I love cranking up the music while I clean. I've still been a little stuck on the Regina Spektor Channel on Pandora, but had more energy than that when I cleaned tonight. Here's what I jammed to (they're not in any order). It's kinda been a standby playlist for getting any extra energy out. It's also really fun to dance around with no one here.
1. Carry Out - Timbaland
2. Give It Up To Me - Shakira
3. Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship
4. Uprising - Muse
5. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa
6. Tik Tok - Kei$sha
7. Run This Town - JayZ
8. Whatcha Say - Jason DeRulo
9. Hot Mess - Cobra Starship
10. Wait Your Turn - Rihanna
January 20, 2010
January 17, 2010
BUSY AND CONFUSED
So ready for this month to be done with . . .
I thought things were supposed to slow down after Thanksgiving and Christmas? Not the case this year. Chad's gone for most of the month for work and in the past I'm left with all kinds of really quiet time, that normally drive me a little crazy, but right now I'm craving a little.
I had all these things to get done while he's away, things like painting headboards and nightstands, days of sewing, things that take awhile to do and things that I like to do from start to finish (so I actually finish them!). And lots of little fun things keep coming up. I've enjoyed doing them, but it saps my energy to start into a long project late in the afternoon.
I'm anxious for a lot of things too. It's hard to be patient. Plus being alone for a month has messed with my sense of time. It is Sunday right?
This all sounds a bit vague. Here's what the month has planned.
-- Went back to work on the 4th. Love spending time with the kids again. Have been watching an extra kid since then as well, and I'm not sure if it will be for another 1 or two weeks. I like definite plans, so not having a for sure thing gets to me some.
-- Lots of dinners with my grandparents and other friends. Very thankful these people know how lonely I can get and that I can spend time with them.
-- Wedding events happen in Bozeman in January. **I am not engaged**. I sometimes work for After 5 and Weddings (used to work there full time, still maintain their website). It's been awhile since working there, so it's fun to dress up a little for work and to see the new styles and businesses here. Hard not to look at things and keep myself from imagining my own big day.
-- I'm very fortunate to have a great hair stylist and when I call to schedule an appointment I don't have to wait too long. Some people thing it's a lot of money to spend on getting your hair done, but there's not many things I do that "waste" money. She's less expensive than many other places in town. I also wait longer (most people go in every 8 weeks for color) to get mine done. This time it was more out of the need for a haircut (it's been since July? for a cut, Sept for color?). In my eagerness to cut off all the scraggly ends I asked for more to be cut off than I was ready for. 6 inches gone. It's great, I love it, but I shoulda eased into a shorter length and just done 3? I'm still experimenting on how to style it. I'd like to skip ahead 2 months here and have it a little longer and know what I like to do with it.
-- Went to my quilt group. It was my turn for snacks. I really wanted to make something yummy, but time escaped me. Luckily 2 people bring snacks, so we agreed that she'd handle the treat and I'd bring drinks. The speaker this month was from a local shop, which is typical. She talked to us about thread. I had no clue there was so much to know! I've always looked for whatever color I need and never what it's made of (cotton, polyester, wool, etc). Besides that there's all kinds of different thicknesses. I still have no clue. We have one month left for our challenge projects. Back in October, we brought projects that we pledged to be completed by the meeting in February. I brought two. One is a crib bumper that I cut apart to make a little kids quilt (it's something someone asked me to do, and I've had it for awhile). The other is a quilt my mom was making me for my high school graduation in 2003. She sent it to me at the end of the summer, all in pieces. I just need to sew them all together. This is supposed to be one of the things I get done with all my quiet time.
-- Had a good friend, Kelly, visit over the weekend from Alaska. It was fun to see her and I wish I had more free time while she was here (I had to babysitting Saturday morning). For Christmas, Chad and another friend bought myself and his wife a day at the spa. It was kind of a pain to get the appointments schedule as they only have one Saturday a month where they have someone to do facials. We had afternoon appointments and Kelly was able to get in for a massage too. It was so nice to relax in their little wait room and just melt into the massage table. Afterward, I was scheduled for a facial, which was heaven. I don't know what exactly hit me, but after my appointment I got sick, still at the spa. It was embarrassing. Came home and was sick more. Started to feel better. Went out with Kelly and some of her other friends, but left early since whatever what wrong with me started to come back.
-- After Kelly left today I started to rearrange my craft room a bit. And my bedroom. But I have no focus, so moved the bedroom back as it was and got most of the craft stuff more organized. Felt like it's been awhile for a post, so here I am, typing away, hoping that if I "talk" about my . . . I don't know what to even call it . . . that I'd feel less whatever it is.
-- I may have mentioned this before. I decided to try and expand the stores my bobby pins are at. I asked friends and family about places they might recommend sending a sample to. 16 businesses. Some funky gift shops/boutiques, others day spas/salons. I typed up a nice little letter and mailed them out Tuesday. Hoping to have some of them interested and having a hard time being patient on this. Decided that I need to give the mail time to arrive and managers time to hopefully contact me. I'll give it a week and start making phone calls to see what they're all thinking.
So . . . dear January . . . please slow down just a tad and allow me some time to really get things done, I really do enjoy the quiet.
I thought things were supposed to slow down after Thanksgiving and Christmas? Not the case this year. Chad's gone for most of the month for work and in the past I'm left with all kinds of really quiet time, that normally drive me a little crazy, but right now I'm craving a little.
I had all these things to get done while he's away, things like painting headboards and nightstands, days of sewing, things that take awhile to do and things that I like to do from start to finish (so I actually finish them!). And lots of little fun things keep coming up. I've enjoyed doing them, but it saps my energy to start into a long project late in the afternoon.
I'm anxious for a lot of things too. It's hard to be patient. Plus being alone for a month has messed with my sense of time. It is Sunday right?
This all sounds a bit vague. Here's what the month has planned.
-- Went back to work on the 4th. Love spending time with the kids again. Have been watching an extra kid since then as well, and I'm not sure if it will be for another 1 or two weeks. I like definite plans, so not having a for sure thing gets to me some.
-- Lots of dinners with my grandparents and other friends. Very thankful these people know how lonely I can get and that I can spend time with them.
-- Wedding events happen in Bozeman in January. **I am not engaged**. I sometimes work for After 5 and Weddings (used to work there full time, still maintain their website). It's been awhile since working there, so it's fun to dress up a little for work and to see the new styles and businesses here. Hard not to look at things and keep myself from imagining my own big day.
-- I'm very fortunate to have a great hair stylist and when I call to schedule an appointment I don't have to wait too long. Some people thing it's a lot of money to spend on getting your hair done, but there's not many things I do that "waste" money. She's less expensive than many other places in town. I also wait longer (most people go in every 8 weeks for color) to get mine done. This time it was more out of the need for a haircut (it's been since July? for a cut, Sept for color?). In my eagerness to cut off all the scraggly ends I asked for more to be cut off than I was ready for. 6 inches gone. It's great, I love it, but I shoulda eased into a shorter length and just done 3? I'm still experimenting on how to style it. I'd like to skip ahead 2 months here and have it a little longer and know what I like to do with it.
-- Went to my quilt group. It was my turn for snacks. I really wanted to make something yummy, but time escaped me. Luckily 2 people bring snacks, so we agreed that she'd handle the treat and I'd bring drinks. The speaker this month was from a local shop, which is typical. She talked to us about thread. I had no clue there was so much to know! I've always looked for whatever color I need and never what it's made of (cotton, polyester, wool, etc). Besides that there's all kinds of different thicknesses. I still have no clue. We have one month left for our challenge projects. Back in October, we brought projects that we pledged to be completed by the meeting in February. I brought two. One is a crib bumper that I cut apart to make a little kids quilt (it's something someone asked me to do, and I've had it for awhile). The other is a quilt my mom was making me for my high school graduation in 2003. She sent it to me at the end of the summer, all in pieces. I just need to sew them all together. This is supposed to be one of the things I get done with all my quiet time.
-- Had a good friend, Kelly, visit over the weekend from Alaska. It was fun to see her and I wish I had more free time while she was here (I had to babysitting Saturday morning). For Christmas, Chad and another friend bought myself and his wife a day at the spa. It was kind of a pain to get the appointments schedule as they only have one Saturday a month where they have someone to do facials. We had afternoon appointments and Kelly was able to get in for a massage too. It was so nice to relax in their little wait room and just melt into the massage table. Afterward, I was scheduled for a facial, which was heaven. I don't know what exactly hit me, but after my appointment I got sick, still at the spa. It was embarrassing. Came home and was sick more. Started to feel better. Went out with Kelly and some of her other friends, but left early since whatever what wrong with me started to come back.
-- After Kelly left today I started to rearrange my craft room a bit. And my bedroom. But I have no focus, so moved the bedroom back as it was and got most of the craft stuff more organized. Felt like it's been awhile for a post, so here I am, typing away, hoping that if I "talk" about my . . . I don't know what to even call it . . . that I'd feel less whatever it is.
-- I may have mentioned this before. I decided to try and expand the stores my bobby pins are at. I asked friends and family about places they might recommend sending a sample to. 16 businesses. Some funky gift shops/boutiques, others day spas/salons. I typed up a nice little letter and mailed them out Tuesday. Hoping to have some of them interested and having a hard time being patient on this. Decided that I need to give the mail time to arrive and managers time to hopefully contact me. I'll give it a week and start making phone calls to see what they're all thinking.
So . . . dear January . . . please slow down just a tad and allow me some time to really get things done, I really do enjoy the quiet.
January 8, 2010
5 THINGS
I'm gonna get right to it . . .
- the Game of Things: A very fun game that we played on New Year's Eve. The group got to be so big that we had to eventually play as couples. The "reader" draws a topic, such as "things you shouldn't teach a pet to do" and everyone writes an answer on a piece of paper. The reader reads the responses aloud and people take turns guessing who answered what. Once your answer has been matched correctly with you, you're not allowed to guess anymore. The last person standing to figure it all out gets points. Do what you'd like with the points, we turned it into a drinking game and the winner each round got to select #-of-their-correct-guesses people to drink more of whatever they're drinking. It turned a little adult, especially with prompts like "things a gentleman shouldn't do". Play it and have lots of fun.
- Reading: I just finished Blame, by Michelle Huneven. It's about a woman who wakes up to being arrested after a black out while driving and killing 2 people. I enjoyed the first part of the book better than the ending, but there's some great developments at the end of the book that make you think. About to start Change of Heart, by Jodi Picoult.
- Random But Very Cool: Round Robin Press . . . they make plant-able greeting cards. Came across this while reading another blog. Looked them up and they are sold here in Bozeman at Perspectives. Will check them out on my next shopping trip downtown.
- New Restaurant: Audrey's Pizza Oven . . . going there tonight. Will let you know how it is. Was an old pizza joint here years ago and when the previous owner closed up she sold her recipes to this guy. He had an accident before getting things reopened and after who knows what it took to get back to getting things going, he's completed his dream. I hope it's yummy.
- Relax: Right now my favorite products are from Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy line. Lavender Chamomile. I've had the shower gel and sugar scrub for awhile. I got some lotion for Christmas. I then was so excited to have so much of it that I went to the after Christmas sales and got room spray and home fragrance oil. It's the best. There's lots of things that I think smell too strong, but this is really the best. And even better is that I got a new bathrobe too. I hate that it's so cold out, but I love taking a long, hot shower and being very girly with all the stuff I use, then getting all wrapped up and cozy, getting into bed with a good book and SleepyTime Tea. The best.
"Stare. It is way to educate your eyes and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans
- the Game of Things: A very fun game that we played on New Year's Eve. The group got to be so big that we had to eventually play as couples. The "reader" draws a topic, such as "things you shouldn't teach a pet to do" and everyone writes an answer on a piece of paper. The reader reads the responses aloud and people take turns guessing who answered what. Once your answer has been matched correctly with you, you're not allowed to guess anymore. The last person standing to figure it all out gets points. Do what you'd like with the points, we turned it into a drinking game and the winner each round got to select #-of-their-correct-guesses people to drink more of whatever they're drinking. It turned a little adult, especially with prompts like "things a gentleman shouldn't do". Play it and have lots of fun.
- Reading: I just finished Blame, by Michelle Huneven. It's about a woman who wakes up to being arrested after a black out while driving and killing 2 people. I enjoyed the first part of the book better than the ending, but there's some great developments at the end of the book that make you think. About to start Change of Heart, by Jodi Picoult.
- Random But Very Cool: Round Robin Press . . . they make plant-able greeting cards. Came across this while reading another blog. Looked them up and they are sold here in Bozeman at Perspectives. Will check them out on my next shopping trip downtown.
- New Restaurant: Audrey's Pizza Oven . . . going there tonight. Will let you know how it is. Was an old pizza joint here years ago and when the previous owner closed up she sold her recipes to this guy. He had an accident before getting things reopened and after who knows what it took to get back to getting things going, he's completed his dream. I hope it's yummy.
- Relax: Right now my favorite products are from Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy line. Lavender Chamomile. I've had the shower gel and sugar scrub for awhile. I got some lotion for Christmas. I then was so excited to have so much of it that I went to the after Christmas sales and got room spray and home fragrance oil. It's the best. There's lots of things that I think smell too strong, but this is really the best. And even better is that I got a new bathrobe too. I hate that it's so cold out, but I love taking a long, hot shower and being very girly with all the stuff I use, then getting all wrapped up and cozy, getting into bed with a good book and SleepyTime Tea. The best.
"Stare. It is way to educate your eyes and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long." - Walker Evans
January 7, 2010
SARAH CHRISTINE DESIGN : ONLINE
So very excited to have a "professional" website. I need to find a better camera to take pictures of the bobby pins, but I couldn't wait to get it up and running. I'm hoping to expand on the locations that I sell at, there's about 15 prospective places I've got on my list, from the wonderful suggestions of many family and friends! We'll see how that goes and maybe come up with some more fun things to make and sell : )
MITTEN MANIA
As I previously mentioned, there's a project I've been working on that I'm a little obsessed with. A wonderful lady that goes to the same quilt group I attend shared her own mitten project (she brought like 15 to the meeting to show off!). Shortly after that we had a "sew in" day, which is to come work on a yearly group charity quilt or something of your own or to see someone else demo a technique. Right before Thanksgiving she brought extra mitten patterns to sew in day.They are made of "old" wool sweaters. Once they're washed, they shrink, fusing the fibers together, making it better for cutting apart and sewing . . . and the end result of keeping your hands warm! The insides are lined with fleece.
With the long Thanksgiving weekend, I packed my sewing things to bring along to Great Falls with Mission: Make Lots of Mittens all planned. I checked out the second hand stores for their sweater selection, but didn't find many that were cheap as I wanted them to be. Another quilter suggested checking out the many thrift shops in Great Falls. I think I kinda cleaned them out. Of the 3 I visited, I ended up with about 20 sweaters! I wasn't able to make many that weekend as they need to be washed and dried. I got around to that right when we got back to Bozeman.
Over a week, I'd come home and work a bit on them. One night I spent cutting things apart and matching up the tops to the upper and lower palms and wrist bands. Another night I spent cutting out the fleece linings. A couple nights of sewing the outer shell and linings together. And finally adding the wristbands and having many nice sets of mittens!The first round of mitten making was just in time for Christmas. I made 12 pairs to begin with and gave away as gifts. Unfortunately in all my crazy cutting and sewing I neglected to take pictures. I've got lots of sweaters left to make more though : )
So, round two begins . . . this time also smaller mittens for kids with the left over pieces that are big enough. I'm still in the matching things together stage and have got them all over the guest bedroom. What am I going to do with all my mittens? No idea really, but I think I'm in mitten love . . .
January 2, 2010
2010
Happy 2010, it came so quickly!! At the last minute, we decided to not do the bar thing this year and had a small get together at our place. It was lots of fun, we played a new game, "10 Things", ate lots of snacks and drank a little too much champagne. Thanks to everyone that stopped by : )New Year Resolutions? Not really. Things I've been meaning to do and hope to get a start on beginning Monday while Chad is gone for work most of the month? Plenty!
-- Get back into the Curves routine. 30 minutes. It's not tough stuff, just not always what I want to do on my way home from work.
-- Craft closet is a minor disaster, this will get tackled as well while Chad is gone
-- Quilt Guild Challenge. Back in October we had to bring in unfinished projects that we pledged to get completed by the Feb. meeting. Nearly done with my first project, need to get the second one going!
-- Make bread. I've got my wonderful KitchenAid mixer and have only make cookies and other sweets. Have wanted to make bread and when the urge to do it strikes, it always requires a trip to the store. . . and then I get lazy.
-- Go through my closet and get rid of stuff I don't wear, reorganize so I can find what I do want to wear.
-- Catch up on many old projects I want to share here!
There's probably a lot more, but those are what's in my head now. I've been itching to rearrange my bedroom as well. Chad caught me sitting on the bed today just looking at everything. No good plans for the bedroom yet, I'll have to wait until he leaves to start moving stuff around.
2 more days. My place will become a complete disaster in my efforts to make it less so. I love it.
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