chilly afternoon

Drinking hot chocolate has become an afternoon work ritual, something I can rely on to help order my day. It’s warm outside but chilly in the office. I decided I’d really like some long fingerless mittens (like leg warmers for your arms), something akin to this, though I’m pretty sure we don’t have money to spend on something so superfluous. Perhaps it could be a Christmas gift.

At Barnes & Noble last night, over a decaf coffee, I thumbed through Lotta Jansdotter’s Lotta Prints and found plenty of inspiration to swirl through my mind. Even as I lay down to sleep I was putting together a plan, something I feel I can accomplish in the next few months without much expense.

After tonight, I have two more meetings with my class. I will miss teaching next semester, but I’m ready for a break.

I’m trying to be a bit more intentional about slowing down and keeping things simple. Especially with the baby on the way, it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy. Being undercommitted this spring will certainly help — in the domestic sphere as well as the spiritual one.

future art

This morning brought me back to work after a long weekend visiting with my dad. We took many walks, including a spontaneous walking tour of downtown so my dad could take pictures with his amazing new camera (I’m jealous and want a digital SLR so badly!), went to the fall market, bought delicious food and beer (n/a for me), went to my big ultrasound and got to see Baby C again, drank too much coffee, and built several fires in our yet-to-be-used fireplace. I also spent much of my Saturday working on my next sewing project, a maternity shirt that I should finish by this weekend.

I am glad for another short week and this upcoming holiday weekend to spend with our visitor.

Yesterday, I bought a sketch pad and some drawing pencils. I’ve found myself so creatively stirred lately, and I figured it was time to revive my art. It’s a renaissance of sorts, having spent most of my childhood years drawing, taking art classes, and eventually almost majoring in art in college with plans to become a animator (an impractical choice, but one I sort of regret not taking). I have acrylics and watercolors just waiting to be used and a bunch of ideas knocking around my head.

With the many inspiring handmade crafters and artists online I have stumbled upon recently, I just can’t seem to contain my excitement about doing something creative. Honestly, I want to be one of them, though I’m not sure yet how I will accomplish this. All I know is that I plan to pursue art in whatever capacity I can and continue to pray that God will show me his will in all of it. And that he would give me patience. I definitely need a healthy dose.

good morning!

I am off to pick up my dad from the airport. It’s a brisk morning with record lows overnight, but the sun is shining. It’s a beautiful day. Lately, I have been inspired by beauty all around.

Having waited for the next few weeks for so long, I am elated that they are here. I get a few days off work and some time to relax. The house is clean after months of filth. And I am now 18 weeks pregnant, awaiting those first little flutters of movement and more peaceful day by day about Adam’s and my impending parenthood.

Have a lovely day. And, if you have a chance, give the new Ray La Montagne album a listen. I got it over the weekend and can’t stop listening.

welcome, weekend

There is so much to do this weekend, but I woke quietly and took my time, much earlier than I expected. The morning’s plans include taking Penny for a walk and doing some yoga before getting started with the cleaning, shopping, and other mayhem. Adam is gone for the weekend. I need to shop for maternity pants and a blanket for my dad to sleep under when he visits this week. I also have a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a 10% off coupon that are literally burning a hole in my pocket.

Lately, I have been so invigorated with a creative spirit, one that I didn’t expect. I think it’s all the sewing and picture taking. I’ve found that though I love writing, it doesn’t give me the same sense of accomplishment and satisfaction as creating something I can hold in my hands. I think this has a lot to do with being stuck at a computer eight hours a day writing about elevators. I’m glad to have a job where I write, but this job is not ideal for my creative spark. Oddly enough, though, I am learning that if I am creative in nonwriting endeavors, I want to write more and the words come easier.

Have a lovely weekend, folks.

a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Last night, the rain fell hard and fast. When I was leaving the gym, I could have swam home more easily than driven. The streets were so flooded that when I pulled onto a side street, I ended up jumping the curb and got nervous about how deep the water was because my little Honda sits pretty low. I don’t think I’ve ever prayed so much for my car. Thankfully, I was able to turn around and take a longer way home on main streets that weren’t quite as waterlogged.

I took these pictures of our street when the rain let up a bit. The water was at least six inches deep. But I made it home nonetheless and my car seems to be okay this morning, in spite of the undercarriage getting slightly submerged.

sewing at home

Saturday, I completed my first at-home sewing project — pillow covers. I bought fabric on Saturday and spent the afternoon cutting, pinning, and sewing. They are removable (because they are covering Christmas pillows), so I’m thinking I may make another set for the spring to change things up.

I finished my apron (I’ll post a pick later) and started a shirt in sewing class last night. I spent the entire class bent over the table cutting the pattern. The shirt is long and pretty wide at the bottom, so I think it will work as a maternity shirt, at least until I get really big.

This weekend was quite busy. Saturday morning, I made a list of everything I wanted to do and still have a few items that haven’t been crossed off. It got to be Sunday afternoon and I just got too tired. I know I’ve repeated this again and again, but I’ll be glad when the next few weeks are over. For now, I have to get things in order for my dad’s visit, which includes a lot of decluttering as well as purchasing an extra pillow and blanket for the guest bed.

I have a lot of ideas brewing and have been trying to keep track of everything with rememberthemilk.com. It’s a pretty good website for keeping track of to-do’s, even far off ones that I’m pretty sure I’d lose track of between now and the end of the year. I have a hunch that an extended to-do list will be imperative as the baby’s due date approaches.

my weekend mornings: a photo retrospective

little kitty adventures

Don’t be deceived by this face. This kitten has been known to jump in bowls of oatmeal and fling it all over the couch, lampshade, and her loved ones. She is ruthless. And hilarious.

After our morning breakfast debacle, I got in the car and began driving down the street before realizing that I had a flat tire. Thankfully, we were already planning to buy two new tires for the front of the car and I just got paid from my teaching job. Lovely timing indeed. My wonderful husband, who was hoping to have a day to relax after writing a paper all week and having to deal with my editing/revising/looking over his shoulder, took the car in and got the tires replaced.

I have not been adjusting well to the time change. I’ve woken up around 5 o’clock each morning, unable to fall back asleep. It’s also strange to return home after work with the sun having already set. I realized that it’s been three years since I had a job where I worked until 5 during daylight saving time. At least I’m not heading to work in the dark. Living closer to the equator does make the length of the days moderate year round, unlike those endless summer and short, short winter days in New York. The winter I worked full time at Barnes & Noble, I swear I didn’t see the sun except on my days off.

I have been creatively inspired lately, but with little time and energy to pursue any projects. I keep thinking about what I’ll do when I have some free time or what I’d like to pursue if someday I don’t have to work full time. In that creative vein, I enjoyed reading my internet friend Jenni’s article on the 3191 project. The photography is lovely and inspiring, indeed.

Have a superb Friday.

election day

My mind today is on the future. Perhaps it’s the election. Perhaps it’s my pregnancy. There is so much uncertainty, which is both terrifying and exhilarating. I vacillate from one extreme to the other, wondering what ultimately is in store for me. In the midst of so much busyness there is peace and hope.

Today, I did American things: voted, got my free Starbucks coffee, guilted my brother about not voting, pondered the future of our country, pondered my own future. It is sure to be an exciting evening. I teach and then I will return home to my husband, whose class was cancelled tonight, for dinner and election coverage.

Happy election day to all!

three more weeks

I am eager for the next three weeks to be over. By then, my sewing class will be finished, the bulk of the semester and essentially all of my teaching will be complete, I will see my baby via ultrasound again (the big one!), my father will be visiting, and I’ll have a few days off for vacation and Thanksgiving. But for now, I am busy and persevering, taking comfort in what I can.

I finally finished Amazing Grace and moved on to a book on writing your birth plan. Amazing Grace was good, but it seemed to go on and on. I thumbed through Acedia & Me at Barnes & Noble, and it seems to have a bit more narrative structure, much like The Cloister Walk, so I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy. For now, I am knee deep in baby books, which is where I think I should be. Adam told me the other day that I’m in the info gathering phase and I keep repeating the same facts over and over to him about childbirth, daycare, etc. He a real trooper to keep listening as I yammer on about natural birth and the statistics for c-sections in the U.S. He even went with me to Victoria’s Secret to buy new bras. Aww.

Tonight, I will sew and hopefully finish my apron. I don’t know what to make next, but I feel accomplished having made something myself (and finally understanding how to use my sewing machine). I also found information on how to convert non-maternity clothes to maternity. I plan to buy some cheap items at the Salvation Army and some stretchy fabric and give it a shot. If I ever get time for it, that is. I’ll have papers to grade this weekend and I’m proofing the new issue of Relief. So, so busy.

But three more weeks, three more weeks . . .