Self Portrait: Sun, Light

It Rains, It Pours

Spent a good part of yesterday evening playing with my camera. Normally when it rains in England its a drizzle, with a slate gray sky. Yesterday it poured and you could see the sunset, at the same time. As soon as I think I have this place pegged it likes to go and all contradict itself. Bloody weather.






I was able to join my family at a party for a little while, via skype. It made me realize how quiet my house is with just little, old me. When you grow up always having to make yourself heard over a gaggle of people, and none of them talking very quietly, your noise spectrum tends to be a bit off, at least in comparison to everyone else. Their loud is my normal and my party volume is their cacophony. I don't think of it as a bad thing; although I have to concentrate a lot on lowering the decibals in consideration of others. It just means I get to use a bunch of fun adjectives to describe myself. For example I don't laugh, I bust out laughing, loudly. So much more fun.

Self Portrait: Saturated Colors

There is something about rain in England that makes all the colors stand out. The greens become greener, the browns deeper, and everywhere I look my eye keeps catching on bits of yellow. All the houses in my neighborhood have yellow accents, but there is also yellow mold growing on the roof tiles, and my bush out back suddenly erupted in tiny, yellow flowers.

Chaos 101

sitting at my computer yesterday evening, I was not really thinking of anything, staring at the floor, when I was struck with the thought that I was looking at my brain. Not in the literal sense, obviously, but rather the closet physical representation of my thoughts I had ever seen.
This is what I was looking at.



It was near perfect. It only needed a little tweaking: some book pages, a few doughnuts, a dry sense of humor. You'd think I would be embarassed to consider my thoughts to be so jumbled, but the truth is I don't think I'm that much different than everyone else. Even if you were the most organized person on the planet, it is a hard thing to claim, having orderly thoughts. Where is the fun in order anyways?



With that said, one of my favorite things to do is take that mess you see above and turn it into this. . .



and this. . .



and this.



I could never claim to be organized, not in my home, my writing, or even my thoughts, but for this one small area. Selecting two pictures out of a pile and gluing them to a page is the closest I think I will ever get.

An Ode to Toast

Both literally and literary. (Not that Toast the magazine is really a great literary publication or anything. I just liked how the two words sounded together. literally. literary. It gives me warm fuzzies just typing it.) I've long been a follower of toast - that is of the small t variety. I like it with butter or jam, or both, and it never fails to lift my spirits. Plus, it has the added benefit of being to easy to screw up. (Thank God for toasters.)



So, a few years back, when I happened across Toast - that is of the large T variety - it seemed like fate had conspired to bring us together. We were inseparable from then on, like eggs on toast. (Ahahahaha! I crack myself up.)





Really though it is the amazing clothes, styling, and color combinations that keep me coming back for more, again and again.

Let Them Eat Cake

Yesterday I baked a cake and I got my blogging mojo back. (It must of been hiding somewhere, like under the sheets or in the oven - my guess is the oven, I never go in there.) After laying dormant for a couple of months my sweet tooth has come back with a vengeance. All I can think about is cake and doughnuts, ice cream and cookies, and cupcakes. Sweet, delicious cupcakes, hatted with icing and sprinkles, and wrapped in their colorful wrappers, all lined in a row. mmmmm.



The cake came from a box, the icing from a tub (I'm no Julia Child), and it was happy to see me. I think it was a sign. A sign of what?
A sign that I need to eat more cake.





some part of my brain, the "eat your vegetables three square meals a day" part, is wondering if it should be worried. Thankfully I can distract that part with visions of sugar daddy's dancing in my head. It can't figure out why the sugar daddy's are dancing. Why would they dance, they're freaking candy bars? Such strenuous thinking wears it out. . . makes it hungry.
More Cake!

Clearing Out

I finally got my lazy butt of the couch this morning and hung up all my clothes. Then I went through my closet and pulled out everything that was either stained, ripped, worn out or to embarrassing to see the light of day, bagged it up and set it aside to be donated. (Although, I feel a little guilty now, after describing what horrible shape my reject clothing is in, asking someone to try to sell it.)




I feel much better now: lighter, free-er (I think I just totally made that up), less like a complete hypocrite when I drool over a new striped shirt when I have five hanging up in my closet at home.
Now I only have three, my conscience is clear.





I have fallen head over heels for English fashion. Where back home it was all about looking like you just came from the beach; which seemed kind of ridiculous when it was 5 below in the middle of Michigan winter and fashion dictated that you had to wear flip-flops.
In England it's all about layering, and everybody wears boots.



I really like my hair today so this is my attempt to show it to you. I been ruminating over the idea of doing a self-portrait project. Every day I would do a self portrait, in whatever medium I choose, and post it here. What do you think? Nay or Hay?

Come Join Me

I've been going on a lot of walks lately - not entirely by choice - and I've found they are much easier to enjoy when you have company. A February walk in England is much different than one in Michigan, where they are buried under feet of snow. Here spring is trying to force itself out early.

We start upstairs where all you need to grab is a light jacket and a sturdy pair of shoes. Heading down, you catch glimpses of yourself in the dusty stairwell mirrors.



We don't even have to leave my front stoop and you can already see signs of spring. A gardener must have once lived in my house as seemingly overnight little heads of green shot up all over my yard.



Down the street an overzealous bush reaches to choke out a rain gutter.



Not far off a fence sheds it's brown winter garbs for the lighter clothes of spring green.



Soon after this the gray skies open up and it begins to rain. I put my camera away to keep it safe and send you, dear friends, home to stay warm and dry. Unfortunately, I had a lot more walking ahead before I could do the same. I did return home safe much later, cold and wet, but for the first time in many days successful.

Crochet Basket

I was cleaning my house this morning and while searching under the couch I found my missing yarn and hook. You see, in an effort to keep myself motivated I've been keeping my crochet project in the living room. I figured that way it would always be in front of my face and, hopefully, cause me to work on it more.



Unfortunately, that meant it was also in the way all the time, and getting brushed off and kicked under the couch quite often. I felt bad for the poor little thing, it didn't deserve to be so mistreated. So, with that in mind, I dug out a basket. I had one on hand that I kept at the back of the downstairs closet because it was so oddly shaped I couldn't think of a use for it.




I feel like a regular, old crafter now with a basket and everything. The odd shape is growing on me and I think it makes a sweet new addition to the landscape of my house.

Hello Hiatus

Sorry I have been such a horrible blogger lately but, with the Airman's month long trip back to the states looming in my mind, every time I sat down to write a post I would think, "I could sit here how ever many minutes it would take to write this post, or I could spend that time with my soon-to-be-departing-for-a-whole-freaking-month husband." Hmmm. I think I might have had some issues with him leaving.




Issues aside I took the Airman to the bus stop very early this morning so he could catch a ride to the airport, and so the month long absence begins. I was thinking I should do something cool for my blog while he was gone; like take a picture a day (which I'm supposed to be doing anyways) or write something, but I haven't decided yet. I'll let you know. So it's back to daily blogging for me, hopefully. Did you miss me?