where in the world is Lis?

Well...I'm still in Bellevue, and I am still alive. Training is almost done with it's three weeks and I am currently busy on many artistic endeavors. First I am working on a couple art commissions that will be posted when I am done with them.

On top of that, for the first time in at least 5 years I have had the urge to write. My brain is currently swirling with the ideas and Google Documents is my new friend as I sit at home at night typing things I have written on paper at work on breaks and also because I can open it from work and type in between calls.

The story is just forming and of course the almost nightly purge of ideas is opening ideas for other stories I would like to tell - fiction and non-fiction alike. So if I seem spacey and don't post it's because I am so wrapped in fleshing out characters and making sure ideas get set.

The best thing about tonight...rain. I love love love love the sound of rain falling and have been in my bedroom for the last 3 hours just typing on the computer with one ear listening to the downpour and one year stuck with my new 160 G I-pod that I got yesterday. This is isn't even close to halfway full and I am so excited about that.

silly technology. That's all I've got for now...oooh and I cut my hair again...I like it alot...I can't wear it in a ponytail at work anymore while on the phones...so it's pretty short for me...chin length and shorter....

another weekend post late

I did have new about my job that I didn't share.

I am being trained up to work on harder things at work. I've only been there 2 1/2 months and I am in 3 weeks of training starting today for Admin. Work. I will be working on more complex problems that I was not doing before. It's exciting to take this step as there are only 9 of us in the class. 4 of us trained together and the others having been on the job since March or before...

I feel very happy to know that people think I am doing a great job. I have been told it is a very significant step towards being hired on through the company and not being a temp. anymore. So three weeks of training means I have weekends off starting last weekend.

It was good news as I think I would have been scheduled for 3 10 hour shifts in a row. Sunday I slept in to the ripe old hour of 9 (sigh to early mornings making me wake) and then did some more sewing and relaxing.

Saturday before the theater show I made another purse. This one is my "evening" bag and it matched so well with the theater we went to.

Here is the outside all ready to put the handles and zipper on and sew it together.

Here is the inside lining that I wanted the handles made out of, but got too little of fabric.

Here is after I have attached the handles.


And here is my finished bag. I love the zipper color the most. It's a nice size bag. A bit taller and squatter than the one I made for my neighbor.

I also started working on my Minnesota Wall-hanging again. I have attached the binding and sandwiched it together with the backing and lining, now I just need to stitch in the ditch, and fold the binding over and sew! I have been drawing too, got a couple new books. I plowed through one really fast and will do a book review tomorrow following a format my friend uses on her site. Check back again! Off to relax.

A Chorus Line

Saturday night, Jeremy and I were invited to join a co-worker of mine at The Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle for a musical. I've never see A Chorus Line and said "sure" right away. Well once we finally got there (Highway 405 was closed so there was mega traffic) with 10 minutes to spare, She handed us our tickets and we ushered our way down to the seats...She gave us 5th row seats!!!!! holy cow was I surprised.

So we pulled out our programs and I took to what I always did before a show. Read the Actor's Biographies to see if I had seen them in anything before. The first name on the list was the actor Clyde Alves. I did a double take and then grinned very broadly. I knew him! My senior year of high school at the Arts High school the dance department was visited by a touring company of the musical Fame. They had a master class with two of the male dancers and I joined in on the class. One of the dancers was Clyde Alves!!! I remember many of us girls having a huge crush on him. He was very nice. So there he was. One of the actors in the show. It made the night even better. The show itself was way different than I imagined it to be. I often was laughing and clapping and mouth open and funny things sung. Half way through the show I realized that one of the other actors looked very familiar too... So I looked her up in the program in the lights provided by the stage...She was Nicki Snelson - who has just recently been seen on Broadway in one of my current favorite Musicals (don't laugh...and Jer Yes I like the musical - I don't care what you think) Legally Blonde the Musical as Brooke Windom.

She's amazing because during that musical she sings a very difficult song while jump roping and dancing a complex routine.

After the show Jeremy and I plus my co-worker, her mother, her brother, and her brother's friend all drove to a Starbucks for coffee and chatting. It was such a great evening. We ended up getting back home at about midnight. I can't wait until I get to see something else again.

Quilt block of the month group prep

I worked on my Quilt Block of the Month block for my meeting tomorrow. This was the first time I would try using bias strips to make vines on the blocks. It was soooooooooooooo hard. I found I struggle many times with this and probably said a few choice words that my husband couldn't hear (because he was so involved in his Geometry Wars 2). I finally got the bottom sewn down and now I have just the applique stitching to finish. I love the heart and the checkerboard section. Next month I believe is all applique! I can do that well! What do you all think?


I really like the red color. It's so cheery. More after the meeting!

A Birthday Present

My next door neighbor's daughter is turning 18 tomorrow. So I thought I would surprise her with a home made purse. My mom sent me the pattern for a purse she made me for my birthday this year so I thought I would try it today. It's fairly simple. It calls for 24 5 inch charms from a charm pack, 1 18 inch zipper, 2 fat 1/4ths (one for the handles, and one for the lining), and 18 x 20 inch section of light weight batting.

It was an easy pattern to follow and the result is quiet nice looking. What do you think?This is the short view.

This is the long view.

She will get the present tomorrow at her birthday dinner. I'll discuss more tomorrow with pictures of what we had to eat and the birthday girl with her new bag.

Dear I-know-it-all Consumer

Thanks so much for calling me today. I'm sorry to hear that your system will not power on. Let's walk through some troubleshooting steps today to see if I can help you get your system working without having it in for a repair.

What's that you say - you've done all the troubleshooting? What things have you done? You say everything? What does everything include? Oh everything from the website. Well I am glad you found our site usefull, however I don't have the site in front of me. Could you please humor me and tell me the things you've done.

Ahh you tried the AC Adaptor reset, good. Did you unplug it from both the system and the wall? You did - Great...how long did you let it set? Oh 30 seconds. Well lets try that reset again but let's keep it out for at least 90 second.

Hold on one moment ma'am...I understand your husband is the president of a hotel and knows how to do these things...but to correctly reset the AC Adaptor it needs to be unplugged from the wall and system for at the minimum of 90 seconds.

Thanks for your suggestion that that information should be listed on our website. Like I mentioned before, I don't have the site in front of me but I will pass that suggestion on. It's nice to know you care about our call volume.

Let's set up that repair,

Your friend Consumer Service Representative.

P.s. I checked the website and it indeed does say all of those things. Maybe there was a fluke accident where that particular snippet was invisible on your screen. Try again and please let me know!

Night at the Opera

So last Thursday Jeremy and I took my friends Kara and Ivan to see my sister's good friend Margaret in the Seattle Opera Aida. I've never been to an opera but I was so excited to see Ms. M perform because she is amazing. The show is set in Egypt and when the curtain rose it was a beautifully decorated scene. The pyramids were in the background and the set pieces had different Hieroglyphics on them.

Margaret did not disappoint and my first experience with the opera was good. I liked that it was in Italian and the captions were above the Proscenium arch. I felt like I was watching a silent movie in a way. I would glance up and quickly read the words then glance down to the stage and watch as they sung in words I didn't understand.

Afterward we asked an usher where we could wait to see if we could talk to Margaret. Well we trooped outside in the rain down to the Stage door and under the cover of a overhead walk way we waited. Eventually I stuck my head inside the door and asked security if we could possibly get in touch with her. He mentioned he had to do a walk through so he walked myself and Kara around but didn't find Ms. M. One of the cast members as well as the security guard mention a place the cast goes to unwind just around the corner. So we jumped over there for a few minutes and sure enough There was the divine Ms. Margaret with a few of the cast. I was just happy to tell her we made it and that we enjoyed it. I also got a quick picture with her.

I can't wait to see my next opera!