madam0wl

Kitchen Experiment (NSFV)

2012-01-27T10:19:00.004-05:00

Warning! NSFV = Not Safe for Vegans. Those sensitive to big slabs of meat should avert your eyes.

I believe I've shared before my affinity for cooking. Or lack there of. It's not torture, but it isn't a pastime either. Sometimes it is pleasant, but mostly it is just routine. I should probably try new things more often. Except I'm not all that good with following recipes. Not a big fan of measured amounts. That probably says something about me mentally/emotionally, but let's not dwell on it.

So when I do try something different, it is typically an experiment. Usually it turns out good, but the downfall is trying to recreate it. I suppose that is where recipes come in handy huh?

Anyway, I thought I'd photo document today's experiment at least. We've got our semi-annual shipment of organically raised/fed whatever beef* coming in this weekend, so I thought I'd better make use of an older cut. Of which we have two Prime Rib Roasts.

Ingredients = Prime Rib roast of Iowa origin (? lb),
couple different BBQ sauces, worcestershire sauce,
mustard, chili pepper, Old Bay spice,
cracked pepper, red onions, green peppers
and a couple carrots for color.

There had been three, but I crock-potted one for Christmas Dinner. It was a rebellious thing to do, because I'd googled to pick through the hive brain knowledge on cooking Prime Rib Roasts, and the consensus was that it was practically sacrilege to use a crock pot with that cut of meat.

Whatever. I threw caution to the wind and the roast in the pot, seasoned fairly lightly and with some veggies and spuds. Sort of ended up like a stew. It tasted good but we did use ketchup on it.

So this time I thought I'd experiment with adding more flavor, and after pulling a few condiments out of the fridge, I decided to go with a BBQ/Chili angle.

I've got it set on low and figure it will be ready by like 4 or 5. My hypothesis is that hopefully it will fall apart like the last one did and end up a bit like pulled pork does. Like you could eat it piled up on a bun. Isn't that called loose meat? Not the most attractive descriptor. You know what I mean. Sloppy Joe / Manwich (again with the boorish names), except with roast beef instead of hamburger. At the BBQ restaurant I worked at briefly in college, that type of sandwich was called a Saucy Southerner. Nice, I like that. Saucy!

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Except, as underground members of Weight Watchers, we don't eat a lot of bread. Any suggestions as to other sides to eat BBQ beef on, or with? Maybe roasted spaghetti squash? Steamed cauliflower?

*This time the beef is from a farmer in New Jersey that Stew got connected to via a workmate who knows somebody. We are splitting a cow with that somebody, who has family in NJ area and therefore a way to get it delivered.

PS - I finished Week 5 of C25K this morning. It was the big leap to running for 20 min continuously. Felt good, but despite a good breeze, it was probably already in the 60s and humid as hell. I had to take my sweatshirt off 1/3 of the way in. It's lucky that the stormy weather held off. Not sure if I would have had the motivation to do it in the rain. Then I came in and did 20 min of yoga, which marks two weeks in a row of routine exercise. Go me.

Hippy Hippy Shakes

2012-01-25T10:28:00.002-05:00

Noticed it had been a week, though I did edit and add postscripts since then. So I thought I'd do a quick (pfft- ended up taking an hour) post-and-run (need to get groceries).

More music first. Still rocking out in my cocoon, but it IS the Year of the Dragon now, and February draws near... I actually wore a maxi-length hippie dress yesterday- however, I quickly added my black hoodie and badass boots. Today I'm back to pants, but at least they are green ones, with coordinating cool tone layers.

I've been a YouTube junkie lately. You can find almost anything on there. Even the Hot Dog Dance from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which I have watched a few times in order to learn the dance steps. I can't quite master Goofy's kicks. It's like a Russian folk step or something. What's up with that dude's nose? (the Russian, not Goofy) This guy is cuter, and wow I don't think I'll be trying that move either.

At any rate, last night I went to bed with Hippy Hippy Shake in my head. I think it was something Stew said. I had blurted out like one line of it, but couldn't string together more, or place where the song was from. I was getting an 80s vibe. He thought Beatles. Turns out he was right, but the original was by Chan Romero. Then came Swinging Blue Jeans. Then the Beatles. Next, Georgia Satellites. The latter being from the Cocktail soundtrack, and probably where my sound memory came from. I so wanted Elizabeth Shue's curly hair in that movie. Damn you straight hair.

But for real hip shaking, I'm still digging Skrillex's dope beats. Yo Skrill, drop it hard! I like all the distorted voices, samples and computery sounds. It's good for house cleaning to, or even for chilling in the pickup line outside school. You know, because your 4 year old refuses to nap during that time now.

And oddly enough, I've been mildly curious about conceptual art Hip Hop, like Die Antwoord and Kreayshawn. Though Kreayshawn probably does not consider herself a conceptual artist, and I think Die Antwoord bristles at that label too. Still, both strike me as slightly unreal, but interesting in a portrayal-of-a-totally-different-world way. And Kreayshawn is pro thrift shopping, so I like her for that. In fact, the line that grabbed me from her Gucci Gucci song was, referring to designer label clothing, (and, what I gather as "trendy" stuff): Basic bitches wear that shit, so I don't even bother

I could go off on a whole different tangent if I were to share what I found when I googled "basic bitches." Oh the things you can learn on the internet...

Now to roll up to the 'Mart, yet another cultural environment always rich with fuel for an odyssey of the mind.

Sound Insulation

2012-01-17T11:39:00.003-05:00

Just a little ditty (actually it's more of an opus, oops) to follow-up from Friday's post, which Stew told me was "depressing." I didn't mean it to come off that way. It was intended more as a tribute to seasonal funks. Recognizing that most people fall into them at one point or another, and that there is nothing wrong with it. Maybe even they are good for you.

Anyway, shortly after writing the last post, I started perking up. Plus I got distracted by troubleshooting why blogger.com's new threaded comments weren't working on my blog. Then felt vindicated when I figured it out. I even posted it to the blogger help forums and someone else replied saying thanks! What can I say? It warms my heart to help people with my geekiness. So I can feel my little januweary boohoo cocoon starting to do it's magic.

I'm still slackering it up style-wise and only have energy for the scratching of surface of chores, but I am in higher spirits. Was nice to hangout this weekend. Stew and I marathoned our way through the first season of The Walking Dead. I had to cower into his shoulder a few times- I really DO NOT LIKE zombies -but the storyline was compelling enough to outweigh the willies. Plus it is kind of fun to be freaked out every once in a while. During/after the first two episodes I could totally feel my stress reactions kicking in, it was crazy.

Talking about stress reactions... this is the penultimate day of the older boys' school-break-take-3, and so far, no bloodshed. Today I'm not taking any chances though, and have organized an impromptu "Picnic with Dad" as a way to eat up 3-4 hours... Going to let them watch a DVD w/ headphones, while I drive to FM transmitted iPod goodness.

Because, along with NetFlix marathons, one prominent feature of the cocoon's internal structure is a thick layer of sound insulation. Not so much keeping sound out- with kids, that is nigh impossible- more so, a buffering of a musical equivalent of shag carpet and trippy wallpaper.

You know how all the best movies are scored with superfab soundtracks, made up of seemingly random songs, but when you sit back and listen, the tone or lyrics fit the situation perfectly? And it makes you wish someone would craft a soundtrack to your life too? Or was I the only child of the 80s who felt that way after watching a John Hughes movie?

Similar to books, I've always been a bit of a follower when it comes to acquiring a taste for music. Maybe it sounds better to say that I prefer books & music to be peer reviewed. Other than movie soundtracks being a big musical influence in my life, suggestions from friends and family and strangers on the internet are basically the only way I pick up on new tunes. I don't do a lot of hunting & gathering on my own. I save that decisive/predictive/"this is cool" energy for thrift shopping / clothing.

But I really like the flirtation stage of new music, when you first hear it and are like all, eh. Then you give it another try, and something tickles your fancy. A hook winks at you or a lyric makes you take a second glance. You play it again to see if you heard it correctly. Head over to google to read the full lyrics. It's like poetry. What's the meaning of the words? Realize it doesn't matter, you are infatuated, either way. Finally it all comes together and it's totally heavy petting as you hit repeat the second it is over so you can hear it again and again. Then you drop it for awhile. Come up for air. And if it still gives you butterflies the next few times you meet, well, then you know. Similarly, I have a tendency to fall out of love with certain songs too. Maybe I play them too much too soon, I don't know. But then it can be fun to rediscover them later on.

Thinking back, if I were to look back through my life, my boohoo cocoons most likely coincide with increases in music acquisitions. I'm not sure what comes first, the cocoon or the music, but at some point they interweave and flow along with each other for a time. Which means, I've been consuming a lot of "new to me" music lately. Also significant, Santa brought me a $50 iTunes gift card. Which now only has, like $12 on it.

Since I like hearing what other people are hearing, I usually try to pass things on as well. Used to be in the form of burned CDs, but is it just me, or are music CDs going the way of 8 tracks? So the other day I started finding YouTube videos for some of the songs I've downloaded recently. Then I wrote a little bit about each song and saved it as draft because it was taking forever. But now I'm just going to post it and move on. I gotta go get ready for the picnic...

See the songs listed below, or you can play through each one via this YouTube Playlist.

What songs/bands/albums have you been grooving to lately?

Mavehaven read my mind and shared some of her Tunes this morning. She has good taste, go visit.

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- Stereo by IAmDynamite (video)

Passed along by a friend and now I'm anxiously awaiting the March album release. In the meantime, go here to download their song Hi Lo and listen to another track, Carolina (in player across top of window).

- I Know What Boys Want by The Waitresses (video)

Really liked the Christmas Wrapping song by The Waitresses from a mix of Christmas songs Stew had downloaded from iTunes. So I checked out what other music they had and was tickled to see they were an early 80s "new wave" band, who also did the theme song for Square Pegs. Anybody else remember that show?

- The theme to FireFly written by Joss Whedon who also wrote the show (video)

Stew continues to sneak country in on me, he liked this theme song and we found it on iTunes. Also this was from the NetFlix marathon we had just prior to the watching The Walking Dead.

- Red Solo Cup by Toby Keith (video)

I admit, I stumbled across this country one while trawling the Top 100. I've drunk from many a red solo cup. Actually the kegger ones I remember the most were the frosted/translucent ones. This is not one I'd play over and over again, but would be a cheesy song to play at a party.

- Everything at Once by Lenka (video)
This was one that earwormed both Wiley and I as it played during a Disney Studio All Access ad, on the Cars 2 DVD last night. I googled it (forget what search term I used) and downloaded it. Milo wants to know what something that looked like all those animals would look like. A monster, I said.

Also movie/soundtrack related...
- Immigrant Song by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Karen O from TGWTDT soundtrack (video)
(originally Led Zeppelin, which I already had)

- Creep (Radiohead Cover) by Scala & Kolacny (video)
Another cover downloaded recently and kind of 6 degrees of separation, as it is from another David Fincher directed film (it was used in Social Network trailers/intro)...

- All I Want is You by U2 (video / movie clip [Spanish ver. dubbing surprised me at end])
This U2 song recently played in our iTunes shuffle and I told Stew it always reminds me of that part from the end of Reality Bites where Ethan Hawk calls Winona Ryder and hangs up after a long pause.

- The Show is actually a Lenka song (quelle coinkydink!) but we downloaded the version by actress Kerris Dorsey(video)
We heard in it in Moneyball, which I had Redbox'd for Stew and ho-hum watched with him... pleasantly surprised that it wasn't all that horrible. I'm not all that into baseball, but Brad Pitt is still easy on the eyes.

- 99 Problems (Jay-Z cover) by Hugo (video) Here's an interesting sidenote about Jay-Z related to the original song. And the rest of that Hugo album is pretty catchy too. This song is one Stew picked up on when we watched No Strings Attached (It was okay. Ashton is cute in it, Natalie Portman is annoying.)

- Not long ago I downloaded a Steve Miller Band album. Flashback city. I think it was hearing The Joker play on the radio that sent me down that memory lane. Total highschool moment. (video)

Oh and here's a song (video) from a Norwegian black metal band Kevelrtak that I downloaded solely because when I saw it listed as "Breakout Metal Album" on iTunes I remembered a stylish Norwegian flickr friend saying how she'd been listening to it non-stop last spring. At the time I'd googled it to see what she was talking about, and really liked the album's cover art, plus the lyrics were said to all be concerned with Norse mythology / Viking folklore which sounded really cool. Nothing against any of those influencing factors, but pretty much all the songs sound the same to me. Kind of wish I'd have just downloaded one song and not the full album. Oh well. That sometimes happens when you have a gift cert burning a hole in your virtual pocket and click "buy album" on a whim.

ETA: The Kevelrtak album actually grew on me a little bit as I listened to it on the drive home. Maybe it was because the tracks were out of order or playing backwards, but there were a few raging head-banging ones that played this time that I think I missed before. They make Metallica sound like The Monkees. Also I came to the realization, just like making yourself watch spooky zombie movies, sometimes it can be good to freak your ears out with some scary music. Whatever gets that old heart or brain pounding is good for you, I say. Also black metal turned up way high is total sound insulation, unlike sugary Lenka... with Sultans of Satan playing, you REALLY can't hear the kids fighting in the back.

And PS, I just found this on YouTube too. 12 Hours of White Noise.

And and PPS, when left to my own devices, (or have XM radio for 3 months), I've come to find that electro/dance type stuff turns me on pretty quickly. Wiley and the boys seem to like it too. Here's a track of that variety I just previewed and was told to "download that to your iPod mom!"...
Kyoto by Skrillex (video)

And and and PPPS, this:

Januweary

2012-01-13T10:27:00.002-05:00

January is always tough for me. I know it's supposed to be a new start and all yeeha! resolutions! and stuff, but I always find myself a bit weary. Januweary.

It's like coming off of a high and being all bleh. Aimless. Discontent. Cold.

With no snow to be temporarily distracted by. Boring weather is boring.

While I'm thankful that our little magical trip to Disney (it was fun, captioned pics here) ate up 5 days of my month-long funkfest, the return to reality took the whole deflated feeling up a level. Now the holidaze, extended and otherwise, are truly over.

For me anyway. After today, the kids totally have another 5 day weekend off from school. Some devious maniacal exploit of the 9 weeks system and the lining up of MLK day equals Monday as a holiday followed by two teacher workdays and OMG what the hell am I going to do with the boys that whole time?

Plus Cyrus might have inherited my post-holiday-blues gene, because he woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and I barely got him out to the car this morning. I'll be surprised if I don't get a call from school today. "Cyrus has been standing in a corner, pouting, for the last hour..." What could I do about it? I'm pouting too.

Oh well. Once I make it through next week, well, then Januweary will be almost over.

So bear with me, it might be a pixel-free ghost town over here until I get my mojo back.

In the meantime, I'm setting low daily expectations, thereby upping the chances of being pleasantly surprised. Content myself with meeting everyone's basic needs, and maybe my own too. Let a few things slide. Soak up simple pleasures. Snuggle up with a book or a movie. Practice positive visualization. Chant little mantras No calls from school / No calls from school. Conjure happy vibes, and so forth.

Hopefully next week I'll get back to running & yoga. And maybe five days home with the boys is just what I need. I good kick in my woe-is-me ass.

Everything else, including contemplating/setting grandiose goals, may just have to wait until February. My birth month. When the little wintery boohoo cocoon I wrap myself in gets too confining and I bust out, all colorful and Go Me! I'm Awesome! again.

Minnie was F****** Goofy

2012-01-04T18:26:00.003-05:00

Well these first few days of 2012 have not been all that filled with Dragon Warrior Princess-ness. More like Dazed Post-Holiday Skank-ness. Other than Jan 1st, when I wore PJs all day and got a bunch of shit done around the house, I've basically I've been doing various degrees of the bare minimum, and happily wearing pants the whole time. Pretty much that whole slacker mom look x100.

The preschool owner continues to be fascinated with how young I look, every day telling me I could pass for a child myself. Why is it more flattering coming from her than the gentleman greeter at the 'Mart?

Maybe just being bundled up takes a few years off one's appearance? It's been cold (not Iowa cold, but NC cold), so the so-novel-to-not-be-wearing-a-dress pants fest has been topped with lots of layers consisting of thermal tops, hoodies, vests, and knit caps. It is probably the knit caps accentuating my round face/cheeks that is making me look 15 but whatever, I tend to agree with the old myth that like 50% of body heat can be lost through an uncovered head. Plus I need to cut my hair again but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I did cut the fingertips off a pair of old gloves, a la keyboarding gloves, as even all the pre-trip googling I've been doing wasn't warming up my fingercicles. Can you see how that instantly bumped me up to Rockin' ~~Hobo~~ Hacker Babe, just like that? No? Oh well.

Pre-trip, you say? Why yes, we're headin' out on a New Year(ish) road trip, a trip of many "firsts." Stew and my sister's first 1/2 marathon, run no where else but through the grounds of Disneyland, another first. The kids and I are going along to cheer them on (not from the $90 Platinum bleacher seats mind you), and to experience one of biggest tourist trap-y pieces of Americana there is.

I suspect it's going to be a bit like the Clampetts or the Griswolds, but we're going to have fun, damn it! Italicized because that's my sister's and I's (me and my sister's? Mom, help?) little catch phrase leftover from the Summer '11 road trip / river-tubing bonanza.

To make it even more "fish out of water / country cousin" sitcom-y, we're basically staying at the Disney trailer park, aka Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Six of us squished into a 500 square foot singlewide with a log cabin facade, should provide plenty of laugh track comedy gold, for sure. I'm pretty excited to work the Murphy Bed though. Especially if we can fold the 3 kids back up into it and hightail it to Epcot for an evening as they bang on the mattress yelling "Let us out! Let us out!" Ha ha.

In pure rags-to-riches style, we've been scrimpin' this past week or so, eating the cupboards bare, feeding the children even more Ramen noodles than usual. And last night I was tasked with cashing in our change jar... to the tune of $85 smackers.

Look out Toll Roads and Cracker Barrels and Gas Stations and Sports Expos and finish lines and Monorails and Magic Kingdom... here we come!

Oh and PS, this post's subject is the punch line to one of Stew's favorite Disney related jokes. Otherwise, as a family are we big Disney fans? Not really. Milo's not too keen on people in animal costumes either. See, just more fun memories waiting to happen!

All joshin' aside, I'm stoked. Mostly just to get out of the house. And if there is a coaster ride or two in my future, all the better. Whee!!!! See y'all later.

Year of the Dragon Warrior Princess

2011-12-31T16:08:00.000-05:00

2012 will be the Year of the Dragon, if you didn't know. Of course we won't officially start breathing fire until January 23rd, but that does seem a little bit earlier than usual. Don't you already feel a little bit magical & mythical about the new year?

I know I do. I'm optimistic. 2012 is going to be good. Something is going to happen. I just know it. Even if that something is so small, only I can see it. Or maybe it will be BIG. Life-shaping.

Either way, I'm thankful for Dressember giving me an excuse to send good 'ole 2011 out with a bang. As years go, it wasn't too bad. And for all those who followed along with me, either these past years, or only recently, I'm thankful for you too.

If I were having a party, you'd all be invited. It would be a masquerade. I'm dressing as a Warrior Princess, what are you going as?

Dressember 31st 100% Thrifty: shades, boots and velvet dress w/ DIY vest safety pinned to it

In fact, personally, I think I might coin 2012 as the Year of the Dragon Warrior Princess. That seems like an appropriate theme to take me on an ass-kicking path in the next year.

Here's wishing you all a superfantasorgasmicespialodociously rad 2012!

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Prepare to reassess, review and redo. A serious look at your past, present and future will help you put your life in perspective and set realistic goals. You will advance quickly once your direction is clear. New beginnings and projects will confirm that you are on the right track. Greater success will unfold as you take advantage of the opportunities that are offered to you. Love: An abundance of opportunities and choices may lead to confusion. Money: Knowledge will lead to greater wealth. Health: Discipline and strength of character will equal good health.

via

Dressember 30th

2011-12-30T16:18:00.001-05:00

Dressember 30th

~ thrifted vintage dress

~ thrifted pleather vest

~ skull cap snagged from Stew

~ thrifted boots

Photo by Wiley

Kicking Out the Jams

2011-12-29T15:36:00.001-05:00

jesse.anne.o blogged a fairly awesome resolution for 2012, that I'm totally stealing.

To kick out the jams.

What does it mean? I've always associated it with just doing something big, something awesome. Rockin' it. Cutting loose. Dropping the baggage. Getting Shit Done. That kind of thing.

Also it reminded me of the cover Bad Brains & Henry Rollins did of a MC5 song of the same name. That song, Kick Out the Jams, is one of my favorite songs from the Pump Up the Volume movie soundtrack. And I totally downloaded it for free today like some criminal.

Then I proceeded to do something the boys dared me to do at the park, danced like a freak, and made a movie video. Oh and you know, the usual stuff like dishes and laundry and care/feeding of six male beings.

I'd say I'm getting a head start on the new year... in yet another frickin' dress no less.

Boho-chic Half-dog Pre-nap

2011-12-28T13:58:00.000-05:00

Dressember 28th

100% Thrifty

- sleeveless dress as a skirt

~ peasant top

~ tapestry belt

~ vest

~ boots

~ shades

Woke to run, even though I'd been tossing and turning all night.

Got the youngest off to school without a fight.

Owner told me "you look like a child yourself" (was still in my running stuff w/ knit skull cap).

No more rain, "abundant" sun, but cooler and breezy.

Dressed in some fave boho-chic separates.

Ran an errand with the older boys that we were in/out of in under 15 min.

Went to the park after preschool pickup, left before meltdown.

So far, Hump Day of the Week InBetween has been good day.

Then I came home and discovered I'd turned into a centaur of the half-girl half-dog variety.

And that despite the sun, I didn't really want to stay outside very long with the boys.

Maybe we'll try again later.

For now, the couch is calling my name.

A Picture Says 15 Words

2011-12-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

Dressember 27th

100% Thrifty:

~ vintage dress from etsy, Cereal Vintage Thrift

~ sneaker print long sleeve tee, "Hybrid Tees" brand from consignment shop

~ boots, thrifted

F* You, You F*ing F***

2011-12-26T21:53:00.001-05:00

100% Thrifty, except tights, yadda yadda.
Featuring a vintage handmade dress,
which combined with tights and shoes,
might have elicited a behind-the-back snide/sarcastic "cute"
from a female as I walked into the movie theater's bathroom this afternoon.

On the outside I'm a shy weird girl/mom that wears quirky clothes, and on the inside I'm a bit of a reclusive snob with a freshly minted desire to DIY a shirt like this. To wear when, who knows. Maybe as a top layer, the next time I wear this dress? Maybe censored? You know, so it looks like I sort of care...

Chaos / Zen

2011-12-26T07:41:00.000-05:00

As I'm sure the holidays are for everyone, my weekend was a mix of chaos and zen...

Chaos

My first attempt at baking / supervising Christmas Cookies.

Filled with fussin' n cussin' and one "I suck" facecrack status update.

Zen

Having the house to myself for a few hours of wrapping and continued cookie setup.

While the cookie baking started out frantic, eventually I found my rhythm.

And, check the snowmen magically lining up at the cut edge of that wrap job! Yeah baby! Skillz!

Chaos/Zen

Dressember 24th was 100% Thrifty, except socks.

Little bit of patternmixing before my mad dash to the 'Mart for last minute stuff like batteries.

Actually made it out of there in record time (almost all the checkouts were open!)

and got an "Is that a dress or skirt? [dress] It's so cute!" compliment from my cashier.

Chaos/Zen

Aftermath mess/cleanup of cookie decoration... but, look- Wiley figured out to mix ~~babypoop~~ brown!

Chaos

Who was it again that told Aunt Cathy to get the boys remote control trucks?

Zen

Dressember 25th was 100% Thrifty (& more patternmixy), except tights (black & purple stripes!). A repeat from last year.

Home from the inlaws', boys entertained in another room, before a "parents only" NetFlix viewing,

I sprawled out on our ~~stolen~~ new-to-us, just-barely-wedged-in,

formerly-worth-$4K-and-now-covered-with-a-sheet couch,

and asked Stew to capture my frazzled beauty a la Jack & Rose. Ha ha.

PS - Happy Holidays

PPS - Mom/Cathy, I'll put a few family pics up on facecrack later, or the long neglected .net

Mom Face

2011-12-23T20:21:00.002-05:00

It was like 6 pm and I'd just nuked a leftovers dinner for the boys, who were sitting at the table eating, behind the tripod, and I think I had just been making some kind of "boy, don't test me" look at Milo, just prior to the self-timer going off.

100% Thrifted, except socks.
~ red zippery vest
~ red belt
~ vintage dress
~ faux chucks
~ red socks that inched their way down during the day

Peppermint Sandy

2011-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

I suppose it is sort of seasonal, but lately I've been pondering the concepts of light and time. Actually I guess time is a concept and light a fact of life. At least until the sun gets blocked by some world altering event. Some say we'll find out in next year.

Yesterday and today I challenged the kids to see how long we could go without turning on the lights. Or using them only sparingly. We're going to play that game again today. I guess if there is one good thing about summers in the South, it is the abundance of light. Or rather, the ability to tie up curtains and crack the windows on the Winter Solstice.

The mild weather down here is nice, but sometimes it gets boring. I like to experience extremes once in a while. One time in Iowa we were snowed in without power for like 4 days.

I've kind of been missing my old wintry stomping grounds. No influx of Northern blood this year either, my parents are staying put for the winter. It would have been nice to see them, but I'm not ashamed to say it is kind of nice to be having a relatively quiet holiday. Though, all those far and away are in my thoughts...

Sure, sure, a quiet holiday, other than the boys running around like crazed animals for more days than I want to count that is. Oh, and all the other little things that still need to done before the year can come to a close. But parenting is a constant. I'll be a mother right up until the apocalypse.

Another good thing about snow is that you can send kids out in it. The boys are kind of running out of outdoor activities. Maybe I should have left the pool up. Instead there is just this ring of super green grass that the leaves refuse to settle on. Like some spirit of summer fairy ring. Maybe I'll go turn a few circles in it and see if it will transport me to some equally windblown spot in some snowy fantasy land.

December 2011

Last year, in some weird fluke (OMG, Global Warming!), the NC coastal plains got a nice heavy snow on Christmas or the day after. As if it hitched a ride down here on my mom & dad's camper.

December 2010

Today we are expecting unseasonably warm weather (OMG, Global Warming!), at least that is what the dude that updates the local weather on facecrack says. I haven't checked his qualifications, but I suppose he's an actual meteorologist and not just a weather enthusiast like I am.

If I wasn't a mail lady I'd be a weather girl. Except getting a meteorology degree might require more science prereq's than I could handle. I mean I was a science whiz in high school but I'm not sure I could perform at that level these days. Maybe if I had a hot tutor with an engineering background.

Anyway, in honor of the first day of winter, this morning I enlisted the older boys to help me do a quick solstice cleaning. I should like, burn some sage or something too, or maybe go cast some spells in the fairy circle? Around noon, you know, when the old sun finally rolled up and peeked through the overcast sky, it came time to actually dress for the day. I figured I'd go slightly festive, but knew I wouldn't need any silly cold weather things like sleeves.

Enter, the candy cane dress I thrifted earlier this month. It's a simple 80s (maybe late 70s?) vintage dress by Sears "Fashion Place" which is easy to wear but would be a lot cooler with pockets. Thus the Grandma Wavie holidaze apron I found last night while I was unearthing rolls of wrapping paper.

100% Thrifty, except Grandma's apron.

What is it about this time of year that induces one to over indulge in things like coffee and chocolate? Don't worry, I'm supplementing with vitamins and herbal tea. And cheese. And salsa. All I need are some peppermint schnapps to spike some hot chocolate with and I'll be set. Oh, or rum-n-nog! In lieu of that, these York Pieces are fairly intoxicating.

And just to continue the over indulgence and mint theme, this morning I pampered myself with a facial mask and deep hair conditioning. That was followed by an herbal rinse and a "super minty" energizing exfoliator body scrub.

Now that I feel less like I should be hibernating, it's time to face more non-weather extremes of my life. The out-of-control recycling bin being the most easily taken care of.

Then off to pick up the youngest, who, as another extreme, hopefully falls to sleep on the drive home. I might take the scenic route. Should be getting dark by then anyway, maybe we'll go look at lights.

Happy Solstice to all, and to all a long night.

PS - Wouldn't it be crazy to live in the really south South and have 24 hours of sun? Even seeing pictures from ladeez down under the equator is crazy. Though the idea of Christmas without snow doesn't seem quite as odd to me anymore.

PPS - My eFriend and fellow Dressember participant, Yukon Jenn, is closer to the opposite, she had something like only 5 hours of light the other day and has probably had snow on the ground since like September or something insane.

Rain Blues

2011-12-21T11:53:00.003-05:00

Today would have been a good day to fashion an outfit around a pair of rain boots. I mean I knew rain was in the forecast, and that it had been sprinkling this morning, but when I went out to take a picture I was like Oh! It's raining! Duh. So I stayed on the stoop and caught a few raindrops in the palm of my hand.

100% Thrifty, except tights.

"Chadwick's" brand dress, which is a little more suburban mom than I swing,

but it was 50% off tag color plus I liked the big tropical print

and the little details like linen/cotton fabric, pockets and yokes and plackets and self-belts, oh my!

Oh well, looks like I'll have plenty of time to break out the rain boots as it is. Non snow (sadly) precipitation is predicted every day through the 25th. Just in time for the boys' first week of break. Lovely!

PS - I was able to mail two etsy packages out same day as purchase today! The last one I actually stood out by the road (not raining at the moment) and waited for the mail lady to drive back by from doing her dead end loop, because the label was printing right as she pulled up to our box, moments earlier. She nicely slowed to a stop and took it from me, so I thanked her kindly and wished her a Happy Holidays.

PPS - I've always thought it would be kind of fun to be a mail lady. Crusin' around, deliverin' the goods. Other than the ones that go postal, they always seem so chill.

Reality / TV

2011-12-20T12:47:00.002-05:00

Like a sitcom, I bolted out of bed 30 min late this morning, dashed around the house like the Road Runner, and then drove the teeth-brushed-only boys to school, still in my PJs (actually that's normal), making it there just in the nick of time, foiling the Coyote again.

Then I came home, drank coffee, and did more last minute online shopping before heading out to my favorite populated-with-likely-reality-TV-rejects (including myself) retailer. What's that saying, The world is a stage and we're all a bunch of characters...

I wore something appropriate, i.e. this leopard print dress that always makes me feel like Peggy Bundy.

100% Thrifty, except socks.

Dress, hoodie t-shirt, belts, boots and shades.

And, I swear on a TV Guide, it elicted a Joey Tribbiani style "How YOU doin?" remark from a dude in the 'Mart parking lot.

3-for-1

2011-12-19T14:36:00.002-05:00

Just a quickie, as usual I'm trying to do last minute gift shopping and have like 8 different tabs open in this browser, with three shopping carts probably on the verge of timing out.

I like online shopping because you can take a while to consider things. Do comparisons, etc. Read reviews. However, for a procrastinator like me, the ease of it is bad because it's always like, oh I can look that up tomorrow... AND for those of us that are indecisive too, the endless choices and mixed reviews can make the final choices feel like grueling torture.

Actually some things I'd much rather buy in person, like shoes (for fit) and tech toys (for instant gratification). But there's nothing like being able to order something on Monday (or even Tuesday/Wednesday, hopefully) that will make it here by Friday or Saturday! Back to browsing, I go...

But wait! If you like this, you might like this... Customers who bought this, also bought this... These items are frequently bought together... Free standard shipping... Buy now for guaranteed 12/24 delivery...

And now, a limited time, exclusive offer, 3-for-1 special...

Dressember 17th

100% Thrifty, except tights.

I asked Stew whether I should do my Doc's or these booties and I went with his choice,

which I think was a good one.

I got comments on this getup, at both Sam's (very elfy!) & WalMart (cute tights!).

Maybe later I'll write about how I think I'm done going to craft fairs

(unless it's one run by like, old church ladies),

and it's not only because I didn't get any compliments at Saturday's.

It is more related to how I'd rather buy stuff online.

And how everything there looked like it was made by the same person.

Dressember 18th

Mostly a stay-at-home day.

I wore a thrifted t-shirty type dress.

No biggie, carry on.

Dressember 19th

100% Thrifty except socks.

Featuring Great Grandma's (I think) crochet apron.

Worn for some morning shopping, errands and to pick up boys.

Got another positive comment from Milo's teacher.

I'm really glad I thought of this apron when I decided I needed to "add something."

PS -Thanks to all who commented on my last post re: belt or no belt!

I haven't counted yet but I think it was kind of 50/50

Here's a question for today, if you feel like playing along...
which green-y festive outfit do you like best,
the 17th's (stripey tights) or the 19th's (apron)?

Frocking Friday's Most Likely to be Ignored Belt Question

2011-12-16T17:12:00.001-05:00

100% Thrifted except for Grandma Wavie's brooches & chain belt.

Does anyone even get on the internet on Friday afternoons? Maybe people bored at work, killing time until 5? Or housewives that just got home from a busy day of doctor appointments, errands, and school holiday parties?

So after yesterday's mess, I decided to go "less is more" today. Well, except for the golden brooch excess at left shoulder... but I was trying to play up the little gold buttons there to give more of an excuse to wear the gold Keds. Plus, have I ever shared how much I hate mock turtlenecks? HATE. Therefore the first gold tone brooch went on merely as a functional piece, to pin the damn standup collar thing down at angle. Maybe if I were a little more long of neck, standup collars wouldn't bother me, but that is something I'll never know (unless someone invents how to do body switching), which means that mock turtle necks pretty much hinder the usage I get out of a few pieces in my closet. Not sure why I even buy them, other than for some other charming feature, like the houndstooth plaid & gold buttons on this one. Though the charm of the latter do not outweigh the annoyance of the former, so this dress and one other like it will probably end up in my etsy next month.

Finally I added a few more brooches to balance out the shoulder and then waffled back and forth about wearing a gold tone belt. I ended up wearing it for the first half of the day, but then after taking these pictures during a brief pit stop at home, I realized it kind of cut me wrong? Threw the proportions out of whack? It either needed to be higher or lower, i.e. the whole 2 to 1 golden ratio? So I took it off and liked how it looked in the next picture, and that's how I went to do the rest of the day. The highlight of which was getting chatted up by a 3rd grade boy with a burning desire to tell me all about karate tournaments and Jeff Dunham, comedian (I actually thought he was talking about Jeff Foxworthy until just now when I googled it to check the spelling). Oh then he threw in a bit about the biblical apocalypse / 2012 before the class party came to an end.

What do you think? Belt or no belt? I know Stew will be like, don't you need a belt or something? Long unbroken rectangular garments seem to offend his sensibilities.

But what about you there, still on the internet at 5:15 pm on a Friday... Oh wait, that's right. There is nobody out there. Or maybe a few PST peeps are still screenin' it. Anybody else, it's okay, I understand. You can still answer later tonight after you've had a few beers and sat down to trawl facebook and maybe scroll through your google reader. Or maybe Saturday morning, if you wake up and have a quiet moment to yourself for a mug of coffee and a side of web. Or whenever. Or never.

Salty Sweet

2011-12-15T14:23:00.001-05:00

Similar to how I just couldn't seem to center myself in the frame today, this outfit kind of misses the mark too. It was another CBA one like Tuesday's, except with this one I stupidly attempted a weak effort. I could blame it on the weather. It is 70F today and the back-n-forth between cool & warm weather puts me off guard. Resulting in short sleeve dresses worn with faux-fur lined boots. Knee socks worn over striped tights. Free Trade dresses worn backwards, just to be different from last time. Boots folded down, just to be different from last time. With the corduroy coat and shades it ends up being vaguely hippie / nordic / slacker mom. Maybe? Oh well.

Thrifted dress, boots, coat and shades. Socks and tights are Target clearance.

Milo's teacher liked my "stockings," she said they were "sure xmas-y."

See how I unzipped the coat's hood to mimic the boot flaps?

I know, I know, lame.

OK enough already, let's move on.

Sometimes odd mixes do work / taste good.

Like salty sweet treats. I talked with the BFF this morning and she was making some crazy sounding toffee that involved saltines, butter, brown sugar and chocolate chips. Drool. Maybe it is this recipe? (picked that one out of the list of google results because of the name- White Trash Toffee)

Then the other day I saw a blogger writing about some Reindeer Paws (her variation, usually they are "noses") she was making with her 4 year old. Pretzels with Hersheys kisses melted on them, then topped off with an M&M.

It got me thinking, I don't really have any trademark treat that I make. Oh wait, last year we made little bags of Reindeer Chow for Cub Scouts. That's another salty sweet that is yum yum yum.

So all these thoughts of treats left me with some big time cravings and this is what I came up with, like 20 min ago in a must-have-something-salty-sweet cupboard raking daze. As of yet unnamed, and only really serves one, because it involves licking ingredients off the tip of a knife.

Fish gigged with muddy stick? Chocolate Chum?

Whatever, it sated the salty sweet rage, for the moment...

Oh and I just have to share a little more salty sweet. Milo and I went to the local sad excuse for a playground after preschool, at his request, and he played for a little bit until, all sniffly stuffed up nosed, trudged off the mulched area, calling over his shoulder on the way to the car, "OK mom, let's go home now. I'm tired." This coming from a kid who just the other day argued with me for like 5 min about leaving the same park. Poor dude. I just hope he doesn't spike a fever before the morning, because I have an appointment I need to make tomorrow.

From that brief outing, the most profound playground Sharpie graffiti I've seen to date:

And an arty phone camera shot of Milo climbing up the slide. Yes, I'm one of those parents that lets their kids play on equipment inappropriately. At least when there isn't anyone else around to silently judge me for it. And sometimes even then, just out of spite.

Because really, 20 years from now, will today matter?

Do you honestly want to [just] be okay?

Photographer / Doormat

2011-12-14T11:27:00.000-05:00

This morning I put in a little more sartorial effort because I had volunteered to take xmas-y pictures of Wiley's class at 10 AM. The teacher had them all waiting by the front office's decked out tree, so all I had to do was set up my tripod, do a couple test shots with Wiley, and then a little to your right, sit up straight, smile, 1, 2, 3, click gotcha! through 20 students. All went off without a hitch, then I downloaded them to her laptop and was out of there, under 25 min total. It is so nice when little things work out like that, especially since lately it seems like everything turns out to be bigger and hairier than it should be. Stew tells me that I make things a lot harder/stressier than they should be, because I try to make too many people happy.

That is probably true, I've always been a bit of a doormat. In college, a friend-with-benefits and I bonded due to that, and used to drunkenly joke about how we let people walk all over us. All, ha ha, woe is us, chug, we're too nice, gulp gulp, now let's go see who else still wants to party. Most of the time it works out okay, I don't mind it. It makes me happy to make you happy, especially if I can look cute doing it. Yes, I just said that. You know, like one of those quirky / witty / festive welcome mats that makes you smile and think warmly about the person who's house you are about to visit, if only for a moment, before you realize that the place is a mess and the occupants are running wild?

But I digress, despite my love for it, I don't think I have worn this dress since last Dressember. It is one of two vintage dresses I bought from softspoken's store one of the times I drove through South Carolina. Back then I wore it with my fave green belt, but I just wore that belt on Monday and today I felt like I needed a boost of black boot confidence, so I tried this little vest with it instead. I officially love this vest now too, it never fails me.

Thrifted vest and boots. Grandma's brooch. Vintage dress from softspoken

Now, since I've already knocked a few things out of the park this morning, I should really go grocery shopping while the youngest is still in preschool. Any bets on whether I can get in and out of there in under 25 min too?

ETA: Success! In-and-out in under 20 min, kept it under $100, and was only 5 min late to pick up the kid.

Exhibit A

2011-12-13T16:58:00.000-05:00

I wore a dress today.

The End.

Smashed Spud Specialist

2011-12-12T22:18:00.001-05:00

Monday Dressember 12th was a long day. Woke to 5 AM alarm to do Day 1 of Week 2 C25K, and after that I didn't leave myself much time to shower & get dressed, before it was time to get the kids up and ready, so I went with an old standby. Last worn four years ago, back in Iowa (see right). Actually, I've worn each piece multiple times since then, as they are all faves, but I don't think I've worn the same combination again until today.

It was 3rd grade field trip day and I went along, to a see stage play in Raleigh. Afterward, Wiley and I checked out the downtown Goodwill store (it was ok, we both found something) and then zipped home to get ready for the next event, a Cub Scout xmas dinner.

I was signed up to bring mashed potatoes and gravy, so I made a double batch, and they turned out damn fine.

Grandma's vest, thrifted belt & boots, 10 year old hippie dress from flea market vendor

Want some?

Sorry, they're all gone.

Pepto Run-on

2011-12-11T18:17:00.001-05:00

100% thrifted except the socks

So this jumper dress really looks like maternity wear and is the exact shade of Pepto Bismol but it is Sunday Dressember 11th and eh, it was a dress that matched my browns/pinks theme because I just wanted to throw something over a brown/pink thermal and brown/pink knee socks that I'd be wearing with my tan boots that would match my newly thrifted tan winter jacket that I needed because it was like 50F and we were going to the park before a late lunch / early dinner of Mexican food (we're such cultural eaters this weekend aren't we? ha) and yuck now I'm bloaty and itchy because once home I buzzed Wiley's hair which always gets everywhere like up my sleeves and now I think I might just shed these clothes for a shower / bath and then snuggle into PJs three hours early plus Stew downloaded a bunch of holiday music as he is in charge of tunes for his work's xmas party later this week and so we're listening to that and right now it is like the Temptations singing something like a lullaby and even though I have dishes and laundry to do I just want to sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep...

On Location

2011-12-10T22:51:00.001-05:00

100% Thrifty: dress, t-shirt, hoodie, bag, boots, shades = all thrifted

Outtake which shows how my boots are all party-in-the-back.

Dressember 10th = casual comfort knits for a family outing to a Lowe's Build-n-Grow in the morning and then some solo shopping in the afternoon. After the bulk club store I stopped at the local Goodwill and Salvation Army, the latter being my favorite of the two. Then home to set up new computer speakers, pick up Chinese take out for dinner and finally to watch Cowboys & Aliens via iTunes.

Cock Crossroads

2011-12-09T11:36:00.001-05:00

I felt like wearing my Doc Martens today, so I scanned the racks (yes, rack(s)- I have like 4 racks hung in our closet now, one of which is about to snap in half), looking for a suitable mate. On the point of nothing-to-wear-despair, this vest finally jumped out at me. Then I thought maybe this dress might work, with the final touch being the argyle socks. It's menswear meets thistle lass or something.

Vest & dress, thrifted

Docs, old from '90s college

socks, old Target clearance

Had I not taken this rear view, I'd never have known I had threadbare heels peeking out.

Oh well. I guess that takes it more into scrappy lass kidnapped and identity hidden while dressed as a newsboy territory. Actually the dress kind of cancels that out, better to have tweed jodhpurs. Maybe a fob watch and roughly cut hair stuffed under a cap too. Then all I'd need would be a brawny English retired Colonel to take me as his charge, have conflicted feelings about his affection for the young chap, and then low-and-behold, probably due to me accidently stumbling into him, he discovers the sumptuous curves hidden under my vest, senses estrogen fueled lust in my startled gaze and we passionately embrace.

Who me, a reader of romance novels? Naw.

Semi-related to menswear / crossdressing / nothing-at-all, check out this text label on my GPS that I thought was funny enough to phone camera capture...

The fact that it only appears when you are parked at a
certain spot SW of the elementary school is kind of funny too.

Of course, maybe I just have a weird sense of humor. My husband's humor is certainly vulgar, and he's been peppering my posts' comments with some dandies lately. Check them out if you haven't already.

Oh and I'd forgotten all about Cock Crossroads until I wanted to download this phone pic of Milo and I in the dollar store's funhouse mirror. He had a good first week at preschool so I let him buy a $1 toy.

Of course he HAD to pick a pistol & handcuffs set that is guaranteed to annoy the hell out of me AND break before nightfall.

Testosterone... can't live with it, can't live with out it. Literally, it's cock crossroads around here!

madam0wl

Kitchen Experiment (NSFV)

Hippy Hippy Shakes

Sound Insulation

Januweary

Minnie was F****** Goofy

Year of the Dragon Warrior Princess

Dressember 30th

Kicking Out the Jams

Boho-chic Half-dog Pre-nap

A Picture Says 15 Words

F*** You, You F***ing F***

Chaos / Zen

Mom Face

Peppermint Sandy

Rain Blues

Reality / TV

3-for-1

Frocking Friday's Most Likely to be Ignored Belt Question

Salty Sweet

Photographer / Doormat

Exhibit A

Smashed Spud Specialist

Pepto Run-on

On Location

Cock Crossroads

F* You, You F*ing F***