7 quick takes, vol 23: impending doom

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Ok, so impending doom is a little over-dramatic. But Comprehensive exams start Monday and go until Wednesday. I hate taking tests, and tests that cover four years of accumulated knowledge are even worse.

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Also, I'm sick. Yesterday I threw up at work, and today I am staying home from work and resting. I don't plan to change out of my pajamas or get out of bed more than necessary. I don't feel super bad, but I need to get better quickly. (See comps, above.)

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To go along with comps, it looks like there is another storm coming. At last check of the Capital Weather Gang, it's still not clear whether we will have rain, sleet, or snow. Of course, I'm worried that it will be snow and that school will shut and comprehensive exams will be delayed.

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Also, for the less liturgically aware, or who just haven't put two and two together, the last day of tests is on Ash Wednesday. ASH WEDNESDAY! I hate fast and abstinence days enough as it is, and now I have to deal with a test as well?

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Ok, so things look very bad. Comps, in the snow, while starving and throwing up. Luckily, I have some good things to look forward to after comps are over. Besides the obvious, I mean, namely that comps will be over.

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I have almost no class next week, because on any day that there is comps, you are excused from all philosophy classes. Also senior seminar is canceled that week. So I have one seminar Monday night, and one humanities class Thursday morning. I intend to spend Thursday afternoon tidying my room and preparing it for Teresa to come home for Spring break.

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Then, spring break! I will be visiting Kevin's family and helping his mother sew costumes for his little sister's cheerleading team. I am really looking forward to it. So not everything's bad...but I do have to get through comps.

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What I wore Sunday!

I have never participated in What I Wore Sunday before, but today I am going to, because I got a new dress. Until last week, I basically had one church dress. The problem is that I have tough standards, a tight budget, and a strangely-shaped body. For church, I like my dresses to cover my shoulders and come down to my knees. But my hips are two sizes bigger than my shoulders!

Enter eShakti. My mother emailed me a link to them. You can buy a dress there and customize the sleeve length, the neckline, and the skirt length. You can also input your custom measurements and they will make the dress to your measurements.  I picked one of their cheaper dresses to try it out. I'm sold.

First of all, the dress is cute, and the fit is good. It's not perfect, of course, but I know from eighteen years of sewing that a really perfect fit is impossible without an in-person fitting. The dress fits well enough that I don't have to wear a jacket over it to disguise the fit, and given that the material is a sturdy cotton non-stretchy weave, that is pretty impressive! I am usually left wearing stretchy dresses in a attempt to mask fit problems.

 Moreover, the finishing details are very nice. French seams on the pocket! (Every eShakti dress has pockets.)

 A custom tag.

 There are even bra strap keepers.

Inside the bodice, all the seams are neatly finished. Is this high couture? No, definitely not. But it looks solid and dependable and there are some very nice touches. I tend to shop at places like Kohl's and Target, and eShakti is definitely a step up the food chain without a huge jump in price (wait for a sale!).

I really recommend eShakti to people who are oddly shaped or who want dresses that are a little more modest. I don't want to spam people, especially not in a post about encouraging each other in church clothes, but I am an affiliate. So if you click through using the link in my sidebar, I get a percentage of each order.

Since I am usually cold, I also left my pink coat on all through Mass. My chapel veil didn't make it into the picture either, but it's your standard black triangle.

7 QT, Volume 19

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Productivity is still pretty high. The packing has slowed down a little, but the elfing has ramped up. Once I am done my elfing, I will pack away all my sewing supplies.

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Elfing may be a word that only exists within the confines of my family. It means to make, buy, or wrap Christmas presents. Did we make it up, or is it a real word?

--- 3 ---

I just googled. Apparently, it is a word, but not always a nice word. Urban dictionary seems to think it means doing various unpleasant things to people while they are passed out drunk. Google at your own risk; some of them are definitely not G-rated.

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I think I like our meaning better.

--- 5 ---

Anyway, I had two Christmas presents left, but I have also been co-opted to help with a third one that has to be hidden from a certain young person, so I will be working on that while she is out learning about whatever she learns about from our homeschool co-op.

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I just reserved two tickets for a ballroom dance to go to with Kevin. Now I have to find my formal dress. I know I have it somewhere, but it got lost while I was in Germany.

--- 7 ---

Lastly, and slightly randomly, who has good ideas of what to do with old earrings? I could donate them to a thrift store or give them away, but I'm wondering if anyone has any more creative or interesting ideas. They're all for pierced ears, and my holes grew back together last semester.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!