Faux Bangs and Fireworks

OK, first things first. How did the foam curlers turn out? Well, after re-rolling them because my cats decided that they were great fun to claw at and eat, I think they turned out pretty well. Never having had curly hair before, I wasn't quite sure how to tame the curls, so I just let them go wild. Honestly, that was the easiest it has ever been to style my hair. All I did was roll them when they were about 80% dry after my shower and then for good measure I spritzed them with hair spray before going to bed. I did add a bit of hair wax to my bangs because they weren't cooperating. I couldn't get them to roll around the curler, but the hair wax did the trick.

Also, side note, why has no one ever taught me to use an eyebrow pencil?! I was so worried it would make me look like I had drawn on my face in marker, but my eyebrows look amazing! You can see a notable difference between these pictures and the last ones I posted. I am very pro-pencil. I didn't even splurge on an expensive one, I picked up an off brand eyebrow/eyeliner pencil at Big Lots. I can only imagine how great they would look if I spent the $8 to get name brand. I did purchase a special brush to help shape my eyebrows as well. I'm not sure what it is called, but it looks like a mascara wand, minus the mascara. On top of that, I've been using a foundation brush to smooth out the eyebrow color so the hard lines are less noticeable. If I'm going particularly dark one day, I will use some light colored concealer to help blend the edges as well.

After finally getting the curls right, I tried experimenting with the bouffant some more. The trick to getting some great height/body on the pouf is dry shampoo. I spray it on the roots and it helps hold the hair up and gives it amazing body. I'm not positive, but I also think it makes it easier for bobby pins to stay in place. They don't seem to fall out as easily when I use the dry shampoo. So far I have discovered that I prefer the bouffant to be higher up on my head. I did one closer to the back of my head and it looked OK, but it wasn't quite the stylized 50s look I was going for. I like this one because once you have the height, you can pretty much do whatever you want with the rest of your hair. In the picture below, I started at the part and twisted my hair back, similar to french braiding. I bobby pinned it behind my ears and at the nape of my neck, then started on the other side, doing the same thing. I've been hiding the thousands of bobby pins with a giant flower or bow clipped behind my ears or at the very back of my head. I think it looks pretty cute, but I'm going to have to diversify my hair bow collection.

 Lately, I've been experimenting with my bangs. The curlers aren't the best for those, as they don't like to stay put, but I found a tutorial online to help me curl them with my flat iron. I love the faux bangs look, so I've been rolling them up on my forehead and bobby pinning them to the rest of my hair. It helps if I back comb them a bit at the base, otherwise the bobby pins don't have anything to hold on to and they just fall out. The first few times I did this, I was literally raining bobby pins from my head. I haven't quite mastered how to hold them back, as bobby pins can often be visible or misshape the curl, so it's pretty hit or miss.

This is an example of my rolled bangs gone awry. I tried to roll them and they were having none of it, so I tried to create some sort of swoopie thing with some spiral curls pinned to the side of my head. I thought it looked cute when I left for work, but I kept messing with it all day. By the end of the day, they were a hot mess. I struggled just to pin them flat across my forehead.

On the fun side of things, I got new glasses! I had money I needed to use up before the end of the month, and what better way to use it than to get fancy, designer glasses. I was so excited when I went in to pick them up. I struggled not to grin like an idiot the whole time.

To me, this is better than a little black box.

It seems only right that the first thing I ever get from Tiffany's is glasses instead of jewelry.

On a more personal note, 4th of July was so much fun! We went to a local museum that put on a barbecue and let you tour the museum while you waited for the fireworks to start. Usually, we have to stake out our spot really early in the day and then just sit for hours. We usually make our own fun and end up having a good time, but it was nice to have activities planned for us. The museum was doing a Ripley's Believe it or Not exhibit. Museums, weirdness, and fireworks, it's like this event was designed for me!

This chair was designed for a viking giant who claimed to be over 8 feet tall. In all likely hood, he was probably only 7 feet 8 inches, but still!

There was a really cool interactive anaconda that kids could climb through and learn all about the body parts of a snake. I was too big (and in a dress) to climb through, but that didn't stop the snake from trying to make a meal of me.

I drove past a statue of this guy, Robert Pershing Wadlow, every day on my way to student teaching. It was nice to meet him in person and see how I measured up. (If we're being totally honest, I hate manikins and this one stood up and sat down and kept moving his head. I was freaking out while my husband took this picture.) He was the tallest man in history at 8' 11.1 at the time of his death. His shoes were massive!

When we ventured into the local/natural portion of the museum, I was trying to teach my husband how to evacuate an overturned kayak because hey, why not? We might have to go over that lesson again though. He was too entertained by me in a dress, in a kayak, giving a demonstration. 

And finally, the obligatory fireworks picture. I only took one or two because I was much more interested in watching them myself, and not through a camera lens. They were great! It was the biggest fireworks display in the state. I was convinced that this show was shorter than the previous years' but it turns out, I was just enjoying them so much that time got away from me.

Peter Pan Collars and Foam Curlers

Inspired by my new swimsuit and some kind words from my husband, I have officially dived into the retro-chic style with both feet. Here is how the progression has gone:

• Research pictures online for 4 hours and start a new Pinterest board.
• Go to Goodwill and search for shirts or dresses that strike me as retro, i.e. wide collars, peter pan collars, sweet heart cuts, or button downs with a v-neck. 
• Spend $50 on said outfits and two rockin-retro pairs of shoes.
• Try to mimic retro hair-dos and fail because I don't have the right supplies.
• Watch a how-to video for a bouffant.
• Successfully pull of a bouffant.
• Purchase make-up, brushes, and curlers to help craft the look.
• Test out curlers.
• Sleep on test hair before I get to wear it anywhere.

So, needless to say, this hasn't been a cheap process, but I feel like after I have the basics and a general handle on the look itself, it will be pretty simple. I really like this idea because I want so much to have my own "look," but I also work in an office where I need to dress professionally every day. This lets me balance those two things. 

Last week, when I tried out some of my new outfits, I got tons of positive feed back. I even had a lady at Starbucks stop dead in her tracks to tell my how cute I looked. While I do like all of the compliments, I want to get to the point where this is just how I dress all the time. The goal being that I can just look cute, dress like I'm from the 40s or 50s and no one thinks twice about it. I don't really like being the center of attention or drawing a lot of attention to myself (despite what I may have been like in high school!) but I still want to have my own thing and look different from most other people.

Because I can only afford to spend so much money on new clothes, I've tried to put most of my effort into my hair and makeup. I finally found my red lipstick, so that is a huge plus! I got my first liquid eyeliner, so I should be able to pull off a more convincing "cat eye," but I haven't tried that out yet. I was working with gel eyeliner, which most of the how-tos suggest, but it just keeps smearing, so I'm trying something else. I've got the eyeshadow and blush down, but for the lips and eyebrows, fuller is better. Unfortunately, I have rather narrow lips and eyebrows. I'm working up the confidence to draw in fuller eyebrows and extend my lips with liner, but I can't convince myself that I won't look like I just have makeup smeared all over my face. Until now, I've usually gone with a more minimalist look for the makeup, sticking to natural tones and just accenting my features. 

My hair is finally long enough that I can start to make it do what I want. Here are my attempts so far.

What I typically do with my hair, now that I finally understand how to use a flat iron.

Rocking a swept back 50s do for a work party. This was a total fluke and kind of inspired my whole fashion shift. Also, I love this pic and use it for everything now.

Practicing a bouffant

Nailing the bouffant, and also one of my cute new tops.

A great swept back style complete with giant flower in the back. You can't quite see it,but I was trying really hard to get a pic of it along with my new swimsuit. I looked way cute when I laid out in the sun that day.

Trying out foam curlers, then taking them out and sleeping on the result before I took a picture.

I'm really excited to figure out how to do new styles with the curlers. Honestly, I was surprised that my hair actually worked with them. Usually, I put curl in and it falls out within an hour. These stuck around for quite a while. My husband has requested victory rolls, which usually go in longer hair, but we'll see what I can work out while my hair is still short.

Clearly, I'm very excited about this transformation and there will be much more to come. Up next on my list of things to learn are eyebrows.

Bottle Collections and Throwing Axes

Last weekend we attended the Old English Fair, a summer tradition in my family. The last few years it has been a bit of a let down. They used to do it in this huge open state park, there were tons of merchants, actors, musicians, anything you could imagine and then some. One of my favorite memories of going, I went with some friends from the camp I worked at. One friend had made her own dragon horns and wings, and another had made her own medieval dress. I felt left out so I bought a fantastic gypsy chain to go around my hips. While we were walking around we were followed by a priest selling indulgences, he kept offering us 3 for 1 deals. As a high schooler who just barely knew what he was talking about and was in on the joke, I was just tickled pink by the act.

After I went off to college, I came back every summer to attend. Unfortunately, they moved the fair to another location just down the road from the original one. The first year it was there, they hadn't properly cleared the field and I tripped over a buried stump, badly injuring my ankle. It was so hot and there was absolutely no shade and all of the food carts were running out of water. It was miserable. After that, they moved it to a more shady area, but I think they lost quite a few of the returning acts and merchants, so it was a much more bearable area, but there just wasn't anything to see or do. But finally, this year, it started to pick up and become more like I remembered it. There were people yelling for us to come see a "Real Steel" show with unchoreographed sword fighting, fairy story tellers, a pirate stunt show, and my favorite, homemade root beer and cream soda. I'm always taken in by the homemade root beer, but it is usually flat and tastes terrible. We have amassed quite the collection of interesting bottles through our purchases though.

Our new bottles

Our collection of bottles

Now usually at fairs and other events like this, I prefer to be more of a spectator. However, fairs don't typically have a booth that lets you try out throwing weapons. Luckily for me, this one did. I could have thrown knives, throwing stars, or axes. I chose axes for three reasons. 

1. The girls out at camp just got to try throwing axes and I was jealous that I didn't get to. 

2. I love the idea of being a "pioneer woman" who could survive out in the wild away from civilization and this activity would just further my confidence that I could do that. 

3. They looked like the most fun because they made a great "thwack" noise when they hit. 

I got to throw 5 axes for $3 and I got a quick throwing lesson along with that. I missed with the first four, but with the last one I hit the target and made  near bull's eye. There is video evidence. I'll have to find out who has it and post it later. I look pretty bad ass.

After my father-in-law and I were done testing our hand with the axes, we started talking about how easy it would be to put together a target of our own and how each of us has the space in our yards to do something like that. I go online and started to look up how to build a target. I wasn't thrilled with most of the results I got, but there was one site that said just to get thick circles of wood cut, not to use ply board or lumber like all the other how-to's suggested. I've been searching Craigslist for cut down trees, but no luck so far. In the meantime, I'm saving my pennies to get a few axes. They are pricier than I would have expected. Hopefully, as soon as I find someone who can sell me a log, I will have the axes and need and then I'll be in the axe throwing business. 

A One-Sided Q&A With the Author

I'm really sticking to this write everyday thing. Luckily, I haven't set a per day word count for myself. After today, that might be something I need to institute. If we're being honest, I really don't feel like writing today. I'm doing my best to make sure that my words are worth reading, even though my heart isn't really in it right now.

Q: Kristin, why don't you feel like writing today? You were so excited about it this weekend?
A: Well, I'm glad you asked that. First of all, this is my Sunday night. I have to go back to a standard work week after almost two and a half weeks of either being at camp or taking some personal days to recoup. Second of all, my husband is gone for the week. He is on a business trip with his dad. I'm really thrilled for some time to myself, as I don't typically get that...like at all...ever. But, let's face it, I'm much better when I'm half of a wonderful whole.

Q: Do you have any big plans while your husband is gone this week?
A: Yes I do. I'm looking forward to having some time to clean up the house. Also, we have a closet full of stuff that hasn't been touched since we moved in almost a year ago. I'm going to try to sort that out and post it on Craigslist, hopefully to make a bit of money to put toward our vacation in July. I'm also helping a friend put together her resume and apply for some jobs this week. Hopefully, I will get to everything, but let's face it, I have access to Netflix and I need to rewatch the last season of True Blood so I know what's going on when I finally get around to watching the premiere.

Q: Vacation, that sounds exciting. Where are you going?
A: Next month my husband and I will be flying out to Mexico with my in-laws. We are going to stay at a resort in Puerta Vallarta. Truthfully, it hasn't really sunk in yet that we are leaving so soon. What has sunk in is that this weekend, I found an amazing swimsuit for the trip. It was the very first one I tried on.

Q: No way, the first suit you tried on? That never happens.
A: I know! It was fate, I had to buy it, even though it was more money than I had ever spent on a swimsuit before. I walked into Torrid just to check and see what they had. My husband and I both reached for the same suit first. It was the style I had said I wanted and my favorite color. I cringed at the price and had no idea if it would even fit me, but my wonderful husband insisted that I try it on. I'm so glad I did. However, I've declared that this will be the last swimsuit I ever buy! It doesn't look like much on it's own, but it is just perfect once it's on. It also fits into the whole pin-up girl/40s chic that I've really been into lately. We'll have to see if I can pull off some victory rolls in my hair while I'm lounging on the pool deck.

Q: Now you've mentioned before that you have been struggling with some unusual allergies. How do you think those will affect your vacation plans?
A: I really don't think they will, at least, I hope they won't. I've been struggling with an intolerance to red meat and red meat byproducts, along with some random fruits like avocados and bananas, as well as most medications, especially antihistamines. It has been an uphill battle, but I think I've finally figured out most of what triggers my hives. I have gone to a primarily vegetarian diet as of lately, but I can eat seafood and fish without any negative impact. I think our resort is along the Pacific Ocean, so I fully intend to stuff myself with seafood and fresh fruit the entire trip. I actually think it will be easier to stick to my diet outside of the Midwestern U.S. Not to mention, these allergies have really pushed me to try new foods or foods that I didn't think I liked any more and I'm really happy with the diet I've put together while branching out.

Q: Well I can't thank you enough for taking the time to speak with us today.
A: Anytime, you've made it really very easy to write what I needed to today. I appreciate the help and the non-traditional blog format you've allowed me.

Broadening My Horizons: Understanding That I'm an Idiot and Camp NaNoWriMo

Alright, in my recent attempts to better myself, I have very quickly come to terms with the fact that I am an idiot in many respects. Thank god for the Internet. I'm sure my search history is insane this week. Luckily, I tend to commit fun little tips and tricks to memory easily and can usually pull them out when I need them (or I pin them to Pinterest!) Unfortunately, I don't know many bloggers, or if I do, I don't talk to them enough to get some insights on their success. I have found a few helpful sites though and was even brave enough to put in for a transcribing job! Hopefully, I will work up enough nerve to put in for an actual writing job, but I've got to start somewhere.

I've also been practicing writing everyday. It has been easy because it was the weekend and I took today and tomorrow off of work. The real struggle will be later in the week once I go back to work. I'm especially excited about Camp NaNoWriMo that starts in July. For the last 9 years (wow, I didn't realize it had been that long) I have been participating in National Novel Writing Month, which takes place each November and challenges the participants to write a 50,000 word novella in just one month. For some reason or another, November is always a terrible month for me to focus on that sort of thing, so I have never made the 50,000 word goal. I don't really expect that I really will, but this year they have introduced a summer version of the competition. Luckily, July is a particularly slow month for me this year, so there is a chance I might actually make my goal. On top of that, I came to the conclusion that I want to be a writer just a few weeks before the challenge starts. I feel like this confluence of events is just what I need to get myself started and force myself to get those ideas fleshed out into actual stories. In order to keep myself accountable, I will try to update my word count here, as well as the Camp NaNoWriMo website.

I'm not sure how pertinent this is, but I'm including a list of the websites that helped my find some directions in regards to freelancing and blogging. Honestly, this list is here for my own good more than anyone else's. I hope to find more as I continue researching.

• Odesk a website to find freelance writers and to put in for freelance jobs
• Elance similar to Odesk, but it seems to have more searching capabilities when seeking jobs
• The Write Life a site for writers, packed with helpful articles, tips, links, and anything else I might need to know
• WikiHow Gotta love WikiHow, found this article about getting blog subscribers.

Really, what I'm learning is that I need to start commenting on the blogs that I read. I can link my site to my comment, therefore generating more traffic. Lord knows I read enough blogs and have plenty of comments on them, so that can be part of my practice with daily writing. On a side note, I have to tell everyone about Feedly, this is the best RSS feed I have ever used! It took me forever to find one that I liked and it makes keeping up with the 20+ blogs I follow easy as pie. It even helps me to follow YouTube channels and my friends personal blogs.  I highly recommend it.

Just one more day of easily finding time to write. I want to wish myself luck writing for the rest of the week, but I know better than anyone that it is just going to take dedication and forcing myself to stick with it.

Writing for More Than My Sake

This past two weeks I have been crazy busy leading day camps and I met some amazing women through this experience. One woman was particularly interesting to me. She works from home as a freelance writer. My understanding was that she works primarily for a travel magazine, in addition to regularly reviewing products sent to her by various companies, and publishing two ebooks, all while working on a novel. I was really blown away by her creative spirit and the freedom that she had created for herself through choosing such a nontraditional career path. She talked about traveling for work, getting excited about new products sent to her in the mail, writing a chapter of her novel that she liked so much she forgot she was reading her own words. I was fascinated by her, I struggled to tear myself away to take care of my camp director responsibilities, and moreover, I wanted to be like her.

I came home and declared to my husband that I was going to be a writer. I have an English degree, I write for my own pleasure, why couldn't I get published? Primarily, I am afraid to put my ideas out into the world because I assume that someone has already had the same idea and said it better or that my ideas are basic and obvious. I know that this isn't true, it is just difficult to force myself to look and the mirror and say "you are smart and interesting, of course people would want to read what you write." Since I have decided that writing is going to become something that is a part of my daily life, I've actually had some really solid ideas. This weekend, I got a huge confidence boost when I was out to dinner with my husband and in-laws. We were talking about religion. I'm a former Catholic, turned atheist and my husband jokingly takes credit for this fact. I was lightheartedly sharing a rather personal story with my family about the first time I had major doubts about my faith. After finishing the story, they were quiet for a moment before saying "That is a really beautiful story, you should write that into a poem." I was so touched, I struggled not to cry right there at dinner. Simply because I was growing more confident with myself and sharing stories about myself and as a reward for that, I got the praise that I am so hoping I can earn as a writer.

I've always carried around a notebook to write down ideas or interesting experiences that I have in the hopes that I will go back and make them into part of my novel. Sometimes I do and sometimes, I forget that I've even written anything down. This week, while driving an hour to and from camp everyday, I started listening to what I thought was an audio book by David Sedaris, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules. While listening to the prologue by Mr. Sedaris, I was informed that this was in fact an anthology of short stories that he thought needed to be read. I had a revelation while listening to this beautiful collection, I could write short stories, I could write essays, my "novel" that I had been working on for years wasn't coming along because it wasn't the story for a novel, it was the story for a shorter work. While I'm still not quite sure what to do with this information yet, it excites me. It has made me interested in my own ideas. It has made me want to write every day and share my work with other people. It has emboldened me to take risks and damn the consequences or learn from them.

Here's the beginning of being a writer, of taking risks, of putting myself out there, and of eventual success stemming from hard work and a dedication to craft.

My Top 10 Idiosyncrasies

Everyone has their idiosyncrasies. Not everyone is willing to share those with the rest of the world. Being a Millennial, I think that mine are equally, if not more interesting than everyone else's. Hence, I have a blog and hence I am posting them for the world to see.

10. If there is a Top Ten Countdown on TV, I have no choice but to watch it.

Some countdowns have included, the Top 10 One Hit Wonders, the Top 10 Celebrity Meltdowns, the Top 10 Celebrity Pregnancies, and the Top 10 Redneck Weddings. Buzzfeed is my Kryptonite now.


9. I feel physically ill if I spend more than $12 on a shirt.

I don't feel like this one warrants explanation. It just means that I shop at Goodwill and really I only feel sick about it until I forget how much I spent on the shirt. I am the queen of hand-me-downs.

8. I am afraid of someone hiding in the backseat of my car and attacking or even just surprising me while I'm driving. Especially if it is raining.

I think this might stem from an urban legend I heard in grade school. The one where a lady is driving home and a trucker keeps flicking his lights on and off at her, then she freaks out because he follows her home and she thinks he is going to kill her, but it turns out that there is a man in the back of her car who keeps trying to stab her and the trucker saves her life by flickering his lights. Also, I feel like this is a prime example of how not to do "show not tell" writing. Read a better version here.

7. Red meat gives me hives. (Are undiagnosed medical conditions considered idiosyncrasies?)

I don't actually know if red meat gives me hives. It seems like everything gives me hives now. Currently known culprits: red meat, allergy medications, pain medications, large amounts of sugar, pants that are too tight, socks, seat belts, and lemongrass.

6. I love to subvert people's expectations of me.

Something I regularly do that just makes me giddy with joy, is to go straight from work, wearing professional attire, to a comic book store and then to walk in and start conversing with the guys working about the latest comic releases. While I like surprising people with how much I know, I hate when people assume I don't know anything. Example: When I worked in a video game store, I had a man walk in looking for a flight simulator game. I hate flight simulator games, so I didn't know a ton about what we had. When I went to ask a co-worker (also a female) she was able to give me some titles to direct him toward. When I went back to help him, he made the comment, "It is OK, no one expects you to know about games because you are a woman." Luckily, I brushed it off, and didn't think to be upset about it until later. I don't know if I would have been able to do the same if it happened again today.

5. In college, I found out that my now-husband was allergic to me.

My favorite scent was and still is coconut anything. The more it smells like sunscreen the better. What didn't occur to me was that they used actual coconut in the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and body spray that I used. (I don't do moderation very well.) So, my lovely husband, who is allergic to coconut, stayed quite about the fact that he itched like crazy after we saw each other because he didn't want to hurt my feelings. We had been dating for almost 3 years by the time we figured this out.

4. I yawn every time someone says the word "yawn," makes a yawning noise, or really does yawn. (I yawned four times just while writing this sentence.)

This isn't usually a problem unless someone finds out about it. (Yes, I know I am broadcasting it to the Internet as I say this.) I worked in a warehouse for a while, and my boss found out about this lovely trait of mine. He would hide behind corners and make fake yawning noises and then run away giggling as I yawned and shook my fist at him. He didn't believe that it would really happen every time, so he kept trying it. There was a day at work where he made me yawn so many times, I had tears running down my cheeks. I tried the yawning test, and failed before the movie even started because I read the title.

3. I have severe technophobia, but I still consider myself to be technologically savvy and used technology in almost every aspect of my life.

I think this stems from a weird experience I had as a child that made me connect hackers and Satan. My favorite website used to be Bored.com. I know, I know, but that was the best there was for me on the Internet at the time. You can't visit it anymore, but it used to be links to some of the coolest time wasters online. It had games, MadLibs, personality quizzes, etc... I found one link that was supposed to be the "Internet reading your mind." You had to look at a number on the screen, not click on it or anything, and the computer would tell you what number you looked at. I tried it a dozen times and it worked every time. I even tried it where I didn't pick a number, and it managed to get the number that I was kind of thinking of on accident. I tried to figure out what it was, a math trick, a visual trick that made the numbers look more appealing, anything! I couldn't figure it out, so I told my mom about it. I'm sure she meant well, but she told me that I needed to be careful and not to visit that site anymore because it was probably Satan and to remember that evil is a real thing that needed to be feared. I took that to heart and have been scared of the Internet ever since. Now, let's be real, my fear of the Internet has matured and become much more logical than "it is Satan's fault," but it is fear nonetheless.

2. I am terrified of anyone coming near my Achilles tendon, and I can't watch videos where someone's is hurt or severed.

Again, I think this one come from the Internet. The lesson from this, is that the Internet is a terrifying place for children. The urban legend that everyone's grandmother forwarded to them was about a man who would wait under womens' cars and when they opened the door, he would cut their ankle so they couldn't get away before he took their purse and stole their car, leaving them stranded and bleeding in the parking lot. Thanks again to Snopes for letting me know that these are all fake. They never go into too much detail, but being the curious kid I was, I did some investigating and learned about the Achilles tendon in your leg. I learned that it stretches clear up your calf and if severed, your muscle will snap and bunch up  behind your knee, leaving you unable to walk. Things that bother me because of this (which I will not post because I can't bring myself to search for the YouTube clips of them)

• The video footage of a famous runner snapping his Achilles tendon when taking off in a race. (This is the worst one because you can watch his muscles move all the way up his leg.)
• The scene in Kill Bill Volume 2 where the Bride gets out of a coma and hides just inside the door to slit the ankle of the gross nurse.
• Any scary movies where someone is hiding under the stairs, not because anything really happens, but because something MIGHT happen.
• Watching a scary movie while sitting on a chair that has space underneath it. I have to pull my knees up on to the seat of the chair.
• Really anything where someone's ankles are vulnerable.

1. I hold my breath when people I don't know walk past me so I don't accidentally smell them.

I really don't know where this one comes from. I just started doing it one day. It doesn't matter if I smell a strangers perfume or their body odor, it freaks me out. Truth be told, if I haven't seen you in a while, I will probably hold my breath when you walk by too. Sorry, it's nothing personal.

A Foray into Gardening

For weeks now, I've obsessed over the fact that I don't have a hobby. In the last few years, I've been so busy with work that I didn't have time to even think about extracurriculars. I was lucky if I stayed awake through dinner, let alone taking time to focus my energy on something frivolous. Luckily, I've moved in to a much lower-stress job, that allows me to take time for myself and find something I really enjoy.

I tried various arts and crafts type hobbies just to see if they were for me. I made a great lamp shade with some modpodge. But it made such a mess, and it was such a struggle to keep the cats away from it while it dried, that it didn't seem like something I would do just for the fun of it. I would certainly go back to it if I came up with something that I would specifically like to have/make.

I tried decorating ceramics with sharpie (thanks Pinterest!) but I quickly found out that I only had enough patience and creativity to do one mug. Not to mention, black seems to be the only color that doesn't rub off the mug. And, lesson learned, sharpie colors do shift when you bake them in the oven. My mug still turned out really cool though, and I have two other bowls waiting for me to figure out what I want to decorate them with.

I tried what I called a "visual journal," something between a scrapbook, a coloring book, and an actual journal. Those types of  "create everyday things" always the same, you stick with it for about a month and go back to it when you have a specific reason to, but otherwise, they lie there, mostly untouched. I think I've filled in about 10 pages, 3 of which are filled with paraphernalia from a vacation I took. I wish I could stick to this one, but I'm not a journal everyday type of person. However, one of the podcasts that I listen to suggested that I write even about the mundane things, because those can be very interesting to go back and read years down the road. For example, something mundane to me now, might be indicative of a lifestyle that becomes drastically different from the day-to-day of my future, super-successful self. Then I can look back on my peasant life and appreciate how great I've got it.

For a while now, I've been telling myself that I am a photographer. I've even gone on some "photo shoots" trying desperately to do some nice floral photographs. I'll take pictures of anything and everything. Unfortunately, it seems that I just stumble into some of my best pictures. For example, I took this one just walking down the street while I was in high school. I didn't even realize how good it was, I just thought the couple looked sweet.

And this one, I think, is only good because of the bees in the background. I didn't even realize that they were there when I took it. I don't feel like I should be able to take credit for accidentally good pictures.

Then, the other day, I found my sister's Instagram account and it was hard not to give up. Not only has she been a talented artist since she was old enough to pick up a crayon, but she also has an amazing eye for photography as well. It was really difficult not to give up entirely and just leave it to the pros like her. The hardest part was looking through photos that she took while I was with her. She somehow saw something beautiful and interesting, while I just saw a building.

So, I have decided that I am taking up gardening. My mother sent me an Easter basket with a really nice smelling flower, a hyacinth I think. My whole office smelled nice all day. Then my mother-in-law gave me an Easter basket with tomato, cucumber, and basil seeds along with some gardening gloves. Thank goodness for these two, otherwise, I would have no idea where to start. My mother-in-law also helped me realize that, hey, maybe I should get some gardening tools before I start this whole process. So, I've decided that I will plant flowers in the front of my house and some fruits and vegetables in the back.

Now for the hard part. I rent a modular house. The foundation of the house is lined with gravel that is sort of set up like it was supposed to be landscaped eventually. I'm tinkering with the idea of removing all of the gravel and replacing it with soil. But my husband helped me dig up some of the gravel today to see how deep it went before we hit dirt and it turns out that it goes down almost a foot. I'm not sure if I will be able to afford all of the soil that it would take to replace the gravel. On top of that, I don't know if my landlord would actually want me to landscape for him. He said to go ahead and tear up the yard to garden if I want to, but I'm not sure where he would fall with the area around the foundation of the house. If worst comes to worst, I found the coolest idea for a cinder block garden on Pinterest! Maybe we'll give that a go. At the very least, I would like to get one salad out of this hypothetical garden by the end of the summer.