I’m getting ready for an exciting month. I love February!

Today, everything is being put on the back burner. I’m simply BEAT. I think my nights of sleeping 4-5 hours each night in January have finally caught up with me.

I’m slowly puttering around the house, sewing small bits & pieces of larger projects, answering emails…one thing I’ve noticed is I’m a REALLY slow email writer, I tend to over think my responses to simple questions! I guess in todays society, we are so hardwired with emails & the typed word that I’m concerned with how my words come across on the screen. I want to come across the same way I am in real life! Plus I try to be everyones friend and when other people write me emails…I can’t help but wonder if they really want to be my friend back or if they simply could care less, or if maybe their true personality and feelings simply aren’t coming through. Ouch! Sometimes the internet crafty/quilty community reminds me a little bit of the cliques of high school! Although I am admittedly a sensitive person with a lot on my plate right now, so I could just be over thinking things ;)

The rest of the day I’m finishing up a small donkey related project (yup! donkeys!!!), baking a quick bread from moosewood, trying this tonight and watching groundhog day!!! It’s available on netflix watch instantly and I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! Mr. McPorkchop & I quote it constantly. I’ve been known to run around the house yelling “NED! ED RYERSON!!!”…hahaha!

Tomorrow we are going out of town until Monday! I’ll be away from my computer until then! I hope you have a great rest of your week!

Monday means:

A quiet house until 9 pm.

Long hot showers because it’s freezing.

Wool legwarmers & leggings.

Gentle Yoga

Accountability

Asking for help

Modest Mouse, The Pixies & Radiohead.

Today is the last day of January! What a fantastic start to the New Year!

Tomorrow, being the first day of February, is so exciting! I have lots of things I can’t wait to do and February is my FAVORITE month. Here in California there are some fantastic storms along with some fantastic bursts of sunshine. Stores will start carrying daffodils which are my favorite flower, days are getting longer, spring is coming but winter is still lingering enough to make me crave soup and bread. It’s my favorite, plus…VALENTINES DAY. I’ll admit it, I love pink!

Tonight I’ll be prepping the house for a busy week. We will be heading to the valley Wednesday & staying until Sunday, spending one day in Reno for the sheep show! I’ve been working on some silkscreens, some custom sewing, making lists and cross stitching! Who knew little x’s would be so addictive!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Sitting on the couch with Mr. McPorkchop. Quietly stitching. Reflecting on a documentary we watched last night (Food Inc.). Enjoying the sun coming in through the windows. Learning how to cross stitch on linen thanks to my friend Cauchy. I need a peaceful day to gather my thoughts.

Spending lots of long nights at the sewing machine. Cleaning, yoga & cooking during the day. Each day I get more & more cleaned up & organized. I figure at the rate I’m going, I’ll just sleep in like, April because there is just so much I want to do…like NOW! NOW! NOW!!!!!!!!

I’ve been trying super hard with my new years resolutions, sharing more sewing photos, being more open minded, being closer with the friends I have, trying to make new friends, etc. So far it’s been a learning experience. A really positive one.

I’m obsessed with little towns lately. I see gorgeous photos on flickr & wish I lived in a little village, surrounded by mountains and trees and of course, covered in snow. But instead I live near the ocean, among redwood trees, in a tiny two room “cottage” where it rains all the time. I guess it’s a matter of day dreaming & expressing wishes, while trying to look on the bright side of things, like the rain means I can have tons of quilts for my bed & couch…right? right?! ;)

Have a great Friday!!!!

It’s almost the end of the first month of 2010!

Our vacation ended two weeks ago. We drove home to a very very very messy house. Humboldt County was hit by an earthquake while we were gone! Our fridge tipped & dumped all the contents on the floor, shelves fell over, it was bad. Worst part? We came home over week after the quake. Imagine smashed eggs on your kitchen floor. For over a week. Barf right? So I spent the entire week cleaning. And cleaning turned into an obsession and some hard thinking.

I realize that I have wayyy too many belongings! Too much stuff for one girl! So I’ve been cleaning and paring down my life big time. I sorted through fabrics, makeup, books, yarn, you name it, I’m going through it. Be prepared to see a lot of destashing around this place in the upcoming weeks!

It’s been exactly one month today that I’ve given up meat. I feel different. Lighter maybe? I noticed I’m not as puffy. It’s challenging the way I cook and the way I look at food. I’ve lost a total of 7.4 lbs (keeping track of what I’m eating w/weight watchers! Their new iphone app is great!). I did yoga last night!

A few things I learned: Baggy sweat pants = material to trip over! Sports Bra is 100% necessary unless you want a face full of boob when you downward dog. Pedicure is a must, looking at my toes made me want pretty nails. Breathing correctly is going to totally help me. I have super bad asthma and deep breathing is a challenge but I felt REALLY good afterwards.

I also got the new wii fit, I have wii fit, but they came out with another game! I haven’t tried it, yesterday was the first day we actually had FLOOR space!

In addition to cleaning, I’ve been sewing here & there. Mostly late at night. I’m working on two baby quilts, a quilt for Porkchop & I, two minis for swaps and a Valentines Day quilt for Porkchop! I’ve also been working on some stuff for my etsy shops.

Today was the first day I’ve seen the sun since like, November! It was GREAT! Our “house” is only two rooms, a bedroom and a front room/kitchen which is ALL windows, while I was screen printing/sewing/cleaning today I was wearing a tanktop! Shock!

I’m off to cook dinner, draw and answer emails! I’m *WAY* behind in answering emails and whatnot, I’ll catch up ;)

It’s 2010! It’s 2010!

This year I decided to make some resolutions. I’m not the resolution type, but I need a little burst of motivation this year. I’m going to share them with you!

I started the new year in *true* Mrs. McPorkchop style, with a double ear infection, sinus infection and out of control asthma! GOOOO ME! So my first few days of the new year have been spent laying on the couch, crocheting a giant granny afghan and watching reruns on tv. Doing lots of thinking. Lots of daydreaming.

Some of my resolutions are the 365 project, I’m not comfortable taking a self portrait everyday, so a photo a day is more “me”, and then each month I’m going to set mini goals for myself, my entire month of February I’m taking a photo a day of something pink/red/coral with FILM and getting them all developed the last day of the month. Cool right? At the end of the year I’d like to get a blurb book printed of 2010.

I’m launching a fantastic new online shop within the next week or so, kindle cozies, iphone cozies, mini quilts, slots for custom mini quilts, patchwork camera straps…it’s going to be RAD! I want to start sharing the stuff I sew more, I only post 1% of the stuff I create on a daily basis, mostly because I’m paranoid people won’t like what I make. (Note to self…maybe work on some self confidence?! lol See below!)

I also decided that 2010 is going to be a slow year. I’m not spending money on anything “new”. I’ll buy fabric for projects and whatnot, but I’m just not wanting to spend money on silly things, no new nail polish, no “impulse” purchases, no new clothes unless things fall apart. I really want to get ahead financially and be more comfortable with who I am, instead of who advertisements say I should be. I’m planning on going on a MAJOR purge when I get home, donating, cleaning, selling…just streamlining my life, less STUFF. I’m the first to admit that new shiny things are my emotional pick me up and that isn’t good or healthy! After I spend money I feel guilty, so this year, stop spending money of silly stuff!!!!

2010 I’m going to indulge in things that make me smile more, everyday things, new skills, small pleasures etc. I’m learning to crochet, I want to embroider/cross stitch more and I’m really into kawaii. When Mr. McPorkchop is putting drops in my ears,  I’ve been looking at kawaii websites on my iphone. Kawaii is so fantastic and genuinely cracks me up. Lisa gave me some kawaii stickers and I promptly attached them to my sewing machine and kindle. I also have been obsessively reading japanese craft magazines and I love the interiors of their homes, light filled, bits of patchwork here and there. I need more order to relax and unwind at night.

Less internet time. I love the internet. Don’t get me wrong. But I sometimes find myself comparing myself to other people, flickr, blogs, etc and it gets old and depressing. “Why can’t I sew that fast? Why didn’t I think of that? Why can’t I take photos like that? Why can’t I sew that neat/straight/beautiful? Why is my stuff wonky? Why can’t I dress as cute as her?” I’m not the only one who thinks like this and 2010 is the year to work on less negative thinking! In my slow year, I’m slowing down my sewing/quilting/scrapbooking/crocheting…I want it to get genuinely make me happy during the process, not a giant rush to finish it so I can get 9000 comments on flickr..haha. ;) I’m not competing with myself or anyone else, at the end of the day, it’s just ME in my own skin.

Spending more time with my best friends. I rarely get to see them and I miss them so much. 2010 is the year to really give my all to my close friends. I ended 2009 by breaking off contact with one of the most rotten people I’ve ever come across and I realized staying friends with her was taking up time I could have been spending with people I genuinely LOVE. 2010 will be out with the grumps and negatives, in with the besties and new friends! I got to meet up with Lisa & Christin a few weeks ago and it was  BLAST. I need more lovely ladies like them in my life…or just spending more time with them in general, lol. I want to be closer with the people I interact with on a regular basis, be prepared friends, your about to get a ton of Amanda! ;)

The biggest change of all…going vegetarian. I spent an afternoon out at Mr. McPorkchops grandmothers cattle ranch and it was GREAT! Her home is gorgeous, the land is stunning, the cows are hilarious (and EXTREMELY well treated! I need to point that out!) but at the end of the day I realized I’m just *not* comfortable eating meat anymore. I’ve been thinking about this for the past year and two days after Christmas I decided to try it and haven’t looked back! I’m doing it in combination with Weight Watchers. Something I’ve learned about myself is I need to stick to an “eating plan”. I either over eat or under eat. Neither of which make me feel great! Sticking to a plan and being more “aware” of what I’m eating, at what times, is something I need to do. I’ve decided that when I get home I’m taking all my books that I read once and bringing them to a local used bookstore and trading them in for some vegetarian cookbooks. I also had some gift certificates that I’ve been saving and bought two cookbooks that I’ve been obsessively reading cover to cover. The Passionate Vegetarian and Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. Both are fantastic. I’m planning on subscribing to a CSA delivery once I can find one that I like! My biggest challenge is allergies, no soy so that cuts out most pre-made vegetarian foods and I can’t have any raw fruits or vegetables. But roasting has been AMAZING! I could eat roasted veggies 24/7. And soups. And hearty winter warm salads. Amazing! It’s been pushing my culinary skills to the extreme, but I’m loving it! I got an immersion blender with a gift card and holy smokes, I use it CONSTANTLY. What a nifty tool!

2010: The mantra is “awareness, slow down, grow and enjoy”.

Signing off and leaving starbucks….xoxo

I love this vacation so far! So much excitement! So many plants! So much cooking & baking!!!! So many hugs. So much peppermint. Discovering Seinfeld!

I’m currently writing this at starbucks, using their wireless, as my father-in-law has an ancient windows based computer which slays me, so it gave me an excuse to come out, listen to some Christmas music and have a brulee latte. I’ve been using the internet….sorta…on my iphone, but 3G is spotty and rare. Google reader and it’s 1,000+ unread posts scares me!

I have so much to share!

But for now, I wish you & yours a happy holiday and a merry festivus!!!!

See you on the flip side of Christmas!

xoxo

I’m going to keep this short & sweet today, I’m supposed to be packing for a month and my allergies are pushing me to my LIMITS today!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my little give away, I loved reading what everyone likes about winter!!!

Random Number Generator picked Amanda’s comment:

Amanda (hey, great name!) please send me your address and I’ll pop your scarf in the mail : ) modernacorn@gmail.com

Thanks again everyone, I hope your having a great Hump Day!!! I can’t believe I’m leaving tomorrow for a whole MONTH! INSANITYYYY!!!

As promised, today I’m giving away a shot cotton and far far away double cotton gauze scarf! What better way to get into a winter spirit this Monday?!

Yesterday I made two scarves and I’ve been wearing mine nonstop since then. It’s lightweight, soft, you can scrunch it and wrap it around your neck perfectly plus it’s long enough to knot. I’m planning on soaking mine in some Soak Wash, I have a tiny bit of the celebration scent left and I’d love for this to be even softer and smelling of Christmas! (Don’t worry, I won’t wash yours!) The edges are unsewn so you can fray it to your hearts delight. The shot cotton is a beautiful two toned fabric of a peachy-brown and a soft sage-y blue/green. The far far away is designed by Heather Ross and has the best little frog princes ever!

I got the idea from spool sewing and I think it would make a great last minute gift!!! It was easy peasy, although I didn’t use their exact size or sew it the same, I kinda winged it by measuring a favorite scarf and then slicing and sewing!

If you’d like to win this scarf, leave a comment between now and Tuesday, 12/15 at midnight. Tell me your FAVORITE thing about WINTER. I know, I know, a lot of you are already sick of snow and cold, but there has gotta be something you love about winter, even if it’s just that starbucks has brought out red cups and caramel brulee lattes! lol.

If your interested in a scarf for yourself or a friend in addition to the giveaway, I have more of this shot cotton and far far away left, just shoot me an email at modernacorn@gmail.com

Last but not least, a blurry photo of the scarf in action, what can I say, it’s cold in here and my hands were shaking!

Have a great Monday! Stay warm!