Mark It With An "N"

Hello to my mmm, I think, three remaining readers. It's true. I confess, the twelve followers below is a bit of a deception. I bullied most of them into clicking the "follow" button and they probably haven't returned since. If you look closely you'll see that one of the twelve is me. On another note:

A William Sonoma catalogue came in the mail today and my heart gave a little flutter when I spotted this beauty. I have to say it, OMG! Can you imagine all the lovely little things I'd bake and wrap with pretty ribbons and label with this oh-so-cute embosser! And the sweet little cards I'd send with my embossed emblem on the back, and the darling wrapped gifts I'd give with the embossed tag! Can you imagine it? I can, I am right now and it's wonderful!  But, one thought interupts my dreams of crafting bliss and that is, truthfully, what if my last name changes??? Uh, okay, I know... this is so embarrassing and rediculous of me, but I can't help it! I wouldn't want to waste a whole embossing template on a last name I'll never use again (God help me)! And I wouldn't want to count my chickies before they hatch so... I'm thinking this is a great engaged or already married item to purchase. Hmph. Oh, if only I could know which name to order right now...ahem! Okay, just kidding. Maybe I could order some with just my first name... or a nickname... ooh, or an alias. It would be perfect to have before Valentines day. Can you imagine the scrumptious Valentines I could send with my little embossed envelopes! Sigh.

A Modern Thank You Card

I just added a new song to my playlist. Actually, it's an old song that I used to love. Something reminded me of it recently and I couldn't wait to hear it again. It is Little Star by Stina Nordenstam. You may recognize it from the movie Romeo & Juliet. Back when the movie came out I would listen to this song and imagine what my first kiss would be like with Leonardo DiCaprio. Surprisingly, that is not what drew me to it this time. Simply put, it's just so darn pretty.

Speaking of lovely music, I had a birthday recently and decided that I would forego the sentimental homemade Thank You card for a modern upgrade: a mixed CD. I wrote little messages on the disc and will wrap each with a pretty ribbon. I think it gives an otherwise predictable Thank You letter a little flair and something to give back. Oh how creatively ingenious of me, brag, brag, brag! Pardon me, I'm a bit excited about it. The truth is, I have been very lazy about reading and writing lately but have devoted much appreciation and dwindling of time to music and longed to share my favorite songs. Some might even say I force my music upon others... but I don't feel that's accurate.

I will have to try and pick up a book or back of a cereal box or something this week to help with inspiration; I'm afraid, though, my grammar has fallen beyond repair.

Time for bed! Today at work I came dangerously close to drooling on my keyboard and succumbing to the ever-threatening hunchback, due to lack of sleep. I'm hoping tomorrow our bookkeeper will give my fresh face a sweet complement rather than a concerned, "you look tired..."  Goodnight!

Fuel for bloggers remorse:

Hello there. No, I have not forgotten this blog. I have thought about it, sighed and avoided it, but forgotten it - no. I have lacked inspiration lately, as well as completion of thought. Everything I've written lately has been an aimless babble bordering on self pity and as interesting as small talk. I strongly dislike small talk. You may notice, I have a book on small talk on my reading list. I'm trying, or going to try, to change my outlook on small talk so I no longer have to dodge people I recognize at the mall. I'm pretty sure most people can tell that yes, I do see them and I do know who they are. If you have spotted me at the mall hiding behind a kiosk of hair straighteners it's not because I don't like you, it's just because I don't feel like sharing all the new things that aren't going on in mylife right now. I'm trying to spare you the boredom and fake laughter which, lets face it, is what small talk thrives on. Okay, okay, I'm getting bitter.

I'd better just come clean right now. The previous post about Christmas songs to come was a lie. There will be no such songs. I wanted to find unique Christmas songs but all the ones that sounded nice lacked that Christmas feeling and, well, now Christmas has come and gone.

My cat is snoring like a Saint Bernard. It startled me, I thought there was someone moaning outside my bedroom.

Deck the Halls...

We've had a few weeks of butt-cold weather. I won't miss an opportunity to sport a festive scarf!

In terms of decorating, well, it's sort of taken a back seat, but I spangled up my fake palm tree. Classy.

And of course, a holiday ambient staple: candles flickering with Christmas spirit. And Rudolph.

In case you were wondering, yes, I did paint these Christmas baubles. I'm quite fond of them.

The star I am using as my tree topper I slyly retrieved from a gift basket that came to my work. I was too lazy to dig for our usual ornaments but I think this does the trick.

Merry Christmas!!!

p.s: Christmas music with a fresh flair to come!

Proud Runner...

A few months ago I posted running a marathon as an item on my list of achievable goals. I’d like to inform you of adjustments/progresses in regards to that goal since the time of its posting. To be completely honest, when I first penned the goal I was unaware of exactly how many miles a marathon was. I had, for the most part, never ran (except for in grade school when you have to run the dreaded annual mile.) I’m not sure what I expected, but upon hearing it was the some-kinda-insanity 26 miles I quickly downgraded the goal to a half marathon. It didn’t take more than moment more for me to acknowledge that, yes indeed, that means a half marathon is 13 miles. Barf. Due to my ignorance, I decided to train for the next half marathon. It was a late Saturday morning, I had a steady, 90 year-old-ish hobble going down my street. A mere 3 blocks later I was whimpering from a fresh bee sting on my ankle and, having stopped to nurse my wound, suddenly found that I felt extremely nauseous. I had a moment of panic. I felt like my stomach was going to empty itself in both directions and I was going to die of thirst at the same time. I frantically scanned my surroundings for a drinking fountain, none. Though I was within five minutes of my house I folded onto a patch of grass in front of a huge Graham Cheverolet sign on the corner of an intersection, sucking in deep slow breaths. As the damp grass soaked into the seat of my pants two other joggers moved gingerly up the sidewalk. I tried to hide the distressed expression on my face and fidgeted with my shoe laces as they swiftly passed me. It was then that I realized that I didn't have a clue and 13 miles is a lot. So again, I downsized my half marathon to a marathon relay with three other people. I requested the shortest leg, 4.7 miles. Amazingly enough, since that dreadful morning, I have managed to run four miles with some regularity. In part because four miles is the exact distance from my house to my boyfriends and back. That way I can burst through his door and demand to know his plans for the night while having a little water break and showing him that I‘m athletic. I know what some of you are saying, “Pah! Four miles? I did that when I was five! I run 15 miles a day!” And to you I say, you are crazy and need to get some other hobbies. But truly, I don’t need that. I am so proud of myself for actually saving my brownie till later, shutting off the reality TV show, putting on the insanely tight sports bra and stretchy pants, all to go sweat like a pig and run like a sissy with my mouth gaping open for four triumphant miles as my neighbors drive by and wave.

Having said that, I must tell you that the marathon relay I was planning to run in is this Sunday. Have I trained? Yes. Have I resolved to getting up at the ass-crack of dawn in thirty degree weather? Yes. Unfortunately, my teammates are not in the same boat. Maybe it’s because they’re all married and so aren't in need of an excuse for a surprise visit to their boyfriends house. I don’t know, but the race for team Runners Up is officially off. You may think I feel pretty disappointed. But I don’t. As I said, it is a miracle in itself that my running shoes even see daylight. Cheesey may it be, but I feel like a winner. Plus, now I can enjoy the open bar at my company Christmas party this Saturday night.

Runners Up has decided to try the run again in May when it’s not so cold at 6am. My leg has been upped to about 7 miles. Yes!

Tidy Ribbons and Such...

Anyone who is a crafter knows about the amount of stuff you acquire in order to be well prepared for whatever inspiration or crafty conundrum may enter your day. Paper, embossing gun, yarn, ribbons galore, several types of glue, beads, stamps, glitter, fabric... just to name just a few. I recently attempted to downsize my numerous craft storage boxes and was immediately overwhelmed. So, I focused in on the area that seemed most chaotic: the tangled and severly intertwined, yet splendidly colorful, ribbons.  I hunted for a better form of containment and found a rectangular basket of my moms that wasn't really being used. Then I detangled, diligently, just like the good 'ol days when your yo-yo string got in a knot, times twenty... nine. My cat padded by pretending to be disinterested until it struck her that this was the best project ever and she became relentless in trying to participate. With little thanks to my cat, I ended up being quite pleased with the final result.

I had the brilliant idea of tying the smaller scraps of ribbon onto the handle of the basket to keep things somewhat orderly. Nice, right?

I got a little distracted after organizing the ribbon and my ever searching attention turned to color sorting the books on one shelf of my bookcase, yes, just one. I noticed of friend of mine had done this and I found it curious, so I thought I'd try it out. I've been undecided for about a week but I think I'm leaning towards... liking it! It looks orderly, wouldn't you say? My boyfriend pulls all his books out a bit so that the binds line up evenly, creating a smooth look. I think I'll try that next.

P.S. I got some little glow lights from IKEA. I think they give my room a romantic flair (wink).

An Independent Saturday...

Oh Independence... how puzzling you are. My boyfriend has made plans on this pleasant Saturday that do not include clingy little me, so I have been forced to rely on my independent self and turn my focus to my much neglected To Do list. I started my morning (11:30am), quite hopeful, beaming in anticipation of all that would be accomplished. Now, several hours later, I have found that having no plans can leave me feeling a little... aimless. Here's how the day has gone so far: First, I decided to update my picture frames, several of which contain photos of people I no longer know. I sat on my bed and looked at them, each carefully placed around the room... and did some thinking... laying back on my bed, I listened to the neighbors loading their dogs into the car, then I looked at my nails for a while and picked at something irresistable on my arm. I then thought, man, it's dry out, so I put some lotion on my hands and eventually, I went to the kitchen and looked in the fridge, the selection was disappointing. Then I decided I should sew. I sat at my sewing desk (one of my favorite places) and I admired its amenities, my magnet board with the colorful little magnets, my stylish french colonial lamp; I acknowledged the aesthetic way my sewing supplies were set out on the table. I decided to add to the ambiance so I lit some candles, then thought, this might be a nice photo for my blog, so I took some pictures. Then I uploaded the pictures on my computer, after which, I went through some from the last couple months and deleted a few blurred or particularly unattractive shots, and made a mental note to post and print certain ones. Then I closed my lap top... I sat. I looked at my curtains, I noticed a pile of dead bugs at the bottom of my window sill, probably the remains of some spiders eatery, I corrected my posture and gave several moments of worry to the dowager's hump I fear is looming in my future. I inevitably returned to my slump and looked at the pictures I had pinned up on the wall above my desk and read the fortunes I had kept from past fortune cookies. I contemplated my chipped toe nail polish and finally, I got up, went into the kitchen, looked in the fridge and reconsidered its contents. Being independent is a lot harder than I thought.