Staying Shiny

My life as a Uber-geek in a Bridal world

A Dream Fulfilled

It has always been a dream of mine to attend DragonCon, not for the convention itself, but for one man who is a fixture at that convention.  He is one of my favorite artists and his works adorn every room in my house. I have a huge collection of prints, lithographs, books, comics, cards and figures.  J has tracked me down rarities and autographs by him for years, in fact his first gift to me was a graphic novel by this artist.  Who is this man you ask.  Joseph Micheal Linsner.  And he's coming to the Con I have tickets for.

This picture perfectly illustrates why I love his work.  This is his greatest character.  She is called Dawn and she's the Goddess.  If any comic woman deserves to be perfect it would be her, after all she is a god.  Here is where JML differs from all the other artists out there.  Look closely at this picture.  There are a few very striking things about it that make it stand out from all the other comic book females out there.  My favorite little detail, the little crease at her tummy.  I also love that her breasts look real.  Not pointing to the sky at impossible angles or so big that she couldn't possibly stand up.  He has this amazing eye for the female form and creates images that just make me happy.  I can't wait to meet him and maybe even see if he'll do a sketch for me.  I came eerily close to abandoning my costume when I found this out yesterday so I  could do the Dawn and Death costumes J and I always talked about doing, but there simply isn't enough time to do them right.

We'll still do this someday and maybe even do it at DragonCon in the Dawn look-a-like contest, but for now I am just happy to get the chance to shake his hand.

A big loss for all Whovians



It is with great sadness that I write this.  I just found out that actress Elisabeth Sladen has passed away.  She will forever be remembered for her role as Sarah Jane Smith on Doctor Who.  She has the honor of being the only one of the Doctor's companions to span multiple Doctors and spawn her own show, The Sarah Jane Adventures.  Elisabeth Sladen first joined the world of Doctor Who when John Pertwee played the Doctor (1973) and continued on with Tom Baker taking over the role.  She played Sarah Jane until 1983, reprising the role in a few specials until rejoining the relaunched cast and eventually getting her own show. I loved the Sarah Jane Adventures.  Elisabeth Sladen created a masterful character with Sarah Jane and will truely be missed.  I loved Sarah Jan'e strength and independence.  I believed that she could solve intergalactic problems and I saw her love of the Doctor.  I loved how they brought her character back and showed what the Doctor's legacy is on those he has left behind.  I am very sad that she will no longer be traveling with the Doctor, but I wish her safe travels through the stars for eternity.

The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it’s a world, or a relationship… Everything has its time. And everything ends.” - Sarah Jane Smith

A Dying Art

I have discovered something about the world we live in today.  There are certain things that used to be common place for most people to know how to do in life that are becoming extinct in our fast paced modern world.  One of these things is making my life a little more difficult right now.  There are so very very few people left in the world that actually know how to sew!

Once upon a time, almost every woman had at least a little experience with sewing.  At the very least just about everyone could sew on a button or hem a pair of pants.  Now it's pretty rare to even find someone who knows how to thread a needle, let alone what to do with it.  The lack of seamstresses has made it difficult at work recently because our main seamstress has retired and one of the other seamstresses is only able to work a few days a week.  This has made it so I have had to step and and start doing pin fittings and sewing (often after hours) on top of my other Management/Head of Alterations duties.  The major problem is it is much harder to alter something than it is to sew something from scratch so it's difficult to find qualified people.  We have so many dresses that need altering this year and I can't seem to find anyone who is able to help us out.  We used to have a solid pool of people to draw from at the local College because they had a Fashion Design program there but the have recently re-vamped their program so it mainly focuses on Fashion Merchandising and less on the sewing end of things.  So right now all I can do is try to get through the season (come on September!) and hope I don't have a major heart attack in the mean time.

On the up side, my co-workers have really stepped up and are all trying to learn whatever they can so they can help out.  I can see a light at the end of the tunnel...it's faint, but it's there so I'll hold on to it and plow ahead.

Looking Forward.



Eleven days.  Eleven days, 14 hours and 50 some minutes to be exact.  That's how long I have to wait until the next series of Doctor Who.  I am so excited I can hardly wait. I have been trying really hard not to read to many spoilers on the net, but I have been looking at a lot of behind the scenes and preview stuff.  I am most excited for Episode 4 entitled "The Doctor's Wife" as it was written by one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman.  I came across a quote that Neil said regarding Doctor Who and I think it sums up the show perfectly.

"No, look! There’s a blue box, it’s bigger on the inside, it can go anywhere in space and time, sometimes even where it’s supposed to. There’s a bloke in the box, he’s called ‘The Doctor’ and when he gets where he’s going there’s going to be a problem and he’ll try to solve it and he’ll probably succeed because he’s awesome. Now shut up and go watch ‘Blink."


On another note... I found feathers today for my costume.  Now they aren't exactly what I wanted, but they will do.  I really wanted coque feathers but they are impossible to find here and I'm a little leary of ordering them online because I'm afraid I won't get what I thought I was going to get.  I settled for hackles but at least they are the right color and don't look like cheap craft feathers.  Now is the hard part, I have to separate them and re-string them mixing the red in with the black and then attaching them to the corset.  I'm glad I have a couple of months to do this.





Challenge Day 15

Day 15 - pictures of your dream house

I almost did 15 days in a row...that should count for something right?  I'm going to take this one quite literally and assume I have a completely unlimited budget and nothing is out of the question.  My Dream home would be located at the end of a long windy driveway completely surrounded by trees so you don't even see the house until you are right on in.  It would have a circular driveway in front with a large gargoyle fountain to greet you.

My House would look something like this:

Must haves on the outside include either stonework or brickwork, a covered porch area to sit and read on and at least one turret.


It must also have at least one section covered in ivy.  I love how that looks even though J complains that ivy causes rot and other problems.

Inside the house there needs to be a huge library.  I love to read and I would love to have a room dedicated to just books.

Something like this would be great, only make it round and put it in the turret with a circular staircase in the middle.  Make the library 2 stories tall with secret room located behind one of the bookcases.  I'm not sure what to put in the secret room yet, I just want one.  Maybe it will be the entrance to the basement and I'll put a movie theatre in there.

I have also always wanted a really big fireplace with a super ornate mantle.  Take out the Cherubs and put in some dragons and this would be perfect.  J wants his own secret room now so I told him he could put it behind the fireplace.

Other must haves include a large room to hold our Superbowl party in every year decked out with Colts and Packers gear, a bathroom with a claw-foot tub, a huge yard with an area I could put a garden in and a barn/riding arena for my horse.  Since we are dreaming big, this house will also come with maid service, a chef and a gardener to keep up with the grounds.  Maybe I'll even put in a hedge maze for good measure.

Truthfully, I would be happy with just about anything as long as it has a good size living room to entertain guest in and a yard.  Not a dinky little city yard, but on that can comfortably fit a BBQ area, a firepit, a garden and a trampoline.  I think I was spoiled with the size of the yards we had in the houses I grew up in.  My mom's yard is big enough to build a second house on and still not be on top of your neighbor.

I'll keep dreaming for now and buying lottery tickets just in case.

Challenge Day 14

Day 14 - Some pictures you love

Here's just a few pictures that always make me smile.

J and I were doing a photo shoot and he found the very last remnants of snow behind an old barn and started a snowball fight.  I love that we sometimes just fall back into being kids.

Here's photographic evidence of the one and only time I ever had the guts to perform with a band.  It was a blast despite my crippling stage fright.  FYI - I'm singing "Loveshack"

Meeting my first cylon!  Aaron Douglas is an awesome guys and was very kind.  This was our first trip to Comicon in Calgary and I can't wait to go again.

15 years of friendship!  So glad to have people in my life that are always there for me through thick and thin.
I am a huge fan of the Olympics and I got the chance to see the torch come through on it's way to Vancouver.  It was an experience I will never forget and it was really cool to get to hold the torch.

Challenge Day 13

So I totally forgot to post yesterday (I'm bad I know) so I'm going to do both Day 13 and 14 today...

Day 13 - Goals

Short term:
Make it through the alterations season this year without having a heart attack. (More on this in a future post)
Go on a real vacation - not just take a week off of work, but actually go somewhere - anywhere - for a while.
Find a bigger living space.  Our apartment is great, but I would love to have a little more room and maybe even a bit of a yard.
Ride Jack as much as possible this summer.
Get back into my weekly swimming dates with my niece. (Stupid weather has made this all but impossible for quite a while now)

Long Term:
Buy a house.
Start a family.
Go to Europe.
Go on a long road trip through the US stopping in places with random and cool names.

Challenge Day 12

Day 12 - What you believe

I believe family is one of the most important things in life.
I believe in true love.
I believe things happen for a reason, even if that reason is hard to see at the time.
I believe silence can be golden.
I believe in a higher power, whatever you choose to call it.
I believe it is important to stand up for what is right, even if you are standing alone.
I believe in fairies.

Challenge Day 11

Day 11 - Favorite tv shows

Holy loaded question...I have way to many!  I think I may watch to much television.  I will make this a list of current TV shows though.  I have already done a blog on my favorites that were cancelled too soon so here's my current faves.
Castle, House, Glee, Criminal Minds, Survivor, The Big Bang Theory, Sanctuary, Say Yes to the Dress, Big Brother, So You Think You Can Dance and the following "can't miss" shows.

Doctor Who - My all time favorite.  What's not to love about a show that has truly stood the test of time.  I can't wait for the new season of this show to start, especially episode 4 which is written by Niel Gaiman.  Funny, campy and occasionally poignant, this show is fantastic.


Another fantastic BBC show.  Do not confuse this with the muddled piece of crap that the SyFy version has become.  This show has real heart and soul and I can't wait for season 3 to come out on DVD (since I have no other way to watch it **grumble mumble** stupid BBC Canada sucking big time)  I need to see how they get Annie back!

My weekly soap opera.  For some reason this show has really grown on me.  I didn't care for it at first, but something changed right about the time Izzy laid on the bathroom floor in a prom gown.  It might now be the greatest show on television, but I don't miss it anyway.