Do I really need another hobby?

Well, duh. Of course I do. Except this one isn't quite the same. I'm working on digital scrapbooking. I think it's something that I will genuinely love once I get the hang of it. I love paper scrapbooking, except for the mess of it and having to get out all my supplies and...okay, fine. I just love paper. And photography. So it seemed like the thing to do. But I can do it all on the computer, which is another of my loves (especially now that I installed new RAM and can actually run the program I wanted to use to digital scrapbook all along.)

So I might be getting rid of most of my paper supplies. And it doesn't freak me out like it used to. I haven't actually scrapped with paper in over a year. Seriously. The idea of giving up some of my favorite papers (that I loved too much to actually cut up anyway) makes me sad, but I'm thinking of framing them and hanging them as artwork. That way I get to love them AND not cut them up.

In other hobbies, sewing's in, knitting's out. I mean, not permanently. Just for Christmas. I'm still working on the rag quilts. Almost done. Except for the endless snipping to make the rag part. That's sort of tedious. I miss knitting, though, so I think it will be back in after Christmas.

I think I'm on the bandwagon...

Several bandwagons, actually. I just read Twilight this week. I'd resisted for a long time, but all of my friends with whom I have a lot in common have loved it, so I thought maybe I should give it a shot. And I did. And it was...pretty good, actually, although I already have my fantasy vampire (Angel fan here), so I don't think I can muster up quite the fangirl lust that some others might have.

And I'm making rag quilt after rag quilt. I decided that every kid on my Christmas list is getting a little lap-sized one for tv watching or car rides. I cleaned up at Joann's Black Friday sale (my first and probably last time shopping on the day after Thanksgiving). I'm done four - only six to go. They're super quick and if my own four kids (poor crafters' kids - do they ever get any crafts?) have to wait, no big deal. So that's only two in the next 15 days. Holy crap. Christmas is FIFTEEN days away.

I refuse to panic. So I don't have many gifts yet. I get it done every year somehow, right? Inhale. Exhale.

I'm off to become the cookie mom tonight. Yay! Actually I"m really excited about it, but who knows if I actually should be. It might be something I come to regret. I hope not.

A crazy beautiful mess...

I started to allude to this in my accepting me post. But I'm a mess. I mean a real mess. My house is cluttered, my hair's a frizzy curly riot, I strew projects from one end of the house to the other, my clothes are simple casual and usually covered in baby spit (hopefully she'll get past that soon enough). And it's good. It's me. I'm a disorganized mess. But my house is clean, my children are fed and polite and loved, my husband and I love each other and love to laugh together.

So I'm a mess, but a crazy beautiful mess. (not saying I think I'm beautiful - just that my mess is good - because it's me and it's my life and I'm happy with it all right now).

I often worry that my kids suffer from my mess. They've been known to go to school in wrinkled clothes and I don't always remember to brush their hair (but Miss G's hair is such that you couldn't tell I'd brushed five minutes later anyway - she's a mess too, I think). I've turned in papers late (I'm trying to be better about this - or at least with the most important ones). I don't know if it's affecting them in a bad way or not. I would love for them to be organized little neat freaks (Mr. T is OCD about his animals and stuff, but this doesn't reach into cleaning anywhere else), but they're not going to learn it from me.

But then, I didn't learn it from my mom. And she didn't learn it from her mom. Even my aunts are a little messy. I come from a messy people. My kids don't stand a chance.

Rethinking myself...

I have this image of myself as sort of Plain Jane, very buttoned up, sort of serious. I've had this picture of me like this since I was a teenager at least. This came to my mind recently when I saw a fabric I liked. I thought that is so me. It was a nice evenly spaced plaid in two colors. Then I saw a bright multi-colored floral and mess pattern - now that is the true me.

The older I get, I feel like I really know myself. And I may be quiet when I'm around new people and kind of shy about doing new things, when I'm the slightest bit comfortable, I'm kind of a crazy, colorful, opinionated mess. I have a pair of sunglasses that I have often thought were a symbol of my personality. Basic black on the outside, but the insides were wildly colored stripes.

It's kind of liberating and refreshing to update one's self-image.

Things really do come in threes...

The three in my life lately is daisies. Actually, I just learned there is a fourth, so this might not count. Or maybe it just amplifies the whole thing.

Daisy #1. We got a puppy. Two actually, one is Uncle E's, though. The female of the pair is ours and I named her Daisy.

Daisy #2. Scouts. Miss G wanted to do like her big brother who joined Cub Scouts. So we found a Daisy troop for her (that may or may not work out - it's been an unsuccessful venture so far).

Daisy #3. Frick. I can't remember.

Daisy #4. The last name of Uncle E's insurance agent.

Actually there's sort of a fifth, if you count Daisy Duck via our upcoming trip to Disney.

I'm almost small town now...

Not really. I think a part of me will always be a suburban girl, but I'm adjusting to small town, rural living. Mainly thanks to technology. I have high-speed internet access, Direct TV and a cell phone. I'm good. Really, as a stay-at-home mom, not much has changed for me except the place I do things. We still drive around doing errands, although it's farther to get to those places. I still have to do laundry, cook, clean, potty train and all that.

So my fall TV impressions. Pushing Daisies! Yay! I'm so glad my favorite show is back. And How I Met Your Mother! Yay! I'm so glad my favorite not-new-but-new-to-me show is back. Actually, I haven't watched the new season yet since I'm waiting for season three to come out on DVD first, but I'm sure it's awesome.

Another big day...

The most wonderful day of the year (did I say that already?). It's the first game of the college football season. Holy heckfire! I'm so excited I can't even deal with myself. I'm so excited that I forgot a day this week in my pseudo-menu plan (only a suggestion, not really a menu). Actually that might be because I"m still really sick and have been for almost a week now. A lesser (read smarter) person would probably have been to the doctor by now, but since I'm pretty sure it's just a cold and there's nothing a doctor can do for a cold, I'm riding it out.

Less than 12 hours from now, my ass will be firmly planted in front of ESPN enjoying I don't even care who playing football. Yay! Actually, I do have a connection to this teams playinig this evening. NC State is ACC, which according to my grandmother makes them the team I need to cheer on. She's a major sports fan - I mean, seriously. But most especially Maryland basketball. Which transfers easily to Maryland football. So her rule is Maryland, then anyone in the ACC (if it's two ACC teams, whoever's playing Duke - which in football isn't even fair).

BUT the other team is South Carolina, where my BIL (who lives with us now) got his master's and PH. D. from. So I should cheer them on, since the connection's a little closer (as in sitting on the other end of the sofa). But I don't even care. It's football! Football's back!