The Joys of Moving

I'm sure that you have noticed that my updates have been irregular and sometimes few and far between. This is because Isaac and I are in the process of moving to a new apartment. Here are some interesting things about moving:
-You have to pack all the stuff you won't need in the near future first. But you inevitably wish there were some things you left out.
-You always have way more stuff than you initially think.
-I like to have background noise, so here are the movies that I did not pack:

-Streaming Netflix (mostly episodes of Cheers) is another great way to drown out sounds of packing.
-I also had to keep some books available, so here are the books that I did not pack:

-Apartments look so much bigger without all the art and pictures and posters on the walls.
-Boys are odd about packing. Isaac has not packed yet because he informed me that he can pack and move all of "his stuff" in one day... In general I have a lot of stuff, and I certainly don't expect him to pack it all. However, if you want to get technical, all the dishes, silverware, glasses, mugs, almost all of the cookware, and (minus a couple pieces) all the furniture is mine. Interesting. I take that to mean that he no longer wants to use "my" stuff. Right? Not our stuff, no. I find his unwillingness to combine our things alternately amusing and frustrating. Plus, I have already packed some of his things so I am not sure why the courtesy is not two-ways. Anywho...
-Packing is stressful, hence some of my frustrations with Isaac and his with me. (He is very annoyed about how much stuff I have. And I really do have an insane amount of stuff, which I am trying to cut down with varying degrees of success.) My mom thinks it might be a miracle if we are still speaking by the time we get moved, haha! These issues have been since cleared up for the most part.
-It is easy to get distracted by watching the movies I set aside, reading, or playing Pokemon on my DS... which is something I don't do often otherwise.
-Just when you think you are making progress, you remember how much stuff you still have left to pack.

Costumes Part Six

Great news! I finished my Shuiichi Kurama costume! Yay!

The yellow ribbon trimming? I used hot glue. I intended to sew it on, originally, but did not for a couple reasons: 1) it was easy and required little effort on my part, and 2) without thinking, I sewed metal clasps all the way down the front BEFORE I remembered that it would be difficult to put those through the sewing machine. So, there you have it. Think before you sew.

So that is two costumes down. And the wigs are ordered and have arrived, but not styled as of yet.

NDK is about a month away. I still need to do my Katamari dress and I think I came up with a pattern (on my own!) that will work. That one will be next. And I do hope my group will be meeting soon so we can finish our heads. We did meet the other day to figure out the faces. Once I put mine together I can show pictures. Cat dyed a chiffon a skin color and we are doing two layers over the mesh on the face. This will allow us to mostly see (at least shapes if not specific people), but since it is dark in our heads, it will be hard to see in. Awesome and genius, right? I am SOOO excited!

So, I have to pick up some newsprint paper or something to make patterns on for my Katamari costume, make that, and style my wigs.

As for Jareth, I am starting to fear that it will not get done in time.

The Pros and Cons of Oregon

As some of you know, Isaac and I went to Oregon for about 10 days to visit family and friends. Overall, we very much enjoyed our stay. Here is a list of my favorite and least favorite things about Oregon:

Cons:

• The way they handled road construction. Many long stretches of one lane only traffic (instead of splitting it into a couple of one lane only areas) including a "need" for escort vehicles.
• Not being able to pump your own gas (but we went to several restaurants where we were expected to bus our own tables?)
• The number of spiders! To my fortune, they were not bigger than the spiders here, just much more abundant.
• Aside from the bookstore, food, and coffee, Portland. Yes, I didn't much care for Portland. I am sorry to those that will be disappointed by this. Here it is broken down:
• Confusing roads and many one way streets for NO ease of access anywhere.
• Way too many homeless people approaching us. And some of them were very persistent.
• Generally overwhelming.

Pros:

• The fairy-tale scenery.
• Including the flowers. Hydrangeas grew like mad! 

•  Eugene. Loved it there! I could live in Eugene.
• The beaches. This is the view from our room in Newport. 

 

• The lighthouses! Here are some pictures from our visit to the Newport lighthouse, which excited me greatly.

• Signs like this:

• The food. Amazing food everywhere we went, especially in Eugene. Granary, Morning Glory, Cafe Yumm, etc.
• The coffee--even the plain old brewed coffee was great. I drank more of that than anything else.

• Powell's Books in Portland! Enormous, wonderful bookstore!
• Voodoo Doughnuts. Certainly an experience! The double-bubble gum doughnut actually tasted like bubble gum! Weirdly delicious. And I had one with chocolate icing, oreo bits, and peanut butter drizzle. And there must have been PB in the dough, as well. Awesome.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the marvelous, magical..."

~Cats "Mr. Mistoffelees

It is past time for me to introduce my niece. Yes, I am an aunt! Isaac's lovely sister, Liz, had a little girl on June 8th. Her name is Wren Matilda!

Isn't she adorable? Being an aunt is definitely fun! I think I get all of the fun parts and I can hand Wren back to mom and dad if she gets too fussy.

For those of you who don't know me as well, my experience with children has been limited and awkward. Despite occasional lessons from my friend, Julia (mother of two), I don't know how to interact with them. And I have never changed a diaper (though I am sure that will change in the near future). While I dislike many children and feel out of place with the rest, Wren can stay. I love her already. Maybe it's because she is family, but I like her so much better than other kids and babies. I feel much more comfortable with her than I ever have with other children (though that doesn't say much since I still don't know what I am doing). I also attribute that to her being family. I know and am friends with Liz and Peter, and I know the family so I know the boundaries and what to expect.

Babies sure change the dynamics of a family. Everyone is so excited about a new baby (but, let's be honest, who wouldn't be excited about this cutie?) and everyone wants to be around. I think this is a good thing. For one, it's nice to have people around to help the new parents. For another, I think establishing strong family ties early on is important. Regardless of the reasons, Isaac and I have been over there an awful lot and so have other family members and friends.

Anyway, I am infinitely proud to be an aunt (Auntie Mara? Aunt Samara? I guess Wren will decide that one day). Liz and Peter have been amazing parents! It has been almost as fun to watch them grow as parents and people as it has been to hold Wren. You will probably see more about her in the future! I am so excited!

Our Drive to Oregon, Summed Up

Quotes from Isaac to sum up our journey:

• Wyoming "cities": "Looks like a big truck stop."
• Wyoming, specifically western side: "You can't even graze cows out here because the only plants that grow are sticky and dry and even those are half-dead."
• Utah: "There was almost an immediate improvement!"
• Nevada: "Nevada, known for jails, casinos, road construction, and closed rest stops."
• Oregon: "It's green!"