A big wind

A tornado touched down in our town this afternoon

pics: www.flickr.com/photos/jea...5444856625/

I'm too tired to write up a real entry. We're all safe and sound here, only one person was reported injured.

Cleaning Out the Closet

So it's spring cleaning/moving/I bought a new costume/I want a pair of specialty melodias sale time!

Lots of items for sale, cabaret costume, tribal pieces, ren faire items, and the cutest little vintage party dress you ever saw. I'm still working on measuring everything and there's still a few things I've yet to post.

Pictures are here www.flickr.com/photos/jea...4555046984/

Most pictures include info on item including cost. If you have any questions on anything please contact me through tribe or email me at unmused@gmail.com. I ship to the U.S. Shipping charges will be exact shipping, just let me know your zip code when reserving items and I will get back to you with the exact charges.

Thanks for looking!

When it's windy it blows

Got a call from the Marina yesterday. Apparently sometime Sunday (we had some excessive winds) our sailboat's sail got loose and was destroyed in the winds.

Now, when he first said there was a problem, and recalling the winds from the night before my first though was that it had blown over (it's on a trailer for the winter). So there was some amount of relief to hear it was the sail, something more easily replaced then say the hull. However, further thinking about it brought on that sinking feeling again. Because sails are expensive.

In the long run, it really doesn't matter a whole lot since we've already decided to donate the boat to charity. We decided the cost of moving it to California was more trouble than it was worth. So, we'll take a tax write off and let the charity find a good home for it so we don't have to be saddled with selling both house and boat in a depressed market.

Anyhow, I had to go deal with damage today. The husband is in California and not due back for a visit until this weekend, so it was up to me. What a relief when I got there and realized that "the sail" wasn't the main sail, but the smaller foresail. Not only is it cheaper to replace (assuming we wanted to, which we didn't) but we don't even have to replace it because we had two foresails, so the boat still has a complete sail set, though down the nice roller furling jib which was a nice bonus to have.

Also, he didn't mention that the boat is leaning over in its trailer. Climbing up on board at that angle was a little nerve wracking. I kept expecting it to tip right over onto the boat next to it. I don't know how it got that way, and its probably more secure than it looks (especially now that the sails are completely off the masts and won't be blowing around catching big winds and all)

So, in the freezing cold I took the main sail off by myself to keep that from getting loose in any future storms. Untying knots and working loose the various pins and connections required taking my gloves off and by the time I finished they were aching from the cold. But the sail is stowed below, I wish I could say neatly, but all I did was shove it down there and run home to jump into a hot shower.

And then there was the field trip to the post office that was today and I didn't know about, so I had to go back to the preschool early and take the boy down to the post office where all the little kids got to buy a stamp and mail a valentine to their doting parents. Luckily I finished at the marina in time to get that shower, a bite to eat and make it back to the school with only minutes to spare.

By then it had started to rain, which isn't good when its below freezing. I still had to vote, so I dropped the boy off at home with his sister who got the day off (My high school didn't get a day off for elections, what's up with that? Snow days aren't enough?) and braved the ickiness to fulfill my civic duty. By the time I got home our steps and deck were already slippery with ice.

So, all said, nothing like this crappy ass weather to make me wish I was already living in San Diego where it's a delicious 70 degrees right now. :)

Sestraluna and the BDSS superstars present: Kami Liddle and Petite Jamilla Workshop and show

Yeah, we're doing it again. We had such a great time hosting Moria and Bozenka last year we're going to do another double workshop this May plus a Show!

Check out the details:

Sestraluna and The Bellydance Superstars Present

A Kami Liddle and Petite Jamilla show and workshop event

8:00 Pm Friday May 23rd,2008 (show)
Show featuring Sestraluna, Kami Liddle, Petite Jamilla
and special guest's Latifa and Banat al-Beled among others

Saturday, May 24th, 2008 (workshops)
Registration Begins at 12:00
Kami Liddle's Workshop 12:30-3:30 pm
Break 3:30-4:30 pm
Registration opens again at 4:00 pm
Petite Jamilla's Workshop 4:30-7:30 pm

Show and Workshops are held at the
Chesapeake Arts Center
194 Hammonds Lane
Brooklyn Park, MD 21225

Show Pre-Registration through April 25th-$30.00
Kami Liddle workshop Pre-Registration through April 25th-$65.00
Petite Jamilla workshop Pre-Registration through April 25th-$65.00
Both Workshops plus Show $160.00 , as long as there is available
seating

For more information or to Register using pay pal, Please visit our
web site at www.sestraluna.com
If paying by check or money order please contact Typhrodisia at
Typhrodisia at Greeneyedlvgodes@aol.com or Mara at unmused@gmail.com

New Year New Life

Oh my how things have changed.

My husband is in California, my daughter is in Maryland, and I'm awake before 6 AM.

Having a teenager means getting out of bed a the crack of dawn, or before even, since it's winter, to make sure she gets off to school, and more importantly the bus, so I don't have to haul the little one out of bed to drive her to school. His schedule remains blissfully unchanged as long as that doesn't happen. I'm so jealous. I want my day to start at 9-ish again.

Truthfully, only half my schedule has changed. I still can't get to bed at a decent hour so I've just been getting by on like 4 or 5 hours sleep. I'm sure this will change soon enough since I can't keep that up on my current 1-2 cups of coffee a day max. limit. Still, I'm a night owl by nature. I always seem to hit my stride with projects at about 9 pm and by the time I get those taken care, tidy up, get ready for bed, read a little, etc it's 1 AM. Otherwise known as "almost bedtime" in a previous life.

Yeah, yeah... I'm spoiled. I'm sure you are all just overflowing with pity. :)

In the mean time, I'm getting lots done in that extra few hours I've gained by not sleeping. You know, the ones not spent sitting on the couch lovingly clutching my mug of deliciousness (coffee) close to my breast while glaring the pre-dawn light filtering into my home with nothing but the company (and extra warmth) of my laptop. Have I mentioned how much I hate winter lately?

On the flip side, I've got way more to do, so I'm only breaking even, or judging by the state of my kitchen, sliding into arrears. Man, teens use a lot of cups. And they're expensive, in case anyone is thinking of getting one-- teens not cups. Hidden costs, people! That's all I'm sayin'. Get a cat instead, they're less dependent while also being less vocal about how much they don't need you (which is of course utterly untrue in both cases- cats and teens need their mommies)

And now I shall return to my previously scheduled program. The one where I wish I was still in bed where it's warm and everything is asleep and stuff.

Big News

Soooooo... looks like I'm moving to San Diego in the next few months.

:)

:(

:)

That's me being all angsty about change.

My husband was just offered a job and he's going to accept the position. He'll be starting at the beginning of December, but I'll be maintaining the status quo for a bit longer while we deal with things like waiting for the housing market to start back up in the spring.

Lasik update

This is like the third time I've posted a blog about this, so short but sweet:

Got Lasik done yesterday. Everything went fine and this morning they tested me at 20/25 in my left eye and 20/40 in my right. With a 20/25 overall.

As for near vision, my left eye is great, my right eye again is lagging. So at the moment I get a lot of eyestrain staring at the computer or reading. Hopefully as things heal that will improve too. In the meantime, I should probably not be surfing tribe :)

The Trials and Tribulations of Finding Your Correct Bra Size

After a blog post by Galena ( people.tribe.net/ca56c0dd-...38bf7/blog ) about how to find your correct bra size I decided to take a stroll around the internet and see what all the bra size calculators had to say about my rack.

Galena gives the basic formula as underbust measurment plus 3 equals band size, then you take our bust measurement and subtract your band size from that. 1 = A cup, 2 = B cup, 3 = C cup, etc, etc. This matches up with what I've heard.

I took a fresh set of measurements: 29 inch underbust, 35 bust, 32 overbust , and with numbers in hand (and the help of google) here's some of my results:

www.85b.org/bra_calc.php 85b tells me I'm a 34C, not usually my first choice, but it does fit. I usually go for 32D but that's a tough size to find so actually most of my bras are indeed 34C, but as soon as they get a little stretched out they start riding up in the back, hence my preference for the 32 as it fits better for longer. I can work my way up from the first set of hooks to the last. With a 34 I usually have start at the middle or last set from the star. (BTW, this calculator uses all three measurments, I like that.)

www.balicompany.com/fitcalcu...r.bra.asp Bali suggests 32C. Sometimes a C cup will fit, if they're extra stretchy. And hey, maybe if my left boobie wasn't practically a whole cup size larger than the right one I might be able to get a way with an unstretchy 32C, but ol' Lefty over flows a 32C cup in a most unattractive fashion. (Uses underbust and bust measurement)

www.barelythere.com/calculators.asp Barely There also reccommends a 32C. Barely There's calculator looks suspiciously like the exact same one that Bali uses, so not surprising they match. (Uses underbust and bust)

www.lilyoffrance.com/size/default.asp Lily of France claims I'm a 34A. I don't know whether to laugh or be offended. Not even the runt of the litter (affectionally referred to as "Little Righty" will fit into a 34A sized cup-- or B cup for that matter. This calculator is on crack. (Uses the underbust and bust, also claims you shoud add 5 inches to your underbust to determine cup size. 5! Uh, no) To be fair there are other calculators using the same formula-- They obvously all suck.

www.maidenform.com/catalog/...rself.jsp Maidenform shows me as a 32C as well. In a startling change of pace, they use the overbust and bust measurment and since my overbust is 32, apparenlty there's no adding of anything, just straight across, one for one, overbust = band size.

www.oprah.com/tows/pastsh...1115_c.jhtml Not a calculator, but according to Oprah, my underbust measurment puts me right on the cusp of 32 and 34 which is probably why it comes up as both

So there you have it. Not a single calculator picked the size I actually wear. But since there's no way of accounting for the fact that my one boob is too big for my "size" as based on measurements of my circumference, its hard to find fault with that. There's just no way of excusing the ones that are based on a 5 inch difference-- maybe it works if you're a larger person? Maybe proportions are different if you're closer to 6 feet tall than 5 feet? Maybe it works better for women who are heavier? I dunno, I'm short and thin and it soooo doesn't work for me.

I'm finally doing it...

So I just got back from getting pre-screened for lasik, and have an appointment to get it done on the25th of this month. It better be as easy and quick healing as people say because I'm doing a workshop and performing on the 27th.

I wasn't planning on getting it done so quickly but because of scheduling issues its either now or December, and I have a feeling the cost is going to seem much more prohibitive in the weeks before Christmas than the the weeks before Halloween.

The only downside is that I'm going to have to cancel my plans to go the Ren Faire this month. I was so looking forward to it, but our budget is going to be stretched pretty thin and something's gotta give. Speaking of which, its time to go through my closet and post some sales too, as this is going to make purchasing my costume for that performance on the 27th pretty tight too.

Heading Home

My fabulous forty birthday trip to California is at an end. I'm sitting here in the San Diego airport waiting to board my flight to Charlotte where we'll be stuck for a couple of hours before finishing off our trip back to DC.

We had a great time at Disneyland where we got nearly as much joy out of snickering at people waiting in long lines while we used a plan devised to get us on as many rides and shows as possible with the shortest wait times imaginable--- we rode 11 rides in 3 hours one day including Peter Pan (twice!), Mr. Toad, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and pirates of the Carribbean. Beat that suckers!

After the Disney portion of our trip we spent several days with my husbands family and went sailing off the coast of San Diego. Although we hit one of the biggest storms the area has seen in ages, it was nothing compared to most rain storms we get back in MD so it hardly phased us at all-- plus it scared away Disney visitors, thus making the 11 rides in 3 hours portion of our trip possible.

The only downside is that I miss California more than ever. <insert big, painful, homesick sigh>