Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

(An old package I sent out, ACEO of a goddess girl, wrapped in kraft paper and tied up with string, with some business cards and a hair clip gift for a very special little girl.)

Let me tell you....

I am awash with living lately.

Sometimes I freak out and I panic, I get all tense and uptight. I snap at certain gentlemen and yell at certain children. I want to be left alone so I can straighten my head out and do all the things that I have on my lists.

Let me tell you some of the projects I am working with these days.

1. Getting ready for Easter and setting up the eggs to be dyed tomorrow. I'll boil them tonight. And figuring out what I'm going to get for their Easter baskets, because of course I've left it for the last minute.

2. Working part time, but every day, at a restaurant as they train me to wait tables there, despite the fact that I have been waiting tables longer than most of the kids working there have been walking. (But that's my issue I'm working through, being 20 to 10 years older than all of them.)

3. Hemming my new work pants. I'm a shortie. I need short pants. (finished this just before I wrote this)

4. Finally making some packaging for my felt pins. I did 5 today. I've finally decided on a recycled/repurposed method, but it takes so much longer than store bought packaging. I've got recycled food boxes, staples, lavender gift tissue, silver paint and a homemade stamp made out of an old eraser.

5. Writing in my journal again. It's been about 5 years since I regularly wrote in my journal. I used to be an obsessive diarist, and somehow, with blogging and kids and message boards and kids, I stopped.

6. Writing poetry again. It's National Poetry Month, as Marta reminded me, and I begin my once yearly affair with poetry. Poetry makes me too nervous to usually continue with it past April, but who knows, this might be the year when I go back to being a poet again. I get really uptight around the subject of writing poetry, showing poetry, and being a poet. I love teaching it, but being a poet pushes all sorts of buttons in me. Again. My issues.

7. Planning some Easter pennants for the kids and their cousin on the Easter Egg hunt tomorrow. I got them to hunt for long straight sticks in the yard today, and I think tonight I will cut pennants in appropriate colors out of fabric, and decorate them with appropriate symbols, and tie them on to the sticks. I will not stitch them, because my fingers are killing me and I am in the middle of OTHER sewing projects.

8. Like sewing a stuffed orange snake for Gabriel's home made present. Right now, I am sewing brown and orange paisley stripes onto it. Must add eyes, a mouth and tongue. Plus I need to do some needle sculpting. I would show you all my patterns for these stuffies, but most of the time, I am making it up as I go, and have no guaranteed pattern to show.

9. Like for Ivy's stuffed present. A white velveteen bunny with floral accents. It's turning out REALLY cute, but I still don't know how I'm going to attach the limbs and ears and tail. I made some mistakes so now I have to fix them.

10. Also, there's blogging. Can't forget that. It's a real project, as is keeping up with blogs, which I always feel I am falling behind on.

11. There's my neglected novel, which I am trying to work myself back into, but am not doing so well with.

12. There's my recent photographing. I'm trying to take pictures of Spring, I've missed it so. There's been no Spring in the two years I've been in Florida, so it's nice to witness it anew. Also, taking pictures of the kids enjoying their Spring.

13. And perhaps my biggest project right now, paying attention to life. Not being so stressed about everything I can't do and haven't done and must do, but paying attention to where I am and who I am and what I am doing, and, you know.... enjoying it. Paying attention to a few of my favorite things right now, right here, in this moment. (Did you get the link back to the title? Now you'll be singing that all day, or at least I will.)


There's probably more than that, but I've run out of time. I have to close up shop and go back upstairs and take care of kids and get ready for work and perhaps start the eggs to boil before I go. Oh yeah, and eat something.

Oh, one more thing. I realize I forgot to link to the poladroid application, so I wanted to rectify that. Free upload. Woo Hoo. Don't you love free stuff?