Move

The first decade of the new millennium is over. I always wondered what the first decade of the 1900s was like, since it seems little remembered. We hear a lot about the 1920s, 1930s, and on, but less about 1900-1909. I wonder if the same will be true about this decade, although I'm sure a few key events will be remembered in 100 years. But maybe the events will not be recorded in history books, because there will be no history books, per se.

[December series 31 of 31]

For me, this was the decade when I graduated college and became a real adult. Traveled for a few months to the east coast by myself to stretch my wings. Returned to Michigan and got married shortly after. Worked my first full time job. Stayed behind while Matt did an internship in Oklahoma for a five months. Went to graduate school in Chicago and got used to city life. Moved to Boston. Kept the same full time job for a few years. Lived away from family for a long stretch. Traveled to a lot of places in the US and Canada. Took up knitting and photography and blogging. Took my first week-long backpacking trip. Went back to graduate school again. Got a dog. Settled into one place for awhile. Felt anxious to start a new phase of life. Looked forward to starting a family, to buying a home, to traveling more internationally, to gardening.

Ali Edwards talks about picking a word for the year. Something to focus on. And that the word needs to be connected to action.

I've tried to pick a word the last few years but nothing really stuck. This year, it came to me instantly.

MOVE.

It's time to get a move on. To move on. To move my body more. To get moving. To finish what I started. To feel motivated. To reorganize. To literally move. Find a new place to live. To move on to a new phase.

We don't know if it'll be 5 miles away or 1000 miles away, but we both feel the need to start anew this year. Wipe off the dust. Pare down our possessions. Feel a little lighter. Find a new adventure.

"You can always pick up your needle and move to another groove." - Timothy Leary

That's my resolution for this year. For this decade. To get busy moving.

Here's to finding a new groove.

The End of December

On Christmas Eve, we got to my in-laws house in Michigan and one of the first things my father-in-law said to me was, "I've got these wandercraft messages here, and the last one says 18!".

And I really thought no one would notice that I'd disappeared into the holiday cyclone.

Well, we're back in Kansas...err ah...Massachusetts, that is. It was a fun and festive ride these last two weeks!

19 of 31: A rare evening in bed with knitting and Julie & Julia. I was hitting holiday overload and needed a break.

20 of 31: Matt and Kaia each had a friend over this Saturday night. Kaia usually plays for awhile, then needs a rest. We watched Step Brothers, which I found surprisingly hilarious.

21 of 31: A blizzard brought cold and cozy. The day before we collected kindling outside before the snow fell.

22 of 31: Kaia and I made a trip to a tennis court so she could run free in the snow. She's getting better at coming when called, at least in this squirrel free environment.

23 of 31: No photo today. If I would have had my camera, today's photo would have been of me sitting in the car, stuck in mall traffic for 2 hours. It's better left unremembered.

24 of 31: We packed up the car and left at 4:45am to drive to Michigan. We made it to Batavia, New York by noon and stopped at Tim's for lunch and a smoothie for me. We were home in Michigan by 7pm, and managed to stay awake to see his parents sing in their church's midnight service. We were so slap happy after a long day, that when I whispered a joke to Matt, he had to sit down for awhile to keep from breaking up loudly from the balcony front and center pew. Sacrilegious, I know.

25 of 31: Christmas Day. Matt's aunt and uncle had car trouble on the way to grandma's, and they didn't make it. The unplanned gift opening at Grandma's went wonderfully though.

26 of 31: Day two of gifts and hanging out with Matt's family. Our middle niece took an interest in knitting, although isn't quite ready to forge ahead. I then made the girls knitted bracelets and they picked out buttons to sew on. Matt played puppets with them, and when one of the puppets eventually got tired of playing, it may have asked all the other puppets to watch TV for awhile. The girls giggled while their puppets were glued to the TV. More gifts and a little Beatles Rock Band rounded out the day.


27 of 31: Christmas with my dad's side of the family. Our tradition for about the last ten years has been to buy one gift between $10 and $20 for a gift exchange (mainly because we're a cheap lot). Every year we have to renegotiate the rules because the stealing gets heated. This year the hot gift was a four pack of hiking socks from Costco, with a set of bamboo cutting boards, a knife, and band-aids, a close second. Every year, the gifts seem to get better as we all learn what the others fight over. I think most people went away happy this year.

28 of 31: I came down with an achy sickness I probably picked up from the sniffling nieces who spent Christmas and the day after on my lap. We were supposed to meet my mom's side of the family for burgers and shakes, but instead I spent the day on the couch and avoided getting the extended family sick, particularly my grandma who unfortunately wouldn't remember the visit anyway. I seem to conveniently time my illnesses when my parents are nearby. My dad made me breakfast for lunch.

29 of 31: After Christmas, Matt's extended family on his dad's side arrived as we left to see my family. We decided to meet up in Ann Arbor for lunch and a museum. Matt's aunt and uncle from his dad's side found his grandma from his mom's side a wheelchair and then pushed her around the museum the whole time. I thought it was particularly sweet part of the holiday.

30 of 31: We headed home after 7 days away. We left at 5:30am and made spectacular time so that we were able to pick up our puppers from her doggie vacation spot just before closing. She let us know that we'd been gone a little too long for her liking, and then settled in at home for a nice long sleep.

Happy New Year everyone. I'll be back tomorrow with the last photo of the 2009!

December '09: 17-18 of 31

17 of 31


Yesterday, midday we went over to walk around the pond, even though the temperature dropped quite seriously over night. It was quiet and we checked out the newly frozen water formations as we made our loop. My bum was frozen too by the time we made it back to the car.

Kaia made it clear when we got home that she would have preferred to stay out exploring in the cold all day. She's as happy as an ice princess out there.

18 of 31

Source: DwellDeep on Etsy

When Matt and I started dating, he taught me one of the rules of Christmas. Don't buy yourself anything in December because you never know what you're going to get.

I try. Every year. Usually I fail. The sales are too good. The temptations are too deep.

Today I made a little impulse purchase that I know I won't regret. This print is going right over my mess of a craft space. It is a message I need to hear again and again.

Last night I attended the Last Minute Shopping Party and realized how true this sentiment is for me. When I dropped off my crafts to sell Wednesday night, I felt a little disappointed that I didn't finish everything I wanted to finish. And then Thursday night, seeing everything everyone brought to sell, I realized I had made plenty! I wish I'd brought my camera to take a photo of the stuff I'd worked so hard on displayed so nicely in the shop, but unfortunately the freezing walk earlier in the day drained my battery.

Seeing my crafts on that table reminded me of an earlier phase when I used to make pottery. I stayed at a retreat center for a fall and stayed up many nights at the potter's wheel. We had an art show at the end of the term. Most people had 3-5 pieces to show. I had a full, long table all to myself. At least 20 pots, bowls, plates, and vases were displayed. Plus a scrapbook of my journey there.

It's so true. Sometimes I get carried away, usually in good ways. But it's good to be aware.

Matt's out playing drums at a gig in the back room of an Indian restaurant. I'm a bit disappointed to miss it, but I didn't feel 100% tonight so I stayed in. Now it's time to gather some popcorn, hot chocolate, knitting, and this movie to watch on my laptop in bed. We're due for a blizzard tomorrow so we may be staying in most of the weekend!

Have a great last weekend before Christmas everyone!

December '09: 15-16 of 31

15 of 31: Got my hairs cut. Felt good. I asked for some long bangs so my hair would look a little more put together in a ponytail. Whenever I'm putting my hair in a ponytail every single dog gone day, I know it's time for a trim. She straightened my hair too, which felt awfully attentive. Of course, by the end of the night, it was back up in a ponytail after I spent a couple hours crafting. But, a better lookin' ponytail. Even Matt said so. :)

16 of 31: By day - Meeting on the 25th floor of a building in the financial district. Free lunch. Delicious butternut squash ravioli with cranberries. After the meeting, a few of us non-profit folks gawked at the view and make jokes about having the corner office (instead of sharing a cube with 4 people). I took pictures looking south towards my home, near those Blue Hills on the horizon.

By night - Madly finishing up craft projects to sell at the Stitch House tomorrow night and through the weekend. I finally finished those chalkboards I mentioned a couple months back! I'm selling them for only $25 which is the bargain of the century because I seem to have put at least 10 hours into each of them - getting the boards cut, sanding, painting, sanding, painting, painting, painting, painting! Not kidding. After supplies, I might make a very healthy wage of $2.00 an hour! I won't be quitting my day jobs and thereby giving up those free lunches, anytime soon!

Since I needed inventory for the Last Minute Shopping Party, I put a vacation message up on my Etsy shop until January 2nd and raided the stockroom (aka a basket in our office). I'm also testing out a few new goods.

xoxo

P.S. Thanks for hanging in there with my daily posts. I know it's busy so it's probably not the best time to flood your reader, although I got an email from my ever loyal fan Stephanie this morning - "what is up?" - because I missed yesterday and the website is a bit of a mess right now. I'll fix it eventually. I was innocently trying to find an easier way to post the big photos, and got a bit overzealous with no time to pretty up the space. [Edited: Fixed - Like it better than before!]

I may also batch posts like this for the rest of the month to save time, then go back to weekly posting in the winter.

December 09: 14 of 31

 

Two years ago we went to Puerto Rico before we went home for Christmas. The first day I sat in bed and finished my statistics final exam, while Matt took a long afternoon nap. The rest of the week was fabulous.

Traveling right before Christmas was great. We flew from Boston to San Juan to Detroit and then back to Boston. Going right after Christmas would be even better.

A beach vacation would come in handy right now. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Santa? The Three Kings? Is that what you're bringing me?

December '09: 13 of 31

The three of us this evening in the living room.

A few days ago Matt came home with Kaia's Christmas/birthday present. She was born on Christmas.

I think I hear resounding "awwww"'s out there.

Since she is spending the holidays in what we call "playcare" (don't worry, she won't know it's her birthday) we decided to give her her gift early. We weren't sure she'd treat this toy any differently than any other toy, but she does. She knows. The big bushy tail gives it away.

In other news, I'm starting to feel the mad dash to make make make over the next week or so. Therefore, I realized today that it's time to trim the Christmas to-do-list so I can enjoy the process!

Are you feeling the same way? Maybe it's buy buy buy or eat eat eat that's got you thinking about trimming back!

There must be something about approaching the end of the year that makes us feel urgent to squeeze in as much as we can!

December '09: 12 of 31

I spent a good part of today working with older photos, and feeling really nostalgic.

Looks like my cropping skills were honed at an early age. Shrinky Dinks were about the greatest thing in the world. My mom was the best teacher for all things crafty.

December '09: 11 of 31

We have this office in a small den with these funny swinging doors. Matt comes home at the end of the day and chats with me as I finish up whatever I'm working on at the computer.

How the day went. The highs and lows. What to eat for dinner. If there's a hockey game on tonight. Did you see my email? Who is going to walk the dog. What trouble she got in. That sort of thing.

It's always so nice to see his face.

December '09: 10 of 31

Feet. Camera stuck to my face. Feet.

I'm trying to get into a new routine, with more days spent at home working at my own pace, intersected with Kaia's regular demands to go for laps outside. It's a bit of a struggle right now, but it'll get there. It's nice to be at home in cozy slippers and jeans, but I'm torn between housework and work work right now. Both need to be done.

With this December once-a-day project I've committed myself to, I have been noticing how infrequently I take photos of us. I've been taking this online scrapbooking class with Ali Edwards, and this week's the layout is a series of photos of yourself. This is a challenge for me! Time to turn the camera around on myself.

Also, every year around this time my sister-in-law asks for photos of us to put in these great family calendars she makes as Christmas gifts. So every year I have a chance to go back through the archives from the last 12 months to look for photos of Matt and me together. There are never enough. So, again, it's a good challenge for the future, especially as I try to document daily life.

December '09: 9 of 31

I unearthed last year's December Daily and I realized I will not be adding to it this year, due to the giant '08 on the cover. I’ll have to start from scratch.

I finished the journaling every day last year, but did not go back to add photos. Printing photos seems to be my roadblock lately when it comes to scrapbooking. Gotta work on that!

I did slip all the holiday cards I got into the back, so it will be fun to go back and see photos not just from my little family but from other families who sent us photo cards last year.

[Here is a link to this scalloped chipboard album, which is fairly inexpensive. I decorated the cover with paint, paper and felt letter stickers. I also painted the rectangles on the journaling pages, which are meant to be filled in with small photos. The numbered tags are from the successful former Etsy shop, Elle's Studio (only b&w available right now). I had the 1-31 set of number tags, so I put the date on the top page and what the "day of Christmas" it was on the facing bottom page. ]

December '09: 8 of 31

I almost forgot to post today. Tonight, Matt and I walked to our local polling place to vote in the Massachusetts Senate primary to replace Ted Kennedy's seat. Afterwards, I made fish tacos for dinner as well as black beans and rice for a potluck tomorrow.

I was up late last night adding words to photos for potential greeting cards. Something I really didn't need to be doing, but I felt like doing anyway. It led to me dozing off after dinner while watching an episode of Globe Trekker.

I feel like my to do list around here is a mile long. We haven't decorated for the holidays yet, but late last week I bought this tinsel tree. When I was checking out the woman gave me the third degree, "Can you tell me what this is?" I told her it was just a shiny tree to hang ornaments on. Nothing to get all in a twit about! Okay, I didn't say that last part but I wanted to.

As I was walking away she said in complete disbelief, "She has one too!", commenting on the next woman approaching the checkout.

I admit, it's a little gaudy. Maybe kitschy is a better word. But, I love it.

I came home and counted the little round hooks on each of the three tinsel-y round hoops and realized there were 25. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I think it was meant to be an advent tree. Next year, I'll hang little numbered boxes on it and hide treats inside.

That's my plan. I'm officially adding that to my future to-do list!

December '09:7 of 31

I worked from home today, which was a nice change for a Monday. Midday I needed to run to the post office, so I loaded Kaia in the car and we took a long walk. I felt the need to rush her so I could get back home to work, but it was no use. It was an afternoon made for lingering.

And because I'm strangely proud, you get a bonus picture today. Tonight I made a meal I grew up with as a 5th generation half-Polish-American, but rarely make. It's perfect for a snowy Monday. Kielbasa (turkey this time for Matt), pan fried potatoes with onions, and canned green beans. Oh, and lots of ketchup. Ketchup is what makes it particularly American. I normally make some sauerkraft as well, but not tonight.

I didn't grow up eating pierogies, or duck's blood soup, or even cabbage rolls. This is my connection to my heritage.

We ate it while watching the last episode of Monk that we've been saving on DVR until we were ready to say goodbye. I may have cried my eyes out a little, so it was good to have a little comfort food first.

December '09: 6 of 31

The second snow has arrived. It's our first real snow of the season. The dog and I spent about 45 minutes outside this morning between 7am and 8am. Her sniffing the snow and me taking photos. Before sunset, Matt and I took her to a dog park, where we got to walk by a frozen pond and through the snow covered woods.

All is merry and bright.

December '09: 5 of 31

Saturday morning, I checked my email and found out I made my first Etsy sale that wasn't from my mother! Actually, it was from someone I did not know at all. I was quite excited. The internet is pretty amazing.

I packed the PhotoJournal up, added a few little extras, and then asked Matt to wrap it up in brown paper since he's a better wrapper than me.

Then I left for the afternoon to meet up with a friend at a cafe for a study session. We sat at a picnic table in the building's old bank vault, which was a new experience. It was nice to get out for an afternoon that did not involve walking the dog (as much as I love that).

Afterwards, I went to the knitting store for an hour-long private knitting lesson. I've been knitting a sweater for my baby niece (since before Easter) and made a mistake I couldn't figure out, so I kept picking it up and setting it aside. I'm hoping to finish it for Christmas, before she's out of the appropriate size range. Luckily, I had the foresight to knit up a few sizes when I started in the spring.

While I had the ear of the knitting instructor, I asked her to watch me knit to see if she had any tips for speeding me up. I feel dreadfully slow. She didn't think my knitting was that slow, although I watched her and she went much faster! She gave me a few tips, mainly to keep the yarn raised on my right index finger so my hands move less.

I think my knitting slowness mainly comes from the fact that I'm a daydreamer and often lose track of where I'm at in a pattern. On most projects, I end up ripping out whole sections to fix mistakes. That's what I had to do today. I somehow missed a whole row where I was supposed to bind off 8 stitches. I didn't notice anything was off until I thought I was finished with the front of the sweater! This is why I don't think I'll ever knit for pay!

But, paper crafts is another story. In a week and a half I'm going to drop off a new batch of wanderCRAFT goodies at the knitting store for their Last Minute Holiday Shopping Party. Should be fun, and hopefully I'll sell a few items. I'm going to whip up some knitting project PhotoJournals. If you're in the Boston area, they will have the items for sale through the weekend of the 18th. After that, I'll add them to my Etsy shop for any last minute shoppers.

December '09: 4 of 31

Friday I did not have a chance to post because the afternoon and evening were quite busy. I'm having a hard time choosing just one photo now, so I am enjoying putting these small photo stories together for each day. It's interesting how events and colors tie together throughout a day.

Here are a few shots I snuck in Friday evening. Leaving Matt's work holiday party in the downtown hotel. His hand on the shifter as we drove from Boston up to Cambridge, on our way to my friend's house for another holiday party. And then the galaxy lights as we passed through Harvard Square.

During the ride, I was delirious from too much dessert. My favorite conversation of the night went something like this:

Me: This is homemade marshmallow (said after I tasted a s'mores bite that was covered in chocolate and dusted in graham cracker).

Matt: You can make homemade marshmallow?

Me: Oh yeah. I haven't done it yet but I'm sure I will some day.

Matt: I'm sure you will. Our kids will never have a Stay Puff.

At the second party of the night, my friend insisted I taste her homemade peppermint sorbet before we left. Thursday night marked the beginning of the holiday spirit, and then very quickly, Friday marked the beginning of the holiday overindulging.

December 09: 3 of 31

Hours spent in the car today. Some shopping too. This is the first day I've caught a little holiday spirit. Yet already, oh so tired.

An almost full moon hung large and low in the sky as I drove home. Now Matt is home too, so it's time to make a little pasta for a late dinner, then tuck into bed.

Dec 09: 2 of 31

Kaia is finding fewer and fewer squirrels on our daily dog walks. In September, I had to duck and cover when we'd pass under an oak tree. When the acorn supply was plentiful, the squirrels tossed little dodge balls on our heads as they hurried to fatten up.

The hiding away of now plump squirrels should signal that the deep freeze is just around the corner, although tomorrow they are saying it's supposed to be in the 60's. I can't decide if I'm glad or not.

December 09:: 1 of 31

I like the postcards going up over at soulemama. I think this will be a good way to blog in December because I will have to get my camera out every day which sets me up nicely to add to the December Daily album I started last year but did not finish.



Today was about saying goodbye. To November. To some people I like who have been in my life for quite awhile, as I let go of a part-time job. And finally, to the very last of that really nice bottle of sparkling wine neighbors gave to us after their trip to Italy.