I had a friend who wondered out loud what her animals did during the day while everyone was at work. It was after she left her job to be a stay at home mom when she expressed her disappointment, she said her animals do the same thing that they do in the evening and night -- sleep.

My trio is no different, this is them the majority of the time. The only exception is when you ask the dog to get her toy, then she picks a cat to chase around the house.

Yes I named him, don't be dumb

I have a lot running through my head but not enough time to put it all into words, so instead lets enjoy a shorter story.

My animals have a heart, and sixth sense, for the pregnant. This usually plays out with pregnant cats, which is how we managed to get our Tuna George (later shortened to just "Tuna" since we found out he was a girl). Well recently Tuna and Peaches (my pup) wanted to spend an unusual amount of time outdoors...I immediately knew they had made friends, but what whom, or what, i was unsure.

One day I put the dog out and upon going to retrieve her I saw a black and white haired, something... upon closer inspection I found a very pregnant opossum hoping for an invitation indoors. She just stuck her little nose up against the window...and waited. I screamed and yelled, hooted and hollered, and unfazed she slowly moved her attention elsewhere.

We found out the next day that she has a boyfriend, and that they are very content living in our back yard. I am not. After a trip to the humane society, a trap was set. So far we've caught the male....our pregnant girlie has gone MIA. This is not amusing....

An observation

I love listening to interviews with authors. Over the years I have found a common trend: characters are not created, they just are. Much like a casting director picking the leads for the latest flick, there may be age, weight, and race requirements for a given role, however the personality of the individual is not dictated. The author can pick the characters, lay out the setting and the situation, and then they remove their hands from the keyboard and let their characters react. They allow their characters have free will over the story they're writing and instead of writing about what will happen, they write about what did happen. This is important. After an author is asked about a character they often respond, "She led me" or "He surprised me when he." When that happens you can see the author completely removes themself from the actual actions of the character. I believe at times the author had hoped for things to unfold a specific way but despite the wrong turns and missteps they don't give up on their characters. The author reacts to the characters choices and nudges them down a different path, ultimately leaving the outcome and ending up to those characters.

just a little bit closer

Things have been busier than normal and much busier than I would like. In my head creating these purses was going to take no time at all, in reality it's been a slow process. I often realize I am short of something I need and have to go to the store before I can proceed any further. I have created one purse (technically two but the first is not fit for a home) and have decided I am going to have to work on 5 purses at once and complete all purses one step at a time, opposed to working on one purse start to finish before going to the next. If I do things this way I can have 6 completed purses within two weeks, which I am content with.

As of late...

Spring is here!...kind of
Sunday date: homemade pizza and sugar cookies. Life is sweet.

Let me paint a picture of how this is unfolding

I said "I don't own a sewing machine" and a friend I haven't talked to in years offered to let me borrow hers.

I said "I don't have enough burlap sacks" and a local coffee shop contacted me willing to sell their bags for next to nothing.

I said "I can't afford another yard of trim" and my mom graciously gave me enough to make 3 bags.

I said "I'll never have time" and Sunday at noon my mom left, I had finished all of the cleaning the day before and didn't have anything else on my to-do list.

Before I could wonder if there would be any interest I already had an order list.

I'd argue that this is more than a gentle nudge, a path has been made. I'm excited to see what happens next.

Success!

I bought a lot of previously used burlap coffee bean bags with the goal of making purses. This weekend I finally had the time (and resources-thanks mom!) to make this aspiration an accomplishment.




I hope my taste transcends to shoppers and I can produce other bags as a fundraiser that has been weighing heavily on my heart. To be continued...

I've avoided this...

My desk is piled high with good intentions, however to show you what I've accomplished this month would take no time at all. All of a sudden I was reminded why I don't do art, because I am so busy. And when I get a chance to crash on the couch and have that last hour in my day spent mindlessly watching American Idol, I choose to spend it mindlessly watching American Idol.

I've got excuses for why I haven't been able to do what I dream about...well there really are only two excuses: 1. I don't have all the resources I need or 2. I need a couple more hours in my day.

So those pictures I promised will be taken someday. Hopefully soon.

Loving February

I am excited about this loving month. Art is something I have almost completely abandoned and I am sad I have left it behind.

For the month of February I am challenging myself to work on something everyday that requires me to be creative.

Thus far I have set up these challenges:
-Something for grandma, buying my charcoal board today!
-My faux-mural for the living room (not sure what to call it)
-Finishing reupholstering my chair
-A piece reflecting this: "you were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight." per little miss Amanda

Updates will be posted!

What a huge blessing: I have the same students as last semester! I have 3 new faces and 17 familiar ones. I was so happy to see them again, and they too were excited to see me.

My co-teacher is wonderful and I can tell that he will do great! I hope that he doesn't get overwhelmed with the task at hand.

Have I mentioned that I love Mondays?

The cycle repeats...

I am so thankful for Mondays. While so many dread the end of Sunday, I look forward to it's passing. Tomorrow I will have a new class, new students, and the same ole lesson plans.

I have now taught English for a year and love it as much as I did my first day. This semester I hope to do things differently, I really want to get to know my students: learn their family member's names, treat them to dinner, see how I can help them. If you think of me please pray about this, I want to do more than teach this semester, I want to show them I care.

mmm hhmmm

jealously

Something that has stuck with me:
Someone once told me that jealousy is often seen as a negative trait but that's not always the case. When we truely care about something, hold it dear, and want to protect it, we can find ourselves jealous if someone tries to take that away from us. Sometimes we are called to hold on tight to those things that matter and jealousy is simply the emotion that will spring us into action.