New This Season

9-11Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

With a house full of teenaged girls, the magazines that are often seen around our house are fashion magazines. Put together with the fact that I love to sew, fashion is a big deal at our house.

It's not that we overemphasize it, it's just that we thoroughly enjoy it. We shop at thrift stores, and we refashion all sorts of things. Sometimes we buy new -- if it's cheap. And all of us look pretty decent.

I once heard a missionary speak about a tribe he'd gone to live with in some middle-of-a-wild-continent. He said that he tried to find some way to relate to the people. When he read them the scripture about Jesus spitting into some dirt and making a mud to put on the eyes of a blind man (in order to heal him), the people exclaimed "He's a Spitter! This Saviour of yours was a Spitter!" Apparently that was a big deal to these people, and suddenly they had found a way to relate to this God-Man of the missionary.

I feel the same way when I read this passage from Colossians 3. Putting on new clothing? I get that. Putting on the clothing of compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength -- even better.

Designer clothing indeed.

xoxoxox

A Hill On Which I Will Die

I remember the days when I was in control of the mornings, and when everyone left the house, it was in a cute little outfit and matching shoes. My girls are right when they say little kids get all the cool stuff.

The way they dress themselves these days is not a hill on which I want to die. Because it would be a bloody massacre I would lose when they ganged up on me 4 to one.

This morning, I happened to be up as everyone left for school and work. Normally I'm sleeping -- but I was awakened at 5:30AM and couldn't go back to sleep.

But this was great, because I was able to sit at the kitchen table and just observe. Fascinating! Hunk O Man gives everything a little extra pat as he's making the girls' sandwiches for lunches. And he's so meticulous! Finally I can really see where Rose gets her aversion to having anything gooey or sticky on her hands.

I also took note of JB, who entered in a t-shirt and jeans. Followed by Bug, who entered in an oversized hoodie and jeans. Following them was Barbie, who wore a very cute sweater over t-shirt, tied loosely at the waist, over jeans and complete with cute scarf tied at the neck.

When I made mention of this, I was met with scorn from JB. "Who cares? Why would I want to look nice for school?" And then "Bug is wearing a sloppy t-shirt too." Bug stated that she was wearing a hoodie, duh, and she was wearing the exact same t-shirt JB had on under her hoodie.

Barbie walked in, and of course said "Whose t-shirt looks sloppy?"

JB answered with this: "I'd wear that kind of stuff if I had it in my closet."

This prompted a yes-you-do/no-I-don't exchange between Barbie and JB, and Barbie and I both assurred JB that if we went upstairs right then, we were sure we'd find something cute. JB just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

I think that means she thinks she won that one. Either that or she doesn't care.

Rose followed closely behind with a pink oversized hoodie and jeans. They all hustled and bustled around and I mostly sat quietly and watched. It was very entertaining. And this mostly because Barbie proved herself again the fashion plate. I'll be interested to see if the clothing changes at all tomorrow.

Later, Babydoll came down. Happy go lucky, homeschooled, comfy Babydoll in some kind of outfit comprised of several tanks and a pair of jeans.

Now here is a hill on which I will die:




We had a "fall apart" about this on the way to dropping her off for rehearsals last night. I quietly said, "I will say this for the last time, and I really mean it. Get your bangs out of your eyes."

She is in that 13-year-old weirdness phase we all have gone through. For me, it was always wearing a shirt or top that was almost as long as a dress. We all have some strange thing we think is cool, so we do it.

For Babydoll, it is the constant hair in the eyes.

Well, this is my last child, my last teenager, and a hill on which I am willing to die. There will be no more hair in the eyes. I will have my way despite the whining and crying and wailing and gnashing of teeth. There is one of her and one of me, and the odds are quite even.

There are bobby pins, headbands, and hair clips in this child's future, I assure you.

And in the future when she sees photographs of herself during these years, she will thank me for laying dead on the Hill Of No More Bangs In The Eyes.

Which I'm afraid I won't be able to say for all the other teenagers and their sloppy t-shirts on their way to school. Thank God for Barbie and her love of fashion. I may not be able to dress them in cute little matching outfits and shoes anymore, but I will wield my sword of No More Bangs in the Eyes with a vengeance.

xox

The Thursday Lineup

1. On the Migraine front: it's pretty well gone although it took until yesterday to be gone completely. A migraine is like a runaway train -- I had it on the tracks by Monday, but it was a struggle keeping it there until yesterday. Lots of ibuprofen and sudafed and caffeine. Surprising, a combination that usually works for me. Ah, the lack of a migraine . . .


2. On the Tennis Front: Rose won! She beat the conference champ in a nail-biting tiebreaker by just 2 points. We had conference matches all day yesterday. I watched until I had to leave for play practice -- with my first sunburn of the year! Rose will probably meet this same girl, Niechelle, in regionals next weekend. Hunk O Man came in and said "This was the best match IN THE WORLD!" Both are excellent players and regionals should be very interesting. Our local sports guy even interviewed the "3 Sisters of Tennis." We'll probably see that footage tonight. What is it with kids that they're not impressed about being on tv anymore? Ah, the video age . . .


3. On the Broken Camcorder Front: and we will have video footage of regionals because -- hooray! -- our camcorder is fixed! It broke late last year when Barbie knocked it off the tripod and it fell, damaging something inside. Turns out that thing that was damaged was going bad in all the cameras of that type, so all you had to do was send it in and get it fixed. I did that, and got it back yesterday -- too late for conference tennis, but in time for Babydoll's birthday tomorrow and regionals next weekend. Ah, free is always so good . . .


3. On the Play Practice for Peter Pan Front: All is going well and Babydoll is an excellent Wendy -- who got measured for her "flying" harness last night. We had choreography and we learned to waltz. Ah, dancing with an 8-year old, a thing not to be missed in one's lifetime . . .


4. On the Saving Money front -- I gave the dog a haircut last weekend -- he kind of looks as if I used a lawnmower to do it. Oh well! It saved us $35 for grooming, and I also cleaned out his ears and de-flea-ed him. He was very patient. Ah, good dog . . .

5. On the Project Front: I also got this done --





I'm not sure if I'm going to post it for sale on Etsy or just keep it for the upcoming craft show sponsored by our local Arts Council -- but I'm working on another, and have to get a wedding gown hemmed and a halloween costume done for a one-year old. Ah, the sewing I have to do . . .



6. On the PR Dishing Front: Ok, so here's the scoop -- Kenley's in -- with this strange and wonderful fairytale wedding gown -- Barbie's comment was "OMG, it's the swan dress reincarnated!" I think she meant the one that Bjork wore to the Oscars one year --







and Jerrell is out! The top three competing for the big prize are Kenley, LeAnn, and Korto. LeAnn has already won in my mind -- her pieces are just gorgeous.



And just so we're clear -- what goes around comes around. Jerrell and Korto, the two responsible for the most sniping at Kenley last week, were both on the chopping block. Ah, the justice that comes when you least expect it . . .

7. On the Wistfully Sad but Good Front: The big birthday bash is tomorrow -- my baby turns 13! As of tomorrow I will no longer have anything but teenagers for children -- Ah, how times flies. Sniff sniff. . .

Tennis a la Wesner

This is Rose.

Rose is always ready for you and your bad self.

Rose is not playing around.

Rose is playing some serious tennis here.

Rose is serious about smacking that ball. You'd better be able to either hit it back,

or get out of the way.

I'm not even kidding.

This is JB. She's not fooling around either.

JB can't even believe you.

JB's got a mean serve.

And yesterday, JB won.

Won Big.

Barbie is our Fashionista Tennis Player.

Because it is all about how you look when you play tennis.

Adjust ponytail.

Ew! Was that a bug? In my dangly earring?

Ok, ponytail is set. The swing is good. Necklace doesn't move.

Look left and -- pose! Hey, whatcha doing over there, JB? Was that in? Are you sure?

Do these balls in my skirt make me look fat?

Bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce

OK.

Barbie is now ready to play some serious tennis.

And, serve!

I do love my Barbie Doll.

xox

Can This Mean I Am Truly An Artist?

The signs of a great mind? Well, at least I console myself with that thought.



It's everywhere. Mess everywhere. The results of a creative weekend --

And I will not be cleaning it up. I will be creating some more for the Etsy shop and our local Craft Fair in December.

At least I have some kind of validation for the way my house looks. I made this and gave it to Hunk O Man the first year we were married --

I definitely need another cup of coffee.

xox

Beautiful Girls in Beautiful Dresses

HOMECOMING 2008

I was manning the concession booth at the football game while all this beauty was happening!

Rose and JB

Barbie, looking gorgeous --

Kisses! JB's lips are the envy of all. And she's the one without the escort to the dance!

Rose and The Boyfriend, who comes home every weekend from college because he's so over-the-moon over her! And she over him!

JB and lipgloss. From the looks of this photo, it's anyone's guess how she got those gorgeous lips above.

This girl even makes braces look good!

After all that homecoming dress drama, it always turns out well. I continue to be amazed at the absolute gorgeousness of my daughters . . .

It was an Inspiring Evening of PR Dish.

Well, Barbie and I watched PR last night, and dished and ate popcorn and dished and then we watched Top Design. I swear, if I had been drinking something, it would have come flying out my nose. That Barbie Doll of mine is flat hilarious. I nearly fell off the bed laughing.

So, Project Runway.

Joe is out. Pity. Nice straight guy with a great eye. What is with all the straight guys being Italians?

Maybe there is something to the idea that all great fashion comes out of Milan.

Joe made this, for a girl who just graduated college and will be looking for a job as a graphic designer. And her mother was involved:

Pretty girl -- but the outfit speaks for itself.

Jerrell won with this, for a girl who loves being in a t-shirt and jeans --

What a transformation. This guy really is talented after all!

LeAnn made a very cute jacket and dress for a very short, very young elementary school teacher. But she was in the bottom 3, and that wasn't good. It really was a cute dress.

And Kenley stole my heart with this outfit for another girl working as a fashion buyer:

Kenley is a great fan of 40's vintage, and creates everything to reflect that. I happen to love that as well; it's very feminine, and very pretty. And flattering to most every body.

Plus she has a cool name. Kenley. Wish I'd thought of that one.

Honestly, all these designers really are incredibly talented. I know they've all been to design school and all, but come on! I've been sewing for 30 years, and I still need a pattern most of the time. These folks come up with this stuff out of their imaginations and a fabric store. THAT is talent.

We also watched Top Design, the Project Runway of home decorating.

First off, I have to say that Kelly Wearstler is the oddest, strangest looking person I have ever seen in my life. Barbie and I decided that she must just wash her very long hair in hairspray, dry it upside down, and then go out in the humidity. And then she puts on a hat.

And what is up with her SOCKS?

All I can say is this: You know you're getting old when you fail to be able to distinguish between "cutting edge" and "just plain ridiculous."

Margaret Russell, on the other hand, is the absolute Martha Stewart of fashion in terms of the way she looks on the show. Always impeccable -- beautiful clothing, beautiful and basic hair. Wow.

As for the contestants this season, my favourites are these --

Wisit, a strange, odd little person who can sing fabulous opera --

And Kerry, who is officially out of the competition as of last night, but who proved himself a man of good design and wonderful integrity:

These two were teamed together to create a window display for previous PR winner Jeffrey (whom I insist to this day cheated and shouldn't have won). Jeffrey is looking like an unkempt biker dude lately, complete with handlebar mustache. Apparently winning PR means you never have to shave or cut your hair.

But I digress. He made this outfit that he said was inspired by the movie Bladerunner. Cool movie, but you have to be old enough to remember it. Interestingly, neither Kerry or Wisit, above, had heard of it. And that's a pity, because it's a great movie. I spent quite a bit of time explaining the look of it to Barbie.

It basically looks like urban Japanese streets in the pouring rain.

So they should have made the window look like Bladerunner, but didn't, and now Kerry is out because he was the project leader. I am sad. He was so talented, and funny! Last week Barbie and I nearly died laughing, repeating him saying in his deep, slow, southern drawl, "You got to have ya a work ethick. And you got to bu-leeve in yerself.

You can have your American Idol and America's Got Talent and America's Got Entirely Too Many People Lining Up to Have Some Celebrity Say You're Good Enough. I like these design shows. Hunk O Man hates that they're so subjective; he also hates gymnastics and ice skating for the same reason. He says to give him a good track race anyday. You can't argue with the clock. True enough, but I like the subjectivity. And the brilliance of these people really comes through, whether or not you agree with those who are chosen to be the best.

This type of brilliance is less rare than you'd think. One look through the things on Etsy will tell you that. The way communication has connected the world is really a good thing for the arts communities.

Beauty abounds. I am inspired yet again to look at God and just marvel.

Wow.

PR Dish

Well! Finally a challenge that got rid of two designers, and got us down to a manageable amount of people to compete. And now there are only six.

Firstly, the designers were not at all happy to find that their designs would be judged by former contestants of PR. To this I say, "Get over it."

Then they weren't happy to have their own auf'ed compadres as partners. To this I also say "Get over it."

(by the way, Bug and Rose are on kitchen for their chore this week, and once again I woke up to a kitchen full of dirty dishes. They say they hate doing it. To this I reply, "Get over it!")


So they were supposed to make an Avant Garde "look" inspired" by an astrological sign.

avant garde: unorthodox or daring; radical. (from http://www.dictionary.com/).

Barbie was watching this with me and noticed that her sign, Gemini, was not represented. The conversation went like this:

Barbie: Those are totally not zodiac signs.
Baby: Yes they are.
Me: Yes they are.
Barbie: No they aren't. They so are not zodiac signs.
Baby: Yes they are, Barbie!
Me: Why do you think they aren't?
Barbie: They're not zodiac signs. They're astrological signs.
Baby: YES THEY ARE ZODIAC SIGNS.
Me: Honey, they are zodiac signs.
Barbie: Then where's mine?
Me: Honey, just because they don't have your sign represented doesn't mean they
aren't zodiac signs.
Barbie: That's so not fair! I want an outfit too!

So Blayne is out.

Buh-bye, Blayne. I have no problem with this because he's so young and has so many more chances to make his mark. And this outfit was just ridiculous.

He'll grow up a little and get better. Nuff said.

Terri, on the other hand, is also out.

She's made some decent things, but honestly, I hated her attitude. It was like somebody put a burr under her seat. Jeesh. She was so uncooperative with Keith, her partner, who could have really helped her.

I know it's all about the outfit, but I'm glad she's out just because she was such a pain!

Korto (whose name is apparently pronounced "kah-toe") was once again robbed of a win.

This was gorgeous and flowing and very water-like. I loved it. It looked gorgeous coming down the runway.

LeAnne was also robbed, but then she's won a couple of the past weeks in a row, so there you go. Maybe she wasn't robbed after all.

This is supposed to represent the idea of a scorpion. And it's supposed to be a dress, not a costume, so I think it does the job. It's "inspired" by the idea of the thing. That's one thing that LeAnne seems to do exceptionally well; I think it speaks highly of her as an artist.

This won. It was made by Jerrell.

Once again, I have to say that I am a normal person, a mom living in the real world, and roughly 20+ years older than most of these designers.

And I ask you. Are you kidding me? THIS won? It beat the other two things just above?

Well.

Fashion is certainly in the eye of the beholder.

I'm just sayin.

So that's it until next week and what looks to be the Lady-I-Had-As-A-Former-Schoolteacher challenge. That should be interesting.

Actually, I'd love to hear what you think if you watch this show, or even if you just have something to say about the photos of things above. What is it with youth these days? We couldn't possibly have been that full of ourselves, could we have?

(wink wink)

The Bunny Morphs into Barbie

Ok, so on Sunday we went shopping, Bunny and JB and I. We drove up to Civilization North, which is the less-taxable-different-state version of Civilization South.

However, Civilization North should not to be confused with Civilization Yankee. Civilization Yankee is where Grandma and Pappy live.

We went (to Civilization North) because Bunny found a dress online (basically the only way we can shop without driving long distances) at JCPenney. It was THE dress. It was beautiful. They had it at the JCP in the mall in Civilization North. She called and they put it on hold on Saturday. We told the JCP folks, "We'll come after there's no hurricane."

(hurricane? There was a hurricane? THAT was a hurricane? It makes me think of when we first moved to southern California from Indiana, and we heard "Winter Storm Warning!" on the TV. IT WAS RAINING. Four more years in SoCal confirmed to us that those people simply cannot drive in the rain.)

Anyway. Back to the dress.

We went. We found it. She tried it on.

IT WAS AWFUL.

I told her she looked as if she were trying to play dress up in something of mine. JB's comments were a little nicer -- she said "It's just not you."

The Bunny was unhappy. Then she got a headache.

Now, Bunny is the life of every party. When she was just 3 and Hunk O Man was dropping her off for childcare on Sunday, she peeked her head in the door and said in a voice that would rival Ed McMahon introducing Johnny Carson, "Hey, everybody! It's Bunny!" The party could now begin because she was there to coordinate it!

No kidding. We had our new Pastor and his wife over for pizza on Friday night, and she coordinated all the game playing and fun. She needs to be an event coordinator when she grows up.

But while shopping, she was not a Happy Bunny. JB tried to cheer her up and I gave her ibuprofen. We both told her we would die for her figure. That we loved her. That she was the favourite of all the sisters.

She tried on more dresses. So did JB. Unfortunately, JB is another 2" taller and has a fuller figure, if you know what I mean, wink wink. Everything they tried on (in a whiny voice) "looks better on JB."

So we finally found three dresses that looked fabulous on her. She settled on a lemon yellow short "bubble" dress with obnoxious jewels at the "umpire" waist. Initially she said she wanted me to tear them off and replace them with something else, but now I think she's getting used to them and likes them. JB found a beautiful prom dress for an incredible price, and we also found this pink sparkly strapless thing that I am determined to cut off and make into a bubble dress. And add straps. JB says that she will wear it for homecoming if we don't find her another dress.

Guess what. News flash! We're not looking for another dress.

So even though Bunny was a bit distressed, a bad day shopping with her is better than a great day shopping with OCD-obsessed Rose. I don't know what Rose is doing about her homecoming dress, but I vow to send someone else shopping with her. I love my Rose to death, and I love spending time with her just hanging out, or cooking, or watching movies, or going places. But shopping, no. She is not a shopper.

Shopping is a family event that should only be coordinated by The Bunny.

Hey! Maybe I should send her boyfriend's mom with her! They love her to pieces, and she'd rather spend time over there than here. Shopping would be a great experience for them!

So the upshot of all this shopping is that I have resolved to call Bunny "Barbie" now. Especially after watching her play tennis yesterday. Rose, JB, and Bunny all play tennis, and they all wear the same tennis uniform. They play hard, and they look great.

But Bunny is the one who has the cute earrings, the necklace that matches, and that blonde ponytail swinging behind her matching visor.

So Barbie it is. My little Barbie Doll. The life of the party.

PR Dish

STELLA! STELLA! STELLA!

Leatha Stella is OUT! Whatever the leatha shall we do? My leatha heart is just breaking!

She said to Heidi as she left, "Well, my ego was a little too big for this place." In the words of our Bunny, "true dat."




She made a nice outfit with a leather cape, which made the whole thing just look silly:



for the legendary Diane Von Furstenberg's new collection, based on a "spy" look:







(is it me, or is this woman's speaking voice just AMAZING? I could listen to her talk all day long. She could easily replace Edward Hermann's voice putting me to sleep every night)



LeAnne won with this -- I like LeAnne, and I hope she gets into the top 3 --





Although I had a hard time deciding whether or not Korto got robbed of a win with this:




because it looks very DVF from her runway collection. But I'm not wild about Korto as a person, so there you go.

Suede, the one with the blue mohawk, made this:

to which I replied with this:

I think Stella's outfit was better. But I do like Mr. 'Speaks of Himself in the Third Person' Suede, so I'm glad he's not out.

I really think that being out has more to do with whether or not your outfit was good enough and whether the leftover people constitute "good tv."

Talk about subjective.

On a whole 'nother subject, thanks everyone for the giveaway comments! I'll choose one via Random Integer Generator tomorrow around 3PM, and I'll have a recipe for you!

And I am loving the Alternate Day Diet! 6 lbs. so far! Wa-hooey!