Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

A couple of months ago, Steve and I found what we thought was a perfect house. Unfortunately, we waited too long to make an offer and we lost out. Since that time, we’ve been working on cleaning up our house and making plans to get some small remodeling projects done to make our house more attractive in a sluggish market. I really didn’t think we’d be moving. Really. Then Steve stumbled on a house last Saturday that intrigued us both. I called our friend and agent, Mike, and told him we wanted to see it. We went over Sunday night and the wheels started rolling. I loved so many things about it, but was still holding back because I was scared of the market, of selling our house for what we needed, of moving, of, well, everything. We thought about it. Then we talked about it. We went back and took pictures and talked some more.

Now we’re making an offer and our house will have a “for sale” sign in the yard next week.

I’m trying to be realistic knowing that the market is so soft and we might not get what we need for this one to make all the ends meet. We don’t have a cushion for this, so it might all fall through but it feels so right. When I think about the house and where things would go, it all seems effortless. When I think about the lifestyle Steve and I have and how much we love to entertain I can actually see the parties unfolding. I even have a space for my studio which is crucial in a move. Still, I must keep my emotions in check because if we lose this it’s not the end of the world. I do love my little bungalow and will stay here for another year or so if this isn’t right. But, I’ll be disappointed and yes, a little pissed.

Tuesday I’m having studio shots of my granulation work done. While I’m there, I thought I’d have a professional headshot done too. However, I can’t seem to figure out exactly what to wear. I thought about a plain black t-shirt or sweater and some simple earrings (of my own design, of course). But that seems really boring. Then I wondered about a jacket and pants, but that seems a bit too “professional” and I want the photo to be casual. Ideas, anyone? What have you worn in photos that worked? I’m going for the most flattering, thin look! I guess the reason I’m over-thinking this, besides the fact I’m anal-retentive, is that I don’t want a boring photo. I want it to have some life.

It’s already been a crazy week here as I adjust to being a working woman. I worked full days on Monday and Tuesday and thought I’d die. I’m just not used to standing 8 hours, and in dress shoes too. However, the week has had it’s high points. On Monday, Kathi let us buy clothes and shoes off the sale rack at 90% off. I scored a cool new shirt and a very nice jean jacket (by St. John!). I also bought some cute flats encrusted in crystals (perfect for work) and a very chic pair of silver snakeskin platform heels (which are not perfect for work). Tuesday, the shoes that hadn’t previously been on sale went to buy one, get two free so I found a few more pair to wear to work. I know I probably don’t have to wear 100% Harem clothes and shoes, but Kathi really appreciates it. It was fun shopping for such great bargains, but by Tuesday night I was beat and a little stressed out knowing all the other work I have to do.

Today was my errand day. I figured I wouldn’t get much done in the studio since I had a hair appointment at 9 a.m. and a dentist appointment at 2 p.m., so I thought I’d just run all my errands today. I got so much done! Pants went to the alterations place, I got my new shoes adjusted, went to Target, went to the grocery store and even checked in all my studio orders. Whew! Good news is that I’m ready to spend tomorrow at my bench getting stuff done. Hope your week is productive.

Friday Sarah and I hit the road to St. Louis to attend an etching workshop, sponsored by the Society of Midwest Metalsmiths, at Maryville University. We left around 1:30 p.m. so we had time to check in to our hotel and hit the town to do some shopping. I promised Sarah a trip to the J. Jill store which I’d mistakenly thought was in the Galleria shopping mall. Oops! Fortunately, we both found some cool sale items at the Gap and the Lucky Jeans stores. The funniest part was the line of people at the Apple store waiting for the new iPhones. I needed a replacement iPod and was hoping I could get it while I was in town. All the Apple employees were really nice and one even took time to help me with my problem. The bummer was they didn’t have the exact replacement but they wrote up a trouble ticket for it so next time I’m near an Apple store I won’t have to wait for the diagnosis.

We were getting hungry and decided to eat at the mall (which I rarely do) but we did find a nice restaurant where we could get grilled salmon salads and a glass of wine. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to relax before going to bed.

Saturday was the workshop and, well, it wasn’t exactly anything new to either of us. We suspected it would be a bit too remedial when we received our detailed email earlier in the week, but decided to attend anyway. It was good to revisit etching and do some samples, but we were done about 4 hours earlier than expected. Good thing as Sarah and I had more shopping to do! We stopped at Penzey’s to stock up on some of our favorite spices then had time for Trader Joe’s and World Market. Now I’m fully stocked on spice blends, raw almonds and white wine. We headed home around 4 p.m. which meant I was home in time for a nice dinner with Steve.

Steve did not get bored while I was gone. He managed to get up Saturday morning at 3 a.m. (yep, I said “a.m.”) to camp out at the AT&T store for a new iPhone. Being the cool guy that he is, he scored a rare white iPhone that’s 16 gig. I will be inheriting his 8 gig black phone, which is fine with me.

Today is catch up day with laundry and housecleaning to do. Then I have two days of work and the rest of the week off. Good thing as I have a lot of metalwork that needs to get done!

Actually, I worked 10 to 6 yesterday which is the longest day I’ve worked in, oh, about eight years or so. When I worked at AdBuilders I didn’t put in a full day and always took a lunch break. At The Harem, lunch is on the clock, but it’s not rushed or anything so it wasn’t all bad. It was actually a good day. I wore my white linen pants and an embellished charcoal grey t-shirt (both from the store) and a comfortable pair of wedges (also from the store). The day was pretty low-key for me with no surprises. Because I’d worked at an upscale retail store in college, I expected about the same at The Harem and I was right.

I spent the morning doing markdowns (and shopping!) and most of the afternoon floating around learning the ropes. I did fill out and fax my first order which was a little nerve racking because every order is a legal binding agreement so it must be filled out perfectly. Luckily, Kathi looked over my form before I faxed it. I also spent some time in the back checking in new merchandise which is like opening Christmas presents! I did see some new things I liked, but as an employee we have to wait at least a month before buying new stuff. That’s probably for the best as I already have several things on my bill right now and I want to pay it off before buying more.

Today I’m at home and working in the studio. I did some prep work on Sunday so I could turn on the kiln today. Tomorrow I work 12-4 and Thursday is 12-6 so it should be an easy week. 

My mom sent this to me this morning and I wanted to share it with everyone. I loved George Carlin. A few years ago he performed here in Springfield and Steve and I attended the show. It was hilarious, crude, insightful and entertaining. Farewell, George. You’ll be missed.

George Carlin’s New Rules for 2008:

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it’s for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn’t gift giving, it’s the white people version of looting.

New Rule: Stop giving me that pop-up ad for classmates.com! There’s a reason you don’t talk to people for 25 years. Because you don’t particularly like them! Besides, I already know what the captain of the football team is doing these days — mowing my lawn.

New Rule: Don’t eat anything that’s served to you out a window unless you’re a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was found in a bowl of Wendy’s chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did you expect it to contain? Lobster?

New Rule: Stop saying that teenage boys who have sex with their hot, blonde teachers are permanently damaged . I have a better description for these kids: ‘Lucky bastards.’

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here’s how much men care about your eyebrows: Do you have two of them? Good, we’re done.

New Rule:There’s no such thing as flavored water. There’s a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket, water, but, without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink . You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That’s your flavored water.

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a ‘decaf grandee, half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n’-Low, and One NutraSweet,’ ooooh, you’re a huge asshole.

New Rule: I’m not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering My PIN number, pressing ‘Enter,’ verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don’t want Cash back, and pressing ‘Enter’ again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Mars Bar.

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn’t make you Spiritual. It’s right above the crack of your ass. And it translates to ‘beef with broccoli.’ The last time you did anything spiritual, you were praying to God you weren’t pregnant. You’re not spiritual. You’re just high.

New Rule: If you’re going to insist on making movies based on crappy old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so we can see what’s playing on the other screens. Let’s remember the reason something was a tele vision sh ow in the first place is that the idea wasn’t good enough to be a movie.

New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don’t need to hear ‘27 months.’ ‘He’s two’ will do just fine. He’s not a cheese. And I didn’t really care in the first pl ace.

New Rule: If you ever hope to be a credible adult and want a job that pays better than Minimum wage, then for God’s sake don’t pierce or tattoo every available piece of flesh. If so, then plan your future around saying, ‘Do you want fries with that?’

Our house was recently attacked by two little tornadoes named Lydia and Julia. I must say, they are the cutest most entertaining tornadoes I’ve encountered! Ralph and the girls arrived yesterday afternoon and spent the night with us last night since mom and Burl were still in St. Louis. Needless to say, it’s obvious we need another bedroom! At first, the girls were going to attempt sleeping together, in the guest bed, for the first time. A half hour of giggles made it clear that wasn’t going to work. Ralph moved Lydia into our bedroom where she raised quite a fuss but zonked out after just about five minutes. Later, Ralph moved Julia into our bedroom where she and Julia shared the bed. Steve and I attempted to sleep in the guest bed, but Steve eventually moved onto the sofa. It was a night of musical beds with very little sleep. Let’s hope the girls take some nice long naps today.

This morning we made pancakes for the girls and then went outside for some bubble fun. I’d bought two bottles of bubbles, but didn’t get a refill jug. Of course, Lydia and Julia kept dumping the bubble mix in the grass then asking for a refill. I finally got smart and held the bottle myself while they dipped their wands in and created quite a bubble mess. It was a nice way to give Ralph some time to take a shower and get dressed. After their video time, Ralph packed up the car and took the girls to the library for story time. I’m now attempting to get the cats out of hiding and get ready myself.

Tonight is dinner at mom’s with a celebration of birthdays. Julia’s was the 24th, mine was the 26th, Blair’s was the 30th, Ralph’s is July 11th and Corey’s is a couple of days later. Should be a fun evening!

I can now officially leave the country. I am the proud owner of my first passport. I probably wouldn’t even have it except that Steve and I are going to Cabo this fall with good friends Duane and Prudy. I admit, traveling is not my thing, but I’m thinking I need to break this passport in with a couple of trips. My dream trip would be to Greece, but Mexico will do for my first passport stamp.

The passport arrived with amazing speed. The woman at the Post Office told me 4-6 weeks, but said many are arriving in two weeks which is about how quickly mine came. We have the plane tickets, the passports and our bathing suits so I think we’re ready to go!

I have a job! Not my jewelry business or freelance writing for 417 Magazine, but an actual part time job. Thursday I was offered a position at local boutique Harem & Co. as a “fashion floater.” One of their full-time employees recently left and they were debating the best way to replace her. Rather than hire another full-time person, they wanted to create a part-time position that didn’t focus on sales. Owner Kathi Cryderman thought I’d be a good fit and the timing was right for me. I’d recently been contemplating a return to the workplace, but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Fortunately, I won’t have to work many Saturdays as most of my time will be spent behind the scenes rather than on the floor selling. They need someone to check in merchandise, call vendors, place orders and work on their website (which needs help badly). I feel like it’s the right time for me to add more structure to my life. Knowing I have less time to work on jewelry will mean having to work smarter when I am at home. As it stands now, I tend to fart around most of the morning. Plus, I’ll have an excuse to wear something other than a t-shirt and crop pants, I’ll get to surround myself with all kinds of gorgeous clothes, I’ll have a reason to shop for new things (with a discount) and I’ll make some extra cash (provided I don’t spend it all at the store). I start on July 11th (my sister’s birthday) so I’ll keep you posted.

Well, my birthday is here and I’ve already had a lot of celebrating. Before I even got out of bed the phone was ringing. It was my dad wanting to wish me a happy birthday. He figured he’d call early before I left for the day. Smart move as I have a pretty full agenda today. I did take time to go to the gym where Pavel greeted me with a booming, “happy birthday!” He bought me coffee from the Mudhouse as my gift. Well, it really wasn’t just a gift for me as he sent me to get his coffee too. I didn’t mind today.

Before I left, Steve had me open the last of my gifts. Last night he let me open my new travel coffee mug (believe me, I wanted it) and the latest book by David Sedaris. That should be a good contrast to my attempted reading of The Bell Jar. Anyway, two more gifts awaited me on the mantle. The Coach gift boxes gave them away and, before I even opened it, I told Steve he’d spent way too much money on me. He shushed me and said he’s scored a deal so to just enjoy my gifts. Hooray! One was the lovely burnt orange Ergo bag I’d been eyeing for the past two months. Just for fun he bought me the matching wallet, but I didn’t like it because it had the logo material on it. Steve apologized saying it had been a recommendation of the clerk and he’d ordered it sight unseen. Since our Coach store opens tomorrow we can return it. Besides, I really only wanted the purse.

What fun! Today I have the Rotary luncheon with mom (a great excuse to dress up), Happy Hour with Valerie and Kevin and dinner with Duane and Prudy. Tomorrow night Valerie, Kevin, Steve and I will have my “official” birthday dinner at Metropolitan Grill (yep, I changed my mind from Gilardi’s). Saturday, we have tentative plans with Doug and Mary, but it all depends on when they return from KC. Nothing like extending the celebration. Happy birthday to me!