My favorite time of year. Christmas. So magical. I miss the cold weather of the Pacific Northwest during this time of year. Terribly. It shouldn't be sunny December. Alas, I live vicariously through the following. Enjoy.
12/9/09
12/1/09
101 In 1001
They say you accomplish more when you write it down. I believe it. So, I’ve decided to take the 101 in 1001 Challenge. Now, you can google this, it’s not new. But I first heard about it on Jessica Claire’s site and Melissa Jill’s site.
Basically the premise is to write down 101 things that you want to accomplish in 1001 days. It can be anything and everything. From big to small, simple to complex.
My official start date is today: December 1st, 2009. This will make my end date August 28th, 2012.
I plan to post my progress as I go.
Take the journey yourself…you never know what you may accomplish!
These are in no particular order.
1. LEARN SPANISH FLUENTLY
2. MAKE CHICKEN MOLE FROM SCRATCH
3. BECOME CPR CERTIFIED
4. MAKE AN EMERGENCY KIT: NOT THE TYPICAL KIND, THE KIND WITH ALL OUR ACCOUNTS, PASSWORDS, POLICY INFO, BENEFICIARY INFO, ETC., IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENS
5. MAKE A WILL
6. ESTABLISH A LIVING TRUST FOR MY KIDS
7. CONTRIBUTE TO MY CHILDREN'S SAVINGS ACCOUNT EVERY PAYCHECK. NO SET AMOUNT, JUST SOMETHING.
8. TAKE A PHOTOSHOP CLASS TO LEARN ABOUT GRAPHICS, NOT PHOTO EDITING.
9. GET CHAPS BUFFALINO STARTED.
10. TAKE PICTURES OF MY KIDS EVERY SINGLE MONTH FOR A YEAR BEGINNING IN 2010.
11. GET PUBLISHED IN A MAGAZINE.
12. GET TO MY GOAL WEIGHT.
13. TAKE A METALSMITHING CLASS.
14. LEARN TO PLAY MY GUITAR.
15. READ AT LEAST ONE BOOK PER MONTH STARTING JANUARY 2010.
16. MOVE OUT OF ARIZONA.
17. GO ROCK CLIMBING (INDOOR).
18. GO TO THE GRAND CANYON.
19. GET FAMILY PHOTOS DONE BY TARA WHITNEY.
20. ORGANIZE ALL MY PHOTOS, BOTH FILM AND DIGITAL.
21. GET PICTURES PRINTED, FRAMED, AND HUNG THROUGH OUT THE HOUSE.
22. SEND MY HUSBAND TO BLIZZCON WITH NO EXPENSE SPARED.
23. VISIT NYC AT CHRISTMAS TIME.
24. PAY OFF OUR DEBT.
25. PERFECT THE CORNISH PASTY.
26. BLOG AT LEAST 3 TIMES A WEEK FOR A WHOLE YEAR STARTING JANUARY 2010.
27. LEARN THE STOCK MARKET.
28. START A TRADING ACCOUNT.
29. QUIT MY DAY JOB AND BE A WORK-AT-HOME MAMA.
30. TAKE A WEEK LONG TRIP TO AN INCLUSIVE RESORT, SOMEWHERE TROPICAL…MAYBE ATLANTIS OR DISNEY CRUISE!
31. COOK/BAKE MY WAY THROUGH MY MARTH STEWART BOOK. AT LEAST MAKE 2 RECIPES FROM EACH CATEGORY.
32. TAKE A COOKING CLASS.
33. RUN A 5K.
34. RUN A HALF-MARATHON.
35. BECOME A GRILL MASTER: ALL MEAT, FISH, VEGGIES, FRUIT, ETC.
36. DEFINE MY STYLE: UPDATE WARDROBE, MAKE-UP, HAIR, ETC.
37. CREATE A COOKBOOK OF FAMILY FAVORITES: ADD TO AS I FIND/CREATE SUCCESSFUL MEALS.
38. DO A PHOTOSHOOT OF MY NANA.
39. CREATE MY "KITCHEN WALL OF PHOTOS".
40. KEEP AN INSPIRATION NOTEBOOK. REFER TO IT. BUILD MY CREATIVITY ON IT. BLOG ABOUT THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF IT.
41. DONATE TIME TO A CHILDREN'S CHARITY.
42. DO THE BREAST CANCER 3 DAY.
43. PLAY POKER AT A REAL POKER TABLE IN A CASINO.
44. READ THE BIBLE. ALL OF IT.
45. PAY IT FORWARD ANONYMOUSLY WHEN I CAN.
46. LEARN LIGHTROOM
47. BE MORE POSITIVE.
48. WORK ON PATIENCE.
49. TAKE A YOGA CLASS.
50. STAY AT A RESORT ALONG SOME PART OF THE WEST COAST THAT IS LITERALLY ON THE BEACH.
51. TAKE DANCE LESSONS WITH MY HUBBY WHEN WE BOTH GET TO OUR GOAL WEIGHT.
52. VISIT A DAIRY FARM AND ACTUALLY WORK ON IT FOR A DAY.
53. TAKE A PAINTING CLASS.
54. LEARN ABOUT BEER.
55. BE A BROWNIE TROOP LEADER.
56. WATCH THE BALL DROP. THIS WOULD BE IN CONJUNCTION WITH # 23
57. ORGANIZE AN URBAN CRAFT FAIR.
58. LEARN THE CRAFT OF CANNING.
59. RE-LEARN KNITTING.
60. TEACH MYSELF HOW TO CROCHET.
61. READ THE CLASSIC WORKS OF LITERATURE THAT I PROBABLY SHOULD'VE READ SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE, BUT DIDN'T.
62. LEARN TO MAKE TAMALES AND MENUDO LIKE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW.
63. DRIVE A TRACTOR.
64. SHADOW MY FATHER-IN-LAW FOR ONE DAY DURING THE BUSIEST TIME OF HIS GROWING SEASON
65. HAVE MY MOM TEACH ME ALL THE HARD SEWING STUFF: ZIPPERS, BUTTON HOLES, PLEATS, ETC.
66. GO HORSEBACK RIDING ON THE BEACH.
67. VIDEO TAPE THE KIDS MORE OFTEN.
68. VOLUNTEER FOR A HABITAT FOR HUMANITY PROJECT.
69. TEACH PENELOPE HOW TO READ BEFORE SHE STARTS KINDERGARTEN (8/10).
70. GO TO THE SPACE NEEDLE.
71. RIDE THE AMTRAK FROM PORTLAND TO SEATTLE.
72. DOCUMENT THE BIRTH STORIES OF MY CHILDREN. THEY AREN'T FAR OUT, JUST TO HAVE FOR POSTERITY SAKE.
73. GO TO A JASMINE STAR WORKSHOP EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT INTERESTED IN WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY.
74. RESEARCH OLD PHOTOGRAPHERS AND BLOG ABOUT IT.
75. SEE JIM GAFFIGAN LIVE.
76. SEE JIMMY BUFFET AGAIN.
77. LEARN HOW TO MAKE RED / GREEN / YELLOW CURRY.
78. REPAINT PENELOPE'S FURNITURE.
79. FIND A THRIFT STORE ITEM W/POTENTIAL AND REUPHOLSTER.
80. MAKE WEEKLY MEAL PLANS AND GROCERY BUDGET AND STICK TO IT.
81. DO AT LEAST ONE LOAD(WASH/DRY/PUT AWAY) OF LAUNDRY EACH NIGHT TO AVOID MT. LAUNDRYMORE. LAUNDRY IS MY NEMESIS
82. COOK/BAKE MY WAY THROUGH THE ENTIRE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS COOKBOOK. COMPLETE WITH PICTURES AND ALL IN HOPES THAT SHE MENTIONS ME ON HER BLOG AND MAYBE AN INVITATION TO HER INFAMOUS RANCH WHERE WE CAN COOK AND "WORK CATTLE" TOGETHER!
83. GO TO A PLAY WITH MY HUSBAND. ANY PLAY. IT'S NOT REALLY OUR THING, BUT IT COULD BE FUN.
84. TAKE THE KIDS TO A D-BACKS GAME.
85. GO TO THE CONAN O'BRIEN SHOW.
86. MAKE A QUILT.
87. MAKE HOMEMADE PASTA.
88. LEARN DIFFERENT CUTS OF BEEF AND WHERE THE COME FROM AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH. FLANK STEAK? WHAT? T-BONE? FILET OF THIS-THAT-OR-WHATEVER? STEW MEAT? PORTERHOUSE, HUH?
89. START A CRAFT GROUP.
90. GROW MY OWN HERB GARDEN.
91. HIKE CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN.
92. LEARN TO MAKE THE PERFECT PIZZA CRUST.
93. MAKE MY OWN FRESH MOZZARELLA CHEESE.
94. PERMANENTLY DECLUTTER MY HOUSE. MAKE EVERYTHING HAVE IT'S PLACE. NO JUNK DRAWERS, NO MAIL PILES, NO STUFFING ANYTHING ANYWHERE.
95. KEEP MY CAR CLEAN FOR AT LEAST A MONTH (THE GOAL IS FOREVER, BUT LET'S START SMALL).
96. TAKE THE DOGS FOR A REAL WALK AT LEAST 3 TIMES A WEEK.
97. MEET CHEF ANNE BURRELL.
98. GET MY WoW PLAYER TO LEVEL 80.
99. TAKE A CAKE DECORATING CLASS.
100. SEND MY NANA A HANDWRITTEN LETTER/CARD EACH WEEK FOR A WHOLE YEAR STARTING JANUARY 2010.
101. WATCH A SUNRISE AND DOCUMENT IT.
10/27/09
What A Week
The last week has been a doozey for my Fat Boy (FB). He’s been sick and not just a little bit. Nine whole months with nothing, and then BAM! He gets a double ear infection, pink eye, and a horrible allergic reaction to drugs all within 7 days.
This has me questioning my role as a mother and how I want to approach sickness in general. However, there is a double-edge sword to all this…I’m a “Web-MD’er”. And to my detriment, I seriously can let the best of HYPOCHONDRIA consume me. (Remind me to tell you sometime how I was CONVINCED I had Leukemia). I own it. But coupled with the fact that I get crazy when my kids are involved does not make me very “sane”. And, to be the best mother I can be, I have to knock this shit off. Thank God my husband is SO CALM, RATIONAL, and most of all PATIENT with me. So from now on, NO webmd.com…ever…ever…again.
So last Monday, FB wakes up with a fever, cough, etc. I of course, think it’s Swine Flu. So we go to the doctor and get promptly diagnosed with a double-ear infection. Since he’s never been sick in his precious 9 months, the PA gives Amoxicillin since he’s never been on any antibiotics thinking this should do the trick.
Fast forward to Friday. You mothers out there know this, and for those of you who aren’t mothers yet, you will have this magic. You can look at your kids and KNOW something isn’t right. You can tell when they’re about to barf, giving you those precious seconds to find any type of barf bag available. You can just tell when something isn’t right. So, I open the door to “Baby School” (it makes me feel better as a parent to say this instead of daycare) and I immediately know something isn’t right with my boy. His teachers say he was running a fever etc. But I noticed something with his right eye. Not quite swollen, but surely not as bright as usual and more PINK than normal. Get home, confirm with hubby his eye isn’t quite right, take him to urgent care, where he was URGENTLY diagnosed with Pink Eye and URGENTLY sent us on our way home. By this time my boy is out for the night, so I decide to give him the eye drops first thing in the morning.
Saturday morning he wakes up jolly as can be, and I give him the drops…all is well. He is super boogery, but I just figure it’s him “draining” from the all infection, etc. We had to go to my in-laws in Parker for the weekend, so by Saturday night, my boy’s eye isn’t getting better, but it’s not worse, and it looks like he may have a rash on his cheeks. Hindsight tells me it’s a rash, but in the moment, I just thought his cheeks were chapped from me constantly wiping his nose, drool, etc. SO NOT THE CASE.
Fast forward to Sunday. Wake up and my boy’s eye is SWOLLEN SHUT, BRIGHT RED, and I’m freaking out. My husband and I take him to the ER where they confirm he’s had an allergic reaction to the eye drops. The drops contained Sulfa and he’s apparently allergic to sulfa. So they give him Benadryl and nothing happens. So, they have to stop the Amoxicillin and eye drops and give him another strong antibiotic. The ER doctor mutters, “We get scared with eye infection because they are so close the brain.” That is all I needed to hear and pure PANIC sets in. We get out of the ER and head home, where his eye is slowly but surely getting worse.
Monday morning we wake up and his eye is completely swollen shut. I FREAK out and get an appointment with his primary pediatrician. His doctor confirms his allergy to sulfa but then looks at the medicines the Urgent Care and ER doctors gave him and I can see his facial expressions are like “WTF?”, but he doesn’t say anything except that we are to stop all medicines at this point. He diagnoses him with a type of eyelid cellulitis basically a bacterial infection of the eyelid and that if the baby had a fever or was not in a good mood (a good thing is that FB has been his regular happy self, if you didn’t know he was sick, you wouldn’t be able to tell) he would’ve admitted FB to the hospital for IV antibiotics. He keeps me calm and tells me he can give FB a shot in the office. Basically he tells me it’s very strong and will be the best bet to fight the infection. So, FB had to get a shot in each little fatty thigh. He screamed bloody murder and I tried to stifle my cry. The doctor also prescribed a strong antihistamine to combat the bizarre swelling. This morning, we woke up and I could see a bit of his beautiful brown eye peeking through. At lunch I went home to see him and his eye does look a bit better. Hubby took him to his follow-up appointment this afternoon, and tomorrow we have to start another 10 day round of antibiotics to keep killing the infection.
So, my dilemma comes in many ways. First, I’m not posting this for sympathy. I’m not interested in hearing what I should’ve done or what I shouldn’t have done, because in the moment, I would’ve done anything, given him anything, because I was thinking about the worst. I was scared into not thinking clearly, not asking the right questions, being intimidated by doctors who know more than I do. But, they don’t know my children like I do, and I have to be their advocate. No matter what. Even in urgent situations, I can’t lose my head. But with my heart split in two toddling outside of body in the forms of a 4-year old girl and a 9-month old baby boy, it’s impossible to not constantly think with my heart. So, I’m on my way to finding alternate solutions to prescription drugs. I’m not going to give up on Western medicine all together, because Western medicine and our AWESOME pediatrician are what turned this medical train wreck around. But I am interested in finding ways to keep our immune system up naturally, researching some herbal remedies that are safe for children and overall just getting more involved with natural healing.
So, here is a picture of my Fat Boy at the ER on Sunday morning…this wasn’t even the worst.
This has me questioning my role as a mother and how I want to approach sickness in general. However, there is a double-edge sword to all this…I’m a “Web-MD’er”. And to my detriment, I seriously can let the best of HYPOCHONDRIA consume me. (Remind me to tell you sometime how I was CONVINCED I had Leukemia). I own it. But coupled with the fact that I get crazy when my kids are involved does not make me very “sane”. And, to be the best mother I can be, I have to knock this shit off. Thank God my husband is SO CALM, RATIONAL, and most of all PATIENT with me. So from now on, NO webmd.com…ever…ever…again.
So last Monday, FB wakes up with a fever, cough, etc. I of course, think it’s Swine Flu. So we go to the doctor and get promptly diagnosed with a double-ear infection. Since he’s never been sick in his precious 9 months, the PA gives Amoxicillin since he’s never been on any antibiotics thinking this should do the trick.
Fast forward to Friday. You mothers out there know this, and for those of you who aren’t mothers yet, you will have this magic. You can look at your kids and KNOW something isn’t right. You can tell when they’re about to barf, giving you those precious seconds to find any type of barf bag available. You can just tell when something isn’t right. So, I open the door to “Baby School” (it makes me feel better as a parent to say this instead of daycare) and I immediately know something isn’t right with my boy. His teachers say he was running a fever etc. But I noticed something with his right eye. Not quite swollen, but surely not as bright as usual and more PINK than normal. Get home, confirm with hubby his eye isn’t quite right, take him to urgent care, where he was URGENTLY diagnosed with Pink Eye and URGENTLY sent us on our way home. By this time my boy is out for the night, so I decide to give him the eye drops first thing in the morning.
Saturday morning he wakes up jolly as can be, and I give him the drops…all is well. He is super boogery, but I just figure it’s him “draining” from the all infection, etc. We had to go to my in-laws in Parker for the weekend, so by Saturday night, my boy’s eye isn’t getting better, but it’s not worse, and it looks like he may have a rash on his cheeks. Hindsight tells me it’s a rash, but in the moment, I just thought his cheeks were chapped from me constantly wiping his nose, drool, etc. SO NOT THE CASE.
Fast forward to Sunday. Wake up and my boy’s eye is SWOLLEN SHUT, BRIGHT RED, and I’m freaking out. My husband and I take him to the ER where they confirm he’s had an allergic reaction to the eye drops. The drops contained Sulfa and he’s apparently allergic to sulfa. So they give him Benadryl and nothing happens. So, they have to stop the Amoxicillin and eye drops and give him another strong antibiotic. The ER doctor mutters, “We get scared with eye infection because they are so close the brain.” That is all I needed to hear and pure PANIC sets in. We get out of the ER and head home, where his eye is slowly but surely getting worse.
Monday morning we wake up and his eye is completely swollen shut. I FREAK out and get an appointment with his primary pediatrician. His doctor confirms his allergy to sulfa but then looks at the medicines the Urgent Care and ER doctors gave him and I can see his facial expressions are like “WTF?”, but he doesn’t say anything except that we are to stop all medicines at this point. He diagnoses him with a type of eyelid cellulitis basically a bacterial infection of the eyelid and that if the baby had a fever or was not in a good mood (a good thing is that FB has been his regular happy self, if you didn’t know he was sick, you wouldn’t be able to tell) he would’ve admitted FB to the hospital for IV antibiotics. He keeps me calm and tells me he can give FB a shot in the office. Basically he tells me it’s very strong and will be the best bet to fight the infection. So, FB had to get a shot in each little fatty thigh. He screamed bloody murder and I tried to stifle my cry. The doctor also prescribed a strong antihistamine to combat the bizarre swelling. This morning, we woke up and I could see a bit of his beautiful brown eye peeking through. At lunch I went home to see him and his eye does look a bit better. Hubby took him to his follow-up appointment this afternoon, and tomorrow we have to start another 10 day round of antibiotics to keep killing the infection.
So, my dilemma comes in many ways. First, I’m not posting this for sympathy. I’m not interested in hearing what I should’ve done or what I shouldn’t have done, because in the moment, I would’ve done anything, given him anything, because I was thinking about the worst. I was scared into not thinking clearly, not asking the right questions, being intimidated by doctors who know more than I do. But, they don’t know my children like I do, and I have to be their advocate. No matter what. Even in urgent situations, I can’t lose my head. But with my heart split in two toddling outside of body in the forms of a 4-year old girl and a 9-month old baby boy, it’s impossible to not constantly think with my heart. So, I’m on my way to finding alternate solutions to prescription drugs. I’m not going to give up on Western medicine all together, because Western medicine and our AWESOME pediatrician are what turned this medical train wreck around. But I am interested in finding ways to keep our immune system up naturally, researching some herbal remedies that are safe for children and overall just getting more involved with natural healing.
So, here is a picture of my Fat Boy at the ER on Sunday morning…this wasn’t even the worst.
10/19/09
10/12/09
Food.
(**FYI. I HATE BLOGGER!!!! The formatting sucks! I am so anal about this kind of crap. It literally gives me anxiety when shit isn't spaced right, etc. So the "funk" is blogger's fault, not mine**)
Sauteing the veggies for the stock
I love food.
So, with my day off I made lots of it. I have pictures for some. First up, pot roast. My favorite Chef Anne Burrell says "Brown food tastes good!" and she is right. The key to the most kick-ass pot roast is to sear all sides, including edges, of the meat and once it's good and dark and crispy, but that sucker in the crock pot for 8-10 hours and pure carnivore bliss will be achieved. I always make a "rub" before searing...it consists of salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Simple but super tasty and the "drippings" make excellent gravy. Next up, mashed potatoes and gravy.
I have ALWAYS hated mashed potatoes, until I made them myself. I guess for me, they have to be doctored up good: butter, garlic, lots of salt, pepper, sour cream, and parm cheese. And, they can't be smooth...must have lumps. Gravy is simple, just depends what kind of meat you have.
Also made a Loaf of Bread. Simple, just dumped all the ingredients into the trusty bread maker and that was it. I must say, until today I thought "Bread Machine Flour" was just another trick that food makers and grocery stores have us consumers roped into. But, my bread was still doughy after the bread machine was done, so I just put it in the oven for a bit. I'm convinced it was because I used regular old flour and not "Bread Machine Flour"...but I haven't done any research for any validity.
So, I always buy lots of veggies and they usually go to waste for reason or another. But today, I made vegetable stock that I later used in my Broccoli & Cheese soup. Basically, you can make vegetable stock with any vegetables you have on hand. It really is a versatile thing to make.
But my recipe for today was: Oh, the only "prep" I do for the stock is washing and cutting up the veggies...no peeling.
Vegetable Stock
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
3 carrots
1 leek
2 red peppers
3 stalks of celery - leaves and all
10 mushrooms
Salt & Pepper
Parsley
Bay leaf
Heat butter & oil in pot.
Saute onions and garlic until translucent
Add all remaining fresh vegetables
Saute for a bit
Add 4 quarts of water & bay leaf
BTBRTS (Go Chef Anne!) Bring-To-Boil-Reduce-To-Simmer
I don't really know the time I left it simmering...
Once it's done, strain and use or freeze
I used this stock in my Broccoli & Cheese soup (recipe below)
Saute onions and garlic until translucent
Add all remaining fresh vegetables
Saute for a bit
Add 4 quarts of water & bay leaf
BTBRTS (Go Chef Anne!) Bring-To-Boil-Reduce-To-Simmer
I don't really know the time I left it simmering...
Once it's done, strain and use or freeze
I used this stock in my Broccoli & Cheese soup (recipe below)
Sauteing the veggies for the stock
Bbroccoli & Cheese Soup
I made this in hope to trick my kids into eating vegetables. It worked! Even Fat Boy sat there like a baby bird with his mouth wide open wanting more. This soup is super easy!
Butter & Olive Oil - use what you want
1 medium onion
Garlic - I use a ton, use to your preference
2 broccoli heads (pretty sure that's not the correct term, but whatev) cut up
1 potato cut up
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup of shredded cheese - I used "Fiesta Blend" which is what I had in the fridge. Pretty sure you could use any type and it would turn out just fine.
1 medium onion
Garlic - I use a ton, use to your preference
2 broccoli heads (pretty sure that's not the correct term, but whatev) cut up
1 potato cut up
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup of shredded cheese - I used "Fiesta Blend" which is what I had in the fridge. Pretty sure you could use any type and it would turn out just fine.
Heat butter and oil
Saute onions and garlic until tender
Throw in the broccoli & potatoes
Pour in stock over veggies
BTBRTS (Go Chef Anne!) Bring-To-Boil-Reduce-To-Simmer
Once all the veggies are super tender, put into blender (or use an immersion blender if you have one) with cheese and puree.
Saute onions and garlic until tender
Throw in the broccoli & potatoes
Pour in stock over veggies
BTBRTS (Go Chef Anne!) Bring-To-Boil-Reduce-To-Simmer
Once all the veggies are super tender, put into blender (or use an immersion blender if you have one) with cheese and puree.
Broccoli & Potato mix boiling away
Getting ready to be "souped"
The finished product...
Eat it up! I'm also going to make homemade croutons to put in the soup. May sound weird, but back home (Pacific Northwest) there was a deli that made the most delicious B & C soup and they always garnished with homemade crunchy, yet slightly chewy croutons and they were garlicky and Parmesan-y. To Die For. Mouth is watering!
And to finish it off...Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies. Oh yeah. Kid approved too...check it out. No, I won't share my secret fabulous recipe. Sorry...family secret ;)
10/9/09
Installation: The Office
My office. The bane of my existence. Enjoy.
The dreaded walk to my little slice of heaven.
My cluttered desk. Cluttered desks don't mean anything except total unmotivation.
Training manuals. AKA Waste of Paper.
Looks important. But it's not.
My view from above.
Work humor.
The Countdown: Officially Begins
These bright files are my only escape from corporate carpet tiles and muted mauves.
Seriously...Where's the cheese?
30 minutes to go...
10/2/09
Well Hello There!
So, I’m changin’ things up a bit on this ye’ole blog and it’s going to be my dumping ground for anything that goes on in my life. I may start a more professional blog for my photography, when the time is right. But for now, this little space will be online portal to document my little life with my little family, and any other little tidbit that finds its way in! A bit of background for you. I’m happily married, with two wonderful children and two precious boxer dogs. I’m a corporate working mother (blech) and finally decided to listen to my heart. Oh, I’m still working, but hopefully someday I won’t have to, but in the meantime I’m going to let the inner artist/crafter/thrifter in me finally take over.
For years, I was all about moving up the corporate ladder. I had seen my parents struggle and I was just not gonna have that. As I moved up the ladder, I started to loathe my 9-5 life. I hated going to work, but me not working wasn’t and hasn’t been an option…yet. A girl has to have hope J But somewhere after the baby boy was born (Jan 2009), and me returning from maternity leave, I had a massive epiphany. I had to create. I had to. It was no longer an option, but a complete necessity. I realized that it fed my soul, and if I truly wanted to be happy, I had to be creative. Now, I’m no Picasso, Tara Whitney of Elsie Flannigan, BUT I aspire to be and the only truth I know is that when I’m creating or being artsy-fartsy in any way (photography, computer arts, embroidery, sewing, drawing, doodling, whatever) I feel content. And to me that is everything. I know I’ll never make millions and I’ll probably always have to work, but at least I’m doing something on the side that brings me joy. Isn’t that what life is really all about? I can’t thank my husband enough who is always supportive of my many scatter-brained ideas and for constantly encouraging me. Thank you to my mom, who always let me play with scrap material, taught me the basics of sewing, always let me have art supplies even when we were struggling ( Go Big Chief tablets & crayons!), let me lollygag in the office supply aisle of any store, and always helps me see things more clearly when I’m crafting away. And most of all God. When I was lost, I sought him out and prayed, more like begged for guidance. He answered. And my head hasn’t stopped filling with creative ideas. I can’t explain it, but when I’m crafting or creating anything, I get so calm yet so excited at the same time. I get butterflies when a new idea pops into my head, and I’ve filled notebooks with sketches, ideas and doodles for RetroSugar (my Etsy shop where I’m selling vintage treasures and eventually some of my handmade stuff). I’ve ventured down many artistic and crafty paths always trying to find a “niche”…only recently did I accept that some artists have multiple mediums…I’m done boxing myself in.
The RetroSugar Concept
So, I've always LOVED thrifting. I love finding those treasures that someone else has just discarded as clutter. I love the thrill of finding that AWESOME trinket. It's so exciting...finding that vintage Pyrex dish in perfect condition. That spectacular vintage sheet...Hello! Why would they get rid of this? Don't they know what they could make with this?!?Alas, I don't always have the room to house my treasures, therefore RetroSugar was born. I can still hunt until my heart is content and then pass them off to a good home!
So, please check back often for new updates and visit my store on Etsy!
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