Name that Blog!!

Thank you for all of your kind words and support regarding my job search. In addition to making a new freelance contact (thank you, brother!), I got word today that I get a 3-week extension on unemployment! Aaagghh!!! :)

During my job search I have learned something startling about myself: I am not a risk taker.

Gasp!

Not being a risk taker is like being a stick in the mud, isn't it? It always annoyed me to have to deal with someone who was afraid to try something new--whether it be an ethnic dish, an unusual outfit, a new haircut, etc.

And now I've realized I'm one of them!!! Please don't judge me world! I didn't KNOW!!

Okay, so I do take some risks. In fact, I'll take just about any risk that doesn't involve money. (...or dining on animal brains...come on, people--that's disgusting!). I never took an unpaid internship in college. I never took a job that couldn't pay the bills, but that might advance me professionally. In college I never claimed a major (of the 4 or 5 that I chose) that didn't have a relevant job attached to it (no English major for me! "English" isn't a job. But Journalism, well, produces Journalists! And ironically, journalism is now a dying profession, too. Boo.) I have wanted to take photography classes but since a photography profession is extremely risky, since everyone does it, I didn't want to make an investment that wouldn't pay me back. 

But life is SHORT. And I don't want to be a wimp. 

So I am starting out on a venture that could fall flat on its face. Because of that, sometimes I do not want to start it. I want everything that I touch to turn into gold, and it's easier if you only touch sure things. Yet, I am going to make myself do this. 

I am starting a quilting blog. 

I have done a lot of research on making money blogging. I believe that I have all the necessary skills: writing, photography, a passion for my subject, interest in good website layout, etc. One question potential bloggers need to ask themselves is: would I do this, even if I didn't get paid? 

The answer for me is YES!!!!

It takes about 2 years before you start making $$ on a blog, and I am willing to invest that kind of time.

But I need help picking out a name! If you want to be a part of quilting history (as this is going to be the most fabulous, amazing, quilting blog EVER), give me your two cents! I am also open to suggestions. What do you think? 

I personally wanted SassySewNSew, but it's already taken. Many sites are. And there is already a popular site, "Crazy Mom Quilts," so I should avoid "crazylady" names.

Name that Job!

Oh, beloved readers. 

I need a job!

Just over a year ago I was laid off from my job. I was very fortunate to be able to collect unemployment compensation since then. It has paid our mortgage. 

However, the money train is going to run out in a couple of weeks and my prospects are still bleak. Now, my aim is not for you to feel sorry for me. My life is fantastic, except for the "no money" part. Lots of people have it way worse than me. But I do want to be honest about what's going on in my life.

Finding a job in any part of our country right now is difficult, I would imagine. But finding a job in Michigan is near impossible. Especially if you are me, and your skills are extremely common. I can write, proofread, take photographs, and be an administrative assistant, to name a few. None of these skills are very lucrative, and the workforce is flooded with people with the same qualifications. Right now being a hiring manager is like a being fisherman looking into the ocean and trying to pick out the best tuna fish, when they all look THE SAME on the outside. 

My job situation is also complicated, as I need to either work from home, or work 2nd shift, when JB is home and can care for Olivia. I am not against daycare. But I am against paying at least $800 a month for it. (I priced it before I lost my job. This amount is not an exaggeration--in fact, it's on the low end.)  

I have learned that networking is what gets people most of their jobs. It's what got me my last two jobs, and what landed JB his. Networking makes me uncomfortable, but I have been doing it. Dead ends so far. But it feels good to practice it, anyway. However, I have not tried my blog friends. Perhaps YOU know of something that I can do! 

Here are my dream scenarios:

• I can become a full-time blogger. Lots of people do this. It does take some initial investment though (like buying blog editing software), and I am not one to take risks and spend $$ on something that isn't a guarantee. I have started a quilting blog, though, and it would be awesome if that takes off. It usually takes about 2 years to start making $$ on a blog, though, and I have a long way to go to have a site even remotely as cool as my these two fabulous and useful quilting sites: Red Pepper Quilts, and Oh Frannson! 

• I can work from home as a freelance proofreader. I have been exploring this option, though, and there are more proofreaders than there is work, it seems. 

• A wealthy person paying me to raise the most beautiful, special little girl in the entire world. The one person to do that would be JB. Oh, JB, why can't you be a Sugar Daddy???

Here are my realistic options:

• Working retail after hours and weekends. 
• Working at Meijer 2nd shift. 

Here is what I will NOT do:

• Sales.
• Work in a nursing home.

Finding a job right now is very stressful for me. I know that God will provide, so that's good. But I have lots of questions: 

• Why should I be subject to jobs that don't utilize all my skills? Why did God give me these skills if I am to be relegated to scanning someone's baked beans at the register at 1 a.m. every weeknight? 
• Why did I bother to pay thousands of dollars for a f&^%ing degree that isn't paying me back??? 
• What is my CALLING???

So, if you have a great idea for a job, let me know. Or, you can just pray for me. And while you're at it, please pray for the thousands of other men and women in my great state who have even bleaker prospects than I. Some families even have BOTH parents out of work. 

Oh Lord, save Michigan!

Our Dream House

Though we love our home, JB and I have been talking about our dream home for years. I don't really want to move, and if I could have my way, I'd have this house airlifted to some acreage in the country and call it good. But technology has not advanced that much. And since our yard is very, very small, our driveway even smaller (I have ripped off the side mirrors of JB's car 3 or 4 times now), and the area of yard that gets enough sun to grow vegetables even smaller, we are aspiring to a better place. Or, well, for a better yard.

I often daydream about our driveway neighbors moving away, and their house burning down or something, and us getting to just add on an extra city plot of yard. Yes, I know. Dreaming of someone's house burning down is evil. But it's not like they would be living there! And no one would be harmed in the making of our new yard. The neighbors would get insurance money exceeding what they would sell the house for, we'd get a yard, the city would get an inimpressive house turned into a beautiful garden, we'd save money on sideview mirrors.

But since God is more clever than I, I don't think the house will burn down. A housefire is probably not in everyone's best interests, contrary to what I imagine. 

One thing I appreciate about JB is that he has similar interests to me. We both would love to live on acreage in the country in a cool old home. My dream home is a bungalow, which has garnered JB's interest too. Unfortunately, bungalows were a revolution of city neighborhoods in the 20's, so if we want one in the country, we have to build.

Here is our current pick.

 

 It's called "The Winslow." 

I'm not a fan of the size: 2,500 square feet. Our current house is 1,850 and that's plenty of space for me to have to dust and vacuum. BUT, the extra square footage results in a living room AND a den, meaning that I can have my own quiet place in the living room full of books, and JB and the kids can watch the TV drone on for hours in the den. Or they can play nerf tag. Or whatever. I don't care. Just don't come in the living room unless you are going to do a quiet activity. 

Here are some example interior shots from the Winslow's company:

Looks pretty fancy-pants to me. A little too new looking for my interests, but I'm sure we could break it in in no time. 

So on cold dreary days when the sun has gone off to play somewhere else, and the sounds of Modern Warfare 2 are wafting through the house, this is what I think about. 

We'll see what God's got up his sleeve for us. Even if it's not The Winslow, hopefully it'll be a place with more yard, lots of sun, and some dreamy shade trees.

Baby Casanova

Olivia got her first kiss the other day.

Sister Annie responded that "she gets more action than me!" Sorry, sister. If you want to come to the library with us the next time you visit, perhaps you'd have some luck, too. ;)



Olivia and I were at our weekly visit to the EGR library, a land filled with toys and fun. There were 10-15 little kids playing around at the various stations. Olivia likes to just walk around it all a lot, stopping momentarily to talk to a child who interests her, or to try to take an interesting toy from that interesting child. So I spend my time walking closely behind her so that I may teach her that it's not okay to take toys from others, etc.

O had tried playing with a girl her same size (and perhaps age) with bright red hair. She first started chattering to her when they were near the fishtank. O just strode right up to her and strung off a mouthful of jibberjabber. The girl was nonplussed. She gave O a blank stare, so O shrugged her off and moved on. Poor O! She was trying to make a friend!

Later O spotted her again and tried to strike up some fun. But upon Olivia's arrival at the girl's table, the redhead scooped up all the toys within reach and hoarded them to herself, giving Olivia a meanish look. She didn't like sharing, I guess.

My girl got up and was walking by the ice cream stand when a little boy (about 3ish, who I later heard addressed as Jack) said to his mom, "Look, a beebee!" (Even though there were a few other little beebees there, too, but perhaps they weren't in his peripheral.)

The Bird kept cruising until she stopped at a little table with a wooden puzzle on it. She has three of these at home and really enjoys them. Immediately the little boy comes over to see the puzzle, too.

I had crouched down to help O identify the animals on it. The boy named every animal I pointed to, such as the alligator and giraffe. Another girl came over to be part of the fun, too. I think I was the only adult interacting with the children. Parents of older toddlers were sitting on comfy chairs and reading, trusting their children to practice the manners they had been taught. Parents of little kids were hovering in the background in various parts of the library, but not as closely as I was to O. Maybe I'm just anal about my kid treating others nicely. So I think when the kids saw a grownup talking and playing with THEM, it looked pretty exciting.

As we were playing with the wooden puzzle, O tried to pick up some puzzle pieces to check out. The little boy started talking to her and suddenly smiled and said, "Nice beebee! I'm going to give her a kiss!" I wasn't sure whether to let him or not, for fear of the communicable diseases they could share, such as INFLUENZA and wretched COLDS. Fortunately he kissed her forehead, and not her lips.

Olivia didn't think it was a very big deal, as everyone she knows kisses her all the time. Right after he did that, the redheaded girl comes out of nowhere and snatches the elephant puzzle piece right from under them and runs for it. The boy took off to regain the lost toy, and that was the last we saw of him.

I don't know what his fascination with Olivia was, though considering the surly nature of the redheaded "beebee," perhaps Olivia's general happiness was like a breath of fresh air to that kid. Or, perhaps he kisses ALL the beebees he sees, and O is just another forehead on his list.

Pants on the Ground

Today I was sitting on the Can (aka The Throne) when I heard a loud crash come from Olivia's room. A loud crash that sounded a lot like her bookcase tipping over.

Then I heard O cry out for me for about two seconds. "Aaaaggghh!!"

I hurriedly tried to finish what I was doing so I could come to her rescue. As I was trying to make myself decent, there was silence. I thought it was one of those baby screams where the kid is holding their breath before they let out an ear curdling wail. But no cry came, so this made me wonder if she got knocked out or something.

I dashed across the hall to her room to see the bookcase fallen on its face, toys strewn around it and sticking out from under it hapharzadly, and the yellow lamp crashed on the floor. I was wondering where Olivia was when I noticed a little baby leg and shoe-clad foot, sticking out from under the bookcase.

It wasn't moving.

It was like that famous scene from Munchkin-land. I was half expecting the foot to curl up and pull itself under the bookcase, leaving the little polkadot shoe behind.

"Was she unconscious?" I wondered.

Turns out she was just waiting patiently for me to come help her. 

"I'm sorry, Olivia!" I said as I pulled the bookcase off of her.

As soon as the case was lifted, the little girl sat up and looked at me very calmly and a little dazed. I scanned her for blood or wooden puzzle pieces embedded in her skull, and as there didn't seem to be any major damage, I told her that I had to return to the bathroom to wash my hands and then I'd come see her. (Afterall, a little girl who has an accident like that would need lots of cuddling and rocking, I would imagine.)

She came to her gated doorway and voiced her protest as I soaped my hands. She soon shrugged me off as a lost cause and returned to the room to continue playing.

Excuse me, baby, but you just pulled a bookcase onto yourself that is taller than you, and you aren't even scared? Upset? Nervous about going near it again?

You're just gonna go back to playing???

Yes, apparently the lamp on the floor needed investigating, and crying and carrying on got in the way of such serious play.


I'm thinking about entering her in a Baby Toughman Contest...

Bird Update

Baby Olivia saw Dr. Hofman today for her 15-month checkup, so I thought I'd post a little update.

Dr. Hofman said that, "She's the best one out there!" and said that I could share that.

So there. He DOES think she's the best baby ever (but probably after his own kids and grandkids, naturally--though he didn't clarify that...).

She's taller than the average 2-year-old. And not quite that heavy, but close enough. He gave her a clean bill of health.

On the home front, she has become a very busy girl: walking, almost-running, playing with her toys, playing with Daddy, playing with the doggie, dancing, trying to talk, etc.

Here's what she's been up to.

Hanging with JB:




Channeling her inner Axl Rose:




Reading (she dons all these headpieces on her own):


And shaking' her booty (she prefers to dance w/o audiences, so I had to sneak up on her):

My Mom says she gets those moves from her, and I believe her. Because I didn't teach her any of this, and she's never seen it on TV.

Haiti

When I got on the internets this morning (in lieu of going to church, as O has a cold and I cannot let her share her germs and snot with the other babies at church) I had intended to post about my sewing endeavors.

But then CNN and a few of my fellow bloggers have dissuaded me.

I am very, very sad about the situation in Haiti.

Yes, catastrophes happen all the time, all over the world. The world is FULL of suffering EVERY DAY.

But Haiti was already full of people who were suffering, and now they've got a double serving. And what really makes me sad is the children and orphans who are there. The children and orphans who do not even have clean water to drink. An adult who finds himself without water can at least understand why, and maybe even take steps to get water. But kids don't understand. They just know that they're thirsty and hungry and they don't feel good. They did not ask to be born into such abject poverty or uncleanliness. They were just happily playing in their scrappy surroundings when one day the earth shakes, and now they have nothing.

Then this morning I read about 10 children still trapped in the rubble of a home as of Saturday. Kids! Trapped underneath rubble for DAYS. The workers could still hear their voices in there, faint as they were getting.

Yesterday NPR aired an interview with a man who was trapped with his colleagues under a collapsed building for 50 hours. I thought to myself, "50 hours??? I would have lost my mind by then." But 50 hours is lucky compared to those kids in the house.

And then there are the families in the U.S. who are adopting children from Haiti. Some of them do not know if their children are still alive. What if baby Olivia had been born and living in Haiti, and we finally got to pick her out for our own and just had to wait, and then the earth shakes and we have no idea if she's alive? Or worse yet, we hear from the orphanage that she is alive, but there is no food or water. And she's hungry and thirsty and sad. And we can't do anything to help her. She's just walking around that orphanage listlessly, looking for a drink, when there is none.

So any of you big-rollers, please give cashola to help the Haitians. Red Cross is a good place. Or pick from this list.

And you praying types, pray for Haiti and those kids. Well, pray however the Spirit leads you. But I feel really sad for all the baby Olivia's over there right now.

Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world.

(Please pray for my baby friends in Haiti!)

Guess who?

Tonight as I was searching for something else I stumbled upon this photo:


Holy crap! Either my Mom got some botox done, or Olivia went back in time to 1979! I look so cute I want to hug me! It is sooo weird to see my likeness in someone else.

Here is an actual photo of Mom and Olivia. Yep, O has my hair (and my Mom's)--sorry, O!



And Marian and Olivia, where you can see the side profile likeness.



On a related note, my mom saw this photo in an album that my cousin Bonnie made for Granny for Christmas. Mom said, "How did you get that photo of me and April??"


(To give her credit, back in the day she did have a shirt exactly like this one...)

Wool Felt Goodness

As I've already posted, I made a lot of stuff to give as Christmas presents this year.

Two things I made that I now have photographs of are a Spring table runner for Marian, and a felt tea cosy for Marian's birthday on New Year's Eve.

The table runner was designed by JB, so I'm very proud to showcase it here, because I think that JB is very talented and was thrilled that he was inspired to do this. It took two months from start to finish, and it felt good to complete it. It is all handsewn and creating the pattern with proper dimensions took some time. The flower stems themselves took three hours to sew, if you want an idea of how long it took. So no, I will not make one for you, no matter who you are! :) It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing (famous last words), but I may make the pattern printable/sharable. I may even try to sell the pattern, but really, who wants to spend nearly two months sewing a runner?? It's worth a try:


We even got really creative and made the tongues be the dirt, with the bulb flowers having bulbs, and the other flowers having roots:


Earlier this year Marian saw a cool wool Jan Constantine tea cosy in a British magazine (love that British style!) and I tore that magazine page out, thinking I could make her one. I mean, I could have bought her one: for $164!!! No, not sixty four. ONE HUNDRED and sixty four dollars. But that's a little out of my price range.

I checked out her website and JB was really interested in her Americana ones, so we did a hybrid version of two of hers and came up with this (we didn't use pure wool, because that's where part of the $164 comes from):


which Marian loved.

And then demonstrated how it is not a hat, contrary to the popular story!




So now I'm kicking around making things to sell on Etsy, such as cool felt tea cosies. But not this one. Because it's probably considered a Jan Constantine rip off and if she can charge $164 for one tea cosy, she probably has enough bankroll to fly her lawyer across the ocean to pay me a visit.

I have one original pattern idea up my sleeve. However, I have also declared this year to take my "crafting sabbatical." Not Quilting sabbatical (because who in their right mind would give that up?) but Crafting. So the only sewing I wish to do this year will revolve around quilts. This means no homemade Christmas presents. Sorry, guys. Mama's tired.

This means that I'm not sure when I'll make these tea cosies for Etsy. But one day, when my faithful unemployment runs out, it may just happen...

Christmas Part III

After our Berkley Bonanza we hiked north to Mayberry for our part of Teague Christmas. I was pumped to give my family all my homemade gifts. JB was tired. Olivia was FLIPPED.

We got there ahead of the other car of Teagues, so it was just Aunt Annie and us for a little bit. Which was perfect for Olivia, who loves Aunt Annie, and who also needed some quiet times. So Annie changed O and put her in her jams and the little girl started to feel a little better.

Then we opened presents. I made something for everyone this year except for Dad, who got fishing gear. I cannot make fishing gear. Though I did give him and Mom a copy of the Les Cheneaux calendar that I'm in. So that was kind of homemade.

Anyway, I did not take photos of everything, but here are some of the things that I made:


Okay, so I didn't make the French drawing on the left that Annie got. But I did dig it out of a pile of art at an estate sale and took the time to go back the next day when everything was 50% off. I think my favorite thing I made for Teagues was Tommy's MSU Vernor's picture in the middle there. I self-matted a double mat for that sucker. And I like it so much I'm going to make one for myself! I also made Mom an upholstered cushion for her kitchen bench, and matted for Krystal a photo I took of our beloved pet, Reba.

Present breakdown: Again, too much to name, but most memorable gifts were a mega-giftcard from Tommy to my favorite quilting shop, Smith-Owen. He was sneaky and picked it up when he was in Grand Rapids a few weeks ago. I had no idea he did that. V. cool! K embroidered each of us a pillowcase that she (er, MOM) made. K does beautiful embroidery. And since my old purse was dead (I bought it over six years ago when I was in Nashville for cousin Sarah's wedding!), JB and Annie put their dollars (and Anne's Macy's discount) together and got me this:

(Note also the new MSU shirt, and the cool Christmas tree that we picked out of Mom and Dad's front yard a few weeks ago. I think it was a Norwegan Pine. Very good branches for hanging ornaments.)

After presents were opened and Olivia went to bed, it was game time. Our last game of the night was Apples to Apples, which by that time, our Czechoslavakian maid, Rachel, was there to play.

Some quotes:

Krystal : "I think Abraham Lincoln was ugly!"
Tommy, looking at K: "People have told me that I look like Abraham Lincoln."

"If you pick Broadway, the terrorists win!"

"I did not tie a couch to my back!! It was a (upholstered) chair!" (True Story.)

And of course, as many family conversations tend to do, the talk came around to bodily functions. Don't everyone's family conversations do this?

So a few hilarious stories were told, causing tears to come to our eyes.

Then it was my turn to pull out a card for people to choose a definition for: Nasty.

The entries were thrown into the middle of the table and I picked them up and flipped them over, revealing two "fill-in-the-blank" cards. Anne shouted out, "FECES!" for her entry. Tommy couldn't top that one, I thought. But I didn't give him enough credit, as he said, "Dad's horseshoe-shaped turd!"

No contest.

"Tommy's feces wins!" I said.

Hope you all had a wonderful, horseshoe-shaped-turdless Christmas!