Dr. Jak's Spring Fashion Trends

What's "IN" for Spring 2009

FLORALS.... everywhere!  Specifically big patterned florals.

Dresses

Tops

SHOES!!

 (can you tell I love the shoes?)

AND... BAGS!!!

Note: Just because they're all in... doesn't mean they should all be worn together.  :)  

Also, stay away from dark colors, specifically black.  Pair your floral skirt with a pastel top, shoes and bag.  

What's in for jewelry?  This is, after all, the fun stuff... :)

Colored Stones.  Out of the ordinary materials.  Look for unique and unusual pieces.  A good place to look is Etsy.com where everything is handmade and exclusive.  I can specifically recommend Marie's Miracles and Think Victorian.  I've ordered from both these sellers before and LOVED what I got! 

Why on earth would someone name their flower shop "Weeds"??? O_O

General up-date-y-ness

ok... I'm in a random mood.
SO... I'm just going to say whatever pops into my head.

• I've been working on a website for my flower shop.  It's good/bad.  
• Watching Pride and Prejudice right now.  Haven't seen this in a LONG TIME
• Colin Firth is very scow-ly
• Why do all the good movies come out in Region2 first?  
• Yes, I'm talking about The Abduction Club.  Which looks as if it may NEVER be released in Region 1.  If you're not aware of my newest addiction, that's it. 
• Oh, yes, AND The Young Victoria.  That one looks good...  but, WHEN will it come to America?  when?!!? 
  
• What do we live for if not to make sport for our neighbours and laugh in our turn?
• I just had a Shakespeare quote-off with Krista.  I think I lost.  
• Pond's dry skin cream has saved my life this winter.
• "Let's hear no more of his partners!! Would he had sprained his ankle in the first dance!" *giggle*
• I want to paint the walls in my bedroom... I'm thinking orange... what do you think?
• It has been very rain-y and dreary here and looks like it will be for the rest of the week.  

Well, evidently I have nothing of interest to say...  

Pride and Prejudice: My Experience

I am a convert.
I have joined the ranks of the Austen-Insane.  And may I never recover.

ok, that's a tad dramatic.

Let me explain: 

So, I (or, rather, all my friends) went through this phase about 10 years ago, when ANYTHING Jane Austen was just fantastic.  We loved it. 

So, I did love Austen, for about a year or two.  But, I got over it.  Austen's stories never were as high on my list of faves as Charles Dicken's works, or Victor Hugo, (umm... or Agatha Christie *shhh*)  but those stories weren't the rage, and no one I know of ever formed a Dickens fan club.  And, while I would certainly admit that Jane Austen is a genius in her own right, what I was too embarrassed to admit is that I didn't love the movies enough to invest time in the books.  And that is what is wrong with novel to film adaptations. (But, I digress)  The only Austen novel I had read was Emma.  I once started Persuasion.  Until this week.  My guilt finally overcame me.  Why do people always ASSUME that I must be an Austen fanatic just because I'm a 20 something girl?  And if I squealed slightly when faced with the prospect of seeing the new adaptation of P&P, or if I was very willing to join in the "girls night" when the new Austen adaptations aired on Masterpiece Theater last winter, or if I bought DVDs of my favorites of those adaptations (Just Sense and Sensibility) it's because I knew it was expected of me.  All the while knowing I was not really a "Jane-ite."  Wouldn't a true "Jane-ite" love the movies enough to buy the books so she could devour them at least quarterly if not monthly?  Or, in all truth, a TRUE "Jane-ite" would have loved the books long before the movies were even heard of.

One of my goals this year is to read the books I always planned to read, but never did.  The ones I pretend I have read, but really have only read the cliff notes.  To read the classics that I never before had the stamina to wade through. One of them is Pride and Prejudice.

I have a new-found, freshly formed respect and delight in this story.  I LOVE it.  You know Colin Firth?  The "Oh-so-perfect-Mr.-Darcy-help-I'm-going-to-swoon"???  Yeah.  I never liked him much.  What's his name who plays Darcy in the '05 version with Keira-Pirate-Queen-Knightley?  Him not so much, either.  Maybe better than Firth.  Maybe.  The Mr. Darcy on the page in Austen's own words?  SO much better.  I'm still not a swooning fan-girl but I definitely did not expect to like him as much as I did.  I liked him better than Elizabeth, especially in the beginning of the book.

And Elizabeth?  It's so interesting to read a character for the first time as the author intends and not how the actress interprets.  She is an interesting mix of Jeniffer Ehle and Keira Knightley's interpretations... and yet... not.  Much less likeable (especially in the beginning) than Ehle.  Much less self-consumed than Knightley.  Much more prejudiced than both of them.

I really can't express my thoughts completely on reading this novel for the first time.  The A&E, 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice is almost word for word adapted from Austen's original work.  And yet...  how interesting to read the exact same dialogue and so much more fully understand and appreciate it.

I don't know if there is anyone else like me out there in blog land.  Maybe you've seen all the movies and when people suppose you to be enamored by anything Austen and imagine that you must harbor a secret crush on Mr. Darcy (or at the very least Colonel Brandon) you just allow them to suppose it.  Read the book.  If you're still not an Austen appreciator, fine.  But, maybe you'll be like me, and after seeing the '95 version 50 times and the '05 version maybe 10, and you're heartily sick of both of them, you'll read the book and discover a story and characters you had previously underestimated.

Baseball in March

St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training game in Florida.  Of course we went. 

Sarah B. is sleeping. :)

New Template and Profile Picture

Hello Spring!
What do you think? :)

Katie did all the work. THANKS KATE!

Random Friday Facts

• I'm currently reading Pride and Prejudice.  For the first time.  I know.  I'm actually liking it much better than the movie(s).
• So, I'm hoping to finish that book very soon, because...
• I GOT NEW BOOKS IN THE MAIL YESTERDAY!!!
• And a library book came on Tuesday
• For some reason we seem to be going through some kind of French Revolution phase here...
• We have Tale of Two Cities AND The Scarlet Pimpernel from Netflix right now.
• I got Dunkin' Donuts coffee the other day.  I don't understand the hype.  I'm going back to Berres Brothers.
• I do NOT yet have a birthday gift for Sarah B.  who will be 3!!!!! On Tuesday!
• Mercy me.
• My sinuses think they don't work
• Or maybe this is a mutiny??
• I can't breathe. Oh well  
• I'm currently working on creating a website for the flower shop.  I know NOTHING about websites.  
• Maybe ^ that's why I'm so tired?  And feel like I ran a marathon?
• My neck is quite stiff....  
• One of my new loves is Mac's Sable eyeshadow.  Pretty.
• OH!  Spring template coming soon!!!!!  I already picked one out, I just need Katie to help me upload it... she knows how to do it so I don't lose all my widgets.  So hopefully that will happen this weekend.
• I'm so ready for summer.  I'm actually kind of looking forward to baseball season.  My brothers must be rubbing off on me...
  

Spring? Maybe? Pretty Please???

Temp outside: Currently 54 degrees.

Do you know how good that feels?  If you don't live in the Midwest you might not know how good 54 feels in March. 

I can't WAIT for spring!!! I want to plant flowers SO BAD!!!  I have spring fever!!!


HELP!!!!

The Light is Coming Soon....

Don't let your eyes

Get used to Darkness

I am so guilty of this.  My family and I went on vacation to Florida earlier this month.  I remember driving in the Florida sunshine the day after we arrived and remarking to my sisters "Is it this sunny in Wisconsin in the summer?  I don't remember."  I think it is.  I've just gotten so used to the gray skies of winter that I'd allowed myself to forget that sunlight exists. 

The light

Is coming soon

The winter is almost over here in the Midwest.  The sun peeks out at us every once in a while now.  In a few weeks it will be here to stay.  Soon.  Soon.  

Don't let your heart

Get used to Sadness

Guilty again.  Have you ever thought this?  "This is my life.  I better just get used to disappointment."  

Put your hope

In what is true

Ecclesiastes 2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy.

1King 10:8  Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

Psalm 128:2  For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Psalm 144:15  Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

Psalm 146:5  Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

1Peter 3:14  But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

No matter how

The wind may blow

Tribulation.  We all have it in our lives.  Heartache.  Sadness.  Depression.  Loneliness.  Fear.  Hard times.

It cannot shake

The Sun

Hebrews 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. 

1John 2:8  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

1Thessalonians 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Ephesians 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Luke 1:79  To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 

(italized portions taken from "Back Home" from JJ Heller's album Painted Red)

IDDiots United!

If you follow my Other Blog at all you know that I am an IDDiot.

I.D.D. stands for  "I Don't Date."

NOT  

"I Don't Diet"

OR

"I Dig Ditches"

OR 

"I Don't Dance"

OR 

"Is Dover Deep?"

It is pronounced like IDIOT.  BUT,

In this case the word IDDiot means= A person belonging to the I Don't Date forum.  Or, as we affectionately refer to it: "IDD"  That's I. D. D. NOT "id".  Got it?

It does not mean= A person of inferior intelligence.

OK.

So, I'm an IDDiot. 
So are all of these lovely ladies.  Some of whom I met for the first time while we were in Florida.  (Some of them are my sisters and I met them for the first time shortly after they were born.)  :)

 

Back Row (left to right) Sarah B. (obviously she is an honorary IDDiot as she is not yet old enough to join a discussion forum.  Not for lack of discussion skills, of course.  She just can't type well enough yet.) Katie ,Sarah Dee, Abigail

Front Row (left to right) Christine (honorary IDDiot), Stephanie, Lydia (honorary IDDiot), Susie, Debbie, Me

We giggled a lot.  And learned things about each other.  And learned that we already knew a lot about each other.  

I love my IDDiots.  :)

How is everyone?

Question thing-y

1.You have ten dollars and need to buy snacks at a gas station, what do you buy?
Sun Chips, Chocolate of any kind, Coffee, if there's money left... maybe a Pepsi?

2. If you were reincarnated as a sea creature, what would you want to be?
Nemo.... duh

3. Who is your favorite redhead?
Anne Shirley!!

4. What do you order when you are at IHOP?
  Should I admit that I've never been to an IHOP?  Or, should I just pretend that I have and say pancakes?


5. Last book you read?
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, finished early this afternoon, almost done with Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie

6. Describe your mood.
  Kind of blue right now actually....

7. Describe the last time you were physically injured?
  Umm.... well, yesterday I poked my finger and had to put a bandaid on. 


8. Of all your friends, who would you want to be stuck in a well with?
  What kind of well?  Which of my friends can get me out fastest?

9. Rock concert or symphony?
Symphony


10. What is the wallpaper of your cell phone?
Luke being dramatic with a balloon sword.  Seriously.

11. Favorite soda?
 Dr. Pepper or Root Beer


12. What type of shirt are you wearing?
At the moment I'm wearing an OLD sweatshirt, because I am SUPPOSED to be in bed.


13. If you could only use one form of transportation?
My car.  Absolutely.

14. Most recent movie you have watched in theaters?
  ... ... ... ... ... ... City of Ember????????... ... ... ...  no! Inkheart, I think.


15. Name an actor/actress/singer you have had the hots for.
I can't think of a single one.  Am I weird?


16. What is your favorite kind of cake?
I had a very amazing cake the other day: chocolate with vanilla cheesecake mousse.  yes.  heaven.


17. What did you have for dinner last night?
Spaghetti


18. Look to your left, what do you see?
Steph's bookshelf


19. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Not usually.  And then I'm annoyed when I have to untie them to put them on.


20. Favorite toy as a child?
I can't remember...  books? (are books toys?)


21. Do you buy your own groceries?
  Yes.  Or one of my sisters does.

22. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?
If they don't then I am even less popular than I thought.

23. Whens the last time you had gummy worms?
Don't know... but now I want some.

24. What’s your favorite fruit?
Strawberries?  Pineapple?  Kiwi!  I love them ALL!!! except watermelon.  I'm not a huge melon fan.  I don't understand the watermelon hype. 


25. Do you have a picture of yourself doing a cartwheel?
  No.  Because I would have had to do a cartwheel before there could be a picture.

26. Do you like running long distances?
*snort*  Might as well ask if I like eating live fish. 

27. Have you ever eaten snow?
When I was little I did a few times.  I don't know why.  It was dumb.


28. What color are your bedsheets?
Red


29. What's your favorite flower?
  All of them.  Not carnations. 


30. Do you do ballet?
For realz????   *rofl*

31. Do you listen to classical music?
Not really.  Sometimes.


32. What is the first TV theme song that pops in your head?
Smallville.  Don't know why.  I hate that theme song.  *skip*

33. Do you watch SpongeBob?
NO.  (who comes up with these questions?)


34. What temperature is it outside right now?
I don't know.  I'll guess about 10 degrees.  Whatever it is, it's COLD.

35. Do people consider you smart?
I don't think so. 

36. How many piercings do you have?
2.  one in my left ear.  one in my right.


37. Are you signed on AIM?
No.  I have MSN, Google Talk and Facebook.  That's enough

38. Have you ever tried gluing your fingers together?
Why would I do that?  How could I type?

39. How do you feel about your family?
I luvs them


40. Do you have an iPod?
  No.  *sniff*

41. What time do you go to bed?
  Usually between 10 and 11.  Whoops.  Bedtime.  :)

42. What CD is currently in your CD player?
  I've got a 6 disc carousel.  I really have no idea.  The one currently playing is a mix, Painted Red, Buble, other stuff....

43. What movie do you know every line to?
*counts on fingers*  *doesn't have enough fingers*


44. What is your favorite salad dressing?
Lime-something....  or raspberry vinaigrette

45. What did you get for Christmas this year?
Money

46. What family member/friend lives the farthest from you?
  Family member?  Debbie.  About a mile as the crow flies and all the way in the basement!


47. Do you like hugs?
Depends on if I'm expecting it or not.  :)


48. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
Maybe an hour ago?

49. What is the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name?
  Most people know how to say Rebecca


50. Last person you hugged?
Claudia?  I think she hugged me on my first day back to work?

The Case of The City Clerk

"He opened his book again and read happily. No longer was there a wistful expression on his face.  He too, was of that glorious company to whom Things Happened." - Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Agatha Christie

More from FloridaI was planning

I was planning to share a bunch of pictures... but my computer thinks it has a bug, so I'm running a scan, so my computer is running REEEAAAALLLLLYYYY slow... so the photo program is just. barely. working.  So, I can't resize the pictures. 

SO.

Here's just a couple.  I notice that the pictures I'm picking out are all somehow focusing on Sarah B. 
hmmm....

 Reading in the sunshine our first morning.  On the back patio of the house we are renting.  Sarah B. is goofing off, showing off her new sunglasses.  They have Mickey Mouse on them.  But, she doesn't know who Mickey Mouse is.  She thought they were "Ricky Weeks Sunglasses" :)  (He's a baseball player, for the Milwaukee Brewers) :)  So, she calls them her Ricky Weeks Sunglasses.  :)

Sarah B. looks longingly at the pool after she shanghaied my blue beads. 

Airport Images

Sarah B.'s dolly "Joshua" catches a ride with Luke's backpack.

Sarah B. gets her hair done.

 

Baby French Braids!

500 posts!!!

I just realized that my last post was number 500!!!  WOWZA! 

Holy Toledo.  :)


ANYWAY.

As of this minute I'm still in Florida.  But, if you read this tomorrow, I won't be anymore.  Our plane leaves at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning...  Which means we have to be up at some ghastly early hour.... hopefully there's coffee on the plane.

So, we had a great time.  Florida is SO SUNNY!  I LOVE IT! 

I hear there was snow in Wisconsin yesterday.  *sigh*

So, we had a lovely time.  There's lots of pictures...  us at the beach.  us at the baseball game.  us (the little kids) in the pool...

I'll share some later. 

Hope everyone is doing well!!!   :)

Florida Vacation, part 1

 I wrote this last night:


After leaving home at 8:30 this morning we FINALLY arrived in Palm Beach at 8:30pm. It took another hour and some to pick up the rental cars (oh. my. gosh. craziness....) load everything up, get to the house we're renting, let the guy who owns the house go through and fill us in on everything.... and now it's 10:00. Mom and Dad are buying burgers someplace for dinner.

Highlights

-This house is SUPER nice... cute! and 4 bedrooms! 4 bathrooms!!! sweet kitchen. SA-WEET 40" plasma high-def... Wall-E is playing on it while I type. The littles are hooked even though they're exhausted.

-Sarah B. LOVED takeoff and landing. I was semi-afraid she would be scared. No. Quite the opposite. She laughed through the whole thing.

-Every time we experienced any turbulence she said "what's he doin'?" (referring to the pilot)

-Luke and I were travel-buds. Interesting. To say the least.

-While we were still climbing after takeoff he held his arms up so they were hovering over his armrests and shouted "LOOK! MY ARMS ARE FLOATING!!!!" I said: "You're holding them up." He realized I was right and said "oh" in a very disappointed tone... :)

-Sarah B.'s unhappy tummy (she's had diarrhea for a week, poor thing) decided it needed to go to the bathroom immediately before landing in West Palm. SO. Mom and S.B. were IN THE BATHROOM during the (very bumpy) landing. Mom was holding Sarah on the toilet. Sarah was yeling "WHAT is the pilot DOING?!?!?!?" And Mom was bracing herself against both walls... She (Mom) was white-faced when she came out of the bathroom. (And for an hour after) Sarah was fine.

-They served FRESH BAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES on the first flight. Midwest. I love them.

-It is humid here in Florida.

-I'm wearing capri pajama bottoms

-No socks!

Good-bye Readers!

I'm off to the Sunshine State for some relaxation, fun and sun!

I'll be on when I can!

True Things

.... I'm not the money I make,

I'm not the things I lack....

I'm not the mistakes that I carry, 

I'm not what I'm above... 

I'm not my scars and my history

I believe, help my unbelief...

I am loved and I am free...

I believe, help my unbelief

In your love, I'm waking up...

-Excerpts from True Things

by J.J. Heller

Painted Red

February Book List

15. Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor- (****) Pretty good.  Sequel to The Looking Glass Wars.  Although, much more violent.  One scene in particular which makes me wary of recommending it to younger readers.  Definitely a case of don't judge the book by the cover.  :)

16.  The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket- (*****) I love Lemony Snicket.  Comfort read.  Fast paced, very funny.  Nobody writes like Snicket.  His books are an experience for sure.  I recommend all of the Series of Unfortunate Events.  Some Unsavory and Eccentric Characters and like Snicket himself says "If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.  In this book, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle."

17. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis- (*****) EXCELLENT.  Highly recommended for ANYONE.  

18. The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket- (*****) More Snicket.  I love Uncle Monty.  I can't decide which Baudelaire is my favorite....

19. The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket- (*****)

20.  Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones- (***) Fantasy.  Magic.  Good storyline and plot weaving, but I'm just not used to reading the sort of book where magic happens so often.  The writing gets 5 stars, but I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who doesn't care for the fantasy genre.  Personally, I found it kind of a "fluff read."
 

21.  As You Like It by William Shakespeare-(*****) Delightful.  I love Shakespeare.

22.  Spindle's End by Robin McKinley- (**)  A retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  I love Sleeping Beauty, which is why I stuck with this book all the way to the end.  But, I was really disappointed in the ending.  Also, the narration seemed jerky and uneven.  And I felt like I was reading a handbook on how fairies work rather than a story of an exiled princess.  Too much magic.  

22.  A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute- (***) A very haunting beginning.  The first half of the book is completely different from the second half.  Hard to explain...  I did enjoy it, especially the beginning (although enjoy probably isn't the right word, maybe riveted) which is based on true events during World War 2.  Positive themes: The book has some valuable lessons on entrepreneurship, economy, facing hardships, and making something from nothing.  Negative things:  Violence, physical, emotional and spiritual abuse, many tragic deaths (like I said, it's all based on true events, but these are hard things to read about especially for young readers) ALSO, racial slurs, some swearing, and one scene in particular that I would describe as a "fast forward" scene if this was a movie (two characters get passionate, and unfortunately the author does not take Victor Hugo's advice and "draw a curtain over the scene.")  A girl gets pregnant out of wedlock and asks Jean how to get rid of the baby.  Jean replies that she doesn't know but that she doesn't think it's a good things to do.  (She keeps the baby).  

All in all... I would hesitate to recommend the book to just anyone.  For a mature reader who is interested in a heavy read, history and economy I say go for it.  I was especially upset by the racial slurs, since the author never bothers to correct them.  And I wish a certain scene had been left out entirely.  Just my 2 cents.  :)    

23.  The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket- (*****)

24.  The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie- (****) Pretty good. :)

25.  The Princess Bride by William Goldman- (*****) Loved this one.  Some swearing, and violence.  The whole thing about S. Morgenstern cracks me up, since William Goldman makes the whole thing up.  It's funny to read his comments on the "original work" as if there was such a thing.  Lydia and I agree it's some kind of genius.  :)

26.  The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket- (*****)


27.  The Days are Just Packed A Calvin and Hobbes Collection by Bill Watterson- (*****) Funny. :)

28.  The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel- (***) PG-13.  This is a very sweet story about a girl who's life changes completely and her journey through it.  When her father discovers that she is pregnant (not married) he arranges a marriage for her with a farmer and ships her off.  If it weren't for the fact that experience with the soldier who fathers her baby goes into WAY too much detail at one point (maybe cross off a couple of paragraphs and you'd be safe?) I would totally recommend this book to anyone.  Younger readers should ask a parent to cross out the paragraphs I'm talking about.  

29.  Dancing Shoes by Noel Streatfeild - (****) VERY VERY sweet story.  Perfectly appropriate and recommended for pre-teen and young teen girls.  :)

30.  The Ersatz Elevator  by Lemony Snicket- (*****)