Thursday, July 31, 2008

Stages

I received a request a while ago from Shannon for pictures of my various fashion stages. Unfortunately, my pictures are stored in my mother's garage in California. I did come across some photos, though, and I'll share what I have. Prepare yourself for some teen angst.

Punk Stage



Poppy-Punk Stage


Brunette Tomboy Stage


70's Roller Girl Stage


All-Black, Anti-Fashion Stage


Vintage Goth Stage


Drew Barrymore Stage


?


I don't have pictures with me of my hippy stage, rave stage, preppy stage, skater stage, swing-dance stage (vintage 40's and 50's dresses) or my cindie Lauper/Madonna stage (neon, lace, crinolines, fishnets, etc.) I'll have to update this post when I get my pictures back.

Cool Site Alert

I don't know about you, but I love DIY anything. That's why I can spend hours on this website: http://www.instructables.com

You can learn how to do anything from sewing to making pancakes to making a nightlight. This site is perfect for post-wisdom teeth extraction laziness.

Excuse me while I learn how to make a ChapStick LED Flashlight.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Extraction

Two Words: Wisdom Teeth


My New Best Friend:



Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner:

[Homeade Potato Soup (Thanks Cindy!), processed in Blender.]

Yummy...?



Saturday, July 19, 2008

Cat Adopts Rabbit

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together..." Isaiah 11:6

Is it already happening???

Thanks, Cute Overload.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Words



I am falling more and more in love with Portland every day. Gone are the days of grey, rainy skies. The sun has been blessing us with blue skies a clear view of the lush, green landscape. Portland is a city that is full of life. I've often told Mark over the last month that if I could create a dream city from my mind's imaginings, Portland would be it:

Quirky architecture?

Check.

A thriving music and art scene?

Check.

Ample parks intermingled within the heart of the city?

Check.

An active bike scene?

Check.

Lively craft and farmer's markets, a protective and lively environmental community, a gourmet chocolate-only cafe, a late-night dimly-lit pretentious restaurant located under a bridge that serves everything from alligator to a flaming (yes, it comes with a torch made out of tinfoil) chocolate dessert, a zoo, a Japanese Garden, and organic food in virtually every restaurant?

CHECK!!!

I'm telling you, Mark is going to have to bludgeon me over the head and pull me out of here. I never want to leave.

Wednesday night we went to Tea Zone, which is a lovely cafe/venue, to see Karli Fairbanks perform. Sadly, I only caught the last song, and Mark missed the whole set as he was meeting me there and ended up getting off work late. The song was performed beautifully and I was surprised to learn that she was just as good live as on her recordings. Although it's hard to choose, I think "Down the Line" is my favorite of her songs. But the more I hear the others the more I fall in love.

The headlining act of the night was Amy Seeley. She was absolutely amazing. "Beloved" and "New York" brought me to tears. The first time that has ever happened at a show. Her stage presence was so vulnerable yet dignified.

Courageous.

Beautiful.


P.S. Thanks Kevin Wagoner for the lovely photo of the air tram.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Nothing Cuter Than A Baby Red Panda


In love.

My Oath, and Hair Fruit

Today I got up at a late hour that I will not disclose due to embarrassment. Mark and I watched "New World" last night, which we didn't start until midnight. As always, Mark fell asleep and I stayed up to see the ending. The movie, by the way, was slow and droned on and on. Everything about it was lackluster. And it's always fun to watch a 15 year old prance around in a piece of cloth and become the love interest to men in their thirties. Lovely.

So now, due to sleeping in, I have the guilties that I had spoken of before. I always get them when I'm not contributing anything to life. I missed so many opportunities to do so much this morning- I could have gone to the gym, made breakfast for me and my husband, made his lunch so we could save money and so he wouldn't support his fast-food habit (yuck!), read my scriptures, cleaned the house, finished laundry, etc. Yes, I know, I can still accomplish much of these things in the remaining hours of the day, but the point is that I could have fit in more. I often wonder how successful my life would be if I used every day to it's fullest. I know that I could accomplish more in one day, if I used every hour efficiently, than I do now in a week. That's really exciting to think about. I know that the successful people of the world have already realised that and applied the knowledge to their lives.

I've had the opportunity to work with a few very successful people in my life. I've acted as assistant to two of them, and I found that they both had so much in common in the way they structured their lives. Well, just the word "structure" says a lot already. But what I observed was that they both had a clear sense of their priorities and were willing to be disciplined to uphold the importance of them in their lives. They would often be challenged to place another priority above their goal, but they were always sacrificing to obtain the goal. They used tools like daily planning and time management to keep their priorities in order. It was the importance that they placed on the priority- the mental ability to keep it in focus- that allowed them to react in a way that supported their goals. You can't fool your mind- you have to really believe in something for your mind to order the action to obtain it.

So, what does that have to do with me waking up late? Well, I've noticed that I say I want alot of things, but I only act in a way to support some of what I say I want in life. Of course, I want to get adequate sleep. But what do I want more, to sleep in or to be a good help-meet to my husband by waking up and making breakfast? Or starting my day off right and going to the gym with him? Well, I say I'd rather have the latter two, but obviously I don't. Presently, I must admit to myself that my desire to sleep is more than these other desires. So I've decided that I have to make that mental switch to align my desires with what I say my goals are. So I'm doing that. Right now. This is such an big part of #6 of my list, and I'm excited to be making progress on it. So I want to publicly make an oath:

I, Angie Sorenson, will uphold by goal of waking up early with my husband by reinforcing the desire to do so. When faced with the seduction of the sandman (that adulterous swine!) I will choose the joy of spending time with my husband and accomplishing my goals. I will not give in to the pain of exhaustion, but will let my goals prevail.

And, hopefully, I will get more sleep.


Angela Sorenson



Well, now that
we have that out of the way, I want to comment on last night's breakdance lesson. It was so much fun. I was so scared that I would be the oldest one there, but when I showed up I found that the class consisted only of me and three other women, all in my age group! I was ecstatic. The teacher said that there is usually more people that come, including a 13 year old, but I don't care if the rest of the class consists of five year olds, all I needed was one person to relate to and I got three!

I have to say, though, that I'm pretty sore today. It's really a workout. We learned a lot for one day, which I think is great. I'm so excited for the next lesson. Oh, and the teacher told us about a club where the b-boys and girls go every Friday night, so me and the rest of the girls are planning to go. It should be fun.

Well I feel like I should get dressed now. I spend most of my time these days inside in sweats, or if I go out it's usually just to the pool. I'm feeling like such a scrub lately, but I figure that I don't really need to be fabulous when attending the local pool. I would feel embarrassed to be fabulous there. I'd feel like Goldie Hawn in "Overboard" before she looses her memory. I'll leave the hair fruit and gold medallion earrings to the movie stars and the elderly.

Ok, well I'm going to try to salvage my day and clean my house. More later...

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Striped Shorts are all the Rage

As you probably read below, I'm starting to work on #6 of my list. Anybody who knows me well knows that I've wanted to learn how to breakdance for years. I even ordered two instructional DVDs at one point, but I only watched them once and gave up because I didn't have a place to practice. I've been all talk for a long time, and I'm sick of it. So, I finally posted a request for breakdancing instructors on yelp.com, an online community review website. Within a few days, somebody referred me to Marco, who teaches at a community center here in Portland. Tomorrow night is my first class. I'm kinda stressin.

I've decided to post daily pictures of what I'm wearing like the fashion bloggers do. The only difference is that the girls who post their daily wear on their blogs are doing it to share their genius style with the rest of the web. I, on the other hand, am doing it to humiliate myself into better style. I've always loved those makeover shows ("What Not To Wear" is the best) and I guess I'm emulating the "before" pictures. So here is my first:Ok, so to my defense, let me explain that I was hanging out at the pool and I just wanted to throw something on over my bathing suit. But, I have to admit, I do look like a junior high kid. I doubt many 28 year olds have these pieces in their wardrobe. Especially 28 year olds that say they are inspired by classic style icons like Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O. No, probably not.

So, question. How does one morph into a stylish gal when one's closet is full of clearance items from Ross, Rave, Forever 21, and Zumies? I guess I have put fashion on the back burner because I thought that it was vain to care so much about what you look like. I used to spend money like crazy on clothes when I was in high school, but I gave that up when I moved out on my own and met Bill. Bill showed up in the form of rent, a cell phone, medical expenses, and car insurance. And, although I was never in love with Bill, I knew that he always had to come first.

Now I have a closet full of cheap clothes that make me look cheap. When I walk into a restaurant wearing this outfit, people do not think, "Wow, what a responsible girl. She has paid all her bills and has decided to shop at Ross." No, my friends. They think, "I don't think I can really take her seriously."

Let me say, though, that my style goal is not to look like I'm always ready for a job interview. I was the girl in high school who shopped the Delia's Catalogue and wore the rainbow knee socks. I still have that alternative spirit. I don't like ultra-conservative. I don't do L.L. Bean. I like fun, funky clothes that reflect my personality. But, I want it to be intentional and put together with class. Do you know what I mean? Do I need to post some examples? I'll work on that. Actually, that might be good research.

B-girl is a dance term, just in case you didn't know, Fool.


"Ummm... Hi. Is this Marco?"

"Yeah."

"Hi, this is Angie. I called you about the breakdance lessons and you called me back and now I'm calling you back. Hi."
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.


"Hi."

"Umm. Do you have a second to talk?"

"Uh, like a quick second, yeah. What's up?"

"Well, I just have a few questions."
Swallow.

"Well, first of all, how much is your lessons?"
"Is" your lessons? "Are
" you lessons! Gosh. Talk straight, Angie. Oh, wait, maybe it's cool to talk like that. Eb0nics, right? Maybe I could work in a "babymomma" somewhere.

"$35 for a 10 week course. If you just wanna drop in, $5 is cool."

"Wow, really affordable! That's so great."

"Yeah, I keep it affordable."

"Ok, and another question I have is if it's a beginning class. I mean, are there any beginning breakdancers in your class or are they all experienced?"

"Oh, definitely. Most of them are beginners. You won't find us spinning on our heads yet."

??????????????
"Oh, good. And what about age? Are most of the students teenagers?"

"Well, we have a 13 year old in the class. But we also have older dancers too."

"Oh. I'm 28. Is that ok?"
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

"Yeah. I just turned 29."

Yeah. But you're the teacher.
"Oh. Good. Well, then I guess I'll see you tomorrow night. Thanks."

"Cool. And don't worry about it. I'm not trying to train professional b-boys and b-girls here. Nobodies walking in here all decked out and actin' cool."

"Oh, good, because I won't be doing that either. I'm just a Mormon housewife and I just really want to learn how to dance."
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

"....Uh, cool. Well, see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah. See you then. Bye!"
I want to die.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Embarking... THE LIST

First off, I just want to present my current musical crush: Lykke Li. I discovered the Swedish songstress on a lovely blog called FinnFlair. Take a few minutes to slurp in the videos below.

Now I'll get right to it. I haven't written in a few days because I've started to wonder if I've taken on a project larger than I had originally realized. I've been brainstorming the last day or so about the exact direction this blog should go in, and I've become a bit overwhelmed. To be honest, I am a bit of a perfectionist and I usually abandon projects if I find I can't execute them to my standards. Knowing this about myself, I want to make sure I don't do that same thing in regards to this blog. So I've decided to make a list.

A list of what, you ask?

A list of style goals. And, again, I do not mean to cheapen the word "style" by reducing it to wearables. Style is, to me, everything that embodies a person's life. It's their life-footprint. Their expression of self. Style extends beyond the closet, into the kitchen, living room and garage. Style is the food a person eats and how they prepare it. It's a choice of friends and conversation. It's a book, a plant, a couch, a utensil. It's a choice of belief and desire.

When you view style the way I do, as infinite variables, you might be able to relate to my feeling of panic. Where do I start? Well, I don't know for sure, but I thought that making a list of what I'd like to do/improve in my life was a good start. So here it is:

  1. Determine once and for all what my clothing style is. This process includes a more concerted effort to evaluate all possible genres of style, while being aware of how practically each genre fits into my lifestyle. Further, I need to make some clear-cut boundaries in regards to what I deem appropriate for my age and stage in life.
  2. Become more eco-friendly.
  3. Learn and practice healthy and delicious eating habits.
  4. Improve my vocabulary.
  5. Improve my public speaking/social networking skills.
  6. Integrate music and art into my everyday life. This includes finally following my heart and beginning to create again, as well as learning more about and participating in music and art scenes.
  7. Decorate my home. And I don't mean with framed prints and couch-covers. I feel I'm ready to commit to a few luxury items, at least, if they are in the form of design staples. An original peice of art or a couch in a bold color is worth the splurge.
  8. Create and follow a routine. I am blessed to be a lady of leisure, but my lack of structure sometimes leaves me bored and unfulfilled, with a bad case of the guilties.
  9. Make a fitness goal and stick to it.
  10. Strive to be a great wife to my husband.
So there it is. I know that there's more where that came from, but this is a suitable start.

Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Little Bit

Addicting.