My Weekend Apron...or, New Year's Revolution Success!

I did it!  I said I was in the mood to sew and I actually did something about it!  Granted...I was only motivated because of a last-minute gifting opportunity which failed to materialize in the end (didn't finish in time, didn't like it enough to give it away)...but hey, I sewed!  It's been way too long, I have to say.  Both me and the machine could use a few improvements, but all in all I'd say we got along rather handily.

I made up the pattern for this one, but as I was brainstorming and gathering inspiration online, I did come up with a few patterns that look fun to try.  Best of all, they're free!  I really love the internet sometimes.  I'll try to post the best of my findings soon...I'd like to make another apron in the near future.  No real reason...they're just simple and fun, and I like having the freedom to experiment without worrying about whether I'd wear it (in public) or not.  (Sadly, this worry has become less and less frequent of late, and I think I may be in need of some fashion counseling soon.)

My workspace was looking so inviting this weekend, how could I help but sew!?

I'm Sew Excited, I Just Can't Hide It*

I saw these photos from Built by Wendy today and it's official:  I'm in the mood to sew! 

This is a good thing, as Mac told me the other day that my New Year's resolution should be to sew more...to which I responded that it was!  Actually, I wrote about 2 pages of 'revolutions' (no more resolutions, I always seem to fail them!), but sewing and just generally creating more were high up on the list.

Mac gave me this sewing machine for my birthday last year.  It belonged to his mom.  I am so excited to start sewing again!

*Come on, you knew a bad sewing pun was bound to happen sooner or later.

...Et Voila!

My favorite discovery of the day, courtesy of Animal Head Vintage (a super inspiring site I stumbled upon in my usual Sunday evening blog-wanderings):

La photocabine.  It's a virtual photobooth, just like the kind Mac and me (I know, I know...it should be Mac and I) went on a cross-country quest to find.  Just like the kind I grew up using at every K-Mart, Sears and Bon Marché my little saddle shoes, Keds and jellies could drag me to...but have sadly since been removed.  Yes, just like that...only free! 

The instructions are en français, so just click the curtain to get inside and push the button when you're ready to go! 

My second most favorite discovery will be seeing the photos that all of you take.  Blog them, flickr them, facebook them, e-mail them...but by all means, don't let me down!

Walkin' in a Texas Wonderland

As promised (sort of)...some photos of our Christmas day stroll.  To help set the scene for folks far away:  December 25th.  Mid-afternoon walk along a town lake, that's also a ladybird lake, that's really a dammed up river running through town.  Roughly 50 degrees, a married couple's first Christmas.  She loves walking, he hates walking, they both love each other.  A little duckwatching, a light breeze, lots of Spanish spoken, but not by them. 

I think my very favorite part was at the end, when Carol of the Bells started chiming out from this tower, or at least I think it was this tower:

It's called Buford Tower.  Did you know that one of the first--if not the very first--friends that Mac and I made in Austin is named Buford?  Pretty cool.

Yay for walks with sweethearts and best friends, and for Christmas walks at that!  I think it was the best gift Mac could've possibly given me.

How Rude!

How rude of me to not include Mac's blog address on the last post.  And how rude of me to say "How Rude!", knowing that for at least one other person in the world, it will conjure up unwelcome images of Jar Jar Binks.  Mesa sorry!

http://mikemacdonald.wordpress.com/

For your viewing enjoyment:
Supposed To Be, by Jack Johnson and Jar Jar Binks
Many Deaths of Jar Jar Binks

Mac doesn't seem to agree that the above videos are hilarious.  What's your vote?  Am I nuts?

While I Was Away...

Here's a look at some of the things that went down during my incredibly long lapse from blogging:

I managed to convert 1 to 2 to 3 (and in case it's not obvious from the last picture...make a little cash along the way!)

I made my first successful pie crusts ever!

Mac started a blog of his own!

(Oh, and hell froze over too.  Tiny joke, as Mac used to tease me about my excessive blog presence.)

And speaking of hell freezing over, Mac took a walk with me yesterday for Christmas : ]  A walk as in...outside...with no foreseeable destination!  My favorite.  I think this deserves a post all its own.

UPDATE

I almost forgot!  I also got a new job, which is as close as I'll probably ever come to a childhood Della Street fantasy.

(Not to be confused with this...)

Haha, thanks for indulging me.  It looks like I also acquired a new follower in my absence, which thrills me to pieces.  Hopefully I haven't lost everyone with the last few hours of blogging!

Merry Christmas Blues

Taking a Starbucks break on our Christmas walk--thank you, husband...you are my very favorite gift.

It seems like it's hard not to feel blue about Christmas at some point.  Whether it's leading up to it...during...or the day after when it's all over.  Some part of me wonders if we're not all reaching for something that we'll never fully find until Jesus comes again.  The fullness of eternal peace, joy, and life.  Unity, family, and a home.  Maybe there's something deep within us, reminding us through some kind of longing ache, that what Jesus came to do is not quite finished yet.  There is more to the story...more to hope for...and this, as good as it is, is not as good as it gets. 

As long as there is breath inside us, there is opportunity to hope.  But hope, I find, is rather hard work.  Work enough to last me the remaining 364 days of the year.  I'll be honest, there is a part of me that is struggling to let go of this year.  So many wonderful things happened in 2009.  So many stories I had always secretly hoped for and dreamed of finally came true.  There is a part of me that does not dare to keep 'hoping forward', I guess.  It seems much safer to remain somehow stuck in time (forever teetering on that dangerous border between contentment and just plain settling).  Of course I know this is nonsense, and so rather clumsily, I will move forward with the rest of the world into a brand new year.  I will do the work of dreaming, hoping and praying...for more adventures and answers to come.

Hope is the opposite of giving up.  When I am tempted to give up (and that is much more often than I care to admit...though much less often than it used to be, I believe...), I hope I remember words like the ones I read today...

I cry out to the Lord;

I plead for the Lord's mercy.

I pour out my complaints before him

and tell him all my troubles.

When I am overwhelmed,

you alone know the way I should turn.

I look for someone to come and help me,

but no one gives me a passing thought!

......

Then I pray to you, O Lord.

I say, "You are my place of refuge.

You are all I really want in life."

-from Psalm 142-

Sometimes I feel stupid for writing the things I do.  I'm glad David didn't...or at least...didn't let it stop him.