Hot Lips

If you're wondering how awesome I looked at a recent Halloween party, or, on a related note, how I look as a curly-haired blonde, well...here.











Somehow, I had amazing foresight this year. The theme was the 70s, and my original idea was to go as Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest (the movie, naturally). So I was prepared to go and find a nurse uniform, old school, and do my hair in rolls as I learned while they were trying to design my Evita wench hair
back in the day (p.s. later designed it my self).
But here's what happened: Friday, I had to take my car to Findlay to get looked at and fixed (let's address the cost of that later), and I planned to do a little shopping afterward for my costume. There just happened to be a Kohl's nearby and, as I was talking to my mother on the phone (about the cost of repairs), I decided that maybe the better part of valor this year might be something simpler, something warmer, something like Major Margaret Houlihan of the 4077 M*A*S*H. I hadn't planned anything wig-related, but something told me--yes.
Then, inside Kohl's, I found the perfect pants and sweater. I mean perfect...they give the aura of Hot Lips's customary outfit, but they are also wearable clothing for the future. I went into Meijer and found a wig, and then I was on my merry way. I'd looked for dog tags, and planned to maybe go to Claire's once back in BG, but then I thought, eh, I can make some with tin foil and posterboard. I got home, ate some lunch, and went to school. And that's when it happened.
I started to feel like hell.
I was developing a massive cold. Suddenly, my purchases felt a lot wiser. I hadn't wasted money on anything I'd never get to wear. I had bought stuff that I could wear any old time, just in case I didn't get to go to the party at all.
By the time the party came around, I was feeling better, so I suited up, including a hat that I just magically had, and was off. One of my hosts was dressed as Hawkeye, and so I had some company and everyone knew who I was right away (p.s. he had dogtags...from Claire's). The costume was slightly sexy, but also warm...I think it's the first genuinely warm Halloween costume I've had since I've been here. I wasn't showing any skin at all, in fact, which suited my mood. And, I got a chance to test out blond. Good times.
Today...going to the doctor. That's right, for once I'm giving in and seeing if there are any drugs out there for me.

Culinary Masterpiece...Eventually

This weekend I attempted to make a roast for the first time, specifically a ribeye roast. It was basically the last non-round roast left at Meijer, and it was two pounds. So I did my little calculations for time to roast and how to get the Yorkshire pudding together (oh yes, it was all out cookery), made a cake, and planned the exact moment to get the roast in the oven. I was about five minutes past that, but still figured I'd be in good form.
By the time my guest had arrived and I was ready to get the thing cut up (having measured the temp with an instant read thermometer and planning for five extra degrees of post-oven, foil-covered cooking), it was still pink in the middle. Doh! Back in the oven for another ten minutes cut up in slices. I was a little bit appalled. Here I'd planned to have everything all set up and ready to eat at 6:10, and it took at least another twenty minutes on top of that. I was sad. I was frazzled. It was noticeable.
Just once I'd like to get a perfect meal ready on time. Is that too much to ask? Just once I'd like to be an attentive and smooth hostess ready to just hold a conversation and see to my guest's needs.
The roast tasted fine, so that was good. And the pudding, while a bit dark on the bottom and crispier around the edges than I'd like, also tasted fine, particularly with gravy on top. The roast, as small as it was, didn't have a lot of drippings, but I managed with what I got and a boullion cube. Truth be told, the gravy was made in haste and wasn't my best work, but it was all right.
The fresh green beans turned out perfectly, despite their rather hasty and distracted preparation and cooking.
And the cake? Oh, we ate far too much of the rest to eat cake. I had a piece later. It was good.
So, what I've learned is that the roast should be started at least twenty minutes in advance of the time I think it should, and then I can keep it warm until it's actually required. Possibly this plan will lead to tough meat, but as long as I check it frequently it should be fine.
I'm thanking goodness I decided not to roast a small chicken, was was my original plan.

Wednesday TV rocks.

So, I know you are all dying to know what I thought about PR last night, and here is a rundown of my responses:
Tim Gunn all verklempt? Priceless. I love you, Tim Gunn; you are beyond humanly possible in nobility and class.
The resolution of the Jeffrey concerns? Warm and fuzzy, just the way I likes it. As I mentioned earlier, when we found out four designers were going to Fashion Week, these four all have flashes of brilliance and entirely different tastes, and I was more than gratified that they all seemed content to be there with each other. The proposed compromise to the budget problem and the resolution of the investigation made me feel happy for them all. I could not have been more delighted if I were sozzled.
I was disappointed that Michael's collection seemed straight out of the Frederick's of Hollywood clothing section (yes, in fact they do sell clothing). Actually, there's another catalog they resembled even more, but I can't remember it. It has a similar flavor, but less of a rep. Certainly that's a style, and sometimes even a popular one, but I don't think it was his best work. I have a theory: Sometimes with young poets, I see the most creative work come out of exercises and projects with restrictions. It helps them seek their own style even as they strive to meet constraints. I think that's where Michael is, sort of finding his way still and how it might fit into reality of clothing. Note that the looks he showed in his audition portfolio (I noted this before Nina even said anything) were very similar, yet the looks on the show were crafty and innovative. Right now, Michael performs best when given rules to deal with. As he develops, he'll hopefully come into his own inner innovator.
Major props to Uil. I LOVE that little bone belt thing at the top of several of her dresses. My friend Amanda and I are in agreement that a different order to the collection on the runway might have softened that jarring neutral-to-print moment. But, I think the amount of applause she received during the showing is a good indication of its potential; I love that they included Nina saying she'd already had questions about getting in touch with Uli.
I am in love with Laura's collection. I would wear any of those dresses, and I am drooling over that low-cut one with the black lace cups and the little moue it made at the cleavage. Do you know how hard that is? It was exquisite. Not rangy, certainly, but Chloe won last year with a similar contingent. Fern Mallis didn't care that it didn't have range, either. I want Laura fashion. I want her to design red carpet dresses as long as she desires to do so.
I am still mad that Jeffrey was mean to Angela's mom. Likewise, I did not find his collection personally pleasing (or rather, like it made me want to wear the clothes). However, I am not upset that he won, because it was a collection with a point of view and with range, and I can absolutely see the woman (or girl, really) who would lean in that direction. I've already heard many comments lusting after the zipper dress. My favorite was actually the short navy blue dress, even though it didn't quite match up with the rest of the collection; actually, I didn't find Jeffrey's collection to be as cohesive as some pointed it out as being; the point of view was consistent, but the outfits sort of ranged to different degrees off that line (eg. that short wispy babydoll thing that looked like she put on an apron and called it quits).
In any case, I am left with the same feeling in which I started the show (post-results of investigation): Pleased for the designers, pleased for me, and excited about all of their potential career moves. It feels, as Tim Gunn so aptly said, that everyone is a winner!

Now, Top Chef has begun. It looks like it will be a snipy sort of season, which I hate, but the mere inclusion of Harold Dieterle as guest judge alone made me want to watch. He looks like he's been living well. I did enjoy that gal who made frog legs southern Sunday style. That's the way to eat! I also felt like the second group's mystery box ingredients were weirder than the first group's. I've been wondering if they felt the same way.
Ghosthunters was ok, but not as exciting as last week. Lost...I know a lot of people have dissed it, but I loved the polar bear. Any episode with monsters is okay by me. As far as ANTM goes...well, I'm sad to see AJ go, because her walk is killer.

I'm looking for a Wednesday tv anonymous group. Any takers? Things have gotten out of hand.

My skin has had it with fall.

Bleh. My skin looks old. As fall creeps through this year and the air dries while the temperature drops, my skin has put forth its protest with shadows under my eyes, mysterious tiny blotches, and dryness no matter how consistently I use my quality lotion. It's not cool. It also doesn't help that my allergies have peaked, as they do every year in September/October. Also my birthday is coming, and I fear I'm finally starting to look my age, rather than the several-years-younger thing I had going on for ages.
To combat such issues, I took a weekend and did a lot of nice stuff for me. On Friday, as noted, I went to the hockey game after the baseball game (TIGERS WIN! WOOT!. It ended up that I arrived right as the second period was going to begin, which was pretty perfect. I also went to the game Sunday and...well, this needs some explanation.
I'm trying to get a chapbook manuscript prepared for a competition. I don't do well in competition, but I wanted to send my demon poems. The only problem is that I didn't yet have enough, and while I've been picking away at it for a month, I needed about five more pages. I spent much of the weekend writing and revising poems! Do you know how long its been since I did that? It rocked my socks off.
One of my favorite demon poems to date was written at a hockey game. For some reason, that combination of being on my own with crowd background noise, the ability to look up and let my mind drift even while focusing on the puck, and sitting sideways on a bleacher, all while bundled into sweater and jersey, really makes my brain put out good work. And sure enough. I took my book to the game Friday but didn't do much. Sunday, though, proved to be most profitable, and I turned out exactly what I wanted to...the pack of poems needed another sort of imagistic poem full of figurative language and metaphor, something just a little spacey, and that's exactly what I wrote! How cool is that?
I have enough pages now to finish the chapbook up, but a couple of them aren't as strong as I'd like, so I'm going to try to write one or two more as well. It is awesome!
Then, of course, I took a bath on Sunday. That pretty much sealed the deal.
Weekends off rule!

Important October Details

First, a question: Does anyone know who the character Edith Ann is? Think 70s here.

Second, some thoughts about cheese; I've discovered the most magnificent cheese, and it is Sage Derby. If you enjoy cheese and like something a little unusual, and if you enjoy sage, you should eat this cheese immediately. I got it at Stimmel's Market.

Third, my car is being sad. Wednesday night it almost didn't start at all, and twice yesterday it quit when I tried to put it into reverse right after starting it. Baby, don't play that game with me. I love you and want you to be happy. But I need to get places, you know what I'm saying?

Fourth, Project Runway: I can't talk about it. It's too much to process. All my BG PR peeps were in a tizzy with me.

Fifth, I now, officially, watch too much TV.

Sixth, tonight I have to make a decision: watch Tigers or go to the hockey game? Can I do both? Would I be able to watch the Tiger game anyway? Would it make me too nervous? Should I bring some knitting to the game so as not to get nervous about that? Or write a poem, like I did "Blue Birth Demon," which got published? I don't know! I love it on Fridays when this is all I have to think about!

Wednesday:DND

Ok, Ok, maybe Do Not Disturb is excessive. I would certainly answer the phone or the door, and I wouldn't be upset about it.
But I gotta say, TV is heating up big time tonight. Witness...
8 pm: America's Next Top Model. (It's true that I abhor the teenaged dramas of these girls, but I love watching the photo shoots and seeing the results. I just mute the drama-in-the-house parts).
9 pm: Lost. (Stupid Steve. You are responsible for this desire to watch.)
10 pm: Project Runway. (Obviously the highlight of the evening. There is some drama afoot here, I know, but I love the episode where Tim visits everyone at their homes, and I look forward to seeing what everyone is up to).
11 pm: Ghosthunters. (PREMIERES TONIGHT! Oh yeah, baby. Actually, the show is at 9, but Sci-Fi takes massive pity on me by reshowing the ep at 11. Bless you.)
And, on top of all of this, game two of the Tigers vs. A's showdown. Tigers up 1 game, and as an obsessive Tiger fan of yesteryear (how many of you had a mini-Tiger shrine in her bedroom? How may of you dressed in a Tiger t-shirt and leggings and cap every time a game was on? How many of you carried a portable radio around the yard no matter what when there was a game on? How many of you fell blissfully into dozing from the 4th to the 7th innings on Saturday afternoons, tummy full of Faygo creme soda or Coke float? How many of you got as close to the TV as possible and stayed as quiet as possible during late night games so parents wouldn't tell you to go to bed?)
It's all good in the house.
Also, this weekend I planted mums.
Also, I ate a lot at home. One of my requests was oven-fried chicken, and oven-fried chicken I got and ate a huge amount of. My Mom rocks. Meanwhile, my Dad and I examined mysterious holes in the lawn out by the lake, holes that don't really go anywhere but are also not hidden as squirrel holes tend to be. It's quite unusual, but as Dad said, might be good for the lawn, aerating it and such.
Ah, home.
And now it's time to teach.

P.S.

By the way, I had another of those shining moments of recognition on Saturday. I was watching Harry Potter 4 and eyeing Mr. Crouch for the first time with that "where I have I seen him before" feeling. I was concentrating on the voice and the eyebrows, but just couldn't manage it. Then, later, I had my answer. Vicar of Dibley. Roger Lloyd Pack plays Owen. It was nice that Vicar of Dibley was on no more than an hour after I'd had that question to begin with. Didn't even have to wait until I had computer access. It was sweet.

Is it true...

...that I bought no fewer than two sets of pajama pants at Victoria's Secret for my new habit of changing into lounge pants when I get home? Yes.
...that I searched in every store I frequent, and some that I don't, checked every sales rack in reach, looking for the perfect black pants before deciding that, on balance, it was better just t0 pay full price for a nice pair at Express? Yes (after wasting 2 and a half hours. And they're a little bit big, but I think they'll be okay. I'm kind of between sizes at Express, but I really wanted a nice pair of pants).
...that I went to the Orange and White hockey game on Sunday and had a marvelous time? Yes. I have a student on the team, for the first time ever, which kind of rocks. And BGSU does not play MSU until February, so I have lots of Falcons-cheering time in between. Hockey season has begun!
...that I took an absurdly sparkly bath on Saturday? Yes.
...that a pickup truck flipped over in front of my house on Saturday night? Yes.
...that the truck flipped over while I was in the bath? Yes.
As far as I know, the truck driver lived. My neighbor was convinced he was dead, but after the crowd dispersed and the tow truck was getting ready to collect the truck, I asked an officer, who was very nice to me, and he said the guy was talking a little as they got him on a stretcher and into the rescue vehicle. They definitely had to pry off the top of the cab and the windshield to get him out. It was very scary. I haven't found anything in the news about it, so I guess he's all right.

A few bits and pieces

Yesterday the issue of Backwards City Review that I'm in came to me! Hooray! The poems look great, and I felt proud reading them. My professor Larissa Szporluk is in there, and also my friend Dan Rzicznek, which is sweet. Their poems are also awesome.
My Dad is pretty cool, too.

About Project Runway this week:
I know a lot of people have felt that the producers and judges wussed out.
I feel differently. My problem with reality shows so often is the lack of poetic justice. Witness the extremely irritating character of Monique on Top Model, who failed the day's challenge, has a huge attitude problem, and didn't take a good picture this week, but still believes she is the queen of the house. I can't watch this show while she's on it because her brattiness ruins it, and I fear it will be forever before she is axed. (I can't say this is true for sure, I just worry). So, on PR when it came to three designers I frequently enjoy and one that I respect for designing, I feel great that the decision made favored my own indecision.
Not only this, but the prospect of four collections is extra exciting to me because I love the final runway show. Furthermore (as if you needed another reason), I felt such a friendly vibe-- all the designers hugged after they all made it. No one was sad or angry. They all are so different, and as much as they have sometimes criticized each other, I think this group has generally done so from a design standpoint, and haven't been mean about it (even Jeffrey, whose character is frankly cantakerous, has softened his criticisms on these designers). I may be wrong, but the feeling after the show seemed so positive and excited to me. It makes me really anticipate Olympus Fashion Week with all attention forward. The reunion show may dampen my spirits a little, but let it just be said now that on October 18 I will be riveted to that screen.

In other TV news:
House? Hilarious. "You can't stop our love!"
Supernatural? Complicated, but oh do I heart Dean in scrub pants and t-shirt.
Gilmore Girls? GAH! ON AT THE SAME DARN TIME AS HOUSE NOW! WTF? VCR definitely in overdrive henceforth. I choose to record GG because I can watch it later in the evening in my jammies, with some ice cream and wet hair, and it goes over pretty well.

Ok, go away. I need to write some poems.

Pinstripes

I was starting with some allergies or cold-related nonsense last week, possibly related to some seriously cold and wet socks last Tuesday, so I decided to spend most of the weekend alone, ensconced in my house. I slept a great deal of Thursday and Friday, and took a nice walk to the park with a pastry and coffee. By Friday evening, I was ready to get busy on a project. So, I went and checked out the unabridged The Hobbit on audiotape as well as a PG Wodehouse (Jeeves and Wooster, don't you know), and headed over to my workroom (which, as it turns out, is quite a bit warmer than my own apartment...good news if you are at all familiar with my heating bills. I will not need to turn up the heat so high when I am working and need to have my arms free from blankets).
I digress. For quite some time I've had some dark navy blue fabric with cream pinstripes. It's a suiting fabric, very simple, with a very slight sheen to it. The plan had been to make a suit, and I even had a pattern including a lined jacket and simple skirt. With the high number of other projects I've had, however, and the timing (I can't, for instance, see myself working on a full suit in July), I hadn't gotten to it. Also, jackets are hard, and I'd had variable luck with previous ones. This weekend, though, I decided it was time.
I discovered as I got the fabric out of the closet (did I mention how delighted I am with my new crafts arrangement?), that I didn't have any lining fabric in the correct color. I must have used whatever I bought for something else. I did not feel like going all the way out to the fabric store (did I mention I was wearing pajama bottoms?). I did uncover, though, a lovely cream satiny fabric with grey ochre and blue flowers on it, and was pleasantly surprised to notice that, not only would it be suitable for the lining, but it would look professional and as though that had been the intended pairing all along. I had bought this fabric for a nightgown. I often buy a few yards of this silky stuff (really like a very thin and light satin on the outside), in whatever pretty pattern I can find in the clearance. It's not a very ironable fabric because it doesn't hold much of a fold, but it's not overly difficult to sew and it has a lot of applications. Now I'm excited because I've found one more potential use and will not have to hold myself in check when I find prints I like.
With this discovery, I launched full on to make my suit. I started with the jacket, and truth be told it was indeed a tough task, mainly because I was being very careful with it. Actually, the creation of the lapels (typically very difficult for me) was much easier than previous projects! I was excited about that, and about how it all came together, even more so because this all went down while I was listening to a story perfect for sewing to (I'd never read The Hobbit). As I stitched in the lining, I grew happier and happier with my fabric choice and, although I didn't do the best job with attaching the sleeve part of the lining, from the outside it looked great, and I know it will "ride up with wear." The skirt went pretty well; I didn't do the best job on the hem, so I may take it out when I have some time and redo it (the fabric has the slightest bit of stretch to it, and I found that the hem is tugged just a bit too far to the left, creating the smallest of bends in the pinstripes). I even had a little time last night before I quit to cover some buttons with scraps of fabric and stitch them onto the jacket, and make a little tie belt with the leftover silky.
The result, I must say, is very professional, and I am very excited that it all went so well. No major disasters at all. It was a great way to spend a quiet weekend at home. I'm most delighted about the lining discovery and above I have included a picture (ignore how bad I look! it was late!) so you can see what I mean.

My crew, and by crew I mean my blog friends, are always putting notes up about albums they are looking to buy, or are excited about, or that are the best in the year, etc. I always feel a little left out, because I don't listen to a lot of current music, but I seem to hang around most with people who do.
Today, though, I'm excited about an album; it's not new, but it got me kind of geeked. It happened like this:
I'd never seen the entirety of Kill Bill, either vol 1 or 2. It was a lot like Pulp Fiction. It's not the type of movie I really go for much. I can appreciate why others would, but I myself would need to be in a special sort of reflective mood in order to watch. With Pulp Fiction, I made a sassy drink and got down to it. I haven't seen the whole thing since, just bits and pieces on TV, and I don't mind. The experience was encapsulated into that mildly tipsy sort of "aha. I see" mood.
This weekend, though, TNT was going to show the Kill Bill films, and I thought I'd give them a go. Friday was vol. 1 and Saturday was vol. 2; I finished my essay quota each night and sat down to it.
Well, vol. 1 starts with Nancy Sinatra singing "Bang Bang." Even if you know me pretty well, you probably do not know that I heart Nancy Sinatra. Also, I love that song. I resolved immediately (so immediately that I got up to write it down on my grocery list) to get that song in whatever manner possible. On Saturday, I traipsed my behind into Finders, looked the song up, and found the Kill Bill vol. 1 soundtrack on CD. I decided against vol. 2, since I had not yet seen the movie, but as soon as I got back in my car I put my new CD on and listened to "Bang Bang" at least six times. I didn't actually listen to the rest until quite a bit later that evening, and this is what I think of it: It rocks.
The only song I didn't care for much is the rap that follows O-Ren's speech. I might warm up to it, but the beginning, where the speaker is just sort of doing a "this is your life" sort of thing is dull, especially following the included scene after O-Ren slices Tanaka's head off. The difference is jarring in a bad way.
The remainder of the songs are exciting, and are very excellent traveling music. It's a good soundtrack because it evokes the mood of the movie very well. It has that special referential quality but also stands by itself. I love it, and it shall travel with me from car to workroom henceforth.
So take that, music flaunters.
Oh, and the films? Entertaining...more so than Pulp Fiction for me, actually. Not something I'd watch a lot, but worth a rental now and then.

This week on the small screen

Project Runway--are you kidding me? That was the biggest f-ing (that's right, I said f-ing, that's how mad I was) waste of an hour ever.
In fact, as I explained to my friend Amanda, I was so infuriated that during the commercials I watched the rest of a movie, and didn't even care when I missed a minute or two of the show if I didn't stop the tape soon enough. That's huge for me. As much of a channel surfer as I am, if I'm watching something I need to watch, the channel stays put. I mean, I put on my ballerina pajama pants! I made a huge bowl of buttery popcorn! I'd watched tapes that needing returning in the early evening so as to clear my schedule!
The challenge itself wasn't *so* bad, but it was boring. And this using scraps of fabric thing? OK, I like the whole waste not want not thing, but if you don't have rules about that, you're going to get nonsense like the purse-stuffing. Really, it was the type of "challenge" that makes you think the creators were really struggling. I don't want to even talk about how their plan for bringing back challenge winners completely blew up in their faces and ended up further eroding credibility instead.
Laura deserved her win. Michael was strong. I would wear Uli's dress, sleeves and all (but not the necklace).
That's it.
Thank goodness for Calendar Girls, which I watched immediately following this debacle. It was witty, heartfelt, and entirely entertaining, and I even watched all of the extras on the dvd to learn about the real-life ladies who stripped for a calendar in support of Leukemia research. Helen Mirren is full of sass, which I always enjoy. That lady can do absolutely anything, and it was nice to see other familiar faces like Julie Walters (Mrs. Weasley in HP), Penelope Wilton (Mum in Shaun of the Dead) and Celia Imrie (Una in Bridget Jones) doing something so completely daring, too. Now that's credibility.
Also on tap this week was The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I found parts of it creepy (mainly those all-alone with strange noises scenes), and it was worth the 2.50 dvd rental fee, or whatever it was. I like a nice, scary movie about this time of year, when it starts to get cold and the falling leaves make skittery noises across the ground when it's windy.
Evidently, Steve feels the same way. Zombies.

TV Synthesis

Am I the only one who, while watching House last night and hearing that a child had two sets of DNA, when House said "How is this possible?" immediately thought CHIMERISM? Or however you spell it?
And I couldn't believe it took him an achingly long time to figure that out. The "disorder" is so weird, you'd have thought House would LOVE that and know about it instantly.
Maybe House didn't catch that episode of CSI when the criminal wasn't caught at first because of dual DNA. In any case, I thought it was a bit much for him to say "that's not possible." Even taking his level of distraction into account, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief that he wouldn't land on chimerism right away. I mean, there aren't many possibilities, but there IS one, you know?

Weekend in Scenes

Scene 1: Don't scream unless it's an emergency.
Screaming outside my window. Children walking their bikes up my driveway and then pedaling down the hill screeching at the top of their lungs. Why is everyone always in my driveway?
Scene 2: Saturday. 2 pm.
The heart feels sad for no good reason. Everyone is out in the sun. We all seem a bit uneasy. In the afternoon I stop and visit beside the booths. It is like a play. We might be saying "How are you?" or "Isn't it hot?" but we might also be saying "Cantaloupe and watermelon" or "This is what I'm saying. Listen to me while the people in the audience can't hear us." Someone points at the sky. Minutes later I know I should walk faster. The wind takes a turn for the biting. For the first time ever, I am drinking lemonade in the street and there are no bees. Where are the bees? Minutes later, thunder.
Scene 3: Sunday. 7:30 am. Phone ring #5. This time, I catch it.
"Hello?"
"Is Dustin there?"
"Ah. No, you have the wrong number."
"Oh." Pause. "Is this Jeremy's phone?"
"No. It's my phone. It's...Abigail's phone."
"Oh." Pause. "Is this phone usually used by someone else?"
"NO. It's MY phone."
"Oh." Pause. Click.
Scene 4: Sunday. 4:00 pm.
I have burnt my lips with absurdly hot chocolate.
Scene 5: Sunday. 4:45 pm.
I am in a gigantic circle of people. I am wearing blue gloves with snowflakes on them. I am wiggling my hips and swiveling my shoulders. I am supposed to be flirting with people across the circle. I am instead enjoying that we are all moving in a circle and laughing happily in the cold.
Scene 6: Sunday. 9:00 pm.
Bags are strewn across my floor. I have been productive. I have bought: A bag with cloud fabric. Three bead bracelets. An adorable half-jacket. And things for other people. I have a quilt across my lap, and I am bent over almost double, hand-stitching the binding in place. I can't believe it is only 9 pm and my cheeks feel sunburnt but are really wind burnt. I have no work to do but this.

Giggled-so-much-couldn't-stop quote-of-the-week

I have to say that one of my favorite parts of the week is blogging about PR and then, even better, reading the comments of people's own responses to the show! That rules. And this week, we're all so clearly in agreement it gives me a great sense of peace.

OK, this is from my new book, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel, by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht, in the section on gestures:
"In most Latin American countries it is considered phallic and very rude. In Brazil, the fig gesture means "good luck." In parts of the United States, it means "I've got your nose..." (179).

The first time I read that I had to read it again repeatedly because it made me laugh so much. It just sounds so funny to have I've got your nose thrown in there with the same seriousness as good luck or f you.
Ha ha! (said in scary Heidi Klum commercial voice).

PR from Paree

So, Project Runway.
I liked this week's challenge, though I thought it definitely favored some designers' interests. An understanding of couture methods does not make a better designer, but it seems like several designers were aided in the planning stages because of this knowledge. Thus, Jeffrey and Vincent openly exercised their senses of self-importance, as though knowledge equaled skill. (Stay with me, Jeff fans...I'm on your side this week, witness below). I might have liked this challenge better had it been farther along, for a group of five or even the final four.
I have actually pinpointed the above issue as a beef I have with this year's PR...so many of the challenges have been clearly geared toward a particular designer's interest. While this doesn't guarantee success by any means, it does prevent that all-or-nothing zeal, that all-in-the-same-boat action that marks out a more exciting challenge. Witness the results of challenge 1, season 1: at the grocery store. Under such conditions, there is no choice but to innovate and everyone has the same challenge. When you have challenges that favor some designers, despite the uncertainty of the outcome, the design process isn't nearly as interesting for me. Essentially, I prefer a challenge that puts everyone on the same page start to finish. Something that is as unexpected in the delivery for everybody as in the conclusion. Cohen's skating garment, the grocery store, the garden store, the muslin challenge, the dog outfit--these are the challenges I truly enjoy, or that I can really get behind in principle.

That being said, Jeffrey clearly deserved to win. While others employed couture techniques, as was the challenge, Jeffrey embodied the concept of couture and took the risk based on that energy. I didn't enjoy his dress as a garment, but I enjoyed it as a couture-esque piece for the runway. This is unlike Vincent's "art" dress from the recycling challenge, which was enjoyable to me as neither couture nor art, and certainly not as a garment. Jeffrey pulled through with this one.
As far as wearable garments, I prefered Uli's, though as we've encountered previously I'm not a big fan of the fabric braids (though I think she pulls them off better than Andrae or Santino did). The color was exquisite and it really fitted my desire to see something new and different from Uli, but that was still Uli.
Has anyone noticed how hypercritical the designers are getting of each other's designs now? And of course, the judges don't always agree. We're really getting down to execution and taste here rather than design itself, which is interesting. I don't really remember that peer critique as much from previous seasons, though maybe it just didn't pique my interest then.

Anyway, I enjoyed this week's episode despite my complaint on principle.

Go Green!

In case you were at all uncertain of just how amazingly awesome Michigan State is: Kermit.

Toothpaste companies make me mad.

I knew I was in trouble when I opened my toothpaste and the colored part was orange.
Aquafresh, you make me sad. I was so happy just using regular whitening aquafresh. Now there are all these boxes I don't recognize, so many varieties that I can't remember what I got before, and I can't find at all my beloved plain whitening toothpaste. I picked a box of extreme clean whitening, which seemed like it would be plainish, except that it was fluoride.
So, once I got over my color shock, I brushed my teeth. To my dismay, it tastes like Listerine. What the heck? I am all about fresh breath, but I gotta say, medicine does not smell very fresh, and that's why I seldom use Listerine.
So now I have an entire tube of toothpaste that I don't enjoy. I'm getting used to it, and I will use the whole tube, but I fear that I will never be able to find the right kind again, and I miss that wintry-fresh feeling of my old toothpaste.

Labor Day Baking Extravaganza

OK, I'm sorry I wimped out on the BBQ this weekend, kids. If you had seen me in my kitchen, you'd know why I never turned up.
Basically, I got up quite late in the morning and within a half hour was wrist deep in French flaky pastry dough, begun when my kitchen was still pretty cool. Over the ensuing ten hours, I baked many, many cookies, including:

• cream cookies
• chocolate crinkles
• chocolate chip
• shortbread
• petite palm leaves
• tartines

It was madness. The French cookies, the last two, took for-evah (this is a day-long agenda full of rolling and refrigerating and other such things), and they actually ended up not being flaky pastry at all. I followed the directions as best as I could, but a: my kitchen got hot, especially with the oven on, which is a big no-no for French pastry, and b: I really am not much yet on the finesse involved in French pastry. I can make a crepe pretty well, or at least I have in the past, good enough for me, but this attempt at French cookies was not even as successful as the ones I made last time, which was using a Betty Crocker recipe for the pastry. This recipe was from a French cookie book I rather enjoy but haven't used much yet because Idon't have some of the ingredients called for. More practice is called for, and perhaps I should purchase some of the ingredients for batter cookies, which is bound to be a more successful endeavor.

I'm not going to say the French cookies were distastrous, because they taste fine. But the tartines ended up being more like pie crust sticks; tasty, but certainly not what I had been aiming for. The palm leaves are probably my least favorite of what I made...again, the taste is ok, but the texture is notably un-French. The other four varieties were easy-breezy by comparison. My favorite cookie that I made? Shortbread. Easiest to make? Shortbread.

Anyway, I was up to my eyeballs in dough and dishwater, respectively, all day. I even wimped out on decoration--the cream cookies are supposed to be frosted and the tartines dipped in chocolate, but I really only frosted a few and then decided I was done. Fortunately, I'd been cleaning as I went all day so the kitchen wasn't a super disaster. Still got some dishes to do.

PR Universe

Okay, so everything's a little better this week. I'm completely done with Jeffrey's attitude, but his outfit was very fitting this week and I don't mind his win too much. Personally, I thought the pants were atrocious, but I liked his shirt and jacket. He seems to be the type of person who (annoyingly) vents psychological frustration by belaboring a deflective point (that is, deflecting from his internal struggle) and making pointless gibes over and over until everyone is sick to death of it; in this case, since he is in the wrong in my view, it is exceptionally irritating. Basically, I'd like to see less of Jeffrey's mouth running in future, in favor of more time spent on the work.
I thought Laura's dress was adorable and also enjoyed Michael's outfit. While I liked Uli's dress, I agreed with Tim Gunn that it is a dress she already does very well, and hasn't shown much variety. She's a litle like Chloe in that she has stayed in her comfort zone a little too long and I can see the judges itching for innovation; I only hope that when she does innovate, it is something that maintains her sense of style and taste.
Does anyone find it odd that Vincent, when faced with dressing himself, said, basically, I like to be comfortable, I like to be simple? Does he imagine that women like anything different? He needs to look at some of the disasters that have emerged from his workspace and apply his own needs to that of his primary audience of consumers. Especially in light of his comments during the everyday woman challenge, I am seeing a serious disparity between what he's created and these ideals he puts forth. As for Kayne, well...he just didn't look comfortable. The outfit was indeed costumey. I'm hoping he turns on the jets pretty quick here.
This episode had the strange distinction of being one for which I knew what the challenge would be before it started. Sometimes you can guess, or find spoilers, but seeing the previews last week, I knew exactly what was coming when I saw them standing on the runway. I'm sure others felt the same...it was an odd sensation, but in a way kept me calm.
Looking forward to more Paris.
P.S. What happened to Michael Kors? It's like he woke up on the witchy side of the bed this week. While well justified in many of his comments, they were delivered with ichor this week. Sassy! Our new judge, Catherine Malandrino can pull this off...not so sure about Kors. He just ends up sounding cranky.