Thank you Ms. Mailman!

I got a fun package in the mail today, my class kit for the Soul Restoration class that starts in January. This class is being put on by the fun ladies at the Brave Girls Club; Melody Ross and her sister Kathy. The tag line for the class is really what got me: The Original YOU is Still in There Somewhere! I feel this way so much, that there are all these layers holding me back; physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

I came across the Brave Girls Club website by accident, but I know I was meant to find it. They host in-person retreats in Idaho that sound fabulous, but may be cost-prohibitive to many. The Soul Restoration class is an online version of some of the activities that go on at the retreat, but are spread out over a couple of months with everything done online. I signed up for this class right away, not like me! But I'm getting excited about it. I'll try to keep the blog updated with some of the activities.

Crafting, crafting, crafting

I'm going to be selling some of my crafty wares at the Christmas Extravaganza Craft Fair at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Shirley, MA. The fair will be held November 27, 2010 from 9AM to 2PM. To prepare, I've been working on a ton of new items. I've added some of the items to my Etsy site, and you can check them out there. Some cards, some Christmas decor, and some gifts as well.

Gifts for Scrapbookers?

I saw my friend Beverly wrote an article on Holiday Gift Ideas for Kayak and Canoe Enthusiasts, and I think I'm going to piggy back on that concept and create an article on gift ideas for scrapbookers and paper crafters. Now, I've got some ideas on where to begin, but I'm a particular type of crafter, and I'd love to get suggestions from other crafters. Ideas???

UFO Update

I've given up on the pillow for now. I'm too stressed about it. I think too much about my arm and how I'm sleeping, my upper back gets stiff, and I really want to get some sleep. So I went back to my contoured foam pillow. E has to kick me every so often, and I still don't think I'm getting a good night sleep, but at least I'm sleeping.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out my previous post on this topic.

My three days of kid free crafting bliss...

Going up to Ogunquit, Maine for the regularly scheduled Scrapbooker Online fall retreat. I need this so badly. Three days of awesome friends, scrapping all day and all night, Friday night dinner at the Lobster barn, drinks under the table, and laughing all weekend. I've been to all but one of the SBO retreats, and they are always awesome.

Philosophical Ramblings 1

I feel like that at some point in my life, I fell to pieces. I put the pieces back together, but like when you're assembling something and not following the directions, I ended up with some leftover pieces and I don't know what they're for or where they go. Because of this, I don't feel whole in the way I did before.

This isn't something new, I've been this way for many years. Every so often I get some insight into myself and maybe figure out where one of those pieces go. It's been so long since I've been "whole" that I'm not sure I remember what it was like. Every day I pray for wisdom, strength, understanding, and faith.

Christmas is a-Coming

I've been working on a variety of items to sell at a local craft fair coming up at the end of November. I've been working on a variety of Christmas card designs, and one particular one was so simple that I decided to make and post a tutorial. You can check out the tutorial here: Quick and Simple Homemade Christmas Cards.

Alternatively, if you'd rather buy your cards than make them, I have a few for sale at my Etsy shop: Cygnus Artworks.

UFO* - Day 3

*UFO = unidentified fluffy object.

I have had issues sleeping for a while now, and part of the problem is that I snore, much to my husband's chagrin. I have been looking up non-medical methods to try to alleviate my snoring and potentially sleep better. One of the best things is to sleep on your side. That's fine, I have to be on my side to go to sleep. Problem is I roll onto my back after I'm asleep and that's when the chainsaw starts. When I take a nap on the couch, I am forced to stay on my side, and I actually wake up pretty rested. I even thought about getting one of those old fashioned kid swimmy bubbles that you strap to your back so that I couldn't roll over.

So, when I was at BJ's last week, I saw this pillow made by Sona.



I did think twice about buying a $60 pillow, so I went home and read up a bit on it. Decided to buy it, went back and picked it up. My husband says it's "aerodynamic", and asked if it can fly. (ha.) The pillow is supposed to keep you in a side sleeping position by having you sleep on one of the wings and have your arm underneath.

Okay, so Night 1 of the Unidentified Fluffy Object. I set myself up in the proper position, and I am completely aware of my arm. I am not used to sleeping with my arm under the pillow, and rather than relax, I keep focusing on my arm. And what to do with my arm, and how to lay/prop my arm, and if my arm is hanging off the bed, etc. It takes me forever to fall asleep. I decide to keep my arm down and see how it works. My husband kicks me twice during the night, each time I realize I'm on my back snoring with my head on the lump in the middle. Nice. Halfway through the night I switch back to my old pillow.

Night 2 of the UFO. I decide that I really need to have my arm under the pillow for it to work. Takes me forever to fall asleep because I can hear the fibers in the pillow crinkling, at least I think that's what the noise was. I ask my husband in the AM if I snored, he says he didn't think so, but at 3:14 AM I woke him up by pulling the entire covers onto my side of the bed. (He remembered the time because it was pi o'clock.)

Night 3 of the UFO. Still took me a while to fall asleep. I could hear my pulse in my ear. Spent time wondering if that happened with my other pillow. Otherwise slept okay, no snoring that my husband noticed.

I think the key is getting over the novelty of the pillow at this point. I have major issues sleeping at other places when I have to use a different pillow, so this wasn't unexpected. Sona states that you should try it out for 30 days before forming an opinion, so I'm 10% through my trial period. We shall see.

Humidity is not cool.

I hate humid weather. I would melt if I ever had to spend any extended time south of the Mason Dixon line, that's for sure. Today, in late October in Massachusetts, it's 70F, and it's raining, which means that I'm sweating. Fall is supposed to be crisp and dry, not soggy, and this weather makes me want to drape myself over an air conditioning vent, although the New Englander in me says there's no way in heck I'm turning on the AC in late October.

Last Saturday I took the "Configurations of Your Imagination" class at Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, taught by the fabulous Tim Holtz. I consider myself a technique junkie, and anything that involves Tim Holtz/Ranger products is always a draw for me. But despite all of my past creative explorations, I still managed to learn NEW THINGS. While Tim's classes are always fun, whether on person or tutorials through his blog, he always manages to show me, the technique junkie, something new and amazing, or a new use for an old item, or how to transform something into something else.

Sunday

This afternoon I'll be driving up to Absolutely Everything in Topsfield to take a class from the wicked awesome Tim Holtz. I haven't taken one of his classes in person since CKU Boston in 2006. I'm taking the Christmas Alterations class, and I know it will rock.

Gah.

*Insert yet another bad blogger statement here.*

Yeah, it's been almost a year. I am feeling the itch to write, but I'm not sure if it's a procrastination mechanism because I have a hella-ton of things to do. In fact, as I write this, I am procrastinating on writing my to-do list for the day. I am win.

Stuff on my plate right now:
-9 proposals due the first week in Dec (yes, I am freaking nuts)
-General housework (laundry, dishes, clutter, yadda yadda yadda)
-Sorting through the chaos of the dining room remodel
-Dealing with a half day of school today
-Cub scouts
-Thinking about a craft fair I'm going to do at the end of November
-Prepping for the historic house tour this weekend that I'm volunteering at
-Stressing about my hair and how I do nothing with it
-Reading The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse (Nobel laureate author, great story, challenging read)
-Ongoing spiritual reading, research, and growth

On a saner note, I'll be going to a Tim Holtz class at Absolutely Everything in Topsfield this weekend.