Thursday, August 31, 2006

the cat watcher...

how i was roped into watching 5, yes *five* cats this week i'm not quite sure...probably b/c the mister is the cat person and *extremely* amiable and always willing to watch the neighbors kitties...and since he's not here, guess who is?! so on one end of the hall are two kitties & on the other are three (that's a lot of kitties in one space). dixie loo gets to accompany me and whirl herself all up in a dervish b/c she *adores* kitties; too much so actually; she's way to curious. there is one ole kitty named big gordon that belongs to our great friend, needless to say, big g is an outdoor kitty who does not take to kindly to super curious doggies snuffling around them, thus dixie got her first tragic eye swipe that she still sports as a little floaty eyelid piece to show for a trophy. she doesn't really seem to get it though; she loves to still stick her big ole snuffly nose in the kitties faces - remarkably, they are quite compliant and hiss when they've had enough and run away. dixie just lovesssss them. (rolls eyes) goofy dog. the kitties are cool, but i'm a dog person all the way.

so i watched monsieur ibrahim on my netflix while visiting with kitty set #2. (& while dixie tried to be a sneaky pete and eat their little kitty treats...rolls eyes again) the movie was sweet, but a little long.

i also began reading lolita in tehran this morning while waiting TWENTY EIGHT minutes for the bus to finally freakin' show up packed to the gills...hello i am a sardine. i cannot even begin to express to you the rage, yes, i'll be bold, rage that boils up in me at inefficient public transportation. drives. me. totally. insane. most of the time i get so fed up i walk. but honestly, i have blisters on my toes from wearing cute new shoes to school and not taking them off in time...so it sucks to walk 45 minutes home with boo boo toes...thus, the bus rage insues. i'm going to get another bike lock for my bike-that-sort-of-stops this weekend so i can at least bike in occasionally. (other lock got cut after lost key incident...rolls eyes a third time). but seriously, my other 2 fancy schmancy bikes that actually had good brakes and gears got stolen...so now i have the beater special - cute little basket, red, fun, look like the wicked witch of the west bike...you know the one...but she's not a hill bike, nor a stop in a swift situation kind of bike...so she's a in-the-flats kinda bike. but i can still ride her down around the water and then park her and hike up the mountain to school. much preferred morning atmosphere to seething bus attitude morning...oh! but back to the book, seems promising as i read through 6 chapters this morning!

i'm participating in 2 different give aways on 2 different blogs: the super cool modish blog & the hip new indie fixx blog -- modish is jena, indie fixx is jen, and sprout studio is jenifer! ha! anyways, if you go and sign up for their newsletters, you might be a very lucky person! support indie always!!

off to teach some kiddos...

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

school time, school time

wow, being back in the drill is overwhelming. who remembered being at school m-f, 7:40-4 could be so grueling? the first full week is sooooooo long. hump day it is then. ;) oi!

i've got my work cut out for me this weekend; i have done nothing so far to prep for crafty bastards in d.c. - the first weekend of october. i need to get motivating for that and for some wholesale accounts; sprout studio will be buzzing for sure.

also, i've been feeling like crap since the mister left. so that's been hard on the psyche to get up and get busy, get down...

however, new camera is super fun - more pictures to come...& i'm definitely getting the new (to me) car around the beginning of october too...and did i mention already it's a *convertible* :) :) :) :) how sweet is that? can't wait for the loo dog & me to scoot down pch 1 & have some picnics!

more later...xxx.

Monday, August 28, 2006

& then...there were pictures...

just a few, we went for sushi last week before bl left for the fall...boo hoo. (& my ibs was in full swing, so i didn't really enjoy the sushi...wahhh). and then i made banana bread, because bananas are good for my ibs - and one of the few things that absolutely don't bother my intestines...maybe i'm reverting back into a monkey...i do have super long arms...hmmm...

anyways, i STILL don't have internet whenever i want it, but i'm getting around in between school and the neighbors, so i should be more of a regular 'round these parts!

sprout treats are going kinda quick over there at the old updated sprout studio, so scoot quick if you want to grab something! :)

xxx.

last night out


last night out, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

sushi at moki


sushi at moki, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

camera play or...up my nose?


camera play or...up my nose?, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

vintage apron, new slipper shoes

bbread


bbread, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

looks kinda gross, but the banana bread was scrumptious!

Thursday, August 24, 2006

okay...still haven't figured this out...

we still are trying to figure out our internet; but i'm back at school and can periodically be online there...so i won't be a total stranger. also, fabulous news!! i finally bought a camera - hoorah!! a little canon and i love it and i'm going to start posting pictures as soon as i figure it all out!

also, very sad news indeed; the mr. left today for his stint with teaching back east...& here i sit allllll allllllone at the coffee shop using there internet access. very lonely already. just me and the ms. dixie loo noodle.

now, i gotta go catch up on my mail, and business, and general computer junk while i have some time here at the shop, so...more later and pictures will be coming for sure!! yippeee!

xxx.

oh yeah!! i almost forgot to tell you, over at ole sprout studio, we updated necklaces, bracelets and a coupla other treats here and there! go have some fun lookin' around!

Saturday, August 19, 2006

eep! no internet!

no internet = no posts...i'm at a friends stealing their wireless...

we'll figure it out soon & then i'll be back to posting regularly!!

xxx.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

back in SF - hoorah!

more to report later, but i'm back - after flying on our nice red alert days; eek! went to sfmoma yesterday to check out matthew barney & a japanese photographer, sat outside of the moma with my yummy scone and mocha to survey my lovely sf streets and what they had to offer up to me, went camera shopping with the mister -- before he leaves we are getting me something!!

farmer's market this morning; beautiful sunny day with just the right amount of cool...ahhhhhhh....soo thrilled to be back... now i just need another 2 months in my city before i start back to work - ha!

market booty: locally made honey (lilacsi - yum), green peppers beautifully streaked with red, little bitty sweet wine grapes, tomatoes, garlic, onions, portabellos, yams, plums, kale, collards, corn, strawberries, chinese eggplant, thai basil and gorgeous flowers!! all under $25!!!! i love my farmers market!!

more later - off to unpack and putter around while the mister is on his little jet set l.a. flight down south to rescue yet another vw bus (at least this one is not for us; thank goodness for small mercies!)

xxx.

ps - i am nailing that boy down to a date to upload all my new sprout studio products. i know we are terribly tardy on that end...

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

dominion derby girls


dominion derby girls, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

derby girls on the loose!! we went to go see the va roller girls; the dominion derby girls practice a "bout" - it's private but i got to go see them b/c the mister was photographing and my lady friends who are bad ass enough to do this let me come since i was going to miss their first out n' out session since i'll be back in sf. the dirty deisel darlins' vs. the femme fatales! it was super fun! i was also trying to decide if a. i lived back here and b. if i were to try out in sf, if it was something i would want to do. verdict: i think i'm too much of a wimp! i decided that if i was on that rink and slammed that hard and was so exhausted from two hours plus of skating and then got yelled at by some super tough gal that i might just up and cry. and that would be the end of derby career!

these gals are super duper toughies and it was a lot of fun seeing them strut their hard core selves around that rink. i also learned the whole lingo and how they score points. i also made up my own derby girl name - shh, don't tell though - (they all have alter ego names like tsunami sue, holly go bite me, pachuca loca, sweet n' lowdown, hard hittin' honky, becka the wrecka...etc...!) i'd be "dolly duke 'em" - that is, in my fantasy derby girl round where i wouldn't end up being one big fat bruise!

had one final round up dinner last night with 8 of our close norfolk friends (in which apparently i made one of my lovely good friends extremely angry - i didn't even realize i was arguing with him until he ceased to talk to me. root of the problem; i am an idealist and a utopian...but we won't dwell on that little sour note... ah-hem...) and today, i'm packing up. and this is going to be one big feat. because, i have a whole heck of a lot of STUFF! &, i had to get one more thrift run in yesterday in which of course, i found more cute things i needed to purchase; banana republic jeans ($2.99), amazing japanese inspired long off white vintage dress ($3.99), 2 vintage button down collared shirts for the mister (each at $2.99), one pair of beautiful vintage long white gloves ($.99) - now i need to find a soiree/fete to go to - one handmade cute as can be vintage turquoise dress with embroidered birds on it for one lucky little girlie (my friend jo's little one), one poppy red samsonite luggage carry all ($2.98), a pair of brand new with tags express pants (with the $58 tag on them for $7.98 i scored them) and one more totally cute handmade vintage dress that ended up not fitting me so well, so i'm going to sell it on ebay one of these days. (that was quite the run on sentence there; sorry grammar folks!)

so, that was just one run, and i did like, uh....clears throat and rolls eyes, 20 or so thrift runs this summer. so i have a lot. but the cool thing is, i'll leave some of it here and when we drive back together around the holidays, i'll bring the rest of it back to sf.

but oh my, the packing. eep! i better get started b/c it's almost the crack of noon!

flying tomorrow so probably won't post unless i get stuck somewhere or find free internet!

xxx.

(here i come california! yay!)

me & "ed"ger yer seat; mr. microphone

"ed"-ger yer seat


"ed"-ger yer seat, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

pachuca loca and the ddg


pachuca loca and the ddg, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

ddg slamming


ddg slamming, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

ddg


ddg, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

sweet n' lowdown


sweet n' lowdown, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

ddg rolling


ddg rolling, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

Monday, August 07, 2006

http://www.plueys.com


http://www.plueys.com, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

oh my cuteness! this new store just opened pluey's !! i need this don't i? of course i do. i neeeeeed them...

me & the mister


me & the mister, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

we had a little send off bbq for me; of course there was skating involved! just a little sample of some of the norfolk peeps who came 'round! i'm feeling more ready to get back to SF; a building bbq is in the works to catch up with everybody in cali - & i'm ready to see my pup and take a short trip down south (yes, candykid, "down south") & make some art trip runs; there is a ton to see!

on the sprout studio front; all pics uploaded of new products, they just need to be inputted - but we got sidetracked with the mister wrapping up his first semester of teaching and me saying my goodbye's to everyone (there are so many people to see off!) & now we gotta git to packin' - i've secured my pick up from the airport so i'll be safe and sound and in my west coast bed by thursday night!

xxx.

gran-pappy & keifer


gran-pappy & keifer, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

the derby gals


the derby gals, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

beth on sangria!


beth on sangria!, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

kev-o


kev-o, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

trey


trey, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

5 days until i leave virginia...i'm feeling UN-accomplished...

...& i'm in a bit of a quandry about this. there has been this nagging little buzz in my thoughts for a week or so now - i didn't get near enough accomplished in the last 2 months -- i didn't get any sewing done (although, admittedly, my mother was going to buy a new machine in the beginning of the summer and we never got around to it; so i've had nothing to sew ON!), i didn't design loads of new sprout studio product for the fall, i did not learn how to surf, nor even make it down to the banks of carolina to hot dog around in the sand, i didn't get my gocco directions squared away to experiment, nor did we have massive print night runs over at the university where the mister is teaching...hell, we didn't even get to our trusty iron on adventures; where we make a tee shirt or something a day that has some piece of art or whatnot ironed onto it that we've responded to, we didn't make it back up to nyc for another art fix, we did not make it over for a photo adventure and wander on the eastern shore, we didn't make it out to see one lick of live music, my bike - as awesome as it is, sat idle while i was so sick and then in the inferno of heat-ey hell we've been having i could not possibly ride around on a black bicycle.

although, lord knows, i'll probably need to acquire 3 more suitcases to get all my thrifted goodies back to the west coast. (sheesh; i can cross that one off the list - entirely new wardrobe from the thrift stores? check, done, on top of that one! just yesterday i scored 2 little vintage red train cases that are so awesome and sprouty they are unbelieveable; as well as one handmade ruffle shirt that is ultra 50's-80's chic!)

so, you see, i feel like every summer amounts to a mountain of grandiose plans that we never actually get to the top of...& then i try to assuage that feeling this summer, with the thought of, oh yeah, i was sick for the better part of 4 weeks...really sick. & i'm just now starting to feel levelled out with my IBS a little...so i've decidied i think i need a do-over! but maybe that's what my summer's all come down to - especially since i've taught now for the last 5 years and have had them "off" (& "off" being a relative term since i also own a small business!)...ultimately i need the restorative time more than i need a to do list...

but all this has left me feeling like:

a) i'm not ready to go back to SF
b) i cannot wait to get back and actually accomplish some of these things
c) sad to leave so soon
d) a little nervous about transitioning back into my full time gig w/o my mister around and all my IBS junk...eeep...
e) excited to see my dixie loo doggie as i've missed her sooo & whilst phone pics from the dog sitter are awesome, they are making me miss her more!
f) i'm going to miss this view out the massive picture window every morning at the trees and the birds & the herrons and the squirrels and the bunnies as i type away at my computer or drink my tea...
g) i've gotten so used to seeing my nephew every coupla days that now i think i might boo hoo when i see him for the last time; he's 14 months and the cutest thing right now; and he knows who i am now toooooooo...booooo hoooooo
h) i miss all my neighbors back at the ole 900 tennessee and i'm so excited to sit in lovely weather and have our sunday morning bench chill'n sessions & have our bbq & movie nights, and let allllll the dogs run crazy in the hall together...
i) i am loving the idea of sleeping in my own bed.
j) ready for cooler weather and to sport all my thrifty fashion fun finds
k) it is never fun to wave goodbye to the parentals from the airport (sniffle)
l) excited to test out the new-old car i might be purchasing; the vw convertible cabriolet of my neighbors...i even have amazing vintage scarves now to tie around my head with my big fatty sunglasses all jackie o style as i cruise down the coast of my beloved cali!!
m) i don't want to leave the old gray frankie dog that's been sleeping in my room every day since i got here...

bitter.

sweet.

but maybe, in reality, i just don't want to get to the point of spending the entire fall semester in SF by my lonesome and have my mister out here...i'm a big ole sap and like to have him around a lot - i never understood marrying someone and then working all the crazy time and at some point looking over at that person and going....who are you? we like to take as much time as we can and just hang out together and road trip together and meander and wander around together...so this is gonna be kinda stinky for us...productive, but stinky.

well...more thoughts later.......phew.... thanks for sticking with me through this typhoon of a post.

xxx.

Friday, August 04, 2006

new cutie logo!


new cutie logo!, originally uploaded by sproutgirl74.

so even though my brain has been ultra fried for the last week because of this insane heat wave, i managed to get up with my graphic designer friend extraordinaire to knock out the new-set-brand logo for my site. and since what my problem was all along was that i would get bored with what i had, & then continually change it and probably confuse loads of customers, we solved it by having a square of solid color that now can be switched out whenever i so please. so what's pink right now might just become a lovely olive-y green or light blue or orangey sherbet...(you get the idea) thus allowing non boredom on my part, but still keeping the key brand-ey necessary business logo deal going...hoorah!! she's also going to do some banners for me too, but that will be later in the fall when both of us have more brain cells and she's ready to trade again!

Thursday, August 03, 2006

heat stroke.

111 degrees when i walked out of the thrift store. i don't even have energy to try and activate my brain to say anything remotely intelligent or witty or exciting. ugh.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

check this out!

here is a very hip, new, fun, stylish online zine about the crafty world and some of its' crafty diy participants!
what you make it!

go take a look-see ;)

& this: disconnect the dots
a collaboration of artists; and their works...really great visuals!