Somebunny to Love

My sweet friends got married earlier this summer. They are not mushy gushy people but they do have a pretty saccharine sweet pet name for each other. "Bunny" And somehow it's not out of character to call a bearded, motorbike enthusiast a bunny. It suits them, and I wanted to pay it homage in their embroidery.

It was such an honor to witness their wedding. A creative joining of two hearts and lives. 

A Bookish Baby Gift

My sweet cousin had a books and bums (diapers) baby shower the other week. I didn't make it but sent along a themed package for the future reader. 

The bookworm applique was a bit of a rush job, so there's a crafty fringe edge to it all. I kinda like it, after all. And little Blythe Suzanne will grow into her little nerd shirt soon enough.

The scrabble pieces were leftovers from our wedding.

I also included a little crocheted, handmade spit rag and wrapped it up in a box I made from an old record box. The effect was sweet, fun, and bright, like a baby gift should be.

I've been away. For the same old reason of life life life. But, I promise, I've been busy completing projects for gifts, so I have plenty to post for y'all.

Also, we Franks are buying a house, and soon! So get ready for lots of home repair posts as well. Here goes!

Writer's Self Portrait (or) Self Blogvaluation

My seester, Jess, tagged me to respond to the modern day blogger equivalent to chain mail. Remember chain mail? Those silly questionnaire tied to an empty threat of bad luck for a year if you "broke the chain"? Also, remember amish friendship bread? How sketchballs is it to make bread from  plastic bag of squishy dough ball "starter" that you can't vouch for the beginnings of? This chain stuff is a weird phenomenon. Regardless, it's an easy post topic for me. So here it is. 

1. What are you working on?
Not much lately. I have a couple wedding projects in the works, and a bike revamp project. And I plan to paint my dining room table. (as I typed those words they were said on screen my tv during a despairing scene of When Harry Met Sally! What an odd, coincidental world I live in!) But really, I don't have a big project right now. I guess my biggest new project is figuring out how to be a good wife. That's much more of a progressive task than I ever could have guessed.

2. What makes your work different from others' work in the same genre?
I'm not even sure how to classify my writing or this blog. To begin with, my idea was to write honestly about the things in my life that encourage me or challenge me. I try to look at things positively, though I go through normal phases of pessimism as well. I guess my silly asides and messy lifestyle might set me apart from other blogger/crafters.

3. Why do you write what you do?
I studied writing from my junior year of high school through the end of college. I wasn't sure what I would do with that expertise and training. I still am unsure. But, somehow, writing little bitty posts about things I make and ideas I have makes me feel good. Good enough reason to write. Besides, I also like making things look nice- layout and design and photography also pique my interest. So, blogging seems right for now. And thoughts and loves and crafts are what I have to blog about now, easy peasy.

4. How does your writing process work?
I don't have a typical process. It took me a week to set aside a half hour to respond to this call out. But, sometimes, a thought will nag me so that I can't wait to write about it. And a really fun, photogenic project can insist a blog post as well. And as for the written content. I spew. I don't edit much until I re-read later and realize that I'm crazy and have made terrible structural and spelling mistakes.

I'm gonna take a chance and let the bad luck get me. Not pass this chain mail challenge on. Still it has  been interesting to think objectively about this glasshufffull project. Why DID I start blogging? Because I wanted to write more. Because I wanted to be connected to other people more. These are good things. Why have I not blogged as much recently? Because I'm spending a lot of time with other people. Because I've had moments I've been too busy to document with photos. These are good things as well. 

Things are good. The glass is still "huff" full.

Spring Back

I love a lazy morning. The sun coming through the curtains to rouse me to wake rather than the buzz of an alarm. A few slow moments resting still tucked in my sheets, watching the sun dust slowly fall in the mid-morning sun. It is finally spring, and yesterday was my first spring morning with a slow wake. And I'll tell you what- I feel revived. 

Spring Sarah has awoken. Like one of those sleepy head daisies from the animated Alice in Wonderland. Rubbing my crusty, tired eyes. Batting my petal lids at the sun. I've unfurled myself, readying for the sun to enliven me after a long long winter underground.

Every year, sometime around February, I dissolve a little. Don't get me wrong, I love winter. I seriously cry happy tears at the sight of the first snow! But after a couple months, I become stir crazy and pudgy from a sedentary snow lifestyle. And, like clockwork, the sadness comes. It's been this way since I was a teenager. 

And this year, since I had a husband to care for me and binge watch crappy television with, I didn't find respite in the creative outlet of my blog. In fact, I've abandoned it for a good long time. At one point, I considered giving it up for Lent since I'd already gone so long without it. (I know, I'm a cheater.)

When I'm sad, I know that making something, doing something creative WILL help me feel better. I know this, and yet it's so hard to just DO it. Isn't that the way it is for you? We know what's best for us, but it's starting a new habit that's the hardest. Or even re-starting, in the case of this neglected website.

So this morning, the sun shining in, It's the first step. The tiny push to get the ball rolling. And once that ball is rolling, the inertia should pick up. But baby steps to begin with.

First, I'll wake up before my alarm. And, then -still in my pjs til 10- I'll plant some pretty spring flowers. Get things growing again.

I'll water them daily. I'll clean my bike chain. A little hard work goes a long way.

In a month's time or less, we'll all be blossoming in summer.   

Won't that be beautiful!

A Life Full of Chotchskies

It's month 3 into the foreverwinter and I'm starting to feel swallowed by the indoors. February and March are difficult months for me, historically filled with low moments and memories of loved ones lost. Cold, dark, snow covered winters make these months even harder. And lately I feel as though I'm drowning in my own home.

Drowning in laundry. Drowning in dust. Drowning in dishes especially. (Oh, you'll see.) My wonderful new bath towels cover the upstairs bathroom with a never ending layer of navy blue fuzz. I can't seem to keep up with the mess. I'm vacuuming twice as much as I used to. (Where does the dirt come from? I haven't seen much of the ground the last couple months!) Two people make so much more of a mess than one. Not that Stan doesn't pull his weight in work, he does. But when both of us are at work all day and then come home... who wants to do dishes? Not us. Sitting sounds better. We'll do dinner on the couch so we aren't distracted by the mountains of dirty pyrex lunch containers.

So the mess feels heavy and never-ending. And right now, I think perhaps my own eclectic style is working against me. My home is jampacked full of dust-gathering chotchskies.

I went around and took pictures of my decorative clutter. Looking at them all together like this has a multiplying effect. In real life, between each of these vignettes and collections there's feet of white apartment walls. Still, am I overdoing it?

Featuring: A bottle painted by the owner of my college watering hole and a panda drink.

Featuring: antique grinder and juicer wedding gifts and a yellow rose from...what?

Featuring: old Christmas candy no one wants and a duck succulent.

Featuring: Many candles. Well, this is functional at least.

Featuring: Coasters a-plenty and overflow books. 

Featuring: Slowly disappearing candy canes, a wedding terrarium, and a child's accordion, of course.

Featuring: Too many shades on a broken clock.

Featuring: A cabinet of chotchkies I don't have surfaces for. And 200 DVDS.

Featuring: My college i.d., tiny plastic cat eye glasses, wine corks, dream catcher.

And as I look at the pictures again, I know I'd be sad to part with the items making up the clutter. Each represents some moment in Sarah-history worth remembering. A friend's visit, a first date, a music show, a school fundraiser. Perhaps when the snow stops flying, I may do a quick prune. But I'm not ready to declutter totally yet.

The same things that I love about my home in the summer are driving me nuts in the winter. I know with an ounce of perspective and a few minutes of daylight, things will sort themselves out. Soon, there will be warmth and newness and flowers to plant beside our doormat. Come real soon, spring. I'm so ready for your yearly visit.

Until then, I guess I'll just try to do the dishes more regularly. Because there's nothing positive to say about this clutter.

Featuring: Yuck.

Freezing Hot Date (and a record haul)

Took half a floating holiday yesterday (sounds like it should be an anime movie) and went on a Dayton adventure with the hubby? The cold weather has kept us inside and sedentary all too often of late. We hit up a few Dayton delights to shake things up a bit. Sushi at Fusion, frozen yogurt at Bad Frog a stop in at Omega to peruse the cheapo bins and a nice, long (and warm!) walk through the Dayton Art Institute.

In true Frank form, we didn't document the date. I really want to start taking pictures of things we do in these early days of marriage. I'm sure I will appreciate them later if we do. I'd love to see more pictures from the beginning of my parents' marriage.

No pictures, then. But we came out rich from the record store. Darn place got rid of their listening station so I couldn't preview the records. But I'm super pumped about several of them. I mean, who doesn't need atleast ONE square dancing album? When I saw the "When Harry Met Sally" soundtrack I exclaimed, out loud: "This is the best day ever!" Thank you, record collectors, for not putting a high monetary value on the type of music I adore to collect.

New Year, New Life, New Practices

I quit taking piano lessons on three separate occasions as a child. The idea of being able to play the piano was always so attractive to me. I saw my sister's fingers glide over the keys and pour out "Moonlight Sonata" and "the Flight of Bumblebee" and I wanted to have the same magical effect. If my sister could do it so easily, so could I. When I sat down at the keyboard- my instructor at my side- I realized that my learning curve was steep. I'd have to play scales and learn the names of the keys even before I'd plink out 15 second songs and jangling chords. I knew but didn't understand that piano would take an enormous amount of practice. I had hoped to be a child prodigy, pouring out compositions on the first try. But I was the rule, not the exception. Piano wouldn't come to me easily- or even naturally. So I quit.

This to attempt to explain the person that I have been throughout most of my life. My first response to a challenge is often to question whether I am cut out of the necessary cloth. I quit when things get hard. Because, if I were meant to do it it'd be easier for me, right? 

Granted, I have learned many things through practice. I write these sentences (most of them complete and cohesive- I hope) with 25 years of practice under my belt. 6 years were spent in intensive programs for the express purpose of learning how to better transport thought to page. My ability to write didn't sprout up in me overnight. Still, I began to focus on my writing back in 5th grade when I realized I had an aptitude for it. This is how I work, and how I imagine many other people function as well. We invest our personal energy in those things in which we already exhibit potential.

That is why my current journey is so different from most others in my past. You see, I don't think marriage is coming super naturally to me.

Let me clarify a few points before anyone misunderstands: 

1. I am so happy I am married to Stan. 
2. I do not regret getting married.
3. I'm not going to quit this marriage like I quit piano.

No one let me go into this marriage thing blind. I was well aware of the fact that marriage is a practice. Going in, I knew I would wake up each morning and not automatically know how to "play all the right notes" in married life. But I thought I'd at least have more natural aptitude for it. 

I know, I know - you're all sitting there going, "But Sarah's gotta be a great wife! She's so sweet and optimistic and crafty. And she can cook!" (I flatter myself with your flattery of me.) Sure, some of my blog-related skills are coming in handy in marriage. The mister enjoys my cooking. Our home has been exponentially cuter this Christmas season with a two-person audience to enjoy the decorations. And I think, in general we're both really good at loving each other and caring for each other. But as newlyweds, there are a million things every day that happen that just miss the mark. You know, some "bad chords", if we continue with the metaphor. 

Going in to this marriage, I knew that one of my biggest challenges would be my patience. Poor mister, he gets the brunt of my impatience, daily. I did my best to start working on this challenge even before the marriage began. I have spent time, energy and prayer working on creating an attitude of patience towards my husband. Though I know there's plenty of work yet to be done, I do think my skill set has grown, my aptitude improved. (He might tell you differently...)

But here's where I'll get real: It's not HIM I need to be patient with.

Just like when I was trying to learn the piano (or any number of other quickly quit things throughout my days), I am expecting myself to immediately master the very hard task of being a wife. There is an article I stumbled into on the internet the other day that said that many newlyweds make the mistake of thinking that they can "microwave" their marriage. Of course, a marriage needs to be "slow roasted" and not nuked. I read that, and new I was treating our marriage - and my new role as wife - a little too much like a Hot Pocket.

Sure, the mister needs me to be patient with him. But I really need to practice patience with myself. I am going to make so many mistakes. And I can't be so frustrated with myself when I make them. The skills that are necessary to become a great wife and 1/2 of a great marriage won't come overnight. I am not a marriage prodigy. But I'll learn to be a better wife through years of practice, years of plinky songs, and jangly chords. Practice means a willingness to be okay with doing things imperfectly as you work towards something better. The little perfectionist in me needs to let go and enjoy the unpredictability of our perfectly imperfect marriage. 

So that, if anything, is my New Year plan. 1. Be patient with myself, the work God is doing in me, and in my marriage. And 2. to intentionally enjoy the mess on the way to success.

a messier moment from our beautiful wedding day

Also- I plan to blog more. More wedding pictures are forthcoming.