Happy Veteran's Day

A thank you to all the brave men and women who have earned our country the freedom and greatness we take for granted.
Thank you.

Matching coats...

I swear getting Josie a coat was not my idea.  While part of me wants to be the doggy momma that dresses her up in little clothes and bows, most of me realizes she is a dog.  That being said, she sometimes gets cold and so I had gotten her a silly little jacket to keep her warm.  It was pink and little Josie must have complained to Grandma because next thing I know, she came home wearing a little red and grey fleece complete with racing stripes.  Now, we match.  And while it's kind of embarrassing, I think we both strut just a little bit more with our matching red coats on. 

Samantha and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad morning

My morning started with my phone alarm going off at 5:35 precisely one hour earlier than planned.  I grumbled, reset my alarm for 6:35 and rolled over.  Only to wake up at 7:00 without the help of an alarm.  Ugh.
Turns out this is a result of Daylight Saving's time.  The iphone has been slow to sync up to the time change resulting in numerous European workers arriving at work late yesterday.  That was funny.  You know, until it happened to me.  Did I mention I am in the US and this should not have been an issue at all until NEXT week?! 
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/01/tech/main7011829.shtml

My last step in the morning before actually leaving is taking my dog, Josie, for a walk around the block.  While she is by no means the cleanest dog, she is generally pretty clever about where she steps.  Meaning I've never had to clean dog poop off her feet.  That streak is now ruined, granted it was more of a "tap, nope, move" than an actual step.  Just to be on the safe side, I walked her for another 10 minutes just to get any possible residue that may remain off.  Bathing would have worked but would have taken longer and required drying and a change of clothes.  Not happening.

I then arrived at the transit center to discover that my bus left 2 MINUTES EARLY!  Buses aren't supposed to leave early.  In fact, one can assume they'll always be about 3 minutes late.  But my "One Bus Away" app confirmed it.  I had 15 minutes to wait. 

Thank goodness for Starbucks and sugar-free vanilla soy steamers.  Also, for those of you keeping track at home, I am ONE drink away from my gold card!  That sweet little cup of liquid protein turned my day around.  Mmm....

Post Halloween

I had a wonderful Halloween.  And am super proud of how the costumes turned out.  They were a hit.  I even won a prize at work for mine!

The first one is a costume I made for a friend to be Tippi Hedren from "The Birds."  She's a huge Hitchcock fan and loves the more traditional conservative styles.  Normally getting her to dress up requires bullying on my part, but this year, she jumped at the idea.

Front

 

Back

 

Hopefully I'll be able to get ahold of a picture of her IN costume.  M looked amazing.  She had the beautiful blonde hair and long lean build the costume required.  With the addition of an updo and a few crows, she was good to go.

The Original

 

 

 

I was beyond excited about my costume.  After 2 months of work and 14 yards of fabric, it came out beautifully.  This is one of my favorite pieces yet.  I love the detail on it and I love the style.  Now I just need somewhere to wear it...

At home on my dress form

Before the department party

I'll work on getting ahold of some pictures from the actual party Saturday, just so I can illustrate the costumes in action.  Mine included a long blonde wig and Josie in a Mad Hatter's hat.  

Undoubtedly the best part of the costume was the size of my skirt.  It was so large that it took up the entire front seat of my car.  One of my co-workers even offered to help me go to the bathroom.  (Don't worry, I managed it myself.  A huge armful of tulle was involved.)  The petticoat underneath is a store bought tulle one with a huge amount of black and white striped fabric attached to both make it long enough for and more accurate to the costume.   It also looked fantastic when spinning.  An activity I engaged in a lot this weekend.  

And since Halloween is sadly over, it's time to look forward to my next favorite event of the year.

Candy Canes!!!