Merry Christmas!

Ladybugs Gatherings

My family is not a family that sits around and lounges when we get together for holidays, as much as I may try to passive aggressively get this to be the case. No, we are a family who starts the day off with a multi-mile hike up and down rocky trails near.  This is exactly what we did yesterday after all of our out of towners arrived the day before.

On the hike we encountered something pretty crazy and incredible, something that I now know (after some research) was ladybug hibernation!  Something that, if they weren't ladybugs, looks like the beginning of a horror movie - though I was alone in this assessment. 

As we came around a corner there were some fallen logs, bathed in sun and absolutely covered in thousands of ladybugs.  This morning I looked up what could be happening and found the following information.

Ladybug adults hibernate, usually gathering in large aggregations in protected places.
As days get shorter and temperatures fall, ladybugs seek shelter behind bark, under leaves, or in other protected locations. Thousands of ladybugs may gather in the same location, taking advantage of the collective warmth of a colony. Asian multicolored ladybugs, an invasive species in North America, has earned a reputation as a home invader. These beetles tend to move indoors for winter, where they can become a nuisance in people's houses. Convergent ladybugs gather in the mountains in such numbers that collectors can scoop them up by the bucket.

This must be what we were seeing but it was pretty incredible up close.  Check out the video we got below.  

You know you're 30 when...

Truthfully I thought something like this would come a bit later in life but, no such luck.

I have an unexplained neck pain.  I have now had an aches and pains discussion with my other 30-something coworker.  I'm not ready to have these conversations but they are happening.

Seriously, radiating neck pain (not just one pinched place) with an unknown cause.  Not an unknown cause like we used to have in our 20s where it was because we were drunk and having too much fun to remember it. No, this is no cause as in my body is aging and that occasionally causes inexplicable injuries.

Sobering.

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

This past Sunday I went with my family to cut down trees, a tradition from our childhood that has been on a bit of a hiatus but was revived this year.  I'm definitely the one in my family who holds on tight to traditions and occasionally has to fight for them, so I was quite happy to have this one coming back into our lives.

We gathered at 9am for the hour-ish drive to breakfast and then the tree farm.  All was not as it used to be. Our traditional breakfast spot of yore is now an Irish pub (generally not a problem for our clan) that does not open until 11am (whoops).  We asked a couple locals and got another diner recommendation as a substitute.  With full bellies we piled back in the car and headed to the Christmas tree farm.  As we pulled in there were only two cars where normally we had to wait and circle for parking.  Undeterred we got out and excitedly headed in only to be quickly told that they are sold out.  Sold out!?! With nearly 3 weeks left til Christmas, say it ain't so.  This hiccup did not dampen our spirits and we decided to take a few Christmas photos there even if we couldn't yet get our trees.

Directions in hand we headed toward another Christmas tree farm where we were assured that there were trees left. And there were.  Though it took us nearly 2 hours to find the perfect two trees we did it.  My sister and I have taken over the manual labor part from our parents this year - cause, you know, maturity. This did make me realize why I always thought this was more fun than my dad did.  That is not an easy task.

Happy to report the trees are now both in their respective homes and set up.  I even had a burst of inspiration last night, following yet another round of Christmas present shopping, and decorated it a bit.  Definitely brought a big smile to my face, followed immediately by exhaustion after hauling it in from outside setting it up, up and down the stairs for the decorations, and getting it in just the right place.  I definitely fell asleep on the couch admiring my handiwork.

Merry Christmas all!

DIY Christmas Trees

So I have had the supplies for this project for ages and finally my friend and I attempted it.  The project I did is kind of a combination of these two original pins:

          

True to myself I made do with what I had on hand which was a very very thin and uneven green thread.  Pulled it through the glue, corn starch mixture and wrapped it around my styrofoam cones of three sizes.  Before starting I wrapped the cones in saran wrap and then put a layer of vaseline on that, to (reportedly) allow the "trees" to easily come off the molds once dry.

As you can probably guess this is not exactly how it went down.  While it was a wonderfully fun and messy project I could tell pretty early on that these trees were not going to politely pop off of their forms without some work.

Lessons I learned:

• When not using a balloon that one can pop and remove from the shape it is necessary to wrap loose, even with the vaseline and saran wrap.
• Use real string that is not super thin and breaks apart in your glue mixture - just takes so much longer to wrap it.
• A glue and corn starch mixture will not dry clear.  I know this should have been obvious but call it a brain fart.  Not a mistake because they are meant to be Christmas-y so I'm calling them frosted, but still.
• If you smash a foam cone enough it will eventually pop out from your "tree".  Just make sure that your tarp from the glue messiness is still down for this part too.

End results are not so bad.  Tried out two different styles of wrapping the string, and I'm pretty happy with a new DIY decoration for this year.

Friend Christmas

My core group of besties - truthfully they're family at this point - and I have decided, in the last few years, that we don't really need anything and we don't need to be spending ridiculous amounts of money on each other for gifts.  So, last year we wrote up about 50-60 theme ideas and put them in a bowl and picked.  Each year we'll draw a new theme and get each other something that fits the theme but we are not allowed to spend more than $10 on each person's gift.  The one of us who's good at saving things keeps our theme ideas and each year as the holidays roll near we draw the theme of the year.

Last year's theme was Middle School.  As you can imagine this resulted in some pretty hilarious gifts, including friendship bracelets and hair dye (we were in middle school in the 90s after all).

This year's theme: Diamonds!  Diamonds for under $10 dollars? Clearly we are going to have to get creative. I have decided on my present and it is currently being crafted in my workshop, though with no elves to help it is going rather slowly, as my workshop is my garage and my garage is rather cold in the evenings after work.  I obviously can't tell you what it is, on the off chance, that one of my ladies reads the blog, but as I'm sure you can all deduce it is from a Pinterest project, or two, and I hope it works.

What would you get/make for a Diamonds theme gift with a $10 max?

Mason Jar Project - Check!

A little while back I posted a Pinterest project that I was going to try to make, this one.  Well I did, it turned out pretty well and I was finally better about documenting my steps in photos.

First was to determine what piece of board I wanted my jars to attach to.  I actually had this piece on hand and so decided not to spend extra money on another piece and work with what I had.  After a Home Depot run to purchase the plumbing clamps and hooks (I added these on a whim - not part of the original project) I was ready to start.

Immediately I ran into my first hiccup.  No where in the Pinterest project does it clearly communicate how the plumbing clamps are "screwed on" to the board - time to improvise!  I didn't have any nails small enough to get through the slats on the clamp itself, and I didn't have wide enough staples in the staple gun to span the width and securely hold them in place. I ended up taking two screws and placing them on either side of the clamp.  Not screwing them in all the way first, placing the plumbing clamp and then screwing them both down so the edges are held in place by the lips of the screws.  Be sure to place the clamps in a way that still allows you to adjust the size around the neck of your mason jars.

Next I placed the hooks.  I measured and placed them roughly 1.5" apart from each other.  First drilling a small pilot hole then hand screwing in the screws on the bottom of the board.  I want these to be for hanging necklaces.  I have some great earring holders made from frames and screen but at this point no good way to store and display my necklaces.  The hooks go all the way across the bottom.

The end result before testing out my jars allowed for 4 mason jars and hooks along the bottom.  I attached at sawtooth picture hanger in the middle of the back (no picture) to allow for easier hanging.  I substituted much longer nails for the ones that came with that piece of hardware for some added support and security.

Now it's time for the second hiccup.  Due to my improvising for getting the plumbing clamps to attach to the board, the jars while mostly secure were not held in as tightly as I would have wanted by the clamps.  They were almost secure enough but had wiggle that sent visions of mason jars plummeting to my floor and shattering through my head.  Originally I liked the idea that I would be able to take the jars down as needed from the adjustable plumbing clamps but gave that luxury up for a more secure hold.  I used clear, heavy duty epoxy glue, a dime size dot on the jar and a dime size dot of the plumbing clamp where the screws held it to the board.  Then placed the jars and tightened.  I allowed this to dry overnight and then it was time to hang.

Here's the finished product.  Not exactly as I imagined in terms of functionality but overall I'm pretty happy with the resulting look. Please forgive the grainy picture, as you can see I'm still deciding what exactly to store in each of my jars.

WW Update

Sticking with the idea that making this public and paying for the service will help me stay motivated and on track, here is another update on the Weight Watchers journey (this time around).

First an admission, I did not weigh in last week.  It was the week following Thanksgiving and the week of lady days and mostly I was not feeling up to seeing a raise in the number on the scale.  I realize this was me being a scaredy cat but I didn't have it in me.  So I went one more week, attempting to stay on track and making it to Zumba twice and go from there this week.

This morning I woke up about an hour late - either alarms didn't go off or I woke up, turned them off and then went back to sleep with no memory of doing so (it's happened before).  I could have easily used this an excuse to not weigh in this morning but that is my old pattern and I'm working on new patterns.  I weighed in, braced to face the number whatever it was and...it was lower!! In fact, it was lower by 3.8 lbs - almost the recommended 2 lbs per week which felt great considering Thanksgiving was part of one of those weeks!

Not only that, but when I put it in the tracker...

10lbs down!  That was my personal goal to reach 10 lbs down by Christmas, now I can reset that and keep it going.  Not a bad way to start a Monday, even if I did oversleep.

Adding myself to Bloglovin

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I started using Bloglovin as a way to bring all the blogs I read into one stream and also made sure my blog was visible on there.

Mildly Obsessed

I've always loved pin-ups.  Love the glamour they belied and at times they convinced me I was born in the wrong decade - though I do love living after the birth of feminism more since I can still seek out and find the fabulous fashions.  However as a thick chick I didn't necessarily identify with the images personally.  Until now!

This is Hilda, a pin-up from the 1950s and a creation by illustrator Duane Bryers.  I am now mildly obsessed.  Not only is she thick and fabulous but every one of the images is fun, mischevious, and a little awkward - now that is something I can personally identify with.

I found this on Messy Nessy Chic, who linked to Toil Girls, a site that actually conducted an interview with Duane Bryers about his Hilda paintings.  Then I fell down the rabbit hole.  The google image search gives an enormous amount of images, and there is even a Hilda! Pinterest board.  I feel like it's fair to warn you that you can expect to see a Hilda image pop up here every once in a while.  They make me smile, a lot.

Based on what I'm reading I may be late to the game on this but I am happy to have finally found her and can't wait to keep exploring Hilda's world.

Carpool Observations

You know when you've been around a child who constantly complains and no matter what you say to make them feel better, or lighten the mood, or politely attempt to give them an out of the negativity?  No matter what you say that "bright sides" their problem they find a counter argument to why that is actually bad too?  Now translate that to an adult male, a father (I know because I've seen him drop his kids off at the bus) and you have the guy who rode in the same carpool as me this morning.

Taking it a bit nicer, it's very clear that he's having a very hard time at work and my heart goes out to him.  I've been there and it is awful.  However, we are two complete strangers and when you tell us all the horrible things you have to do today and the driver politely says the socially appropriate thing to make you feel a little bit better, it is awkward at best for you to repeatedly point out that, no, that is in fact awful too.

My hope is that you get that out with strangers and do not teach your children to be debbie downer whiners...I truly hope his day goes better than he's clearly expecting it to.

Thanksgiving Dinner Contribution

My mason jar holder is currently on hold - I got through almost the whole project, however the last step is only hold. Due to the way that I attached the plumbing clamps the jars don't get cinched in tight enough to actually hold in.  A gentle shake sent two loose.  Some more tinkering to come...

This year each of us are bringing a dish to Thanksgiving dinner - this is new for us and given our collective cooking experience good go really wrong or really right, so fingers crossed.  I am making a gluten free Spicy Cheesy Bread Stuffing.  I found this recipe through Pinterest (where else?). 

Last night after work I braved the crowds at the grocery store.  Side note about myself I very much dislike grocery shopping in general and avoid holiday related grocery shopping whenever possible.  Though this was unavoidable so I bit the bullet and went in, shopping list in hand.  Happy to report it was not nearly as dreadful as I had envisioned.

I did spend a bit of time trying to find the almond flour necessary for the recipe and enlisted the help of a, somewhat attractive, store employee (always look for the cute ones when you have a question - it may take longer but, in my opinion, worth it).  My question led to a short, somewhat flirty, discussion about the gluten free craze sweeping California, if not the nation.  I shared my humble opinion that I think the general extremism is crazy and that the trend to raise your children gluten free seems like a bunch of crap.  

I believe in whole grains and steering clear of super processed foods as a general rule to but as with all things, truthfully believe in moderation.  I am making a gluten-free dish because my dad actually has Celiac and I want him to enjoy the stuffing too - assuming this turns out enjoyable. With a smile from the flirting and ingredients in hand I leave the store and head where any responsible person who is making a dish for her family's Thanksgiving meal would.  To her best friend's house to watch Secret Princes.

Small tangent, this show is hilarious and you should absolutely watch it!

After getting sucked into 4 episodes I went home and unloaded the groceries.  Hit by a sudden burst of inspiration I baked the first part of the recipe, the skillet "bread" that needs to be made a day ahead for the final stuffing dish.  Yay responsibility! Actually looks pretty good, and tastes almost as good if I do say so myself!

UPDATE: This stuffing turned out delicious!  I didn't read all the way through the recipe (story of my life) so I didn't actually bake and dry out the skillet bread two days before but even with that snafu this was definitely an excellent contribution to the meal.

Gonna try to make this

On to the next project!  Gonna try to make this Pinterest project:

I got some scrap wood from my mom recently and love, like everyone else, the mason jar look.

Off to home depot to get the rest of the supplies I need.

I'll keep you posted!

Sunday morning

I'd like to say that this post is about how prepared I am for the week and that I purposefully spent my morning preparing healthy meals for my week.  While the results are nearly the same this is not what happened.

What did happen is that last week through a combination of good intentions and excitement at a farmers market I purchase several healthy options for food for my week.  Last week I made some great ground turkey dishes, including turkey meatloaf muffins - perfect for a quick meal - and an egg frittata.  Leaving to sit in my kitchen, awaiting preparation, a large spaghetti squash, a head of cauliflower, some small (adorable) zucchini from a farmers market, and some purple tomatillos and a pepper.  There they sat all week, through my late nights where the most I could manage each night was to get my contacts out of my eyes before crawling gratefully into my flannel sheets.

So this morning when I was contemplating what to make for breakfast and realized I was nearly out of everything except the items listed above and that some of them were bordering on turning bad I decided to make them all.  So you see the spoils of my morning are in fact a result of procrastination and failing to prepare but in spite of this I still have meals for my week!  Take that adulthood!

Homemade Salsa - I used a Rick Bayless recipe and while I still love Herdez Verde because of the vinegar kick this is pretty delicious and more satisfying as it is made by yours truly.









Spaghetti Squash - I roasted the large spaghetti squash that has been staring at me from my counter top all week.  I still have a large tupperware full of the strings to make some different iterations all week but this morning I sauteed the zucchini, olive oil, garlic, pepperoncinis, and some marinara sauce.  When ready I poured it over about 2-3 cups of the squash, about a 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and stirred.






Roasted Cauliflower - I found this recipe online.  I have a deep love of anything with a vinegar slant of lemon juice, for me it cuts through oil and is just a flavor I love.  I used this recipe online.  I chopped mine up a little more than suggested in the recipe and used some of my lemons from my prolific lemon tree in my backyard.  This is delicious and I'm restraining myself from popping it into my mouth and finishing it all before the week starts.


I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with myself and feeling pretty smug - you know maturing and all - and can't help but feel that my former roommate, an incredible cook who definitely made the most of our meals when we lived together would be proud.  She's even has her own blog where she shares some of her delicious concoctions - The Lazy Wife.

Christmastime!

My lovely dear coworker was playing Christmas music the other day!  I usually try to refrain until at least the day immediately following Thanksgiving but considering the late nights and stress our office has been under I couldn't begrudge her this indulgence nor maintain the willpower to fight it.  It's Christmastime! It's so exciting it should just be one word.  The tree lots are being set up and my family and I are planning to rekindle an old family tradition and go cut down trees this year and I can't wait.

This will be my third Christmas in my house and each year I get a little better at decorating and making it feel like the holidays even though most of my holiday time is spent over at the parents house wit the siblings, cousins and grandma.  So since, the music has begun I clearly spent some time diving down the Pinterest rabbit hole to get some ideas for my front porch and mantle for the holidays.  Here's my current frontrunner, but check out the Curls Curves, and Sass Pinterest Board for lots of thoughts - ranging from super ambitious to I already have everything to do that.

Jingle bells, jingle bells....

Observations

That sad moment when right after you catch the eye of a cute guy, you catch the glint of his wedding ring. 

Hooray!

The makeup I totally splurged on during the makeover event came in the mail yesterday.  Hooray!  That is all for now.

WW CheckIn

So while the makeover experience was great I have to say there were a few parts of it that ended with me feeling a bit less good about myself than when I walked in there.  I'm working through it and generally am never down on myself for long so fear not! However, it did make me even more committed to really working at Weight Watchers online and seeing if this is something I can add into my life and have work.

I must admit that last week was not an amazing week for me in terms of diet and exercise.  Partially as a direct result of the time the hair and color took. As a result when I weighed in this morning I was not expecting much, thinking maybe 1lb ish because while my activity was low I did stay within my points goals for almost everyday and did not go through my weekly allowance on the few days I went extra.  I was more than pleasantly surprised to see another 1.3 lbs down, bringing my total for two weeks to 5.8 lbs lost.

It's encouraging to know that even with medium weeks in terms of focus that changes are being made - makes it all feel doable in the long term.  I know it's still early but I'm working towards another hair cut!

Craft day!

My friend and I spent all day Saturday, sewing, mending, attempting Pinterest projects, and generally feeling pretty self-congratulatory.

The one Pinterest project I tried does appear, at this point, to be a bit of a fail but I'll definitely keep you posted on the final outcome.  I attempted to make Christmas trees from twine, but at this point they are not pulling nicely off the cone forms. Final outcome TBD.

In other news I did complete another project off the list which was to complete some school colors scarves for my friend the high school teacher.  I originally was just making one for her but then realized I bought an excessive amount of yarn in her school colors so she ended up with 4 scarves total.  I suggested she use the extra three to bribe good behavior out of her students but I think she may instead give them to her fellow teachers.

Another project down!

How Do I Look?

I don't love the pictures I got but I do absolutely love the color and the whole experience!  Very happy. As a recap, here is the before during and after (with makeup still on from the event).

   

The salon and the people who did my color and cut were amazing.  While I'm pretty sure that they're out of my normal price range, I cannot more highly recommend Rosa and Tyress from J. Roland Salon in San Francisco - they are amazing!

There was also another surprise that I had no idea was coming.  Roland, the owner, offered me the $ amount off of my follow up haircuts as I continued on with Weight Watchers.  This was a WW event, even though I'm not part of the group that was hosting it (no one from the group wanted full makeovers).  Which is amazing and I do want to take them up on it as I continue to work on getting healthier (though I have to say it's been a rough week for that).  I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Don't worry I still want to be a fabulous thick chick, but I could definitely stand to be less thick.  Maybe one of these days I'll get the balls to put up a real, full before pic and work towards an awesome after...maybe.

Halfway through

Must say. I'm glad I'm not bald and that I trust the quality of this salon because the orange would be worrisome if not!

Another project....?

I'm tempted to add this to my list of projects though I'm not totally convinced it counts because it wasn't necessarily something I've been wanting to do so much as an opportunity that dropped in my lap.

A coworker of mine is hosting a joint event with a salon and couldn't find people willing to get a makeover.  I said "why the hell not?"  My hair grows back, color will grow out, and if its horrible I can adjust it right away and it's all free.

The first step is a consultation tomorrow where we figure out what they are going to do, and then tomorrow after work we go to it.  On Thursday there is the "reveal" event.  I feel a bit like I'm getting sneak attacked into a How Do I Look situation - though meeting Jeannie Mai might be enough to get over the insult, or a What Not To Wear which without question I would get over the secret filming and friend betrayal to hang out with Stacey and Clinton.

Truthfully, I like to believe that I wouldn't actually qualify for either of these shows but I am pretty sure that the respective hosts might be horrified by some items that still remain in my closet (for costumes? yeah, definitely, for "costumes").  It also feels like perfect timing so I'm committed to jumping in wholeheartedly.  I've been working to let go of a couple of things recently and what better way to shake things up with a new look (a free new look)?

Some reservations: my hair is the longest I've had it probably ever, but it grows; I don't want to look marm-ish, old-lady ish, has to be minimal work each day - I am not a get up and do my hair kind of gal...

So wish me luck.  Here is a before pic to give you an idea of the mass amount of hair they will be working with...

OkStupid

I, like so many others, wade through the murky waters of OkCupid.  Generally it's fine, it takes some going over with a fine tooth comb to find people worth meeting, but recently I've become confused.

How can OkCupid think I would have a 92% match rate with a 21 year old??  Seriously?  I realize that I'm still relatively young at 30 but to think that I would have enough in common with a 21 year old at this point without feeling like a babysitter or a premature cougar blows my mind.

I am seriously questioning their algorithm...

A Lady of Leisure

While in the grand scheme of things not incredibly far from the truth - I feel pretty lucky most of the time.  I've been feeling the need for pampering so following the theory of "Go big or go home" I have booked my self an overpriced massage at a gorgeous hotel spa near me.  I fully intend to go early with my kindle and take full advantage of all of the lovely, soft lit amenities that are included.

I'm ready for this to be me...

What is Smith College

Guy Radar (Guydar), You're Killing Me Smalls

Most women I talk to agree that this is a near universal phenomenon.  That guy, or even several, who really should be out of your life but for whatever reason isn't completely has impeccably annoying, awful, tragic, frustrating, (insert adjective of choice here), timing.

Maybe you're working hard to limit your Crazy Girl time and actually move on in your life and feel like you've gone a decent amount of time (this is a relative measurement) not thinking about, wondering about, or mildly obsessing about said guy when BAM! he contacts you.

It's never when you need/want them to contact you it's only when you finally feel like you might be ok if they don't ever contact you again, like you might make it through to the other side and mean it when you say "I'm over it".

Fuck guydar! Ugh deja vu as I'm pretty sure I wrote a very similar post the last time guydar struck...

Yet another reason to keep on keeping on with the RVT 2013 (still in full celibate swing by the way) and work for better.

Bedside Tables

This project was inspired by the many many Pinterest projects I found that took an old suitcase and turned it into a side table or an end table. There are countless iterations of this project and I'm not convinced that I approached this in the easiest of ways but I'm still happy with it in the end.

I eventually found my suitcase on ebay and used the pre-fab table legs from Home Depot.  I overestimated how high I wanted the table originally and so sawed them shorter.  In the end I used the other pieces on my coffee table that was shown in an earlier post.

I don't have pictures of the inside but on the inside for stability I used a piece of left over masonite that the legs will attach into and reinforcing the bottom of the suitcase. Then, using 4 table top leg plates, attached my 4 legs.  I was still in experimental mode or I would have painted them first but I wasn't sure so I ended up getting them attached and painting them afterwards - no worse for the wear.

I'm pretty happy with the end result though think there may be an easier way to build the second one for the other side (if I ever do)

Projects Update!

It has been a while but it doesn't mean I've forgotten this goal.  I've been working on a few items from the list and even incorporated one into the latest Coursera design course I'm taking.

I'm going to add in the updates, below.  This will include the updates from before and the most recent...

1. Bedroom Makeover: At this point my bedroom still looks like a slightly grown up college dorm room, even though it is attached to a house I own! UPDATE:  I've been in touch with a local artist who works in reclaimed lumber and I'm commissioning a bed!  Going over to his studio this weekend to finalize the design details and then we're moving forward.  Thanks friends for this referral!  DONE!  I have been comfortably sleeping on my new bed for a month or two now.  I'm so happy with the final product.  I'll be sure to get a post up about this soon and link to the artist.  He does some great work!
2. Color in the Kitchen: The kitchen is full of beige, I am not a beige person! Or if I have become one I no longer want to be one!
3. Build 4 x 4 workbench:  As seen at an artist studio at American Steel Studios.  Forgot about this one, need to see about supplies
4. Build nightstands I'm counting this one as DONE too.  I actually just finished up this project yesterday.  I'm being vague because I've actually only completed one nightstand but I'm pretty happy with it.  I also think that it has spurred another project that I've added to the bottom of the list.
5. Run a race.  Getting there.  I've agreed to sign up and train for a race with my coworker.  I've agreed but haven't done anything yet :-/
6. Front yard makeover: Want to replace lawn with native plants and drought resistant plants, tired of seeing brown grass.  I did mow it the other day, which felt like an accomplishment.
7. Back yard makeover: Add fruit trees, cut out some lawn for "crops", create succulent planter
8. Complete one new woodblock
9. Take an art class
10. Make a "pouf": Here's one project but maybe search because I know there were a couple that did it on the cheap using IKEA rugs I think. UPDATE:  I made an IKEA run and the rugs referenced in this pattern are no longer there, or weren't that day.  Thinking I can probably find a substitute though.
11. Sew a complete item of clothing (more complicated than a skirt though) using a pattern. DONE. I made a fairly hideous pair of kulots/gaucho pants for our Troop Beverly Hills Halloween costume this year.  While it was not a true pattern, I did use a pair of pants I already have to create this pair and had to make some sizing adjustments and amendments as I went.  Let's just say I'm not destined for Project Runway anytime soon. 
12. Design and get a tattoo: TGT tattoo or other UPDATE:  I've pinned some ideas to the Pinterest Board and I'm trying to pin down the girls on when we might do this.  P.s. TGT is what we've named our friend group - yup, we named ourselves.
13. Make Christmas presents for my neighbors: Starting pinning mason jar gifts.  Just a nice thought and I like the idea of remaining close with the neighborhood.
14. Build and paint a bean bag toss game: A family friend requested this game and while I'm not totally convinced that my construction skills are up to it I found a youtube telling me how and pinned it. I'm going to take some time this weekend to go and get the supplies and give it a go. Note: As I'm writing this I realize I'm referencing a lot of pins so I created a Pinterest board for this blog in case anyone wants to see them all in one place.  UPDATE: I've made a shopping list and purchased some of the supplies for this.  Found the plans.  Then life got in the way, trying to make time for this again.  Ack, still behind on this, fail.
15. Sew baby blanket:  My good friend just had a baby and I want to send her a homemade baby blanket and one of my onesies from my etsy shop RadBaby.  DONE! See the post about making the blanket.  I recently got a photo back from my friend with her one month old swaddled up in it - baby adorablness.
16. Add a new item for sale to RadBaby: Speaking of, this shop needs some new energy in it and I think a new product.  I'm working right now to keep it active and may do a sale to clear out some stock and then work to figure out another item to put up for sale.  I've gotten the suggestion of button earrings which could be cute especially using scrap fabric from our aprons.  DONE!  See the post about the new earrings we added.
17. Complete a Coursera course:  I have signed up for Dino 101 and Intro to Computational Design (starting today!).  However my real project is to actually complete a course.  I took two others previously that I really enjoyed but I let life get in the way and didn't complete them.  UPDATE: Haven't completed either course yet, but still on the right track and not too far behind in either of them. It's still early yet though. DONE I completed all the lectures and assignments for Dino 101 - it was awesome.  I have given up on the Intro to Computational Design.  I enjoyed the first two modules, programming and photoshop, but the third is audio which does not interest me.
18. Create a housewarming gift for friends that are moving. DONE!  I created a great housewarming gift in a mason jar for my best friend's brother and his girlfriend.  It took me forever to give to them but that is not part of this project so there.
19. Add shelves and/or decor to the bathroom.
20. Go to Zumba classes 2 times a week for at least a month. DONE!  Successfully accomplished and still going.  With the exception of some sick days we have been consistently going every week and plan to keep at it. It's a great break and separation from the day.  Plus an amazing instructor, which makes all the difference.
21. Attach a charging pad in the new nightstand so that phone can charge just sitting on the nightstand.  I've seen this project online and thought this would work really well in my new suitcase nightstand.  Just need to research how much one of those costs and if I want to splurge.
22. Build an acoustic speaker for iphones. DONE!  I actually built two, and gave one to Meg for her birthday.  I'm using this idea as a prototype for the next Coursera class I'm taking (Design) and am hoping to refine the design even more.  

Wow!  Finaly tally isn't looking so bad.  We're 5 months into my 30th year and I've come up with 22 of the 30 projects and completed 9 of those 22.  I was feeling like I'd been slacking but writing it down made me feel more accomplished.

Jumpstart

The seasons have definitely turned and while I enjoyed the extra hour of sleep I'm not looking forward to the dark rides home from the office.  It really cuts into my motivation to get out of the house in the evening.  The dark equals bed time in my brain.

So I decided as I go into the holiday seasons and the darkness I need a jumpstart getting back on track with my food and tracking etc.  Going with the theory that one is more committed if you pay for it I decided to try out Weight Watchers online.

I did WW years ago but hated going to the meetings, so I'm hoping this is a good substitute for me.  I don't love calorie counting and kind of just need a structure to get me going through the holidays.

Going to keep on the cardio from the trainer and I'll keep you posted.

Beverly Hills, What A Thrill!

For the last 4 years my besties and I rack our brains for an awesome group Halloween costume because who doesn't love Halloween?  No, seriously, who? I'm sad for them.

We've had some gems in the past and while I'm not totally convinced we will ever top the 4 pregnant housewives and the milk man this year was pretty fantastic (I realize it's not Halloween yet but we went to a party over the weekend and debuted the costumes).  It was Troop Beverly Hills!  Now if you don't know this movie you were either not born in the early 80s, a guy, or had a childhood with a very obvious gap in awesomeness.

Our costume involved, hand sewn kulots, hand embroidered patches, scrunchies and so much more! I love Halloween!  Now to decide what kind of pumpkins to carve this year...

Weekend

While never long enough this weekend was great.  I did not get any of the "necessary" things done but I did get to spend an action packed weekend with visiting and local friends, get out in nature, a nice (though trafficky) drive, and an inappropriate amount of shopping.

Don't regret a minute of it.

Also, was yet again brought to tears of laughter and amazed by the genius of the following youtube videos that were shared, watched, and listened to on our longer than expected drive:

What Does The Fox Say?
History of Rap 2 & 3
History of Rap 4

Needless to say, it definitely helped pass the time.

October Challenge

I've mentioned my trainer before and how she tries to kill me, she would like that amended because she is not trying to kill me, just trying to make my fat cry (sweat = fat's tears).  She has challenged all her clients to participate in an October challenge removing all artificial sweeteners, limiting sugar in general and upping the protein intake and see where it gets us.

Overall Challenge Goals:

• No artificial sweeteners at all
• Minimal sugar intake
• Minimal carb intake: Carbs either in morning or at lunch, not at dinner
• High protein intake: 75-100g/day
• 80oz water daily
• 1 glass of preferably red, or white, wine if desired.  If possible avoid.

I've agreed to do this because she's very persuasive, I need a jump start to get back on tracking my food, and we all know I'm genetically pre-disposed to accept almost all challenges put my way.

I'm going to start tracking my food again in Fitbit and possibly take before and after pics, though need to find someone to do that.

Oy, dating without drinking...challenging indeed.

Reasoning Virgin Tour 2013...Interrupted?

So as discussed part of this self imposed drought in the bedroom I am going through is also to actively attempt to date and put myself out there.  The main goal being a shift in the way that I approach relationships and dating in the past.

With that in mind and without lowering standards too significantly the idea was that if you asked me out I would give it a shot.

At the end of last week just that thing happened.  He only had one picture, but profile appeared literate, apparently sarcastic, and potentially intelligent.  Additionally within  5 pleasant messages he asked me out.  For any online date users this is a plus!  Also helps you avoid the downward spiral of endless messages with no end in sight.

With date set for Saturday I went about my business and come Saturday was feeling tired and anti-social and seriously contemplated bailing.  These are the times when good friends matter, good friends who do not indulge you but rather tell you to snap out of it, put your big girl panties on and go on your date.

First date was all his planning, drinks followed by planned dinner.  The dinner was not mentioned in the original ask so I'm assuming it was to be mentioned if and only if I made it through the primary meeting.  Which frankly I can appreciate, it's important to have an out.  Dinner went long and full of easy conversation that continued until chairs were put on the tables and staff eyed us willing us to leave with their minds.  At the end of the night there was some arm linkage as he walked me back to my car, the appropriate level of attempting to get me back to his apartment, and a wholesome kiss good night with a follow up date request.

Lots of texts in between, at the jokey, flirty level, and date 2 set for Tuesday (yesterday).  This time I planned and picked a delicious Cuban restaurant on my own "turf", if I have a turf, I don't know. This date also went very well.  Conversation was still easy, more comfortable, a little more flirty and got into a bit more real questions about dating history and recent relationships etc... Also followed by a slightly, only slightly, less wholesome kiss goodnight and plans to see each other again.

I'm excited, have twinges of panic (as I do when I potentially like someone - like a freak) and also am yet again amazed by guy radar and the universe's sense of humor (a sense of humor I don't always find funny).  On Tuesday I received two messages from the ex, the one who often turns me into Crazy Girl, and a past crush was actually at the bar we met at before dinner.  Funny, very funny.  I have some theories on what the universe is trying to tell me, two opposite theories in fact.  Just gonna ride it out I think...

Back to RVT2013, while the celibacy is still in play, I definitely I'm not feeling like that is going to last super long and now it's a matter of what qualifies for me to make the call.  When planning this decision it was if there was "something real" happening, whatever that means.

Maybe I just follow the advice of the Millionair Matchmaker "No sex before monogamy". Oy, I'll keep you posted.

You complete me

Is it wrong that I feel a little more complete now that all my shows are back?

I'm going with no, not wrong. So right.

If you disagree, kindly keep your thoughts to your self. Thank you. 

Downside

Just about three months in to the Reasoning Virgin Tour 2013 and I figured out the downside.  When you intellectually choose to not have sex - for what I still consider good reasons - your physical self may not always agree with you.

My physical self does not agree with me.  Downside.

Autumn Equinox

This is where I spent my weekend, with two great friends, celebrating the autumn equinox.  In usual fashion, I did not check the weather before heading up to the lake - why ruin the mystery? - and packed for the weather we've been experiencing here at home.  At home, not up in the Rockies, in late September...

Packed in my overnighter was one pair of jeans, shorts, flip flops, slip on sneakers, t-shirt/tank, two bathing suits, in case I swam so much I wanted to wear a different one, and on a whim a pair of sweat pants and a thermal shirt.  Thank god for that whim.

On our drive up there was pouring rain, and the occasional slush, and by the time we reached our friend's cabin it was 45 degrees out and my shorts seemed pretty laughable.  Lucky for us our friend was better prepared and had the fire above roaring to welcome us, as we bundled in what we had, borrowed socks, and pulled out our books and our (in my case) knitting.  It was an incredible way to celebrate the fall equinox, including a midnight stroll to the lake to see the harvest moon, with two important people in my life.

On a side note, inspired by a friend of mine who asked about knitting chevrons I embarked on an attempt to see if it would be something I could teach.  It's not too bad, but I'm still working out some kinks.

The gym flirt

As I continue on the RVT 2013 tour its important for me to remember all the great places for flirting.  I think one of the best places for flirting is the gym.

I've had lots of people look at me like I'm crazy, disagree, and try to argue with me about this but hear me out.

Depending on the gym you go to, there are tons and tons of men everywhere.  I just joined a new one and one of the locations is massive and full of pretty men each time I go - talk about motivation. So the odds are in your favor.

The argument most used is that we look gross at the gym all sweaty and strained.  Yup! And it is exactly because of this that the gym is an excellent place for flirting!  Now this is not because I'm one of those people who can workout in full makeup in cute matching outfits, not at all.

I am a pale Irish lass and after any amount of time working out I turn bright red, and I sweat, to call it rosy or a blush would be a gross understatement.  I'm lucky if my workout clothes are in generally the same color scheme.  Even better!

If with all these factors in play you find someone at the gym who returns a flirtation, or even starts one, take it and run! I can literally only go up from here.  Unless he has some weird sweat fetish, anywhere this flirtation takes us outside of the gym I'm going to look so much better than I did when it started.  It's an amazing way to set low expectations while still showing off that you workout and take care of yourself.  None of that worry of looking too great on a first date and never living up to it in the long term.  You can dress up to your normal and still impress.

Best case scenario!

Holy Zumba, Batman!

One of my projects for my 30th year was to go to two Zumba classes a week for at least a month and see how I felt - different, same?

I'm into my second week and so far so good, except, Zumba's hard.

The gym where one of my besties and I are going has a class that is later in the evening, good for us working folks, but it is intense!  Feels like it's at a level 13 on a 1- 10 scale for the whole hour.  There are so many people in there that they had to move it to the basketball court to accommodate.

This is not a bad thing though because there are no mirrors in the basketball court.  Because, while I feel like I'm getting a little bit better each time, the main thing that doing Zumba has taught me is that I'm incredibly uncoordinated and should not be watched while dancing.  Also, that it is possible to sweat so much that you fell like you accidentally fell in a pool somehow.

As felt by many others, I'm pretty sure that to the objective observer it is quite a bit like this:



I'll keep you posted!

How you know you're 30

How you know you're 30 at a "hip hop" concert... (beside the fact that I just felt the need to put hip hop in quotes)

The first thing you think and then ask out loud is "Where are the emergency exits?"

This past weekend TGT summoned all the power of our youth that remained inside us and took the last one of us to turn 30 on a birthday night to the Dirt Nasty concert.

This was a request and definitely satisfied her need to see him in person.

Who is Dirt Nasty you ask?  Well this is Dirt Nasty now



And some of his songs are hilarious, some so dirty you feel like apologizing to your mom.  For us children of the 90s it's because this is who Dirt Nasty used to be..

  Simon Rex - the adorable MTV vj from the mid-90s.

To be fair since purchasing these tickets, not one guy from the 90s remembers this guy but every girl I talk to absolutely remembers him.  He was adorable.  He's actually still pretty good looking now but that concert was not my scene...

We survived Dirt Nasty - maybe that should be a t-shirt.

30 Projects in my 30th Year: Update

And a status update:

1. Bedroom Makeover: At this point my bedroom still looks like a slightly grown up college dorm room, even though it is attached to a house I own! UPDATE:  I've been in touch with a local artist who works in reclaimed lumber and I'm commissioning a bed!  Going over to his studio this weekend to finalize the design details and then we're moving forward.  Thanks friends for this referral!
2. Color in the Kitchen: The kitchen is full of beige, I am not a beige person! Or if I have become one I no longer want to be one!
3. Build 4 x 4 workbench:  As seen at an artist studio at American Steel Studios
4. Build nightstands
5. Run a race
6. Front yard makeover: Want to replace lawn with native plants and drought resistant plants, tired of seeing brown grass.
7. Back yard makeover: Add fruit trees, cut out some lawn for "crops", create succulent planter
8. Complete one new woodblock
9. Take an art class
10. Make a "pouf": Here's one project but maybe search because I know there were a couple that did it on the cheap using IKEA rugs I think. UPDATE:  I made an IKEA run and the rugs referenced in this pattern are no longer there, or weren't that day.  Thinking I can probably find a substitute though.
11. Sew a complete item of clothing (more complicated than a skirt though) using a pattern
12. Design and get a tattoo: TGT tattoo or other UPDATE:  I've pinned some ideas to the Pinterest Board and I'm trying to pin down the girls on when we might do this.  P.s. TGT is what we've named our friend group - yup, we named ourselves.
13. Make Christmas presents for my neighbors: Starting pinning mason jar gifts.  Just a nice thought and I like the idea of remaining close with the neighborhood.
14. Build and paint a bean bag toss game: A family friend requested this game and while I'm not totally convinced that my construction skills are up to it I found a youtube telling me how and pinned it. I'm going to take some time this weekend to go and get the supplies and give it a go. Note: As I'm writing this I realize I'm referencing a lot of pins so I created a Pinterest board for this blog in case anyone wants to see them all in one place.  UPDATE: I've made a shopping list and purchased some of the supplies for this.  Found the plans.  Then life got in the way, trying to make time for this again.
15. Sew baby blanket:  My good friend just had a baby and I want to send her a homemade baby blanket and one of my onesies from my etsy shop RadBaby.  DONE! See the post about making the blanket.  I recently got a photo back from my friend with her one month old swaddled up in it - baby adorablness.
16. Add a new item for sale to RadBaby: Speaking of, this shop needs some new energy in it and I think a new product.  I'm working right now to keep it active and may do a sale to clear out some stock and then work to figure out another item to put up for sale.  I've gotten the suggestion of button earrings which could be cute especially using scrap fabric from our aprons.  DONE!  See the post about the new earrings we added.
17. Complete a Coursera course:  I have signed up for Dino 101 and Intro to Computational Design (starting today!).  However my real project is to actually complete a course.  I took two others previously that I really enjoyed but I let life get in the way and didn't complete them.  UPDATE: Haven't completed either course yet, but still on the right track and not too far behind in either of them. It's still early yet though.
18. Create a housewarming gift for friends that are moving.
19. Add shelves and/or decor to the bathroom.
20. Go to Zumba classes 2 times a week for at least a month.
21. ...

So, while I still haven't come up with 20 I am starting to truck along through some of the projects!  Feeling productive!

Project #16: Complete!

#16 - Add a new item for sale on RadBaby.

We added retro style fabric button earrings.  Right now we have 2 styles - yellow and a coral and white.  The latter matches one of our aprons if anyone wanted to buy them as a gift.

This addition was inspired by my friend and trainer - who is full of great ideas all while making me want to die (what more can you ask for in a trainer).

I love this style of earring, it has a pinup/rockabilly feel and can go casual or great with a slightly fancier feel.  Anyway feeling pretty pleased and mildly smug about our new additions!

    

Wow...Just Wow...

Seriously Florida?

Florida is the most terrifying state!

There are many reasons for this, in my opinion, completely founded opinion.  Now sure there are places that people like, I'm sure Miami is as great as everyone says and the Keys sound like a gorgeous beach getaway without having to pull out your passport (which I actually love doing) and get travel shots.  But I haven't been to those places, I've been to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, and driven through other parts.  Now while I didn't have anything horrible happen, the possibilities were there.

It seems like on a weekly basis there are news stories about crazy sh*t happening down there - ignoring completely their overarching political leanings.  Let's just go through a few shall we?

• They are facing a "Burmese Python Invasion" - yes, termed an invasion, there are tens of thousands of these pythons in the wilds of Florida.  J.Lo. and Ice Cube only had to battle one in Anaconda and that was tough!
• There is an epidemic of sinkholes.  It has even taken a part of the (second) happiest place on earth.
• Alligators!  These are the closest living relative to dinosaurs and they often end up in backyard pools. I took a swamp boat tour and couldn't help but think how meaty and delicious I must have looked to them...seriously, I was already cooked in that heat!
• I don't actually feel like I need to add more but I haven't even gotten to the people.  Now I know people are crazy everywhere (my hometown definitely not excluded) but BuzzFeed put up a list of 21 Reasons Florida is the Craziest State and some of these are amazing, some are just sad, but still.

Now this, a story on Jezebel this morning entitled "Of Course Florida is Teeming with Herpes-Infected Monkeys"  Seriously? Seriously, Florida?

I don't trust monkeys, they will rip your face off!  On all my travels to monkey ridden countries I generously offer to take the photos of the tourists naive enough to trust their "cute" faces - just so I don't have to get near them and because someone should be ready to run for help when the situation inevitably goes bad.

But now they're monkeys and they're spreading disease - this is too much!  Done. Please no one ask me to go to Florida.

Planned Parenthood

I'm a big supporter of Planned Parenthood in general and truly believe in all of the services they provide and here is just another one that reinforced my positive feelings.

Planned Parenthood has set up a page on their site to help everyone navigate the changes coming with Obamacare.  They are going to connect people to the exchange and help answer the questions that are hanging over that nebulous term Obamacare.

I know in my life personally I have people who are bitching and moaning that they haven't seen anything since it passed and it was a bunch of bullshit.  While I count myself very lucky and have employer coverage it is wonderful to see, what appears to be, a straightforward approach to implementation.

Impressive yet again Planned Parenthood!

Curls

As a curly haired chick I am on the constant search for the perfect hair product or mix of hair products.  It feels like just as I find one that works it gets discontinued (suave hair cream I miss you every day).

I'm currently working with a non name brand I picked up in Nashville at a random beauty shop.  It works pretty well but not perfect.

Truthfully, my curls are at their happiest after a swim in some body of natural water, either the ocean or a lake.  I know you would think they wouldn't be the same but they both work.  My hair looks incredible on any beach vacation!

So scanning pinterest I found this and it might be worth a try.  I already have coconut oil as a body moisturizer, why not hair...

Gorgeous Wedding

I spent the weekend catching up with family, swimming in lakes, and celebrating the nuptials of my cousin. This wonderfully welcome break was in Sisters, OR and could not have been more gorgeous.  I've always somewhat envisioned a beach wedding, if not a backyard wedding, but this almost sold me on a setting in the mountains or woods.

 

 
This is where we were staying, an incredible lodge on an amazing lake.

Then the ceremony, at a different location, blew that out of the water!

      

   



It was such a wonderful setting for a wonderful couple.  Had a fabulous time with extended family and it made me, for just a minute, want to run away to the mountains and live, working on art, and ignoring city life.

I remember Alaska and I'm not sure I could do it long term but it is tempting...

A moment of silence please

The title may be a bit dramatic but I do feel like I'm mourning something just now.  I'm mourning a little bit of delusion that I've been holding onto now for many years.  It was a private go-to for when romantic prospects got really dim.  That "what if?" or "If only", which were all fine when I was sure that he was still single and most likely pining after me but not knowing how to tell me (see above, delusion).

Today when I got online I felt an impulse to do something that I haven't done for quite some time (my friends may not believe me but it's actually true) I online stalked by "locker love" from college.  That one guy that I've kept thinking about since then, that I used to constantly "check on" just to see what was going on in his life.   This morning however without thinking (he doesn't have Facebook so the standard go to is out) I typed his name and wedding - just a gut feeling.  I was right!

Tragedy!  I actually feel quite sad about this which is ridiculous because we have not been in contact directly for more than 5 years and it's normal that he would have a life.  Doesn't mean I have to like it. Also she has the same last name as me!  My Crazy Girl is screaming that the lines of fate got crossed and he married the wrong one!!

Oh well, I am not a masochist (most of the time) and now am having a moment of silence for my unrequited love of this man.  I don't want to search and find pictures of him happy with his new wife (of four days! did I mention they got married 4 days ago - I think I'm psychic for depressing things) so I will be letting that go.

Sad day...

One project down!

The baby blanket for my friend who is a brand new mom is complete!  So even though I don't have 30 projects listed I have started moving forward on completing a few.

I learned this process from one of my besties and while her talent and creativity at times are endless I do believe she looked it up. I did not take pictures of the process which I now realize that I should have - I'll get better at blogging about projects, I promise!

First step - supplies.  I picked two fabrics, one cute one that works for the mom and baby, you can go traditional blue or pink.  My dear friend is not one of the most traditional ladies so when I came across this adorable blue, yellow, and gray fabric with bird houses I grabbed it (even though she has a daughter, bucking gender norms left and right!).  Next you want the other side of the blanket, I went with a super soft gray minky which you can't help but continue to touch it's so amazingly soft!  I usually bind my blankets with a satin or flat binding.  There are definitely other ways to finish off your edges but I like the contrast it adds to the overall blanket.  I went with a wide satin navy binding that matched the blue in the birdhouse fabric and contrasted nicely with the gray.  Make sure you have a lot of quilting pins, they really are a lifesaver when it comes to keeping your fabric lined up for sewing.

I didn't measure and really just went off the dimensions of my fabrics but that is your call.  There are definitely specific crib blanket dimensions if you need that level of detail. Assuming you have relatively straight edges line up your fabrics back to back, both with the sides you want showing facing out.  Now start pinning!  Pin your edge and start working across the whole blanket, I usually start in a corner and work my way diagonally across the fabric.  This way you work out any spacing issues and don't end up with bunching.  My pins end up approx 4" apart from each other throughout but it's not exact..

Once you are all pinned it's time to sew.  Using my sewing machine I sew lines on the diagonal evenly spaced across the blanket.  What's wonderful about the minky fabric is it has dots in a grid which in effect create guidelines for very straight stitching across.  So if you're using minky I made a line every 3 dots, if not it's approximately every 3".  This can be adjusted to match your aesthetic. You may like wider spaced in between.  I only sew in one direction so my blanket has one directional diagonal lines across, however it would be easy at this point to go in the opposite direction and create a diamond pattern if you chose to.

Now you have your blanket but with unfinished edges.  This was the trickiest part for me and, I'll be honest, would still like to find a better way to do this but in the end it looked pretty good, hand-made, but pretty good.  I took the wide edge binding and as is put the blanket edge in up to the fold.  I pinned all sides and had the binding reach the edge on every corner so that each side overlapped with the next and covered both edges.  Then lining up the needle (on the middle setting) with the edge (inner edge, closest to middle of the blanket) sewed all sides.  I left the corners open so that I could work on the detail needed to make it look clean.

Suggestions having tried this and not being totally happy?  Maybe pin and sew one side at a time, leaving the corners free to be sewn at the end. Hand sew the corners for a more finished, purposeful look.

Iron and send off!  Here's the finished blanket folded and ready to go.  I'm also sending her two of my onesies, an octopus and a blowfish, from RadBaby and a card.

Babies are definitely a fun excuse to get your crafting on!

Truth..

I'm not even sure how I stumbled on this gem of a tumblr but My Friends Are Married is a great little break in my day sometimes.

This one was particularly poignant, draw your own conlclusions

"WHEN I REALIZE THAT ALL THE GUYS AT MY FAVORITE BARS ARE 22 YEARS OLD"

30 is Hard

Coming up with 30 projects is harder than I thought it would be.  Also I can't take forever making the list, I'll run out of time to complete the projects.  I came up with a few more through the power of suggestion. Always open to input...

1. Bedroom Makeover: At this point my bedroom still looks like a slightly grown up college dorm room, even though it is attached to a house I own!
2. Color in the Kitchen: The kitchen is full of beige, I am not a beige person! Or if I have become one I no longer want to be one!
3. Build 4 x 4 workbench:  As seen at an artist studio at American Steel Studios
4. Build nightstands
5. Run a race
6. Front yard makeover: Want to replace lawn with native plants and drought resistant plants, tired of seeing brown grass.
7. Back yard makeover: Add fruit trees, cut out some lawn for "crops", create succulent planter
8. Complete one new woodblock
9. Take an art class
10. Make a "pouf": Here's one project but maybe search because I know there were a couple that did it on the cheap using IKEA rugs I think...
11. Sew a complete item of clothing (more complicated than a skirt though) using a pattern
12. Design and get a tattoo: TGT tattoo or other
13. Make Christmas presents for my neighbors: Starting pinning mason jar gifts.  Just a nice thought and I like the idea of remaining close with the neighborhood.
14. Build and paint a bean bag toss game: A family friend requested this game and while I'm not totally convinced that my construction skills are up to it I found a youtube telling me how and pinned it. I'm going to take some time this weekend to go and get the supplies and give it a go. Note: As I'm writing this I realize I'm referencing a lot of pins so I created a Pinterest board for this blog in case anyone wants to see them all in one place.
15. Sew baby blanket:  My good friend just had a baby and I want to send her a homemade baby blanket and one of my onesies from my etsy shop RadBaby.
16. Add a new item for sale to RadBaby: Speaking of, this shop needs some new energy in it and I think a new product.  I'm working right now to keep it active and may do a sale to clear out some stock and then work to figure out another item to put up for sale.  I've gotten the suggestion of button earrings which could be cute especially using scrap fabric from our aprons.
17. Complete a Coursera course:  I have signed up for Dino 101 and Intro to Computational Design (starting today!).  However my real project is to actually complete a course.  I took two others previously that I really enjoyed but I let life get in the way and didn't complete them.  
18. ...

Ok only 12 more projects to come up with!  I can do it!