Oh man...I’m human again

It's true. I got so sick that I not only turned into an actual zombie, but I stopped my whole Giving Up plan. I stopped going to work. I stopped breathing almost. I stopped pretty much everything except laying in bed and moaning, "I don't feel so good." whenever Doug happened to stop playing Wii to make me some tea. Poor guy. Now he has it. He's much tougher than I was though. So, I just wanted to apologize for not updating y'all on my progress. I think the experiment is over for now, but I plan to do a larger project called: Giving Up and Giving Focus -- in the future. Basically I would plan out one year of my life and give up one thing and focus on one thing each week. It would require lots of self discipline and be hard and stuffs. I look forward to it. But right now I'm just going to concentrate on getting well for the big, Buy Stuff Day that's coming up. Doug and I have big plans to wear pajamas all day and watch Mystery Science Theatre movies. I can't be sick for that!

No Dairy - Yeah Right

So, yeah, I did not do so well this week. It all started when I did another I Heart Rummage show (their Christmas one called I Heart Indie Crafts -- if you missed it, you are SORRY).  Anywho, again with the free doughnuts.  I caved.  I ate a doughnut.  I'm not sure if they have dairy or not, but I'm relatively certain that since they taste so good, they do....they do have dairy.  I have to get away from these free doughnuts!

Then, at lunch (same day) I went to the Seattle Center House and it was filled with people and screaming children so I thought...Okay, I'll just go to Starbucks.  Fine.  Normally I never give them any of my money, but given the circumstances and the fact that they were right in front of me.  I caved.  I bought some pesto pasta salad that I really did think had no dairy in it.  I really, really did.  Then ate it while I waited in line for my Americano.  And waited.  And waited.  For some reason the barista is making every drink wrong so she has to make each one at least two or three times.  It takes at least 20 minutes.  Or at least enough time for me to finish my pasta salad.  Then it takes some more time because I have nothing to do but really familiarize myself with the label....which lists the ingredients....which includes dairy.  Damn.

THEN - (same day) later we go out for Thai food with my studio partner, Kimberly.  We order Crab Delight.  I should have made this week, I'm giving up all dairy unless it's in a crab delight because there was no way I wasn't eating those.  No way.  It's just not possible by any stretch of the imagination. 

So there's my foibles for the week.  I think this is the worst job I've done so far.

The current week: No eating after 7pm.  It worked for me yesterday. I'll keep you posted.

No Dairy - What I've Learned So Far

Here's what I've learned so far by not having dairy:

1. Soy milk is disgusting when you put it in coffee.  It takes like fake nuts and vanilla and beans all at once and the after-taste is worse than most things I can think of.

2. Semi-warm soy milk sitting in coffee you have had on your desk all day is really, really, really disgusting when you pick it up absentmindedly to take a sip.  I would have done a spit take if this wasn't a semi-new job.

3. Popcorn has dairy in it.  Yes, you heard me.  Popcorn has dairy in it.  We get free popcorn at work and I went to make a bag (disregard the part about how it's buttered popcorn) and discovered that popcorn contains MILK.  Really?  Why?  How?  I ate it anyway.  It shouldn't have dairy, so in my mind, it doesn't have dairy.

4. Don't yell at your husband when he goes to put butter on noodles so they don't stick together.  It's not like you're actually adversely affected by dairy.  You're just doing a dumb experiment.

I'm sitting here now drinking black coffee and loving it.  Anything is better than soy milk.  Speaking of -- anyone interested in a big thing full of soy milk -- it's not even open.  I stocked up in preparation for this week but I will not be needing that.  Not at all.

Hearts,

Rosalie

p.s. I just posted a bunch of new Shower Art (waterproof art you can hang in your shower with a suction cup) on my Etsy site.  Check it out. 

No Wheat - Last Day

It's my last day of not eating wheat.  I think I'll make it. 

Although after I cheated with the bagel and told you it wouldn't happen again, I ate tortellini (what could I do -- it was free) and a cookie.  Both of which most likely had wheat in them.  But since there is no way to know for sure, we'll say there wasn't. 

There.  I came clean.  I feel better.  Cleaner. 

No dairy week.  I'm not looking forward to that.  I think I just realized that means NO CHEESE.  Now what is the point of that?

No Wheat, No Cry

Well, before I started this project, I had no idea that my life, my feelings and my ultimate happiness were all connected to wheat.  But based on how this week has gone (translation = badly) I think I can safely say that wheat was the thing holding my little life together and making me react to things like a normal grown up adult (most of the time).

I can't really give you too many specific examples as much of it as wheat was apparently also powering my big, gigantic brain.  Just ask the people at work, they know I've been off my wheat game a little bit.  One example: thinking that someone told me that the Oregon Department of Education was going to be sending out the invitation to our office party.  Um...yeah....now, why again would you think that?  Only wheat can tell.

Then my kitty cat got sick.  And I took her to the vet.  And immediately started bawling.  And the vet said, "Is your cat being sick what's upsetting you?  Because this is really no big deal at all."  HA!  Hilarious.

*$(*)#@ing wheat.

After I got home from the vet, I went straight to the coffee shop, announced, "Fuck this wheat thing, give me a bagel!" and everything has been okay since.  I just cheated with the bagel.  And I won't cheat again this week.  But I tell you what: it was necessary.

Next week is dairy.  I can't wait to find out what parts of my life are connected to 1/2 and 1/2.  UGH!

No Bread - Piece of Cake

Okay, so far, the no bread thing has been a piece of cake. I don't like cake, so that's the easiest thing in the world for me not to eat. Apparently bread is a close second. Although I do love bread, I don't miss not having it. I'm sure my thoughts on the issue would change if Doug brought home a loaf of Fremon Sour as that is the best bread in the entire world, but so far he hasn't done it so I'm in the clear. And I'm down five pounds so far. I think it's pretty much the no sugar week that did it. Who knew sugar could have such an effect? And I only wish that coffee was just as delicious without it. It's close, but it's still just not the same.

No Sugar Week - Fine Until the End

So yeah, everything was fine all week and then.... I ate potatoes, a sugar covered doughnut and 2 pieces of bread in the same day. You could say I went crazy. I like to say that I think sugar missed me. In any case, I lost it. I made up a bunch of excuses to post on the internet so I wouldn't feel bad about not being about to go without sugar for a week...but then I thought...nah. Here's what they were: 1. I wanted to see how drastically different I would feel eating a bunch of sugar after having gone without it for a week. And honestly, I felt like crap. I'm sitting here right now drinking coffee with no sugar. I think this one might stick partially. 2. I'm gonna start taking Sundays off. Just like god did. Yes, that is just how far I had to reach for a second excuse. This week I'm starting no bread. I think. I didn't check. But I think that's what it was. Let's all just rely on my memory and I'm sure everything will be just fine. I heart you all, Rosalie

Days 1 & 2 No Sugar

Okay, aside from an argument that started in my office about whether 1/2 and 1/2 has sugar in it (it has 1 gram per serving) this no sugar thing has been pretty uneventful. Who cares, I'm not giving up 1/2 and 1/2 AND sugar in my coffee, so for the remainder of the week, I will slam my eyelids shut as I'm pouring my 1/2 and 1/2 so that I can continue to pretend that it has no sugar. My office mate did alert me to the "fact" that I will start to smell like I am decaying from the inside if I continue on with the no sugar thing. To be fair though, I'm only doing it for a week. Probably not enough time to begin to offend in that manner. Also, there was a slight misunderstanding on my part about what I can and cannot eat. I thought beans were on the NO list and was horrified when I ate a scoop of hummus, realizing too late that hummus is made almost entirely of beans. I re-read the rules today and realized beans are on the YES list and proceeded to finish off the hummus for lunch guilt free.

Days 5, 6 & 7

Pretty uneventful. Yesterday was the big test. We play pinoucle with some friends of ours into the wee hours of the morning pretty much every Saturday night. Drinking is normally involved. But not this Saturday. Not for me. And honestly, even though I went to bed at 3am, I woke up not feeling run over which was nice. I did still cry when I spilled spaghetti sauce though, so I guess you can't say I'm completely "fine." It's currently Day 7. The last day. Until it's tomorrow and it becomes the first day again. No Sugar. That's next week. No sugar in coffee. No cookies. No sugar. And it's halloween. Help me.

Tea Sucks

Well, okay, that's not fair. Tea is lovely. I'm just tired of drinking tea while other people are drinking wine. I haven't broken though. I've followed the rules completely. Even when Doug went to the bathroom, leaving his wine glass unattended for a moment....EVEN THEN!

I'm kind of proud of myself. Seriously, I really thought I had no self control at all. There's always this little voice in my head that says, "You really shouldn't be doing that." and then I do it anyway. Even if I don't really want to. Okay, now I sound a little crazy. I've got to stop blogging sober. teehee.

Oh - more bad planning on my part. I told my friend Stephanie that I'd meet her for a drink tonight after she gets off work. Maybe I can convince her that tea is a drink. Or coffee. You'll notice that in none of the weeks am I giving up coffee. That's right. This is an experiment. Not the end of the world. You'll have to pry that out of my cold, dead hands if you want me to give it up.

Okay, bye

It's day three and I'm still abiding by the rules. Even when Doug sits next to me drinking a glass of wine. I can still just enjoy my tea knowing that it's only for a week. I'm pretty sure I can do anything for one week. Or as long as there is an end date in site. It makes it much easier. Last night Etsy Rain had a meeting at Hales Ales. Sigh. That's okay, everyone complained that the beer was warm so I decided it was probably no good anyway. And thankfully I didn't drink because I needed all my wits present to get home. Some rules about buses there being shuttles after 7pm and the Fremont Bridge being closed. Argh. Filled with hate. And no beer. The meeting was relatively awesome though. We made some decisions - forming committees. YAY! We made lists of things - what committees? YAY! I kind of hate Hales Ales now though because: a. Of my own poor planning I was unable to try their potentially tasty beers b. It was LOUD. Really Loud. So Loud. Some good news: I just heard about something called the Goodwill By the Pound store. I am very excited to see what the heck that is and whether I can find tons of stuffs that I love by the pound. MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmm

Day Two - I'm still in this thing

Day Two, Week One, Self Control Experiment, Giving up Alcohol: Okay, so day two went swimmingly. Although I did stand up comedy for the first time with no Mac & Jacks lubricant. I lived. Tonight I'm meeting the Etsy ladies at Hales Ales. This was a very poorly timed experiment because not only that....but next week....next week when I'm giving up sugar....guess what! It's Halloween. *$(*#)@*#(_@

Oh and I forgot

You should also join the mailing list for my crazy art and odd object trading experiment called bARTer Sauce. Do it now.

Self Control and My Lack Of It

It's been awhile. I've been getting ducks in a row. I finally finished and now I don't know what the heck to do with them. Stupid ducks. While I was spending the last eleven straight days doing things that other people wanted to do, I realized....(drumroll) I need some time to do things that I like to do. To take care of myself. Wow. Revelation! This also led me to start thinking about my obvious lack of self control. It's difficult for me to censor myself or not throw something at you from across the room because I think it's funny. And while I can't do anything about those things...(or don't want to) I CAN do something about my belly. My Christmas present to myself (yes, I said Christmas. I said it. Not holiday. Christmas) is to lose 20 pounds by Christmas (see, I said it again). The bad news: in order to do that, I'll have to exhibit some form of self control. I considered it. I pondered it. I thought about it. I sat on it. And here's what I came up with: I like weird projects so I'm turning this into a crazy project and I would love company. If you want to participate with me...do it. Just jump in. Here's the plan: There are nine weeks left until Christmas (yep, that's the third time I said it) and for each of those weeks I will either concentrate on one specific thing or give up one specific thing. I'll track my results and see which week works the best. And I'm just assuming that by doing this, I'll lose around 20 pounds. This is not based on scientific fact or any research whatsoever. No doctors were involved in this plan. Oct 22 - This coming Monday. Giving up alcohol for one week. Oct 29 - Giving up sugar for one week. Nov 5 - Giving up bread for one week. Nov 12 - Giving up wheat for one week. Nov 19 - Giving up dairy for one week. Nov 26 - Not eating after 7:00pm for one week. Dec 3 - Eating vegan for one week and giving up alcohol at the same time. Dec 10 - Giving up sugar for one week. Dec 17 - Doing Bikram Yoga every day for one week. Okay, who wants in?

Cardboard Cutout Rosalie

Okay, someone made a cardboard cutout of me.

How funny is that?

This is Ariane, she traded me Barbie Monster Fish in my bARTer Sauce project. She was kind enough to take a picture of our trade as well. HA!

Oh, and in other bARTer Sauce news, I'll be appearing on Northwest Afternoon for a six minute segment. We're filming on Tuesday, October 2nd, but I'm not sure when it will air. It might be on the 2nd...it might be a few days later. How funny is that?

Also, it's my birthday on October 3rd. You've all been hounding me about what you can get me. Just remember, I don't like things that aren't consumable. I'd much rather you just created an account (a new feature!) on the bARTer Sauce website and made a bunch of comments (another new feature). You might get some errors. If you do, email me at rosalie@bartersauce.com and tell me what you were trying to do when it happened. That's all I really want for my birthday. Some beta testing. Yeah!

Oh, and of course, I'd love it if you made me a trade offer.

But I assume you already knew that! HA!

What the hell is that?

Yeah, that's the most oft asked question when we go to craft shows with Shower Art. Then they lift it up, sniff it, and then say, "Oh, soap." Which is weird. Because it smells nothing like soap. And it feels like rubber. So, solution. I made a shower curtain with "Shower Art: Waterproof Art you can hang in your shower -- or anywhere else, we're no dictators" to hang behind our table. At I Heart Rummage last Sunday we tried it out for the first time. One guy bought two of them and then said, "Yeah, I think I'll hang these up in the bathroom. Do you guys get that alot? People saying they'll hang them in the bathroom?" Um. Sigh. Sniff. Weeps uncontrollably.

Etsy Rain Meet Up at Third Place Books

Okay, first of all, where has this place been all my life? I mean really? Does Powells' own them? They have the same bike racks. And the big cafe? Where you can apparently be really loud because no one in Seattle will step up and ask you to stop, they'll just fume quietly at their tables: PERFECT! At first I thought - 6:30 to 10:00 - no way we'll have that much stuff to talk about. HUH! Right. I think we did just fine. We chatted about different ways to promote our shops and Etsy Rain in general and ate lasagne or mac n'cheese. Mmmmmmmmmmm! I had the Mac n' cheese. It was GREAT! I don't remember everything we talked about...nor would I post it up here because it's extra super secret, but I do know that everyone who showed up had great ideas to bring to the table. We had some laughs. Talked about some stuffs. Taught a baby how to punch his mom's pony tail while he's sitting in a backpack thing (don't ever do that...it's not nice, but it's also just really tempting and I have no self control..obviously). So, all in all, I give it a big hug and 5 shiny gold stars. And, let me plug Sara's shop here because she's my new friend that I'm going to make a million dollars with PLUS she gave me a ride home. And let me plug Kimberly's shop here because she's my studio mate and she's not mad at me for borking the fire department inspection. Sorry Kimberly. (bork=screw up, just in case you were thinking something else). And let me plug Dawn's shop because she promised to trade me two press releases for Shower Arts. And let me plug Carrie's shop because I taught her baby to punch her in the pony tail while he was riding in the backpack thing. Plus, I want her to have to make more baby hats. mmmmmwwwwwaaaaahahahahahah! And let me plug my shop. Oh wait, some already has. Check out Treasure Trove for fun stuffs!

bARTer Sauce in the Seattle Times!

A trading experiement that I've been working on for the last two years was just featured in The Seattle Times The project is called bARTer Sauce and I trade for art and odd objects. Any crafter/artists out there who trade with me will get a write up of your shop, a permanent link on my website and an email to my mailing list as promotion. The website Here's the items currently available for trade And here's the form to submit a trade offer The Seattle Times must have some kind of following too, because not moments after the article was posted online, I got a trade offer for this Barbie Monster Fish. YES!

The Studio Window!

Kimberly from Stir has been kind enough to let me share her studio/retail space. I made an Ugly Baby window display last Friday for all the people who come to pay for parking to look at. I don't know why I'm nice to them, they just come in to ask me whether they need to pay the city meter to park in the lot. Answer: Yes, just like the big sign tells you. And here's my new favorite Shower Art. Scary!

First Thursday Art Walk

It was our first First Thursday Artwalk in the new studio. I'm studio-sharing with the coolest woman ever: www.kimberlyatstir.etsy.com. Doug and I set up a pretty kick-ass Shower Art display for the artwalk and crossed our fingers. Feedback was really positive and while we only sold one item: a starfish to a child who just kept holding it up and saying, "oooohhhhh" we did come home to a $76 Etsy order. That's awesome!

To kick off the night, I invited some of the EtsyRain folks (our Seattle Street Team) over to have some wine and get silly talking about forums and making fun of Carrie complainging about how she "can't keep up with her orders." Ahhhhh, to have that problem! She has the cutest baby ever. I'm probably biased though: he's the baby who demanded that she buy him a Shower Art. HA! I love that kid.

We walked around a bit, visited Kimberly at Stir, went to Occidental park...and then it was all over. Time flew by much faster than I had expected. Next month I'm going to start out much earlier. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. You're such a fun group and I genuinely enjoy your company. Let's do it again soon!

To close, here's some pictures of the most recent batch of Shower Art. We're making them out of rubber now instead of resin so they're squishy and nice and won't make quite such a loud noise if they fall off your shower wall.

Etsy Treasury of Hilarious Descriptions

I created a new treasury of hilarious item descriptions - -check it out if you are so inclined: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=8089

The Cutest Thing I've Ever Made

Okay, I've made some cute things in my time...but this one....this is THE one.

I call her CupieHead.

You can call her that too.

The glue that I used to attach the beads to her hair had some kind of chemical reaction with the rubber and now each little bead is surrounded by an air bubble.

I think it's a great unexpected effect.

Huzzah!

EEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee!

I just got off the phone with a reporter from the Seattle Times who wants to do a feature story on a bartering project I've been working on for a couple of years. It's called bARTer Sauce and I concentrate on trading for art and odd objects. Huzzah! I'm so excited! If any of you are interested in trading, check out my website www.bartersauce.com and send me a trade offer. Or you can read about my adventures on my blog about The Sauce. YYYYYYYaaaaayyyyyyYYYYYYY!!!!!!

I made some more stuffs!

It was my first full day in the studio. I started making my "Shower Art" banner for craft shows. I made a plaque with a doll head that says, "Pootey Toot Toot." I listened to audio books that I bought but then realized I should have just checked out from the library (dumb). I checked on our last batch of Shower Art -- and here are some of the babies:

This one is from a Chinese translation book that says that bears are cannibals because they eat people. I showed them!

This one I find hilarious because it's a cow saying "I see butt." What could be funnier than that?

This one I just like because it's pretty. I'm trying to make another one just like it.

"Now He Calls" -- A woman cut in half who can't reach the phone. I think we can all relate.

This one I'm mad about because I put a stupid picture in the middle because I thought I was going to hate the stuff around the edges and I didn't want to ruin something good. Well now I like the stuff around the edges....and not the picture. Sigh.

Ahhhh...The Meaning of Life. The small plaque on the left says: He has great insight into Human nature -- also from the Chinese translation book. This one turned out a little weird on the left hand side -- but oh well. I guess not even the Meaning of Life is perfect.

This one says: Impressive only in appearance and He has only a few books. Teehee. He's dumb.

I Made Some Stuff

Ahhhhhh.... I made some stuff today. My new invention: Anarchy Envelopes - envelopes made from old magazine pages and then stamped on the front with an anarchy symbol with my Gocoo. I think I'm in love.

STUDIO! STUDIO! STUDIO!

I'm supposed to be getting ready for work...but obviously, that's not happening. We moved into the studio on Sunday and made our first batch of Shower Art there. It's fantastic! Our apartment is so small that we'd have to work on a table shared between the two of us, but there, at the magical studio, there are three tables at our disposal. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Space! Look next week for 13 new Shower Art pieces to hit my Etsy site (assuming they all turn out!) after they've cured. Make sure you also check out the great article written about one of our EtsyRain members! Yay crafts! Rosalie

Where Have all the Folding Tables Gone?

In my spare time yesterday (the hours after I wake up that are not dominated by social networking groups and email) I had the crazy idea that I would like to purchase one of the rarest items still left on our great Earth: the folding table. You may scoff and snort and think me ridiculous, but I spent all of yesterday in a car with my husband touring every KMart, Target, Fred Meyer, Sears, Restaurant Supply store and JoAnn Fabrics within the city limits. At a point of near desperation, we passed a garage sale where they had their items displayed on a FOLDING TABLE. The car screeched to a hault as I yelled "I'm talking them out of one of those." I was not successful. Where have all the folding tables gone? Something is up and I think people who inquire about it....are never heard from again. Like the salesman at Target who said he would go into the back room and check to see if they had any....and never returned! Where is he now? I can only hope they are treating him well, whoever they are. Why is a folding table so important? We're moving into the studio we're sharing with Kimberly from Stir today and we have no surface to work upon. This is the one I wanted....and I will accept no others. Well, okay, I did accept another, but I don't like it at all. Shhhhhhhh, don't tell it, but it sucks! Sigh, Rosalie

I just joined yet another social networking site. The difference here: it's all about Indie Craft Designers and those who love Indie Crafts. What could be better at sucking up every last second of my spare time. Here's my IndiePublic page. At some point I will no longer even create things at all, I will just blog about the "idea" of creating things. I'll be-friend people who also sit in front of a computer all day typing about how great it would be to MAKE something. It's coming. You'll see. Actually. I'm going to do my part to avoid that certain fate for crafters everywhere... okay, for me at least. I'm. Getting. Off. Line. ohgod.

Seattle Etsy Sellers Unite!

I've joined a group of Etsy sellers in Seattle (in Etsy lingo: Street Team) to collaborate, create and (hopefully someday) drink some wine. Recently we bought two booths at the Fremont Sunday Market and made a day of it relaxing in the (VERY) hot sun. Here's me with my (oh so necessary) coffee.

My husband Doug and I make Shower Art, waterproof art you can hang in your shower with a suction cup. Here's one I sold at the market:

Someone must really like eggs. That makes sense though....eggs are good. Shoot, now I want eggs. Focus. Good. Scary White Girl (or as we call her "Dawn") has created this Cthulu bottle cozy that makes me laugh out loud. I love his little curly face. Plus, I guess it's also the idea that Cthulu has been relegated to keeping my drink cold that makes me giggle.

I put Dawn's Cthulu bottle cozy in my Treasury of the Weirdest things I could find on Etsy. And not to brag or anything (yes, I'm totally bragging) but it IS the #1 Treasury on Etsy right now. How's that for WEIRD!?

I'll keep you all posted on the Etsy Rain (oh yeah, that's the name of our group - I guess it would help to mention that) happenings and goings on.

Much Love to You All,

Rosalie

Click here to check out
The Seattle Etsy Meet-up!