In lieu of an email...

I'm posting this via blog. Why? One: because it's fun. Two: because it's narcissistic, and who doesn't love themselves just a little bit? And three: because I'm putting off packing up for morning activities and going to bed.

If you feel so inclined...repost this to your own blog. Or reply with the answers. Or don't. Whatevs.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:15am

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Mamma Mia

4. What is your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy. And Curious George, because it keeps RE occupied.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? At least one cuppa hot joe. And probably a waffle. Or nothing. I'm not really a brekkie girl.

6. What is your middle name? Leigh

7. What food do you dislike? There isn't much...

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Been on a Tori Amos kick lately. Brings back memories.

9. What kind of car do you drive? Subaru Legacy Wagon, now known as the "Lego" or "the car I have to sell so I can stay home with my daughter"

10. What is your favorite sandwich? Deli turkey, mayo, lettuce, goat cheese, brown mustard

11. What characteristic do you despise? Dishonesty

12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans. It's a little nutty...I have enough pairs that I could go probably two weeks without repeating. And sweaters. I loves me a good, comfy, soft, bundley sweater.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Lake Como, to my friend's friend's house. With or without RE.

14. Are you an organized person? I try. I suppose I'm better than many.

15. Where would you retire to? Here. This is home.

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Thus far? My 21st, probably. But I'm sure my 30th will be fun.

17. What are you going to do when you finish this? Pack up my whole pantry for the wee one so we can volunteer without a tantrum in the morning and pack up some carriers so I can haul baby A around whilst volunteering and chasing RE.

18. Furthest place you are sending this? The WWW is everywhere and nowhere.

19. Person you expect to send it back first? Dunno...maybe Lys?

20. When is your birthday? 10.24.79

21. Morning person or a night person? Night...cannot adjust to having birthed a teeny, tiny morning person. I'm woken daily by the chipperest little voice telling me to "wake up, wake up" and pounding on my bed.

23. Pets? Just "Crazy" Zoe (AKA Zoloft)

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? We're tearing up floors and painting walls...maybe as soon as this weekend? Well, walls are painted.

25. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher, and an artist, and a writer. I'm kind of all of those now...I'm pretty fulfilled. Now, can I just make money at those?

26. How are you today? Busy, tired and as always, a little disillusioned.

27. What is your favorite flowers? Pink Peonies

28. What are you listening to right now? The fridge, my clickity-clacking on the keyboard. Wishing I'd turned some Tori on.

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Wednesday

30. What was the last thing you ate? Hummus and Tortilla Chips. Yum.

31. Do you wish on stars? Yep.

32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Cerulean (and the only reason I even wanted to answer this survey was so I could type that word)

34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Michael

35. Favorite soft drink? Dr. Pepper

36. Favorite restaurant? Rikki Rikki. Best sushi on the Eastside.

37. Hair color? Brown

38. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbie

39. Summer or Winter? Fall; I'm an inbetween kind of lady.

40. Chocolate or Vanilla? Strawberry

41. Coffee or tea? Coffee - leaded.

42. Do you want your friends to email you back? Sure...I like to read this kind of stuff.

43. When was the last time you cried? last week.

44. What is under your bed? Sweaters, jeans, maternity clothes, fencing gear, cables, a cordless phone, an answering machine, a few backpacks, some Halloween costumes

45. What did you do last night? Sewed (see shecraftstoo.blogspot.com)

46. What are you afraid of? boogeymen

47. Salty or sweet? A little bit of both.

48. How many keys on your key ring? 3

49. How many years at your current job? Mama: 2.5 years; Store Owner: 2 years; Childbirth Ed Teacher: 9 mos; Writer/Blogger/Nutjob: priceless.

50. Favorite day of the week? Sunday. It's our mellow day. Rarely is anything scheduled, so that leaves plenty of time for nothing, and inviting friends over last minute for yummy, gluten free meals (yay, Linds!)

51. Do you make friends easily? Depends. If you're cool, then sure. But honestly, I hesitate these days, because I don't see the dear friends I have nearly enough...I've got a pretty full life.

52. How many people will you send this to? Anyone who reads this post...I know y'all are out there.

53. How many will respond? Who the hell knows?

54. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? Yep, always entertaining.

What Is Your Unrelenting Passion?

I received this on a postcard in the mail, from a very dear friend of mine. It came at the perfect time, as I believe I might be having a quarter-life crises (third-life?). The last 2 weeks have been the biggest emotional rollercoaster ever, and I'm still reeling from it all.

3 weeks ago, I was offered a position with a local university to work as their admissions coordinator. Cool job, huh? Only problem is, it's full time. Which means I'd have to find childcare for RE. I always though that my friends who spent a fortune on childcare were nuts, but after viewing several, I understood why...some of the "cheap" ones we went to were cheap for a reason: high turnover, young teachers (like, under 21 young), dirty, unruly children, poor food offerings, poor toy/activity offerings and just gross facilities. The "nice" ones we went to offered lots of outdoor time, yoga, tea time, organic meals, and Masters level teachers. Oy. So, we signed RE up, and the more I though about it all, the more anxious I got. And the more anxious I got, the more I had difficulty sleeping and even breathing (thanks mom for the anxiety issues). I even went so far as to take her for the first "visit" day and at that point, pretty much chickened out. We crunched some numbers, and after paying childcare, and for my own sanity, I was going to come out with next to nothing, which in my opinion, is just not worth it.

Between Childbirth Ed and this job, not to mention that little shop I run, it would have been insanity. And really, let's be honest, I'm not too far off from a white room with padded walls most days. This would have surely put me over the edge.

So, we'll sell the Subaru, cut back in other ways, and I will be taking care of some friends' children to make ends meet. And continuing to teach and run the shop, of course.

Some days it takes a lot of soul searching, and a lot of tears, and there's just no way, in the end, that I can leave our daughter 5 days a week in the care of another person.

I'm still looking for that unrelenting passion, and I think that working in the childbirth and early parenting field is really my calling...well, that and crafting. So, I'm going to continue working to that end, and keep adding to my education in that field so that I can teach more classes and become an even great resource for new and expectant parents.

RE's rad robot shirt...girls NEVER get to have robots on their clothes.



















The freezer paper part of this shirt...



















Then I added more supplies (a crayon, a chopstick), and made it a proper tree...




























And this VERY creepy inspiration for my next teeshirt...RE needs something for Halloween (and maybe mommy does too). He lives on our back patio...and is now HUGE. I'll try to get another shot of him...he's obviously found a good spot cause he's catching something to eat out there. He creeps me out; RE thinks he's her "spider-friend". Everyone and everything is her friend these days. Ew.

A Fresh Coat

*pics to come*

We've repainted our house! Whoo! It's now a lovely shade of light gray, and it looks great and bright in here.

The bathroom and vanity area and light tan, the bedroom will be (soon, I hope) a darker tan (think cream with coffee) with one orange wall. We're very excited for it.

I've found great fabric to re-do the pillows, curtains, and whatever else I can do in the living room. I'm just waiting for mom to get here with her sewing machine to help out!

And then, the piece-de-resistance: new floors! Dark wood, all through the living, dining, kitchen and halls. Only the bedrooms will be carpeted, and for that, I'm SO excited! After we get that finished, I'll be looking for some kind of credenza to store shop stuff in the dining room, and possibly a storage unit for the rest. I think I'm done having it in the house, even though it's so quick and easy to fill orders.

But, this is all in the name of making the house so much more livable. And I can't wait.

A list...

I'm a list maker. So, here is my list of crafts to make and do, so that I can be held accountable for them. If you don't see updates sooner or later on these crafts, please send a comment, again, so I can be held accountable!

Pillows for couch



















Floor pillows



















Curtains
RE's booster seat *Check*
Cute bag with lovely fabric
Playsilks
Playdough *Check*
Navy skirt
Comfy pants for RE (2-3 pair) *Check*
Apple outfit for J, RE and possibly A, if I have enough fabric *Check*
RE's Halloween pettiskirt *Check*
Cloth napkins