Distract Me

Here is the deal. My life is not as sweet and nerfy right now as it has been in the past, which is why I haven't posted in so long. But I don't want to focus on that stuff here; I have to focus on it enough on a daily basis without purposefully sitting down and reliving it yet again, so I am just not going to do it.

One of the things that has kept me from posting for a while was the decline in my grandfather's health due to lung cancer that led to his death on June 19, 2009. I don't think it requires a lot of explanation to be able to imagine the emotional stress and anguish the accompanies watching someone you love die from something so deeply self-inflicted as a lifetime of smoking, so we will just leave it at that. However, the process of a family gathering to celebrate someone's life and then work together to iron out the details of the situation that is left behind has been a new, eye-opening experience.

My part of the process were things as simple as researching the printer my parents needed to buy to be able to print out all the necessary documentation and paperwork, or helping them set up the wireless internet in my grandparents' house so we could all be connected to each other. Before the funeral it was my responsibility to compile all the digital pictures we had, then scan in all the older ones that we wanted to include in a slideshow for the viewing. The undertaking of organizing and preserving my family's history is something that came out of all of this, and I am really looking forward to it. I was only able to do a fraction of the overall work while I was there, and I had to focus on scanning just the ones we needed for the various events. In the end I bought a huge tub at Wal-Mart and brought back every photograph that was not specifically being displayed in a frame or already organized in an album. As I work on it, I will share some of the results here. Like I have said in previous posts, it amazes me how well-documented our family history is when so much of it happened in a time when technology was just not an everyday thing. I am grateful, yet not too surprised, that someone had the foresight to make it happen.

Young Army Papa...so handsome!

Channeling Bear Bryant. The guy in the short shorts behind him is making me lol...

That is Papa and me!

This is just him, how we all knew him and remember him.

OK, so I know I said no more reliving bad stuff, but while the process behind his death was REALLY hard and bad, remembering him and being excited about the possibilities of preserving my family history is something I am looking forward to. I have lots of other distractions up my sleeve, so be ready!

Delicious

I have done nothing productive today at all. I slept until 10:00 then snacked and knitted all morning. The only productive things I have done today are be with Dave and see my family for a while; I did vacuum a little, but that was only motivated by the knowledge that my family would be here and I would be embarrassed if everything was dirty. Besides the snacks I grazed on all day I have had bread, pizza, ice cream, and a brownie with cream cheese icing to eat today. Pretty healthy, right? I watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist which was OK. I am still knitting, playing with the pom pom puppy and watching Shrek on TV. Also waiting for Dave to get done with thesis work for the night so we can watch Bones.

"You are literally like my musical soul mate."

I Say YES to Strawberries, Too

www.nataliedee.com

Germany 2009 Style

Courtesy of Kaboodle, here is a styleboard of the things I am going to take with me on my trip this summer. I am very excited, in case you can't tell:)

Germany 2009 by marbt

Pinch Me

This weekend has been fantastic. I have gotten a ton done while still getting to spend time with all the people who matter most to me, which is really what the weekends should be about, isn't it? Right now I am rounding out the weekend working on a project I started a long time ago. There have been a few snags in getting it done that I have yet to fully work out, but the general idea is filling my hallway with photos of our family. I think the majority are going to be vintage, and I have spent the afternoon cleaning up my craft room so I can continue scanning old pictures I got from my mom and dad. I am scanning as I write this blog, and I actually made enough room on the floor to spread out all the frames I bought and make some sort of plan as to what I am going to put in them.

This is the only one I have done. I have had it framed for a while because it is the only picture (of my mom, of course) that I knew for sure I wanted to include

Right now I am looking through and scanning pictures of my mother as a young woman. Looking at these pictures always fascinates me and makes me wish I could travel back in time and meet her as a person my age. Whenever I say something like that to her she cringes and says that I really don't want to because I wouldn't recognize her as the person I know; she was apparently wild and misguided and reckless with her own life and the lives of others, but I still think it would be amazing. It is always a toss-up if a picture of her looks like me or my sister, but you can definitely see where we get our bone structure and coloring. My mom's life is actually fairly well documented for growing up in a time where technology was nothing like it is today. When I look at pictures of her I also wonder what my dad was doing at that same time, wherever he was. My parents are not the same age, and for all my mom's lamentations about her mistakes growing up I know she wouldn't change anything because it all led to my dad and, ultimately, to me and my sister. For example, my mother was married before she met my dad. She had a big elaborate wedding, dropped out of school, and settled down. Things didn't work out, and she went back to school where, in her absence, my dad had become the editor of The Crimson White, the newspaper at the University of Alabama. That is where the met, and ta da! The rest is history. I love my parents' story, and I am so happy their life together, as well as my early childhood is well documented. Here are some of the pictures of my mother I have scanned today...










Hopefully I will get this project done over the next few weeks and I will post pictures of the end result. This is just one of the many things I still have planned for our house, and it has been nice having time to work on some stuff. Jen is coming over later and we are watching the Oscars. I am pretty excited for another good mindless entertainment session:)

Made for Walking

I have had a shoe buying streak recently. I am not sure what it is, but I am happy to forgo new shirts and pants for a nice pair of shoes. Some were bought out of necessity, others not so much.... I have ridiculously large feet. It is a horrible, horrible curse that I would not wish on anyone, but I always remind myself that as a person of 5'10" it is unreasonable to wish for size 6 feet. I would fall down all the time, but at least I wouldn't have the depressing shoe shopping experiences I have. I was recently told at Dillards during a trip to buy one of the pairs of shoes I am going to comment on that they only get ONE size 10 shoe in each style. That means that my years of agonizing over whether or not I should buy that pair, even if they are not something I really need, have been totally justified because the likelihood that they will be there when I come back after convincing myself I REALLY need them is very slim. I knew there was a method to my madness! I also do this thing with shoes where once I find a pair that I love I wear them exclusively until they fall apart instead of spreading out the wear across the hundreds f other pairs I have. Ok, not hundreds, but enough to satisfy most people. So here are three pairs of shoes I recently purchased, along with the justification behind each...

Red Canvas TOMS



I have had my sights set on a pair of TOMS for a while now but I felt that I needed to wait until I saw them in real life in order to make a final decision as to whether or not I wanted them. They are what I would consider expensive for a pair of non-leather shoes, although you are really buying two pairs because TOMS matches every pair purchased with a pair of shoes to a child who has never had shoes before. Then my friend Jessica (I should have know, Jessica is my hippie soul mate) came into work wearing a super cute olive green pair, and I really liked them. The main thing I was nervous about was if the soles were sturdy or if they had any support at all inside. They kid of look like house slippers, so I think my concerns were valid. It turns out that their soles are legit and the footbed is actually very soft leather with a medium amount of arch support sewn in. I know this means I just admitted they are not vegetarian, but f that bothers you you should probably quit reading this post now. Anyway, I originally ordered a 10 because it said order true to size, but they were too small when I got them so I sent them back for an 11 which fits perfectly. I got the 11s back on Wednesday and I have worn them Thursday and Friday in mildly cold weather with great results. Jen calls them my psycho shoes because they look like the shoes people are given who might harm themselves with buckles or laces, but I really like them and would recommend them for sure.


Brown Antonio Melani Flats



So remember when I was talking about my problem of buying a pair of shoes and loving them so much I wear them out? Well, this is what has happened to my pair of brown Antonio Melani flats I bought a little over a year ago. I LOVE them. I wore them practically every day until the sole is now worn down to a thin wafer and is coming unglued from the toe back to the middle of my foot. They don't look that bad from the top, but people who don't love them as much as me, namely my boss, think they look shabby. The only bad thing about them is that they did not have a leather interior, and actually thinking back I doubt they had any leather at all on them except maybe the patent toe, but the manmade material insides made my feet stink. So a few weeks ago I made my way to Dillards to see if I could find a suitable replacement, and I ended up ordering another pair of Antonio Melani's (I had to order them because they didn't have that one size 10 left! This is the trip where that revelation occurred). The are not exactly like my old ones; I think they are slightly better made and are more comfortable, although I am not as crazy about the overall style. However, I took them out of the box after they were delivered, put them on to discover a perfect fit, and walked out the door with David to the grocery store. I carried my other ones around with me for like a week after I started wearing the new ones just in case they decided to suddenly give me blisters and I would have to run back to the others asking for forgiveness, but that has not happened yet. I haven't worn my old ones since.


New Balance Women's W595 Sneaker



In a few months my mom and I are going to Germany. I am VERY excited because I have not been back since we left when I was 7. My sister and my mom went two years ago as my sister's graduation present, and my mom and dad went last year, so now it is my turn. We just recently bought our tickets, and my new passport came in the mail, so legally I am all set to go. I have been schooled by my mom in what I am allowed to pack so I can start preparing myself and anally purchasing small tubes of toothpaste and hand sanitizer months in advance, but there are actually two essentials for the trip that I needed to purchase. One is a jacket, and the other is a pair of shoes. I am waiting to buy the jacket from Land's End until maybe it goes on sale a little, but I wanted to go ahead and buy the shoes now so I could break them in. For a long time I wanted a pair of Merrill hiking-type Mary Janes, but decided I really just need a good pair of sneakers that I find attractive and comfortable. I had a pair of New Balances in high school that I have worn out a la my brown flats above, and I replaced them with a big ugly pair of Nikes when I went to college. I hate the Nikes, and I don't even remember what possessed me to buy them as opposed to another pair of New Balance, but that is what happened. I bought the W595s a couple of weeks ago and instantly loved their look. They are very stiff which makes me glad I bought them this far in advance, so it remains to be seen how they will wear in. I think I am going to be really happy I bought sneakers that I can wear with socks once all the walking and hiking in potentially cold weather starts.

So there ya go! Jen and I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic and we are both convinced our shopping habits are nothing now, and at least we buy attractive clothes as opposed to the total train wrecks in that movie....

Teeny Tiny Tittie Committee

The TTTC is the exclusive club that I was a member of in high school reserved for those whose ta tas never fully developed. My boobs have never been much to write home about, but for as long as I can remember I have worn a 36B. Well, recently I have known but have not wanted to admit to myself that I not only needed a new bra but I needed to get professionally measured when I went in to buy it. The bra I wear every day has deteriorated and the underwire was starting to wear through and irritate my side, so wearing my back up bra I trekked to the mall today with my sister. We spent some time continuing to deny the fact that I had no idea what size I should be wearing now that my boobs have shrunk down to the size of two clementines, and we gathered up several options that just didn't fit. I was officially lost, so we got the little measuring tape lady and she did her thing, listened to my sob story about my magical disappearing boobs, observed the tragedy that was my back up bra, and then left for about 10 seconds only to reappear with a bra that was obviously made specifically for my body. It was amazing, and as I write this at 12:34 at night when I should be asleep I can honestly say I would rather have really small boobs that debilitatingly huge ones, so I am not letting it bother me that my new bra is a 36A. Not at all. Now, my sister likes to go on and on about how her boobs are small and shapeless, but they are two regular Jabbas next to mine, so here we are in the fitting room together:

Me: "I just know it is going to be an A."
Carol: "If she brings back an A I am going to be making some phone calls to plastic surgeons for you."
Me (with a sad face as she hands me the 36A): "Well, it is an A. I don't think it will fit, but I will try it on..."
Carol (as she helps me fasten it): "How does it feel? It fits like a glove doesn't it!!?
Me (standing there observing my middle school self in the mirror): "Yessss..."
Carol: "You look like a french girl, with your haircut and your little bra..."

The worst part of the whole experience was having to take off the perfect bra and put back on the old one which was then OBVIOUSLY enormous in comparison. It put my years of poor undergarment choices into perspective. It was all very interesting, and I would highly recommend letting a professional help you with this process if you think you might not be wearing the right size. I shouldn't be preoccupied with the numbers, but it is just one of those things that women freak out over. I am now the official president of the TTTC, and we are accepting new members....

Shot to Hell

Since I apparently have commitment issues with this thing, my chances of being allowed to join BlogHer are, you guessed it!, shot to hell. Oh well, I guess that is just the way it goes. Things since I last posted have been busy, as usual, and with this being the first Christmas and Thanksgiving my dad has been here for in a long time, family time has been the main order of the day. I am very proud of our little family. My dad seems to have really mellowed out as a result of finally being free from the grips of Iraq for the moment; my sister has gotten her life together and is with someone who she is not only allowed to bring home but who is now a part of our family. My mother leads an active, healthy lifestyle that has rubbed off on all of us and we go walking as a family almost everyday. We have even been able to incorporate the puppies into this daily routine with the purchase of a "Poodle Pram" as my mom calls it. We get a lot of goofy looks, but whatever, it beats leaving them in their kennels while we are gone and they get a little fresh air, which is rare for two mostly indoor dogs. All-in-all, we are doing pretty good.

I am not a resolution type of person, but my accomplishments this past year have inspired me to set some goals for myself in 2009. In 2008, without any particular forethought or planning, I became a vegetarian and have been going strong for about seven months now. I also lost some weight, which was something I needed to do to be healthy and feel better about myself. In 2009, I want to let go of some of the anger that often shrouds my otherwise happy existence. The things I am angry about are typically outside my control, which, of course, just makes me angrier, and I need to just let them go. We will see how I hold up as the year goes on.

Tonight I feel lucky to get to go out with some friends I have not seen in a while. We are all growing up, getting married, moving away, and it will be nice to catch up. 2009 has started off pretty well!

Its not just lean its cuisine and depressing

This is my life every day around noon.


nataliedee.com

Funniest/Scariest Thing EVER

Now, I am not one to be afraid of clowns, but the second one made me laugh until I was bawling, while at the same time being the creepiest clown I have ever seen.  This is an awesome site, btw.

Homicidal Horned Boo-Boo

Those There are Some Keepers!

RED METAL CANDLEHOLDERS AND RUSTIC CANDLES

My mom spotted these candleholders at a store called Fant's in Guntersville where my grandparents live.  It is this old hardware store that was converted into a general-type store a long time ago under the name Hammer's.  There was this big uproar in town when they changed the name, but they have really updated their inventory since the switch.  My mom knew I would have to have them, and of course, I totally did!!  I got the candles from a big interior design place in town called Spice.  The best thing about the candleholders is that they are reversible and can be used as large vases for centerpieces, etc.  

CUPCAKE TREASURE BOXES

I got these four cupcake treasure boxes from Fant's, too.  They were only like $5.25!  I couldn't believe it, so I bought one of each kind.  The tops are made out of acrylic or something, so they are pretty sturdy.  At the moment I am displaying them in my Taste of Home cake stand (another reversible find) and dome in the middle of my dining room table.  Eventually they will be in a baby room, but until then I want to show them off!

 

OLD POTS

My dearest wish is that at some point David and I will get the inside of our house under control so we can focus on the yards.  The big copper pot was given to me by David's mother, and I found the little blue ceramic enamel pot while digging through my parents' storage unit last weekend.  Eventually they will both have beautiful plants in them in my backyard.

POLKA DOT VASE

Yesterday, in a separate trip from when I bought the candles, I went to Spice and the shops on the floor above and one of the booths was going out of business.  I don't think this vase was something she actually sold, I think it was a prop of some kind.  Anyway it was like $20 and I thought is was a little funky, but I have yet to find a home for it.

RUSTY OL' KETTLES

I don't know why, but I particularly love antique kettles and pots.  I have a really old enamel ware coffee pot that my mom got me at an estate sale, but the two below are recent finds.  The first one was purchased from an antique vendor from the shops yesterday, and it is really cool because the metal has this green sheen to it.  I suppose that is a sign that it could be toxic or something, but I am willing to wait it out.  The second one was a gift from my grandmother when we went to Alabama last month.  I think she is trying to get rid of some of the excess around their house, and knew I would love anything cast iron.  It is SUPER heavy but really cool.

ENAMEL WARE TUB

I saw this beauty and immediately knew I had to have it to display hand towels and wash cloths in my guest bathroom.  It will therefore serve two purposes: making some extra room in the extremely crowded linen closet and adding that touch of rustic that I love so much.

MY SPIFFY NEW HAT

Gotta save the best for last.  ALSO a find at the shops, it was just laying there on a table with other odds and ends, and I put it on and I was suddenly like Frosty the freakin' Snowman.  It just fit.  My head is really awkward shape and hats never fit me, but this was definitely love at first try-on.  And it happened to match the outfit I was wearing that day perfectly, so I had an excuse to wear it around all day.

A Conversation with My Mother on the Phone…

Mom: “Well, I think I have convinced your father to buy me a new light fixture for over the kitchen table. Do you think David would help him install it?”

Me: “Sure he can. I am excited! It will look so much better.”

Mom (with a smirk in her tone; we have been scheming about this for weeks): “Now all I have to do is convince him we need to replace that fluorescent light over the island.”

My Dad in the background: “What IDIOT suggested that?!?! That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. That will be so expensive! Only an IDIOT would suggest doing that!”

Mom: “Mary Beth suggested it.”

Silence in the background...

Me: “Tell Dad I dare him to read 30 issues of Country Living in a row and not come up with a better idea for that light over the island. If he can do it, he wins.”

If you want to piss my Dad off just mention the fluorescent light fixture over the kitchen island. If you want to piss me off read 30 issues of Country Living in a row and remain devoid of fabulous ideas for home improvement.

Looking Forward to a Vacation!

Well, it is official -- David and I booked our flight, car, and hotel for a trip to Gulf Shores! Gulf Shores may seem like kind of a weird choice, but the beaches are beautiful and it is where my family has always gone for beach vacations. It was really hard to make myself reserve everything because I normally am happy to only travel when it has to do with work or is a family vacation, and David and I spend our money on other things. The thing that really made me decide we need to make the commitment and go was that I realized we have never been on a vacation just the two of us in the history of our relationship! We didn't get to go on a honeymoon because we were both still in school, so this trip is definitely a long time coming. We are actually staying in a condo, not a hotel, and the pics below are of the actual unit we rented. AND I am super-excited because I remedied my previous gripe of not having a good camera today! I ordered an amazing Canon PowerShot that is exactly like Jennie's and it is great because I know I will love it since I have been coveting hers since she bought it and I know the picture quality is great. Although Dave laments spending money I think he was excited to get a really nice camera, too, since so much of our house is dedicated to pictures of family and friends. I absolutely love being surrounded by our memories!













Going back to my previous post, David and I did actually get a lot of good work done last weekend. I LOVE it when the house is clean, and I have been making some progress on getting the little decorating touches taken care of. I am really excited because I have some fun projects lined up for the next couple of weekends that are going to help put the house together even more. I am at my parents' house this weekend because it was my mom's birthday yesterday so we celebrated last night and then David's family is coming over tonight to celebrate. David and I bought my mom a new coffee maker for her birthday and we have been drinking the fancy new coffee made by the fancy new coffee pot all day long. It is so cool, I want one now, but if I got one it would bring my coffee maker count to three, which is a little embarrassing. While I am here this weekend I really had planned on going to Target to buy some picture frames since the Target in Waco, which I love but was lacking in this particular area this time, had the ones I want but I SWEAR every one was horribly scratched or dented. And they are black, so you can totally tell! Heights has a brand new fancy Target, but unfortunately this weekend is tax-free weekend and people are out in droves. This town is absolutely nuts.



Anyway, I am off to figure out what I am going to do for dinner since we are getting barbeque for everyone else. Perhaps I hear Subway calling my name?

Here Comes the Weekend!

Whew!  Today is Friday and we got back from the AL late Monday night.  I am so glad that as an adult I can really appreciate why we go to Alabama, and I had a fabulous time doing not much of anything!!  My sister's boyfriend Chris went with us, and despite them not having all that much in common, he and David got along really well and I think Dave appreciated not being harassed by a bunch of bossy southern women all weekend.  Not that he didn't get harassed anyway, but at least he had an ally.  The tally of the trip includes...

2 ~ four-mile walks by the lake

20 ~ Issues of Country Living Magazine read (twice as many new decorating ideas concocted, much to David's chagrin)

Who Knows ~ Cups of coffee!

2 ~ Fishing lines untangled

23 ~ Hands of cards

11 ~ Rows of knitting completed

112 ~ Pages read in my book

And untold delicious fresh vegetables from my grandfather's garden.  Even though I was upset because I didn't think I would be able to get good pictures, I used my mom's camera and it seemed to work out fine.  

I love going on vacation but I hate the way it makes me feel at work the week after.  I never feel motivated and I regretfully take too many breaks in the name of "recovering."  This week wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I am really glad it is the weekend, which brings with it the hope that I will magically become motivated to get some stuff done.  I think David and I are seriously going to take a trip for our birthdays and our two year wedding anniversary, so before we can do that I have got to get all the other birthday gifts figured out.  This time of year is always hard because EVERYONE'S birthdays are in August and September.  Jennie and I are going to do a little shopping tomorrow so I am hopeful I can make a dent in it.  

David messed up his thigh muscle playing softball last night, and he literally can barely walk.  He is loving the fact the he legitimately can't get up and switch 70's Show DVDs, give the dog more food, move just slightly to the left so he isn't taking his half of the bed out of the middle, you know, things that require movement.  Lounging is an art to him, and he is definitely getting some practice.  Right now he is beside me being hairy and snoring and trying not to move.  I have big plans for the weekend, so he better walk it off.  

I wish I were waking up tomorrow to a covered back porch with a view of the lake, but instead of pining away I will wake up early and make steps towards making my own house the haven I desperately want.  Wish me luck!!

Going Back to the Mothership

Today is Monday and my family is going to Alabama on Thursday.  I am deeply regretting not getting my act together and buying a really nice camera before this trip.  My grandparents' house is gorgeous, and it makes me sick to think that their house and land might not always be where we go to when we want to remember our roots.  Thus the reality of changing times and the people who I always thought of as full of vitality and life growing older.  It is wholly unfair, but I can't do anything about it except make time to go there and soak it in before it is gone.  I really want to capture it in photographs, but my camera is just not very nice.  The camera I want is almost $2,000, so I guess I better start saving.  In the mean time I will try my best with the camera I have.  I am not bringing my computer on this trip, so I will be MIA for a while after Wednesday night. 

These are some pics from our last couple of trips...

I am thinking about joining Twitter.  Not that I need another excuse to use the internet and my phone constantly, but it looks like fun.  I have been delving deeper into the world of fer-serious blogging the past few weeks, and am super jealous of the women who got to go to BlogHer a couple of weeks ago.  Here is my first twitter:

I fit into a size 8 jean, trouser, and skirt at the GAP today.  That hasn't happened in about 5 years.  Oh, and I bought all of them.