General Update
I definitely haven't been updating the way I was during NaBloPoMo, but I'm trying not to fall completely off the map like I did before. So here's what I've been up to lately:
The In-Laws. My In-Laws came into town last Friday, which was nice. I admit I had a bit of a misunderstanding regarding the sleeping arrangements; I thought they were staying in a hotel, but in reality they were supposed to be staying with us, so we had a lot of last minute cleaning, rearranging, and house project finishing to do. The biggest thing we did was to finish putting in the toilet in the master bathroom, which we had taken out weeks ago to repair some rotting drywall and hadn't quite gotten around to replacing. In any case, we were able to clear out the guest room and move us (mostly) out of the guest bathroom in time for their arrival - although we had to work until after 2:00am the night before to do it. Due to another misunderstanding concerning what we actually had in our freezer, we had take them out out to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner because we forgot to buy one of the key ingredients for Friday's menu when we went grocery shopping earlier in the week because we assumed we already had it. Oh well. Sweet Tomatoes was well received, even if it wasn't as quiet and intimate as eating at home. On Saturday we went down to Vogue Fabrics to shop for fabrics complimentary to the velveteen used in our bridesmaid dresses so that my MIL could make a quilt out of the leftover. I'm very excited about how the quilt will turn out and I can't wait to see it! Then we went to Pita Inn for lunch, drove leisurely up Sheridan Road to look at all the pretty houses (including the two FLW houses I drool over every time I see them) and went to Jo-Ann Fabrics to see if we could find any purple jacquard. Strangely, there doesn't seem to be any purple jacquard anywhere these days, but I intend to keep looking; Barbara (my MIL) and I agree that the texture of a jacquard is exactly what the quilt needs, and if I can find any, she told me to buy it and send it to her ASAP. Saturday night, Carl made Macadamia Parmesan Crusted Fish with fresh steamed Green Beans and Purple Garlic Mashed Potatoes; he also made Smoothies for dessert. Yum! They left Sunday morning after breakfast - Apple Cider Oatmeal and coffee - and then I went to the 12:15pm Mass, Carl went shopping for some odds and ends, and then he picked me up and we went grocery shopping. Whew! No wonder I was tired! All in all, it was a good visit, but I do hope we have the house in better order the next time they come up.
Facebook. I finally bit the bullet and joined Facebook and now I am reconnecting with dozens of people I haven't heard from in YEARS. People from college, from church, from my old parish, from my sorority, from Faire - everywhere! It's going to take me forever to read everyone's "walls" and really catch up on what they've all been up to, but it's exciting to get in touch with so many friends after all this time. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the "gifts," though. That sort of thing is going to eat up a lot more time online than I think I want to spend. I hope I can keep it in check; I've heard horror stories about people losing entire days of their life on Facebook and I really can't afford that degree of distraction. Still, I'm not sorry I did it - yet. I will be eliminating my MySpace account soon - provided I can figure out how to get logged back in to the stupid thing!
Weight Management. I was down to 199 a few days ago, but I seem to have gained a couple of pounds back. Bummer. Still, I've lost over 15 pounds and my bust, waist, and hip measurements are slowly decreasing, so I guess I'm making good progress. My primary weight loss goal is 22 pounds, 10% of my starting weight (my first weigh-in was 218) and I haven't gained back the majority of what I've lost. I've also been exercising more, so maybe I'm gaining muscle; I gained a lot of weight when I was going to the gym every day because of all the muscle toning. In any case, once I reach my primary goal, I will once again weigh approximately what I did on my wedding day - which is still way too much, but it's a step in the right direction. I really need to lose about 30 pounds by the end of June, because...
BRF. I have decided I want to return to Faire. Jezebel Harlotte never had any kind of proper send off, and frankly, I was rather hoping I'd get at least 10 years out of her before moving on to something else anyhow. My body can't take full weekends anymore, at least in my current state of health (yet another reason to lose weight and get healthier), so I'm hoping for Saturdays Only this season. I also need to lose enough weight to get back into the costume because I really don't want to make another corset; the first one took me over 6 months to draft and construct! But I'm getting excited about the prospect of doing Faire again. I admit, I was pretty burned out two seasons ago, but it was really hard "just" being a patron last year. Sure, it was great getting to actually see shows and go shopping in all the shoppes, but I missed being out there, engaging total strangers in bizarre exchanges. I sent Adam, the Street Director, an email voicing my desires and he emailed me back saying he was open to my return. YAY - thank you, Adam! I better start stocking up on bananas.
Sewing. One of the reasons for not wanting to make Jezzie any new duds is the fact that I've been asked to make a dress on commission. I'm not sure how much I should say regarding this project because there are certain aspects of the garment that might give away details the recipient may not want to share right now. All I can say is she's a friend and I have until right before Faire starts to finish the outfit for her (but it's not a Faire costume). It's a somewhat daunting task, but I'm excited for her and I can't wait to delve right in and start construction! I'll post more when I get permission to do so.
I think that's it for now. I need to go do something more constructive than blogging now.
The In-Laws. My In-Laws came into town last Friday, which was nice. I admit I had a bit of a misunderstanding regarding the sleeping arrangements; I thought they were staying in a hotel, but in reality they were supposed to be staying with us, so we had a lot of last minute cleaning, rearranging, and house project finishing to do. The biggest thing we did was to finish putting in the toilet in the master bathroom, which we had taken out weeks ago to repair some rotting drywall and hadn't quite gotten around to replacing. In any case, we were able to clear out the guest room and move us (mostly) out of the guest bathroom in time for their arrival - although we had to work until after 2:00am the night before to do it. Due to another misunderstanding concerning what we actually had in our freezer, we had take them out out to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner because we forgot to buy one of the key ingredients for Friday's menu when we went grocery shopping earlier in the week because we assumed we already had it. Oh well. Sweet Tomatoes was well received, even if it wasn't as quiet and intimate as eating at home. On Saturday we went down to Vogue Fabrics to shop for fabrics complimentary to the velveteen used in our bridesmaid dresses so that my MIL could make a quilt out of the leftover. I'm very excited about how the quilt will turn out and I can't wait to see it! Then we went to Pita Inn for lunch, drove leisurely up Sheridan Road to look at all the pretty houses (including the two FLW houses I drool over every time I see them) and went to Jo-Ann Fabrics to see if we could find any purple jacquard. Strangely, there doesn't seem to be any purple jacquard anywhere these days, but I intend to keep looking; Barbara (my MIL) and I agree that the texture of a jacquard is exactly what the quilt needs, and if I can find any, she told me to buy it and send it to her ASAP. Saturday night, Carl made Macadamia Parmesan Crusted Fish with fresh steamed Green Beans and Purple Garlic Mashed Potatoes; he also made Smoothies for dessert. Yum! They left Sunday morning after breakfast - Apple Cider Oatmeal and coffee - and then I went to the 12:15pm Mass, Carl went shopping for some odds and ends, and then he picked me up and we went grocery shopping. Whew! No wonder I was tired! All in all, it was a good visit, but I do hope we have the house in better order the next time they come up.
Facebook. I finally bit the bullet and joined Facebook and now I am reconnecting with dozens of people I haven't heard from in YEARS. People from college, from church, from my old parish, from my sorority, from Faire - everywhere! It's going to take me forever to read everyone's "walls" and really catch up on what they've all been up to, but it's exciting to get in touch with so many friends after all this time. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the "gifts," though. That sort of thing is going to eat up a lot more time online than I think I want to spend. I hope I can keep it in check; I've heard horror stories about people losing entire days of their life on Facebook and I really can't afford that degree of distraction. Still, I'm not sorry I did it - yet. I will be eliminating my MySpace account soon - provided I can figure out how to get logged back in to the stupid thing!
Weight Management. I was down to 199 a few days ago, but I seem to have gained a couple of pounds back. Bummer. Still, I've lost over 15 pounds and my bust, waist, and hip measurements are slowly decreasing, so I guess I'm making good progress. My primary weight loss goal is 22 pounds, 10% of my starting weight (my first weigh-in was 218) and I haven't gained back the majority of what I've lost. I've also been exercising more, so maybe I'm gaining muscle; I gained a lot of weight when I was going to the gym every day because of all the muscle toning. In any case, once I reach my primary goal, I will once again weigh approximately what I did on my wedding day - which is still way too much, but it's a step in the right direction. I really need to lose about 30 pounds by the end of June, because...
BRF. I have decided I want to return to Faire. Jezebel Harlotte never had any kind of proper send off, and frankly, I was rather hoping I'd get at least 10 years out of her before moving on to something else anyhow. My body can't take full weekends anymore, at least in my current state of health (yet another reason to lose weight and get healthier), so I'm hoping for Saturdays Only this season. I also need to lose enough weight to get back into the costume because I really don't want to make another corset; the first one took me over 6 months to draft and construct! But I'm getting excited about the prospect of doing Faire again. I admit, I was pretty burned out two seasons ago, but it was really hard "just" being a patron last year. Sure, it was great getting to actually see shows and go shopping in all the shoppes, but I missed being out there, engaging total strangers in bizarre exchanges. I sent Adam, the Street Director, an email voicing my desires and he emailed me back saying he was open to my return. YAY - thank you, Adam! I better start stocking up on bananas.
Sewing. One of the reasons for not wanting to make Jezzie any new duds is the fact that I've been asked to make a dress on commission. I'm not sure how much I should say regarding this project because there are certain aspects of the garment that might give away details the recipient may not want to share right now. All I can say is she's a friend and I have until right before Faire starts to finish the outfit for her (but it's not a Faire costume). It's a somewhat daunting task, but I'm excited for her and I can't wait to delve right in and start construction! I'll post more when I get permission to do so.
I think that's it for now. I need to go do something more constructive than blogging now.