My Unheroic Busyness & My Shoe Collection

Do any of you feel like you somehow have less time during this lock down? I mean, I know all you parents feel that, because you do have less time. (And blessings upon your household for being teachers, parents, cooks, housekeepers, providers, and everything else to your kids right now.) Not to mention everyone still working outside the home to keep us supplied and healthy.

Obviously I'm not doing anything nearly as heroic, but as we've settled into the unsettling routine of never leaving home, I'm still finding myself increasingly frustrated that I don't have any "free time." Because of course I have free time. It just doesn't feel that way. Which is ridiculous, because somehow I got all my work done before, AND left the house, AND had a minimal social life, so what gives?

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I've been putting off friends, ducking online conversations and calls, and sometimes resenting the ones I do make, all because I'm just "too busy."  I know it's not healthy, but we're all broken humans here, right? So I figure you'll understand if I show you some cracks beneath the bloggy facade.

John and I just passed day 42 of isolation, and I rollercoaster between joy that we're healthy and happy and guilt over not doing more, guilt over not missing "normal life" and my friends more, guilt over isolating myself even further into this cozy-yet-frenetic bubble of busyness.

Ironically some of this busyness is from researching new ways to connect with people online, especially you guys. That irony isn't lost on me, either. "Sorry, I can't talk; I'm figuring out how to talk to people online so we can all be more social."

I've talked about this with my therapist via Zoom, and the other week she asked me what would happen if I suddenly lost both Epbot and Cake Wrecks. I shrugged, and said, "I'd just start another blog." She gave me a wry look and replied, "OK, what if you could never write another blog post again?" The very suggestion was so shocking, so icy... I just sort of sputtered at her.

Anyway, so that's where I'm at this week. Where are you?

While I wait for your answers, let me share some random old Story photos I forgot to post earlier:

Several of you were concerned to see John's back on the 'Dew, but they finally removed the BVO in it, so it's safe(r?) to drink now. Plus John loves it so dang much, I'm not about to quibble during a lockdown.

These next text boxes are out of order, so read the orange box first, then pink before green:

Tldr; my therapist has great taste in art.

(The artist is Andrew "Drone" Cosson)

No really, trust me. SO GOOD. I like red sauce with cinnamon so much now that I even doctored John's beef stew with it last week. Delish.

It's Not A Cake, But I DEFINITELY Wrecked These Meringues

I've wanted to try making some simple meringues ever since I started following Uasis, that phenomenal meringue artist who makes piping the perfect Totoro look SO EASY.

 I knew to start simple, though, so I set my sights on these:

 How hard can little colorful kisses be, right?

(Those of you who saw my Stories last week, hush.)

In case you missed it, here's how it all went down:

 

(It turns out you need way, WAY more color in the bag - and it's probably better in a plastic bag, to keep the gel colors from drying.)

Christie colored her meringue directly, then put both pink and blue in the same bag to get the swirl.

 

Brace yourself...

New Second-Hand Furniture, A Steampunk Show, & YES I'M 41

Somehow I've accumulated a huge backlog of random life photos, so PREPARE THINESELVES.

...FOR GLOWY THINGS! (Globe-y things?)

John's mom flipped over this, said it reminded her of Rocky Horror Picture Show - which is the LAST thing I expected her to say. Um. I guess I'll have to google that?

Before the Labyrinth party we donated our front room furniture set to our favorite charity - both to make room for party things and because the 15-year-old couch & chair were showing their age.

So last month we started re-furnishing the room, and omigosh, gang, these two chairs are a dream-come-true:

I loooooove barrel chairs, they're so comfy for shorties like me. And these are practically new! We scored them from an office building nearby.

 Another second-hand score going in the room:

It looks like a porthole, right? Anyway, this thing was suuuper filthy. The wood parts were blackened and sticky (we think with tobacco tar) and we had no idea the legs would look like THIS after polishing:

I still need to take some beauty shots of the cleaned-up table. I'll post those with the finished room photos, which hopefully are coming soon. (We still need a console table, and thrift stores never seem to have those!)

Oh right, but here's a sneak peek at our new couch on the other side of the room:

Packing, Painting, & Purging

Well it took two weeks, but I think I'm FINALLY catching my breath after all the December craziness - how 'bout you?

It took us a good 4 days to pack up all the Christmas decorations, since I made John bring everything in - even the stuff we didn't use this year - so I could purge and organize it all.

Here's our triumphant Closet Tetris Photo:

Our thestral, brick wall, and fake fireplace get stored in an outside shed, but this is everything else!

I WILL HAVE ORDER!!

Ahem.

 
 I got some great video of John doing leg kicks in this. You Story-watchers get those exclusive treats, ha.

After packing Christmas up I was in full Spring Cleaning mode, and prowled the house for the next several days waiting to pounce on any and all unsuspecting drawers and closets. I cleaned out my old makeup, organized the junk drawer, and even made a small dent in my office closet, which is the catch-all for random decor pieces I can't bear to part with yet.

I did, however, find the strength to let this baby go:



 
 Goodnight, sweet Prince.

::trash can lid slams down::


Another picture from The Purge:

 
(He reported after seeing this Story that he DID keep it, and it's full of cards and letters I've given him over the years. Aww. I should really give him more of those, come to think of it.)

Our friend Karen had to MOVE right before Christmas (ack!), so a few days before I got sick John and I were over at her new apartment painting 'til midnight:

I Like Big Buns And I Cannot Lie. Plus We Slimed Our House!

Time for more random life updates! This time it's all good and silly stuff.

First up, my friend Karen taught me how to make a hair bun with a chopstick, and I am SMITTEN:

Where has this technique been all my life??  I asked on my Stories, and about half of you know how to do this... BUT NEVER TOLD ME. How dare you.

(Also this filter makes me want to stick flowers on my face.)

I've been experimenting with new buns almost every day since, which helps give me the push I need to keep taking selfies. I usually rely on filters since I don't wear makeup at home, but these pics help me see something nice about myself, which is definitely needed at times.

 Cute & Silly? MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

I took the one on the left after 4 hours of sweaty housework, so it's definitely a less polished bun - but I like the scarf addition! I want to get more hair scarves and flowers, they make me happy. Where do you guys get your pretty hair things?

Oh, and since it's still SO hot, these hair buns are a godsend. They stay up all day! And by piling the hair on TOP of my head, it doesn't pull and give me a headache the way a pony tail or lower bun does.

New Halloween tee!

Speaking of my sweet Evangeline:

 

 Lookit DAT FACE.

She's snuggled against my chest while I'm working.

Then there's her more photogenic (& destructive) sister:

Of Tigers And Baboon Butts: A General Life Update

We're leaving for Dragon Con in 18 hours and I haven't packed a thing.

Huh.

::Merrily continues procrastinating::

So hey, before my life becomes wall-to-wall Dragon Con madness for the next 6 days, I thought I'd update you guys on some good stuff.

First and foremost, JOHN HAS A CPAP MACHINE!

The machine is just a loan, as the drama of getting the right one continues (a story for another time), but the wonderful news is that John's been adapting pretty well. His sister sent us a few different masks to try: one gave him a big blister on his nose, another made him feel like he can't breath, but I think the 3rd was just right? 

There's a lot more to this story, and at some point I may sit down and write it all out, but for now let me just say that Bill over at Florida Lung is a saint, loading John up with free equipment (again, as a loan) to ensure John could start as soon as possible, and taking so much extra time to show genuine care for us. In fact, that entire staff there has been phenomenal: they moved heaven, earth, and bureaucratic red tape to get all of John's testing & approvals done in under 2 weeks, which usually takes at least 6. I still get a little weepy just thinking about it.

 

We did have another little scare when John took the mask off in his sleep, so he's been wearing the pool noodle bumpers again, plus he added extra Velcro to the mask to make it harder to remove. Fingers crossed this is all just part of the adjustment period!

***

Now as your reward for reading through all the Serious Life Stuff, here's Eva with a shaved baboon butt:

MADE YA LOOK.

OK, that's just her blanket folded funny, but this thumbnail on my phone made me cackle.

And here's Suki being introduced to Terrence:

 ***

In other good news, we've started making something we've never attempted before:

If this works, it's gonna be HUGE. Literally.

One more hint:

Thrift Store Karaoke Is My New Jam

On Tuesday John and I went thrift shopping for a big frame for our friend Scott - which we totally found, and here 'tis:

Only $20! AW YEAH.

Along the way, though, MANY ADVENTURES WERE HAD, culminating in my new favorite thing. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning:

 A lot of these were videos in my Story, so you'll just have to imagine Headphone Guy boogeying down while Minnie farts celebratory music notes.

 

 Move over, Kitschy-Cute.

I like to include you guys with these decisions, so:

 

 Initially "LAWD NO" was in the lead, but eventually you guys came around. 

Then a few hours later, someone sent me this!

 

Several of you think he's even creepier WITH the original paint job. I'm guessing it's the eyebrows?

 

 

 This is all at The Sharing Center, which I highly recommend if you're around Orlando!

 

 

You guys are NOT helpful in leaving things behind: I've since had suggestions to turn him into a Buzz Lightyear Mickey, Rocketeer Mickey, and Retro Tin Toy Mickey.

 

 ARG.

Oh hey, remember when John was modeling this "Pooey Puiton" in the Walmart toy aisle last month?

Cat Dragons, Poop Bags, & Someone Likes My Face

  I have lots of fun little things to share, but we should definitely start with rainbow dresses:

The pastel necklace is by Whimsy Kei, a local resin artist, and both dresses are CowCow brand from Amazon. I love them, but they're a little smaller than my last CowCow dress - maybe because they shipped from China? So I'm tempted to re-order them in XL.

 

Wearing rainbows is fun. A++, highly recommend.

 John did some death-defying lawn work:

 A few folks thought that was a weed whacker - bahaha! - but I promise both are legitimate hedge trimmers, rented from Home Depot.

 

 I promise you, I know what I've got - and I try not to take John for granted.

 On the kitty front, Suki has taken to bringing all her toys onto our bed (including dragging the plastic sticks with toys attached), and on laundry day she claimed my sock pile as her new dragon hoard:

 

"MINE"

 Then this happened:

 Have you ever tried to contain a massive belly laugh while madly scrambling for your phone to take a picture? Because that was me.

 

 My Hope robot has seen things, y'all. Hilarious things.

(Also I just re-read my old post about Hope and I'm kinda misty again. Aww.)

Random prettiness: