aka I'm going to whine about my evening!
So my goal is get 175 wedding invitations (and I think I'm doing everything from scratch except the envelopes) done, finished, ready to give to the bride October 31. Which I think is good, since the wedding is mid-February.
Last night I measured the sample, figured out how much paper I will need to get and estimated the amount of tape, ribbon, ink, embossing powder, etc, etc to buy. I'm going to a craft night on Thursday and thought it would be the perfect time to begin cutting paper, so ideally I want to start printing tomorrow.
The best laid plans ... there was not enough paper - in either color that I need. I don't think I have enough ribbon either, but I bought what they had. I bought all the red paper they had that I needed - which was a whole 20 sheets and I need 100. No one there could tell me if they'd even get more in or not which is bad, because if more doens't get in stock soon, well, I don't want to start and have to switch 20% of the way through. I didn't buy any white because they only had small packs (50 packs) when I need to buy roughly 800-1000 pieces of cardstock. Someone told me hobby lobby will let me order a large quantity and discount the price me - I sure hope so, because tonight it was 4.00 for 50 pages of white paper. Which means it would be approximately $80 just for the white paper.
[FTR I would pay that much if there is no alternative because I so want to make everything perfect for the bride, but if I can get it cheaper, I'm going to definitely try!]
The good news is that I have time to make all of this come together. So even though I won't get started tomorrow and will bring knitting with me on Thursday, I'm glad that I went shopping for materials tonight instead of waiting! Because in general, I procrastinate as much as possible. But I knew I could not screw this up. These are wedding invitations! And I'm not going to be the person who pisses off the bride and sends her into a fit of hysteria for not having them ready on time! No, I want to be the person who she loves and adores and is happy with thank you very much!!
So, I'm glad that I didn't go my usual route (which would have had me buying supplies approximately Oct. 30) and that I planned ahead. Also, in an effort to be more organized - something I struggle with way too much, I bought a pocket calendar/planner to go into my purse. And the only thing to be said about that is about time!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
Crazy or Motivated?
Many, many things are coming up here soon at the journey household:
And yet somehow I have signed up to knit during the olympics, make a mystery stole, scan in a relative's photographs, start Christmas crafting, make some other gifts for other people, and the list can go on and on. I have about 10 days to get my kids to 10 local parks (except it's a scavenger hunt so I actually have a list of about 24 parks to visit to find the 10 "right" ones). Throw in some random babysitting, wanting to get out for craft nights, and having play dates with friends, and I have a feeling I'll be one very busy momma between now and roughly February 22 (that's how far out quite a few of our activities are planned!).
But I can do it. I know I can. And hopefully I will have fun doing it and not get overwhelmed or stressed out.
Right now my biggest concern is planning food for the party - if anyone has ideas/recipes/etc to share ... I need to feed about 125 people on the smallest budget possible! Actually, someone sent me money today to help cover expenses - I can't thank her enough because really, it was unexpected but will go quite far in helping a LOT. So that will help out tremendously!
Anyway, I have all this stuff to do - and what am I doing? Sitting around on the computer LOL! In my defense, I had a day from hell with the kids (I do love them, but man, we were all haveing off days today and it was not fun at all) and it's late. I can't get too productive this time of night.
So, yeah, I'm rambling, and you get to hear it! Sorry! Expect to read posts full of whining, rambling, talk of too much to do and not enough time to do it all in, but with lots of pretty pictures, LOL's and it was all worth it woven in there as well =)
- my dd's birthday
- a party with about 125 people in attendance thrown by me
- 175 wedding invitations made by me
- starting another year of schooling
- me working all weekends between now and Oct. 31
- My dh beginning to work 7 days a week starting mid-September until Oct. 31
- My other dd's birthday
And yet somehow I have signed up to knit during the olympics, make a mystery stole, scan in a relative's photographs, start Christmas crafting, make some other gifts for other people, and the list can go on and on. I have about 10 days to get my kids to 10 local parks (except it's a scavenger hunt so I actually have a list of about 24 parks to visit to find the 10 "right" ones). Throw in some random babysitting, wanting to get out for craft nights, and having play dates with friends, and I have a feeling I'll be one very busy momma between now and roughly February 22 (that's how far out quite a few of our activities are planned!).
But I can do it. I know I can. And hopefully I will have fun doing it and not get overwhelmed or stressed out.
Right now my biggest concern is planning food for the party - if anyone has ideas/recipes/etc to share ... I need to feed about 125 people on the smallest budget possible! Actually, someone sent me money today to help cover expenses - I can't thank her enough because really, it was unexpected but will go quite far in helping a LOT. So that will help out tremendously!
Anyway, I have all this stuff to do - and what am I doing? Sitting around on the computer LOL! In my defense, I had a day from hell with the kids (I do love them, but man, we were all haveing off days today and it was not fun at all) and it's late. I can't get too productive this time of night.
So, yeah, I'm rambling, and you get to hear it! Sorry! Expect to read posts full of whining, rambling, talk of too much to do and not enough time to do it all in, but with lots of pretty pictures, LOL's and it was all worth it woven in there as well =)
I did it!
I signed up for Mystery Stole 4. This will be my first time participating and I'm quite excited about it.
Of course the start overlaps with the olympics, so that could slow down my progress and I'll be working pretty heavily in September and October - but this will be fun I think!
I ordered this yarn in Pink Posy Heather. I've never knit with beads before either and have never made a stole before. So this will be a couple of firsts for me. I ordered the beads today too (from artbeads.com) It's so hard to tell what they look like, so I ordered 3 different kinds. Plus, if I had only ordered one, it would have been a 3 dollar order so that felt much too low to me. I hope I like one of them with the yarn but I'll post pictures as soon as everything arrives.
For now, I need to finish up the pea pod, the sweater for me and make sure I have needles to start my olympic knitting!!
Of course the start overlaps with the olympics, so that could slow down my progress and I'll be working pretty heavily in September and October - but this will be fun I think!
I ordered this yarn in Pink Posy Heather. I've never knit with beads before either and have never made a stole before. So this will be a couple of firsts for me. I ordered the beads today too (from artbeads.com) It's so hard to tell what they look like, so I ordered 3 different kinds. Plus, if I had only ordered one, it would have been a 3 dollar order so that felt much too low to me. I hope I like one of them with the yarn but I'll post pictures as soon as everything arrives.
For now, I need to finish up the pea pod, the sweater for me and make sure I have needles to start my olympic knitting!!
Saturday, August 02, 2008
On the Knitting Front ...
I have an almost completed Pea Pod Sweater (It is all knitted, included the neck area, I just need to put in the sleeves and deal with the ends!) Of course it is gift for someone!
I have completed the back and both front pieces on the Vogue Belted Cardigan. I started this much too long ago for it to be not finished. Of course, though it's for me, so that should explain why it keeps getting put on the back burner!
I signed up for the Ravelympics yesterday.
I will be knitting Hush-Hush
I can't WAIT to start it and kind of wish I would have picked something else for the ravelympics LOL! But it will be fun and I really am hoping that I can finish it during the Olympics! It just looks so comfortable (and yes, very pretty!). I got the yarn from a sale at The Blue Blog - so thank you Alison for not wanting to hold onto the yarn LOL! =)
I bought some gorgeous sock yarn when we were in Maine and so hopefully I'll have some pretty socks on my feet soon! And I bought yarn to make a gorgeous sweater but I'm kind of hesitant to start it because it might be a bit complicated for me, but maybe after Christmas I can cast on.
On vacation, I also purchased Knitting For Peace
I have read through about half the descriptions of charities out there. It's just beautiful. To think that yarn, that knitting, can bring together so many and can bring happiness or comfort or a sense of peace to people all over the globe. It just makes knitting seem even more beautiful to me. Of course the problem is that ALL the charities seem so wonderful and I haven't found THE ONE that I must begin to knit for right this moment. Right now, I wish I could knit more to send something to each of the charities I've read about. But, regardless of if I find the one I must knit for or just randomly pick one, watch for some charity knitting coming from me soon!
And, I just read about Mystery Stole number 4 and I want to join! I haven't done one yet, but I really wanted to do the last one and just couldn't make it happen. So I'm crossing my fingers that I can get in on this one! I have approximately 11 days to figure out if I'm going to join or not!
I have completed the back and both front pieces on the Vogue Belted Cardigan. I started this much too long ago for it to be not finished. Of course, though it's for me, so that should explain why it keeps getting put on the back burner!
I signed up for the Ravelympics yesterday.
I will be knitting Hush-Hush
I can't WAIT to start it and kind of wish I would have picked something else for the ravelympics LOL! But it will be fun and I really am hoping that I can finish it during the Olympics! It just looks so comfortable (and yes, very pretty!). I got the yarn from a sale at The Blue Blog - so thank you Alison for not wanting to hold onto the yarn LOL! =)
I bought some gorgeous sock yarn when we were in Maine and so hopefully I'll have some pretty socks on my feet soon! And I bought yarn to make a gorgeous sweater but I'm kind of hesitant to start it because it might be a bit complicated for me, but maybe after Christmas I can cast on.
On vacation, I also purchased Knitting For Peace
I have read through about half the descriptions of charities out there. It's just beautiful. To think that yarn, that knitting, can bring together so many and can bring happiness or comfort or a sense of peace to people all over the globe. It just makes knitting seem even more beautiful to me. Of course the problem is that ALL the charities seem so wonderful and I haven't found THE ONE that I must begin to knit for right this moment. Right now, I wish I could knit more to send something to each of the charities I've read about. But, regardless of if I find the one I must knit for or just randomly pick one, watch for some charity knitting coming from me soon!
And, I just read about Mystery Stole number 4 and I want to join! I haven't done one yet, but I really wanted to do the last one and just couldn't make it happen. So I'm crossing my fingers that I can get in on this one! I have approximately 11 days to figure out if I'm going to join or not!
Friday, August 01, 2008
In Defense of Food
Towards the end of vacation I found myself out of reading material. I had already finished the two books I had brought with (which, ironically in the past, I've packed maybe 5 books and not managed to finish one so this time I went lighter with 2 and finished them all LOL!). Anyway, there was a great little book store in town, so I stopped in and picked up In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I had been wanting to read it ever since reading Omnivore's Dilemma earlier this year but hadn't been able to get ahold of it yet, so I decided to treat myself and just buy it.
I am SO glad that I did buy it. I managed to finish the book just as we were on the commuter train coming home. First of all, the book is not as hard to read as Omnivore's Dilemma (OD) - it is thinner and more concise I think. Now, I LOVED OD a lot. But my dh is not an avid reader and even though that book inspired me to change some of our eating behavior, it wasn't something I could pass on to him. However, In Defense of Food (IDoF) is something I think he could certainly read. Because again, this book is really about how to chance your eating habits. The catch phrase is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And for me, as I read his book and all he had to say just made a lot of sense and clicked in my head.
Pollan offers some advice on what to eat. The rules are not specific - for example it doesn't say eat 2 red vegetables a day, 3 green ones, only carbs on Tuesday and no fat at all on Friday, blah, blah, blah. Well, they aren't even rules per se so much as they are guides. And it all pretty much revolves around "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And so, I'm trying to change our diet a bit this week. Not radically - I don't want a mutiny at dinner time LOL! However, in some sense, we already started shifting our diet last fall with my dd's dietary issues - we began then to incorporate rice, beans, more fruits and veggies, etc, etc. And so, in that regard - thanks to my dd - we began to eat much healthier in the fall than we ever were before. But, we still eat lots and lots of junk - too much. So this week, I've been tightening it up again since being home.
Even more fruits and veggies. Less meat. More cooking from scratch. Trying out a few new recipes. Still not perfect. Not even close to perfect at all. But I feel like we are getting closer. And I know our diet will never be perfect. I still love my coca-cola. My kids will probably always want to eat goldfish and cereal that is less than ideal. And yet, knowing that we won't be 100% perfect certainly isn't a reason to not try to eat healthier (which I sometimes have the mindset that if I can't do it all the way, I shouldn't even try).
The best thing, is so far, everyone in the house is responding well. We almost always have meat every night. We have had meat only 2 nights this week and it has been small portion sizes ... one night my dh made a stir-fry and used not even a pound of meat in it total. And then we had spaghetti and I made meatballs for the sauce. I have probably missed meat the most! I have always said I would NEVER become a vegetarian - that I am a steak and potatoes girl and I NEED to have my meat LOL! But, really, I don't. At least, I don't need to eat it every single night. And so now I am on a quest to be a "flexitarian" (yeah, I never heard of that word before last week but it means "A person who adheres to a diet that consists of non-animal based foods, but occasionally indulges in meat." from wikipedia). Although we might have more animal products than even a flexitarian allows for - but we are trying.
I don't expect to wake up tomorrow in perfect health at all. I don't expect to lose weight. I don't plan for all our problems to disappear. But, I do think that if we eat healthier, in general our bodies will work a bit better. Maybe not right away. And maybe not even enough for us to feel it. But at the same time, I can't imagine how this will hurt us.
So with all that said - go, go and pick up IDoF. Read it and enjoy it!
I am SO glad that I did buy it. I managed to finish the book just as we were on the commuter train coming home. First of all, the book is not as hard to read as Omnivore's Dilemma (OD) - it is thinner and more concise I think. Now, I LOVED OD a lot. But my dh is not an avid reader and even though that book inspired me to change some of our eating behavior, it wasn't something I could pass on to him. However, In Defense of Food (IDoF) is something I think he could certainly read. Because again, this book is really about how to chance your eating habits. The catch phrase is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And for me, as I read his book and all he had to say just made a lot of sense and clicked in my head.
Pollan offers some advice on what to eat. The rules are not specific - for example it doesn't say eat 2 red vegetables a day, 3 green ones, only carbs on Tuesday and no fat at all on Friday, blah, blah, blah. Well, they aren't even rules per se so much as they are guides. And it all pretty much revolves around "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And so, I'm trying to change our diet a bit this week. Not radically - I don't want a mutiny at dinner time LOL! However, in some sense, we already started shifting our diet last fall with my dd's dietary issues - we began then to incorporate rice, beans, more fruits and veggies, etc, etc. And so, in that regard - thanks to my dd - we began to eat much healthier in the fall than we ever were before. But, we still eat lots and lots of junk - too much. So this week, I've been tightening it up again since being home.
Even more fruits and veggies. Less meat. More cooking from scratch. Trying out a few new recipes. Still not perfect. Not even close to perfect at all. But I feel like we are getting closer. And I know our diet will never be perfect. I still love my coca-cola. My kids will probably always want to eat goldfish and cereal that is less than ideal. And yet, knowing that we won't be 100% perfect certainly isn't a reason to not try to eat healthier (which I sometimes have the mindset that if I can't do it all the way, I shouldn't even try).
The best thing, is so far, everyone in the house is responding well. We almost always have meat every night. We have had meat only 2 nights this week and it has been small portion sizes ... one night my dh made a stir-fry and used not even a pound of meat in it total. And then we had spaghetti and I made meatballs for the sauce. I have probably missed meat the most! I have always said I would NEVER become a vegetarian - that I am a steak and potatoes girl and I NEED to have my meat LOL! But, really, I don't. At least, I don't need to eat it every single night. And so now I am on a quest to be a "flexitarian" (yeah, I never heard of that word before last week but it means "A person who adheres to a diet that consists of non-animal based foods, but occasionally indulges in meat." from wikipedia). Although we might have more animal products than even a flexitarian allows for - but we are trying.
I don't expect to wake up tomorrow in perfect health at all. I don't expect to lose weight. I don't plan for all our problems to disappear. But, I do think that if we eat healthier, in general our bodies will work a bit better. Maybe not right away. And maybe not even enough for us to feel it. But at the same time, I can't imagine how this will hurt us.
So with all that said - go, go and pick up IDoF. Read it and enjoy it!
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