A Missed Day, But Back on Track

Hello all - well, I missed posting yesterday, as I was dealing with a gastrointestinal bug, and basically spent the day in the bathroom.  It was frustrating, to say the least, but fortunately today is better, so I'm back.  :-)

How are all of your holiday preparations going along?  We are doing pretty well, which is a nice feeling.  Some plans got interrupted on Saturday, but we just moved along and it was all good.  Saturday evening, I made a batch of Butter Almond Toffee, which turned out really well.  Sunday morning, I met my friend Andrea for a coffee date, and then I came home, put dinner in the crockpot, and spent the rest of the day getting decorations out and organized.  So it was a good weekend overall.

Sunday night I woke in the middle of the night with my stomach churning, and that pretty much took care of sleeping much as well as most of Monday's plans.  Is it wrong that I am just glad it didn't ruin the weekend???

I'm not sure how the weather has been where you are, but here in Philadelphia, it's been a lot colder than it usually is this time of year, which is fine with me, but in the past few days, I've seen some interesting sights.  Granted, not everyone else bundles up like I do, but most people wear coats at least.  Last Friday, when I was walking back from my occupational therapy appt on my way to work, I saw a young woman coming towards me wearing sneakers, and a pink leotard and tutu.  No coat, no scarf, nothing else.  She did not appear to be homeless or otherwise compromised, though I wonder about her mental state.  Though maybe I shouldn't, because she didn't look like she was cold, even though the temperatures were in the high 20s.

Then this a.m., walking to work, I saw a woman with really bright green hair, short shorts and a bra top walking around.  Even if she was coming from a session at the gym, I would think that would have been an inadequate outfit.  But, who knows, maybe she is of hardy stock?

To recap, this is how I was dressed

while they were going around somewhat like this

So who knows?  Maybe *I'm* the one who's missing something ...

Birthday and Brackets!

Today is this little girl's 61st birthday:

And Cream Puff the stuffed dog, shown here, is still with her and as loved as ever.

Yep, it's my birthday - YAYYYYYYY!!!!!  I am having a lovely day at home with The Tim and the kitties, just relaxing and being cozy.  We had planned an outing for today, but the snowstorm took care of that.  Which is fine, because I like snow.  However, it has turned to ice rain now, which I do NOT like in any shape or form.  Even when I am getting around fine otherwise, I don't do well on ice, so getting to and from work tomorrow should be challenging - even if it is just getting off the street to get a cab!

But like Miss Scarlett O'Hara, I'll think about that tomorrow and enjoy the day as I have been doing already.  I love birthdays.  For one thing, having a birthday is always preferable to the alternative, if you ask me!  And I love cake - on my own birthday, I don't even have to be the one to bake it.  As a matter of fact, as I am typing this, The Tim is downstairs putting the finishing touches on my cake.

So no matter what is or is not going on with you, tonight drink a toast (alcoholic or not) to the fact that we are all still here!

*****

Are you a fan of March Madness, the college basketball frenzy?  I'll admit that I don't pay really close attention, or watch every game, but I do like to see who is playing and decide who I'd like to win.  So I always print the bracket and keep track what way.  This year, Villanova University is the top seed, and they are of course local.  From all reports, the kids and the coach are nice, decent people so I hope they do well.  Plus it's always fun to have a horse in the race so to speak.

However, there are other versions of March Madness floating around that I also enjoy, most notably Fug Madness.  I love the ridiculousness of it, and the commentary by the Fug Girls.  Play along if you like, it is stupidly fun.

And then, a friend directed me to the brackets set up for March Mayhem by the ladies at Mason-Dixon Knitting - I love it!  Not just the fun aspect of the brackets, but the chance to check out some patterns I may not have otherwise ever seen.  (Not that I need any more things in my Ravelry queue, but what are you gonna do?)

A friend who lives in Pittsburgh even posted a picture of the brackets set up by a local classical music station for listeners to compare and vote on.  What a fun idea!

I love that different groups are making brackets for their own interests.  Though March Madness is a true, intensive competition, the others are just for fun.  And I think the world can use as much fun as it can find these days, don't you!

Enjoy!

Coming Clean

Well, it was bound to happen.  One cannot live a life of secrets, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem.  So now I have to let you in on something that, while not really a secret, was just likely unknown to my readers here.

I love clothes, shoes, and makeup.

Not in an obsessive, high-fashion way, or even in a follow-every-trend way, but as something that I find fun and entertaining, when I'm in the mood.  Maybe because I seldom actually have to, I love to get dressed up, and actually spend time on my makeup (and I also must admit that it usually only looks different to me).  I have all kinds of foot problems, so my shoe choices are limited, but I get really excited when I find a pair that a) fit well, b) look nice, and c) are affordable.  So though I am driven insane by "fashion" types, I do like reading about pretty things, or trying something new every once in a while.

(Keep in mind, that 99% of the time, I am wearing sweats, t-shirts or sweatshirts, flip flops or sneakers, and no makeup.)

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you all of this is because I recently started another blog dealing with my thoughts about these things, and other things that just never feel like The Ravell'd Sleave material.  And my most recent post there was about the crossover of two of my favorite things, knitting and beauty, all wrapped up in something called a Soakbox.

Rather than duplicate the post, I'll just let you read it there.  But then, you should come back here, because this blog is still my baby.  :-)

Lovely Links

So like most people, I spent some time poking around to see what I wanted to use once Google Reader bit the dust.  Granted, I didn't do as much research as a lot of other people seemed to - what with being lazy and impatient - but I ended up creating accounts at both Feedly and Bloglovin.  Lately, I've been checking Bloglovin more regularly, mostly because I actually found it easier to organize things.  But who knows, tomorrow I may change my mind altogether.

In the meantime, one day this past weekend I was poking around, and clicked on the links for other blogs - you know, "Most Popular, Favorites" or whatever they call them on various sites.  And I've come across some new things that I have added to my regular reads.  Then lately, I've found some things I really like on both the old and new regular reads.   So I thought I'd share them with you.

A regular read of mine is Mereknits, and today she posted about something called Yarn Alive.  I know I have some things to contribute, so I hope you will, too!

I also *heart* a site that is new to me, We Heart This.

How many times have you or someone you know been overrun with the success of their zucchini plants?  I had a co-worker who used to put some zucchini on porches in her neighborhood at night, she had so much (and that way, she avoided people saying "no thanks")!  Anyway, I like zucchini, and I also like zucchini bread.  But here's a recipe I'm really anxious to try, because I think it would really be yummy, and add a new dimension to regular zucchini bread!  (Watch this be the year of the Great Zucchini Die-Off or something, now that I really want some ...)

Speaking of yummy baked goods, Marie at Cats and Books etc. shared this recipe given to her mother by one of her co-workers, and it's going on my to-make list as well.

Kim has asked for "audience participation" in her last couple of blog posts, and since I am a sucker for those kinds of things, of course I responded - even if not many others did.  But I think it would be a fun thing to try from time to time.  And there's still time to respond to her first two questions, if you want to join in!

What about you - and good things to share lately?

The Short Version

I am not a person who claims to be "fashionable" or "well put-together."  Which is not to say that I am not interested in my appearance.

Part of my appearance that makes a huge difference to me is my hair.  As a child, I longed to grow it and have beautiful, lustrous curls.  I was certain that my mother was evil, as she insisted it stay relatively short, and forced me to endure home permanents that always ended with me looking like a poodle.  (Though she was always pleased.)  When I was old enough to be responsible for it myself (meaning I could wash and comb it myself), I was still sure that I would someday wake up with amazing hair.

My mother had extremely thick, wavy hair.  My sisters each had thick, wavy hair.  My mother and middle sister's hair color was dark brown.  My oldest sister had auburn hair.  My hair was fine, stick straight, and blonde.  Much later in life, I realized that I inherited the kind of hair my father had.  As a child, this did not occur to me, since he always wore a crewcut.

So anyhoo, at a certain point in my life, I accepted the fact that a) my hair was straight and would always be straight; b) that it was so fine, when it got any length at all, it would separate on my scalp, making me look like I was on the express train to Baldville; c) even though I want my hair to look AMAZING, I am not willing to spend time working on it for such a result; and d) when it is the least bit warm, I cannot stand to have it on my neck or face.  This led to the realization that short hair was for me.

For any female readers I have to ask - have you ever tried to get a nice, short haircut?  You'd think you were heading to the stylist and asking them to cut open one of their veins for you.  I've decided that I really like short hair, and that, especially during the summer, the shorter - the better.

The problem?  Finding a stylist who will give me a short haircut.  I have been told at least 100 times that if my hair is too short, people will mistake me for a man.  My response is, if they do, that's their problem, and I.Don't.Care.

Ah, but the stylist does.  And every time I read about women with short hair, it's as if they are somehow diseased, or trying to reconnect with being a little girl.  The writer usually assures us, the readers, that said women will (phew!) be growing their hair long again, so they can look better, and more feminine.  I even had a female friend tell me once that "all women look better with long hair."

Don't even get me started on that one.

So, besides recent stylists that I have tried, quitting work when they have a baby, I've been searching for someone who will just cut my hair short but leave me looking human! As a bonus, if they did not take it as a personal affront, that would be nice too.  I am astonished that it's so difficult - and this is in a large city with a bazillion salons of every type.

This past Friday, I tried salon #4086.  I walked in, told the guy* what I was trying to do, and guess what?  No grief about short hair!  As a matter of fact, he said, "Well, with summer coming, we'll work on getting it to look good and be short."  I wanted to ask him if it was a set-up or something, since he was offering no resistance, and did not take it as a personal insult that I wanted a short haircut.  But I decided to just go with it, and see what happened.

He took a previous butcher job (complete with bald spots!), and actually made it all look like a hairstyle.  Then he said, "I fixed it up as much as I could, but as it grows in, we can work on getting it to look nicer."

I love him.  And I have short hair.  And no more bald spots from bad cutting.  Please do not wake me if I am dreaming.  Unless you are going to compliment me on my SHORT HAIR.


*The last time I had a person who "got" me who cut my hair (or did any other things with/to it), it was a male.  I forgot this until last Friday.  Coincidence?  You be the judge.