Queen Sized Trauma

Last week, I went to CVS in the morning to get some nylons. First off, I had no idea where they are because I'm pretty sure the last time I bought nylons for myself was when I was in dance classes and I needed them for my recital. So I find the nylons, and realize there are way too many options... control top, control leg, control toe, sheer, nude, blah blah blah... and then I look at the back of the box and realize that I am right on that cusp between size "B" and "Q" (yeah, that stands for Queen, FML). However, based on my height and size, I fall into their "B" category, so that's what I get. Then I stand in line for what feels like hours because they have one cashier and the only people that go to CVS in the mornings are, apparently, me and 80 year old women. So I get to work and put all my stuff down and head into the bathroom to put on the nylons. I get them half way up my calf and I start to struggle. I am thinking, what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is going on here?! I check the box and it says "B", but it also says "sheer control" soemthing or other. I think oh hell, I'm not going to be able to put these things on. so I continue pulling these things up my legs in the opes that there is a little bit of give as I get them up over my thunder thighs. Unfortunately, there's not, so it feels like I'm getting my thigh amputated as I continue to struggle to fit into these demon hose. I finally get everything up over my ass and as I make one final pull, my thumb rips through the nylons and sends a run down to about my knee. Now, not only do I have a run in my brand new hose, but I have a large blob of inner thigh trying to escape through this new hole in the hose. I say fuck it and head back to my desk. I sit down, and the top of the nylons immediately rolls and starts to cut off circulation to my intestines and other vital organs in my lower abdomen. so the long and short of it... apparently I really am a Queen.

spoonful of sugar

there's a lot going on in my world.

• I am finally trying to make heads or tails of my "hometown" quilt guild website.
• I am helping out some friends with some print materials for their respective jobs/events.
• I am picking up the slack at work b/c my coworker just opened her own wedding invitation business and is using some of her work time to take care of some details here and there (or just gets easily distracted by searching for new paper stock and invitation ideas on the web).
• I have three jobs.
• I am trying to cook more complete meals at home rather than throwing something together at the last minute (read: hamburger helper).
• I am helping to plan a bachelorette party.
• I am preparing for a wedding shower.
• I am the newly-elected vice president of my local soccer league... thusly I am in charge of retaining the old (and obtaining new) sponsorship plus plan three weekends worth of preseason clinics.
• I need to finish cleaning our office so I can have space for all of the information regarding the above tasks.

then there's the stuff that I just want to do...

• finish the flannel pillowcases for my friends' children before it gets too late for flannel pillowcases
• spend some time knitting
• wear more makeup
• upload more photos to shutterfly (of our wedding, for example, and of ireland)
• do yoga
• take walks (with and without bowser)
• spend time with das
• read more books (including "unstuck", even though I don't feel stuck anymore)
• watch movies I haven't seen, and some that I have seen
• take a cooking class

I realize that the first list is, well, really a bunch of stuff that could probably fall under "wants" as well. no one ever said that I had to have three jobs. I could deal without the other two. but I like bartending. no one forced me to do the website for quilt guild. but I wanted to help bring our ladies into the technology age. my friends didn't say I had to help them. but they're my friends, so why wouldn't I offer? I wasn't forced into leadership in soccer. but I wanted to be a part of that which organizes and supports our league.

the short answer is... that there is no short answer. some say that life is too short to go to bed early and sit on the couch. some say that if you want to do it, then your time will come. some say that you have to worry about yourself and make YOU happy.

I say as crazy and hectic as my life is right now... I'm ok with it. because I know... my time won't come... it's already here. really... life's too short to think otherwise.

what do you think?

oh hush up internet

what about the posting once a day, kt?

what about nablopomo, kt?

what about that, huh?

if you really want to know... I went overseas for a little vacation. it was supposed to be some sight-seeing... a really great opportunity to experience the quaint eastern european atmosphere. I got a fabulous rate at a local hostel. I remember some friends doing that and they had a wonderful time. so, of course, the plan was to enjoy some nightlife in addition to the exploring and hiking during the day. I went out to some clubs with some of the other guests from the hostel. by the time we got home, it was really late... and the next morning we realized that the guy from the room next to me never made it home. the woman at the front desk said he'd checked out, which was strange, but we didn't think anything of it. we went out again the next night and again, that morning, another guest had "checked out" but this time, some of his stuff was still there! it was all very strange and I was getting a bit freaked out. but, not one to let things get to me, we went out again the following night. I don't remember much after that... except when I had this really weird drink... and I woke up in this strange room... to this guy talking in what sounded like german... and he was wearing this thick leather slash vinyl apron and had a whole bunch of tools that looked eerily similar to those I've seen on the autopsy table from CSI: Miami. then he started yelling at me in german and he picked up one of the tools shaped like a dentist's plaque pick and...

wait. that's not what happened... that's a brief synopsis of the first hour of the movie 'hostel'. I'm sorry. I totally must have gotten my lines crossed. seriously... here's what really happened.

I traveled out to the family farm in iowa. das stayed back here in CT to take care of some work around the house and whatnot. my uncle and cousins were going to be heading out to the big state fair to show their animals, and I was going to hold down the fort since they'd be gone for a couple of weeks. I was having a great time... enjoying all the alone time... but then a wandering photographer stumbled upon the house. he looked like a weather-beaten, more-ragged version of clint eastwood. I fell instantly in love with him, even though I knew I would be seeing my husband soon. he told me he was a photographer for national geographic doing a graphic journey through the county. I followed him on his shoots, mostly of the local bridges, and thus began our torrid five-day love affair. it was an amazing time... and I didn't know if I'd be able to just open the door and allow myself to love him forever... but...

wait. I am SO sorry. I must be misunderstanding the task at hand... I'm intertwining my life with the movie "bridges of madison county" and making it fit for my personal circumstances. wow... I don't know what's wrong.

look... I do have a reason for slacking. I'm just kind of embarrassed by it. in reality... I've been trying to get work done. I've been trying to concentrate. it's just been very difficult. I mean, how am I expected to do *anything* when I know that victoria is coming for me. edward tried his hardest to save me... watch over me like a lioness and her cubs... but he's abandoned me knowing that it's safest to be away from me; from temptation. now I have to rely on jacob and his pack to keep me safe. I don't know if I'm going to even make it. my heart bleeds every day for edward; life without him is so real, so normal... jacob tries so hard to fill the void... but I'm not ready...

wait. what? you don't understand... (sigh) ok. ok. you got me. I'm just spouting out random plotlines from the 'twilight' series. the truest of the true stories... I've got nothing other than... I'm lazy. um, didn't you already know that? don't play like you're shocked. though I appreciate the effort.

life in a nutshell this week: twilight movie - parental visit - bowling - thanksgiving - stamping - tastefully simple - trans-siberian orchestra. perhaps... a blog or two. :)

a letter to das

hi honey,

it's me. your loving wife. I just wanted to write you a little note to say happy anniversary. it's been two years since we said we'd love each other forever. well, now that I think about it, we've probably said it since then... maybe, like, something relatively similar anyway... but it's been two years since it was said officially in front of all our friends and family and a justice of the peace. ANYway. it's been a wicked crazy ride thus far... lots of ups and downs... heartbreak and chaos... love and support. it's so amazingly obvious to me that we were meant for each other because, well, I don't think that anyone else would have put up with me like you have. and well, honestly... that could go both ways, babe. we must have known from the beginning that something was different. we stuck it out through thick and thin... just waiting for that moment when we could start our lives together. I can't imagine my life without you in it; my heart aches to think that someday you may not be there. I can be me with you... and for that I am forever grateful. I am looking forward to the rest of our life together. however much a pain in the butt you are for making me get up early and go to work on time.

Ani L'Dodi, v'Dodi Li

here's to a lifetime of amazing memories. *muah*

love you.

if you're sick and you know it, clap your hands!

CLAP CLAP!!

ugh. I feel like total crap today. which is only slightly better than the way I felt yesterday and saturday. it's not even congestion that's killing me now; I can breathe freely through my nose. the aching - OH the aching. my back is screaming at me and all friday night after the uconn football game, I couldn't get warm to save my life. I had about forty-seven blankets on me and I was still curled up into the fetal position trying to create a ball of warmth. AND I didn't get to bed until around 4am.

saturday, I had to get up to drop off my goods to the durham fair. das had gotten up before me and was printing out the pictures he wanted to use for his entries and mine (nothing like waiting until the ultimate last minute)... then I threw some clothes on and went to the drop off. being at the fairgrounds made me so excited for next weekend's fair. I do enjoy the durham fair; it's always a lot of fun. I'll be going with my friend and her son, so that should be enjoyable as well. I, obviously, am hoping that my quilt fares well (though I realize now that I totally forgot to clip a stray thread from the machine quilting), and my photo and my pickles. I hope that das's photos come out well, too. the last time he entered the fair photography, he ended up with honorable mention... which is OK, but he deserved way better than that, especially given the photos that he was up against. he's not a professional photographer, but he takes pride in his work (only because I force him to) and I think the results weren't exactly uplifting and confidence-boosting. but, I convinced him to enter again (or rather I just signed him up and told him to just pick something)... so I am totally hoping for the best. after I got home, we immediately left to go to das's aunt and uncle's house to scope out their couch. they wanted to know if we'd like to have it, and considering this one doesn't smell like cat pee... it's already a gazillion times better than our current couch. so they're going to bring it over tomorrow. yay! at this point, I was starting to get way super cranky from feeling awful and the lack of sleep. but I showered while das mowed the lawn and we made our way over to our friends' apartment for a wine tasting. it was a fantastic night full of laughs, great food, and awesome wines. but we didn't get back until late, and at that point I felt wretched.

sunday I woke up at 7:45a for my 9a soccer game. then I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. I could barely even move... my joints and muscles just ached, and I had a really bad sinus headache. so I missed the game... and then when das tried to wake me up at 11:30a to tell me we needed to get ready for our friend's daughter's birthday party... I channeled regan macneil and told him I wasn't going. so I slept. more. then read. and slept. and got out of bed around 5p-ish. and only because I needed food. so nothing happened on sunday. at all.

today... well, I slept a lot of today, too. the aching joints thing is really getting to me. my back is just throbbing. I'm actually a little light-headed, too. but I eventually made it to work (even though my boss told me to go home b/c he needs me more tomorrow)... and now I think I'm going to go home again. it's just draining...

tonight, and hopefully I'm up to it, I need to finish my center for my kosher pickles round robin block. I have an idea of what I'm going to do... I just need to get it together and finish it. I'm supposed to have guild drop-in tonight, but I'm not feeling up to it. also, heroes is premiering tonight which is awesome... but I won't be watching. das has bowling so we probably will have to wait for a while before we'll have time to watch. I'm hoping to do a rundown of what shows we'll be watching this season... or what we want to watch. we'll see...

hi again!

it is SO hard to come up with titles for posts. I mean you don't want every post to be "quilting stuff" or "I sewed today!" or something like that. perhaps I should just arbitrarily start naming my posts after things I find on my desk: "golfing calendar", "reid state park photos", "spy phone", or even the intriguing - "stress ball!" ok maybe that plan won't work so well. :) but don't say I didn't warn you.

ok, so all silliness aside... I wanted to show you some pictures! my friend storey's birthday was last weekend so I, with the help of heather (another friend), created a card for her. we collaborated. I stamped; she did the card. she did the embossing with her cuttlebug, which was the most awesome-est thing ever. really cute for paper products... but wouldn't be strong enough to do any fabric for applique I don't believe.

so tomorrow is the drop-off day for the durham fair crafts. I am entering my irish chain, a photo of my cat (gabe), and some hot pickles I made. das is entering two photos. I was going to do, also, another quilt... a baby quilt, but I won't get it done in time. I am essentially done... but I am tying it and need to quilt around the quilt so I can turn it inside out (the kit didn't call for, or include bindings, which is fine) then, of course, tie it. das and I were at the uconn/baylor football game this evening and got back after midnight, so it wasn't going to happen this evening. oh well... such is life. it was a last minute decision to enter it anyway because I had wanted to surprise my friend with it while we were at the fair together... however, I never heard from her to see if she was going to go with me. SO, that plan backfired and now I'm going a different day with a different person with no quilt expectations. :) I do still need to finish the baby quilt though... just not for tomorrow morning. did I ever post the picture for the irish chain?!

so that, too, will be going. we'll see how it does. I meant to wash it before but our washer isn't big enough for a queen-sized quilt. and I forgot to bring it to the laundromat to wash it in their larger capacity machines. so I put two dryer sheets in and put it on the non-heat, fluff option to get some of the cat hair off. I'll probably run an iron over it before submitting, too, just to be on the safe side. that's the thing about entering in the fair... if I finish a quilt (especially one that's for me), I want to use it or give it right away (because usually it's late anyway) but if I want it to go into the fair... well, then I have to wait, or suffer the cat-hairy consequences. (sigh) it's worth it for my two little furballs though (not that bowser doesn't contribute though). :)

well I need to go warm up under the substitute quilt on our bed (since the irish chain is awaiting delivery to the fair) because it is freezing in CT this evening.

the photos I promised!

ok... so here are some photos that I promised yesterday (ok ok, not all of them - I didn't do the quilt yet).

this dude was all about "the hay is tastier on the other side". I love goats! so cute...

these were the uber-cute little baby chicks. of course all the little kids were like, "let me touch them let me pick them up!!" I said, "let the big kids have some fun, too." :) but ultimately, we all got to play and hold the baby chicks. so I didn't have to fight anyone.

there were very few quilts, or anything for that matter, entered in the arts and crafts area. the barn that held all the crafts was probably slightly smaller than my house in square footage. such a shame, really. anyway, this was one of the cakes. I thought it was brilliant... especially since I'm trying to get back into knitting again on a more regular basis! how FABulous is this? no cake wrecks here!

ok, that's all I'm sharing for now. I had a video that was kind of cute, but I don't really know how to do that and I'd rather be quilting (instead of copying cds, ugh). I had quilt guild tonight which was pretty cool... definitely an interesting group of women. I've never actually been to a meeting for a guild even though I've been a member of the guild in maine for a couple of years. show and tell was pretty awesome... very inspiring. I did bring a show and tell... my cow quilt (that still isn't finished) from maine quilts 2007. it got some oohs and aahs... so perhaps that will be the motivation I need to finish it up. only time will tell.

good weekend :)

so the weekend is coming to a close and I'm just going to toss a few things out into cyberspace. first off, I am exhausted. I haven't gone to bed this early in ages. perhaps I need to start doing that... second, I had a FABulous time whitewater rafting on the deerfield river in MA. it was such a great experience; I should have some pics to post soon as our group organizer bought the CD to share with all of us. hopefully he'll burn the cd soon! next, I did a lot of sewing on saturday night and today. I didn't take pics yet, but the baby quilt is coming along nicely. I have everything cut out and a few of the pieces put together. there will be twenty blocks in total when it's done (which seems like a large baby quilt); perhaps I can get some shots tomorrow before or after quilt guild. I also have to go to lowe's or home depot and see if I can find two dozen bell jars for my pickles. I need to have them in the fridge by wednesday in order to ensure they'll be done by the 20th for the fair drop-off! anyway, lastly, my friend and I went to the hebron fair today... it was nice. neither of us had been before and it was a lovely three-and-a-half hours of walking and enjoying the atmosphere. because of the hurricane and torrential downpours last night, the fair closed at 6pm saturday (rather than staying open much later), so there were A LOT of people who were there today to make up for lost time! it was still worth it though, and I would go again. I would even consider entering some things as there was a very tiny tiny arts and crafts section for judging... I saw, at most, seven quilts. seriously.

ok, time for bed now... I'm tired! I'll try and get some photos up! have a happy monday (ew).

omg!

so last night we had bowling night. it was ok... das did spectacularly but I was just ok. it was a later night b/c we started late... league meetings and voting. we didn't leave the lanes until 9:30p... and we were the first lanes done!

then we get home and see THIS!!!!

AAAAAGH!! it was a giant praying mantis. now I haven't seen one other than in zoos or whatever so I was very surprised to see it. das and I were big babies and we went in the back door instead. :) when I got in there... I said, "it smells kind of funny." but I brought my stuff into the office and went to check my email. then das turns on the living room light... and says, "um. kt. you might want to come here." one of our cats (we assume it was gabe) had, well, done his business in a variety of forms across all three cushions on our couch. :( AAAAAGH again!! we promptly cleaned everything up and lit some incense. we realized that maybe it was a bit too soon to shut the basement door and allow the kitties to make their way to the cat box via the cat door. but at that point, it was so late from bowling then cleaning up that I didn't want to bring up my quilting to continue cutting (not to mention I couldn't sit on the couch so didn't really have any place to do said cutting anyway)... so we just sat for a little bit watching some tv before bed. when das woke me up this morning on his way out... he said that the cat (again, probably gabe) had again done his business on the couch... even after we left the door open to the basement to ensure that access was unblocked. alas... our poor couch. hopefully it is clean when I get home...

we are off to see spamalot tonight... for the second time. :) SO funny. :)

oh and so that you can see a picture of the bathroom offender...

(sigh) it's so hard to be mad...