summer garage salin'

ahhh, summer! summer is fantastic for a number of reasons.... longer days, more beach strolls, barbecues, and GARAGE SALES!!  this is the first summer with a car and it has made garage saling that more exciting. 

i have enlisted my pal crystal for the early morning adventures and we have done well for ourselves.  crystal recently moved to victoria from japan and she and her new husband have an empty apartment in desperate need of some sprucing up.  i actually have the opposite problem.  my tiny one bedroom apartment is full to the max, which makes my garage sale purchases to be selective.  last weekend was perhaps my most successful garage sale experience this summer.  you gotta love people who have garage sales for the purpose of getting rid of clutter, not making a profit, which was what i found!  i found a wonderful danish ceramic candle holder made to look like blades of grass - which can easily be converted into a vase.  i also found a 'jasba keramik' plant pot, which i love!  other finds: vintage how to to draw paint/draw books, a chest of drawers for my crafting supplies, and a tambourine (ok - not all purchases were practical but i may need a tambourine one day).  

a - okay!

since i last posted a lot has changed.  i moved on from 2 jobs that i felt negative about - one made me feel apathetic & the other made me seethe with anger. nasty combination. 

the new job is great - i sleep well at night and don't dread getting out of bed to start my work day.  however, getting the job did have it's hiccups.  my interview was, perhaps, the most bizarre yet.  i spoke openly and too honestly, which made me realize that my ability to bullshit is pretty much gone.  shockingly, i got the job but needed a driver's license - ugh.  interesting fact: the women in my family have some kind of aversion to driving.  despite taking lessons with a driving school, i failed the first go.  two weeks later i gave it another try and passed!  although i am still not too comfortable with the whole driving thing, i am getting my confidence and my client's don't mind the occasional slamming down on the brake and slower than average pace.

one downfall of starting the new job - i also started flirting with the terrible nicotine monster again.  i know, I know.  i feel guilty some days, other days I feel okay with it.  i remember when i met up for a driving lesson from 'fred', he pointed out a young woman feverishly smoking on the sidewalk.  he pointed out that she had gone through 2 cigarettes in the 10 minutes he was waiting for me.  fred mentioned that he was an ex-smoker and if he started again, he would go right back to it like he never quit and would probably enjoy it.  UGH!  is that what being a long-time non-smoker is like?  it seems that i thought about it constantly - hell, i still do.  but regardless, i have to get a grip and give it another go....

felted cozy...

this lucky girl's boyfriend bought her a 13 inch toshiba laptop for her 35th b-day!  

my previous laptop got a lot of wear and saw me through the better half of my degree...but it  finally bit the dust last year.  

now come the new laptop.  at first, i wasn't too welcoming - feeling it was too extravagant of a gift and, quite frankly, too small.  

i can happily say, i'm over my initial laptop concern; so much so that i made it a little cozy.

i have felted a few knitted pieces - some turning out good, some (really) bad.  it's always a gamble.  

this time around, i used my leftover wool bits - so i wouldn't feel too bad if it got botched in the felting stage.  my constantly changing wool, also made me forget any chance of it looking uniform and anywhere close to perfect.  my finished project turned out awesome - fitting my laptop like a (tight and slightly short) glove.

zero expectations - what felting is all about (for me anyways).           

     

snow day for all...

but not for me.

woke up wednesday morning with over 10cm of snow.  my partner had a snow day from school - not even buses making it to his campus.  

no excuse for me - i live only blocks away from my work place.  while watching the white stuff fall over the city, my colleague half-jokingly said, "poverty doesn't take a snow day".  yes, good point - but the office was deadsville, man.

 

50 days....

...without 1 cigarette means i have  gone without 1,000 of the filthy fuckers.  

while i know i've made the best decision, i miss them in a twisted way.  i miss that morning cigarette that provided a sedated glance at the day ahead.  i miss the cigarettes that split up my day into several social gatherings, usually comprised of the cooler kids.  i miss the cigarettes that seemed to fill up those dull moments, like waiting for the bus or walking to work. 

but with all that said, i am happy that i feel healthy; taking in big breaths of air without the slightest discomfort.  i am also free from that feeling of impending doom; i constantly feared withering away from lung or some other smoking-related cancer.  it only intensified my already bad case of hypochondria.  i am also no longer the social leper that slithers outside, even in the nastiest weather conditions, to haul on a cigarette alone.

there is no doubt that the good outweighs the bad but the loss is still a drag when i have a bad case of selective memory.

"Cigarettes, I won't do cigarettes, nicotine will kill ya" ~ Tommy Chong

 

makin' monsters

oh craftiness, how i have missed you. 

i had a monster making date with jess & thea last night, which was awesome!  jess is one of the most clever crafters i know and her creativity is contagious.  

with a few monsters under her belt, jess showed me the basics of monster making.  the monsters are made from old sweaters, courtesy of jess, and constructed in layers, with impromptu stitches.  

i am definitely rusty in my sewing skills but totally inspired to break out my machine collecting dust in the closet.

my first monster is far from perfect but i love it, nonetheless.  i already have ideas for the next monster and am looking at my old sweaters in a new light.

    

hey there...

well, here i am.  this could be an amazing blog - offering daily musings of godly proportions.  or this could very well be it - nothing more than a couple posts, offering little substance.  

i am an interesting girl, who has too many stories and ideas to share.  i am also a crafter, who has sadly lost her way.  feeling burnt out from work, i tend to neglect the very things that bring me enjoyment... which i am trying to change.

here's hoping for a brilliant adventure!  wish me well!