Seven Quick Takes

1. It’s only been a month since my last quick takes post. Who missed me? Anyone? Bueller?

2. Speaking of Ferris Bueller, you know how certain movies and pop songs are considered classics by my generation (I’m kind of between Gen X and Y – born in 1979)? Like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Tiffani’s I Think We’re Alone Now and such? Well, something you may (or may not, but whatever) find interesting about me is that a lot of that “classic” 80s and 90s stuff I didn’t actually experience until I was an adult. I lived a very sheltered childhood because my mother was super-religious and didn’t want me and my younger brother (I think she gave up on my older siblings, LOL) being corrupted by MTV and PG13 movies. So most of the sanctioned media in my house was Christian. Not even secular with Christian themes, a la The Lord of the Rings and Mumford and Sons. No no no no. It had to be specfically CHRISTIAN – signed, sealed, delivered – and let me tell you that in the 1980′s, Christian music/movies/books were, how do I say this nicely, um… LOUSY. I’m sorry, they just were. They’ve come a long way.

If you answered an altar call in 1987, you should recognize these two guys.

3. I had grand intentions this summer. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish a to-do list five miles long, but I thought, I can set one goal and accomplish it, right? My goal was to teach myself to sew. I mean, I have sewn before, but I’ve never really completed a project that I’m proud of, and I know that the problem is I’ve never really disciplined myself to practice. Like anything, I’m sure that mastering the art of sewing (and I am using the word “mastering” very loosely – I don’t want to become and expert seamstress, I just want to make a few baby blankets and perhaps a makeup bag. Expectations = appropriately low) is about 10% talent, 10% knowledge, and 80% practice. But would you believe I have done ZERO sewing this summer? There was my stepson’s visit, and then I had a lot of freelance work to do, and then I was all nauseated and exhausted what with the developing fetus, and all of a sudden we’re halfway through August and I haven’t even pulled my sewing machine out.

So this weekend, I vow to you: I am going to Joann’s and picking up some (discounted, yay for perfectly timed sales!) important tools, then I am going to Wal-mart and picking out some cute inexpensive fabric and then I AM MAKING SOME BURP CLOTHS. Straight seams, minimal measuring/cutting, and very little pressure in the way of getting things just right because, hello, it’s a vomit rag, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Image from this nifty sewing tutorial over at Craftaholics Anonymous.

Next week I should have some photographs to share! Or I may just avoid Quick Takes altogether because I’m embarrassed by the fact that I didn’t follow through. We’ll see.

4. I have to share this adorable little apartment with you. It’s just… well, it’s just adorable. So colorful and unique and personal and cute. I think I pinned about 5,000 images from this page. Or three. But still.

So colorful! So cozy! So neat! I could die!

A pink knife block, y’all. And a pink spice rack! Oh, and you can’t see it, but the washing machine has been painted pink as well. Then there’s the pink dishtowel and rug… I just love it. Little dots of color like that just makes a room smile. My house needs more dots and smiles.

Love the artwork and bird decals on the dresser and the pale aqua color scheme. *siiiigh*

5. Although I am well aware that since my second child is coming within three years of my first child’s arrival, no one will be throwing me a baby shower and I’m generally expected to still have most baby essentials onhand (and I do), I’m still making a baby registry. Mostly this is because I like to window shop. (And by “window shop” I mean “waste hours and hours on Amazon.) And because there are some things I would really like to have this time around, now that I know what did and did not work with Garrett. And because baby stuff is cute, darn it, even (especially!) the stuff I don’t technically “need.” And because I am delusional optimistic enough to believe that THIS TIME I will be great at breastfeeding and cloth diapering. Even though THIS TIME I have a toddler to care for as well as a newborn AND a full-time job after just six (ridiculously short) weeks of maternity leave. See? Optimistic Delusional.

6. It’s been awhile since I read a good novel. Most of my reading nowadays is blog posts, magazine articles, and skimming through non-fiction books. A novel requires a commitment, and since I don’t have tons of time to read, I reserve that commitment for books that really hold my interest. I’ve been wanting to start the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs for awhile, because I LOVE the TV Show Bones (I watched nearly every episode on Netflix when Garrett was a couple months old and required round-the-clock cuddling), but I could never find the first book in the series and I hate to start in the middle.

Well, on a lark I checked out the lending library at my work and found a paperback copy of Deja Dead. Score! As I suspected, the characters and setting of this series differ wildly from those in the TV series (though who knows, maybe I’ll notice more similarities in later volumes) but I’m still really enjoying Reichs’ writing style and I’m very intrigued by the story. Full review to follow after I finish the book, assuming that I actually finish it (wouldn’t be the first time I gave up on a book I really liked halfway through – my heart is a fickle gal) and assuming I remember to blog about it if I do finish. For now, though, I swear my intentions are pure.

7. I have to share a quick observation from Deja Dead before I go, since I’m having a hard time coming up with an interesting seventh take. (Let’s face it, though, the first six takes weren’t all that great, either!) The book was published in 1994, which is, hold on to your hats people, NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO. I know, I know, I’m rather traumatized by that because I am still convinced that I “just” graduated high school. (Again, NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO.) Anyway, there are certain things that strike me as odd when I read the book, because it’s pre-information-age, and I forget that.

Like, there’s a part (should I say spoiler alert? I mean, who am I going to spoil with details from a book that was published NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO? I am, as always, behind the pop culture curve here… but whatever, proceed at your own risk) where Tempe Brennan is sniffing around secluded wood/garden during a rainstorm (at night – alone – looking for a dead body or a killer or both – she’s a freaking genius but not so smart sometimes) and she finds something she needs to tell the police about. But she doesn’t want to leave her find to contact the police. And I’m like, “Um… so just call them on your cell phone. Oh wait. 1994. Most people didn’t HAVE cell phones.” There are a couple of other places where she’s trying to find something out, and I’m like, “For goodness sake, GOOGLE IT YOU NITWIT! Oh wait. 1994. Google didn’t exist.” (Or did it? Too lazy to find out.) Honestly, it amazes (and sometimes frightens) me how much the world has changed in such a short time.

Crazy, right?