another bag

What a beautiful weekend we had here in Colorado...after months of snow on the ground (I swear, the snow from the first blizzard in December just melted) we finally had a wonderfully warm day - shorts, no shoes and a nap in the park watching the guys practice softball. Here's a nice action shot! It was such a nice day on Sunday - grilling out, playing in the park - what a great way to get my fill of Vitamin D! I can't wait till it warms up even more. The longer days, warm nights, grilling out, playing in the park, mountain biking, hiking, swimming - I could go on and on. :) - For now, I'll settle for the beautiful 70 degree weather we're having right now. Can't beat it.

I also spent Saturday evening sewing. I wanted to make something other than the tote, and I wasn't ready to tackle the diaper bag for my sis, so I chose something in between. I made a hobo bag from some incredible fabric I found at a local thrift store, and I looooooove it! It's got such a "Burberry/British feel" to me, and since I love brown, this works out well. I've already taken it bowling with me on Sunday, and matched my outfit around it for work today. I've already discovered some changes I want to make on my next one, but will definitely be making more of this bag - soooo easy, quick - love it! I can take pics of the next one I make and post a tutorial on here if anyone is interested. I'm also going to make a lined, zippered pouch for this in the same fabric since I still have tons left over. What do you think?

Sewing

So, I absolutely love crafts. I've taken to calling myself a "regular 50's housewife" simply because I love to sew, knit, bake and cook so much. I absolutely adore it. My mom got me a sewing machine for the holidays, and though I haven't had the time to go completely crazy sewing, I'm truly enjoying myself and getting better each time.

My favorite bag is one I recently made. It's a reversable tote with two pockets on the inside and two on the outside. My next venture is a lovely tote for my sis, and then a diaper bag for my other sis... That task seems a bit daunting at the moment so I think I'll work on the tote before taking that one on.

I use Craftster for inspiration. The posters on there are so incredible - it's like a festival of craftiness every day! That's actually where I got the inspiration for the reversable tote bag above, and where I got all the ideas I have for the diaper bag - I still can't believe I'm going to try elastic pockets and a zip-top bag :) - luck me that my sis is incredible and will most likely tell me she loves it even though it might be hideous!

Heroes

I love love love this show. I look forward to Mondays now, which seems a bit weird, but I race home from work, to race to the gym just so I can be home, settled on the couch with a salad right when it starts :)...and so it began last night. Who doesn't love how this show is moving right along? wow. I never got into Lost, or 24 - just not my style, but I caught a snippet of Heroes about the second or thrid episode in "Save the Cheerleader...save the world". Wow. Good stuff right there. Can't wait for April 23rd...at least while it's off I will have that extra hour to study for the GRE.

GRE. Haven't really started studying yet...though I've thought about studying, and listened to some math problems. I'm not nearly as daft at math as I had once assumed I was. Maybe as you get older you don't get wiser, you are just open to more ideas. Maybe it's just that I've got a good teacher (see post below about the pursuit of happiness) who is incredibly patient with me :).

I recently saw "An Inconvenient Truth" which changed my outlook on everything. I mean, I joined Peace Corps cause I wanted to change the world. Even though I've since learned that's not really going to be as plausible as I had once hoped, I would still like there to be something left of this world for my future children... wow - something's gotta change here. I'm so glad that this won the Oscar. Perhaps it inspired others like me who hadn't yet seen it to go rent it. Make a difference.

The pursuit of happiness

This has been all over the news lately, from the incredible movie (which I loved by the way) to a whole series on the Today show... it's got me thinking about my personal pursuit of happiness and how it's led me to where I am today.

My pursuit of happiness began 8 months ago when I separated from my spouse. I was very unhappy, and finally realized that getting out of that relationship was going to be the start of looking out for my own best interest. Since then I've learned to love my job again(!), found new friends, discovered that I am capable and worthy of love, and decided to go back to school, something I've wanted to do for a long time but kept putting off.

My pursuit of happiness has led me to the most incredible person I've ever met. Someone who pushes me to be a better person, who inspires me, who believes in me and who loves me wholeheartedly. That's just an incredible feeling. This is someone that has taught me so much about myself that I didn't even know was inside of me. I've taken on mountain biking, skiing (again) and many many other things.

It's been a great journey so far, and the best part is that it's only the beginning. Each day brings something new and fresh. I encourage everyone out there to think about thier own pursuit of happyness (I love that way that spelling looks :)) and what, if anything, is standing in the way.

I'm back...

So, right after creating this site, I stumbled over to blog.com, and was enticed to switch over.... I made the mistake of deleting this one.... dumb move. I did not like blog.com... so, back to square one :)

I've been super busy with work these past few weeks, which has kept me up a few nights worrying over the logistical aspects of this event. I work for a major public health non-profit, and managing volunteers and annual events. One of my events is in it's homestretch which means that I'm swamped - big deadline tomorrow will take some of that off my shoulders, and then the end of March I will be able to breathe easy with it finally completed.

Being so busy at work has meant that I haven't been able to study for the GRE as much as I had hoped to, but I am getting a bit in and to be honest, the math part isn't nearly as scary as I remember it being. That's the good news. The bad news is that the GRE is already scheduled, and silly me scheduled it eactly 14 days after my event completes. I'm going to have to learn to leave work at the office a little bit better or it's going to be the hardest test ever!

Lent
I haven't given something up for Lent in many years. I used to do this back in high school, when I was much more involved with the church than I am now. But I still love the idea of bettering yourself, and making an attempt to stop doing something you know you should :) For this Lent season I changed it up a little bit. I'm giving something up, but also doing something more. I will give up chocolate and sweets (anyone who knows me knows this will be a difficult feat...but one I will be so proud of when I am successful). I was also going to start writing in a journal, but that's pretty much what this blog is....sooo.... I am going to start writing more handwritten letters. It's a lost art form; letters. Receiving one in the mail always gives me a boost. I loved receiving packages when I was in Peace Corps, but receiving a letter, one that someone sat down and wrote out, rather than typing and emailing, meant the world. We were crazy for things to read in english over there, I was reading about a book a day, the standard Newsweek from cover to cover... even the ads. But a handwritten letter from home - wow. It was incredible. So, now that I'm living in a state away from all my family, I've decided for Lent that I will begin writing (and sending!) those letters. Be it a card, or a 10 page letter, it will be something to make my family realize how much I'm thinking of them, and how much I love them. I encourage you to write letters to your friends and family, even if they live down the street. Who doesn't love to open that kind of mail?
Posted by SRC at 9:25 AM
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
First Post
I've been thinking about life recently, and where it's headed for me. Certainly not the direction I thought I would be taking 5 years ago; but most definitely one that I am finally happy with. I made a big decision this past weekend; I'm going back to graduate school. I put it off for years (four years to be precise - ever since I got back from Bulgaria) and decided this weekend that enough's enough. I love everything there is about school; homework, tests, teachers, intelligent conversations, learning new and exciting things.... I could go on and on. I'm looking now at a certain program, back in my homestate, though not my hometown :). Luckily they have what is called a "Peace Corps Fellows" program, for those who are returned Peace Corps volunteers - special perks to go back to school and continue the 3rd part of the Peace Corps mission - bringing it back home. I look forward to this incredible opportunity - though not the GRE test part of it :)
Posted by SRC at 10:12 AM