I Was Wrong To Doubt, That I Could Get Along Without.

So there I was, stretched across my couch...Watching Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, and What Not To Wear. I was torn between my love of Tim Gunn's sensitivity twards the fashionably challeged, and Nick Arrojo the Perma hair guru that I love.( those of you who watch one or both get what I am saying) my phone rang interrupting my lounging about. I had to put down my remote, my sparkling apple cider, my chocolates, and brushed the crumbs from my chest.
"A yello??" I drawled
"Why a big Yello to You" That was Macheli...A fabulous friend of mine. We have known each other for years, and use to practice writing our first name attached to names of Manly's we wished to be married to. She constantly wrote "Mrs. Macheli Law-Mrs. R. Jude Law" While I was busy deciding on "Mrs. N John Cusack" or "Mrs. Nat. Jones-Cusack". ANYWAY she was giving me a surprise call this Friday with a purpose...
"So I have two free tickets given to me to go to this concert tomorrow and the ONLY person I can think about going with" HOW FLATTERING!!! I didn't even bother to ask what concert because I had been home all week with no place to get purtied up for.
"Well hold on...it's the New Kids On The Block reunion concert." and for a brief moment, everything came to a stop. The Same NKOTB that were my Nemesis...the ones who sang terrible songs about dating a 13 year old girls. I , on the other hand, listened to bands who were more concerned about a party in a 'Love Shack' and the love of the girl who makes someone think that this crap hole we live in feels 'Just Like Heaven'. It haunted me for years that when we talk of the fabulous things of our youth, NKOTB always came up. The others fondness of sleeping NKOTB's bed sheets helped them drift off to a dream land where the group of 5 sang "the Right Stuff"...and "Cover Girl". GERRRRRR!!!! When the 5 went away I let out a WHEW and happily picked up pieces...or I gave the girls who had loved them mix tapes filled with the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana.

When I begin to breath again I muttered "Hells yes I want to go!"

We were on the floor in the middle of the arena. I disco'ed to the fantastic Lady Ga Ga(whose album I have owned for months thanks to the Capt. and his computer nerdness.) and when I was adequately warmed up, I was thrown back to 1989! With their "Oh Oh Oh-The Right Stuff" Apparently,as I was told, nothing had changed from 1990...My friend said her 10 year self was really impressed that them being "40 something" could still do their moves, AND move with out showing really how out of shape they were. In the middle of the show, Us being on an isle, were shoved back into our seats so they could set up a fence. A FENCE. Seeing how I know the venue like the back of my hand(I worked for the company for a few years when I started my blog) I know that they don't put up a fence around the crowd unless...I yelled for Macheli to get her camera out and get ready. Half way through the show, there they were. 4-5 feet from us dancing the the show away. I took stock of my surroundings when this photo was taken. Looking around, I saw women standing on chairs reaching with all their might. I heard screaming, crying and laughing. The laughing mostly me. I have never seen so many women throwing themselves at 5 men in my life. It was best said in a text message sent to their stage most of them "ain't Jail Bait Now." I suddenly found myself caught up in the moment as these 5 men raced by us towards the stage. I stuckout my hand to shake bad boy Donnie's and yelled "I Loved you in Sixth Sense" It was the only real thing I remember of him since I was never really a fan. Macheli being a bigger fan...touched all 5 men. It was AMAZING! Just for the extra Razzle Dazzle to my story take a look at who was sitting behind us at the show(he was sitting near the mixing board ) Now I know that its a bit fuzzy but there was so much going on...YES!!! The American Idol himself, DAVID ARCHULETTA. They looked like they were having a good time. It made me wonder though...was he even born in 1989 to know anything about these dudes?? I am thinking no, and I am OLD. I am thinking this...If I can learn to enjoy NKOTB in a few short hours and have the time of my life, then maybe the fondness of the 80's that is wrapped up in Jen and the Holograms, G.I Joe and New Kids on The Block isn't bad after all.

Gonna take your momma out all night...Further Adventures of Homemakers

It's getting more interesting around here since I am looking for entertainment in my routine. I have started Yoga every morning for 25 straight minutes. I found it sad when I run, my ass moves in the opposite direction of my legs. I thought it was time to do something about it. That shook things up so I thought I would try something else...Cooking. As my previous post, I tried to recreate the dish I am missing from a Greek place that closed its doors. So between the laundry, the cleaning and all that I do to keep busy , I decided to get Crafty-Ass and pull out all the stops for Halloween. I did it Cheap-o AND with my own Creativity! It was easy and fun fun fun. I just had to manage my time to do it around when The Monkey and the Capt. wasn't around, which was mainly after bedtimes and traveling out of town.

I first brainstormed. Since there was always time for the princess and the fairies...I wanted to do something else. I was watching some bollywood with a friend and thought it would be awesome if we could do something like that for Elise. My friend was moving and had YARDS of different fabric and told me to sort through it and take what I wanted. I found this beautiful Blue with a gold Pattern weaved through it....and some Blue VERY thin material, the kind that makes you say OOoooh shiney! There was an extra trip to Hancock's Fabric for a sequence edging. I came home and took inventory on what Elise had(Turtle necks, stretch pants, tights) so that it would add to her costume. I was ready!

Here I was sitting around...at my sewing machine thinking "where do I start". Most of the time people have a pattern to go off of with directions, and well...I didn't. So that is why I sat for a bit. My little Monkey is tall and skinny...and fast. So rather then take a measuring tape to her...I decided measuring the length of the skirt was going to be measured to the length of her cute little stretch pants that one of her grand parents gave to her. I cut the light blue fabric Length wise in half. With the help of Google, I found out how to wrap a Sari and wrapped the material around the pants as IF i was wrapping a sari around my daughter. I then sewed the material wrapped around the pants, so that I would come untucked whilest she was Tricks or Treating. I hemmed the bottom of the material to make it look a little cleaner. The rest of the wrapping is left for when she wears it. Just one or two safety pins are needed for the shoulder. TADA!!! your Sari...

I then took the shiny material and folded, and sewed the raw edges. That shiny material sucked eggs to work with, because it came unraveled if you looked at it wrong...or cut it, or sewed it wrong. The Sequenced around the edge was glued with Fabric jewel glue(another Crafty Ass project for a later review) and then SEWED on. This makes the Bollywood veil. I marked where I wanted the veil to sit...then had sewed a hair comb so that it wouldn't slip off her head. See? The necklace was giving to me with a set of earing...that were broken. I looped and earing through the sequence to give it that extra razzel dazzel. I chose to glue a little something something (sequence over the eyes).

When I look at these I think....not bad for a couch dwelling, Bon Bon eating, story watching Happy Hippy Homemaker.