Shiner

O you THINK that's eyeliner DONTCHA! Well you're WRONG! I definitely had the most frightening bloody nose OF MY LIFE right after I hit someone's elses elbow WITH MY HEAD. Definitely playing frizbee. Definitely painful, but not broken. O and don't worry , I'm getting a new driver's license tomorrow. I will remember this pain in my FACE every time I fly, drink or get pulled over...except I don't drink so it's not that bad. It was seriously scary- I always thought the word "gush" was an exaggeration...o contraire. It looked fake. Like a....nevermind that's graffic. Anyway that's the newest goings on for Val. Hope you're all healthy and happy and ready to share your own amazing black eye stories- Let's HEAR EM!

Grandma Borrowing.

You know it's been a while I need to write here.


So today I was with my mom shopping for dress patterns and I discovered something that I absolutely love. You may be thinking it's a particular dress but you're wrong. You see, when you go to Joanns looking for patterns you sit down at this big table and look through catalogs of dresses/shirts/pants/bags or any number of item that you can make out of fabric. Each item has a brand and number that corresponds to a drawer in a nearby cabinet that holds the pattern for whatever it is you decide to make. This sounds like a simple process, however, being an artistic and complicated person the whole thing can take hours.

ANYWAY the best part about the process is nothing that I've mentioned (that was all background). You see, it's not very often that 20 year old girls get real into sewing. I mean there are a select few like myself. But there are plenty of older ladies who take "joy" in sewing for themselves and others. THIS is the thing I was talking about. Every time, without fail, tried and true, some fantastic old woman with years of sewing experience will sit down opposite me and my mother. And everytime, without fail, tried and true, she ends up asking what we're working on, and eventually going on and on about how this is her "last project" or how "bridezilla's got her hooked again" making 25 matching dresses for girls who all CLAIM to be a size zero. Always a joy, always a pleasure, always a laugh. And besides that they're usually really good at making suggestions for your project that you would absolutely NEVER do. And as soon as they see that glimmer of disapproval on your face (no matter how hard I try it always comes out a little) they wag their hand at you and say "you girls are SO PICKY." But it's cute all the same. Like borrowing someone's grandma for ten minutes :).

Have you ever gotten the "picky" wag? Come on- We've all got grandma's let's hear it.

ok so this is something I've wanted to blog about for a while but just haven't gotten around to it. I've been noticing in group situations that conversations among several people tend to be more of a series of moments. One person will tell a story: moment. Someone will comment on the story: moment. Someone will react positively/negatively: moment. Then someone will bring up another story/idea/subject: moment. Generally this format runs pretty smoothly and we all get to know each other better.

But every once in a while you're in a large group and someone will start their story or big thought out opinion and right in the middle of a critical line someone from the other side of the circle pipes in "ah man what TIME is it?" like it's the most pressing part of the conversation. This, I think, is something to be avoided.

It's all about giving someone their moment, whatever it is they needed it for. It may be a story, a movie quote, a vent session about their recent break-up, or their new found love for chilly-dawgs, whatever! It's a listening thing.

Wouldn't you say? Are there appropriate interruption points? I really don't know, what do you think?