last dress in the last day of february

still doesn't rhyme.

getting used to a new phone, dress a day and all that

so I can crop now.  and I can make stuff fuzzy... like my hair.  which is being trimmed Monday.  thank goodness.

fitting everything in

it's 9:16am and you are right.  I should be focusing on my work at the chamber right now.  today, though, I feel like I need a serious warm up. 

 

first, let me preface this post with a truth: I am such a happy girl.

 

I have so much to be happy about.  I am employable.  I say this because I have three jobs, my own business, and have been offered three jobs (pretty serious offers) in the last four months.  I feel great that so many people find me a desirable employee, even though I am writing on my blog at work instead of creating invoices, updated our chamber social sites, or excavating files right now.  Usually, my work ethic is solid, and this post is a warm up to good chamber work. 

 

Something I want to get out in writing, to really express it in a way that I can refer to when trying to describe how I feel right now in my life, is how I struggle right now to fit in everything I want to do without feeling too overwhelmed.

 

Last night I felt overwhelmed with a sense of duty.  Duty to the cleanliness of the house.  Duty to the house in general.  Duty to financial security.  Duty to all the television shows we try to keep up with.  Duty to kind strangers who pay me for macarons.  Duty to the macarons themselves.  Duty to my brother, who celebrates his birthday today, and for whom I will make a cake tonight.  Duty to science (I got New Scientist magazine as a birthday present, and I already have a huge stack of the weekly publication on the coffee table which I haven't been able to read through yet).  Duty to literature.  Duty to Harry Potter and all my lovely friends who love Harry Potter.  Duty to my husband to be an attentive listener and friend.  Duty to the instagram account my friend Michelle create for me.  Duty to my three feline companions and their litter box needs.  Duty to my friends who seem so much to like me and want to spend time with me on the phone, online, in real life.  Duty to Weight Watchers, one of my many jobs, to be a responsible role model and eat right.  Duty to a group of 8 imaginary friends who live in Animal Crossing, I am after all their mayor and I haven't been in the game in over a week again.  Duty to myself.

 

The list is probably missing a few things I can't think of right at the minute.  But the point is, I felt all of this slam down on my last night. 

 

Usually, I can handle it all.  I get 7 hours of sleep, and I fit everything in with exception of a few.  My tumblr account has seen a drop in activity.  Animal Crossing and other video games aren't getting any attention.  TV, literature, science, those take a hit.  I try to compensate with 10 minutes of NPR on the way to work each morning.

 

My struggle comes, in part, from the fact that I work 46 hours per week.  On the clock.  So fitting in all the responsibilities and obligations I set up for myself isn't easy. 

 

But what I really want to articulate here, is how I can manage, no matter how much I struggle to do it all, without always feeling like I did last night for a brief while.

 

I've given it quite a lot of thought.  I think perhaps the key to my strength is joy.

 

I really like everything I do.  I like it while I'm doing it.

 

I even like working out, sort of.

 

So regardless of tiredness.  Of lack of literature.  Of disappointed video game animals.  I am happy.  Very happy.  Because even though I cannot do all the things I love, I love everything I do.

 

And I have left no time, certainly, for things that I do not care for in some way or another.  Cleaning litter boxes is not something I truly enjoy, but I love the result of three happy, healthy felines which makes it a duty of pride and love.  Same, I guess, applies to taking trash to the dump and paying the bills.  A sense of pride and a sense of working for happiness, to deserve it at the end of the day because I earned it.

skirt today in february

got my new phone yesterday afternoon.  still learning it. but you can see Soseke pictured ♥

also, doctor who socks will be covered in cowgirl boots upon exiting the house.

yay.

Wednesday.

day to get stuff done!  let's go!!

dress a day in february, day 25

wow, just realized it's the last week of this month.
another chamber bathroom pick, as I was rushing around at home this morning after finally going to the gym where my lovely friend Erin got me a month voucher ♥
sporting the very warm and comfy cardy I got for Christmas in England and a smile.

dress a monday in february

many dresses in february

i had a little tea party today with some lovely friends.  here are a couple of pictures of us in all our dresses.  we drank tea, ate sweet treats, and played games.  harry potter clue wasn't as rousing as hoped.  curses ended in many laughs as usual (and i won, ha!).  but the poetry below the pictures is the result of our several hour long apples-to-apples.

(this one is a little dark, but i'm putting it up because jack is kissing Adelaide!)

Katy
we are slightly misunderstood
those in porcelain cups

appetizing each other's egos
with sweet compliments

coy with white smiles
tricking onlookers with snappy retorts


Adelaide
the radiant crossing of bridges
on white horses

splashing across great widths
of juicy tropical landscapes

halted by the cravings
of steeds for chewy snacks

amongst the shade of palms
and packs of cuddly critters

seen only in a dream
in the mind of George Washington


Liz
the sound of something like
"uSuperufluousu" slipped

through the keyhole of an old door
in an almost nasty tone

as if it were something
other than normal being said

behind scenic wooden doors
of an old castle in the hills

stuffy with stone and cement
on every wall

no hint of inspirational design
or luxurious consideration

yet something magical
slips through the door with it

a scary rhythm to the voice
enchanting the listeners

into dysfunctional chaos
dimming and turning

each obtuse stone
turned


Erin
the curious sound
of leaf blowers in winter

mark the desperate type
of homeowner

fuzzy on snow etiquette
and clearing the drive way

trying too hard to look sexy
while shoveling and scraping

thinking unthoughtful thoughts
of legendary historians

with senseless abandon
for reality to the point of absurd

yet exciting transcendence
all the while clearing snow


Danielle
dead leaves fall from hearty trees
with dreamy affectations for the ground

stirring the balance of the ground
furious with pine needles

attended by oddly cute rodents
with puffy tails and cranky dispositions

running from peek hole to peek hole
with a sense of cosmic urgency

confused by the deviation
of regular weather patterns

Cat
risky big business
taking on starlets

with eyes that glow virtuous
against mirror glass

the mold is too twisted
to adjust for profits

no matter how dirty
the bathwater

it's never hot enough
to make right

the sting of a sensual
encounter with lawyers
 

a dress a day in february on saturday with tired girl

a true story

i would like to dedicate this post to my lovely husband who has taken my picture for me the last two nights and who cleaned the living room so beautifully and so thoroughly it deserved to be the backdrop for this picture.

solid colors, squishy body, soggy weather

am feeling rather large this morning.  trying to embrace it with bright, solid colors.  this cardy definitely helps brighten me up in comparison to the weather at the moment, which is tediously wet and grey.

baker in a dress in february

it was one heck of a day.  busy morning, busy work, then highjacked the husband for a walk at the canal while it was still warm out.  evening rolls around and on either side of fixing dinner, I've been baking macarons and panettone for my tea party on sunday.  look though!  i have done all this in a red scarf and red skirt with my favorite sparkly grey/silver cardigan.

huzzah!

p.s. new phone on Monday, expect higher quality picutes!!!!

p.p.s. this is rowdy...

 

 

 he's a genius. 

young

http://heartbeforebody.tumblr.com/post/25598628485

the tour of chaos is balanced
by the beauty in her form

wrapped in layers of soft and sweet
she lashes out, gives verbal queues

and glances sideways at those
who she pretends not to adore

but too much is true of what she says
that others find her poison fatal

dormant

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fireflyworkshop/

ring the base out to turn
white covering to color

patches in front of local shops
let bulbs bud from dormant

lives hidden under layers
we all emerge pale and cool

tidal



the tide breaks over our backs

washing away languid memories,

wishing away scars of trials

failed, though fought with the valor

deserving in war.

 

 

blue dress in february

someone needs a hair cut...

black dress, gold and pink scarf in february

i didn't feel like going into the basement to use the full length mirror this morning.  and the sun in the bathroom was happy. 
happy Monday. 

"no good deed..."

a dear friend just reassured me that "no good deed goes unpunished".  unfortunately, i have felt this too strongly twice already this year.

twice this year i have gone out of my way to do something good for others, something that didn't wholly benefit me, only to find out that my good intentions led to someone feeling upset by my doing. 

misunderstanding seems to be the biggest culprit in both instances. 

so must i go out of my way to express every action to every person before i do it?  must i chose not to do a good for one out of fear of upsetting another? 

it's hard.  frustrating.  confusing.

snow day dress in february!

repeat dress with different cardy. not very creative today.  but, hey, who else do you know when out shoveling in a dress?  ^_^

not a dress, but still not pants or trousers, and still february

valentine's day dress

i normally take a bunch of bad, blurry pictures before i get one that's alright enough to post... your valentine's day present is...?

 

yup, all of the bad pictures too!  enjoy!

 

chamber bathroom... bathroom chamber? dress a day and all that too.

woke up in a happy mood with jack purring at the foot of the bed.  was slow going, but nothing unusual.  then accidentally burned my mouth with hot tea and immediately dipped my whole robe sleeve in the lasagna pan that had been soaking over night in soapy water (basically, just gross).  

all was well, though.  i read about bitcoin in new scientist magazine and had a shower.  realized getting out of the shower, though, that it was pretty much time i should be heading out the door.  so i rushed around.  

i completely forgot to take my picture.  so i took one of my outfit today in the bathroom mirror here at work.  so silly.  but that's what i get for committing to things.  and being the sort of person who will put in all the effort she can to follow through.  

ruggers dress

and wet hair.
and what you can't see... I am covered shoulder to toe in orange cat hair.  because, you know, cat hair is the number on accessory for a crazy cat lady!

dress a day in february day 11

 

 



matching?  hmmn?  gold jewelry with grey tights and grey cardy, over a blue and red dress... that all... matches.  right?

good.

tea, biscotti, dress, scarf, cardy february

i had a relaxing monday morning.  a few cups of vanilla infused tea and some homemade orange and cranberry biscotti ryan brought home from seeing a now-retired co-worker made for a rather delightful breakfast.  a breakfast which helped me to focus away from the pain in my right pointer finger.  pain caused by Rowdy putting up a fight against taking his medicine.  he's obviously feeling quite a lot better now, after his dental work, and really doesn't want to be hassled by yucky tasting pills.  my hands look like I've run them through a paper shredder.   the attack on my pointer finger is by far the most painful though.  hopefully the pain will reduce and i won't find myself at the doctor's office getting rabbis and tetanus shots.

 

as for dresses, we might begin to see some repeats after this week.  even though I have another 10 or so dresses, they are rather fancy and/or light; therefore, they are not really appropriate or comfortable for day to day work.  there are still more scarves this blog hasn't seen, and the combinations abound.

 



 

 

a sunday in february, a second sunday dress

first post on my brandy new laptop ^_^

 

 

red dress day was a few days ago.  so i'm a little late.  oh well  making up for it with a pink hoodie.

dress from the side in february

I love this cardigan ♥ you can't tell in these pictures, but it's sparkly!

 

dress dress dress dress dress dress

 

picture taking failure this morning.

happy Fuzzy Friday.

quick thoughts on a poem by Stevie Edwards

Beast Chant by Stevie Edwards

 

 

this morning, before any tea, i read the second poem on the page linked above.  i read it twice in a complete loop; not stopping between the last word of the last line and the first word of the first line.

 

i find with most poems, the meaning doesn't sink in for me until I've reached the ending.  i focus so much on the words.  i focus on each individual word, and how it sits with its neighboring words.

 

Stevie has formed a Chant indeed.  it can be repeated in a loop over and over without diminishing in meaning or being confused by the absence of beginning or end.  in part, this is down to his constant, but not abused, alliteration of the "bee" sound.  in another part i credit Stevie with distinct and meaningful repetition.

 

as for the story, the meaning of the piece.  it could be an over reaction to a bumble bee in the room, or a dark ancient rhyme lost from Gilgamesh or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

 

worth a read and reread.

 

a dress/skirt a day in february

pink skirt, pink scarf, purple cardi, happy katy.

played violins

http://marcedith.tumblr.com/post/22843120671/stamp-designed-by-dick-bruna-1969-via

danielle and i played violins
with nick and natalie.

it was a long time ago now.
i fear i have forgotten how to

but i believe, the way we do
have faith in other things,

i believe i will one day
play the violin again

with danielle.

February (sort of) Dress (snow) Day

snow fell down heavy enough last night that i justified calling my own personal snow day.  had ryan gone in to work, i would have too, i suppose.  but because I've been working from home today, it's taken me until 2pm to get properly dressed.

while this outfit violates the no-pants/trousers law of the month, it is compensated for by my snow/rain excuse AND head to almost toe POLKA DOTS!!!

february dress day number four

 

blue!

another dress another day in february

 

i am in love with this scarf and these colors ♥

a dress a day in February

day two

no hair products.
no accessories.
no worries.
because I've got Rowdy and the power of the Galaxy (tights).

a dress a day in february (does not rhyme the way i want it to)

inspired by my lovely friend Cat, who regularly goes months without jeans or trousers, i am going to wear a dress every day this month and post it to my blog.  i have gone most of December and January without wearing pants to work, so this shouldn't be too difficult.

happy February!