Mich

I accidentally have been off work this summer.

I’ve been spending my time updating and submitting my resume, trying to keep a normal sleep schedule, and taking a hard look at my wardrobe. A significant amount of time has also been spent going through every single thing I own, deciding I don’t need to own it, and removing it from my life.

I am spectacularly happy with the amount of “stuff” in my life now - with the exception of an alarming number of unfinished projects. Two quilts, one afghan, one scarf, two cross stitches, one vest, one felt book, two handkerchefs - these are the things I can name without thinking very hard. I’m now devoting myself to the finishing of these projects, which has started off very well, I’ve already completed a time-sensitive cross stitch (a football season gift), and a scarf (for an ex-employee, which will make delivery slightly awkward.) I am also not allowing myself to begin anything new until these items are out of my life, quite literally - only one of these projects was ever intended for me to keep.

This is, of course, secondary to securing employment. But really, how long does it take to submit resumes and interview? Not very long. I have a lot of time on my hands.

My goal is to have all of these projects completed by Christmas, ready to start the new year with a new perseverance to complete the projects I begin, even when they aren’t as exciting. Here goes.

Today I went to a park with Shaun and Cai. It was really crowded, in the way that I only thought happened in movies.

Apparently it also happens that way in Ellicott City. (Or maybe Columbia?)

This is the best part of the day:

Ha! It turns out I am still really bad at blogging. But, let’s get you connected.

Check out pictures from the trip here! You can keep up with me on Twitter right over this way.

It’s interesting. I only seem to do things here when I have weekdays off from work. I only have weekdays off from work when I am on a trip, or my car is broken. Today my car was broken. It’s feeling better now, for now. At 202,000K, I’m in denial about its life expectancy.

Kind of like with my cat. (Let’s not dwell on that, I might start crying, and that might be awkward.)

Instead, let’s watch some Shaun and Cai videos!

I have been a things-making fool lately. I was telling Colleen the other day that instead of saying “I need to pray about that”, I’m going to start saying “I’m going to craft about that”.

Let’s see, let’s see…

Confession time: I am a selfish blog-reader. I get emotional involved in the blogs that I read, and get upset when they aren’t updated on a regular schedule. I feel as if a regular update isn’t made, I’ve missed out on something I shouldn’t have, like I should be personally updated at all times on the lives of people I don’t even know. That’s so crazy!

Oh, Internet, I love you.

I think I was going to take pictures of all of the things I have been crafting lately, but I haven’t done that yet. If I had, you would be looking at pictures right now, instead of reading more words about pictures that aren’t pictures, but actually words. Taking pictures involves finding good lighting, arranging, uploading, editing, uploading, linking, and really - who do we think I am? Obviously I need to be focusing more on the Writing and Updating. So let’s focus on that for today and see what happens tomorrow, okay?

Awesome.

Today is the day I’m going to get things done.

Ha!

Seriously, though. I’m seriously about to put on my shoes and walk out that door. And once that is accomplished, the whole world will lay before me.  First I am going to go to my favorite yarn store, because I have run out of yarn (I KNOW!) for a sweater I am working on for Jennifer. I hope to be done with this sweater by the time Shaun gets back from Amsterdam (I KNOW!), so that I may have it out of my hands.

Then, I will go to Target, because I love Target, but mostly because the pharmacy called me and would like me to pick up a prescription. Okay, I say, that’s cool with me - I’d like to have my prescription in my harlot-y painted hands. This seems like it will work out for both of us.

THEN!, I will go to Giant, because I am making brownies from scratch for the Fusion band tonight. (Have I told you that we cook for our church’s worship band once a month? This time I am making brownies from scratch.) Looking at the time and the list of things I have to do, it looks like I will have just enough time to run these errands, come home to make the brownies, and deliver them to their fate. Poor brownies, such a short life.

I plan on providing photographic evidence of all of these tasks being completed today, but I keep forgetting I even OWN a camera, so don’t really hold me to this.

This entry originally started with complaints about my day so far - about a doctor’s appointment gone awry, phone calls from my boss that I couldn’t really help with (on my “personal” day off), a headache. Then I realized it wasn’t worth it to complain and complain and complain, because that doesn’t really help anything, it just makes me unpleasant to be around - and if there’s one thing I want it’s for people to want to be around me, hanging off of my every word.

So!

This is what Shaun looks like when we are at Starbucks waiting for my car to be worked on.

And this is what I look like when we are at Starbucks waiting for my car to be worked on.

Happy Wednesday!

Woman’s magazines like to advise, well, women, to do things that make them feel womanly. Things like taking a bubble bath or painting their nails. I usually look at these things and thing, “That is just silly! Who does that?!” and then today I painted my nails for the first time in well over two years.

I can’t stop looking at my hands, and it really did make me feel like some kind of hottie. This is slightly concerning because they are just red fingernails - there really is no basis for such a dramatic change in self image. Things like picking up my keys, or typing, I can’t do these things now without thinking, “Hey! My hands look really good while doing this!” It’s a preoccupation that has been amazing me all day. I am probably going to crash my car because I can’t turn the steering wheel without noticing my hands. If I could permanently change my nails to this color, I probably would - only to promptly become tired of it and want to take it off again. If nothing else, I am fickle.

It has just occurred to me that I should take a picture with which to show you, and also at the same time I can take a picture of my new hair color, which I am completely in love with. “Dark Spice”, we have just begun a long love affair.

On Monday, two exciting things are happening. First, I’m picking up my new running shoes from their current jail in my local UPS hub, which does not believe in being open on weekends, preferring instead to hold my purchases hostage. Second, with my new shoes in hand (or maybe not, but I am really hoping I can make it there on Monday, else my next chance will be on Thursday and that is just too long to expect my shoes to wait patiently for me.), I will head to the gym for the first time since April. I am going to take that treadmill by storm (a slow and steady storm), and work on putting together a strength training program, because my muscles, they are weak. The next time you see me, I will be built like Hulk Hogan, Hollywood Superstar.

Yeah, brother!

Today is Labor Day. I have celebrated the weekend by only working a little bit. I have spent a huge amount of time sitting in front of either a tv or computer, usually both at the same time. AT THE SAME TIME.

I’ve been knitting a lot. I’m making a sweater for Jennifer, who is six AND A HALF. (Not to be confused with Jenn, who once was six AND A HALF, but no longer is.) It’s pink. Ever since I started knitting things for Cai and Jennifer, the amount of pink yarn I have is amazing. They only want things that are pink. Which, you know, is their prerogative - it’s their knitted-thing I’m making - but the amount of Pink! I have Leftover! I don’t know what to do with so much Pink, so I end up making them all kinds of weird crappy THINGS out of the PINK. Like crocheted flower bracelets - things that if my children would come home with, I would wait until the end of the week and throw them away - things that I don’t expect ever to see again or wind up in any kind of memory-boxes. Just, things.

I have this disease where it’s impossible for me to feel okay about throwing things away - especially if there is any reason in the future that I could ever need to have it again. I suspect there are many of us out there, and let me tell you - I need to get over it and just deal with my leftovers. There’s no reason to be accumulating a whole BAG of SCRAP YARN.

Of course, the day I throw this stuff out will be the day I am struck with THE BEST CRAFTING IDEA EVER, and if ONLY I had bits of string lying around! (If I thought I had a large Monty Python fanbase, this is where I would reference the sketch with the some-thousand miles of string cut into three-inch-lengths and the sorts of things they would be useful for - like strangling small household pests, or absorbing floods, or tying notes onto pigeons’ legs.)

I need caffeine. (Although you wouldn’t be able to tell from the way I’m writing this entry.)

This weekend is my company’s 4th annual Bull Roast. Since I am the assistant in the department who is in charge of this event, I am obligated to not only GO, but HELP and BE IN CHARGE of stuff. I’ve never been to a Bull Roast before, but from what people have been telling me about them, it seems to be pretty much a Post-Prom with a buffet and free beer. We’ll be able to get into the venue to start setting up at 3:00, and I figure that I will be there until probably midnight. Include the time that I’ll have gotten to work that morning (probably between 7:30 and - that’s a long workday. And because I’m a sucker - I agreed to work for someone Saturday afternoon. So I’ll get to leave the Inner Harbor at about midnight and be back to work at 1:00. (Which really isn’t *that* bad, but to be sure, ask me this time next week.)

Uh, I thought there would probably be other things to say, but I think that’s it. Uh, yes, also, affirmative.

** Edit: For some reason, when I wrote 8:00 earlier up there, it turned into a smiley face wearing sunglasses. I was going to fix it, but then realized that I like the idea of getting to work between 7:30 and Sunglasses.

I consider “speaking as if studying to be the understudy to Homestar Runner” to be quite the advantage. Cai’s first YouTube Video.

There are just two things that money can’t buy - and that’s true love and…