'tis a whirlwind of emotions at times, it is . . . .

I rode over to Atlanta with my parents (slightly scary and nerve-shredding) on Saturday to attend my great-uncle's memorial service on Saturday. it was small and sweet, and shed more light on a man whom I rarely saw growing up. he was an editor in New York City for many, many years. my dad's side of the family is interesting, and almost always full of surprises. there are a lot of very accomplished individuals, but the funny thing is - no one talks about it that much. which is kinda nice too. I knew my grandmother as a grandmother, not the political powerhouse that she was to Atlanta. family was a big deal, education was a big deal, but celebrity wasn't.

anyway, it was all another thing to get me thinking about what I want to do. I just got an offer at UGA, so now I'm back in a full-time job (this time with great benefits!) and I can save up for a big move. Nashville to be exact. and while I'm in this job I can take classes, learn more programming languages, and maybe even take that painting class I missed during Art school. so it's good, as long as I don't lose my mind living in the same town as my family. I'm looking for a new church though. it's not that I hate the one that I grew up in, or was hurt by it, or anything like that. it's a great church, but the people that are my age are rapidly disappearing, and attempts at a ministry group hasn't worked . . . so I'm going to check out some other places. I hope it's not too hard. when you've been in the same church for almost 15 years, it's a little scary to think about starting over at a new one.

weekend racap

first of all, I forgot to take a camera, and therefore have no pictures from this weekend . . . again. I'm bad about that. snapping pictures is usually the absolutely last thing on my mind.

the Fall Festival was great! and while we wish that we had been able to sell more, we all made it out with what we needed, and had a great time doing it. the weather was perfect, and I even managed a (mild, very mild) sunburn in October. the Eggroll Lady lived up to the hype, but I'm wondering if she uses MSG because it's monday, I've been drinking water like a fish, and I still feel weird. those were some fine fried meat delights though . . . yum.

so now back to recovery . . .

counting down

the earrings are on cards and in their little baggies . . . happy dance! things have been going really smoothly, which is great considering that I've been working on this since like April. the smoothness also freaks me out a little because it kinda makes me wonder if I've forgotten something . . . something crucial. but the little earrings are looking fab on the dark gray cardstock, and I think the necklaces and bracelets are all getting little hang tags . . . so . . . cool.

eep!

that's it . . . a mirror . . . I need to go find a mirror for the tables.

well, it's almost here . . . the festival is this saturday (eeep!). actually, I'm doing really well. I have over 95% of the jewelry that I'm going to have there finished, everything is inventoried, the cardstock is the house, the rest of the displays are on their way . . . . looking really good. of course I'm going to have some last-minute additions, but that's fine. at this point it just down to tagging and organizing everything so that set-up early saturday morning is a breeze.

so Logical is trying to assure Emotional that everything is cool. Emotional is still freaking out a little. ;-)

working at a University is great - I'm always picking up new things. occasionally though, I do hear the "our grads make 50k a year starting out" and I start to question why I took the route I did. but only for a second. if there's anything that time & experience have taught me, it's that being where you belong is much more fulfilling than doing something for the wrong reasons. I could be good at those higher paying things, but I'd be miserable in the long run. now, I'm not planning on this current track forever, and even a moderately successful career in the Fine Arts can take a while, but to me it's worth the time and sacrifice. those other things just aren't for me.

how NOT to make me want to hear your band

so I get these ads, or msgs, or whatever saying "if you like ____(artist)____, then you'll LOVE ________. they sound so much like them!" (or some message-ish equivalent thereof).

well . . .

the reason I like these people to begin with, is that some of them ARE ACTUALLY MY FRIENDS or I like their music. and I don't want to hear someone who sounds like them. go be yourself - that's much more interesting.

ok, so I got a lot done this weekend, although the purging part turned out to be more shreading credit card offers and old (useless) receipts than getting rid of stuff. there's a half-full (huge)box of clothes and books, but not alot else. but I was only working on upstairs - downstairs (studio/storage room) will not be approached until after the festival booth.


last week I decided to check out the new "Pushing Daisies" on abc. the previews weren't really exciting me, but I came across a couple of reviews that caught my interest. and seeing as there isn't usually anything I'd want to watch at 8 on Wednesday night anyway . . . so I checked it out.

wow.

seriously.

I LOVED it!

I sat there curled up on my sofa just delighted . . . it's this wonderful blend of wit and humor and artistry and fairytale (fairytale in the classical sense, not so much the Disney) that was just fantastic. rich use of color, great writing, wonderfully acted . . . I've watched the dvd I recorded from the re-air on friday several times over now. it's really that good.

I'm blogging cause I'm cracked out on coffee??

pretty much. the pot I made this morning was really good, even HOURS later, and I made a lot of it . . . so I'm still really really awake.

the cleaning went well, and I'd probably still be running the vacuum again right now except for the fact that it would really bother the sleeping birds. cranky pets are no fun. but I did get quite a bit done, which is another step towards getting ready to move. I hate moving, so anything to make it easier is good.

ok, synapses going fuzzy . . . off to bed . . .

monumental purge . . .

the house is actually going to be empty this weekend, so I'm going to take advantage of the time & space and CLEAN OUT! there's a huge box sitting here next to me just waiting to be filled with things to free-cycle/donate away, and plenty of trash bags for the rest.

time to make some coffee . . .

I'm really familiar with migraines - I've been having them off and on since I was kid. for a long time they were an all day build up thing, with me in bathroom doing everything I could to get to the point where I could finally sleep off the pain. I'd have the hyper-sensitivity to all things sensory, and what felt like an ice pick trying to shoot out of my skull. today was a first though, because I discovered something that got me through the time before the pain medication kicked in. it's something I've only been able to do recently. I sat at the piano and just played. I didn't try to compose, or use a certain key, I just let go. can't really explain it except that it was like doing it without thinking and completely on instinct - which is big for me when it comes to music. I was trained to sightread since I was about five, and there's the oldest-child/daughter-responsibility-control-perfectionist issue. something about the music let me forget that my head felt like it was going to split open, and that hours before I could barely
see straight. it was effortless and yet it was totally engulfing.

a few months ago I was writing songs in my dreams because I wasn't in my waking life. now I'm doing both.

fall fall fall

I love it! the weather here is fab, and I tend to get this creative rush. who wouldn't love that? and THIS year I have a booth at the Fall Festival to look forward to! I'm sharing it with a couple of friends who are also jewelry artists, and I swear it looks like this thing is going to turn into one big party. so much fun!

progress on the work to sell is also going nicely. I have spreadsheets set up to price, number, and track my stock, most of the pieces are done, or waiting for clasps or earwires, and I only have one or two more supply orders before it's time. well . . . unless I decide to make more, but even if I didn't there's still plenty for the festival. so one nice saturday between now and I'll shoot pictures of most of it, and whatever doesn't sell goes directly onto Etsy the day after.

Ravelry is really growing on me. it's nice to have another motivation for my fiber projects, and it'll be great to have all of my needles and yarns indexed. in fact, that's had me thinking a little differently about how I have my jewelry supplies inventoried. Jen had some similar observations on her blog.

Ravelry

today there was an invite to join Ravelry in my inbox, so I joined . . . apparently I don't have enough projects already . . . teehee.

maybe I'm obsessed.

all I can think about is jewelry designs and music. which is a good thing - the Fall Festival is coming up, so I need to have plenty of jewelry to sell, and I want to get some songs recorded soon. it's just fast. a couple of weeks ago I was still wondering what I wanted to do, where I wanted to live, should I do this or that? I think I've written at least a dozen songs in the last week. less than that have made it to paper, but it's all a process.

nine years ago I was sitting in a coffee shop talking to a guy from Brooklyn about life and music. somewhere in there something clicked and I started writing songs. that path eventually lead me to Nashville for a while, although I didn't go there to become a star. most of my friends there didn't even know I could sing, or had played the piano since I was five. I was just me. if they knew me for anything it was that I was an artist. not a musician (because that's what "artist" meant there), but the other kind - the kind who could draw and paint and tell you which color was a bad idea. I watched friends give up on dreams, and it broke my heart. some have found their way back, and one is even becoming increasing successful at it. I miss it. I miss them.

I asked a friend of mine if he'd help me record a couple of rough-cut demos. nothing fancy, just something to put out there. he said he would, so unless something comes up here, that'll probably happen on my next trip up to Nashville.

well, back to work . . .

(quick note)

I turned on my heater (on very low, but still) in my car on the way to work this morning. I love autumn!!!! (happy dance)

what is it about bunnies? seriously - I think I might spontaneously melt here.

another fun way to kill some time . . . (click here)

it is day two on my lovely new job. yes, lovely. I'm working on campus at UGA, and there's still several weeks to settle in before the students descend in the campus and everyone gets a little crazy and stressed for a few weeks. seriously though, this is great! I can go for a walk around campus if I need it, Downtown is right there (I'm in Brooks Hall), but far enough away that I don't have to smell it (on the bad days) if I don't want to. lovely. the ladies in the office are wonderful, to the point, and easy to get along with as long as the work gets done.

I saw Transformers & Harry Potter 5 recently, and both were awesome. Transformers was better than I expected, and I really want to go see it again while it's in the theater. HP5 was really well adapted from the book.

well, I thought I was tired yesterday, but it seems that was nothing compared to today. why is that? well there was a wedding on saturday. my baby brother is a married man now, and on his way to Hawaii with his new bride as I'm writing this. well . . . I think. I don't know what time their flight was supposed to leave today.

yesterday, after stumbling into church, I suddenly realized how exhausted I actually was. maybe it was divine providence that the service ran a bit shorter than usual. then it was off to a restaurant (none of the family really felt like cooking), and home for a nap . . . followed by four loads of laundry!!! it was a loooooonnnnggggg weekend.

I'm looking at the calendar on my desk and realizing that tomorrow is the first day of summer (and the longest day of the year). it's also sixteen days until my little brother's wedding (Sam, not David), and so we're probably about to get slammed. starting monday, we have David's birthday, mom's birthday, July 4th, my birthday, and then the wedding. oh, and a trip down to Ft. Walton for my great-aunt's memorial service. can we say "whirlwind"? :-) it'll be great though, and the water down at Ft. Walton beach was beautiful last year when we were there. I might even be coming back with a little friend for Bitty . . . maybe.

I am sooooo thankful for my gym membership right now. there's the part about feeling great, which is awesome. however, it's that I don't have to work out in THE GEORGIA HEAT that is fabulous right now. while it has been unusually dry lately, it's still too hot to be doing the 7-8 miles that I've been doing almost every day after work OUTSIDE.

bring in the soap!

I'm on my second Gerbera daisy this year at work. the first one fell prey to aphids, and I'm seeing spots again on the new one as well. I'm going to try the insecticidal soap, but the poor little plant is NOT looking happy. now the orchids in my bedroom are thriving, and some are even putting out new shoots. however, I have reservations about bringing any into the office - the air tends to be pretty dry.

the new Transformers movie looks like it could be a pretty decent summer flick. fine. cool. I might have gone to see it anyway. but now I know that MUTE MATH recorded the theme, I'm definitely going to have to see it. why? this particular band ups the geek-chic exponentially. because out of all the concerts I have EVER been to, they do the best. but hey, when the drummer is amazing AND he has to gaffer-tape his headphones on . . . really, go see them live. anyway, the movie might end up being overdone and annoying, but let's hope not. I plan on seeing it. maybe not opening weekend though . . . and I still find it interesting that this band hails from New Orleans.

last week was NUTS, so it's taken a minute to slow down and write . . . .

POTC 3 was awesome . . . and every other woman I spoken to about it agrees that Orlando at the end was something else. in the best possible way. and if I can find a screencap or still or whatnot I will be posting it.

while Athens will always be my birth-home, Nashville/Franklin is my heart-home. which doesn't even make sense to me all the time (no beach, colder winter than here, no local UK accents . . . ), it is. and I miss it dearly.

I have lost ten, TEN pounds . . . and not by any crazy, shock-your-system, crazy-fad diets. cardio, weights, less sugar and lots of water.

now I have to find something to wear to my little brother's wedding . . .