Monkeyporkbun

Participation

Over at Crazy Mom Quilts, I saw this and decided to say yes. Deciding on fabrics is a chore. Ridiculous, right? I have an illegal amount of fabric to choose from, some which are out of print and well sought after such as Denyse Schmidt, Heather Bailey, Heather Ross, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, Alexander Henry, and various sheets from the 40's and 50's, and a lot of others. It should be easy, right? Well it isn't. I wanna cut it, I don't wanna cut it. I detect a resounding nod from you, readers. I have Nana's drapes from the 40's and her sisters 40's barkcloth drapes as well. I have yards and yards of gorgeous green upholstery fabric which was intended for a Spring maternity coat before my mother fell ill. Anyway, I digress. Those last mentions aren't quilting fabrics, clearly, but you get the point. I've been hoarding and not making. But the quilt along seems like it will be the perfect remedy. A square a day for 70 days. It's 9:30 and I've already made two.

Old Habits Die Hard, pt. 1

Procrastination. It's not really procrastination. It's making a different choice. A choice away from the thing that I keep thinking is my goal. I have one goal. That goal is to be excellent. What mostly defies me in my goal is saying yes. Unlike Jim Carrey, saying yes has gotten me into many a deep hole to climb out of again. And that's part of the catch, right?  Who doesn't dream of being the guy who can keep all the plates spinning without breaking a sweat? And smile while doing it because there is no other way to "do it all." After seeing Yes Man recently, I didn't feel so bad. Good laughs. But six months ago, I started recognizing that I needed to go on a yes diet. When you say no, you're saying yes to something else after all. And here are the big three questions I ask before saying yes that seem to be helping:

1. Does it cost anything?
2. Will it help someone?
3. Does it inspire me?

First, it shouldn't be surprising that cost is at the top. We're all trimming our budgets these days. But another thing that goes in the category of cost is time. We can always make more money, but when time is gone it's gone.

The second is tricky. The someone I seem to forget most frequently is myself. Confusing. Like most, I was raised with the idea that you help others. As I grow wiser while raising two girls, I gain insights on how to approach passing on the lesson. Often I have made decisions based on how the decision would affect others.There was a brief time in my 20s, however, when I didn't adhere to this idea and behaved selfishly. I'm no saint, but the lesson was learned and the lesson is now taking a different shape. What can I do that serves others without completely depleting myself?

The last one - inspiration - is the most important. Without inspiration, where is the motivation?

And I need to go through this gracefully as young eyes witness my every move. The key word being move.

Rolling Into Summer

Plenty of smiles to go around. Last week we were in Chicago. With Family. There is nothing like family to make you feel alright, at home, and excellent just for being you. The girls and I came home with a renewed sense of purpose and vitality and a bucket of tears due to missing cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I thought some good old fashioned fun, with cheesy lights and all, would be just the thing to stave off the blues. Since we returned last Thursday, we've reorganized two rooms, applied for Sonoma County Energy Improvement Program, and made several trips to Salvation Army. Make way for new windows and end of the summer birthday surprises. The original intent of this blog was to share craft stories and experiences from the trenches of parenthood. Somewhere along the line, being on the computer became less of a focus. Focus. I'll have more of that someday. ttfn, Gena