Handwriting Meme.

I rarely do these memes anymore but, I saw this over on Pip's blog and I had to join in the fun! You should do it, too! It's easy :-)

1. What is your name

2. Blog URL

3. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

4. Favorite quote

5. Favorite song (at the moment)

6. Favorite band/singers (at the moment)

7. Say anything you want

8. Tag 3-5 bloggers

Alright, kiddos! It's time for a shower and a long day at work.

What are you doing today?

intro to ceramics: keep on keepin' on.

So, we're finished that pinch pot mess. FINALLY! I sat down today, and turned out two pots like it was no big thing. I DON'T GET IT. All that stress for nothing. I was seriously on the verge of getting an ulcer or something. I didn't even want to go to class today. I couldn't face GMG (or any of those other people in the class) with my crappy little dented, lopsided pots from last week. I walked in and tossed two of them into the garbage. I really couldn't even handle looking at them. They were disgusting, really.

Today, I sat down with my clay and I was trying hard to be positive about the whole mess. I rolled out my two balls of clay to make replacements for the garbage pots and like magic, two totally acceptable pots appeared. Maybe I scored some good karma from the sociological epiphany last week? Or maybe GMG used some sort of telekinesis to transfer his pottery powers to me? IDK, but I'm souped about it.

After I turned out those two achilles heels, I moved on to our next project; a 4 to 7 inch figurine. Let me tell you now, I was superextrastupid nervous. I began to wonder if I could handle this play-doh stuff.

Turns out; I'M A CHAMPION FIGURINE MAKER. Is there such a thing as a "sculpture prodigy"? I might be one; either that or some kind of savant. Do you see that thing up there? Yeah, it's pretty great. I still have some work to do on him next week, but so far I'm pleased as punch.

OHHHHH!!!! BTW, I moved my seat to sit across from ol' GMG and we have THE MOST fun in this class. JOKES ALL DEH. I'm so glad I'm not the jerk I was last week. I forgot to take a picture of his sculpture but it's pretty amazing. I'll try to get one next week. But, to keep you coming back I'll give you a lil' teaser: there's poop and a butt, maybe a wiener. SO, ummmmm, stay tuned for that.

What have YOU fantastic folks been up to?

Vinyl Monday: Pavement.

Oh hey! It's Vinyl Monday, again! Even though it's my lowest rated feature (I finally got around to checking out some stats), I'm going to stick with it. Music has always been and will continue to play an important part in my creative process, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is inspired by a really great song or album.

I actually thought about giving up on Vinyl Mondays for a split second, and a little nugget of wisdom about staying true to myself found it's way into my subconscious and begged me to go on.

I woke up today and decided it was going to be a great day. I sat around in my pajamas listening to my favorite songs (which include just about anything by PAVEMENT) and eating yogurt with tons of cinnamon in it. I may or may not have danced around with a cat or two. I got a super long bubble bath which included tossing bubbles in the air and making a giant mess of the bathroom. When I got dressed I chose to wear as many colors as possible.

It worked!

I had fun at home.

I had fun at work.

I'm having fun right now as I cook dinner and type this post.

Music plays an essential part in creating and sustaining a certain "mood", thus Vinyl Monday's importance and relevance.

What do you listen to for a "pick-me-up"?

MCP: Day 1-3.

I've been quiet for quite a few days, huh? Everybody needs a little break every now and then, I guess. Even though I've been lounging around and working on secret project(s), I've still had my hands full with school and work and catching up on everyone else's blogs.

I came across Andi's "Month of Craft" photo group on Flickr and have been enjoying taking my own daily photos! It's so fun to step outside of super-staged FO shots for a while, to just revel in being crafty without letting my inner perfectionist worry about all the details of those very "important" FO photoshoots. For the most part, I'm only snapping 2 or 3 photos a day for this project, and then lazily editing them online with Pixlr.

It's all very liberating, really. See what I'm talking about?:

Day 1: "You in Action". I was sewing together tiny felted hearts for a project I'm going to reveal very shortly.

Day 2: "Tools". This is just a small selection of my straight needles. I love them! Actually, almost of the needles in the picture are either gifts or loans from friends. So, this picture is oddly sentimental.

Day 3: "An Old FO". This is the very first sweater I knitted in June of 2007. I used the Elizabeth Zimmermann percent system and some dreamy Malabrigo I scored from a destash event :-) I forgot how well it fits! I really should make an effort to wear this more often.

I can't wait to take more pictures! I'm really excited to be a part of this!

sangria and silkworms.

I wasn't going to post today. I've been incredibly busy for most of the day. I finally got around to taking down the Christmas tree. Yeah. You read that right. I just took down our tree today. It takes every ounce of emotional strength I have to do it.

I love the holidays. The house looks so "full" and "festive"" and it's always a struggle for me to take everything down; essentially putting away the magic for another year. As I was wrapping up the ornaments in tissue and putting them back into the boxes, I decided that maybe my house should feel that magical all the time.

So, I'm taking on the project of "adjusting" the things we have, and supplementing them with a more carefully curated collection of vintage. I want it to be Christmas everyday.

I'm thinking of signing up for Rachel Denbow's "Style Your Space" E-course at Red Velvet. The last Red Velvet E-course played an important role in the re-imagination of this blog, and in turn it is making an astronomical improvement in my daily life and in my creative future. But, more on that later...

After taking on the tree, Dave and I went to dinner with his aunts and we tied on a few pitchers of sangria. My cheeks are all tingly and it's probably time to take a nap but, I wanted to discuss something really quickly.

I started taking a new supplement today that helps with pain due to inflammation and a ton of other things, but when I went to further research it I kept coming up with nothing (the same article copy/pasted everywhere). I'm so tired of going to the doctor and coming home with another pill that doesn't do anything, so I've decided to give natural medicine a shot. There are perpetually no side effects, so I think it's worth trying. It's called "Serapeptase", and it's an enzyme derived from silkworms. Does anyone take this, or know someone who has? I hope it helps!

(PS: These pictures are really old, but I wanted to share little bits of my house that I DO love already)

vinyl monday: cat stevens.

We're cutting back on hours in the shop I work at and that's means that today, I've spent a pretty long stretch of time alone. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it sort of gives me time to arrange my thoughts and reflect a little.

A lot of super great things have been happening to me lately (mostly one very BIG thing, which I'll be able to share soon), and I'm really thankful for the place that I am in. The sink maybe full of dishes, I may have to ride Public transit twice a week, but I'm still happy.

When I get into this mood where I start bubbling over with positivity, I always look to Cat Stevens to keep that ball rolling.

He hasn't let me down yet. He makes my ordinary life seem so surreal.

What GOOD things are happening for you?

WIP: secret swap gifts.

Let's talk about how I got finished work at about 6:30, cooked dinner and planted myself until front of the TV until just now. However, I did knit and hand felt ten little hearts for a project that I'm making for my Valentine's day swap partner. I hope she loves it, because my hands are all pruny and I'm about to pass out. I still have a lot of work to do before I can mail her gift out, so it looks like another crafting marathon tomorrow. Seriously, I'm not kidding anyone; I live for this stuff!

What are you up to tonight?