right now

anticipating:: wood chopping weekend this weekend! getting stuff done + hanging out with friends and relatives + cooking yummy food and hopefully having a campfire. life is good

missing:: my friend kim who's on vacation this week.

happy:: that my friend dan has finally, somewhat, mostly moved up to our humble little 4-person office on the 6th floor and he can keep me company

needing:: to go to the gym. i will get there today. hoping the rest of the week will keep me motivated

wishing:: i had more motivation to clean this weekend instead of just declutter a few things. add that to the to-list for the week

awed:: (continually) by how cool Skype is. Ryan and I skyped (while cropping) with 4 of our other friends and fellow scrapbookers (Christine, Jenni, Beverly and Jill) who were cropping in Gettysburg on Friday night

obsessing:: about Christmas presents. i've gotten a lot done already. more than years past by far. both making and buying things. but i still have a long way to go and with my goal of doing MORE handmade, i'm still putting a lot of pressure on myself.

hating:: that having officemates (as much as love THEM) means I can't listen to Stern when that's the one thing that would put this morning into the over-the-top-awesome categoy

loving:: the season premieres of the shows I love. while alternatively wishing I didn't watch TV at all. yes. i'm a gemini. get over it.

dreaming:: of all sorts of creative projects that i never seem to have the time to complete.

life right now

• Sons of Anarchy is back on television and it makes me as giddy as the 10 year old version of myself shopping for binders and folders for back to school!
• Knitting cables is definitely more effort but the results are so stunning I'm surprised I don't work them into everything I knit.
• Nora Ephron is amazing. Her books I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing are delightful. Short and funny. So real and relateable. She reads the audio-version herself. Well worth it! (Here's one excerpt from the latter- #20 cracked me up!!)
• I have so much trouble waking up in the morning lately.
• I'm fairly addicted to Chipotle's rice and beans!
• I am still thankful not to be coughing (I was literally starting to think I'd cough for the rest of my life after the events of this summer)
• I am looking forward to apple picking and wearing sweaters, and eating honeycrisp apples
• I desperately need to get new glasses. On a nearly daily basis I find I can't see most things at work. Yet I'm too busy at work to leave for an hour to get an eye appt, so that remains unresolved!
• Meal planning during a crazy work week is absolutely useless. I was so excited to eat my tidily prepared lunches but was too busy to get back to my desk to eat them. Instead my very kind co-worker Dan brought me a boxed lunch. 1/4 of which I ate on a bench in the lobby of one of our new units, 1/4 I ate in small bites when I was alone in an elevator. 1/2 went in the trash.... meal planning take 2 next week.
• Sleeping in on the weekend feels luxurious!
• If I get my nails done every week or two I can actually have beautiful, girly nails. Who knew?!
• I now have the skills of a nearly more than amateur DJ! Dan taught me how to do it, and I DJed for my cousin Megan's wedding! Granted, I didn't actually mix anything until everyone was packing up. But I did it, and I didn't screw it up. That's gotta be a good sign right?!
• I finally got new LL Bean slippers (in Berry). My first pair have been washed so many times they are stiff and uncomfortable- the 2 least desirable qualities in slippers. I'm not in love with how these look but they are SO comfy and warm.
• Dan's finally on the motorcycle trip he's always dreamed up... he got off to a late start, has gotten rained on nearly every day, and had to shorten his route. BUT he's having a great time and after working countless hours at work for months on end, he so deserves this! I got a postcard from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame yesterday. Who knew he'd think of something so sweet to do!? Love that guy.
• I got to Skype with Riley & Garret the other night from home. Not always easy to do both from a timing perspective but also because I have a data limit on my internet use, but it was SO wonderful SEEING and HEARING them. I miss those two munchkies and can't wait to meet their little brother or sister in December (I think I'm getting a new niece for the record) :)
• so many things. this is what happens when i don't blog. photos coming next time :)

Update on 2011 Goals

When I am this behind on blog posts I never know where to start, but another blog post I read today made me think about the goals I'd set for this year... and as usual, the year has flown by and I couldn't for the life of me remember all of what I'd written down, so here I am.

So here's the latest:

Photography:

1. Take another class. I'd like to go back NESOP in the Spring for their Advanced Digital Camera class. And if that does work (schedule-wise or otherwise), I will find a similar class to build upon the basic understanding I learned in my Beginning Digital Camera class.

I haven't taken a full-on class, but I did a Boston Photo Tour through Chimpsy last Saturday with Mom, Kim and Ryan. I learned a couple new things and was reminded of a few things I'd forgotten! Definitely a fun and useful 2+ hours. It made me want to take a fall class at NESOP but I'm feeling like Spring will be a better opportunity for that. And I'm ok with it.

2. Take more photos of the everyday. I'm going to make a point to leave my camera in specific places around the house in hopes that it will remind me to capture small moments at home, or take it with me when I hop in the car to go somewhere that I wouldn't normally take my big honkin' camera.

I did well with this earlier in the year but come the late spring and then summer (during which I was sick for over 5 weeks), that definitely fell off the radar. No excuses. It just didn't happen....

3. Try my hand at some more semi-professional photo shoots. I really enjoyed working with Angela & Barry, Dave & Cara, DJ & Manda, and little Mackenzie & Brielle. Definitely wanting to try some more challenging photography in 2011. If you're interested in a free session, let me know!

Haven't done this, but perhaps some Christmas cards? :)

Crochet

I've done a little dabbling with this craft both during 2010 and already a little bit in the new year. I'm not convinced I'll ever love it as much as knitting, but I already know that it is has a lot of great applications and I want to learn at least the basics with crochet. I have a book that my friend Ellen leant to me over a year now (if you need it back please just holler), and I'm looking forward to tackling some of the squares from that book, even if its just to make a doll blanket for one of my nieces!

Nothing. Really want to!! :)

Sewing

I think a Thursday Night Sewing Club is already forming and I love that prospect. My Aunt Florence has graciously offered to teach Mom and me how to sew (Mom knows some basics. I do not). My friends Ryan and Kim are also very interested, and so I think us ladies (plus Nathan when he's free) may just have a grand old time learning how to sew. I'm very much looking forward to it. If I can sew a button on a shirt by the end of 2011, I'll consider that a success since I can't even do that. Anything more is a bonus!

We started the year out strong with our sewing lessons. As a result I sewed a whole pile of cloth napkins (which means we do not buy paper napkins or paper towels anymore)!! :) And I made a few other small items- a fort kit for Riley's birthday complete with a drawstring pouch to put it in. Not bad for a beginner. And then we had Riley and Garret a couple nights a week as Jeff and Melissa got them ready to move to IL, so time was better spent giving baths and snuggling and cleaning baby food out of Garret's ears... and those are the trade offs in life. I'm happy with how those hours are spent. I have no grand dreams of being a seamstress. If I can sew a few things if/when the urge strikes me, I'm happy with that.

Knitting

I've learned a lot about knitting in 2010 but there's more I'd like to learn and projects I'd still like to accomplish. This year I'm planning to make at least 1 more hat and 2 more afghans (one is in progress now). I will also learn to make mittens.

I've finished 1 afghan and I've got one in progress!

I've made 8 hats (holy cow!!), 2 cowls, 2 baby vests, 3 dresses, a baby sweater, and a pair of legwarmers. Not too shabby! Mittens will likely strike my fancy as these cool temps roll in.

Make More Handmade Gifts

1. I very much enjoyed this part of my Christmas routine this year. I am planning to update this post with an exact percentage of how much of my gift giving was handmade by me (or others) this year with plans to increase that percentage for next year's Christmas season.

This is a good reminder for me. I've already knit a number of Christmas gifts :) And I've been keeping an eye out for local and handmade gifts (a few of which I've purchased).

2. Start Christmas crafting by May at the latest. There simply wasn't enough time to do all of what I wanted to do this year. I have zillions of notes saved in Evernote. Lots of ideas. Just need to start executing earlier.

Success! I started in June I think. Close enough :)

Think about Simplifying on a Daily Basis

I'm finding that there is a lot of clutter in my life lately. When I am mindful about how I am spending my time and what I am wanting to accomplish I can do a lot of these things that really make me feel productive and happy.

1. I am aiming to watch less television on weeknights so that I can spend more time reading and crafting. Sitting in the quiet by the fire right now is so amazingly peaceful. I am in the midst of a stressful week at work and yet I am not stressed. I write this to remind myself of how well this CAN work.

This comes and goes... I've done well with this this week while Dan's been away. I put on the radio throughout the house and putter around... if he's already got the tv on, I'm easily sucked in. I'll have to work on that.

2. I want to be better organized with my work bag and items I always think I need on a daily basis and yet rarely do (until the moment I need that specific thing and its inevitably at home)... I need less stuff and I need to be more organized= the bottom line.

I found a great, big bag this summer and use a large Vera Bradley cosmetics case to hold most of my normal purse things (lipgloss, gum, pager, etc) and its worked REALLY WELL! :) Yaay for a $15 target canvas bag.

3. Cleaner car & cleaner home. To be fair neither are actually dirty. But they are both cluttered. It's part of who I am. I'd rather work on something until I drop than to stop 15 minutes early and put everything away (really, that doesn't sound like it's any fun at all does it??). However, at the end of the week it looks like 2 adults, 6 kids and 3 circus clowns live in this small house and as much as it doesn't take me 2 days to clean, its still mildly overwhelming and let's face it, unnecessary. It drives Dan crazy and that's not fair. I am happier when the house is clean and clutter-free and I need to do the little things every day to make that happen. If I put stuff away at night, it will make my morning's easier... It's a good thing all around. I just need to push myself.

I did well with the house portion (for the most part) except when I was sick. Then it got really ugly around here ;) I got my car detailed and have been good about keeping it looking nice ever since. I may have created a monster though because now I think daily about wanting to get it detailed again. Must find another Groupon!!

Pay It OFF

1. Pay off my Student Loan.

2. Pay off my Car Loan.

My car is paid off!!!!! WOO HOO!

Student loan is well on its way. I should have this done by December! :)

Not bad, all in all!

Still some work to do. But manageable I think.

Looking forward to fall, crisp air, relaxed weekends and Progress!

yikes

echo.

echo.

echo.

life's been a whirlwind.

more to come soon.

i promise.