A Bit o' This and A Bit o' That

So I haven't been updating very often, but I've been decently busy. Luckily I have trained myself to take photos as I go, so I'm just writing about things afterwards. Lately I've been on this very odd bi-phasic sleep schedule. I'm not really sure why this happened, but if I had tried to do it on purpose, I couldn't have done it. Just seems like I can't sleep for more than about 3-4 hours at a time anymore. But it's a nice deep sleep, and splitting it up actually seems to be giving me more usable hours of the day--so long as I don't mind tip-toe-ing around to bake cornbread and spray paint things at 2 am.  I have been waking up in plenty of time for work, which is nice, and I do still get some awesome night time cuddles, plus day time hang-out time, too. The other reason it's nice is because it's flexible--so when I switch work schedules every two weeks, it's not really going to be a big deal. 

So what have I done? Well, I picked up a few little wooden holiday ornaments last time I was at Michael's and finally got around to painting them. Of course, you know my idea of "painting" is a little... well... yeah. They're clear coated, just waiting for that to dry before I flip them and spray the back side as well. I have a pair of stars I did with a paint pen as well, and a dozen or so clear glass globes that I haven't yet started to play with. I know Christmas isn't for a while, but this kind of stuff I don't mind doing in advance. No Christmas tree or lights until after Thanksgiving though!

after the metallic paint but
before the granite layer.
I'll repost when it's upstairs!

 Speaking of painting... This has been a sort of long-term pet project I've been dealing with for quite some time. I can't find the page now--I just looked for about 30 minutes--but I read about how you can use spray paint, painter's tape, and plastic bags to create a faux-marble finish on just about anything. The author had done it to her patio/doorstep and it looked fantastic. She also recomended it for garage flooring as well. I really wanted to try this, but I doubt the rental company would like that. I had an old bookshelf sitting down in the garage missing a couple shelves. I was originally going to turn it into an entertainment stand for the big tv, but we ended up just buying one from Big Lots instead. But, I had already gone to Home Depot and had them cut the new shelves I measured out. I figured I might as well keep the project going, although it took me weeks to crack at it a little at a time. For example, I started the black lacquer coat, found out the hard way that I was one spray can short. I picked up some granite spray to work with. I taped out a random square-based pattern--wishing now I had actually measured and marked it--and sprayed down the layers. Unfortunately though, the painter's tape [which isn't supposed to stick to anything really] pulled up the lacquer. Feeling a little frustrated, I decided not to redo it, but instead I just went over the lines with regular acrylic paint. I threw on a clear coat after that, and I might do one more clear coat just in case. Since one corner of the giant bedroom upstairs has kind of been turning into a kitchenette, I wanted to use this as both a counter [the coffee pot needs a solid place to live] and a wall/divider-type thing. Now my only delay is whether or not I'm going to wait until after laying down the tile flooring to bring it upstairs or get impatient and do it now. I wish I could find the floor in a different color, but I guess that one's not so bad.

...the letters are backwards because the glue is drying.

Another project I looked up, bought supplies for, and then ignored for a few weeks was the yarn-wrapping. These are just basic wooden letters, wrapped in yarn with a little bit of tacky glue. The only problem I ran into was zoning out and not realizing that I ran my way mostly through the red and white yarn. So it's not as solidly covered as I'd like, but I like the texture of it anyways. I'm not sure how I'm going to mount the layers onto the heart [I was definitely planning on the letters hanging over], and figure out how to hang it [thinking something to do with thick black wire, but not sure how to attach that]. The plus side of this project was having the epiphany that it would make a great gift for some other couples I know.

There may or may not have been
Amaretto in that mocha...

Last but not least. Snack Bar had long ago asked me if I would make homemade mac-n-cheese again. Again, I bought ingredients... and then... couldn't get around to making it. I finally had a day where I had the time and the motivation, except it was the same week of whatever most recent WoW expansion was released--there's no way he can raid and eat mac-n-cheese at the same time, that's just inconvenient! So I made up the chicken-broccoli-mac that he really likes, and got the brilliant idea to turn them into cupcakes! I sprinkled a bunch of cheese on top of course. The secret is to spray the cupcake pan with butter spray, and then cover the cups with breadcrumbs. They popped right out of the pan perfectly! I thought I had regular mac noodles, but I remembered incorrectly and had to stick with penne. Close enough. Definitely something I will make again!

Lots of Feel-Goods

Whew, where to begin?

The other day, I cleaned out my car and reinstalled the boom-boom in the backseat. Although it was unfortunate to see the lovely blue crystals on my battery terminal, the good news is I am competent enough to rewire things in my car. Thus, I has moar bass again. This of course spurned a loud ride to my doctors appointment this morning, blasting Bayside and singing along. And I realized, this guy here, he is one of the best songwriters I've heard--at least, since the likes of Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano. So simple, so straightforward, yet with that play on metaphors I love so much. Snarky, heartfelt word play, showing a glimpse of pain so deep you feel it too. The funny thing about Bayside is that even though his lyrics tend to be fairly specific, they are still so relateable. So, as Mrs. K predicted, I have spent my free time today cleaning my metaphorical wounds with ink and paint. One of the tips I'd been meaning to try was printing onto tissue paper, and holy crap. I'm not done with this one yet, but below is the progress so far. I'm waiting for the clear coat to dry before I start layering the tissue paper on. I'm really excited to see how it turns out, I'm just hoping I don't have the same issue with the ink bleeding that I did when I got into stamping.

One of the other wonderful things--aside from cooking home-made baked ziti from scratch [happy Italian], followed by crock-pot beef stew today... Anyways, now that we're all hungry, moving on.

If you know me at all, you know how pleased I am when I am able to help people. Especially good people. So although tomorrow I have to put the blasted uniform back on, I have been able to help someone because of it. A while back, someone from my bootcamp division separated and based on my descriptions, decided to move to WA. We talked about meeting up to jam a time or two, but it never panned out. After I made an off-handed comment online, he ended up coming over for dinner and socializing. Fun fact is, he's closer to my brother's age than mine! He's enlisted the Italian's help with navigating the VA, and today they have made quite a bit of progress. The boys are getting along famously, which makes me smile inside. As my dad said once, I have quite a soft spot for "puppy dogs and broken boys," and given the chance, I will feed and comfort both of them. When the holidays come around, I make a big effort to invite displaced military folks for meals. I realized last night, that it's almost like I've adopted a little brother--no offense to my actual little brother, he's just a little too cool to talk to me these days. He'll come around eventually, I'm sure, but living three states away doesn't help either.

Anyways, just the interactions between those two cracks me up and makes me happy. Loud music with good words. Making art, exploring, testing, results. Kitty cuddles, especially with a little rumble of purr... surprisingly my typing has yet to disturb Miss Z, who is draped across my arms at this very moment. Homecooked food. And of course, top it off with a bit of British humor. Ah, good days. I can't wait until my life is filled with this on a daily basis and punctuated with school and working with awesome people.

I hope you are all having some small victories or small happiness, and leave you with this--so at least if nothing else, you can say you saw a cute cat picture today.

Why I Love My House: A List

Well, I am only one car-load and a deep-clean away from turning in my keys to the apartment and walking away forever. It's kind of a good feeling. I am excited to put the past behind me and start walking forward for once. I am feeling a little antsy, like I want to continue unpacking, decluttering, organizing, or cleaning the new place; but I am just so beat that I can't. However, in my lounging I keep finding myself appreciating different parts and pieces of this new life. One thought led to another, and so I thought, 'Instead of just jumbled fragments, why don't I actually make a list of the things I like about this place?' In the words of my mother,  "...aaaaaand, so I did."


1. This guy lives here. 'Nuff said.

2. THIS. So Much This. Not only do we have a garage, but our garage has an additional shop. It's big enough to share, so one side is devoted to guns and camping, and one side is devoted to... this. It almost looks like I know what I'm doing! It's nice to have room to experiment and play, without worrying about it taking over bits and pieces of my whole living quarters. Downfall: Much less walk-by-arting going on.

3. For some unknown reason [our theory ties in to ridding living quarters of the scents of memories as a way of moving on emotionally, if you know what I mean] Miss Maow and Bill are actually--mostly--getting along. We even caught them cuddling the other day. She's practically had a personality makeover: she cuddles, she purrs, she talks, she plays... like she used to.

4. Cabinets. Cabinets and drawers, everywhere! Can you say linen closet? Towels, sheets, pillowcases, and even two  comforters fit! It's so nice. Oh, and Maow fits too.

5. There are two bathrooms. And the upstairs bathroom has a for-real medicine cabinet [behind the mirror style]. However, Bill has not yet mastered its usage, as he lacks opposable thumbs.

6. My plants--and Miss Maow--can finally get some sun! And without me running them inside and out every day, or worrying about them being 'cold' at night. Our kitchen has a 'planter window,' and so does the upstairs bathroom. 

7. Hanging the Ivy in the mud room--we have a mud room! With French doors, even!--has done wonders, and it is growing quite quickly with much less fuss. Hopefully it will thicken up, too.

8. All my clothes fit in my closet. Well, mostly in. Not including shoes. Okay, look, this is like huge progress for me, capicce? And Miss Maow has a nice soft cuddle spot, too.

9. We have side-by-side closets. They are somewhat organized. And/or, the upstairs might as well be a seperate studio apartment. It is HUGE. As in, don't-know-what-to-do-with-extra-space kind of thing. Not enough furniture, haha. I've never had a problem with having too much space, I've always had too much stuff!

10. Okay, the stairs are meh to me, could do without them honestly, but, the fact that our stairs are littered with kitties... always a bonus. Plus, for stairs, they are pretty comfy. Very wide and the perfect steep-ness... stepth?... or however you'd want to describe that.

Okay, usually lists are ten items long, but here's a bonus picture because it's just too cute. It strikes a super-deep chord with me, sort of nostalgia, because I grew up with a giant, black Great Dane named Scoby... and Scoby used to sit like this on the couch/floor. So the fact that Bill does this all the time--when he's not taking up a whole step to make you trip--just melts my heart.

I had time to kill, it's dead and buried.

I've been meaning to write for the past few days, and never getting 'a round tuit' as my mom would say...

(tuit)<---oh, there it is.

This is so how I feel, like every day. Bill also gives no effs.

I almost hopped on and ranted the other night after they extended our work hours. But as it turns out, I get home pretty close to the same time. With that being said, I am now home for less than 10 hours a day... factor in the fact that I need 7-8 hours of sleep not to feel like I got hit by a truck in my sleep, and I basically have time to eat and shower and then pass out. YAY. /sarcasm I am maximizing my [totally legitimate!] time away from work; on Thursday I went to a job fair and actually spoke with some neato companies about promising jobs that involve my amazing ability to not electrocute myself. One interview is already pending.

...he doesn't really give hi-fives, either.

I did take a stay-cation last week... it was a double-edged sword. I greatly needed it, however, it spoiled the crap out of me and now I am more sarcastic, more bitter, and even less motivated--if that's even possible. It made me really appreciate free time, and also made me notice how much of it I am lacking. I spent a whole day cleaning at my own pace. I got massive kitty cuddles. AAAAAAaaaand.... I got quite a bit of random art done.

This one... I haven't finished yet. I did put a couple more layers of stuff on it, and I did scrape the wax back off... but then I got really distracted trying to find good quotes to use and haven't gotten any further since. I also spent a good hunk of money at [craft chain store] on alphabet stamps, paper, ink, scrapbook stuff, and moar paints. But not more candles for some reason. Ooooh, side note, I wonder what would happen if I started mixing water and wax?

 This one, I finished actually quite a while ago, but I couldn't post it because it was going to be a gift for Mow and Mow [did I do that right? is that how that works?]. They did in fact love it. The quote was kind of a nod back to their totally awesome Firefly-themed wedding. This one made me kind of realize that I like working with whole words a little bit more than individual letters. It makes everything easy to read. The funny looking white spots are actually silver. And yes, yes those are my toesies.

Side note, I have a couple more canvases that have a couple layers of paint on them, but I've been so busy that I haven't been able to get much time with them. The fun part is that they're all on my porch, on my art-desk-to-be, with bottles and cans of paint. So sometimes when I leave home, especially if I'm feeling frustrated or quirky, I will just spray stuff. So far, so good.

I can do All the Things!...

...I just have to not have a job, is all.

I started my stay-cation Wednesday night, and have been doing more or less whatever I want, when ever I want. Yesterday, that amounted to painting my fingernails all glittery, painting some stuff, reorganizing the music on my external drive, making cocoa krispy treats, visiting a house we want to rent, and finally mustering the energy and attention span to pull through on the Shepherd's Pie I've been promising for months. And somehow I still felt lazy.

Part of that feeling was me rebelliously procrastinating, and part of it I attribute to medications. After another argument with doc ending in tears, I ended up with new medication. I should have followed the transition plan a little better, but I was so frustrated that I basically stopped taking the gabapentin and Efexxor to semi-detox my system, but it left me feeling like crap yesterday. Begrudgingly, I started the Cymbalta yesterday. I get to the point where I feel like the meds aren't helping the chronic pain and fatigue, but if I stop taking them, I feel even worse, like I have the Black Death. So far I can say I feel much more 'normal' on the Cymbalta, however, the nerve pain in my hand and feet shows up more easily.


Anyways. Point was, I felt lazy yesterday [and enjoyed every second of it that I didn't feel like I was about to pass out]. But today I got a random bee in my bonnet and did even more things. I started by undoing the destruction I had released on the kitchen. After that, I attacked the living room, and even put away about half the things cluttering up my desk. Not that I use my desk, mind you, but the clutter drives me nuts. I can never seem to take care of it because all I really do is work and sleep--hence why I asked for some time off. I took my time cleaning up and let the ADD have it's way with me: tidy this, paint some stuff, tidy that, find a photo to hang, put away clothes, feed the fish... something like that. I packed up the cardboard and took it to the dump, stopped by Goodwill for some job-interview-pants, got lost in Michael's for a while, and finished my outing with a trip to Wally World. Picked up some Sonic for late lunch, put new sheets on the bed, dyed my hair, and painted more. I'm having a blast, and I can't wait til I can do this for more than five days. I know I'll get bored with that eventually and want to work again, but... worth it.

Last but not least, obligatory kitten cuteness. Lots of fetch was played, and many lasers were chased.

PS. Almost forgot that I am also a secret nerd and SO excited for this.

Third Time's a Charm

So here are some pics from my third attempt at mixed media art. I picked up some more paint, some distress ink, and some squirt bottles. I didn't get quite the effects I was going for--and the distress ink sure is messy--but I'm making progress and getting some good ideas. This piece is a birthday gift for my Bestest ever... It doesn't even begin to compare to the blanket she sent me on deployment, but it's a start. For reference, one of her favorite bands is the Eels, and the song is 'Beautiful Freak'. I couldn't pick out good lyrics, so I just went with the song title.

 

  

First Forray

Below are pics from my first attempt at mixed media art. I've always been more for words, but I managed to find a way to combine words and art in a way that might work. That being said, this was a sort of test run. The main idea kind of came to me on accident. I have lots of other ideas I'll be working on soon, and of course there will be plenty more pictures to come.

A New Medium

I am a member of a local [secret] crafting group. It's kind of like a round-robin or Secret Santa style thing; there's a handful of us that deal with different media, we more or less draw names secretly, and craft something for the person every month or two. Usually I stick to yarn things, because that's what I've got the most experience with, but you can only make so many scarfs before you start getting bored and feeling that they're kind of... impersonal. So with this particular 'assignment' [for lack of a better term], I had a bit more to go off of from her profile. The idea just kind of clicked. I had this old vintage-y wooden globe sitting around, a remnant of my mother's failed attempt at relocating to WA. I wish I had taken a before photo, but I didn't do a whole lot to it. I went a bit outside my crafting-comfort-zone, and man, I have got to do that more often! I just hope I continue to have epiphany-style ideas on what to make. I also intend to get into sort of... mixed media painting type stuff, like Ms. Medium, an inspiring friend whom I miss very much--and the first person I turned to with my paint questions. I haven't started that yet, but you can bet your booty when I do there will be plenty of pictures. I've got so many ideas for that, and had spent most of the morning cutting and ripping old magazines to shreds, searching for letters and common words. My only problem is going to be a) getting started, and b) streamlining my ideas so I don't try to do too much within each project. Anyways, without further ado, here are the pics I know you're all waiting for... it's kind of a found/art slash up-cycled craft kind of thing. Nevermind my clutter and the giant wall of books.

'Home is where you drop Anchor'