I turn squares into dresses and look good doing it.

I have really gotten interested in this sewing business.

In fact, I really like it!

I can absolutely, positutely, not-half-assedly check off #8, to make a dress I will actually wear.

I made this dress:

Turns out I didn't take a good picture of my dress that night.
This is it - just take that green fabric down to my knees.
(... I'm on the left.)

for my birthday this year. And it looks cute 'n all, but at the time I was not all that excited to wear it again. Partially because I was cheating and hadn't really finished it - the zipper didn't match up, I didn't actually hem it, and it fit funny in the bodice.

I cast it aside, but was nowhere near giving up. I am simply amazed, every time, when this long stretch of folded fabric becomes something wearable. I found another pattern and some beautiful fabric from bon bon and made this cuteness:

[Picture coming soon, lo siento!]

I wore it to my cousin L's baby shower and her sister (another cousin, of course) complimented me, saying it was cute. When I blurted (with pride!) that I made it myself, she absolutely inflated my ego and asked if I would make the flower girl dress for her wedding in September. How do I properly illustrate bursting with sunshine and happiness in a blog? It's basically that I felt like this:

but all of that colorful wonderfulness was inside. Pictures will be up soon, but I haven't felt this proud about an accomplishment in a long time. I look at it and beam. It's hanging up in my loft just so that I see it when I wake up and affirm that I am freakin' awesome.

PLUS I have turned birthday dress into a kind of Franken-dress; adding pockets, taking in the sides, and basically trying anything new on that dress. And I like it enough that I wore it to work, so we have us a checked-off #8 !

Hold on to that Fee-lay-ee-ay-ing (#17 - Caught in the Rain)

One of my favorite memories will always be of my novio and me walking across a boardwalk at SeaWorld in the rain singing Journey while my sister peers back at us from under her umbrella as if we have finally cracked.

That's right - I got caught out in the rain and had no choice but to like it. So we had fun!

My amazingly energetic sister had a full day planned for us at SeaWorld when we visited her back in June. As in, a full TWELVE HOURS of shows to watch, dolphins to feed, penguins to meet, sting rays to pet, rides to ride and Shamus to spray us with their massive tails. It was a tight schedule, not helped by our tardiness from staying with friends 40 minutes away and rolling out of bed late.

We had already watched, fed, met, pet, and ridden through to the afternoon when the rain moved it. (We later learned that Florida, similar to Hawaii or other island nations, generally gets rain showers in the afternoon.) This day it poured. We watched a show from under the awning of the theatre (the trainers and animals are already wet - they perform as long as there isn't lightning!) and by the end the water was easily 7 inches deep at the floor of the stands. Lots. Of. Rain.

But Shamu started soon and he was the last thing on our list of things to do! It was either wait longer and possibly miss the show or suck it up, take our shoes off and go for it. Oh, except for Martha - she had an umbrella big enough for one. (To her credit, she tried to share... but umbrellas are difficult!)

Halfway down the boardwalk Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" comes on over the speakers. And I'll be darned if I didn't take a dance break right there with dramatic arm movements, air guitar and screaming/singing noises. Novio even joined in, and we had a nice little moment in the rain.

Lesson learned: It's definitely worth it to spend some time in the rain if you're with the right people. And if you take your shoes off.

Future Updates for my Poor, Forgotten Blog

Kudos to the bloggers who keep a schedule, for they shall inherit the interwebs. Hopefully I can just keep my audience, which is full of four people who already like me so I should be safe.

As I've explained before, even if I'm not writing on this blog, my list is pretty much on my mind daily and there have been some exciting advancements!

The next posts will address:

1. Getting Caught in the Rain

2. Making a ridiculously cute dress

3. Learning - or not - a Third Language

4. Alterations to a few items (#3, 6, 9) (No, I didn't plan for that to be so pattern-ish.)

And they will address them soon! (As in, I will write at least one of them, like, rightnow.)

Thanks for your patience and understanding!