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.