Wednesday, December 31, 2008

See ya 2008.  Bring on the new and unknown.
Having spent some time away from my blog, I've come to realize that this must be something I choose to keep up with.  Something that I make time for, that becomes part of the routine, and that I learn to open up to.  It seems to me that one evolves over time when writing in a blog.  And it seems that others who have kept it up faithfully come to cherish and rely on their blogs and blog readers.  That is something that I'd like to have happen, but cannot force it.  It must be a natural process.
That being said, many other things have been on my mind lately.  Like the things the people always promise themselves to begin in the coming year.  I always feel that if I'm to start something, it must be at the beginning of the week, month or year.  It doesn't make sense to me to begin in the middle.  So, the start of a new calendar fosters newness in other things in my life as well.
Here are the things I'm adding to my goal sheet for 2009 (with the exception of the first line, in no particular order):
*Spend time in the Word daily, and not just on Sunday in church.
*Take one photo a day (not necessarily a self-portrait).
*Create something weekly, if not daily.
*Find a job.
*Keep house in orderly condition.
*Join gym and attend regularly (frequency TBD).
*Read often.
*Participate in Every Monday Matters with husband and parents.
*Keep a journal.
*Blog regularly (again, frequency TBD).
*Incorporate my One Little Word for 2009 into my daily life.
*Participate in the activities and discoveries of What's Your Red Rubber Ball?!.
I think that's all for now.
I'll expound on some of these tomorrow.
For now, have a safe and blessed New Year!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Adventures in a snow drift.

So... once again, it's been a week or so since I posted.  And a week or so since I did a journal page.  Oh well.  I've been busy.  Although I know plenty of people who run a household and kids, cook all their own food and bread and stuff, and have time to scrapbook and blog.  I'm just not there yet. 
I'm one who runs on routine.  If I don't have one, I don't do well.  Well, I'm ok, but things I know I can do don't get done regularly. 
That's all fine and dandy, but you may still be wondering about my post title.
It can be one of two things:  1) I live in a snowglobe and it's white everywhere, snowing quite a bit, or 2) I just got stuck in a snow drift and had to dig myself out.
How 'bout both.
I KNOW it is supposed to snow all day, and has been snowing ALL last night... but we don't really have anything to eat.  Cupboards are kinda empty.  Save for spices and lunch meat.  And eating lunch meat twice a day isn't much fun.  Although technically that counts as food and we should be grateful that we have that, when others don't have anything.  And are outside in this snowglobe. 
Anyways, we need things like milk and cereal and bread and some other basic things that I could have purchased yesterday, as it wasn't snowing then.  But really, how could I have known that?  (The Weather Channel for starters, maybe?)  So I figured, I'd better go out now, before it gets worse, as we could get 6-11 inches (!) by tonite.  Well.. that was a mistake.
It took me 20 minutes to scrape the snow layer and then ice layer off of my car, while standing in the knee-high drifts that surrounded my vehicle.  And I didn't have a hat.  I was on my way to buy one at the store right next to the grocery store.  (While I'm out, right?  Make the best of the trip out in the cold.)  So, I carefully ease my way into out of the parking lot and on the street.  This isn't so bad.  I'll just go slow.  Then I come to the stop sign.  Nice and easy.  No sudden movements now.  (I see a pile at the intersection, thinking nothing of it.  Anyways, the last thing I want to do is gun it through a stop sign and into the intersection, possibly finding an oncoming car or going too fast and not be able to make the turn.  And... the last time I gunned it through a large obstacle that seemed easy enough to get through, I drowned my car in a knee-high puddle.)
So.
I get stuck.  A block from my home.  And not even in a ditch.
Um.. help?
Pete's at work, he's no use.
Mom and Dad might be at home... maybe they have an idea.
So, parents to the rescue.  They remind me I should have a shovel in my emergency bag in the trunk.
(Oh yeah!)
And they'll get bundled and come help.
Dig dig dig.
Plop.  (The shovel fell apart.)
Dig dig dig.
Rip.  (My pants ripped...they are very old and very worn.)
(Great.)
Thank goodness I have hiking boots and not tennis shoes on.
I try getting through it again.
No luck.
An older guy runs by.  Totally engrossed in his workout.
I wave.
There he goes.  Not even a glance.
I might start to cry soon.
Then a van drives up, a guy hops out (coat-less) and tells me to put it in neutral.  He'll push.
No such luck.
Another guy runs out (from an apartment? his car? I have no idea) with a coat and sweatpants (which are really not that warm when it's windy and snowy) and says to put it in reverse, he'll push.
The van-guy says he's going to get a coat, he'll be back.
Sweatpants digs some more and laughs with me when the shovel falls apart (again).  He digs behind my tires too, not just in front (like I was doing) and I hop in and throw it in reverse.
A little budge.
He explains that it might work to quickly go between drive and reverse, in an effort to "rock" it out of the snow bank.
I end up getting it out finally... going backwards.
Sweatpants asks if I really needed something that I should continue on with my journey.. I tell him we don't have much to eat.  He laughs and says, "Just order a pizza."
I gratefully thank him and don't even watch to see where he ran back to, to take some cookies or bread or something as a thank-you, and keep the car in reverse the 20 seconds back to the driveway.
I pull into my cleared out spot, and call my parents to tell them I'm ok, don't come get me.
Sigh.
Pizza it is.  Blizzard-02-lPhoto courtesy of this article that I should have read sooner.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Journal Your Christmas - Day 2

Once again, here I am almost at the end of the day, trying to get this put together.
I have so much more to say about the snow and the weather, and how it affects me and how I feel about Christmas...but it is late and I am using this post as a page-holder. Tomorrow when I can think more clearly, I shall expound on this idea. In the meantime, here is my quickly put together journal page about snow:
DSC_4452-1
Not really that fancy or wow-worthy, but then, that's not what this journal is about.
I may add some hidden journaling on this page later, as well as a photo of us/me out in the snow sometime this month.  I'll update the photo when that happens.

Monday, December 1, 2008

I've surfaced

Alright.  So, this is where I've been for the last week:DSC_4433
Three days of driving.  One week of painting and waiting for the movers.  Then one week trying to dig myself out from under this mountain of boxes.
This room has tall windows and is 15 feet high. Yes, it was so much fun to paint, thank you for asking.  If the ceiling clearance had not been such, I would have felt extremely claustrophobic.
I've only got about 6 boxes left to unpack in the whole apartment.  Even after the garage sale, I cannot believe how much stuff we've already accumulated.  Sadly, most of the second bedroom's boxes consisted of my crafting stuff.
In fact, there was so much of it, and since we sold all the mismatched storage units that it once sat on, we took a drive to IKEA on Saturday to pick up one of these lovelies.Expedit bookshelf photo from IKEA.com
Which is now full of crafty stuff, but totally unorganized, so it won't stay full in the long run.  I am also working towards the green room/cat room/studio/workroom/storage room being ready for our beloved Jasmine to inhabit ASAP.  This is where she'll be staying when we're gone and when we're asleep.  And we can't have stuff all over the place, or boxes piled to the tops of the door frames.  She won't have any room!
So, as of this evening, this room is done.  The other rooms... they are unpacked, but in shambles.  Everything looks as if it has exploded.  Gah.  It drives me nuts.  And some people live like this every day!  Stuff everywhere, I mean.  To each his own.  :)
Anyways, as today is December 1, (or will be for about 10 more minutes), I am once again participating in Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas.  I did this last year, and almost finished the whole thing.  You are given a prompt, and you can write about it, take photos, or scrapbook.  This goes on from December 1 to January 6, and the concept is to take back your Christmas from the craziness that it has become.  To remember why you love it and what it's about and all of your memories and happy warm fuzzies regarding the holidays.  I love it! 
I got my stuff unpacked just in time.  Well, I didn't have everything organized, so I wasn't able to gather all my Christmas supplies for easy working, but I still did my dedication/manifesto/promise page, and here it is:
DSC_4446
It is a little hard to see, but there is a Maya Road sheer on there - a woman with a little heart (I know it's on the "wrong" side, but there was a hole punched there, and I wanted to cover it up).  I liked this, as it is somewhat symbolic of the season and how it so involves our hearts - and not being so greedy and frantic, but being giving and savoring the season.
Anyhow, I'll try and blog once a day this month, as I'm working on a journal page each day.  No promises.  But I'll try.