More Photos

I posted my pictures of Nigeria and some other trips I've taken this year on Facebook. I'll add a few here later, but you can see the complete album by following this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.

I also captioned the pictures which pretty much sums up my trip. Enjoy!

Photo Gallery: My Projects and NYC with Mom

I finally downloaded all my pics from my camera onto my computer. I have written about these events already so I'm just going to put those up. An overview: my apron (I'm still putting the finishing touches on it-darts, trim and pockets), my Supergirl pajama pants, and my trip to NYC with my Mom. P.S. I just went to Nigeria for work and will post about that with some pictures when I have a little more time.

Moving On (a.k.a. Change is Hard)

Once again, I am ignoring my blog. Not on purpose, but I am trying to get my "stuff" in order so I can drive out to Georgia next week. I still don't think I'm ready to close up shop at my sister's so I've decided not to, although I'm "opening up a new shop" in Atlanta. I plan on being here in Colorado at least a few days a month so I need to feel at home when I come, right? And there isn't any room left in my storage unit or my car for anything else to take to GA, so I guess it will stay here for a little longer until I can figure it all out. One thing at a time.

Change can be difficult, especially big, life changes like jobs, moves, relationships, etc. My mom just got laid off and we are all so excited to have someone to travel with now. Financially they will be OK, but she has some concerns about health and life insurance. However, I think her biggest concern right now is dealing with change. She said she doesn't want to go anywhere for a while, she just wants to be at home. At first I thought she was crazy to not want to take advantage of this time off with pay. But it only took me a moment of putting myself in her place to understand. When we experience a big change, sometimes it's comforting to savor all the things that are staying the same. It offers a sense of stability in a chaotic and changing world. Sameness is often the cocoon we need to embrace change and let it make us a better person. But in the mean time, it's just nice to feel safe.

And so I will change as little as possible about my life until I'm ready to embrace all the constant changes. And I'm grateful I could understand in a small way how to support my mom right now. She is doing fine, and so am I.

Even MORE Random Things...

Tired of these yet?

I couldn't resist this first one. My sister might kill me, but here goes...

51. When we were younger, Andrea and I used to love watching The Dukes of Hazzard. Bo and Luke were soooo dreamy! We liked to pretend that we were The Jewkes of Hazzard. Seriously. She was Luke 'cause she had dark hair, and I was Bo since I was a blondie. My mom had a little red Ford Fiesta and it was our very own General Lee--we would climb in and out of the windows instead of using the doors. Later, I attended my freshman year at the same high school in Georgia where John Schneider (Bo) went. Yeah, I know. You're jealous.

52. As mentioned in #51, I had blond hair as a child. But I wanted pretty dark hair like my sister’s. So I put it in the toaster because, hey, it turns the toast brown. Yup, I singed a big chunk of it right off. Now my hair is naturally darker but I add blond highlights. The grass is always greener...

53. I have had the same set of hot rollers for my hair since I was 13.

54. When I did turn on the T.V. (#48) while I was by myself in my hotel room, one of the times was to watch the Disney Channel. I love those “innocent” shows. They remind me of the type of shows I watched as a child. Drake and Josh, Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zach and Cody are three of my faves. At home I end up "watching" them while I’m in the kitchen making dinner because my nephew has the T.V. on.


...Um, yeah. It took me almost a WHOLE month to come up with these. Genius, huh? Really I have just been avoiding my life. Or at least trying to figure it out. I think I spend too much time trying to figure out tomorrow that I'm not enjoying my "todays." I transferred to Atlanta and have been trying to decide about my commuting situation--as in, if I should buy a car to keep in Atlanta, where I should stay, or even if I should just move there altogether. It doesn't sound like a big decision, but it IS all the way across the country. I just wasn't sure I was ready to do that.

After all is said and done, I have decided to drive my car to Atlanta and stay there so I don't have to waste so much time commuting from Denver. This has been a difficult decision for me in so many ways that I won't go into right now. But I think it is sufficient to say that after a lot of mixed emotions, I started getting answers in my mind and things started to fall into place. For now, my Aunt Becky has very generously offered to let me stay in their guest house. I'm not "moving" there exactly, because I'm leaving all of my things in Colorado in storage, except for the essentials--like my sewing machine (I'm still on my sewing kick, lol) and a few of my favorite shoes and clothes (like I said, "the essentials!")

So that is what my March was filled with... a crazy roller coaster of thoughts and decisions. I also played "St. Patti" and brought the Leprechauns to my sister's house--I hid gold coins and candy for her kids to find. I ditched a guy who was wasting my time--after just a few months instead of years--a milestone, indeed! I read the book (and saw the movie) He's Just Not That Into You--probably why I realized "Flakey Guy" was wasting my time. I figured out that my never-ending cold/flu was really the result of allergies so I changed my allergy meds and it made a world of difference. I finally got around to watching Twilight, twice in fact, and LOVED IT! I enjoyed a fantastic lunch with a few of my favorite cousins at Cheesecake Factory and ordered two, yes TWO, desserts--completely guilt free. (Don't worry...I ate them over a period of 3-4 days, not all at once.) I re-connected with a few old friends who were very dear to me and in catching up with them, I remember why I liked them so much and still do. And finally, GASP, I poured my heart out to a guy friend of mine. I feel like I should keep the details of that on the DL, but I will say that it is someone I have loved for a very long time. It took me a while to get the courage up to tell him how I feel and it was really hard! I think it shocked him--kind of came out of nowhere in his mind even though it's been rattling around in mine for years. I probably ruined our friendship, but it was a risk I was willing to take because I could no longer deny my feelings. He has no idea what to do with it all for now but I am going to "manage" my expectations by not having any.

Oh yeah, and I came up with four whole "new" random things about me. Goodbye March. Hello April.