Ugh! Why do I torture myself so?

Today I did a kettlebell workout for the first time in…well, let’s just not go there, shall we? Anyway, as I was doing it, I realized that I was gonna have to do some shopping. My several-year-old worn-through-a-pregnancy sports bra just wasn’t up to the job. My muscles weren’t the only things a bit sore after that. 😮

Believe it or not, that wasn’t the torture–the torture was the visit to Old Navy afterwards. The options around here for sports bras is kind of limited, and so is my budget, so I thought I’d check them out and maybe pick up a couple of nicer-than-I-have-now t-shirts while I was at it. <–Stupidest. Idea. Ever. Ok, well, maybe not quite as stupid as this:

Image found via Google

But still, it was pretty close. Partly because I *never* find anything there that I like, but mostly because the quality is exceptionally bad. Seriously, I tried on a sweater thingy and I could literally see my bra through it!! Yes, yes, light colored stripes, dark colored bra, yadda yadda, but still–it’s a freaking sweater. And don’t even get me started on the weirdly square shoulder points that were on everything I tried (and no it wasn’t from hangers–they were all folded). How do people wear that stuff and think it’s acceptable? If you’re looking for 1980’s power-suit-turned-sweater-like-shirt (and it didn’t even have shoulder pads–it simply defied gravity!) Old Navy’s gotcha covered. I will say that I was *thisclose* to buying a K-State tee from there because it was cute, but when I tried it on I realized that I’d constantly be pulling on it–I can’t put my finger on it, but something was off enough to have it twisting up and over my chest in the 30 seconds I was wearing it. Plus it was $22…I’m not going to pay extra for the privilege of pulling my shirt down all the time.

Someday I’m going to have to learn…I just am too picky to buy clothes anymore. Or at least not clothes that are in my current budget. So I guess I’m either going to have to “cheat” at a different store, or my sewing productivity is going to have to undergo a massive increase.

And in case you were wondering, I never did end up buying a sports bra….

Where oh where did my little tub go?

It seems that we’ve lost a few really random things in our move. So far we’ve been unable to locate:

• An entire cosmetic bag–I had a decent amount of makeup and now it’s lost in the ether.
• My hairdryer and curling irons. As you can probably guess, whether I like it or not, I officially don’t have a beauty routine…
• The container that stows away all of my plastic grocery bags that we use to line the diaper pail. This sucks, probably worse than the first two things. Those buggers are kind of expensive.
• My “sewing essentials” tub. This had my marking devices, seam rippers, buttonhole/eyelet chisels, fray check, one of those expensive Gingher seam razor blade things, and a few other bits ‘n bobs that are kind of crucial to sewing. Not only that, but they’re going to be kind of expensive to replace. 😥

I know that there’s always stuff lost in a move, but we’ve never lost this kind (or this much!) of stuff before.

In other news, the sewing room is nearly unpacked, organized, and ready to go. I’ve got a mess with the patterns, but we bought a “new” (ok, I’m pretty sure it’s older than I am) filing cabinet with like 5 drawers for the business, and I’m claiming the bottom drawer for the house stuff that’s currently residing in the lower drawer of my sewing room filing cabinet. So then I’ll have a second drawer in my little two drawer sewing room cabinet for the rest of my patterns. Yay! 🙂 If I fill that one up, there’s going to have to be a purge, because I want organization this time around.

Speaking of organization, does anyone have any good tips for storing the tracings they do of pattern pieces? That’s the one thing that my old sewing room seemed to be inundated with–bits of tissue paper pattern pieces that swirled around, got stepped on, wedged under the door, ripped on the ironing board, etc. It takes a lot of time to trace all those off, so I’d like a good way to store them that keeps them intact, but doesn’t require a lot of space/plastic baggies/etc. I think I’m going to do a better job of throwing the ones that didn’t work away though–I used to keep them to retrace smaller pieces on, but it just makes a mess…

 

Gratuitous sewing room photo/sneak peek.

Things that tick me off Thursday: Thanksgiving Edition

To my fellow US sewists, I want to wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving. May you have many blessings to be thankful for. 🙂

So my (well, actually my hubby gave me the idea) peeve today is the Thanksgiving day parade. It would really be nice if we could actually see more of the parade and less of the yahoos behind the table. So CBS, if you are listening, cut down on the camera time for the goofballs and give us more of the actual parade. Does this annoy anyone else?

Anyway, keeping it short and sweet today so that I don’t miss out on getting stuff in the oven on time! Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving, start of Hanukkah, or just a fantastic Thursday!! 😉

Things that tick me off Thursday

Thank you all so much for the kind words about our big news! 🙂 I didn’t respond to everyone individually, especially those with blogger since I know that it’s nearly impossible to remember to come back and read feedback on each post you’ve commented on…but I wanted you to know that I appreciate the kind words. 🙂

Still no sewing here. 😦 The spare bath facelift continues apace though, so hopefully by next week I’ll have a nicer, fully functioning, spare bath. I’d share some pics, but honestly the current state is too terrifying for small children and normal adults.

So instead, I’ve got a peeve for you! This one goes out to all my pregnant sisters and those who have been pregnant. It’s the jeans. Or well, all of the pants for maternity really. Gah! Even those of you who haven’t had a bun in the oven have surely seen those terrible contraptions. There seem to be 2 types: the first has a tall tube that is lightweight, and the second has a short waistband that is rather thick. Both suck.

The lightweight tube is hard (and let’s be real; annoying) to pull up, and it kind of squeezes in at an uncomfortable spot once you get to a certain level of pregnant. And then there’s the short waistband version….I’m not sure what woman those work for, but either she carries a lot higher than I do or she’s simply got a lot more patience to deal with them. They flip/roll and are kind of tight over your bladder (not good when you’ve already got a little bladder dancer!).

And lastly we come to the “capri length”. There’s several things about these that just piss me off, even without the waistband issues mentioned above. The first is that it might as well be a flashing neon sign that says “I’m knocked up”–ya know, assuming the belly doesn’t give it away. 😉 No one else wears this particular length and cut–only pregnant women. It’s like they took a pair of flares that had some sort of flaw on the bottom of the leg, said “hey, just cut it off for the pregnant gals”, threw one of those crappy waistbands on, and charged an extra $15 a pair. The other main thing that pisses me off is; WHO IN THEIR RIGHT $%^&#%! MIND DECIDED THAT CUTTING THE JEANS OFF AT THE EXACT SPOT WHERE THE ANKLES AND LOWER CALVES START TO SWELL WAS A GOOD IDEA?!?!?! REALLY?! Nothing like making those areas look even more unattractive than they already do, because there’s nothing a pregnant woman wants more than an unflattering capri-like thing when she already feels like a hormonal beached whale. Way to boost the ‘ol confidence there. 🙄

Oh, and here’s a little bonus peeve that relates to the above. Why is it that once you tack the word “maternity” onto something it suddenly becomes at least 2x more expensive? As though babies aren’t expensive enough they gotta charge double for a glorified tee shirt?! I’m not even convinced they add extra space for the belly as tight as they seem to be on some (actually, I’d probably say most) women, so why the premium?

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got, so hope ya’ll have a great weekend!! 🙂

Things that tick me off Thursday

This one’s a quickie–really! 😉

So we went to one of those restaurants with the serve-yourself type drink stations, and some asshole had 2 of the clear water cups and proceeded to fill them with soda. WTF?! If you didn’t pay for soda, you don’t get it. Otherwise it’s thievery, and will likely ruin it for the rest of us who are actually honest and get the water we said we were going to get. So I know that none of my lovely readers are like that asshole, but hopefully if you see it you’ll call them on it. I didn’t and I should have, and it bugs me. I’m generally outspoken to a fault, so I’m still not sure why I didn’t.

See? I told you it would be a quickie, and for once I was right! 😉 Hope ya’ll have a fantastic weekend! Hopefully, I’ll have something more interesting to post about next week.

Things that tick me off Thursday

Thursdays are so therapeutic, you know? For example, today I’ve got a peeve that has been bugging me for several years, but I finally had the perfect example to use to explain what ticks me off and why.

You see, it really irritates me when someone asks for an opinion they don’t really want. We’ve all had this happen right? Someone asks for an opinion, you assume they legitimately want one, so you carefully construct a written/verbal response that may not agree with what they said/did/want, but tactfully–so as not to hurt their feelings.

A prime example of this? The other day my mother calls to ask about buying a computer. I’ve bought a couple of them in my time and have done some research, so I figured she legitimately wanted an opinion on what specs she needed/wanted for what she planned to do with the computer (which is not much besides email and occasional web surfing). I asked her what she planned to use it for, (just to be sure) and gave her some specs to consider. That’s when she mentioned that she’s already set on a computer that’s expensive and over powered, and she’s unwilling to consider anything else. Which is fine, it’s her money, but if all she wanted was reaffirmation that she’s right, why didn’t she just ask for that to start with?

So in closing, don’t ask for an opinion if you don’t really want it. Just save everyone the trouble and be honest and say you want everyone to tell you that you are right/awesome/etc. Now, wasn’t that just so much easier for everyone?

Things that tick me off Thursday

Reviews. I love them, and truth be known, probably rely a bit too heavily on them. So I really get annoyed whenever someone writes a review on a product that they’ve never even tried, whether it’s positive or negative. An example that I found recently? “Tony C’s” review here. Personally, I loved the comment left on the review where my new hero said

No one gives a rat’s behind what you think of a product that you haven’t bought or used.

My sentiments exactly “A Tool Guy”, my sentiments exactly. Why bother to do that? And do they really think that’s useful to someone who is looking to purchase something?

I mean, I could say that someone should definitely buy that low-end Janome, because I’ve used a low-end Bernina, and they both sew pieces of fabric together, so I’m totally qualified to give you a review on a machine I’ve never seen or operated….right?! Uh, no. Sure, it’s a bit different than the example above which is over a simple product with minimal ways to screw it up, but the basic idea carries over everything. If you haven’t used it (or even seen it in person), don’t review it!!

The other thing I hate about reviews…or maybe at this point I should be saying one of the many other things I hate about people is that thing where they mark reviews as ‘unhelpful’ and the only reason that they seem to do it is by virtue of the fact that the reviewer disagrees with them. I mean, you can’t see exactly who did it, but it usually seems to correspond fairly closely with the number of reviews that are the opposite of the one being voted down. Really, check that out sometime, it’s mindblowing. (Unless the review really is irrelevant, and then that doesn’t seem to apply.)

That’s all for this time. I’m sure I’ll be able to rustle up another thing that ticks me off soon, because I know you love it. 😉

Things that tick me off Thursday

This is going to be a rather controversial peeve, I’m sure, but it’s one that just absolutely grates on my (old-fashioned, apparently) nerves. Everyone loves their cell phones, I get it, really I do. In fact, if mine did all the cool stuff that most people’s did, I’d probably be more addicted to mine too…..BUT….there is no excuse for being on it whilst in the checkout line, at the dinner table, etc. etc.

If you are eating dinner, you shouldn’t be talking on the phone–pay attention to your family and/or your food (you wouldn’t want to accidentally swallow a hair or stray fly because you’re too absorbed in your call/text/surfing to notice it do you? ewww) and respect the other diners who maybe don’t want to listen to you shout into your cell phone at a neighboring table (or even all the way across the restaurant in some cases). Of course, I also hate this at my own table as well…if it’s that urgent, please excuse yourself from the table.

If you are shopping or checking out, you should also not be on the phone. It’s rude to the cashiers, rude to other customers, and again, no one wants to listen to your drama at an increased volume while they wait as patiently as possible in a long line behind you waiting for you to key in your eff-in’ PIN already!!

No idea if he really said that, but I thought it fit.

I’ve debated posting this, because I know how controversial it’s going to be, but I decided that this is my platform to rant, so I’m going to utilize it. Please! I’m begging you to use your cell phone responsibly!!

Things that tick me off Thursday

I hate pretty much everything about buying a new (or just new-to-me) car. I can’t think of any redeeming features about the whole process except the car at the end, and really, we all know that that can be a bit of a gamble.

But I think it helps that I’m a research-a-holic. I want to know everything about something before I purchase. I researched for at least a month before buying a TV, yo. I’m serious about getting the most bang for the buck. So when I research a car, I check the car ratings, the safety ratings, the fuel economy (especially from actual drivers if available), and then finally, months later, I’ll have it narrowed down to one or two models and we go test drive. (That might be an exaggeration. Ok, it’s probably  not.) 😳

And that, my darling readers, is where it really starts to go to hell. I would imagine it’s fairly universal that car salesmen suck. I bought our current car (the one we’re looking to replace) when I was heavily pregnant in 2006. I’m still getting emails from dealerships where there were cars I simply inquired about 6 years ago!!! Even after I’ve sent multiple “unsubscribe” requests because obviously, at this point, I’ve found a freakin’ car!! So, note to you guys, don’t ever use that email feature on cars.com or autotrader.com etc., because you will never be removed from the mailing list.

Some of the things that have actually happened to us when attempting to purchase a car:

• Been yelled at by a manager for not buying a car we didn’t want.
• Had the salesguy test drive with us and interject over every comment we made about the car (it was a car we didn’t like). He doesn’t have to like it, but he didn’t need to keep interrupting and telling us we were wrong either. Seriously, the policy where the salesman rides with you is bullshit. You know who I am, where I live, my cell phone number, that I have insurance, and probably ran a background check on me that would impress the freakin’ CIA. I. don’t. need. you. to. come. with. me. I’m not a toddler, mmmmkay? I promise that I can handle this car on the big scary road all by myself.
• I’m the one that does all the research, so it really annoys me when the salesmen assume that I know absolutely nothing about the car except “ooh, such a pretty color” or “look it has those same flappy things on the windshield that my car does!” I mean really. 🙄 Some do handle it better than others though, I will say that.
• Been lied to. (Seriously, if you’re going to try and sell me a car as from a nonsmoking previous owner, you’d damn well better make sure it doesn’t still stink like a freakin’ ashtray. How was I supposed to miss that?)
• Salesmen who know nothing about the car–such as the difference between FWD and AWD. Really?! You can’t tell? Maybe you need to go to “car college“. (Link NSFW. I ❤ Ron White, even if he is crude.)
• Recently we were just looking to see if they had the car we’re looking at in a couple of colors to help us come to a decision (just driving through the lot browsing while killing time before meeting with some friends) and a salesguy comes out to talk to us and takes up what little time we had telling us random crap about how  crappy my car is (really dimwit? I drive it every day!) and how he had went to a party where we were “from” and found out that one of the cars for sale actually did get the mileage promised and thank the lord because he didn’t have any money to buy gas. There was so much WTF going on there it makes my head hurt. Funny thing is? We’d determined they didn’t even have the car we wanted on that lot (they had two lots and we were on the wrong one) and were leaving when he stopped us!
• The push to sell you the extras too. “I already have great insurance that I’m very happy with.” “No, I don’t want the GAP coverage.” “I don’t live in this town, what good will it do me to have ‘free’ carwashes?” “I have been able to change my own oil since I was a freshman in high school, I’m pretty sure I can figure it out….”

We haven’t finished the process on this one yet, so I’m sure there’s gonna be something I could add to this list, but unfortunately I can’t see into the future. If only.

Car buying sucks, I can’t wait for this time to be over.

Things that tick me off Thursday

So now that Christmas is over, I think I can safely post this little rant that I have about Christmas music.

I hate those stupid cutesy songs that aren’t really Christmassy. Songs like “Jingle Bell Rock”, or one of the many tacky variations of “The 12 Days of Christmas” (extra evil if you modify that song to advertise whatever crap you’re selling as though the original isn’t tedious enough on it’s own), or “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas”…the list goes on, but my patience wears thin. I guess I tend more toward the traditional carols myself, in moderation. I don’t need Christmas music 24/7 from Halloween until Christmas day. Really. And I’m pretty sure that no one else does either.

Also, traditional carols? They really need a group of people–like say, a choir–to do them justice. So while I’m well aware that <insert music star name here> has talent, their version of _______ carol just falls flat. I might consider Elvis to be an exception to this…sort of…or maybe not. It depends on my mood, I guess?

So, while I’m sure you’ll disagree with me, it feels better to get that off my chest. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, no matter how you celebrated, and my next post will be a Top 5 of 2012, so be waiting anxiously for that, because there will be mention of a certain project you haven’t seen yet…. 😉