New toy

I finally got the new toys for Atticus I bought off of barkingdeals.com.  It only took him 3 days to realize how fun they actually are.  We played for a long time last night.  Here's happy puppy play time in pictures (ignore the bright eyes - that happens when I use a flash.  And ignore the messy background.  I started to pack).

watching me out of the corner of his eye...

 

 



what retrivers do with dead animals and toys










Got called in to work early tonight.  Now I have to decide if I want to get dressed and run errands before work, or chill here and pack.  I really need to run errands, but Atticus is currently laying on my feet so I'm nice and toasty, and its COLD outside. 

Not looking forward to a 12 hour Monday.  I'm still in a work funk from my meeting.

I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am. I am.

~ Sylvia Plath

More....stress

I'm stressed again.  Not that stress isn't something I always carry around, but I've got an overwhelming dose of it lately.  I'm in that "I have so much to do that all I really want to do is go back to bed and hide under the covers" stress mode. 

Lets overview, shall we? Feel free to skip over the next couple of paragraphs and go right down to the picture.  I just need to vent. 

JOB:  I'm in that stage where I don't want to go to work and feel like I am 2 months overdue for a vacation.  I'm short tempered and have lost just about all of my compassion.  I was complaining to a friend about it who told me I was describing burn-out.  I have 6 more weeks til I'm on vacation.  *deep breath*

I had a meeting at work last night that put me in such an angry funk, that after I drove around for awhile and came home and tried to relax, I ended up paying my bills online to make myself feel like I had at least accomplished something that day.  This morning I realized I wasn't supposed to pay bills with this paycheck, I was supposed to pay my rent.  WHOOPS.  I knew something was off when I was paying them (like the absense of an electric bill - the only bill I have that changes from month to month).  *deep breath*

My schedule changes weekly (yes, literally, changes weekly).  The ONLY good thing about that is I'm supposed to get a 4 day weekend right after Thanksgiving.  Which is about the time I'm planning to move.  Which brings me to....

MOVING:  I found a house.  Its cute and quirky and roomy and pretty much perfect.  I found it through a friend, so it was never listed online or anywhere else.  What's the problem, you ask?  Well, I saw it a week ago, shook the landlord's hand as he said he would mail all the paperwork to me to get started on the application and credit check process.  And I haven't gotten the paperwork yet.  I know he's a busy guy, but I hesitate to say "I'm moving!", when I haven't even been approved for the place yet.  I want to call, but I don't want to bother him.  *deep breath*

Which brings me to....do I start to pack?  I look around and immediately become overwhelmed.  Where the heck did I get all this crap?  I should stop buying books.  And fabric.  And craft supplies.  And soap.  *deep breath*

OTHER STUFF:  I have a lot of stuff to do otherwise.  I want to get finished on birthday projects for the year (sorry to all of you who are owed belated gifts.  I'm either working on them or have them somewhere in the works!)  But, I don't want to drag everything back out if I'm just going to pack it up again.  How silly is it to be sewing while I'm packing?  Right?  But since I'm not packing, do I start sewing?  *deep breath*

TIME:  I feel like I have no time to do everything.  But then when I do have time, I indulge myself in my anxiety ridden worries and end up not being productive at all.  *deep breath*

COPING:  I am coping with stress by sweating it out at the gym.  I know I spend probably too much time there, but I'm willing to do it because it gets rid of all the physical signs of stress I would normally have at this point:  nausea, eye twitches, tension headaches, etc. 

So, there you have it.  What's been on my mind this week and what will undoubtably be on my mind for weeks to come.  Sorry to vent, but I really needed to. 

I'll end with a picture of Atticus.  Who is stressed that I'm stressed.  I keep telling him he's getting a fenced back yard to play in, but I don't think the message is getting through.

We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse. ~ Rudyard Kipling

The pathetic looks my dog gives me

He also moves constantly when I try to take his picture...

Night time is really the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours because everyone else is asleep.
~ Catherine O'Hara

Another rainy day fashion statement

Tight-rolled polar bear PJ pants into rain shoes....Classy!

Shun idleness.  It is a rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals. 
~ Voltaire

A nice text to wake up to

A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.
~ Donna Roberts

levantate



Its officially doc martens weather...

 Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it. 
~Vincent Van Gogh

Another round of birthdays and an update

My coffee finally kicked in about 5 minutes ago, so I can write without totally coming across like Eeoyre.  I worked a 12 hour shift yesterday while being up for 24 hours so I was in actual physical pain when I went to bed this morning.  And woke up this evening.  I could probably also tribute that to Pilates, but while I have a scapegoat, we'll just use work as my excuse. 

I did have an evening at the gym scheduled with a friend tonight but I had to cancel due to the overtime.  I'm bummed about not getting in my endorphin rush and spending time catching up with her, but I'm enjoying my time at home with Atticus.  I think he misses me when I'm gone all the time.  Maybe. 

Anyways, a quick life update:  I'm looking for a rental house to move into.  Although yes, this is the time to BUY a house, just thinking about doing that by myself in this area and this day gives me an anxiety attack, so for the time being at least I'm sticking with rentals. 

I thought I had very few demands.  I'm not picky about space or number of bathrooms.  I want to live in a certain area, with a certain rent, and a yard (it doesn't even have to be fenced!) for Atticus.  Apparently the combo of those 3 things is either rare, or a hot commodity.  If I hear "that was rented just yesterday" from one more property manager I might knock my head against the wall.  I keep getting my hopes up about really cool sounding places only to be knocked down a couple pegs when I hear they're no longer available.  Case in point:  I saw a for rent sign by the side of the road on Sunday.  Called yesterday (Tuesday.  No, I have no excuse why I waited so long).  Received a callback while at the gym so I didn't hear my phone.  I was busy all night so I didn't get a chance to call back.  Overtime this morning so by the time I got home I was too tired to call.  Called the guy back this evening, and as he told me all about it I got super excited how perfect it sounded.  Then he said..."I have one interested person who is handing their application in tomorrow".  *sigh*   Is it wrong to hope they have horrible credit or bad rental history?  Or will Karma get me for that one?  I should hear by Friday whether their application was accepted or not. 

So, thats whats going on with me.  Its a frustrating and anxiety ridden process.  Do I start to pack things just hoping I get a house before December?  Do I spend the $40 application fee at all the local property management places and take the hit to my credit (apparently having your credit run multiple times in a short amount of time is negative) and to my bank account?  Sometimes being an adult has its drawbacks. 

Anyways, now that I updated you, here's some photos!

My sister Michelle's birthday was 2 1/2 months ago.  Yup, just now sending that out.  Anyways, she suggested wine glass markers, which was a fun suggestion and a fun thing to experiment with.  They weren't perfect (the wire I used was too pliable), but I think they turned out kinda cool!

I used a mixture of glass beads and homemade clay beads...

Here they are all together.  I think they look neat. 

My niece Sarah's birthday was 2 months ago.  She requested a banner like I made her brother in January. 

I used a reverse applique process for the letters, and through a creative mistake, I had to stick them in the dryer, where they fuzzed up a little.  I think it gave them a cute look.

Because I sent their presents together, I also whipped up a couple of rings in various sizes (although to be honest I really guessed at the smaller sizes - I have no idea how big kids fingers are)...

An up-close and personal look at a couple (I think they look cooler up-close)...

Happy Birthday Michelle and Sarah!!!!!  (Sorry I forgot to put cards in the box!)

While I was uploading pictures, I thought I'd upload a picture of my latest creation (I should say "creation") - me, the non vegetable eater, was drawn in by farm fresh vegetables so I ended up making a vegetable mix (and had to call my mom on vacation to ask her how to season it and bake it)....

A mix of acorn squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, gold potatoes, some weird kind of purple potato, and red potatoes. 

Looks good enough to eat!!!

Well, if you'd a'took to me like

a gull takes to the wind

well I'd a'jumped from my tree

and I'd a'danced like the king of the eyesores

and the rest of our lives would a'fared well.

~ The Shins