Those First-Night Boxes...

...Were a Godsend.  We had 2, mostly because I really wasn't sure how long it would take to get EVERYTHING unpacked, and I wasn't sure how clean the new house would be.  I'll call them "Kitchen" and "Bedroom" for simplicity's sake, but in reality one was upstairs(bedroom) and one was downstairs(kitchen).

Kitchen:
-Cleaners and things to clean with:
     Dish soap and rags
     Paper Towels
     Dish Towels
     Window Cleaner(I use white vinegar)
     AP Cleaner(I use Mrs. Meyers Clean Day)
     broom
-a box of trash bags... for all that paper when you unwrap your dishes
-a bottle of champagne and flutes to celebrate(I wrapped mine in those dishtowels)
-toilet paper
-paper plates/disposable utensils
-list-making paper
-all charging cables and bricks

Bedroom:
-clean sheets, pillows and blankets
-towels, shower curtain
     Don't be like me.  Remember the curtain rod and the new liner.  Luckily, the old resident left theirs behind.
-Pajamas
-hand soap

We also packed a suitcase each to last for a week, as if we were going on vacation.  Laptops, journals, bibles and such were in a "personal item" bag and everything else was in a "carryon" and I think this is the thing that made the biggest difference.  Next time I would add laundry supplies to that kitchen box too... If you use clothes to pack dishes(which I suggest) it's nice to be able to start washing them.

I made this list mostly for myself, but I will go ahead and post it just incase it could help somebody.

Blessings and peace!

All the things!

We're making a chore chart, doing laundry every day, packing lunches, hitting 6AM spin class... The real schedule has begun. My calendar is getting a workout. We are budgeting time, resources, and making more concrete plans, and it feels... Odd in a way I know will lead to good. Routine is balm for my soul, but the getting there is always a little interesting.  Figuring out a chore chart that didn't make me pull my hair out is a topic for another post.  Meal planning is still a work in progress, but I suspect it'll get easier as I continue to work at it.

I had the day(s) of lectures you get when you start work in a healthcare field this week, where it seemed like the moral of the story is be nice and wash your hands. I knitted a lot, learned some, and am anticipating the next few weeks when more learning through the work of chaplaincy begins. Our boss gave us our official blue chaplain ribbons that attach to our official hospital nametags so that we are easily pegged.  We got keys to our office, and a tour of the hospital.  We went to visit patients with the residents... learned the mechanics of charting.  It's pretty great. Did I mention we have an office, and that it used to be a nun's bedroom??

Wearing a name badge and having a purpose outside of the little house we are making into a home and this new, strange role of wife is pretty great. And I'm only one week in.

The William Morris Master List

This is another post in my effort to follow along with Pancakes and French Fries and the amazing William Morris project she's been working on, and encouraging others to work on too.

Okay, friends… a master list.

My apartment, seen below and to the right (terribly off-scale,but you get the idea) being a single lady in a major metropolitan area on a student budget, is the size of a shoebox, and only mine for another 3 months, as of tomorrow.  And I think I’m just now figuring out that the ticket to living in a shoebox is to stop thinking that a bedroom and a living room/kitchen area as having defined rooms like a house. 

A teeny apartment has zones, not rooms.  I have not defined them as well as I could have.

Entry… Cooking… Workspace…Lounging…Storage…Sleeping…Wardrobe...Craftspace.  You know, that sort of thing. 

They overlap, in a silly messy sort of way in my apartment, when they exist at all.  Horizontal spaces and chairs collect clutter, bookshelves overflow(did I mention I am in 19^th grade? Textbooks add up), and things get shoved places so often it’s comical.  Or, it was, before I realized that I’ve surrounded myself with flotsam and jetsam to the point where I don’t have space to live anymore.  So, as I forsee "shoebox living" for myself for the next few years, it’s time to rethink some zones, and things that will live in them.

Entryway:  space to store things that I take with me.  Where paper things land to be sorted, and things like a purse and keys can have a home.  Featuring a reminder board, and maybe(hopefully I’ll actually start going again) a gym bag.

Cooking:  My kitchen is teeny-tiny, and crammed full of food and the things used to prepare it. 

Food:  Store dry ingredients, snacks, spices, and sundry other things… in a pretty, functional way.

Cookware:  For a 24-year-old, I have a lot of it, gifts from my grandmother when she broke up housekeeping.  I want to be able to use it all, because heirlooms aren’t meant to be all pretty things that sit on shelves. The utilitarian stuff should all be just that: utilitarian.

Workspace:  My kitchen table is so much more, as kitchen tables must be in these itty bitty spaces. But mine is one of those horizontal spaces that just collects things much of the time…

Lounging: My coffee table already doubles as storage:  It’s also one of those horizontal, collecting-things places though. 

I have an easy chair I’d love to reclaim and slipcover/re-upholster, and the ottoman that goes with it. 

Storage/Crafting:

Here’s the thing…  I have hobbies.  I sew, I just learned to quilt, I make jewelry, and I’ve been known to collage and scrapbook.  All of those things come with supplies, and the supplies have a way of needing storage.

Fabric:  Cataloged, counted, and stored

Patterns:  ditto

Notions(zippers, thread, buttons… everything you need to sew clothes/quilts that isn’t fabric): Accessible when I need them, not scattered when I don’t.

Art supplies:  Separated from school supplies and stationery, and all of the above ready when I need them. 

Sleeping:  Keep it more for sleep, and make it pretty.

Wardrobe: The thing that started it all. More will show up on my sewing blog about wardrobe, because I’ll be sewing lots, if not all, of my new clothing in 2013.

Closet/Dresser:  Organized, and generally pared down to what is useful and beautiful

Accessories:  Ditto.  Make things/hunt vintage to fill in the holes.

So... yeah.

The goal this week is to conquer some paper and horizontal surfaces.  Paperwork is on the radar already, so I'm gonna move with the momentum.  

The William Morris Project

Welcome!  This is the first time I've ever linked in to anything like this, and I'm hoping y'all will keep me honest and give me some tips and hints along the way.  Thanks for dropping by!

Y’all, have you seen the William Morris Project over at Pancakes and French Fries?

Oh.  My.

Such inspiration.

Last Thursday, I spent a long time looking at impeccable closets and teeny, tiny wardrobes over at small notebook, and I got led to Pancakes and French Fries, and I, without taking a before picture or a picture of the donation pile, the alteration pile, or even the lists, cleaned out two trashbags of things to donate, and a good-sized canvas bin of things in sore need of repair. 

The pile of empty hangers is magic, y’all.

And I found things I didn’t know I still had. 

While reading through the master list that Jules made whenshe started the William Morris project, I thought it might be a really good idea to make a master list of my own. 

I have 3 months left in my apartment- why start now?

Because there’s always a reason not to start, and friends, life is enough of a reason to start.

Look for mine soon.  

Resolutions: A Redux and a look forward

Last year, I got specific in a big way in a journal entry that was several pages long, but I put it in a nutshell for you guys and I'll put the central kernel of that nutshell here for the whole world to see, once more:

"I want to end this year further down the path to who I am."

And you know (whoever YOU are), I think I did.
I think that it is inevitable to grow... But I like to think that I did lots of that this year.  Selfish of me, I know, but one's twenties are meant to be selfish.  Kyoko Escamilla had it right in the quote featured in this doodle.

And I want to be selfish, and build up the cocoon of this community to strengthen myself for what life is to look like:  I want to keep growing into who I am meant to be, and who God is forming me to be, in all of the messiness, the hope, the tears, the dancing, and the songs.

Can I get an Amen?

Organizing frenzy

Fall is here, and for some bizarre reason, it makes me want to nest.  I have stripped beds, cleaned bathrooms, and gone through closets.  I made 2 trips to the clothes closet last month to give things away, and will likely bring that number up quite a bit in the coming weeks.

Having access to all of my things-giving them a use- has suddenly become more important.  William Morris said it wonderfully, and Lisa Congdon  lettered it beautifully... So, while I am thankful for my things and my ability to purchase/obtain/keep them, my aim is to remove at least 1 everyday that does not meet these qualifications.

Tips are welcome.

Hey look! It's me!

Jerry Burns took a picture of  one of the second moms of my childhood, Morgan, and he featured her on his amazing new-life resolution, 21 Days. It takes dedication to do anything for 21 days in a row, and you are rewarded(or cursed) with a habit.  So, Jerry has endeavored to form some habits.
Writing a letter of thanks every day.
Playing guitar for at least 30 minutes a day.
And taking a portrait every day.
 Well, I was Day 199... So it worked, friends.  And I got to have a coffee and conversation with this guy, who's pretty cool.

And, I think it strenghtened my resolve to get better habits in place too.  So, hopefully, you'll see the fruits of some of those here.

Lent and Looking to Holy Week

In many ways, some of my Lenten practices will not end on Easter Sunday... and I don't think I ever really intended for them to.

I have faithfully read a chapter a week of Practicing Our Faith…

Times of Yearning, Practices of Faith.

Honoring the Body.

Hospitality.

Household Economics.

And this week, Saying Yes and Saying No.

There are lots of chapters left, and, turning to Holy week, I find myself convicted in some practices and wanting to more fully delve into the discovery of others.  Sabbath’s importance has been realized on this Lenten journey, and I have learned that there are many miles left on the journey. But the thing that is important to me right now is that the journey has begun and I am convicted in it.  

These practices interweave… When you honor your body, there is a sense of extension into saying yes and saying no.  Practices of good faithful household economics mean we are able to extend hospitality, and that we are encouraged to consider how we care for our planet and ourselves… and we learn to say no to the excess and the things we do not need in our lives, and to say yes with our time and our money and our energy to the things that matter and that encourage hospitality and honoring the body.

This is an AMAZING book.  For individuals and for communities.  I highly encourage it.

Ouch...

I don’t know if I have vented on this here, but man oh man, breaking your tailbone?

Hurts. 

And not moving when you’re used to moving lots? Oh, the frustrations abound, friends.

But there is much more joy in the little things, and I pray that when(not if, but when) I get back on a bike, I will appreciate so much more the ability to feel wind on my face and I will doubtless be wearing my helmet.  I’m going to enjoy swinging my hips and digging into the steps of Lindy and Blues like it’s my job, and I am going to pick up all of the little ones that God’s put in my life these days, and crawl around with them.

While I try to be still and let my bones knit back together, I have had lots more time in which to sit and write- and read… Does this mean I’m getting the schoolwork I need to done? Not necessarily.  It means I’m working on my soul though, and in this sort of mandatory stillness I have begun to explore a creative side and a spiritual side that lose out when we land solidly in a mind/body meld of the sort that comes with being an academic and training for something big.

It means I’m sewing.

It means I am sleeping (okay, the meds mean I am sleeping)deeply and, finally, somewhere close to enough. 

So, all in all, life’s good.  It's taken a little while to get past the pity party, but now that I am, I love the good I am seeing.

Soapbox

Consider yourself warned, but, no matter how many times it is said, it can always be said one more time.

Wear.

Your.

HELMET.

I don't care if it's a short ride, if it looks silly, or if you think you're too cool for it.  It could save your brain.  I'm not exactly a beginning cyclist, and certainly no expert, and I fell off my bike recently- not in traffic, and I am fine- and I hit hard enough to break my tailbone and crack my helmet.  I walked (okay, hobbled...) away from that because I was smart enough to protect my noggin.
So please, friends.  Protect yours.  We are tasked with the care of God's Creation, and we have to remember that we are indeed a part of that equation.

Noise and Sounds

There is something to removing distractions… and, it’s funny how sometimes it takes something disciplined to bring out the need for disciplines.  I think that one of the lovely things about silence is that it is an effort these days, and one so very worth it.

I can’t say I have been as successful as I would like in making room for silence in my life these days- there are so many noises that seem to demand attention- right now- and I, all too often, listen.  Computers whir away, and keys click-clack.  Ads play on the radio.  I respond to the email or I play that game someone just challenged me to… I check a little screen again and again, and the noises keep coming.

Noise is not the only thing demanding my attention though, and for that I am infinitely grateful.  Sometimes, and gratefully more often than noise, it is sound… Laughter.  Prayer.  Affirmation.  Thoughts voiced.  Soft chatter of people talking, really talking, in the background of a coffee shop.   And, a favorite, to which I hope to drift off this evening, the sound of rain pit-patting on windows.


Sound is God's music of the world when we're not quite ready for silence, and I am thankful for it these days.

Lent

Not past tense of 'to loan'. No grammar lessons here today. I know that's probably something of a shock, or not.

The weeks before Easter are a time when the church becomes a very reflecting and solemn place... People prepare for baptism and re-affirm one another as we all journey together in this very meditative season. We give up things-or take them on, in an effort to be mindful of all that was given up and taken on in the life, ministry and death of Jesus Christ- and then, we spend a season of celebration living into Spring- a season loud with the potential of blossom and planting- and into the resurrection of Jesus and the birth of Christ's church. Through Eastertide, out of our meditative state, we are renewed as creation is renewed around us.

So what am I giving up? What am I taking on?

Balance. God gives us amazing minds and bodies and places in us beautiful souls- and entrusts us with their care. So I am going to try to get closer to balance and learn more about how I can best serve. No better time than the present, right?

Holidays.

I love them so...

I have slept.  

I have eaten.

I have celebrated reason for the season.  I put a nativity under the tree, and participated in worship both Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  It was a 3+ hour drive one-way, but SO worth it.  Because...

I have hugged my mama:

Ain't life sweet?

Hope yours was good too.

Resolutions up soon. 

Advent at home

Black Friday shopping…

I understand the point of knocking it all out early, but taking away family time for those who work in retail… especially with the sales starting at midnight, even 10:00 on Thanksgiving day. 

I heard Christmas music playing already in many places, before Thanksgiving.

And now we have Small Business Saturday. 

Cyber Monday.

Constants.  Telling us to buy buy buy more. Why?

I just… want to get back to a sense that Christmas is about the Christ Child.  Advent- that month of getting ready that comes before Christmas, is supposed to be about preparation.  In our hearts, in our homes.  Not about gifts… especially not about stressing out over finding the time and money to buy all kinds of gifts and go into debt… So to remember that, Christmas in my home, the very first one of my own, is home-made this year. 

I’m not buying many things.  And when I buy things, you can be sure they will not be given alone, and very rarely be new.  Somehow, it just makes more sense to me to give from the heart- and for me, that’s with my hands.

Why so sane?

It's funny how when you take a step back and evaluate, you really will learn things.  

I re-ordered some priorities bigtime and I took a minute to check in with where I am and I made some changes so that I'd be okay with that place.

I left my church job.

I think it was time... school and family are supposed to come before work, and that wasn't the case consistently, so I left work that I brought home with me and that pushed against what I’m learning about priorities in favor of work that'll stay at work.  

You see, I start sitting for a little one once a week next Friday... her parents think she's too cool for her to be work that comes home with me.  They'll keep her.

And I’m being selfish.  I’m taking care of me because right now is the time for me to make those habits a part of me... If I can’t do it now, when I am learning and growing in my ministry and in who I am, when will I take the time to?

I'm eating good food.

I'm running, spinning, riding bikes, and will be throwing weights in the mix too.

Sleeping more, and more deeply.  

This is a time when I'll try to be intentional about taking care of me- and remembering I am a child of God and worthy of care...  I am so thankful for the ability to be surrounded by a community that keeps me honest on this stuff.  It's so good to learn and grow here.  So.  Good.  

Sanity

Sanity is taking a step back. 
It’s taking a walk and watching the leaves change. 
It’s riding a bike.  A few times. 
It’s dancing.  
It’s singing.  
It’s re-evaluating and making changes in life for YOU.  
It’s drinking coffee and taking a minute to talk.  
It’s Sabbath.  Honest-to-goodness, no work, all renewing, Sabbath. 
 It’s feeding the soul and thanking God every second for it. 


And it feels great.

Revisiting Resolutions

For some reason, back-to-school always makes me think of resolutions... It just seems like one of the times when we resolve things, I dunno... I decided to take a look back and see what I did and how far... or not... I've come. I've copied the resolutions from that post, and if my formatting works, you'll see new thoughts indented below the original resolution.


        Grow close again to God. Encourage the relationship, have a deeper prayer life.

• I feel, in some ways, much closer to God.  But I also feel like the intentionality has slipped some.  A relationship with God is like most others in that it takes conscious effort to maintain.  When you slip onto a place of comfort, it’s easy to forget to attend to the relationship, so I need to be more conscious of it again.  Maybe I’ll try to have 15 quiet/silent minutes a day.  My lifegroup is helpful too. 

           Get healthy. What I eat, what I drink, and workin’ on my fitness.

• Greek made fitness go down the drainhole.  A combination of Greek and stress made me drop about 10 pounds… I suspect some of it is muscle, and that I will regain it.  But it’s never good for someone my size to lose that much weight that quickly.

          Sew 3 things a month.

• Nope.  Hasn’t happened.  Not even close.  Is it going to happen?  Probably not… But I think I will be leaving my machine more accessible and less in-a-corner so that I can sew when I want to.  And I have ideas.  And things I’d like to do and work on, which are all good things. 

   Clothing Fast.  Don’t buy more than one thing a month.  Buy as little new as possible.

• Well, I went crazy for a bit, but I did well with this one for a good long while, and it made my bank account pretty happy.  I replaced some basics last month and got some hand-me-downs and free things to boost a professional wardrobe, but I should be in good shape to not buy things for a while now.

 This is partially a matter of making a budget and sticking to it... I'm a grown-up and I should start addressing my finances as such.

• Mint.com is a lifesaver here, folks.  I’ve made a budget and I’ve gotten closer and closer to sticking to it, month by month.  Undoing lots of bad habits is taking work, but I’m getting closer to having more go in than out.

 Be good to my home...

• I’m in nesting mode currently.  New apartment.  New wall art.  New furniture. I just need to be intentional about picking up after myself.

  Be better in my relationships. There are friends I owe letters and phone calls- thank you notes long overdue. I have lost touch with more people than I care to admit, and I want to rectify some of that. I also need to appreciate my friends and family now- have dedicated time with them in any way I can. Life and the people you live it with are precious.

• I left the commentary from last time to say I’ve gotten an bit better on that score, and need to do more of the same.  Where it’s happened I’ve loved it!

  Be good to my education. Short version: Less time on facebook, more time hitting the books. This is treasured time. I need to embrace that.

• Yes.  Doing well.  Greek gave me some tools.  And Stayfocused, the Google Chrome app, is awesome.

     Be an asset to my church. This new position is a Seminary dream job, and I need to live up to that.

• They say you can’t make changes for a while, and I’m learning lots and starting to change things bit-by-bit.  It’s going well!

Long post, but I think you get the drift.  Time to be intentional again, friends.

MIA, That's meee!

No better reason though...

CYF conference had 68 youth from June 5-11, and I was privileged to be one of their 10 counselors... High school was one time when church camp was the best place on the planet.

Then, I moved apartments the next week and planned for...

Yup. I directed camp for Chi Rho... Middle School. Oh boy. 43 Campers and 7 counselors kinda make all that work worth it. SO worth it. Oh well... back in Spin, back on the bike as much as I can be... Life returns.

on bin Laden

Part of me doesn’t know how to feel about the death of Osama bin Laden.

I know the world, definitely the USA, went crazy when it was announced, and I will probably remember for a long, long time that I was swing dancing when the news broke, and I stood in a smoke-filled bar, and my eyes stung while I read the captions of Obama’s speech about what happened. I remember being relieved- because the death of bin Laden probably means a deeper sense of closure for so many families- from those who lost loved ones on September 11 to those whose sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters have put on a uniform to protect our country and didn’t come home. It’s a very important period on the end of a hard sentence for them, but not the end of the story.

Am I happy? I don’t know. Grateful? If it means that lives of people the world over are safer I’m glad that he’s not here anymore, and I think they are… but I think that how people are talking-celebrating- bashing the administration- in light of these events is tough. Wrong, even. Many people have had many things to say about the death of bin Laden, and I think there will be much said in the coming weeks. I’ll watch anxiously- and hope that Americans can grow past these… unfair, fired-from-the-hip reactions. Some of the signs posted and the facebook statuses are unfair to those who have lost loved ones- for those who see this as the grave thing it is. Celia wrote here about it in a very intelligent and passionate manner, and I wish more people could express themselves that fully. It’s going to change things in a very big way, and I don't think that the American people as a whole see that yet.

It’ll change my future because a dead bin Laden changes the future of the military and what the fight looks like… which I think I will watch more closely than I have in the past.

My hope and prayer, first and foremost, is that bin Laden's death brings a sense of closure, and that it will be followed by peace.

Back to goals.

It’s time for me to get back to goals… I did well through February setting and sticking to them, and something happened in the month of March that just… disenchanted me from being able to stick with it. March brought Lent and some focusing on other things with the church, and then before I knew it April was gone too without a real goals post. So, seeing as how it’s almost May, I think I’ll pick up again there.

I am really intent on finishing the schoolyear well, so I think my first goal will be to not stress-eat. The amount of chocolate I’ve consumed lately is reaching larger and larger portions… and while sick, I didn’t do so hot with the healthy eating in general or the working out. Tomorrow marks the return to Spin Class, and I think I am getting back to some healthier eating practices already. Here’s to continuing that trend… And the dancing.

I think sewing consistently is the next thing… My total count for the year in garments is 6, or 8 if you count accessories, so getting back to 3 a month would be good. There are some quick fixes I need to do too…

Budgeting will be the other big thing for the month of May… Both May and June will be expensive months for gas and spending in general with trips, so keeping myself in line with my spending elsewhere would be a really good start. It looks like I will be paying regular, big girl bills starting in June, and doing that budgeting would be really great too. It’s all about being conscious of using what you buy, and only buying what you will use… At least, I am trying to be better about seeing it that way.

Sticking with my current spiritual practices would be really good too… But I want to develop more as well. I think it’s really going to be a challenge to do self-care well next year while working at a church, so I want to establish those practices now. Make them habits that stick.

Oh well. Right now, I need to go get everything together for class tonight!