Loved it.

Okay, I'm never again taking anyones opinions on movies into consideration until I see them for myself.

A few months back Ben and I watched the original Wicker Man. The previews were out for the remake at the time and we wanted to see the original before wasting a cent on the new version. I know a lot of people despised the original, mostly because they didn't get it, but I absolutely loved it...so much so, actually, that I went on to watch the director's commentary, deleted scenes and all of the extras the DVD had to offer, and then I even went online to see what I could find about it there. I was able to get past the hokey musical aspect of it and just focus on the plot, so I guess the movie just worked for me. Besides, I'm a huge fan of any movie where the main character doesn't "win" in the end and all hope is lost when it comes to victory on behalf of the hero/heroine. Yeah. Basically, if the good guy dies (or, better yet, if everyone dies) in the end, I love the movie.

So, when HBO started showing the remake, the Nicolas Cage version, I ignored the crappy reviews I read/heard about, recorded the sucker and gave it a watch this afternoon. Yes, ladies and gents, I loved this one too. Lots of creepy twins, great scenery (I'm so in love with the Pacific Northwest), and Molly Parker, who I'm oddly fascinated with. Good stuff. Give it a try if you haven't seen it. But really, you should watch the original first before you check out the remake. You'll thank me for it.

This is probably my last post until I get back from sunny (ugh) Florida. I'm sad to say goodbye to Olive, but I know this little break is long overdue. I'll be back with lots of stories and lots of pictures, I'm sure.

Craziness

Somehow in the craziness that has become my life, what with the running around in preparation for our trip to Florida (we leave Friday morning), nursing this bizarro cold I've managed to develop, and sewing like a madwoman in preparation for the opening of my shop, I managed to go out with my mom two days in a row just for the hell of it. I so wish I had my camera with me today because we took a trip to Fo'Castle Farms and it was gorgeous.

I have such vivid memories of Fo'Castle because it was a favorite day trip of ours when I was a kid. My mom would pack my sister and me up and my mom's best friend Paula would pack up her two kids, Nikki and Brianna, and we'd all go on what seemed like the longest ride ever to the farm. Of course, 20 or so years had gone by since I'd last been there, and the longest ride ever is actually less than a half hour (isn't it weird how drives always seemed much longer when you're a kid?). The foliage is almost at its peak in terms of vivid color and it seemed as though every tree on the way was glowing in all sorts of jewel tones. Everyone was selling pumpkins, too, and I'm a total sucker for pumpkins.

We had lunch in the farm cafe. While there's very little for vegetarians to eat at the cafe, I had a delicious lettuce, tomato, onion and swiss cheese sandwich on multigrain bread, and a side of fresh applesauce. Their applesauce rocks. It's chunky and sweet, but not too chunky or too sweet. Regulars at the farm go there for their cheese bread, but you have to get there at the butt crack of dawn when they first bake it and put it out on the shelves. So, yeah, no cheese bread for us. Still, we both scored a lot of good stuff. I hit up the penny candy aisle pretty hard. I bought a cute little decorative Christmas tree for the house, some cookie cutters, a secret surprise for my mom, some kick ass dish towels, and a really weird looking pumpkin for the front porch. Good stuff. Again, I'm kicking myself in the ass for not bringing my camera because this trip would have offered up some pretty sweet pictures. The little farm store is so quaint. Oh! We also discovered that someone bought the perennial farm across the street from the farm store, which totally rocks. An older couple used to run this place years and years ago and sold it when they just couldn't do it anymore. You walk through the rows and rows of perennials and when you find something you like, you dig it up yourself. I'll have to keep it in mind for next summer.

On top of all the running around, I've managed to get a ton of sewing and crocheting done. I get so many compliments on the little roundish bag I wrote about here a few weeks ago and therefore I made a ton more just so I can sell them in a few months. But after making so many, I don't want to make any more, and I really don't want to carry the one I originally made either. Overkill. I needed something new, and mostly I needed a small bag for my carry-on crap for the plane. I created what I think is a really cute and useful little number, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a name for it. Any suggestions? I used a decorative stitch on the old machine and I added a few bright red vintage buttons for a little punch, not to mention the weirdo handle situation I have going on there. What'cha think???

You have to remember to empty your bladder first.

Before you see Stephen Wright live, that is.

The man is pure genius.

We just got home from seeing him at The Egg and he's definitely near the top of the list of favorite live comedy performances I've seen. And trust me, I've seen quite a few in my day.

So yeah, remember to pee before you settle in for his act.

You'll thank me for the tip.

Old bag

So, I've totally been neglecting this blog for far too long, and I'm sorry. But since I've left the workplace I've been a busy, busy girl.


I celebrated my 31st birthday last week. Yes, I'm officially an old bag. My friends threw me a surprise birthday party last weekend and as usual I had no clue they were planning anything. I'm such a sucker for things like this. This is the second time it's happened since I met Ben and either I'm just really naive or these people are really good. Probably both. Anyway, I scored lots of loot including a really amazing new camera, some new clothes (I was starting to look like a bum), lots of cash (tattoo???), an autographed photo of Blue Iris (thanks, Gary), a really nice lithograph of a Singer sewing machine, a new book, two new Wii games and the list goes on and on. Amazing.


Things are good. I honestly feel genuinely happy for the first time in a long, long time. I've realized that a lot of the physical ailments I've suffered from and ignored were all side effects of being depressed. Not sitting at a desk for nine hours a day does wonders for the body and I love being able to get up and go whenever I want or need to. Maybe someone should talk to Ann Coulter about this. Perhaps she's putting in too many hours at the office and she needs to take a fucking walk or something. Ha!

A few other things I've noticed recently:

1) I haven't had a headache since last Friday. For anyone who knows me, this is a big deal. I get headaches daily, sometimes multiple headaches in a day, and on a really bad day they morph into migraines which are completely crippling. I had been suspicious over the past few years about whether they were coming from the conditions in my office, but everyone made me feel like I was crazy for thinking that way, so I kept my mouth shut. Guess I was right all along. Seriously, kids, if you work in an office, do yourself a favor and look up common illnesses from working in a closed office space. The germs from your coworkers are the least of your worries. Do you have any idea what the carbon dust in the air from the Xerox machine can do to you? The list is endless.

2) There seem to be many more hours in the day for me now. My day seemed extremely rushed before, but now I feel like the day is smoother and longer. I've gotten up every morning before six, turned on Howard Stern and sewed like a madwoman....and I'm loving every minute of it.

3) I never realised how easy it is to get unemployment in New York. After fumbling my way through the automated systems, I managed to score myself a whopping $405/week for a few months until I get the business up and running. No questions asked. Just the way I like it.

and



4) Eric Bachmann needs to put out a new album as soon as humanly possible. I feel like it's been decades since his last one and I'm seriously jonesing for another. Can you make it happen? STAT!

Anyway, that's the latest. I'll post pictures soon of the projects I'm working on. I have a trip planned to Woodstock on Wednesday with my mom and Nabua, so I'll have pictures from that trip to share, too.

I fear that I'm becoming a rather boring person. Think so??? I'm baking bread with Mike tomorrow and I'm considering it a huge event. Does this make me lame??

Best. Cookies. Ever.

Oh man, I had to make cookies for a family picnic yesterday and I decided to create my own recipe based on the million other recipes I've tried before.

Here's what I did:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks of butter (at room temp)

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups oatmeal, uncooked

1 bag Hershey's cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars until light and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add flour mixture and beat just until combined (don't over mix). Stir in cinnamon chips.

Drop tablespoon size balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-11 minutes until the bottoms just start to brown. Cool one minute on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Incredibly good.

FREE AT LAST!!!!!!

I'm sorry to scream at you via the title of this entry, but I feel as if I need to shout it out to the world....I'M FREE!!!!

I received an unofficial confirmation from the union hall yesterday that I was approved for the buyout package, but management informed me at 6:39 this morning that I am, for real, a free girl! That's right folks, not only is today my last day at work after 9 long and grueling years, but I get to leave with enough money to fund the opening of my new little shop.

You will no longer have to read through my dry and bitchy entries where I wonder about all the little "what if's" because all of that weight and stress and anxiety I've been feeling is gone. I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept that this is it. This is the last day I'll sit at this desk and see these same people every day. I won't have to get up and rush through the normal morning shit/shower/shave routine I've come to know and accept. No more paying $135/month just to park to come to work. No more jumping off the internet when my boss walks by because I don't want to get caught. No more corporate Verizon bullshit. No more. I'm free.

I expected to leave this place despising it still, but the truth is, I don't. I planned on ripping someone a new a-hole in my exit interview, and maybe even going further than that, in order to find some sort of redemption for how I've felt throughout all these years. But I won't. I'm not angry. I'm not looking for revenge. If anything I'm actually grateful for this because if I hadn't spent all those years here, I couldn't afford to just up and leave and open my own shop. The money I've received from my time spent here will pay for that and then some.

Now I can focus all of my energy on the beginnings of my little business. I'm my own boss. In preparation for my grand opening, I plan on getting up early each morning every day (starting Monday...a girl's gotta celebrate, you know). I'll get up at 6:00, turn on Howard Stern and sew my little fingers off until the show is over. I need to stay productive, although, I'd be lying if I said I'm not excited to catch up on the gazillion movies I have saved on the DVR, and the Netflix DVDs I've had for several months now, and the stack of books I've been dying to dive into. I just can't wait to relax, do what I want, and hopefully come to love life. Our trip to Florida in a few weeks won't hurt things either.

I know there are a lot of close friends and family who read this blog, and I just want to thank each and every one of you for all of your support and love and encouragement in every stage of my struggle (I feel lame calling it a struggle, but that's what it felt like). You've all helped me out so much and I really couldn't have made it through this without you. I'm sorry for ending this post with such a sappy "I love you, man" conclusion, but I'm happy and I was starting to forget how that felt. So I'll just simply say...thanks.

New ventures

I won't even get into the situation with the buyout package right now because I may or may not be getting screwed (again) as I write this. I'm trying to stay sane, so I won't talk about it until I know more.

On a lighter note, I think I'm going to try something new and crafty. I've been loyal to the fabric arts for quite a while now and haven't really had much interest in anything else, but today I was intrigued by these little earring wires (sold by Artfulmarket) and I snatched 'em up!

I'm going to talk to my mom about how to go about making these earrings the right way, seeing as how she's an experienced jewelry maker and I know, uh, nothing. It seemed like a cute idea to try out though, and I got these wires for next to nothing. I'll post the results soon...probably after this weekend.

And, while browsing around on Etsy (what else is there to do while one is at work?), I found this print that I absolutely adore!!! How amazing is that??? I think it would be a nice addition to my living room!

The luckiest gal

Oh man, take a look at the necklace my husband indirectly bought for me. I found it on Etsy and he told me to go ahead and buy it. Yes, I'm totally spoiled.

I've been spending more time than ever on Etsy lately looking through different shops and finding sellers I plan to approach for wholesale orders. If anyone reading this knows of some cool shops I should look at, leave me a note and I'll check 'em out!

Officially three more days of work left, and tomorrow I find out if I get to leave this hole with some extra money in my pocket. Ben and I took Thursday off just for the hell of it. I think I might try to get him to take me to Manchester, Vermont to visit the shopping district and to visit a pumpkin patch. I LOVE pumpkin patches, and while I've wanted to go for the past several years, I never managed to get to one. Also, I heard on the news this morning that the foliage in the Adirondacks is amazing already, so maybe we can check that out too.