wordless wednesday

     

Have yourself a foot tapping, thumb sucking, smiley kind of week!

crafting a few signs

Last week I finally spent some time making some frames and actually filling them! I might just be a little bit strange, but there is nothing like the smell of fresh cut lumber to make me inhale deeply. Well .. maybe a fresh tomato picked off the plant or lilacs in the spring.

I framed these differently than I have normally done and learned something in the process. It might be easier to do the cutting and putting together before finishing the sign part.

Either way, I prefer to mass produce. Mass might be overstating, but I whipped out 12 that weekend. The wind wasn't blowing, the clouds weren't hovering and the rain wasn't falling. It was an absolutely perfect kind of outside work day. I take my camping tables (well the guys' camping tables), cover them with heavy brown paper and get to work. I think as a I work. Do this first because then I can hit 6 with stain at the same time. That kind of thinking. Multi tasking is my gig.

Meanwhile, I also take over the kitchen with computer and paper. I don't have any fancy letter making equipment. I have a computer, a printer, tracing/transfer paper and paint pens. The bright side of doing it this way is that they start to look original .. those lines that aren't exactly perfect. The other shining brightness is that I usually keep the lettering once it is printed. Hence, I have a lot of them hanging around. Makes redoing one later a piece of cake. No strategic planning needed. Just a saw and some wood. That sounds much easier than it actually is. One also needs T.I.M.E. for these things.

I redid signs that I have done before .. perhaps different colors but the wording was the same. And then I did some new ones that brought smiles to my face.

I did this one pink for a reason. Girls can be so mean and catty. They don't always treat each other kindly. Maybe this can be a reminder and make another girls life a little sweeter.

be still
I just love the message from Psalms 46:10. Be still, and know that I am God.
I need more of that in my life .. that stillness.

These signs are not destined to stay at my house, they're all gone. I really don't have adequate wall space for them either, but I do have a mirror sitting above my piano that I draped the same message on. I want to try making some pompoms to add a little something extra to the mirror .. at some point in the future.

I'm happy to be enthused about doing this again.
Maybe I'm back.
I certainly hope so.

365: week 7

43/365: 40 years apart and sharing birthday cake. Our kummi boy and a childhood friend.

44/365: This hubby of mine is quite awesome. Thanks for dinner!

45/365: He knows my love of flowers.

46/365: Happy 3rd Anniversary Alyx & Tarron!

47/365: Wyatt likes to retrieve paper from our printer for whoever is asking. Tonite Jari printed a picture of Wyatt to see what he would do. We hung it up on the fridge and he promptly covered his own face with magnets of the other boys. Wonder what he's thinking.

48/365: When the baby and the babysitter both fall asleep.

49/365: The princess in her palace.

... and another 7 days of life and living are recorded forever.

filling up the calendar

Several missions accomplished today!

First of all I sat in the parking lot at work this morning (seriously early like) and talked to an insurance company. Our agent is local and we just bought a new truck. I'm trying to decide if I like the security of a local guy or do I go to Geico and save money. Frustrating decisions. Anyone have Geico out there? Any problems with them? I told the guy on the 1-800 number to hold off. We are still working with a car accident I was a victim of ... (I didn't tell him that!) but at some point I need to make a decision. In the meantime I guess I stay local.

This afternoon I scheduled the dentist. Another quandary. I work Monday thru Thursday and don't take time off for things like doctors and dentist. If they can't see me on my day off .. I will find someone who will. And then .. I don't have a dentist I am in love with anyway. Haven't had that kind of relationship with a dentist for a very long time. I fire them nonstop. I made an appointment for sometime in March when I'm off. I've needed to visit them anyway, but Sunday I had one mega strength Tootsie Roll that ripped a crown right off. It was due to go anyway, but hello?!

I also scheduled the carpet cleaner. Can't handle looking at it anymore. I've done the rent it yourself thing and wasn't impressed. In Alaska I had my own machine and used it semi frequently. However, if all goes as planned and I have my own home at some point ... I'm not putting in carpet. Anywhere. So no use buying one of those do it yourself things. I knew I had the name of someone in my phone but haven't been able to find it. Today I started at Z and worked my way backward. If there was a name I didn't know in my contact list, I clicked on it. Voila! It worked! I only had to go to S to find a Steve with a "Carpet Cleaner" listed real small after that. Small enough it doesn't show up when you scroll. Scheduled him for this week. Oh is that going to feel good!!

And ... I dropped off my camera at Tempe Camera today! That has been on the list for a long time. Getting that bugger cleaned and spiffed up a bit on the inside. Let's see if I manage to use it a little more.

We have a calendar full for this month and, to be honest, this year.

We're hoping to fill some time in October with elk hunting.

I know.

You just went back and reread that didn't you?

If we get drawn ... and that is a big old if.

These 3 guys sat at the table Sunday evening and got us hunting/fishing licenses and put in for tags. Juha & Annette and Jari & I are being hopeful. For what .. I'm not quite sure. We're planning a couples hunting trip. I haven't shot a gun in over 20 years. I am not a hiker. I don't hunt. I've kind of halfway had it on my bucket list as a joke. We had some travel plans to work around but are hoping to go in October. I think we find out in April. That will give me plenty of time to learn how to shoot, learn how to hike, learn how to be quiet, learn how to .... go shopping for pink camo?

The weekend before we were talking about adding in another kayak trip this year. I'm guessing that hunting can't be any worse than hauling my water logged butt in and out of that water logged kayak over and over and over.

If you have any suggestions on what I should add to the post 60 birthdays ... let me know. The 50's are ramping up pretty good!

Oh, and I have an appointment scheduled the end of this month to see if someone can do something about this left side of my body. It is being a bit of a pickle. Have to get that into some kind of working order before too long. It is actually starting to be problematic.

I was reading Torm a minute ago and thinking I should set some February goals myself. I make lots of to do lists and then am so pleased when I can highlight them as done. I really should add 25 miles of biking to the list for the month. I'll let you know if I accomplish it.

In the meantime .. it's Monday evening (I struggle with Monday evenings) and my feet are up while I'm in a near comatose state.

See you later this week with some crafting stuff!

365: week 6

36/365: whole new love for Culver's tonite. Only one of us received the senior discount. I'm not going to ask which one of us it was!

37/365:

Love Mill Avenue while the campus and city still sleep.

38/365:
One piece at a time!

39/365: #dreaming

40/365:
When you want the day to go by so quickly it feels like you've hopped into the New York time zone .. but instead it feels like you've gone backwards and landed in Anchorage.

41/365:
It's been a framing kind of afternoon.

42/365: Done!! Some new and some old .. all ready for your shopping!

A few more little things on my to do list for the winter services craft tent. It has been a bit challenging to get to crafting lately. I have reasons for that. At least I think I understand what the problem is. Almost there!

By this time next week we will have been enjoying our company for several days and waiting for more. Love this time of year with dear friends and loved ones coming to town. Safe travels to all of you!

do gerbils breath to relax?

Lately this is what I feel like.

I am on the wheel and someone other than me is cranking it .. faster and faster and faster. 

I can't stop the wheel and I can't get off of it.

This past week I needed to start playing the organ faster. I know it is easier to sing in church when the music is a bit faster, but whew! To be honest I felt like I was running a race. Much of the music has been rewritten in such a way that it is challenging to play and I can't do  anything but move my fingers and hold on. Seriously felt like the keys were a track of a roller coaster and I was going to fly off at any minute.

Then there is work. I really do like my job. But .. there is a spinning exercise wheel going on there as well. One more form on top of one more form on top of yet another form. Same number of patients, same number of staff and many more things to do. The days seem like they get longer and the pace just gets faster and faster. Often I do the job of two people, but even this is getting to the point of ridiculous.

Faster to the point where I hooked myself up to the blood pressure cuff one day. If my blood pressure is high enough to have a stroke at work ... I may as well not go home, right? Just stay and shower there in the morning. All of this gerbil exercise wheel work must be good for me. My blood pressure is poster worthy beautiful. May as well get on the freeway with every other wheel spinning gerbil and see what needs doing at home.

Although my blood pressure is great and large portions of my life seem to be spinning out of control, it is all good. I am learning to breath. Pretty soon I am going to be so good at it I'll get a second job as a Lamaze coach or something.

I know that I'm not the only one feeling like this. Your wheel might be doctors appointments, school sessions, never ending cooking of meals (by the way .. there is a new drive thru Panda Express on my way home from work!), laundry piles that never end, driving people in your world to and from work/school, etc. We all have our own wheels. I could certainly make a list and tell you what is on mine. Trust me. You don't want a list.

How do you get to a place where you can enjoy something like this instead of the wheel? Even for brief moments of time in a day?

Although I would dearly love to experience this in a physical sense, I would gladly welcome this mentally. To be a in a place where the noise of the world's traffic isn't always humming in my head. The to do list could be a small post it note instead of a notebook. Things that are beyond my control would stay there and not be weighing on my heart and mind.

Onward and forward. This week is booked full. Every single day and evening until February 13th has something on my calendar. Just the thought of that sent my own wheel on the spin cycle. Breath, Anita, breath. Several years ago I was at a cardiology conference where Dr. Andrew Weil was on the agenda. To be honest, it's the only reason I went. He taught this stress relieving breathing technique. Check it out here. I've been doing the numbers all wrong, but it doesn't matter. Maybe holding my breath too long while I'm driving is about the same as texting and driving ... I just adapt and make a conscious effort to breath and relax.

Next week's to do list might have something on it like reduce outside traffic noise. I'm guessing that cleaning our social media to the point where negativity is gone would be worth many breathing exercises.

Until then ... enjoy!

365: week 5

29/365

Missing my friend today. Remembering years past, especially this Sunday in January, where our evenings were spent over cups of coffee .. sharing the laments of our hearts. Thought of you many times today.

30/365

Getting loads of lovin'!

31/365

I lost. Twice.

32/365
One of God's greatest blessings ... a friend.

33/365
Loading preprinted forms into the printer with the hope of adding a word document. My mantra has become "face down .. feet first". Life in corporate healthcare.

34/365
Get some play time in today.

35/365
Afternoon coffee and fresh cookies with dear ones.

And here we are ... well on our way into February! My to do lists are long, my want to do lists are even longer. Somehow, times is getting shorter as the lists keep getting longer. February promises to be a busy one!