Happy New Year!
So, sure, a little late, but ... better late than never.
Quick recap of Christmas and the New Year:
Christmas Eve began with snow ... coming down. Last time it snowed in Texas for Christmas was ...80-some-odd years ago. We carefully made our way to my Mom's (she's only about 15-20 minutes away), and while it wasn't the best drive, it was okay. HOWEVER, coming back home was another matter. The roads were pretty bad, and not a sand truck in sight. I only skidded a little here and there, but after about 40 minutes we were home safe and sound. Christmas Eve at my parents was fun (and not so crazy as in the past). And, just to note, but the stuffed animal I gave my sister was a big hit. She loved it!
Christmas day, most of the snow had melted by the afternoon, and we made our way to Brian's family. We had a nice time there as well, but cut the evening short so we could be home before the bridges decided to be icy. We were fine.
Cut to New Year's Eve, and we decided to stay in. In the past we've done Murder Mystery Dinners, but they're a lot of work, and besides, Brian had to work, even though it didn't really interfere with celebrating the new year. (You know, I discovered upon thinking of what to do for that night, that not a single person invited us to their place, or to do something with them. Sad, huh?)
For New Year's Day I roasted half a leg of lamb. First time, and YUM-o! It was good! Hopefully one day soon we can catch it on sale again (because that's really how I can afford it).
AND, as for goals, or resolutions, or whatevers ... well, I heard recently that we shouldn't focus on the past, and move on to the future. But also remember today. Or something like that.
Last year wasn't our best year. My freelancing didn't really go anywhere. I had a few things here and there, but nothing to write home about. However, toward the end of the year I had two more interviews, one for an agency, and one for actual freelancing at a book publisher in a nearby town.
Also toward the end of the year, Brian decided to go back to school this Spring (2010) and began the process. Come to find out he not only had to re-apply, but he also owed the school a lot of money (because his last loan hadn't gone through the last semester he was there). AND, since it had been awhile, it had gone to collections. Ugh, mess! Anyway, there was a lot of back and forth between us, the collections agency, and the school ... and while we tried to get some sort of deal, apparently schools and money, well ... they want everything. (He had to pay it all for them to release his transcripts.)
So now we know why we didn't end up buying the house over a year ago -- because the money we WERE going to put down, well, part of it needs to go for Brian's schooling.
However, as of today, some good news: Brian's account with the school has been cleared, he is now free of that debt, and he can now return to school.
AND, second, I actually got a call, TODAY, from the publisher for me to do some freelance work! Yay!
I hope to continue working harder this year to make this come to fruition. Because, I'm afraid that I can probably only give myself about another 6 months with this (to really try and make it work) before our money situation will need some serious addressing (and also given the fact that if Brian can go back to school full time, and only work part time, maybe, then he could be done sooner, and that would be a relief). SO ... we'll see how things work out.
I know I usually don't write so many personal things in this new blog, given that when I did it in my old blog I would sometimes get some nasty "anonymous" comments, but I felt that it was something that needed posting, so you could know what was going on.
So, as I began this with a note about not focusing on the past, we are going to focus on the future: Brian is going to go back to school (only part time for now, so he can get used to it again), and I am going to continue this freelancing thing (for now).
While sometimes I do wonder why things happen as they do, or why my life isn't going in the direction I wish it would, or how come other people have the things I want ... I know that the Lord has a plan for me. Goodness but I wish it would move a little quicker, though! But, as much patience as I have learned so far, I suppose I have much yet to learn.
And so, while I don't have resolutions, per se, I do have some things I want to accomplish this year. First is that I told Brian that I will not buy anymore "craft" items until I finish the current craft I'm working on (unless, of course, it's something I need to finish said craft). I have several projects that need to be worked on! I know. Laugh if you want. Second, is that I'd like to be a better friend. (I have a lot of thought behind this, but I think it wouldn't make sense if I typed it all out.) I just want to try to put as much as I can into a friendship and hopefully receive the same in kind (because, really, isn't that what good friendships are about? Some give and take? or maybe that's where my flaw lies). Lastly, I recommit myself to trying to build this little freelance business, but also open myself to available opportunities to be led where the Lord wants me to be.
But, don't fret, my artsy-craftsy self shall not be abandoned. And, to tide you over until my next project, here is a handmade Christmas gift I made for my Mother-in-Law and stepFather-in-Law. My MIL really liked it.
In my previous post, I showed step 1 on the way to making a gift for my sister. Since she doesn't get online, I feel safe to post and share with you.
Here's the completed, stuffed cat:
For a photo contest (yes, one of those I do occasionally for a digiscrap site I visit) this week, we were asked to take pics of us doing ordinary things in our lives. I thought this was good for two reasons. I have been thinking of doing a 365 next year (where you take a pic a day for the whole year), but also because I didn’t know if my life was that interesting. However, I think this challenge proved that it doesn’t matter if the pic is of something mundane, if it’s something that’s going on in your life. Yes, we remember the momentous moments, but usually forget the everyday ones. So, here are my two entries.
Here I am sewing a Christmas gift for my sister. Or rather, I am pinning pattern pieces to fabric. Hopefully I’ll post the finished product here.
I read Pride and Prejudice at least once a year. It’s my favorite book, and I just finished it (as you can see, in this pic I am almost to the end).
I couldn’t help myself. My (new) friend Kristine (who, btw, does awesome cards and scrapbook stuff) recently posted how she found some lovely paper on sale at Aaron Brothers. And from the pic she showed, I knew I had to go check it out. Do I NEED more paper? No, but at these prices, I couldn’t NOT look, right? But, I knew I couldn’t just look. I had to touch. AND I had to buy. So this is what I got! (And yes, I couldn’t resist some of the same paper. It was too pretty!)
Because it's cloudy today and the lighting in my apartment is awful, I had to use the flash, but at least it picked up the silver accents in the leaves, the glitter on the flocking and the gold against the turquoise. (Oh, and this is 25"x25" paper -- large!) I also bought a package of assorted flower embellishments. And it all cost about $10. Not bad.
I haven't been to Aaron Brothers in a long time -- they specialize in frames and framing, but apparently they've ventured a lot more into art supplies and the paper crafter. Very neat. (And they had way too many cute frames. But I reframed, er, refrained. ^_^) So, thanks to Kristine for the heads up. I love the paper!
(BTW, I am trying out Live Writer, as it can give some cool photo effects. What do you think? The actual typing tool takes a little bit to figure out how to format correctly. It’s a little clunky. It shouldn’t be hard, you’d think, or maybe it’s just me. No, I don’t think it’s me. ^_^)
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