stop. slow down. be present.

An empty beach

Today was such a busy, rushed day. I rushed through a busy day at work. Rushed to get home and cook a quick supper before Cary went off to work. Rushed.

I needed to stop. Breathe. I told myself I would do that today.

So after he left I took a walk down the boulevard. It was so cold with the wind off the water. Refreshing though. I sat on a quiet rock for few minutes. Then exercised with the rest of my walk. Saw people walking their dogs. A Husky playing catch along the water edge. Saw boats coming in. The tide washing in on the rocks. People walking after thier days. Cars going by. The sun getting lower. The wind getting colder.

It helped me to slow down even by walking quickly in the wind.

Noticing things around me. Feeling present. Prioritizing what is important. Wishing I hadn't rushed through cooking supper and didn't really just enjoy the little time I had to spend with Cary. Wishing I had not been so frantic to get "things done."

I will do better tomorrow...

birthdays, crazyness and knitting

Cary with his wise-guy smile - August 08 - my family reunion

Today is my guy's birthday! It has been a rushed one. He opened his gift for me at 3am this morning when he got home from work...tonight we made a rushed dinner between 4:30 and 5:30 when he left for work again. Salmon and steak. Hmm...This weekend he's off to Maine for guard...he's preparing for OCS (Officer Candidate School) in Alabama this summer. So we will extend his birthday to next weekend :) Sometimes I think about how lucky I am to have found him and vice versa. We lived 400 miles apart and we really shouldn't have met. Fate is real. He makes me laugh and smile and look at the lighter things in life. I am lucky. Happy Birthday to him!

Today has been unbelievable crazy busy at work. Then tomorrow at my other job I have so many meetings and then the class I teach. Saturday will be another full work day. I am looking forward to Sunday! But I can't complain. Cary is working through his birthday and straight through to next weekend.

On to some fun news. My mom was able to get some tickets to the U2 concert in September. I tried this past monday but they were sold out so quickly. So they added a show and she got them! Cary won't join us for this one...he's not a big fan. But today I saw that Sara Evans is having a concert in August and we are going to try for tickets this Monday. He's never been to a concert and we rarely spend money of that sort of stuff. I'm excited. Except Cary keeps teasing....he has a little crush on Sara....and says I might want to reconsider bringing him to her concert!

I'm breathing a sigh of relief after using my assertiveness this past week regarding the apartment. Still ongoing but it feels good to stand up for ourselves.

Meanwhile...I cast on my first sweater last night! No pictures of it...it is from the Spring/Summer 09 Knit Simple...in a very soft pretty aqua (#18 below)...

I can't wait to get into this project! This yarn is so soft and nice to work with. And I treated myself to my first nice pair of needles. Hopefully I can take some pictures of my progress this weekend. I also finished a few more of my ATC's for Emily Falconbridge's 52Q ....

Well I'm off to have a peice of birthday cake and do some knitting!

Happy Thursday!

the weekend

So I was in the mood to get a few treats on the way home from work friday after a verrrry long week. I found myself some Converse in my color. Aqua. Love them! My sister will be proud - she's always been into Chucks. I also got a pair of jeans and a bright white t-shirt at Target. I wear white t's all the time. And a cute blue-green fun scarf. And some cute earrings. All for not too much money. I love Target.

Yesterday made some of Cary's mom's special recipe Chocolate Chip Cookies. Some for him and some to take over my friend's house. Mmmm. Guess who else will be eating these while she is snowed in today?!

Last night was my monthly Girl's Night. We had dinner cooked by one of the girls and lots of talking and catching up. I was tired and not feeling so well but managed to stay awake through Sex & The City: The Movie...which I saw in the theatre and loved.

I got a pile of blank Strathmore ATC's in the mail that I ordered from Dick Blick. I was running out of the one little assorted pack I had and my LSS didn't have any left. Now I will be set for the rest of the year and the 52Q group. Here are a few others I have worked on in the past few weeks. Some are complete and some I haven't done the journaling on yet. I am not quite up-to-date but getting there...I really do like this project. It's a nice chance to do a little artwork eac week and really think about an important topic. It is very similar to things I incorporate into my work as an Art Therapist only this time it's for me.

Week #4: When I look into my eyes I see....

Front: StampIt square stamp. Denami Design circle of dots stamp. SEI swirl stamp. Various letter stamps. Black pen. Watercolor pencils. Water brush.

Back: Denami Design circle of dots stamp. Autumn Leaves journaling circle stamp. Black pen.

Week # 5: Today I Feel....

front: Date stamp. Close to my Heart date journaling stamp. River City letter stamp. Black pen. Watercolor pencils. Water brush.

back: Watercolor pencils. Water brush. Black pen.

Week #6: If I could do it all again...

front: various letter stamps. Denami Design circle of dots stamp. Hand-drawn flower with black pen, Watercolor pencils and water brush.

I haven't journaled on the back of this one yet.

Later today I might work on #7 and #8 and be right on track...as I sit here and wait for a SNOWSTORM! Cross your fingers that tomorrow will be a snowday for the college...day and evening classes since I teach tomorrow evening...

Also hoping to finish my2nd glove to finish out the pair...

Happy Sunday!

about a car

It's finally mine!

Well, it will be when Honda mails the title. I officially signed the check for my last 2 payments on my car...it took 5 years. This might not seem like a big deal to most people. But for me this car is the only thing I right out own. I will be paying huge for my education for the next 20+ years and the housing market is too expensive here... so, for at least a good while, this car is the one thing that is mine.

I have always appreciated and loved cars. My dad instilled that in me. I grew up going to auto races every year and my Dad has a '66 Corvette Stingray convertable he bought brand new when he got out of the Navy. It hasn't been registered as long as I've been alive - but he has held on to it. Over the years there were a few times he took out classified ads to sell it. He needed the money. But my mom talked him out of it.

He loves that car.

My goal as a kid was always to help him fix it enough so that it could be registered and he could drive it. That hasn't happened yet. But his attachment to cars has translated to me. In the above picture, taken last January of my Honda, there is an old, white Volvo in the background. The Volvo was my first car. I didn't get my first car until I was 21 years old. During high school half of my paycheck each week was put in the bank for college. So, needless to say there wasn't any leftover to buy a car, insure it, etc. So I waited a long time. The Volvo was beautiful when I bought it. It was a 1984 but had so few miles on it and was in mint condition. The older woman I bought it from was sad to see it go. She had been the only owner and really appreciated it.

I loved that car.

It was built like a tank, had a sunroof and heated seats. Much more luxury than I could ever afford in a new car. But then it started having some fluke things go wrong with it and I had to buy my Honda. I really didn't want to. As a trade in they weren't going to give me much for the Volvo so I hung on to it. The idea was I would give it to my brother and sister. But that didn't work out and it just sat. For 5 years. Not able to run. Year after year my Dad talked to me about selling it. I just couldn't do it. How stupid is that? I was sad at the thought.

So this summer I finally parted with it. It seems stupid but for those 5 years I couldn't do it. The Volvo was then the only thing I owned. I had saved up for it for a long time, used money my late-Grandfather left for me to buy it and had taken out a small loan to cover the cost. The car was mine. Who gets attached to a car?

My dad and me.

Maybe the Honda will become the Volvo for me? But first...I need to take the bullseye off the hood and give it a break from people crashing into it. LOL!

Thanks for listening to me go on and on about my attachment to innanimate objects with four tires and a windshield!

Have a good evening! I plan on staying in...it is TOO cold here in Massachusetts! I'm giving myself a "free pass" from the gym. I just don't want to go back out there...