Here Comes the Flood!

The last 2 weeks our perfect summer in Seattle has been spent indoors with vaporizers and Thera-flu. The ever-popular summer head cold was introduced to our apartment by my fella, then I caught it, and now I am finally on the upswing.
This go around, we were also introduced to a new trick in old medicine. Have you ever heard of the Neti Pot? It seems to be a buzz word at the moment. I have heard a few people refer to them the last few months, then when this bout of sinus congestion came around it was suggested to us to give a try.
The idea behind it is to clean the sinuses by flushing them with salt water. But this is your nose we’re talking about... it is meant for AIR, not WATER. But then again, the congestion was getting so bad that air wasn’t getting through anyway, might as well try this mini- waterboarder.   Surprise!  Surprise! It is not a confortable thing to pour water through your nostrils.  However it does work and I appreciate the simple logic behind it. Go yogic medicine!

The best part of the Netipot discovery for me has been the pictures on-line of models smiling as they demonstrate how to use it. Some obviously don’t have water in them. My favorite is when they are smiling with they head tilted and water gushing out of their nose! I would so fire my agent!

Nice Work if You Can Get It

The wedding was fantastic, no big catastrophe, no drama, tasty cupcakes, and good company.  A lovely time was had by all! 

            I have been married for exactly one month, and have yet to return to a regular routine.  We have been house sitting again, a cozy house with an incredible view.   The amenities include a deck with a grill and a patio with a hot tub.  For the last month, the hubby and I have been grilling, watching sunsets, and hot tubbing in the moonlight. The weather has been an amazing 80 degrees or warmer and hardly a drop of rain for weeks.  The raspberries are in season and I have been eating my share right off the bush. Hard life I know!

            The month has been packed with parties, small get-togethers, and soirees!  Frankly, we have been movin’ and shakin’ nonstop, the other day we decided we needed to go into a cleansing cycle from all hotdogs and beer.  Man! I have gotten tan and plump. 

Work has started to pick back up and I have become a pro at procrastination.  All I want to do is bake, and eat!  The drafting table is calling and I will dust off my pencils, and get my head back in the game. 

            The rightful owners of the house get back in town on Wednesday, and we will return to our cozy one bedroom apartment.  I am looking forward refinding our day-to-day rituals. 

Sugar and Spice

I am getting married one week from today.  Things are going smoothly, I have the dress, we have 2 caterers, the photographer, a huge tent for bad weather, and an officiant.  GOOD to GO! (knock on wood)

We are not having cake, we are having cupcakes.  I have been in a cupcake delirium for the last week, I have been surfing the web drooling over red velvets, strawberrys, caramel crunch, cheesecake surprizes!  Trial cupcake 6 is in the oven now.  I have found the perfect vanilla recipe and now I am onto chocolate.  Yes, I want to stick with the simple flavors of chocolate and vanilla.  I am a novice baker and as we will need to have 90ish cupcakes, I don't want  to have more steps then Mix, Bake, and Ice, Repeat.  There are 2  trial icings in the fridge I will be trying a chocolate ganache frosting this afternoon.    MY APARTMENT SMELLS AMAZING!  

3 days and 4 chocolate cupcake recipes later...

Yes the apartment still smells amazing, but he not been able to capture the amazingness in the flavor.  Currently there is trial 9 batter in the oven and trial 10 on the counter waiting in line for oven time.  Hopefully these are not the chocolate hockey pucks that resulted in trails 7 and 8.  Fingers are crossed, standing with icing at the ready, and am covered with chocolate freckles!

Take a Good Look

Lately, I have been aware of a distinct lack of focus.  

I spend a lot of my day lost in details of things no more then 18 inches away from me.  Whether, drafting, model building, photoshopping, or goofing around on facebook my attention is usually right in front of my face.  I've recently discovered I have trouble seeing the big picture... literally.

I have been reading road signs by shape and length of words instead of actual letters.  I had been thinking "my eyes are just tired, because of drafting all day", but then I would wake up and think "my eyes just haven't had their first cup of coffee yet".  It has taken me a while to realize that there wasn't a time between coffee/tired eyes where there was good focus.  So off to the optometrist I went.  The results are in.... I am nearsighted with a slight astigmatism.  

Turning 30 has made me aware that I am not 18.  I realized that I should have known this since I was 19,  but the big 3-oh has made this fact sink in, more then any numerical digit has.  It's like my warranty ran out and now I'm starting to pay for the rough treatment of the machinery.    

A call last night informed me that my glasses were ready.  I picked them up and then off to the grocery store.  I put them on and walked around feeling like I was in a ridiculous disguise that nobody seemed to notice.  This must be how Clark Kent feels!  I was hoping the glasses would give me a mysterious allure, or a distinguished air.  There was no mystery, no air...  just a personal sense of new and unfamiliar.  I was so self-conscience that I could barely pick out bananas.  However, the most amazing thing happened... I could read the signs at the end of the aisles.  WOW!  The letters  had a beautiful clarity to them.  First FLOUR, SUGAR, BAKING NEEDS,  then  CEREAL, HOT CEREAL, ENERGY BARS, followed by FROZEN DINNERS, ICE CREAM, NOVELTY TREATS.  It was not the most efficient shopping I have done, but it was eye opening.  

So you may not recognize me out and about because of my new disguise, but I will sure as shootin' see you!

You're Never Really Alone

I am house sitting this week. It’s a week of fantasy living for me, beautiful view, a big studio to work in, plus a hot tub! However a shadow has fallen over the house of dreams. ANTS. I ate one damn graham cracker and dropped the most minuscule of crumbs and now a colony has emerged. I have been passive aggressive for the last few days but now it’s full on WAR!!! At first I was like – there are only a few I’ll gingerly sweep them up and throw them outside. Their brazenness reigned down tenfold that night as I crawled into bed. I had just snuggled down with the laptop to do some late night facebooking, when suddenly one by one they started to crawl out of my KEYBOARD… yeah I know…GROSS! I have to say I was incredibly calm throughout the attack, I got up and got the can of spray air and whoosh out they flew. If it had been spiders rather then ants I would never have typed a word again.
I vowed to deal with the infestation in the morning and went back to bed. I must have missed a few in my clean up, because I now have bites in several strategically uncomfortable places. IT IS NOW PERSONAL. NO MORE MARY-POPPINS-TYPE-CATCH-AND-RELEASE. I have been doing a little googling and there seems to be many home remedys, so yesterday I swabbed the deck with vinigar and windex (with a good measure of stomping). They are not all gone but the number seems to have decreased, but still could be considered to be a colony. More googleing is required, back into the fray! CHARGE!!!!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….

...a Jedi master needed a prom dress. Not just any dress, a dress laced with the Force!
I find myself in the all too familiar position of dress hunting, this time however for a wedding dress.  This go around I thought I would give ebay a shot, that means every few days I scroll through literally hundreds of dresses one by one looking for the perfect dress.
     Monday as I was browsing this listing popped up:
It is made of green and gold organza, and goes perfectly with Luke Skywalker's lightsaber! 

     Someone took a picture of this dress, then photoshopped it creating the photo that you see here now.  Someone thought that this photo showed the dress in its best light.  Someone thought that this photo was their best chance to get the highest bid possible.  Then someone bought the dress for $49.95.

emmh... go to homecoming with me you will....

Sigh....

I am sitting on my sofa amidst the carnage of 2 people too busy to clean for 2 1/2 weeks.  I started to try and catch up the other day with dishes, we both had gone through every dish, Tupperware, punchbowl, you name it and it was in the sink/ on the counter. Then we resorted to take out. My sweetie and I have been very occupied with various jobs and obligations and unfortunately apartment has had some collateral damage.   About a week and a half ago I was down to my last pair of clean skivvies and squeezed in 2 loads of laundry, however I did not squeeze in folding time.  So all the clean clothes have been in a pile on the floor... next to the dirty pile of clothes and now they have joined forces and become a superpower. Tomorrow I am going to enter into negotiations We are slowly chipping away at putting things in order, but to be honest it has taken a few days to catch my breath after the marathon we have been running.  I am lucky because I have reached a point in my schedule where I can sit on the couch and blog.  My significant other is still on his toes and running at full speed, and will not really get a break for a few more weeks.  I'm hoping to snag him this weekend for dinner, to celebrate both our birthdays!

All Work and No Play Makes Me a Dull Girl

   I am supposed to be constructing a model at this moment. It is 10:30 on a Friday night and I sit among my knives and chemicals in a distinct non-recreational manner. I have taken on a couple of over-lapping jobs lately, and they are keeping me occupied. I have to admit my fight or flight reflexes are starting to kick in! So, instead of pushing through (I have a good 4 hours of work a head of me) I have chosen to blog of course!
Here is a short list of things I wish I was doing instead:
-Mani-Pedi
I have super glue all over my nails and one of those massage chairs sounds awesome!
-In a Movie theatre
don't care what movie, as long as it has some car chases and I get popcorn
-Playing Poker
with a PBR in one hand and a royal flush in the other- NICE
-BOWLING
STRIKE! seems like an appropriate exclamation of my mood
- Playing a Wii,
or Xbox, or whatever the cool kids have these days
- Sitting in a Hottub
under the stars, out of cellphone range
-Going out for dessert
mmmm dessert
Do you see a distinct lack of knives and chemicals in that list..... Me Too. Hmmm.... Maybe next weekend.

Dusty Blog

Happy Halloween/ Thanksgiving/ Christmas/ New Year/ MLK Day/ Inauguration! So, where were we?

There are many things on the cooker right now. I am in the midst of balancing my life as an artist, and my life as an eating person. Wedding plans are beginning to solidify, we now have invitations, a venue, an officiant, and a possible caterer. It is not going to be a traditional wedding so it is not traditional planning. My mind is full of work schedules, design schedules, wedding details and resolutions.

Resolution 1: Reduce Procrastination
This has yet to be put in motion.
Resolution 2: Keep a more Organized Life
This resolution is meant for everything in my life from scheduling, work spaces, closets, even dishes! I generally have a lax attidude about keeping things straight, but am tired of always looking for things!
Resolution 3: Lose 8 pounds
Okay now this one is the kicker. As you may remember I joined a gym last year, and it turns out that gym life has very little to do with an eighties movie montage. I have not renewed the membership, a decisive move to not pay to not go, because I can not go for free! To simultaneously quit the gym and resolve to lose weight is not producing the desired results. I am looking into exercise methods more suited to my lifestyle.
Resolution 4: Travel and be more Outdoorsy
Last year, there were few non-business related outings. I want to explore my surroundings more, and get out and hike around. I used to do a bit of this, and am resolved to get out more!

We'll see how this goes!