Old School

Dan and I had a short conversation about the phrase "Old-School" the other night. First we discussed the spelling. We decided it should be hyphenated as opposed to being separated into two distinct words or squished together into one.
We also discussed the meaning of "Old-School." Dan started out by offering that it meant "Old-fashioned" but I suggested that it is not an exact synonym for "Old-fashioned" since "Old-School" usually refers to something in recent history (within the decade) that is only outdated because of seasonal changes or newer fashions.
My reason for mentioning our "old-school" conversation is this: I usually detest slang that is fabricated for the sake of making up a new "cool" word or phrase. Today, many people say things like "Dude, that's bangin'!" or "No 'diggity!" or "Fo' Shizzle!" or "Y'all been jeepin' behind my back?" or "Oh, snap!" These words and phrases make no sense. These people are not Shakespeare creating words because there isn't a word to describe what he means, they are a bunch of hooligans who are trying to pervert the English language and confuse every foreign tourist in America. (The language is hard enough as it is, people! Give those poor foreigners a brake.) Most of this dumb slang goes out as fast as it comes in, but I think "Old-School" has staying power. First of all, it has no synonyms. Secondly, it describes a state of being that needed a description. Thirdly, it is versatile. Old-School can be a good thing or a bad thing. Examples: "That skateboard is old-school, where did you get it?" (This shows awe and respect for the older model skateboard that is rare and no longer available.) "That song is old-school, turn it off." (This shows annoyance and dislike for a song that is a little older and a little played out.)

Short story long... we approve of the phrase "Old-School." That is all.

When He Grows Up

People who observe the behavior of my little guy usually try to guess what he is going to be when he grows up. Currently it seems that his possibilities are endless:

1) Locksmith
2) Marine Biologist
3) Suicide bomber
4) Soccer player
5) Movie or book critic
6) Dancer
7) Singer
8) Scientist
9) Professional eater
10) Test subject
11) Music composer/ piano player
12) D.J.
13) CEO of his own company

This list is based on his current baby behaviors and not on what we want him to be. I'm sure the list will keep growing until he is about 15, at which time he will abruptly freak out about "the future" and "college" and "majors." That is when the list will be painstakingly whittled down to zero.

Oh, my son. May reality never crash down on you.

TP

Our current role of toilet paper has no perforated lines.

Like Looking for a Needle in a Haystack

The title of this post would be a good analogy for how I feel about finding the time to sew. And when I say "sew" I really mean sew for myself. I am always offering to sew for other people, and sometimes I am being paid to do it. This is fun, don't get me wrong. Sometimes I prefer it. But I haven't sewn anything for myself in a very long time. Part of the problem is that I haven't wanted to waste the time sewing something in a size that I don't want to be (see previous post). Even so, I have a lot of fabric and I have a million ideas of what to do with each piece. I know I should just go for it, but it is also quite time consuming and I don't have much uninterrupted time to work, not to mention my lack of work space. In times like this I wish I were crazy rich so that I could live in a house with an amazing craft room. That is my ultimate fantasy. I know that I could move to Arizona or something and make that dream a reality... but I like living by the ocean in my paradisaical town. I guess the saying "you can't have it all" really is true.

I know I can use my time more wisely and effectively and I can definitely find time to sew for myself. However, I am a little lazy and I find starting big projects overwhelming. In addition I have a million other interests and half-finished things that always get pushed to priority positions on my "to do" list. I also work much harder on something if there is a deadline to meet or some other outside pressure pushing me to accomplish.

Well, now the goal is on my blog. Who knows who will read this, but maybe it will give me the incentive that I need. In the mean time, maybe I'll put up some pictures of things I have sewn and/or designed in the past. Stay tuned...

Weighing in

I gained 60 pounds when I was pregnant with Asher. I was stressed out, working, on my feet all day, etc.... but let's be real here, 60 pounds is A LOT. I was happy with my body before I was pregnant, and I worked to keep myself in shape.

Everyone kept telling me "Oh just wait until the baby comes. You will lose a ton of weight just from giving birth. It is SO wonderful!" I had Asher, and three days later I weighed myself. I had lost six pounds. SIX. This was disheartening, because Asher weighed just under nine pounds. (How is this possible? Don't ask me, I'll start crying.)

After my boy was in my arms people said "Oh, just nurse and the pounds will simply drop off your body. You can eat whatever you want. It is fabulous!!" Even on a diet, my weight was pretty dang stubborn. It did not want to come off. It took me a year to drop 40 pounds. And I was trying. (Jogging, dieting, etc.) Some things worked to an extent, but it was an agony I had never known before.

When my son switched over to 100% cows milk I knew better than to trust those people that told me "As soon as you stop nursing, everything will get back to normal. You will lose weight just by stopping, because you have at least 5 pounds of milk. It will be wonderful!" But I still hoped. My son has been weened for about two months now. I've been running and eating pretty well. Guess what? Nothing. Not one pound of difference.

So now it is my third day of Weight Watchers, because that has worked for me in the past. I know it will take a while, but I am confident that if I cut calories for long enough my body has to give up a few pounds. I'm hungry a lot, but I don't care. I've dieted before. I know I can get down to the weight that I want.

It is not about looking like a supermodel, or even getting back to exactly what I looked like before. It would be nice to fit into some of my old clothes of course, so that I can stop wearing the same 5 things each week, but that is not really the reason I care either. The main reason I want to lose weight is so that it feels good to be in my body again. I don't feel terrible now, but I know I would have more energy, I would be more able to be active, I would be more flexible, and I would feel an overall increase in health and possibilities within myself. It also feels great to accomplish a goal.

I'm dedicated right now. I hope to remain so for the next few months at the very least. I'm excited to reach my goal, and I am certainly not on a pity party right now. I feel empathy for those who cannot lose weight easily. (I never believed them before because it was so easy for me to maintain my weight and size with diet and exercise.) I want to get in the best shape of my life, you know, before I screw it all up and get pregnant again.

I'm scared of having another kid. It is not the fear of something going wrong, the pain of the delivery, the misery of the recovery, or the anxiety over bringing another child into this world. That is all nothing. I just hope I don't gain another 60 pounds.

I hope that doesn't sound too sick.

Compliment?

Last Sunday at church an older woman I have known for about 15 years came up to me and paid me a very odd compliment. She started off a conversation by asking if I have read the Twilight books. I responded affirmatively, and I asked her if she was reading them. She replied that she was on her second round of the final book (which had just been published the week previous). We bantered a little about the plot and the books in general and then she said "You know, whenever I read those stories I always picture you and your husband as Bella and Edward. I know that Bella is supposed to have dark hair, but I always picture you." I raised my eyebrows to the roof and sputtered "Thanks!" I mean, my first reaction was to be totally flattered. Twilight is loved by millions and MILLIONS of people and Edward and Bella are very dedicated to each other. They are also very young and attractive. So, you know... what a compliment.

Later on I started thinking about this "compliment" a bit more in depth. First of all, both of these characters are so white they could pass for albinos. Dan is a computer programmer and I am the skin cancer queen so I suppose I see her point there. Secondly, Edward is supposed to be ridiculously good-looking and talented while Bella is self-conscious, clumsy, and at times quite annoying. Huh. I don't know if I want to be Bella anymore. Thirdly, and this is the most disturbing point of all, Edward and Bella have very *ahem* intimate moments in these books (especially the last one that she was reading for the second time). Do I want someone picturing my husband and I in that way? I guess I should be glad she wasn't picturing Dan with someone else.

Still.... yikes.

I wonder who she pictures for Jacob?

Lightbulb

A few months ago Dan and I had a very long conversation in which we discussed young people who have made major contributions to the world as we know it. (I say “as we know it” because we were talking about our specific interests and hobbies. The two of us together cover quite a bit of ground.) We tried so hard to find the right words in this conversation, each trying to explain to the other why we admire certain people’s accomplishments, and are perhaps a bit jealous of very successful people who are around our age. In this conversation we were also trying to explicate why we do the things we do. Dan likes photography, writing code, and generally solving problems that people never knew they had. He creates programs and websites. He dabbles in videography, blogging, and inventing. He was telling me that he wants to make major contributions to the world in his areas of interest, and I was trying to tell him that I felt the same way about myself and my talents/interests. I have very strong feelings toward acting, directing, and choreographing. I love designing clothes and costumes, writing music and stories, and dancing and singing. I get frustrated with myself sometimes for not living up to what I see other people my age (or younger) doing in these areas. But our dissatisfaction is not about comparing ourselves with other people and feeling inadequate. It is not about the desire for fame or wealth that often accompanies success. In this discussion both Dan and I discovered that we just wanted to create. We realized that even though we love to do very different things, we both like creating for the sake of creating. Of course, we want what we are working on to be relevant and high quality, and worldly success often follows relevent and high quality work… but we both love to invent and fabricate and make things because we love the process. It was a sweet “aha” moment.

It only took us six and a half years of marriage to figure that out.