Vacation

WOO HOO! Vacation is HERE!

It has been a very long time since I've actually taken two fulls weeks in a row. I tell you, it feels a little indulgent. While we don't have any travel plans this year, just knowing that I get two weeks to de-stress and concentrate on my sewing and soaping thrills me. I even stayed up last night past 10:00 p.m. for the first time in a very long time. HE HE!

Now, what am I going to do today? Oh, that's right, there's a ton of little critters waiting for me to finish them. Guess I'll try and tackle that first.

Now, for those of you that are actually going somewhere for your vacation, tell me where you are going. I'll live vicariously through you . . .

With friendship,

Care'

Clean House = Crazy Person

Several years back I entered a very messy house. It wasn't gross - just dusty with stuff strewn about. I recall there being a framed sign upon entry with something along the lines of "A clean house is a sign of a confused mind." I remember thinking that was strange.

I grew up in a very clean house - almost sterile. I can remember Dad making me dust the table multiple times until I got it "right." Every Saturday we woke early. Mom, my sister and I worked the inside of the house while Dad worked on the lawn. By noon it was done and our house looked like something out of Better Homes and Gardens. As we all got older and our schedules got crazier my parents hired a maid. We still did the cleaning ritual before she came.

I continued the tradition when I moved out on my own. I remember I even vacuumed the floors daily in my apartment because I liked the tracks in my carpet. There was always a sense of pride and comfort with having a good, clean home that was always, ALWAYS ready to receive friends.

I wonder what happened?

I'm now 40, married with two boys and I can't keep the house clean to save my life. Heck, my 2 year old stripped down naked the other day and painted himself with my fabric paints. This was on the heals of getting into the 11 year old's trombone slide oil and "fixing" his hair. It seems like it's a daily battle just to get everyone where they are supposed to be and ensure there is food in the house (I did say I have an 11 year old). When the heck am I supposed to clean?

To top it off, I seem to have lost my desire to clean. Yeah, I appreciate it when it's done and I always think, "Man, I need to keep this up" once I get it back to that fresh-smelling state. But something always gets in the way of my cleaning schedule. And yes, I've tried Fly Lady.

I may be at the point where I need to pay someone to take care of things, but it just seems like a waste of money when I am perfectly capable.

I now understand the point of that sign I read all those years ago. When the house is messy, I'm not worried or confused . . . maybe just a little disgusted. But when the house is clean I worry about how I'm going to keep it that way.

With friendship,

Care'

Another Trade

Since I'm brain dead today - most likely a result of trying to get over this freaking illess that has grabbed me by the throat and pinned me to the wall - I thought I'd share another trade.

When I saw these little pink ballerinas from BloomingVintage, I knew I had to use them in some of my soaps:

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=24820907

Kennly is a sweetheart and great to work with.

Back to bed for me. Now, where did my male nurse go????

With friendship,

Care'

Meh . . .

Ever have one of those days where you feel . . . well . . . MEH?

That's me this morning. It's kind of like yada yada yada but without the energy.

Meh, I need to get ready.
Meh, there's no more coffee.
Meh, I have to take Jake to school.
Meh, I have to go to the eye doctor.
Meh, I need to run to the post office.
Meh, I need to work today.
Meh, I have two meetings I have to lead today.
Meh, meh, meh, meh.

Meh.

I'm Stuffed

Or rather 100+ little arms and legs are . . .

I spent the majority of the day yesterday sitting on the couch watching the hockey game. In order to have some semblance of productivity, I decided I'd stuff the little arms and legs for my Nemes and Nums. Good grief, I wished I had made those things about a half inch wider. My fingers hurt today!

I also managed to get the worms labeled, eye-balled and sewn, so good progress there as well. I don't know why I feel I'm so behind. It's not like I have a deadline to meet. I guess I thought I'd be done with all of them by now. Just like the last batch they are turning out really cute.

I wish I could stay home and sew today, but alas, duty calls. Have an awesome, creative day!

With friendship,

Care'

Trading on Etsy

I used to never trade, but recently decided to give it a go. I thought it would be fun to try and trade as much as possible for Christmas gifts this year so that my family members receive something unique and handmade that cannot be found in any store. I can honestly say that I've had a blast. Not only have I received some awesome stuff, I've met some great people along the way. And, I'm well on my way to filling up the gift box that I use to store all the gifts.

So, I decided it would be fun to share some of my trades with my blog readers. After all, why should I have all the fun?

Here is a trade I made with Cris of SugarFlower (http://www.etsy.com/shop/SugarFlower). I thought these hair clips were adorable, but they were even cuter in person. The center of each flower has tiny beads. Just lovely! I think they will be great for my three youngest nieces.

With friendship,

Care'

I Can't . . .

crochet.

or knit.

or do anything that requires some semblance of coordination requiring only two hands.

After two days of diligently trying to create something - anything - that looked like skilled crochet or knitting, I have decided that this may not be a skill I can master. At least not quickly anyway.

I was attempting to make a scarf. I figured it would be a straight-forward and a relatively small project that would be easy. Wrong. Instead of a beautiful scarf, I've ended up with what appears to be a large intestine. My cat loves it.

Sad. So very sad.

But, because I'm persistent, I'm sure I'll try my hand at it again. I refuse to let yarn get the better of me.

With friendship,

Care'