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!

Been a Minute...

Well, you know, things fall apart and fall back together. I have been back and forth on and off of nights, so adjusting to that has been a little difficult. Life and the Universe has been quite tempramental to the Italian, bless his heart, but hopefully it will be smoothing out soon. I barely know where to start for this blog!

I've got a lot of projects up in the air at the moment, but a couple of them I am saving until completion to actually share, particularly the glass project. It deserves its own post. Ah! Ok, I can start with this one. While my buddy is out of town for work, we have the distinct pleasure... with a grain of salt... of babysitting his Savannah cat, Emmitt. Oh boy, this guy. He's a handful when he's awake, but every night he climbs under the covers and gives out awesome cuddles. Miss Z hates his guts still, but Bill has come to realize that even though he's not 'the kitten' any more, having a 'cousin' around to play with can be lots of fun. They both fetch and throw mousies, and chase each other, and wrestle. Since Emmitt will be come-and-go, and also since we've run out of perches for kittehs, I ordered a cat-tree from Amazon. I didn't go all out because I'm a little bit of a cheapy, but this one is almost as tall as me [but then again I'm only 5'3"] and cost $60. I put it together all by myself! Which of course brings me way more joy than it should. All the cats ignored the tree for the first day or so, but Bill has discovered that it's great for derping about, and they both love the fuzzy mice on elastic. Oh man. Hours of entertainment right there! Once full grown, Emmitt should be the size of a small dog, but he was the runt of his litter and seems to be a late bloomer. He's very tall and thin, and can jump disgustingly high. He may look the same size as Bill, but when you turn him into a kittyball, there's hardly anything there! 

 Considering the Italian's upcoming surgery, we started turning the excessive space in the upstairs into a kitchenette. We put in a mini fridge to match the microwave, and later he insisted on adding a toaster oven. After introducing him to "The Met," where we found fresh, hand-pulled mozarella, made in-store putanesca, and all sorts of absolutely to-die-for goodies, I now know why. [The Met also sometimes carries divine Mango Chutney chicken, as well as bottled Thai coffee and literally... espresso soda. It's pricey, but to see him so happy was worth it. I knew he'd love it, and my favorite part about finding something neat is sharing it with someone who Really--capital R--appreciates it. We have yet to hit the olive bar, salad bar, or gelatto bar, but they're the second best place to go for cut flowers, only beat out by Stadium Thriftway, in my opinion.]

Woah, sorry for the tangent. Anyways, he threw together these mini pita-pizzas in about five minutes, and they are to die for! Impressively filling, and the putanesca gives them a little after-kick. Only down side... they taste better when someone else makes them. tee-hee.

The other day I was out and about and decided to pick up burritos for lunch/dinner. The quote on the bag was so apt that I decided to art it up. I figured the brown-paper-bag feel would be an interesting thing to work with. Here it is half-finished. I've got a couple more layers of textures to add before I call it done. I am really enjoying art still, although mostly I am doing it from bed these days. And also, I am not sure what to do with it all anymore... Sure, I can keep hanging it on the walls, and that's great for me, but it's not really getting anything OUT there for others. And I guess that's still a big thing for me. On the other hand, Honey Bunches contacted me last night to do an art trade... apparently he's got a project in mind? I asked for a quote to work with, and now must do some research on Freddie Mercury. I've got to do a test run on a theory I have [using crackle paste to transfer instead of gel medium], hopefully it works out, because in my head it makes perfect sense for the quote he gave me.

Last but not least. I have been putting off planting my flowerbed for at least a month now. I was really excited at first, and bought bulbs and some tools... but then the rain and pain set in, and I lost my motivation. Somehow today was the perfect combination! It was dry outside, but not warm, and I didn't feel like crap. I also had nothing to do and was feeling good, so I decided to attack it. I wasn't looking forward to digging up the topsoil, but it turned out not to be too bad. I planted yellow crocus, Wildflower Tulips, and Muscari. Tried to leave some room in back for Dahlias when the spring comes, and finally put the LED/solar charged garden lights. They are so cute! I also laid down some nice red top bark, but I should have listened to the guy at the shop and bought three bags instead of just two. From there I don't know why but I started raking the yard... I got a little overwhelmed with that. I was about a minute from calling it quits when the Italian came home and insisted on taking over, even though I tried telling him it was unnecessary. Of course, that led to me getting further distracted and digging up the mushrooms that were taking over our yard, as well as cleaning up the hens-and-chicks under the big tree [trying to get them to root and spread after almost killing them all this summer--my bad]. I also had a handfull of Muscari left, and finding that the dirt in the flowerbeds by the front door was much softer than the one under the window, I lined the stairs with the extra bulbs. I'm excited to plant more, even though I suck at garden follow-through. Also, I'm afraid for the Fibro repercussions of what I did today... we'll see how bad it gets.

Seems like lately all my projects have been trying to teach me patience--none of them are instant gratification! The art must always be done in layers, and seems like each one takes longer to dry than the last. The glass project, well I'm on day two of that one, waiting for stuff to dry. The bulbs... well I won't even get to see them until spring time. I'm sure they'll be great though, I can't wait! And even if we move out, I hope they bring some happiness to the folks who move in after us. But that's a whole 'nother story.

Day Two of Temporary Freedom.

Not quite going as I had expected. Don't get me wrong, I am loving this. Of course I have a giant multi-page list of things that I want to get done in these too-short ten days, and so far I'm not sure I've actually accomplished a damn thing on it. But then again, part of being on leave is recuperating and relaxing. So I figure tomorrow will start my productive days.

I haven't cleaned up much, but we did sort of reorganize the upstairs. Moved my desk, but still waiting for the bed frame to show up. I put a little bit of stuff away, but nothing significant. The Moving Process is still in progress. I don't really remember what we did on Monday besides watch a movie, and then I made fried rice. Snack Bar is still continuously in awe of the combination of my culinary skills and the multitude of delicious food places T-Town has to offer. Like Italian delivery--not just pizza, but I mean like, homestyle Italian food, delivered to your house. Moral of the Story: After we get settled in, we are all definitely going to have to start working out. Because I certainly can't stop cooking. The boys would never allow that.

Today was supposed to be my first productive day... but... the universe has a sense of humor, or irony, or just timing, I suppose. This morning was supposed to be up-n-at-em-Atom-Ant to drop off a car for service down south, followed by a breakfast date and matinee of Guardians of the Galaxy. But alas, a good friend was leaving the new house on his motorcycle around midnight, and ended up crashing. Hit-n-Run. Seriously. So, we picked him up and took him home so his wifey could see he was in one piece, and then the guys left to pick up the bike and we had some girl time.

She's very spiritual and into art and such, so we generally have some good conversation. She showed me her newest tarot deck and indulged me with a brief reading. We even have the same opinion of such things--There is an inherent wisdom, but things like tarot and astrology are tools, and they are what you make of them. Like, they are a frame work, a way of organizing you thoughts or looking at things in a different way. So I think I will be getting back into that world a bit more these days. I have never been a particularly intuitive or spiritual person, but I do like to analyze these mechanisms in a logical or physiological manner. I find it interesting. When I step back and thing about it, I am almost a jack-of-all-trades... I have many many interests, but I don't necessarily delve deep or stay consistent. I take things in bits and pieces.

On a sad note, my dad had to put down the family dog, Molly. She as a really great dog, an Aussie, and loved the family as much as they loved her. I'm bummed for them. His birthday is in a couple weeks, maybe they will fill the gap with a new puppy. Sometimes it helps. But, with his birthday coming up, I sort of stumbled on making him some art. He always wraps my birthday presents in the spare aviation maps from his trips, and I think they are awesome. When I was setting up the art room, I found a few pages of them, and laid them out. For some reason, a flying fish stood out, so I slapped that on there too. Then I started putting the ideas together, and I took a quote of his for the finishing touch. He always supported me, even when I was stupid and rebellious. He raised me with this idea firmly rooted in my head, and I just wish I could figure out a way to make it happen. He sure has, and it never ceases to amaze me.

I experimented with Gel Medium once, and it worked phenomenally... but when I set this peice up for the official go, it completely failed. I actually went out and got another copy of the magazine just to get that photo again, because it's so crucial to the imagery that I can't replace it. Second try is pending, I'll be sure to update everyone if it works out or not.

Best Friday Junior.

So, here is a post-game recap of my Thursday. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life.

First things first. PT, followed by uniform inspection. Boooo. Then begins a rewarding day off work. I stopped at the dry cleaner to see if they could fix my [used-to-be] white shirt... alas, they cannot, so more work for me; and wandered into the wonderful hipster/yuppie grocery store that I sometimes visit. Not for morality issues or anything so noble, mind you, I just really love their deli and such. They're a local fave. Picked up some groceries and boy I can just never resist plants. I think I have a problem. After a brunch of everything bagel topped with sun-dried tomato cream cheese and smoked salmon [I am le connoisseur!] I settled in for a couple hours of Diablo 3 with mah love. Found myself a little sleepy, so I took a quick nap. I looked at houses for rent, and talked to one of the property managers while arranging the flowers I picked up... because I'm a little OCD+ADD and can't stand to only do one thing at a time. After that, I used the leftover homemade chicken soup with no less than five green veggies [did I mention that I've been sick all week?] to make a buttermilk-biscuit-topped chicken pot pie. Didn't come out quite right--it ended up like more of a cobbler--but it sure was tasty. While working in the kitchen, I also prepped an old candle jar to hold the new baby orchid. Then we watched a movie, and I went to bed early because sadly, back to work on Friday. But! It was nice to have a break, and to know that after Friday, it was the weekend again, and I could be Freeeeeeeee. Mwahaha.

 This is the lil' baby orchid I bought. It was too adorable to pass up! Plus lots of pods means it hasn't really started blooming yet... my big one was in full bloom when I brought it home and the flowers didn't last long. I'm using them for art now. It's still alive though and I hope it keeps growing, but this little guy [see comparison to coffee cup] was just too much. Except when I pulled it out of the original container, I found lots of very sad, squished roots. I did some impromptu plant surgery, gave it a lot more room and some fresh moss, and I hope it survives. Because orchids--although the new floral trend--are just beautiful. 

These are the flowers I arranged. Any time I go to a grocery store, the floral department always catches my eye. I can't bring myself to buy the prearranged bouquets; for some reason I think that $14.99 is too much--and then I spend more than that by picking out my own flowers. Alstromeria are my complete favorite, doesn't matter what color they are. The purple roses really struck me; usually I am not a fan of roses. Then there's some whaddaya-call'ums to add bulk, and two "black" [super dark purple] calla lillies. The "tropical foliage" in the back is a nice touch. You'd think from this that purple is my favorite color... but let me assure you, it's not. Flowers just don't come in my "favorite" color much... not naturally anyways.