Friday, October 28, 2011

Not-So-Breaking News

Don't be mad! This time the absence was totally legit! I was out of town, and even though I don't think any of you readers are thugs looking to break into my cute little house, I make it a point to not announce to all of cyberspace when I'm going to be away from home for several days at a time. See? My excuses are getting better.

Quick run-down as a break for me from the veritable mountain of paperwork I've been digging out of since returning home (you'd think I'd been gone three weeks instead of three work days!):

* Cut the hair again. This time was just a 9" donation to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. Thought I'd spread the hair love around. Also, even though I probably could've gone shorter, Ashley wanted to have something to work with. Long story short: long hair short. Er. Shorter. I like it enough. It's just hair.

* Had an EXCELLENT vacay visiting the bestie, otherwise known as Sokphal. LOVE HER! Great, great times. Highlights: meeting her boyfriend, who I completely love and approve of; pumpkin carving party with her excellent adventure friends (Machu Picchu and Kilimanjaro trips) and my dear friend Eric; Eastern Market-- a tenth the size of Portobello Road but still quite charming; my first experience with Thai; seeing Heather and Bobbie, girls from my days in Poland; buying cupcakes from a truck; pedicures; the Mall of Heaven (Tyson's Corners); finding out that Virginia really IS for lovers, etc., etc. Amazing vacation. Thanks, Phal. You are the bomb!

* Finally, gearing up for Halloween weekend. This year's costume, if you haven't heard, was inspired by Flight of the Conchords "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room." I'm going to be "an air hostess in the 60s." It's important for people to know the origin, just because I don't want folks to think I'm jumping on the Pan-Am bandwagon (how could I without a TV?). Ready to dance tonight!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Have You Seen Me?

Hullo, All of you in Blog-Land!
My guess is you've been checking faithfully, every day, waiting for a post from your favorite Rachel. Wink-wink. Oops! How did the month get away from me?
October is always a crazy time and this year is no different. Don't be mad, but I don't have boutique pictures yet. I couldn't find my digi camera, but I did have one of those disposable numbers in my junk drawer. Amazingly BAD pictures. Fortunately my friend Christina had her camera, and she let me shoot to my heart's content, but I haven't seen her since the sale, so no memory card of fun for me yet! I promise to ask her.
Anyway, speaking of the boutique, it was a smashing success. It was easily the best one we've had yet, as far as sales go, but considering last year's paltry turnout, our expectations were down. BUT what really makes it cool was it was the single-best Barn Sale Sylvia ever had, so that's something to talk about. Syl made about 65 percent of the profit, but she also put in about that amount of work. You should have seen the wall-to-wall women! After Friday night's "preview" (for dealers and folks who'd been good enough to advertise for us), we thought we were wiped out! But Sylvia, the Barn Fairy, got up in the middle of the night to re-arrange things, so for Saturday's public event, we were ready. Six hours later, the barn looked decimated again. I still drove home with a car load of stuff, but I'd also managed to sell nearly a truckload as well, so it was ok. Fun times. Just don't ask me when we're going to do the next sale. I need a month or two to recuperate. So does my house. I'm finally digging out of all the craft supplies.
Other news: Great weekend in Colorado. We checked out the changing leaves (gorgeous), had a picnic up the canyon, watched the Rangers win the pennant (Robert, my brother-in-law is a Texan and a life-long Rangers fan, so we're happy for him) and "The Parent Trap" (newer version with LiLo, before she was a train wreck). I got a lot done on my holiday family Christmas project, though I won't have time to work on it again for a week and a half. I think I'm on track to have it finished by Thanksgiving. It was a restful weekend, and we came home through Taos to check out the autumn views and the crazies (local and tourist varieties).
Two flies in the ointment of happiness must be mentioned, unfortunately. One was just a disappointment. When I finally got cell service around Tres Piedras, I saw I'd missed several texts from my friend Steve. We finally connected over the phone as I left Taos. He'd been in town with a friend (!) and was on his way to Denver. So even though we were only an hour apart (he was in Santa Fe at the time), I missed out on seeing this good old chum. Sad face! I would have loved to have hosted Petty and his buddy.
2nd item is truly sad: My dad happened to check HIS voicemail when we got back to Los Lunas and were just a couple of miles from my parents' house. Good thing he did. Our neighbor had called to say a wild dog was stuck on our fence and at least one of our sheep was dead. It was awful, but much better than finding out when we saw a dead sheep in the field. Apparently it happened around 5 yesterday morning. The dog got away. Two of the three sheep were dead, and my poor brother had the unpleasant task of putting the third one out of its misery this morning (this is awful, but having nursed the last sheep who'd had the misfortune of a similar attack for a week before she died, it really was for the best). This is why I can't handle pets.
Well, hmm. How's that for a Debbie Downer note?
Anyhow, life marches on. Surely more has happened/is happening/will happen in the next few weeks, and I promise to be better with the updates. And you probably won't even have to look for them on the side of your milk carton.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Did you know...?

You probably know that I sometimes bind books. But did you know I once hooked a rug (which I'd also designed)? It wasn't too nice, unless you're into burgundy and peridot shag (which I actually am), so it never made it on display, but I did it.

Did you know that I've been a longtime devotee of 1 percent milk but recently made the switch to skim? I never thought I'd say it, but I'm a big fan. It started out just on my Special K, but I find a whole glass refreshing. Maybe I'll become a regular milk drinker at last. Or even a regular cereal eater. The times, they are a-changin'.

Have I told you about my secret love of Lifetime, Television for Women? I blame my college roommate, Vanessa. We spent many Saturday mornings watching Lifetime Original Movies. Nessa actually would watch about three or four every Saturday and tell me about them and I'd be jealous that that productivity bug had gotten ahold of me after one and a half. Netflix + Lifetime Series "Drop Dead Diva"= happy Rachel, even though the show isn't that great.

Are you surprised I cried during LDS General Conference today? Maybe you're not. I was pretty warm and fuzzy during the temple announcements-- the Provo Tabernacle hit really close to home-- but I positively wept during the obligatory "if you are a righteous woman who hasn't had the opportunity to have children because you haven't found an eternal companion" caveat. It was tricky when I realized they were talking about me a few years ago, but after a talk with some church leaders recently, it felt very real. I was glad no one was around to see my face contort into Sloth's from the Goonies.

And when did you figure out that I'm a huge poser and not a morning person at all? I mean, I've conditioned myself to be, or at least I WAS conditioned. Early morning seminary will do that to a person. But life at the BYU destroyed that, and now even though I like to go to bed early, I also like to sleep late. And by late, I mean 7:30.

Sometimes I stay up late and laugh in my bed about really dumb things. I'd tell you some of them, but I'm not in my bed so they're not coming to me. It'll happen just as I'm drifting off to sleep, jarring me awake so I can start the whole settling down process again.

Do you feel like you know me a little better now? I do, because this morning, I'm not sure I could have told you any of this. I didn't really know. Except maybe about Lifetime.