January--Sew a Skirt

When I was in middle school, I remember taking a Home Economics class (which my brother says is now called Skills for Living) where we learned how to cook a few select, easy meals (tacos, sloppy joes), how to properly set a table, and how to sew a button, etc. We got to pick what we could sew as our final sewing project. A pillow. I think mine was a lady bug pillow to be specific.

How often am I going to need to make a pillow? Why couldn't I have learned how to sew something more useful? Well, I decided to put a stop to my ignorance and learn how to sew something I can reuse over and over again: a skirt. I found amazing fabric at Hobby Lobby and that's where it all started.

Since my mom isn't the best seamstress in the world, I asked a very good friend of mine for her help. To prove to you of her expertise and her credentials--she has a dedicated sewing room in her house! She, luckily, agreed to help me and guide my by the hand through every step.I accidentally cut through the middle of the pattern... oops.
This is me cutting the pattern... yay!I'm actually sewing! Amazing!
I was so happy because it was actually starting to look like a skirt!TA DA!!!!! I made my skirt! Now I just have to find a shirt to go with it...YAY! Outfit complete!

I am so proud of myself, I even wore my skirt to Church on Sunday (when I was teaching no less, so many people saw it). I kind of want to sew another one, but I'm going to wait till I find some great fabric. Yay! I know how to sew something other than a pillow!

January Resolution = Accomplished

Quest to Replace Old Blue--Part 1

Dearest Old Blue,
We had so many great memories, didn't we? We drove from Texas to Utah and back, twice. We had some adventures in Vegas and Salt Lake City with many different people, friends, and roommates. And like any relationship, we occasionally fell on some hard times, like when your tire blew in the middle of Tuccumcari, NM, and when you shook me up when you weren't aligned, and then I had to replace several parts to keep you going. And even though you didn't have an air conditioner to keep me cool in the hot summer, I was faithful. Well, I'm sorry to say that this relationship cannot go any further. No, it isn't you; it's me. Don't worry. You will make someone else very happy. I just don't think I can keep you any longer. My needs have changed, and I have moved on. I'm sorry, but we'll always have the memories.
With sincere fondness and love, Mattie

Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, Old Blue was my car that I had all through college. It was a silvery blue, 1990 Dodge Spirit that used to belong to my grandmother. Where did it go, you might ask? Well, until very recently it was here:
Across the street... since Thanksgiving (the mailbox in the foreground is my mailbox). Yeah, I sold it to my neighbor who bought it for his sister, but kept it in his driveway, garage and in front of his house up until a week ago. Believe me, it was torture, especially the rare times in which I needed a car and didn't have access to one. Old Blue was there taunting me across the street. But now that it's no longer there, I miss it.

No, I haven't found a replacement yet, so I'm currently carpooling to work with my dad and then using my dad's car (a Kia sportage) when I need to go somewhere. So, for now it's working, and there hasn't been too many conflicts. But, while I haven't bought a new car, I am currently looking. Oh boy has this part been an adventure. This is the first installment of my four part series in the Quest to Replace Old Blue.
Part 1: I've done alot of research on the internet, and I narrowed down the kind of car I want. I want a crossover-type vehicle or small SUV. It has to be an automatic, and aside from the standard features cars come with nowadays, I would really like an iPod hook-up. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money, but other than that, I'm pretty flexible. Since I had done as much research as I could, I decided to test drive my new-found options.

The first place I went was a Suzuki dealership. I test drove the SX4 Crossover Vehicle:
and the SX4 Sport Sedan:I liked them ok, but the dealership was terrible! We couldn't get someone to help us (usually cars salesmen are jumping out the window to help you), and when my dad and I test drove, the salesman didn't talk to us the entire time (when I drove the Sedan he didn't even come with us). It was a very sleak and inexpensive car, which was tempting, but the salesmen sucked, and Suzuki isn't exactly known for their cars. I decided against the Suzuki and I have yet to hear from the dealership since I test drove, which was in September/October. Unfortunately, I didn't have the same luck of not being called with the next dealership....

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Quest to Replace Old Blue.

High School Never Ends

If you haven't heard the song "High School Never Ends" by Bowling For Soup, go over to the left and find it in my playlist and listen to it (song number 41). Go ahead, push play and then read on.

Now that I've graduated from college and have been a working adult for 8 months now, I've come to learn that this song is SO true! Not only is the tune catchy, the lyrics come a little too close to home. Now, I am going to speak in rather general terms so as not to offend, but realize many of these generalities come from very specific, personal experiences.

I always used to think that while I was in high school, I didn't experience those stereotypical people/moments that they exploit in the movies. I still can't say for sure whether that's true or not, but I did experience the really stupid high school/teenage drama, which even at the time I thought was stupid. But whether you are mature enough to realize how idiotic some of these fights/conflicts are, sometimes you still get sucked in. (Yes, even now I still get sucked into stupid drama despite the fact it has nothing to do with me.)

What's sad is, all this high school crap still happens even though we are all supposed to be grown up, mature, civilized adults; think about how popular shows/magazines like Extra, Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, or US Weekly are. All of these contain "juicy" bits of news and gossip about the stars and celebrities. Who the heck cares? I mean, I realize people do or else these shows/magazines would have shut down already. But, if you are one of these people, why do you want to know why JLo wasn't wearing her wedding ring at the Grammys? What does the latest Paris Hilton debacle have anything to do with you?

It's just like in high school where we cared who was dating who and where the popular girls/guys got their clothes/shoes. Still, we care about what the stars are wearing, who's dating who, and every other useless piece of information. Granted, sometimes it's interesting to know about where these celebrities came from, but don't you think it's a little out of hand if we have to follow their every move?

Ok, another thing, going back to those high school days, remember how you were angry at someone or annoyed with someone, and as opposed to actually going to that person to work it out, you just complain to everyone else? So maybe you don't remember, but you know what I'm talking about. If you find someone getting on your nerves, how hard is it to approach them calmly and ask them about it? Seriously people, come on! Now I'm not saying you should go and yell at them, but expressing your concern/frustration might help them understand where you're coming from and what you mean. Finding out that someone finds you annoying from the grapevine is much more upsetting then just having the person tell you straight up to your face (at least I think so anyway).

I could go on and on because I got more examples as to why high school never ends, but I think the song does a pretty good job. I just find it so odd that everyone is so excited to grow up and be an adult, but then they still act like they are a teenager. I think the world would be a much better place if we were just honest with each other (I really believe that miscommunication is at the root of many a divorce and failed relationship/broken friendship) and focused on the things in life that were more important as opposed to wasting time and hours of our life analyzing red carpet ensembles and going through celebrity baby pictures.

Speaking of... I feel sorry for whoever's going to have to deal with all those crazy Brangelina babies at the Oscars on Sunday. I will give them this though... they are almost single-handedly keeping the economy afloat here and in Africa.

Valentine's Day

First off, I guess I'm not doing too well on the New Year's Resolution of updating my blog once a week. I'm sorry, I'm going to try to do better.

Secondly, it's Valentine's Day today. What am I doing (besides typing on this blog, anyway)? I'm sitting at home, all alone, and I just finished watching Somewhere in Time, which lucky for me is starting back up again for an "encore" presentation. I'll probably watch the beginning (since I started watching part way through and I always seem to miss the beginning) and change to watching some other romance/romantic comedy movie like Sleepless in Seattle, Sweet Home Alabama, or whatever else the TV stations have decided to play.

Little side note/fact, my middle name "Elyse" actually came from this movie (or so my mom says) from the main character, Elise McKenna in Somewhere in Time played by Jane Seymour, of course with a slight spelling alteration.

Here's the thing, even though I am all alone on Valentine's Day, a holiday in which everyone from Hallmark to Target says you're supposed to be with someone you love, I do not feel upset or sad, not in the slightest. I, remarkably enough, don't even feel sorry for myself. Granted, I would want to be out with my friends, but I'd want to be doing that even if it weren't Valentine's. But after a pretty busy, fun-filled 2 days last weekend, it's kind of nice to just sit, relax, and have the house to myself.

Funny thing, I haven't really felt bombarded by the Valentine's Day extravagance. Usually, it's because the mushy, gushy, lovey dovey crap is everywhere you go that people start to get depressed that they don't have a person to share a box of chocolates with. I haven't really had time to go to the stores in which this stuff is, so I haven't really felt too suffocated by the Valentine's Day memorabillia.

But, it's not like I've sat watching sappy love movies with a bucket of ice cream all day. This morning I volunteered by helping tutor kids for the TAKS test in a downtown Dallas school. It was crazy early, but it was so worth it. I met the coolest, funniest kids, some of which I really can't pronounce or spell their names. But, I had fun. I helped with the 4th grade writing. For the first group we wrote a story using the words homeless person, magazine, and rainy day. It wasn't an exciting story, but I loved at the end how the kids said that the homeless person, Max, went home to his box and read his magazine in the rain.

The second group wrote a story using the words party, Abraham Lincoln, and DVD. That story was hilarious; Abe Lincoln had a history party in which he invited all the presidents, including John F. Kennedy, to play presidential games like jeopardy and "scramble" and watch a DVD of Abe's life, including his teenage years. Then, at the end of the party, all the other presidents gave Abe a present, a new suit and hat. Oh... it was great.

All in all, a good Valentine's day is spent with people you love, but who says it has to be someone you've known for a long time? I met some great people that volunteered with me, and those kids were awesome. Well, hope everyone else had a great Valentine's day whatever you ended up doing. Oh... got to go, I think I just saw that A Walk to Remember is on....