The Dress

 The Dress

                                            

A wedding dress is an intimate, personal thing for many women and moves through several stages, from conception of the design of the dress, to the manufacture, wearing it and placing it on the hangar after the glorious day. Imagining the hands that have touched it, the eyes that have seen it, and how it has moved through the day of the wedding can be a multi level experience. 

    I am writing this because I recently submerged my daughter’s wedding dress into a bathtub of warm, soapy water after she had worn it just three weeks before. The thought of putting water on this gorgeous gown, so beautifully worn, with its six layers of satin, lace, netting, and sparkling hand sewn sequins and beads was terrifying. What if it discolors? What if it shrinks? What if the stains from wine, and being dragged along the grassy wedding site and boisterous dance floor don't come out?

    To think about the progression of its inanimate “life” we must start at the beginning. As a seamstress myself, I would start at the design, the pattern, and the selection of materials to make the wedding dress.  Many patterns begin with a similar bodice, sleeve (or no sleeve) and skirt. The options are endless - fitted or full bodice, full or slim skirt, petticoat or none. Then the fabric, the adornments, length, and it goes on. What I'm trying to say is that it is a creation that unless bought off the rack, is typically made to order for a bride.

    If you have ever been to a bridal store, you’ve seen dozens of wedding dresses sitting prettily in the window and on glamorous manikins. And then, racks and racks of dresses are available to try on. The sales associate zips in the bride-to-be, and clips it in place for the thin, medium, or large sized woman. When satisfied with the look, the dress is ordered and the bride waits 3-9 months for her dress. Once the dress comes in, it must be tried on at the store again and fitted and altered (for the price of another dress, in many cases).

    The time and effort that goes into selecting a dress is a huge ordeal, and thus, the fear of mine to immerse the lovely creation into water.  There is a good ending to this story, washing the wedding dress was a success! 

    Here's how I washed my daughter's wedding dress:

• Clean the wedding dress within a few weeks after the event, as soon as possible.
• Remove grass, burrs, confetti, and any other items that may have become stuck to the netting.
• Use a delicate fabric detergent
• Pre-treat wine and other stains with detergent and let sit 5-10 minutes beforehand.
• Lay several towels along the bathroom counter, if long enough, and if not, a long table or a hard floor. 
• Fill up the bathtub with water at the temperature you would bathe a baby - When you insert your elbow, it is not warm.
• Gently lay the dress in the water and flatten it under water, then "massage" it a little.
• Take a clean toothbrush, and putting a little detergent on the toothbrush, scrub the stained areas.
• Then, let it sit 20 minutes or so. 
• "Massage" it again, concentrating on the stained areas, and let it sit another 5-10 minutes.
• Drain the bathtub, and when almost drained, take a cup or a bowl and pour water on it, starting at the top, and moving towards the bottom, for a quick rinse. 
• Add water the bathtub again, massage it, and let it sit another 5 minutes.
• Drain and rinse in the same manner as above. 
• Pull the dress out of the water and squeeze it and shake it a little, then transfer it to the bathroom counter.
• Place towels on top of the dress to dry it from the top, then throw in the dryer to use later.
• After several hours, lift the dress and place new towels on the counter, and turn over the dress to dry on the other side.
• When almost dry, hang up your clean wedding dress, and when completely dry, put it in a dress bag, hoping it will be worn by another bride, or passed down a generation. 

    Best wishes on your dress adventure!

Wine, dirt and grass stains at the bottom of the dress.

The wedding dress, not yet fully submerged.

The wedding dress on the bathroom counter, drying.

The lovely, clean wedding dress!

TIME 2023

My word for 2023 is TIME. 

The evening sky behind the timekeeper 

at the top of City Hall in Sugar Land, Texas

One of my favorite pastors would address his annual word of the year after much prayer and thought went into it. I had done this several times, and it was refreshing to hear that someone else did it with intention, asking God for the guidance. 

My words typically have a deeper meaning than the word itself, and are acronyms as well. While TIME is a thought-provoking word that has multiple meanings, I like it to represent something more. And, I like acronyms.

My word has many interpretations, positive and negative. 

TIME travel is adventurous, futuristic, and can be retrospective. 
TIMEly and on TIME mean about the same thing, and are positive words to me.
TIME for ... bed, snack, play ... multitudes of activities implies instruction. 
The TIMEs is well known for news-breaking news.
The end TIMEs is pondered by many.
The TIME of your life could be a wedding, a vacation, or an adventure.
Can you think of other ways to use TIME in an expression?
In the meanTIME, I'll continue with my acronym.

An almost heavenly clock at the Basilica 

of St. Mary of Mount Berico in Vicenza, Italy.

The T stands for Tethering ... to God and those I love. Keeping involved in God's Word, and its love, its wisdom, and power gives me the strength to share that love, wisdom, and power with those I love, and those I don't want to, but love through Him.

I stands for Intimate … time with Jesus … and those who ask. Spending daily time in His Word is what God wants. And He also wants me to spend intimate time listening to others who want to either share or ask advice. Sometimes it's not convenient, but giving that personal time is all about Jesus' love.

M stands for Mighty ... recognition of the mighty power of God and what he can do (rescue me from a brain tumor - twice) and the value of the time I have been given. I am obviously here for a reason, so I will embrace it and recognize its power.

E stands for Essential … praying for the ability to see what is essential in my life and what is not. Specifically, priorities in family, work, and lifestyle.

TIME puts things into perspective. I can be thankful for it. I can respect it, and I can continue to pursue the time that I have wisely and correctly, described above. 

The First Blogger Payment!

Payment Means More than the Money

Having established my blogger post early in the century (that makes me sound old), I was not in it to make money, but to share my views and interpretations of the world. Fast forward to 2021, in which a person can talk about whatever he or she wants, and get paid for it! 

After years of posting a little here, and a little there, imagine my surprise when I received a notice that I had received payment for my blog, via Stripe! I have been a writer all my life, sometimes being paid for it, and sometimes just for fun.

I've written stories on the back of business notepads, told tales to my daughters at bedtime, have written a non-published children's story, and have two or three novel ideas floating around in my head. I have a bachelor of journalism from the University of Texas. I've written thousands of blogposts on everything from wicker furniture to dental implants to CARF accreditation, hundreds of news releases for churches, the medical industry and businesses all over the world. Recently, my byline can be found at highlandlakesofburnetcounty.com, with articles about lodging and city highlights in Burnet County, Texas. And I also started another blog, on Medium, with only one post (https://alecia-ormsby.medium.com/the-blessings-of-a-fire-e261708f4454), with more to come. 

My life has become complicated lately, or rather, more complicated, so I haven't had much time to spend on writing, but I found an hour today and decided to share. It's not the money that made me happy, but the fact that enough people looked at what I wanted to tell whomever is interested that I received a whopping payment of $0.04 directly to my bank account!

A New Journey

Here are my goals:

• To prevent the quarantine of healthy people through healthier living.
• Reduce the obesity rate in America.
• To stop the huge pharmaceutical industry on young people with mental issues.
• Spread the word of NAMI and support them financially.
• Make counseling easier/less expensive for individuals through private funding.
• To be a top Christian leader.
• Share Testimonials that work.
• To change the world to better living through non-pharmaceuticals for the brain and natural supplements for the body.

How do I plan to do this? Through the promotion of the products of a 10 year old company called Plexus. With prebiotics and probiotics strains that can actually reduce feelings of stress and tension, healthy antioxidants formulated for better absorption in the body, and a natural, non-harmful pain reliever that has made a world of positive difference in my 3X, recently replaced knee and other failing knee. 

Other amazing products exist, but these are the three that mean the most to me. Only a month on Plexus, I already have much more energy, better mood, and feeling cleaner. 

You can find out more at my Facebook "Party Page:" https://www.facebook.com/groups/875509556309086

Feel free to message, email or comment below. I want everyone to know about the life-saving (via immunity), mood-boosting personal improvement, with the potential to earn income and make a difference with that income. 

Plexus Products that I highly endorse:

X-Factor Plus - Your multivitamin should help you stay healthier and feel better. XFactor Plus does just that—with premium, bioavailable forms of key nutrients, a high-potency B vitamin complex, naturally occurring trace minerals, Aloe Vera, and our proprietary Microbiome Activating Complex. It’s the multivitamin—redefined.
Vitalbiome - VitalBiome is a revolutionary probiotic with clinically-demonstrated ingredients that help improve your health and your mood! Its exceptional formula delivers diverse probiotic strains that reduce feelings of stress and tension, reduce occasional GI discomfort, and rebalance your gut microflora, dramatically improving your health and happiness.
Ease - Plexus Ease capsules are designed to soothe away the occasional discomforts that result from your active lifestyle. With the specially formulated ingredients in Ease, you will notice your discomforts easing away.

What a headache!

When someone asked me today what my headache felt like, after I mentioned that I had a very infrequent headache, I said, "it's at the top of my head." Later, as I drove home after a long day, I came up with the following description. Can anyone relate?

The top of my skull is cut off, revealing the crown of my brain, with all the nerves exposed.

A hot iron is laid upon my head, for up to 15 minutes or so.

It begins to cool down, only now, the iron is pressing into the brain tissue, so much that I feel the pressure at the bottom of my eye sockets. My eyes begin to water.

Occasionally, a sharp kabob wire pokes into my right or left temple, usually the right, and it's difficult to not cry out.

The open brain is gradually released from the pressure, but then the "fluffy" period begins. It feels like the top of my head has become pillow fill, with a vise on the two temples, slowly increasing in pressure. That's where I am right now, and it's a place where I can function, but it's so uncomfortable!!

My ears are ringing, a consistent weeeeeeeeee, that is only interrupted when I am considering other things besides my miserable headache. Distraction is welcomed and necessary!

Post-Production Midnight

You might be surprised at how many tricks are employed by movie producers to make a scene more beautiful, attractive, or bright. While doing some freelance public relations work in Dallas, I was called upon by a film post-production company to do some promotion. To do so, I needed a little education in the way that they did things. Post-production is the work that takes place AFTER the filming has taken place.

A trick of many scenes that are seemingly shot at night are actually filmed in broad daylight. A simple screen applied in post-production can make it appear to be recorded in the blackest of nights or the brightness of a full moon.

The other night, I tossed and turned on my bed, trying to fall asleep. I decided to get up and go to the kitchen to pour myself some water. As I stepped out of bed, I could see a bright square of light on my bathroom floor from the skylight above. I went and stood under it and peered at the moon. I wanted to be directly in that moonlight, not through the lens of the overhead window.

It was cool for an October night in central Texas, so I grabbed my robe and slippers and padded to the front door. As soon as I stepped outside, I could see the light was almost ethereal in it's blueness. It appeared as if it was the sun above, with a bluish post-production lens on it. This was real though, and I was appreciative of the cool light. I called in post-production midnight.

Chasing the Sun

Our home sits high in Briarcliff, looking north/northwest over the beautiful hill country. I can't seem to see enough of the incredible sunsets that God provides, night after night. The vibrant colors, the cloud shapes and the feeling of peace that I receive is very rewarding.

Tonight, as I was traveling west out of Bee Cave, I saw the brilliant fuchsia sun, low on the horizon, soon to disappear ahead of me, while an intense cloud formation was to the east, with clear sky in between. The pink upper landscape predicted a gorgeous sight. I felt compelled to drive as fast as I could to catch a glimpse of the sun on the edge of the earth as it turned and covered it up.

Of course our globe was moving too quickly to see that, and although after the halfway mark home on Highway 71 the terrain drops ahead of me to view the beauty of the Bee Creek valley, I was pursuing the sun anyway. Even driving 100 mph would not have covered the territory in time.

My small disappointment at missing the sun on the western sky was replaced by an incredible gratitude when I turned north onto Pace Bend Road. On my right, to the east, was a magnificent pink cloud formation. I followed it with my eyes as much as I could, but did not have much of a place to pull over to snap a photo. By the time I pulled into the neighborhood and took the photo below, just the tip top of the cloud was still clothed in pink. What a wonderful gift it was, to see a reverse sunset.

The lead pastor of our church, Ross Parsley, recently pointed out something about the hermeneutics of The Lord's Prayer, where it states in the first line, "Our Father, who art in heaven ..." Early writers had fewer words to describe God, heaven, and the world in general. The word "heaven" at the time of the writing of the prayer that Jesus gave his disciples when they asked him how to pray, had a different reference than what many people today think of heaven. What heaven meant in the first century was everywhere! God, our creator is described as being in the air we breathe, all the living things we see and touch, and the beautiful sunsets that we enjoy. Many think of heaven as being far away, in the top of our atmosphere, and beyond. This new revelation for me gives me a new appreciation for the air I breathe, the life I see, and the gorgeous sunset that I pursued tonight.