video

2016 Goals, My Word of the Year, and More!

Everyday Adventures

I feel like not doing a resolutions post in the early days of January is like breaking some sort of blogging rule. Add to that, I like to put my goals out there and hold myself publicly accountable, so here we are!

A few nights ago, as part of the Bloggers Get Social January Instagram/Periscope challenge, I did a ‘Scope on my Resolutions (which aren’t resolutions, but goals, and it’s an important distinction, even though it all boils down to the same thing in the end). If you haven’t heard of Periscope yet, it’s okay, it’s a twitter spin-off (as I understand it) and it’s live video streaming–raw, unedited, whatever happens, happens–and then it’s available for viewing for the next 24 hours. Thanks to a service called Katch, though, you can archive your videos for replay past the Periscope window.

So if you want to see/hear me chatter about my goals so forth, here you go:

(Direct link for the feed readers: 2016 not-Resolutions Periscope via Katch.me)

But if you’d rather just see everything in a list, why, I can certainly accommodate you there!

House Projects

  • Downstairs Bathroom Gut job renovation, starting soon (sooooon!), though we just added another element to the project that we hadn’t previously discussed. I’ll leave you with two words: Pocket. Door. Ooooh!
  • Driveway and Fenced yard Driveway is iffy, depends on getting City approval for it and there are a couple of things that make that less of a certainty; one being the proximity to the main water valve/access thingy and the other being a city sign that would need to be moved a few feet farther down the sidewalk… yeah. And there’s really only one place to put a driveway, so it’s not like we have a lot of options. But even if we can’t get the driveway approved, we still want to and will fence the yard, the driveway potential just determined where a gate needs to go.
  • Recycling Sorter A honey-build for Todd, this is projected to be done this weekend and it’s so we can stop being lazy and get back into the recycling habit. The sorter will have three large, removable tubs that fit into a wooden frame with covers and a space underneath for additional stuff (the cardboard recycling can flat-pack its way under there). This way we can grab the totes that are full, pop them in the car, and take them downtown easily.
  • Compost Bin I know we could just designate a far corner of the yard for a spot to put compostable kitchen waste, but I’d prefer something that’s more than just a heap on the ground for a variety of reasons. I’ve seen some that involved rotating parts and a hatch to keep any odor contained and I think that’s more what I’m looking for. This is a mid-year project.
  • (Extra) Back Hall/Mudroom Once the bathroom is finished and the wall between the hall and bathroom is redone as part of it (more on that another time), the rest of the back hall/butler’s pantry/mud room area is largely cosmetic. Of course, I say that, but we’ve had discussions on what to do about the supremely sloped floor in there so, yeah, maybe  not quite as cosmetic as it seems. But this is an extra project, if it gets pushed to another year I won’t be heartbroken.
  • (Extra) Utility Room–Currently the home of the washing machine, dryer, and chest freezer, this room isn’t exactly destined for greatness. It is, however, destined to hold the water heater and fridge from the current kitchen (which requires moving gas lines and adding some more outlets) before we can redo the kitchen. A remodeled kitchen is high on my list of projects for 2017, I think, so yeah, if could get this out the way, all the better.

Family

  • Get a dog! Finally! Every place we’ve lived together I’ve made sure we could get a dog because I knew Todd really wanted one and I’m not exactly opposed to the idea, either. In fact, I’ve had major puppy fever for the last couple of months and it is not abating. That’s part of the reason for wanting the fenced yard (the others being privacy and a noise-break), but with the current chain-link fencing on the side we could easily install a doggy door in the back hall and the pup-to-be-named-later would have safe, easy access to the back porch and shaded side yard. It’ll be at least another month, but the clock is ticking and we are perusing the rescue orgs and PetFinder on the lookout for our new family member.
  • Celebrate some milestone birthdays! Todd turns 50 in March and I turn 40 in April, and plans for parties for both are in place. I’m super-thrilled Todd gave me the go-ahead to throw him a party this year (he generally prefers not to mark the passing of his own years) and it was because he came up with a theme he likes (Hawaii 5-0!). And my friend L has been planning my 40th shindig for months.
  • Visit Savannah, GA. It’s not too far away, it’s some place I’ve always wanted to see, and it just seems like a good year for it. I’m not going to specifically say I want to do this for our anniversary, like last year’s goal, but just when the opportunity strikes.

Career

  • Career change. Oooh, sounds big, right? Before the end of 2015 I’d put in for a job in Thomasville but, just after the calendar change I got the word that they were no longer looking to fill that position. Bummer! So I’m keeping my eye out for something that suits me, but this goal is a little shakier than it was when I first wrote it down in December. Of course, the side business(es) could take off, and that’d be a freakin’ fabulous way for this to work out, but I’m open. It’s not that I *have* to find a new job, but I’ve been with my current company for 21 years, I’m ready for a change. And to not have an hour commute one way.
  • Book Projects Okay, this is left over from last year and the one goal I really didn’t even touch. Granted, there were good reasons for it (ahem, The Crafty Branch), but that doesn’t make them any more done than they were this time last year! So the eBook of What to Feed Your Raiding Party is actually in progress, and the Low-FODMAP book is in a verrry rough draft form. The sequel to Raiding Party is more in my head than anywhere else, but it’ll get there. And there are always a few more on the back burner.
  • The Crafty Branch Speaking of which, TCB is technically one year old come the end of this month, but is, in reality, only 4 months since launch. February will see our 5th kit released and my main goal for this year is to implement my marketing strategy and see continuous sales of the kits. Gotta pay those bills!
  • Scraps Of Life Yes, I consider this under the career umbrella, even though a successful blog-as-a-business-model is as rare as hen’s teeth these days. Still, it’s part of my whole package, and I mean to keep it going and growing. I want to do a video a week (be it YouTube or Periscope), I want to finish our initial trek through the 64 Arts. And I want to build up the Senses Project that I stumbled into this week into a regular (at least monthly) feature. And I’d love to do some sponsored posts for brands I use in my normal, everyday life.

Personal

  • Move more. While I’m sure my doctor would love me to put “lose xx pounds” here, I’m not gonna (write it, that is). I don’t actually care about the number on the scale, I’m comfortable in my body the way it is now and my weight/size doesn’t stop me from doing anything I want to. I do agree that my sedentary lifestyle isn’t the best and will make a more concerted effort to be a bit more active this year. Todd and I got Garmin Vivosmarts as Christmas presents this year and we’re both trying to hit those step goals each day.
  • Be more productive. Don’t get me wrong, I know that I get a lot done on a regular basis, but I also know how easily I get distracted and how ineffectively I put my available time to good use, leaving me to scramble sometimes to meet deadlines. I want to be more consistent in my output and feel good about what I accomplish each day instead of fretting over what I didn’t get done.
  • Art Every Day. This can be anything from sketching/doodling to working on a painting, to making something for the house to whatever. Just so that at the end of the day I can say yes, I did something artsy or creative today. I’m usually thinking about projects on the daily, but doing them comes in fits and spurts, and I want to be more consistent. In the last week I’ve sketched on several occasions, drawn some digital art, and designed some bookplates. Not bad for week 1.

Which leads me to…

Word of the Year

My word for 2016 is Show. As in show up (be present), show out (put my best foot forward), and show me the money (I’m in business, not charity, right?!). Last year’s word was forward and I really feel like it kept me from getting down when things didn’t turn out like I’d hoped, planned, dreamed. The Crafty Branch is the best example–the first plan didn’t work so I kept moving forward and took a different approach. Now it’s time to take that momentum and have something to SHOW for it!

And speaking of show, look who’s showing up on the Imagine Crafts blog today: me!

One Word Planner Dashboard for Imagine Crafts

One Word Planner Dashboard for Imagine Crafts

Just before Thanksgiving I got the word that I was accepted onto the Artist in Residence team for 2016 and this is my first project for them. Our first prompt was all about organization so a planner dashboard featuring my word of the year seemed like the perfect thing. (That’s a stunt planner, up there, I made a similar wrap cover for my planner inserts, too.)

Their products will also be showing up in more of my Helmar projects as the months go by. Like in today’s Reading Road Map Bookmark where I used their great StazOn ink pads to embellish the decoupaged bookmark.

Reading Road Map Bookmark for Helmar Adhesives

Reading Road Map Bookmark for Helmar Adhesives

What are your goals for this year? Any exciting news to share???

Gingerbread Diaries 1.7 | Monogrammed Mailbox Makeover {video}

The Gingerbread Diaries

Blowing the sawdust off a video from before we actually moved in last year (at which point we were way too busy to actually edit and post house videos) and it’s actually a video I did more in than just act as camera woman and peanut gallery!

(Direct link for the feed readers: Gingerbread Diaries 1.7: Monogrammed Mailbox Makeover)

The plan had been that I’d be able to give the rooms a good cleaning and maybe even paint or some small touch-ups inside between when we closed in April and when we were slated to move in June. Said plan was derailed when we realized just how futile any of that would be with the contractor & crew traipsing through and leaving mess in their wake every week. Not to mention the delay in getting hot water and all that good stuff.

So, finally, I found something that I could do, on my own, that the contractor couldn’t mess with, while Todd did things like hang smoke detectors and replace the doorbell buzzer thing. We knew full well going into this house that Todd was Mr. Fix-It and I was Mrs. Decorate It. Each to their own strengths. And I was feeling pretty damned useless those first several weekends up there since we were firmly in triage mode for so very long.

But I love our mailbox and it’s held up very well over the last year. The paint looks brand new and, really, the only wear that shows is on the very top where the spray varnish (Rustoleum, I think) is worn from the sun and weather combo and you can see a bit of ghosting on the edges of the wear area. But you pretty much have to be Todd’s height and standing right there to see it. So totally not a big deal at all.

As I said in the video, I used the testers of house paint so the colors are the same ones we painted the house (instant match). While I had a flat (1/4″ ish) brush and a round brush, I found the round brush the most useful, even though the style of the letters totally looks like it would be a snap with the flat brush. Go figure. The monogram on the front was hell to figure out–the V and J were easy, but the T just fought me so hard. Were I to do it again, I would probably make both the J and T a more serifed typestyle and less of a cursive/scripty sort. But it works, so I’m not going to be stripping it anytime soon.

I finished the first coat of the first side at the Thomasville house, then brought it back to Tallahassee to work on it when I had the chance between bouts of packing . The decorations added to the letters are based on some I found in an illuminated capitals book from Dover Publishing. They’re a little deco, which is a little newer than the house is, but they were also fairly simple, which is more what I was concerned with.

So that’s our mailbox project, the last official video update from our first year in the house, now it’s time to work on Year 2 videos, right?!

 

Let’s Go for FroYo!

Nibbles

Oh, twist my arm why don’t you?

Since today is National Soft-Serve (Ice Cream} Day, we did the next best thing and headed out to our favorite frozen yogurt place, Yoburst. And since I found out about this via the vlog prompts from Kat at Mama’s Losin’ It, we took the video camera with us on this most recent trip.

(Direct link for the feed readers: Let’s Go For FroYo!)

We generally don’t need an excuse to head to Yoburst, though we do have to remember to head that way before 9pm (I swear they stayed open later back when we first moved up here) and give up if we get a craving on a Sunday. Gotta love the South!

I mentioned in the video about heading there after getting news of Todd’s second surgery. That was a Wednesday and it was right around 5 when we stopped by. Since we’re usually squeaking in just before they close on a Friday or Saturday night, the cashier actually remarked that we were out of our usual habit coming in so early mid-week. It was then we started to wonder just how often we ate there!  A month or so after said surgery, we saw one of the surgeon’s nurses coming in as we were going out–that’s small town life for ya!

Of course, making soft-serve (ice cream or frozen yogurt) at home is pretty simple if you’ve got any sort of ice cream maker–just dish it up straight out the machine when there’s still plenty of air beaten into it and there you go! I made a delicious Limoncello ice cream not too long ago that was hard to resist in its soft, fresh stage–the only thing that saved it was that we were expecting company and I wanted to share it more with them than have it all for myself.

Where do you fall on the ice cream vs frozen yogurt debate? And what’s your favorite flavor?

August Art Walk

Creative Business

This past Friday was the First Friday Art Walk in Thomasville, the first time members of the Artist Collective have been invited to set up tables out at Studio 209 and show their work (and sell some, if lucky). I’ve been a member of the Artist Collective here since last fall, but this was the first time I was going to be showing up as part of the group, putting myself out there and seeing what Thomasville thought of what I had to offer.

(Direct link for the feed readers: August 2015 First Friday Art Walk)

Aside from the heat and (worse) humidity, it really was a pleasant night. If the opportunity arises again I’m definitely up for it. The two pieces of jewelry I sold were a nice bump, but my biggest sale was completely out of the blue!

About midway through the evening I glanced at my email and saw that someone had ordered a Character Cocktail! Considering I hardly ever promote that service, I’m always shocked at the orders when they show up. That it happened during the middle of the Art Walk, well, that just felt like a cosmic thumbs up, an atta-girl for being willing to put myself out there a bit. And, thanks to the wonders of technology (and keeping pertinent documents in the cloud), I was able to start the ball rolling on that commission from my table rather than having to wait until I got home.

I love living in the future!

Halloween House Tour

The Gingerbread Diaries

If you’ve been curious about what things look like in the Dollhouse, now, here’s your chance to take a peek!

(Direct link for the feed readers: Gingerbread Diaries 1.6: Halloween House Tour)

The upstairs still needs work–namely our bedroom and Todd’s office, and we need some better storage up on the landing/in the upstairs bath, but otherwise we’re more than just functionally unpacked in the house, we’re ready to party! And party we did with a couple dozen friends. The Dollhouse is perfect for entertaining, even in this “before” state–imagine what it’ll be like once we get it all fixed up. I joked to Todd that each room we finish will call for it’s own “unveiling” party.

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! We’re curious to see how many trick-or-treaters we get this evening. Hopefully enough to make a serious dent in the planter full of candy we have ready and waiting. Maybe we’ll get to meet some more of our neighbors, too!

UPDATE: I usually dress up for Halloween at work but this year I was sort of uninspired. But I didn’t want to skip it, so I figured I’d just grab the chef’s coat I use for conventions and go as a chef (and kinda kicked myself for not getting an appropriate wig sooner, because I could have gone as Red from OITNB). But then a funny thing happened. I was planning to just put my hair up in piggie-buns but teased them first so I wouldn’t look like I had giraffe nubs. Mid-tease I thought ‘heh, I sorta look like a Fraggle.’ Then my brain really kicked in and reminded me that said Fraggle was ALSO named Red!

So I present to you: Fraggle is the New Black

final1414759442442

UPDATE #2: Oh, hey, a story from last weekend’s Halloween party is over on Bye, Bye Pie today. Did you ever wonder if the Dollhouse is haunted?