Jumping Ship...

Too many blogs to keep updated! Everything is now over at www.monkeytailz.com
See you there....

'round and 'round she goes....

...and where she stops, nobody knows.

First, let's clear the cobwebs off this blog. Sometimes, I get so caught up in existing that I forget to LIVE life like the beautiful gift it is. It is so easy to get bogged down with the HAVE TOs and forget about the WANT TOs. Lately, I've been on a quest to cut the excess baggage from my life. Purge the crap, decrease the negativity, and increase the positivity. I am trying to surround myself with people who make me feel good. I don't mean people that pump up my ego. I mean people who love life, are positive, live out loud, and it just feels good to be around them. Perhaps I'm having the onset of a slight mid-life crisis after my recent 4[mumble]th birthday. Perhaps I'm tired of tearing up every time I see someone living their passion and wondering when I'm going to get to live mine. Perhaps it's just time to start LIVING again.

My main priority for the past 13+ years has been being a Mommie. I love this job. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it does tend to become your whole world, if you let it. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are growing up and don't need my constant attention any more. I have my hobbies...Asian Ball Jointed Dolls, sewing, and various other silly things I like to do...but, I long to do something big. Something fantastic. Something outrageous. Something that will make people talk. I've always said I would rather be interesting enough to be talked about than be so boring that no one talks about me ;)

I ask myself...What is my passion? What is it that I really want to do that I'm not doing? I've pushed it down for so long that I really don't know. I look at my hobbies...the things I enjoy doing most. The Dolls. The answer is in the Dolls. I discovered Asian Ball Jointed Dolls about 5 years ago and was immediately hooked. Each Doll I have (or  have had...if they've moved on to new homes) has a distinct developed (or being developed) character...actors, burlesque dancers, buskers, carnies, ghosts, knife throwers, musicians, pinup girls, rollergirls, steampunks, sword swallowers, time travellers, vampires, witches ...but what is the common underlying theme with all of them? Each one is some kind of performer or exhibitionist or has some fantastic ability that sets them apart from what is considered ~normal~. I realize...each doll represents some part of me. Each one is a tangible form of what I wish for, long for, or am fascinated by. I have been living vicariously through the Dolls and their stories. All well and good, but that still leaves me with a hole in my soul that needs to be fulfilled. And, lately, my Dolls have just been sitting there...staring at me...taunting me with all my unrealized hopes and dreams and aspirations.

So, what does all this have to do with going 'round and 'round? Ever since we moved here, I keep finding myself wishing that we lived closer to Denver. STUFF is going on there! STUFF I want to be a part of. STUFF I want my girls to be a part of. But, I have my priorities and they keep me close to home...away from the STUFF. Every so often, I search the web to see if something, anything, that calls to me might have popped up close to home. Nothing. Until yesterday...

I have been fascinated with Roller Derby for years (and secretly wanted to get involved), but [insert rambling from above]. All of sudden, it's popping up over and over in my life. I have reconnected with many old friends from my past on FaceBook. Three really good friends were or are currently involved with Roller Derby. I recently made a new friend that was on a team in Denver. There's all the buzz about Whip It! (can't wait to see this! Reading the book now)...

...I want to be a Roller Girl for Halloween...Yes! I AM dressing up this year! It's been way too long and that is just wrong...then I start searching for more info about the Denver Roller Derby teams and plan to attend an upcoming bout. Unbelievably (mostly to myself), this will be my first. Then I do it...google...Roller Derby Loveland...and discover FoCo Girls Gone Derby! I click all over their web site, sign up for the newsletter, plan to attend a bout, join their FaceBook Fan Page, start getting all pumped up and thinking...maybe, just maybe, I could do this...and then I remember that (1) I'm not all that coordinated or athletic, (2) I'm quite out of shape, and (3) I'm no Spring Chicken. I am working on the out-of-shape part by biking daily and have dropped almost 2 sizes over the summer...yay!...but, there's not much I can do about the uncoordinated part or the Spring Chicken part. Whatever. Then...I notice a link I hadn't clicked yet. One little entry on their blog...Jr Roller Derby. What!?! My heart skips a beat and I click the link. There is a League in Greeley for girls 9-17 and I have 2 of those! Well, Thing 2 will be 9 in exactly one month from today ;) I quickly leave a comment asking for more info and if there is a Jr. League closer to home. The reply comes back from a mom who lives in Loveland and they have a carpool!

So, you guessed it. We are going to join Junior Roller Derby! Right now, it will just be Thing 1 since Thing 2 is in Ballet on practice nights, but she wants to check it out, too. Thing 1 is super excited and I'm excited for her. She hasn't found her passion yet, but I think this is a step in the right direction. I want her to experience anything and everything that ignites a spark within her and one day she will find that thing that lights her fire. I may not get to realize my dream of being a Roller Girl, but I am going to try and give my daughters every chance I can to find their PASSION and ROLL with it...whatever ~it~ may be.

I know. All that means I'm still living vicariously through someone else and not embracing my own passion, but who knows where this will lead? ... ;) Right now, it's leading me to create a new blog button for ROLLER DERBY because I have a feeling this topic is going to need it's own section!

Busy, busy, busy...

...busy, busy, busy. It seems that I have been so busy being not bored that I have neglected to update my blog in quite some time. Last week, I had big plans to jump back into this with a fervor, but managed to keep so busy that I didn't. The family went canoeing on the Green River and were gone for a week...a whole week...all of them....which left me home ALONE :) for a whole week. A whole week of being responsible for no one but me (well, me and the 4 FurKids ;). I ate when and what I wanted (and lost 4 more pounds to boot!), I got up when I wanted (well, as long as the FurKids would let me sleep), did what I wanted ALL day long and into the wee hours of the morning (i.e. sewed for MYSELF, watched movies, got in touch with my inner geek and hooked the laptop up to the TV, etc). I missed my family very much, but it was a MUCH-NEEDED break and probably the only vacation I'll get any time soon. So, I enjoyed it :) I will get back to blogging soon because I enjoy that, too....

Lazy, um, Strike That ---- CRAZY Days of Summer

I am lagging way behind on my blogs, my sewing, my multitudes of projects and ever-growing To Do list. Having the kids around ALL the time AND having a next-to-nothing entertainment budget is seriously cutting into my ME time. I do enjoy having the girls around (when they aren't fighting), but I miss having time to myself.

In addition to the girlies being around this summer, we have a new family member...Robbie the Boston Terrier. Mr. NeverBored has been, increasingly, bugging me to adopt a BT puppy. We all miss Moxie terribly (RIP January 2009)....

 

...and, certainly, could never replace her, but having a Boston Terrier around is always a hoot ;) So, I made a deal with Mr. NeverBored...I would agree to bringing a new BT into the house if (1) we got one from a Boston Terrier Rescue group and (2) the new one wasn't A LOT like Moxie.

A week or so ago, I was at Office Depot and saw an older gentleman with a cute little Boston Terrier in the parking lot. I approached him and asked about his dog. He told me he had adopted her from Mid-America Boston Terrier Rescue (MABTR). He got my name and number and called me later that evening with the contact info for MABTR. We found their web site (www.adoptaboston.com) and started looking at all the Bostons they were trying to find homes for. It was heartbreaking and we wanted to adopt them all, but we finally decided to get more info on Robbie. He was a poor little guy that had been recently rescued from a puppy mill. After spending about an hour on the phone with his Foster Mom in Nebraska, we decided to give him a try. He arrived in Colorado on Monday, June 15....dazed, confused, timid and sweet as can be.

We have lots of photos, but this is one of my favorites and was taken shortly after we surprised the girls with our new family member...

Robbie's first week (and a couple days) with us has been quite eventful and he is fitting in with our other two dogs just fine. I am putting together a little movie of his first week, but until that is finished, here is a silly little video I made the other day with my Creative Vado HD video camera:

 

Speaking of the Vado HD Video Camera by Creative...I recommend it!

I have been, unsuccessfully, trying to save up for a fancy schmancy video camera to record the days of our lives. All I had for video was a not-so-great function on my little digital camera. It was better than nothing, but not always handy and I've missed so many great video opportunities over the years :( The other day, I got an e-mail touting the Vado HD and offering it for a ~very~ affordable price. I decided to go for it because I knew we weren't getting a fancy video camera any time soon AND I was tired of regretting missing out on good video of the girls (not to mention that Thing 2's FIRST BALLET RECITAL was just days away and I really didn't want to miss that opportunity).

The camera arrived the day of the recital and I put it right to work! I took several short videos before, during and after the recital and then put them all together with Windows Movie Maker. Here is my first attempt at video editing....

Get one of these awesome little handy dandy Creative Labs Vado HD Video Cameras from Amazon.com...

More videos to come!

A different perspective...

This morning while cleaning off the kitchen table after the family has departed for their various work and school locations, I found this note penned by Thing 2 yesterday afternoon...

...a little glimpse into the life of an 8-year-old on a Wednesday afternoon.

I guess I have been stressed lately (probably a lot longer than just lately, but it seems to be more evident lately)....feeling pulled in about a million different directions at any time and not being able to get much actually accomplished...excuse me, I have to run upstairs and reprimand and retrieve the doxie who is in the yard barking non-stop at passerbys...I'm back, but that took longer than expected as I reached the yard and remembered that I promised Mr. NeverBored that I would...excuse me again, I have to run upstairs and yell at the giant lab puppy who is cleaning my kitchen counter right now...NOT forget to water the "crops". He planted grass, spinach and pumpkins last weekend...have I mentioned that I have BROWN thumbs?!? As I return to my desk, I remember that I have e-mails to send, bills to pay, web sites to update, packages to mail, projects to start and finish...all before the kids get home from school and that starts a whole different set of things I must do...etc.etc.etc.

I need a week or two off, but doubt that will happen any time soon. School is almost out for the summer. I used to love summer vacation. Vacation? What's that? I don't even recall the meaning of that word anymore. The last ~real~ vacation I had? A trip where there was just fun and a break from reality? That would have to be a trip to New York (won from E-online) with my BFF in December of 2004. That was almost 5 years ago. There have been a couple other trips since then, but none were just for fun...a move from the East Coast to here, a trip to visit family that was ill, a weekend camping trip to Estes Park with Thing 2's Brownie Troop (OK, that was fun, but being responsible for a cabin full of screaming Brownies is hardly relaxing ;) and...and...well, that's about it.

...stressed mom...yeah...I need to change that. I think one of my next projects will be a VISION BOARD with a VACATION prominently featured. But, first, I have to make a ~pretty~ Vision Board that will look nice in my newly redecorated studio ;)

 

 

 

 

In the interest of reducing stress and bringing more positive things into my life, I recently swapped to receive the book THE SECRET...

 

Swapped, you ask? Yes! I discovered SWAPTREE.COM a few months ago and have already completed a few trades and love it! The basic idea is to list books you have that you are willing to trade and then add books you would like to trade for and then wait for (or initiate offers). You each pay the postage to get the book to the other, but that's the only expense involved. If you would like to join (and give me a little credit for free postage ;), shoot me an e-mail (either you know me and my e-mail OR there is a link on the first page of this blog, in the column down the left side,  that looks like a vintage postcard) and I will send you an e-mail invite. After you join, you can invite friends and get free postage, too!

 

 

 

 

There is also a DVD, that I have watched:

Some of it is kinda hokey, but there are some good (common sense) ideas presented. Basically, think positive thoughts and good things will happen to you. Easier said than done, right? ;P

Sorry for all the whining...I will try to get back to more fun stuff soon.

I know I am loved...

Mother's Day. The one day a year that Mom gets a break from being...a...mom. The one day that you tell Mom...all day long...how much you love her.

As I try to sleep in this morning and drown out the sounds of early morning disagreements while breakfast is being made...I know I am loved.

As I finally get tired of waiting in bed and decide to make my way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and am greeted with sullen looks and pouty faces...I know I am loved.

As Thing 2 quickly forgets the morning squabbles and runs over to me and throws her arms around my waist and says "I wanted to be the first one to hug and kiss you today!"...I know I am loved.

As Mr. NeverBored serves up the yummy disagreement-causing Banana Bread French Toast...I know I am loved.

As I am presented with a fragile little plant in a festive pot that has been lovingly tended to in Mrs. D's 2nd Grade Classroom that I and my 2 Brown Thumbs are expected to nurture and keep alive...I know I am loved.

As I open the package containing my favorite once plain and simple much-used apron that has been ~creatively~ and lovingly decorated by Thing 1 with ribbons, pom-poms , wiggly eyeballs and a lot of hot glue and I hear myself vow to "wear it often"...I know I am loved.

As I leave as much of the housework undone as long as I can possibly stand before diving in...I know I am loved.

As I listen to my girls argue about everything and nothing just like any other day...I know I am loved.

As I make lunch and dinner, and feed the dogs, and do the dishes...just like any other day...I know I am loved.

As I prepare to take the dogs for a walk and hear "I'll go with you Mom!" as I politely decline and say "That's OK. I need a some fresh air and a little quiet time to myself." and then I get a big, wet "kiss" across the face from the puppy...I know I am loved.

As I look over the lovely drawings made especially for me on this Mother's Day 2009...I know I am loved.

As I sit here and type and think about my Mom and try to remember all those Mother's Days from years gone by and hope that we made her feel loved and special and wish that I could be where she is to do something nice for her on this day to let her know how much I appreciate all she has done for me [ AND to possibly try and make up for all those other Mother's Days when I was a kid ;) ]...I know I am loved.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom...I love you :)

Spring Storm

The forecasts have been  teasing us with reports of up to two feet of snow. So far, all we've gotten here is a bunch of icky, slushy mush. The girls were hoping for one more big dumping of snow and some good sledding. We still have tomorrow to get through, so who knows. It's Spring in Colorado.

I was watching the slush come down earlier today and noticed a squirrel poking his nose out of one of our birdhouses in the backyard. I ran to get the camera and was lucky enough to catch him still peering out when I returned...

Sick Kids...Creative Funk...

Not much going on besides sick kids and my creativity being in a funk.  I did manage to ~finally~ get this blog into a 3-column layout. I have hundreds of projects I want to try, a screen printing machine to figure out, dolls to play with, more redecoration projects for the office....but, it seems nothing is getting accomplished. I hope this funk will lift soon...

LISTEN!

Brother JB wants me to blog, so blog, Brother JB, I will ;) I <3 our local radio station...KRFC. I listen quite a bit, but almost always try to make time for Damaged Hearing with Louis Fowler on Tuesdays from 1pm to 3pm MT and The Rock & Roll Clubhouse with Brother JB on Wednesdays from 1pm to 3pm MT. Louis makes me giggle (not to mention, what a hot genius he is ;) and Brother JB brings on the ROCK! Both guys make radio worth listening to! During the shows, we have a little party on FaceBook and that makes listening even more fun.

Check it out!  http://krfcfm.org/listen.php

Chaos & Order

 
In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order. —Carl Jung

That quote sums up my life quite nicely.

The kiddos went back to school this week (after Spring Break last week) and then we got hit with a blizzard and no school yesterday or today. I'm itching to get back to making and doing and sewing and creating, but am faced with entertaining kids since I don't like them endlessly vegging out in front of the tube. My blog is becoming quite boring, I fear. There's always next week....

Whiteout: Spring Blizzard Blasts into Loveland...

.......

Not feeling very creative lately. This too shall pass....just when?!?

Button Eyes

I'm still working on my office, but this kept me busy for a while today. What fun! I have button eyes! I could spend a lot of time on this web site ~ www.coraline.com ...

 

 

I loved the movie, Coraline. It's right up my alley. Unfortunately, I didn't know it wasn't in 3D at all the theaters, so I think I'll be seeing it on the big screen again soon.

Boring

Well, I may be Never Bored, but this blog is kinda boring right now. Sorry. I'll get back to it soon. I'm almost done with the office redecorating project...well, I'll probably never be all the way done, but it is PINK now :)

New Blog...

Welcome to my new blog ~ "never bored". I have often been heard to say "I'm never bored". It is true. I can honestly say that I have never been bored a day in my life. Every time I say this it makes me think of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" (hence the Raven logo ;) There is so much that I want to see and do and try. My To Do List grows daily and, at times, is overwhelming. But, I muddle along as best I can. I decided to try blogging about some of my projects. So, I guess it's time to jump in and start blogging! I have at least a million new projects (and probably just as many old) that I want to work on. I am hoping that blogging and photographing some of my more interesting projects will help to keep me organized. We shall see.