four to go

A week from today I will be in New York! That thought makes me so happy and ready to push through the next five days. My work schedule isn't too bad though so I think I can make it. It's such a great thought that this time next week I'll be eating dinner with Tanner and his family. I miss them.

Work was long today but not as bad as I thought it would be. I was still pretty sleepy and I'm going to bed soon because tomorrow will be an even earlier day. We're having employee appreciation at work and I bought this cute feathered summer hat. I'd been thinking about it for days and when I finally got it today it had gone down to $4.99 and with my discount it was only $3.14! I'm super excited to wear it. I also finished my twenty paper cranes- another item on my 23 before 23 list. I think tomorrow I'll start hanging them around the apartment. Pictures soon!

three

Day three. I bought my various transportation tickets for next Thursday (one week!). There is one ticket that I can't buy online which makes me nervous because I'll be in Penn Station with only ten minutes until bus leaves for Middletown. I'm sure it will all work out fine but in the moment I will definitely be freaking out. I'm not a big fan of public transportation, especially if it involves switching several times which I will have to do (twice). I'm leaving Portland at 3:15 in the morning and arriving in Middletown at 1pm. It will be an incredibly long day and I will be so sleepy and cranky. And probably hungry, too. Once I'm in New York I'll feel so much better though.

Today was pretty boring. Or I should say that today I was pretty boring. I caught up on one of my shows, made more paper cranes, ate, went to the Dollar Store. That's about it. I've been off the last four days (I can't wait until my manager comes back so I can get better hours). I've been super duper lazy these past four days and tomorrow I work an eight hour shift so I'll be tired and hungry all day. I feel like I complain so much but if I was able to get more hours like I've been asking for then I would be used to working long shifts without complaints.

Good things that happened today include me finishing (actually starting) three Harry Potter shirts for work people and finishing decorating my shoes! I wore them earlier and I'm excited about them. I got them at Payless last week and wanted to embroider them first. I started but didn't like the way it looked so I thought I would leave them plain and see if anything came to me. But I had drawn on them when I was going to embroider them and I couldn't get the pen out (pencil wouldn't show up) even when I tried to wash them. Then I thought about using fabric paints and I really like the way they turned out. I guess I could have used a brush to make it look less like a five year old splashed paint on my shoes and more like a 22 year old decided to be super cool and crafty with fabric paint. Maybe I should think up other designs and try selling it to Urban.

day two

The second day Tanner has been gone. I don't think I'm as bothered this time because I already went through it and it was for a longer duration, too. I know his absence won't be as long this time and I'll be going to him instead of me waiting for him to get back to Portland. I will be arriving in Middletown on Thursday the 16th- only nine days from now. Not too bad. We'll be there until the 20th and then we'll make our way back here. But in the meantime this is what I'm doing...

So many paper cranes. It is wonderful and yet addicting. Our apartment will be filled with colorful paper birds.

I made a lot of calls about loans and business things which always makes me feel like I've accomplished something. I also caught up with my mom for a bit which was great. I've been so bad lately about keeping in touch with my family so I'm glad we've spoken twice in the last week and a half.

I've been downloading new music which is always a lovely thing. I've been stuck in a music rut for a while, just listening to the same genre.

I made a little trip to South Portland for supplies for more Harry Potter shirts for a couple of my co-workers. I'm super excited that they loved them and I can't wait to see them wear a shirt that I made. I'm going to do them in the morning along with my Jimmy Neutron shirt so they have all day to dry.

I also started working on decorating a pair of basic slip on shoes with fabric paint. I won't be able to finish it completely until tomorrow when the first bits of paint are dry but I'll leave a little sneaky peak at what they look like so far.

day one

Today is the first day that Tanner has been gone. I realized very quickly last time how much I depend on him just being around to not be lonely. Even if we're not interacting with each other, I know he's available and I'm not alone. Really, he sings most of the time and I'm cleaning or doing some craft. I'm also very aware of it at the end of the night when I'm eating dinner and watching Netflix and then getting ready for bed. I have to remember that he won't be home at 12:15 and then up for hours watching movies or playing video games or whatever. I am alone. Ugh.

In an effort to not feel so lonely and helpless, I decided to write a post everyday that Tanner is gone and making note of the things I did that I'm either especially proud of or that make me feel like I don't need to be lonely. And really, I'll see him soon and then he'll be back here with me. So- the first day...

Yesterday was my friend from work's birthday (and mine and Tanner's eight month anniversary!) and I went over to her apartment with another friend and we had yummy tacos out on her porch. Her roommate and a friend were there and we had a great time enjoying the fresh air and cool breeze while eating great food and talking about random things. More of her friends came over later and we all had a really fun time. She hats two little kitties that I played with and it was wonderful being around cats again. I miss my animals so much and I can't wait until Tanner and I get our own pet.

Today I was on call but wasn't needed so I did a bunch of errands and things which made me feel pretty good. I went to the Dollar Store first, of course, and discovered that they carry the brand of perogies that Tanner and I love. For $1! I can't believe we didn't know this and have spent so much time and money finding the same brand at grocery stores for more money. I'm going back soon to stock up. Then a quick trip to Hannafords and a load of laundry (while watching Harry Potter of course). I've also been making origami cranes. I put it on my list of things to do before my next birthday to make at least 20 cranes and I have 51 sheets of paper so I'll probably end up making 51. I only have five done so far and I'm definitely getting better. I used this tutorial and mostly followed the video which is easier than the drawn instructions. I'm pretty excited!

pillowcase skirts

I really should have made this post last week but laziness isn't a crime. I have now made four pillowcase skirts (and a shirt and dress last summer). Lately I've been looking at everything as fabric and what I could possibly make out of it. Pillowcases are so ready to be skirts or dresses! This all really started last summer when I jumped more into diy and blogs and that was when I learned about the summer of no pants. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner! Last summer I started wearing skirts and dresses more often but it's so hard to do that when you live in the northeast and summer could be 60 degrees and pouring rain at best. Really- try living in the mountains. I did what I could but one of my jobs was waitressing at an outdoor restaurant and skirts would not have been a good idea but I tried my best with my other job. When this summer approached I kept the idea in mind but Portland is only a little south and way east on the coast. So rain and lots of it. And cool winds. There were times when I just had to wear pants. And then recently I wore fewer pants, but I did sneak in a lot of shorts because it was just so hot, and I unconsciously made it the summer of no pants for me! I love it. I think that was my inspiration to make these pillowcase skirts. I feel most comfortable in skirts and dresses and incredibly feminine but strong and empowered. Almost like I have something to prove by being girly and wearing a skirt but not being a weak and helpless child.

Back to my pillowcases! Once I got all of my materials I looked around for an easy tutorial that didn't involve sewing the elastic. I sew by hand, which takes forever but I seem to break sewing machines easily, and I have no experience sewing elastic. It didn't take long until I found this super easy tutorial and got started right away. If I had a machine it probably would have taken me twenty to thirty minutes tops but because I'm old fashioned and easily distracted, it took almost two hours for one skirt. With the first one I did (the purple one), I only used one pillowcase because I forgot that my waist isn't the size of a small child's so it isn't as fluffy as I wanted but I still like it. If I'm feeling ambitious and have an afternoon to waste, I'll rip part of it out and add the second pillowcase to make it fuller. With the rest I used two pillowcases and they turned out wonderfully. The brown one is a different material though and it came out a bit shorter than I had anticipated because it's stiffer than 100% cotton. But I love them all and I can't wait to make more skirts and dresses!

looking forward

Tanner is getting ready (slowly) to leave for New York again and for the last time this summer. In ten days I will join him so we can spend the last day of camp together and then celebrate his birthday with his family. I'm so excited to go back to New York and especially to spend time with his family. They're such wonderful people and I'm so appreciative of everything they've done for me and Tanner (we've been missing our homes and families a lot lately). In light of all of the exciting things coming up on our growing horizons, I want to make a list of all the cool stuff I'm looking forward to. Sorry summer, I'm growing up now and I don't dislike fall so much anymore.

:: My super fun family time visit with Tanner's family- most especially watching his dad's magic show for the first time at a county fair.

:: Cooler breezes at night to help air out our stuffy little apartment.

:: Fall colors in the trees! 

:: Visiting Saranac Lake and seeing the beautiful Adirondack Mountains in all their autumnal glory.

:: The smell of cool earth as it prepares for a cold and frozen winter.

:: Wearing sweater tights and boots and scarves.

:: Making vegetable/beef stew.

:: Lots of cups of tea and hot chocolate.

:: Exploring this Northeastern coast in a new season!

happy August!

I truly cannot believe it's already August! Where did my summer go? Tanner leaves soon for his last two weeks at camp and I'll meet him out there for the very last day and then his birthday which I am very excited about. But until then I'll be working a whole bunch and doing many crafts and trying to enjoy the last days of summer beautifulness. I think I'm still in school mode because summer isn't really over yet but it feels to me like it's coming to an end. At least I don't need to do any back to school shopping. This will be my first fall not in school and I think now is when it will really hit me that I'm not in school anymore.

I made a decision at work about my summer reading goals. The last two weeks I've been so inspired to make things and be crafty that I haven't read anywhere near as much as I wanted to. I think it was unrealistic of me to set a reading goal for the summer when I am the most scatterbrained and creative. Tanner and I have had some wonderful adventures and visits and lazy days and I shouldn't have expected myself to be reading through those times. So my big decision is to alter my goal to ten books per season. That's still pretty big for me especially if I start substitute teaching this fall. But I feel much better about this and I think it will relieve some of the pressure I've been feeling to finish so many books.

As summer comes to an end people I work with are getting ready to leave and cutting back on hours which is good for me and my many bills. But one of my closest friends is leaving soon and probably won't be back to work until December. In the meantime my friend Allison and I are hopping to go to Shakespeare in the park tomorrow evening at the Deering Oaks park. Tanner and I have been wanting to go to a jazz club lately and soon I think we'll get a chance to do it. I also want to do some late summer/early fall camping and traveling around Maine and New Hampshire if possible. So I guess I'm not too sad about the closing of summer.

Happy last month of summer!

down the coast

Yesterday Tanner and I had a wonderful day off together for once. I wore a nautical inspired outfit complete with a purple whale necklace (I've been making skirts from pillowcases lately using this tutorial). We drove the short distance south to Ogunquit in the early afternoon and drove around for a little bit before finding parking and walking to the beach. It was a little overcast and windy but the sun was warm and it was a bit humid. We laid out our towels and ate our small but yummy picnic of sandwiches and twizzlers and chocolate snacks and honey mead (which we discovered we don't like too much). It was so nice to be laying on the beach and hearing the ocean so close, the lifeguard whistling, kids laughing and shouting, seeing kites in the sky, families playing bocce ball, and so many other fantastic beach activities. After we ate and laid comfortably in the sun, Tanner decided it would be fun to feed the gulls that were hanging around. Okay, fun. Then he sticks around a more come for some food. Not as fun. At least we didn't get pooed on.

We left shortly after and walked around Ogunquit looking for a bathroom and on our journey we were recommended to a steak house in Wells and set it as our new destination. We got there and it was so packed that we had a forty minute wait. We went back outside to the car and sat in the open back and I played a game on my ipod while Tanner played his guitar and took pictures. Once inside we had a wonderful steak dinner with lots of leftovers and sleepy eyes. It was sad to leave, at least for me, because we had such a great day together and on the beach and it felt like we were on vacation. Getting up for work this morning was not fun but we're planning a camping trip in Wells sometime this fall or next spring and I can't wait!