2nd Trimester and other stuff

Hey there. Guess what? I'm still alive. And I'm doing well. Work (yep, I'm working right now), baby prep, house stuff and general life have taken over any blogging time. But I've found a moment or two to write, so here I am.

So, I'm now about 8 weeks away from little Peter's due date, which is exciting and stress-inducing at the same time. The second trimester was a breeze, with only minor annoyances (like heartburn, finding it more difficult to bend over to put shoes on, and snoring). In fact, it was actually pretty fun to have people start to notice the Peter bump and comment on its cuteness. Flattering. The attention, I won't lie, is fun.

Oh, and feeling baby move is fun and interesting. These days he fights with me over resting things on my belly. Not even heavy things, just pieces of paper, or the edge of my laptop. He pushes back. Such a resistant little fellow. He also tends to be elusive with TC. When I tell TC to come feel Peter move, the little guy typically stops. We figure he doesn't like being a prank monkey and so out of spite stops moving. Our doctor says it's probably because TC has a calming effect. 

I now have an intense desire to eat exactly as TC does. I can't get enough chocolate milk and cookies (which is a staple in TC's diet). And just to show that this baby is indeed part Argentine: I crave meat. Good thing we are going to Tucanos tomorrow night for all you can eat meat. That should satisfy the dude.

I bought some maternity jeans and a few tops and have just been creative (or not so creative) in putting outfits together. TC bought me a few cute dresses for church, and I have plans to sew for myself, but I haven't felt motivated to do so. Oh, and, in case any of you are wondering, I am still wearing heels most of the time, unless I have to walk a whole lot, in which case I wear flats. Today I am wearing these:

Also, it's warm. I kept thinking, back in January when Utah had three continuous weeks of snow and ice and freezingness and mucky skies, and then a short break before more snow and muckiness, that I would never have this baby, since he's due at the beginning of June, and by then it should be warm and sunny and lovely. But now, there is evidence that eventually it will be warm, and this baby will come. Whew! No chronic pregnancy for me.

Our house still has not taken material form, but we are hoping to apply for building permits in the next few months. Everything is designed and engineered and awesome. 

I have been sewing for Peter, and if I ever get around to it I'll post the projects here. I do have, however, for your viewing pleasure, some gifts that he has already received.

A pair of shoes (gosh I hope he inherits his parents' love of shoes):

And a very fitting onsie for our super baby:

The First Trimester, According to Gordita

I've been thinking about this post for quite a while now. What would I say? How would I describe my first trimester? Now that I'm well into the second, I think I'm far enough removed to be objective, but still close enough to it that I remember.

Well, here's what I've come up with to summarize the experience: it was crappy.

The nausea, the bloating, the digestive ummm struggles, the emergency ravenousness, general cloudy headedness, acute loss of sense of humor, the panic and guilt I felt... Yeah. All crap.

Because I was so nauseated, and only a few foods really appealed to me, I ate whatever sounded good. For some reason fruits and vegetables in any form did NOT sound good to me. Neither did anything with any semblance of nutrition. I subsisted on cereal, white rice with butter and salt, boiled pasta with a whisper of olive oil, chicken nuggets, fries and toast with honey. My favorite foods--goldfish, diet Dr. Pepper, pizza, and even Cafe Rio (the horror)--did not appeal. In fact, they induced nausea. Heart-rending, I know.

My poor diet, along with the zofran I was taking for nausea, plus the general pregnantness I was experiencing led to my digestive ummm struggles. All I will say about that is this: I do not wish that kind of pain on even the most loathsome of people.

Then there was the emergency ravenousness, the feeling that fatty's gonna have a heart attack if we don't eat again soon (name THAT movie). What a conundrum: I must eat or I will die, or worse, vomit. But nothing sounds appealing. Plus, it's 2:30 in the antemeridian and my dear husband is trying to sleep and our apartment is small and every sound is heard everywhere and it's not like I could prepare boiled pasta without disturbing him. So, I ate cereal. Like a kid at fat camp that sneaks into the kitchen at night, I snuck around eating cereal as quietly as I could. You'd be surprised at how much racket a metal spoon makes clanking against a porcelain bowl. It's like jet engine loud at 2:30 am.

Between the bloating and the poor diet, I gained weight. I wasn't "showing," just chubbier. I was less than delighted about that.

So as a result of my physical difficulties I felt cloudy-headed. I wasn't ME anymore. And I completely lost any semblance of a sense of humor. TC was no longer funny. His jokes or words of comfort and support intended to ease my burden were seemingly insensitive (i.e. TC: "Well, at least this will be over soon." Me: "That's not funny jerk. Don't trivialize my demise! It's like you want me to feel miserable.") Yeah. I was a joy to be around.

I felt panicked that this condition was permanent, although every degree of logic pointed to temporary. And I panicked that I wasn't happy to be pregnant. After waiting and hoping for so long, I was miserable. Is this what tragic irony is all about?

And I felt guilty that the little one growing inside of me, sucking the life out of me, snuffing me out gradually, wasn't loved and treasured. Would I love this baby, the cause of my lengthy expiry, once it was born, assuming I survived that long? Would I resent the creature? Would I continue to view him as a parasite?

I'm happy to report that with the second trimester things gradually changed, on all fronts. Things have gotten better: I'm not nauseated, my head is unclouded, it's no longer eat or die, and I'm starting to kind of like this little guy. I realize now that wherever I go, I have company, and I like it. Also, my diet is more varied and my favorites are back into play (except for pizza for some strange reason). And the digestive struggles have subsided. Things are looking up!

So to anyone out there reading this that might be in their first trimester, fearing that they will never be funny again, that they will never have another normal "movement," or that they will never love diet Dr. Pepper the same, take courage. Things will get better! This IS temporary.

However, when one problem is solved, another takes its place. I'll tell you all about my second trimester once it's over.

Mathematics

Guess what people!

You've got to guess!

Fine, I'll tell you. There is a new breakthrough in math.

1 + 1  =  3*

Get it?

No?

I'll tell you then.

The Compensator family is having a baby. In June we will hear the pitter patter of little Compensator/Gordita feet. We are excited, thrilled really. We have waited for this for so long. However, there's still a twinge of panic for both of us. Funny how you can want something for so long, and then when it happens you feel completely unprepared. At any rate, we are excited to have a little person in our lives. 

On that note, I've been sick, but now that I'm out of my first trimester I am starting to feel better little by little. My waistline is increasing and fewer and fewer of my clothes fit. It's a bit alarming, and I find it difficult to be okay with the increased girth, but rationally I know that this has to happen, and that it's all for the little one's good. 

Artist's rendering of future baby The Compensator.

Some time I'll bore you with all of the strange and interesting symptoms of pregnancy. I find it all fascinating, if not a little odd and sometimes frustrating.

*TC, the family doctor and scientist who spends most of his days with mathematics had nothing to do with this gross miscalculation. In fact, if he knew I put that on our blog, he'd probably cringe at least a little, and maybe begin a tirade on the importance of mathematics in our lives. But really, that's why I love him. 

It's a... pumpkin!

Once upon a time, I had a blog. And I updated this blog regularly. Then, I, for whatever reason, lost steam. And stopped posting. The end.

Sad story.

But guess what I have for you!!

It's a pumpkin. That the man carved.

We got together with some friends last Monday to watch the presidential debate and carve pumpkins. I picked the design, started to carve it out, and before I knew it I handed the knife over to TC (maybe had something to do with his frequent "Be careful Gordi," and general nervousness at my haphazard handling of a rather large knife). And then before I knew it, it actually looked like a ghost, rather than Yoda (which was what it most closely resembled when I was in charge).

TC's patience, precision and skill with a carving knife all were astounding. What's also astounding is that I think that this was the first time in our 12 years of married life that we carved pumpkins.

All lit up!

So pretty. 

I sprayed it down with a clorox & water solution which kept the mold at bay until yesterday, when the pumpkin started to stink. So, we took an elevator ride to the top floor of our building (8th), and dropped it down the trash chute. We listened to it pick up speed and whistle before it smashed into the dumpster below. Such a satisfying end to a cute little pumpkin.

More about me

I haven't said much in the last few months, so here's an update, all about me, me and ME! Oh my gosh! You have been waiting on pins and needles for this, I know.

TC and I got home about two weeks ago from an awesome trip, but the deets about that will have to wait until later. For now, you get to hear about me. Just me. And maybe some other things, all of which interest, well, ME!

ME!

So here's the thing: I'm pretty pumped about things right now. Things are awesome. TC is the best husband ever. (This is not an overstatement in the least. He is literally, THE best husband ever. I've studied the matter and after looking at every husband that ever was, is and will be I determined that mine, indeed, is the best. Don't feel bad though. I'm sure your husband is adequate, maybe even pretty great. We can't all be the best like TC.) 

TC, the Huz, the best husband ever (not an exaggeration).

So you're probably wondering how it is that he's the best. Let me tell you. He is funny. Frigging funny. He makes me nearly wet my pants from laughing every day. EVERY DAY people. I almost have an episode of urinary incontinence every day! 

A recent funny/wisdom from TC: 

He who eats crackers in bed wakes up feeling crummy. 

When you are done marveling at his cleverness and humor, continue reading.

Here's another fun fact about the man: he's super-human smart. Sometimes being around someone that smart can make me feel dumb, but I choose to overlook my own shortcomings in this area and pretty much every other area. It helps me keep my sanity. Avoidance is the answer people.

TC dreams big. I do not. I think within the realm of probability, and TC thinks in the realm of possibility. It makes a big difference. So when we started looking for a house, I felt that we just needed to buy in a location relatively close to the Huz's place of employment (to make it easier for him to have money to pay for the relatively close house and all my shoes), and it needed to be relatively nice. TC wanted more. And now we were in the throes of designing a home (more on this in a sec). His big thinking is what makes him good at his job as a scientist in R&D, but also makes him good at his job as a husband.

Well, for a post about me, this is a heck of a lot of writing about TC. Back to me.

Thinking about, what else, ME!

Right before we left on our soon-to-be-detailed trip I sewed up a quick shirt (took maybe 3 hours total with cutting and sewing) and it turned out. In fact, it's kind of nice. So my mojo has a return ticket to destination ME. On our awesome trip I bought some awesome fabric. It's amazing what fabric and a successful sewing project can do to inspire a person, namely me.

Our house plans take up a lot of my time right now. Researching different possibilities, options, etc. is fun and yet frustrating. What I want to know is why, when I have no idea of price, I automatically choose one of the most expensive toilets in the entire showroom? It's just a toilet people, and yet I am attracted to the one that will remove the most shoe-buying potential from my wallet. Gah! I must have a rip-off tractor beam. Seriously. TC was right to say that we should name our house the Costington. If I'm the one choosing fixtures, it likely will be.

Not actual architectural renderings of our house,

but found here and is actually pretty darn close.

What you might want to know is have we broken ground yet? Nope. Not even close. Close-ER than we were a month ago, or even a week ago, but still a ways out. Little by little we are inching closer to finalized plans, and our projected move in date looks more like 1st or 2nd quarter 2013. The only problem I see with this new, extended timeline is continuing to stash my shoes in every corner of our apartment. I'm ready to have a proper closet home for them rather than having to pull two or three boxes from under the bed before getting to the pair I want to wear. So either I have too many shoes (yeah right), or my closet is too small. I'm going with small closet because I'm also looking forward to being able to pull out one skirt without three other skirts coming with it. Other than my closet/first world problems, waiting is not too bad. It seems that everything I want takes a while to arrive, and I'm okay with it. I'm still young. Aren't I? 

I'm not?

I'm still kind of young, right?

Not really?

Crud.

I am American right? From the United States of America? Well, that's something.

That's all for now.

love, Gordi

It's April!

So what's new? 

• Still no sewing. I've lost my mojo. It's gone, like completely disappeared. I'm not sure what to do to get it back. There are things I have on my sewing docket that are exciting and lovely, but without my mojo, there's no getting anything done.
• The house plans are on their way. We are close to bidding them out to builders. That means that we are close (within a few months) to actually building. So exciting!
• I've discovered pinterest. I know I'm late to the game. I've tried a few things, some of which have been wildly successful (a few hair styles), and a few of which have been failures (clear ice by boiling water was only partially clear; dried strawberries were extremely gross). So many things to try and learn.
• I discovered The Body Shop. I got a gift card for my birthday and bought myself some Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil which smells like gardenias (my absolute favorite scent of all time in the history of scents), White Gardenia Eau de Toilette (again, my favorite scent), and coconut body butter (coconut is my second favorite scent and first favorite flavor in the history of flavors and scents). I am loving smelling so tropical. It makes me long for Hawaii, but makes the longing a bit more bearable.
• Saturday was the day of quail. We saw quail on our balcony, on the way up to our lot, and on the way to the grocery store. 

• TC is still super awesome.

I think that pretty much sums up my last few months: smelling things, not sewing, working on the house plans, looking at quail, pinterest, and appreciating the Huz. 

Happy

I've been drawing. And here is one fruit of my labor.

If this doesn't make you a bit crazy happy you are dead inside.

Gnomes part 2

So glad I could entertain with photos of homes. To be clear, the homes listed did not make the cut for us to actually go see in person. The orange carpet stopped us in our tracks. I understand that carpet can be changed, walls can be painted, wet bars can be ripped out, garage doors can be fixed and freaky glowing eyed dogs can even be sent to live with another family. I just don't want to do any of those things if I can avoid it.

So now that you know that I am a complete lazy bum, here's another gem I found for your consideration:

With this basement you can have a little bit of Vegas right in your own home! I can almost smell the cigarettes and spilled beer.

Gnomes on Homes

So you're probably wondering what do gnomes have to do with homes. In all honesty, nothing. It rhymed and I love catchy phrases. Especially when they make no sense.

Our house hunt continues. After a year of searching online, we finally gathered up the necessary courage to go look at a few houses. We only found one that we were really excited about, but sadly it was snatched up before we got to it. With good reason too: it was a lovely home. We will have to learn to be quicker, I suppose.

The idea of being quick on such a big decision is foreign to us. Six years ago when we bought a new car, it took us nearly a year of research and thought to finally go buy the car. We love it still, even all these years later, which is a testament to how careful we were in making our decision. But buying a home is a different animal. The factory will not just make you another perfect house in the perfect location. So, we are gearing up to pull the trigger when it's time to pull it. I'll let you know how that goes.

In the meantime, I have come across all kinds of interesting things in my online house hunting. I have discovered that weirdness, ugliness, and oldness comes at all price points. (I was afraid for a while that all we could afford were dives until I looked at houses in higher price ranges and came to the aforementioned conclusion).

You may be thinking, "What's so wrong with this picture?" Besides the blue tiled countertop, which is dated, but functional, the kicker for me is the glowing eyed creature in the background. Dog not included for $138/sqft.

For $61/sqft you can buy yourself this lovely newer home... with a plywood garage door? Couldn't be bothered with fixing that before you put the house on the market?

For $116/sqft you can have this busted garage door (oh, and the house behind it). Again with the "can't be bothered to fix stuff, need to sell mahouse," philosophy.

Then we have the all-too-common, all-too-popular wet bar, usually in the basement. Usually wood paneled. It's prevalent, as you are about to see.

 $87/sqft.

 $95/sqft.

 $115/sqft.

$129/sqft. It's perfect for entertaining!

Now I think this just might be my favorite:

A mossy pond in your entry is a sure fire way to say, "Welcome to my micro organism ridden home," and "Watch your step." All of this could be yours for $139/sqft.

Or, how about an entire home carpeted in marbled mauve low pile? Now with lavender painted walls! $89/sqft.

Or your could go with orange carpeting for $129/sqft.

If you find that cost-prohibitive, here is a lower priced orange carpet option at only $91/sqft.

Or if you are more interested in purple carpet, for $101/sqft this could be yours. (I actually really liked this home in all of its funkiness, except for the carpet, which would be a relatively easy change. Alas, this home is no longer on the market.)

Anyone up for a pink kitchen?

And lastly, here is some product placement for you. Wheat Thins and Kroger brand Grahams? Yes please. Oh, and the house could be yours for only $77/sqft.

What do I do?

It's been a while since I've just written about what's going on with me. And I miss it. As part of my 101 things I've been keeping a daily log, a summary of each day, and that has sort of taken the place of blogging. I do have a completed sewing project to show you, but it will have to wait. Today I just want to talk.

With my free time:

I've been baking bread, and keeping TC stocked with cookies (I've finally figured out how to prevent rock-hard, dog biscuit-like cookies).

I've been keeping a database tracking grocery prices with the intent that after a year or so of data I will be able to predict when certain goods might go on sale. Is this project a bit overboard? Yes. But I love it. Another part of the same database is keeping track of how long it takes us to use non-food goods, like shampoo, soap, shaving cream, etc. Once we have a good amount of data I will be able to figure out how much we spend per day on just grooming and cleaning. This excites me beyond recognition.

A screenshot of my little database.

I've made several playlists to provide the background music for my days: Toto's Africa, Til Tuesday's Voices Carry, Far East Movement's Like a G6, Astor Piazzolla's Adios Nonino.

I've been sewing, but not as much as I imagined I would.

I've made it nearly a full-time pursuit to research homes, neighborhoods, socio-economic data on surrounding areas, potential commute times for TC, reasonable prices for neighborhoods we are interested in, and the whole real estate process. I've realized how easy it is to be seduced by shiny new neighborhoods that would make for a long commute for the Huz. I've realized how little you get for the money in the neighborhoods I have always wanted to live in. It's an interesting process. On a lighter note, maybe someday I'll share with you a worst of real estate that I've started keeping track of (for example, a home that has a pond in the entry way, and stepping stones leading the way to the rest of the house; or the house decked out entirely in seemingly new royal purple carpet).

Last week TC was sick; he had a man cold of the worst kind. In all seriousness, poor guy was knocked out nearly all week. I've never seen him so miserable, and I've never ever felt so helpless and sad for him. He's better now, besides a lingering cough. I did my best to nurse him back to health, making sure he drank plenty of liquids, giving him his decongestant, and put a cool rag on his forehead when he had a fever.

I've been ironing TC's work shirts. I've been ironing my own clothes. I've been planning, scheming, plotting exciting things that I will share shortly.

That, in a few words, is what I do. I'm enjoying my opportunity to develop my domesticity and to serve my wonderful, loving husband. I enjoyed being able to focus all my attention and nurturing on TC last week. I enjoy baking bread, and the way our home smells when TC comes home. I enjoy taking walks in the middle of the day. I enjoy taking naps whenever I feel like it. And I enjoy being able to focus on making our home lovely and comfortable, clean and organized.

My contentment is a miracle. I tend to be so negative. Don't worry; I am still aware of what I lack. I'm just choosing not to focus on it. And that's leading to happiness. What a miracle! If only I'd known sooner that that is all it takes.

Let's just be honest here.

Seen on the corner of State St and 1700 S in Salt Lake City. At least he's honest.

R.I.P. Plantita Adorada

I loved you from the moment I saw you at Costco and realized that you were a Gardenia plant.

I loved you all those moments I watered you, and all those moments I forgot to water you.

I loved you all those times I brought you from the outdoors in to protect you from the unpredictable spring and fall weather.

I loved you every time you bloomed a new blossom.

I loved you every time you drooped from neglect.

I loved you even when I forgot to bring you indoors during the worst storm of the season.

I loved you even when I forgot about you as I watched on the news all the storm warnings, and warnings of sub-zero temperatures.

I loved you when I looked outside to realize that you had been killed by the inclement weather.

I loved you when I brought you indoors hoping you would resurrect. And I loved you when I realized that I had not brought you in time to save you.

And I loved you as I dropped you down the trash chute.

R.I.P. I will miss you.

The new man in my life and more newness

I've been absent for a while. So here's a rundown of what's going on.

• TC and I dressed up for Halloween for the first time in our entire 10 year tenure as a married couple. TC was an Argentine soccer player, and I was Harley Quinn in her outfit from the Arkham Asylum game. Specific, no?
• We bought a big bag of Halloween candy from Costco and did not end up giving any away. I may have had to set a 10 pieces per day limit for myself. I may or may not have been able to stick to that limit. And in the end, I may have asked TC to take the candy to work.
• TC's mom is visiting TC's sister an hour away from here, but she stopped by our place for a while on Sunday. It was great seeing her and talking to her. And also, she brought me new shoes from Argentina. They are adorable and deserve their own post.
• TC bought me new shoes as well. They are spectacular and also deserve their own post.
• The weather is unseasonably warm, and I'm happy about that.
• The Utes lost today against TCU, and I'm sad about that.
• I haven't sewn in weeks, and I'm beginning to experience symptoms of withdrawal.
• I misspelled two words in that last sentence and had to look them up. I worry that my spelling skills are going down the tubes.
• There is a new man in my life, and TC's life. Well, he's not new, but we have gotten serious about him recently. It's Tony Horton. We started P90X this week, and it's kicking our butts in the best, and most painful, way. We were bored with our old Power 90 routine, and that was preventing us from getting serious about it again (we kept flitting between doing it and not doing it). So, we decided to kick it up a notch and do P90X, extreme! Making all this even more extreme is that due to TC's schedule we have found that 5am is the only time that we have time to exercise. 5am is extreme people. 
• I mentioned two projects that I was working on in anticipation of my 13 lb fabric box arriving. I have decided to ditch the skirt until I get a smaller waist (or for the rest of my days, whichever comes first) and the shirt I haven't worked on, although I have cut it out. (Update: umm, I'm kind of thick-headed. I actually did finish the shirt. I already showed it to you in my Spooky Halloween Outfit post. Where is my head?)
• My 13 lb box of fabric arrived and I am tickled to start working on the many items of clothing I have ahead of me. It's just exciting.
• I dropped by Deseret Industries (a thrift store) a few weeks back and hit their pattern section. I bought 10 awesome vintage patterns, including one pants pattern for TC. It's in his size and everything. The patterns deserve their own post.
• Remember I entered my dress design in the Shabby Apple Dare to Design contest? I wasn't chosen as a finalist, but check out the dress designs that were chosen. I LOVE numbers 2, 7, and 14. Adorable! (Another update: Umm, I forgot to include a link so you can check out the finalists. Here it is.)
• I have been struggling with the whole "How do you spend your time now that you aren't working?" thing. Sometimes I feel guilty that I'm not working and that I have free time. And sometimes other people's comments elicit those guilty feelings. I'm pretty susceptible to guilt though, so you can hardly blame other people. But just a hint: asking the question "What DO you DO. ALL. DAY??" isn't really all that polite, especially when said in a very incredulous tone of voice and followed with, "Don't you get bored?" and "How do I get THAT gig?" I wrote a very embittered blog post about this very subject last week, but thought better of posting. It's sitting in my posts list as a draft. I will likely never post it because it's pretty dang bitter and goes on and on and on, and really does nothing more than show how defensive I am. Defensiveness usually indicates guilt. But I've already admitted that I feel guilty so... At any rate, be polite to others.
• I found the best BEST pizza crust recipe. It's so fluffy and delicious and wonderful. That also deserves its own post.
• And I made cinnamon rolls from this recipe and they turned out fan-frigging-tastic. I highly recommend them. I even made a change to the recipe and they still turned out (I made a butter cream frosting instead of cream cheese frosting). Yumness to the maximum.

I think that's all I've got for now. I'll see if I can work on those items that deserve their own posts.

Rest assured that I've been keeping up to date with all of you my friends and I'm glad you're doing well.

My profound thoughts

• The charger to my laptop is broken. I don't know how or why, it just doesn't work. I'm kind of weirded out about it. 

• I couldn't sleep last night. But this morning I had no problem sleeping in. Poor TC got up all by himself.

• I ordered an obscene amount of fabric yesterday. I have several awesome projects coming up, and I decided to get all of the fabric at once. Yeah, I'm a bit nuts.

• Since I have a big box of fabric coming, and I have boxes of fabric strewn around the house (i.e. stacked neatly in the guest/sewing room and down in storage) I need to work on the fabric I have. Today I will be cutting fabric for planned projects like a mad woman.

• I have yet to find a good use for leftover fabric from finished projects. Often I have just enough to do *something* (1/2 yard) so I hold on to it. But I never know what the something I can or should do is. Also, this tells me that I overestimate how much fabric I need when planning for projects. I've thought about making matching headbands, but that's not really me. I don't wear headbands and I probably wouldn't want matching ones. *sigh* See my conundrum?

• Also, sadly, it's finally time to switch out my summer clothes for my winter. Out with the cold, and in with the wool, I always say. Or just said for the first time. The plus side is that it feels like shopping, but no money is exchanged. I just get to pick out sweaters that I haven't seen in months, making them feel like new. Sometimes I even have to say, "Oh yeah! I forgot about this sweater that I love so much." Fun stuff.

• Last night when I couldn't sleep I tried to remember what I would find when I pulled out my winter clothes. It was a fun challenge, and even more fun to remember the warm fuzzy clothes I will find.

• I bought a new steam mop last week. It's a Shark and I got it from Costco. My old mop was a Conair that I bought from amazon.com two years ago. It was pretty awesome despite the bad reviews it got, and lasted me for two whole years. In the end, I broke it because I left it on without any water. I burned out the heater. Sad. The new mop was significantly more expensive, but also cleans significantly better. I'm back to being excited about mopping the floors again.

• I have a book on hold at the library that I need to pick up: Personal Finance for Dummies. I happen to be a dummy that needs help with personal finance. Investments, IRAs, 401Ks make no sense to me. It's time to be a grown-up and learn.

• As is typical of me, I finished several sewing projects (a skirt, a dress, that suit) but I haven't taken photos. Do you know what my problem is? Finding the perfect spot to take photos. If I take self-portraits I have to account for room for a tripod and what the camera is going to try to focus on when I am setting up the self timer (no remote for me). This is why pictures in front of the window don't work for me. I'll just keep experimenting until I find the right spot.

• I overuse the word projects. I think I used it like 100 times in this post.

• Today is going to be a fantastic day. I just know it. Have a good one friends! And thanks for reading.

I'm a tease.

The other night I met a stray cat. He was friendly, and not excessively afraid of humans, but collarless and world worn, so in my mind, he was homeless. I pet him, although my companions thought that was gross. But he was cute, and I don't get much furry small animal action, and although I don't think I'd like to have a small furry animal living in my home and getting their fur all over my clothes and furniture, I do still crave furry interaction. If he had been my cat, I would have named him Boots, or Blackie McWhitefeet, or Bootstrap Bill, or Cowboy, or Bugsy, or Buster, or Harry McHarrington, or or Kitty. He was black with white feet. Cute, thin, scrawny little cat.

I met him down the street from my house, and I spent a few minutes petting him and calling him to me. He seemed to appreciate the attention. When TC and I started walking home, old Bootsy followed us. I thought that he would lose interest, but he didn't. He followed us all the way to the door of our building. And I felt so sad that I had to leave him outside. But I felt really sad when TC pointed out that I had led the fur ball on, and that I was guilty of doing what so many women do: giving the guy false hope.

I decided that if I come across Boots again I will let him determine our relationship. If he wants a pet, I'm there for him. But I don't want to be a tease.

Silliness

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Do you find yourself wanting to make people laugh?


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Or look like a serial killer.


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*Silly Pics 3000 is not an actual product. Silly Pics 3000 is a state of mind. A strange state of mind. One requiring you to want to take embarrassing photos of yourself, text them to friends, and then maybe post on the internet for all the world to see. Void where prohibited.

Tony Horton kicks my butt

So I'm back on the exercise wagon. I fell off for months and months, and now I'm back on. TC and I have Tony Horton's Power 90 (which is not the same as P90X), and have started and stopped a bajillion times, although most recently TC has been faithful to the Power 90, and I have, on my own, fallen off into forbidden paths of sloth.

But now we're back again. And frigging Tony is kicking my behind. My thighs are sore from squats. My arms are sore from push ups. My legs feel so heavy it's hard to move them.

In a way, I enjoy feeling this crummy after working out because it means I've done something. I means that my body is working hard. And that feels great.

In other news, I have not had time to sew or do anything creative in the last several days. I've been on other administrative projects for our household (calling insurance companies, doing research on possible purchases, running this errand and running that, etc.). It feels good to be useful and productive and busy sometimes.

Random Confessions

I had a strange dream about a dog that was stalking me. That was this morning. Now I feel strange whenever I think about dogs. He licked me a lot. And could talk. Blech.

I made bread from scratch without any appliances for the first time in my life. That was last week. I lie when I say without any appliances, because I did use my kitchen-aid to help with the mixing. I guess what I really mean is that I did not use my bread machine for this. I felt pretty proud of myself. 

The bread I made last week was pretty dry.

But it looked like bread. So I was pretty excited about that.

I had to sweep every day last week with that bread around the house. It's crumbly.

I finished the skirt for Vogue 1169. The fabric hangs like a tarp. And it's poofy in the lower tummy. It looks frumpy. I'm frustrated. I spent hours and hours hand stitching it. Sigh. But for some reason I have started with the jacket, made from the same tarp-like material. Maybe, by some miracle, the jacket will look good made from tarp.

I sleep a lot when left to my own devices. I enjoy sleeping.

On that same note, I am perpetually lazy. It's a disease. 

There are gardeners outside my window using noisy machines. It's noisy.

I'm a hermit. I have been enjoying my solitude for the last two weeks. It worries me a little bit that maybe I enjoy being alone a little bit too much.

That being said, I am so excited when TC comes home from work. So that gives me hope that I'm not entirely anti-social.

I need to stop sitting here, trying to think of interesting things to type because I need to clean up my mess. I have clothes strewn all around my bedroom, and the bed isn't made. For shame!

A Guide to Elegance

Several new books arrived at the TC and Gordita household yesterday, and Genevieve Antoine Darriaux's A Guide to Elegance was one of them. I had a fantastic time reading through parts of it yesterday, and my overall feeling is the advice is mostly outdated (it was originally published in 1964, the year my parents were married), although there is some good advice. Since I'm in a combative mood, I want to share with you some advice I disagree with, under the heading Shoes.

"... the shoe industry provides us with a steady stream of original new models that are created or imported in the hopes of tempting us to buy at least twice as many pairs as a well-dressed woman really needs. So self-restraint is absolutely indispensable in this field..." 

Okay, so far so good. I agree on this point. Self-restraint is necessary in so many different situations.



"...shoes should be the complement of an ensemble, never an end in themselves. ... The most elegant shoes in the world will never 'make' an outfit-- in fact, if they are too noticeable, they cannot be elegant."

I respectfully disagree. To a point. I think that fantastic shoes can really top off an outfit. Sometimes I'm inspired to put an outfit together based solely on a pair of shoes. If I am in the mood to wear a pair of shoes that are a bit colorful, or adorned, or otherwise call attention to themselves, I will pair them with a very plain ensemble, to bring balance. In cases like that, I believe that the shoes make the outfit.



"...you can immediately eliminate certain styles that have no place in an elegant wardrobe:
"-too high heels, which...are extremely vulgar. Even if you are only five feet tall, you should wear heels no higher than 2 or 2 1/2 inches."


Yikes. By this definition, I'm pretty much always vulgar.

Adding to her list of style that have no place in an elegant wardrobe: open-toed shoes, wedge heels, ankle straps, pointy shoes, shoes adorned with a giant bow or flower, or any shoes that attract too much attention.

I pretty much love all those things listed as having no place in an elegant wardrobe. Ha.

But alas, I have found a hole in the advice. Take a second look at the cover art on the book: pictured is a pair of pointy-toed, at least 3" heels. Ha ha. Inelegance indeed. 

So, as if I were an expert in the field, I shall write my own modern guide to elegant shoes.



Gordita's Guide to Shoes for the Modern Woman

Shoes should:

• be well-cared for and clean
• fit well
• be comfortable enough for the occasion (i.e. do not wear stilettos to an amusement park where you will be walking around all day, but do wear them to a nice dinner, where you will be seated most of the time)
• be made of non-synthetic materials, such as leather, suede, canvas, satin, etc. Faux leather, polyurethane, and other synthetics often look like leather, but usually do not wear as well or as long, do not conform to your foot's contour making them generally less comfortable than leather, and often do not allow a foot to breathe, sometimes resulting in stinky feet.
• compliment your outfit, but sometimes can compliment in a completely nonintuitive way. Shoes can make a statement on their own, or blend in to the outfit. Strike a balance between the clothing, accessories and shoes. If one of the three already makes a statement, the others should blend in. However, it should be noted that a shoe, paired with a plain outfit might be the statement piece, while the same shoe, paired with a different outfit, may blend in and allow a different part of the outfit to make the statement. 

And one last thought on shoes: women should practice their gait in heels. All too often a woman who is dressed beautifully looks in elegant because of the way she walks. She should wear heels no higher than she is able to walk steadily in, and should stand up straight, not drag her feet, and take smaller steps.

So there you have it. I am arguing with nearly 50 year old advice on how to be elegant. And, of course, giving my own take on shoes. 

Farmer's Market

TC and I had a fantastic Saturday, and it all started with a trip to the Farmer's Market.

So every summer that we've lived here, we have said, "Hey, we should go to the Farmer's Market, because it's cool, and we want to be cool." The problem is that we do our chores on Saturday morning, and often dilly dally so long that by the time we are finished we have missed the market. Sad, I know.

To remedy this, we did our chores on Friday evening after work. So when we woke up on Saturday morning we got ready for the day, made fruit smoothies for the road, and hit the pavement.

The crowds on the less crowded side of the market.

It was hot, oh so hot, especially for 10am. Honestly, I was a bit miserable. It was too hot, too sweaty, too crowded, too many dogs. Yeah, there were a lot of dogs at the Farmer's Market. Are they going to buy produce? I think not. So why are they walking around sniffing at every booth and getting in my way with their leashes and fur?

Anyway, we walked around and looked at each booth, I got grumpy, TC was patient with me and let me take all the photos I wanted no matter how conspicuous I was, and then we found this...

An almond croissant dusted with powdered sugar, filled with an almond custard. Oh my yum. I could not be grumpy after biting into this.

And then I got this. And all was right with the world. Water on a hot day = refreshment and anti-grumpness!


And then a cloud cover blew in, and the air cooled down just a bit, and all the elements were combined to make this an enjoyable experience. And that's when I noticed the trees.

Pioneer Park has lovely trees. And the obsessing commenced.

And the conspicuous, taking pictures of tree bark began.

So lovely.



And then we found this booth.

And we bought an empanada, but not before I made TC pose for a photo.

See what I did there? Get it? Argentina's Best? See because TC is posing in front of the sign that says "Argentina's best," and he's from Argentina. So he's the best. Get it? 

And here's the money-maker: a meat empanada. It was very delicious.

After we walked around a few times, were sure we saw everything and had spent all our cash, we walked over to the Gateway to catch an early movie. It was a wonderful day!