Eclectic Circle

Sometimes I wonder if there might be something to those "My husband is a moron!" commercials. Obviously they are total exaggerations but still, when things like this happen..

So, Jeremy does not wrap my presents if I am not staying with him for the holidays; in fact, he usually doesn't wrap them even then; one year he got Amazon wrapping, and mostly he has his mother do the wrapping for him. He is hopeless. This year, since I am not out there for the holiday, he just had them mailed to me. Here are the three things he intended to get me:
1 Sime 3 basegame Official Strategy Guide
1 Sims 3: World Adventures Official Strategy Guide
1 Jasmine Beckett-Smith Dogtag Necklace from Etsy

Here is what actually arrived in the mail:
3x Sims 3 basegame Official Strategy Guides
1 Sims 3: World Adventures Official Strategy Guide
1 Sims 3: World Aventures Expansion Pack
1 Jasmine Beckett-Smith Dogtag Necklace from Etsy.

See the extras in there? APPARENTLY, he accidentally added 2 basegame strategy guides to the order and didn't notice until it was too late to edit. I thought "Meh" and got over it, until the next day another strategy guide along with the expansion pack (which I already have) came in the mail, at which point I found out that the original order he made he'd accidentally sent to my grad school Ithaca address. *facepalm*

I'd think it were funnier if it didn't mean I have to mess about with a bunch of returns crap. Also, seriously? I mean, the one extra game guide I could sort of see, but a whole order that was almost completely wrong? You'd think after the first mistake he would have been extra careful not to make any more. He claims he was "tired" but I suspect he was high. Except that he doesn't do drugs.

*shakes head*

ALSO I AM FREEZING PLS TO HAZ SNUGGY?

So i'm still sewing a few gifts for xmas. My mind has already shut down and i've been super emotional the past few days. Tonight i'm going to pick up the last of what i need and to drop off a few items at rarefunk for last minute shoppers.
I didn't get to make a corset for myself which i'm sad about. also kevins new winter jacket i haven't even started even though itwas a gift. I plan to finish his jacket in between new years and xmas along with my corset. I feel like i owe mysel at least to do that.
kevin seems fine with me not even stating his jacket he knows i need the other one i made him for the pattern and it should only take at max 2 hours to complete. 

So today i got some last minute shipping to do as well sending out some gifts to friends and a few ordered tems. I will not be shipping from tomorrow till the 3rd of january to givve myself a break and recharge.

What i'd like to get done today.

1. finish xmas gifts
2. finish wrapping
3. email clients and rarefunk
4. go shipping
5. go to rarefunk
6. eat dinner
7. get drunk

yes getting shit faced is actually on my list!

Okay so lack of CC for my sims 3 game has gotten to me, and FINALLY there's enough out there for me to look through.. But it's so god damned CONFUSING. I don't know what I am doing *cry* Every thing I find it seems like they assume I have some basic knowledge of what to do and I know it's different than sims 2 because the tutorial I had with some peggy sims hair I got (i think it was peggy) had this really complicated way of installing and when I followed the instructions it never did work.

I did end up finding a program thingie on MTS and that worked for the peggy hair but anything that is a sims3pack file won't install for some reason and it won't show up in my game, even the stuff from the official sims 3 exchange. I HATE THIS. I love the gameplay but the CC debacles is just fucking ridiculous. FAIL, EA, FAIL.

And mostly i hate it because it makes me feel like such a noob but i swear if there are posts out there that break it down cut and dry, I'm not finding them. Nor am I finding any on why installing the CC from the exchange isn't working, except for one workaround that, well, didn't work.

 
Not much i want to talk about yet, but i had a terrifying dream that made me so sad this morning and started crying when kevin left for work.

The dream just ment huge changes, which does happen for alot of people this time of year. It was one of those dreams that really get u though and make your mind race.

Good gods i'm glad i'll be on a bit of a vacation for the next few days!

I read a book on improving self-esteem recently, and one of the very first chapters was about lying.

Now, I have a few secrets, just like everybody else, and I've been known to partake in those little social graces ('white' lies) every now and then, but I generally live a fairly honest existance. I was tempted to discard the chapter as non-relevant. But, something about it stuck in my head; I wanted to figure out how it was applicable.

I finally just sat down to write out various interpretations, and I think I hit pay dirt: projects.

I'm an idea person. I love coming up with new things to do, but rarely have the intestinal fortuitude to complete a project that takes more than, say, a week's worth of effort. Yet, I always hang on to these old projects, convinced that I'll finally get around to it.

I wrote down 15 unfinished projects off the top of my head, within 5 minutes. I cringed when I wrote a few. This obviously weighs heavily on my mind, and I didn't even realize it!

Being completely honest with myself, some of these will never be done.

So, I've decided to go through a project-ruptcy. I need to list all of my unfinished projects, prioritize the ones that were promises to other people (probably based on % completion - I don't even want to think how late some of these are), and 'forgive my debt' of the others. Then, put myself on a realistic written schedule for completing the ones left.

I'm going to be adding some of these little 'year at a glance' calendars to both my shops soon. [Under 10$!] Custom orders on them are fine [which basically just means you can request which images goes on it.] you just have to message/email me if you are interested.

Our new evil neighbors and their annoying dog were gone for almost two weeks. It was wonderful and i was hoping they'd be gone till after christmas, but no, they are back. I felt myself get tense as soon as i realized. Ugh. I miss the peace we had before.

So yesterday i ended up getting alot done! i am now half done two corsets! Kevin finished some niftty distressed leather goggles while i worked away last night. Its hard to believe but in two hours i can get almost half a corset done! I wrapped gifts yesterday too and made dinner! gee whats going on! I still have days where i have alot of energy leeking and need to feed at least once. its hard to feed on energy when u don't have anyone to feed on! I've been practicing surface feeding in crowds. this is working really good right now because everywhere is busy due to xmas, but sometimes you get unwanted energy that ends up ruining the good stuff u take in. all in all i've been pretty good this time and not allowing myself to give out energy when there is problems. i am worring about stuff less and relaxing. In fact the corsets are going so well cause i'm siply letting go. So today though i got alot to get done and start to finish off. 1. xmas presents work on 2. work on stuff for sale 3. get white glitter corset mostly done 4. Finish little green bloomers 5. cut out pirate shirt 6. list website 7. Missy and rebecca come over wow i'm being so productive!

Tim and I met crossbonesdj and her hubby at this wonderful wine & cheese boutique in Alexandria, Cheesetique. Their cheese selection was quite amazing, particularly considering how small the store was - they might even have a bigger variety than Southern Season. We were able to get a table and had a lovely cheese-tastic dinner. The two of them were able to give me lots of tips about how to spend my evenings during my remaining time in DC on this contract. :)

YAY for mid-week socializing! And YAY for cheese! ;)

Etsy Buy Handmade keepingstill

Still adding stuff, will be for a while, but there you go.
Also created a 2nd flickr account, to post the images going into the shop.
You can find that [here]

i've been tired and wired at night! i can't seem to get to sleep until 1 or 2 pm. i get this cycle every 3 months or less. Very tired and takes me forever to wake in the morning and then very full of energy at night.

I've been working on xmas gifts which is good but i really need to start wraping them cause they r taking over the office! I still have a few to make but all seems well and i'm looking forward to a bit of a break.


not much else but here is my list

1. shower
2. work on xmas corset
3. xmas gifts
4. corset order
5. wrap gifts

i wanted to list some new products but its so dull out today!

Strangely, in a choice between The Hebrew Hammer and Fifth Element tonight, Fifth Element won. Yes, I'm as shocked as anyone.

Last week, we picked up a strange fruit called Buddha's Hand, mostly because it looks like some sort of exotic sea creature. It turns out it is the world's oldest variety of citron, and has a lovely odor. Most of the recipes I could find using this unique fruit were either to simply candy it, or to use it to flavor vodka.

After using a little bit of its zest in tea and salads, we realized there was WAY too much for us to eat that way, so Tim bought a bottle of Absolute Vodka and we sliced up the remaining Hand. The bright yellow is a very pretty contrast to the blue logo on the bottle. :) Hopefully it will be a tasty treat for whatever New Year's Eve party we end up attending.

So my second shop is shaping up to include mostly still life images, though there are a few people shots i'll be putting in there as well. Pretty much all the stuff that was taken with a lot less heart and thought.

So i'm wondering if i should lower the prices on the prints a little bit. What do you guys think?

Finally settled on a shop name, and i'll post links to everything new when i add more stuff to it.

so the weekend was a blur but lots of stuff happening! friday night i went to kevin's work party! I turned my leather jacket into a mad max type of tail coat wore a nice black corset, cleaveg shirt and my big skirt! right before i started eating my stomach was so sore i had to get kevin to un tie my corset a bit. it hurt so bad i just thought i wasn't used to it since i hadn't been wearing the corset in a few months. then by the time we got home i was so ill i never wanted to eat again! Saturday morning i could not move i wanted to stay in bed but my back hurt too much. i had no energy. We were to go to other friends party that night and i soooo felt like shit. by the time 6pm came i felt like nothing had happened!

This was so weird i guess its one of those bugs that come and go. So we ended up going to the party and it was pretty good!
Then sunday i vended at the bellydance show and got to see all the cool costumes i made for everyone! i also sold quite a bit and took lots of orders for dreads! it seems anyone who dances there wears a set of dreads i have made!

Sunday night i was so tired i could not stay awake! had no idea i was that tired!

the pic is of me before the bellydance show with my new pine green wig.


now this week will be intresting! i have some xmas gifts to finish for the saturday and a custom order to have ready for the sunday.

so i need to pick things up from the fabric store this week, i already ordered my supplies so they should be here soon.

my list!

1. work on xmas gifts
2. order supplies
3. wrap some gifts
4. start custom xmas outfit
5. make dinner
6. organize studio

I have a series of 3 presents for Tim (for his birthday), so gave him present #1 on Friday night. Little did I know that this would end up superseding any other plans for the night - he sat there and read over half of the book on the spot! :)

Thankfully, I also got a book for myself to read: How to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden.

Yes, you can laugh. No, I don't think I've got terrible self-esteem, I promise. :) I just recognize when I'm around people who have better self-esteem/confidence, and I marvel at the energy they exude - so I figured it couldn't hurt to read a book about improving my own, and see if any of it is applicable.

After reading the book, though, I realized that it would be a great book for a discussion group. I would be keenly interested in hearing how others felt some of the techniques and examples could be applied to their lives. Unfortunately, I didn't identify with the issues in a couple of chapters, but perhaps I would if someone shared a different perspective of the material.

Anyhow, I'm tempted to go through the exercises in a semi-public way. I don't really have much to hide (OMG I was an awkward middle-schooler with braces and a bad perm! What a revelation! I'm sure you're all SHOCKED!), and I can see how it might be interesting to read. Sometimes it's good to share. But, I'm on the fence on that - so pipe up if you'd like to see what's in my head.

The rest of the weekend was pretty productive. We dropped off donations, cleaned house, helped Mom with her Christmas decorating, made spice cookies, and spent a lot of time cuddling with the kitties before heading back up to DC. :)

sittingstill
stayingstill
keepingstill
spillingover
leakinglight


and that's about all i've come up with in 24 hours.