Riot and Frolic

Sunday Special - Back of the Closet

This skirt has been taunting me from the back of my closet for years. YEARS. A simple, black pencil skirt with a geometric, vertical ruffle over one leg. None of my shirts seemed to pull it together, let alone ANY OF THE SHIRTS EVER MADE.

Today I said, "Screw you, skirt" (except with fouler language; happy Sunday!) and threw on all the clothes that confound me (yet I still own).
PUT ON ALL THE CLOTHES!

LOOK AT YOUR SHINY SHOES!
POWER CLASHING!
FANCY BRAID BUN!

I'll stop yelling now.

Clothes stuff:

• earrings - from me ma
• scarf - Wal-mart.  What.
• sweater - Target
• blouse - Karma Boutique in St. Paul
• skirt - Express a million years ago
• shoes - DSW? (gift from The G)
• belt - came with a dress from a million years ago

Have a great week!  

Check out the pretty people at Fine Linen and Purple for What I Wore Sunday and Plane Pretty for Sunday Style.

This Will Make You a Better Ballroom Dancer

If not a better person.

 

Stand with your heels, rear, shoulder blades, and back of your head against a wall.  Put your elbows and forearms against the wall with your hands at your eye level (like you're making a "W" with your arms).  Slide your arms up (to make the "Y" of "YMCA") and then back down to the starting position.

If your lower back hurts, step your heels out from the wall a couple inches, leaving your rear, shoulder blades, and head against the wall.

Forearms don't touch the wall?  Keep pressing them back towards the wall anyhow.  

It should BURN right between your shoulder blades.  

DO THIS EVERYDAY!

You probably need this, too:

 

Please hold these longer than this nice young man does, but

DO IT EVERYDAY!

Getting High Pays Off

Last week, I spent my late nights getting high.

On glue.

Accidentally.

I NEEDED to make a statement necklace since I WANTED something to dress up my daily tee shirt and jeans routine.  I'm trying to look like an adult these days and in my mind, grown-ups wear jewelry.  

I had stalked a couple premade ones on Etsy and Googled the crap out of all the tutorials I could find.  Then I sat down and started gluing.  With industrial strength glue.  That I kept forgetting to close.  (Chicken or the egg, on that one.)

Here's what I produced:

 

it's like the sea

business in the front, party in the back

hey, good looking

whatcha got cookin'

The tutorials I followed are here:

 

• rolled flower tutorial via my sparkle (super easy, great pictures)
• creating a backdrop and attaching chain for flowers via one perfect room (no sew!)

My free time got me a sweet necklace and my snack cupboard cleaned out.  Win win!

The Horrors of Motherhood

I've written the facts of motherhood before, now I'm here to talk about the horrors.  Sometimes, I think they're the same thing.

• You will not be able to watch violent movies. For some of you, this might not be anything new.  But me?  I used to love a good action flick, including the violent ones.  But the more kids I have, the more they... affect me.  Like terrible nightmares and uncontrollable sobbing, either at the same time or separately.  Good times.  Recently, I took in Reacher (a dark B-like movie along the lines of Drive) and the military flick, Act of Valor.  Ay yi yi.  Haunted.  Acts of violence involving children, obviously, make the situation worse.  That should come on the movie rating label.   I guess I'll just watch Pitch Perfect... again.
  

  thank you
that thing?  You know, that little blob?  No, not the baby.  The one that's still attached to you, right below your navel.  That thing?  Doesn't go away.  The "marsupial pouch" (even with koala bears involved, it is NOT cute) might disintegrate after the first or second kid.  But after 3, you're really have to work for it.  You are not 17 anymore, and that flat belly requires persistence or surgery.  

she knows what i mean
• When some delightful people let your babies sleep over at their house, your initial response of "Yippee!  I'm a free lady!" will quickly wear off around naptime/bathtime/bedtime/arguingtime when your second response of "Dammit, I have no one to read to/dry off/snuggle with/put in a corner.  [sad, lonely face]"
  

  sometimes baby IS in a corner, usually for yelling at her sisters
• True to Tina Fey's word, you will often have food or drool or something else on your clothes or face or hair and not even know it.  
  

  amen, sister
• that quirky trait you had as a single lady as "not having an inside voice" becomes a major headache when your offspring have the same quirky trait and you're all in an elevator together.  Similarly, realizing your tone of voice sucks most of the time and you need to stop whining, complaining, and over-reacting because the little people are clearly learning from your behavior. 
  

  get me out of here

Am I the only one who struggles with these things?  What makes you nuts (or ecstatic) about your kids?  

One year ago: It's Not Creme Brulee.

Cookie Dough in Sheep's Clothing

 

I saw a couple pins recently title "Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt".  I'm usually skeptical of somewhat healthy foods that try to pass themselves off as delicious.  A wolf in sheep's clothing, those healthful treats.  Like, just because it has "cookie dough" in the title, my tongue will make it delicious.  Dude, I lived sugar-free for months.  As great as some of the sugar-free desserts are, they are great for being sugar-free. 

Yet I've tried a couple versions of cookie yogurt and the wolf totally got me on this one.  To be fair, there's not much of a sheep to speak of.  I love all the ingredients: Greek yogurt (I'm a lover, not a hater), peanut butter, sweetener (I used agave nectar), vanilla, and sea salt.  I have added in a squirt or two of chocolate syrup on occasion, also.  

innocuous ingredients

It looks like pudding or soft serve ice cream and has pretty solid nutritional value (150 calories, 3 grams of fat, 20 grams of carbs, 7 grams of protein), so get over here, Wolfie.  I'm gonna eat you.

might as well be ice cream… or cookie dough

two big fans of The Treat

Do you have any secretly healthy treat options?  PLEASE SHARE!

One year ago: LLLL.