Almost a two week update

So you all know that last week was gratitude week. It really helped me look on the bright side in a week I would have gladly sulked through. Here is a  condensed list of mini-gratitude

• Stained glass making beautiful light patterns on the wall
• My dog and cat laying with me on the couch when I was upset (the cat kept his butt on the dog's head)
• The perfect Chai latte
• My sister calling me at work just to say she loves me
• Ben cleaning the kitchen unprovoked
• Snapple Sorbet pops that cost $1 for ten! Kiwi Strawberry are the best.
• Watching cat vs. cicada
• Real mail from a real person
• Meanie-free days at work
• My fave lip gloss going on sale

       This week, in honor of my birthday, I have been studying the art of celebration. An easy week, you say? You try bringing the spirit of celebration everywhere you go. To work, to the doctor's office, to the bank. It is particularly difficult with crabby people around. But It has been well worth it. It has been one of the best weeks ever (so far). In the office I have single-handedly brought down productivity levels by 30% and party level up 42%. I managed to talk to the lady at the bank for 15 min about going to the beach and holiday plans.
       I suggest you try it too. It makes mundane tasks much more fun. Try bringing candy with you or wearing an unusual hat. Fortune cookies can also make a party.
       I am still going to run the contest. You have until Monday to submit your list. PS- did anyone see who was visitor 400?

Lunchtime update

      Sewing week was fun, if not productive. I mended some clothes (that I had procrastinated on). My biggest project was kind of a joke gift. My boss joked that she needed a bib because almost every time she eats lunch she spills on her nice shirts. So I made the most upscale bib you ever saw. It is black material somewhere between polyester and satin. It is big and square cut so that when on it just looks like a shirt and not like you were going to the crab shack. The strap does not tie in the back but come around the back and snaps on the right shoulder. There is a pretty silver button as decoration so that you can’t see the snaps.

      In the process I learned how to make knife pleats. I learned about box pleats and fold pleats as well. I experimented with those techniques on scrap fabric and don’t have much to show for it. Even beginner lessons on pleating had terms too advanced for my skill set. I also worked on making button holes, but none of them actually became button holes. I’d like to remind you that this is all done by hand. I don’t have a working sewing machine. The non-sewing portion of sewing week was also fun. I learned to make cheap dress forms. What can’t duct tape do?  I will have to post the pics soon.

                This week is gratitude week. I have hit a rough patch again with news of an impending surgery (although they should be able to do it laproscopically) and my car needing repair, so I decided that it is best if I spend this week focusing on the positive. I am making lists every day of the top ten things that I am grateful for that day. I am trying to be very specific and be grateful for really small things every day. Of course I could say, “I am grateful for my family, for my friends, health, having plenty of food…” But those are too broad. To really feel the gratitude it helps to list specifics. For example, one thing on my list for Tuesday is that my sister called me at work to tell me that she loved me. It really made my day.

                As an added incentive for all of you to participate I am offering a deal. For each one of you that sends me a list of what you are grateful for this week I will send a dollar to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately, my budget limits it to 30 people. But still, a dollar is a dollar. Let me hear your gratitude!

 

PS- because this is a little late I will run the offer through next week.

A very clever title

              So, I hate to say this again, but this week wasn’t much of a week. I tried to watch classic movies. Sarah was even nice enough to furnish me with a bag full of DVDs. But every time I got ready to watch, I fell asleep. I’m sure it has something to do with working over 57 hours this week. That does, however, bring me to a very important point that I have been thinking about for a while.

 The word “busy” is crippling our relationships. I want you to really think about all the times in the last month that you used “too busy” as an excuse. How many times has a loved one been too busy? We have all reconnected with a neglected friend and exchanged ‘oh it’s been so busy’s?   Even worse than not spending time with family and friends is that the phrase “too busy” implies, “What I am busy with is more important to me than you are.”

This whole month I have been trying not to say that I am too busy. Even when I am swamped with work and exhausted, I try to say yes to things. If I cannot I try and let the person know that it is a previous commitment that I am unable to cancel. If I am tired, I will tell them that I am too tired.  I hope that people feel better knowing that I am working hard, but still thinking about them all the time.

This week is sewing week. This should be some fun because I am attempting to make a dress form with duct tape and saran wrap.

As we move on, keep an eye on the counter. The 400^th visitor might get something special to commemorate their 400ness.

Look at my purty writin

     So, calligraphy is a lot harder than it looks. Particularly if you have terrible handwriting in the first place. In my reseaarch I found several types of calligraphy scripts. There is Japanese, Arbic and variations on script. There is an old english style, loopy script and every combination in between. I wish there was more that I could tell you, but really it is about practice and patience. Here are a couple of examples:

     So, who want me to do their wedding invites? :D