can't whip a camera out because the people would freak out B) can't whip a camera out because it's already passed. Later, I was driving home and a burgundy 1960s VW Beetle is driving behind me. I'm enjoying watching it in my rear view mirror. It makes the same few turns that I do. I come to a relatively isolated intersection that has little traffic and there's a white 1960s VW beetle sitting at the stop sign. I don't have a stop, turn the corner and watch in my rear view as the Burgundy Beetle turns past the White Beetle and form a perfect picture. Too dangerous to whip my camera out. I find myself wondering if they smiled and waved at each other in camaraderie as they passed.

T-giving in 2 sentences and Skinny Pants hell

It was nice to go home over Thanksgiving and see family and I got some excellent thrift-storage in which resulted in two vintage winter coats for a grand total of $16. It was also very stressful due to various family situations on both sides and ridiculously irritating driving conditions on both the way up and the trip back. (I lied... 3 sentences)

So yesterday was a weird day... Don't know how well anyone reading this knows me (some very well, I'm sure), but I'm occasionally prone to psychotic irrational anxiety attacks - my brain turns into my enemy and I can't shake a thought or a feeling even if I know logically it doesn't make sense. Grrr... hate those... and yesterday was one of those days. Since we got back from T-giving, J has been a goodly bit down because he was stressed about the past week and family matters and stressed because he doesn't know the outcomes AND stuff was going down at work because it's just one of those times. So he was unseasonably quiet & "down" for a couple of days. Randomly, because I'm brilliant like that, I get this idea in my head yesterday morning that he's been quiet & withdrawn because he's mad at me. This pops into my head at, like, 7:30 AM... then it grows and persists and grows and persists and spirals out of control into a panic. (I'm suspecting that these happen when I'm under other stress and just can't get a productive outlet...) Perfectly timed, J was working his A$$ off yesterday in a different lab where he has no contact with the outside world and took no breaks until about 5:30 PM.... so of course I took the lack of communication as evidence that he was mad at me. The whole while I KNOW that it's not the case. I know it and I can't convince myself out of those attacks. Grrrr.... hate my brain. Fortunately, when I did get to talk to him last night, I was confirmed that he was not mad at me and all was well.

On a happier note, I am currently in skinny pants hell. The pants that I bought about 2-3 months ago are getting embarrassingly big on me again (grrr...), so I'm in the market for new pants. The easiest solution (accomplished tonight) was to go to Kohl's and get smaller sizes of the ones that I got before (they were on sale!). While there, I figured I'd try to find some others since two pair is just not quite enough diversity - and then I decided I hate pants. See, here's the problem: almost anything designed for people my age is very plain and stuffy and BORING; anything not boring is usually to be found in the Juniors dept; Once you find not-boring, you need to weed out the stuff that looks like something a 12 year old should wear (pink sequined butterfly applique) from stuff that's acceptable for a nearly-30 (maybe braided leather accents on the butt-pockets); then you try the pants on and it's probably cut so low that your goods will hang out or pop out if you attempt to move; next if all goes well and the pants fit, then the pocket placement is probably half-way down the thigh (pockets should be placed on the butt to accentuate, otherwise you look deformed); lastly, once the pants fit and pocket placement is right, you've probably stumbled across a pair of pants that are "skinny" aka designed for people with toothpicks for calves or peg-legs. No normal human should wear "skinny" pants, especially not men. That's my rant for the day. : )

kiss my copyright, b!$@#...

Hmmm... with all the years that I've been involved with IP (Intellectual Property) I've never really had much use for it, other than the fact that the people who need it pay me. Having worked in IP, it has made me a little more sensitive to different IP issue and I'm now doing a lot of heavy-duty research to try and not step on other people's IP toes when I start up my side-venture next year. Never, NEVER would I have thought that I would be involved with anything IP related personally. It's interesting. So a number of years ago I took this picture of Binghamton from the top of a building where my friends' wedding reception was:

Another friend in B-ton was doing the B-ton wikipedia site and asked if he could use it and I said "yes, just cite me"

The other day I found out the following...
Pay attention to the top banner... it changes.
http://www.broadwaybinghamton.com/

Then today I was sent this...
http://www.nysegsolutions.com/AboutUs/
Notice where the large picture is on the left.... I think it's a stock photo of a light bulb now, but that was a cropped version of my picture this morning.

I'm going to talk to the Broadway people... I don't mind people using my pic - in fact I think it's kinda cool that people like it and are using it and passing it around. I DO mind that I'm not getting mentioned - if they just put a note that I took the picture, I'll be happy. The thing I mind even more is that the NYSEG site used it. I've written to them already, which is why the picture is no longer there.... (I feel kinda like it's a "dance, monkey, dance!" situation. hehe... things happened FAST since it may have potentially been a legal issue for them). So i wrote to them just asking where they got the photo and said I'd be willing to discuss it if they'd like to use it still... but really, It'll be interesting to see where it came from. I really, really hope that it's just a small-town, not so worried about the legal stuff kind of thing. I hope it's NOT that they bought the image from someone. That would make me mad.

Remember kids: Intellectual property is an important thing and ALWAYS make sure to get permission before using someone else's toy unless it's a stock photo bought from a reputable source... ; )

Raunchy

J just got home last night from a week long business trip. After saying hi, he says, "I have to bring something in the house and there's a story behind it." My thoughts: "uh-oh." So in he comes carrying a big box. He says, "So I was talking to the guy I was getting the box from and I said 'I'm going to put my wife's holiday present in here and then write: Laura's present, do not open. So then she won't look in it.' And the guy said 'If you do that, she's SURE to look in it! You should write: Old Newspapers or something.' and I said that wouldn't work because you would probably throw them out, so I'm wondering what I should write on the box so you won't open it." Really a strange conversation, but here's the result:

The artistry of the lettering leads me to believe that J missed his calling as a graphic designer. I just gotta love that man o' mine. : )

Resolutions Addendum

Alrighty. With picking up my new resolutions, I've been thinking about health in general. It's kinda scary. There are so many harmful or potentially harmful products out there. I am really starting to consider all of the potential impacts of the pervasive use of plastics. Sometime this past year, studies came out showing that polycarbonate leeches stuff into the water and food stored in it and some such. Then with all of the melamine stuff coming out of China recently, my happy little dream world of "I'm sure no one would sell me something that can harm me or cause long term effects" has been shattered. As a result, last spring I stopped using my favorite Polycarbonate water bottle. (on a side note, I've also been considering ditching those ziplock/glad food containers in favor of the pyrex ones with lids... dunno.) Why is it my favorite? - the lid. It has this flip-top lid where you press a button and the lid flips open and then it has this perfect sipping portion and then you just swing it closed again and it locks. The main advantage is that it keeps the drinking area covered and therefor clean during one of my inevitable Kluzt moments when I drop it in a big pile of mulch or whatever. You can also open & close it one-handed for easy use while driving. This lid is CRITICAL for me. Then last May, Jonah's cousins came down and introduced me to "Smart Water" - which has electrolytes added for anyone who doesn't know. I really liked that idea. I'm kinda a camel in that I go a long time without drinking, and then drink a lot all at once. I probably am constantly teetering on the brink of minor dehydration. I need to change that. So anyway, whenever I feel dehydrated I now grab a smart water. Then that turned into grabbing a smart water on my way to work - every morning. Then the piles of water bottles to be recycled and the thought of money wasted has been seeming like a big waste. It really is a big waste. Yesterday, I was motoring around Target looking for a thermos or a reasonable facsimile thereof and GLORY BE! I found my old polycarbonate water bottle now made in stainless steel (like this but with the same lid as the original)! Praise whatever!!!! Now I can have my water, save money, hopefully not die from it (the bottle was made in China... should I be worried?), AND have no moral dilemmas about undue waste. *does a little dance*

Also, I picked up a stainless steel 24 oz. vacuum mug so that I can make tea and take it with me on trips. I think I still need a full scale thermos, but eh. I'm a fan of tea. I love tea. It's a great soda substitute, especially if you get a flavored type. Today's tea of the day: Republic of Tea 'Wild Blueberry' (Fine Black Tea with Sweet Blueberries) So my plan for a WHILE now has been to get a mug or thermos, make tea & then take it with me on road trips because you can barely ever get good tea in convenience stores (the only one I've found that's decent if you actually like tea is Gold Peak Unsweetened).

Addendums to Resolutions:

• drink my own water
• increase tea intake/decrease soda intake
• limit soda intake to lunch only
• start to moisturize more regularly

This week I've done pretty well on parts of my resolutions and not so well on others. J's been out of town on business travel and so I've been pretty good about exercising since it is all my own schedule. I have not been so good about cooking in since I'm the only one and haven't really stayed in. Last night I went to a place called Mackey's because they have a Guinness Steak & Mushroom pie (I tooooootally miss steak & ale pies from Scotland). It was good, but not the same AT ALL. *sigh * I'd also say I'll be better about cooking in next week, but it'll be T-giving and the only night we'll be home is Monday. Maybe I'll cook Monday? Dunno.

Funny self-deprecating story of the day: this is why I claim only to be a physicist-poser... So I get that new stainless steel water bottle and this morning I fill it with Brita water from the fridge. I go to grab the bottle and come away SHOCKED at how cold it is... anyone with a physics degree SHOULD expect that. It's metal, & metal is not an insulator. *hangs head in shame * Mental note... new sewing project will be to make a fabric coozie for my water bottle.

I think I'm the only one...

I must be the only one in the history of man to hate, and I mean HATE, the story of Romeo and Juliet. I wish there Shakespeare had a broken home so I could say to him (if he were alive) "a plague on both your houses!" Seriously. I have no comprehension of how people like that story. It's depressing and aggravating and is all a result of massive mis-communication and idiocy. I have only ever met one version of R&J that I liked and that's the Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. I believe that the only reason I like it is because it's artistically well done enough that I can get past it and ignore the story. I bring this up because I just caught an episode of Lux Radio Theater that was a rendition of Madame Butterfly. I was very excited since I have never seen the show and you hear about it all the time. People rave about it. I liked it clear up to the end.... When (BEWARE: SPOILER) she kills herself on her father's death sword. All because of a stupid, frickin' MISCOMMUNICATION! Argh! it irked me to no end. I felt like Charlie Brown when Lucy pulls the football away. Stop doing this to me, people!!!!! I haven't liked any movie versions of R&J (except the one stated before), I don't like West Side Story (go ahead and gasp in chagrin - I know you want to), and I don't like Madame Butterfly now that I've heard it. It's once again a poorly masked rehashing of the R&J story and it looses me once more. Grrr.... I feel cheated and betrayed.

Exercise Recap

So my training went pretty well yesterday. I timed the walk/runs and the direction of my travel just right such that the middle walk (It's W-R-W-R-W in an 8-5-5-5-7 relation this week) happened just at the right time to walk around the observation deck over the marsh. I got a happy little viewing reward that way, yay! The marsh is sooooo pretty regardless of time of year. I think I like cattails. Well the first run went well. I remembered to focus on my form - mid-foot strike, heel touch, roll & push-off; keep feet pointed forward; try not to over exert my ankle muscles; & bent-knee landing. It felt good. I think I was slower again. I think I get slower when I focus on form, but it's definitely better for my joints, especially that friggin' left knee. On the second run, my mind wandered and I had to pull it back to the task at hand because I could feel my feet turning back out again. I like barefooting because it really does force you to have a biomechanically good form. If you are off, you hurt or at least don't feel perfect. If you are on, you feel just fine. I'm still sore through the back of my calves a little - they're tight - but that's indicative that I was still overcompensating with my ankles and just not keeping it all loose. That'll get better over time. This is why I've been starting out slow again - so that I can get the right form down again so I don't blow my knee out.

In other news, I just put on my super skinny skirt from the end of HS, the beginning of college. It fits! I'm quite pleased. I'm happy that I'm getting back into running because if I do more running and dancing, hopefully it'll firm up my butt & thighs some more. *crosses fingers* We'll see. I'm not complaining about the quantity of muscle that I have already... it's been established that I have more muscle now than last time I was this size because I weigh 15 lbs more than I did then. That's at least SOME progress that was made over the last 10 years. Ah! I also went climbing the other day. That felt kinda good. I don't think I like most of the people at my gym though. They're not very social. I think I need to find myself a regular partner. I was happy to find out that the main strength I lost was in my fingers. They got fatigued well before any other part, so that's OK I guess. That's one definite thing that's great about taking up running as a form of exercise - you can do it ANYWHERE. Not so with climbing. Next week is T-giving as you all know and I'll be home for 5 days? Yeah. So I'll just pack my five fingers and my jogging pants and go! Yay! Hopefully this time my mum won't worry about me exerting myself in the cold. Parents always worry, I guess. : )

Speaking of Five Fingers... if anyone feels like getting me a random senseless gift, I'm jonesin' for those light blue/green ones featured on the front page.... ; )

Ah, I also entertained myself by taking Retro Pinup pics of myself last night. That was fun. No, I'm not posting them on here. Needless to say, if anyone wants any pin-ups done for them, let me know. I love it! I also do head shots & I really, really want to try recreating the effects of 16th century paintings with my camera. Let me know if you're up for a shoot!

Is it just me?

Is it just me or is it colder out? Sounds like a stupid question since the winter weather just started showing up, I know. See, here's the thing. I know winter has come sooner than last year, but I've also lost 50 lbs of insulation. I'm guessing it's a combination of being colder earlier and my lack of insulation, but I am COLD lately. Last year I probably wore socks only whenever there was enough snow to risk getting it into my shoes (i.e. a handful of times). This year I've not only started to wear socks already, but have upgraded to knee socks. This has two benefits... 1)I am warmer from the knee-down and 2) my Eczema is not attacking me as ferrociously as in previous years. For anyone interested, I have been getting Eczema on the back of my calves and sometimes up my legs, but only in the winter. As soon as the temperature changes and the humidity drops, it kicks in. This year... not so much. Is it that I'm eating better and perhaps subjecting myself to fewer allergens and thereby not exacerbating things? Is it purely that the additions of knee socks is, as my friend suggested earlier, keeping more moisture on my skin and thereby not letting it dry out as much? I don't know if I'll ever really get the answer to either the cold question or the Eczema vs. knee socks one. Oh well, off to run & see f I succeed in not puking up the potato and vegetable soups I ate for lunch. Goodie!

Begin at the beginning

So I've made the first however many steps to getting out there and running again. Learning from my mistake in September of just trying to go a gung-ho 3 miles without getting my form back in shape and almost blowing my knee out, I decided to stat almost from square one again and found a Couch to 10K program that I plan to follow. I'm starting at week 3 because I really can already walk for 30 minutes straight regularly... and the 3 minute jogs are well below me too. the 5 minute jogs today were a good start because I can do it easily, but I did try to go Gung-ho again and was able to realize by the end that I have to pay stricter attention to my form the next 3 times that I go out on this week's planned run/walks. I also found out again why I love running outside. Total zen experience... in the winter I barely come across any other people at the nature preserve and today I saw a fox standing in the trail ahead of me and staring at me. Fortunately he/she scampered off into the brush well before I got there. Hopefully it wasn't rabid. It felt good. I'm gonna be a little sore in the muscles though.

Also, since my velour jogging pants from last year outgrew me... & since I haven't been able to find cute replacements, I bought myself my first "track suit" - pants charcoal with BLINDING magenta piping and then a BLINDING magenta jacket with charcoal accents. Hopefully this will help with visibility if I have to run in darker near-road conditions. I feel like a bit of a tool, but it is comfy.

Warning for any male readers: girl stuff coming next (aka bra-reviews)

On other news, we went to PSU this past weekend. It was, at best, a comedy of errors involving a clogged toilet, a roll-away cot that was nowhere-to-be-found, and a 3 or 4 different plans to hang out with another couple that never came to fruition. The final nail in the coffin of my experience was that, as I was getting ready to drive home at 7:30 AM so Jonah could make his soccer match, my bra broke. MY BRA BROKE! Normally I wouldn't care, but this is the end of a moderately irritating weekend and it was a really expensive bra from Victoria's Secret called The Wave that was purchased as an every-day luxury item. If a Hanes $10 bra lasts me two years, the Victoria's Secret one will be a nice luxury that is more comfy and more support (or so the theory went). Pros: The Wave is the most comfy bra I have ever put on, it has convertible straps so that it can be racer-backed or halter, was constructed in such a way that you don't get indents across your back-flab, and was "secretly" leopard print on the inside eventhough it was utilitarian otherwise (yes, guys, we like funky stuff inside because it makes us feel like even something boring and functional can be a little wild). The cons: it greeeew... over time the foam that was the base stretched or grew or something so that it got too loose around and it BROKE... I went to put it on the same way I put on every other one and the strap came off. For only the second time in my life, I returned something used. (the first was a pair of shoes from target in which the soles appeared to be made of cardboard and nearly had a hole in them by the end of the first day). I took the bra back to VS because I've only had it for about 3 months and the strap fell off. This is either a design flaw or a defective product, clearly, and expensive to boot. The store people were very nice and credited me most of the original price (seemed fair since I had used it for 3 months) and I exchanged it out for the Very Sexy Multi-Way Bra. Aside from the fact that it gives a pleasing shape, I'm not sure where they get the name "Very Sexy" for it, but it also has convertible straps (in fact it came with a second pair of clear ones and a halter extender), came in skin color, is super comfy, and has removable padding. So far I'm happy enough. Let's hope this one lasts. : )

Things that make me mad...

Yeah, I know... that's a very positive sounding title that just makes you WANT to read this, huh? Anyway, I've come across a number of things in the past year or so that have just made me alternately want to celebreate and then throw things angrily. The first instance is a couple of years back I went to the Solar Decathalon and saw all sorts of new innovations. One that seemed very implementable to me was an inductance heating stove. Super cool! A changing magnetic field sends all the electrons spinning in the metal pots and pans (eddy currents, yay!) and then you get heat... It takes very little electricity as opposed to a heating coil on a normal electric stove. But later, I was doing a search and found this patent from 1973... 1973!!! WHy aren't these standard in houses already?!?! I can see not replacing a gas stove, but electric stoves should have been replaced by these already. So that made me mad.

Then I heard about a car company in Indian working on making cars that are driven by compressed air. It a super cool idea. So new, so novel! Oh wait... I found this... History of compressed air engines. Now someone please explain to me why we're so much better off now that if we had just spent the past 80 years improving the technology on this.... Thing that made me mad #2.

Now, just a few days ago, I foudn this on BoingBoing: 1958 TV show about global warming

I really give up. There's so much we could have done and should have been doing to prevent the environment from going the direction that it has. It all makes me mad, it makes me sad. I get worried when I hear somenoe in the policy realm talking about the next energy technology. They seem to think along the lines of ONE. ONE new technology. What we need to be doing is making a comprehensive study of the entire US and pair that with feasibility studies for different technologies. Let's face it. Solar energy is not the answer for Pittsburgh, Seattle, or Binghamton. But it would be great to imprlement in Nevada. Wind turbines would probably do much better on the tops of mountains or on unobstructed plains areas. Aren't there a couple of more places that we could put in Hydro plants? And who does the US rail system suck so much? I have ridden the train once (amtrak). It rocked. There was no waiting, no security lines, more spacious than a bus, and you didn't have to stay in your seat the whole time. The main gripe I have about the trains is that it doesn't go everywhere I'd want. When it does, it takes longer than a plane (well duh!) but they don't have as frequent of schedules, so I can't get an overnight trip on a 16 hour train ride. If I could spend 8-10 hours of that trip sleeping, I'd totally pay that much for a ticket that takes that long. Well, that's it. I'm done. No more ranting. Take a nice bath & hit the hay I guess.

Believe it or not....

Just a quickie thought... I love podcasts and I LOVE Old Time Radio... My latest podcast trend has been the Lux Radio Theater. They took current Hollywood movies, abridged them so that the story would fit within an hour and have room for commercials. I think it was a double advertising ploy - to get people interested in the movie and to get in advertising for Lux Soap. I have to admit, it seems effective. Several times I've wanted to go rent the movie and I'm totally down with seeing if Lux Flakes and Lux Toilet soap is still available. They've convinced me that it's a good product?

The most interesting thing though is that you hear voices of famous people talking to you and, I guess because you don't see the B&W or grainy picture, it doesn't register that this was a long time ago. It doesn't register that most of these people have passed away until I think about it later. I've gotten to hear Cecil B. DeMille announce the shows and talk to ME and tell me about his new productions. Just this episode I got to hear the real Mr. Ripley speaking (from Ripley's Believe It or Not)... and I never thought about the fact that there probably WAS a Mr. Ripley. I got to hear about and then discover a famous 1920s tiger tamer by the name of Mabel Stark. Really, we were all shocked by the incident a few years back with Sigfried and Roy... but I guess we're all too sheltered. Mabel was attacked, mauled & sent to the hospital 16 times by 1936. (her career lasted through the 50s). Very interesting.

Samhain Resolutions & Halloween 2008 Wrap-up

Last year, I accidentally made Samhain resolutions. By accidentally, I mean that I made a plan and it came like a shot out of the dark via random coincidence and it all happened right around the beginning of November (right after Samhain). As a result, I decided retroactively that I had Samhain resolutions. Now, the one really nice thing about using the Celtic New Year, as I've mentioned before, is that you can make a plan to eat healthier BEFORE all the opportunities to gorge... hence you can realize "hey, I should have at least a glimmer of self-restraint" and thereby you do not have as much "making up for it" to do later.



I think this is a grand idea. I spent a lot of time the past two weeks trying to THINK of new resolutions and I wasn't having any luck. Luckily, the shot out of the dark came again this year. So here we goooooooooooo.......!!!!

1. Start a small side business making custom clothing - market to the local DC metro area, tap Etsy, and diversify. You want it? I'll make it. Costumes, period-inspired everydaywear, steampunk. You got it!


2. Cook more and eat more veggies. I miss cooking. I say my excuse is we don't have enough time. BS! I am a culinary wizard and need to get off my lazy ass & just hit the grocery every day. Expect to see more random concoctions like the Salmon Salad appear - if I really liked it, I'll share.


3. Train up for the Boo! Run 10K in October.


4. Do more work on trying to figure out how to balance work, play, relaxation, and social. I still suck at it.


5. Find a dentist


6. Work on those last 10 lbs and maybe toning more.



7. Wear more hats.

Now as far as Halloween goes... we had fun as always, but the much-anticipated DC101 Party, which always has awesome costumes because they offer a several thousand dollar grand prize, was a total bust. I think I'm done with it. Maybe all the people who make the normally fantastic costumes have caught on that they weren't going to get anywhere because it's always something pop-culture that wins. Maybe they realized this and went elsewhere. Maybe they were all in a Halloween funky like I was this year and didn't decide to do much. All I know is that they weren't really there. J & I were Sweeney Todd & Mrs. Lovett as planned. Lori reappeared as her sshett-ghost. Our friend Adi came out and made himself Charlie Brown using black duct tape on a yellow shirt & Jenn was an asian masseuse and Wilson pulled out his mad-1-hour costume skillz and came as Toadstool from Super Mario Brothers. It was fun hanging with friends, but the party sucked and a guy in a white button down shirt and a brown vest who called his costume "McLovin'" (from the movie Superbad) won the $3K. I am peeved. For $3K the giant Dildo that someone MADE should have gotten the prize at least (Rabbit dildo was 2nd runner up). So anyway, the verdict is that I should have made plans to just stay at Greg & Jessie's because it was more fun eventhough I Greg didn't make it home before I had to leave. Stupid work.

Yeah, I don't know what was wrong, but I was in some weird halloween funk this year. Never got my decorations out. Never even put fall leaves on the door.... weird. Huh.... Maybe I'll dig out the ceramic fruit for T-giving and make some effort. Dunno.

Cooking with Binkle, Ep.1

Well, I got inspired last night to cook at home. I don't like recipes so much. I like to experiment... I thought: "Vegetables, I need Veggies..." and then thought: "dinner salad!" and wandered into Trader Joe's. First things first - pick a meat. I really wanted to grill up some Salmon, so I headed to the meat section to see what was to be had. Here's what I came up with:

Dijon Cider Pistachio Salmon Salad

1 package Herb Dijon Salmon Fillets
1 Bag Baby Spring Greens Mix
1 Bag Raw Pistachio Nutmeats
Apple Cider Vinegar
Manchego Cheese
White muchrooms
Vine ripened tomatos
Maille Old World Whole Grain Dijon Mustard

I used 1.5 C of salad greens per salad, tossed on a handfull of mushroom slices crumbled up. I split 1.5 fillets of Salmon between the two salads - maybe overkill, but eh.... I tossed the pistachios in my mini processor and chopped them up and put about 1/4 C chopped pistachios on each salad. added 1/4 C shredded manchego per... then 5-6 quartered tomatos. Lastly, I mixed 1/2 C Cider Vinegar with about 1-1.5 Tbsp of Maille in a bowl and mixed them together to make a dressing and poured half over each salad. It was A) filling, B)divine, and C) relatively low-cal, but flavorful. Go try it. Make sure not to over-grill the Salmon. Enjoy!

Mrs. Lovett Contruction

This post is mainly for a girl named Sarah who asked about my costume and how it was made and I can't actually tell her because facebook is being a baby and not letting me send messages due to some other bug or glitch. I'm sure it'll work tomorrow. *grump * So, if you have an intense wondering about my costuming methods or my insanity level (if you think I'm insane by reading this, do not even ASK about my ghost costume last year....), read on... if you don't care, read something else. Enjoy! : )

I used the following patterns:

Simplicity 9769 - for bloomers & corset

Butterick B3418 - most basic skirt pattern for skirt

I bought the following:

• Lace mitts from Hot Topic ~$6
• Purple and Pink vertically striped knee socks from Target - ~$6
• Black sheer 3/4 length sleeve shirt - Ross Dress-4-Less ~$10
• 10 yds. grey herringbone with burgundy and copper pinstripes (suspect it's a wool poly blend) ~$0.95 /yd
• Black duck cloth for inner layer of corset - used 40% off coupon
• Black cotton poly stretch cloth for lining and outer cover of corset - on sale
• Black Double Fold Bias Tape - 1/4" and 1/2" widths - on sale
• Charcoal Single Fold Bias - on sale
• Burgundy Double Fold Bias Tape - on sale
• Black/gold lace - I thought I had a coupon, but I didn't... ouch... ~2yd = $17 (ouch!)
• Black velvet & cording ribbon to be used as ready-made drawstring ~$4
• 1 wooden rolling pin - ~$6 (I guess I'll stop using old wine bottles to roll out my baking shells now)
• Red with metallic green stripe homespun on clearance from last holiday season I think ~$2 /yd
• 2 spools black lace ~$3 each

Starting with the simplicity pattern, I made the bloomers from the red/green homespun and black lace around the bottoms just for fun because I saw black/red striped bloomers in a publicity photo - I couldn't find black/red striped fabric for a reasonable price. I diverged from the pattern by sewing the crotch together because I want them mostly because I'm a klutz and can see a scenario in which my skirt ends up over my head accidentally. Let's not show off the goods....

Next I got to work on the skirt. The grey herringbone is not perfect for the movie skirt, but close-ish and as close as I could get for cheap. Also, I figured that if I make it understated, I could wear it to work, cause I love floor-length skirts & the fabric is very business-y. Now, because of this, I was very anal and matched each panel so that the pinstripes met in a chevron pattern at the seams, so it took a while. I put together the most basic skirt - with train because I am just like that and can't pass up a train because it means more fabric hanging off of me... (the problem of people constantly stepping on me be damned!). Then I did a fake hem to figure out where I wanted it to hang to. Next I randomly decided that 9.5" long would make a good ruffle. So I measured the circumference around where the ruffle would be tacked (based on the prelim. hem) and guessed that double would be a good length. I cut and sewed lengths of ruffle pieces together (because I had to cut across the fabric so as to get the stripes going the same direction as the rest of the skirt, generally up and down). Once again being anal, I matched the places where I seamed the ruffle bits together. I finished the top of the ruffle with a rolled hem and the bottom with burgundy Double Fold Bias tape... because home-girl don't hem! (and it seemed to be that way in the movie stills). Ok, so the base of the skirt was done.

Next, I cut out duplicates of the four back panels of the skirt to make a base for the detachable back/butt ruffles. After sewing the 4 panels together, I traced the top part and made a 6.5" long piece that was the same shape. I measured the bottom of this, doubled the length, and attached a ruffle to the bottom of that piece. Then I tacked the top of that piece to the four-panel base. Next, I measured across the four-panel piece at a location that would have a 1/2 to 3/4 inch overlap with the ruffle. (note: I measured & marked every couple of inches so that I could preserve the slight curve of the top of the skirt) I doubled it and made another 9.5" ruffle to go there. I love chalk. I marked everything with chalk. So, onward, down the panel until I had an entire panel of ruffles. When done, I tacked all the ruffles down at the outer edges, and finished the edges with burgundy bias again. Then I gathered the top to match the width of the 4 gathered panels on the skirt & attached a matching waist band piece... Finally.... I safety pinned the entire false panel onto the skirt, turning the edges under. (Note: this method came in handy because a gap between the pins served as a perfect arm-loop so I could keep the train out of the way while waltzing the other night - no, I didn't not plan that feature in advance.)

Next... I made the corset generally according to plan. I still have an S-load of bulk 1/4" poly boning from making Fully-boned 18th century stays last year and I still also have Heating Duct Zip Ties from Home Depot which I tend to cut down and use as front and back stays (found that on a costuming site last year as a good alternative to actual whale bone). The pattern said to A) make the corset out of one layer of fabric, B) use steel boning, and C) use a front closure. I disregarded all of that and decided to make an inner boned layer from Duck Cloth (cotton stretches too much, so does Twill and I'm not about to go ordering corset Coutil (<-ha! spell check just suggested coital instead!) online). Next I made a lining layer and a covering layer out of whatever black cloth was cheap (cotton poly stretch, it tuns out). The outer layer I decorated by covering the seams and boned areas with Charcoal single fold bias tape. When the three layers were made up, I stitched them together and finished the bottom with black Double Fold (1/4"), tried it on, and cut the top down by 2" so it came to under bust for me. Then I finished the top the same way. I wish I had grommetted it AFTER making the alteration because I wasn't quite precise, but live & learn. I stole the laces out of another black corset I own and was done with it. Note: it's you want to use size 00 grommets (far superior to the crap eyelets you can get at a fabric store), you will HAVE to get them online unless you live close to a miracle store.... I tried every fabric store, hardware store, marine store, etc that I could think of. I love this site for supplies. Corsetmaking.com They are FAST and nice to deal with... Also, get a hole punch for eyelets that looks like a pair of pliers (usually sold as an eyelet setting kit at Walmart or fabric stores), throw out the eyelets that come with then, and then buy a hammer-based grommet setter... throw out the hole punch that comes with it (trust me, I've done a goodly bit of grommets, punch the fabric with a tool and then set them with the hammer die. Soooo much easier!)

So, lastly, the shirt... I took a ready made sheer black shirt from Ross, cut the neckline down into the appropriate shape, bound the edge with 1/2" Black bias tape, gathered the 2 yds of lace, sewed the lace and the velvet chord ribbon on top of the bias (being careful to only catch the chord edging and not the velvet in the seam so that the velvet ribbon could be pulled through and act as a drawstring...) and voila!

In the end, the hair was pretty easy. If I'm not careful, it's a semi-fro anyway, so I used one of those zig-zag headbands to pull it back to the right place, teased it up a good bit, spritzed it with water so that I got a bit of curl into it, teased some more, arranged, fluffed, sprayed mercilessly with Aquanet - the god of hairdos that ain't going anywhere - sprayed with some black hairspray to darken my tresses, and then more Aquanet. More puffing and arranging and I have a Mrs. Lovett Fro that is all mine. no wigs here.

Lastly, if you costume from time to time, let me recommend Graftobian creme makeup.... it comes in various colors, I have a pot of white. it goes on and comes off like normal foundation. It wears and feels like a good foundation. I hate that Grease-paint crap you can get at K-mart or Walmart. Graftobian is $$$ but well worth it. The thing I really like is that it goes on and stays on and can go on thin for a pale complexion or can go on thick if you really need to be WHITE. Good stuff.

So that's the process.

As usual, there is some part of every sewing project that I just don't finish. Usually it's the hem because I hate hemming and I'd rather use duct tape. This year, I've started making things in such a way that I don't have to hem at all. Yay! So on this project it is the skirt... I have not sewn a button and made a button hole to close the skirt. Nor am I likely to ever since I've been wearing it around for a month without a button. My dirty little secret... m-kay....? : )

Finally I leave you with this, which amused me greatly:


Wonderful ad from the end of the Lux Radio Theater Production of The Canterville Ghost (1945):
Male Narrator: "Patty didn't forget what she had in mind, but how could she tell Kaye what she was REALLY thinking?"
Patty: "Kaye's cute enough to get any man she wants. If only she were as sweet and fresh as she looks... but you just can't tell even your best friend that she's careless about daintiness. If I could only give her a hint about Lux-ing underthings after every wearing... Lux-ing her dresses and blouses often... If I could tell her how fresh & sweet it leaves 'em. And then she wouldn't risk offending! She'd have all the fun she deserves."

Hahaha! Does anyone know if they still sell Lux? I have to see if I can improve the daintiness of this blouse which still smelled in the pits after getting it back from the dry cleaners... I'm suspecting they don't clean half this stuff.

Random thoughts....

I've been filled with musics this week, but lacking time to write them down, so half are gone andhalf are no longer relevent and the few that are left, well.... here goes....



I know politics get me riled up a bit and that's normal, especially with the upcoming election and the current state of affairs in the nation. So I think I posted this run-down of the subprime lending crisis already... but oh well. See, here's the thing... everytime someone talks about the housing crisis and all the foreclosures - yeah, it sucks. BUT whenever someone talks about bailing out the people being foreclosed, I just nearly have a conniption! Yes, I realize that there are people being affected who lost their job and can't pay... or maybe they're elderly and their health care bills are going through the roof and they can't pay (don't EVEN get me started on health care!) Shit happens. I understand this. but I also understand that we've been living in a culture for the past 15 to 20 years that thrives upon living above our means. Everyone wants the best and gets the best unless they can't get credit for it.... Then I've been listening to the Presidential debates on my iPod at work and it was everything I could do to keep from screaming and throwing things during that second town-hall style debate. McCain was talking about his plan to save the eceonomy and homeowners - foreclosure bailouts! McCain's plan, as presented in that debate was for the Gov to buy up all the foreclosure mortgages and renegotiate the mortgage based on the value of the house right now. BULLSHIT! YOU ARE NOT USING MY MONEY FOR THAT!!!!!! When we bought our house about a year and a half ago, the bank told us "we approve you for $522K." I just about fell out of my chair laughing at them. There was and still is NO way anyone should be approving us for that kind of loan. J & I took our current rent, figured out what we could afford to pay per month above that and still live extremely comfortablely... then figured out how much we had to put down and said "we can buy something for $_x_ or less." Then.... guess what... we looked for something in that range..... and we bought something in that range.... it also, coincidentally, was in a range that we could still pay if one of us lost our jobs. We'd be eating Ramen, but we could still pay. If we both lost our jobs.... well, I could always get a temp position and then we'd have to make soup out of shoe leather, but we'd make it work. That's what our grandparents did. Coincidentally, when they talk about how the housing prices have dropped, We've already "lost" our downpayment if we had to sell right now. So I really, really, REALLY don't want to hear about people who bought the barbie dream house getting to renegotiate and only pay what the house is worth right now because they were dumb-asses and believed the bank when they were approved for the max amount. I know you people are out there!!! I mean, if I had known this all was going to happen.... I'd have bought a 1920s bungalow in Clarendon with the $522 and then get off paying a lot less....



OK, enough ranting... I'm moving to New Zealand as soon as they pass a bill equivalent to rewarding dumb-asses.



On a lighter note, I was surprised to learn that I need to learn how to take a bath. I got some free time Monday night & decided to try out the new tub. LOVE IT! It gives me about 9-10 extra inches deep of water compared to my old tub. My plan: read the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, make hot chocolate with Bailey's, light a pumpkin candle, dim the lights, fill the tub, relax. The plan was good. My thoughts: the tub will take longer to fill & it always cools off as it fills, so I need to run the water warmer than usual & I'll shut the bathroom door so that the heat stays in. The thoughts were not as good as the plan. : ( Who would have thought that I'd have to re-learn how to take a bath?? Apparently it's like getting used to a new stove or oven. The reality: The tub did take longer to fill, but there was also more buffer above the warm water down below so it retained its heat rather well. When the water reached a suitable level, I turned it off & relaxed into reading, took a sip of hot chocolate and learned that the side of the tub is not level, but slightly inward slanted. I learned this as my mug started to tumble into the tub and I lost about 25% of the drink in the water... Chocolate bath - cool or ew? so then I decided the soap shelf was a better mug-placement. No more mishaps, but after a while, I noticed that sweat was rolling down my face and my heart was racing pretty good. Not cool. I tried to stick it out until the water cooled down a bit. Maybe 15 mins? Maybe it did cool down, but neither the air nor the water was cool enough to offer relief and by this point my eyes were starting to sting from the sweat and my book was getting damp because of the water that splashed up as I tried to wipe the sweat away. Finally, I gave up, let the water out and then laid in the bottom of the tub cooling off in the steamy room. I was probably there for a good 1/2 hour and thought that J would probably think I had had a tragic accident if he walked in on me because both feet were up against the wall at odd angles and my neck was in a totally kinked position. It shouldn't have been comfortable.... ah well.

Wel, that's about it. I guess I need to re-learn how to take a bath, I just picked up more paint samples and think I figured out which one I lost 3 weeks ago... and it's Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween all!

Sweeney Tidbits & Teaser

I have a lot to say on a lot of things and they've been building up all week. However, I am severely lacking time. So here's an interesting article if you've ever wondered about if Sweeney Todd (the musical or movie) was based at all on reality. The answer is, according to this, Yes.... except he was just a bitter nutjob without the rationalization that the muscial provides.

Next, here's a teaser. Not a good photo, we'll get better ones eventually.

I feel like Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde...

Oh no... not again.... I can feel the unholy urges and obsessions taking over. Stop! Stop me before it's... too... late..... *Collapses on the floor *

PA240003
Originally uploaded by binkle52

So I made my victorian skirt for the base of the Mrs. Lovett costume and have been wearing it around periodically for the past month or so. (see to the right... you can't tell, but it's a grey herringbone with cranberry and copper pinstripes and then I added cranberry/burgundy bias around the hem so I didn't have to actually hem it. I hate hemming.) To work, to picnics, to restaurants, shopping, maybe out to a haunted forest tonight.... I LOVE being swathed in fabric. So now I've picked out two other patterns that I want to make - both victorian in nature. Forget that I have 3 other projects en queue, forget that I have 6+ projects sitting in my closet to make. * hangs head in shame at self * I want these for multi-purpose wear. Steam punk? Check. Costume? Check. Office? Check. Alrighty, here we go... Wheee! The first one I want to order is this skirt. I'd like to do a modern bohemian take on it kinda like in the photograph. I'm also going to make a version of this jacket, but NOT the chintz & lace thingie that girl in the photo made. ugh, not me... wouldn't cross over into work well either. I'm thinking something more along the lines of the one in the left-hand photo on this page. So there's that and then I found someone on craigslist selling 100 yds of red dress satin for $250. Do the math. That's $2.50 per yard. For Satin. Satin's normally at least $10/yd. SO I'm tempted to drop a couple of hundred for 100 yds of red satin that I don't know what I'd do with it. One thought was making an entire wardrobe out of red satin & wearing only red satin every day for a year, but that's just freakin' insane and it'd probably drive me nuts & make me think I was the devil or something. So, I think I'll let that one slide. I'm totally buying the patterns though. I'm gonna do it and you can't stop me!!!! Hahahahaha!!!!! *maniacal laugh as she stands at the edge of a really tall metaphorical building about to jump to her doom (i.e. into another project)*

In other news, I am angry at work because it has been doing everything in it's power to sabotage me and my new work ethic.... The servers are down, I can't do anything and etc.
Also, I'm heading out to a haunted forest with J & my sister tonight & I'm going to see Thoroughly Modern Millie tomorrow night and that should be fantastic. What to wear???? : ) Ah, and 'Tis the season for Starbucks Chai Lattes... I'm limiting myself to one Tall Skim every two weeks. I can't handle the extra cals every day. Ah! and I got one of the most glorious Sunrises ever today. I love having an east-facing office with a window. LOVE IT!!! & Now I'm found wondering why it seems like glorious sunrises happen more frequently than glorious sunsets. If there's anyone out there that understands what's going on in the upper atmosphere and wants to explain it to me, please go right ahead.

Lastly. I love this. You should go check out the videos if you haven't already. Really cool Physics Videos. I like #10, #5, and #4.

Flying

Though J & I had talked about it for the better part of the last nine years, I've sworn there was NO way that I was ever going to jump out of a plane. No way, no how! I have no problem with the idea of riding around on a parachute, paragliding/parasailing/hang gliding (not a chute, but...). I don't like the fact that the chute is not open when you exit the plane. I don't like the fact that you have the possibility of falling somewhere around 13,000 feet and hitting the ground and going **splat!** if it doesn't open. and I do NOT like free-fall as experienced on amusement rides like this one. Hate, hate, hate.

Now, I got this brilliant idea to send J to his death (aka skydiving) for his 30th birthday since he really wanted to do it forever. AND, even better, I'd con his friends into going too so that I could stay on the ground waiting for the inevitable splat (J really likes crazy activities to be a shared group experience). Well, for one reason or another this plan failed - horribly. Due to money, relocation or absolute refusal to throw themselves out of a plane (because they're smart like that) only one other person decided to go. Hmmm... J likes groups. One is good, but more would be better. So, after deciding which location to send him jumping at, I chose Orange Skydive.... and the tandem jump page said that the free fall was 50 seconds... Then I started to think that I could maybe put up with 50 seconds of sheer terror to make J's b-day fun. But... What if I wet myself? Well they had THE ANSWER to that on their FAQ's. The other part of the FAQ's that intrigued me was this: Are you so smart you have an answer for everything? That instilled me with confidence, so I decided to go too.

I don't know if I had spent so long worrying about it that I was past worry, or if I was so far beyond fear that I couldn't comprehend it anymore or if I was comfortable with my own impending doom, but I wasn't nervous once we got there. I spent the plane ride up thinking about how just a week ago I was on a plane that I was not intending to jump out of and getting a little nervous, but here I was on a plane, totally intending to jump out of it and I was OK. Then the guys in the plane were trying to get me to smile, but I really wasn't up for it and told them that I had never had an intention to jump out of a perfectly good plane, to which the one instructor replied "I've worked on planes and I can tell you there's no such thing as a perfectly good plane. There are planes that fly and stay in the air, but that's about it." Thanks. That makes me feel better. My instructor, Tim, & I were the last ones out of the plane. It was cool to watch the other people go. It didn't look like they were jumping or falling out - more like being sucked out. I remember being at the door, knowing it was my turn and it didn't seem real at all. It didn't register. There were no thoughts of "here we go!" or "Oh, shit!".... just blank thoughts and "OK..." Then we were out and my thoughts were "OK..." and "well, huh!" and "I wonder why I don't feel like screaming" and "this is nifty" and something along the lines of "this is a really interesting perspective on everything" Sometimes it was hard to breath like when you face into a stiff wind. I remember feeling safe in the harness because I was strapped to something, anything, even if that thing was another person named Tim who was still plummeting at the same rate as me with no further support. At some point the chute opened and it was weird because I didn't feel a sense of relief - mainly since I hadn't had any thought of "it might not open" It was super cool hanging out up there and looking around at everything. We couldn't quite see home, but Tim said on good days you could see all the way up there. I mistook cows for deer (perspective is really thrown off from that high - that's my excuse & I'm sticking to it!). I also really enjoyed when Tim sent the chute into tight turns & spirals - it felt more like flying then. Eventually all three of us made it down safely.

Yay! I'm definitely glad I did it. It was cool. I don't know if I'd do it again unless it was cheap or free. If it was not an expensive hobby, I'd maybe consider taking it up because it was as close to real flying as I think I'll ever get unless I can find a wizard to give me wings (no, folks, Redbull doesn't actually work). I don't know. I wasn't all adrenaline rushy. Maybe I got myself into too much of a zen-like state. The thing is, I was talking with Dave last weekend about what I'd want to go back and witness in history and my answer was "the beginning" whatever that was. I'd really like to know whether there was one. Being a scientist (kinda) - I have to believe in mass/energy conservation and it makes sense that it just always was. But I can't get beyond my human experience. I can't comprehend the idea of "no beginning, always was" because everything that I've ever experienced had a beginning. So maybe that was the thing: the whole experience was so far beyond my comprehension that I just sat back and watched it because I didn't know what else to do. Regardless, it was pretty dang cool and I'd recommend it.

Newest addition...

Before anyone gets excited, I want to announce the newest addition to our family.... My shoulder griffin.

I haven't decided what to name him yet. I'm thinking something scadinavian. My mind keeps going with Solvieg, but that's a woman's name. He's definitely a he. I already have one gender confused plant, I don't need a confused griffin. I've been enamored with the shoulder griffins for about two years now and just a few weeks ago stumbled upon a wad of Christmas/birthday money that I haven't used in two years... Mum always says "buy yourself something you don't need." and I think a shoulder griffin fits into that category nicely. He makes me happy. He's actually a puppet. Thanks meemur!

Wow....

Yeah, I totally just gave up & got together a girls' day to the Maryland Renaissance Faire cause it's the last weekend and I still had two tickets & J was watching the PSU game this afternoon. As I go walking through the faire with my two girlfriends in tow, I hear, "Laura!" but it registered as someone else because that person couldn't have meant me since my two friends were right beside me. Holy Shit! It's Greg & Jessie with a group of friends also. WHAT?!? Small world I guess. That was a nice, if brief, meeting. I'm feeling horribly spoiled since, now if you include the upcoming halloween festivities, I will have seen Greg/Jessie 5 times in two months. Wow! That's, like, more than the past 3 years combined.... nah, I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but I'm gonna get spoiled if we keep this up. Sorry guys, I decided on trying to get my Alexandria girls to go out so I didn't call you.

Uh....

Extraneous thought for the day: Avoid breathing through your mouth when sucking on a peppermint and walking past a Port-A-John.

Adventures in Canada lead to deepness...

Begin at the end.... There is very little, I think, more wondrous than taking off from a major city airport after dark. All the sparkling little lights held me in rapture for a good while after departing JFK airport on my return flight from Toronto to JFK to Reagan National to home. Really, if we had not gotten above a layer of clouds, I would not have read my book or watched a movie on my iPod. I would have spent the hour pondering the minuscule beauty of the world below for that whole hour. As it was, it's probably a good thing that I didn't have the hour to ponder and distracted myself instead. There was a very high probability that I could have pondered myself into a funk again. I hate my brain.

Maybe you know from following my Facebook status or from talking to me or you will know when you see my picasa pictures updated that I jet-setted off to Toronto Canada this weekend to visit my friend Dave, from college. It was awesome. I think Mars is no longer in retrograde because every bus, metro, flight, subway, trolley, ferry, and etc. trip went smoothly, was on time or ahead of schedule arriving or was waiting for me/us in the station when I/we got there. Timing was impeccable. I am not used to smooth travel, so it was all truly a luxury. For anyone not already familiar, Dave's absolutely the first friend I made at PSU. We initially met the day I moved in at a freshman orientation swing dance mixer in my quad. I honestly remember that for the first time in my life I stayed up until 3 or 4 AM talking & hanging out with a new friend. It was cool. He's also one of the two key people who unwittingly motivated me to break up with my high-school boyfriend. No, Dave's not a homewrecker, but he's nice and it just seemed wrong that two guy friends I had known for about a month were nicer than the guy I was dating. So anyway, it's really been about 4 years since we last caught up. I say that that's way too long. I want all my friends in one place again.



Well, the trip started out with a bang, we made our way back to the apartment, dropped my stuff off, wandered down to the St. Lawrence Market. I'm afraid we spent way too much money on cheese & crackers, snack munchies and deli meats there, but Mmmmmm.... decadence. We also got to experience what is, at least according to a sign in the Market, a real canadian food: the Peameal Sandwich. It was pretty good. Canadian Bacon lightly coated in cornmeal and plopped on a bun with your choice of honey mustard or maple dijon. Yum.

Next we totally rushed to get back, change and head out to Canada's Wonderland for a "Halloween Haunt." I had never been to an amusement park for halloween before, but I must admit it was awesome. They had a number of haunted trails that were fun and there really weren't any lines for the coasters. Additionally, we weren't sweltering in the sun when we DID have to wait. I think it's the oooonly way to do an amusement park. We didn't get quite all of the coasters in - I think we missed out on two that were open and there were one or two that weren't open at all. The Vortex was cool as was the Behemoth, which was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard - they also did Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and I think they're probably my favorite coaster design firm right now.

So after starving Dave all day Friday and ending it all by gorging at Wendy's at 11:30 PM, I am convinced that he decided to carry out vengeance upon me because the entire rest of the weekend was a culinary adventure with almost continual snacking and etc. Saturday started with a trip to the grocery to get foods to compliment the meats & cheeses from the Market so as to form a picnic lunch for Sunday and for a brunch smorgasbord on Monday. Then we were off to hit Kensington Market, a semi-Bohemian area with a ton of Vintage Shops, cafes, ethnic wear stores and food markets. It was a nifty area, I noticed a lot of people with Che Guevarra paraphernalia. I found a new vintage dress, nearly talked Dave into a used Tin-Man costume, and we began our food-foray with Empanadas chased down with fresh Ginger Beer. The Ginger Beer was an intriguing beast that took some getting used to - mainly, you had to get past the way it burned the back of your throat. It was definitely good to try.

We left Kensington Market and made our way through a part of chinatown. Though Longans appeared to be in season, alas, none were sufficiently ripe to bother getting some. Next stop was the Fashion district and the fabric stores therein. It was like a playground for me... just wandering... touch, feel, touch, feel, etc.... until I realized that I couldn't afford any of the stuff I liked and we headed east (?) along Queen St. in search of a Crepe place Dave had heard about. After passing a bunch of bloody people pasting posters on light posts (I guess they were in a band whose schtick was to dress like mauled soldiers?), and a few crazy shop windows, we made it to the Crepe place. I got a decadent combination of banana, strawberry, rum, and coconut for mine & I think Dave's was a Ham & Swiss with Mushrooms. They were Yummy. I still haven't found a good crazy-crepe shop like Dave showed me in Boston though.

Next stop on the Itinerary was The Rex, which is a Toronto Jazz & Blues Bar. It was nice to sit & have a pint (half pint in my case) and get some live music.

I'd say we stayed for about an hour & then went on toward City Hall to obtain another Canadian taste treat: Poutine. Poutine is steak fries drowning in a wonderful brown gravy loaded with cheese curds. Cheese curds - the name sounds gross, but is there anything more wonderful???

Poutine tasted really good. I know why Wiki said it was a Canadian Comfort food. It makes you really warm inside, but I suspect part of that is because it clogs your arteries... ; ) I'm sure one order on occasion is not going to kill you, but it was super decadent and then led to a near re-enactment of the Month Python "wafer thin mint" skit on the way up the stairs from the TTC station during which Dave suggested something else culinary. After grabbing coats at the apartment, we headed back out to a little (not so little, really, but it felt cozy) bar near the St. Lawrence Market called C'est What? - at which, I might add, I got carded. It had a decent selection of scotches, bourbons & whisky. I tried a Bowmore (loved it), Laphroig (good - I had forgotten that the initial taste is like sucking on a campfire, but that goes away), Balvenie (nice & light), and a Lagavulin (also very good). I'm beginning to see a connection that I prefer Islay malts. Lastly, I think we finished the night out with the Stilton & crackers from the Market the day before.

Sunday involved a trip to Tim Horton's for breakfast sandwiches and an excellent pumpkin donut. Tim Horton's is like a Dunkin Donuts, but with nicer decor. Then some sandwich-making as we packed a bag to go picnic on "The Islands." The Islands are little sandbar islands not too far out in the lake. Part is residential, part has a little airport and the central part is a park including a small pay-as-you-go amusement park. The rides were all shut down & boarded up. We got to take in some good fall foliage and bits o' nature along the southern shore.

And also got a good fantasy-style view of the CN tower emerging from the fog above a petting farm...

I also managed to regress and find a good old sturdy style swing set that was high enough that you'd kill yourself if you tried to jump off from the top. It was fun. I reverted to my merry old style of seeing how much I could get the chains twisted mid-swing and I think Dave was convinced that I was going to break it & need medical attention! It kinda reminds me of the time that Jonah thought I was going to kill myself because I used leverage with just my kneecap to climb a tree, but I digress. The swings were actually a great workout - I need to find a good set by my house somewhere. There were even parts of the Islands that reminded me of Myst... it was an odd juxtaposition to "city."

So we ventured through that there hole out onto the beach, made short work of the thousands of snack foods that we brought with the sandwiches. I was introduced to corn nuts & Dave was introduced to sesame sticks. I have to add that I may never eat any bread other than Rosemary Foccacia from this point onward. It's amazing. After a couple of rollickingly cut-throat games of Uno, we eventually wound our way back to the Ferry dock & seemed to time it just right to catch sunset as we crossed. In an attempt to get some Steak & Ale pie, we ultimately ended up at an "english pub" but alas, they were on the late-night menu. The food was still good.

In the end, we ended up heading back to the apartment, doing a brief refresher of some old Swing lessons from college and then broke into the liquor cabinet. Half a mini-bottle of ice wine later, plus some Dooley's (tastes like Bailey's) and a sprite & Kahlua, it seemed like a good idea to make popcorn... until after spending 40 minutes picking at popcorn, we realized it'd take forever to finish the bowl (were both that full from everything else)....

Monday was a quick brunch of bacon, corned beef hash, omelets, pancakes and fruit salad - enough that I had a starbucks muffin for dinner and was good to go - and then a trip to the airport. The food was great, the company was great. So why the long-winded recount of the trip? Partly because I've been realizing that I'm getting older and I had better write this stuff down or I won't remember the details, but also partly because it was a lead up to lots of thoughts. Lots & LOTS of thoughts...

These thoughts are not just coming from this weekend, but from a variety of experiences this past year... last month Greg came & stayed with us for a week, which was awesome, and that visit really got me thinking about this too.

I need my people.

I don't need a lot of people, in fact, I am not overly social and really could care less about most people, but there are a few select people that I need. I was thinking about my friends from college. There are about six friends that I made in college who are the be all and end all for me. All but one of those people I met in Freshman year. Four of those people are guys and two are girls. (Note: I'm not including J in these stats and though I still know his friends from college too, I didn't pick them out for myself. I am talking about MY friends.) These people have been with me for 10 years. That's kinda impressive. I was thinking about why I have such a strong connection with these friends... I mean, when I'm with them, I don't stress, I don't feel like I need to protect myself, I can speak openly, I can be myself, I don't have to be a socially acceptable facsimile of myself. I'm not afraid to be sad around them if I need to - I know they're not going to hurt me. Then I was thinking about it and I think the key is that we were all removed from out families and comfort zones and tossed into a pot together. I can't speak for everyone, but that kicks me into hyper-self-preservation mode and forced me to find people who were suitable to replace the family bonds that I was lacking. I'm figuring we were all in the same boat & chose each other for similar need-fulfilling reasons? Dunno. But the point is that I pick my people because they complete some part of me. I have slots. Those slots need to be filled. One person can fill several, or just one. It really doesn't matter. If several are empty, I don't do very well. I think that's the hardest part right now... (interjection before anyone get a wrong idea: my husband is awesome, he fills a significant number of my slots, but I did choose him because he is totally different than me in a lot of ways, makes up for a lot of things I lack, and pulls me in different directions than I would otherwise tend to go. He's very good for me, but since there are fundamental differences between us, there are definitely slots left unfilled - interests not shared, and though he tries to understand my feelings and etc, unless you have the same temperament and disposition, there are certain things you can try to understand, but you never can unless you're standing in their shoes) Well, anyway, seeing my college buddies of late, coupled with some other things is just totally making me realize how many slots are still "open" right now. This is nothing new. I knew it this time last year, which is why I made some of the Samhain resolutions that I did. I'm working on it. I need to find my "family" here. It's getting old that I've been here for about 4 years now and still do not have those aspects that I need. We found our family in Binghamton when we lived there. I miss them too. I'm actively trying to form bonds and connections with people down here - some are growing, but there's still a lot of work to be done. This year, I am going to focus my efforts on seeing if I can get some more guy friends down here too (please see previous stats from college) because it seems like an integral part of me.

The other thing is that I've been soundly whacked with the mortality stick over the past couple of years.... my dad went in for heart valve replacement a couple of years ago and my friend Matt died last year and I've been running into a significant number of people who are dealing with serious illnesses and death recently. We, or at least I, was so blessedly sheltered from this sort of thing for most of my life. I'm trying to get a grip on it without letting it depress me past the point of recovery. I'm beginning to hate leaving from a visit or saying goodbye to people because I can't seem to do it right now without thinking about "this could be the last time I see them." This new year I need to work on getting that in check because I just can't live with that all the time. If anyone has any suggestions, they'd be welcomed. My brain's really my worst enemy and I could stand to work my way back in to blissful delusional ignorance.

I need my people. I love you all. I hope you all know that. & eventhough I'm not so good about communicating regularly, I really do care. I still hate the telephone and don't feel a need to work on that, but I am going to work on writing more because that's becoming critically important for me. That's one of the Samhain resolutions for this year. I'll come out with a bit of a list closer to the time.

You know, I think that's about all the whining I can handle doing right now! : ) Gonna go listen to some suitably depressing music ( depeche mode, REM, Linkin Park, New Order, The Smiths, etc) to cheer myself up. No, really. Don't ask me why, but it helps.... Angry music calms me down when I'm all eeked up too. Go figure.

Sooooooo..... updates. I now have a tub and shower surround. Showering this week has been quite a pleasing experience and I look forward to trying out the bath part of the bathtub. Maybe this weekend? I still have to paint the bathroom, but that will come in time.