The Ordinary Knight

Awhile ago the owner of Typative Mama Cat, Heidi Lyn Burke, contacted me about reviewing her self-published book, The Ordinary Knight and The Invisible Princess. When I decided not to blog for awhile, I totally forgot about this, but no biggie! I've been so sick the last few days that I really haven't been able to even work on my own manuscript...

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed her novel!  Its done in two parts; and I would categorize it as a adolescent love story. I loved how the book promotes abstinence and self-esteem. Throughout the book love is constantly shown to be sacrificial, and not merely physical, and appearance (beauty) is shown to be something secondary in favor of relationships and family. Heidi is a Christian--but God and Christianity is not discussed in the novel. The morals of a biblical foundation however, are regularly implemented in the writing--a fact I found very refreshing. You'll find no steamy sex scenes in this book!

:source:

My favorite part of her novel was the story of the invisible princess, and the antics she perpetrates to chase away her suitors. Hilarious! I found this picture on deviant art that I thought went so well with her book that I just suck it in here, rather then just copying her cover art.

Heidi also has a cool articles on her blog about how to self-publish, if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Novel Working

I'm taking the entire rest of the month to work on my novel! If you are interested in following along, I will still be updating instagram at @moonofsilver and on twitter @moonofsilver. I can't think of anything particular to blog about lately, anyway.

:source:

I'll be back in October just in time to participate in Fall Fashion Week over on Delirious Rhapsody!

How I met you

Ever wondered how I met you? Well, I'm going to tell you today how I found your blog!

Rennes: First blog I ever found. The reason I started blogging. I googled "leather purse" or hippie boho bag or something. Also, first giveaway I ever won was from her.
EvaForever: Found through Rennes
ModaMama- Saw your link on WWIW
The Random Writings- also saw your link on WWIW
Delirious Rhapsody- Saw your (multiple) comments on The Random Writings. They were interesting and funny. Clicked to your site and then I started making comments there.
Wifessionals- Clicked on an ad button on someone's sidebar (don't remember who...)
Typative Mama Cat- You started commenting on my site. I always check out the sites of those who comment.
Peace it all Together- saw your button on Wifessionals
Across and Down-again, saw your link on WIWW
Pop Champagne- Some random girl added me on G+ so I checked out her blog--it was terrible. So I went back and clicked on a random person on her G+ page, and it was you.
Oh Whimsical Me- Randomly surfing through Passion Fruit looking for swaps
My Little Mustache- Saw an article she wrote about her abortion story when she was 17 on the GWP
Vicki Sheehan- Met you and one of your daughters at a craft fair! Then bought one of your journals!
Sew Technicolor- Became your pen pall through Oliver and Abraham's 
The Contents of my Head- we had a similar Facebook friend. saw your post on her page about your blog. Clicked.
Kitty and Buck: Saw your ad on someone's sidebar. It had the word kitty in it--my blog is kitty-ears, so I naturally had to follow you.
Wellies, Crochet & Cows- I mailed you a book from my book giveaway blog post! 
Michmash- You commented a lot on The Random Writings.
Magical Daydreams: You asked to button swap with me (or I with you? can't remember)
Addie Marie: Found you through etsy, from that beautiful boho layered blue skirt you made. By searching "patchwork skirt"
Esther from the Sticks: Found you thought Addie Marie. She linked you in one of her posts, one time.
Color me Brave: Ahh! I can't remember. Do you?
Courtney Godby: Found your blog through your brothers, he had a link up one time
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I'm sure there are more, but sometimes I can't remember how I met some bloggers. Any of you know how you met me? Is it because I started commenting on your blog? Let me know! Even if you don't have a blog, I still think its cool when you tell me how you found mine. Like, I met EmmaRead through the Days app!

Thoughts on Fall

I'm really excited for fall. Fall means wool, wool means knitting! Yesterday my yarn came in for some gnome gloves I am going to knit Deanna. (although, I'm knitting these in cotton so that she can wash them and so they aren't itchy) I'm making a sample swatch right now. It is probably the hardest thing I've ever knit, because it feels like I'm using toothpicks to knit with (size 2) and my yarn is fingering weight. However, it is so much fun to knit and watch little gnomes appear! 

I'm not giving up on my story. I will finish it, even if it sucks. But I think like everything, it has good and bad parts. A blogging lady I have been getting to know through e-mail did a quick review of it and pointed out some things to work on. She was right--and I will keep going. I want to be a published author almost more then I want anything else. Even through I have written an e-book for sewing--I still want to write fiction.

How are you guys doing? Today my husband figured out that I've never before seen the X-files. And he owns the discography. So today we started with episode one. What have I gotten myself into?

Drunk Stories

Well, the title of this might be a bit misleading. If you think that I will be the drunk one in these stories, then you are going to be disappointed. These are just some of the tales from when I used to work until 2:30 AM at Virginia Polytechnic Institute at DXpress, the only dining hall that was open past 8pm.  I worked there from 2009 to 2011, if memory serves me correct--and during this time I served a lot of drunk people. Just a warning--some of these stories are kinda gross. Oh, before you ask, I wasn't there during any of the shootings that took place at VT, through I know people who were.

Me in my uniform...

Setting, sometime after midnight, on a Friday.

We were out of burgers. Our grill guy was making some, but for right now there was a young lady waiting for a cheeseburger. Wait. Double take. What...is that? Is that...what I think it is? Yes. I am looking at the nude bottoms of a girl, because her pants are falling down. She pulls them up sluggishly. She isn't wearing any underwear. It happens two more times before she finally gets her burger, and then she stagger-walks away. Should I tell someone? What should I do? I tell someone. They sigh. Apparently this happens a lot, through this is my first time seeing it. I am told that if she passes out, or makes a scene, or does not pull her pants back up, we can call the police. But under the law, nothing can be done right now. As I go back to my station, I feel strangely sorry for her.

Setting, sometime after midnight, on a Saturday

One of our coworkers come rushing in. Apparently two college kids are having sex right outside under the tree next to our building. Two more of them rush out to see. Someone tapes it on their phone, and tries to show everyone who is working. I don't look. Somehow a manager finds out, who immediately calls the cops. I'm shocked, and disgusted, and for most of the night this is all anyone talks about. (Yes, the guy who taped in on his phone was fired. Not sure if that was the reason he was fired--he was kinda an off the wall crazy guy, but a few weeks later he was gone)

Setting, many times on a Friday or Saterday

A girls shirt falls off. She's wearing one of those strapless numbers and no bra. She is soooo drunk she can hardly walk. She passes out right at the register, her shirt around her waist, and my manager has to call the police who take her away. She was regularly drunk in our establishment.

Another Friday

There is a drunk girl eating in the lobby. She starts making out with this guy. Does she know him? She pulls him into the bathroom. They start getting busy. Loudly. They are in the girls bathroom. We are all looking at each other, like, what do we do? Should we go in there? The customers are laughing. But, suddenly she starts screaming about being raped! What? She is the one who started making out with him, right? Did she not know what she was doing? The police arrest both of them. I am shocked.

-------
I could go on, but lets not. If anything, working at a secular university taught me to drink responsibly.

Authors note: I never saw a situation that VT managers didn't handle by the book, so don't think I'm bashing my old workplace. Besides hating my hours, and the cheeseburgers, VT wasn't a bad place to be employed. The pay was good, (I was salary for the first year, then hourly the next by choice) and the managers were always kind and fair--well, besides the one who tried to get me fired, that is. It was just the crew that would step out of line and cause ruckus, and we were always told be behave when this happened and chastised fairly. And when you work on a college campus--something is bound to go crazy wrong sometime. Especially when you work until 3am.

Weekend Update

This weekend was wonderful. If you follow me on instagram, you can see that I went camping and that I also threw a tie dye party with some friends!

Ahh, the sound of peace. And bugs.

But, then Sunday hit. Sunday, for some reason, found me crabby. And irritated. At nothing. Well, not really at nothing. I was bothered by my sewing skills, or lack thereof. I can't seem to make a straight stitch, sometimes. And things don't fit together they way I want, more often then not. My clothing and purses and other oddments—they don't seem as “professional” as I want them to seem. This bothers me. I wonder sometimes if I'll ever get there. I wonder what is holding me back. I wonder if I'll ever be good enough. I wish I knew someone to help me fix my mistakes. As a self-taught seamstress, I feel like I have a lot of rudimentary gaps in my knowledge. I don't know how to fix them. Oh, and everyone is better then me. I should just give up now.

So, yeah, I was in a funk. And husband had to work this Sunday, after church, which put me into more of a funk, because Sundays are supposed to be “us” time. And I like “us” time just like I like my reading time. Uninterrupted. And clothing-optional.

So, I thought, maybe I'll work on my novel. The novel that I'm supposed to be writing. The novel that is coming along...terribly. Actually, I put it aside a few weeks ago and haven’t touched it since. We aren’t speaking. I wonder if we ever will, again? Is it possible to be mad at a Open Office document?

After that, I had to rip out a few rows of knitting. I'm using lace yarn. It was a pain.

Then one of my old friends, who I had dated a long time ago--sent me a nasty e-mail, where he basically blamed me for his awful life and inability to trust women. So I wrote back, trying to tell him that I am the least of his problems—and the root of none. Through probably some. Maybe? His choices are still his choices. His e-mail came out of nowhere, because I thought between us, things were square. We never got physical, he and I, and he had broken up with me several times because he “just didn't like me really that much, as more then a friend.” But now apparently I'm the cause of all his problems. Out of the few guys I dated, he should have the least to complain about. Seriously. I cringe at the thought of any of my other X's starting a blog. They'd probably be popular. For all the wrong reasons.

Oh, and my husband and I had a minor argument, that was really my fault, since I was just a little upset over my day and goings-on. And irrational. Oh, and did I mention menstruating?

....where was this post going? Well, I was going to end it with some kind of saying about how little problems can really throw a wrench in your day, and how God is bigger then all that and you should keep going and pushing forward, and that life is wonderful and about how my struggles really pale in comparison to many others out there who are hurting or sick, or, you know, starving to death—and that's all true--but I'm too ruffled to sort all those complicated feelings out right now, so I think I'll just end with this:

Yup, that pretty much sums up how I feel about life at the moment. Now, if you excuse me, I am going to eat a whole container of ice cream. Or go shopping. Shoe shopping sounds relatively safe, right?

How to (wrongly) Fix a Broken Zipper

So, I'm sure you guys have many broken zippers on many a wonderful dress. And you want to wear said wonderful dress, but alas, the zipper is broken in such a way that to don the garment you would have to break several modest, and not to mention, cultural, rules.

Putting a zipper on a already-fashioned garment is hard. Especially if said dress has a under-layer that is seamed into the zipper. That was my problem with this dress. In order to properly replace the zipper, I'd have to take apart the whole dress basically, because the dress was seamlessly attached to the lining.

So I decided to go against the rules and attach the zipper my own way. It was quicker and extremely uncomplicated.  If you are looking for a quick, easy way to replace a zipper on a broken garment, this it it.

This is the dress, a Juicy dress I purchased from my local goodwill for $3.50. No, I don't care about name brands. I really liked the dress. But, for 3.50, how could I say no? However, the zipper was stuck. It wouldn't zip! I actually had to cut it out, leaving little tears where the slider met the zipper teeth.

 Then I just pinned another zipper right underneath it, and sewed it in place. See? Hah.

The zipper now works. Why, you might ask, could I not have just added another slider to the original zipper? Well, for one, many of the teeth were mangled on that zipper. And, another--I don't own any sliders that are not attached to zippers already. (You can buy them separately, if you didn't know)

So that is one way to fix a zipper--and I'm sure there are many others. I can think of three unique ways that I've tried myself, on garments in the past. How do you fix broken clothes? Or, like this dresses' previous owner, do you donate them to charity to be bought by people like me?

Tote

I made a tote the other day out of a very old-fashioned crochet top that someone gave me. I think it was my grandmother who gave it to my mom to give it to me to refashion! So that's what I did.

I added two inside pockets and one outside on the edge, for holding pens! I love it. I am amazed at what some things can be turned into.

I saved the sleeves of this to make my own crochet dress out of bits and pieces of things...

My Ocean is a Scarf

I finally finished knitting this scarf. I cast it on my needles over six months ago--and kept putting it down out of sheer repetitiveness. We all have project like this, don't we? Well, I'm proud to say it is finally done, blocked, and seamed up! The variegated yarn kinda reminds me of the ocean. Beautiful... Now, on to the next project, that include arm warmers for a blogger friend of mine.

This scarf is for sale in my etsy shop.

Painted Toms

Last week I decided to paint my Toms shoes! I was going for a galaxy look, but they came out more paint-splattered.

I love them, and have been wearing them everywhere!

Refashion it: High-Lo

So, I found this pretty purple dress at Goodwill. I love it, but it is a bit long. I wanted to spice it up! I decided to add a high-lo hem to the dress, and show off my new galaxy leggings that I bought from target at the same time. I think they really make this outfit. Well, the concept for creating a high-lo hem is really simple. Basically, you turn, cut, and sew.

• First, turn the dress on the side. Lay it flat and make sure the skirt back and front is flush with each other.

• Then, cut a swoosh! See the line in the middle of my dress? I used that as a guide, because I knew that is where it would hit my sides.

• Before I sewed it, I tried it on to make sure I had cut correctly. Then, I hemmed my edge with a zig-zag stitch because my dress is made of knit (stretchy) material.

I love my new (to me) dress and my (to infinity) and beyond leggings. How would you style galaxy leggings? I think they go great with simple one-tone dresses to show off all their funky business. I've wanted a pair of these leggings forever. And by forever, I mean, ever since I knew they existed. Which might have been only a year or two. Or three.

Linking up with Skirtember!

Going Green

So, you all know those people-- those "health conscious" individuals who won't eat at McDonalds, and avoid food containing dyes and other processed ingredients? They can be slightly annoying, can't they, when you are on a road trip and have to stop at Panera instead of simply running though the Taco Bell drive-through, all because they refuse to eat fast food. I mean, the nerve of making you park, and then wait an extra 30 minutes just to satiate their weird food lifestyle and/or moral feelings about what they put in their bodies.  

Well, compared to me those people are tame. Because I take the whole "going green" thing, like, uh, really far. To put it simply, I'm a fanatic. On a scale from 1-10 I would be a 15. In other words, if your mom was a vegetarian, I'd be that weird kid that would point out that the white sugar they used in their french cupcakes actually can include bone char, and therefore is not really vegetarian. Yes, I'm that girl.

For starters, being "health conscious," to me, is so much more then just eating healthy. It's about the food preparation as much as the food itself.

For example, I will not use a microwave.

What, you ask, is wrong with a microwave? I mean, its basically God's gift to hipsters. How else would they heat their vegan gluten free burrito from Fresh Market?

Before you go all crazy on me, let me explain to you why I don't use a microwave.

1. There has not been enough time to conduct long term studies on the use of microwaves on food or in regards to the proximity to humans. 
2. I will not exchange convenience for my health over a subject that I just don't know much about. 
3. Also, in terms of reheating food, I like it cold.

So yeah, no microwaves for me. And yes, before you ask, I do know how a microwave works. But did you know that it leaks radiation? This article raised my microwave awareness--I'll just link to it, because she explains everything and sites her sources perfectly. Anyway my husband still uses the microwave, it's just me who won't. I might be crazy. But its something I feel strongly about.

I also don't use non-stick pans. Why? Well, because that awesome non-stick layer is made up of nasty chemicals. And if you so much as scratch it, those chemicals start leeching into your food. Check out these links for more information: One Two Three. Once again, I'll take scrubbing my surgical stainless steel pan an extra 30 seconds to potentially ingesting chemicals with every meal. 

I also won't buy things made in china. No, I'm not racist. Or whatever the term is. I just don't like their culinary laws. Did you know that glazed items made in china contain led and other harmful chemicals? It's true! Unlike the US and Germany, there is no law banning the use of lead glaze on cookware in China. So I just avoid buying anything from that foreign country, and stick instead to buying my food and food preparation items from the USA or from Germany. (Links on lead in cookware: one two three) (Links on lead in other Chinese products: one two three)

What kinds of things do you do to stay green? I was shocked when I found out about all the metals and stuff in my dishes and other utensils. How do you feel? It's okay not to care, I mean, its your body. (but I'll secretly think your crazy). My husband thinks I'm crazy too, so don't worry. 

A Kitty-Eared Day

This past weekend Mr. Adventure and I decided to go revisit the place where we took our engagement pictures! It has officially been a year since he asked me to marry him! If you didn't know, we took our engagement pictures ourselves, with my camera, tripod, and remote, and thus we decided to take some more pictures, of course, to commemorate the event!

Taking pictures with your love is fun! It is amazing to look back and see how much we have grown over a year! The hat I'm wearing is for sale here, if you are interested!

How my iPhone ruined my life

I remember the day I got my phone. When they handed me that little white box it was like they were handing me the world. Life will start now, I thought, as I cracked back the lid and saw the perfect 4.8 by 2.3 inch screen. Resting neatly into the palm of my hand, it felt so right--ready at any moment to connect me with the world. The possibilities were endless.

(source)

When I turned it on, I dreamed of the places we would go, my phone and I. Now I would never get lost. Now I would never forget anything. But most importantly,  I would never be bored. I'd already made a list of apps I wanted to download, in order to ensure the best experience between me and my device. My fiance and I went to a coffee shop right after and downloaded our entire lives into our phones, fitting them neatly into the iPhone's tiny four ounce body. Lighter then a cup of coffee--and able to juggle appointments, birthdays, calls, messages, and buy clothes, listen to songs--even record our dreams in perfect HD video.

I won't lie, things were great. I never got lost (expect for that one time on the parkway when there was no cell reception) and I never forgot anything (except for that time when I left my phone at home before going shopping). And I was never bored. Breaks between work were spent hunched over the 4-inch retina display, playing Plants vs. Zombies, or surfing Twitter and Facebook. Stopped at a red light? Maybe someone texted me. Waiting for an appointment? I'm glad Vine is here to entertain me. What did I ever do before? 

And lets not forget the hype. The hype I felt because I was somebody now. I mean, my iPhone clearly made me an elite member of a the special Smart Phone club. We went everywhere together. We saw everything together. People who didn't have a smart phone, well they wanted one. They knew they were living in the dark age, as present-day neanderthals, with their phones--their "phones" that only took calls. I remember my friends all marveling at my iPhone. So cool. I only have this crappy brick, they'd say, asking to see it, to push the buttons. They only wished they were me.

Because, clearly I was living life to the fullest. My phone clearly enabled me to have better life experiences. Now, I could tell the world that I was currently eating ice cream with the boy, complete with a 140 character twitter message and corresponding selfie. Everyone can now see where I am. And more importantly; what I am eating. Don't you wish you were eating it to?

And now, I can google an infinite number of questions--whenever I want--satisfying my curiosity within a blink of an eye, fixing my problem or concern almost before I'd even realized it existed.

When did I notice that I had a problem?

Perhaps it was when 5 out of the 7 days a week I woke up to my husband on his iPhone, laying next to me, the bright light illuminating our small bedroom, his eyes glued to the screen.  

Perhaps it was when I realized I spend most my evenings at home, playing a game. Or even when I go out, I spend the time waiting for food to arrive, playing a game. Or as we are driving to another place, I mostly just sit next to my husband, and play a game.

Perhaps it was when one day I clocked my phone time and it was over three hours. Over four hours.

It was definitely when I realized I couldn't go anywhere without my phone. Leave it at home? No, it had to be with me, connected to my person. I might miss something.

And it was when I saw myself spending more time on my phone then reading my bible. More time on my phone then sewing. More time sitting next to my husband in bed, both of us on our phones, then engaged in conversation.

We used to talk to each other.

I used to wake up and read my bible, not, first thing in the morning, look at my phone.

And then I begin asking some hard questions.

What is this lie that I've bought into? This lie that this little white phone can make my life better, that instant connection to twitter and instagram and tagging myself and tweeting about my breakfast--how is that helping me become a better person, how is this helping me worship the Holy God?

(source)

When is anything uploaded to Facebook ever a clear representation of my life? When did I start to care about how my life looked online, more then cultivating the personal relationships I have with my friends? When has anything I've done online opened doors to a deeper, more intimate experience with anyone? 

When did I let my iPhone take over my time, and reorder my priorities? 

This week I've decided that I'm done.

I'm sad to say I regret my choice to purchase a smart phone, a choice I will not make again.

Because instead of adding to my life, my phone has become a burden and a stumbling block to me and to those around me.

I came to the realization that the iPhone, and other smart phones, were made to catch your attention. They are made to entertain you: with games and facts and easy photo apps. And, the more time they keep you on the phone, the more money they make, either from running advertisements or from you purchasing apps. My phone is constantly telling me, through commercials and advertisements, that this product will make me happier, and that my life will be, and is, better--just because I own one. This belief will keep their consumers coming back and back to purchase only the phone, but also the experience attached to it. An experience that can ruin lives.

They say its more convenient. They say you need it. Do you?

Yes, I know, it is my decision to spend so much on my phone, my decision to be swept away by the easy entertainment that rests just inches from my fingertips. But I can't seem to make the right decision, the decision to put the phone down and do something else. I'm hooked on iPhone. It's my drug of choice.

Am I the only one? I don't think so.

So I ask you this.

How much time do you spend on your phone? If you want to know, there is an app that clocks it for you. This question, and it's subsequent answer will define how you live your life. Or if you live your life.

As for me, I've had my husband install an app on my phone that allows me to access it for only one hour a day. We will see how this goes. Baring relapse, I will totally get rid of my phone. I will not become a slave to it again. 

What will you do?

Wedding

Last weekend's wedding was a blast. I wish them many happy years.