Words

There are two words stuck in my head as things I want to strive for in 2016.

Balance.

Localize.

Balance... between work and life, surely.  In 2014 and 2015 the world has been inundated with articles about women who "have it all" or how women will never "have it all".  And I don't intend to list them or weigh the merits of them.
But what I mean when I say balance has everything and nothing to do with having it all.  I want to spend time each day writing, and reading, and being outside... I want to know I have been playing in the dirt(or with food I just took out of the dirt) or moving my body in the sunshine... and I desperately want and need to pursue creative endeavors.
I could draw out pie charts or obsessively schedule, but those things have kept me from the doing in years past, so I won't... I will try out the Pomodoro Method on my mornings.  Cycles of work and breaks could be just the ticket.

Localize... Well, I have Barbera Kingsolver to blame  thank for this kick in the pants.  Have you read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?  I unabashedly recommend it.  I also want to take miles off of my food because of it.  So we're expanding the garden and diversifying what we're planting... I hope to make all the salsa we eat from June(when tomatoes start really coming in) on, and have good things in our freezer, and on our table, and filling up mason jars for those days when they can't be found local and fresh.  One of the benefits of this point in our lives is having the time to invest in this sort of garden... and it's one of those habits I am so glad to be starting young.  It'll have lasting benefits for our whole lives.
But here's the thing.  We can't grow it all.  And what we can't grow, I want to find in or around my community.  It's a way to put money into the economy in this place where we call home, and, more importantly, connect with the people who bring meat and milk to the table.
So I think we'll be on the winning end... with relationships in the community and a full pantry.

Alright 2016.   I'm coming for you.

Celebration!

Well, it's official! 

Jon and I are getting married! He proposed after a bike ride and it was really great! I hear it wasn't at all what he had planned, but it was better, in some ways, for that fact. I think that's partially why I had no idea it was gonna happen until it was happening. I kept wondering why he wouldn't really smile in pictures. 

We're hoping we can stay true to the idea of very us throughout the planning and the process of preparing for a life together. There are so many THINGS that come out of the woodwork as soon as people find out you're getting married. 

"Are you going to have this? No? Really? How are you going to manage?"

 "You're getting married THIS YEAR?! Wow..."

"You're making your wedding dress?"

8 months, by the standards of many, is not a very long time in which to plan a wedding. But it is the time we have given ourselves to plan our wedding... And it's the time we've given ourselves to prepare.  

I want to be the best me I can be when I walk down the aisle. 

Healthy. 

Balanced. 

Happy. 

Whole. 

Because if I can be my best me, we have a better chance of being the best us. 

I promise, this wont turn into a wedding blog. But I hope to post accounts about the journey to the best me; to the best us. All of that resolving needs to continue to happen. And I can't wait. 

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.  

Starting Again

In the new year, it seems to be the tendency of many to begin something new, or to pick up old hobbies/practices/diets.


There are pots of tea that wait for mugs and friends and conversation.
Blank composition notebooks waiting to be filled with thoughts, dreams, prayers, and worries.
By my bed, books of reflections and deovtions wait to be read and thought and prayed over.
There are sermons to write and preach.

My bike has been largely stationary, waiting to be a bike instead of a sculpture, since I fell off of it in March last year.
There are SEVERAL containers full of fabric and a much-neglected (although not as much recently) sewing machine that beckon me to act in creativity.
There are pots and pans and recipe cards that could all use a workout.
There's a gym membership that is waiting to be renewed.
Dance shoes that want to go on my feet and move me across a floor.

And, lest we forget, syllabi, books for class, papers, exams, committee meetings, and pile upon pile of paperwork that will cross my desk in the coming months.

And a (very cute) calender that I'm not sure will hold it all.

But, you know, so many of these things are soul-filling, and necessary.  There are things here that contribute so much to who I am and who God means for me to be, and I think that the power of a support system and the sanity saving of that calendar and those lovely to-do lists it'll happen.

And if it doesn't, life WILL go on.

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.

Practicing Our Faith

So, this book is a big part of my lent.
Introduced in the book are a series of practices... And they are all things that in some ways are taken for granted, and in some ways are disappearing from our culture.  I read the first edition in college with a Bible/book study and I don't know that I really got it or wanted to take the time to get it then.
Lo and behold, in searching for a book a while ago for a group study, I found edition number 2- with 2 new chapters and the same great premise.  There is a lot that is the same, because these are ancient Christian practices- and these things don't change.  There are additions- thoughts on how Creation and the care of self and care of the world is present in these practices, and how we integrate them in our lives.
   But... The best happy coincidence? There is a chapter for every week of Lent and Eastertide- so, from now to Pentecost.
14 weeks.
And, I think it'll be really good. I can get it more now than I did then, because I'm ready to do the work.

Putting away Christmas

I know... It's past the first of February.  I am very well aware that this should have happened looong ago, but Christmas did not get completely packed away till this afternoon... and I am a-okay with that.

Between you and me, it's been pretty busy here of late.
Travel did its bit... first to watch a dear friend marry her college sweetheart, and then for class to Central Europe.
My.  Oh.  My.
Put a new semester beginning on top of all of that, and it's no wonder...

But it is okay, because Christmas isn't the only thing I put away today. I've been working on quite a bit of late, and this whole organizing thing fits in pretty well with that.

If you recall Tuesday's post,  you remember I finally made some resolutions.  And one category was...

More Organized.
In my home.
My calendar.
My finances.

Well, putting away Christmas and quite a few other things which have hung around for some time left me with seeing my starting point.  Organizing my home will not be an overnight effort, because it's much more than just a place for everything and everything in its place.
I hope to simplify- keep only things that bring me great joy.  Not aquire new things- be a steward of what God has given me, and do it well.
I hope to decorate- make my space something I am proud of.  This will be the first time I will have lived in a place for longer than a year- I really want to celebrate that because it's really something to celebrate.  Kind of a marker to adulthood...
And I hope to enjoy the process and learn from it.  Pinterest is holding ideas, for sure, but it won't be the only thing I look to.  I've added a sidebar, and I hope to have resources linked over there, because there are lots of good ones out there.

Do YOU know of any good ways to organize your home? Any websites you frequent for tips?

Resolutions...

Never too late.

More dedicated...
In prayer.
In journalling.
In creating.
In relationships.

More organized...
In my home.
My calendar.
My finances.


More confident...
In my skin.
My food choices.
My fitness level.


I want to end this year further down the path to who I am... I think I got too specific too soon with resolutions for where I'm at last year, so I'm going to try this approach.  I'll say more about each category as time passes and I make progress.

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. 

I really want to clean.  To organize. 
I think it's because it's fall.  Martha's got a checklist, and so do many others.  

Oh my goodness… The Daily Ditch is catching, but I think it’s more of the starts that are happening.  School has started.  Trees have started to change.  I’ve started to want to entertain, and that means putting life and home together enough to do it.  Heck, it could just be nesting.  There's stuff on my walls now, and I've spent enough time procrastinating on Apartment Therapy looking at pretty ways to organize that it's not even funny.   Let's face it, my first apartment is thisclose to being fully furnished, short of an ottoman with storage and maybe 2 or 3 chairs, which would have to fold. Because y’all, my apartment is tiny.  But it means speed-cleaning a la Organized Home can happen.  

But, before I acquire more things, I would really, REALLY like to organize what’s there, and finish this stuff properly.  So.  Upholstering.  Building a shelf.  Maybe building or finding a sewing table. Painting all of those things. 

Making some cloth bins.  Painting a headboard- I have a neat idea involving 3 canvasses that would be one painting... kind of exciting.  

But… I really want to be kind to my home these days. My  plan of attack- 15-30 minutes a day and an afternoon this weekend- are going to make it happen, friends. 

• Monday was the closet. 
• Today will be the bookshelves.  Ohhh Boy.
• Wednesday? Living space.
• Thursday will be the bathroom.  And closet, round 2.
• Friday’s going to be the big one… Fabric. 
• Fabric’s going to take more than a day.  I’m hoping to set some goals and group some things for the future, and I’d like to also get the rest of my crafty things all set too.

Hope you fall clean too, friends!

I ran 2 miles today.

Now I have no excuse not to... because I can do it.
Getting back into a routine where fitness is a part of it is one of those things that I hate every time I fall out of one, but making it a part of my life as the new semester begins really will make me a happier person.  Endorphins are good for your soul, and the fitness you get while getting them?  Great for self-confidence.
On that note, I am picking goals for October even if it is a little early:

• Sew once a week
• Run once a week, spin once a week
• Pray intentionally every day

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.

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!

Almost Holy Week? Holy cow!

Since last posting, I think I've done okay on many counts.

My Lenten Resolution to give up bad self-care has led to some real honest progress stepping back and taking a long, hard look at life and how I am in relationships and out of them. A friend recommended a book, and it's been good to read on the journey.

I gave another friend my devotional book, as he seemed to need it more than I did in that time, but I think I'm still praying more. I have been meeting weekly with my women's small group at school and that time is so treasured.

Midterms meant a big disruption, but I still managed to sew a bit and dance a lot. I have danced at least once a week and twice many weeks... even 3 times once!

My spin classes paid off- I rode the 48-mile route in the April Fools Ride, held in Millegeville, GA. I'm proud to say I finished- I didn't push my bike at all, pedaled everything. It took 4 hours in the saddle, and between 5 and 5-1/2 total, when you count stopping to stretch and hydrate and do everything possible to keep cramps at bay.

Sewing hasn't stayed at a garment a week, but this is the first time in a long time that I have been sewing this much. On the docket are a petticoat and dress for Easter. Hopefully they'll come together in the time between now and then.

Wow- what a post of I's and my's.

Next time I'll write more about something that isn't me... like re-visiting undergrad.

Lenten resolutions

I gave up bad self-care for Lent.

If you know me, reader, you'll laugh and ask... well how's THAT going for you?

My response?

I'm doing okay... I said the NO- word... to a commitment I couldn't honestly fufill instead of trying to make it work. I'm working out at least twice a week... Spin class hurts so good, but I am already feeling better about my body and seeing improvement. Dancing once a week has given me a lovely way to get active off-campus, and I've made a garment a week so far during Lent.

Praying has happened more, and I am reading along in the Bible study that the church has encouraged for Lenten devotions. As I explore the weirdness thing that is finding a calling, and how to live life as me while pursuing it, I'm trying to be faithful in discerning and it's not always easy. I'm frustrated more than I admit... and I think I'd really be going crazy without the support system I've been able to build here... I am rethinking more and more how I am in relationships, romantic and otherwise...I have an unfortunate tendency to be a hermit if not careful And about how I care for myself. Which is, I think, inter-related.

This resolution of mine will get a real trial-by-fire in the week to come. I have a camp planning session tomorrow, a project for class due Monday and a sermon Wednesday, the day I am also giving blood. Then I have a week and a half before I preach again, and I think an exegesis paper shortly after that second sermon.

Ah, it's the life... off to errands and babysitting.

February and ...March?!

February was good for some things and not so good for others.

Copied-and pasted goals... Italics are completed, comments are in bold.

School:

-READ! What they don't tell you about grad school is that you could easily double the amount of reading you do for undergrad. Easily. Did more reading, still not all of it. But I don't know many people who do all of it.

-Put all assignments in my planner through midterms(one more class worth and I'm done!)

God:

-Pray every day- morning and bedtime(still trying- morning is tough.) Morning is still tough. Better though.

-Read the Bible at least once a week outside of class(so far so good)

Sewing:

-muslin suit jacket(I decided to do a vest without the lining(I don't have fabric) but with facings so I'll have a completed garment... it's all cut out!) After a minor freakout, there is progress!

-refashion sweater(started)

-cut out entire suit this project has been put on hold due to its seasonal nature... August or September?

-construct suit jacket ditto.

Home:

-supply missing kitchen things(done)

-do dishes before bed to wake up to a clean kitchen(hasn't happened as much since school really got underway- I am getting there!)

-Keep laundry under control

Health:

-work out 3 times a week

-try for 3 meatless non-breakfast meals a week

-go dance! salsa once, swing once... sooo much fun twice!

Look for March's goals tomorrow, and a return to weekly or more frequent posting soon.