More is More

In just a few hours, I'll be participating in my first fashion show. As a designer.
I spent hours today adding more beads to one of the skirts that will be featured in the show. I wish I had time to do more.There really is never enough.

Reinvention

Did you come here looking for more delicious photos of my new obsession, RDJ? Sorry to disappoint, but this post is about my hometown and my feelings about being back here for an extended time.

Really? Skip the sappy nostalgia and get to the man candy? Okaayyy...

So I recently read Robert Downey, Jr. described as "sex on a stick," accompanied by this photo.  And as appealing as lesbianism sounds, I look at this photo and understand myself to be HETERO. A woman with a physical reaction to an attractive man. Nothing gross, nothing....moist. Just a catch in the breath and a feeling that "I would has that."

I saw this photo, had this reaction, and used my new iPhone to find Sherlock Holmes at a RedBox near me. It was elementary, my dear Watson. (Incidentally, that line is never spoken in the movie.)

I've seen this movie before. Once in the theater, once at home. Nevertheless, I watched it twice. The pairing of RDJ and Jude Law must have really lit a fire under the Holmes/Watson fanfiction crowd. I thought they were great together.

"Under this pillow lies the key to my release."

I bet it does.

Never satisfied with a little something if I can have an overabundance (sometime I'll write about my new, and growing, collection of milk glass lamps)--I watched a bunch (multiple hours) of RDJ YouTube videos. He's a funny mix of arrogance and self-deprecation which I find endearing. And, you know, I don't have to live with him, so his past --drug use, incarceration, The Pick-Up Artist-- doesn't affect my feelings. If anything, being a comeback kid is MORE appealing than being the golden boy (coughBradPitt).

This is a man who has become more attractive with age. He's cute in his early movies; he's a heart-stopper now. I love his Tony Stark--an alcoholic womanizer who reinvents himself as a hero--it's perfect. And I think that his wife, producer Susan Downey, is Robert's real-life Iron Man suit, the armor that allows him to be something completely new, something better. He loves her--and that's sexy, too.

The interwebs are very concerned with RDJ's height--or lack of it. He, himself, jokes about how tall Gwyneth Paltrow is in comparison and how he wears lifts for his recent roles. Big deal--those of you who know me IRL, know that I'm not opposed to teh short. [The Artist's drivers license says he's 5'5" and mine says I weigh 160--we're both lying.]

I think many leading men are on the shorter side of average. And I have a theory: short guys have to try harder. Tall men get a pass; I don't think they have to have as much personality. Short men have to cultivate...something. Funny. Cute. Smart. Injured. They try on roles, and consequently, can play a variety of parts. Add a pair of platform shoes and a good camera angle, and the audience doesn't give it a second thought.

So, Robert Downey, Jr., I'm looking forward to Due Date (with Zach Galifianakis!) later this year and Sherlock 2 next year.

And readers, I leave you with this adorable clip from Ellen...

The World's Laziest Blog

This weekend is BlogHer and it's in New York. Last summer, when the location was announced, I thought for a week or so that I might commit to attending. (New York! The two times I've been to NYC were really fun, if a bit hot and grimy. I glimpsed Bobby Flay while eating in his restaurant. I attended a taping of The Daily Show which had the most boring guest ever. I did a little shopping--and some work, because both visits were business trips.) But I didn't commit and, since I rarely blog, it's probably a good thing.

You'll see that I haven't actually written a post since March. Sad. I really wish I had an excuse, but no. If I'm going to entertain the idea of BlogHer 2011, even for a short while, I'd better start writing again. To ease into it, here's a summary of the past few months:

• I completed another year of grad school. I should finally graduate in Spring or Summer 2011.
• I bought a used car. It's not a Volvo.
• I rented a house in Bend, Oregon, my home town, for part of the summer. I drive back and forth (8 hours round trip) every week to see my family.

So there are the highlights. And this officially qualifies as being the world's weakest, laziest blog post.

Tomorrow will be better; perhaps I'll write about my new obsession with Robert Downey, Jr.

Throw Out Fifty Things

One of the books not in the stack from the other day is Throw Out Fifty Things, since I just picked it up at the library about half an hour ago. Apparently something is transformational about 50 things, so I'll try it.

I keep a box in my car trunk for Goodwill and I pulled out 10 things to take a photo:

1) Plastic magazine file. [replaced by many wooden magazine files from IKEA]

2) Plastic skirt hangars. [replaced by many wooden skirt hangars from IKEA]

3) Lunch box that I purposefully scammed from the kids section at Wordstock, but don't use or need.

4) Thread holders: one purchased new, one inherited, one from Goodwill (not in photo). [replaced by plastic thread cases that will be easy to transport and keep thread dust free]

5) CD crate that I hand painted with my Grandma Marge in 1989. I recently paid my son to move all my music to iTunes and have no need of this crate. Future photos will no doubt show stacks of CDs after I've decided which to purge (and how.)

6) Glass vase with negative connotations

7) Silk sweater purchased from Goodwill Outlet (clothing by the pound!). Used when I got it, now hopelessly stained. I saved the little yellow buttons.

8) Beginner tarot cards from Goodwill.

9) Power supply (nearly new) for the Mac that died last fall, incompatible with all of the 3 laptops in the house.

10) Plastic bowls from Target a few years ago.

I was concerned when I started the list that I was just replacing things, not really getting rid of clutter. But it's not too bad. I hope future photos will show more real de-cluttering. Now I just need to get this stuff out of my trunk. Then it's really gone.