hopefully something rhetorical

I was inspired by Liz over at Mabel’s House, so I thought that I would share a few random things today as well.

1. My “wife” and her daughter, KT, have been visiting for the last week or so.  Yesterday, they decided to stay until Saturday.  We are really excited about it.  The story behind why Alie is my wife is that back in 2003 she lived with me during the boy’s first deployment.  Her husband was deployed as well, and it just worked out.  She is a lot like the boy, and we get along really well.  When the boy got back from his deployment, her husband was still gone, unfortunately.  So, Alie would come with us to different events and the boy would always introduce us as “This is my wife, Sandy, and her wife, Alie.”  It just stuck.
2. I have been completely loving having KT around.  She is eleven months old and hilarious.  Video proof of what I am saying can be found here.
3. Alie has an incredibly funny sense of humor.  She found a link to this article the other day, and we have been laughing about it all week.  I am not sure exactly why we thought it was so funny, but I think it had something to do with this video of this woman’s appearance on Ellen.  Ever since watching the video, we have been thinking of all the things that you wouldn’t be able to do with nails that long.  Like, how would you pick your nose?
4. I am in love with this new line from Robert Kaufman found on Etsy.  I am thinking I should just get some!  Alie has gotten me into a creating mood because she keeps saying “You know what I would really like you to make for me…”  I told her we just need to start a list.
5. I am getting anxious to find out more about where we are going to be for our next move.  I know that all our family and friends are eager to find out as well.  We are just keeping our fingers crossed that we end up somewhere fun, and I am trying to be patient.  It isn’t really working though.
6. The kittens are crazy.  We have started calling them Thing 1 and Thing 2.  It fits more perfectly than I could ever explain.
7. I am getting excited about finally sharing all the Christmas presents (or at least the ones that are done…shhhh…I didn’t actually say that).  I got a big group of them mailed out last week before Alie got here.  They are wicked cute, and I will post the pictures here just as soon as I download them out of the camera.

I will be back more regularly sometime soon!

Thought that I would play along with Sew, Mama, Sew!’s Stash Talk.

What do you usually sew? I am a quilt kinda girl.  But, lately, I have been breaking out into other areas like crayon rolls, bags, and most recently a set of place mats that I can’t wait to share.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?) If I have a purpose for it, I try to buy what I need, but if not, it depends how much I love it.  I tend to want to hoard fabrics that I love even if I don’t have a purpose for them.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need? Most of my buying is with a purpose, but I have been stash building quite a bit recently.

Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it? I should prewash more than I do.  Maybe if I just washed things as soon as I brought them home, I would be more consistent.  I am completely inconsistent with my prewashing.

Do you iron it? I always iron!  I like to have things pressed.

How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.) I did some reorganizing recently, and I tried to organize by color.  I think I really just grouped things by tones though.

Do you have any special folding techniques? Yup.  I read about it first on Crazy Mom Quilts.  And, she links here.  It is awesome and actually makes things easier to cut when I need them.

How do you store your fabric? Right now, I am using a really cool bookcase.  But, I am coveting this because the other one isn’t big enough.  It likely will become part of my new craft room wherever we move next.

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash? I don’t know.  I don’t really feel like mine is well-rounded yet.  I have some stuff in there that I don’t love and would like to find a new home for.

When do you say enough is enough? I am not sure there is an “enough.”  But, I do know that I go through ebbs and flows as to whether I buy anything.  The neutrals are what I buy the most of.

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects? Really, it would just be to go through my to do list and knock things out.

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it! No specific favorites.  But, I have been loving the new basic grey lines and some of the Amy Butler stand-bys, particularly Daisy Chain.

What’s your definition of the perfect stash? For me, I think it would be a bunch of fabric that I would love to use.   Right now, I am getting closer to that, but like I said, there are some prints I need to weed out.

Tuesday is my day off during the week.  And, I have been pretty protective about it.  The boy and I both have.  Teaching can easily bleed into time that you might normally have off.  It is definitely not a leave-it-at-the-office kind of job.  And, while I love what I do, there are moments that it wears on me.  So, a few semesters ago, I started giving myself a little more time off where I could.  And, Tuesdays became that day for me.

Then, about a year or so ago, I was in my office, and I had someone call looking for editing work.  It was a last minute job, as they often are, and I get a few calls like it every year, probably because my name is near the top of the list on our faculty directory.

The job was for a busy doctor in town.  He needed help getting an assignment his daughter had created ready for a national competition.  So, because I like a challenge, I said yes.  And, was easily able to turn the document around in a day.  Then a month or so ago, I got another call from the same doctor looking for me to help his other daughter.  This was, again, a school assignment with a quick turn around requirement.  And, I, again, got it done for him.

As a result of this, he wanted to set-up tutoring sessions with his oldest daughter.  And, he isn’t really the type of man that takes no for an answer.  What I should have said was that while I have a full class load that I didn’t take on individual tutoring, not to mention that I teach college, not high school, which is actually a fairly large distinction.

I knew when I was first approached that I didn’t want to do it, but I felt kinda pressured by him.  It wasn’t an absolute “no,” but it definitely wasn’t an absolute “yes” either.  So, we started talking about days during the week that would work, and it ended up that Tuesday afternoons were the only time that would work for both of us.  So, very reluctantly, I said okay.

I have been rolling this “yes” around in my brain for a week or so now trying to wrap my head around this as something I would actually have to do.    And, it wasn’t just about the time involved.  Our philosophies about writing are completely opposite from each other.  I believe that you learn to write with practice and safe environments where it is okay for you to make mistakes.  And, I believe that my job is to help show students where those mistakes are without judgment.  The Dr. told me that he wanted me to force his daughter to love writing.  There is no forcing about my method of teaching.  But, still I rolled this “yes” around in my head trying to come up with a plan of attack.

Then, today, I read this post from Liz.  Last week, she challenged her readers to do something that scared them.  And, while I was thinking about all the possibilities of what I could do today that scared me, I realized that thing I wanted to do the most was preserve and protect my time.  And, this is a scary thing to me.  With my brand of teaching, there is always a certain amount of fear and contingency planning.  And, with the discussion of budget cuts spreading through higher education like wildfire, I think the “yes” was from a place of fear.

We are about to move.  We have to leave the home we have made for ourselves.  I am going to have to leave my secure job and face a new city with a new job search.  I have to start over, and we don’t know where we are going yet.  Those are some pretty scary things for me.

But, instead of staying in that place of fear, I decided to embrace my choice to value my time, which is probably what I need now more than anything.  And, I decided to embrace the challenge Liz offered, and I canceled.  I will not be tutoring on Tuesday afternoons.  I will do what I can to find a replacement, but I am going to say “no” to that kind of “yes.”

I think this year’s word is going to be perfect.

Today has been a long day.  The week has flown by, and my day really did too, but since we are at the beginning of the semester, there is a lot of information that I need to give to students, which means that I am talking more than I do throughout the rest of the semester.  Trying to engage students that really don’t want to take your class is an adventure.

So, today was a long day because I said the same thing four times, with emphasis and meaning.  So, I am sitting in my office at the end of the day decompressing, definitely not talking.  And, I was looking through some of my blogs, and I found this post by Angry Chicken.  It is a great cover of a song that I love.  So, I went to check out his other videos.  When I found the one below, I knew that I was in love!

I think CaptainBurrito and I have the same taste in music!  Never thought I would say that on my blog.  What a great little pick-me up this afternoon!

These days, I need to remember my word for the year.  Things will get done.  Lessons will get planned.  Projects will get completed.  I can do this.  I just need to remember.

This is a tag going around, here too, and I thought I would play along.

1. I am a total perfectionist.  I love to make handmade gifts, but I am always worried that people won’t like them, and I keep almost nothing I make.
2. I am incredibly sensitive and prone to self-doubt.  Negative things that people say always cause problems and make me second guess myself.  This makes things like teacher evaluations a problem at times. This is definitely something that I am trying to get better about, particularly with regards to student comments.
3. I am an awful nurse.  I don’t know if it is because my dad died when I was a teenager and I get scared when people are sick or what.  I haven’t figured out what that is all about yet.
4. I try not to eat any “fake” sweeteners anymore.  About two years ago, I gave up everything with aspartame, etc.  And, I was a big diet coke drinker.  I am trying to stick with water, but that does get a little boring sometimes.
5. I am a planner.  I map everything out in my head when I am getting ready for a big change.  Therefore, I am getting really excited about moving to our next duty station, but I am anxious to get our house on the market and find out where we are going!
6. I am a pack rat.  I save little bits of things that I think would be fun to work with.  And, I am constantly trying to figure out how I could organize them, so I could keep them all.
7. I can’t spell to save my life.  Spell check is a huge help, but sometimes I only use words that I am sure are spelled correctly.
8. I love hooded shirts/sweatshirts more than is natural.  I am drawn to them.  I am also drawn to white shirts of all varieties, particularly t-shirts.
9. I haven’t been reading as much lately, and I miss it.
10. I would love to have more time to craft.  Actually, this should read that I would love to quit my job and craft all day.  Haven’t figured out the way to make that work yet.
11. During 2008, the boy and I got out of debt!  We lived on half off what we made to make it happen and no longer use credit cards, and now we are saving up for a new house if we get back to Northern VA.  Everyone said how wonderful it would feel, but really, I was terrified when I paid off that last bill.  And, now I am more scared to spend money than ever.  It is so weird.
12. I hide my face behind my hands during scary parts in movies and tv shows.
13. I still have Christmas presents to complete and send!  They are going to be beautiful though, see #1.
14. I wear all my emotions on my sleeve, which makes #2 hard.
15. I have a shoe addiction.  At one point, I had 15 pairs of Birkenstocks, but I think that I have weeded that down…a little.  I also love Keens and Chacos’s flip flops.
16. I love to be around people and am completely an extrovert, but I hate to talk on the phone (my mom will see this and think that I just talked myself out when I was in high school) and am actually very shy in certain situations, like being in new places or around new people.  I am also like a golden retriever in that I am a fiercely loyal friend and super demanding once I decide that you are someone I want to be around.

Consider yourself tagged!  I would love to know more about you, so link back here if you decide to play along!

..seen fabric perfect for a project and not been able to move forward with your original plan until you got some?  That is what happened to me recently.  I wanted to make placemats for my friend’s little girl this holiday season.  I was inspired by something I saw in a magazine, don’t even remember which one now.  The premise behind these placemats is that they are a way to teach your kids where all the silverware goes.  I loved the idea, and I thought they might work well for this particular family since her mom is amazing about letting her help.

Well, I had everything all planned out, and then I saw this Andover line from Elizabeth House, and it ruined all my original plans.  It is called Lizzy House, and I love it!  And, it was perfect for my placemat idea.  Problem was that it didn’t come out until recently, and these placemats were supposed to be holiday presents.

So, I procrastinated, and I tried to find something else that would work.  And, then I procrastinated some more.  And, by the time I was done procrastinating, I found it on Etsy!  So, a whole yard of this beautiful stuff is on its way to me, and I will finally be able to finish those placemats!  I can’t wait to share how they turn out!

The boy and I are in the midst of our annual purge, which actually means that we are making more of a mess than anything, but things are getting organized and cleared out, which I love.  I took the BGF on a tour this evening of all that we had accomplished in the last two days.  The requisite ooo’s and ahh’s were had.  I feel better.  I also got my New Year’s Cards ordered, which should be here and addressed and out by next week.

Now, I need to get my butt in gear to get this semester off to the right start and get all the school stuff organized.  School is going to start before I know it.  Next Thursday in fact.  Doesn’t seem at all possible, particularly when I still have Christmas presents to get out to my family.  Handmade gifts will start much earlier this year, for sure.

But, before I forge on with all that “important” stuff, I took a few moments a few days ago and created our 2008 Year in Review playlist.  I explained a little of this concept here, but the basic run down is that every year I create one master playlist that encapsulates this last year for us musically.  This year, I thought that I would share it with everyone.

The list of songs are below, but you can get to the playlist on iTunes, the way we buy music, here.  This iMix isn’t the complete list because the way that iTunes allows those mixes to be made, but all the songs are below with their own individual link in case anyone is interested.

This year was actually a little light, mostly likely because of the writer’s strike, coming in at 58 songs.  And, they are listed here in the order that I added them to the list, so in no order in particular.  Happy Listening!

• New Soul | Yael Naim
• Falling In Love At a Coffee Shop | Landon Pigg
• Mahna, Mahna | Cake
• Strangers In the Night | Cake
• Polite Dance Song | The Bird And The Bee
• Sweeter Than This | Katie Herzig
• From My Heart to Yours | Laura Izibor
• Where I Stood | Missy Higgins
• Psycho | Puddle of Mudd
• Big Blow |  Alpha Rev
• I Found a Reason | Cat Power
• Tell Her This | Del Amitri
• Giving Up |  Ingrid Michaelson
• Sleep Through the Static |  Jack Johnson
• Details In the Fabric (feat. James Morrison) |  Jason Mraz
• In My Arms |  Jon Foreman
• Breathe In Breathe Out |  Mat Kearney
• Shake It | Metro Station
• Float On | Modest Mouse
• Ice Cream | Muscles
• Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games (aka: The Outback Song) | Of Montreal
• Buildings & Mountains | Republic Tigers
• La Breeze | Simian
• Don’t You Evah | Spoon
• Walkie Talkie Man |  Steriogram
• Shut Up and Let Me Go |  The Ting Tings
• Hideaway | The Weepies
• All Good Things |  The Weepies
• Just Blue | The Weepies
• Takes So Long | The Weepies
• All Good (Original) | Zeroleen
• Piano Song |  Meiko
• Calabria 2008 | Enur (feat. MIMS & Natasja)
• Bartender Song (aka Sittin’ at a Bar) | Rehab
• Modern Guilt |  Beck
• Modern Nature | Sondre Lerche
• How Lucky We Are | Meiko
• Boys With Girlfriends | Meiko
• Disturbia | Rihanna
• You’re a Wolf | Sea Wolf
• Be OK | Ingrid Michaelson
• American Boy |  Studio All-Stars
• And Then You | Greg Laswell
• Hurt |  Johnny Cash
• Bonfire Blondes | Beck
• Herculean The Good, The Bad & The Queen
• Strange & Beautiful (I’ll Put a Spell On You) |  Aqualung
• Ha Ha | Emiliana Torrini
• Youthless | Beck
• The Longer I Run | Peter Bradley Adams
• Altogether Now | Patrick & Eugene
• You and I | Ingrid Michaelson
• Mr. Hurricane | Beast
• It’s a New Day | will.i.am
• Art | Tanya Davis
• Ordinary Day | Emilie Mover
• Walcott | Vampire Weekend
• Days Go On | Greg Laswell

As I have been reading through the year’s recaps all over blogland, I have been considering the manner that I wanted to recap the last year.  I knew I wanted to recap all the crafty stuff I have accomplished the last year, but I wanted something more too.  And, I stumbled across a cool idea that I thought would work.

My friend, Devon, just posted an interesting meme to her blog about her last year.    The instructions were to make a list of the first sentence(s) of the first entry you wrote for each month.

1. January: Just had to share this with you all! I do warn you that this will completely get stuck in your head though.
2. February: Well, I am sitting in our union on campus because there was some miscommunication about a meeting that I thought that I needed to be at right now, and instead of walking back to my office in the frigid cold outside, I thought that I would just sit and write for a little instead.
3. March: I am continually amazed by the fact that it takes me so long to get into the swing of the semester.
4. April: I was reading on Dooce today about this photo exhibit, and I thought that I would share.
5. May: I am just sitting here thinking about how to attack all the grading that I have sitting around my office.
6. June: As we were walking through all the stalls of cool old marble mantles and cool old prints, there was one lone stall that looked like it was full of modern antique furniture.
7. July: This afternoon, I had the most lovely surprise waiting for me.
8. August: Today is going to be a busy day.
9. September: Around the country, this is the day that kids go back to school.
10. October: Just thought I would check in and let you know a little more about what I was up to…
11. November: This week has been a little crazy.
12. December: Over the last week, I played a little.

A couple of things struck me while looking through my old posts.  Sharing is becoming a larger part of what I am doing here.  I guess it would seen obvious to some that the purpose of a blog would be to share, but I am not sure that is why all this started for me.  I actually think I started a blog because I was asking my students to complete one at the time, and I thought it only fair that I complete one as well.  That was a long time ago, and I didn’t really embrace this space until much later.

I look forward to the next year and all the adventures it promises to bring forth.  I know that I will have this little space of the universe to share those adventures.

Throughout 2008, I lived with the word fulfill for all the things it wasn’t as much as all that it was.  I wrote about that journey here, so I won’t recap it all again.  In my reflection about my year with “fulfill,” I also announced my word for 2009.  I have decided that “embrace” is the next step for me this upcoming year.  And, I can’t tell you how excited I am because every single aspect of this word fits my goals for the upcoming year.  It will be so interesting to see how they all play out.

embrace

1. to take or clasp in the arms; press to the bosom; hug.
2. to take of receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly: to embrace an idea.
3. to avail oneself of: to embrace an opportunity.
4. to adopt (a profession, a religion, etc).
5. to take in with the eye or the mind.
6. to encircle; surround; enclose.
7. to include or contain: An encyclopedia embraces a great number of subjects.

And, I am excited by the prospect of having friends join me this year.  The boy and the BGF have also been thinking about choosing a word to live with.  And, while I am by no means the only one out in blogland that is doing this, it will be nice to be joined by friends and family too!