Yeaaah Baby!

Okay - I can't resist. Here is the new bikini pattern I received in the mail today. The yellow version I am ALL OVER IT. I just can't decide if I want to make it out of checked gingham, something more mod like a Marimekko print, something cute like pink strawberries, or rockin' polka dots. Maybe one of each? Oh, if I only had the TIME!

Boo-Ya!

So so much I want to post lately. I think foremost on my mind is the whole crap with the Navy hospitals. It has been a couple years now that they are either dismissing my symptoms ("complaints") or treating each one individually with medication or kegels. Bastards. Anyway, it isn't often that I complain about this stuff, well publicly anyway. So, finally after getting an annual appointment, the doc would only hear three of my symptoms after I told her I had a long list. She was interested about what the docs said when they did a complete psych eval (yes, that's psychological evaluation) for my fatigue, which was that I was a little sensitive about normal tiredness. Any stupid ass such as myself knows what that means: "She's a hypochondriac." Soooo. The doc said I should get more exercise. (Please, I do more than she does in her dreams.) I expected this, so spent a few months trying to diagnose myself, and came up with perimenopause. Therefore, before I get shoved out the door at the docs, I ask her for the test. She gets wide-eyed, obliges, and tries to leave. To make a long story short, she calls back the very next day, with a totally different tone. She says I have something called Premature Ovarian Failure. Now, I could care less that I can't have more kids, or that my periods stop (oh darnit!), but apparently she says there is some cause for concern that it may be cause by something called Addison's disease. The fact that she did not know any of my other symptoms, this does pique my interest; apparently the blood workup told her more than just one things. I went back for more tests yesterday, and hope to hear back. Addison's looks pretty bad. Not that it is terminal, but it is potentially fatal - one more reason to start being a better blogger.
It looks like Mark is in the running to go to Iraq. For a year. He may get as little as two weeks notice before they ship him off. I am glad that he will be in the air rather than on the ground, and usually a lot higher than they can launch their molotov cocktails, but it sucks. For a freaking year. The good thing is that we are already scheduled to go to Seattle in 10 months, and the closer we get to his PCS the less the chance of him leaving to go back to the Middle East. Pins and needles, we are on.
Isabel is doing better, but not growing a whole lot. She is still on one-year to 18 month size clothes and is almost 29 months now. She is incredibly coordinated and smart, though. She already conspires and loves to go to her mommy and tell on everyone: Hannah, Ruby, and even Papa. She is now climbing out of her crib and has to be watched like a hawk. The diagnosis on her vision is Intermittent Strabismus, different from amblyiopia, which I had, but she has to wear glasses and an eye patch like I did. She does fairly well with it on most days. Just so long as you don't try to outsmart her, she treats you just fine.
Hannah is still doing gangbusters in school, and her only B is in advanced math. She still wants to be a pediatrician and we hope that she will do okay with her transition to a new high school next holiday season. Better sooner than later. I suppose.

She's Craft-ay!

"So colorful!

So unusual!

A perfect gift for your good friend Frank…. you know, the one with a pantyhose fetish?"

Here is a lovely quilt you too can make out of the myriad pairs of old pantyhose you have lying around the house. This is the sort of stuff you will find at Threadbared.com, a blog of snarky comments to go with old pattern photos of the past. Is it just me...?

Babie Deer

Superminx is a cool toy and kitch store that is just opening up, and looks quite promising. Why do I like the babie deer? I dunno. They are plastic-y and cute, and so far from reality. The same reason I like blue food, I guess. Don't ask why, just whip out the Alice B. Toklas cook book, and dig it.

Loretta Lux

Man, this is some cool stuff. Loretta Lux is a digital photographer extraordinaire. These surreal and slightly odd little visual treats are just mesmerizing. I find myself just fascinated with her work, wondering what parts have been touched, which have not, and then going, "Geeze, where would you HANG something like that?" They seem to strike you on a very personal level, then making you feel somewhat vulnerable. Like good art should. This is no weekend Photoshoper. Besides, the clothes are just perfect in every way as well.

Mmmmmmm..... caaaaaake.

Feel like making felt cakes lately? Here is a cool, very simple tutorial on what looks like a gratifying little project. The look so good, you could eat 'em.

Me

Self-portrait Tuesday is here. This is my apple painting in the background, and someday I will finish it.

Music to My Ears

I am no good at writing editorials, especially music critiques. All the same, I wanted to post some new music that is coming out, or in, so to speak, to the local music scene. I was initially disappointed when I arrived here is San Diego, leaving my much loved KEXP.org non-profit radio station. At least at one time it was non-profit. I got accustomed to the indie scene. Although San Diego seems to sorely lack the multicultural side of the music scene, there are, it seems, several really good indie bands coming out of here. Also, local radio stations seem ready to play the good stuff coming out of the UK. I think I even saw the Arctic Monkey's on a late night show - can't remember which one as I was probably sewing in another room and stepped in to watch. It seems they are from the same great town that the Rolling Stones among other great bands came from, and they are definitely worth listening to. It isn't often that a rock band can come up with something new and original, yet they succeed brilliantly. At least from what I have heard. Also, out of LA comes She Wants Revenge. I do not know if I would call them original, since there is a lot reminiscent of Bauhaus in their music, but, and dare I say it, they do it a bit better. Oh, and the lyrics are not for the faint of heart, so be forewarned. I don't necessarily believe in censorship, and they obviously don't either. Then there is Goldspot. I don't know much about them other than they get played quite a bit down her in San Dog. Last but not least is a band called Editors. This totally reminds me of a cross between The Killers, Flaming Lips, and maybe The Postal Service - ? Anyway, a blend of some of my very favorite bands - no wonder I like them. I can't get their song "Munich" out of my head. Infectious lyrics and tune, and like the Arctic Monkeys they are also out of the UK - my latest of magnificent obsessions seems to be catchy indie pop out of the Great Britain.

Quote of the day....

"Cuz JEEBUS said if we don't do what's in the book we ain't goin up to heabin." -Frank Zappa

The Tailor of Gloucester.

This is my first skirt I have made for myself: a pencil skirt. It fits like a dream. I didn't realize you could make clothes to fit yourself so perfectly. It really isn't that hard if you can do a little math. And know how to put a zipper in, which I have become somewhat of an expert on.

I have a lot of plans to work on more clothes for myself (oh, and my family) but I only seem to have time to work on stock and wholesale orders. So, I dress like a slob most of the time myself and focus on dressing others.

Don't mind the fake smile. It is hard to smile at a black box. I much prefer people.

Need A Break?

Visit Orisinal, for arguably the cutest little games on the internet.

New Sock Monkeys Extraordinaire

These sock monkeys and elephants made by Peng Peng, are really exceptional. Not only are sock monkeys super cool and retro, but these are truly works of art with fabulous fabric and notions selections. You can tell a great deal of care goes into these. Of course, they aren't cheap. But good stuff shouldn't be .

The New Garden

This is the earliest in the year I have ever started a garden, thanks to the lovely Southern California weather. Here is a list of the items I just finished planting, all smashed in this tiny bed - my first real attempt at vertical vegetable gardening: Romaine lettuce, spinach, purple beans, sugar snap peas. green beans, tomatoes (two types, 4 bushes), yellow squash, corn, parsley, French radishes (a ribbon of seeds winding along the length), scarlet Nantees carrots (a line of seeds along the front), Rainbow chard, thyme, ginger mint, chives, sweet peas, celery, Japanese cucumber, Burpless cucumber, a few sunflowers, and a rose bush. I have always like the idea of flowers - especially edible ones - mixed in with the veggies. I will try to post pictures periodically to see what comes of this culinary melange.

Crazy Busy

Well, aside from everyone but me being violently ill, things are pretty darn busy - busier than normal with my new eBay group. I couldn't be more tickled to be searching for houses back home in Seattle, and I have a load of diapers on the way from Laura at El Bee. These things are like gold in the diaper world.

Now, I am sewing like mad, creating some really fun stuff for auction, and hope to get a huge lot done so that I can get back to the regular business-as-usual.

Hannah is now the third to get sick-as-a-dog, and I think she would much rather to be at school, believe it or not. Her grades are still A's (4) and B's (s), but I think she is slightly disappointed since she found out that she had to have an A (not a B) in advanced algebra (which she is currently in) to get into advanced geometry and advanced Physics next year. It sort of sucks that they changed the rules on her when she was thinking she was doing well enough, but at the same time it is a good lesson for her to know that she needs to give it 100% or something like this can happen. I guess I am trying my hardest to pass on the overachiever complex. I am quite proud of her.

Isabel is talking like crazy (now loves to talk on the phone), and her new phrase is a sing-song "NO, thank you." She spent a day in the hospital with an IV a couple of days ago, and even thanked the nurse (unprovoked) when the nurse took her IV out. It tears me up how sweet she is. She is much MUCH better now - almost herself, and is only battling diarrhea. She is craving chocolate and hamburgers, so I know she is on the mend.