And it's beginning to snow...

I guess the time has really come for winter to show its face again. After an October snowstorm of around 17 inches of heavy, wet snow and ice came through, leaving us without power for a week and canceling Halloween (that's right, CANCELED!), I was happy enough without it.

This winter has been incredibly mild, especially when you consider that we live in New England. Sunny springlike days, sweater weather... simply wonderful for an anti-cold person like me. I was getting used to it and loving every moment. But the dream was too good to last.

We've had a few dustings, even an inch or so that quickly melted. But sometime in the wee hours of the morning, it began to snow in earnest. And it's still coming down. All told, they are forecasting 4-6 inches for our area.

I'm thankful it's the weekend and I don't have to figure out school and work issues. I'm thankful I only had a few "out of house" things to get done and they'll all keep until tomorrow. I have food in the fridge and coffee on the burner. I have two dance costumes to finish this weekend, a small client project and a good amount of work for my regular job. I have a house to clean. So I'm going to look at this cold, white stuff I could live without and see it as a tool to give me the time I may otherwise have spent chasing after my family's goals instead of mine. And while I'm tucked inside, safe and warm,  I might just spend a few minutes admiring the view. Because it may be cold, and it may be bothersome and I may be happy to live without it, but it sure is pretty. Just don't tell that to the clouds.

Can't pretend anymore!

I can no longer hide it. I will no longer pretend.

I HATE mornings. I hate early mornings. I hate cold, winter mornings. Most of all, I hate waking up in the dark when my natural clock is saying "NO! Don't do it!" and having it continue to be dark for another two hours. It takes me 2-3 cups of coffee just to get moving these days.

I think morning is a cruel form of torture inflicted upon us by some evil creature with an overabundance of energy. Actually, I know a few people like that.

Anyway, I do enjoy the silence of being up while the rest of my typically in your face family still sleeps but I believe 10am would be a more appropriate time to start the day. At least during a New England winter. So how about it Congress? Let's be rid of the current time table. Let's throw daylight savings out the window. Let's really go on a daylight program. Morning begins when it gets light and night begins when it gets dark. Period. So we'll work pretty short days this time of year. Think of the reduction in absenteeism when workers get three months of shortened days to serve as a "sort of" vacation.

How about it? Maybe I should start a petition.

Exercise, food, yada yada Part 2

Just so you know what I was talking about in the last post...

Costate di Maiale con Capperi made from locally raised pork, pan roasted fingerling potatoes, fresh steamed green beans

Ready for my close up... Heaven on a plate!

This may have been the best thing I have ever eaten... and with a husband like mine around I have a wide range of great food experiences to judge on. Divine, just simply divine. And I have some left over for lunch!

Post exercise effects on a junk food addict

One of my self descriptions is that I have never found a cookie I could walk past. Fried chicken may be my absolute favorite food. Cheeseburgers, eggs, chocolate bars, even salads, all go better with bacon. Holiday meals are preludes to dessert and I buy into every chocolate candy commercial that shows a woman melting into an attitude of relaxed contentment with a single nibble of the latest offering.

So I've been extremely proud of myself this first week of January as I kept the junk to a minimum, ate salads and yogurt and whole grains and fruit. I've actually enjoyed the change in diet. It's a huge deal to me to pass by the chicken fingers and hit the salad bar instead, especially on a high-stress day.

But tonight, oh god tonight.... My husband who has religiously gone to the gym each day since we joined finally had the chance to drag me there. I just got off an hour on the treadmill and I'm sore but feeling good. Then we had to stop at the store. Suddenly I swear I can smell every fried chicken piece and nugget in a twenty mile radius. Seeing as I live right down the road from a fast food alley, there's plenty to be found. I'm craving salt, craving grease and craving sweets too. Pure torture I tell you!

I mean what the heck? Is my body so scared of exercise it's going into some post traumatic shock and is seeking out the greatest of comfort foods? I'm freaking starving here and can't do a thing about it!

Fast forward past the errands and back at home. My husband is cooking up some sort of pork chop dinner with garlic and lemon and capers and wine. It smells divine and drool is actually forming. So savory I don't even need to pretend it's not a healthy meal. Vincent James Pia just might be a god. If he hurries the heck up before I chew off my arm.

Who needs fried chicken?

A secret confession... And my next purchase

I have to admit that I really do enjoy this dance costume gemming thing. I feel like it gives me an opportunity to be creative and make beautiful objects, which I usually find myself unable to do. It's a controlled setting with absolute freedom within relatively strict boundaries. I know, that sounds very mixed up and I don't really know if I can explain it better. Let's just leave it at this: I am not very creative, absolutely not artistic, but this gives me a way to pretend I am.

As I've been researching techniques and designs for this year's costumes, I ran into a great article on the blog Khromeatplay about creating your own iron-on gem patterns: http://khromeatplay.blogspot.com/2006/09/how-to-make-your-own-custom-rhinestone.html .

Totally fell in love with the idea and immediately went looking at the local store for the mylar hot fix film I need to start sticking on my own personalized rhinestone designs. Sadly they had none, so for now I'm working free-hand. But I checked out the stuff online ( I LOVE the Google shopping function, LOL) and found it on Amazon.com.

I know now what my next purchase will be: http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Rhinestones-Transfer-Film-Paper/dp/B00467PWRY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325911095&sr=8-1

While I'm there, I'll pick up these creepy looking things too, because those darn gems are tough to hang on to, even with tweezers: http://www.amazon.com/Beadsmith-Jewel-Setter-for-Rhinestones/dp/B002RTJ4Q8/ref=pd_sim_misc_6

I'm looking forward to getting these, especially the film so I can do more intricate patterns despite my limited ability. This is what I'll use to decorate the awesome new dance bag Uncles Chris and Tony bought Caitlynn for Christmas, the Dream Duffel: http://shop.dreamduffel.com/product.sc;jsessionid=0B08ACA6CF89C6C806BD136BA7919EA3.qscstrfrnt04?productId=1&categoryId=1

This Dream Duffle Rocks!

That bag is SO awesome. It has the garment rack built in as a one touch pop-up, holds a large number of costumes, has a built in cooler pocket and a ton of accessory pockets. Even comes with a folding stool! And it has two large ID patches just waiting to be decorated.

So anyway, I can't wait to get this film when I get paid. I am going to practice all sorts of designs. I'll give some as gifts to her dance friends and maybe, if I get good enough, I can start selling the completed and ready to use designs to help fund her ever-expanding list of classes, competitions and accessories. 

It's good to feel so excited about something!

At Your Service Recommended Blog: What I Made Today: Win a Happy 2012 Whimsy!

You NEED to check out this wonderful blog by an incredible woman I just happen to have the fortune of knowing. This post is just a teaser from me to get you there- read it, enter her contest and maybe get to welcome one of her sweet pieces of art and soul into your home. 

What I Made Today: Win a Happy 2012 Whimsy!
Then you need to check out the rest of her blog and her collections of wonderful handmade items for sale in her shops. Trust me- it's a must!

Dance designs, the easy part. I think.

Day 1 of dance costume prep involved packing supplies, lugging costume in garment bag and gemming at my mother-in-law's dining table as we visited. (I have no time to slack off!)

Red gems line the bottom all the way around the legs. A few sparkly clears are thrown on the front for a bit of shine when she moves. That's all this part needs. Her shirt will cover the top of the shorts and her vest will be heavily decorated. Keeping it simple, right?

Ooooo. Simple but sparkly.

Okay, so I started with the easy piece. Hey, why not? I'm using a heat gun I've never used before and types of gems I've never touched. I'm no expert. As I quickly demonstrated with my first application of heat tool to gem to fabric:

Oopsies. Did I do that?

Yeah. Not so good. Apparently it can get so hot it melts right through the fabric. Lesson learned- I didn't do it again. But I do have a very attractive piece of cardboard now. Don't believe me? Take a look:

See the line of black around it? That used to be fabric. Did you know melted fabric makes for a REALLY strong glue? My cardboard does. Really, really, really strong glue.

I guess I need to learn the fine line between getting the gem good and set and setting the pants on fire good. I may go back to glue with the shirt. Who knows what I might do with that thin fabric! Vest tomorrow. Several evenings work await me on that. Wish me luck. Think I'm gonna need it.

The End MUST Be Near!

The End of The World MUST be coming. That's the only thing that can explain why, after picking my husband up from work today, we journeyed on over to a local gym... and JOINED!

Our home gym sits folded in the coat closet. Our treadmill stands folded in the living area, now the choice of perches for our cat. Hand weights and yoga mats collect dust. Workout dvds idle on our shelves. Our rears sit glued to the couch rather than propelling us around the neighborhood for an evening walk. Now that we have joined a gym, you folks had best start collecting your canned goods and digging your fallout shelters because the end is imminent!

Gyms intimidate the heck out of me. All those machines I don't know how to use. The place full of already fit women and men. The intensity of people who know what they are there for and take it so, so seriously. My eyes glaze over, my brain loses about 50 IQ points as I try to determine what each piece of equipment does and my out of shape self suddenly looks even dumpier and frumpier and out of shape to my eyes.

But seriously.... If I'm paying a fee every month for 12 months under contract, this cheap person will darn well get every bit of use out of it she can. It's too easy to look at the exercise equipment at home and say "I'll get to it later"  but when I need to schedule the gym around a very crazy life, I'll start thinking of that as my get away time. A few nights a week we'll leave the kids to fend for themselves for an hour or two after dinner and make good our escape. We'll enjoy a little couple time on the treadmills. Maybe I'll tackle a virtual spinning class. I'll work through my aches and pains with some virtual yoga. Vin and I will be working to improve our health together, to look better together and to share some alone time together.

Not such a bad idea after all. But just in case, stock up on bottled water.

Sunday Gravy, A Family Tradition

My husband does the cooking in this household. It’s just healthier for everyone. Trust me!

 I am capable of only the simplest meals. Vin is a phenomenal cook capable of creating complex meals in the time it takes me to cut up a chicken breast.  Oh yes, I much prefer eating what he dishes out than standing over the stove making a huge mess.

Lately our lives were turned upside down by a series of events and our meal and family time flew out the window. Dinner consisted of food picked up fast on the way home each night after 8pm. Unhealthy, disgusting, boring and expensive as heck. In defense, Vin reinstated a tradition we once followed, one passed down to him by his grandmother, and a tradition familiar to anyone who had a true Italian grandmother in their background. Sunday Gravy.

Early on Sunday, Vin starts cooking up a big pot of Sunday Gravy, also known as sauce. He processes the tomatoes, seasons, simmers, does everything from scratch. The house starts to fill up with the warm scent of goodness waiting to hit our plates. He mixes meats and molds meatballs, he makes bracciole or cuts small pieces of veal or beef steaks to cook in the sauce.  Sunday is all about magic in the kitchen.

When we sit down for an early Sunday meal, everyone must be at the table. There is no eating in the living room in front of the television on this day. The kids’ eyes grow large and you can almost see them drool as the pasta, sauce and meat are brought to the table.

Sunday dinners are a wonderful time. A peaceful time for family, and maybe someday a few friends. It’s a break in a hectic lifestyle and a chance to reconnect. As I stared out across our small kitchen table yesterday evening, I reflected how much like life the setting really was. People coming together over mismatched bowls and platters, mismatched events, mismatched circumstances. People finding joy in simple things, forgetting the need for perfection. Breaking bread, sopping up life’s goodness. People sharing love over the simplest of common ground- a good meal.

I love our Sunday tradition and I look forward to continuing it for a very long time.  

Sunday Gravy- snapshot taken from video by Vincent James Pia, cooked by Vincent James Pia, enjoyed by the Pia clan

It's that time of year again!

No, no. Not the holidays!

It's dance competition season. The time when even normally sane (I do use that term loosely) mothers start turning into raving lunatics as they pull out the glue guns and heat tools, the Swarovski crystals, the fabrics, the thread and needle and soon their hair... all in the quest to ensure their little girls just sparkle out there in front of the judges.

Sound like a nightmare a la Toddlers and Tiaras? It can be and let me tell you- those folks are freaky! The moms and teachers who give you the cold shoulder because you don't have the latest and greatest in equipment or look down their noses and get outright rude because you don't fit in their little clique. The dirty looks you get because you actually have to (god forbid!) work instead of being at the studio at 3pm each day. The girls who burst into inconsolable tears when they miss one step.... And please, do NOT forget some of the most hideous costuming and hair styles ever created. Oh yes, there is some crazy drama going on out there.

Generally though, dance competitions aren't all that bad. My daughter is a complete devotee to the art of dance and the chance to show off. I happen to think she is quite talented too. She has danced with the same group of girls for years and they have developed a loving and supportive friendship at a time in life when many girls are falling to pieces. Her grades are high, she's exercising instead of sitting on the couch, and she has such confidence (even when looking like a tin soldier or wearing a cup of cocoa on her head).

                     

Dance is what she lives and breathes and it's the career path she wants to follow as of now. The competitions are a time when all that hard work is given the opportunity to be recognized by people outside their usual sphere. Some cool trophies and the chance at scholarship money never hurts either.

So, as she expands into the realm of solos and fancier costuming I need to become the mother and woman I have never been- I need to get with the frilly and feminine program. I have to get with the sparkle thing. And because I love her to death and want to support her dreams but think shelling out anywhere from $50-200 on a fancy dolled up costume is ridiculous... I am learning how to sew and gem.

Last year's lyric solo costume was an e-bay find for less than $20. I spent hours with gems and glue and shaky, inexperienced hands to make a great base into something that would shine on stage. It wasn't the best but I was so proud of myself.

This year I need to do even better and do it with two costumes. Here are my bases. Excuse the awful photo quality. 

Lyric costume- I Know Where I've Been from Hairspray

Jazz costume- Some People from Gypsy

I've been planning the jazz design since yesterday and have started the gemming tonight. I haven't even started the lyric but I know it involves sewing the waist tighter, sewing the overdress to the tank top underneath and a whole heck of a lot of sparkle work. I have 25 days. I'm armed with crystals, heat tools, gems, needles and thread and my good old shaky, achy hands. Cue the hair pulling!