You'll find better days

Great shopping day today. Aimee and I went to Bellevue Square to buy summer clothes and catch up on what's been going on for the last 6 weeks. So much fun!!

I got two pairs of shorts which actually fit properly, which is just unbelievable. I haven't had a decent pair of shorts in 5 or 6 YEARS. I'm thrilled with these. I figured out that the shorts I need have to be knee length, straight leg, and a heavy material like denim or sturdy cotton. No stupid pleats or flimsy, floppy fabrics.

I also found this adorable 60s mod print dress at Nordstrom with a cut I never imagined would look good. But according to the Nordstrom website, it's listed as an A-line shift, so that makes perfect sense. And I have to brag and say I think I actually look *better* than the model in it ;)

I will be a magnet-making fool this week - I got a last-minute invitation to be a vendor at an outdoor festival in Ballard next weekend. Part of my profits will go to supporting a mother-baby clinic in Kenya, which is why I thought this would be a good show to do. I'll post more details here in the next couple of days, once it's finalized.

And my new venture, because I just can't take it anymore. Resume review for techie people. I've looked at dozens of resumes and done tons of interviews and you would not believe how many people have no idea how to handle themselves. Bad, bad resumes from (probably) smart people. Horrible interviewing skills. Lots of rejections.

So I thought I'd offer to review resumes via email specifically for those looking for a career in the software/technology industry. Here's my "testing the water" ad on Craigslist: http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cps/752801528.html

I'm not sure if I'll get many hits, but thought I'd offer to help. Whaddya think?

Just my confidence and me

I couldn't take it anymore. After months (no, actually years) of being patient and trying to cope and the occasional professional assistance, I finally just gave up today.

And got all my hair cut off.

It was done so quickly that I didn't even have time to think about how I liked looking over my shoulder in the mirror on a day when I painstakingly used the flatiron, to see my long straight black hair reaching the center of my back, a length I last saw when I was 8 years old.

It was just too heavy, too flat, and too much work. Drying took a long time, and styling was a nightmare.

I love to look good, but right now I'm not feeling so great about myself. To use a cliche, I feel trapped in my own body - I don't have a lot of clothes that fit exactly the way I'd like them too, and sometimes I see myself in the mirror and think "holy crap, is that really me?" And that's when I bother to look in the mirror. Plus it's hot, and feeling fat when it's hot is just about the worst thing ever.

So I decided to lighten up (the easy way first). I made an appointment at Paule Attar Salon, my old standard even though my favorite stylist EVER, Lindsay, moved to Boston a couple of years ago. I took a chance today on a stylist I had never met before but is one of their most experienced. She was, of course, gorgeous and thin, with that perfect straight black hair that eludes me. That gave me pause at first.

But then we talked about my inability to handle my own hair and not being able to re-create that perfect blowout that you get right after a haircut. I told her about my hair's quirks - the super curly parts underneath, the sort of waviness all over, and the frizzy yuck that happens when it dries on its own. I felt self-conscious about this - after all, it was just a haircut, and one of the many she'd have to do today, and in the grand scheme of the world's problems, it seemed like a lot of talking for something so trivial. But I needed her to help me figure out the perfect haircut for the way my hair and my life are NOW.

Not what I wish it would be - long, silky, glorious Lucy Liu hair, or gently wavy, gorgeous Jessica Alba hair, or cute, spunky, spiky short Meg Ryan hair. I'm none of those people and I also don't have an armada of stylists to help me get ready every morning.

What I got is perfect. It's shorter than it's been in a long time, just below chin length. She put some goo in it and dried it partially with a diffuser to keep some of the waves in, and then added some shine goo to keep the frizz down. Literally, the entire shampoo, cut and style took less than 45 minutes, which is half the time of the usual long layered/blowout cut I've been getting. Woo hoo. I think the actual styling portion took 5 minutes. Tops.

I feel better already. Funny how hair can do that.

The high plains of expectation

My mom is visiting, so we went to the Redmond Saturday Market. I've lived in Redmond for almost 6 years now and have never been to it. I always see the sign for it during the week, but forget about it on Saturdays, then remember on Sunday when it's too late.

But this time we planned ahead. I was surprised at the size of the market - there were a LOT of vendors there. Lots of vegetables, fruits, some artisan cheese, soap, candles and even some jewelry.

I'm definitely going back next week to get some yummy handmade soap and maybe some fruit. And another bouquet of flowers to replace the ones from this week, pictured here. I love the colors - bright and pretty without the usual garish yellow flowers.

The other great find at the market - some local artisan cheese samples. The ones I bought were a mellow cheese with some different flavors in it - a fabulous spicy chipotle, cumin, and chili pepper. I skipped the caraway and dill ones since those are my two least favorite spices.

Anyway, if you find yourself in Redmond on a Saturday before October, go check out the market!!

People say I'm white and nerdy

Quick post since I'm at work, and need to actually, you know, WORK. Last night while I was working at home, I noticed that the Etsy Treasury was about to have spaces available, so I was lucky enough to get one and pick my own list of favorite items for display.

So my theme was Science Geek, and of course I had to name it after a song lyric so I chose Weird Al's "White and Nerdy". And to be a good Etsy sheep, I didn't even put one of my own items in there.

Here's a screen shot (click it to see the large detailed version):



If you see this before Sunday July 6, you can click on the real thing and actually add your comments:

White and Nerdy Treasury

Supposedly Treasuries with lots of clicks and comments have a better shot of making it to the Etsy Front Page, so help me out :)

Each one misses by so far

So if you've subscribed to my blog using some kind of Reader (like Google Reader, Bloglines, etc.), you'll need to update your feed thingy for me because I switched to Feedburner today upon a recommendation from a wise blogging friend. So here's a new link to re-subscribe, or to subscribe new if you want to try out the Reader thingy. It's a nice way to keep track of blogs if you read a lot of them.
FEED ME (aka Subscribe to Spike, Peanut & Me)


That same wise blogging friend introduced me to the world of blog advertising, and this weekend, I got my first check. Woo hoo! So thanks to everyone who came and visited my little corner of the Internet. I will buy some beads and think of you :D

And because I am on a crafty roll, I want to show you what I made when I hung out at Wendi's house this weekend:



Now ordinarily, I wouldn't think pink and red go together so well, but for some reason, I thought the background on these pictures just worked. And I'm happy to have another barrette to add to my little shop so the first one doesn't get lonely.

Hope you all out there in blog-land are having a good start to your week!