Currently...

Reading: Stiff, by Mary Roach.  I picked up the book from Ephraim a couple weeks ago, when he decided he just didn't need to know that much about the human body after death.  I tend to be a bit more interested in the macabre, and not easily grossed out by gore and details of the body (I was actually working toward a career in medical illustration for a long time), so I figured I'd have more luck with the book.  So far, I really like it.  I only started reading it a couple days ago, as last week I was tearing my way through the first compendium of The Walking Dead, which encompasses the soft cover volumes #1-8.  And man, did THAT ever fix my displeasure with TWD season finale.  If you're also a fan, and felt that the finale was just too anticlimactic, pick up the comics, you won't be disappointed!

Watching: I'm still working my way through Veronica Mars, and I'm already on the 3rd season.  Honestly, this season isn't as good as the first two, but I love me some snarky Veronica, and I'm emotionally invested in the show, so I'm seeing it through.  Other than that I've watched the first third of too many romantic comedies before I decide that I hate them, and go and read instead.  Yup.

Anticipating: A weekend FULL of plans.  I am double booked for Saturday night and can't wait to see some friends and have a good time.  Especially at formal bowling.  Fancy clothes, beer and bowling? It's like all of the things I like, at one time! Plus it's to celebrate my best friend's birthday.  So you know it's gonna be a good time.

Laughing about:  My inability to keep my Bloglovin' unread count under like, 100.  Just last week I got fed up and marked all as read, and now BOOM I have 125 unread posts already.  And you know what's to blame? Fuckin' blog hops, man.  I give up on bloghops (except for Chantilly's, but that's because it's special and not demanding).  Seems like every week someone I follow is hosting or co-hosting a blog hop, and oh it's free to join, as long as you spam the ever-loving shit out of your own reader with the mommy blogs of the 8 co-hosts.  Enough.  I am not a person who can handle that many blogs, particularly that many that I don't really find all that interesting.  A purge is gonna happen, and I'm no longer going to feel badly about missed posts here and there.  It's started to eat up too much time, and is making my reading list so long it's overwhelming to the point of avoidance.  Blog hops.  Not even once. 

Listening to: Lots and lots of 8Tracks while I work.  I'm a bit disappointed in their search function on the mobile site, I can't seem to search activities or moods as well... I don't know why "sewing" results in mixes consisting entirely of Rap and R+B.  So, it's a lot of just acoustic indie and pop for me, easy to find and less likely to require song skipping.  Do you stream music on your iPhone? Any suggestions for a good site? I'm pretty new to streaming music, outside of looking a tune I have stuck in my head on Grooveshark.

Eating:  The funny thing is that I talked about making brussels sprouts for the first time ever in my last "currently" post, and I literally ate a plate full of them, topped with Parmesan cheese, for dinner last night (at like 9:30.  I got in a sewing groove and had no idea how late it had gotten!).  But at literally this moment, I am sipping a chai latte (which in my last post I was wishing for.  I don't change much, month to month!)

Working on: Sewing a dress I designed and started working on this past Sunday.  It's been a weird and difficult balance between wanting it to look clean and professional, and not wanting it to take forever.  I've already decided to replace one of the back panels, because the one way pattern looks a bit too sloppy for my tastes.  It sets the progress back by a good 1.5 hours, but I know I'll be glad I did it, in the end. I kind of wish I was staying in NOTL this weekend, so I could finish it up, and make a trip to the fabric store to get the remaining supplies I need.  I spent 5 minutes hemming (hah, sewing pun) and hawing over zippers, and somehow managed to leave with a standard zipper and not an invisible zip.  Needless to say, that realization earned a hearty (and disappointed) slowclap... from myself, to myself.  Well done, Erin.  Well done.  I took a sick day this week (allergies plus spring cold equals no fun at all) and spent the vast majority of it sewing, and it was awesome.  I needed something inspiring to get me out of this little sewing rut I've been in ever since I abandoned my Sew for Victory dress.  I'm hoping this project kicks me in a high enough gear to actually complete my Sew for Victory dress in time for the Guys and Dolls opening night next month, but I am not going to hold my breath.

Wishing:  That the wind would die down and I could get a handle on taking outfit photos for myself, mid-week.  I get to dress however I want to to work, and sometimes it's pretty cute.  I hate feeling like I'm "saving it up" for the weekend, and frankly, I like outfit posts, and it would seem that the folks dropping by these parts do too, so being able to have more of them would be really swell.  I've been spoiled by Ephraim's photographer skills! 

I hope you all have a great weekend!! 
--Erin

Currently...

Reading: Blog Inc.  I think that the problem I've been having with reading, is that I'm trying to consume fiction, when what I'm really eager to read is non-fiction.  I mean, good lord, I am reading stuff on Reddit all bloody day, and I can't get enough of the news articles, first person stories, you name it.  So, I ordered a couple books of Amazon, and started to dig into Blog Inc right away.  I'm really enjoying it so far, and look forward to seeing what new insights and practices it can bring to this here blog.

Watching: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  I kept hearing of it, but not about it, and it turns out that it's the perfect comedy for me.  So much snark.  SO MUCH.  I love it.  And I watch too much of it.  I also restarted watching Veronica Mars, because it was one of my favourite ever shows (once again, snark factor comes into play), and if you didn't hear about the Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign, GET ON IT! They exceeded the $2 million goal in only 1 day.  If we keep going, they're going to make a terrific movie! I'm just waiting for the negotiations about opening the campaign up to non-US residents, so that I can make my contribution (and get my digital download and copy of the script! For $35! WORTH IT).  Also, Veronica and Logan end up together or we riot.  RIOT I SAY. actually rewatching the first episodes when he's SUCH an asshole is really so enjoyable.  Oh, Logan.  We will come to love you.  But it's going to take some time (and some mellowing). 

Logan Echolls 4EVR.  Or the streets will be swarmed by hormone fueled angry girl mobs.

Anticipating: Driving to Toronto tonight.  As you know, I finally got a car last month, but it's a standard transmission.  I've been trying to get as much practice as I can around town, and have driven into St. Catharines (and planning on doing so again this evening for extra practice) but driving to Toronto still seems overwhelming.  The distance! The speed! THE TRAFFIC! Only way to get used to the idea is to just bite the bullet and do it.  But the thought still makes me anxious.  So there you go.

Laughing about:  My first Zumba class the other night! I haven't taken an exercise class since the 9th grade, so to "dance" in front of a bunch of people was an intimidating thought.  The class was only about 20 people, and while I definitely didn't get all the steps (is that step turn step step? Or step step turn step jump?) I threw myself into it, had fun, and sweat a LOT, which was the point.  I'm glad to know that I have an alternative to running for my cardio requirements, at least for one day a week! And it's good fun and the right amount of endurance for an asthmatic like me.  So three cheers for looking really stupid and not caring.

Listening to: I always forget how embarrassingly honest I answer these things *sigh*.  Alright, I've been listening to a lot of Katy Perry while I model build at work lately.  Apparently I have a pop deficiency. I was never a Katy Perry fan (wouldn't really call myself one now, either) but I watched the Katy Perry documentary, really just looking to see if they would deal with her religious upbringing and history as a christian rock singer.  They did, and actually I found the movie really humanized her for me, and made her more than a tabloid figure; it made her totally relatable.  And really, I never found her music bad, just really really shallow.  I still do, but damn if it isn't fun to work to.  And I work out to Britney Spears (except for Zumba class, which hilariously included Gagnam Style), so there you have it.  Colour me guilty.


Eating:  I made brussels sprouts for myself for the first time ever last night!! I always hated brussels sprouts and asparagus growing up, so I decided that I wanted to try making them for myself to see if I really didn't like the veggies, or just how they were cooked.  Yeah, I had been eating tragically overcooked brussels sprouts all my life.  I sauteed those suckers in a whole lot of butter, sprinkled them with a bit of sea salt, and they were AMAZING.  Nutty, and not at all cabbagy tasting.  I kind of want to pick up more to have with for dinner tonight.  But we'll see if that actually happens...

Working on: Designing some brooches for Premonitory Dreams, and my stick-shift driving skills!

Wishing:  I had a chai latte.  I am a simple creature.

Currently...

Vitameatavegamin I Love Lucy collectors edition Barbie I gave my Mum for Channukah, givin' you a sideways glance for the blog's 100th post!

Watching: The entirety of the James Bond series! I had never seen most of the Bond films (certianly nothing pre-Brosnan), and seeing as how Ephraim owns them all, I thought it was high time to work my way through them.  I went to see Skyfall a couple weeks back, and now that I have seen Dr.No and From Russia With Love and Goldfinger I have really enjoyed all the little references to those films in the most recent installment! I mean the Aston Martin is pretty obvious, but the fact that Skyfall begins with Bond and Moneypenny in Istanbul, when she says in From Russia With Love that she wishes Bond would take her there... just such good writing.  I love when a series can look back to its beginnings, keep itself on track, and still entertain a modern audience like it's nobody's business.  Also, Sean Connery was pretty foxy.  So there's that, too. I also wrapped up Breaking Bad last week and MY GOD.  I think that was the BEST series finale I have ever seen.  I am getting goosebumps just thinking about how everything wrapped up.  Wow.
 

Listening to: Mother Mother - The Sticks.  I am so in love with this album, and fell more in love with it after seeing Mother Mother perform in Toronto earlier this month.  If you're not familiar with their music, I encourage you give them a listen! My favourite Canadian band, by far.
 

Planning: A pleasant little holiday break.  I don't leave Niagara until boxing day, so I have a couple days on my own to do some crafts, work on whatever last ditch attempts at my Four Simple Goals I can, and probably play some video games.  I have an N64, and recently picked up Banjo Kazooie, Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards, and an expansion pack so I can finally play The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. I am probably going to be kind of glued to my TV for a couple days, there.  Fun fact: I worked at multiple videogame retailers while in high school, but have never owned a console newer than the N64 (okay well I was gifted an NDS but I don't actually have any games for it, so... I'm not sure it really counts).  I suppose I should also plan on actually making the handmade portion of Ephraim's Christmas present too, hmm?
 

Thinking about: How to fund my life being an independent artist and designer.  I have been immensely fortunate in getting a full time gig in the arts doing what I want to be doing, right out of school.  But as this position is intended for a recent graduate, the fairy tale has to come to an end sometime.  Being self employed full-blown-all-the-time freaks me out, and I have no doubt I will panic and try to get my crappy Fabricland job back to keep me calm (but not really because Fabricland customers mostly suck).  I have many practical skills, but haven't as yet had to put my all into getting a small business off the ground as a means to support myself.  For the last few weeks I have been dreaming up clothing lines, jewelry concepts, I have worked on acquiring some footwear lasts (the foot form you use to give the shoes shape) so that I can continue to work on my shoe work as I cannot afford to go overseas to complete my training.  It's scary, and exciting, and I am so thankful that I have taken the time and effort to build a platform through this blog that I can use as a springboard for future pursuits.  So, don't be surprised if this kid starts advertising my own online store around these parts in the (for now rather distant) future.  I have plans a-brewing.
 

Reading: Dune by Frank Herbert.  Probably not the best choice as an attempt to complete my pathetic goal of reading 2 books before 2013, as I only started reading it a couple days ago and it is 500 pages long, but I am starting to really get into the mythology of the story. 
 

Making me happy: I have lots of supplies to create some new fun things! I had a big shopping trip to Michael's and Bulk Barn and I am well equipped to make all kinds of bark, brittle, and decorated cookies.  It's going to be a tasty week! I also picked up some supplies for a few craft projects I have been wanting to work on, and make use of some items laying around my house.  I'm really looking forward to being productive in my upcoming time off! Well, when I'm not playing video games, that is.

--Erin

"Currently" is a feature started by Megan of the blog Megan is Love.  I have used her sample categories, but the answers are all tragically my own.