A Summer Crop

Update on the garden: Our watermelons are dying. Sad

In other news, my hair was super long. I mean loooooong.

This is me with my long hair and my Dad

I probably hadn't cut it in a year or so. I'm rather low-key when it comes to hair, the less I have to do, the better, and I hate paying someone to cut it. I even cut my own bangs cause I'm just that cheap.

But it was time to do something with my unruly mane. The cheapest deal I could find was the cosmetology school around the corner from our house. I realize that schools are cheap because students are cutting your hair, but I figured they can't mess it up that bad. Since I don't care too much about my hair to begin with, I could probably deal with however it turned out.

So I went after work on Thursday afternoon. Because my hair was so long, several of the students asked if I was sure, and why I was cutting it. They couldn't really understand the why, but it didn't matter.

When my stylist asked me what I wanted, I just said I want it short and I want to be able to wear it curly. Besides that, do whatever you like. He got very excited.

3 HOURS LATER I have a new do. Now in that absurdly long amount of time for a hair cut, I did get it washed, cut, blown dry, and straightened. And there were many people ogling at me as well. The stylist kept assuring me that it was cute, though I didn't see it until the end. This didn't actually reassure me at all, but made me rather nervous that he felt like he needed to reassure me.

But after much rough combing over my ears, a sore scalp, and one minor flat iron burn, I was happy with the outcome.

Of course, since I have curly hair, it will never look like this again cause I'm too lazy to straighten my hair. So it will generally look like this

It works. And it's perfect for the summer. Yay!

Trying Out My Green Thumb

We (meaning me, and I roped Ben into it) decided to have a weekend project.

We stopped by Lowe's.

Got some cucumbers, watermelon, cilantro, sweet basil, and Roma tomatoes.

And we made a garden

Keeping our fingers crossed for some successfully homegrown herbs and veggies.

And because that was more physical work than I've done in...I don't remember when, in the 1000 degree Mississippi heat, I'm going to go pass out on my bed now.

My Not-So-Secret Secret: Walk Like a Human

As I grow older, I’m discovering those stubborn areas of my body that like to retain mass more than other areas. Another joy of entering adulthood. It happens to us all, it is a way of life. But I am attempting to delay it.

Thankfully my place of employment offers a gym for use by employees. Thank you, President Obama. But as I muster up the energy for some cardio, I’ve found an easy quick-fix to looking better – stand up straight.

Growing up my sister and I heard the same refrain again and again: “Sit up straight or I’ll make you sit up straight.” My mother had concocted this zany invention that the nebulous They put on kids to correct their posture, and very frequently threatened us with it. It was a back brace with spikes that were just far enough away from your skin that they didn’t touch you as long as you kept perfect posture. But as soon as you slouched…OUCH! Yes, my mother came up with this. At least, I’ve yet to find one in real life. But I’m sure when I have kids I will want one.

Sadly though, her artful deception didn’t work. I still slouch. Ben even tried to fix me by making us keep our car seats sitting absolutely straight up. And now that we have our own vehicles, I lean that seat back as far as I want when I drive. If I think about it and catch myself, I will sit up straight…but that it rarely ever and only lasts about 2 seconds.

However there is hope! I have made a remarkable discovery. Did you know that you actually look better if you stand up straight? Believe it or not, clothes were not made for hunchbacks, but upright humans. When I started sewing, the first thing you learn about is how to fit clothes to your body properly by taking your measurements. One book I have spent a whole page talking about how good posture effects the way clothing fits you.

Perhaps my  mother was on to something with her devilry…

So often in a dressing room I am discouraged that this little dress was so lovely on the rack…but looks so horrid on me. Perhaps it is because I am standing like Quasimodo? After spending so much time sewing and shopping for clothes, I will admit that this is true. I tend to find more clothes I like and that fit me when I stand up.

So I realize that that helps, but I only do it when I am thinking about it…which isn’t that often. Obviously the ominous back brace didn’t work. How else can I just do it without having to think about it all the time?

Buy more expensive clothes. My nicer clothes tend to be less comfortable, so being uncomfortable from sitting up straight just seems to jive with the outfit. Also, I think there’s this subconscious thought that if I spent so much on this dress, I’m not going to look like a gorilla wearing it.

So as I fight the inevitable on the elliptical, I’ve got my strategy.

*Ben, I need some more money*

Yeah, I know that’s not going to work. Anyone interested in working on a prototype of that back brace?

My Genes are Defective

I was born in 1986. I don't like to admit it, but I am a Millenial, or part of Generation Y. As such, technology should be ingrained in my very DNA. I'm not a hacker or software developer, but I can do what needs to be done. I have a MacBook, an iPhone, a Kindle, a Wii. I get my news, books, music, and movies from the internet. I can answer any question anyone could possibly think up with my magic fingers and Google. I'm on Facebook, Gmail, and Blogspot. And just recently, Twitter.

I have just recently gotten a Twitter account. I'm not slow, I've known Twitter was always around. The first time I heard about it was at a magic show in college (Yes, magic show...in college. There was fire. And knives. Just trust me, it was cool.) The guy on stage mentioned he was going to tweet something. When he came back from intermission, he explained that no, that was not a sexual euphemism as someone had accused him of, but was how you post on Twitter.
But I just never saw the point.
Super Hubs told me I should get one, it's just fun, and finally I figured why not? Might as well see what all the hubbub is about. And now perhaps my generation will claim me.

But one interesting thing is I have had to learn how to use Twitter. That's not how it works. I should be able to figure it out because it was made for my brain.
And now I've noticed I'm asking Ben often for help with how to do this on the computer, or how to link this to my Facebook, or how to set this up on my Kindle, or how to change this on my iPhone.
That's not how it's supposed to work! My mom is the one that asks for help with technology, not me.

But I will not be dismayed. I'm going to gladly take it as a sign of adulthood that Ben's ten year old brother is more adept at using technology than I am.

@jxncait  #technogenes

I'm home!

I just returned from 4 weeks in Baltimore, MD for work. (Yes, it's been more than four weeks since I've blogged...I was just being lazy then). It was too long, and I am so glad to be home. While I was gone, Super Hubs struck again! Ben moved us into our new house and surprised me when I got back. I was SO happy to have missed the move (I hate moving). We've gotten a lot of unpacking done, but there's always more to do. Eventually our new place will be set up. 

We now live in the Broadmoor neighborhood by our church. We are so looking forward to being in the neighborhood and a part of the community. 

And our happy animals are enjoying living outside. Well, perhaps not enjoying it since the Mississippi heat has already reached into the 90s, but they are happy to be outside. Ben and I are as well.

Perks of the new house: 

- central air conditioning (we had window units in our other poorly-insultated house) 

- no loud college boys blasting techno at odd hours of the night

- fenced backyard for the dogs (Super Hubs built a sweet pen for the dogs)

- TWO (yes two) working toilets

- Outdoor living room, complete with beer fridge (We don't try to suppress the country, just let it out)

Yesterday was our anniversary! Two years married to the best husband ever. I can't believe how much I have grown as a person and we have grown as husband and wife in the past two years. It's amazing to watch God work in our lives.

What a wonderful day!

Since it's been so long, I'll have to catch you up on my sewing escapades as well. I haven't been sewing recently, except shortening and hemming some curtains, but I did have a couple successful sewing projects a while ago.

This was the fabric I had been saving up to buy. This isn't a great picture, but this is a wrap-around dress with ruffles on all the edges. The ruffles were much bigger than I expected, but overall I was happy. Next time I'll probably use thinner material and less ruffles.

There, that's much better. (And notice the change of background here? This is our new house!)

I'm still having issues picking out fabric that will look good once I'm wearing it...such as this nice little lime-green number. It's even brighter in person. And the pajama pants make a nice outfit. But it works, at least for summertime. It's a very simple, quick shirt. It was supposed to be a tank top but I added sleeves. I plan to make several in different fabrics for work, but will just stick to the tank top next time.

That's about it for now. Probably won't be sewing for a while as we continue to get settled, and get busy with summer activities - summer movies, baseball games, vacation in Chattanooga with friends, family visiting, and who knows what else!

Family Time

The past couple of days our family game has been "Find the Smell!" With two dogs and a cat, there's no telling what a rogue smell could be...so after searching high and low, and numerous theories to include dead animals in the walls, we discovered that it was just a broken dishwasher that had dirty water backing up into it. So it will be hand-washing from now on!

In other news, while working for the federal government is a pretty sweet deal, it's not so much when we're 6 months into the fiscal year and they haven't even set a budget yet. So while all those politicians up on Capital Hill continue to argue and haggle, we wait. What does that mean for me? When the effect of what they're doing trickles on down to the insignificant paper-pushers like me, it means that if they don't set a budget, I stop working and stop getting paid. While some vacation time would be gladly welcomed, furlough is not. And hence our new family game: "Skim the Budget."

Kings and Things

Ben's Spring Break began this week. He originally was going to be out of town for 9 days for his job, but their trip got cancelled so he didn't have to leave me! I thought it would be fun for us to take a trip, but I was just excited he wouldn't be gone. Monday he told me he had a surprise for me on Friday. I figured dinner and a movie, since that's usually about all our dates are. I came home Friday after work to find

The funny thing is I couldn't figure out what he meant! I knew the picture was of the main guy from the Twilight movies, but I couldn't remember his name. "Pack for the...King Vampire? King of Twilight? King...Bloodsucker?" Finally Ben told me to remember his name...which took a while. "The King Edward!"
The King Edward Hotel was built in 1923 but went out of business and sat abandoned and forlorn for about 40 years. It was dilapidated and home to the homeless and pigeons. My whole life the downtown Jackson skyline included the HOTEL KING EDWARD sign atop the empty building.

In 2009 it finally reopened its doors again - renovated, modern, and beautiful. Sadly, it's not officially the King Edward anymore since Hilton bought it out, and so the familiar sign is no longer there, but the building was restored to the original designs and updated to accommodate the modern-day hotel-goer. We've been wanting to go since it reopened.
So we had a vacation in town - went out to eat, spent the night at the hotel, enjoyed sleeping in and relaxing. It was awesome. Super Hubby strikes again.

And on the sewing front, remember that shirt I said I was making without a pattern?

Here we are! A Caitlin original. You know, it's not perfect -- it has all the same kind of flaws the stuff I make always has -- but I really like it. Maybe because it's my own, maybe because it actually turned out like the picture in my head.

Close-up of the center detailing

Still haven't saved enough money for that fabric I want. So it's on to the next project with the scraps lying around. Perhaps I'll have some strokes of genius, and maybe that Etsy store will be up soon.

Over the Rainbow

Life has been busy. And I'm tired.
I did, though, get some sewing done.

This was my most recent project, but I didn't finish it. This happens every time I make something for myself. I get close to the end and I'm just disappointed, and then I quit. There's no point to hem and finish when there are bad stitches I can't do anything about. Now, yes it looks great in that picture. But there are so many problems when you're actually holding it in your hands and looking at it up close it just drive me crazy! And so there's another one to take up space in my closet. Maybe I'll finish it one day.
And so it's on to another project. I've decided that one issue is I keep buying bargain fabric, or fabric (such as the silky one used in the above dress) that I'm not used to working with. So I just want to buy some nice cotton fabric...and of course the one that I fell in love with at the store was so expensive! So I'll be waiting a while before buying any. But thankfully I found some fabric in my stash that I can play around with until I have enough money. Now I'm making a shirt (not using a pattern!) so...that'll keep me occupied for a little while at least. We'll see how it goes.

I'm getting better...at some things

"Oh Ben such a nice shirt you have on! Where on earth did you get such a well-constructed shirt that a lot of time and love obviously went into making it?"
HIS WIFE MADE IT!
Booyah! cranky sewing machines (I guess I just have issues with machines...or the whole sewing industry is against me)

I finished that finally this weekend. And Ben loves it! But he wouldn't let me take a picture of his handsome face to show off, so you just get a torso. The only thing that wasn't great was the pocket, which, of course, is emblazoned right there on the chest, but I think it's probably good enough only I would notice anything wrong since I made it.


At 6:30 tonight I remembered I have to take a dessert to work tomorrow for potluck. Having to feed a lot of people - best choice is a cake. Not wanting to go to the store - means homemade. Tip: trying to make a homemade cake from an internet recipe and ad-libbing a bit is not always a good idea. I think the cake turned out ok. It's cooling, so we will see. I even attempted icing, and now have a headache from repeatedly tasting it to get the right ratio of ingredients...but that was a disaster. It taste like a diabetic coma. So I will have to go to the store anyway.
Next time I'll just make brownies. So much easier, lot less of a headache.

These animals be crazy

Ben and I have three children, Jackson, Zoe, and Colby. Jackson is a lab-chow mix, Zoe is an orange calico, and Colby is an australian shepherd-healer mix. I think I mostly enjoy having them around because I can laugh at them.

This is Zoe's "don't mess with me" face

Jackson really gets sad when Ben leaves.
He stares out the window, whining, and waiting for him to come back.

Zoe found a new hiding place in our laundry closet to get away from the dogs.
I couldn't find her here for several hours either, but now I know where to look.

Something was under the dresser that the cat desperately wanted

This is an unusual state of being for Colby. Normally when I try to
take a picture of her she just turns out a blur. She never stops moving!