1.  Take better care of me, be happy and believe that I can.
Having the wedding hanging out in the distance has proved to be good incentive for the physical aspect of this one.  I’m growing my nails, a miracle by itself, my hair is gaining ground, skin is a little freaked right now but I know it’ll improve soon.  The treadmill and I still have a tenuous relationship, but I’ve noticed that my jeans are looser even if the number on the scale hasn’t changed much.  Stress on the other hand is not being handled very well.  Work and wedding are causing this, I’ve just got to deal for now.
2.  No new fabric.
I purchased some swap fabric, and a cotton print to make a dress out of.  Both were things I didn’t have on hand and not impulse buys and despite the fact that I’ve not finished the dress I’m still feeling reasonably successful with this one.
3.  Open an Esty shop.
Um…yeah.  The banner is up, does that count?
4.  Whenever possible Sunday is a day of rest.
We’ve seemed really busy these last three months and not using this day for chores has been difficult but we have had a few do-nothing days.  Well, maybe not ‘do-nothing’ but we did as we pleased and not as the to-do list dictated.
5.  Try new things.
Bead class.  If slinging molten glass and working with flame doesn’t count, well then I’m just not cut out for this trying new things stuff.
6.  Put the credit card away.
The card crept back into my purse during out trip to Atlanta and it is still there.  Usage has been very little, mostly gas, but it needs to go back to its box.
7.  Use it or loose it.
Here I’ve done well and continue to reduce the number of things in the house.  I’ve also done a fairly good job of being more selective about what I bring into the house and have managed to put things I didn’t really need back on the shelf. 
8.  Spend more time outdoors.
The yard is looking pretty good, so I know I’ve been outside some.  And I’ve done a couple ‘photo safari’s’ but we didn’t get to the beach with the dog this month and I’ve been mostly content to cool off indoors.  This one has taken on a different goal in the last few weeks, also due to the wedding.  I’ve got to get outside more and try to get a little heat acclimated so I’m not totally wilted in the photos.  Yes.  I’m stressing over the photos – go figure.
9.  Finish it! 
That unfinished bathroom?  Still unfinished.  Also six felt cupcakes and a dress are languishing in the sewing room.  Total failure, but I may be able to rescue some of it over the long weekend.
10.  Be ‘chartreuse’ (shrink our footprint on the planet).
Our biggest contribution to this effort has been to carpool.  We did it more to save money than the planet, but if we improve our bank account and our air I believe it still counts.  I’ve also dubbed myself the ‘light switch bitch’ and have been making a big effort to turn them off when I find one on in an empty room.  Our electric bill was down this month, but I don’t know if it has much to do with my efforts or not.  Still, I’m counting this one a success.

So there you go.  Some are successes, some failures but no total disasters.  If there’s anything I know for sure you can’t undo a multi year habit overnight and some of these things are just that…bad habits.  But, procrastination is another bad habit of mine so I’ve got to keep after myself a little harder and get it done! 

1. Where is your cell phone? Off
2. Your significant other? Work
3. Your hair? Short
4. Your mother? Missouri
5. Your father? Here
6. Your favorite thing? Quiet
7. Your dream last night? Glass
8 Your favorite drink? Dew
9. Your dream/goal? Happiness
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your hobby? Sewing
12. Your fear? Death
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy
14. What you’re not? Patient
15. Muffins? Rarely
16. One of your wish list items? Book
17. Where you grew up? Missouri
18. The last thing you did? Type
19. What are you wearing? Jeans
20. Favorite gadget? iPod
21. Your pets? Loved
22. Your computer? Fast
23. Your mood? Meh.
24. Missing someone? Several
25. Your car? Home
26. Something you’re not wearing? Jewelry
27. Favorite store? Fabric
28. Like someone? Yep
29. Your favorite color? Reds
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Forgot

And now I just need to tag four others (no need to thank me for giving you a blog topic - always glad to help. Har!) Laurie, Brad, Pea and Jac .... you’re up!

The ring is in.  The stone from my mom’s engagement ring wont work...its a tad too small for the band and its round.  Round is sooo not working with that band...square on the other hand is beautiful.  So a 3/4 carat, princess cut stone later the ring is perfect.  Wazzat?  How can I afford a 3/4 carat stone when I’ve been crying poor for a couple months now?  Well...simple actually and it didn’t involve a credit card or easy terms.  I purchased a synthetic stone.  Yep...a fake.  And its positively beautiful.  I truly doubt that if I hadn’t just come clean on that little secret and had just shared a photo instead that no one would be the wiser.

So...short enough for ya?  Good.  Photo in three agonizing weeks...argh!

Our office was hit my lightening Monday...or at least close enough to blow a building fuse, cook a computer UPS and fry the main board on the fire alarm. Maybe that’s exciting...mostly just a p.i.t.a.; and mostly just life...life with incredibly poor timing. Ok...not so interesting.

Um...lemme see. We had steak and baked potatoes for dinner. It was good...not great...and not interesting.

Errr...we used the last roll of Charmin Ultra Strong, terrible stuff...never buy it. Not interesting, but helpful maybe.

Basically no news here...how goes it with you?

Tomorrow (or today if you are reading this on Tuesday) marks the 90 day mark from the wedding. As if on cue my ring arrived at the jewelers today; we plan on going down this weekend to finalize the design and fit. D was already planning on going back to look again for a ring for himself so the timing is perfect. The hotel is in the works; we think we’ll be staying in a suite here. Its more business class than romantic, but it is new, looks comfortable and the ‘suite’ option gives us a small sitting area so we’ll be comfortable if we decide to just relax in the room. Yes, I said ‘relax in the room’. D and I have to go away to sit still ... but trust me, once we are away we are excellent relaxers.

I guess the next step is figuring out what I’m wearing. It’s a surprisingly tough dilemma. On one hand I’d like to be a little romantic, a little lacy,..girlie, if you will. On the other, have you seen a giraffe’s tongue? They’re long, and sticky and covered in goo. A white dress will be white for three seconds or less in that environment and I dont want to be worried the whole time about getting it dirty. I’m also hesitant to spend money on something I’ll never wear again. See? Delima. Maybe something nice for the cruise instead? I’ve done all my looking on-line and I’m toying with visiting a bridal shop. Toying because I feel like I’m wasting their time, and because I keep reading ‘plus-size’ nightmares where women have been flatly refused service because of their size. Thanks, but that’s a life experience I prefer to skip.

I keep telling myself there is still time...but those bells...they’re getting louder every day and there’s still work to be done.

It’s been a rough week at work; we’ve discovered yet another error in the ‘new’ computer system that tracks all the way back to January. Oh. Joy. But I got as close to entirely caught up as I ever do today so there should be time to sit down with the problem and sort it out, without causing too much behind-ness. A very odd side of me actually likes problems like this; the same one that liked research papers in high school - not that I would have admitted it then. The more day-to-day side of me is well past frustrated with the whole thing; not my job, but the damn program. I dont trust it. Imagine printing out totals of monthy sales, and not being able to believe that they are right. State taxes. County taxes. Warranty and contract claims. I simply dont trust any of it and every time we encounter one of these glitches I trust it less. No wonder the boss doesn’t sleep at night. I’ve no doubt we’ll get to the bottom of it, but its hard not to feel like we should start the entire year over.

Ah well, its the weekend - or close enough - and time to leave work behind for a few hours and concentrate on home. And with luck - relaxation

Last night’s dreams prior to this one all had to do with bead making, and torches, and flaming hot glass.  Perhaps ending at 9pm is a little too close to bed time – or I’m concentrating too hard.  Class was last night instead of Monday, due to a huge snafu on the studio’s part, and will from here forward continue on in its original Tuesday night slot.  I’m enjoying it, and I think I’m picking it up quickly, but that’s hard to determine since D is really the only person there I can compare myself to.  The older gentleman – who seems to be an art studio groupie – graduated to a mixed gas torch and continued to do his own thing.  The half-nekkid-men-mug lady was still content to watch rather than make beads and the newest member, from the intermediate class, was situated at the far corner of the room and pumping out big beads left and right.  Of the group she seems the most affable but is also very absorbed in what she is there to do.  It’s hard to chat when you are minding a six inch flame and a wad of molten glass so even I tend to keep to myself while working. 

We learned to make ‘twisties’ last night; long, thin rods of glass that are twisted from two colors like a candy cane.  My first one was pretty good, but I was never able to duplicate it.  D was even less lucky and struggled with his; we may try it again on our own this weekend.  I can honestly say that the economic crunch that is affecting everyone has finally landed at our doorstep – both at home and at our business.  I’ve personally put a moratorium on unnecessary spending and sadly that includes the bead class.  I’m not sure how much at home work we’ll do as it’s a somewhat expensive hobby and a very consumptive one; we’ve already burned through two containers of mapp gas.  By all rights I should cancel dinner tonight with our neighbor (told ya I’d find a way out of cleaning toilets) but it’s just not seemly.  I believe that many little cuts can add up to a big difference, and canceling ‘life’ altogether is probably not the best course.  Just think, if I hadn’t bought that $1500 keyboard D wants for his birthday how much better off I’d be (Are you sneaking around in here looking for b’day present hints, honey?  Huh?  Are ya?  You are so not getting that keyboard – beat it, buster).  In truth, it’s the added expense of our recent trip to Atlanta, our own wedding spending and the economy that is causing the pinch.  So most of it we brought on ourselves – or maybe it was just me, heh.

To cut back we’ve reduced dining out, high end groceries (skip filet mignons – pass the pbj’s) and gasoline.  D and I have been carpooling most days of the week.  It puts more miles on his car but is saving us two tanks of gas a month – roughly $120.  Not a huge savings but one that will add up by September.  There is a little room to cut back at home, like on power and water.  We were already trying very hard to be more conservative in those areas but we could improve.  I still use the oven for our small dinners for two – putting the gas grill to more use would be better.  Who knows what I’d save if I were actually on hand when the dryer quits to fold the laundry rather than tumbling it out three times?  Someday we should replace the window and doors because there is no doubt that we are air conditioning the neighborhood – believe me that house is no where near air tight.  Since that isn’t on the expense list right now we’ll settle for fixing some known leak points – like the valve box for the washing machine that I never finished reinstalling three years ago or the worn out gasket on the sliding door.  Turning up the thermostat and living as nudists while indoors might be another option, but I’m not sure we could afford the litigation from any wayward peeping toms that stroke out due to the view, so for now it stays where it is set.

So, when you need to tighten your economic belt where do you cut back?

Parties attended, movies watched and loads of laundry done; the weekend sped by so fast it feels like it should be Wednesday already.  I got a little sewing finished – another swap, a picnic tote this time.  I admit that I purchased fabric for this one.  The theme was red-white-and-blue and I really wanted to work with denim – which I didn’t have.  There is enough left to make another one to for toting bead making supplies.  I know, stop the planet, Shan is sewing something for herself.  All I can say to that is don’t hold your breath…somehow I don’t get quite as worked up over the things I promise myself as I do the ones I promise others.  Go figure.

D’s birthday is coming up this weekend and we’ll be celebrating it along with a late father’s day for my dad.  I am not prepared for either so evenings this week will be spend cleaning things – that way I’ll have less to do come Saturday.  Well, not this evening – bead class.  Or Tuesday evening – dinner with a neighbor.  Who knows what I’ll dream up for Wednesday?  But if it prevents me from having to scrub toilets… heh.  In any case, the sort version is:  same ‘o’ busy around here. 

As a complete aside I must share that my Monday started off better than most because there was a small package waiting for me…an unexpected ‘just because’ from Rox.  She discovered some time ago that I have a weakness for poppies and has taken it upon her self to overload me with them (her words).  I must admit that this is probably not something I’m going to discourage – heh.  Thanks Rox…what a wonderful way to start the week.

Tuesday evening D and I attended our first bead making class.  It is definitely something that the instructor makes look crazy easy…believe me when I say it isn’t.  Or, it isn’t if you want round beads.  If wonky, pregnant beads are what you are after, well then it’s a piece of cake.  We were told by the instructor that after your 100th bead they’d be round; for now it is simply a study in how glass reacts to being freakin’ hot.  There are four folks in the class, so few that next week we will be combined with the intermediate class on Monday night.  The other two people are an older man who has been making beads at home and spent his time doing his own thing all alone at the end of the table, and an almost-but-not-quite-as-old lady who is terrified of the torch and seems to have come to class mostly to watch.  She and her ginormous-faded-covered-in-half-nekkid-men thermal cup are assured to be good blog fodder for some time to come. 

I enjoyed it, possibly too much as the allure of glass and pattern closely mirrors my attraction to fabric.  We went back last night to pick up the finished beads, because D was hopping with curiosity to see how they’d turned out.  As expected they are very lopsided and unusable but interesting, and a delight to say “I made that”.  We picked up more glass while we were there so we can make beads this weekend.  I pilfered some stainless steel from the work junk pile to cover the table, and we purchased a cheap crock-pot last night; those two items plus our supply kit will allow us to torch (lookit – bead lingo) at home.  The crock-pot gets filled with vermiculite and cranked up to high then it serves as a controlled cooling spot for the beads, until we can return them to the art’s center to be properly annealed in the kiln (for $3 they’ll do all the beads you want – bargain!).

More than one person has asked ‘why’ we would want to make beads; my dad even suggested that if we made bag full we could probably buy back Manhattan…not, from what I understand, that we’d want it.  Our original hope was to meet people, and I suppose we are doing that but so far its better people watching than people meeting.  We also wanted something we could do together –it’s a great success in that category and made for a fun and challenging evening.  I have no aspirations of selling beads; I doubt very seriously that I will produce anything that cannot already be found on Etsy.  There is a great deal to be said for practice making perfect, and I’m comfortable saying that I cannot afford the amount of glass it would take to give me steady hands and flame proof fingers…at least not before the wedding!  To be doing something artsy without worrying about being graded; well that is truly pleasurable.  I foresee other classes at the art center; D is already eyeballing a tin-smithing class and I am considering one in digital photography.  If you’ve never checked into your local parks-and-rec organization I suggest you do so, you might be pleasantly surprised at all they offer.  Plus, there is the added bonus that you feel like your money is going to help the community rather than some big craft chain.

Before I go start on our amazingly packed weekend (birthday party tonight, house warming party tomorrow, movie sometime, and minutia spread all through) I have a few photo’s to share.  The first is one of me and the bride…starring my fathers @#$% elbow, which is where the camera focused - a lesson in why you should always bracket your photos.  Still, it’s a cute photo…honestly, could that woman be prettier (and I do mean the one on the left)?

The second is the bride and groom.  Told you my brother was a grinning fool - lol.

The last is a spider I found outside my brother’s house.  Again, the focus isn’t quite in the right spot, but I’m still pretty darn pleased with it and am using it as my desktop until I take something else I like better.

Have yourself a fine weekend!