Has anyone else noticed the time being off on their blogs???? I went back and checked my profile, and my time zone is the same as it was when I set this up.

Hmmmmm..... curiouser and curiouser.

Well, I am starting to wonder if my grand plans for my top are going to work.  I copied my yoke/collar pieces.  Then, I got the pieces that had the neckline, copied the neckline, took out the seam allowances I don't need... and got a "half" that ended up short of 180 degrees around.

I am going to have to step back from it for a bit.  I can still work on putting in the skirt elastic and my little crochet project.

But, hey, at least I did work on it some!  Plus my knit fabric is prewashed now, so I can do some preliminary cutting.  But, my family is due home any minute, so it will have to wait a bit.  Plus, I have to work tomorrw. No more hookie.  :((

I dreamt I was looking across the street at a big field that was being mowed for hay (if that is what you call the process).  I saw what I thought was a pile of leaves in the shape of a small peacock lying on the ground, then realized it actually was a peacock.  I didn't want it to be injured, so I went and picked it up and brought it over to my house.  I could feel how sharp its toes were. I got an old animal carrier, and put it in there (amazingly easier than putting my cat in) so that the cats around here couldn't get to it.  I set it outside in a very shaded spot and  gave it some water. I was in the process of trying to find the phone number for the "state ornithologist " so they could come get it when I got woken up.

Pretty strange, eh?  Sorry for the one big paragraph, I am still mostly asleep.

Last weekend, my husband showed me a new voice mail service (NOT from the phone company) that had been added to our phone bill.  Neither of us signed up for it.  My husband wrote a fairly nasty letter to them and got the charge taken off our bill.  Supposedly, according to the company, I had not read the "fine print" when taking a survey and was the responsible party.  Ummmm, OK, lessee, I don't remember ever being asked in any of my online surfing safaris any questions about wanting voice mail - I most emphatically would have said no!  Additionally, we never received an e-mail or anything telling us how to access this new service - that would have tipped us off right away something wasn't right.  Oh, no, they just wait for the bill to come out, hoping you won't notice or call their bluff.  Companies like this are scum, just trying to trick you, and I hope if anyone else gets slammed like this for a service they did not sign up for that you stick it to the jerks!

Anyway, that upset me pretty bad last night, and today I still feel rotten - it feels like my blood pressure is going to blow the top of my head off.  Top it off with the fact that I was so distraught last night I got upset with my husband, causing a bit of a rift.  This has kind of thrown me into a depression, and I just couldn't stomach going in to work today, so I called in sick.

Subsequently, I drove to town, trying to find some goody for my husband to try and make amends.  He is an avid Hot Wheels collector, so I was hoping to find this year's Halloween cars at AutoZone.  No luck.  Nothing good stocked at Wally World either.  <sigh>

I did pick up an issue of Interweave Crochet. It has a camisole in there that has shaped cups that I am very interested in - I saw some similar tops online last winter, and tried desparately to figure out the pattern myself, but didn't succeed.  The mag was kind of pricey, but it has some nice things in it, and doesn't come out every month. I also picked up elastic and more thread for my brown skirt and knit top.

On the way home, there was a Krispy Kreme truck riding my bumper. I love Krispy Kreme donuts with the custard filling and chocolate icing.  Somehow, I felt like as much as my rear end is widening, the KK truck on my rear bumper was kind of symbolic.  Or, once again, it could just be the depression.

I'm off to do... something.  Not sure if it is crochet or sewing, but whatever it is, it will need to be after I load the dishwasher.

These are just some things that keep popping into my head, in no particular order, but that I don't do because of lack of time and/or money, or because I am the only person in my family who thinks it would be neat ;) :

1. Go back to school, get a different degree I can use - maybe become a certified Physical Therapy Assistant.

2. Visit a winery.

3. Visit a Renaissance Faire.

4. Re-learn how to play the electric bass.

5. Get more into movie costuming.

6. Make a packing tape double for sewing.

7. Write more songs with my husband.

8. Find a better paying job in this region.

9. Be able to start cooking for my family again.

10. Draft a sloper

11. Learn pattern making

12. Be able to find other women in my near-by area for a crafts group.

There.  Now I have a published list.  Perhaps NOW I will have a bit of a beacon.

My husband is talking about going to Star Wars Celebration 3 (is that right???) in Indianapolis next spring.  Not wanting to miss out on the fun, that means I need to look at costuming ideas.

I just got done looking at productions stills and watching one of the documentaries on the bonus disk from the Original Trilogy DVD set.  Not a whole lot there for me to use, though.  My husband wants to be a dark Jedi, my son wants to be a regular Jedi... I have no idea what to do for me.  I don't think any of Padme's or Leia's costume would really work, since I am probably twice to size of Natalie Portman or a young Carrie Fisher.  Oh well, hopefully I can figure something out.

And, of course, now I am running behind.  Again. :p

Does this star-field thing really add anything?  I think it may be a little too busy, I will have to think about it some more.  I slowed down the stars some, I may have to fiddle with it some more.

Back to bed for now. Zzzzzzzzz.........

I had someone post how I needed to let my son worry about his own grades to teach him to be stronger and more responsible. I know that this is true.  However, it is difficult when I know he has the capabilities to let him just fail.  I have tried punishment by taking away his video games (the only true punishment I have available), and that has never worked - he just does the same thing AND is surley in the process.  The only thing that has worked is being home to ride his butt about getting things done.  This, however, is not an option anymore.

Additionally, I have his dad "threatening" to sue for custody.  I know I shouldn't worry too much about this, because his dad can't even handle a summer visit without calling and grousing about something my son has done.  Now, given, this is the person who instilled this obsession with video games into my son, so I know that there is no way on earth my son would do better there, unless the jerk actually started beating him (which I fear would be a possibility).  Still, my son doing poorly in school here WOULD be excellent fodder in a court battle if he decided to go after custody.<sigh>

Anyway, it is yet another stupid-o'clock day.  Everyone else gets to sleep in here.  My days off are week-days, so I have to get up to get everyone else off to work/school. Blech.

Thanks to everyone who reads my ramblings and grousings.  I have a few more links that I want to post, but I really need to get going here, so perhaps later.

Today is one of the days of the week where I have to get up at stupid-o'clock in the morning to go to work. One of the extreme disadvantages to working 50 minutes away from where you live.  Gotta go where the jobs are, though, I suppose.

Actually, I have to get up at stupid-o'clock EVERY day, however on other days than Saturday and Sunday I can crawl back into bed and snooze more.

My husband told me to make sure I wake up before I drive to work.... hmmmmm, guess I can't go then. :p

Crud, half an hour before I need to leave, and I still haven't showered.  Guess I need to quit playing around and get to it.  At least I get off work at a decent time today.  Maybe I will spruce this up a little more later on.

Well, some kind soul named Bishop sent me 999 tBucks!  Now I just need to figure out what kind of neat things I want to add to my blog. :)  Not sure what I did to deserve this, but thanks!

And thanks to Darianna - I really am surprised anyone is reading this just now!

I posted a couple of links.  One is a costuming website.  I really admire all the work the site owner has put into the site, and it makes me wish I had the time, money, and perserverance to do what these people do.

Also, I find the "Dork Tower" series on the Star Wars Trilogy release on DVD very amusing.  I am married to a Star Wars fanatic - somehow he did not see the humor in these as much as I do. ;)

On a depressing note, my son got his first 6 weeks report card, which included a D in math.  I am not sure what to do.  Last year I didn't have to work, this year I do, and I have to figure out what to do to make sure he is doing everything he should.

Anyway, I appreciate anyone who is reading. Kind of shocking, but nice to know.  Hopefully I can post more tomorrow.

For probably 2 weeks I have been in "planning" stages on a skirt. Nothing fancy, just two seams, an elastic casing and a hem.  It is the fabric that is so neat - it is shiny, almost like a metallic brown, with a lightweight satiny feel to it. I got it on the cheapy table at WalMart.

The first 2 yard length I bought I messed up - cut it out all wrong.  How dumb when I only needed 2 panels!  Decided I only needed 1 and one-third yards, and luckily it wasn't sold out.  So, last night I finally got the second batch squared, cut in half, got the side seams sewn, and the casing done.  All that is left is the hem and putting in the elastic!  Yay!!!

The next big project is the top for it.  I found some light chocolate-brown ribbed knit fabric on clearance.  I am going to make it long sleeved, based on the instructions in Pattern-Free Fashions by Mary Lee Trees Cole.  But, (and here is the creative opportunity to screw up), I want to use some of the brown fabric from the first aborted skirt.  I want to add a yoke and collar, and I am planning on Simplicity 9891 View C for that.  Then I am also planning on adding cuffs in the same fabric, probably just straight with a button closing them.

Unfortunately, since I am motivated, that of course means I have to work today! Ugh.  My husband is having a friend from work over for a jam session, so I don't know if I will get anything done tonight.  Perhaps I can get the pattern pieced I need copied, if nothing else.

Well, off to the salt mine. :(

So, being a complete total dork, I have tried to post my first blog.  The first time I added a smiley and "fzzzzzt"! Everything I wrote disappeared.  Then I type some stuff up again, click "Publish" and.... nada, zip, zilch, the system logged me out!

Well, so much for blogging right now, as I need to clean the house.  Procrastination will catch up with you.