Life sans Facebook

Everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing without Facebook. I'm pretty sure most people don't believe I haven't even glanced at it. But I'm doing great with it! At first it was like breaking a habit. I would automatically try to find the app on my phone whenever I turned on my phone, etc. However, after that initial need to see what was going on in the FB world passed, I felt (and still feel) really good about it. I'm much more at peace with things. Although I do still miss being able to post pictures of my puppies and seeing pictures of outings with friends and keeping up with family, I don't miss the anxiety that came along with it. I think I'm just a little too high strung to deal with that. I'm a worrier. It truly has meant a lot to me when I've received a phone call or text from someone since I've been off Facebook. It really makes me appreciate our friendships that much more.

I don't think I'll entirely pull the plug on Facebook after Lent is over (I still really appreciate the convenience of being able to keep in touch with certain people) but I don't feel like I need to check it every 3 seconds. Here's to a much less stressful life! :)


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Curtains

Our bedroom has those windows that are short, wide, and higher up on the walls. I tried and tried to find creative things to do with them that made sense with the layout of the room and our furniture, but couldn't really find anything. I had a couple of ideas that I found on Pinterest, but they seemed a little adventurous for my first attempt at making curtains. I'm not that courageous. So, instead, I decided to take the curtains we already had but did not fit our windows and remake them. Here's a "before" picture:

The process was pretty simple... I was glad to keep it that way. I cut off the grommets at the top, cut them into individual pieces, hemmed each grommet square, and sewed it back on the side to make a short, wide curtain.

When I finally got the curtains done, I went to hang them up. I found my curtain rods but no hardware to hang them up with! I ended up having to buy new rods anyway because the ones I had were too short. Once that was all squared away I finally got to hang them up!

Voltron loves the curtains, too. :) Although they aren't lined, the fabric is thick enough to keep the light out very well. Makes it that much more difficult to get out of bed in the morning! I have a couple of ideas on how to jazz them up a bit, but onto other projects for a while. I'll update when I get back around to them. What do you think?

My BFF Jess

I am so lucky to have a best friend. The first day we met, she told me her life story while we "watched" one of my favorite movies, "Bridget Jones's Diary." We've been pretty much attached at the hip ever since. She's been my partner in mischief and in lazy days. She's one of 3 people I can always count on to be brutally honest with me. We talk about everything and nothing all at the same time. She's probably the most considerate person I know. My BFF, Jessica, is amazing. I don't know where I'd be without her. It's really difficult to find people you can be entirely yourself around and not only feel like you're not being judged, but also feel accepted and loved. We don't get to see each other too much any more since I'm not in school and I don't get random weeks off anymore. I'm so glad I got to come up and spend some time like the old days - sitting on the couch with a bottle of wine, talking through tv shows.


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Lent - 2012

It's a few days into the Lenten Season. This year I'm doing a couple of things. I gave up Facebook, and I went back to church.

I stopped really going to church a few years ago. I could go into all the reasons I made that choice, but it all really comes down to one thing - I lost my sense of "home" in the Church. Over the years I've visited other churches, other denominations, and nothing ever seemed to fit. Now, I live about 2 minutes away from a church that I went to briefly in middle school when we wanted to go to mass in Spanish. Over the last couple of weeks I felt that I needed to go. I haven't had that desire in a long time. Last Sunday I went back to church.... It still wasn't the "home" feeling I was looking for, but it felt nice to be in a familiar place with the familiar rhythm of the mass. They even sang my favorite hymn after communion. 

Giving up, or at least letting up, on Facebook is something I've been thinking about for a while. I've become too concerned with it. My fingers automatically search for the app on my phone or type the URL on my browser. I do what everyone else does on it - I see what everyone else is doing. I don't want to be that person. I want to focus on what I'm doing, what the people around me are doing. I was getting to a point where I took it personally when I wasn't included in something or if no one "liked" a post. It was really ridiculous. So, for at least the next 40 ish days I won't be getting on Facebook. I will be focusing on me, my relationship with God, my relationship with my husband, and my relationship with my family and friends.

So far, so good. I'm looking forward to mass in the morning, to hearing the readings and the homily, and to singing the hymns. As for Facebook, I'm okay not getting on it, but it does make me nervous sometimes to think that my absence will go unnoticed or that some who I thought were closer friends will not follow through without such ease of seeing my every move with the click of a button. We'll see. 

I'm very much looking forward to a meaningful Lenten Season!

Scarf Alternatives

So what's the deal with cowls? I never really got them. I thought they were kinda awkward and not nearly as cute as a scarf. But, with the weather being so nice lately (the last week or so excluded) I wanted to find something that still made me feel warm and cozy without being too bulky or hot in 70+ degree weather.

My first venture into this area is a t-shirt necklace. I used a couple of old t-shirts, cut them into long strips which I braided, twisted, and some just left as is. I sewed the ends together and wrapped a sleeve around the ends which I sewed into place. And voila!

please excuse the awkward smile in the picture. thx. :)

Next, I made my first cowl. I made it as a gift for my mother-in-law and forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to her. I guess I'll have to make another! What I liked about the cowl once it was all said and done is the simplicity of it. It's still functional for those cool days when a thick/full scarf would be too much while being less fuss. The only thing I dislike about scarves is when they hang down and get caught on something or fall off your shoulder, etc. A cowl eliminates these problems. I still think scarves are cuter overall, but I think I get the cowl now a bit better.

Meet the Newest Quinlan: Ripley!

Saturday morning, Tim and I tool Voltron to Petsmart to get groomed. It just so happened that the Augusta-Richmond County Animal Services was having their weekly adoption drive there. We've been talking about getting another dog for a while now. Voltron has grown up with other dogs, and we both really want him to have someone to play with. So we decided to start looking for a dog that fit us.

In front of the store they had multiple pens filled with super cute lab puppies - all crazy adorable, but would grow into dogs bigger than we were looking for. Inside they had an aisle of dogs in crates. Most of them were medium sized puppies... And then there was Ripley. She is about 2 years old, a beagle mix. She was brought to the shelter as a stray. We walked her around the store and she was very calm and sweet, stayed right by our sides the whole time. She fit all our criteria and was super cute as well! So, I picked out a pink collar and leash, Tim filled out some paper work, and off we went home!

Later, when I brought Voltron home after picking him up from getting all dolled up, the meeting didn't go quite how we had hoped. Both dogs didn't really know what to make of each other. They sniffed each other, followed each other around, and pushed each other out of the way when vying for attention. Today, they were more interactive with each other, but Voltron definitely has "new baby" syndrome. They're starting to get used to each other - how they play, the noises they make in response to different things, etc. Ripley kinda talks in her sleep which really confuses Voltron and Voltron makes a small growling noise when playing tug-of-war which Ripley doesn't understand. But bit by bit they're getting to know each other and getting closer. Here's hoping they'll be running around the yard playing together soon!!!!

That reminds me of my first time...

Knitting, that is. ;)

Recently, one of my co-workers asked me for a favor. Her daughter had received a blarf for Christmas. "What's a blarf???" you may be asking yourself. I was informed that her daughter's friend took up knitting and, for her first project, began making a scarf which turned into a blanket. Blarf. :) Well, after one wash in the washing machine, the blarf partially unraveled. Panicked, my co-worker hid the blarf from her daughter and brought it into work to me. I took it home and began the task of taking it apart before rebuilding it. Taking it apart was actually really cool. It reminded me a lot of my first knitting attempt.

I always loved scarves but I was not a fan of their prices. I would go into a store, find a scarf I liked, and study it. Finally, I decided, "I can do that." So I googled "How to Knit" and gave it a go with two pencils and a pink ribbon I had laying around. I didn't want to invest money into the tools if I wouldn't be able to do it. Once I figured out how to cast on and do the knit stitch, I was ready for the real deal. I went to Michaels the next day and bought a Lion Brand Yarn beginner's knitting kit which included a set of 11 US size needles, a skein of denim colored yarn, and an instruction booklet on how to knit a scarf and a matching hat. First up, the scarf. Boy was that a disaster. There were yo's and k2tog's and dropped stitches everywhere. I don't remember how long it took me to get it together, but that first scarf included garter stitch, purl, and ribbing. I had the basics down (and accidentally a few extras) and I was hooked.

This blarf reminds me of that scarf. Lots of character, lots of memories. I'm not sure where that scarf is. I'm pretty sure I took it apart and used the yarn in my first crochet project, now that I think about it. But I'll never forget the hours, the frustration, and the sense of accomplishment when I knitted 4 rows consecutively without any slip ups. I've often said that knitting is my therapy. And it is. I can spend my time doing something, making something, creating something and at the end I have a tangible item to show for it. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don't. But every time I feel good about myself.