A Ba(n)ker's Dozen

And then the banker (that would be me) found a great idea online. While poking around, the following page appeared on my PC: Day Zero, the 101 Things to do in 1001 Days Project.

Hmmm...okay, sounds interesting sez me so off I am to check it out. The gist being that you have to create a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days and the things you do can't be candy-ass things...each thing has to involve some genuine effort by the participant. Okay, no problem. I can come up with tons of things to do that require thought and effort. The site then informs me that 1001 days is 2.75 years. The procrastinator in me thinks this sounds totally do-able. All that time, one little (ha) list. Again, no problem.

My first clue that something was wrong with this idea arrived when I ran out of ideas at #22. Sure, I could probably invest some real time (as if I have any of that) and maybe stretch it to 5o. Still, I was intrigued and thought this idea worth pursuing.

That was until my friend, Lucy, after hearing me out on this grandiose plan, pointed out the obvious: "So 101 things in 1001 days....that's like 1 thing every 9 days."

Aw, hell.
Yep, this banker sucks at math.

What was that I said about it not being a problem? Yeah, right.
NOT. GONNA. HAPPEN.
Completely doomed.

So, in the spirit of 2008 (yeah, I know we haven't made it to Christmas yet and here I'm talking about *gasp* next year) I am annoying you with what I hope to accomplish in the coming year. Since I can count to 13 handily enough, I whittled my list down to the following things:

1. Participate in Spring Fest Crafts Festival
2. Finish the bathroom remodeling project (started this one 4 years ago)
3. Open an Etsy shop
4. Learn how to knit
5. Finish all WIPs listed on my blog (uh, well 6 of them anyway)
6. Learn how to make candles
7. Clean out the attic
8. Turn unused basement room into a storeroom (involves major gutting & remodeling)
9. Visit Newfoundland (where 2 of my grandparents were born, already planned for August)
10. Expand, remodel & reorganize (again) my craft space
11. Plant a row of forsythia bushes (at least 6) along the edge of driveway
12. Build a storage cabinet for the garage
13. Clean out my storage unit (stuff in there I haven't seen in 16 years...that is SCARY!)

A nice ba(n)ker's dozen. 1 thing every 28 days. I feel like I can relax now!! After all, I don't have to get crackin' for another 26 days. ;)

(Taking bets on exactly how many of these things will actually happen. Be mindful, I am a professional procrastinator.)

Summertime...and a New Creative Obsession!

Hmmmm....orange & yellow. Now where might I have found the inspiration for this color scheme in a floral arrangement? The wise swap mavens over at Sweet Goodness Swaps had the right idea...seems that orange & yellow ARE the hot colors for this summer. Although I'm sitting out this time during their Summer swap, I'll be eagerly watching from the sidelines to see all the lovely creations and goodies!



And...I had another sale!!! Yippee!!!! You might remember the Morning Glory Madness arrangement that I made during my floral classes in February. All these sales...well, all 3 of them anyway... are encouraging. I'm thrilled that people like my arrangements enough to buy them. At the very least, it helps motivate me to create and keeps the dream of my own little shop, "Imaginary Fronds", alive and well. I've been looking around for other things to create, other than florals, to add to the appeal and allure of that future shop. Which brings me to my next creative obsession..............


Jewelry making! My Mom pointed out a beading magazine in the store a few weeks back and the next thing you know, I am HOOKED. Lucy even caught me red-handed at Michael's stuffing my shopping basket with beads and all kinds of supplies to start myself down the path of jewelry making. Here's a picture of my first creation which is not entirely finished. I wasn't smart enough to buy 2 of the same toggle (and it was sold out when I went back) so the necklace remains unfinished until the store restocks the toggle.


So far, I have learned 4 things about making jewelry. First off, don't string your beads too tight. I wound up having to re-string the bracelet.

Secondly, Michael's charges way too much for their beading supplies (duh!) and I now have several catalogs with far more economical prices on their way to me.

Third...as I mentioned earlier....make sure you buy enough stuff to finish a project unless you want to be disappointed.

And last, but not least, be sure to lay out your jewelry perfectly before photographing it! You can't see all the danglies in this picture but you get the idea :)

It is my own design, crafted from turquoise beads, 2 different colors of Swarovski bicone crystals and sterling silver beads and findings. Please, please, please give me feedback on this set!

Pink & Brown Goodness

Oh stop, wait a minute Mr. Postman......

My pink & brown goodie box arrived Friday, full of swappy goodness! My buddy was Claire over at Little Lovelies and she took good care of me :) I love, Love, LOVE the thrifted pink vase! Ever so cute! On the right is a "Twelve Days of Christmas" quilling kit she thrifted and although it's not pink or brown, I had told Claire I wanted to try quilling. She must be clairvoyant (no pun intended LOL) to send me that kit now... it will take me all year to make the ornaments for next Christmas! She also sent a huge pink & brown coffee mug...perfect as I'm a java junkie...lots of ribbon, chocolate, hair clips, scrapbooking embellishments, crafty cupcakes, a Valentine's heart garland, notecards and 2 of her adorable heart button ornaments! And she snuck some blue stuff in too...fabric with a star print and lots of buttons and other embellishments. Claire, I love my stuff! Thank you!!!!!!!!

On the left is a snap of what I sent to Claire. Beads, embroidery floss, hot chocolate, dark chocolate, balsam fir scented mug mats & hot pads, rubber duckies for her 2 sweet munchkins, a bookmark, a notepad, and a thrifted ceramic watering can.

This was my very first swap and I have to admit that I was nervous about it...wondering if I found and made the right stuff. In the end, I really enjoyed participating in this swap and seeing all the great things that everyone sent over at the Pink & Brown Flickr site! We are all marvelously talented!!!!!!

Winter Reverie

I've been given a nudge to update my blog...and to snap out of my winter reverie! I haven't been completely idle...been plugging away at my Pink & Brown crafty items for Claire :) I have to confess that the materials I chose also include blue and a little orange. The pink is not as prevalent as I had hoped when I started the project but there's no turning back now!

Lucy tagged me to go blog-surfing and find 5 blogs of interest by starting with the 5th blog on my list, going to the 5th blog on her list and so on.....I had to bend the rules a teensy bit and start with the 4th blog on my list. Here are all the fun places I visited!!!

Bitter Betty
Mommy Mosh Pit
Punk Rawk Purl
A Fistful of Stitches
Fresh Peth

I've also been out & about gathering up a variety of silk flowers for the commissioned piece I am making. Blues, mauves, creams, bamboo, orchids....I can't wait to get started on this one!

Really, I'm not a freak!

Oh Lord, I've been tagged by Shirlee at Big Blue Sky to reveal 6 weird things about myself....uh, um, er....okay!

1) At the dinner table, nothing can be pointing at me or crowding me or out of balance. I will rearrange things on the table until the perfect balance is found. This drives my family crazy. For some reason, I don't have this problem in restaurants, only at home.

2) For the last 10 years, I have made it a point not to step aside when walking down a store aisle if the person walking toward me is younger than me. I got tired of stepping out of the way for rude clueless teeny-boppers. Also, if I'm walking next to someone else in a store aisle and I decide to step out of the way for someone older, I cannot be on the left side and behind the person I'm shopping with. It's got to be the right side. I wound up on the left not to long ago and it weirded me out.

3) I sometimes catch myself counting things...number of steps taken from the car to the store, number of stairs climbed, number of cracks in the sidewalk, etc. This is probably an occupational side effect. I count money for a living, one bill at a time.

4) I rescue spiders every chance I get. There are only 2 exceptions to this rule: Black widows & brown recluses.

5) Speaking of bugs....I am fascinated by most bugs with the exception of ticks, fleas, gnats & mosquitos. Those little suckers deserve whatever I do to them. I used to pop into the local Waldenbooks to look up interesting new bugs in a bug reference book. It got to the point where it was embarrassing. The employees all knew why I was there. I broke down and bought the bug book.

6) I am terrified of tornadoes. I have never seen one and hope I never do. Bring on the hurricanes, nasty thunderstorms, hail, blizzards, whatever! Just please no tornadoes. I've had a number of nightmares about being in the path of a tornado. Shadows from a former life maybe????

I'm supposed to tag 6 people now...most everyone I visit in bloggyville has done this meme, so if you're reading this, TAG!!! How weird are you?? LOL

Time to get a Wiggle on!

It's high time I snapped out of my post-holiday daze....or as Mom used to tell me when I was a wee bairn, "Time's a-wastin', time to get a wiggle on!" (that still makes me giggle to myself when I think of it)

The Pink & Brown Swap is on! I've been out hunting goodies & visiting my swap partner's blog--Claire at Little Lovelies. What a cute blog! She describes herself as an equal opportunity crafter! Love it...sounds like me, I will try any craft if I think it looks interesting :)

This swap is exactly the kind of nudge I needed to get back to crafting. I have far too many WIPs and planned projects that I have yet to start! (and I know I'm not alone in that area...thanks to all of you confessed procrastinators for assuaging my guilt!) And it also looks like I have a floral arrangement customer as a result of the 2 Christmas floral raffles I did for my Mom's club! One of the ladies has asked that I come to her home to talk about a large Spring arrangement for her dining room! YAY! I've really been looking forward to creating Spring arrangements.

Okay, enough blogging...I must go get a wiggle on!

4 Things...

Having just visited Lucy's blog-Sweet Repeats- it looks like I can consider myself "tagged" for Four Things.....

4 Jobs I've Had...

• worked in a pizza restaurant at Sea World of Ohio, 3 summers in a row
• car salesperson
• French teacher
• a variety of positions at the bank where I've worked for the last 13 years!

4 Movies I'd Watch Again...

• The Man Who Would Be King
• Last of the Mohicans
• Lawrence of Arabia
• You've Got Mail (I've seen it a dozen times and can't help myself!)

4 Places I've Lived...

• Millington, NJ
• Hudson, OH
• Toulon, France
• Phoenix, AZ

4 Places I've Vacationed...

• Alaska!!!! (by far, my favorite!)
• Italy
• San Francisco
• The French Alps (skiing)

4 of my Favorite Dishes...

• my Mom's spaghetti :)
• roast pork loin with mashed potatoes and gravy
• green beans with spaetzle
• cioppino

4 Sites I Visit Daily...

• Google
• Sweet Repeats
• Newfoundland's Grand Banks (genealogy website)
• Fox News

4 TV Shows I Love...

• 24 (can't get enough of Jack Bauer!)
• House
• What Not to Wear
• Whose Line is It Anyway?

4 Places I'd Rather Be Right Now...

• asleep in my bed with the Divine Felines snuggled up with me
• driving to Raleigh to claim my Powerball millions (hahahahahaha!!!)
• on another Alaskan cruise (better wait until Spring for that though LOL)
• anywhere in the South of France

If you're reading this, feel free to join in!!!