Friday, November 21, 2008

A Blast From the Past....Literally

This showed up in my inbox today. The subject was FW: The ghost of Holly Past. It looked like spam, so I almost didn't open it. But, when i did I got something fantastic that is really really making me laugh:

Greetings from your past. In the fall of 2005, you agreed to receive this message,
which has been preserved for a year in the Forbes.com E-Mail Time Capsule. For more
details, visit http://www.forbes.com/capsule

Here is the text of your message:
Hello Holly!

This is the Holly from three years ago. You have now received this email that you
typed out three years ago while you were hanging out at (edit:work name) doing
nothing.

I wanted to send you this as a reminder of what you hoped for and dreamed of for
this point in your life. If you have not accomplished all of these things, then
that's okay. I am sure that you are even more fabulous than you were three years ago. If
you haven't done any of these things, and you are reading this either on (edit:street)
Blvd, or (edit: work name) then you are a lazy stupid a-hole, and you need to get
moving before life passes you by! Here's what you wanted to be doing in three years:



1. You wanted to start a company around your jewlery making, and call it "The Strut
and Crow" or "Strut and Crow Beads" or something like that. But Strut and Crow was a
main component. **oh geez.**


2. You wanted this company to be in good standing with the IRS, and able to be
turning a profit by the time that you received this email. Just like a grown-ups
business. **this is funny. I remember being truly bewildered by the ins an outs
of setting up a business**

3. You wanted to be living in Nashville, and enjoying a great life up there.
**hindsight really IS 20/20, no?**

4. You wanted to have a dog by then. One that is nice to Charlie, and is named
Cooper, to remind you of Charleston.
**check! well, her name is not Cooper but I love her all the same**

5. You wanted to be in a stable relationship within three years (although you
would never admit to anyone that you wanted this). **check! I guess you could call
us stable**

6. You wanted to spend your days doing things that make you happy, and have a job
that you really, truly love. **Check!**

7. You wanted to be able to keep your car and house reasonably clean, and not go
on ice cream binges, or drink till you puke by accident (although on purpose is ok).
**i would go ahead and tentatively say check! on this one**

I hope that the Holly of the Future is sort of like the Holly of the past. However,
I hope that Future Holly is smarter, braver, and richer than past Holly. And likes
who she is.

I hope that Future Charlie doesn't shit on the floor in front of the litter box.
**future Charlie still has work to do with this one, I'm afraid**
















Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Miscellany

mis⋅cel⋅la⋅ny

–noun, plural -nies.
1. a miscellaneous collection or group of various or somewhat unrelated items.
2. a miscellaneous collection of literary compositions or pieces by several authors, dealing with various topics, assembled in a volume or book.
3. miscellanies, a miscellaneous collection of articles or entries, as in a book.


No posts in a week, and my triumphant return is tidbits of a miscellaneous nature. Oh well, it's my blog, I do what I want.

First of all, a good bit of my silence is due to a serious case of Creative Constipation. I have had so many ideas, so many lists, so many lists of lists and random piles, collections and what not- it was all starting to get backed up. Something had to give. I think that I just had some sort of idea overload, and no real logical way to pick what to do next. So I did what any sane person would do:
I took a pickle jar, wrote down some things I want to do on scraps of paper, folded them up, and stuffed them in. Sadly, this is just a sampling of the things from the 'Things To Make' bookmark folder that I have on my computer. This is stuff that I either have laying around or am willing to go out and buy pretty much right away. Oh, and there's some creative equivalents to FREE SPACE in there too- they say Knit! or Cast on for Something New! which should be fun. the pickle jar looks kind of imposing from that angle, huh?

I am taking the Freeze your Buns! Challenge and I finally turned my heat on yesterday. We have had a cold snap the past few days with highs only in the mid 40's! That's pretty effing cold for here, and this time of year too. Now I have the heat set on 60, and it has kicked on once since I have been home tonight, and it was very breif. It was on quite a bit this morning, but oh well. Getting out of bed is hard enough as it is without it being like 50 in my house when I wake up. Just when I was about to crack the other day, my power bill came in the mail. Forty five bucks! That renewed my determination.

I mentioned lists before, and after reading a post on a random blog that I think was linked to from JC Handmade (thanks for the tip Kerry!), I also found a way to start tackling the things that have been causing me tons of anxiety, and proving how consistently fail I can be sometimes. It was on the nature of lists. I love lists. I love making them, crossing things off of them. One more than one occasion i have made lists of lists to make! Anyway it all gets overwhelming, and allows no time for anything other than doing stuff. So now I have like 5-7 things on the list a day. They are including a self pampering/maintenance thing, a cleaning thing, an organizing thing, a creative thing, and a purging thing, and a holiday/errand/random task thing. It's fun! I like seeing my to do list look like tomorrow's: paint toenails, wash windows, clean out nightstand drawer, work on rug for kitchen, clean out underwear drawer (what?!? don't act like you don't have to go through now and again and get rid of the ones that are past their prime!), gather up sticks for starting fires (only in my fireplace, I promise!). Anything else I do is icing on the cake. Anything else I don't do is no big deal at all. I like setting myself up for victory.

Um, what else?

I am heading to my dad's for Thanksgiving. I only see him once a year, at Thanksgiving, so this will be nice. It will be a full house, but the holiday is always really laid back with lots of just hanging out. i plan to be computer free and spend a lot of quality time with my knitting. I have three projects that I will be taking along, so I hope to have a few things to show for being gond so long. I will, however, miss my animals terribly.

Upon returning, the full fledged mania of Christmas crafting begins. I know that I said that I wouldn't be making anything this year, but I feel like I have to. Part of the specialness of the season is the giving, and although things are tight this year, it just wouldn't be the same without sending gifts off in the mail. I have a few things planned out (and put in the pickle jar!), and the majority of them come from stuff I have pretty much readily available at the house. I will still get jolly if it's the last thing i do, dammit!

Yeah, that's really all I have to report for now. I hope you all are staying warm and gearing up for the holidays!


Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Sewing Fail

Listening to music is really always fun. But since I am kicking soooooooo much ass on the Things To Make bookmark folder, I thought, "Why stop?" So I didn't. And here you have it- my ipod cover, made following, you guessed it, this tutorial. Except for one thing. I failed to pay attention when I measured, and then I did okay, but I forgot to sew in half of the ribbon. Well that ended up not mattering because I forgot that the sides needed to be able to meet. They just weren't big enough.

No big deal. I still have enough fabric to do make another, and the felt was super cheap at the fabric store down the road. and so I try again another day. Live and learn. the good thing is that I am over my fear of sewing fail. I now embrace it, and encourage you to do the same.

Behold, my fail iPod pouchy thing:
the weird thing holding the pocket down is a mouse shaped laser pointer thing. It is for the cat to play with. He must chase it 15 minutes a day- he is F-A-T. That is fine with me, and I find it cute. But he's also not getting enough exercise, and that is bad. He's also bored, and taking to licking the fur off his tummy. Also bad. Anyway, that's what that is, so no need to be alarmed there.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Ironing Is More Attractive Now

Well, I did it. I sewed something. I told you I was over my fear of sewing. And using this tutorial, I was able to make a terribly attractive place to iron. No more excuses for looking like I crawled out of a hamper.

Before:

After:

YAY!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Weekend Wrap Up

Prepare for this to be boring. Nonetheless, I feel like sharing it. Here's how it went down, and sorry there aren't any pictures. I didn't bother cause I knew they would be boring.

Friday I did lots of things: went to walmart for kitty litter and puppy food, and left with the usual requisite other stuff. then I swung by goodwill, and I have to say, it was totally alarming. There were like NO sweaters left. I still managed to find four, but they were hard to find. Although! One of them was a powder blue all cashmere cabled sweater and I am thinking it will become a scarf for me. so that means that I am gonna have to start branching out. I wonder what happened to them? Anyway, I also scored some AWESOME ties to make belts out of. One was a Official Republican Mascot tie (it said so on the back), and i have to admit, seeing it at the Goodwill a week after the election made me giggle. Anyway it has cute little elephants all over it and I think it will be great. I also went to the dreaded mall and was able to leave right away with exactly what I went for: $40 new sneakers. So that was that.

Saturday Maya and I took at least three naps, and then went to a karaoke/oyster roast/ sleepover. It was her first! She was better than perfect, whatever that is. She behaved herself and wasn't too scared and was just a total sweet pea. I love being able to take her places, and I look forward to being able to do that without lugging a crate around.

Sunday was just a lazy day. Finally got to work on some long overdue sewing projects, which i will be showing you this week! They are not perfect, so try not to laugh at them and remember that I am teaching myself how to sew here. Be kind.

That's really it. The weekend flew by, and this is already beginning to be a busy and productive week.

I hope you had a good weekend as well.

Friday, November 7, 2008

A Post In Which You Tell Me Things

I am always late to the game with stuff.

So I just got into the whole following of blogs. Ya know, the handy little blogger feature. Well, it's making it much easier to stay on top of the blogs that I read. There are sort of a lot. And now that I never miss a single thing- not one!- I need your recommendations.

Tell me what you read! What do you think I will like? Knitting, Sewing, general crafty awesome, cooking, humor, art, political (although i think I am at critical mass there), music, people who just live interesting lives, really anything. So tell me what you read- I love a really well done blog. Good pictures, thoughtful posts, honesty in the presentation of the content, a good laugh or two. Share!

And while you are at it, have a fantastic weekend.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Favorite Things

These things are making me happy here at the start of November. I love fall.

Naps on the couch:

Mums:

Using Handknits!

Afternoons on the porch, just watching and thinking:

God I love this chair:

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

There Has Never Been Anything False About Hope

Remember this?

http://www.palinaspresident.us/

It was funny yesterday, with the globe, and the diploma wall, and the screams of the public out the window. But now, now it's much better. It's how it should be.

Turn your sound up and grab some tissues.

I'd Like To Interrupt This Blog....

....to bring you a little dose of zen.

Now, as you can tell, I read the blog Notes From the Voodoo Cafe. You can tell that because there it is, right there in the section of the sidebar called What I Read. Well, this post pretty much stopped me in my tracks. It has gotten in my head and I just can't get it out.

I hope that it gives others pause like it gave to me. Enjoy.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

VOTE!

Today is such an exciting day. History will be made, one way or the other.

I am very afraid. I am afraid that people are scared of what they don't understand. I am scared that people will believe the lies in their inboxes, forwarded to them by their friends and relatives. I am scared of people who are scared of people's middle names. I am scared that apathy will undercut the excitement, and that people won't go out and vote because they think that "their guy" has it locked up.

But I am hopeful. I am more hopeful than I am afraid. I hope that the middle class can become appropriately strong again; strong enough to carry the weight of the entire country like it has for the entire history of our country. I am hopeful that soon there will be enough people in power that want to stop fighting that we will be able to responsibly end our occupation of Iraq. I am hopeful that in 4 years things will be better than they are now. I hope that for the first time since I have been able to vote, my guy will win.

The cool thing is, I know lots and lots of other people who are filled with hope too. I know that everything won't be fixed, and I know that to an extent there is a bit of 'more of the same' associated with politicians, but I don't think that it has to be this way this time. I think that in the midst of a totally sucky economy, the revelation that the world thinks we sort of suck, and that we are basically laying waste to everything we come in contact with... there's still a chance that it isn't too late to turn things around. Maybe if enough people continue to pay attention, and continue to give a shit, we can still fix it. Hope kicks ass.

And so do doughnuts! Krispy Kreme is offering a free doughnut to people who show their "I VOTED" sticker on election day. I am totally hitting it up. Participation in democracy is delicious, no?

I plan to stay up late and watch as much coverage as i can, while knitting and hopefully going to bed with a celebratory bottle of beer. Well, first I will drink the beer, then get in bed. I wouldn't drink in bed, that seems sort of too slovenly, even for me. Plus I could fall asleep and make a mess. I left the days of my bed reeking of beer behind me about a year or so out of college. But yes, I hope to have a celebratory drink tonight. I have had enough consolation drinks.

Monday, November 3, 2008

What a Great Saturday

I am sorry I don't have more pictures. I was just too busy having fun. I promise to take pictures the next time I head out to

The Farmer's Market!

It was a beautiful day that was sort of fall like (not oppressively hot, but not cold enough for a sweater- sigh) and I was so excited to go to the farmer's market downtown. As a side note, I took my French Market Bag and it could not have worked out better. A Lady With a Purse Booth even commented on it and just had the nicest things to say. By then it was full of green tomatoes, and it works just great with stuff in it that has a bit of weight to it. I want to go back and buy more stuff just so I can feel the love for the bag again.


There were the usuals- TONS of jewelry, some soaps, bath products, jams and jellies (I got an apple butter and a Cactus and Prickly Pear Jelly) and other fun artsy things. It was a great time, and I really should make a point of buying y produce there. It was gorgeous and they had zucchinis as big as my leg. Almost.

Then we went to Cupcake, a store that surprisingly sells, well, cupcakes. Mine is the pecan praline one. Delicious sugar coma ensues.


Then we went to the Habitat for Humanity store where I got this gem:



Beautiful. I just love love love this chair. I got it for $28! It's so comfy, comes with a cushion that I am actually sort of loving and is in good condition, and has the most satisfying little creaks and groans. I even bought it in spite of the fact that I know it will be great for the porch but a little voice said "One day it would be nice to have in a nursery." I told that voice to STFU, and smacked the snooze button on my biological clock once more. I swear, it is the strangest things that make my ovaries twitch a bit and thing that a kid wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Funny how the universe works though- while checking out we saw the rudest woman who happened to also be parent to the Rudest Child Ever, and well, now i think that rocking in my chair while doing some knitting will be just fine for now, thank you.

the rest of my loot will be revealed in due time: It's some linen napkins that will be hit hard with the fabric paint, and two place mats which believe will be made into something awesome to show you very soon. All for about $8 (the fabric that I got was some nice upholstery weight fabric, about 2 yards worth).

Then we went to Cobwebs, the place where I got my office chair and then I said a silent prayer of thanks for bringing my camera so that I could show you the strangest thing ever.




Now isn't that just the strangest thing you have ever seen in your life? Probably not, but for some reason, seeing all the crutches and walkers suspended from the ceilling over a second hand dining room table and chairs just struck me as incredibly bizarre. I laughed for the longest time about it too. I don't know why. Just one of those things. But man it looks strange. I didn't buy anything, but they have some really great desks there for like $40. I plan to wait and see if I can't maybe score one for like $20. Now that would be something to shout about.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Make sure to get your asses to the polls tomorrow!