Friday, June 29, 2012

Not tonight, dear

Things that are less fun with a migraine than they might otherwise be, in chronological order of me discovering it today:

  • reading
  • editing
  • making other people happy
  • remembering my coworker's name*
  • interacting with the friendly guy at the convenience store
  • beautiful sunny days
  • active puppies
  • waking up from a dream about not having a migraine
  • being awake
  • watching Community
Oh, in case you were wondering if anything wasn't less fun, I think this wasn't, though you can bet I'll try watching it again when I don't have a headache, just in case it's even better than I think.


*OK, to be fair, this wasn't so much "less fun" as it was "more difficult." This is a close coworker, both geographically and friend-wise, and I've known her for more than a year.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

More dog days of summer

You may recall that I am dog-sitting.

The lucky puppy and I are having a blast. Once a day, I try to send a wrap-up text about him and his buddy, who's a cat, to their owners on vacation. And because they're so adorable, I try to include a picture snapped with my phone.

Did I mention he's a puppy?

Here's a small sample of photo attempts:




I did manage to get one acceptably good one:


Cute, right? And deceptively placid-looking? 

Yeah, don't let him fool you.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Blogs I love

It's been a little while since I drew your attention to my blogroll, or since I did anything with it myself, so I'm taking a cue from Genny.

Here's what I'm reading and loving these days. I'm even using (almost) the labels I use in my reader for this post (it gets complicated, because there's overlap, but, well, I do what I can).

The blogs that used to be on my blogroll but aren't anymore are the ones that haven't had any posts in a long time (if by friends) or that I don't really read anymore (if by non-friends). And that's quite enough parentheses for an introduction.

Friends


Funny ha ha


Race


Feminism


LGBTQ


Random strangers



So, what's missing? What are you reading or writing on the internets that I don't have on my list? What do you think the rest of us would looooove?

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Things I learned from the first 20 hours of two weeks of dog-sitting


  • I really am allergic to dogs. Really allergic. As much as I am to cats.
  • Dogs really like to be close to people.
  • Cetrizine Hydrochloride is no longer an effective allergy medicine for me. At least for my dog allergy.
  • If there's one thing dogs love, it's wadded up Kleenex.
  • You can't buy allergy medicine with a decongestant unless you have your driver's license.
  • If you, say, forgot to bring your driver's license to the drugstore, you can't reasonably "just run in" for it if there's a dog in a crate in your house, because he will go INSANE and you will feel like the meanest person alive.
  • There are many reasons I don't own a dog (like allergies and that I prefer to have the option of being irresponsible), but not-unhigh on the list is that I am worried the dog will judge me. The last two dogs I've dogsat for came from households with two adults and two interesting children. I suspect these dogs are bored to tears with me, because the parts of my life that are exciting (me being out of my house) and the parts that are relaxing (me lying around in my house) are both pretty dog-boring. 


Friday, June 22, 2012

Oly, oly, oxen-free

Today, my Rock Star friend tried to send me a video on gchat, but it wouldn't load. I could see that the title was "Vogue (Olympic PC...", so I Googled around a little until I got this, which I could not for the life of me figure out how to embed.

Two thoughts on that video:
  • The part where one of the Bryan brothers talks about how important it is that his brother pushes him was hilarious, because one of the Bryan brothers (still not sure which) actually shoved me at an event once. On my birthday.
  • Why are the men depicted doing active athletic things, while the women (regardless of whether they are models or athletes) depicted as decoration? Oh, patriarchy.
Oh, and a third:

  • That was not at all the video my friend was trying to send me. This was:

    It's way more adorable, though it did result in discussion of whether the feather headbands were supposed to signal "flapper" or "indian."
    I'm going with "flapper," because only the girls are wearing them, which means the boys' hats are supposed to be fancy fedoras, and not pilgrim hats.
    I think.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

I am the gatekeeper.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that there was a dark, water-stained-looking spot on the ceiling in the common area outside my office.

I reported it to the powers that be, who reported it to the folks at Physical Plant, who could not find a water source, but said they'd replace the tile.

Then, yesterday, I looked at my own office ceiling and noticed similar stains, right over my desk. It also seemed to me that  the common area stain had gotten worse, but I couldn't swear to it. So I went to my office neighbor (ON)'s office. The dark stain over his desk (and several computers) was by far the worst. It was cracked and sagging. Very bad.

We reported it to the powers that be, who reported it to Physical Plant.

Half an hour later, ON came into my office. "You've gotta see this," he said. I went into his office and his stain had gotten even worse. More cracks, more sagging. We decided we needed to move the important stuff out from under it, but of course, we were joking around (and therefore standing around) as we did it.

It could be an incontinent raccoon, we thought. Or bees. Or snakes. And as we discussed these possibilities, the tile in question collapsed onto his desk, missing the computers and me, but barely. Obviously, I shrieked, loudly, and we all scrambled and then assessed the damage by the falling tile. It did hit a beautiful pottery lamp ON's wife had made, but didn't break it. 


I attempted to move my smallish desk (stuffed with files) and couldn't do it myself, so obviously, I wandered off to tell other people of my morning's adventures.

When I came back, action had been taken. The physical plant guys had arrived, had moved my desk out of the way, had removed all of the troubling tiles in all three locations, and had put trash cans and recycling cans under the now very obvious drips. It seems there was a clog in the line of the building's air conditioner and a bunch of other stuff I neither completely understood nor retained and now a lot of water.

My boss was very gracious and understanding when I suggested that, due to the sound of dripping water that was in no way contained to the two buckets in my office but kept dripping on my arm even when I sat at my desk's new location, I'd be working from home the rest of the day, which I did.

This morning, I got up early and took a beautiful hike, punctuated by elephant ears and fruit salad and mimosas with a stunning view of the sunrise. That is in no way related to the rest of the story, but it is nonetheless true and demonstrates that I am awesome.

When I came in to work this morning, the ceiling tiles were all still missing, and there was some water in the trash and recycling cans. No more dripping, though, so that was good.

And now my desk is seemingly comically close to the door. To give you a vague picture: in a roughly 9'x14' office, my roughly 3'x6' desk is directly in front of the door, close enough that you can open the door all the way, but just. I appear to be a receptionist for my own (smallish) office, blocking the entrance and making it uninviting.

And that amuses me enough that I'm keeping it that way.*

It's the little things, amiright?






*Plus, you know, can't really move it myself.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Nailed it

I had a fantastic weekend, thanks for asking, in stark contrast to last weekend. So nice.

Most of what I did was hang out with a very good friend from college and her 7-year-old daughter; she has a husband and a son who I love very much, too, but they were off gallivanting somewhere.

So, in a roughly 24-hour period we called "Girl trip! Woo!" we read and painted nails and had delicious food (including ice cream) and went to church and played Just Dance 3 and had a picnic by a stream and did hot stone massage on each other. It was terrific.

Now, my nails, painted by said 7-year-old with her cool new nail polish that is sparkly and also supposedly tie-dye (except the tie-dye effect only really worked on one nail) look like this:

Here's the question: How long do you think I'll leave them like that?

Possibly relevant factors:

  • I am vain.
  • The texture of the polish feels funny.
  • I currently only have nail polish remover that belongs to someone else and so would need to buy my own to remove it.
  • I am lazy.
  • I sort of like having nails done by a 7-year-old in theory.
Anyone have any guesses? I have so far already worn them to church and work, if it matters.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Look, Ma!

I subscribe to InStyle magazine's RSS feed. Don't judge me.

Today's daily beauty tip teaser was, "Learn how to master Lake Bell’s 'no makeup' look."

Now, I feel secure in saying I have already mastered my own no makeup look, and I feel like pretty much anyone, regardless of sex or gender, can master my no makeup look without a blog post on it.

In case you were looking for tips on how to achieve it, though, here you go:

  • Step 1: Do not apply makeup. 
  • Step 2: Do not apply quotation marks.


I am guessing that Lake Bell's "no makeup" look (at least as described by InStyle) involves a lot more makeup.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Fashion (blog) Week part 4: me

And at last, we bring Fashion (blog) Week to an end with my experience.


*Indicates events that I thought were happening when I planned my outfit, but did not.
** Indicates events that I did not know were happening when I planned my outfit, but that happened anyway.


Fashion (blog) Week part 1
Fashion (blog) Week part 2
Fashion (blog) Week part 3

Monday:
  • What's the weather? High 80; low 61; isolated thunderstorms
  • What's on your schedule? Cookout at my parents' house, lots of playtime with my young niece and nephew, possibly a trip to the lake*, nap**, bowling
  • What's your inspiration? I'm not sure I understand the "inspiration" part of this. Casual effortlessness with a certain artsy early-60s j'ne sais quois?
  • What's the outfit plan? Cuffed loose jeans, flip flops, sleeveless flowered blouse; swimsuit; running shoes and a pair of socks in case a walk is called for; bowling shoes later.
  • How'd it work out?  Just fine, thanks. I don't remember the last time I got ready so quickly and didn't hate what I was wearing. Awesome.
Tuesday:
  • What's the weather? High 79; low 63; isolated thunderstorms
  • What's on your schedule? Morning workout; work with one internal meeting; a chiropractic appointment (midday); possibly drinks after work*; drinks and dinner to meet a friend's long-distance significant other in flash-flooding-type storms**
  • What's your inspiration? Er — brown, I guess.
  • What's the outfit plan? Workout clothes; khakis, brown peeptoe wedges, brown sleeveless sweater
  • How'd it work out? Not bad, though I did add a white short-sleeved cardigan at the last minute because I chickened out of wearing a sleeveless shirt with nothing over it to work. And changed into jeans pre-drinks and dinner.
Wednesday:
  • What's the weather? High 78; low 55; partly cloudy
  • What's on your schedule? Morning workout*; work; bowling lesson; softball game (watching, not playing) in the evening*; yoga class**
  • What's your inspiration? Summer, or also a desire to be simultaneously work-appropriate and casual enough for a softball game.
  • What's the outfit plan? Workout clothes; green capris (or pedal pushers? I'm not sure I know the difference.), black peeptoes, short sleeved flower print shirt; short-sleeved black cardigan
  • How'd it work out? Swell. The rain cancelled the softball game, but this outfit was a combination I don't use often, and I liked it. And it was good to have the workout clothes at-the-ready for the yoga class; there have been times in my life I'd have skipped the class because trying to pull together a clean workout outfit would have been tricky.
Thursday: 
  • What's the weather? High 75; low 49; partly cloudy
  • What's on your schedule? Morning workout; work, one internal meeting, possibly a long day writing the internal campus newsletter; lunch with a friend**
  • What's your inspiration? Comfort and ease — the gray dress is jersey knit, and I could sleep in it if I had to. I'm not going to. Probably.
  • What's the outfit plan? Workout clothes; gray dress, black peeptoes. 
  • How'd it work out?  Super, and I did not, in fact, have to sleep in the gray dress. I didn't even have to work that late.
Friday:
  • What's the weather? High 74; low 54; partly cloudy
  • What's on your schedule? Morning workout; work; pedicure with a  friend**; "This American Life — Live"**
  • What's your inspiration? Fun summer! Summer fun!
  • What's the outfit plan? Workout clothes; blue denim dress, fun tan sandals, gray cardigan
  • How'd it work out? Mostly great, though the temperature dropped suddenly during the late afternoon, so I had to run home and change out of my adorable dress and into jeans — which was not a problem, except that it left me having to pick a shirt on my own, with no planning, for the first time since Sunday night. I did fine. An olive green lace-neck t-shirt with the jeans, gray cardigan, and sandals worked out great. And it didn't take me an hour of changing outfits, either. I think I was just more confident in my ability to get dressed by this point — at least to get dressed for sitting in a dark theater.
So, overall, what did you learn?
  • No kidding, Sunday night, this was painful and took me a very long time.
  • Monday morning, on the other hand, was awesome, as I rolled out of bed and into clothes.
  • If I lay out workout clothes for every day, I feel bad about not wearing them, and therefore am more likely to work out.
  • I wear a lot of neutral clothing.
  • My plans change a lot between Sunday and Friday.
  • My friends and I have different sources for weather reports.
  • What ikat is.
Will you keep up with the system?
  • I'd like to try. It seems unlikely. But the workout factor alone would be worth it.
What were the best and worst parts?

  • Best: The workout motivation; who knew that clothes were what was standing in my way there?
  • Worst: I dunno. I'm a little sore from all the working out. Kidding — Sunday night was definitely the worst part. I have confidence it'd get better if I did it regularly.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Fashion (blog) week Part 3: The Reuniter

Today's guest post comes from my colleague and friend The Reuniter, so named because she tried this experiment during one of the busiest weeks of her year — the week leading up to Reunion Weekend at the college. Throw in Memorial Day and some crazy weather, and — well, I'll let her tell you.

[Note: I intended to publish this on Wednesday. I was all done reading it and formatting it and whatnot, and was just about to hit publish, when lightning struck my house and fried my router. True Story.]

Fashion (blog) week Part 1
Fashion (blog) week Part 2

Monday
  • What's the weather? Sunny & 75.
  • What's the schedule? Driving home from a wedding in Darien, CT.
  • What's your inspiration? Comfort for the car and layers, since my co-traveler and I often prefer different temperatures.
  • What's the outfit plan? Black cotton dress, gray flip flops, and a brown 3/4 length cardigan for breakfast and the 4-hour drive, followed by my pajamas.
  • How'd it work? It was perfect!

Tuesday
  • What's the weather? 80 with possible thunderstorms (ended up with torrential rain and a tornado warning). 
  • What's the schedule? Follow up from the extra-long weekend, prep for Reunion weekend, and tying LED candles in paper lanterns. An after-hours work meeting (which got canceled when the tornado warnings seemed guaranteed). 
  • What's your inspiration? Comfort for a long day and cool for hot temperatures. 
  • What's the outfit plan? Navy blue Old Navy knee length dress, new long multi-colored Lia Sophia necklace for some drama and brown flat sandals. 
  • How'd it work? It was a great outfit for the work day, but I was a little chilly once the rain hit that evening. 

Wednesday
  • What's the weather? 75 and sunny. 
  • What's the schedule? Reunion meetings, website updates, a little spray painting and happy hour with some coworkers who are leaving (I ended up not being able to make it for drinks). 
  • What's your inspiration? New linen pants and my best chance to wear heels this week. 
  • What's the outfit plan? Linen pants, indigo cap-sleeve blouse, brown pumps and gold jewelry. 
  • How'd it work? After experiencing an unexpected detour on the way to work due to flooding, it felt great to be pulled together. 

Thursday
  • What's the weather? Sunny and warm. 
  • What's the schedule? Decorating for our Friday night event, climbing ladders to hang hooks, and picking up helium tanks, balloons, plants, etc. 
  • What's your inspiration? Simple and classic. 
  • What's the outfit plan? V-neck black cotton dress with empire waist and aqua cardigan, triple-strand blue bead and pearl necklace and aqua earrings with peep-toe flats. 
  • How'd it work? I probably didn't think the whole ladder and dress thing through well enough, but it still worked out well. 

Friday
  • What's the weather? A little cooler (70) and sunny. 
  • What's the schedule? Decorating golf carts, hanging paper lanterns and lantern lights, setting up music playlists, and mapping sandwich board locations. 
  • What's your inspiration? Outfit 1: running around campus, quick changes, and flexibility. Outfit 2: more formal and youthful. 
  • What's the outfit plan? Outfit 1: white corduroy skirt, teal dress t-shirt, short pearl necklace and black flip flops. Outfit 2: Blue ikat print dress (with pockets), brown pumps, coral short-sleeve dolman cardigan.  
  • How'd it work? The first outfit was perfect for running around, especially when I lost my keys and had to scour campus to find them (they turned up on the back of a golf cart). The dress in outfit 2 was a great choice. It was perfect for the weather and event, and the pockets were a great asset for holding a variety of items. I actually ended up with a 3rd outfit. The temperature dropped, so, following my work event, I changed into jeans and a purple tank top for a night out on the town. I changed into flats for walking around and kept the coral cardigan on. 
So, overall, what did you learn? Will you keep up with the system? What were the best and worst parts? I learned that figuring out what to wear is always a little tough for me. Even when planning ahead, picking out what to wear was a challenge. I think factoring in our laundry schedule added a level of complexity, as I was planning for the end of the week (maybe that means I need to expand my wardrobe :). I did find that planning ahead made it quicker for me to get ready in the mornings, which is something I am always looking for. Also, I tried a few combinations that I haven't before, since I was not rushing. I was also more likely to wear jewelry, which adds a little color and style. I think that I will try the system again. If I can get into the habit, maybe it won’t seem like such an effort. Plus, next time I will try not to give it a go during a crazy, unpredictable work week!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Fashion (blog) week Part 2: The Yogini

Many thanks to my friend and colleague, known hereafter as the yogini (or TY) for participating in this experiment and writing today's post! This is the first blog post she's ever written. I think you will agree it doesn't show.

Fashion (blog) week Part 1

Monday: 5/28/12
  • What's the weather? Beautiful – 75 and sunny 
  • What's on your schedule? Taking a boat ride, sun bathing, a possible dip in the lake, and visiting with family 
  • What's your inspiration? The sun goddess 
  • What's the outfit plan? Bathing suit – nothing more, nothing less…well, it could be less, you never know with me. 
  • How'd it work out? Perfectly, except for the horrible sun burn on my back from not wearing a cover up. I need to get into official summer mode and be a bit more prepared. 
Tuesday: 5/29/12
  • What's the weather? Sunny – 80 with a chance of rain (as per the weather forecast the weekend before. Turns out we had a massive thunderstorm with a tornado warning!) 
  • What's on your schedule? Work at the office, then off to Spofford for a breath work session at the Power of Breath Institute 
  • What's your inspiration? My sister’s good taste in clothing. 
  • What's the outfit plan? Off white lace top with an emerald green skirt, brown belt and brown shoes. Plus an awesome locket necklace my sis let me borrow…and not surprisingly, I still have it. ☺ Then I changed into yoga clothes for the breath work session- my favorite type of clothing to be in. 
  • How'd it work out? Fantastic. I thought I was not going to be comfortable all day with a lace shirt on a sunburned back, but it was actually OK. Yoga clothes and sandals, however, did not prove to be a good choice in torrential rain. 
Wednesday: 5/30/12
  • What's the weather? Beautiful again – 75 and sunny 
  • What's on your schedule? Work at the office, then teaching yoga at the KSC gym, followed by a Kundalani yoga workshop. 
  • What's your inspiration? Be comfortable, it will be a long day! 
  • What's the outfit plan? A floral dress with an off white shrug and brown shoes, and later, yoga clothes . Did I mention I love wearing yoga clothes? 
  • How'd it work out? Great, the dress was very comfortable and I got lots of compliments on it which always brightens my day. I wore my favorite lotus flower tank top to yoga and I just love the way it fits my body. It allows for plenty of room to breathe and move, while discreetly covering the parts of my body that make me feel insecure. 
Thursday: 5/31/12
  • What's the weather? Sunny and 75 
  • What's on your schedule? Work at the office, and then over to my dear friends house for a girl’s night/clothing swap. 
  • What's your inspiration? To wear something that makes me happy. 
  • What's the outfit plan? I had planned to wear a black skirt with a black and white striped top, but when I got dressed I decided it was all wrong. I went against my pre-planning idea, and changed into a color block dress with a black shrug. 
  • How'd it work out? I love my color block dress (teal, royal blue and black) only the straps are a bit too big and I need to shorten them. They were always falling down and that became a bit annoying. My girlfriends loved the dress however, and thought it flattered my body very nicely. Thanks again to my sis for picking out this dress for me! She does have a great eye for what works. 
Friday: 6/1/12
  • What's the weather? A bit cooler – 65 to 70 
  • What's on your schedule? Work at the office during the day and reunion festivities at night. 
  • What's your inspiration? I want to be comfortable and look snazzy. 
  • What's the outfit plan? I had planned a cute skirt and top outfit, but my plans were interrupted this morning by a skunk attack as I was trying to leave my house! I did not get directly sprayed, but there was that gross skunk odor in my house, and I had to re-shower and change. Already late for work, I changed into a gauzy top (found at the clothing swap the night before!) with cream colored capris – comfortable, but definitely not snazzy. I did bring another change of clothes for the reunion kick-off later that evening. 
  • How'd it work out? It was not what I had planned, but the outfit served its purpose – I had clothes on. The skirt and top that I changed into were a bit too casual for the evening, but overall I did not smell like skunk so that was a plus. 
So, overall, what did you learn? Will you keep up with the system? What were the best and worst parts? The system has its advantages for sure. There is no doubt I saved loads of time in the morning, but it was hard to stick with my plan. Each morning I still had the desire to stand in front of my closet, aimlessly starting at all the colorful clothes on hangers, and waste away precious morning time. I think I will give the system another go, and see if I can make this a habit. If you are like me, you wake up, get ready, and get to work within 30 minutes – with a 20 minute commute mind you. If I can make this system work, I can save the aimlessly-starting-at-the-closet routine for Sunday morning. I would recommend everyone give it a go!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Fashion (blog) Week Part 1: Introduction

Some of you may already read my friend Genny's blog, Genny's Journal, in which she blogs mostly about her family and fashion.

Some of you may not be shocked to know that I am not so much into the fashion blogs. (Although, on reflection, I do read several. I think Genny's is the only one I actually trust, fashion-wise.)

But I am very into Genny's blog, because she is smart and funny and looks good in her clothes. She has actually influenced my personal style.

In March, Genny blogged about how she looks so good so much of the time. She has a system for getting dressed.

I also have a system, as I said in the comments of Genny's post:
  • wake up, 
  • check the weather, 
  • stare at my closet, 
  • rummage through my drawers, 
  • pull together an outfit, 
  • try it on, 
  • feel fat or too casual or just off somehow, 
  • change one component of the outfit, dumping what I take off on the bed, 
  • wish I'd done laundry the night before and contemplate whether I have time to do laundry before work or whatever I'm leaving the house to do, 
  • change one component of the outfit (sometimes the same component, sometimes a different one), dumping what I take off on the bed, 
  • repeat until I feel cute (yea!) or am late enough that I convince myself it's just an outfit and it doesn't have to be perfect (boo!), 
  • leave the house, 
  • return to a messy room that then needs to be picked up (eventually). 

In light of a joint recognition that Genny's system is probably better than our own, two friends and I decided to give Genny's system a try last week. It is not an accident that one of the days in that week was Memorial Day, so we only had to deal with four days of work. We also only even tried to do five days — gotta ease into these things.

This week, I have guest posts by my friends and one by me, detailing how our week went. There will not be pictures, because I am not a fashion blogger and I am more interested in being hilarious (or something) than fashionable — at least online. If you want fashion inspiration, go read Genny's blog.