Sewing is coming!

Tonight I took out the sewing machine - well I didn't really take it out, it's been sitting on my dining room table collecting dust since I brought it home from my mom's.  I know how to use a sewing machine, but I don't know how to set up a sewing machine. I've never threaded the sewing machine myself.  So my first goal is to learn how to do that. 

I have a fantastic book to work with S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp.  Tonight I took scotch tape and labeled parts of my sewing machine.  I decided to stop after that because I was too distracted by the TV. I think this weekend I'm going to put aside a few hours on Saturday to really sit down, learn how to thread the machine and do a few sample stitches.  

It's also possible that I'll get distracted by something else and the sewing machine will sit on the dining room table for a few more weeks.  That's just who I am.    

Alaska Bike Riding Page and Musings

I've been reading a book about unlocking your creative spirit. It gives you ideas and prompts for getting started with creative projects. One of the prompts was "if you were born to produce just one type of work, what would it be?".  Probably some people would say "scrapbooking" as an answer for me, afterall most of this blog is scrapbooking, but I find this question exceptionally difficult.  I know it is hypothetical but I can't imagine sticking to one medium, and why should I?  I love the idea of learning everything.  How can you know whether a medium is right for you until you try it?  Maybe I am a great painter and I don't know it. Maybe I'm born to sew or make shoes or sculpt weird things out of clay.   

This Fall some of my goals include focusing more on collage/mixed media (taking another class in September), learning to sew and improving my photography. I also want to use my slow cooker more as the weather gets colder and learn to make soup. Yes, soup.  So I don't think I was born to produce just one type of work and I don't think anyone should limit themselves to only one type of work.  Explore more!  As my slightly creepy theology teacher in high school used to say "there's more, there's so much more."

Anyway, for now I guess I will continue on with my scrapbooking.  Another Alaska page, this one about us bike riding along the Coastal Trail.  Another guidebook map, this time I highlighted the trail with embroidery thread. My hands are covered in glue now that won't come off. 

My blog just got a makeover!

Hello everyone (all 2 of you!).  I gave my blog a mini makeover this morning. I'm still making use of the blogger templates, but I like this background and color scheme much better. It feels more mature (even though I'm not any more mature than when I started writing this).  I'm starting to pay attention to the blog more though and write more regularly so I thought it needed an adjustment. Let me know what you think! 

organizing all day keeps the anxiety away

For the off chance that a stranger is actually reading this blog, let me start this entry by saying..I'm kind of crazy.  Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I need to do it right that second. Like today at work, I decided that I needed to go to Michael's to buy paint brushes that let's be honest, I will probably not use until 6 months from now.  As soon as the clock struck 5, I was on the subway and at Michael's.  I not only ended up with paint brushes but all this too:

Yup, those are all stickers. I didn't buy each one individually though. Michael's sometimes has these grab bag things for $20 (a $50 value! I don't know if that's really true but that's what the bag tells me).  I get a thrill when I buy them. The same thrill you get when you play the lotto. You never know if what you get is going to be great or really shitty. One time the pack I got was made up of halloween decorations and USA stickers. Not my best day.  Today though the bag was pretty good...lots of lettering and rub ons. 

After I spread all the supplies out, I decided I had to, at that very second, reorganize all my stickers using binders. So at 9pm at night, I got out of my pajamas, ran up to Duane Reade and bought some giant binders.  I can't help myself.  I did feel better after all my stickers were organized though. My mind felt a little less anxious. 

Needless to say, after all this activity, I didn't have much time to actually do anything creative.  So tonight, I'm going to continue watching the olympics and reading my collage books from the library. 

Until next time readers. 

Moving Closer to New Craft Goals

It's disgustingly hot out this weekend - 95+.  I don't have air conditioning in my apartment, so it's not pleasant.  There are a handful of days that I actually wish I had air conditioning, that's the reason I didn't feel it was necessary to pay for it.  I did a lot of cooling activities - walked around the Duane Reade, hung out in Best Buy, hung out in Starbucks, got an iced drink, bought ice cream, took cold shower, etc.  The best activity is just sitting on my couch with two fans pointed at me and not moving.  Usually I retreat to my parents house on the beach but unfortunately I had some birthday events to attend this weekend.  I'll be there soon enough for 4th of July. 


Speaking of sitting on my couch, today I watched two documentaries I checked out at the library (I love love love the library).  One has no relevance to this blog at all because it was about food stamps, but it was pretty interesting. The other was about art quilting.  I mentioned one of my goals is to finally start quilting and this PBS special made me want to start even more.  Some of the quilters used unconventional materials like candy wrappers, paper, or construction fencing.  Others used the art of fusing to make quilt designs.  It was so fascinating.  I need to learn basic, traditional quilting first of course.  I don't currently own a sewing machine. I'm also not so good at learning things on my own, so I'm going to look into quilting classes in the city.  


Speaking of classes, I signed up today for a mixed media - collage and assembly beginners class.  It's a one day class and was pretty affordable. The only downside was that it was in Brooklyn but I feel that is kind of inevitable. All the good craft/art classes are in Brooklyn. There is a bigger artist community there.  I am excited to take it. Collaging has always been one of my favorite types of art. It's the reason I became interested in scrapbooking after a brief run with decoupage.  I feel like a class would really enhance my knowledge and skills.  I'm excited for it. It's not for a few weeks. 


I think this is the longest entry I've ever written in this blog.  I did work on my smash book as well.  I made a page with a movie stub (men in black 3, surprisingly good), the cover of my apple manual, and a great quote I found on Facebook.  The other side is another "girl crush" page, this time with Emma Stone.  I read an interview with her in New York magazine and fell even more in love with her.  Still need to find a way to take the photos without the dark shadow of my arm looming over them. 

Get the Red Out

Does getting my hair done count as a creative endeavor? I'm going to count it because that's all I did yesterday (besides go to work).  I've been dying my hair since I was around 15 years old. I've been every shade of red and brown, highlighted blonde and accidental orange.  I started going to a real salon my junior year of college to get blonde highlights then on a whim I asked my hairdresser to dye my hair red. That was 3 years ago.  Most of the people at my current job think I'm a natural redhead but I'm not.  I'm not even Irish.

I made the executive decision 2 weeks ago that it was time to go brunette after yet another person called out on the street "HEY RED".  I officially made an appointment when another person told me I looked like Bryce Dallas Howard from Twilight.  I went to a new hairdresser as mine outwardly refused to ever dye my hair anything but red.  The new guy was initially terrified to dye my hair assuming the red was a natural color but in the end he realized I was right. See before and after pics (also note, I actually have super curly hair but for comparison pics I'm using two straight hair photos).

For those of you who are curious.  My natural hair color can be seen here:

I feel like a completely new person.  It's funny how hair can make you feel different.  I can't wait to see it when it's curly again.  Unlike everyone else, I hate when my hair is straight.  I think it brings out every imperfection in my face and makes me look too much like my mom. 



Spin Spin Spin

I possess a profound appreciation for any girl brave enough to climb up and spin down a pole and be able to take their clothes off at the same time.  As I learned from experience today, pole dancing is hard.  Really hard.  And it's even harder to look sexy while doing it. 

A month or so ago I bought a Groupon for one intro to pole dancing class and one beginner climb and spin class at NY Pole Dancing (nypoledancing.com).  I originally signed up for Groupon for deals on craft classes or craft supplies.  What I found, however, is that the website is more beneficial for exercise classes.and/or packages.  I always wanted to try pole dancing because I always though spinning around on a pole looked like it was fun.  Another reason, I confess, is that I also want to feel sexy again.  Last year, I gained a few pounds (probably noticable only to me and my jeans) and started feeling really bad about myself.  I've since lost the weight thanks to a loyal gym membership but the confidence never came back.

Before the class I was nearly having a panic attack.  I do not like trying new things by myself.  I'm forcing myself to to gain more confidence and get myself out of my comfort zone but I really really hate it.   It's not that I panic about looking silly in class.  I panic about the moments leading up the class. Am I going to get lost? Where will I put my stuff? Is there a locker room? What should I wear? What if i'm the only one in the class?  If it sounds crazy...it's because it is. I calmed myself down and marched straight..up to the studio...about the size of my apartment.  Gotta love NY.  

The class was a lot of fun.  I didn't feel very sexy as I struggled to get up on the pole, but I was reassured that everyone in the class was as bad at me.  I am excellent at spinning though.  I resisted the urge to spin around on the subway pole on my way home.  Trying new things still makes you feel good and I'm proud I didn't back out of it just because I was by myself. 

Traveling On

Today I booked a trip to Berlin, Germany.  I am beyond excited.  If you know me, you'd know that I am not a well traveled person.  I did not get on a plane until I was 21 and I just got my passport 2 years ago.  Unlike other college grads who need to "find themselves" for a few months by staying in hostels and taking pictures of themselves on snow covered mountains after college, I started working right away.  Not much time for serious travel or so I thought.  I do have 15 days of vacation and compared to a lot of companies..that's pretty awesome.  I always thought if I was to go to Europe I would "need" 2 weeks at least. My new boss has taught me different.  She travels to Scotland for the weekend or Costa Rica for a few days.  Inspired by her, I decided to book the Berlin trip (with a friend) for 5 days/4 nights.

Eager to travel more and notoriously bad at geography, I decided to print out two blank maps (one of the US and one of the world).  I want to color in all the places I've been and keep coloring it in as I go to more places. I taped it into my pretty notebook - a fancy flower covered notebook I keep on my coffee table and jot down random ideas in. 

Here is my sad states map.  I've made it to all the surrounding areas, Disneyworld and Las Vegas.  I definitely want to visit all 50 states in my life, but I'm not into the cross country driving trip everyone is dying to do.  I hate being in cars for long periods of time for the simple reason that I suffer from extreme motion sickness.  A month of puking does not sound like a great time to me. 

And here is my extra sad map of the world.  As you can see I've stayed on the western hemisphere.  Germany will be my first venture across the Atlantic.  Super excited! Right now there's sadly only 4 countries colored in - Canada (awesome because I've only been to like Quebec but when I color in the whole country it looks like I've been to a lot), US, Mexico and the Bahamas. 

I won't ever have the entire map colored in.  I like to be adventurous but I still want to be safe.  I do hope to see a lot of Europe colored in, Australia, maybe a few places in South America.  Unfortunately all of the Caribbean islands are so tiny compared to the rest of the world...but I want to go to all of them.

Until next time, have a great weekend!

Snap Out of It

I am in serious need of a life reboot.  Has anyone noticed that this is essentially a crafting blog and I have yet to craft anything?

I've been so lazy and tired lately that if any doctor were to observe my behavior in the last 3 days they would conclude I was clinically depressed.  I'm not...or I hope I'm not. Is denial the first sign?  I'm just really really inexplicably tired.  I think it's because besides going to the gym I don't move very much during the day.  At work I sit at a computer all day and feel the energy pouring out of me.   Even when I'm in the gym lately my workouts are so unorganized that I spend 10 minutes walking around trying to figure out what I want to do.  It's like my brain won't focus on anything.  And because my brain won't focus, I do not start any new projects.

I'm not sure how to snap out of this funk.  I am getting a haircut on Wednesday.  Sometimes a little makeover action helps. When I was younger, I was not the prettiest child. Super awkward with thick glasses, braces, bad skin, frizzy hair..the whole deal.  I used to draw pictures of myself as I was then and then draw a new picture of myself with a brand new makeover.  I still have some books of these drawings at home.  I was obsessive. Luckily I got contacts and my braces off around the same time.  It took a few years for me to understand curly hair..still working on my skin although it's not teenager status anymore.  ANYWAY, the point is that I love a good makeover and I'm always convinced that I will be happier if I get one. 

The other option to counteract laziness is some good old Mom advice - just do it.  My mom claims that Nike stole her slogan.  I need to start working on projects even if I really just want to be on my couch with a blanket on.  I think I will need to ease into this situation and possible start tonight with my needlepoint and then maybe move into some scrapbooking territory.  We'll see how it goes...there's no point in writing a blog if I can't get off my couch.

Wine Flu

A few months ago I went to my local wines and spirits store to pick up a cheap bottle of wine.  When I told the clerk what I was looking for (a cheap bottle of white wine) he began asking me a series of questions about wine that I had no idea how to answer.  One of my biggest fears in life is looking dumb in front of other people.  It's the reason I shy away from many activities..fear of looking stupid.  The clerk finally realized I am not educated in wine so he gave me the house white and called it a day (it tasted fine to me).  After I left though, I decided that possibly I should learn more about wine so I signed up for a wine tasting class at the Institute of Culinary Education.

I chose to take Best WInes Under $20 and over $50.  The class consisted of a few couples, a few groups of friends, distinguished older gentleman and another single girl like me.  There were a few wine snobs in the class that kept interrupting the teacher with their knowledge of wine. I knew one guy would be a wine snob right away because he wore both a turtleneck and a scarf..why you need both I don't know but it automatically makes you look like a douche.  I thought i could bond with the girl next to me and maybe make a friend but this girl was reading from the kindle app on her iphone the entire time and barely touching the wine.  Why do you voluntarily pay for a class and then not pay attention at all?  I don't understand people. 

The teacher explained each wine in detail - color, smell, taste, etc but for the life of me I could not smell the hint of honey or lemongrass nor could I tell the difference between a "woody" wine or "licorice" flavors.  The cheap wines tasted just as nice as the expensive wines.  I finished each glass off only to look around me and see other people were just sipping their wine and pouring the rest in the spit cup.  No thanks. I paid for this class I'm drinking all of the wine (and eating all of the complimentary cheese). 

Overall the class was a good experience but I don't think I'll be any more educated in the wine store.  The only things I did learn for sure:

1. I'm still going to buy cheap wine
2. I hate sharp cheeses
3. Next time I should bring a friend with me (they offered glasses of wine at the end of the class but I felt awkward standing around with the wine snobs)
4. Nametags + My hair = ouch

Next time I go in a wine store I'll just have a brand in mind to avoid the question embarrassment.

Read all about it

I have this idea in my head that I'll be really smart if I read every single article in the newspaper every day.  I don't get a newspaper delivered and I really don't have time in the morning to read it if I did so I decided that I could read every article in the Sunday NY Times. There's tons of sections to the Sunday paper...think of how diverse and knowledgable I would be. So I shoved a few dollars into my gym bag and headed to workout, planning on picking up the paper on my way back. I walked into the corner market and was shocked to find the Sunday times costs $5!  Now, I know all about the internet and that I could easily go to the website and read the articles..but it's really not the same.  Plus I own a netbook..it's really difficult to read any article on a netbook screen.  So I settled on the second-rate (or really third-rate) Newsday...only $2.  I read every article in that paper, but I don't really think that articles about Long Islanders complaining about the snow really made me a better person.  Perhaps I will try again next weekend.

On the bright side, I did get a weekly TV listings insert and was excited to see a new episode of Hoarders was to air that night....and then disappointed to find out that the TV listings were wrong. Sigh.

Snowed In

I really want to be in my apartment right now but I can't because of the snowstorm.  I'm stuck at my parents house for the time being but my dad is going to drive me back tomorrow. 

There's a book in my apartment that I have yet to finish but was sort of the inspiration for this blog.  It's called Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher (also the author of a great book called Wishcraft).  The book really made me realize that I don't need one passion or focus for the rest of my life.  Everyone always tells you to find what you are passionate about and make that into your career.  It seems simple enough but what if you don't know your passion..you feel like nothing you do is ever good enough. I love to take pictures but I don't want to be a photographer.  I love cooking but I don't want to be a chef. I love scrapbooking but I'm not going to design paper and the scrapbooking blog was a failure.  Just because I'm passionate about something doesn't mean I want it to be my career. I think my job is good enough. I don't dread going into work (anymore), I make money and I have health insurance. It gives me a chance to do the things I really love...and I love to do lots of things.

Right now I can't do anything except pack up my stuff for tomorrow.  I love being with my parents but I can't wait to be back on my own.  Until then have a happy and healthy new year!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

This is my third attempt at writing a blog..they always say third time's a charm right?  Hopefully.  Why so many attempts?  Well, everyone always says to write what you know and write about what you are passionate about. People want to know you are an expert on a subject or want to find someone who shares their interests and will maybe inspire them. 

My first attempt, I decided to write a blog about putting myself out there..being less shy, trying more daring things.  I imagined a world where I was jumping into the unknown, tapping into my unknown passions in life.  Inspiring readers across the nation, gaining a book deal and finding my true love. It was to be epic! I was going to do a book tour, make appearances on The View, quit my job and tell everyone about how to live their life just like me.  Well...that lasted a month.  The truth that i discovered about myself was that I hate putting myself out there.  I don't want to jump out of airplanes, sing karaoke or travel to India to meet my spirit guide. Even thinking about it makes me want to crawl back into bed and take a nap.  I applaud all you go-getter bloggers out there.  It's just not my thing.

Depressed that my first attempt turned out to be a suckfest, I got to work on my second blog.  This time I was going to write about a hobby I enjoy...scrapbooking.  I even paid to use a blog platform so I could have a fancy domain name (my piece of advice for the day...don't do this, blogger is way too easy and free).  I wrote a few entries but then I started stressing out.  I didn't want to scrapbook everyday.  I have a full time job. I like to watch TV at night and read magazines.  I can't even take that many pictures!  My life is not that exciting as evidenced by my first blog.  So there went that...money down the drain.

My first two attempts were complete failures. I felt like a failure.  They say to write what you know but what do I know?  I am not passionate about anything.  Sometimes I don't even start projects because I'm so scared they will fail or I'll lose interest too fast.  Then I'll get the same questions..oh whatever happened to your blog? Are you still scrapbooking?  Are you still writing?  What do you want to do with your life?

Who says I need to be passionate about one thing in my life? One thing for the rest of my life?  That's crazy!  Yes I like scrapbooking but I don't want to be known as a scrapbooker. Sometimes I want to make quilts or paint or sculpt.  Some weeks I'm obsessed with cooking to the point where I even want to make my own ketchup.  Other weeks I want to sculpt or make jewelry.  Who says we need to only be interested in one thing?  Leonardo Da Vinci might've painted the Mona Lisa but he was also a musician, a scientist, an inventor, an engineer and a mathematician.  Madonna is a singer, an actress and writes children's books. Did you know Ken Jeong (of "Hangover" and "Community") is an actual medical doctor and a comedian.

So long story short, this blog is focused on my many passions in life and my attempts to not be afraid to start something challenging and new.  I'm going to stop being afraid of people judging me. Who cares if I start something and don't finish it? If one day I'm talking about scrapbooking and the next day I'm making a lasagna.  I just want to write and be free.  I guess maybe I'm putting myself out there after all.