Coming Clean

Remember how I was all proud about losing 45 pounds?

Well I gained 20 back.

I know I know. "But focus on you losing the 25 pounds."

Whatever.

I'm back to blogging as of this minute. Facebook has taken over my life (Lauren Mari Hufft Gifford if you want to friend me. FYI: I don't Farmville, Fish ville or any ville so don't think I'm going to increase your levels. I'll block you the minute you invite me to join some game. No poker blitz, either.)

Tricia has been calling me a lazy bastard for not blogging.

Yeah yeah yeah.

So I'll take the hour outta the day that I spend on Book of Face and come back

1. I'm sugar free for the past week. Yeah me!
2. Did my first hoop class. It rocked. 4 more weeks & my goal is to hoop with FIRE at Burning Man.
3. We are getting a weekly box of produce. I promise that none of it will end up in the compost pile.
4. I'll post pic's tomorrow.

I'm back. Whatever Patricia. Whatever.

199 and holding

Yeah. 199 and holding. I really want that 192 back but it will come in time. Hopefully in the next 2 weeks. And honestly I'm still in ONEderland which makes me a happy girl.

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You asked for it.
(Not really but you're going to get it anyway.)
MORE Burning Man pics!

This is inside an installation called "Fire Tear"
I'm laying on my back looking up into the center.

This one pretty much says it all.
That's me on my dog bike. His name is Winston.
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In other news:

This is my friend Katie.
I hooked her up with the yellow petticoat.
She was Candy Corn for Halloween!

Katie & I met years ago on a weight loss support group message board. I had mentioned that tickets for Burning Man were going on sale the next day & she bought one for herself.

She didn't know anything about Burning Man except what I had told her.

She flew from New Jersey to Reno, was picked up at the airport by a friend of mine since Steve & I were at a wedding, hung out at our house waiting for us to show up and then traveled another 90 miles to the Nevada desert for her first Burning Man experience.

She got involved in fire spinning and the regional burn in Delaware called "Playa del Fuego". They burn a horse at that event.

She also met the man of her dreams: Nate.

In 2008 she brought Nate with her to Burning Man.

In 2009 Nate proposed to her at Burning Man.

Over the weekend they called me and have asked me to marry them next Oct. I'm honored to have such a huge roll in their wedding. (What would Micheal Scott do?)

"We want you to let your freak flag fly!" they said to me on the phone. "We want this to be a very Burning Man inspired wedding."

"Don't look better than the Bride" said Steve.

I promise Katie, I won't.

Brown rice is my friend aka an empty colon is a happy colon

Burning Man campmates
2009

I'm all the way to the left in the lime green dress.
The guy holding me is my buddy O Canada from
(wait for it.... wait for it....
wait
for
it....)
Canada!
Part of our camp had left including Steve before the picture had been taken.
I stayed an extra 2 days after this was taken.
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Me and my buddy Kai.

I do craft shows with her Mom all summer & fall.
She's my buddy.
This is at Apple Hill, California.
Don't you love our tie-dyed pumpkin shirts?? Yeah. I'm rocking the stripes.
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Fashion Shoot.

Yeah. That's really my purple hair. No extensions.
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Day #2

I got up early this morning & took a hooping class. I have to work on my opposite direction hooping. New goal: Hoop with fire next year at Burning Man.

I had a break thru this afternoon. Have I told you guys that I'm doing a fashion show in Dec and it's featuring all my fashions?? I thought there would be other designers but no. Just me.

It's called "Luscious Ladies: A FAT girl Fashion show".

Tomorrow is the shoot for the poster along with the model call. Sorry Miss size 12. You have to be at least a size 14+ to play in our game.

I'm starting tonight on a gold/maroon brocade tuxedo with this amazing fur collar & cuffs. Pants will be made from the opposite side of the brocade fabric with a fur cuff at bottom.

I'll take pics & post as I go along.

So happy to be back!

So It's Nov 1st and I'm back.

What I did on my summer and now Fall vacation.

I went to Burning Man for 12! days.

That's me in the mirror. Big Bess is our newest Van!
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And that's me last night at the Freakers Ball.
My friend Lenae took this pic. I think I rocked it!
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So where to begin.

First off I was down to 192 which put me at 40 pounds lost for this year. Then I had a pb sandwich at Burning man & it was my catalyst to gain back about 9 pounds.

I'm feeling healthy but a little clunky right now. I'm going anti-sugar, no caffeine, and getting off the allergy foods. I want to get rid of that 10-15 pounds by Christmas. Hello cheap city run gym membership. Joining tomorrow morning & getting a 2 month membership.

My summer rocked! I was gone virtually every weds to Sunday in Tahoe. Rented an awesome room in a cabin by the Upper Truckee River. It's a house that crafter friends of mine have & they offered me the room. (According to spell check "crafter" is misspelled. huh.)

Anyway... Burning Man was incredible. I was on the Playa for 12 days. I interviewed/auditioned for a job for next year and got it. I'll be an art tour guide! Very very excited!

We still have the crank van & it's running great. Found a mechanic who actually knew what he was doing & got it up & running. It even passed smog! Yeah!

Oh and I have a facebook account. Lauren Mari Hufft Gifford is the name to look for. You can also become a fan of the store Prism Magic Clothing & Imports.

Speaking of the store. Me love me store!

Seriously.

I'm getting rid of the vintage & moving more into the sex/corsets/dance/plus size clothing.

I went to a lingerie/erotica convention in Vegas & just fell in love with the clothes. I'll post some pic's later this week.

What else? Ok. This is HUGE!!

I'm doing a fashion show in Dec. It's called (get this) "Luscious Ladies: A Fat Girl Fashion Show" for women size 14 +.

I'm doing all the outfits. Twenty five different outfits. I'll be sewing most of them including a WEDDING GOWN. Of course it's not going to be a "normal" wedding gown. I just can't do "normal".

Model casting happens this Weds or Thurs. Photo shoot with myself & Meredith (the woman who owns the space that we're having it at) happens on Weds afternoon.

Me spinning fire at Burning Man on the Shiva Vista stage. I helped work on the construction of the stage & got to be the stage manager one night.

That's it for now. I'll have more and promise to show up at least twice a week.

Missing you!

Why hello Lover

What I'm doing on my Summer Vacation

1. You need to know I'm down to 195, bitches. Yeah. I said it. One hundred ninety five fucking pounds. That's 38 pounds gone since Jan. Uh huh.

2. No, I'm not exercising. I have veracious veins that you wouldn't believe from all the standing I do. Either in the store, in the booth, on grass, on asphalt, on cement. I stand & have the biggest vein going up from my calf to my ass. Yup. Pretty things for pretty girls.

3. Update on Crank van: Yes we still own it. I put it on Craigs list, parked it in the lot by the store & had 2 people ask about it. We decided that we'd just finish getting it fixed & keep it. It does have that great sound system and if I leave the windows down I really don't notice the raw gas smell.

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Random photos

Taylorsville Solar Cook-off. Dancing with my friend Camilla

This is my favorite vending festival. Money's good & the music is great.

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Kim & me in our "Sears" pose.

Kim & I go dancing in Tahoe almost every weekend. She used to be a vendor but she's writing a book about her life and has a really nice advance to live off.

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Me & Kali doing a photo shoot for the store.

Yeah, I look hot.

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Artist Christopher Umana & me.

Back in June there was a big artist exhibit at one of the sleezey motels. Over 100 different artists rented rooms for a week & showed their stuff. I fell in love with Christopher's work and approached him about doing a show in the store.

Turns out he shops the store & was really honored to be asked.

So I have a nice display of his work in the window & inside.

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Fire spinning

I've been fire spinning and loving it.

Here's a link to check me out at the Taylorsville Solar Cook-off. I spun during the drum circle.

That's it for now.

Get off my back! I'm dating my blog already.

"When are you going to update your blog" asks my Sister almost daily.  

I'm in season. (Not like a dog in heat.  Season meaning I'm gone 4 days out of the week & am hardly ever home.)

She knew this was coming.  I've warned her.  But it seems that she's not the only one. 

"When are you going to update your blog?" asks my friends.  

I'm updating it right now.

This is my life over the past few weeks:

Thurs -Sunday I'm in Lake Tahoe (except for this weekend.)  I sell tie-dye to tourists.  Been doing it for about 13 years in Tahoe.  Love it & have a great following.

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This is my friend Jori. (Rhymes with Lori.)

She's what we in the craft business call a hawker.  She'll sell anything.  She doesn't make her stuff.  She buys & sells.

When I first met her she was selling gourmet popcorn.  Now she sells back rests.  She's a party girl and we go dancing all the time.  Love my Jori.

This is Don.

He sits in the back of his booth and says "Very good prices. Very good prices." or "Cheapest silver on the lake. Cheapest silver on the lake."

He repeats everything twice.  

"Lauren!  I'm going to the porta johns.  Lauren!  I'm going to the porta johns."

"Ok! Ok!" I repeat back.

He's into Scientology and marching bands.  He plays his marching band music at full volume all the time.  He also hands our free Ron Hubbard books.

I thought I had pictures of my booth but looks like I didn't take any.  I'm doing a show this coming weekend in Tahoe so I'll make sure I get a couple.

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Steve & Me at my Nieces open house.

I like this picture except I hate my chins.  

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Me in a very cool hat.

I have a leather guy who's making all sorts of stuff to sell in the store.

He said that he had to make this hat & had to show it to me right away.  The thing weighs a ton and I felt like I was going to lose my balance while I was wearing it.

Demonia boots

Got my shipment in this past week.  

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The store is doing ok.  I still have days where I want to just close the door & walk away.  We're down about 30% this month over last year.  

My weight:  I'm at 202 & holding steady.  Have been slowly adding fruit to my diet.  Love the strawberries.

Miss you all.  I'm doing the best I can.

This is my life.

A picture says a THOUSAND words.  

Let's see if you can read them all.

A winged Jackalope.

How creative is that??

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A traditional Jackalope.

I wanna ride that pony!

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Kudo's to my friend Mac for sending me these in an email.

Gotta love a good cat fight.

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Who wants to know about crack van today??

Ok kids.  Have a seat & let Auntie Twinkely Dots tell you the latest.

Van is still in the shop.  Denny at Denny's Dependable found us a blinker housing & light.  It's being installed thursday.  $100.

I'll pick up the van, get it inspected at the DMV, register it & then put it on Craigs list.

We can drive it with the cracked manifold. So we'll sell it with the cracked manifold.

Good bye $4000 we've spent.  

***************

I'll be gone this weekend.

I'm heading over to Davis for the Whole Life Festival.  The fire group will be performing on Friday night.  

Miss me!

Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday

Happy

Full of

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Ask me about the van.  Go ahead.

Ask.  I dare ya.

After leaving the DMV yesterday to get ANOTHER 15 day temp registration I decided to go get the tires balanced & rotated.  The van shimmie's if driven over 60 mph.  

Turned out the back 2 tires were bald on the inside.  The steel had separated from the rubber. $200 for 2 new tires.  The front 2 were new.  

Today the van is at our mechanic because it lurches when stopped after being warmed up.  No word yet from the mechanic. Oh and it smells of raw fuel after being driven.

I can say one positive thing about the van.  It has an AWSOME sound system.  

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Fire spinning

As you guys know I've been taking fire spinning classes since January.  My big goal is to spin in conclave before Burning Man.  (Conclave is the fire troupes who perform before they burn the big Man.)

My friend Chelsea recorded & posted my 1st burn on YouTube.  Since I don't know how to upload video on my blog you can click here to watch.

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Food, Diet, Lifestyle changes

My friend Nancy has been on the same journey with her food as I have.  She was diagnosed about 3 months before I was with the gliadin allergy.  She's really into nutrition and health.  

She emailed me a thing she had gotten from her dr about baking soda curing cancer.  It has to do with the acid/alkaline levels in the body.  

I googled and came up with all sorts of information.  

I'm going to pick up ph strips to start checking my ph level.  With my skin cancer I don't want to take chances of having cancer anyplace else.  

What this is leading to is that I've started to move back to being vegetarian.  It will be a slow process.  As of now I'm red meat free.  My body doesn't process animal products so I know I'll be healthier because of the decision.

When I was vegan it was for health reasons not ethical.  Studies show ethical vegans stay vegans where as health vegans don't.  

I'm a strong believer in the food chain so I have no problems with others eating meat/fish/chicken around me.  It's the same as I have no problems with people eating my food allergy foods.  (Does that sentence make sense? Huh.)

So I'll start blogging about my moving towards vegetarianism.  Look for it!

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John the pirate

Meet John.  He's a pirate.

He was on his way to a raid last night when he stopped by.

yargggg.

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4:15 pm Car update

Manifold is leaking.  $800.  

Fuck.

You smoking crack?

No, but my car is.

You're going to love this story.

Back in November we bought this van at an impound auction for $1800.  

When I brought it home & started cleaning it out I found a gun.  Called the police & also found the original impound ticket (no insurance, no license, no registration) so we had the name of the guy who owned the car before us.  

I tell the cop the story about the auction.  They sell the vehicles with all the owners stuff in it because here in Nevada they have until 1 minute before the start of the auction to pay on the impound & claim the vehicle.

He puts on his gloves & picks up the gun.  "It's a toy" he says. "This is all plastic."

Whaaaaahhhhhhttttttt??? 

"In my 20 years of being a cop this is the most realistic toy gun I've ever seen.  It has a removable chamber for bullets, it makes the noise of being cocked." Says Mr. Policeman.

"Take it" I say.  We are a gun free house.  Even a toy gun (except the bright green water pistols) aren't welcome in our house.

The next day we take the van to our mechanic.  

Three months later & $2400 in repair bills we bring the van home where it sits in our driveway.  We don't have the money to insure or register it until this past week.

Steve drives the van on Friday & feels something in the arm rest.

This crack pipe.

Doesn't it look like he's hand model in this pic? 

I feel like taking the van to the cops & letting the drug sniffing dogs see what else they can find. As I've been cleaning out the van I've found 9 air fresheners, collection of key chains, tools, really nice scissors, pay stubs and photos.  The scary thing about the photos is that some were taken at an apartment building that's about 5 blocks from our house.   

On thursday I took the car to get a smog check.  The battery was dead & Steve had to charge it overnight.

Turns out that when the battery cables are disconnected or the battery dies so does the information in the computer.  It takes driving the vehicle 3-5 days before all the info comes back into memory.  

My friend suggested that we have it smugged & blessed.  I said that it would probably end up being a scene from the Exorcist with the car spinning up in the air & throwing up auto fluid.

Van for sale.  Crack pipe optional.

Dina. Dina. Dina.

Dina Dina Dina.

Toast & sticks.  Do the math.

Note to everyone else: Don't you hate it when you're reading a blog & you have no clue what's going on.  Well this is one of those times.  

Tricia this is your fault.  Just sayin'. 

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I want these. Really really want these.

I am craving these Demonia boots like you wouldn't believe.  Canvas.  Black. Straps. I can soooo use these to spin fire.  I've been informed that I shouldn't spin fire in my black with flame boots because I don't want to get fuel on them.

These are $60 on Ebay.  Shipping brings them to $72.  

I want these.  I dream about these.  I can dance in these bad boys.  I can jump in these bad boys.  I can look hot in these bad boys.  

Canvas means they can be flame retardanted.  (Ok not a word but I'm making it one.)

I reach 199 and those will-be-mine.  

In the meantime I'm wearing these today:

My green Doc Martins.  

Yes I'm sporting fishnets with them.  My leg covering of choice. 

Dina:  These boots are made for walkin', hone.  

Get off my back. I'll blog when I want to.

Calm down.  Can't a girl be busy?  Can't a girl have a life away from you freaks of nature??  In the words of Kathy Griffin "Jesus H Christ on a Cross!"  

First off I'm busy.  Every night this week I've got something happening.

Secondly I'm busy.  Every morning I've got something happening.

I do own a store.  I do go away once in a while.  Just wait until Summer.  I'm gone 4-5 days every week and I don't own a lap-top. (But am open to being gifted one.  Mac please. Mac snob here.)

This past weekend we had 2 Earth Day festivals. One was in Squaw Valley, the other was here in Reno.

Me in front of the booth.  

Please note the huge hat.  Skin cancer will do that to ya. I slathered on 45 spf.  

I have a giant head.  That hat is a size 8 that's been stretched out to fit.

And of course I have on my kick ass flame boots.  And why do people feel the need to ask me how much I paid for those?  My new response "Less than a house payment". 

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Squaw Valley Trashion Show

This 2 pc outfit was made from 500 Clif bar wrappers.

Made from a garden umbrella and measuring tape found in forest.

I have more photos on my facebook page.  It's open to anyone.  PrismMagic Sparks is the name to search.  You can even opt to be my friend.  It's the store's page. 

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Scale report: 205!

Very very solid 205.  Which means -27 since Jan 4.  I'll take it baby.

It's been pretty nice & warm here.  My appetite has diminished.  Saturday night driving home from the festival both Steve & I were tired.  Neither one of us wanted to cook.  I just wanted beef & a potato.  

We saw a sign for $13.95 all you can eat prime rib at a dive casino so we went for it.  It was the best prime rib I've had in years.

All I had was a baked potato & 3 servings of prime rib.  Nothing else.  No salad. No fruit.  No veggies.  Nada. Nothing.  Zip.  Yes.  I said 3 servings.  ("Meat. It's what's festering in your colon.") 

I'm feeling thin.  Funny thing (and I think I've said this before) when I got up to 205 I know I didn't feel thin.  And to everyone else in the world 205 is still fat.  I should look up the bmi but nah.  (Go for it.  I'm 5'8".)

I'm wearing clothes I've not worn in a couple of years.  

And people are starting to notice.  I LOVE that.  "Why yes I've dropped 27 pounds.  Thanks for noticing."

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One more thing:

Ever hear of the term "Dry Rain"?  We're having that phenomenon happen right now.  It happens a lot in the desert.  It rains but dries up before hitting the ground because it's too hot to hit the ground.  

Reno averages 8" of rainfall a year & that's mostly snow.  It's hardly every humid but right now it's very very humid due to the dry rain.

Ok freaks.  That's my post for today. *kisses*

Yuri's Night, Costumes and more!

Hello.

Miss me?  I know I know.

I've been scarce but I have great excuses.

1.  Excuse #1:  Getting ready for the big party this past Saturday night.

Yuri's night is an international party that happens all over the world on the same night.  It honors the 1st man in space Yuri something.  

We were slammed all week.  On saturday (the day of the party) we had people knocking on the doors after we closed looking for costumes.  "I'll take anything!"  Everything that was silver, gold, sparkley or spacey was long gone.  

Party night came & we were out until 1:45 am!  

Here's a few pictures from the event:

Fire spinning.

That's one single poi that's about the size of a bowling ball.  

This guy is the one spinning the big poi.  He loves fire and is really really fantastic at spinning.

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This is Sabra.  She's a very close friend.  She also happens to sublet part of our store.

She's an amazing woman.  She's had breast cancer 3 times, ovarian cancer once and has been in remission for 4 years. She grew up in Ely, NV which is a "down winder" town. Down winder is a term used for areas in Nevada that are down wind from the nuclear bomb tests.

Oh and that's not her real hair.  It's an orange wig.  But she has orange & gold hair under it.  She hot glued the hat to the wig so it's stuck there for life. 

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Nathan & Me

Nathan is another good friend.  He, Robin & I are working on the Burning Man web site updating the local shopping areas.  He has the best costumes and it's always a surprise to see what he's wearing.  I'd love to raid his closet except he weighs about 130-140 pounds.  

I'm wearing a lime green faux ostrich blazer, black corset, short pink & yellow petticoat, black fishnets with pink fence nets over the top & my GREEN Doc Martins. 

I had 2 people grab my hair & ask if it was really all mine.  

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This was my favorite costume of the night.

I don't know this guy but I was amazed at his creativity.

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This is my friend Chelsea.  She has an aerial troupe called Dragonfly Aerials. 

She has a burlesque troupe called Bohemian Burlesque.

She organized 4 aerialists to hang from the ceiling and perform during one of the dj's sets.

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Excuse #2

Normally I post in the morning but lately I've been practicing poi & facebooking.  

I'm attempting to cut back on my morning computer time so that I can get to the store with time  to spare for sewing.  

I'm in the middle of making a lime green fur bunny suit.  I finished silk flame pants yesterday. I'm hoping to get some personal projects made in the next week.

I do miss you all.  I do read your blogs.  Just haven't had the time to comment.

Lauren

And now the latest in weight loss, PSA and fun

Scale check in:  208.  Yeah.  It's down and I'm happy.  

I know it would probably move faster if I worked out but I don't so it is what it is.  This isn't a race.  I don't care how fast it comes off just as long as it comes off.  

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Read this.

Now go spend $20 at a locally owned business.

Thank you.

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Fun time

For you new readers my husband & I own a store in Sparks (Reno) NV.  Half is tie-dye clothing that he makes and the other half is vintage, nostalgic and costumes.  

We cater to the Burning Man community.  

I sew custom costumes.  My challenge right now is to figure out how to attach a penis to a lime green bunny suit.

We get in all sorts of crazy clothing. Right now I probably have 30 petticoats in stock.  I've got masks, hats, fur robes, sparkley dresses, blouses and tons of animal print things.

Burning Man doesn't happen until Labor Day.  It's 8 days of 50,000 people partying in the desert about 90 miles east of here.  

But thanks to the economy people are planning early.  

We've been slammed the past few days and I'm thrilled. 

Tomorrow night I get my picture taken for Controlled Burn, the fire conclave that I'll be performing with at Burning Man.  

So it's Burning Man season early and I couldn't be happier.

Yeah!

Ahhhh a day off

Today is my day off.

All alone in the house.  Me.  By myself.  (Well Me & the dogs.)

Now don't get me wrong.  I love hanging with Steve but I rarely get a day to myself.  And with our spring/summer season right around the corner I won't be getting a day off for about 6 months.

I cherish days like today.  Getting little tasks done:  kitchen cleaned, bathrooms cleaned, caught up on laundry.  Oh yeah.  And I may even take a nap!  

In my happy little world I wouldn't leave the house today but I'm returning clothes, looking for Spanx & have to mail off some photos. Plus tonight I work the box office at the theater.

This will be a good day!

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Food prep

My kitchen counter looks like this every morning.  Big bags of veggies, plastic containers for lunch and figuring out what to eat during the day.  See the big bag on the right?  That's spinach. I'll go thru 2 of those big bags a week.  Next to it is broccoli crowns. A bag of those a week isn't a big deal for us.

This morning I was im'ing with a friend and she said she rarely eats veggies. She was surprised that I have veggies in my eggs.  

The only veggies I'm not a fan of is boiled or creamed.  We either eat them sauteed, roasted, raw, steamed or stir fried.  I love raw spinach.  I have at least 2 servings a day.

See my knife?  That's the secret to having a good kitchen.  I love that knife.  I travel with it. My Mom said that I was a gourmet because of that knife.  I bought it at a restaurant supply store for $35.  It's balanced, heavy blade and feels good to use.  I get it professionally sharpened about once a year.  The rest of the time I have a steel that I use. 

Invest in a good knife.  Don't get those ones that you see at the home shows with the "never needs sharpening" blade.  I've got a few of those and honestly I think they're going to the thrift store next time I clean out my drawers.

Hold the knife in your hand.  Feel the balance.  

I've got "name brand" knives.  Heinkel, Calphalon, Chef Works and none compare to the one I bought at the restaurant supply store.  

One more knife tip:  When scraping food off the cutting board turn your knife over so the blade isn't doing the scraping.  It dulls the blade.

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BOOTS!

Remember the other day when I was talking about my boot fetish?

Here's one of my pairs.

These are custom made.  I designed the flames and how I wanted them to look.  The shoe maker did the rest.  You can't see it but on the back heel is the Burning Man logo.

These are made from 4 different hides:  buffalo, elk, cow & goat.  

The buttons are made from elk horns and blown glass  buttons.

There's a 2" platform on the bottom and the insole is lined with sheep skin.  

Since they were made custom for me they are the most comfortable shoes I own.  

They were pricey.  Let's just say I'm not getting any b'day, christmas, valentines or anniversary presents for a couple of years and leave it at that.

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12:12 Tuesday

Working on my Sister's necklace.

As I've said in previous posts my oldest Niece is getting married on April 4th.  My Sister got a beautiful crystal necklace from our Mom that used to belong to our Nana.

Sister is wearing it with her dress at the wedding.  She's asked me to restring it and make a pair of earrings to match. 

I think these crystals are over 100 years old or close to it.

Nana was born in 1881.  It's now 2009.  

As I was working on the necklace I kept this in mind:  "These will probably be passed on to one of my Sister's grandchildren.  I am part of a legacy by making this necklace."

Even as I write this I'm crying.  

It's an honor to be making this necklace that was part of my past and will be used as part of my Nieces future.

Hello 10%!!! Hello 209!!!

Guess who's lost 10% since Jan 4th?  Yeah.  That's right.  This bitch right here.

209 is what the scale said 2 days in a row.  232-209 = 23 pounds or 10%.  

232 front view

209 front view

232 side view

209 side view

It's a wonderful start.  

Now onto my next 10%:  189. Yes!

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Guess who's hat shipment arrived today.

I love that his beard is stick way down below the bottom of the mask.

Big party here on April 11th.  "Yuri's Night" is a celebration of outer space.  

Oh yeah.  

Did I mention that I've lost 10%??