Saturday, January 28, 2012

craft it (in no particular direction)

first things first --- a huge thank you to jen boro of bring out the chef in you for my awesome bath fizz and soap! i'm darn near inspired to take a shower even though it's the weekend. (don't judge.) sadly, the cute heart shaped fizz didn't quite make it through the usps unscathed, but i am quite certain that it will spice up my next bath time just the same!!

second things second --- let's change this up. i want stuff and i want to give stuff. it's a stuffy-stuff world and i'm a stuffy-stuff girl. how about this?

  • the first 5 people to comment on this blog will receive a handmade something from me.
  • once received, you will be responsible for posting a pic of your new stuffy-stuff along with a link to my blog. 
  • then, if the spirit moves you, you may send something handmade* back to me which i will post and link (if you're a blogger to your blog, or to facebook, or to nowhere if that suites your fancy). 
  • or, if the spirit doesn't move you, just enjoy your new stuffy-stuff and be happy knowing that i loved making it for you.
  • and then we are done. 
any takers?

*the handmade stuffy-stuff doesn't need to be anything fancy or big or of professional quality. just made by you with or without love (preferably with).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

in other news, david is 9 months old today! and damn cute! to prove it, here are a few pics from playtime this morning....

mom said orange pants are totally hip.

getting to know you, getting to know all about you.


who's that baby?

hey - that's me!


i'm getting sleepy


psych!

too many? sorry. just wanted to make certain you got your fill. and as a reward, enjoy our favorite hip-hop sesame street video.



Monday, January 23, 2012

wherever i go, there i am

you know how people get married thinking their partner will change? and they are always wrong? 

i thought once david started crawling (or scooting, as is the case) we would make an effort to keep the floors cleaner. turns out, that is an untruth.

sorry, buddy...

david demonstrating his mobility

Monday, January 16, 2012

the truth



the other day my mom told me a story.... once upon a time she was a young, single mother of four who had recently woken up to a robber in her bedroom. a few days later she found herself at the dentist explaining to the hygienist, "i can't floss - my house was robbed." she laughed at herself as she told the story. i can just imagine the thoughts going through the hygeinist's mind. after all, crazy lady, what does getting robbed have to do with flossing your teeth? brow furrowed quizzically, what exactly did they steal?

but i so get it. 

my life is wonderful. i am filled with gratitude and awe on a regular basis. but i get it. 

my anxiety has been through the roof lately and it seems to be getting worse. i recently found myself crying at my computer thinking about the flights i will soon be taking to d.c. i usually don't freak out about flying until i am on the plane and it's too late. this premature meltdown isn't a good sign. we went to a cabin with some friends for the weekend and i vowed, seriously, that i will never take another unmedicated trip that requires ANY mountainous driving (or passengering, as it were and always is). i know i have every reason to be a bit more stressed out these days. i am facing 4 months of single mothering followed by a move 600 miles from home. these are stressful things, but debilitating? no. they shouldn't be debilitating.

but here's the thing -- i don't want to do any work to get better. i feel like i already do enough. i see a therapist. i work out. i eat reasonably well. i have good relationships. my mental health should be fine. i don't want to do anything more. 

what do i want? i want drugs. i want something magical to fix me. i want to be a normal person and let things go. my aforementioned therapist likes to offer suggestions - have you considered meditation? do you want to try tapping therapy? you can do yoga on the plane. take a deep breath - how does that make your body feel? there's a website you can go to to learn about blah blah blah. but i just don't want to. i'm not saying i won't, but damn if it doesn't feel good to just admit that right now, i'm just not willing.

so i get it. your house was robbed - you can't floss your teeth.

but my mom still brushed her teeth. i bet she brushed twice everyday. she didn't give up completely and neither will i.

as my husband says, the good thing about parenting is that you only have to do it one day at a time. when i look at the whole picture, it's just too much. but when i look at today, well, i can do today. i can even like most of today. so as unwilling as i am to do any "work" on myself, i am totally willing to do all the things that today requires and i am even willing to enjoy a good portion of them. 

but i'm not going to floss.

and speaking of teeth, this little guy has FOUR!!!


Monday, January 2, 2012

a quickie...

ok. ok. so i know we're barely beyond new year's day, but if there was one thing i learned from christmas it's that you really can't start hand-making too early. for this project i was inspired by the "festive felt wreath" of value village as well as the felt garland project in the book, "handmade home" by amanda soule.

valentine's day wreath
valentine's day wreath:

  • 1.5 felted 100% wool sweaters cut into 2x2"(ish) squares (these sweaters were purchased from the project safe thrift store for about $1 each during a bag sale)
  • embroidery floss (or whatever you have that's thin enough to be threaded on a kneedle and thick enough not to break. i doubled the floss and it worked very well. fishing line and jewelry wire are some other possibilities)
  • needle (whatever size needed, just make sure it will pierce the felt)
  • braided yarn tied in a bow (or a bow left over from christmas or some other adornment. i thought knitted cherries would be cute, but wasn't motivated enough to make that happen)

after felting and cutting the sweaters, thread them on embroidery floss (doubled up for strength). tie both ends of the floss together very tightly to form the wreath leaving enough floss to make a loop at the top for hanging. secure yarn bow with floss. enjoy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i don't celebrate valentine's day as a romantic holiday (too much pressure for my tastes), but i like the pink and hearts, especially the cinnamon hearts!