Monthly Archives: July 2009

Today was my day off, originally meant to spend with Sam as this is the tail end of his week long summer vacation. Instead, I woke up to find him already outside, filthy from head to toe, sanding the 4th layer of fiberglass on the dash of his race car.  Taking advantage of my unlpanned alone time, I spent a few hours showing my sewing machine some  serious love. Machines have needs too, you know.

I’m sure Ms. Magnolia feels like I despise the very sight of her, but she’s just not practical to keep out on the kitchen table all the time, as even her svelte frame seems to swallow up a ton of space. And once she’s seated and comfy, watch out. She silently morphs into a giant black hole - pulling in more and more related or otherwise crafty stuff to pile upon and around her. And that’s when Sam decides he no longer appreciates my craftiness and threatens war if I don’t do some damage control.

About 2 years ago, Sam and I went on a DIY screenprinting craze. During that time, we printed about six of these huge Gir patches and until now I’ve never found a use for them. Hooray!

This is my very first potholder, and overall I think it turned out alright. Thanks to Design Sponge for the great tutorial, found here.

A sneak peak of the self portrait project I’m working on:

Today was HOT and HUMID. Hotter and more humid than weather should ever be, in my opion. After a lazy morning of sleeping in, Sam and I headed to Saturday Market to enjoy the sunshine. One hour, a handmade bag, an acrylic ring,  and one fabulous coconut smoothie later, we nearly RAN back to the parked car and gratefully drove home with the AC working overtime.

Then came the best part of the whole day. We actually got to USE our new swimming pool. Sam and I spent an amazing half hour or so splashing around and acting like total four year olds. I distinctly remember Sam smiling from ear to ear, announcing that he felt like a little boy again; instantly making it worth every penny I spent on the dang thing. *Photos coutesy of Sam.

1. Today is a bad day. I’m ready for it to be over.
2. I miss my dreads. I feel awkward and plain without them.  

“And how we survive … is what makes us who we are.” - Rise Against

If I ever get married again, it will be my first actual wedding and it will most definitely include large amounts of dancing. I doubt, however, that it will top this amazing, hilarious, and moving (literally!) wedding entrance, put together by quite the talented wedding party:

This is by far the most badass drum solo in the history of planet Earth. It is no secret how much I heart sexy-pants Travis Barker and his phoenomenal drum skillz, but this is just fucking amazing:

Exactly 20 days after spending hours painstakingly raking my damaged, freshly bleached blonde hair backwards and coating it in pure beeswax, I no longer have dreads. It wasn’t intentional; actually I was following explicit instructions. Unfortunately for me, what should have been a simple procedure ended in heartache.

I stepped into the shower this afternoon looking like I’d just robbed a bank. I had carefully squeezed a black knee-high stocking over my head and washed my dreads ever so gently through the nylon. Satisfied with my awkward wash job, I stepped out of the shower and that is when it happened.

On autopilot, as I’ve showered with dreads for nearly 3 weeks now, I uncerimoniously unveiled my sopping wet dreads to find the majority of them flattened and looking more like real hair and less like dreadlocks. To my dismay, I realized that many of my dreads had worked themselves out of their knots in the washing process. I had lost most of my locks.

After running out to the living room to discuss the dire situation with a very distracted Sam, I decided to finish the job. Fifteen minutes later I stepped out of the shower yet again with normal, boring hair that was falling out by the handful. The double lightening treatments combined with hours of backcombing and blatent abuse had destroyed what little hair I’d waited so long to grow.

I’ve had about an hour to let this sink in. I feel plain and awkward without the dreads. Though I can honestly shave my head and not feel uncomfortable with my appearance, I admit I’m worried what I will do if my hair continues to fall out. I haven’t cried yet, but I have little doubt that at some point I will.

Tonight, I grieve for my dreads. Tomorrow, I decide what the fuck I’m going to do about this hair.

Things that have happened to me the past few days:

1. Accidentally deletd an essential file in my website coding. This was so detrimental that I could not access the “back door” of my website; this meant no blog posting, no design editing, and no fucking idea how to fix it.

2. Swam for an hour with my cell phone in my pocket. Water = certain death to electronics. Lost all phone numbers, email addresses, and photos.

3. Realized what Sam thought was a fish touching him was actually my car keys that had fallen out of my pocket while swimming in 20 feet of can’t-see-your-feet water. Replacement car alarm beep-beep thingy: $79.00.

4. I am officially late for the very first time on my car payment. This will be fixed tomorrow morning, but does not a happy Ester make. Especially when I’m less than $1,000 away from paying that sucker off.

5. Made an appointment to get a replacement car alarm beep-beep thing.

6.  Fixed immediate website issue; uploaded a temporary web design that will have to suffiice until I make another super-awesome permanent design. 

7. Bought a new cell phone. Splurged and bought the bluetooth headset so now I can be one of THOSE people. You know, the ones you think are talking to YOU and then WHAM! you notice the little blue blinky light on their tiny spec of an earpiece because they CAN’T STOP TALKING ON THE PHONE LONG ENOUGH TO GROCERY SHOP! and then you are left feeling horrifically embarrassed for having just said “Yeah, I know! These carrots ARE looking rather fab—-” [insert awkward silence when you realize you are talking to a person who is actually talking into an invisible Bluetooth headset] to someone who didn’t even know you were standing there in the first place.

So far, it’s been an expensive week - and it’s only Monday.

I just realized that my laptop doubles as an incredibly effective heating pad for tummy cramps.

Yesterday started a horrific Crohn’s flare. My Crohn’s has been in remission for over 6 months now, and I’ve forgotten just how brutally painful they are. The majority of my afternoon yesterday was spent on the toilet and the evening proved even worse. I finally passed out in bed next to an emergency puke bucket desperately hoping my intestines wouldn’t explode in my sleep.

This morning I found myself feeling surprisingly well. I was feeling GREAT! I was no longer being punched repeatedly in the stomach and my intestines had given up trying to expell themselves through my throat. I was reveling in just how WONDERFUL and AWESOME it was to feel like a normal, healthy human being. I thought I had beat my Crohn’s in it’s own game: CHECKMATE, I WIN!

I was so terribly wrong. Within minutes of finishing my pad thai lunch this afternoon after a morning of starvation, I could feel it coming. The loud, cramping stomach; the sweats and spins; the  tell-tale signs of FURIOUS intestines. After ten humiliating minutes spent in the work bathroom, I shot an email to Sam letting him know I was going home a bit early today. His quick response is just one of the many reasons I love him so, and also happens to be the absolute best email I’ve received all week:

“*You have just been virtually hugged* I’ll give you a real one when I get home today.  I love you and your angry bowels.”