Inking it up

So we are two days into having Age visit (she's sitting on the other end of the couch right now watching The Client List on her laptop) and so far I've been having fun visiting with her. (Hopefully she is too!)

Yesterday morning I had my GI appointment (that'll be a whole other post). Afterwards, we headed back to my town and roamed around the historical district for awhile, popping into kitschy antique stores and vintage clothing consignments and artsy fartsy co-op shops. There were a few vintage '60s dresses that I was madly in love with, but sadly they were either too big or too expensive, so I had to walk away. I'm obsessed with the style of the '60s and '70s, so I tend to gravitate towards those very distinct styles of clothes. I did come away with a cute flippy hippie skirt and a puffy outdoorsy vest, so that was a score, even if they're not even remotely the decades I was searching for.

Found something similar to this, only in
a mint tweed. Sah cyute!

Afterwards we headed to this cute little cafe that specializes in healthy, all natural, organic, locally sourced food. I love eating there, it makes me happy. They have a great salad bar, yummy homemade soups, and a delicious assortment of sandwiches and smoothies and juice blends. It was gooooood!

Then we headed home so I could get a bit of school work done before heading out again to go to my tattoo appointment.

I got three butterflies on my upper back- one customized for each of my kids. They're really pretty, and later on I'm going to get the background filled in around them, but for now I'm okay leaving them as is, because quite frankly, it hurt like a bitch! This one hurt way worse than my forearm, which surprised me a bit. But I was a big girl and got through it. I couldn't wimp out when Age was with me! I also got my forearm touched up, since there were a few spots that were a little uneven.

My sister went after me, and got her first tattoo- an interpretation of this little green monster drawing my son made when he was probably 6 or so. It's super cute and turned out really well. She's going to add on two other monsters for the other two kids once she has the inspiration for them.

Today, I need to refocus and get more school work done, and I also have to go get supplies for my daughter's birthday party this weekend.

There's no rest for the wicked. Even if their backs hurt from getting fresh ink!

A gypsy wind...

First of all, I'm pretty sure I saw Ted Nugent at the grocery store today. Or his twin brother. Or his doppelgänger. So that was the exciting part of my day.

Inoright?!? It's a small life I lead...

So spring break is officially over. Well, for the kids at least. I have a week left before my spring quarter starts up. And then ten weeks until I'm free for the summer! And yes, the countdown has already begun.

So something weird has been going on with me lately. Over the last few weeks I've suddenly developed this burning desire to get the hell out of dodge. Which is kind of crazy because I genuinely LOVE where I live. 

I love my house, I love my town, I love the kids' school, I love it all.

And yet...

This little spark of adventure has crept up inside me, wanting to try something new. To boldly go where I haven't gone before. 

The last time we upped and moved completely spontaneously, it backfired horribly. We moved to Alaska on a family member's promise of amazing job prospects, but those jobs weren't actually there, and everything quickly fell apart. Naturally, I'm a little hesitant to have the same thing happen again, since life is good here and there is always risk involved in rocking the boat. But at the same time, I have this little gypsy spirit inside of me that gets restless every once in awhile, and given some unnecessary drama that has gone on lately, Husband and I have sort of tentatively discussed getting away from it all.  Plus, I feel that everyone should move away from their home state, at least for awhile, and get a taste of life outside of that bubble of familiarity.

There are a couple of areas that I have in mind. Both are several hours away from where we live now. Both are smaller areas, more rugged and rural, with a lower cost of living, a slower pace of life, and amazing natural beauty. One area specifically isn't as pretty, but it has the most job prospects. The other areas are vastly more beautiful and very artsy fartsy, but more limited in other ways. 

Potential future views?

Clearly, this is a HUGE decision, and not something that will happen remotely soon, but it is still bouncing around in my head and I will continue to do my research and gather information... if for no other reason than to dream...

Potential future main street?

Artsy-Fartsy

So as of two days ago I am officially done with winter quarter!

WHOOHOO!!!

Now I get three weeks off before jumping into another round of crazy.

And so far I'm loving it!

Yesterday I did... well, pretty much nothing. I mean, I did my standard cleaning and housewifery requirements, but beyond that? I pretty much sat on my rear end and cross-stitched. I didn't sleep worth crap the night before, and was therefore pretty much a zombie.

A crafting zombie, mind you.

I grew up in an artsy-craftsy family. Quilting and crocheting and sewing and cross-stitching and embroidery and scrapbooking and ornaments and jewelry and stained glass and painting and all that brouhaha.

And I inherited? Very little of that natural talent.

I can sew.

Ish.

I mean, not in a straight line by any means. And I've pretty much only made napkins at this point. But my goal is to be able to make curtains for my living and dining rooms one day, to make tablecloths and napkins for the various holidays, to be able to make at least a basic block quilt, and to one day, if I'm brave enough, maybe sew a summer dress or something.

For now I stick with slightly crooked napkins.

I also want to learn to crochet. But I don't yet have the patience, so that's on the back burner for the foreseeable future.

BUT!!!

I can cross-stitch.

I mean, anyone can cross-stitch, so it's not like I'm gifted or anything remotely resembling talented.

(And I still can't do French knots to save my life, which irritates me greatly)

But I enjoy cross-stitching. There is something soothing for me in the rhythm and pattern of all those bloody x's. For some people it makes them crazy, but for me it's almost zen-like.

This is one I did a few years ago, when I first got back into cross-stitching as an adult. I love the saying, and use it regularly, so finding it in a cross-stitch pattern was serendipitous I guess!

First time out of the gate

After completing that (quite easy) one, I moved on to a slightly significantly more challenging pattern. Because, you know, why start slow when you can jump from zero to 60, right?!?

My most recently completed one

This one took me a long time to finish, because I ended up putting it down for a couple of years out of frustration (that whole zero to 60 thing). But I picked it up again last spring and just slogged through it, and now it's hanging in my hallway in a pretty black frame.

Now I'm working on this one.

Current project...

Needless to say it's going to take me awhile. My goal was to have the main stitching done by the time spring quarter starts, but I think that may be an unrealistic goal, as right now I only have the pink butterfly, the big white flower, and the little flower above it (and the leaves) done.

Because clearly doing things that are less complex isn't really my style!

After I complete this one, I have a really cool pattern that The Husband's coworker gave me. She actually designed it years ago when she lived in the UK, and usually sells them, but since I'm so awesome she gave it to me for free.

It's a map of Ireland, England, and Scotland, and it's really pretty. The entire pattern is in blues and greens and white, but she includes red thread so you can stitch in your own path when you visit over there, which I thought was a really cool touch.

When I finally go, I will be sure to map out my journey on my cross-stitch pattern!