Sunday, October 28, 2012

Since September...

I haven't posted since September... yeesh.  In my defense, J has been working diligently on his thesis and I have been trying to help around the apartment in little ways (planning meals, cooking dinners, cleaning, keeping a watchful eye on animals). He's finally done with writing and he'll be defending his thesis in the beginning of November.  I'm incredibly proud of him.  Aside from working like crazy for school, he is an excellent puppy parent, an avid runner, and he's been working on side projects like his blog: http://www.wxnotes.com/blog/

Our animals have been keeping us busy.  We've been taking the dogs to a new dog park that was recommended to us by a fellow UW-Madison graduate.  Sometimes we meet up with her there on the weekends.  We've started Lily in Puppy Classes with the same trainer that worked with Ruby.  We keep them busy because happy dogs are tired dogs... but that also makes for tired dog owners who'd rather relax than blog.  Guilty. 

I haven't been lazy though!  I have been working hard on my goal of reading 75 books in 2012.  I am currently reading two books (60 and 61).  If you want to keep up with what I am reading, you can check out my Shelfari account.  (http://www.shelfari.com/beccaf)  There is no doubt in my mind that I will meet my goal, but despite my fast reading pace, it still takes a lot of time to read that much.

I also was able to go home for a week in late October.  My mom and dad paid for my ticket to come home so that I could celebrate my second cousin's wedding.  It was really beautiful.  She and her mom did some cool things for me when I was planning my wedding so I would have been disappointed to miss hers.  Aside from the wedding, I was able to spend good time with my family.  My mom and I hit up a Wisconsin farm-stand and I bought goodies for the girls at work.  I also indulged in New Glarus Raspberry Ale and cheese curds.  I was able to get all of my favorite food stops in: Kopp's for Red Raspberry frozen custard, Bluephie's for Ooey Gooey Pasta (with two of my best buds), Noodles, and The Comet Cafe.  It was a really good trip.  I was dying to get as far away from Miami as possible for the last couple of months.  I needed a reality check: somewhere where people are nice and there are a few of them who care about me.  Sometimes it is hard living so far from family and friends- even if it is an adventure.

Going back to Wisconsin helped also get me back into my creative groove.  One day my mom and I made a pumpkin still life that was inspired by some of her home decorating magazines.  I miss having a crafting buddy.  I always did my scrap-booking and card-making with her.  I hate doing those things alone- so I haven't done them in years.  We made a lot of elements for my wedding together and making those pumpkins was a fun activity.  When I came back to Miami (after I was sicker than a dog for two days) I pulled out my crafting supplies and started on some new projects.  I'll add some pictures below.  You can see more at my Etsy site.  And speaking of Etsy- I made my first "outside" (as in someone I don't know) sale two days before my trip!!  Someone in Nova Scotia bought some magnets.  I jumped for joy!

Current projects I've been working on:

The first altered Moleskine journal I made.

Another altered journal.

Another.  I'm sort of addicted.  I have to wait and see if these sell before I buy more journals to alter.  I don't want to end up with too many sitting around like some of my other crafts. *See footnote*

A Fairy Ornament that I decided to try.  The idea came to me when I was trying to sleep and after I thought of it I couldn't actually fall asleep because I was so excited to try it out.  It finally gave me an idea of what to do with all of the bits I've collected/found over the years.  This one is sea-themed.

This one is Halloween-themed.  I wanted to do one in colors that reminded me of the holiday.  Please don't judge my photo styling.  I'm not a photographer and I was trying to get the pictures taken while there was still some natural light outside.

Where my ornaments are currently residing: on the wine bottles that we don't drink. :)


On Monday I go back to work.  I know I'll have a lot on my desk.  I was supposed to go in to work the two days after I got back, but I was sick on Thursday and worse on Friday.  I got up and took a shower at 7:00 AM both days.  On Thursday I was exhausted from traveling and had a headache/sore throat, so I didn't even bother getting dressed.  On Friday I woke up feeling even worse, but I figured I really had to go in since it would only be me and one other office member.  I pulled on my clothes, told Joe that I might be home early, drove about a mile, and then pulled into a gas station so I could get sick all over myself.  I called my co-workers and explained that I would not be in, I needed a shower and different clothes, and then I went home and got sick three more times.  It was, by far, one of the worst days of being sick/having a migraine in my life.  I couldn't keep anything down: water, saltines, Sprite, or medicine.  I just iced my head in bed until 1 AM when I finally fell asleep.  On Saturday I still had a bit of a headache, so I took it slow in the morning, but by Saturday night I finally felt better.

I should go get ready for my first day back at work since the 17th.  Besides the work I have to get a campus parking pass and schedule an allergy test- a tale for another day- so I'm sure tomorrow will be crazy.  But I kind of don't want to get up to make my lunch right now.  I have two tuckered puppies cuddling my feet and I don't want to disturb them.  They look so angelic... then they wake up.  :)

 - - -

* I went a little crazy with the magnets I was making.  I liked repurposing magazine pages and it was so easy to put the magnets together that I made more than I needed.  I personally like the painted ones best, but I can't make too many at a time without getting a headache from the fumes.  When I was meeting with another Etsy crafter (http://artzazzle.blogspot.com/) she mentioned that it would be cool to leave crafts like geo-caches.   I used to geo-cache with my mom and I loved the idea.  I'll save the geo-cache idea for when I live in another city, but I decided to leave some gift bags around town of some surplus magnets, my business card, and a note that reads, "Surprise!  A gift for you or someone you love.  Just a little way to brighten your day."  I hope people find them and enjoy the fun that is finding a little secret. Who knows?  Someone will probably find it, hate it, send me an e-mail telling me what a jerk I am for some inane reason, and then instead of making their day better they'll ruin mine.  (I've been living in Miami too long; I expect the worst of people.) *