Happy Halloween!

I dressed up! But I actually kind of cheated because I had just purchased this dress and ran out of time for a costume so I decided why not fat Joan Holloway? I did up with with time appropriate make up and even taught myself to bouffant with the best of them. As a non hairspray user, this is impressive.

I set up a desk, lamp, office chair, and candy little scene for myself to hint at what I might be. I even brought the sound track to Mad Men to help out. This didn't really make much of a difference in the end.

Anyhow, I look fabulous, but there are no trick-or-treaters in this neighborhood which sucks. Since this outfit deserves better than an hour out in the cold wave at rush hour traffic, I'm taking my mom out to the movies. Maybe the dollar theater will appreciate this fabulosity.

Stay safe and Happy Halloween!
Love, Lara

SIgh. A Plea for Funds.

I know no one really reads this yet...

But if you happen to stumble upon this page, please take a second to look at this.

Crowdfunding

If you could donate or pass the word on to your friends and followers, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

Love,
Lara

On the Road Again

The Life I  Love is Making Music with My Friends

As I have mentioned before, I am in the process of moving to St. Louis and in with some of the bestest friends ever. This weekend I came down from my exile in South Bend to visit them and go to Kansas City (see upcoming post for all the fun deets on that) with Ann. 

Anny has two thumbs.

Matt wishes he had more.

Ann and I had long ago decided that there is too much talent between us that we are robbing the world if we don't band together and form, well, a band. So a band was born and it's name is Port Manteau. One of the nights I was there we recorded an extremely rough version of a song Ann wrote currently dubbed "Guilt Song." If you like, you can check it out here. Helpful comments welcome bearing in mind this is a first pass.



I also picked up a penny whistle because who doesn't need one of those.

Talking About Fat

Can we talk about Gaga for a second?

According to the internet, something incredibly important has happened. Lady Gaga gained 25 lbs after eating a whole lot of Italian food. Earth shattering, right? I know. I stumbled across this revelation on The Daily Mail, you can see the original article here. Now I know that so little goes on in the world that digging for stories like a couple extra pounds is nothing but I'm not even here to talk about that. 

Ermergerd!!!

After reading the article and wondering why I had, I came across the comments section. I made the ghastly mistake of not instantly closing the page and burning my eyes right out of my skill and actually stuck around to read some of them. I'm not even going to talk about the bad, fat shaming, what a cow, how can I jerk off to this, did she eat Madonna comments. They happen. I'm over it. Whatever. What I do want to address is the "supporting" or "fat friendly" or "helpful" comments. I have had just about enough of people making excuses about fat be it mine or anyone else's. Who's business is that I am fat or how I managed to get that way? Sure, Mr. Fat Shaming Guy, maybe I did eat one too many donuts and should know better now that you've enlightened me. It's possible, Ms. Voice of Reason, that I have a thyroid condition or that the weight gain is due to a Lupus diagnosis. But you know what, it doesn't matter. Fat is fat. 

How dare she look this fat. J'accuse!

I don't want people to try and excuse away my fat. I don't need people to make it more palatable by making it seem like I have a good reason to be that way. Maybe I'm this way because I like it. Maybe I'm this way because I'm too lazy to be any other way. Maybe you should just leave it the hell alone. Writing fat off with an excuse like a mental disorder or physical problem belittles the fat person. It assumes that something HAS to be wrong with you if you're fat. It's like making a point to compliment a fat friend on some existent or not weight loss. Oh, you look great. Did you lose weight? Not only are you implying that there was something wrong with the way they looked before, but you also assume that they want to hear they lost weight. Not every fat person is begging to be thinner. 

I am currently losing weight for a reason that I don't care for. I'm on a restrictive low fat, non-dairy diet because of gallbladder issues. I have an extremely painful attack that can last for hours and requires drugs they give to cancer patients about once a week. But, oh yes, I am pleased as punch that I've dropped five pounds already. Joyful. 

Who knows? Maybe I do have a weird thyroid issue that keeps me at a usually steady 235 lbs even though I used to eat a pretty normal diet. I don't know. It isn't affecting my health in any other relevant way as far as I can tell. I'm happy with my fat. Stop trying to take that away from me. 

Convertible DIY Headboards

So as I have mentioned before, I am currently staying a house owned by my parents in South Bend, IN while the ultimate destination home in St. Louis is being built. So that I don't feel useless and so I don't go stir crazy while I'm there I have been making little projects for myself to help my parents get the house ready for renting during next years football season. The goal here is to have it look like something that you would spend $800 for a weekend in shared between 5-10 people. In my opinion that's a pretty reasonable price. 

That said, one of the first projects I knew need need needed to happen was some headboards for each of the main bedrooms. They each have a "king" sized bed in them. When I say "king" though, I mean that it is two twin beds strapped together with something called a bed band and a bit of soft sheep thing in the middle to bridge the gap. This may seem janky to you, but there is a method to our madness. Not only is it way cheaper to get 4 twin beds, but also if you have say a group of bros that want to rent the house but think it's way skeezy to sleep together, then, voila!, four twin beds. 

My challenge: Create 2 Beautiful King Sized Headboards that could convert easily into 4 Beautiful Twin Sized Headboards.

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I did a lot of DIY research on the headboard front. At first I thought it would be neat to make something out of upcycled dresser drawers for additional storage. But realistically, how much do you bring to a hotel that needs to be stored directly behind you. Also, interesting dresser drawers are hard to find on short notice at thrift stores. I ultimately decided on padded slat style headboards. 

Now I'm not the most experienced when it comes to building something out of nothing, so believe me when I say I was just making it up as I went along. 

My Soul's Melody

I have had favorite bands and favorite songs before. I grew up adoring the Beatles and I still do. I love musicals and Ke$ha. I love LMFAO and Frank Sinatra and Cake. I have an unending love of all things music, but I don't think I really understood what it meant to really connect with a band before the movie adaptation of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World came out and I was introduced to Metric. I heard the wail and reverberating thump of "Black Sheep" and I was sold. There was something haunting in that song that I couldn't put my finger on, but it spoke to me on a level that I had never felt before. I wanted more. I even PAID for all of their available albums, the utmost in respect from me. 

That year I went on a road trip mostly by myself 5,000 miles around the USA and listened almost exclusively to Metric. It never got old. I learned the words. I wailed right along. New bands and songs and sounds came and I listened and enjoyed them, but Metric was always right there for me to go back to. Metric had a song in a Twilight movie. I made peace with it and moved on. Finally their latest album, Synthetica, came out and they announced they were going on tour. 

I don't normally like going to see live shows. Most of the bands take forever to get on stage. There are uninteresting opening acts. There isn't any seating. I don't really like large crowds. I've had terrible experiences with dehydration and sun stroke at past events. That aside it took me about .002 seconds to buy my tickets to the Metric show at The Pageant in St. Louis. At the time I bought the ticket I thought I would be living there by then and it would be a nice way to break the city in. I turned out to be overly optimistic but that doesn't matter.

Tonight, I saw what I am proud to say is my all-time favorite band in concert and it was AMAZING. Not only did I finally get to wear my new outfit put together specifically for this ocassion, but I got to go with two of my besties who I will soon be living with in St. Louis.

Anny and I showing off tonight's ensemble.

Working it for the camera!

Matt and Anny and I finally at the show. Super excited and making funny faces?

The crowd wound up being more of a jeans crowd, but I did not care one hoot. 

Like I said before I don't think I really understood what it felt like to really have a favorite band before. But let me share with you one of their songs. I know it's one of their more popular ones, but the lyrics to me are really outstanding and have a great message. 

That song, other than being totally rocking, reminds us that while we're still sucking down breath our lives are ours to live and no one else's, so do what you damn well please. Isn't that the best?  All in all, I really enjoyed the show. The music was loud and the lights were bright and Emily was a little more of a hippy than I expected but I did not care in the least. If she's liking the good vibes she gets from St. Louis then yay! Come back again soon! 

So this leaves me with a question. What is your favorite band/song and why? Have you had the chance to see them live and did they live up to your expectations?

Have a great Tuesday!

Lara