Tuesday, January 30, 2007

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time! That has been my mantra for the month of January. We've been trying to put our house together after the new carpet installation, taking the time to sort, to purge, to organize, to rearrange. It takes time and it's easy to lose motivation. Yet, little by little, improvement is seen. I am getting ready to contact an uphosterer for two chairs and my sofa.

The same goes for some other projects this month. I have binders of home ideas, quilt ideas, craft ideas, and fitness routines. Along with these binders are stacks of pages ripped from magazines, a pack or two of page protectors, and more magazines. One page at a time. I'll probably have to go buy more binders for the fitness pages.

And so it goes for the quilt I've been working on. Every evening, I sit in the corner of the tv room, illuminated by my free, floor ott light (freecycle people!) and watch either bad movies or bad tv. Seems to be a theme. And I quilt till my fingers are raw. Audrey asked how long I had been working on this quilt. I guess it has just been a part of me every winter. It's been a 10 year project. In looking around my sewing/craft area, thinking, pulling out projects, I've determined I'm a process person. The finished product is not really my goal. I like the planning, the playing, the ideas, etc. Although, when something is finished, it is wonderful. I expect something wonderful to happen this weekend.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Car Talk

For many years, I don't even know how many, My Handsome Prince and I have gotten up just before 8 on Saturday morning, made coffee and sat down to listen to Car Talk. It is our ritual, our connecting time, our relaxation. We don't always listen, sometimes we talk, we browse through magazines, we plan, but we always sit together on the sofa with Car Talk on the radio. It is very important time together. We usually catch something that makes us laugh, try our mind at the puzzler, plan our calls to Click and Clack about our various vehicles and their issues (we have 5 for 3 drivers). Once 9Am hits, we continue with our day in a more productive manner. We have chastized family members for calling during our together time, and after years of doing so, they have finally caught on, more or less. But now, WAMU, has messed up everything! Car Talk is now not on until 10AM! Today, I listened by myself while sorting through papers. It's just not the same. Honey, what are we going to do?

Monday, January 22, 2007

Free day


We finally got a light dusting of snow. With that came the 2 hour delay for the school, YMCA morning classes cancelled, and sleeping in. I have been working on my pinwheel quilt and have two borders completely quilted and hope to finish the other two this week. My fingers are pricked and sore but I am determined. I have joined Holiday Headstart so am thinking of my first Christmas project. I felted a bar of soap the other night. It was quick, fun, and easy. Hmmm, stocking stuffers and little gifts to have on hand. I like that!

It's a good day, today. One that was needed. Emma made a public announcement via email about her changes. She was worried about being judged, constantly being asked questions, and just not feeling up to a public appearance. Everyone knew she had left the week before. The email made it a bit easier. She received such generous and enormous support from people at church. Family members and friends have written her back. She is admired for making such an adult decision in the way she did. Confronting it head on. She has been asked to help with Youth Choir and has the narrator part in our production of "Joseph and the Techinicolor Dreamcoat". The sisters are bonding, sleeping together, playing, watching movies but will fall back in to some individual activities. Emma will start school again next Monday. In the meantime, she makes her place in our home again. I like my family together. I know it's not forever but it's a bit longer.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Now Playing


Scissor Sisters, Donovan Frankenreiter, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Lucinda Williams, Jamie Cullum, Eastmountainsouth, Beatles, Ben Harper, Amy Rigby, Dave Matthews, Delbert McClinton, John Prine, Tom Waits, John Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, John Hiatt, Johnny Cash, Mindy Smith, and more to come. Lost in the music. My new project will be to make a playlist of songs that speak of the spirit, that speak to me, reaffirms, brings peace, joy, and faith. If you have a favorite, leave it in the comments. Later, I'll post a complete playlist. Here are some examples so far:

Wood Brothers: One More Day
Susan Tedeschi/Bob Dylan: Lord Protect My Child
Macy Gray: A Moment to Myself
Nathasha Bedingfield: Unwritten
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Water
Mindy Smith - Angle Doves and Come to Jesus
Amy Rigby - Don't Ever Change
John Hiatt - Have a Little Faith

Thursday, January 18, 2007

A girl can never have too many Danskos!

This makes my 7th pair. My Mother will be so proud. They are red.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

What's new? Not much, how 'bout you?

Actually, that is a lie. Since the last post, I've:
celebrated my 43 birthday with 5 year olds, fed the homeless, helped my daughter struggle with an important decision and am now bringing her home from college, fought with my handsome prince, sorted out my sewing area, started gutting the storage area, gotten mad at my mother, cried to my sister (more than once), started purging unwanted physical clutter, injured my shoulder, slacked in working out, put on unwanted body clutter, had an ipod, lost an ipod, gotten one monkey off my back, worked on my quilt, started a scarf, replaced a lost earing, then lost it, and I'm sure there is more. I just did not want more than a week to go by without a post. I've been struggling, physically and mentally with myself, my projects, my house, my family, but I think I'm turning the corner.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

SPC - NY resolutions - list

This list and photo really do not have anything to do with one another. This is just the self portrait I took on New Years Eve. I left my camera out and everyone took a self portrait. But, for the record:
In 2007, I would like to: Let go, pray more, be creative, do 100 pushups, 10 chin ups, finish more projects, learn to be still, listen better, be a better Mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, serve on a regular basis, recycle more, budget, take pride in my home and take better care of it, purge the house and myself of unwanted clutter, continue to guide Emma on her journey to adulthood, help Audrey find her groove, start my path on becoming a personal trainer (see, I revised this one), prepare better meals, have fun, expect less, learn about my camera, take more photos.That's it so far. I'm sure I'll think of more. Not all of this is going to happen. Other things will happen in place of some. The point is to recognize this and be okay with it. I'm okay with that.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Blueprint

We have been asked to provide a blueprint of our life for the youth. They are attending a retreat this weekend and are working on blueprints and building. We, the parents, have been asked to provide one (or the top 3) things we use as a bluprint of our lives. One of my "blueprints" is due to the fact that I am a Mom. That is my job. Being a Mother is the most important job I will ever hold, so I try to be a good one. Not an easy task. I want my children to know that I love them with every ounce of my being, even while fuming at them in church for goofing off. I want them to have confidence in themselves, to be faithful people, to be selfless rather than self centered, have compassion, be respectful, responsible. So I try to be an example. Not easy. I have to bite my tongue, forgive when I am furious, love when I am mad, constantly admit my faults, discipline when all I want to do is wrap my arms around a child a say it's okay, learn from them while teaching, be open and listen while doing twenty other things, and remind myself that this is the next generation, next leaders, next workers. While my blueprint is easy in words "Be a good Mom" it contains many elements of being that I remind myself of daily, hourly and sometimes every minute.

On a lighter note, I'm finally compiling my list for the year.

Monday, January 01, 2007

SPC - New Years Resolutions -Fresh


At the end of the day you are worn out, you areworn out, and too tired to sleep
But then you do dream of wonderful things
That you might do, right on through to the nextday
And then you wake up
The sun's on your face
You're stretchin' while you're sayin'
It's a Brand New Day!
It's a brand new day and the sky is clear
So let's come together, everybody cheer
Come out people from everywhere
Let's see your faces, the day we'll share
Come on and celebrate a Brand New DayEveryday!
Call out to the workers and the children in theschools
It's a day of celebration so put down your toolsand
Celebrate a Brand New Day Everyday!
Come see the mountains and come see theshores
Mother nature is calling so come climb aboardand
Celebrate a Brand New Day Everyday!
Let's go
At the end of the day there is no doubt you areworn out
Ooh but then you do dream of wonderful things
Wonderful things you might do
And then you wake up
The sun's on your face
You're stretchin' while you're sayin'
It's a Brand New Day!
Celebrate a Brand New Day, Everyday!
Celebrate a Brand New Day, Everyday!

-Gwen Stephanie