Details, details, details

I am such a details person.

I can have everything vacuumed, lined up in a row, sparkling, but when I am sitting down to tea with a friend, I see a corner with cobwebs. A shelf with an icky outdated, messy display drives me insane the whole time. I wonder if they're noticing .....

I notice corners, shelves, curtains, and such when I visit places. Who cares if it's dusty, as long as it's decorated?

I have been known, in crunch time before guests arrive, to forsake the can of Pledge to sort the dvds by color, hang straggling Christmas cards, Rearrange pictures on the refrigerator. (take down the old ones, and such), Frame new pictures, scrub the kitchen cabinets, clean out that picture that has been sitting behind the bookshelf for years, but is poking out a few inches.....and oh my, there are several other things, and the dust back here is terrible, where is that vacuum cleaner? And on the off chance of them looking too closely, I sometimes scrub the countertop appliances. No matter how many specks are under the table from scrapbooking. Any normal person would be vacuuming and dusting, but me? 

I must make sure the colors are flowing. And once the details are cute, I can think about the big picture of "clean." If I have time. 

There must be some psychological meaning to it. Some quirky insight to my life I must glean from this idiosyncratic bizzarity of mine. But I'll think about it later. 

I have now sat and blogged with the dusting rag in my hand..........

Odd Things Happen at the Gap......

It should have been a clue, when the old lady in a neckbrace hurried in as fast as her poor old legs would carry her....she needed the logo hoodies. A while later, she hobbled by with a few things in her arms. Having pity on such a feeble creature, I thought I would relieve her of them. But as I turned the corner to help her, what I saw was the dear old woman texting away on her iPhone, and at such speeds....I knew instantly this is how she broke her neck; Probably texting and driving.

I think the hoody was for her. Maybe that ugly sweater was for the grandchild......

Take Two

The second dress I made out of an old thermal henley...

I couldn't see the pencil so I just pinned the lines

Tiny little darts!

The sleeves are a little long and skinny, but hopefully it will fit size 12m!

My first attempt at upcycling sweaters!

For a family our store is sponsoring this Christmas, I decided to make some dresses for them, and having never made toddler dresses, I started with this tutorial I found on the Audrey Blissful blog.

I started with this square thing of a sweater....

Copied her design and ended up with this...

Goodbye Bobbie Brooks, whoever you may be...

Hello QuiteLovely!

Little button in the back...

Greetings From Outer Space

I am in love with this girl's music

Her style has me as well....anyone who is comfortable being this piratey...

Yeah, so....this song was the first:

http://www.amanda-jenssen.se/amanda

It's That Time of Year Again!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Dutchess to her Soulmate

She demanded pity! And pity I obliged....In heaps and heaps

Pity you hath, pity I doth supply.
Once mine, pity hath seeped
my bones now dry once pity did nourish
Now pity oh, your pity now yours
pity doth from my bones to yours apply
and if now upon the rocks I creep
for lack of pity, could be nay
Could not be called harsh
In a world where pity doth seek
Comfort to warm your pitiless heap

Visit her now pitiful blog. And bestow more pity:

http://www.estherzimmerman.blogspot.com/

The Alarming Case of the Lawn Sign Bandits

So we had two glorious McCain-Palin signs gracing our rather large lawn....and our neighbors down the street had littered their tiny yard with signs for every democrat in the state....

One day our two signs were down to one....where had the other wandered off to? We shall never know.

A few days later, the neighboring Obama sign mysteriously went to join our delinquent. 

I occasionally wondered who these sign ninjas were....and what could be their nefarious plans for the signs .....

Soon enough, the neighbors had a shiny new sign...and with a pang of lonliness of our remaining sign, I wondered if I should replace the runaway.....I decided it could stand alone for the short election countdown.

Then last night as I drove home, I didn't see anyone's names reflect my headlights..."Where have they run off to now?" I wondered......I drove by again...Sure enough, the second sign had run off! "Someone must have mistaken tonight for Halloween", I reasoned. Slowly, creeping through our yard, thinking maybe I just missed it, I whispered...."McCain! Palin! Where are you?" No answer.

I pouted and ate some soup.

Tonight, as I slowly drove home from work, past idling cars dropping off Tinkerbells, dead cheerleaders, and small policemen, I happened to look over and notice that the Obama replacement had been taken as well.

I laughed out loud, came home, and ate more soup.

My Favorite Crack Baby

I just finished scrapbooking these pictures of one of my favorite children, Tirzah...

I was her nanny for only six months, but I fell in love! Probably the naughtiest child I ever met, even her pouts could melt my heart! And she could definitely scream and cry at whim....but that smile.... 

She loved to dance, and if I needed her to cal

m down or stay out of trouble, I could put on some nice music and she would be a ballerina for hours if I let her! Thes pictures were taken right before naptime one day...(she was stalling for time :-D ) 

One day I stopped her in a dancing frenzy and said "do you know what God thinks of your dancing? He LOVES to watch you dance! You are so beautiful!" And once again, that smile.......

The reason I am compelled to blog about her is the arguments I have heard from pro-abortionists lately: "What

 of the crack babies? It only takes a moment, and they are free from a life of abuse! Of misery! Oh, the Utopia!"

What of these crack babies? Would it have been merciful to shove a pair of scissors in Tirzah's spinal cord to save her from her life, prone to disobedience and defiance; save her from the Fetal Alchohol syndrome inflicted by her careless, prostitute mother? Or for those not fond of partial-birth abortion, what of early-term? Perhaps we should have ripped out those ballet arms from their sockets before they reached an inch in length? Smashed her skull piece by piece to avoid any pain to her mother? Instead Tirzah went to one of the thousands of American couples on adoption waiting lists; parents who pour their love into her, dressing, feeding, loving, adoring, nurturing her with the patience to train her out of natural foolishness! Can you look at this child and say "Yes, there is no place for such children! We only need perfect children in America!"??

I know their are children who see my blog, so I will save their eyes and leave you with this link:

The so called "merciful" way to deal with children like Tirzah:

http://www.abort73.com/HTML/I-A-4-photos11.html

The Mother Year of 1985

As my birthday approaches this week, I thought a tribute to 1985 was in order...

Ah, and what a fabulous year it was!

We'll begin with the muse-worthy Cyndi Lauper: I have seriously been told I look like this woman!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun...stellar video

Here is the link since they have so kindly disabled embedding for us....

Live Aid:

Ah, Bono, ROCK that mullet!

The classic of classic 80's Christmas songs!

I'm not sure why they thought we needed subtitles?

Myself being a Reagan Child....

THIS is what the uber modern, obese children are lacking!

Have I mentioned how much I love this year????? I like to think my birth inspired these events...:-P

Given Enough Reasons.....

I'm confused by all the Obamans out there. This post says it quite well:

I just believe they’re mis-informed. I wish people could give me at least five valid reasons that they’re voting for [Obama] other than

 “He’s going to bring change.” Because “change” can mean a lot of different things, and unfortunately in Obama’s case... all the wrong things. His domestic and

 foreign policy are typical liberal fare. But somehow he has this amazing ability to make you think he agrees with you. 

I'm also confused by my friends who think McCain and Obama are devil twins. He lists these facts, laying those qualms to rest:

Experience - You’ll hear the slanted media downplay the importance of experience. But the truth is that in America we’ve always valued experience. Why? Because it leads to more informed decision making. John McCain has been in Congress for 26 years to Obama's 4 years. Obama has sided with Democrats his entire congressional career. McCain has fought AGAINST republicans when he needed to, and is disliked by many in his own party because of it. He's not a typical old Washington conformist like say... Joe Biden. He's a politican that's actually accomplished something. Experience is valuable, especially at such a crucial time in our nation.

Ending the War - McCain is the only candidate that can bring a responsible end to the War in Iraq. Unlike Obama, he actually understands the intricacies of modern combat and how it effects the world. He'll work with the Pentagon to devise a phased withdrwal but not at the expense of

 loosing everything we've fought for. Obama just wants to cut our losses and bring an immediate end to this war. That's unrealistic and could be potentially devastating for the nation of Iraq.

Life- John McCain has vigorously fought to uphold the sanctity of life. Obama on the other hand completely show's himself for what he really is in regards to this issue. He's voted against the "Born Alive Protection Act"; a bill that among other things, would protect infants that were born during failed abortions. There are documented stories of these babies being left in soiled linen closets to die. Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and John Kerry all voted FOR the Born Alive Protection act. Obama was the ONLY one that voted against it. This is extreme people. It's simple: Obama is Pro-Abortion. McCain is Pro-Life.

The Economy- Obama is all about wealth re-distribution. It’s classic socialism. Penalize the rich and give it to everyone else. That idea works AGAINST capitalism (the economic principle that’s made our nation the wealthiest in the world). John McCain is about stabilizing our economy by keeping keeping Wall Street accountable and bringing reasonable government regulation so that financial power isn’t abused. He has practical ways for giving money BACK to the people. He wants to double the tax

 credit for parents from $3500 to $7000. McCain understands that people are struggling and wants to help... but he’ll do it in a way that doesn’t compromise the free market.

This election is about more than the classic evangelical issues. There are so many things at stake here. The McCain/Palin ticket certainly isn’t perfect, but I have no doubt that they are the best people to be in the White House. Please prayerfully consider your vote, and pray for our nation to come back to God.

 So you can read the rest HERE if you like

Today A Party

Today I was cleaning for a party. After sorting our movies by color, I sat in their calming presence contemplating my next move.

Dust and cobwebs cluttered the edges and centers of the floor, and the rugs clung to several threads, snipped from being-made Barbie clothes you may now purchase over there. over THERE. That way. In the column. The other column.....Finally. *sighs in relief* (end asterisk)

My mother is a tireless preparer for company. From dawn 'til dusk she slaves in the kitchen, looking domestically lovely, sighing about time frames, plans, and diligently crossing off her list of to-dos. I am like her in so many regards, but housecleaning not being one of them, I cannot function in this frenzied stress. I cannot cope. It makes me say "it's naptime!"

When I had once again risen from my couch, in the time when normal people go out for walks, I remembered to dust the children's toys and check Facebook. As I was finishing up my pokewars for the day, I heard my nephew charge into the house to find Papa. Quite sneakily, I stalked out of the office roundaboutly, to greet them as if I was one of those normal people out for a walk. I put on my Auntie smile, and was perfectly satisfied with the house, as I had managed to get it clean, scrubbed, and tidy, as I always do in these situations.

Chop-Chop

Random Discovery:

This little shirt from Sandbox Couture brings memories of impatient, hungry little nephews! They are just....really cute when they're mad!

If only they were still small enough....

The Grin

Laughter often proves itself as the best medicine...

physically, emotionally, ecumenically, and all that jazz.....

And this grin definitely makes me smile so hard I laugh!

One Night on the Job

A night of replenishment shipment is simple enough--open 30-500 boxes of clothing. There are large boxes bearing one pair of socks, small boxes packed tightly with individually plastic wrapped shirts emblazoned with a "Live Green, Save the Earth" slogan, and medium sized boxes content to hold haphazardly unfolded items like puzzle pieces in our giant store of a puzzle. Our goal with this chaotic pile of Gap logos is to sort, fold, hang, and put them in their homes within a short number of hours, leaving us approximately five minutes to haul the boxes and bags of plastic wrapping to the, hopefully empty, dumpster.

There are, in the employment of GapInc., special individuals who daily sip lattes behind desks while accruing six figure incomes. Faceless and opinionated, these people control our every movement. Their whims are the why and how to the horrendous combinations adorning our mannequins, erratic signing and unsigning of various promations that may or may not last until the end of the week...We live and breathe for their next request!
These anonymities tell us to move the girls striped, glitter, logo tees from the feature table to hanging faced out, to hanging sideways, to half folded on a wall shelf, all in the time frame of three weeks, ending the process about three days before marking them down and re-hanging them for the clearance rounder, beginning their sad journey from
"awesomely cool shirt" to "bargain shirt mom picked out."

Yes, they are the very same brains who decide how many hours shipment will take, and they base it on highly scientific data, scavenged, no doubt, by our "favorite" scientist whose lab coat covers his "Favorite Athletic Tee, Favorite Flat Front Khakis", and boxers with pretzels on them which he picked up for .97 cents at some Gap Outlet.....And with all respect to his scientific data, replenishment shipment has never finished on schedule

Extras Call!

Heumoore wants you, baby!

Visit TheWidowsCry.com to learn how you can be a part of their most epic scene!

The Widow's Might Production Wrap Trailer from John Moore on Vimeo.

Dresses in the Mail

I found the most delightful package in my mailbox, full of vintage patterns from my Grandmother!



I have been wanting to do dresses with sleeves, and I am so excited! Since they are fitted busts, they do require massive alterations....



But they are slowly coming along into little dresses, and soon these will actually fit the new dolls!

These two dresses here^^ are from 2 patterns my mom had made when she was little, and the reason I wanted them. I loved playing with her old dresses that are now quite falling apart.....

Google Tagged

My cousin hath Google Tagged me! Here are my answers



I grew up in:





My age: (this baby was born at 22 weeks! I couldn't resist)





First real job:





College I attended:





I met my husband at:





Our first date was at:





My maiden name:







Nicknames I've had:







Favorite colors:






Favorite foods:










Currently reading:






Last movie I saw in the theater:

Movies I could watch over and over without getting tired of:

Favorite waste of time:

Phobia: (This is not really applicable, so how about something that grosses me out?)

Favorite lotion:

Favorite conditioner:

Shameless past crush:

I love to:

But I hate to:

Favorite singer:

In another life I was:

One major goal in this life is:

And on to the tagging.....Jennifer ....and Esther!