Oh October....

Hi...

A very exciting migraine update, I have not had a migraine since the August disasters!!!  This is soooo huge for me.

The Utah Football team has stopped giving me ulcers and started giving me reasons to cheer-the last three games we have won and have scored at least 40 points.  Go UTES!

It wouldn't be a monthly update without a Red Butte Garden mention, so here it is, I volunteered a couple of times at Garden after Dark this month.  It had such a cute and informational theme this year, visitors attended Oak Lore Academy (it was a twist on Harry Potter, but without all of the licensing issues).  They attended classes such as Wand Theory (where they got a wand), Potions, Magical Creatures (where in the Herb and Fragrance gardens, the staff had made creatures and as a really cool addition, HawkWatch was there with birds.  I saw a really cute small owl and a Merlin) and finally (and how could there not be at a Conservation garden) Botany.  Our villain for the evening was Myrtle Spurge, a noxious witch and ever so conveniently an invasive weed that is attacking the Wasatch front.  This is such a popular event and every year it just seems to get better.

Now it's time for you to have your eye roll or face palm moment and say Oh, Melissa......during October, I went on a massive cooking and planning binge.  The result 16 freezer crockpot meals are hanging out in my freezer ready to go, along with 6 mini lasagnas, taquitos, and breakfast burritos.  Needless to say my freezer is full, but on days that are crazy or nights that I don't feel like cooking I have a healthy home cooked meal ready to roll.........

Next moment, thanks to Pinterest (I know, I know, I need an intervention) I taught myself a new knitting technique.  It's called Intarsia and basically it's multi colored knitting.  It is the most basic of multi colored knitting but hey I can do it now....and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be.  I wish I had done it sooner....

Speaking of knitting, I dropped off the animals, monsters and other assorted creatures that my Mom and I have been knitting throughout the year to the Utah Highway Patrol for their Teddy Bear program.  They were overrunning the place so we decided not to wait until December.

A bit of sad news....last night I only had 15-20 Trick or Treaters, but they all loved the Play Doh they got.  I was a bit nervous to switch it up, but last year I had soooooooooo much leftover candy that I wanted to do something different.  Enter the Play Doh and this year my leftovers will be going to Toys for Tots in a couple of weeks instead of my hips.  :)  Win Win....

A few random items before I go.... CenterPointe Theater knocked it out of the park with their production of Ragtime!  Bacall continues to amaze and spread joy.  Meeko is actually visiting people who stop by and not hiding.  If you are looking for a book to read, try "The House on Mango Street' by Sandra Cisneros.  It's a short, about 100 pages, coming of age novel of little vignettes.  I have no idea how I have missed it until now.    One last plea, Now that it's November, please vote......

I hope all is well...
Melissa

latest page in my art journal....

Resolute!

I heard on the radio the other day that by the end of January, most people have already given up on their New Year's Resolutions.

This makes me sad.

You do not have to be perfect in your quest of your resolutions, you just have to stick with them.

For example, remember mine of getting cards out in a timely manner?

My Thank You cards for Christmas got mailed on January 25th.
My nephew's birthday card, however, got to him before his Birthday.

Progress, with some work to do.....
But I'm not giving up on my Resolution!

Another one...
Finish projects in a timely manner.

I have not finished the project that made me do this resolution.
oops.

And one more..
my yoga practice is coming together.  I've been doing the Sun Salutation every morning and will start classes at one the studios I talked about.

Resolutions are about the progress along the way and the things you learn.

STICK WITH THEM!!!
Melissa

2014 Resolutions...

It's time...

To set my intentions/goals/resolutions for the year.

It took me a couple of days to figure out the list, mainly because I kept wanting to make it shorter, and the list wanted to stay longer.

So, beware, 2014 is going to be an ambitious year.

#1.  Get cards to people on time.
     
        One of my sister in laws is amazing at this!!  She is my role model for the year.  The main reason behind this resolution--my brother, who just happens to be married to the really good card mailer, got his card over a month late this year.  A MONTH!!!  I've gotten really good at buying the cards in time, but getting them in the mail so they get to the person before their birthday/event is the area of concern.

#2.  Finish projects in timely and sane manner.

        I am not talking about work projects or things for other people.  I'm talking about craft projects and such that I do on my own.  I will be posting about the reason behind this when I finish a project in a week or so.  It was the reason behind this.

#3.  Work on my personal style.

        Lately, I have been feeling like I am a sweats and a little too casual kind of girl.   I know that I am not a fussy style, but I want to be more pulled together and polished.  There are a couple of stylists around town that I may call to help me pull it together and get an unbiased opinion on what looks good and what does not.  It's an option I'm looking into.  Pinterest actually brought this to my attention, believe it or not... I was going thru my boards and realized the one board that I pin to quite a bit but have done nothing from was my 'My Style' board.

#4.  Figure out my yoga practice.

       My yoga practice the last couple of years has been inconsistent and varied in style.  I feel like it has become more of a creative workout instead of a yoga practice.  I have been researching two yoga studios here in town that I believe are what I am looking for.  The next step, getting to the studios.  I am going to take a break from antigravity, Bikram, and all other types of non traditional yoga and see what happens.  I also want to get my home practice going.  If I am not in class, I do not do my poses. I read, somewhere, not too long ago, that if you do not have an active home practice, you are not really practicing yoga.

        The culminations of this resolution will be in December when I journey back to Haramara and have another week long Yoga retreat.

#5.  Find balance in my workout schedule.

      While I have enjoyed the mental and physical challenge of training for a marathon, it has put a certain rigidity to my workout schedule.  In 2014, I want to find a balance of running, swimming, yoga, and all the other fitness activities that I enjoy.  I will still enter races on occasion to challenge myself, but I want the workouts to be the reward and challenge.

#6.  Cross items off my Bucket List.

      When I created my Bucket List a while ago, I did not want to wait until the end of my life to start crossing items off the list.  I wanted it to be a lifelong adventure.  I have a couple of items that I want to accomplish this year---details will be revealed at a later date here on the blog.  This item will more than likely be on in 2015, 2016 and so on....  I want it to remain in the forefront of my mind.  Accomplish what you want to out of life and do not miss out on opportunities.  Good resolution, don't you think?

#7.  Do a monthly saving challenge to increase my savings.

       I am still formulating how I am going to accomplish this one.  There are multiple money challenges out there.  I am leaning towards one that has you do a different task every month.  As soon as I decide I will do a post and detail it out...

#8.  Be more creative.

        I have a mindset that I want to change....Because I can not draw, I question my creativity.  I want to explore different kinds of creativity and find mine.

#9.  Maintain my progress and move Forward.

       A nice vague goal...  It's really not, when you think about it.  2013 moved me forward by my resolutions, work, plans and just plain life.  Keep looking forward and mend the past.


This is the highest number of resolutions I have every listed, but I tried multiple times to eliminate one or two from this list and it just did not feel right....

The majority of my resolutions this year are more mindset than task oriented goals, though there are a couple of those, and I think that is why I am ok with the higher number.

Once again, I will update my progress through out the year, both good and bad....

Hopeful in the New Year..
Melissa

Yes, I did it again...

My once a year art skills came back to me this week.

I carved another pumpkin, Tigger, to be precise.

Tigger, the Pumpkin.

He did not take me as long as others had in the past, so I worked on my photography skills in low light...

In other words, I turned my bathroom into a photography studio.  I duct taped towels for back drops; I put sheets on the counter; I covered the window to completely block out the light; and basically banned everyone from entering.  :)

see the need for towels and sheets?

ok, a good background, but my extra lighting was in the wrong spot

Jackpot!

Both pumpkins together!

I was fun to get my tripod out and work with a slower exposure speed and capture the pumpkins in all of the glowing glory!

I hope you enjoyed it!
Until next year's pumpkins,
bye, bye drawing skills.....

Melissa

The Great Crayon Massacre of 2013

Hi, my name is Melissa and I am addicted to Pinterest.

It started out simple enough with an invitation to join by my cousin 2 years ago at Thanksgiving.  I started slow with a couple of boards and a few pins.

And then,
it quickly went out of control.

Soon I was planning to build furniture, build an arbor, redo counter tops, outfit my friends and family or anyone who would let me for Halloween (seriously, I have over 50 costume ideas in my Holiday board), create the best workout ever from tips I found, and create amazing meals and desserts .

It stayed at the virtual level and planning for quite some time with only a few simple easy recipes making their ways into the real world.

Life was good.

Til that fateful day, when I stated, "I need to do more than just pin; I need to start doing these crafts and such....'

Little did I know what would happen next.

Gauze ghosts at Halloween
Subway Art printables at Christmas
A cake that took 4 HOURS to prepare (it's reallllllllly gooooood, but just beware)
A clean oven using ammonia
A wreath, including making my own frame for the base
Cleaning my toilet with Alka Seltzer
Cutting glass bottles with fire and nail polish remover
A crockpot that is begging for mercy from all of the recipes
and I could go on....

and then I saw it....
a Valentine's Day craft that was cute, not cheesy or overly gushy....
and thought, I can do that.

Here's the link to my pin....

martha, you done me wrong.

Yes, Martha Stewart is the blame for the great crayon massacre of 2013....

I read the directions, and tried to follow them, really I did, but my crayons, which I had purchased for this hare-brained idea would not shave in a sharpener.

So, I hacked them to death with my butcher knife.  That should of been an indicator to stop right there, but I forged on.  I proceeded to crimp, or so I thought, the edges of my wax paper and layered my precious crayon remnants between the craft paper and ever so lightly began to iron them to melt the wax.

Did you know that melted crayon wax can go thru wax paper and craft paper and completely leave your established work area in a heartbeat?
I do.

Once again, the universe was saying, "STOP", but did I listen,
No.

Attempt #2 included folding of the wax paper before crimping and leaving a 3 inch gap of empty space before the edge and multiple layers of craft paper and an iron turned WAY down.  I think my breath was probably hotter than the iron.

I got the crayons to melt, not in a pretty and even way like the photo for the directions, but in a weird streaky abstract sort of way.

I did not care.  I let them cool and cut them into hearts and hung them in my front window for the world to see.

6 hours of work, mostly in clean up

If you drive by my house before the end of February, take a look at the Pinterest addiction problem in my window, and warn your friends about the dangers of Pinterest........

I've gotta go,
I think some new pins have been added since the last time I was on.

Melissa