Tuesday, January 27, 2009

house shoe wisdom



The all knowing house shoes have imparted their wisdom once again :

1. It is possible to get blisters from cleaning your tile floor. And really, I tried to channel Cinderella and picture prince charming and all that jazz. Didn't help.

2. Enter those contests at restaurants. Sometimes you win.

3. make cookies for your postmistress or postmaster. They like it, although make sure they know you otherwise it might seem creepy.

4. those contraptions to screw in light bulbs that are high up are handy to break up ice on your driveway.

I realize I am a day late but its been rather uneventful around here
:) check last week for more knowledge bombs.

Friday, January 23, 2009

follow me for a second.....


The other night I got together with a friend that I hadn't seen in awhile. She and I are good friends even if years and miles have separated us at times. There are few people I truly connect with and B is one of them. After we laughed, swapped stories about our kids, and caught up we got down to the knitty gritty. Both of us poured our hurts and frustrations into the other, seeking advice and comfort. And, when thinking about our conversation later, what I saw is that B and I need more joy in our lives. It isn't that she and I have nothing to be happy about or to celebrate. Most of the time, simply the fact that I have made it to 30 alive is cause for celebration. But there is always room for more joy.
This life tries to steal our joy everyday. Whether it be bills, sickness, or anger- they all steal joy. How often to you feel particularly joyful? Once a day? Once a week? Or is the question flip-flopped? How ofter do you feel joyless? I would bet that the answer is that you feel joyless more often than not.
I have rolled the idea of joy around in my head over the last few days. What is it exactly? How to obtain it? How to keep it? According to Websters joy is:

1 a: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight b: the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety2: a state of happiness or felicity : bliss3: a source or cause of delight

I love the words that define joy: well-being, success, delight, gaiety, happiness, and bliss. I have thought back over the last few days to try to find these things in my life. And to my surprise, I found all of them! Joy may seem elusive, an enigma, but it is there. I found that the places I discovered gaiety, delight, and happiness wasn't always a big event like a huge fireworks display but more like an experience with sparklers on your driveway. Small intimate moments when you are very close to the heat, the shine, and close enough to touch the source of joy with your hand.
I am going to continue searching for joy now that I know what to look for as I hope you will too. Joy is important, integral to life. Joy can be a constant companion if you know where to look for it.

Monday, January 19, 2009

The wisdom of house shoes


Before Christmas my life was filled with 285 drama filled pubescent middle schoolers. On any given day I would receive 500 hugs, 8 nuggies, pranks played on me or in my classroom, 18 I love yous, and an ear full of who is dating who and who hates who and why. There were days I loved it and days I hated it. But normally the good outweighed the bad and I came home happy. (Of course, my husband didn't care why Susy dumped Johnny and why Susy was now lying to everyone about how she broke up with Johnny on facebook by changing her status to single without any warning to johnny.).
So now I find myself with hours of unfilled time, no classes, no papers, and no lesson plans. My only concrete plans everyday consist of taking my son to school and picking him up in the afternoon. Really the world is my oyster. And I have found it is a rather boring oyster when compared to life at the junior high. I haven't stayed at home since my son was a baby and really I am a terrible SAHM. I would rather look at the pile of laundry than do it or run surveillance on the dishes and see if they do themselves while I am in the bathroom. Now granted I'm a newly minted SAHM but have learned some things so far. I thought I would share them with you to see if they are as exciting as I think they are. No doubt they aren't but I keep telling myself its the small things in life that make a difference. So without further ado- the top 5 things I have learned as a SAHM in the last two weeks.

1. House shoes become your favorite item.
But remember to not wear them out of your house!

2. When heating a 5 hour old cup of coffee in
the microwave be sure to test the cup *before*
you pick it up. You like the skin on your
fingers! I promise!

3. It is possible to waste your whole day
"twittering" which is rather hard to explain
to your husband when he comes home.

4. Leave music playing at all times. Otherwise you
talk to yourself. which is not at all bad until
you start having conversations with yourself
defending both sides of an argument in the grocery.
Some may say this is a good practice to fully
understand both sides. I think it just makes
me look loony.

5. Change out of your PJs before 11. It gives you a
sense of accomplishment. And really the PJ wearing
can become a slippery slope! PJs are PJs for a
reason. Keep them at home!

So all in all, you can see I have learned some rather important life lessons in the past weeks. Now granted, it hasn't been all bad. Just an adjustment period, I guess. So if your like me and perhaps you need a good dose of common sense come back every Monday to receive more house shoe wisdom. As they say on Always Sunny- I'm cracking the eggs of knowledge over here.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

a few of my favorite things



I just joined a new group, Unique Women In Business, and let me tell you they are a talented bunch! Jewelry, scarves, altered art,and bath and body products just name a few of the talents! I was looking through all the stores and thought I would share a few of the goodies that caught my eye with you all on this gray Saturday morning.

Etsy
Buy Handmade
AnnaCox

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Meet Averie!



You gotta love Sammy with her quirky little fellas. I love a plush and Samaria Project uses the best fabrics for her fellas. Usually her fabrics are upcycled from materials on hand.

"We don't always have to be what we started out as :) The items I make are things that someone would normally pass up without another thought; a rock, an old t shirt, or a pair of jeans. I love the challenge of taking an object and making it into something completely different, giving it a new life. Everyone/everything deserves a second chance...you never know, you could love it allover again."


Averie is part of a new series she is calling soft sculptures. The term Soft sculptures reminds my of Claes Oldenburg and his soft constructions but that's another post for another time. Averie is number 2 in the series. Rezme is also part of the series and this fella is looking good in stripes!

What I love about Jess, the artist behind Samaria Project, is that her store has a wide variety of upcycled goodies that, in my opinion, are more fun than things you could find at the best upscale boutique. From recycled t shirts to train cases, Jess never runs out of ideas!

you can find Jess, Averie, and Rezme at Samaria Project on Etsy.


Thursday, May 29, 2008

i surrender


i surrender
Originally uploaded by CRASH-candy
this is a photo by CRASH-candy from Flickr. i love it. it sums up my life right now. and its good. It reminds me of the simplicity of giving up. of finally not fighting it anymore. Of the sweet relief that comes after a fight.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Create Collect Trade

I am privileged to be in this fabulous book. It is exciting to be in a book but even more exciting that it is for students!!