whirlwind christmas 2007 memories, in no particular order.
1. lots of books, a tv, identical sets of s+p shakers, bird art, booze, 200 year old fruitcake, x-acto knives in my stocking, britney spears perfume (really), electric socks, paella. generosity.
2. amarula.
3. apples to apples with both sets of families + scrabble + christmas story monopoly (cheaters).
4. babies. cousins, nieces, friends. and yet another pregnancy for one very recent new mother. more on this later.
5. natural bridge, va.
6. the cellar.
7. a possible near brake-in, adt security being on the ball, and friends who we owe dearly for being there in our absence.
8. ham. ham. pork loin.
9. allergies.
10. mid-50s, rain, forgetting dreary chicago winter.
Dec 30, 2007
Dec 19, 2007
well it's about that time again when i reflect on everything i've learned, loved, feared and experienced throughout the past year.
last year's resolutions:
1. Lose 10-15 pounds. (use my gym membership, eat less cheese, drink less wine) RESULT: did not do it. i actually gained 5 more pounds. and ate way more wine and cheese than i should have, i think. oh, and i quit the gym, too. but i'm happy with who i am and the size of my pants. for the most part anyway.
2. Be responsible and more knowledgeable about the large purchase we made in 2006, especially the tax implications. (read our condo docs, talk to our lawyer) RESULT: well, i didn't read our condo docs, i didn't talk to our lawyer, but i became the secretary of our condo association and i have recently spent the last two months dealing with a mixup between our mortgage company and cook county, having been wrongly assigned property taxes for the entire building versus our individual condo.
3. Sell something I make. (etsy) RESULT: YES! i did it! i made my bird collage/paintings, sold about 50 of them, and have big plans for 2008. yay!
4. Travel somewhere new. (Montreal, anyone?) RESULT: nope. nada. oh wait, that's not true...i did visit holland, michigan. that was new.
5. Let things go. (keep reminding myself that I cannot possibly control everything, all the time.) RESULT: not so much. i keep kicking myself for not doing more, not being more busy, not making more, cooking more, doing more. i can stand to work on this one.
And a bonus: Watch my friends have babies and stop feeling guilty that I'm not ready. RESULT: yes and no. watching them has made me more ready, but not quite there yet. and i don't feel so much guilty as left out...i want to be able to share in the experiences that my friends are having rather than watching on the sidelines. but there's time. no worries.
2007 was a pretty good year for me. i started making things, selling them, feeling good and confident about them, and my abilities. i watched 12 babies be born (well not actually literally watched, but you know what i mean...). welcome to the world ava, abel, addison, blake, bella, ceridwen, gabriella, jack, sophia, sophie, stella, and tierney. (and tbd due in february. and ANOTHER friend recently pregnant as well!) (notice the two lone boys abel and jack in there. why is everyone having girls?!) i got a wonderful new camera. i stopped the 365 project. i learned how to make candy. i moved my company's office. i drank a lot of wine and learned to love classic cocktails even more (my hubb makes a pretty killer sidecar, tom collins, and manhattan.) i got a new tattoo. i discovered new names for my future children. i committed to a new volunteer program to start in 2008. i watched my best friend get married to a wonderful man. i watched two other sets of friends get married. i stopped wearing high heels, then started wearing them again. i rediscovered dark nail polish. i hosted thanksgiving for my in-laws for the first time, and survived. i had an excellent year, really.
i also had a somewhat hard year. emotional and life changing at times, stressful and depressing at others. the virginia tech tragedy sitting high on my list. right behind my brother's reaction to it and his situation with the u.s. army. but this year the happy times greatly outweighed the sad ones, and 2007 is ending on an amazingly high note. i'm looking forward to what 2008 might bring, and 2009 even more (i'll be 30!). life is only getting better.
so, resolution time. although i'm getting a little down on myself for not living up to the majority of them each year. but here they go anyway:
1. be a little bit healthier. not lose weight per se, but eat a little better, get a little exercise. i've let things slip the past few years and as i get older i need to take care of my body a little bit better.
2. take more photos. i think i'll start 365 again, and maybe a few other flickr groups because i am a nerd and need that kind of motivation. i think i also need to experience more enlightening things, put myself in situations that elicit me taking out my camera.
3. write down my recipes, menus, ideas. i tend to wing it when i cook then i forget what i served at my dinner parties.
4. travel. dammit, i need to get this one out of the way before we grow our family. luckily my best friend is having a wedding ceremony in turkey next fall, and i'm totally there.
5. grow my name, make more paintings, sell more, put myself out there. redo my website, apply for more craft/art fairs. see where this thing can go. wish me luck.
and happy holidays dear readers. i really appreciate the 3 of you. 2008 will bring a new website, a new look, some new content. fresh, clean, fun. just you wait and see.
xoxo - emily
last year's resolutions:
1. Lose 10-15 pounds. (use my gym membership, eat less cheese, drink less wine) RESULT: did not do it. i actually gained 5 more pounds. and ate way more wine and cheese than i should have, i think. oh, and i quit the gym, too. but i'm happy with who i am and the size of my pants. for the most part anyway.
2. Be responsible and more knowledgeable about the large purchase we made in 2006, especially the tax implications. (read our condo docs, talk to our lawyer) RESULT: well, i didn't read our condo docs, i didn't talk to our lawyer, but i became the secretary of our condo association and i have recently spent the last two months dealing with a mixup between our mortgage company and cook county, having been wrongly assigned property taxes for the entire building versus our individual condo.
3. Sell something I make. (etsy) RESULT: YES! i did it! i made my bird collage/paintings, sold about 50 of them, and have big plans for 2008. yay!
4. Travel somewhere new. (Montreal, anyone?) RESULT: nope. nada. oh wait, that's not true...i did visit holland, michigan. that was new.
5. Let things go. (keep reminding myself that I cannot possibly control everything, all the time.) RESULT: not so much. i keep kicking myself for not doing more, not being more busy, not making more, cooking more, doing more. i can stand to work on this one.
And a bonus: Watch my friends have babies and stop feeling guilty that I'm not ready. RESULT: yes and no. watching them has made me more ready, but not quite there yet. and i don't feel so much guilty as left out...i want to be able to share in the experiences that my friends are having rather than watching on the sidelines. but there's time. no worries.
2007 was a pretty good year for me. i started making things, selling them, feeling good and confident about them, and my abilities. i watched 12 babies be born (well not actually literally watched, but you know what i mean...). welcome to the world ava, abel, addison, blake, bella, ceridwen, gabriella, jack, sophia, sophie, stella, and tierney. (and tbd due in february. and ANOTHER friend recently pregnant as well!) (notice the two lone boys abel and jack in there. why is everyone having girls?!) i got a wonderful new camera. i stopped the 365 project. i learned how to make candy. i moved my company's office. i drank a lot of wine and learned to love classic cocktails even more (my hubb makes a pretty killer sidecar, tom collins, and manhattan.) i got a new tattoo. i discovered new names for my future children. i committed to a new volunteer program to start in 2008. i watched my best friend get married to a wonderful man. i watched two other sets of friends get married. i stopped wearing high heels, then started wearing them again. i rediscovered dark nail polish. i hosted thanksgiving for my in-laws for the first time, and survived. i had an excellent year, really.
i also had a somewhat hard year. emotional and life changing at times, stressful and depressing at others. the virginia tech tragedy sitting high on my list. right behind my brother's reaction to it and his situation with the u.s. army. but this year the happy times greatly outweighed the sad ones, and 2007 is ending on an amazingly high note. i'm looking forward to what 2008 might bring, and 2009 even more (i'll be 30!). life is only getting better.
so, resolution time. although i'm getting a little down on myself for not living up to the majority of them each year. but here they go anyway:
1. be a little bit healthier. not lose weight per se, but eat a little better, get a little exercise. i've let things slip the past few years and as i get older i need to take care of my body a little bit better.
2. take more photos. i think i'll start 365 again, and maybe a few other flickr groups because i am a nerd and need that kind of motivation. i think i also need to experience more enlightening things, put myself in situations that elicit me taking out my camera.
3. write down my recipes, menus, ideas. i tend to wing it when i cook then i forget what i served at my dinner parties.
4. travel. dammit, i need to get this one out of the way before we grow our family. luckily my best friend is having a wedding ceremony in turkey next fall, and i'm totally there.
5. grow my name, make more paintings, sell more, put myself out there. redo my website, apply for more craft/art fairs. see where this thing can go. wish me luck.
and happy holidays dear readers. i really appreciate the 3 of you. 2008 will bring a new website, a new look, some new content. fresh, clean, fun. just you wait and see.
xoxo - emily
Dec 5, 2007
and on to winter. it snowed last night and when i got home from the bar i was sharing a birthday drink with a friend at, (her birthday, not mine), there were tiny little paw prints in the snow leading up the stairs from the door to my house. my first thought was, “oh how cute. a little fluffy bunny rabbit was hanging out on our stoop!” then i saw the little trail in between the prints and realized it was a rat. a very very large rat based on the distance between his feet. i will never open my front door without banging on it to scare off potentially rabid vermin first.
so i have been crafting like crazy lately, as i am making about 75% of our christmas gifts this year, am participating in two christmas ornament swaps, and have sold a few custom paintings since the diy trunkshow. i have a lot of felting, painting, cutting, beading and cooking to do in the next couple of weeks, in addition to having a very busy month at work. forgive me if i finish all the wine in the house between now and new years.
as my impatient self, i’ve jumped the gun and already started using my cute angela
i was at a convenience store the other day and was romanced by the holiday candy display into purchasing a box of nearly 100 tiny candy canes. i was craving a peppermint treat, and only after getting back to the office did i realize that it was a mistake. i cannot stop eating them, despite their being cheap and kind of chewy and a little too artificially minty.
i'm thoroughly exhausted today, as i came to work at 7am monday and tuesday, and then today, when i was going to sleep in until 6:30, a snowblower outside my bedroom window woke me up at 4am. i have been a bit punchy and lacking concentration these last few days, and i swear if i don't get 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep soon i'm going to throw a temper tantrum....which would maybe scare the rats away at least.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)