I don't really have much to say. I should be filled with excitement for the new year, a brand new year with endless possibilities. Anything is possible, right? RIGHT?
No, it is just another day. With a very special name. The economy will still be in the toilet. Problems will still be there. Everything remains the same but has a brand new feel, with a big red bow on top.
I do wish you all a happy new year, I hope that goals will be met, Happiness comes to you all in buckets, that jobs will be handed to those in need of a job, that needs will be met, that goodness will be spread faster than meanness, etc.
We have been snowed in since Thursday, Well we can go out if we put on chains or have 4 wheel drive, but we do not. So we are here, sipping hot tea, making soup and mashed potatoes. Surrounding ourselves with cozy.
I have spent my day editing more pictures on the computer. Here are a couple black and whites and a festive candy cane picture.
Tuesdays things
blech!
1. waking up early to convince mr. l he is not going to drive in the ice
2. getting used to new computer
3. headache
4. drama
5. holiday stress
6. snow, i am done now.
yay!
1. fire
2. sweatshirts
3. long johns
4. fleece blankets
5. snow, it is still very pretty to look at
6. sharing photos
7. holidays are almost over
8. napping
9. snowmen
10. warmer weather on the way
I have been playing second fiddle to the computer systems the past 5 days. Mr. L has been connecting the whole computer system together somehow. We got quite a few inches of snow and Mr. L has been home from work. He has been working so hard here and I was able to upload a few photos to flickr. I need to get used to this new system. Kind of sucks, all the 200+ photo albums on my computer has decided to reorder itself, so my newest albums are no longer at the top, I have to remember what I called them! I will be going with a dated system from now on.
I cannot believe how much snow we have on the ground right now. I live in the valley of my town, we normally get an inch or two and it melts off by noon. The hills get much more, but not here. This time we have 7 1/2 inches, and it is not melting off. 5 days with snow now! I have been taking photos, but snow is hard to get right. It looks a bit grey, tried bunches of stuff with the white balance, but I will not know if I got it right until I get it on the big computer. Which Mr. L has been bogarting the last 5 days. Haha!
The last few days have been really nice. Stuck at home with Mr. L. Fire in the wood stove, hot coffee and tea, layers of toasty clothes, making a snowman in the front yard, hot soup. I could go on and on.
Here are a few somewhat recent photos, they are two weeks old. Maybe more, around Thanksgiving I think. About the time our computer got sick. Ha.
Send me some links to your important and not so important recent posts please! I will try to make it to bunches of your blogs, but I tend to loose track of where I went and give up somewhere. ;-)
Oh and here is a picture of me and what I wore to the company xmas party.
It snowed! YAY! we got about 3 inches too! I live in a valley between a few foothills, they get bunches of snow when it rains here. I am happy to report my neighborhood is filling up with half made snowmen and snow angels along the sidewalks. Mr L stayed home yesterday and today, the roads here are a mess. Better to stay safe at home and set up the new computer for us. ;-)
I have not done the Friday 13 in a while so here are 13 things snowflake inspired.
1. The smell of snow, I can taste it when I breathe deep, I remember snowball fights and eating mitten scoops off the ground. The taste of snow is great.
2. The snowflakes themselves, that each has their own unique shape and design and size. Just like us!
3. The laughter of kids while playing outside, it is extra great because they are supposed to be in school but they are not. It is legal hooky
4. It makes everything I am familiar with look so much different, the street I gaze upon every day out my front window is transformed.
5. The light, it sparkles and shines in the sunshine and under street lights. A strange glow leaks through my bedroom blinds even when it is the middle of the night.
6. I still get that giddy feeling when I wake up to see the whole front lawn white and not the usual green, I am transformed into a child and I get this excitement deep inside wondering if there will be school today.
7. The way Hot cocoa never tastes as good as when you come in from the snow.
8. The sound of the ice crystals crunching together under each footstep
9. wearing hats scarves mittens gloves long undies and tall socks boots coats, see how many layers you can put on!
10. throwing indoor kitties in the foreign snow, no I did not do this.... this year... yet
11. I love watching the flakes melt under my fingertip
12. Snow angels, snowmen, sled tracks along the sidewalks
13. Taking pictures of my neighborhood transformed
Mr. L is still working on the computer thing, they apparently don't make picassa for Mac, so he had to find a program that would allow it. He is running into some road blocks. Poor Mr. L gets to stay home from work but ends up working on computers all day anyway! Ha! He thanks you all for your kind Birthday wishes, I do too! I made him a really yummy carrot cake, it was still quite moist yesterday, have not had any yet today, but suspect that it will still taste fresh. Great recipe, I added walnuts and raisins. Mr L needs the computer again to look stuff up that will help him along his computer set up journey. Catch Up Later!
He walked in while I was on my break, I was eating french fries and a burger listening to the drive through beep with excitement. It seemed to match my heart racing, my eyes have laid upon the man I will marry. A part of me knew it too. I did not know his name, only that my inner voice said very loud "he will be mine forever". I was shocked at the sound of this strong confident statement from deep within. I was shy and unsure of everything, except for this. I loved this boy. He came in to talk to his friend, who happened to be my friend too. He picked up an application to work at this burger joint. In the coming months we became very good friends, our conversations were easy and stimulating. I
loved looking in his blue eyes. He was a fresh 19, I was 20.
Today he is 34, it is his birthday. It is funny how much fuller the love feels now. It feels like a tree, getting stronger each year, collecting rings. Happy Birthday to the Sweetest husband I could ever dream up.
I forgot to mention what I wore to the party yesterday.
I wore the black dress with the cropped sleeve sweater, the black tights spats and red shoes, and the felt brooch on the sweater which stayed on because it was so flippin cold. But I was quite comfortable and that is all that matters.
I watched a documentary called "one Day In September" It was about the 1972 Olympic games in Munich where some Palestinian extremists took some Israeli athletes and coaches hostage. I had no idea how horribly that whole situation was handled by the German government. Really well done, I never knew the details of the event. I recommend the movie to anyone who likes documentaries and is curious about what happened that one day in september.
Cold, it has been quite cold here in Western Washington. So cold that the ice is not melting during the day just evaporating. So dry, my skin is freaking out. I am not used to this at all. It does not usually get this chilly.
Yesterday I walked to the grocery store for the one hour photo, unfortunately the one hour turned out to be 24 hours, they had so many orders that they could not get them done before the next day. Anyway, on the way there the wind was hitting my face, making my eyes water, making the tears freeze on my eyelashes and stick them to my skin. I was a little upset, but did not take it out on the boy working behind the counter. Not his fault.
Tuesdays List:
Yuck-
*the dry air is making my skin break out
*last day of photography class was last night, I really dug some of those people
*computer is still not hooked up so no photo uploads
*missing groceries we paid for but must have left behind.
*still need to find the girl a gift
Yay-
*the patterns ice makes
*warm home I am SO grateful for
*laughter
*I was not the primary model last night in class, I got to take some pictures
*It is Mr. L's Birthday tomorrow, it may snow overnight, it would be great if we got snowed in and he did not have to go to work
*Mr. L did not drag me out of bed this morning, I was that tired
*the smell of snow
*you
*This weekend was Mr.L's company holiday party. I met a few shutterbugs and talked Nikon. It was nice. His co-worker's wife was also a delight, we sat next to each other. I normally would be a mess, no sleep the night before, replaying what I needed to do step by step in my head, wake up at 7am, make smoothie and drink coffee, shower, get dressed, blow dry hair, make up, put on shoes, etc... I woke up late, I was fine. Mr. L dragged his feet buying me some time. Walked out the door and got there 5 minutes before the buffet opened.
*I ate salad, fresh fruit, veggies, cheese chunks, and a cheese danish. Then there was the dessert table, I had a bite of Mr. L's mousse pie thing, but did not feel good about eating all that super sweet stuff after I had already had a danish. Oh and bunches of cups of coffee. I went the whole time without a heart flutter, without my chest tightening up, without severe nerves, without queasiness . I went to a social event and felt like a normal person! YAY anxiety levels are dropping!!!!
*Came home afterwards and watched teeny snowflakes that evening swirl around the streetlamp. We only got a skiff, bot enough to cover the cars paint, but the first snow of the season.
*and how funny was it to see that clip of the Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at President Bush? His flaw was that he started yelling before he threw the shoe. If he yelled after he threw the shoe he would have nailed him! Hahah! Apparently what he said was something like "a kiss goodbye from Iraq".
Today I MUST!
a) dishes
b) 2 laundry loads
c) walk to fred meyers in frigid cold to get prints for class
d) get ready for class, the last class of this session
Okay, you neighbors are SO helpful! It was like having 25 stylists here with me, telling me the goods and the bads and even suggesting more options!
I am so sorry to say that sheer nylons are not ever going to be on my legs again. Not that I find them offensive, they are quite nice looking. The feeling of them on my legs, I just cannot do it. They make my legs feel so cold, even more cold than if they were bare. The way the crotch always finds it's way to my knees but funny enough the waste band stays put at my waste! I hated the sound of the nylons being pulled over my leg stubble. AND I would have to shave my legs and I am lazy. Hahah!
My choice is the little black dress, with the cropped sleeve sweater. Black tights with spats (I switched the buttons from brown to the vintage shell buttons. Much cuter. I had one heck of a time getting the brown buttons off the spats! How come when I buy a sweater I need to refasten the buttons after I buy it, but the spats buttons were SOLID!) and red shoes.
I looked and looked but could not find any scarves or hats, I am a very casual gal. I will be wearing my teal green winter coat of course, because the weather calls for snow.
Now my jewelry selection.
Necklaces:
1) long vintage glass beaded lanyard, I would tie it just below my bust line, make it more flapper like (back to it's roots!) it looks quite flat in the photo, but I assure you it sparkles a lot.
2) long silver medallion
3) gold choker with white flowers
4) silver choker with white flowers
Brooches:
1) silver rhinestone leaf
2) The felt holly berry and green leaves (I made this last night with left over felt scraps from preschool days and vintage buttons.)
It is raining right now, but the weather calls for snow soon. Which means we may not even go! Ha! All this effort to be called off by white flakes that are quite rare here in my area. Usually in January.
Please forgive my terrible photos, and the lack of them lately, we got the Mac in the mail just an hour ago. Hopefully I will be putting more photos up by monday.
Have a fun weekend Friends! Thanks for all the help. I feel most comfortable in the black dress, the magenta one feels a little short, I will lengthen it with a vintage slip and wear a long sleeve shirt under it for my daily wear. I will wear it with jeans etc. It was $8, and a great addition to my wardrobe I think. The little black dress is soft, thick fabric, and comfy. As many of you pointed out, go for comfort it will help bring down your anxiety level. You are Right! So I will!!!
Okay Choices:
1) Black Dress
2) Magenta dress
3) black long sleeve sweater
4) cropped sleeve sweater
5) black shoes
6) red shoes
7) black tights
8) silver tights
9) magenta tights (ruled them out, they make my legs look thick, not that I am complaining, I do have the chicken leg)
10) knit spats
Here are the stats, it is a brunch. It will be freezing and possibly snowing.
I king of have made up my mind, but I am curious about your opinions.
VOTE!
So Mr. L told me on Monday "did I mention that the Company christmas brunch is on Saturday?"
EEEK! I have to dress up, I dont have dress up clothes! I get a little worked up meeting the people Mr. L works with. I have this thing where I don't feel smart enough because I barely graduated high school and worked fast food for 6 years, never made more than a dollar above minimum wage. I feel stupid. I know I am not, Mr. L would not have married me if I was. He is SO smart. I don't feel pretty enough because I turn into that awkward junior high girl the boys used to bark at laughing calling me a dog.
This year seems different. I am not scared really, just a little nervous because I don't know them, only know of them. I am not that ugly, in fact I am not bad looking at all. I look like me, and that is okay. I don't have to play trivial pursuit with these people, just chat about the weather and maybe photography. I can do that.
Well, Mr. L was a peach and brought me to the discount clothing store, Ross to find something nice to wear. I tried on 9 dresses. Here is what I bought:
1 black dress, not tight one of those loose dresses
1 black and magenta dress
1 pair black opaque tights with control top
1 pair of shiny silver sparkly tights
1 pair of fancy red knee highs
2 black cardigans different styles, one has 3 quarter length sleeves
1 necklace, silver medallion with matching dangly earrings probably mostly made of lead
black bra
black bra that can be made into a haulter
1 paid black shiny high heel mary janes with flower detail
1 pair red high heels with two strap mary janes
So I bought enough to make sure I have something I feel comfy with, two complete outfits. With mix and match stuff.
I know that sounds like a boatload of money, and trust me to me it was, I still feel a bit nauseous.
I spent $135. EEK! I guess that all of Mr. L's bonus does not go in the savings account. sigh....
I was thinking of photographing myself in all the different combos to get your feedback. But I don't know how to put those photos on this laptop.
I am quite happy because I am so comfortable in both of those dresses. They are soft and comfy. I may make a brooch, a christmasy one to go on a black sweater. Maybe some green felt leaves with red vintage button berries. I will experiment. Well, off to battle the laundry monster.
