Functional with Flair

Unexpected joys of packing

2009-05-29T18:45:00.003-04:00

Moving is generally only fun for about a week. After that, trying to find out how to pack box fans, table leaves, potting soil and winter coats gets old. But, every once in awhile, you stumble across some oddities that make you smile. Hello world, remember this one?

Thank you, college. I'm glad I now know how to create a wooden dress. If I'm ever stranded in the middle of woods with a drill and a few spools of fishing line, I know I'll be okay. There might even be more fringe!

Goodbye Toshi

2009-05-18T17:41:00.001-04:00

Two days ago my dear Toshi died.

He was about four and a half. He died shortly after his belligerent nephew, Hiro. He survived three different homes, an engagement, a marriage, and just missed the two year anniversary. He was a shy, calm, almost indifferent character.

The result of dropping a very heavy object

2009-03-30T20:42:00.000-04:00

Spring is on it's way

2009-03-30T20:14:00.000-04:00

Paint Job

2009-03-26T20:41:00.000-04:00

Check out the fancy paint job my dollar store desk got.

My Asian Knight with a Side Kick

2009-03-22T20:39:00.000-04:00

I tried to go shoe shopping the other day. I got to the store just as it was starting to get dark outside. When I got out of the car I heard this loud hissing sound. It sounded like the car next to me had a radiator that was getting ready to explode. In actuality, the sound was coming from my tire. More specificity, the hole in my tire. I quickly called my sweet husband as my tire deflated before my eyes like it would in a Wil E. Cyote cartoon.

This is my tire after about 60 seconds.

This is my car after back up arrived. I'm sure I could have changed it on my own, but it's so much nicer to have a big strong men take care of things occasionally.

Look, it's Geoffrey changing a tire! You go man!

The best candy bar

2009-03-21T20:38:00.001-04:00

This might be random

2009-02-23T21:42:00.002-05:00

I have an orchid obsession problem, my mom has a trapeze bar in her bedroom, and I installed a new shower head all by myself. There's an update on the last two days.

Isn't this one a beauty? And it'll be gorgeous next to my 1st orchid when it blooms purple.

Say hello to the trapeze bar. It's the most fabulous thing in the entire world. Everyone should have a swing in their bedroom. Or at least somewhere in their house.

It's entirely too much fun.

And lastly, this is the shower head that I installed all on my own. Sure, it only required screwing it in place, but there were some initial leaks and I did get to crack open the tool box at one point. It is marvelous and the best part will be taking it off when we get to move out of the apartment. Moving out of this apartment in general will be the best part of things in general.

The Dress- part 2

2009-02-20T16:09:00.002-05:00

This time in black.

Our Valentines Day

2009-02-20T16:05:00.001-05:00

Celebrated on Friday the 13th.

We went out to the restaurant where we had our first date then to the park.

I kicked some rocks at Geoff and he fell in the mud.

It would have been a bad wife thing to do but he started it.

Yummy mini gooey

2009-02-08T18:47:00.000-05:00

I've had the last three days off of work to make up for last week when my boss was sick and I covered all of her hours. Two days off is hard work. Three is about to kill me. I have done an absurd amount of cooking to keep me busy lately. The ham and potato soup was good-- there was lots of chopping involved so it took up a bit of time. Then there were stuffed shells, steaks, brownies, made-from-scratch bread, dinner rolls, and now cinnamon rolls. I shudder to think of all of the butter I've gone through.

While this could potentially be a made from scratch type of recipe, I don't have a bread maker and, thanks to my last few cooking adventures, have learned to hate kneading. And then lastly, mom recently showed me how to make a long list of yummy pastries with crescent rolls.

Cinnamon/sugar mix. For the first batch I made WAY too much.

I couldn't help myself.

I didn't even make it to a table. Just stood there and ate it over the oven.

Yum.

Cinnamon rolls- revised from a recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 package of ready made crescent rolls

1 1/4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

3 tablespoons cream cheese (1/2 3oz package)
2 tablespoons softened butter
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of salt

Directions:
-Pre-heat oven to 350.
-Unroll the package of crescent rolls flat and pinch the seams together to make one large rectangular sheet of dough that is wider than it is long.
-In a small bowl mix white sugar and cinnamon.
-Spread 2 1/2 tablespoons (approx) of melted butter over the dough and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Roll dough towards yourself and cut into approximately 12 rolls. Place rolls into a lightly greased muffin pan.
-Bake rolls until golden brown according to package directions- generally about 15 minutes.
-While rolls are baking beat together cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Potato and Ham Soup

2009-02-06T18:46:00.000-05:00

(Revised from all recipies)

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (I use 1 cup cream 1 cup skim milk)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham, bouillon, salt, pepper and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Add cheese and mix into soup or sprinkle over the top. Serve immediately.

Next time I make this I want to add broccoli, cheddar cheese, or maybe even diced carrots. Yum.

Mothers Day Moth Orchid

2009-02-05T12:29:00.001-05:00

This little orchid that was left behind at my hotel almost 10 months ago is preparing to bloom again. I guess all of my fears about killing it were a little premature.

It doesn't make sense how a pretty little topical plant can survive in an apartment in Ohio when my hardy succulents can't.

(The same orchid last year).

When an ice storm hits Ohio

2009-02-04T18:46:00.001-05:00

we feel the need to go explore.

These pictures are not very scary as this is maybe three days after the ice storm. The big storm happened during a work day, so we missed out on the great photo opportunities.

My car still looks like a popsicle, though.

Welcome to the Hoover dam. A frozen arctic tundra.

There are not enough layers in the world to keep you warm in this kind of cold. Our extremities learned this quickly.

Look, we can see our car from the top of the dam, can you? Oh, so far away.

Let me help. That's almost three frost bitten toes away. Once we realized how far away we were, we decided to race back to the warmth of the car as quickly as humanly possible.

What Geoffrey didn't know until about fifteen seconds from this moment, is that there is a huge fence-like line of boulders at the bottom of this hill, buried under the snow. You don't want to run and roll uncontrollably down a steep hill towards piles of huge twisted-ankles-in-waiting... I decided to penguin shuffle my way down... Geoffrey risked death.

I huddled in the car and tried to thaw while Geoffrey braved the park restroom. Like the scary hill race, I was not brave enough to drop my pants in this cold.

Back home at night, we survived.

Progress

2009-01-17T11:16:00.001-05:00

A view from inside the apartment...

2009-01-17T00:41:00.000-05:00

at -19 degree's Fahrenheit.

Again, these are view from inside the apartment.

The frost and ice is INSIDE.

Cat's don't really sit well for photos

2009-01-02T14:12:00.001-05:00

But that's okay. We've got a full week together to work it out.

Chandni Chowk to China

2008-12-29T21:29:00.000-05:00

I can't wait to see this movie.

Grrrrrrrrrr

2008-11-25T18:38:00.001-05:00

For those days when you just need people to back off!

Care of the husband.

When the husband makes corn bread...

2008-11-21T00:38:00.000-05:00

He really makes CORN BREAD-- THE MONSTER LOAF.

Would you believe that his mother teaches cooking classes at a high school? His high school. When he was going there. When he was in high school taking cooking classes taught by her!

It really is yummy, though.

Sunset in black and white

2008-11-19T22:34:00.000-05:00

You might live in the ghetto if...

2008-11-18T21:41:00.000-05:00

...you regularly come home to police and news helicopters making laps around your apartment complex. This time it was because of a shooting. A young kid that we sometimes see walking his husky was shot in the arm. Since this incident we have seen him back to walking his dog just now with a sling.

Bonus question:

You might be a little too attached to your camera if...?
... you stop during a shooting to take pictures of the helicopters.

The first real snow. The start of winter.

2008-11-17T15:28:00.001-05:00

And it has to be on my day off.

Ohio in the fall and a sweet little date dinner

2008-11-15T21:21:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite picture that I took this afternoon. I love this pretty little tilted white house.

The pot pie to beat down all other pot pies

2008-11-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

Sunset

2008-11-05T16:58:00.000-05:00

The beaches of Ohio

2008-11-04T12:54:00.001-05:00

The first of many things we found on the beach.

The water level was very low compared to what we've seen it at during different times of the year. That made for a very rocky and shell-strewn beach.

These are not rock walking loafers as Geoffrey soon found out.

And we always seem to end the day with some heart shaped oddity found on the beach.

Leftover theater candy

2008-11-01T16:57:00.001-04:00

Pretty pictures from last weekend

2008-10-17T17:10:00.001-04:00

Lucky Orange

2008-10-02T17:48:00.001-04:00

I helped out a very elegant Chinese woman the other day at my hotel. She didn't speak much English but we managed with a few pictures and hand gestures. In return, she gave me my very first good luck orange along with a gigantic smile. It's one of the most genuine little gifts I've ever received from someone at work... and I promptly took a picture of it then ate it. I'm not sure if that's what you're supposed to do.

I hope I didn't chew up my good luck and wealth.

It's the first cold day of Fall

2008-10-01T17:45:00.001-04:00

And it looks like we might be getting a storm with it.

It's alive!

2008-09-28T17:34:00.004-04:00

My sweet and shriveled little prickly pear has started to come back to life. It's growing a new lime-green baby paw.

Trash Only meets peace

2008-09-28T17:33:00.001-04:00

Honest-- I didn't plan on having him stand right there.

Just felt like snapping a picture of Husband taking out the trash and doing chores. Really.

Because I took pictures

2008-09-27T17:30:00.000-04:00

And I really don't have anything else to write about.

My sweet aloe.

'tis a big crowded.

It looks like a big aloe salad.

Ta da!

Husband Art:

2008-09-25T15:05:00.001-04:00

No place like home

2008-09-23T17:30:00.004-04:00

I always try to take my camera with me while checking the mail. It's just a short walk down a few flights of stairs, across the parking lot, down past the pool, then past the rental office, but it's sometimes my only chance in the day to be outside and scoping out the world.

While we do live in a kind of lame version of the ghetto, this place can sometimes be just downright pretty.

And that's a lot to say about a place squished between a beer factory and the corner of two major expressways.

Those shrubs look so yummy and squishy. I wanted to run and bounce on them.

I quite seriously considered stealing this adorable blue grill. And then I had to remind myself that while I live in a creepy part of town, I'm a good person... not a creepy person that walks around apartment complexes taking pictures of people cars and bushes and grills. I'm not that creepy.

Husband Art:

2008-09-22T18:23:00.002-04:00

A quick look back at our college years.

I love 6pm in the Fall

2008-09-21T18:04:00.000-04:00

It's the perfect time of day to capture warm colors and long shadows.

Champagne rolls!

2008-09-20T17:20:00.000-04:00

They sound so fancy but are really just bisquick dinner rolls cut out with champagne flutes. Watch it happen.

First you mix it up and squash it all out on the dinning room table while husband squawks at the mess.

Then you bake. And if you're me, you bake everything, even the little amoeba pieces.

Then you take a picture of just the pretty ones in a bowl.

Then you eat all of them in one sitting. Yum!

Knittin' Sick.

2008-09-19T16:58:00.002-04:00

I am sick. See below bowl of chicken soup as proof. Yuck. Sick, stuffy, sore, scratchy, and I sound like an old man when I talk.

And since I have a job that relies heavily on my sweet voice and smiley manner, I cannot go to work today. I can however, knit and paint. I don't know how I'll manage.

This is the 2year scarf. It still has a ways to go. It'll will eventually be the 4year scarf. But it will be beautiful and gray, my favorite winter color, with some soft dark blue around the edges. Yummy

And this is my most recent painting. "Most recent" as in it's still wet and sitting in the middle of my living room floor. And not yet done. I want to scrub it all over with sandpaper and then lacquer it, but unfortunately, I don't have sandpaper or lacquer nor do I have the energy to go out and get any. We are still lacking street lights around town and a dozen four ways stops would just drain the last of my life away.

Overexposed

2008-09-18T13:44:00.000-04:00

I love to over expose.

And husband looks like a giant here because he was one stair step higher than I was. Not because he is in fact a giant. We are both very little people.

Husband Art: Unfinished Alien

2008-09-16T15:03:00.000-04:00

The right and wrong way to handle yourself in a wind storm

2008-09-15T21:02:00.010-04:00

This is mostly an example of wrong.

1st off, I was a good neighbor and moved a big branch out of the street. Yes, right there near the abandoned beer. Good on me. That's nice. It's a little windy today. No big.

Now we're at the mall. The power goes out. Hun... No biggie.

Overturned metal benches. Those fluffy lightweight popcorn balls. Somebody should have nailed those to the floor.

Whoa, more wind. See the blown-over tree in the background? Right behind my left ear? Didn't notice that until now. We're still good. Life and limb still intact.

Whoa, down tree.

But no, what is this? No power on the street lights? Probably no power at the apartment. Oh well, lets not think about why we don't have power. Lets just go somewhere with power. A movie theater! Yeah, a large mostly empty old dollar theater with no basement. Schmmmmmart.

Get Smart. Dumb movie. Doesn't deserve any more than that.

My shoe just got blown off! Would have blown off my socks had I been wearing any! Wild.

Fountain water being blown out of the fountain and pine needles being blown into our faces. It was fun for a few minutes but then we had trouble standing upright and large sheets of something like cardboard or plywood starting flying past our heads.

Then a street light blew over. Ep! Thinking maybe we should go home.

Lots of trees down.

Look, we're missing some roof.

Oh, there are the shingles.

And debris... and colorful cars. Spiffy.

And no power in the apartment. No way to make dinner. Maybe we should go out and drive across town without street lights and over fallen trees and try to find a restaurant with power to eat at. Long story made shorter, the roads were blocked off by police officers and the only restaurant in town that had power was Red Lobster. And husband doesn't eat fish or steak.

After an hour wait...

He was bored but smiley and black and white because in Red Lobster, all photos came out very red and man-that-lives-on-the-sun colored.

I was deep in shirimp/lobster/clams/crab/all-of-the-above heaven. Can't decide, want it all.

Husband just ate about 12 servings of chicken tenders.

By around the 7th chicken tender I got a call from the hotel letting me know that we are without power and going to be closing down and moving 200+ guests and I need to come into work at 4am.

Gah?!?

Yeah.

So we ran home, fumbled around the apartment by candle light, as we don't own a flashlight, then went to bed. Without a fan. Without aircon. Next to a man born in the tropics. I broiled... for about an hour before I had to wake up.

Unless you've been there, it is impossible to imagine what 4am at a powered-down empty hotel is like. It's hard enough to be awake at 4am, but try to stay awake in the dark... in the quiet... with no TV, no computer, no coffee... good lord. I tried to psych myself out with thoughts of crazy killers popping out from dark stairwells. That was my savior.

After about five hours the it was light enough outside to brighten up the lobby through the skylights. The library there? That's how dark (so much darker) the rest of the hotel is. We had to pee by the light of a key chain flash light. While someone decided the chandler is an "emergency light" and should be run by the generator, they didn't care about those poor people stuck in the hotel who may need to pee.

Check out the outside, though.

Ouch.

And so ends the story of why you should own a little charcoal grill, a few flash lights, know where your hand powered radio is, live in a place without so many trees and turn your phone off when you go to dinner.

Husband Art:

2008-09-12T19:02:00.002-04:00

An unfinished doodle from his GNC notebook.

Found while "spring cleaning".

This is all the stuff that has nowhere to go. It's going to continue to sit on floor in the middle of the room.

Apartment Life: new additions

2008-09-12T14:26:00.005-04:00

Nothing like a muggy rainy day to make you want to go out and buy some rain-coat colored pots and some new tropic plants.

I love them, I love them, I love them.

Summer Foods

2008-09-10T11:14:00.003-04:00

I heart farmers markets. And the only thing better than stumbling across a cute little farmers market in the ghetto, is finding a random and previously laundered $5 bill in your pocket.

*Squee*

Check out the $5 bounty.

Except for the fancy chocolate covered yummies—those were a just-‘cause husband gift. But they were darling with fresh strawberries and cherry tomatoes. Ah, heaven.

I just rotated between chocolate, strawberry, tomato, over and over again. And that was pretty much dinner.

That looks like a gorgeous ball of summer sugar? I'm trying to soak up as much as possible. I'm afraid we might be skipping fall and going right into winter. Yesterday was the first day I had worn jeans since about April. And today, I'm wearing jeans and a sweater and socks. It feels like December. I'm sorry, but I might need to go crawl back in bed.

The Husband

2008-09-04T22:08:00.002-04:00

My husband works for a company that sells life insurance and offers financial planning. Today he was in Toledo for a class and while in class, it seems that he was doing less note-taking and more daydreaming about selling life insurance to Mario and Wario.

I could be wrong, but that's what I'm getting from this doodle.

P.s. isn't he the greatest? His cartooning is amazing and always makes for the best birthday cards.

The Fall: my little movie review

2008-09-04T20:18:00.002-04:00

IMDB blurb: In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman (Pace) begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm (Untaru), a fantastical story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances.

Unparalleled acting, fantastic light and colors, and it made me want to cry quite a bit. The crying part was emphasized by the fact that I watched this movie while lying all sickly-like on the couch.

I wish I had seen the trailer for this movie to begin with, as I wouldn’t have been as surprised by the adult themes as I was. From the start I expected a childlike fantasy story told between two unexpected characters that were stuck together in this sad hospital while they both healed from their subsequent falls. Sounds like a crappy summer flick. And while that is more or less what does happen it’s much more real life and less childlike. The movie starts off innocent enough, but as our main character, Lee Pace, dips into a deeper depression the story turns violent and quite heartbreaking. Thankfully, the end of the movie makes up for all the sad.

5 stars from my little corner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeAyIQ_OT_I

Meet my prickly pear covered in cinnamon.

2008-08-22T21:25:00.001-04:00

I don't know how to grow it, but I do know how to sauté it.

The best winter coat...

2008-08-19T16:39:00.005-04:00

... that I might never finish because oh-my-god-I-had-no-idea-how-hard-linings-are-to-make and I'm-too-scared-to-put-button-holes-in-my-crazy-hard-to-make-lining (so for now I'm sicking with safety pins).

And please ignore the plaid shorts-- it is still August.

The best winter coat...

2008-08-16T18:50:00.002-04:00

...I've ever made in August.

That's really a lie. This is so very far away from being done. See the pins stabbing me in the neck? It's basically an unfinished shell. It will probably be done quickly once I figure out how to make a lining. Trying to plan out something that is going to be made backwards and inside out is taxing on my already-taxed-brain.

Mi Brohiem

2008-08-14T13:16:00.002-04:00

Cards and Orchid Leaves

2008-08-11T18:56:00.001-04:00

Devinne Intervention Welcome

2008-08-06T19:20:00.003-04:00

My 120GB external hard drive died last night at approximately 11pm. It had almost 10 years worth of family pictures, art, video, and documents (even old high school essays). That sucker was nearly full.

I wasn't able to log into blogger last night because the file with all of my Keepass passwords is saved on my external-- thankfully I found a copy of my passwords that I had printed out a few months ago in my filing cabinet-- at least I will manage to get bills paid this month!

Attempts to resuscitate said hard drive have all failed. Each time I plug the beast back into my computer it just clicks and whirls over and over again before giving up. I am a short temper tantrum away from tossing it out the window.

Any one with sweet magical-hard-drive-recuperating skills or data recovery service recommendations are gladly welcome.

I am not a happy camper.

Superbad 2.5

2008-08-05T16:48:00.005-04:00

I think the white dress is finished. Over the course of two days and two and a half viewings of Superbad, it's to the point where I'm happy. I've added my version of fisheye darts to the front and back middle areas, which have reduced the poofy-ness but added a seam that makes the dress look a bit like a two piece. The straps are done and the bottom has been finished with... "bias" tape... or "hemming" tape? Something that makes it look nice and clean. It still bunches up a bit in the back but it doesn't hang all weird anymore.

Wish me luck-- it's on it way out for it's first field trip to Staples.

Tank Top Part 2

2008-08-04T11:55:00.006-04:00

The first tank top attempt was a little blah. I'm not a huge fan of big, billowy tops so I'll never actually wear it. But, extend the pattern a foot and a half, add a tie in the back, and I've got a summer dress. Like everything else, it's only half done. There are some poofy issues in the back (excuse the black bra) that need some googling to figure out. The ties in the back are only pinned on and there is no hem but given one more impatient burst of craftiness, it will be done. Hopefully in time for next summer.

August is the busiest time of year for my hotel. It's like all other 11 months get crammed into this one. My GM likes to say "every day in August is balls-to-the-walls". It's a constant sprint, all day, every day and a mental brain-melt. And for that reason I cannot understand why in the little bit of free time I have this month, I can't stop spending it making little dresses and tank tops and stationary. You'd think I would just sleep.

My first atempt

2008-08-03T21:00:00.004-04:00

I've got such a craft-bug lately. Below is my latest spur of the moment attempt.

I roughly followed belle epoque's pattern for this tank top. I wanted to have something I could make in about ten minutes, so I whipped out an old skirt from our give-away pile and got to chopping it up. It's not the prettiest looking skirt, so it makes some sense that it doesn't work out to be the prettiest looking top, but it was quick and easy and a nice trial piece before investing a itsy bit more time in making a top I'll really wear.

Despite apartment life, things can flourish

2008-07-28T17:26:00.003-04:00

Until very recently, most of my plants have died from apartment life-- the lack of sun, the air con, the hard tap water, etc. But, check it out!

Things are blooming and leaves are sprouting! Between the plant lights and the fertilizer we might have some hope.

Day at the beach

2008-07-28T16:36:00.004-04:00

Charming picture of our bums soaking up the sun. You can't quite tell in this picture, but we were surely the only ones rocking out on the beach in a faux-leapoard fur beach blanket.

A couple posing for a picture with their feet in the water. It's interesting to see "tourist" pictures being taken at home. Looked like their son was showing them around for the day.

This family was hilarious. The mom was kicking and cussing up a storm as her hubby picked her up and tossed her in the lake and the little girls just screamed the laughed the whole time.

I mostly sunned myself and took random pictures. Just loved this home paint job-- purple and blue like a mood ring.

Found on the beach

2008-07-27T21:12:00.002-04:00

There is a squishy wooden ball on my drive home...

2008-07-21T18:28:00.008-04:00

And it confuses me.

Really-- who builds a 12 foot tall bendy wooden ball? It was bizarre watching this guy slowly roll it around the yard. Then, about a week later, on my drive home I see that it's partially filled up with plastic milk jugs. It's a blurry, unsafe, taken-while-driving type of picture but... I just don't get it. Now the squishy wooden ball is somewhat deflated and depressed looking. Like that lumpy rock from the zoloft commercial.

For sunnier news, this weekend we went to my folks place for a bit of a pool party.

Hubby and I were in charge of filling the pool. It took a minute to figure out the hose situation-- twist this, turn that. Finally, I feel the hose start to shake, and in the same breath that I said "oh, I don't want to spray myself in the face", I point the hose in a different direction and spray my father directly in the face as he is standing next to me. Priceless.

The air was sizzling and the water was icy.

Standing was good. The few brave men that sat in the pool, kind of froze their tushes, but it beat the heat. And it was great fun watching them shiver and splash each other.

I just dipped my toes.

Eh Gawd I Can't Stop

2008-07-12T17:19:00.006-04:00

Goodbye sweet wedding dress.

Hubby and I planned our elopement in less than a week--very little time to hunt down a wedding dress. The one I fell in love with, conveniently happened to be a $16 summer dress from Forever 21. I wore it to the wedding, rolled in the grass afterwards for wedding pictures, threw a tank top on over it to our after-wedding-dinner, wore it to a cousins graduation, out grocery shopping, park walking... and today, I've chopped it in half. The top part of this darling dress always required a more-complicated-than-I'm-interested-in type of bra work. So, I've loped off the top bit and made a skirt.

It's reversible between wedding-dress-white and some pretty blue knit I had in my material box. Besides the wrinkles and the loose threads I still need to tighten up the waist band so the dress doesn't become an ankle bracelet and figure out how to make the double layers look more purposeful and less like a wayward slip is inching down. Though, trying to figure out how to make finished edges and a seamless waist band on a reversible skirt gave me an awful headache, so I'm not sure that I want to work on this any more.

I also made some pomegranate-purple shorts and tried my had at an aqua dress. The dress came out so meh, I'm not quite willing to photograph it yet. Hopefully I'll have this sewing bug out of my system soon. Since I don't have a dedicated sewing room, my sewing machine has taken over the dining room table and my cutting/measuring/re-cutting area has taken over half of the living room. Pretty soon we'll be engulfed in scraps and pins.

Who would have figured?

2008-06-20T22:06:00.001-04:00

Other Like Hiro to Help Me Lose Weight

I mean really… who would have figured that I’m not alone in listening to Snow Crash while working up an aerobic sweat? It’s soothing and exhilarating and at the same time just makes me want to slam pavement.

The sorry part is I only have up to Chapter 5 in my beloved Sarahetc version.

1 Year Anniversary

2008-06-05T18:33:00.003-04:00

Can you believe that these two hams have been married a year already???

Check out some anniversary roses:

And a little sympathy for the beaten car:

And now I'm off to get more repair estimates and maybe go sun myself. Adios dear world.

What does it take to make Lauren blog?

2008-06-03T23:46:00.002-04:00

How about getting in a car accident on your way to a date?

Last year, six days after our wedding day, our car was hit from behind and sandwiched between two cars. Ouch. This year, four days after our one year wedding anniversary, we were hit from behind, spun through traffic on our city’s major highway, to end in the fast lane pointed at on-coming traffic. To demonstrate, I have an illustration:

Keep your eye on the gold car. That’s us.

Idiots in front of us stopped because they were trying to figure out if they needed to get off at the exit or not. So they STOPPED.... COMPLETLY.

We move to the left to pass them.

Idiot girl doesn't realize we're all stopped and rams right into us at about 60 miles an hour.

Hubby and I are all in one piece. The damage to the car sure seems to be less than it was with the accident last year. It was nice to be hit from a little hybrid this time rather than a Ford F150. It was evil-y satisfying to see someone else’s car get more banged up than ours. It was nice to go out for dinner afterwards and laugh and smile about how happy we ware to be alive. It was not nice standing in the rain, though. Or screaming while spinning past cars. Or sitting in the fast lane looking at on-coming traffic. Or calling insurance companies. Ew.

All the plant lights, none of the pot.

2008-05-29T18:27:00.004-04:00

How totally sweet are my new plant lights? I shall now have the freedom to have an indoor garden without it being in a constant state of death!

I love it. I love it. I love it. I don't care that it makes my whole apartment purple.

P.s. check out the spindley looking one held up with the Max & Ermas cup. Isn't that fashionable? I dare you to try to work that into your decor.

Also-- orchid. Not sure how I feel about this one yet.

It was left at the hotel by a guest and after a few days being indoors and bumped and shuffled it needed some love. I took it home and did my research and it seems to be doing fine so far. It's just a bit too high maintenance for my life. If I'm struggling with the hardy desert plants that are supposed to survive the black thumbed people and I just killed my last betta fish, you know, the kind they give to kids because they're supposedly impossible to kill... I don't hold out a lot of hope for this guy.

The world sure looks warm through my sunglasses

2008-05-05T15:53:00.002-04:00

The other day Geoff and I drove to a park in Mansfield to see the newly blooming flowers. We're such park-rats. We go to a different park almost every weekend.

The other day was gorgeous but cold! We both had sweaters on but were shivering the whole time. We did manage a five minute power walk to the greenhouse, though. Their succulent room is AMAZING.

I just wandered around taking pictures of plants that are similar to the ones I own, except of course, theirs are in much better health. It's almost like what my garden would look like on steroids.

While we at the greenhouse Geoff bought me a new echeveria. It's spectacular! Three big leafy heads and one long winding stalk with beautiful yellow flowers all over.

And as a welcome home to my new addition, I've installed 2 fluorescent plant lights as per the advice of the internet. Please, everyone lift your glasses with well wishes that my plants start to live again. (See the scraggly one in the back held up with the Max & Erma's cup? It's like a zombie plant, it just keeps coming back from the dead).

And lastly, because it was just too weird not to share, check out the crazy storm clouds we had last night.

We're making the move!

2008-04-23T15:52:00.003-04:00

With a little bit of Google research and some time I think I'll have all of LJ's Functional with Flare moved over to blogger. I know I'm going to miss all the different types of templates LJ offered but all in all it will be a good move.

Today is the first day of warm rain. Not a warm morning that turned cold and rainy, but a hot sunny afternoon that started drizzling fat raindrops on steamy asphalt. It's a beautiful, light, summer rain. Currently the view from our apartment only highlights the dumpster and the landscapers pile of dirt, but you get the idea.

It's a perfect day for some homemade Tex-mex. I don't really like Mexican food but I've got a little Texan Padre in my blood and a random urge for tortilla soup, so I'm gonna give it a go.

And for a spot of sad news-- yesterday was Hiro's last day. My sweet, pent up, hyper, aggressive fish died. Due to a bout of overeating, he had been suffering from a broken swim bladder for the past 6 months or so. Without his swim bladder he couldn't float and sadly became a bottom dweller. The fish doc's said he was okay, but as much as Hiro liked to dart back and forth (unlike his Uncle Toshi) I knew he was down. It sucked to have Geoff flush him away, but I'm glad he's not just hanging out and waiting to die anymore. He was two years and one week old.

Goodbye little blue-- you will be missed.

Flipping stamps

2008-04-14T13:21:00.008-04:00

I've been crazy lately with switching back and forth between crafts. I can't seem to start one thing and keep with it. Last night, one little click lead to another and I found myself looking up artists on etsy who are making custom rubber stamps. The first thing that always pops in my head whenever I see something I like-- "Oh, I can make that". So, off I run to the store to gather supplies, run home, pop in some Home Movies, and get to work. It only took about 15 minutes before all I could chant in my head was, "Oh, I. can't. make. ANYTHING".
It's much harder than I remember it was in high school (I realize now it was because we only made one stamp and we had about two weeks to work on it and it was huge and devoid of detail). I made a few different little stamps but didn't realize until I was through about three stamps that lettering would need to be in reverse to show up properly. Duh. Re-do.

I'm having tons of fun with it, but they are all pretty sloppy and detail is hard. To practice, I'm going to continue making millions of little "throw your own head" logo's. I'd love to have a cute one for the etsy shop.

Our newest addition

2008-04-12T09:47:00.006-04:00

The weather had us fooled a few days ago and I could have sworn it was Spring. The sun was out, the weather was warm-- it was just glorious-- except nothing has really bloomed around here yet. Today Ohio has backtracked a bit and it's turned cold and windy. I'm thinking our picnic plans for tomorrow will need to be changed to a few rounds of competitive darts or ping pong.

A beautiful byproduct of this coming of Spring is that it has been fueling my creative side recently. I haven't been able to stop making things. Below is our newest addition-- a tail-less hippo. He's super squishy and without a tail his backside is very smooth and huggable. We've decided to keep him. He will have his own little spot on the couch and will join us during scary movies.

I am a felter!

2008-04-11T10:08:00.008-04:00

So it's official-- I love felting. It's in both ways harder and easier than I thought it would be. It's harder to make things look the way I want and to blend colors, but it's much easier to just get started and get the wool to felt into something solid. The first thing I made was a little green and orange pin that I have up in TYOH.

The second thing is below:

It's a skinny pink hippo. Or a dog or a cow. It kinda looks like all three. It's pretty sad so far. I'm going to keep working at it, though. I have high hopes of making something like violetpi's super cute tiny mice and bears.

For my ego

2007-07-27T16:32:00.000-04:00

I know that I haven't updated this thing in about 6 months but... I just got married (total elopement!) and I want to put up some pictures.

Before we get to the serious ones, a boob shot with thoughts of Spark.

Now we can continue,

2006-12-17T11:30:00.000-05:00

I'm engaged!

With the whole dressed up deal, the nice dinner out, the surprise proposal, and the SWEET ring. Wow... Squee!

2006-10-29T15:24:00.000-05:00

About 20 minutes ago, in an effort to go down stairs (see above) to take some pictures my mom needed, I fell down the stairs.

I stayed there for a few minutes trying to breathe and rubbing my (still) numb arm. Then I looked up and took a picture of my damn curious cat.

Only really interested in the noise I made and not the fact that I was crumpled at the bottom of the stairs possibly in need of medical attention. But at least she cared, my mom never came out of the kitchen.

2006-10-14T15:30:00.000-04:00

I was just kissed three times by an Italian man. It was very awkward and not at all like I expected-- not that I was expecting to be kissed by a strange man at work-- but it was more lips and less cheek to cheek pressing than I always imagined.

P.s. speaking of kisses-- my mom just walked in while I was at work, handed me a candy bar, and then kissed me all big on the lips in front of a guest I was checking in.

It's an odd day.

2006-09-22T20:43:00.000-04:00

Geoffrey dyed my hair this afternoon. It’s red!

It’s darker than I wanted. I like the red, but I wish it was more blonde-ish-y golden. Can I re-dye it real soon? Like… tomorrow? Will it get lighter? Any hair dying gals out there in the know?

2006-09-13T11:36:00.000-04:00

I’m going to start investing. Anyone have any good advice other than a 401k, ‘cause that’s as far as I can go myself.

2006-09-09T21:29:00.000-04:00

Today, at work, I spent hours...

catching up on my correspondence.

reading about succulents and ways to make my African violet bloom.

researching 3 foot long pink worms that smell like lilacs.

printing off sudoku puzzles and creating my own sudoku book ranging from easy puzzles to fucking-hell-go-eat-pudding puzzles.

After work I expected some serious yay-like family time, only to discover that the family was off having a life and I was left bored. as. dirt.

I miss my boyfriend.

http://www.s94815418.onlinehome.us/

I think I might have a slightly unhealthy obsession.

2006-09-04T17:21:00.000-04:00

Whenever I get upset I buy a new plant. I can’t help it. I bought one when Geoff left for Singapore, and I just bought two more yesterday after I got hollered at by a psycho while I was at work. A psycho who was severely in need of drug induced coma-like help.

The pink and green leaves of my first little succulent.

The orange and pink flowers from my other new succulent.

And a tiny snail I found while I was outside potting these things. It was as big around as the “o” in “QUARTER DOLLAR” that’s stamped on the back of a quarter.

2006-09-03T09:59:00.000-04:00

Today, a Chinese man came up to me at work and said, "you very beautiful".

I said "thank you" and giggled and we grinned at each other. When I asked him about his day he put his hands up and shook his head. "No english. No english. You very beautiful".

I gave him my understanding nod then a thank you nod and then a goodbye nod. He did the same. There is so much you can say by bobbing your head and smiling. It was very sweet.

I'd like to learn a nice and simple little line in a couple of other languages. Nothing that will get me beaten up or killed, though. That would be bad.

Part two

2006-08-26T20:08:00.000-04:00

I bought myself a new plant today. It’s another little succulent. I saw it while I was at Walmart and couldn’t help but pick it up. I found it in the “distressed plants” isle. “Distressed plants” in Walmart’s world mean “plants we’ve decided not to water anymore”. In an effort to save this little baby, I’m practically drowning it in love.

Pictures

2006-08-26T17:50:00.000-04:00

Our extraordinarily short vacation to Put-in-bay:

Our first night around the hotel.

Enjoying the hotel pool.

6 AM the next morning. I have no fucking idea why we tried to get up so early.

Once we were up and awake.

Our kickass petrol powered Betty Bop. It went all of about 15 miles an hour.

A quiet little spot we found.

Lunch at our spot.

Then sleep (after sleep came sunburns, but I don’t have very good pictures of our lobster-ness).

Glamour beach shots.

Playing around in gifts shops.

Perry’s monument spike thingy.

The end of the day.

And the next morning on my way back to work.

2006-08-24T22:11:00.000-04:00

This morning I took Geoff to the airport. He left for Singapore and won’t be back for a whole month.

I cried.

It’ll be good though. He’ll be able to get his knee fixed up, he’ll get a chance to be at his best friends wedding, and he’ll get time with his family. But in the mean time, I’m alone. And it just so happens to be a year to the day when we left together for Singapore and Malaysia.

In the sprit of the holiday-- some pictures.

Roti and 100 plus at 4am.

Iced Milo.

Tioman.

And I miss this guy.

I don't miss this sunburn.

And I don't miss the debilitating fear of diving.

2006-08-10T13:39:00.000-04:00

I’m going through a period of DVD separation anxiety.

A certain relation of mine, Silas (think the monk in the Da Vinci Code—if for some unimaginable reason you saw that crap movie), has stolen all of my DVD’s except for some mangled copy of Troy. This has gone on for almost a week and a half and I cannot live on TV alone any longer! …because I threw away Troy as soon as I realized I had it.

Gawd.

If this goes on any longer I might have to start reading a book.

Free images?

2006-08-05T07:37:00.000-04:00

Does anyone know of where I can get some simple stock images to use in an advertisement? I know I can't use just anything I happen across because people own the images they create, etc, blah, blah, blah, but I need some drawings... or something.

I have to make an advertisement about my hotel to put in the local theater's handout. Our old advertisement was pretty simple with a little line drawing of theater masks and swirly lines that said-- "Supporting the Arts in Our Community". It was fine and all, but it needs an update.

Somebody hook a sister up with some free clip art!

2006-08-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

So… the tooth pulling-surgery-from-hell is over. And it has been documented.

Enjoy my pain.

I wrote this on my hand before I went in.

“Good Luck! (Please be careful with me. I like me). Thanks!”

I haven’t checked the rest of my body yet to see if anyone wrote me a response.

Then, during my codeine induced nauseated yucky-ness, I spied a stranger peeing in the bushes behind the apartment.

And I took a picture.

And here I am now-- three days later with no feeling in my bottom lip, throby everything and poofy cheeks.

I’m going to go gum some applesauce, now.

2006-07-31T09:17:00.000-04:00

Approximately two and a half hours till I’m put to sleep and someone starts carving at my face like I’m a turkey dinner and they’re trying to get at the wishbone… except I don’t think my wisdom teeth are going to bring anyone luck.

Gawd.

Fun meme from Sarah, ‘cause, I can’t come up with anything original.

2006-07-07T18:01:00.000-04:00

Search Wikipedia for your birth day and month, but not year.
1. List 3 events, 2 births, 1 death and a holiday, if there is one.
2. Encourage others to play.

June 4th – a lot of bad stuff happened and a lot of religious stuff. Plus, yay Tonga!

Events:
1039 - Henry III becomes the Holy Roman Emperor.

(Here’s a happy one) 1939 - “The SS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, United States, after already having been turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, most of its passengers later died in Nazi concentration camps.”

1998 - Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Births:
470 BC - Socrates
1738 - King George III of Great Britain.

Deaths:
1039 - Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Holiday:
Tonga’s National Day. Yay Tonga!

2006-07-02T13:14:00.000-04:00

Last night I worked a shift until 11pm and then today I started again at 7am. Between those two shifts I made thirteen US dollars and 20,050 Iraqi dinars in tips. It sure pays to go that extra step and unplug toilets and offer cookies.

Edit: Eighteen US dollars and 20,050 Iraqi dinars.

2006-07-01T17:20:00.000-04:00

Lately my functionality and my flare have been harmoniously balancing. It's all very zen like. Usually I'm a little of one and none of the other, but these last few weeks I've been a kick ass function robot with hair ever growing longer and some bravery when it comes to eye liner.

I feel like i should throw a party.

And probably stop watching so much Angel-- it's like an addiction.

Out of pure curiosity, in an effort to learn anything that might further streamline my life, I was wondering, what things can you not live without? What are those little things that make life so much easier for you? For me, it's my carmex, purse calendar, camera and file box. Without those a little whirlwind portal opens up and sucks me in and I end up living out my life in a dark little world with chapped lips.

Help

2006-06-21T08:32:00.000-04:00

What type of anti-virus program do you guys use?

I'm not really having any problems right now, but I need something and preferably, something free.

Any suggestions?

Happy Birthday!

2006-06-14T18:38:00.000-04:00

Come on, Mag. Give a good blow.

Hope you have a wonderful, sweet, fun-filled birthday!

2006-06-13T10:55:00.000-04:00

I love the internet. I just downloaded some new movies in languages I can’t understand, installed a free budging program that told me six different ways that I basically spend way too much money on food, and filled out a form to figure out when I’m going to die--a ripe old age of 76 by the way.

http://www.deathforecast.com/

2006-06-03T18:41:00.000-04:00

If you want some yummy hot chocolate (don’t ask me why in summer), go to White Castle. Yeah… I don’t get it either, but it’s really, really good.

And tomorrow is my birthday. I plan on sleeping, eating, sleeping, eating, then eating and then sleeping. All in that order.

Now to some Firefly episodes and … as little as possible.

2006-05-28T11:03:00.000-04:00

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

"Your date of conception was on or about 12 September 1983 which was a Monday".

Ew.

"As of 5/28/2006 10:56:11 AM EDT: You are 693,658,571 seconds old. Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 3.14207436399217 years old".

2006-05-24T15:58:00.000-04:00

If you had a pet shop… one that is supposed to be bright and cheery and kiddy-friendly…. but sold little evil people eating sharks…. what would you call it?

My succulent from Mars.

2006-05-14T19:12:00.000-04:00

Snagged from Pop

2006-05-14T08:10:00.000-04:00

Your results:
You are Geordi LaForge

Geordi LaForge		90%
Deanna Troi		90%
Uhura		80%
Beverly Crusher		70%
Mr. Scott		60%
Will Riker		60%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		55%
Chekov		55%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		55%
Jean-Luc Picard		50%
Data		48%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		45%
Mr. Sulu		45%
Spock		42%
Worf		30%

You work well with others and often
fix problems quickly. Your romantic
relationships are often bungled.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test

I'm 55% redshirt! That's too close for comfort!

My man is the most absolutely wonderful thing ever.

2006-05-06T21:03:00.000-04:00

An hour or so before I’m supposed to get off work today he comes in to surprise me with a dozen roses.

(Excuse the shot, this was taken with my old camera that came before the old camera that came before the present camera).

I very much enjoyed showing off my flowers and my hunky man to all the other ladies at work.

Functional with Flair

Unexpected joys of packing

Goodbye Toshi

The result of dropping a very heavy object

Spring is on it's way

More car problems

Paint Job

My Asian Knight with a Side Kick

The best candy bar

This might be random

The Dress- part 2

Our Valentines Day

Yummy mini gooey

Potato and Ham Soup

Mothers Day Moth Orchid

When an ice storm hits Ohio

Progress

A view from inside the apartment...

Cat's don't really sit well for photos

Chandni Chowk to China

Grrrrrrrrrr

When the husband makes corn bread...

Sunset in black and white

You might live in the ghetto if...

The first real snow. The start of winter.

Ohio in the fall and a sweet little date dinner

The pot pie to beat down all other pot pies

Sunset

The beaches of Ohio

Leftover theater candy

Pretty pictures from last weekend

Lucky Orange

It's the first cold day of Fall

It's alive!

Trash Only meets peace

Because I took pictures

Husband Art:

No place like home

Husband Art:

I love 6pm in the Fall

Champagne rolls!

Knittin' Sick.

Overexposed

Husband Art: Unfinished Alien

The right and wrong way to handle yourself in a wind storm

Husband Art:

Apartment Life: new additions

Summer Foods

The Husband

The Fall: my little movie review

Meet my prickly pear covered in cinnamon.

The best winter coat...

The best winter coat...

Mi Brohiem

Cards and Orchid Leaves

Devinne Intervention Welcome

Superbad 2.5

Tank Top Part 2

My first atempt

Despite apartment life, things can flourish

Day at the beach

Found on the beach

There is a squishy wooden ball on my drive home...

Eh Gawd I Can't Stop

Who would have figured?

1 Year Anniversary

What does it take to make Lauren blog?

All the plant lights, none of the pot.

The world sure looks warm through my sunglasses

We're making the move!

Flipping stamps

Our newest addition

I am a felter!

For my ego

I think I might have a slightly unhealthy obsession.

Part two

Pictures

Free images?

Fun meme from Sarah, ‘cause, I can’t come up with anything original.

Help