Five Whole Years!

It's my anniversary today! 

I have been blogging for five whole years!



I have written about anything I could think of from laundry to pets to death. (Wait! Are those all the same thing?)

I have written about school and homework, gardening, kids, and even my super-hero alter-ego.

Loralee's Fancy has been a showcase for everything from my (few) deep thoughts, to your poetry, to advertising bake sales.

Who would have thought that this thing I started on rather reluctantly would become a five-year (and counting!) hobby?

 
So Happy Anniversary to me!
(I should have a party or something. Maybe some pie.)

Finals

Well!  I haven't posted any of my homework this semester.  At least I don't think I have.

I have hardly had any of it in my hands—at least none of the interesting stuff.  Digital Pattern Making was all about how to use a $200,000 pattern-making program that I will probably never lay hands on again.  However, we did have to create a pattern (on the computer—UGH! It is so much easier by hand!) that included a bodice, collar, sleeves and balanced skirt.  This is what I made:

Once again I've made a dress that nobody is intended to wear. Maybe I will have to scrounge up a model and show it off next year. ;-) 
Anyway, I don't know if you can really tell, but the skirt is box-pleated and the underneath pleats are solid white, so if you stretched that puppy out it would look stripey.  It wasn't hard to sew, but it took forever!

Entrepreneurship was an interesting class, but no homework worthy of posting on my blog.  I'm still working on Outerwear.  And although all my Illustration homework got turned in on time, the teacher had a baby in the middle of the semester, so I'm just barely getting stuff back.

But I do have my final project in my hot, little hands.  We had to illustrate three croquis' dressed as they would be to impress the company we want to work for.  Hm. Since I don't want to work for any company I got to make whatever I want—I will do custom work. :-)   Being in Utah, we (the teacher and I) decided that the biggest custom-work clientele would probably be bridal—which is the most fun to draw anyway.  I also thought that my dresses needed to be Mormon-friendly because I happen to think that a fitted T-shirt under your sleeveless dress or a shrug/bolero over the top of your strapless dress looks very home-made and too much like you are a good Mormon girl who can't find a modest dress. (That may just be my fashion-school snobbery speaking. Maybe.)

After we drew our pictures we had to manipulate them on the computer in some way or another—perhaps showing some flats (like technical drawings) or adding some text, etc. (Oh, ouch! I never do that! ;-) ) They are supposed to be good enough to put into our portfolios.

The finished work is due next Monday, the 29th.  So you are getting a sneak preview—lucky you! (It occurs to me that perhaps I ought to put a "watermark" on my pics so no one can steal them.  I might do this next week so you can see them now as they are meant to be.  See how much I trust you?)

Here are the pics:



a suit, with flats shown



wedding gown; white with ivory lace overlay on bodice and train



prom gown
I think I'd like to really make this one.
Actually it would be fun to make (and see!) all of them. :-)

Besides my Illustration presentation I still have to sew like mad on my Outerwear project, write a business plan for Entrepreneurship, and take a skills test in Digital Pattern—all due next week.  And then I am freeeeeee for the summer! Yaaaaaayyy!!!!!

April Bake Sale!

Yummy, yummy, yummy!  It's time for our second Missionary Bake Sale! It will be this Saturday, April 20 beginning at 9:30 and ending when we run out of yummy things to sell.

This time around we will have sweet, gooey pecan rolls, luscious orange rolls with cream cheese icing, a variety of muffins and some delicious home-baked breads.  These will go first-come, first-served so don't miss out!

And, by special request, we are going to make pies again.  Yes, yes, they were so fabulous that we are getting return patrons! ;-)

Please order your pies by Thursday, April 18 so we'll know how many to make. Just leave a comment on my blog, send me a facebook message, call or email me to let me know what you want. :-)

These are the delicious pies we are offering this time:


Peanut Butter Pie 
Total decadence!  Uber-rich, creamy filling with just the right amount of peanutty goodness, topped with Reeses crumbles
and freshly-whipped cream.  Yum!
$9.50

 

Coconut-Cream Pie
for coconut lovers: a creamy, luscious filling made with real
coconut milk, and piled with toasted coconut
$9.50

 
 

Chocolate Mousse Pie
a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate dream:  rich, smooth filling in a chocolate crust, and topped with whipped cream
(please specify mint whipped cream or plain whipped cream)
$12



Fresh Strawberry Pie
Three pounds of red, ripe, juicy strawberries. 
What more can I say? 
Fresh. Strawberry. Pie.
'Tis the season!
$13 

So come support Jason; help us get him out the door and enjoy some wonderful baked goods while you're at it!  ;-) 
And bring a friend!

See you Saturday, April 20, 9:30 a.m.

This Year's Winner . . .

Tough, tough decision!

Everyone so eloquent . . .

How to choose just one?

Today is the day you've all been waiting for—the day I announce the winner of Loralee's Fancy Poetry Contest! (wild applause here)

It was really difficult to choose just one from each category—you all wrote extraordinary poems, and as I looked at the entries each day they just kept getting better and better! How to choose? I couldn't even disqualify any on wrong syllable counts—and they are all so good!  I almost considered typing them up, putting them in a bowl, and choosing a winner by the luck of the draw—but I didn't. ;-)  Before I show the entries I will give you my token poem:

Happy birthday, me—

Wide awake at three a.m.
I will read my blog.

And now, on to the real poetry!

First I'll show you the entries from the Children's Division. Early on I thought it would be a stiff competition between my Kaylie and my Rachel, but within the last few days poems started pouring in from other children.  Yaayyy! :-)

From Kaylie (age 11) we have:

There is no dinner,
Not any breakfast or lunch
And it's my dog's fault

Funny!  This is undoubtedly a reference to when we first got Tucker and, having to drive the older kids somewhere in the middle of dinner, we returned to find the black lab on the kitchen table and all the spaghetti gone from the plates and the pot.  The kids cried.

Also from Kaylie:

I sleep on the floor
The ground is my work table
I'm the cat's servant

Oh horrible day
Of agonizing terrors!
Spring break is over.

Oh, I know how she feels on that last one; I can feel that.  Great work Kaylie!

Rachel (age 10) wasn't sure at first whether she could write Haiku because she'd never heard of it, but she came up with two excellent poems:

Their roots growing high
They won't grow in the dirt though
Onions know it's spring

Snow takes the birds' place
'Tis warmer down south than home
Winter has arrived


These follow the traditional nature idea and paint a picture. Beautifully done Rachel!

Sam's (age 8) poem:

Biking: spokes and wheels
Strong gravitational force
Whooshing through the air.

Very smart—you can really picture this guy riding his bike! I think we should move Sam up into the adult division!

Peter said:

I'm trying to think.
I can't think though. I don't know.
Do you remember?

I love that! I know the sentiment  Peter's describing exactly!

Catherine (age 6) wrote this:

Pretty paper doll,
Made with sewing, yarn, and care.
It will be for me.
This is very sweet; a perfect Haiku. Nicely done, Catherine!

Johnathon (age 5) had a lot to say about his favorite subjects—five poems!

Different colors;
They are blue, red, white, black, green.
Ninjas are so cool.

I like Wolverine.
And Spiderman is so cool.
And I like Batman.

I like Avengers.
And Hulk jumps up on buildings
And smashes bad guys.

Every Ninja and
Superhero are so cool.
Bad guys never win.

Dinosaurs are the
Biggest things in the whole world.
Now they all are dead.

Johnathon's gave me a good laugh!  I am loving the children's division poetry.

And our youngest participant, Tommy (age 4) offered this one:

Luke fights Darth Vader.
Luke pulls off Vader's helmet.
Luke sees his dad's face.

Very good job, Tommy! 

Each of the children's poems hit the mark:  the syllables were spot-on right, and they were all very clever.  I love how each of their Haiku shows the personality of its author.  Terrific job, kids!
(wild applause here)

Now on to the "Everyone Else" division.  First we have four entries from Stephanie:

Two fish swim around-
In the pale blue fading light
The birds fly back home.

Spinning, spinning, stop.
Turn around and spin again.
Mouse is in his wheel.

I like that word picture. :-)

Burning, red, and dry.
Pull them out and give a sigh.
Clean my contacts off.

And I can really feel that one, too. *sigh*

Colors red, white, blue.
Freedom fighters, I thank you!
Brave, courageous, true!

Oooh! That one rhymes.  Yay for Stephanie!

Becky wrote these:

"Hide and Seek"

Hidden in silence.
Heart beating as numbers rise.
Words: "Ready or not."

I really liked the excitement evoked by that one!

The white door opens.
Fresh, cool air hits me. I sigh.
Yes, my fridge is clean.

Hahaha!  I've felt that too.   :-)

Brandon wrote:

Trapped, I am trapped here.
Expected for too many things.
Home is a relief.

I really liked this—I think.  I could feel it, but it's too bad Brandon is feeling it. :-(  Still, it is very good. :-)
Brad's are kind of . . .  well . . .

Bubbles foam and drip,
pop and spit, before my eyes.
Wipe my baby's nose!

Talk about painting a picture!

Typing, typing fast.
Make my point. Hitting enter.
There! Whew! I must pee.

Hahahaha!  I know that feeling too!  Although I don't usually mention it in polite company. Hm. Now my family might think I am calling them impolite.

Tami entered these:

I once had a pet
A hamster with two eye balls
One came out and fell.

That is really gross!  And she says it's true story which is even more gross.  No, maybe it's more gross to invent a story like that.

No extra money
for Jason servin' God, but
older camera

Thanks, Tami!

Christine's entries:

I spilled food again.
I don't have to pick it up.
Dogs love when I cook.

Two legs are now three.
The cane improves my balance.
See how fast I move!

Sounds of rain at night.
No raindrops on the windows.
Is the shower on?

Ah, life at home!

Kisses from my Sweet!
Two strong sons wrap me with hugs.
Benefits of love.

Aaawww! I like it.  Christine should do some neat graphic thing with that last one and hang it in her house!





Theresa's Haiku stick with a nature theme:

Crawling on the wall
A spider waiting dinner
Bothers not at all.

(And a rhyme, too!)

"Winter Tribute"

Drifting through the air,
Landing on my nose, softly,
Winter's gentlest kiss.

"Fog"

Twining, wraith-like mist,
Seeping cold, wet, icy breath
Flowing up my nose.

Etched against the dawn,
His great paean to the sun
Crows out loud and clear.

Oooh!  I like that last Haiku picture (even though I had to look up the tricky word)—very cool.

Michael doesn't often enter my poetry contests, but he gave me two this year:

An annoying poem
My first haiku completed
I will write no more

I really did laugh out loud at this one.  But I was puzzled counting syllables—do you say "poem" with one syllable or two?  I decided I'm good with it. :-) I mentioned the syllable dillema to Michael and he made up this second one for me:

one two three four five
six seven eight nine ten twelve
eleven too long

Hahahahaha! :-D

And last (but not least—far from least!) is Bruce:

Spotting my prey, then,
a low growl, deep in the gut.
That cookie is mine!

Mmmmm.  Cookies.

Scrumptious smile baits me,
arms ensnare, lips lock with mine.
I cherish this trap!

I really like this man!

For putrid tresses,
This incantation instructs:
"Lather. Rinse. Repeat."

This makes me laugh!  I do love this man.

There were so many entries this year—more than I've had any other year, I think.  And they were all great!  It was extremely difficult to choose winners—I wish I could give you all a prize (but I really can't afford that).  But after lots and lots of thought and agonizing I finally did make my choices.

Drumroll, please . . . 

The winner of the 2013 Loralee's Fancy Poetry Contest in the children's division is Johnathon for his dinosaur Haiku!

Dinosaurs are the
Biggest things in the whole world.
Now they all are dead.

It was a tough choice, but I finally had to pick Johnathon's because it made me laugh and laugh and laugh when I first read it.  Johnathon will be receiving a Loralee's Fancy Poetry certificate and a big candy of his choice. Good job, Johnathon! (wild applause here)

In the everyone else division it was a toss-up between Bruce's "putrid tresses" and Theresa's morning song (my name, not hers).  But then I thought if I chose Bruce people would accuse him of sleeping with the judge.  ;-) So the winner of the 2013 Loralee's Fancy Poetry Contest in the everyone else division is Theresa!  (wild applause here)

Etched against the dawn,
His great paean to the sun
Crows out loud and clear.

I could really see and feel this one—even if she is smarter with words than I am. ;-)   For her winning entry, Theresa will receive a Loralee's Fancy Poetry certificate, a plate of home-made cookies and in honor of the fifth anniversary of the poetry contest, she will receive a book of all the poems entered in my contests for the last five years.  (more wild applause here)

So congratulations to Johnathon and Theresa!  And to everyone who entered: Thank you so much for playing with me—you are all awesome!

Fashion Show

So I entered a couple of pieces in a SLCC fashion show at Fashion Place Mall last Friday.  I wasn't going to do it; it never even entered my mind to do it.  But my friend, Cherylene, said I should enter the draping project I did last year and Lindsey's prom dress that I made in my bridal class.  And the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be kind of cool.

I had to find my own "modelesque" model, so I asked my friend Nicole if I could borrow her daughter Ashlyn who is tall, thin and very pretty (I would have had Lindsey model her dress, but she is not tall enough.)  Ashlyn did a great job, and both she and Nicole played the game with me—even down to spray-painting a pair of shoes orange.

Here are some pictures:

This dress is super short on Ashlyn—it would have been short on anyone.  I literally did not have enough fabric to make it longer (remember, it was just a class assignment—I never intended for anyone to wear it).  But with a pair of white leggings, it made a pretty cute outfit. Nicole and Ashlyn came up with  all the accessories, right down to the spray-painted shoes. :-)

And here's a close-up of Ashlyn.

on the runway

a  photo with the designer
There's not much better to make you feel short and frumpy than having a picture of your 45-year-old self in T-shirt and jeans, standing next to a tall, pretty teenager in a formal gown. ;-)

I'm not entirely sure what I thought of the whole experience.  It was kind of fun to see my things on the stage, but mostly I felt out of place with all those other design students who have some really creative pieces—and who all seem to know each other so well.  I think I am just the quiet lady who is in some of their classes. I do good work, and I got a lot of compliments on the red dress, but that dress isn't anything you might not see in a store somewhere. Except the workmanship.  I will definitely own that I have really good workmanship.  I got more pleasure out of having Bruce post pictures on facebook and seeing what our friends had to say than I did from the show. 

Anyway, it was my very first fashion show. Yay me!