On Wednesday night around 9:45pm, I started feeling crafty.
This is never a good thing - craftiness hitting this late at night. It usually means you'll be up until 2:00 AM or so, staring at your project and resisting (or giving in to) the urge to throw it across the room. But I'm proud! I managed to indulge my craftiness in a timely manner, and then go to bed about an hour later. I didn't fall asleep for another hour later, but that's beside the point.
I played with something new yesterday - paper clay. I bought this stuff ages ago for another costume project (Lara Croft maybe? I honestly don't recall). It didn't work for what I wanted, and I put it away. I got it out last night because I figured it might be a good, light material to make my Asajj belt buckle out of for my runDisney costume.
I forgot how much I hated it. I pulled out the clay, and it's just...stiff, tough stuff to work with. It makes working with Sculpey seem easy. Now, I'm starting to wonder if it's the brand of stuff that I was working with which was Model Air. I honestly have no idea. I figured this was an experiment anyway, so it didn't really matter if it worked well or not. I just wanted to see what it would do.
The clay was darned difficult to smooth out - almost impossible to do by hand and still not easy to do with my marble rolling pin. That was annoying. Also, since the buckle kind of has layers, I had to built it using different pieces, and they didn't really adhere well to one another no matter what I tried. So it will be an experiment. I let it dry overnight, and I didn't have time to check it this morning. I'm attending a concert tonight, so I won't be home until late. I'll give it a look-see then.
In other news, we skipped last night's training session. I was just horribly tired, and so was the Nerd Husband. I opted for a 30-45 minute walk around JoAnn Fabrics instead of the running session. It probably wasn't smart, but at least it was some sort of activity. I'm feeling pretty guilty about all of these session falling by the wayside, but the number still look decent. I'd like to make every effort to not skip from here on out, though. The call to be lazy is a lot like the call to the Dark Side.
"Is the laziness stronger?"
"No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive."
Thank you, Yoda. In this case, I'll listen to your teachings...or try to.
And don't tell me about trying, dude.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Costume and Running Update
I've been having kind of a difficult time lately on a personal level - lots of things going on in my mind. My escape has been trying to plan this upcoming runDisney race, training, and costuming. Unfortunately, it means "real life" things like laundry, running the vacuum, and picking up the living room are falling by the wayside. Hopefully I can get back to those things soon, though.
The costume hasn't taken much more shape than it already had, honestly. I did go out and do a test run in the race hat and the shirt I picked up. Both of them will work out just nicely, and I've very happy with that. I've been looking around for a pair of shorts (since I know the weather will be warmer, and I figured that would be better than capris). Unfortunately, I can't find a darned thing that I like or that looks right. They are either too short or too long. It's frustrating. The pair I'd gotten off the internet would have worked fine had those stupid dual inseams not been so irritating. I might very well end up wearing a pair of my capris that I already own and call it a day.
I've been holding off on hemming the skirt until I found a pair of short that I liked - which will also affect the length of the tabbard I end up creating for the skirt. So that's on hold, too. Obviously my costuming escape is kind of all "on hold", which is frustrating.
Training is going a little better than before. It turned really warm here in the lovely Midwest last weekend, and we were able to go outside for a run - which was heaven. Heaven. There is something so so different about running outside that makes it not nearly so boring. I was grateful for the warm temperatures, and I was thankful we were able to do one of our longs runs on Saturday - 3.5 miles. We did have to break part way through which upset both the Nerd Husband and myself. But what do you do when unexpected bathroom breaks hit you? Also, I took the occasion to stop and ice my right shin which had been giving me minor fits the last few times we've been out running. I've noticed it's getting better - it takes it longer and longer to develop the dull ache that I've been feeling. But it creeps up on me after awhile. I'm going to have to be careful about that.
If you count all of the training session we should have been doing up until yesterday, we have completed only 56% of our goal. That's pretty discouraging. It's been a difficult time, though, battling illnesses for both myself and the NH. Plus, some real life things creeped in - like birthdays, holidays, extended weekends to celebrate a late holidays, family legal matters, trips to Florida, and doctor's appointments. I thought for some reason that it would be easy to create a schedule and stick with it. That is not the case, apparently.
Regardless of all of that, though, I still think we can do this. Overall, we're averaging 14:22 minutes per mile. That's within runDisney's required pacing of 16 min per mile. I also have to remember that I'm including the day that we only walked the 30 minute training session we were required for that day. If I take that day out of the equation, we're sitting pretty on exactly 14 minutes per mile. Boom.
Due to the craziness of our schedules, our next long run will actually happen this coming Saturday morning - 4.25 miles. I'm keeping our fingers crossed that we can do this one pretty well. Here's hoping.
The costume hasn't taken much more shape than it already had, honestly. I did go out and do a test run in the race hat and the shirt I picked up. Both of them will work out just nicely, and I've very happy with that. I've been looking around for a pair of shorts (since I know the weather will be warmer, and I figured that would be better than capris). Unfortunately, I can't find a darned thing that I like or that looks right. They are either too short or too long. It's frustrating. The pair I'd gotten off the internet would have worked fine had those stupid dual inseams not been so irritating. I might very well end up wearing a pair of my capris that I already own and call it a day.
I've been holding off on hemming the skirt until I found a pair of short that I liked - which will also affect the length of the tabbard I end up creating for the skirt. So that's on hold, too. Obviously my costuming escape is kind of all "on hold", which is frustrating.
Training is going a little better than before. It turned really warm here in the lovely Midwest last weekend, and we were able to go outside for a run - which was heaven. Heaven. There is something so so different about running outside that makes it not nearly so boring. I was grateful for the warm temperatures, and I was thankful we were able to do one of our longs runs on Saturday - 3.5 miles. We did have to break part way through which upset both the Nerd Husband and myself. But what do you do when unexpected bathroom breaks hit you? Also, I took the occasion to stop and ice my right shin which had been giving me minor fits the last few times we've been out running. I've noticed it's getting better - it takes it longer and longer to develop the dull ache that I've been feeling. But it creeps up on me after awhile. I'm going to have to be careful about that.
If you count all of the training session we should have been doing up until yesterday, we have completed only 56% of our goal. That's pretty discouraging. It's been a difficult time, though, battling illnesses for both myself and the NH. Plus, some real life things creeped in - like birthdays, holidays, extended weekends to celebrate a late holidays, family legal matters, trips to Florida, and doctor's appointments. I thought for some reason that it would be easy to create a schedule and stick with it. That is not the case, apparently.
Regardless of all of that, though, I still think we can do this. Overall, we're averaging 14:22 minutes per mile. That's within runDisney's required pacing of 16 min per mile. I also have to remember that I'm including the day that we only walked the 30 minute training session we were required for that day. If I take that day out of the equation, we're sitting pretty on exactly 14 minutes per mile. Boom.
Due to the craziness of our schedules, our next long run will actually happen this coming Saturday morning - 4.25 miles. I'm keeping our fingers crossed that we can do this one pretty well. Here's hoping.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Skirt FTW!
As I mentioned before, I'm a costumer. "Cosplayer" I suppose we're called now - still getting used to that term. I suppose I've been a cosplayer since I was a wee little one (but then again, weren't we all playing dress up/make believe at some point in our childhood). Memorable costumes of my youth:
the Lone Ranger, generic cowboy/sheriff, Indiana Jones, Catwoman, and Luke Skywalker. As an"adult" (ha!): generic Jedi Knight (maybe 3-4 versions, I've lost count honestly), Asajj Ventress (twice), Katniss Everdeen, Indiana Jones (again), Lara Croft Reborn, River Song, and my Renaissance Faire garb. Man, I am really proving my nerd status here with this beginning paragraph. Word.
Because of my interest in cosplay, the costuming side of the runDisney races has come to really fascinate me. I love seeing what people have created or how they've come up with their interpretations of characters based on items they find and craft bits they buy at stores to embellish their designs. It's pretty darned awesome the amount of creativity out there in the world, and I like to see projects like this get a lot of attention. I think all too often we get caught up in the idea of "I can't do that or make that costume because I'm not talented enough, not smart enough, don't have enough money, etc.". I've never liked to hear someone say that because I believe that you can do it because there's always a way to make it work - even if it's not perfect. You just have to think about things differently sometimes.
I spent a lot of time looking at different runDisney costumes on Google and Etsy and ooing and awwing and smiling over some of the designs. I knew that because of this element in the runDisney race culture, I would have an even better time at an event of this nature. I do admit, though, I was a little concerned when runDisney announced some changes to their costume policy. However, upon reading through the policy, I personally don't object to any of the changes. Now, I also fully admit I'm not a runDisney veteran, so I fall in the category of "the newbie who doesn't remember the good old days". I feel bad for the folks who are having to rethink their costumes now because of the policy, but I am grateful that my current idea falls within the rules.
Last night, I spent my hours from 9:30pm-12:00am working on the running skirt I was planning for Asajj. I don't have a lot of experience working with knit fabrics, so I knew off the bat this would also be a learning experience. But it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. I picked up a $1 Simplicity pattern #1201 during a JoAnn Fabric's sale, and I decided I was going to use skirt B as my running skirt. Based on the measurements on the back of the pattern, I should have been a size 16 (I hate pattern sizes - I really do). However, based on the "ease" of the garment, I figured I could get away with a size 14 (I was happy to find out I was right - woohoo!).
I played with all sorts of designs at first - eliminate the seam in the front and back, don't make the elastic casing and stitch directly to elastic. Finally, I just said, "Follow the pattern - that's easiest." So I layed out my fabric and started cutting in accordance to the pattern. My cat tried to "help" me by hiding under the pattern pieces and batting at my scissors. I finally had to call the NH to take her downstairs with him to play videogames so I could finish up. Once I had everything cut, I picked out my thread, and then sat down at my machine and remembered - I don't have a ball point needle.
Apparently, ball point needles are an important thing when sewing knits. I won't presume to know the science behind it, but I know that the right needle will make the difference based on what I've read. I just had a plain, regular ol' needle. I took a gamble and tested a seam with two scraps of fabric using my stretch stitch on my Kenmore machine. Looked good to me - no ugly, punched holes because of the sharp needle, and everything looked to be in order. I figured, hey, if I screw up, I'm just learning a lesson. On I went!
I stitched up the skirt and then decided to add the casing and the elastic. I had a bit of an issue with the elastic because I wasn't 100% sure how or where I wanted the skirt to sit. After some testing, though, I was able to get a fit I liked. I sewed up my elastic, stitched up the casing hole, and then looked at the next step. It was something like, "To prevent elastic and casing from shifting during wear, stitch through all thickness of casing into each side seam." To me that meant stitch through everything, including your elastic. I thought that was a little weird, but I did it anyway (who knows if I interpreted it correctly). It still fit and fit well, so I figured it's still a win!
I still have to hem the skirt, but I'm going to wait until I find some good running short. As I said before, that'll probably be an "in person" purchase eventually - but I'm having a hard time finding them in stores this time of year.
Back to the drawing board!
the Lone Ranger, generic cowboy/sheriff, Indiana Jones, Catwoman, and Luke Skywalker. As an"adult" (ha!): generic Jedi Knight (maybe 3-4 versions, I've lost count honestly), Asajj Ventress (twice), Katniss Everdeen, Indiana Jones (again), Lara Croft Reborn, River Song, and my Renaissance Faire garb. Man, I am really proving my nerd status here with this beginning paragraph. Word.
Because of my interest in cosplay, the costuming side of the runDisney races has come to really fascinate me. I love seeing what people have created or how they've come up with their interpretations of characters based on items they find and craft bits they buy at stores to embellish their designs. It's pretty darned awesome the amount of creativity out there in the world, and I like to see projects like this get a lot of attention. I think all too often we get caught up in the idea of "I can't do that or make that costume because I'm not talented enough, not smart enough, don't have enough money, etc.". I've never liked to hear someone say that because I believe that you can do it because there's always a way to make it work - even if it's not perfect. You just have to think about things differently sometimes.
I spent a lot of time looking at different runDisney costumes on Google and Etsy and ooing and awwing and smiling over some of the designs. I knew that because of this element in the runDisney race culture, I would have an even better time at an event of this nature. I do admit, though, I was a little concerned when runDisney announced some changes to their costume policy. However, upon reading through the policy, I personally don't object to any of the changes. Now, I also fully admit I'm not a runDisney veteran, so I fall in the category of "the newbie who doesn't remember the good old days". I feel bad for the folks who are having to rethink their costumes now because of the policy, but I am grateful that my current idea falls within the rules.
Last night, I spent my hours from 9:30pm-12:00am working on the running skirt I was planning for Asajj. I don't have a lot of experience working with knit fabrics, so I knew off the bat this would also be a learning experience. But it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. I picked up a $1 Simplicity pattern #1201 during a JoAnn Fabric's sale, and I decided I was going to use skirt B as my running skirt. Based on the measurements on the back of the pattern, I should have been a size 16 (I hate pattern sizes - I really do). However, based on the "ease" of the garment, I figured I could get away with a size 14 (I was happy to find out I was right - woohoo!).
I played with all sorts of designs at first - eliminate the seam in the front and back, don't make the elastic casing and stitch directly to elastic. Finally, I just said, "Follow the pattern - that's easiest." So I layed out my fabric and started cutting in accordance to the pattern. My cat tried to "help" me by hiding under the pattern pieces and batting at my scissors. I finally had to call the NH to take her downstairs with him to play videogames so I could finish up. Once I had everything cut, I picked out my thread, and then sat down at my machine and remembered - I don't have a ball point needle.
Apparently, ball point needles are an important thing when sewing knits. I won't presume to know the science behind it, but I know that the right needle will make the difference based on what I've read. I just had a plain, regular ol' needle. I took a gamble and tested a seam with two scraps of fabric using my stretch stitch on my Kenmore machine. Looked good to me - no ugly, punched holes because of the sharp needle, and everything looked to be in order. I figured, hey, if I screw up, I'm just learning a lesson. On I went!
I stitched up the skirt and then decided to add the casing and the elastic. I had a bit of an issue with the elastic because I wasn't 100% sure how or where I wanted the skirt to sit. After some testing, though, I was able to get a fit I liked. I sewed up my elastic, stitched up the casing hole, and then looked at the next step. It was something like, "To prevent elastic and casing from shifting during wear, stitch through all thickness of casing into each side seam." To me that meant stitch through everything, including your elastic. I thought that was a little weird, but I did it anyway (who knows if I interpreted it correctly). It still fit and fit well, so I figured it's still a win!
I still have to hem the skirt, but I'm going to wait until I find some good running short. As I said before, that'll probably be an "in person" purchase eventually - but I'm having a hard time finding them in stores this time of year.
Back to the drawing board!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Ventress Running Costume
I have a history with Asajj and costuming. My first Asajj costume was the comic book version (not the Clone Wars version
we're so used to seeing now). Working on that project helped me learn
an insane amount of skills and information I'd never had to look into
before. I learned to draft patterns from nothing and apply make-up and
bald caps. I'm still pretty darned proud of that costume even if it's
not perfect. Asajj helped me to learn new things about crafting,
sewing, and art - as well as giving me an awesome, strong female villain
that I could portray at conventions.
So let's see....awesome, strong female character at a time when I'm feeling anxious, depressed, scared and weak. And I'm going to run a 10K. In April. When I thought about it, Asajj was a natural fit for this occasion. She's a fighter. She won't let someone put her in a corner or push her around. She knows what she wants, and she goes out and gets it. I like that. I need that right now, so it just made sense.
I decided to go with a Clone Wars version of Asajj since she's "canon" now and quite recognizable. The few friends that I've told this idea to have been amused and asked if I was running in a bald cap and full make-up. The answer is first a giggle or a laugh from me which is then followed by a very emphatic "no". I did a bald cap at Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando. In August. No. Thank. You.
So without a bald head or full make-up, I've been toying with ideas on how to design this and make it comfortable for running as well as recognizable. It's been a bit of a challenge, but I think I'm up for it. It's been forcing me to think outside the box quite a bit and even put some of my thoughts on the back-burner and simplify simplify simplify.
I'm basically doing this outfit from the "top down" - starting with the race day hat. I picked up a white Headsweats hat from Amazon and a dual pack of purple Tulip fabric markers (one fine point, one brush tip) from Michael's. I've never used fabric markers before, so this was a first. I wanted the white hat for Asajj's bald head and skin tone, and then I painted the purple tatttoos onto the hat by hand. Well, that was fun. First of all, it's pretty darned difficult to find a good source picture for her tattoos. By the time everything was said and done, I swore that Google images showed me 5 different versions of her tattoos from the Clone Wars series alone. Finally, I found a good close-up image from an action figure, and I used that as my reference point. If it's not accurate - who cares. Seriously.
I sketched my outline by hand with a red lightsaber pencil (yes - I totally did), and then I went over it with the purple markers. I managed the back part of the hat with little difficulty, and I created a pretty decent side tattoo, as well. Then I realized that the other side would have to mirror this one identically...and I freaked out a bit. I grabbed a piece of tissue paper leftover from Christmas, and I traced my design onto the paper. Then I flipped the hat around, lined up my paper, and pushed my pencil through the tissue paper and transferred my design.
It wasn't an absolutely flawless plan. It worked, yes - and for the most part it lined up. The design is maybe off by .25 inches or so, and I see it as plain as day. It annoys me a little, but then I had to think - will it matter later on when I'm sweating on a 10K course and I want to die? Nope. Probably not. So I'm going to go with it and call it a "win"! I even took it out to the community center for a test run, and it was a success! No purple paint rubbed off on my hair or head, so it's a double "win"!
I figured the shirt was next on my list, and I had a really nice, short sleeve design laid out - but it would have required sewing and drafting my own pattern. I figured I could probably do that with a bit of work, but then I realized something - I hate running in sleeves. So I tried to then figure out if there was a recognizable way I could make this shirt work as a racerback tank top, how could I add the wrappings without being hot, etc. I knew I could make a tank with no problem, but making one cool enough with those darned waist wrappings would just be difficult without me layering things or having too many itchy seams on my belly. That didn't sound fun.
So I started looking for navy blue tanks on the internet to see if I could get any inspiration or new ideas, and I happened to run into a Nike racer tank on www.jcpenney.com that made me change the way I was looking at the problem. It had the navy blue color I was needing, plus it had a wonderful purple accent color that swirled down the sides and then carried around to the back. I figured, Awesome. Navy blue for the shirt color. Wide, open racerback sort of matches her open-backed shirt. Her original wraps are a gray color with purple accents, and wrap all the way around her waist. Okay, so there's no gray on this tank, but look, there's purple! And it wraps all the way around my waist! And the swirls kind of remind me of her head tattoos and it's on sale and I have gift cards and sold!
It then went on clearance the day my order came into the store. Not happy about that, but it is what it is. Thank you, five year old JCP gift cards!
The shorts were a fairly easy choice, though I've been debating on buying them for a while. I hate to wear short shorts when running because - well - thighs. I got 'em. Most of the world has 'em. And they rub. "Chub rub" is the wonderful term I've been hearing the most when searching for running shorts. I want to avoid that. So I went with a pair of 7" inseam Under Armour Heatgear Shorts. I picked the black and silver option because it was cheaper than all black, and they just came in the mail yesterday. I tried them on last night, though, and there's a pair of rather itchy seams that go right down the inner thigh. Probably not going to be very comfortable for me when running, so back to Amazon they go today. Shorts will probably have to be an "in person" purchase to ensure fit and comfort.
The other thing that goes along with the shorts is my plan for the skirt, which is something I'm actually going to make and not purchase from the world wide interwebs. The skirt should come together fairly well, but I'm still working up an ultimate plan. I have all of the pieces and parts. I picked up some Navy "Let's Pretend Velvet" fabric from JoAnn's, as well as some 1 1/2" black elastic. In addition to the velvety skirt, Asajj has this gold/burgundy waist tabard, a white double belt, and a belt buckle.
Starting with the tabard, I picked up a strip of burgundy marine vinyl at JoAnn's. I originally thought about incorporating the tabard into the fabric of the skirt, but I thought it might get "lost" in my movement. So I'm going to try this route of letting the tabard hang free and be a stiffer type of material. If I hate it when I run, I'll use a piece of velcro or snaps to keep it "pinned" to the skirt. On this tabard, she has a very nice gold design which I wante to replicate. I wasn't sure of the best way to create the gold accents on her waist tabard, so I picked up three options (that were all on sale or clearance): 1) a fabric paint specially designed for leather and vinyl ($.99), 2) a Tulip fabric paint $.50), 3) a piece of adhesive gold paper in the scrapbooking aisle ($1.59). The leather/vinyl paint was awesome in the test run, but not what I needed for this project. It created a very, nice, clear finish with flakes of gold glitter. It will find a home later, I'm sure. The adhesive paper looks awesome and clean, but I didn't want it to get ruined if it rained. I suppose I could always put a protective layer of something on it, though. But the Tulip paint looks pretty darned good, so I'm going to try that first.
Still uncertain on how to make the belts work or if they'll get scrapped. The belt buckle I have an idea for, but I have to find the air dry clay that's somewhere in my hell hole of a craft room. Otherwise, I have another plan. (So many plans!)
Lastly, at the bottom, my typical running shoes are already navy blue, so that's pretty perfect if you ask me. I have a massive sock collection, so I was able to find something that worked pretty well with my color scheme.
It'll all come together, and I'll either feel like an idiot or feel like an awesome idiot. We'll just have to see which one it is! Yay!
So let's see....awesome, strong female character at a time when I'm feeling anxious, depressed, scared and weak. And I'm going to run a 10K. In April. When I thought about it, Asajj was a natural fit for this occasion. She's a fighter. She won't let someone put her in a corner or push her around. She knows what she wants, and she goes out and gets it. I like that. I need that right now, so it just made sense.
I decided to go with a Clone Wars version of Asajj since she's "canon" now and quite recognizable. The few friends that I've told this idea to have been amused and asked if I was running in a bald cap and full make-up. The answer is first a giggle or a laugh from me which is then followed by a very emphatic "no". I did a bald cap at Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando. In August. No. Thank. You.
So without a bald head or full make-up, I've been toying with ideas on how to design this and make it comfortable for running as well as recognizable. It's been a bit of a challenge, but I think I'm up for it. It's been forcing me to think outside the box quite a bit and even put some of my thoughts on the back-burner and simplify simplify simplify.
I'm basically doing this outfit from the "top down" - starting with the race day hat. I picked up a white Headsweats hat from Amazon and a dual pack of purple Tulip fabric markers (one fine point, one brush tip) from Michael's. I've never used fabric markers before, so this was a first. I wanted the white hat for Asajj's bald head and skin tone, and then I painted the purple tatttoos onto the hat by hand. Well, that was fun. First of all, it's pretty darned difficult to find a good source picture for her tattoos. By the time everything was said and done, I swore that Google images showed me 5 different versions of her tattoos from the Clone Wars series alone. Finally, I found a good close-up image from an action figure, and I used that as my reference point. If it's not accurate - who cares. Seriously.
I sketched my outline by hand with a red lightsaber pencil (yes - I totally did), and then I went over it with the purple markers. I managed the back part of the hat with little difficulty, and I created a pretty decent side tattoo, as well. Then I realized that the other side would have to mirror this one identically...and I freaked out a bit. I grabbed a piece of tissue paper leftover from Christmas, and I traced my design onto the paper. Then I flipped the hat around, lined up my paper, and pushed my pencil through the tissue paper and transferred my design.
It wasn't an absolutely flawless plan. It worked, yes - and for the most part it lined up. The design is maybe off by .25 inches or so, and I see it as plain as day. It annoys me a little, but then I had to think - will it matter later on when I'm sweating on a 10K course and I want to die? Nope. Probably not. So I'm going to go with it and call it a "win"! I even took it out to the community center for a test run, and it was a success! No purple paint rubbed off on my hair or head, so it's a double "win"!
I figured the shirt was next on my list, and I had a really nice, short sleeve design laid out - but it would have required sewing and drafting my own pattern. I figured I could probably do that with a bit of work, but then I realized something - I hate running in sleeves. So I tried to then figure out if there was a recognizable way I could make this shirt work as a racerback tank top, how could I add the wrappings without being hot, etc. I knew I could make a tank with no problem, but making one cool enough with those darned waist wrappings would just be difficult without me layering things or having too many itchy seams on my belly. That didn't sound fun.
So I started looking for navy blue tanks on the internet to see if I could get any inspiration or new ideas, and I happened to run into a Nike racer tank on www.jcpenney.com that made me change the way I was looking at the problem. It had the navy blue color I was needing, plus it had a wonderful purple accent color that swirled down the sides and then carried around to the back. I figured, Awesome. Navy blue for the shirt color. Wide, open racerback sort of matches her open-backed shirt. Her original wraps are a gray color with purple accents, and wrap all the way around her waist. Okay, so there's no gray on this tank, but look, there's purple! And it wraps all the way around my waist! And the swirls kind of remind me of her head tattoos and it's on sale and I have gift cards and sold!
It then went on clearance the day my order came into the store. Not happy about that, but it is what it is. Thank you, five year old JCP gift cards!
The shorts were a fairly easy choice, though I've been debating on buying them for a while. I hate to wear short shorts when running because - well - thighs. I got 'em. Most of the world has 'em. And they rub. "Chub rub" is the wonderful term I've been hearing the most when searching for running shorts. I want to avoid that. So I went with a pair of 7" inseam Under Armour Heatgear Shorts. I picked the black and silver option because it was cheaper than all black, and they just came in the mail yesterday. I tried them on last night, though, and there's a pair of rather itchy seams that go right down the inner thigh. Probably not going to be very comfortable for me when running, so back to Amazon they go today. Shorts will probably have to be an "in person" purchase to ensure fit and comfort.
The other thing that goes along with the shorts is my plan for the skirt, which is something I'm actually going to make and not purchase from the world wide interwebs. The skirt should come together fairly well, but I'm still working up an ultimate plan. I have all of the pieces and parts. I picked up some Navy "Let's Pretend Velvet" fabric from JoAnn's, as well as some 1 1/2" black elastic. In addition to the velvety skirt, Asajj has this gold/burgundy waist tabard, a white double belt, and a belt buckle.
Starting with the tabard, I picked up a strip of burgundy marine vinyl at JoAnn's. I originally thought about incorporating the tabard into the fabric of the skirt, but I thought it might get "lost" in my movement. So I'm going to try this route of letting the tabard hang free and be a stiffer type of material. If I hate it when I run, I'll use a piece of velcro or snaps to keep it "pinned" to the skirt. On this tabard, she has a very nice gold design which I wante to replicate. I wasn't sure of the best way to create the gold accents on her waist tabard, so I picked up three options (that were all on sale or clearance): 1) a fabric paint specially designed for leather and vinyl ($.99), 2) a Tulip fabric paint $.50), 3) a piece of adhesive gold paper in the scrapbooking aisle ($1.59). The leather/vinyl paint was awesome in the test run, but not what I needed for this project. It created a very, nice, clear finish with flakes of gold glitter. It will find a home later, I'm sure. The adhesive paper looks awesome and clean, but I didn't want it to get ruined if it rained. I suppose I could always put a protective layer of something on it, though. But the Tulip paint looks pretty darned good, so I'm going to try that first.
Still uncertain on how to make the belts work or if they'll get scrapped. The belt buckle I have an idea for, but I have to find the air dry clay that's somewhere in my hell hole of a craft room. Otherwise, I have another plan. (So many plans!)
Lastly, at the bottom, my typical running shoes are already navy blue, so that's pretty perfect if you ask me. I have a massive sock collection, so I was able to find something that worked pretty well with my color scheme.
It'll all come together, and I'll either feel like an idiot or feel like an awesome idiot. We'll just have to see which one it is! Yay!
Monday, February 15, 2016
April Planning - FastPass+ Reservations
This 10K trip in April is starting to feel so real. We were supposed to get out today and do another 30 minute run session, but we lazied it and stayed in due to the weather. I know that we've been running inside at the community center, but it just felt like too much effort to leave the house today. (Granted, I left later anyway to go to JoAnn Fabric's for the President's Day sale, but that's...different. I did walk around the store for two hours, so I'm gonna count that as training...yeah...)
We have only one Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) made for this trip - mostly because we're planning on sampling so many things at the EPCOT festival that we might just end up there every day! However, since this trip falls on the birthday weekend for the NH, then I asked him where he wanted to go to dinner. So one night will be a nice dinner for us both at Be Our Guest restaurant (one of our favorites). Other than that, the sky is the limit when it comes to food!
We found out we could make our FastPass+ reservation for our April trip today when I logged in and realized today was two months from our check-in date (holy cow)! So we sat down and looked at our schedule for the April weekend and what we'd like to do. The Nerd Husband and I have been cooking up plans for the 2016 year anyway considering we'll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary in May. So for our anniversary gifts to ourselves we figured we'd do a Year of Disney. The plan is currently to purchase annual passes when we go to do the race in April, and then we'll book a series of mini-trips during the year, as well as our usual annual winter trip next year in 2017.
All of this annual pass talk aside, NH and I sat down tonight to look at our FastPass+ choices, and we picked out a few things for each day that we'll be there. Force only knows how our feet will feel after the 10K on Saturday morning, but I have a feeling we'll be okay. (Our last trip to Disney was a week long and we totaled somewhere over 48 miles of walking.) We really hate to uber-plan our days because we never know what we're going to get tied up in. When it comes to FastPass+ selections, we just follow a couple of basic rules that work for us:
1. Make your selections for earlier in the day - usually first thing in the morning of early afternoon (after lunch time). This allows us to go back and get another FastPass+ selection later if we choose to.
2. FastPass the things that make sense. We debated on the Wishes Fireworks FastPass this time around as well as the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. And then realized we've never had a problem seeing either of these things in the past.
3. Pick what you want now, but don't be afraid to change them later. We realize that our plans are completely fluid and that we might get caught up in the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT (something we've never had a chance to experience and we're both super excited about because we have a garden at home). If we can't follow our FastPass+ schedule, we don't freak out. We just change it. Easy as pie thanks to the MyDisneyExperience app!
For us, we made the following choices for the FastPass+ reservations:
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends (might not need FastPass)
- Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival (might not need FastPass)
- Test Track
- Jungle Cruise
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Toy Story Midway Mania
- Star Tours (we have two FastPasses for this, even though the NH can't usually ride it due to motion issues)
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Festival of the Lion King
- Expedition Everest
We have only one Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) made for this trip - mostly because we're planning on sampling so many things at the EPCOT festival that we might just end up there every day! However, since this trip falls on the birthday weekend for the NH, then I asked him where he wanted to go to dinner. So one night will be a nice dinner for us both at Be Our Guest restaurant (one of our favorites). Other than that, the sky is the limit when it comes to food!
I just looked at the clock because I knew it was time to wrap this all up, and it said it was 11:38pm. And I got a little excited because...you know...1138. Star Wars. Yep. Nerd. Yay!
Friday, February 12, 2016
Anxiety, Depression, and Why Yoda is Totally Wrong
I've been personally dealing with a huge increase in anxiety in the last...oh...I've lost count. Who cares anymore. But 2015 kind of put my and a lot of folks who are close to me through an emotional spin cycle, and it was tiring and upsetting and generally just not great. 2016 has so far been about trying to turn that emotional state around and getting back to being at least "okay" with things. I'm not great - far from it. There are days I want to cry, but then there are things that keep me going and make me realize, No - you are strong enough to do this. You can do this. One of those things is training for this Star Wars Dark Side 10K.
I'm not a runner, and I'm not an athlete. I never have been - until late fall 2014. Oddly enough, what inspired me to run was a geeky passion of costuming or cosplay as its known by now. I was putting together a Tomb Raider Reborn costume, and I wanted to feel stronger and more toned while wearing it. So I figured - okay, well, I can do push-ups every morning. And then I thought - okay, maybe I can start running (seriously - where did that thought even come from?). I expected that the best way to start running was to have a goal, and something I'd never done before in my life was run a 5K. So I picked a 5K that supported Prostate Cancer Research and Awareness (a cause close to my heart and life given my Dad's cancer history) and off I went.
And I did it.
I still don't like to call myself a runner, though. I'm not "into it" like a lot of folks. It's not my passion. Star Wars, however, is deeply rooted in my life, and it's a passion that fuels me to do crazy things. Like costume. And I guess run a 10K.
I think I'm getting off topic here, but the main thing is this - if you're fighting with anxiety or worries or depression or whatever, find the thing that makes you happy right at that moment and run with it (maybe even literally). The world is going to throw us crappy things every day, and we have to choose how we want to handle those crappy things. We can either go, "Well, that's crappy. I'm going to sit here and wallow in the crap until I feel crappier." Or we can go, "Well, that's crappy. I'm going to sit here for a little bit, but I won't wallow because...well, it's crap. I'm going to get up and see if there's less crap over there instead." I'm not always great at choosing the second option. I'm trying. That's all we can do is try (no matter what Yoda says - I'll fight the little pointy-eared dude on this one).
So we got back to training last night because the NH (Nerd Husband) was doing much better after his really awful bought of illness on Monday. It was pretty terrible. It's behind us now, and I'm grateful that he's doing so much better. He was able to make it though the entire 30 minute run with no issues! However, I actually ended up with the issue this time around - a pain in my right shin which kept getting worse throughout the run. I had a walk a couple of our running intervals, and the track was also pretty darned crowded last night because it was such a cold day. Plus, we haven't had a training session in nine days.
All of these issues came together to set us back in our pace to a 15:26 min/mile. I'm not happy with this, but I'm trying not to let it get to me. I know the reality of the situation and all of the factor, and I also know how well we've been doing up to this point. So that's what I'm going to try and focus on today, and then we'll see how Saturday (or Sunday) goes.
In other running news, I'm working on a costume for the 10K. I'm pretty excited about costuming anyway, so this added element of awesome to the event just makes me even more excited. I ran through so many ideas in my head before settling on one of them. I was really debating working on an x-wing fighter running outfit at first, but then I figured that this is the Dark Side 10K...so let's evil it up a bit. I didn't want to do Vader. Not a huge Boba fan, and a big fat fangirl "no" to Kylo Ren.
Then it hit me.
Ventress. Asajj Ventress.
More to come on that later...
I'm not a runner, and I'm not an athlete. I never have been - until late fall 2014. Oddly enough, what inspired me to run was a geeky passion of costuming or cosplay as its known by now. I was putting together a Tomb Raider Reborn costume, and I wanted to feel stronger and more toned while wearing it. So I figured - okay, well, I can do push-ups every morning. And then I thought - okay, maybe I can start running (seriously - where did that thought even come from?). I expected that the best way to start running was to have a goal, and something I'd never done before in my life was run a 5K. So I picked a 5K that supported Prostate Cancer Research and Awareness (a cause close to my heart and life given my Dad's cancer history) and off I went.
And I did it.
I still don't like to call myself a runner, though. I'm not "into it" like a lot of folks. It's not my passion. Star Wars, however, is deeply rooted in my life, and it's a passion that fuels me to do crazy things. Like costume. And I guess run a 10K.
I think I'm getting off topic here, but the main thing is this - if you're fighting with anxiety or worries or depression or whatever, find the thing that makes you happy right at that moment and run with it (maybe even literally). The world is going to throw us crappy things every day, and we have to choose how we want to handle those crappy things. We can either go, "Well, that's crappy. I'm going to sit here and wallow in the crap until I feel crappier." Or we can go, "Well, that's crappy. I'm going to sit here for a little bit, but I won't wallow because...well, it's crap. I'm going to get up and see if there's less crap over there instead." I'm not always great at choosing the second option. I'm trying. That's all we can do is try (no matter what Yoda says - I'll fight the little pointy-eared dude on this one).
So we got back to training last night because the NH (Nerd Husband) was doing much better after his really awful bought of illness on Monday. It was pretty terrible. It's behind us now, and I'm grateful that he's doing so much better. He was able to make it though the entire 30 minute run with no issues! However, I actually ended up with the issue this time around - a pain in my right shin which kept getting worse throughout the run. I had a walk a couple of our running intervals, and the track was also pretty darned crowded last night because it was such a cold day. Plus, we haven't had a training session in nine days.
All of these issues came together to set us back in our pace to a 15:26 min/mile. I'm not happy with this, but I'm trying not to let it get to me. I know the reality of the situation and all of the factor, and I also know how well we've been doing up to this point. So that's what I'm going to try and focus on today, and then we'll see how Saturday (or Sunday) goes.
In other running news, I'm working on a costume for the 10K. I'm pretty excited about costuming anyway, so this added element of awesome to the event just makes me even more excited. I ran through so many ideas in my head before settling on one of them. I was really debating working on an x-wing fighter running outfit at first, but then I figured that this is the Dark Side 10K...so let's evil it up a bit. I didn't want to do Vader. Not a huge Boba fan, and a big fat fangirl "no" to Kylo Ren.
Then it hit me.
Ventress. Asajj Ventress.
More to come on that later...
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
"Run, Luke!"
I mentioned in a previous post - a long time ago in a blog far, far away - that I was planning and training to run in the Walt Disney World Star Wars Dark Side 10K race this coming April. My Nerd Husband (NH) - who kind of prompted this whole crazy scheme in the first place - has been training with me.
So the NH and I have been doing our best to stick with the Jeff Galloway training schedule which was posted to the runDisney website. Got it. No problem. It's there, easy to use, in black and white, and you can understand what you're supposed to do next. 3 days a week or running. Not a big deal, really.
Unless it's winter. Unless sickness befalls you. Unless sickness befalls both of you. Unless health issues decide to double up (and triple up) and befall upon the NH.
So this wonderfully laid out training schedule then became a messy excel document that I have been constantly manipulating to make this thing work. My only experience in training for anything is when I did the Couch to 5K program in late 2014. I even had a difficult time fitting all of those sessions in based on just real life getting in the way, but it did ultimately work! That was the important thing, and that's what I'm trying to keep in mind here. Sure, the distance is doubled, but the concept is the same - prepare as best you can given your circumstances, and that's all you can do.
We have timed ourselves at a pure walking pace, and we came out to 19.5 minutes per mile. That's definitely over the runDisney required pace of 16 minutes per mile. However, we do know that when we're able to run, we can easily shave our time down to around 13 minutes per mile. That's pretty darn good if I say so myself. What this really all depends on is whether or not it will be a good running day for the NH (and for myself, of course).
Considering our sickness and issues, however, I'm happy with where we currently are training-wise. Do I wish we were better? Yes. But what exactly should "better" look like at this point? Does it matter where I wish I was or is where I am more important? I'm going with option number 2 here - focus on where I am and where I need to eventually be - not where I wish I was. Plus, we're really not runners. NH definitely has more sports/athletic experience than I do, but he still doesn't categorize himself as a runner.
Now - more for my sake than yours (sorry, being selfish here), I'm going to share some training numbers.
I had to rearrange the schedule again due to some illness, so the once-upon-a-time long run that was supposed to take place this evening has been pushed into the future. From here on out, I've got something that looks a little different from Jeff Galloway's plan, but it's a plan! So it's something.
Long runs will now be the following:
3.5 miles -- Saturday, February 20th
4.25 miles -- Sunday, February 28th
5.0 miles -- Saturday, March 12th
5.75 miles -- Saturday, March 26th
6.0 miles -- Friday, April 8th
That means the big one - the 6.2 miles (10K) will come on Saturday, April 16th during the actual Star Wars Dark Side 10K. Am I nervous about that? Yes. Oh, yes. But what makes me thing this will be okay is that I did this before when I did the Couch to 5K. I wasn't able to complete my longest run, so my last training run was basically my first real race. It worked out okay, and it was the farthest I had run ever in my life.
I'm hoping that this same thing will hold true for the 10K. Add in the adrenaline and excitement of Star Wars and Disney combined, I think we'll be just fine.
So the NH and I have been doing our best to stick with the Jeff Galloway training schedule which was posted to the runDisney website. Got it. No problem. It's there, easy to use, in black and white, and you can understand what you're supposed to do next. 3 days a week or running. Not a big deal, really.
Unless it's winter. Unless sickness befalls you. Unless sickness befalls both of you. Unless health issues decide to double up (and triple up) and befall upon the NH.
So this wonderfully laid out training schedule then became a messy excel document that I have been constantly manipulating to make this thing work. My only experience in training for anything is when I did the Couch to 5K program in late 2014. I even had a difficult time fitting all of those sessions in based on just real life getting in the way, but it did ultimately work! That was the important thing, and that's what I'm trying to keep in mind here. Sure, the distance is doubled, but the concept is the same - prepare as best you can given your circumstances, and that's all you can do.
We have timed ourselves at a pure walking pace, and we came out to 19.5 minutes per mile. That's definitely over the runDisney required pace of 16 minutes per mile. However, we do know that when we're able to run, we can easily shave our time down to around 13 minutes per mile. That's pretty darn good if I say so myself. What this really all depends on is whether or not it will be a good running day for the NH (and for myself, of course).
Considering our sickness and issues, however, I'm happy with where we currently are training-wise. Do I wish we were better? Yes. But what exactly should "better" look like at this point? Does it matter where I wish I was or is where I am more important? I'm going with option number 2 here - focus on where I am and where I need to eventually be - not where I wish I was. Plus, we're really not runners. NH definitely has more sports/athletic experience than I do, but he still doesn't categorize himself as a runner.
Now - more for my sake than yours (sorry, being selfish here), I'm going to share some training numbers.
| Month | Total Miles | Average Pace | Sessions Completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| December | 5.9 miles | 13:36 min/mile | 60% |
| January | 16.2 miles | 12:56 min/mile | 55% |
I had to rearrange the schedule again due to some illness, so the once-upon-a-time long run that was supposed to take place this evening has been pushed into the future. From here on out, I've got something that looks a little different from Jeff Galloway's plan, but it's a plan! So it's something.
Long runs will now be the following:
3.5 miles -- Saturday, February 20th
4.25 miles -- Sunday, February 28th
5.0 miles -- Saturday, March 12th
5.75 miles -- Saturday, March 26th
6.0 miles -- Friday, April 8th
That means the big one - the 6.2 miles (10K) will come on Saturday, April 16th during the actual Star Wars Dark Side 10K. Am I nervous about that? Yes. Oh, yes. But what makes me thing this will be okay is that I did this before when I did the Couch to 5K. I wasn't able to complete my longest run, so my last training run was basically my first real race. It worked out okay, and it was the farthest I had run ever in my life.
I'm hoping that this same thing will hold true for the 10K. Add in the adrenaline and excitement of Star Wars and Disney combined, I think we'll be just fine.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
The Force Awakens - Issue/Argument/Resolution - Part 3
In the time since I start the whole "Issue/Argument/Resolution" posts, I have actually seen the movie a third time. I don't know if it added much to my resolutions seeing it a third time through, and I think I'm sitting in a fairly comfortable nerdy position with this movie. We've come to a kind of understanding. It knows that I like it, but there are things I don't like about it, too. (If only some Star Wars fans were so kind. ;p )
So we'll continue. And as always...
So we'll continue. And as always...
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Star Wars In Concert 2016
I've been on a bit of a hiatus for a while because I recently took a little trip down to Florida to visit Walt Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks. A good time was had by all - despite the colder temperatures. There are a number of things I'd like to talk about regarding the trip, but while I was catching up on my blog feed this morning, I saw this little gem:
Star Wars In Concert Coming To A City Near You In 2016.
I kind of flipped out. I mean - I'm currently listening to The Force Awakens soundtrack, and then BOOM! TheForce.net gives me this little tidbit to make me fangirl out all over the place.
I was blessed to be able to see this concert back in 2009. I'd forgotten it was even that long ago until I looked it up. 2009 was a weird year for me. I kind of "came out of my shell". Having suffered too long from depression and feeling like it was holding me back, I tried out for a community theater production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I scored the role of Lucy, and I was excited and freaked out at the same thing. I'd done some bit parts here and there in high school. But here I was an adult (debatable, I know), and this was the largest undertaking I'd ever set out to tackle.
I tackled it. And then I tackled another role in Little Shop of Horrors as one of the "muses". Then there was a drama role in a show called Major Barbara. To tack on to that, one of my good friends at the time asked me out - and that put nerd husband and I on the path to where we are now. (Poor guy, I might just have to call him Nerd Husband (NH?) from here on out.) So let's see - depression, three community theater productions, new relationship...
...and oh yeah. Star Wars Concert! OMG!
That's pretty much how it felt when I heard this was announced and then immediately jumped on the bandwagon to buy tickets. Nerd Husband and another Star Wars fannish friend of ours came along with me to the concert, and I think we were all blown away. I actually still have the key chain I purchased sitting on my desk at work as a reminder.
Music has always been a deep love of mine, and John Williams has been a hero since I was old enough to realize who he was. The man has a deep love for what he does and a magnificent ear and mind. Every time I hear something new of his, I just have to marvel. I will admit there have been times here lately that his music has sounded rehashed to me - maybe just reused or tired. But with the newest Star Wars soundtrack, I cannot help but marvel at the new musical feast he has fed to fans.
You can bet if there's a way, I'll make it to this new concert!
Star Wars In Concert Coming To A City Near You In 2016.
I kind of flipped out. I mean - I'm currently listening to The Force Awakens soundtrack, and then BOOM! TheForce.net gives me this little tidbit to make me fangirl out all over the place.
I was blessed to be able to see this concert back in 2009. I'd forgotten it was even that long ago until I looked it up. 2009 was a weird year for me. I kind of "came out of my shell". Having suffered too long from depression and feeling like it was holding me back, I tried out for a community theater production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I scored the role of Lucy, and I was excited and freaked out at the same thing. I'd done some bit parts here and there in high school. But here I was an adult (debatable, I know), and this was the largest undertaking I'd ever set out to tackle.
I tackled it. And then I tackled another role in Little Shop of Horrors as one of the "muses". Then there was a drama role in a show called Major Barbara. To tack on to that, one of my good friends at the time asked me out - and that put nerd husband and I on the path to where we are now. (Poor guy, I might just have to call him Nerd Husband (NH?) from here on out.) So let's see - depression, three community theater productions, new relationship...
...and oh yeah. Star Wars Concert! OMG!
That's pretty much how it felt when I heard this was announced and then immediately jumped on the bandwagon to buy tickets. Nerd Husband and another Star Wars fannish friend of ours came along with me to the concert, and I think we were all blown away. I actually still have the key chain I purchased sitting on my desk at work as a reminder.
Music has always been a deep love of mine, and John Williams has been a hero since I was old enough to realize who he was. The man has a deep love for what he does and a magnificent ear and mind. Every time I hear something new of his, I just have to marvel. I will admit there have been times here lately that his music has sounded rehashed to me - maybe just reused or tired. But with the newest Star Wars soundtrack, I cannot help but marvel at the new musical feast he has fed to fans.
You can bet if there's a way, I'll make it to this new concert!
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