Back and forth

The last couple of weeks have been really tough health-wise.  I've felt really run down, achey, nauseous, etc.  I hope that is because I'm trying to wean of steroids but I'm not sure.  I'd really like to just feel like a healthy person for a change.  Sheesh.

Our home buyer's program is dicking us around a little bit.  We are very close to being approved but they want a lot of information that we didn't believe was necessary.  It's frustrating to get this far and then have them pull you back and ask for documents from 5 years ago.  We are also wondering if we should move to the program in Phoenix.  I feel a lot of guilt for not being closer to my brother and helping him out.  I wonder if there is anything to hold us back in KC?  Ron can work anywhere for his job and I don't have any good career prospects in this town.  I'm not sure what to do.  The housing market has tanked and homes are so cheap in AZ right now.  I wish I could see a big sign over my head saying "DO IT!  LOVE, GOD."  Just something to give me a clue what the right decision is.  Go?  Stay?  What will help my health?  Complete sedation and/or lobotomy?  I guess we'll think more about it if and when we get approved for the home.  I'm so tired.

Last weekend I attended a pin-up class at Vixen Pin-up Photography studio.  The class gave tips on how to do hair and makeup and where to look for vintage-style clothing.  It was pretty fun!  There were drinks, awesome people and good girly tips.  I grew up such a tomboy that I never learned to naturally feel very feminine.  I clean up ok, but always feel awkward when I try to look girly.  It was great timing for the event last night: Pinups for Pitbulls.  They are a non-profit out of Philly and they raise money for education about bully breeds.  Miss February is a fellow volunteer and so there was a fundraiser here in KC last night.  It was pretty fun!  I forgot how much I love live music and the crowd was really cool.  The music was rockabilly and metal, so a little bit of variety.  I even ran into a gal from the class and I think we'll be friends now.  She was super awesome.  My buddy S. went with me so thankfully I didn't have to go alone (Ron is up in da north!) and she and I had a blast.  Good times.  I remember what it was like to get out and do stuff at night!

I followed their hair and makeup tips as faithfully as I could and tried to photo doc a little of it.  It took forever and I'm not sure how women do this shit everyday.

No makeup, hair curled and pinned:



Makeup done and hair unpinned:



Not sure how the hell to put in the victory curls and I'm feeling a little fluffy:



Finally done!  3 1/2 hours after getting into the bath:



These guys were the Death Valley Wolf Riders.  They sounded similar to Zombie:



The two lovely ladies on the left were the instructors for the class.  The gal on the left is the photographer and does hair and she is amazing!  The gal in the middle does makeup and her tips for makeup were so awesome.  I'm hoping to book some studio time for fun someday.  They were the nicest ladies!  My new friend from class is on the right.  She boogied with me for a bit :)



Most of my photos are pretty blurry because I don't know how to take good low-light photographs.  And I feel like a dick sticking a flash in people's faces so there ya go.

The last big news of late is that Ron got his second tattoo.  He got an image of Samus from Metroid.  He is absolutely in love with it and it turned out really well.  It was kinda fun to watch him get it:



So once again this blog is all over the place!  But since I don't blog more than once or twice every two weeks, I have to throw it all together.  I keep saying I'll do better but life always gets in the way.

Until next time....tschus.

Last couple of stitches

I just realized that I hadn't posted the last couple of stitches I did!  The griffin was from a very complicated pattern I bought.  The pattern numbers were odd so there were odd irregularities here and there.  Drove me crazy!  I had to compensate for some of that on my own so it's definitely not perfect.



That was given to my best friend from high school for Christmas.  I am completely late on her birthday present.  D'oh!

Bender was a pattern I put together in PCStitch about a year ago.  The Phat Quarter (on Flickr) swap theme this time was for a cartoon or comic with text.  I was ecstatic that I already had the basic pattern ready so it was a quick stitch.  I haven't received mine yet but I have no doubt that this time I will receive something during the swap.



If you have PCStitch and want to swap patterns, leave me a comment!  This is obviously not something I can ever sell due to copyright issues but I can definitely swap the pattern for free.

I bought some transfer pens and need to get some energy to work up a pattern on some muslin.  I'll be sure to put in a post after I do!

Mish mash

Holy shit, long time no blog!  I'd like to say there is nothing new in my life but there is tons going on.  So here is an update:

First off:  We beat Bioshock 2 just in time for the March 11th expansion pack. I haven't planned any of the online portions of the game yet so I can't really say much about the multiplayer, online death matches.  However the story was good for a sequel and the graphics, though at first seemed grainy, turned out to be really awesome.  I thought the game was harder overall with more melee type attacks.  Playing it on easy gave you a lot of hints that seemed a little unnecessary but that's ok too.  I love the art deco themes and the characters are interesting.

Second:  Lasik went awesome!  I can see!  It was horribly uncomfortable and while they give you a lot of valium, that just wears right off when you are under the laser.  It was nice that my husband was allowed to sit in there with me and I clawed the shit out of his hand during the procedure.  But the awfulness lasted only about 20 minutes followed by a horrible ride home.  I took something to help me sleep and by the time I woke up 4 hours later, I felt worn out but fine.  I did have to wear some groovy blinders at night for a few days to keep me from scratching my eyes.



I had some lovely impressions in my flesh every morning.  But it turned out really well and I'm happy with it.  No more contacts or glasses.  Schweet.

I've been working pretty hard at my health shit.  I found some books at the Half Price Bookstore which talk about fibromyalgia and endometriosis.  I'm working on a symptom and food diary to try to pinpoint triggers.  During this time I've had a fever that came out of nowhere and am trying to figure out if there is any rhyme or reason to things like that.  So we'll see what comes of this new experiment.  I still would like to lose the rest of the 40lbs I gained.  That means I have another 15-20lbs to go.  Being overweight and chronically ill is not easy.  It just exacerbates all your shit.

No new pets and no pets have passed away, no matter how old and infirm they are.   I'm starting Patton on obedience classes this coming week.  I hope that when he gets over his fear of oh.....EVERYTHING....he will be able to start training for a therapy dog program.  Our vet seems to think he'd be excellent at it because of his very mellow temperament.  He went in today to get his distemper shot and a heart worm test. He's a very sweet dog and I think he'd be a great ambassador for his part Staffordshire Terrier breed.  So many Pit mixes like him are put down right away or taken from their homes in cities with breed bans.  We are learning a lot about this because of our involvement with a pit bull rescue.  This volunteer work has been very rewarding as well as educational.  Just to get it out there, I fucking hate the media.  I hate them all.  Their mission is to sell news by freaking the shit out of everyone in a community.  Period.  Misinformation be damned!  We have to sell newspapers, ratings, etc!  Fuck the truth!  Ok sorry, I'm off my soapbox for now.

Last couple of thing:  I'm going to take a pinup photography class next weekend.  I'm going by myself, which for a hermit, is a big deal.  I'm freaked out by social situations like this but I think it will be fun and informative.  I think the new pin up style with the tatts and vintage/rockabilly themes are awesome.  This all proceeds the Pinups for Pit Bulls event in KC on the 19th.  I'm all for animal rescue organizations, beer and music.  Now, what to wear?  No clue...  The last item of discussion is that I really want another tattoo.  I'm trying to find something that reminds me of my mother.  Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of her passing.  A long ass time ago.  I really miss her and would like my next tatt to be something to do with her. Ron is pretty ready for more ink so we're going to investigate some new tattoo parlors.   And finally, I hope to hit up the roller derby around the end of the month.  It's going to be a girls night comprised of women I work with.  I think we're going to get a little drunk and watch some chicks on roller skates beat the crap out of each other.  That should be fun!

I'll update my blog with another stitch or two when the time is right.  I've got some ideas on the burner for new embroidery and I'm excited to get started.  So overall things are good but everyday is a learning experience.  Some times I fuck up royally and other days I have things in control.  I can't seem to predict from one day to the next how it's going to go.  Just doing the best I can!

Tschus.

Catsup…or….catch-up

I've been trying to blog for a few days but not a lot is coming to me.  It's like everything: I have a lot I want to do, and little energy and motivation to do it.  Cooking, cleaning, stitching, photography, etc.

So here is a general catch-up.

A few weeks ago I brought home a sick rat from the nature center and nursed her back to reasonable health.  I got attached to the damn thing and was going to keep her, but as rats are social creatures, knew I had to get her a cage mate.  So I got her a cage mate and she tried to kill it.  So we picked up the litter mate for the new one and took the nursed one back to work.  I feel horrible but in the end it all worked out.  The now-healthier one is back with her old cage mate and the new one I got has her sister with her.  So now, not really meaning to, I have two new rats.  They are baby Dumbo rats, with the huge ears.  Very cute.  But the house is a step away from officially becoming a petting zoo.  I either need to have a kid or have my uterus removed.



Ash the rat



Samus

At work this week there was another round of layoffs.  That was tough.  I am safe because of how our department is funded but that doesn't isolate me or my coworkers from the stress around us or the extra work we all have.  So it sucks, but life goes on.  I've been thinking of taking some classes in criminal justice to open up other areas where I can work.  Whether or not this is actually going to help me, I have yet to figure out.  But I'm exploring my options and maybe I can do records work in a court house or police station someday.

Ron and I are fighting over using the XBox.  A lot of good games came out in the last few weeks.  We picked up Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2 and Dante's Inferno.  If we didn't have to leave the house for food or work, we'd barricade ourselves inside.  We did manage to get to the gym today and I am about to start cleaning up the house a little....so we aren't too bad off.  If we stop bathing and start defecating in diapers, call social services.



Mass Effect 2 (Ron's game)



Bioshock 2 (very sweet)



Dante's Inferno (very visually appealing and gross)

Other than that, I'm worried about my ex's daughter.  She's at a very vulnerable age and is having normal teenage issues on top of other issues.  It's a recipe for disaster and I'm not sure her parents are aware of how serious it is.  I'm pretty pissed off about it to be honest but don't want to type too much about it publicly.  All I can do is spend time with her when I can and be an ear for her.  I expect I'll see her next weekend if my eyeball surgery on Friday goes well.

That leads me to my eyeballs.  I've been wearing my glasses for a couple months because I've been going through pre-screening and screening for Lasik.  My surgery is the 19th and I'm pretty excited but a little freaked out too.  I guess it takes just minutes so at least it is quick.  What is a little unnerving is having just finished reading A Clockwork Orange, having my eye lids pried open does not appeal to me.





Here's to hoping they don't inundate my brain with some kind of programming.  Unless it's "This Will Make You Wealthy" programming.

That's about all I can think of right now.  Aren't I exciting???

Evil Dead - The Musical

Guess who is going to Evil Dead - The Musical????  THIS GAL!





Maybe I can finagle a show poster too.   </geek>

crazy week

Last week was a little nuts.  I was able to go to Independence and see the old court house where Truman got his start.  They are in the process of fixing it up and it's not open all the time for the general public.  The old downtown of Independence is really cute; it's nothing like the outskirts which are just nasty and scary.

I also did my therapy pool workout again on Wednesday and pushed myself a little to go faster and longer.  Unfortunately when I was done I could hardly walk and the next day was laid up on the couch.  I felt like I had the flu and my knees and ankles ached.  So much for the new biologic I'm taking.  Maybe it hasn't kicked in yet, who knows.

I also went to a local community college and talked to a career counselor.  I don't think they get too many master's degree holders coming in to inquire about an associates degree.  I figure I have all of my general classes done and would just need to take the core classes for an associates in criminal justice.  This, aside from animal care, is the only other career path I'm interested in but I can't be a cop.  I would be interested in working the records department or chain of evidence department.  However I have no criminal justice background so I'm wondering if this will open some doors for me.  And I hope to not have to get another bachelors because a 4 year school is expensive as  hell.  Community colleges are much cheaper.  Johnson County Community College is pretty spiffy for a community college.  Unfortunately the clientele are a bit rough.  I got stuck going the wrong direction in the parking garage and instead of just rolling her eyes at me and giving me room to turn around, this 20-something emo chick rolled down her window and screamed at me.  So what did I do?  I screamed back at her.  Honey, I'm too damn old to be intimidated by you if you are going to show a lack of class and patience.  Suck it.

My next step is to talk to the chair of the department and see what her opinion is.  Jobs aren't great in this area but nationwide they are good.  I have a feeling once this recession lifts a bit more, counties and cities will get back to full staff.  Plus federal jobs are out there too and I would dig doing something with Homeland Security or INS.  Ya never know.  I just know I will never move up in responsibilities or pay where I am now and that's probably true for similar jobs elsewhere in the nation.  I want more flexibility in where I can work.

Saturday we planned on going bowling for something different to do but the damn lanes were packed.  So we drove to a pool hall and played a couple of hours.  Apparently the guy playing our table before us was Dave Pearson, some famous speed shooter.  I wouldn't know a famous pool player from a hole in a wall but there ya go.  Unfortunately the more cheap beer we had, the worse my playing ability.  But since we greatly curtailed alcohol purchases, I am now a light weight.   Cheap date!  I think Ron and I have been kinda waiting around, hoping to get our schedules to work with other couples to hang out with.  But that never seems to come together so we decided just to go on our own.  We had a good time and it was nice to get out of the house.

That's all the news that's fit to print for now.  Since I didn't take any interesting photographs this week, I'll leave you with crappy tattoos from the friendly world wide web.  Tschus.

A hippie by necessity

I've never considered myself a hippie, although I do consider myself "different" then a lot of women.  (Maybe "tomboy" is the correct term considering my love of shooting guns and playing video games.)  I like who I am and don't see a real need to change, except for any unattractive habits that may come up.  I don't have a problem with hippies or conservatives or anyone else, as long as they aren't in the extreme on either side of the spectrum.  But I've never considered myself a hippie until lately.

I have been changing our diets slowly but surely to a more organic diet.  We cut down on alcohol and caffeine, we are drinking organic milk and when I can afford to buy more organic food, I do.  I also bought a cast iron skillet finally because it will last longer and doesn't have Teflon or other non-stick chemicals all over it.  As we run out of household cleaners, I'm replacing them with "green" cleaners.  By the way, all this shit is rather pricey.

Due to the popularity of Facebook, I find myself talking to people from home/high school a lot more then I did when I actually went to school with them.  I can't believe how many people have some kind of autoimmune disease.  These are people my age - early 30's.  I'm getting pretty frickin' paranoid that even though some of the shit I have is inherited, that all the chemicals we grow up eating and breathing can't be helping.  In fact, I wonder if over the generations all the chemicals in our environment aren't causing some of this.  Anyone heard of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson?  I did a paper on it in grad school when I was studying integrated pest management.  She realized one spring that the birds weren't singing as much as they normally did each spring.  Basically through her research she discovered that DDT, a popular pesticide, had made it's way into our ground water and thus into our food chain.  Certain species of birds were dying because their egg shells were so thin that none of the babies were making past the incubation phase.   Her book and all the controversy that it made led to state legislation all over the nation to ban dangerous pesticides.  And how did she die? Breast cancer; the incidence of which has gone up considerably since WWII when more chemicals began to be regularly dumped into the environment.   Reminds me of Marie Curie and radium in some ways.

No one can eliminate his/her exposure to chemicals completely.  But I have to cringe whenever I see commercials for scented candles and oils and sprays that companies want you to spray around your house.  If your house stinks all the time, clean it.  Quit covering up the stank with chemicals for cripe's sakes.

On that note then, my resolutions to eat better are going well.  We hardly drink anymore (boo!!!!  beer tastes good dammit), I've had fried food once and am eating better overall.  Do I feel better?  Not yet.  I have a feeling that eventually I will.

I leave you with some KC fog shots.  It's been kinda creepy/romantic outside.  I think I'm ready for April but love that we've had snow and fog to change things up around here a bit.

Tschus.