| adorable puppy alert. |
[Jan. 15th, 2009|02:48 pm] |
brian and i got a new puppy!
meet Boomer!
in the car after we picked her up:
first day home, being sweet and sleepy:
today - definitely more animated:
it's been a VERY long first week. day one was wonderful - she was playful but very tired and cute and sleepy. days 2 and 3 were terrible - biting, chewing, growling, etc.
since then, though, things have been great. she has taken to us and is so sweet and loving, and very playful. too bad it's so cold and snowy out - i want so badly to take her on some adventures. the hair hasn't come in on her belly yet, and after only a few minutes she shivers and looks miserable. come on, warm air, we want to go out and play!!!
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 7th, 2008|09:10 pm] |
so i am not doing so good at keeping up with this journal.
but here i am.
i love fragments. i am a such a hypocrite.
so. shocker! i am not pregnant. hmmph. must remedy this. soon enough, i hope. everyone's all: JUST LET IT GO and it will happen. good luck letting it go. uhm, i'm TRYING to get pregnant. shall i just think of my period as manna from heaven? should i just ignore it altogehter and pretend it isn't there? i think not. period = no baby. it will always be the truth. and you can't ignore that.
so. otherwise, all is well in the land of christie. despite the dead mouse that brian found on the floor (thank god i did not see it), there have been no mice around (knock knock). the house is all decorated and i am feeling especially christmas-y. only two weeks of school until le break de christmas (i think i just mixed up french and spanish), and i am feeling optimistic about the next semester, especially because i will be teaching novel in leiu of public speaking, which is awesome because i need a new challenge, and public speaking is maybe the most difficult class to teach. truly. in novel, we are for sure reading catcher in the rye and lord of the flies, and possibly one flew over the cuckoo's nest and oliver twist. i would much rather teach great expectations, but, alas, we have no copies in our school and it "isn't out year" to buy new books. blah.
i look forward to the next BIG SNOW so i can make the best. snowman. evar, as opposed to last year when i made the shoddiest. snowman. evar.
despite my particular distaste for harry potter, i am digging the harry potter marathon on abc family. i was wrong abour harry potter. he and his weasley friends (i made a pun, see?) aren't so bad after all. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Nov. 9th, 2008|02:32 pm] |
man, i am really frakking bored.
brian left today for yet ANOTHER trip, and though i'll admit that sometimes being home alone for a week is nice for things like cleaning/cooking/watching-whatever-i-want-on-tv, i'm utterly lonely today.
i decided to go for a walk/jog (okay, i only jogged for like 6 minutes) because i looooove jog/walking when it's cold outside, and because i had to drive to brian's office to get my iphone headphones, i decided to drive to the I&M Canal trail for my trip instead of going around the neighborhood. so, yeah, i guess since the last time i've been there it's become the unofficial strip of man-eating dogs whose owners are anti-leashes. man, as soon as i got there, this big dog started trying to chase me and his owner had NO COMMAND over him whatsoever. after i started walking, the dog ran up to me at least three times. i was sure he was going to rip a piece of my calf off. sheesh. THEN, later on i crossed paths with a scruffy nature-looking dude and his unleashed rottweiler. this owner had the sense to stop, move to the side of the trail and hold his dog by the collar until i passed, though, which was nice.
i was probably out there for about 40 minutes, and once you get about a mile into the trail past the silica sand gigantoid building, the scenery starts getting pretty. unfortunately, the cold was made less tolerable by the rather high winds, and my ears were numb (despite my bandana-turned ear muffs - i couldn't find my hat) when i got here, so i turned around.
 
i look like aunt jemima! only in teal :)
in other news, i got a hair cut!
 
this was taken in the morning and i know i kindof look like poo, but alas, there it is. it looks even worse now that i went on a walk, sooooo this is probably then best it will ever look! :)
i think i'll spend of the rest of the day finishing up some sewing projects that got abandoned after sschool began.... sigh. i want my husband to be home to hang out with me! :(
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Oct. 14th, 2008|08:44 pm] |
i love my cat.
i love how her tail catches my glance and sometimes i think it's a mouse, but am overjoyed when i realize that it's her. chase, the once-kitten who walked up my apartment steps as i was moving out and mewed at my feet.
i don't like keeping my sister's cat while she is gone. lucy is mean and hisses and yelps at chase and makes her run away. i want to send lucy back to her empty house to live alone, yet i don't. i just want us to all be happy together. and i want chase to still feel like my little cuddlefish, because she is. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Sep. 25th, 2008|06:33 pm] |
brian sent this to me at work today:
how sweet.
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Sep. 15th, 2008|08:34 pm] |
okay, secretlifeof_em reminded me of something funny that happened today.
i ate a huge chocolate chip cookie today at like 10:30 am, so i wasn't really hungry at our 11:10 lunch hour. ahem. our 11:10 lunch half hour.
anywho, my prep period is fouth (we're on block schedule, so it's the last period of the day), and i knew i could hold out till then. so, at about 2:15, my tummy starts growling, and i heat up a big bowl of chicken noodle soup to eat as i grade papers in my room. i finish the soup just before the kids start coming in and the first girl to walk into homeroom says, quite assuredly, "it smells like chicken noodle soup in here."
i was all: YEAH!
then, as every other student entered, the weirdest thing happened. each of them commented on (without knowing anyone else had commented) the smell, but each person was VERY specific.
"ms jones, it smells like beef stroganoff in here!"
"ew, it smells like chicken fajitas in here."
"what is that smell? beef and noodles?"
"it smells like broccoli casserole in here."
how strange that they all thought it was something different! i like it. i shall perhaps play the "what's that smell" game with them every B day from now on. it was quite fascinating. lessons in the olfactory system, with ms jones.
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Sep. 15th, 2008|08:24 pm] |
bah. had day from hell. well, the actual day wasn't terrible, but i didn't get home until 7:30 pm (left this morning at 5:30) because i stayed late at school to grade papers, went to the gym (huzzah!) and went to the g-store.
wah wah wah.
i'm just kinda tryin' to let my hur down and relax... seems like i've not much to say. *whistles and walks away* |
|
|
| me = nice |
[Sep. 8th, 2008|07:28 pm] |
so.
i decided that i'm going to do something super nice tomorrow.
tonight i went over to the grandparents house for dinner (they promised to feed me every night that brian is gone on business this week), and my grandma had used the very last rhubarb of the season to make three individual delicious rhubarb pies. NOW, you must know that rhubarb pies are by and large my most FAVOURITE PIES EVAR IN THE WHOLE WORLD. my grandma and i split one of them for dessert, and she gave me one to take home.
i pretty much want to eat it right now even though i am full, BUT i decided that i am going to give it to my mentor teacher from last year tomorrow at school instead!
YEAH! she's gonna love it!
in other news, nothing is new. i am trying to muster up a new sewing project, but with the school year in full gear, there's just not a lot of time.
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Sep. 2nd, 2008|07:26 pm] |
i think cooking shows are a legitimate addiction.
i have spent somewhere in the vicinity of HUNDREDS OF HOURS watching alton brown, rachel ray (despire my serious distaste for her), giata, bobby, ina, and countless other culinary geniuses sweating over a hot stove while i sit comfortably in my living room, gawking, mouth watering, and only TWICE have i ever attempted anything i've seen on any of those shows. don't get me wrong, i can dig the culinary scene. i know all the buzz-words and how to construct them, but i rarely use them. tonight i made a chicken alfredo pizza with canned light alfredo sauce, packaged pre-cooked italian chicken, store-bought pizza crust, and packaged mozzarella. the only remotely "culinary" about the experience was sauteeing some garlic sprinkle atop.
hello, my name is christie jones and i'm a cooking show addict/culinary failure. |
|
|
| finshed purse |
[Aug. 30th, 2008|05:47 pm] |
hey y'all.
you may remember the dilemma i was having with the collaged faux leather effect. thanks for all of your input. i actually ended up combining the two, per suggestion by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) starbreaker85 to use a variety of differing width pieces that were all the same length. it came out pretty well, though there are definately flaws (explained under the cut). here's the final product!
The main fabric is a very dark, soft denim. I used a fusible, very sturdy interfacing on all all denim parts with the exception of the pocket. The detailing is a pale yellow fabric that seems like faux leather, very malleable and relatively thin. I ended up collaging the pieces on using fbric glue; i tested it early on and found that it wouldn't budge - the only way the pieces would come off is if you very forcefully ripped them.
i had a lot of problem making this, as i wasn't using a pattern; i just tried to figure out how my favourite queen bee purse was put together. it turned out exactly how i wanted it to, but i made MANY mistakes and broke four denim needles when sewing the strap on. i'm going to try and alter the pattern so that i won't be totally ripping off queen bee's design, but as it stands i am pretty happy with the finished product.
thanks for viewing! <3
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Aug. 30th, 2008|11:58 am] |
the cable guy is here (dun dun dun) and something he did just really made me mad.
first off, he's the same guy who installed our cable and internet only a few months ago.
so first he says he can't find our house. then he gets here and says the problem is our wireless router, which it obviously isn't because whenever our service is interrupted it's the actual modem that goes offline. then, he finally agrees that it's his problem.
so, he has to do something outside with the wire and he has the audacity to say to me, "this is gonna be real fun with those bushes down there."
seriously wtf. he's the one who effed it up to begin eith and uh, hello, this is your job. don't get testy with me because your job invilves maneuvering ladders around bushes.
dSLGJKHASKBGLASKDFJG. seriously.
edit: it only gets worse. after he fixes it, he tells me that he shouldn't have fixed that, and if it were his company, he would tell people to "just deal with it." ha also said that his company wouldn't service apartments, and that no one should have more than two tvs in their house (we have three). then, he tells me that he only wants to work monday through friday because they have too many jobs on saturdays, to which i reply that it seems to make sense because most other people have to work monday through friday and can't be around during their service hours. he tells me that NO, that can't be it because they have eleven service techs who all work monday through friday. i guess he thinks that people are out to get him, and that's why they schedule their maintenece for saturdays? then he explains that he hasn't gotten lunch yet, and he's getting sick of every saturday being like this. when he's finished, i tell him thank you and have a nice day, he says he won't have a nice day. WTF?
at least our internet is fixed? |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Aug. 28th, 2008|07:31 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  excited | ] |
oh! oh!
i forgot! there IS more.
i decided that i'm going to get my middle school certification this year. haven't looking into programs yet, but am hopeing i can do something online. colly and i were talking about how it sucks that i have to drive 50 minutes to work and that it seems like i probably won't get a job at ottawa HS any time soon because there's a lot of "who you know" going on there, and I know, well, i know a few teachers there, but no one whose opinion really counts when it comes to the english department. plus, they have a really young english department and they're all people who are settled in ottawa, so. yeah. outlook not good.
HOWEVER, the middle school is much less political in nature it seems, and i figured that not only would my job propsects double in ottawa if i had that cert, they would also double in the towns closer to ottawa (20 - 30 minutes away instead of 50). PLUS, if you count the prospect of getting a job teaching SIXTH grade English, i gues they kinda triple, though i don't really know if what are techinically grade schools like to hire people with only high school experince.
but anyway, it's a good prospect. and i feel like a dolt for not thinking of it sooner, actually. |
|
|
| back to school |
[Aug. 28th, 2008|07:03 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  calm | ] |
waking up at 5:15 every day this week has proven to be difficult. not the waking up so much as the annoyance of having to stay awake and be cognizant of everything all day long.
it's been good-ish, though. i only have one class with a bunch of rowdies, and they're all in sports and extracurriculars, so they shouldn't be too hard to whip into shape (call their coaches, lol). the planning has been a bit tedious what with the new technologies to get accustomed to, but i'm dealing.
thanks god for three-day weekends. really, there's nothing else.
wake up. make coffee. drive to work. listen to this american life. xerox. talk. talk some more. explain. ask. talk. repeat. explain. drive home. listen to this american life. eat. clean up. sleep. repeat.
i want to make my own "this american life." i would also be okay with ira glass calling me in for an interview to be a part of one of his. life is so fracking interesting. just pay-downloaded about 7 new episodes to keep me busy.
in case you're interested, here are the best, most intriguing episodes i've listened to (out of about 20 i've heard; there are over 300 altogether)
definately worth the $.95 an episode (each is one hour long, perfect for driving):
a little bit of knowledge. (stories of people who don't know quite enough to make it work - hilarious and heartwrenching)
babysitting. (stories of babysitting - the last act in this episode is amazing)
with great power. (stories of people with too much knowledge)
david and goliath. (stories about people trying to balance power - somewhat political - very interesting)
you can also download the most recent episode for free on itunes. this week's is "got you pegged" - stories about the trouble people get into when they assume too much about strangers.
this nonfiction series has changed my life. undoubtedly.
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Aug. 23rd, 2008|09:48 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  lethargic | ] |
feeling lethargic and uninspired today. i want to work on sewing projects, but can't think of anything good and can't finish current project until the webbing for my collaged racing stripe purse comes in. that project isn't going as planned, anyway. it actually looks kind of stupid. bah.
i want to make some plushies out of this super cheap faux suede that i got for a different project (which ended horribly), but decided that i'm not really the plushie type. i like more functional pieces. had an idea for a skirt, but don't feel like making a skirt. i'll never wear it anyway.
in other news, my dad (only 48 years old), went to the hospital for some chest tightness and they discovered that his heart was out of rhythm. moved him to ICU to be put on a drip of something or other so that it would go back into rhythm and while he was on the drip he had another spell of chest weirdness, so they flew him to peoria to see a cardiologist. after doing an angiogram, discovered that he had 5 arteries that were blocked 70 - 95%. luckily, the docs decided that they didn't have to bypass any of them, but they put four stents in, which is pretty serious business. totally scary. i hope he starts eating healthier. he used to be a football player and such and was in really great shape physically. i asked him if he wanted to train for a 5K with me in the fall and i think he might! which would just be awesome. i need to get back to running regularly anyway; i've been lazy and such. and eating crap all the time, which isn't really typical of me. <sigh> at least he's okay.
so, he's still being monitored at the heart place in peoria and hopefully can come home tomorrow. i'm babysitting the doggie, which is cool because i like going on walks with her. she totally follows me around everywhere, though, which is less than desired, especially when it means she's in my face when i'm trying to sew (still using the floor adn a big piece of cardboard w/ a cutting mat over it as a cutting "table" because i keep forgetting to have my mom order the one i want (birthday present).
i guess that's all. school starts moneday which i'm actually really looking forward to. i have to go into work tomorrow to get stuff ready, though, because i missed all day yesterday being in peoria for dad's surgery.
i need some inpiration! |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Aug. 19th, 2008|08:36 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | sewing | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  blank | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | cars squeaking by | ] |
hrm.
spent all day working on a new messenger bag styled purse that combines pale yellow pleather and black denim-like fabric. it looks good so far (i ripped more seams than i actually sewed because i don't have the right foot for pleather), but i need more supplies, so i'm holding out until tomorrow.
i bought the pleather on a whim from walmart because it was only $1 a yard, and thought i could use the wrong side (which is kindof suede-like) for these jewelry rolls that i making peoples for christmas. i was wrong. my machine kept effing it up and i was pissed. i spent probably 8 hours working on these stupid jewelry roll things and i've thrown all of them away. i don't even think i'll revisit that project. imma stick to bags!
anywho, my second idea for the pleather was to cut small pieces and shingle them onto the flap of the bag in a racer stripe to give it a cool texture, like this practice run i did:
 
i couldn't decide if i wanted to space them evely (like the bottom part) or unevenly (like the top part). i'm pretty sure i'm going to be selling these, so i got some input through this poll that i put up on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) sew_hip. almost everyone liked it best even, but i still don't.
i now have an even better idea, which is to buy lots of different colours of faux leather and use the bits to collage a tree on the flap of the bag. should look cool, i think. i just don't know if i'm actually going to be able to find very many colors of fabric like that around here and i don't want to buy it online, cause i only need less than 1/4 yard of each color. i figured i could really use any fabric that doesn't fray, though, and i think that a variety of color and texture in the tree would look awesome. so, tomorrow, on my very last day of vacation, i am going to go to the fabric stores and see what i can muster up. i'm really, really excited about it!
i'm still going to do the bag with the racing stripe, though. i'm just extra happy that i already have my next project in mind.
everything else is boring. i can't believe it's time to go back to school. i, of course, did nothing in preparation for the school year all summer, so i have a busy weekend ahead of me. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Aug. 18th, 2008|08:55 am] |
sometimes i am so lazy that instead of going through our gigantic change holder to get out a bunch of quarters for laundry, i just take cash.
i had better go do laundry :( |
|
|
| random recents |
[Aug. 16th, 2008|02:39 pm] |
bought these glasses today at walmart optical:
i love the turquoise on the inside and the etching on the sides!
hopefully they'll come in before school starts. i also bought a pair of prescription sunglasses b/c, frankly, i can only use regular sunglasses for more intimate occasions, which is exactly when you don't want to be wearing sunglasses! they will definitely come in handy during my 50-minute commute, especially in the winter when the snow reflects the sun which blinds me! the sunglasses look very similar to the glasses, actually, but the frame were on clearance for $10 and the lenses were only $80. The glasses were around $250 and the exam was $50. i think i'll keep going there because it's the only eye place in town that isn't a private practice where the exam costs over $200.
in other news, i accidentally stabbed myself in the hand with a butter knife when i was trying to remove an avocado pit. that sucked. it went in really deep, too (several cms), but brian said that because it wasn't a wide cut i shouldn't need stitches. it's definitely looking better that it was on thursday when the self-stabbing occured.
the kitty condo is going over decently, now that i covered the thing in catnip. they're a bit skeptical of it, but seem to like it (ish).
here's another bag i made. i hated it at first, but have come to love it.
the closure is a pearl shank button with a suede loop:
it's huge!
i wish i would have put osme pockets on the inside, but i was feeling lazy when i made it and wasn't even sure it would come out right because i used a pattern that is meant for a really small bag and just multiplied all of the measurements by 2. i like it!
happy saturday, all, |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Aug. 14th, 2008|10:28 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  annoyed | ] |
the cats have really been getting on my nerves lately. i'm pretty sure chase is responsible for all of this, since i've seen her do it a trillion times, but zoey was caught in the act the other day, too, so who knows.
chase violates EVERY cup or glass left sitting on the living room table or our nightstands - no matter what liquid it contains (water, coffee, soda, lemonade, ANYTHING) - by dipping her right paw about three inches into the liquid, shaking the liquid all over the table, and then licking her paw. this usually just means that the tables are always spotted with water, which isn't terrible, but VERY OFTEN (especially with plastic cups), it means that the glass topples over, spilling its contents onto the table or floor.
once, brian awoke in the middle of the night to his full glass of icewater being dumped on his face & chest. i think he wanted to throw chase out on the street!
last night, brian brought chocolate milk to bed (i dunno), drank almost all of it, and then saw this morning that there was a chocolate stain on the carpet next to his plastic cup lying on the floor.
it's not like the cats don't have their own water (cold from the PUR filter daily in a few different bowls). they're just monsters.
:end rant |
|
|
| birdy bag |
[Aug. 11th, 2008|08:09 pm] |
last night i decided that my next sewing project would be something that would put to good use the fabric that i bought randomly and never used. so, i pulled a few matchers out and got to work. on a whim, i decided to try and make some bird appliques by cutting from the leftovers of my favourite material ever! i even got a bug up my butt and decided to try some machine embroidery. both were firsts! there are a couple flaws, but overall i'm pretty happy with it.
the brown/polka dot fabric is from walmart - a thick cotton duck. the pocket material is some stiff synthetic that i bought on clearance at joann fabrics. the bag is lined with a pretty blue gingham:)
Here is a closeup of the detailing on the pocket. i machine embroidered the branches with dark brown thread. the appliques were cut from a vintage loose-weave fabric and attached using a small zigzag stitch in matching thread.
And the innards:
This actually took me forever because i kept messing up the straps! and i kept putting the pins in the wrong way and made myself bleed like 13 times. brian thinks i should sell it, but i can't wait to use it!
:) |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Aug. 11th, 2008|08:20 am] |
i wish i could follow brian's advice and just RELAX about this baby-making stuff. after a sunday full of web-searching the topic, i had a dream that i experienced implantation spotting and then later on, I had a baby girl and when i saw her for the first time, i said, "she looks just like me!"
so, i am just going to sew today and pay bills and buy cat food and try to remain sane. OOOH, i think i am going to splurge and buy a cat condo for the monsters because i keep getting mad at them for scratching, but there isn't any good place for them to scratch other than the furniture. bah. the one i like best is 72" tall, has 15 different perches on it, two cubby holes, 5 sissel (sp?) scratching posts, two sets of "steps," and 2 hanging birdy toys for the cats to bat at. and i think it's only $140. they'll love it!
cheerio. |
|
|
content