insomnia

I lay in bed listening to:

• Andrew breathe
• Kula shifting on the bed in the guest room
• the furnace kicking on... and shutting off
• the ice maker kicking out ice in the refrigerator
• the sound of a dying battery in one of the smoke alarms downstairs

I lay in bed looking at:

• the clock
• Della curled up between me and Andrew
• the way the street lights illuminate the curtains
• the enormous hole in the ceiling directly above where I sleep (more on this later)

I lay in bed thinking about:

• the enormous hole in the ceiling directly above me is creating bad feng shui
  
• if only I hadn't been depressed all day and sat on the couch for most of it I would be sleeping right now
• how I really hate being depressed
• what to write on my blog

If there is one thing I have noticed about getting older, it's insomnia. It seems to have become a regular condition rather than an occassional annoyance. However, for this particular bout I have several theories:

Theory #1: The enormous hole in the ceiling above where I sleep.
It's not really a hole... it's actually a spot where the drywall tape was coming off the ceiling and causing the paint to crack. I've been thinking about painting the bedroom because: #1, it's still pink from when we moved in and #2, my dad is coming to visit in a week. (whenever someone comes to visit I go crazy trying to finish projects.) Anyway...if I'm going to paint the walls I need to paint the ceiling and I can't paint a ceiling with a bunch of sagging drywall tape. So, Tuesday I decided to tear off the loose pieces which left a large area of exposed drywall...directly over where I sleep. I truly believe this has created a source of bad chi in the room that is keeping me awake...or please see theory #2.

Theory #2: Being slowly elimnated from my job.
When I returned from my Holiday vacation I was greeted with the news that my employer had essentially layed me off for the month of January. Apparently business is so slow in January (and February) that there is not enough work for part-time employees. It would have been nice of them to mention this when I was hired for the job back in September.... But instead I'm on winter break from school...a time when I should be raking in the money (to pay for school), but instead I have absolutely no income at all. The real kicker is that I got a phone call yesterday morning to tell me not to come in...and not to come in today...and that Friday and Saturday were up in the air... My last week of work, that I was TRULY counting on to help pay my bills...is essentially gone. If this isn't enough to keep a person up at night...please see theory #3.

Theory #3: You never really want your X's to be happy.
This one isn't even worth getting in to.

I was already a mess yesterday morning from theory #2...I was deep in pity party mode when theory #3 happened. Not a good combo. Hence, entire day on the couch and a night of tossing and turning.

But I want to end this on a good note...(because really...where else is there to go? It's 4:30 in the morning and I'm pouring my heart out to a computer...something I'm probably going to regret by 5:32 am. )

I really have to thank Andrew. He was a trooper yesterday....for putting up with my pity party...for making me laugh, for taking care of me, for being my eternal optimist.... I could not make it through this life without him....

Here's to hoping that 2006 is filled with baby-smooth ceilings (and other smooth home renovations; part time jobs that give you hours; straight A's in school; lots of home-brew; a garden; "sparkle"; a trip to the beach; long walks with Kula; friends with new babies; lots of knitting and quilting; lots of love, happiness and good health.

every morning

"Every morning I awaken torn between the desire to save the world
and the inclination to savor it."

~ E.B. White

[via superhero]

Merry Christmas

Here is a peek at our Christmas space... and here's what I've been doing with my Christmas weekend....

I made some pillows....



I finally hung my Great Aunt Rita's mirror in our foyer (after it's been sitting in the hall since May). And I painted a blue border around it to give it some more weight and to tie it in with the blue dining/living room. Now I need to paint that table underneath the mirror black.



I made some cookies.... here is Andrew doing the happy cookie dance. =)



I did some reading....with Della on my lap - constantly. I got a lot of crafty books this Christmas which is awesome. I hope I find the time to do lots of quilting and knitting in 2006.



Thanks to everyone for your cards, gifts and good wishes. We hope you all had a very merry christmas.

31, day one

Thank you to all of my birthday well-wishers! I received many emails and phone calls yesterday wishing me a happy day.

I spent the day cleaning/rearranging my office and then I was off to work. When I got home Andrew surprised me with this cake....



and with this little gift!!


I have been wanting one of these Small Things necklaces for so long!! I also got this awesome Loop-d-Loop knitting book and this awesome Amy Butler fabric from my favorite peeps.

31 isn't so bad afterall.

Birthday

Happy birthday to me...la, la, la....blah..... I think that's about all the celebrating I need this year. I mean really....who can get excited about 31? Well I mean one exciting part is that my mom got me a parallel rule so I can draft at home!! WOO HOO!


[Me, Maggie and Mikaela; The December Birthday Girls....Dec. 20, Dec. 31 and Dec. 13]

We just got back last night from NY and celebrating Christmas with my family. The trip there was not so smooth. We flew to Chicago just fine....but the plane from Chicago to Buffalo got cancelled. Thanks to Andrew's connections with several rental car companies we were able to get a car that we could drive one way to Buffalo. It took 2 hours just to get out of Chicago during rush hour and then another five hours to Cleveland. We stopped to sleep a bit at a hotel and finished the 3 hours to Buffalo in the morning. After a quick stop to see my mom's new cat it was back in the car for another 2 hours to Syracuse. Whew!

It was all worth it though. My nieces are cute and hilarious with a bit of exhaustion mixed in. My mom and I laughed so hard we cried...twice. The trip was great! Just nice being with my family. Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for taking such good care of us while we were there. Thanks to my mom for driving us around and taking us to Charlie the Butcher on our way home.


[The girls love their "I-spy" quilt]


[Me and Mikaela sledding in the backyard. They got 8 inches of snow the night before we got there...]


[The girls getting ready for the Christmas paegant at church. SO CUTE!!!]

The trip home was uneventful (thank goodness). A special HUGE thank YOU!!! to Bob and Steph for watching Kula and Della while we were gone. I've never seen Kula so happy when we've come back from being away. =) It was such a relief to know she was being taken care of by good friends.

Well...I suppose since this is my first big day off since school ended I should do something productive. I'm off to clean the house....and maybe sew some stockings.

watering the thorns

"Those of you who are scattered,
simplify your worrying lives.
There is one righteousness: Water the fruit trees,
and don't water the thorns."
~ Rumi

[via Superhero Journal, go visit to read Andrea's eloquent words.]

Tis the season

[first snow, december 6, 2005]

Crazy, crazy busy. It's my last week of school, finishing Christmas shopping, working with crazy Christmas shoppers, studying, studying, studying. Here's some peeks of what I've been working on.

This is my last Interior Design project for the semester. It was a Kitchen design.....as you can see from my boards. Maybe Andrew's Dad (who is an engineer/builder/contractor in N. Carolina) will take a look and think that I'm good enough to help him in the future..... =)












And here is what has really been taking up a lot of my time! and if I don't finish it soon it won't make it to NY before I do!! It's the "I Spy" quilt that I mentioned earlier in the year. My sister-in-law had asked me to make it for my nieces but I just never got around to it. Well....I was feeling super guilty that Christmas was here and it wasn't done. So about 3-4 weeks ago I started it. It's actually come together pretty fast and easy. I have just a couple more stitches to go.



I have my last Graphic Design project to hand in today; still finishing my last drafting project and then I have two tests to study for next Tuesday. Vacation here I come!!

Here comes baby blanket #5!!!

Congratulations Denice and Stephen!!! You are going to have a baby!!! I can't believe it! I'm so excited I couldn't fall asleep last night! Thanks for sharing the news with us in person. Let me know when you decide on a yarn color and when you are ready to talk about decorating the new baby's room! We love you guys!

B-day/X-mas list

What birthday/christmas list is complete without a new purse!? Well, lucky for me the cutest purse presented itself to me yesterday via designsponge and now I can add it to my list. It can be found at Papa Stour.

Tasty Brew

Congratulations to Andrew who had his first brewing recipe published! The brew's birthday is going to be Dec. 10. I can't wait to taste it.

Andrew and I are getting out of town this weekend and heading to a B&B in Arcadia MO. I'm planning on doing some knitting, antiquing and hopefully relaxing. It will be super nice to get away...but I have a feeling that I will have a lot of homework in the back of my mind... I think I can forget about it for one day at least.

Enjoy your weekend.

Happy Birthday Andrew!! (on Monday)

I arranged for Santa to come and visit Andrew for his birthday. He brought Andrew a Sangria pitcher, a subscription to Cooks Illustrated and a KitKat cake from Maggie Moo's.


MOM, Check this out! I'm cooking! (God I look skinny!) Andrew taught me how to make him a steak for his birthday. It was actually a lot of fun and very yummy!

Here is my project:



Floorplan and elevations (actual plan is off the internet but I made some modifications; furniture drawn in by me)



Elevation close-up (hand drawn by me)



Finishes



Finishes


Gotta run to school! Ciao!

October Update

[Halloween 2005]

Wow! Almost a whole month has past since I wrote last. I'm not going to apologize though... I'm having a blast and it is nice to be so busy that I don't have time to blog.

School is super, super awesome. Pretty much everyday that I am there I think about how totally blessed I am to be there and how thankful I am to have the opportunity. I love being in "college" again! It rocks! I'm doing well in all my classes, making friends and learning lots. I have another big project due on Tuesday so hopefully I can find some time to post pictures before I hand it in.

Andrew is doing well also. Getting in to lots of trouble when I'm not around (which is alot!)....

Here is exhibit A:


One afternoon he decided to build a compost bin in the backyard. I bet you didn't know you could fit lumber into a Mazda Miata.

Here is exhibit B:


He is WAY into making beer. This is exciting because he seems really into it and that makes me happy. I love when he gets excited about new hobbies. The first batch was a learning experience and was sacrificed halfway through....but batch #2 starts on Monday and I think it will be a delicious success.

Speaking of delicious success....

[Bob and Andrew, Restaurant #1, September 2005]

Andrew has also been busy running "Restaurant" with Bob. They had dinner #2 just last weekend and it was just as awesome as the first. It was a harvest menu with persimmon salad, squash risotto and carmalized pears for dessert. We even had a bigger crowd this time. I think dinner #3 is already in the works.

Since things were going so well I knew my karma had to even out eventually and last weekend was it.

Here's Cujo (a.k.a. Kula the Killer dog).


She started out my lovely Friday morning by BITING OFF part of the neighbor's dog's ear. I had to spend the rest of my morning at the emergency room paying for stitches for poor 14 year old Sam. Needless to say Cujo,..I mean Kula, will never be taking a trip to the dog park.

The next morning it got worse. I found out a friend of the family committed suicide. In some ways it was not a surprise because Bobby had suffered from manic depression for a long time but on the other hand...it's just not news you ever want to hear. It really shook me up because I have known Bobby since I was 3. He lived across the street from me growing up. His two daughters babysat me; his son Mike played ice hockey with my older brother Mike; and he was one of my Dad's best friends. When he wasn't depressed Bobby was one of the funniest and most entertaining people you could ever hope to be around. Everyone loved him and I did to. It was a rough weekend thinking about Bobby and his family and thinking about the friend my Dad lost. But in the end I know that Bobby is in a better place and I know that I will always have lots of happy memories of him in my heart. We'll miss you Bobby.

Despite the universe knocking me on my ass over the weekend I don't want to end this blog on a bad note.

Andrew's birthday is coming up (on Monday) and we have a romantic getaway coming up soon.

CONGRATULATIONS to Arnaud and Delphine (my friends in Belgium) on their new baby boy, Tom. I've joined my new friend Amy's Stitch n' Bitch group which has inspired me to start knitting baby blanket #4. I'm hoping I can get it done for little Tom by Christmas.

My Graphic Design teacher asked to show one of my projects at a state wide art teachers conference and I've got one of my drafting projects hanging in the hall. Yesterday I attended my first ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) event, 2006 Color Forecast. The highlight was getting my own big paint wand that has all the Sherwin Williams paint chips colors in it!!! How awesome is that! Now I can pick out colors in the comfort of my own home!

Well, it's time to catch up on some more things around the house. I'll try not to stay away from the blog so long this time.

Peace.

Here she is!

Gisele Gioanine, in the blanket I made!!! Thanks for sending me a picture Kelly!! This made my day!

Welcome Giselle!

Congratulations to Adam and Kelly who welcomed their new daughter Giselle to the world on Friday.

Adam and I go WAY back...all the way to preschool! I can remember going to his birthday party...probably when I was 5 years old. Adam also happens to be one of Andrew's very best friends.

I spent a few months this summer knitting a blanket for Giselle. I started it way back in May on my trip to Wisconsin. It turned out really well despite this crappy picture.


Congratulations Adam and Kelly! Hope you enjoy the new addition to your family and I hope Andrew and I get to meet her very soon.

boyz club gone bad

It would appear I spoke too soon about our friendly old neighbors. When I came home last night I entered the yard to find tree branches laying on our lawn. I assumed maybe Andrew had done some tree grooming again while I was gone. But once I got inside Andrew informed me that he was not the one who cut the tree branches. Um.... so that means....some crazy person came into our yard and cut branches off our tree and left them laying in our yard.....

Andrew suspects Jack considering he is the one who we borrowed the tree trimmer from and he is obsessively working on our immediate neighbors yard. Supposedly he was back there all day bringing in soil and flowers and such....parking in our lot to unload his car.

I suppose I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Maybe it wasn't Jack. But if it was I feel disappointed. I liked Jack and I thought it was sweet that he liked to spend time with Andrew. Now I think he might just be a batty old stalker. Owning a home brings on such weird emotions of possessiveness and protection. From someone stealing our mail to cutting down our trees...I feel equally violated. We had such a quiet few months in our home and now it feels like just one thing after another has been happening to make this experience bitter. I hope this isn't a trend that continues for much longer.

Andrew's new boyz club

Here's Andrew.... cleaning up our neighbor's yard...with his 2 new friends.



That's our neighbor Tim in the green sweat pants.

The other guy is Jack. He lives on the other side of Tim. He has lived in his house for 60 years...since he was 5 years old.

They are both very sweet neighbors.



Jack has an old golden retriever named Sam who is 14 years old. Every day Jack walks Sam past our house and tries to catch Andrew out in the yard or on the front porch. We've learned some great stuff from Jack, such as the fact that the previous owner used to be on our roof all the time...indicating that we should be able to get on our roof without a ladder. Turns out we can get on our roof, which is a great relief since we were tired of being at the mercy of corrupt contractors.

Jack asked Andrew to join his raquetball group, made up of 4 guys...the youngest 60 and the oldest 82! Andrew talked his way out of it. I think he should give it a try.

Week of Sept. 17- Sept 24 Recap

Saturday Sept. 17 - Andrew and I found a sale going on at the end of the street; an old building that used to be a grocery store. We are directed towards the basement and it was like a fantastic treasure hunt! Tons of old tools and other assorted junk! I was in heaven! Here's what I got for $12:

• many, many plastic bins to hold our nails, screws, nuts and bolts etc.
• 1950s retro furiture legs in original packaging
• two old screen windows
• an artists lamp
• three iron things that look like miniature stair cases for an intriguing industrial vignette

That afternoon Andrew and I did some gardening. I planted hostas I got from someone at work for free and Andrew hauled 40 bags of dirt and manure to level out the yard and reseed the lawn.



Later that day I finished my first project for my interior design class. It was a Color Project. We were each handed a piece of fabric and we had to make a monochromatic scheme and a complementary scheme. I did a very fine job if I do say so myself. My project is currently hanging in the hallway at school and I think I will find out my grade tomorrow morning.



Thursday Sept. 22 - The first official dinner catered by the Bob and Andrew Restaurant. My dear friend Bob has teamed up with Andrew for a dinner party idea where people pay to come to a really REALLY good dinner made by Bob and Andrew. The first party was a smashing success! The food was awesome!!



Friday Sept. 23 - Last, but not least, my little stepbrother Danny (I think he's 23??...) shows up on my doorstep at 11 pm. He is on his way to Fort Collins Colorado to try out life in the real world. It was great having him stay with us for a couple days and I am very excited for him. If there is one thing I can learn from Danny it's how NOT to worry. Nothing phases this kid. He flies by the seat of his pants without a care in the world, something I wish I could do more of. His little visit brought back lots of memories of when I moved to Missouri back when I was 23; in my own little red truck (you can see his big, red truck in the background); with all of my belongings in the back. Things turned out pretty darn good for me and I hope they turn out even better for Danny. You have a good heart Danny...follow it and you'll be just fine.

P.S. Thanks for all the good thoughts for my cousin. She had surgery today and it's NOT cancer!!! =) Blessings back out to all of you.

Gratitude!

[Maggie, Summer 2005]

Got home from school around 7:30 tonight and quickly sat down at the dining room table to a fabulous chicken ceasar salad prepared by Andrew. Andrew was busy telling me about the several gallons of Edy's ice cream he bought on sale that was in the freezer (a HUGE reason for gratitude!!) when I took his hands in mine. He looked at me confused and I spontaneoulsy starting saying a "grace" of sorts. "Thank you for this yummy salad; thank you for our dog and cat; thank you for letting me go to school; and please keep our families healthy." Andrew was a bit speechless since we never say grace together. I was a bit surprised too since I ususally feel self-concious about saying grace. Not today though... I have lots to be thankful for.

School rocks!!! I can't believe I waited 6 years for this! I am having lots and lots of fun. Digging through fabric samples with lots of other girls, laughing, talking and helping each other with our first project. Laughing until I cry in my drafting class with my new friend Amy (HI AMY!). Chatting with my Graphics Design teacher about the philosophy of grading students on creativity.

My new job is good too. I work with really nice people and I am learning a lot. It is tiring but it really couldn't be any closer to what I was looking for.

I got fired up with all this gratitude after getting an email from my mom this afternoon about my cousin. She just spent the last couple years battling breast cancer only to find out that it may have spread to her lungs. It's pretty upsetting and I am worried for her and the rest of my family. But it also reminds me that I should appreciate everything I've got right now.....because it might not be here tomorrow.

So I'm writing my thanks here in black and white so I can remind myself what's important when I'm feeling like a spoiled brat. I'm thankful for my home with Andrew, Kula and Della. I'm thankful for my family and I hope they all stay healthy. I'm thankful for all of my friends in St. Louis and all my other friends living far away. I'm thankful for new friends and all the new opportunities to find happiness.

Please spend a second to remember what you are thankful for (shout it out people!) and send a quick jolt of good energy to my cousin.

Peace out!

Sumo

Well a schedule finally seems to be falling into place, although it is a difficult schedule. I've gone from 9 hour days in the cushy corporate world to 12+ hour days in the student world. Which explains why I haven't had much time to write here. I'm just too tired.

This isn't meant to sound like I am complaining. I LOVE my classes! They are so much fun and I feel way more alive than I have in a long time. I knew that going to school and working part time would not be easy and I knew I would have to make sacrifices. So far it is all worth it.

The worst part of my schedule is the impact on Andrew..... He never sees me! And when I do finally get home I'm ususally so exhausted I'm not much fun to be around. He is a trooper though and is as supportive as ever. Thanks sweetie!

Today was the first day we have had all to ourselves since I started school.


We decided to go to the Missouri Botanical Garden Japanese Festival. This year's speciality was Sumo wrestling. I was worried it might be boring but it was really fun to watch. The two men are from Hawaii, Fats and Tyler. Tyler is the larger one...550lbs. I didn't know anything about Sumo wrestling so it was really interesting. I hope they come back again next year.


And of course we went to see the Taiko drummers which is my favorite every year. LOVE it!

When I get a regular job again and have some free time I would love to find a way to join the local Taiko group. If you ever have the chance to see a group perform I highly recommend it.

Time to read about the history of Greek decorative arts. Hope you are all well.

student

It's official. I am now a 'student'. And if anyone was thinking that I was going to have more free time now that I quit my full time job..... I think that is very far from the truth. In fact I will have less free time....and it is a bit overwhelming.

Still no news on the new job.... it's making me crazy because I have no sense of how much time I will have to do school work and if it will be the "right" time...like when the drafting studio is open.

School is EXPENSIVE. I spent mucho dinero today on lots of art supplies....UGH. I need that job to start soon.

I'm excited about my classes just feeling stressed about figuring out this new schedule and how to manage my time. Needless to say my blogging might be light for awhile...until I get settled in with the new life.

Who knows....maybe I'll get tired of blogging now that I'm out of that nasty cubicle. Blogging was my escape from a job I hated... and now I don't need the escape anymore...I'm too BUSY! Hopefully this won't be the case. But for now I barely feel like I have time to read about Mesopotanian furniture.

New 1/2 Bath

Well my week off between my old life and my new life certainly flew by and it certainly didn't feel like a vacation. I was in overdrive mode to do lots of house projects before our housewarming party on Friday.

My biggest accomplishment was working on the half bath downstairs. Unfortunately I forgot to take "before" pictures back when we first moved in!! I always remember about 20 minutes into the new project.... Oh well, trust me...it was ugly. Dark forest green ceiling and walls; gold fixtures; gold, hollywood lighting about 1 inch from the top of the 9 ft. ceiling; yuck, yuck, yuck.

Andrew's dad helped us with the fixtures last weekend and Thursday and Friday I worked on the painting.

I got my inspiration from the Weego Home logo.


Taping took me 3-4 hours.....


The color is on



Taking the tape off...


Touching up...



The final result!!