Thursday, October 28, 2010

What a funny world we live in, and what on earth am I supposed to do with it?

So life is just weird. I've been planning on going on a mission for the last couple months and I had a meeting with my bishop recently where he related to me in Football terminology that sometimes you can go the 80 yards just fine in a game, but often the last 20 are the hardest. (I'm guessing on the yardages here folks, cause, well... I grew up with 5 sisters.) But I understood what he meant. I've watched enough football games to know that it can seem a sure thing until they get to the 20 yard line and then somehow... they just never can make it to the endzone. So what does this mean? That even though you've got the ball, Satan's got a team of big bad Polynesian sized me... ok.. lets just say he knows what he's doing and he's going to play hard.

So I expected this, although everytime my bishop said "there's gonna be a man that enters your life" I brushed it off with a 'Yea, whatever' type thought in my head. Cause its true, guys enter my life all the time. But most of the time I am on my guard or really just have myself put off so that none of them really get to me. But then.... Model Guy.. Ta da!!

So I probably never would have met him if it werent by a request of one of my good photographer friends that I go to this shoot with her. But there he was and being all spazzy and funny. Well to be correct, he kept walking behind my friend and flashing me with his umm.. Fitness magazine cover- type abs. Distracting, to say the least. So we ended up shooting together, talked a little bit, and then I kind of figured that was the end of it. That maybe i'd come across him again and he would be fun to shoot with, but that was it.

Buut Nooo. Remember how I said Satan works hard at you? Well, he really does.. Model guy found me on facebook, added me and then started chatting me up. Would I want to do another shoot together? Sure. Would I be interested in doing partial nude? No. Yadayadayada. That wasnt the big deal. Believe it or not I've dealt with that before. What the problem is, is that he's actually a really fun and nice guy and likes to do alot of the same things I do. And.. I cant seem to just phase him out. I just figured I wouldnt worry about it. Dont contact him, dont try to be too flirty when I did talk to him.. that kind of thing. Except- It's hard to remember when I've had a guy be so persistant with me before... Uhh??
He is the type of guy that actually calls you up and asks if you'd like to do something, go to lunch, and empathasizes when your having a bad day. And I mean like, seriously.. Ugh.. Bleh! He's the tall, with dark hair, and handsome thing going on-type guy. But he's not mormon. And that wouldnt be so bad (I really am just looking for friends here, folks) except that he constantly brings up religion and seems to be trying to talk me out of going on my mission. What do you do with that? I'd like to have someone fun to go rock-climbing and swing dancing with like he and I both like to do.. But I dont have the best feeling about it whenever I think of being good friends with him, and I havent quite figured out what to do with it yet.

We'll see what happens. Hopefully nothing. But until then, I'll just keep reminding myself to remember that 'The best defense is a good offense', and that it really is just 20 yards. :)

Friday, October 15, 2010

Dress Design for Shabby Apple dresses

Ok, so I realize this is undoubtedly the worst picture/quality of anything this side of the turn of the century, but it was the best I could do after a 14 hour work day and not getting home til ten o'clock at night. My mothers scanner and I apparently have communication issues and so I had decided to move on my sisters camera (yes, I know, how lame of me not have my own..) who did not seem to be as friendly as promised either. So here, you have it, a picture of my pretty little pink dress design for Shabby Apple dresses. Truly I could have drawn the picture better than technology could have captured it (well actually I did, you just cant tell..). The design was inspired most likely by one of my work shifts stuck out on a Garden register in fall where I had waaay too much time to wander around looking at flowers and rakes and be inspired to sketch random dresses. The top is layers of scallops that would be cut out of a sheer fabric as an overlay of a matte fabric that would be of a deeper tone pink. The ribbon would be a match of the result of the color from the sheer light pink and the deeper tone, and the rest of the dress is just a light colored pink overall. The fabric of the majority of the dress would be a very elegant but somewhat stretchy fabric in order to fit many body types in a flattering way. In my mind the dress has a subtle but powerful presence as it understated but has a sort of eloquence and boldness to it as well. I wanted to design something that was different, but pretty and could be worn on a nice date or just to church. The dress colors I could thought of would be a very light pink, a light light aqua, and a periwinkle blue (for my little sister who when I asked her what she thought of the dress said "Its cute! Except for the pink.... I'd wear it if it were blue!" So just for her. :) ) That is all I can think of to say about this dress, other than to apologize for the picture quality, I hope to post a better picture when the scanner and I become better friends. Well thats all for now, so TTFN and have a great night!! ♥ Me

P.s. I will most likely be making this dress for my Pattern by Measure class. So if I do, I'll post pictures for anyone of you who may be interested in the end result. Cause ya know... its always fun to see your vision become a reality. ♥

Hello, my name is Liz.. and I am a blogger. :)

Soo.. I've always found it rather interesting to read other people's blogs for whatever reason, usuallybecause they are whittier than I am, tell incredible stories, or overall just have a more intersting life than I feel I do. I've never been one to write about myself, or to write in general, so thus you will see my rather poor lack of grammer and self-proclaimed verbal dyselxia (meaning I put almost every sentence in the wrong order making me sound something akin to George of the Jungle who got through grammer school.. buuut never really quite knew what was going on). So you'll have to forgive me, I'll try to put things back in the right order before I post.

So this first post I'm just going to explain to you .. why I even created a blog to post upon.. Although the thought of going on a mission has flitted through my brain several times throughout the past few years, it usually flitted out just as quickly. With my chaotic life (which really would have been interesting to post about at the time, considering most Soap Opera writers would have found them golden and nabbed my stories as if they weren't real life) and being in and out of activity within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I figured it was an impossibility. But also within the past couple years, I have been through experiences that have somehow tempered my testimony to become something I feel I can't quite keep to myself, and a strength I never knew I had..

So it all started sitting in an Auto Zone parking lot in heavens knows where Salt Lake City when my Mima (our term of endearment for my adorable grandmother on my father's side) states matter-of-factly out of the blue (not uncommon for that side of the family) 'Ya know, if you wanted to go on a mission I think alot of your aunts and uncles would help you pay for it.' And truth be told thats when the gumball got pushed. I had never thought it was a realistic idea, even when it had passed through my mind before. Too many obstacles: My past. My Family. My debts. My lack of funds. My testimony. Somebody believed in me. Somebody thought it was possible for me to go, and was thinking of ways to try to get me there. So from that point on it was a thought in my head like a stamp that would keep getting pushed by events, engraining it and solidifying it more within me. My girlriends coming home or leaving on missions... Incredible examples to me. My family not tearing me down when I posed the idea to many of them (Although my sister Becca did say 'I don't think you'll convert anyone', and when I asked her why she said 'Because you're too nice. You dont judge anyone, and you have to judge them a little to try to convert them.' Lol. I love her. And if there is a reason I'm going to fail, I guess I would want it to be that one.) God helping to lead me to things that would increase and strengthen my testimony and find opportunities to make the money and find the funds to go. Its been amazing and humbling at the same time.

So the gumball has kept rolling, I have gotten two jobs and am working to find ways to make more money to achieve this goal. Which is why I'm posting. No, I have no dellusions of being an amazing blogger that people just pay to read... thats just silly.. What I am doing is entering into a contest for Shabby Apple, a company thats sells adorable and stylish, modest dresses. They have a competition going that if you design a dress and are picked among the best, then ultimately voted the favorite by the general public (a fancy name for saying, You) the winner gets their design made and sold on Shabby Apple's website, receiving a small percentage of the profits.

Any of you who know me really well may know that I have designed dresses, (evening gowns mostly) and have even made a couple of my own, growing up. I never did much of anything with it because even though I am an artistic girl through and through... my practical side has almost always won out, leaving me with a half finished Business Management degree (Bleeeeghh.) and transfering from program to program trying to find something that would fit. I have finally ended up in the Fashion Design program by way of inspiration and.. no better option. I was trying to think of some kind of schooling to do that would fit in before I wanted to leave for a mission, and the Medical Office program I was planning on taking at the local Tech school was several months too long. So just as all the regular colleges were about to start I was stuck trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I looked at several different types of classes and programs and after praying about it for a bit and get nothing I decided to look at classes again just to see if I'd find something that would just click. And I did. The day classes were supposed to start I looked at the times for alot of sewing and design classes and the schedules fit pretty well.. and it felt good. So thats how I know I'm supposed to be here, doing this. Why??? I have no idea.. I figure I'll just keep plugging along enjoying the journey, finding opportunities to learn and grow, and trusting God to do the rest. After all, he does work in Mysterious ways... ;)

P.s. My design will be posted tonight. If I could get help from all of you to check it out and give me input, and vote when the time comes I would be ever so appreciative! Thank you all so much! ♥ Me