I should be embarrassed...

that when I have binoculars...instead of looking at the stage, I enjoy peering into the audience.

that I eat more cookie dough than actual cookies.

that I like driving in a truck because it makes me feel tall and powerful.

that I always read the last page of a book first.

that I can quote all of "phantom of the opera."

that I ate a cookie dough poptart while "walking the pounds away".

that it took me a year to make curtains for my windows.

that I am obsessed with the color yellow (as evidenced by my wardrobe, accessories, and room).

that grasshoppers make me scream.

and that I love to listen to opera music.

but...I'm not.

:o)

how to...

...convince yourself bugs are much less frightening than they appear.

okay. so you're walking in the garage door...and all of the sudden (!) you see a grasshopper. perched, quite comfortably, atop a bowling ball bag. after jumping a foot in the air and letting loose a squeal you realize you MUST walk past him. and yet, you can't seem to bring yourself to do it.

here is how to conquer you fear:

• give the grasshopper a name.

any name, really. I prefer long, ridiculous names (such as socrates)...but names like bob and joe will work just as well. (I always assume grasshoppers are male...but female names will work too. just whatever you're most comfortable with). this makes the grasshopper much more personal and human-like.

• think up a story for him.

he was disgusted by the insect-like behavior of his fellow grasshoppers. and couldn't understand their enthusiasm of jumping on humans and frightening them out of their wits. so he decided to shut himself up, alone, perched on a bowling ball to contemplate the meaning of life.

• as you pass him...give him a salutation.

no matter how silly it seems...you MUST greet your new friend. truly. "good morning, socrates" "how's the philosophical life going for ya?" etc and so on. soon you'll not only look forward to your meetings with him, every time you enter and leave the garage, but gradually you'll become less and less frightened of your little friend.

• last, close your eyes, hold your breath, and taking a flying leap past.

and that's how it is. not that I speak from experience or anything. but if that ever happened to me...that's probably what I would do.

if and when.

ahem.

everything is better with a straw.

drinking directly out of the can just doesn't suffice.
straws are truly the recipe to happiness.
and a good book.
lovely company is also enjoyable.
and long car rides are fun.

but none of this would be minutely agreeable...without straws.

the end.

for more details about the summer adventure, check out Morgan's blog.

food. glorious food.

while on our little summer trip we did alot of...eating.

in all honesty, I gained five pounds.

no joke.

part five of my summer adventure.

part four

part three

part two

part one

colored/flavored ice.

colored ice.
flavored ice.
and umbrellas.
is there anything better?

http://www.bahamabucks.com/

part four of my summer adventure.

part three

part two

part one

ice cream. but not.

regardless of whether it was ice cream or not...it was delish.

cowboy gelato. 

part three of my summer adventure

part two

part one

of spray-painting cadillacs.

have you ever heard of the cadillac ranch? it's a place where about ten cadillacs are sticking out of the ground. in the middle of nowhere. and you can bring cans of spray-paint.

which, we did.

and now several cadillacs bear our initials.

part two of my summer adventure

part one

an adventure.

some people might not think adventures are possible in an antique store.
I say they are.

part one of my summer adventure.

Narnian event.

I created a green, linen, medieval dress a little over a year ago. and it is very much in the style of Susan's green dress. from Narnia.

anywho. in honor of the narnia's wardrobe...I'm posting about my dress.

many of you will recognize it from the "maid marian's wardrobe" event, too.

chocolate emergency.

ever felt like you needed some chocolate? really, terribly badly. but had no time to cook a big chocolate cake?

HAVE NO FEAR!

Emergency Chocolate Cake

2 Tbs cake flour (or regular...)

2 Tbs sugar

2 rounded tsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

2 Tbs milk

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

Coat the inside of a mug with nonstick cooking spray. Put all ingredients in mug and stir with a fork until smooth. You can also stir in chocolate chips, nuts or anything else your heart desires. Microwave for 1 minute. Allow to cool a little before eating! If you're feeling crazy you could top it with a spoonful of peanut butter (which melts delectably on the warm cake) or maybe some ice cream. The possibilities are endless, really.

this is possibly the most efficiently way I've spent three minutes...EVER.

recipe source: http://mrshardingcooks.blogspot.com/

already thinking of christmas.

for one. I miss wearing my scarves. and hats. and mittens. and wool coat. and boots.

for another. the "best Christmas pageant ever" play was cast. I'm playing imogene herdman. a rough, tomboy. if you don't know the story...look it up. not only is it hilarious. but it has a touching story.

thirdly. I'm sick of 100 degree weather. not. fun.

and last. I'm starting present making NOW. with tech week. two weekends of performances. and a reenactment. my december is booked. I'm not making the same mistake I did last year.

winter? soon? please?

pitiful.

my arms are sore.
that's not pitiful.

my arms are sore from playing the hand bells.
that's not quite so pitiful.

my arms are sore from playing the hand bells on the wii.
that's. pitiful.

my crazy cat that I love.

andrew princeton lee jackoby roberts lloyd webber.
I call him andy cat.
explanation unnecessary.

as you walk by a doorway. he'll pop out. grab your leg with his paws. and quickly gallop down the hall. all in about 2 seconds. while you leap about ten feet in the air. and scream.

he enjoys it.

when you go into the bathroom. and turn on the water to take a shower. he runs to come in. manages to open the door. and tries to jump in the shower with you. sometimes you can see a little paw trying to sneak through the shower curtain.

he loves water.

he never comes to you when you call him. but always jumps in your lap when you don't.

when he meows. it sounds like he's trying to talk with you.

he and michelle communicate with each other.
michelle: what does the cat say, andy?
andy: MEOW!!

it's a bit frightening.

he lays on my sewing. and jumps on my tissue pattern pieces. he brings me dead bugs. and he likes to gnaw on my finger.

but I love him.

during movies I...

...grab my neck when someone's head gets chopped off.

...smile real big during the love scene. realize my goofy smile. and attempt to cover it up.

...squeal if alligators or sharks appear.

...hold my breath to see if I can last as long as the person on the screen who is under water.

...sing-along if it is a musical. I've tried to not. apparently it annoys people. but I can't not sing-along.

...complain about the terribly inaccurate costumes, hair, etc.

...try to conceal my tears. I never cried in movies until very recently. sigh.

...try to impress people by saying the line .5 seconds before the actor.

...gripe if something corny happens. as I greatly dislike corniness.

...suddenly realize all of the strange things I do while watching a movie.

do you?

maybe

maybe I wish I could dance.

maybe I have a secret desire to be able to cook. well.

maybe I have 2,896 photos I've saved from the internet. for inspiration purposes. etc.

maybe I've named my ukulele.

maybe I make myself hoarse singing everyday.

maybe I know every line in "Pride and Prejudice."

maybe I have a dream of being on broadway someday.

maybe I talk during movies. or sing along.

maybe I nearly hit a tree yesterday.

maybe I have nicknames for all of my friends.

maybe I save text messages that make me giggle.

maybe chick-fil-a is the best place ever.

maybe my cat's name is Andrew Princeton Lee Jackoby Roberts Lloyd Webber.

maybe I wear bows in my hair.

maybe when I laugh people have to ask me if I'm ok.

maybe I named a grasshopper Socrates.

maybe this is all true.

suuupriiiiiseeee.

the whole visit I tried to take pictures of this kid.

my stubborn nephew.

ha.

haha.

I got one.

suuupriiiiiseeee!

check out all the other fabulous "surprise" entries @ I Heart Faces

there must be more than this provincial life....

well.
there is this quite lovely blog holding an even lovelier event.
it is my humble opinion that you should go check it out.
and even join.

beauty and the beast is one of my fave disney movies.
truly.
except for the ugly prince.
he looks better as a beast.

anyways.
beauty and the beast is the subject of the event.
it shall be a "belle fashion event."

there will be giveaways.
prizes, etc.
fashion posts.
and many more fun things.

so write on your calendar.
september 1-15.
beauty and the beast event.
and go pop in the movie.
or watch a spoof of the song "Belle" I made a while back.

fabric of our lives.

cotton - fabric of our lives

zooey deschanel

I saw a commercial for cotton.

it had a catchy song.

and adorable clothes.

just watching a commercial about cotton inspires me.

I have about 10 outfit ideas swirling around in my head right now.

there are so many different ways to make articles of clothing look different.

instead of buying new things....

it saves money.

and gets your creative juices thinking.

what...finished already?

it's only taken me a year to get these done. sigh.

but now I'm on to bigger and better things!
like...more curtains for the costume shop.
joy.

curtains are my lot in life.

one of those nights.

dad is hanging my curtains. 

mom is at a retreat.
michelle is playing on the wii.
the cat has hoped into my lap.
and there's lightening and thunder.

I think tonight's one of those nights to read a good book.
after folding the laundry, of course.

(photo from a few days ago. of me. by me.)

simple joys of maidenhood.

my latest etsy shop item:

made with polished cotton. 

rolled hems. 

hand stitched pleating. 

hook and eye closure.

summer. it's almost over.

school starts August 23rd for me.
that's only a few weeks away.

the summer has literally flown by.
leaving me wondering what really got accomplished.

I had a list of goals.
none of them completely finished yet.

here's the update:

1. Finish curtains - ahem. cough, cough. well...all of the panels have been lined and all that is lacking is the hemming and rod pocket. surely after making 15 curtains for somebody else I'd have the enthusiasm to finish mine (which have been in the works for over a year now).

2. get my license by the end of June - ha. haha. obviously not. I'm now shooting for the end of August, by the time school starts, etc. hey! it's possible! 

3. study for the PSAT - I'm taking a practice test once a week, and during the week studying...so I'm not completely a failure at EVERYTHING.

4. work on my Drama jr. class - I've written out a class syllabus for the year, and the parent teacher meeting is next week. this one is nearly accomplished, actually!

5. etsy shop - well. I have a skirt to add to my shop only I haven't taken any pictures yet. so that's one item. ahem. 

added goals:

6. actually read some pleasure books - OKAY this is one I have done! I've read: Cranford, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Phantom of the Opera, and I'm nearly done with The Pickwick Papers. Since these are all pretty hefty books...I'd say this is quite an accomplishment, thank you.

7. upstairs sewing room - well. I've done everything on my side. what lacks is: electricity and the patching of some gaping holes. after which I can begin the fun task of painting and organizing!

8. organize the "Costume Closet" - I have been planning on cataloguing all of the costumes we have for drama. taking pictures, making descriptions, and listing them by numbers (which are sewn in to the garment). I've done a bit of work on it. and made descriptions of all the ladies costumes.

9. organize my closet and room - DONE AND DONE! :)

anyways. most of this is for me to see how much is lacking and how hard I need to work in the next 20 days to get all of this accomplished. 

apparently I have quite a bit of work.

has summer flown by for you?

the operatic phantom.

better known as the Phantom of the Opera.
who's name is apparently...Erik.
an epic name, really.

after seeing the movie (about a thousand times).

listening to the c.d. (even more).

going to see it on stage (is there any experience more thrilling?!).

and even watching the silent movie version (quite frightening, really).

I found now would be as good a time as any to read the novel.

hmm.

are there words to describe the intensity? 

the passion.

the story.

I do believe POTO is a classic.

some upsetting facts however:

• erik is a violent, creepy, stalkerish, murdering, insane fellow. 
• rauol is a pitiful creature.
• christine is so easily swayed.
• and the BEST character from the book (who ends up saving both Christine & Raoul's life) isn't even in the movie, musical, etc. sigh.

I do believe, however, that to be a true Phantom fan...you must read the book.

you gain such depth and understanding regarding situations and characters.

and you develop an even deeper (if that's possible) respect for the story.

so put it on your summer reading list. 

and read it.

because it's a good 'un.