fabric love

I feel like there are so many things I want to tell you about, but don't know where to start. Then again, pictures of fabric always seem appropriate!

I love this from Erin McMorris' Park Slope. I'm envisioning a bag. But that could change. I haven't cut into it yet! Remember my theory on potential energy?

I think I have thing for circular floral designs. Here is Henna from Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market and Erin McMorris again. Not sure what I'm going to do with these. . . . . . . . Or am I? (evil laugh)

Another thing that I've got going on in my head is quilts. Quilts I need to finish (2!), quilts I want to make (1,000,000!), quilts I'm afraid to try (1,000,000), quilts I have enough fabric for (probably 10 or more). My husband and I went on a date (gasp! did I mention he's home? probably...yeah, I'm pretty sure I did.) last weekend. We went out to dinner and then hung out at the bookstore! Something we used to do a lot more of. I ended up coming home with this book, remembering a recommendation by Amber (One Shabby Chick).

This is officially my first quilt book. I love the title - I think we can all relate! And I love the story of the two shop owners, who blog here. They have patterns ranging from easy to difficult. And one of my favorites happens to be in the easy section - so it's on the list. I just have to finish my other two before I start any more.... ugh, the agony of waiting. Does anybody else wait to start new projects before old ones are finished? I'm trying to put an end to my procrastination! Unfortunately, the fear of messing up or not knowing exactly what to do next gets in the way.

Speaking of procrastinating - I have 2 quilt blocks for A Notion or Two that I drafted up Sunday. I want to finish them by the end of the week....

Please, tell me I'm not the only one with a to-do and want-to-do list a mile long! What's on your list?

For all you Jane Austen fans out there

I'm not sure how accurate this is. I like the bit where it says I'm extremely attractive - certainly don't feel that way with the black circles under my eyes! Funny too - I just finished reading this for the first time - and watching the movie for the 10th.


You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

Take the Quiz here!

What? No more T.V.???!

We couldn't live without the internet, but we decided we could live without TV. Mind you, we still have our t.v., just no more cable/sattelite. We had talked about not even hooking it up when we moved here a year and a half ago, but got sucked into an introductory plan. But now we've decided that we waste too much time watching things we aren't THAT interested in. I will miss the Food Network and Alton Brown, America's Test Kitchen, Dr. Oz and Ellen. But we can watch LOST online and get the DVDs of the Office. (and thanks to Carla and her DVR I can finish out the season of The Biggest Loser). In the 3 days it's been off, it's amazing the things I've gotten done and how much less zoned I feel from get sucked into the tube everyday. I've even almost finished my book for book club on Wednesday and I just started it on Friday. Another post about it later - it's a funny read.

Besides our own reasons behind it (including saving time and $50 a month), here is a great article that motivated us to actually do it.
Living Without Television by Christopher Westley

Pride and Prejudice Fans, LOOKOUT!

What have I been doing lately? Mostly just recovering from Christmas, a cold, and being 8 months pregnant. Lots of time to lie around and do little.

Here's something I did do recently, while lying around, with my good friend Keri who came to keep me company while Nick is gone. I watched a BBC miniseries called North and South (there is no Patrick Swayze in sight - don't be fooled!) It was EXCELLENT!!! Mr. Thornton has been compared to Mr. Darcy and the story isn't just a fluffy romance. You can read about it here: North and South. If you liked the Colin Firth Pride and Predjudice miniseries you will love this, and possibly more than P&P! I know, hard to believe. And if you haven't seen P&P and love British productions you will enjoy this. It's 4 one hour episodes, so it's doable in one long night or two shorter ones. I just watched it this weekend and I think I need to watch it again!


The baby is coming on the 31st - so I have some more projects I want to get done before then. Maybe I'll have some pictures up soon. I got some fabric to make a diaper bag! I'm so motivated - well sort of. I feel motivated for 4 hours in the morning before I just want to take a nap.....

Brain, Child Magazine

My friend gave me a subscription to this great magazine Brain, Child that I like to call the New Yorker for Mom's. It's full of essays, articles and features relating to the world of motherhood - well, Parenthood, really. It's subtitle is, The Magazine for Thinking Mothers. Half the time I feel like my brain doesn't work and reading each issue makes me feel a teeensy bit smarter. I also love that it is published out of Charlottesville, VA and that it only comes quarterly. So I actually get it read before the next one comes!

One of my favorite sections is where readers write in to answer a question. This month's question was "What lies have you told your children to avoid explaining something you weren't quite ready to address?" The following response I thought was hysterical, and maybe it's because I am pregnant and my body has been taken over by this little guy.

Parting Gift

I've always tried to make it a policy to be straight with my kids. My son's first word was "dog," followed closely by "mama," his sister's name, and "Kotex."

However, not long after he was born, my then two-and-a-half-year-old daughter was watching as I got out of the shower. She looked at me closely and said, "Mommy, you have a really big butt." Without hesitating, I told her that when you leave the hospital after having a baby, they give you the baby to take home along with a big butt. All mommies get one. She looked pretty skeptical until I added that every grown-up's butt looked big compared to hers.

Read more responses to this question here.

If you would like to explore the current issue you can click over to their site here.

A couple good quotes

A man's wealth is measured by what he doesn't need.
H. D. Thoreau

So true - stuff just accumulates and makes our homes and lives messy.

and another ...

The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man
who cannot read them.
Mark Twain.

I read a thing about Paulo Coehlo and how he takes books from his home and leaves them in public places for people to find. I would love to come across one of his books - especially if it were in Paris! He's keeping his clutter to a minimum too! Here's an excerpt:

PARIS (AP) -- Paulo Coelho hates seeing books neglected, gathering dust on his shelves. And so he leaves most of what he reads in parks, bus stations, his local Japanese restaurant, for random readers to find.

"One day the shelves in my apartment collapsed, and I saw all my books on the floor, and I thought to myself, why do I have these books, to impress my friends?" the author of "The Alchemist" said, explaining how he lugs bags of books around to give them away. "I feel a book must travel."

And so the walls of Coelho's otherwise luxurious Paris apartment are lined with near-empty wooden bookcases, giving the place a strangely spare atmosphere despite the moldings, high ceilings and carefully arranged sofa cushions. Read the rest.

Book Club - The Glass Castle

I just finished reading this book for my book club meeting next week. I can't pick out the words to describe it. It's funny in a "are-you-kidding-me!?" kind of way. Jeannette Walls has a way of describing a neglectful and abusive childhood as an exciting adventure. The interesting thing to me was that she wrote so vividly through the innocent eyes of a child. As she grew up you could see the loss of that innocence as she got wiser to what was really going on. I can't wait to discuss this book with my group - there are so many things to say! I'm so conflicted. Her parents were completely irresponsible and didn't deserve these kids and yet I found myself feeling compassion for them as she described the things that happened to them which were a direct result of their own choices. It's hard to describe what I'm trying to say without giving it away - and I think this is a book that everyone should read. Let me just say this - she gets you hooked in the first few pages when she describes seeing a homeless woman on the streets of New York and then realizes it's her mother.

One thing that I realized is that as a child you really don't know what you have or don't have, everyone's perspective on life is dependant on their own experience. I think anyone who experienced just one of the things she did as a child would think they'd had it hard and choose to be a victim for the rest of their life. And yet she speaks of it matter-of-factly and chose to make a different life for herself. As we compare our experiences with those around us, inevitably there will be some who we think had it better and some who had it worse. Her story helps me put my life in perspective and even though I've had to deal with my own things - it's not so bad, comparatively speaking. I like what she said near the end "I wanted to let the world know that no one had a perfect life, that even the people who seemed to have it all had their secrets." I guess if more people understood this, we might see more compassion towards each other.

Seriously, if you haven't read this you should - there's a reason it's on the NYTimes best seller list.

Here is a brief summary I picked up off of google.

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.

Excercise = Exhiliration

I just started up running again. I was motivated by reading in Jeff Galloway's Book on Running 2ed. He gives you permission to not go out there and kill yourself. He tells you to take it easy and ease your way into so you don't injure yourself.

After my pregnancy related health issues and getting over that it has been about 2 years since I really went on a good run. So 2 1/2 months after Alison's birth I started going back to yoga. I had to get my balance back. Then I started going on short walks - about 15 minutes at a time. I continued doing yoga and started walking longer. A month ago I did an hour long walk and realized I could do it. There was hope!

I find that I think if I can't do something perfectly then I shouldn't attempt it all all. But I am learning that doing a little is better than doing nothing. And then I saw this quote today:

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing,
the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is
nothing. - Theodore Roosevelt

Even doing something wrong gets in you in the frame of mind of doing SOMEthing instead of just putting it all off.

So today, following Jeff's advice, I took it easy. Set my watch for a 4 minute 1 minute interval cycle and headed out into the crisp fall morning (perfect running weather). I walked the first 4 and ran 1. That one minute seemed so short. I kept checking my watch during the 4 minutes thinking it was too long. But I kept reminding myself slow and steady gets you there. I did add an extra 10 minutes to the 30 he reccomends starting out with. But it felt GREAT!! I did it! So for a week I will do this and then decrease the walking and increase the running little by little until I can run the whole time!

Exercise really does get you going! Simple physics. A body at rest tends to stay at rest - a body in motion stays in motion.