Being healthy is hard.

So, some yucky honesty time.  I was doing okay on my resolution to quit drinking soda, until I had a miscarriage and fell off the wagon.  Between the miscarriage, Pam's death, and the general stress of daily life, I lost weight then packed it all back on.  July SUCKED.  August wasn't much better.  October's been pretty good so far.

I'm back on the wagon, though.  No more soda!  I drink a lot of juice and tea.  So much juice!  I've been drinking a lot of Bolthouse Farm's Green Goodness lately.  My favorite tea for on the go is Sweet Leaf Mint and Honey Green Tea.  It's so awesome.  I've been thinking about getting a reusable bottle and a tea pitcher and making my own tea at home.  Much cheaper.  Of course, I could always just re-use the glass bottle I have left over from yesterday's tea.

Damion and I have resolved to not to buy junk food for the house.  We went shopping last week and bought all healthy stuff that requires us to actually cook.  Lots of fruit and veggies.  I have noticed that with healthier food, I eat less.  I don't feel so hungry.  Also, I drink more water, and everyone says that often when you think you're hungry, it's really your body wanting more water.  So I give myself more water.

I pee more now.

We have a puppy now, so we get out a lot more because she technically lives at my mom's house.  We try to see her everyday, and take her out to a park or something.  Running around with Liv and Kiera (the puppy) gets us more exercise.  I don't think I've lost any weight yet, but I feel better (with the exception of the cold I had earlier this week), and that's more important.  Looking better would be nice, but I want to concentrate on feeling better first.

And now....PUPPY PICTURES!

She's much bigger now.  These I took the first day we rescued her.  She's almost four month old now, and according to the vet, she's a black lab and Belgian Malinois mix.  For those of you who have know idea what that latter one is (I certainly didn't), here's a picture of a pup that looks a LOT like Kiera does now, only Kiera's black with more of a lab look around the eyes and snout.

Livibelle, the Animal-Talent Fairy Part 2

I found a green leafy/flower print shirt on summer clearance, and paired it with a purple thermal undershirt since it will be COLD on Halloween this year, by all accounts.  She has purple wings, a frilly green costume skirt that we'll pair with her purple pants or purple tights, depending on how cold it actually is that day.  She has a Tinkerbell trick or treat bag and she's going to take Jane with us.  Her friend Talia is also going as a fairy for Halloween, so they'll match.  It will be heinously adorable.  Plan on seeing pictures next week.

Livibelle, the Animal-Talent Fairy Part 1

You can probably guess what this post is about.  That's right, it's Halloween costuming time again and this year Liv finally decided on a fairy.  Last year she'd wanted to be Coraline since pretty much the moment she watched the movie, but this year there was a lot of indecision.  She was thinking about Velma for the longest time, especially after we got her hair cut, but I reminded how much she'd wanted to be a fairy after her friend Talia was one last year, and we set about deciding which kind of fairy from the Disney Fairies of Pixie Hollow she wanted to be.  It came down to water- or animal-talent, and taking our new puppy, Kiera, and a stuffed animal got her set on animal.  So now comes the fun part, where I look for her costume pieces.  Yay.

So far, these are my favorite wings:

These come in a close second:

Realistically, however, I'll probably wind up just picking some up locally on the cheap.  But I like to make my ideal costume first, then budget it down as I go.  

Liv's hair is fine the way it is, so no need for a wig or anything.  If she wants some sort of hair accessory, then that's bonus.  Her outfit will be in forest colors, and I'm going to try to find things with a leaf or animal motif.  

Worst. Dream. Ever.

As many of you know, I long resisted the popular television series Buffy the Universe, along with its descendant fandom, spinoffs, literature, merchandise, etc.  When I finally gave in and barreled through  all seven seasons in three weeks, I pathetically fell hard and fast (like many other women) with Spike.  James Marsters is now synonymous with hot in Abbeyland, much to many of my friends' dismay.  Ah, sexy, sexy Spike, with your silly (fake) accent and your roguish smile, etc, etc.  As you can imagine, although I'd rather you tried not to, I've had my share of steamy day and night dreams about Spike, rewriting the Buffy-verse to suit my liking.  Usually the dreams are fun, hot, and entertaining.

Last night's dream was not one of those dreams.  Last night demonstrated fully how badly I need a new job.

Last night I watched as Spike, not simply James Marsters, but Spike the vampire, tried to live my life as a Walmart employee.

Spike, dressed as he's usually dressed in the Buffy-verse, frets over finding a plain blue or green shirt and some khaki pants in my bedroom, which via the strange logic of the subconscious, is his room.  This dream is set in my apartment, the current day, every thing is the same down to the last detail, only instead of me, there's me watching incorporeal from the third person as Spike lives my life, albeit in his own unique way.  (There's no Liv or Damion, either, btw.)  A not-quite-friend, really more of an exasperated ex-enemy who has decided for the meanwhile not to dust Spike (also typical to the Spike MO), comes up my stairs and reminds Spike he's going to be late for work.  At Wal-mart.  Spike replies rather dramatically that he is aware of that, pulling on his hair and stomping around petulantly.  "Then" he goes on to say, "there's the little matter of breakfast.  I'm a hungry, hungry hemaphage."  I'm not sure why my brain supplied that particular term, but that's what he says in the dream.  He grins evilly at his not-friend, then curses as he realizes that the dude is his ride to work. What's a ravenous vampire to do?  "I can't bite you, you lucky little Happy Meal, you, because it's just poor manners to eat the DD, mate."  Cue not-friend eye-rolling.  Work clothes found (although thankfully, not donned), they ponder the dilemma of vampire brunching while also trying to see which of my blankets would best cover Spike while he goes from house to car, the duration of the car ride, then car to work.  Whether or not my coworkers were supposed to be aware or accepting of his condition/appetites was not brought up.  They settle on my bird-print quilt.  I recall being rather affronted, as that's a relatively new purchase.  Spike has a Walmart name-badge he picks up from the table by the door.  Spike puts my pack of smokes in his pocket, whistling a tune I've had stuck in my head for days.  Spike chats idly about the people I work with, albeit stopping to consider if some would make good meals and how he easily he could snap their necks.  Spike is wearing the studded-leather cuffs I typically wear as he flicks on my lighter and lights up a Camel.  Spike drives to work in the back of some dude's car, covered in my quilt.  Spike walks in, ready to go change into his work clothes.  Spike greets the old lady at the door fondly, then snarls at a manager behind his back.  Spike wonders idly if he'll actually get to be in Electronics today, or if they'll pull him off to do something else.  Spike considers eating the first person who pisses him off, then checks out a hot customer.  Spike muses aloud if he'll ever get a better job, or if playing nice with humans has ruined his career prospects.

I wake up choking on a scream.

Movin' On

Gave up Coke and most sodas, pretty proud of myself.  The only thing I let myself have now is ginger ale when my stomach is upset, and that's really only been the past few days.  Been feeling really icky lately.  Otherwise I've been soda free for about a month now.  Yay!  I eat a lot more pineapple lately and drink those 0 calorie Sobe Lifewaters a LOT.  Like, everyday.  They're sweetened with black carrot juice, so I feel pretty good about drinking them.  Damion and I are also taking more walks.  I think I should go back to using the Wii Fit.  That was fun.

Liv's in weekly dance classes, and Damion I take that hour to walk around downtown.  Liv loves the socializing more than the dancing, I think.  I'm hoping after we both get better jobs and have settled in to a new place that we can sign her up for some martial arts classes.  I wonder if anyone does kung fu for kids?  I certainly won't let my kid do taekwondo.  I don't want her to be a tool.

I foresee us moving sometime within the next six months, or however long it takes for Damion to get a job.  Once we're settled in, I'll most likely quit my current job, whether or not I have a new one.  I hate my job a lot.

I can't remember what else I was going to say.  

Belated Steampunk Update

Never posted pics of my steampunk gun.  Got a Nerf Maverick and painted her, renamed her Lady Maverick, a.k.a. the Sarah Palin Special.  I don't recall if there are any pics of my outfit, but it involved pinstripes, ruffles, a top hat and a purple lab coat.

Random updates

Tat appointment set for Monday.  Squee!

In related news, I think I'm going to quit soda altogether.  I can't seem to taste it anymore and it makes me feel sick.  Sarah and Katrina have mostly given up sugar, and they say they feel a lot better.  I know I will, too, and I think now that it always makes me sick, it'll be easier to give up.

Been writing a lot more lately.  Pretty pleased with myself on that score.  Found a poet named Gregory Orr whom I really like.  Also a lady named Nan Hunt.

New tat soon? Mew mew?

So I meet with a tattoo artist on Tuesday to discuss my steampunk raven tat.  It will be awesomes.  It's not Katy, for which I feel slightly guilty, but I'll prolly have her do my hummingbird tat, anyway.  It's at Blackthorn tattoo, located off Green Meadows.  They just opened, and the shops not quite finished yet, but I wanted to give them a try so I have one more place to feel at least slightly knowledgeable about.  I dunno.  I just wants a tattoo.  Also, I might get mah cute little raccoon pendant as a tat.  Well, it'd be redrawn to be a little less stilted and a little more...raccoonish, but it would be the same general shape, pose and most likely size as well.  Maybe put that on my wrist where it apparently hurts so much?  I'm such a weenie.

If you're wondering about where I got this silly idea, here's a couple of pics that caught my eye:

I'm not sure if the one of the bottom is supposed to be a raven or a stylized secretary bird.

One Word at a Time

I found this website called oneword.com and decided to use it for daily writing exercises.  I seriously need to write EVERYDAY.  Today's word:
Coaster
The tiny tickle at the bottom gave me the first thrill of my childhood. Oh, roller coaster dreams ruled my nights and in summer days they enticed me, sirens of rails and wood. Coasters were beings with mystical presence, and they formed vistas in my mind; each slope a promise.

Soup, Salad, and Sandwiches.

I realize how inconstant I am about posting.  Anyway, some self improvement updates:

1. New plan for general health includes a 10 minute walk with Liv everyday.  Eventually it'll get bumped up more, but everyone recommends starting slow even though you know you can walk for longer than that.

2.  More fruit.  I like fruit.  I've been eating a lot more fruit and shall continue to add more, especially pineapple.

3.  I've decided that I need to start altering my lifestyle now so I can be in better shape for when we try to conceive next year.  I take better care of myself when I'm pregnant than I do when I'm not, so maybe if I start acting like I'm pregnant more often, it'll be easier to get pregnant next year.

4.  I've cut down on soda.  I don't automatically get a Coke when we go out to eat, and we don't keep it at the house at all.  I mostly only drink soda at work, and I can't even finish a whole can anymore.

5.  I've decided to eat more sandwiches.  I get healthy bread already, and they're cheap and balanced meals.  Veggies, meat, dairy, grain all in one easy-to-eat deal.

6.  Also soup.  I like soup.

Steampunk Update

So, shirt found, and not only is it ruffled, but it's pinstriped.  Squee!

Toy guy bought; now I just need to get paint.  I can't wait to post pics of what it'll look like when I'm done.  It'll be pimp.

I've decided on wearing braces (suspenders) as well.  I just love them, and I can clip stuff to them.  The downside is they make my already huge boobs look...huger.  Darn it.  I've also decided to go with an ascot-style cravat and found the most PERFECT and awesome brooch to pin it.  Apparently it's an older Miracle piece, so not super glamorous or anything, but still pretty.  If I could find the camera, I'd show you.

Tomorrow I'll head over to Leo's and see if I can find a top hat.  They were closed today.

Note to self: Do I want to include a fan?  Or shirt-sleeve garters?

Also: Damion's antique light meter thing is neat and comes in a pimp lil' leather case.  Yoink.

Places to look for gears/cogs: old machines!  Old walkmans, VCRs, anything.  Looky looky. Flea market much!

Steampunkery

I just like to make up words.

Anyway, I'm going to a steampunk party in a couple of days and I am suck at ideas, so while I surf around on the interwebs for other people's ideas, I will post the ones I like or that simply occur to me as I look at stuff.  If you're wondering what I'm talking about...well, you suck.  It's kind of like the new Sherlock Holmes movie: Victorian-style dress with lots of cool steam-era mad science happening all over the place.  Think of it that way, more or less.  If you have not seen that movie...er, who are you and why are you bothering to read this blog?  Read this first.

Really good examples of steampunk costumes!

1. Get thyself a toy ray-gun or some such and some copper/brass/bronze-lookin' paint.  Paint gun in old-timey fashion.  Make sure to get a little tarnished feel in it.  Zap your friends while going "whoosh!"

2. Leather straps and metal bits (buckles, grommets, buttons, etc.) should go on EVERYTHING.

3. HATS! (Top hats, aviator caps, bowlers, bonnets, page boy, who cares?!  Everyone wore hats back then.)

4. If it looks even vaguely Victorian, use it.

5. Girls apparently can NEVER go wrong with garters.  I mean, never.  Wow.

6. Guys totally can.  Don't do it.

7. Lab coats are part of the mad science element that creeps into steampunk.  Exploit it.

8. Gears and cogs are a common motif. Find a way to incorporate it.  Embellish outfits with bits of copper wire/wing nuts, that sort of thing.
Link to steampunk accessory creating ideas.

9. If you're a girl who wants to go old school with the accessories, think about finger-less gloves, cameo brooches or pendants, lace additions to cuff/hems/neckline, a small drawstring purse, or antique-looking lockets.  Also, jet beads and rows of tiny little black buttons were popular for women back in the Victorian era.  The buttons can be a bit of a bother, but if you make them superficial/cosmetic, then the look pays off without the hassle of fastening each and every one.

10. Eyewear can be useful, too.  Lab goggles for the mad scientist, aviator goggles for the aspiring pilot, monocles for the aristocrat/villain, or those neat specs that have several different lenses that can be swiveled/clicked interchangeably over one or both eyes.
Click here for a how-to on making some "brass goggles"!

11.  For the really, really, really hardcore, steampunk embroidery! 

12. Don't be afraid to get a little wild and let some oriental influences creep in; remember, the Far East was influencing aspects of Victorian culture, and thus can be a part of the steampunk image.

13. For the ladies, a parasol is always a classic touch, or perhaps one of those little hats with a modest veil.  Remember, Victorian ladies avoided too much sun.

14. I haven't quite figured out why yet, but kilts seem to be a popular look for dudes in steampunk fashion.  Any guy who can pull off a kilt, should.  Seriously.  They're awesome.

15. Vests!  Especially if they be pinstriped.  If you're a guy, wear them.  If you're a girl going for the racey no-skirts look, also wear them.

16. If you're a girl, corsets also seem to be necessary, but with any fantasy cosplay that often seems to be the case.  If you can, do it.  I won't bother because nothing pisses me off more when I'm drunk than restrictive clothes.

17. Recycling tip: if you have some pirate gear, this stuff can often be easily modified to look steampunk, even though the eras are 50-100 years apart.  Replace scarves and sashes with hats and belts, the cutlass with a ray gun, the eye-patch with a monocle, the open vest with a buttoned one, and just generally clean it up. Throw on some wiring or brass gizmos, and you're set.

Additional links:

Livejournal community devoted to steampunk fashion
The Steampunk Workshop
Pics of more steampunk costumes from DragonCon '08

So far I have shoes and gloves.  I have some jewelry I'm going to fiddle around with, and I have decided that a top hat is a must.  I LOVE top hats and have always wanted one.  This is my year to have that top hat, then steampunk it out.  Definitely going with pants (pinstripe).  I'll prolly have to get a new top.  And some sort of coat.  Belts?  I'll definitely be getting a gun of some sort, then modding it with paint, gears, wires, tubes, etc.

I found a shirt I would love to pair with a cute vest: http://www.lanebryant.com/apparel-accessories/tops/shirts-blouses/ruffled-keyhole-blouse-from-our-icon-collection/4018c4019c90p26213/index.pro

More tattoo ramblings.

Okay, so I've decided on a few things.  I'm really fixed on the one arm as a nature-themed sleeve and the arm as a wing-themed sleeve.  I going to do it bits at a time, though, like most people.  What I'm focusing on right now are two pieces that remind me of two very special people.  One is my grandfather.  For his piece I want a hummingbird with some amethyst calla lilies.  I can't decide if I want a Calliope hummingbird or a Green Violet-Ear hummingbird.

  
   

< Calliope





















 < Green Violet-Ear

 < Amethyst Calla Lilies









I kind of like the pose of the Calliope up top with its wings out-stretched.  Anyway, amethyst calla lilies will be part of it because they wound up being my favorite part of my wedding bouquet and my grandfather officiated my wedding.  The reason behind the hummingbirds is that he loved them, and had feeders for the everywhere, but especially right outside his window.  Every time he went to the hospital, it became this tradition for my mother and I to get him something with a hummingbird on it.  When I think about hummingbirds, I think about the Old Man.  So I'm wanting this piece on my right forearm, eventually to be integrated with the nature sleeve.

The other piece I want done is for my left forearm, which I want to feature a running horse, its mane and tail streaming behind.  The horse should be...I dunno, sort of a coppery color, I guess.  I don't want wings on it, but I want the suggestion of wings to be behind it, like made of the wind of something.  I also want it racing after birds, maybe with a couple already out-paced behind it.  This will go on the wing sleeve arm.

                                  

The Ink Addiction

Tattoo ideas:

Gryphon
Tri-raven design
Vines instead of stars around the face
Another pin-up
Something reminiscent of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Something extremely nerdy, possibly of a Star Wars/Star Trek/Fantasy nature
Something that combines nerdy with pin-up, like my Poison Ivy tat

I'm thinking of making my right arm a nature-themed sleeve; vine, flowers, nature-oriented goddess figures/nymphs...Oh, too late, I like the idea so much that I have to do it.  Sigh.  Which means now I have to decide what to do with the other arm.  I would look pretty silly with just the one sleeve, I'm guessing.

Hmmm...maybe the other arm can be devoted to winged things...phoenix, raven, gryphon, etc.

OH SNAP.  I JUST HAD AN IDEA FOR MY NOVEL.

Creative Nothing

I dream of a house without siding.  I hate siding.  I hate it so much.

Anyway, I haven't been writing lately and I think I may explode as a result.  I'm debating the merits of daily writing exercises.  Back when I was in school and I HAD to write, I produced more stuff.  99% of it was crap, but the stuff I sifted out of it wasn't so bad.  Maybe if I throw myself into my work, I'll actually get something done.  If only video games weren't so distracting.

Been working on a fantasy novel idea for some time now, and it may or may not inspire a future tattoo.  I need to start getting a better grip on the main characters.  I feel like I have a good grip on one lady but not the other.  The title and vague overview of the story is something I've been kicking around for years, but the details have slowly evolved, adapting themselves to my ever-changing perspective.  In its current projection, I wonder if I'd dare to put my real name to it.  Maybe none of my relatives would notice.  Well, maybe Jeff would.  He reads most of the same stuff I do.  Hrrrmmmm....

I'm still trying to figure out how the two mains meet.  I know the origins of the first woman, and the underlying conflict between herself and the main male antagonist, but I'm trying to focus on what the central conflict is going to be.  The first woman's freedom means the freedom of an entire people, I think, but how to mold it and make the relationship between the two women pertinent... The relationship between the male antagonist and the first female protagonist is the foundation of the whole story, so that's easy.  I've been working out some of the fun cultural ephemera; the fun part of a fantasy novel is creating a setting in which the story unfolds.  All I can mysteriously say is amber (the stone) will play a very, very important part of the climax.

Losing my religion?

Like many Americans who want to reassure themselves that they are "rational" and"open-minded", my beliefs concerning religion, spirituality, and other cosmic ephemera are sketchy and vaguely defined, mutable and about as solid as fresh goat cheese.  Also like many such Americans, I am easily swayed by people I perceive to be "witty" or "cool".  And I like to put stuff in quotation marks to be swotty.  So, basically, like Kevin Smith would say via Chris Rock, I don't have a lot of firm beliefs, but I do have a few ideas.  Maybe.  Sometimes. Kinda.

Who knows if there is a higher power and whether or not it gives a shit about the human race in general or an individual specifically?  No one.  It are not a fact.  Now, I'm not saying I'm ruling out such a divinity, but I certainly stopped asking it directly for guidance a long time ago.  It's not like it ever answered me directly, personally.  Reading a book or a series of books will simply mean that I'm left to decipher my own answer, anyway, right?  So I've decided to switch to something, or rather, someone, a little more...real.

I've decided to try praying to Brian Lynch.  Why?  He's funny.  He's may also be a genius.  He certainly manages to shake a bunch of stuff together and sift out new answers.  After reading his comparison of 30 Rock to The Muppet Show, I figured, why the hell not?  We pray to a perceived being greater than ourselves in order to try to draw to ourselves some quality or essence of that being in order to be more than what we are, for we see ourselves to be inadequate.  What if I want to be as witty as Brian Lynch?  Therefore, perhaps praying to Brain Lynch will imbue me with some of his coolness and I can share quips back and forth with people like Kevin Smith.

I figure it makes about as much sense as any other religion.