Greg presents a guessing game

Sweet little Greg, you are the cutest thing in the world sometimes. Thank goodness, because you are also the most annoying thing in the world sometimes.

Halloween is quickly coming up! And you know what that means, time to make a costume! As it was last year, it's a secret until the day of Halloween. But because I'm terrible at keeping secrets, Greg and I are giving you one little hint, this beautiful blue velvet. It's a smallish part of my costume, but also my favorite part. Last year I think I gave my costume away a little too easily, so you only get a little hint this year. If you guess correctly, I will make (and ship, for all you far away friends) you a little sewing prize!

Isn't it beautiful? I love love love the color. I've never made anything with velvet, so wish me luck! If I mess it up too badly, I guess I'll just donate it to Greg to sleep on.

Lederhosen for Mr. H

Y'all. These lederhosen. SHEESH, they were a project. Took me weeks. I used this Burda Style pattern, which was designed to be made with leather, or imitation leather, like traditional lederhosen. We could find neither the real or the fake stuff so we used corduroy, in a caramel-leather-esque color. This created a huge challenge because, duh, it was fabric not leather. The pattern and pattern steps were designed for leather, as in you can cut it and it wont fray. Problemo numero uno. I had to do a lot of inventing/flying by the seat of my pants to make sure this thing wouldn't unravel in the first 30 minutes of wear. Every raw edge was finished and I blew through an entire spool of caramel colored thread sewing all kinds of seams to make sure not only did it not fall apart, but it still was put together as if it was made of leather.

 I think Brendon may have enjoyed this pose a little too much.

Problem number two, leather is obviously thicker and stiffer than fabric, even corduroy, so it doesn't quite hang/fit the way it ought to. The biggest and most obvious spot is in the chest band between the suspenders, it is far too floppy for my taste. In hindsight, I would line the chest band and suspenders with interfacing to bulk them up so they hold their shape a bit more.

I did all of the top stitching in white and I love how it stands out against the corduroy. It forced me to sew in straight lines since they would be visible, which for some reason has always been a challenge for me, but I was mostly successful. I really like the effect though, I may have to do a little more contrasting top stitching in the future!

 Crotch shot much?

Yet another challenge this project presented was the lovely section in the directions that asked me to simply "machine embroider" the decorative elements. OH OKAY, let me just hop over to my embroidery machine... oh wait... At that point I almost threw in the towel. Almost. I pouted for little bit, took a day off, and then put my big girl pants on and got on with it. I drew all the designs by hand, made a pattern, traced them onto the fabric, and then slowly but surely embroidered it all by hand. And I'm pretty dang happy with how it turned out!

Do overs? Make it in leather. Make it a size smaller. Line the pockets with a lighter color. Splurge on better buttons. But all that said, I am very proud. This was definitely the most challenging thing I've ever sewn. But I did it and learned a ton. And now Brendon has German gear to sport this year at Wurstfest! And he just looks so dang cute!

Bad days

Friday was a bad day y'all. Real crappy. I am still dealing with the crappy-ness, it leaked into the weekend. I keep dwelling on the bad and getting down. And that is not how I roll. I'm a pretty positive person generally, you know, sunshine and rainbows. But dang, Friday... you threw me for a loop. You've gotten under my skin and I need to shake you.

I am a lucky lady and I feel so selfish when I throw pity parties for myself. Honestly, I need to build a bridge and get over Friday. Shit happens. And sometimes it really sucks. But you live and you learn and you know better next time. Life is too good to dwell on those little bad moments. Because that's all they are. Bad moments. There's nothing you can do to change them, so why focus on them? You learn what you can and move on. And you focus on the good, because there is so much of it. Like this wonderful weather. And sweaters. And braids in your hair. And a husband who loves you. And cats that are fat. And cuddles. And laughing. And loving. And home.

And, of course, raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Because no matter what life throws at you, there's always a song from the Sound of Music to make it better. If you're me anyways.

Motorcycle madness

Well y'all, we bought a motorcycle. For me. And it's damn sexy.

Meet the newest member of our family, yet to be named (any ideas? At the moment we're calling it the Bicycle, because we're extra clever and funny).

My commute to work is slightly ridiculous, 25 miles each way with lots of hills, and it is killing the Xterra. Since I began doing this drive daily, my AC has died, my radiator cracked, and the poor odometer is seeing way too many numbers. Not to mention the obscene amount of money spent on gas. So about a month or so ago, I decided to throw the idea of getting a motorcycle out there. They're fairly cheap, get amazing mpg, and fun. Both my husband and my boss immediately said, "you'll kill yourself" (which seems to be most peoples reaction, THANKS A BUNCH). But after some consideration, and my stubbornness, I stuck with the idea. Brendon got on board and we started doing some research.

PAUSE: I must mention how wonderfully supportive my husband has been. He has wanted a motorcycle forever (as all boys do) and I have to give him ridiculous props for not being a green eyed monster and being behind me the whole time with this. He has more faith in me than I do in myself. I can't wait until he gets a bike too and we can ride together!

SO, I signed up for the three day motorcycle safety class and figured I'd test it out and see if I liked it. And I did. Really, I don't think anyone drives a motorcycle and doesn't like it. So I got my license and we started shopping for a bike. Originally I wanted a regular style motorcycle. Not a Harley by any means, but just a plain and simple bike, which is what I learned to ride in the class. BUT, the first time I got on a sports bike I immediately changed my mind, it felt loads more natural. Instead of your feet being in front of you, like sitting in a recliner, they are under you, like riding a bicycle. I'm pretty tall and have some decently long legs, so sitting upright was more comfortable. I felt like I had more control. And they are lighter and easier to handle, for me anyway.

Thus began the great bike search. Little sports bikes are apparently a hot commodity these days. We were in the market for a 250cc Kawasaki Ninja. Apparently so was everyone else. We were obviously going the used route, because duh, it's cheaper and I'm not an experienced rider who needs anything fancy and new. These babies are hard to find (from a reputable source) and they sell super fast. We ended up finding ours from this super nice little dealer in Round Rock who had like, a ton. It was like a motorcycle ranch, out in this field. Pretty neat. I saw mine and it was love at first sight. We got a great deal and it's is in excellent shape; it's a 2009 with only 1,100 miles on it! And it's all black so that's cool too. It's beautiful.

I haven't driven it to work yet, and will probably give myself some time since that's a long drive and I'm still getting used to everything. Driving a motorcycle is completely different than a car. Lots of new habits to form. But damn y'all, it is so fun. I took it to get gas this morning and was basically laughing the whole way. SO MUCH FUN.

And for all the "OMG YOU'LL DIE"-ers out there, I have the safest helmet ever and a basically armored jacket and gloves. I feel like I should be jousting. And yes, motorcycle accidents happen, but I drive like an old lady compared to the majority of bikers (and drivers in general) out there, so I figure my odds are a little better. And BONUS, it gets about 65+ mpg. SIXTY-FIVE MILES PER GALLON. The Xterra gets like 15.

ALSO, to all you nay-sayers and negative nancies, you just make me want to drive this bad boy more. Every time someone said I couldn't or shouldn't do it, I became more positive and determined that I could and would. So thanks for the support motivation y'all. :)

Missing

I missed the first day of fall. It was Saturday and it blew by without any recognition from yours truly. Not that it really feels like fall. We've still been hitting the 90's, which is a lot of fun in a car that has working ac about half the time. But regardless, the first day of fall doesn't usually slip by me, as it is the official start to my favorite time of the year.

The past week has been a hectic whirlwind and most of it hasn't been much fun. Nothing went according to plan and I am tired and frustrated. I haven't seen Brendon for more than an hour or so in a few days. It's full on pharmacy school mode over here, which always sucks. I thought I would be tougher this time around, but it's still so hard. I miss my husband. Pharmacy school plus conflicting schedules equals no bueno. I've been a grumpy baby lately and I feel terrible about it. That is the worst way to handle things but I just want to stomp and pout and get what I want already. Because I'm obviously five years old.

BUT (silver lining, y'all) it is fall now. The best time of the year. Soon we'll be putting up Halloween decor, carving pumpkins, and baking loaves of banana bread (because it makes your house smell better than the fanciest fall scented candle). This week was just a rough week and all will be well soon enough. It is Monday after all, and this coming week will be better. I promise.