Virgil

This is a post about my doggie, Virgil. He's a miniature schnauzer that we 'rescued' from Petland. He's the cutest thing! First I'll start off with a little background....

One day about 3 years ago, there was a little dog that was wandering around the road in front of our house. My brother noticed it had a collar and my mother coaxed it to the house. He was a Standard Schnauzer with the most wonderful disposition. My dad fell in love (odd to say but it's true). We eventually found the owner, who was ecstatic to find his wonderful pet. After that day, my parents started browsing a Petland near us. On a whim, my dad bought our first schnauzer.

A year after that, they bought another one. Many would think this to be insane, buying animals on whims, but my dad is just that way.


Last November, my family went into Petland again and saw an ADORABLE tiny salt and pepper schnauzer. He was soooo little! We played with him, and despite him being a little scrapper (biting at my shoes and such), I fell in love with him. I told dad that I was willing to take money out of savings to pay for him, but he was really expensive ($900 on sale). I became sad and thought that was the last I'd see of him. I decided that if he ever got to $500 that I would buy him. It was a long shot but I knew if it did happen, it was meant to be. Low and Behold, My dad surprised me with the puppy the Saturday before Thanksgiving. (he had talked to the manager of the store and brought him down to $500)

What a surprise it was! I woke up and dad plops this tiny ball of fur into my arms. I didn't know how to respond, except a huge smile on my face.


Now, this puppy has not been an easy task. He has been a turd from the get-go. He is over a year old now and still decides he's going to pee in the basement when he feels like it >:{ But he is quite adorable and we love him to pieces.

THE REASON BEHIND THE NAME
One of my dad's favorite movies is Tombstone. He likes all the old westerns, like John Wayne and such. However, Tombstone is especially wonderful. It has been a family favorite and we watch it all the time. When we got our first schnauzer, I thought his muzzle looked like a handlebar mustache. So I came up with, Wyatt(Earp). My dad loved it. Keeping with the theme, we named our next one Doc(Holliday). I'm a lover of themes, no matter what. So, when I got my own bundle of joy, it was a toss-up between Morgan and Virgil (Wyatt Earp's Brothers). If you've ever seen the movie, you'll know why I chose Virgil. Sam Elliott is all salt and peppery in this movie (and is Virgil Earp)... and so is my Virgil.





ABOUT VIRGIL:
Virgil is...


1) A Scrapper. He LOVES to pick a fight with Doc and Wyatt.
2) Tiny. He is a stubby, short little thing. About 10ish inches tall
3) Studmuffin. He likes to pee on things still. He has "Napoleon Syndrome" ;)
4) Adorable. We can't walk by him without gawking at him still, even tho we've had him for a year
5) Uncuddly. He likes to be pet, but will leave the moment you cease to pet.

And so, with a very long post...That's the story of how Virgil came to be my doggie.

A Pilar Cyst!??!?!?!

For 3 years I have had an odd bump on my head. It started with a large pimple that didn't heal for about 2 months. When it finally healed over there was a bump. I thought it was just swollen or something. So, around a month ago it started to get larger, harder and was now able to move around. This was terribly alarming to me. So I went to the doctor to get it checked out.

It turns out it's called a Pilar Cyst. Here's the definition from Wikipedia:

A trichilemmal cyst (also known as a "Pilar cyst" and "Isthmus-catagen cyst) is a common fluid-filled growth (cyst) that forms from a hair follicle. They are most often found on the scalp

It was on the top left side of my head. I had it removed on the 10th. Here's what they do to get them out:



Here's what mine looked like:



It felt like cartilage, and looked like a smooth brain/pearl/lentil to me. It was about the size of a large pea.

And here's my syst-less head:


My hair's really nasty because I'm supposed to put Vaseline on it all the time "To keep the stitches moist"..... ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Anyways, I thought it would be an interesting post ;)

Halloween '09

I was going to wait until I got more pictures, but it has already been a week since BlockParty. It's Time.

I managed to only get a picture of Devin and I (with his brother). We had a great time. I can't tell you how much I smiled. I was just happy that Devin was willingly wearing the garb! We decided on "British Colonial Loyalists" as what we were.


haha, Devin has no hand :p

Other than that, Devin looked perfect! He fits that era very well. You can't see it but there's a frilly shirt under there. That's right. OW OW.

As for me, my hair was huge. It took us (my mom and I) and hour to put it up. And about 45 minutes to take out. LOTS of teasing and pinning. I may put a tutorial up on how to achieve it :)

Pumpkin Post '09

Behold......... MY FIRST JACK-O-LANTERN EVER!!!!!



Ya, this past Friday was the first time I've ever carved a pumpkin. Crazy, I kno. I have wanted to carve pumpkins since I was little, but my parents just never got into it. I never voiced that I wanted to, so I'm sure they would have obliged had they known. To be honest, they didn't offer because of the stress and mess of the adventure. So how did I find my first pumpkin carving experience?

It was great. I was with two friends of mine, and we had a blast! I didn't mind scooping out the innards or anything. I thought it was all very cool. As for my theme, I didn't want to do the "normal" jack-o-lantern faces cuz quite frankly... I'm far from normal. I chose Princess Leia only because I couldn't draw a Darth Vader for the life of me. I think Leia turned out pretty alright. I had fun doing it, and look forward to pumpkin carving again next year!

Upcoming Event:

This next weekend is Halloween, as well as the Infamous Athens Block Party/Halloween 'celebration'. I have never been in my 19 years of living, and this year I'm going to change that fact.

We (My Boyfriend and I) have been commissioned, by his older brother, that we are to accompany him and his friends to Block Party. So, what are we going as?!?!?!? an 18th century couple!!!!!!! I'm very excited to see my Handsome Man in a redcoat and breeches ;) very excited indeed.

It shall be the debut of my 18th Century Outfit and his first experience to wear 18th century stuff. We know a guy who has an entire outfit for that era. So we're borrowing. (if he likes it... and even if he doesn't...I'm going to make him a gentleman's wardrobe ;)

Music Wise

I have found some very beautiful music on Youtube and I'm going to share it with you.


^^^These^^^ pieces are just wonderful! I can listen to them all day



The first piece above, I'm arranging for piano and violin so that My violinist and I can have it in our concert for the end of the year! GORGEOUS.

Crochet StormTrooper

Recently (well more like beginning of last summer), I agreed to making a Stormtrooper for my boyfriend. It's taken me forever to finish it but here he is: Drumroll PLEASE!!!!!!!!


Mr Storm Trooper









So there he is! I'm so happy to be done with him... now onto make a YODA! :D

Alternative Bathing Habits for Water Conservation

I was originally going to do a post all about my Crochet Storm Trooper's progress, but I thought I'd share about my new "thing" I'm into...

I live with my parents (because tuition is cheaper), and our water bill was outrageous about a month ago. My mom and I, who have a soft spot for natural resource conservation, have been talking for a long time about changing our "wasteful American Habits". I found an article on MrLock.net about bathing habits after I started my new nightly ritual.
The article isn't really about bathing, yet it has some info in there:

...on our trip to NJ the next week, we stayed with friends who were in the process of remodeling their one bathroom (beautiful small house built in the 1930s). The shower was useable, but still not quite finished, so I decided to put myself to the test: instead of a shower, I used a washcloth, warm water from the sink, and soap to do the job.


This is the approach I have been using for the last month. A washcloth and hot water with soap. That's it. Now, you have to have a little background from me to understand why I think this is AMAZING.... I Hate Showers. I always have. Before I only took about 3 showers a week. I would try to go as long as possible without taking one because I hate it so much. The reason for this hatred? I have no clue, but I know that I do see them as a waste of time and not very rewarding. My new approach to bathing is this:

Every evening get some hot water in the sink with just a little bit of soap, not enough to be soapy or sudzy, but enough to make it smell good. Wash your entire body with a well wrung-out washrag.

Wash hair in tub when needed.

Take one bath or shower on Saturday (so I'm nice and clean for church the next day)


I was skeptical at first because I thought "There's no way that that's sanitary". But honestly, I feel cleaner and more refreshed doing things this way versus taking a shower every day. It is also good for the environment. So anyways, I like it, comment if you will or try it yourself and tell me what you think!

Finished Caraco Coat thing

YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!! I finally finished my Caraco Coat thing on Saturday. I had been putting if off because I thought the final task of hemming would be awful (as I did it by hand) but it didn't take me too long. Instead of doing 3 tabs in the front I decided to stick with 2 and make it a bit more interesting. I wanted the tabs to look more like an Open Pelisse that's present in a lot of Regency movies, I made the top tab/strap sloped to give a prettier and more feminine look to the outfit, because the straight straps were BORING. I'm very happy with the result, I'm just not sure if I need to embellish it! I definitely want to do something with the sleeve openings, but not sure what? Any Suggestions?




I took many many "vanity shots" (photos of yourself) because I was so excited with how it looks. Not bad for my second dress ever made! :)

Caraco Coat Progress

I've been sewing like mad on my Caraco Coat. I finally got some good pics too! The lining is done, the outside is done, they just have to be put together and embellished. I do not have the "strap thingies" done for the front quite yet, they will be done tomorrow. Forgive the frumpy-ness of my get-up, it was 1am when I was taking the pictures.

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I'm kindof excited too b/c I can also do this with my Caraco thing:



YAYYY!!!!!!

Petticoat and Project

I have finished my dark blue petticoat, basic in it's entirety, and now I have finally chosen what I'm to do for the bodice. I have 10 yards of this wonderful fabric:

and I'm going to make it into something like this:


I'm going to have a separate stomacher to show on the top and bottom. The stomacher will be reversible, one side the same dark blue as my petticoat. I drafted the pattern pieces and fit together most of the mockup. The pictures I took were laced with green so I'll put new ones in my next post.

Piano Repertoire '09

It's funny how the title is "Music, Corsets, and Star Wars", and I've not yet post a single music post. Maybe I assumed it wasn't as important as the others? idk

For my major, I have 2 juries a year, one at the end of Winter Qtr. and the other at the end of Spring Qtr. Last year I was ill prepared (I was a poor, uninformed freshman) for my juries because I had no idea what the heck was going on. So this year I made a list of the songs I am to play for my juries. The one's I'm working on are these:

Haydn Piano Sonata in C major (HOB XVI: 48) written: 1789


Schumann Kinderscenen Op 15 (13 scenes) written: 1838



So these are going to be memorized and played for my winter jury. These pieces are much easier than ones I have played before. I was told that I play too "fingery" and that I am to change my technique or else I'll injure myself, and easier music gives you more freedom to do that. It's really hard to unlearn your 13 year old habits so it's kind of a frustrating process.

Eventually I'll record myself and post the videos on here. Eventually.