Ugh!  I woke up this morning stiff in the hips and with 3 blisters on my feet!  How am I going to do my walk at the Naples Canal tonight!?  I did find my blister pads but I think moleskin is needed!  One blister is on the ball of my left foot.  I can tell its a a deep one rather than a surface bubble.  The other 2 are on my right foot- one on my heel where my shoe rubs and the second is on my baby toe.  Both of these are thin skinned and could be popped with a bit of pressure.  Any ideas to prevent them from getting worse on my 5 mile walk tonight?  Maybe I should wear my hiking boots rather than my walking shoes?

This weekend I need to pick up pillowcases.  I had gotten a steal of a deal on 350tc sateen sheets for our bed.  I got 4 sets for our king bed at $20 each NEW IN THE PACKAGE!  They are the same style/brand as the set we bought in November for $90.  Since we use 5 pillows on the bed at night the 2 king cases that come in each set is not enough.  The cases alone are $20 for 2 standard or king.  So I need to pick up at least 2 sets for each set of sheets if I want each grouping to match in color.  I know I'm being anal, but we have a chocolate brown set, black, blue, white and cream.  I want to pick up a set in baby blue in the next few months after I get the pillow cases.  So for now I will pick up cases for the chocolate and blue sets.  I have 3 coupons for Bed, Bath and Beyond which should help with the cost.

I really need to hit Restoration Hardware soon.  They are closing their Culver City store soon and everything is on sale!  I'm mostly looking for good deals on their shams and lampshade since we can't afford their products.  I'd love to have one of their sofas if I can train the cats not to scratch it up!  But Johnny and I have some RH Stickley/Mission furniture in our future when my parents pass(not for at least 20 years). 
Speaking of inheriting things... I'll also be getting their late 60s slate front track house.  That is going to be one BIG pain in the rear to restore/remodel to late 50s/early 60s.  My parents have granite counter tops in the kitchen as well as built-in appliances. They did leave the original cabinets even though the wood has been re-finished.  I'm not going to think about having to remove the Mexican paver tiles in the bathrooms and den! 

Enough about that!  Morbid thought...

It looks like we will be getting a new upstairs neighbor in February.  It seems the family upstairs stopped paying their rent back in October before we moved in.  We didn't find this out until we called the landlord after Thanksgiving to talk to him about the parking situation (we get 2 spots since the garage is toooo small for a normal car to pull in).  He gave them til Nov 30 to get out without penialty.  They never did so he started the eviction process.  He was awarded the eviction and received a judgement against them for all back rent!  He served them the eviction last week and gave them the offical notice of the lock out on Jan 15.  Well, they moved their junk out on Sunday and Monday.  They haven't been in the apartment the last 2 nights.  I have slept soooo sound!  This is important to me because they have been very rude to us the past 2 months!  They run up and down the stairs, yell all hours of the night, stomp around like a herd of elephants and park in our spots blocking access to our garage/storage.  We have even called to police on them!

Current Mood: awake

They are still searching for survivors after mudslides in Ilha Grande kill many many people. This is the island that Guilherme and I stayed on during my trip back in August. I can't stop thinking about the bodies floating in the water right outside the little cafe we ate at every day.


Guilherme and the harbor.

A Whole New Mind - Daniel Pink
The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood
Odyssey - Homer
Great Men of Genius - Mike Daisy
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Coraline - Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
Born Standing Up - Steve Martin
Foreskin's Lament - Shalom Auslander

I never "read" books anymore... I only listen to them on audible.com. I never have time to read except for my bus commute and I get very carsick if I read. Audible has been a godsend solution to this problem, and I've been able to fall in love with reading again by having the authors themselves read right to me while I embroider on the bus!

Resolution #1: Wear More Lipstick

What a silly resolution! However, I'm terribly good at collecting lipsticks and not wearing them. I have a tube of MAC's Russian Red that I've had since 2006, I swear! Right now I have about 12 tubes just begging to be worn.

Resolution #2: Dance More Often!

Dancing Feet, 1936
Shows a variety of people dancing to this catchy song, including a chef tap dancing on a griddle.

I love dancing, even though I'm no good at dancing in routines or proper steps. Through my 1930s movie watching, I've collected some good footage of tap routines and little jigs that I try and incorporate in my dancing. This next semester I will be less busy with graduate school so I will (hopefully!) find more time to dedicate to the 5 Rhythms night that we have at our house. I want to try and make a 1920s/30s wave to dance to... it will be interesting!

Resolution #3: Play my 78s More!


Phonograph Player - Dancing Feet, by Johnny Johnson and his Orchestra

I can't think of anything more magical and mysterious than sitting in front of a phonograph, having the whoosh of the music literally move the hair on my head.I bought a reproduction Phonograph about a year and a half ago and I got really into finding heaps of 78 records at thrift shops and lugging them home. It's no easy feat! 78s are very heavy and carrying twenty of them is quite a challenge, especially if one has noodle arms and has to take the bus. Most of the music I buy is sight-unseen (music-unheard?) because even though I have a pretty good knowledge of that era of music, most of what I end up with is brand new. My favorites are classical music, like Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune. The oboe solos sound that much more haunted when coming through the bell of the phonograph.

Resolution #4: Be a Better Vegan

I've been vegan since August, 2007. Lately, I've been really lazy about small things, like eating Confectioner's Glaze in holiday candies and not checking for L-cysteine in bread. This will just take more diligence on my part, such as packing my lunch before commuting to my non-vegan friendly campus in San Marcos. Going vegan and changing my diet was easy, it's my wardrobe that has given me a long lasting problem! and I still haven't given away all of my fur-trimmed vintage items even though I have not been wearing them. Somethings I just can't bear to part with.
1930s silk lingerie holds a special place in my heart, so that will never ever be going away :)

Tags: resolutions

Here are pictures of what we did with the laundry room...

Here are the pictures from the bathroom we restored back in March 2009.

First I'd like to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone that has stuck around through my absence.  I know I have been gone a lot and haven't responded to messages or community duties.  The hell house took a lot out of us this past year.  Now that we are moved and 99% settled into our tiny apartment I should be around more to handle anything.

Second no resolutions for me.  I am making small goals to myself that will be hard not to keep.  My main goal is to go to sleep and get up with Johnny 5 nights/days a week.  This way I'm not up until 4am(like last night) and sleeping til noon.  Those sleep habits are bad for my hormone levels and could be the main reason they are off.(hypothyroidism be damned!).  My next goal is to be active for 5 minutes a day- everyday.  This could be a walk or something as silly as wrestling with the dogs on the carpet.  Sound good?  Start small and work up to bigger and better things.

I will be going through all my old entries and if they are personal in anyway they will be marked friends only.  As well as any pictures of myself and family.  I think I should go back to the original intent of this blog as a domestic diary or at least on the public end.  Mostly because I have an online stalker. 

Current Location: Home
Current Mood: chipper

Ingredients:

• 4 fresh tomatoes, sliced and chunked
• dash of dried basil (or a handful of fresh basil, crushed)
• dash of fresh ground black pepper
• dash of ground ginger
• 4-5 boiled italian sausages, sliced
• 3 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 lb. pizza or bread dough*
• 1/2 cup grated Low fat mozzarella

1. In a large saute pan, saute garlic and tomatoes over moderate heat for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Add sliced sausage and spices.  Cook until tomatoes are "sauced" or mushy.  Let mixture cool.

2. In a bowl, combine cooked sausage tomato mixture, mozzarella and parmesan.

3. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll each one out to about an 8 inch circle. Fill each circle with 1/4 of the mixture. Brush the edges of the dough with water and fold the dough over while pushing out any air trapped by the dough. Seal the edges well.

4. Place calzones on a baking sheet that was sprayed with pan spray. Bake in a 375 degrees oven for 25-30 minutes or until well browned. Remove from oven and transfer the calzones to a baking sheet to cool. Keep refrigerated until needed and warm in a microwave or oven before eating.

Tags: recipe
Current Location: Home
Current Mood: bubbly
Current Music: sound of the tv as I make this recipe for dinner

PDX People: I will be in your fair city from January 7th - January 10th. Please let me know if you want to see my cute face.