Friday Free-Write #1

Currently, I'm themeless. So here goes it - a rambling, random blog post with little or no structure (who really believes in that whole "Beginning paragraph, three "middle" paragraphs, and an end/conclusion paragraph", anyway)? I think I punctuated that sentence entirely incorrectly. Oops, there's some bad grammer for ya!

Here's what's happening in sunny Athens, Ohio today:

It's going to reach a high of 85 degrees. Tomorrow, 55 degrees will be the high temp. You just never know about the weather in SE Ohio!

There have been at least 12 people sickened after eating at one of the most popular local Mexican restaurants in town. I won't be eating there anytime soon! YIKES!

Todd is hard at work on his dissertation. I still don't really know what "pedagogy" is. But I know what a Hillbilly is, and I know what Appalachia is, so a dissertation about Hillbilly/ Appalachian/Critical/Pedagogy sounds like an impressive piece of work to me! He has such fabulous ideas and great support - not only from his peers @ OU, but several other schools as well. I strongly believe in "go big or go home", "give it all you've got or don't give anything at all", and "if you're going to spend 10+ years in college, you better make an impact on something somewhere somehow". I know he will do great things in his field. Our life is an adventure, and I'm ready to do the next big thing. Moving is one of them. When we decided to move from Huntington to Athens four years ago, I was scared out of my mind and cried for days because "Athens just isn't Huntington", whatever that means - of course i realize that is a senseless way to think now. It's the absolute best thing we could have ever done for ourselves at that time. I will not be crying this moving time around - maybe only happy tears. I'm ready for the next place, and I hope there's a Crate&Barrel nearby! Counting down... we have a year left in Athens.

Speaking of moving, I will really hate leaving the apartment complex that we live in - our central Air didn't feel very cold this morning, so the maintenance men replaced the filter. They're always right there, ready to help - the landscaping is wonderful, our pool is always really clean and nice in the summer, and they will come at midnight if needed. They also help with minor car issues (like giving a jump when the battery's dead = ME, stranded in the parking lot, last week!) I think that if we rent again when we move, I will select the location based on the maintenance men (not their physical appearance, their personality and availability). If we buy a home, I will cry, then go to Home Depot and buy a crap ton of do-it-yourself books. Maybe i'll watch some old Bob Vila footage on YouTube. I already have a super intimidating tool box, thanks to my brother! I know what 85% of the tools are used for. That's good, isn't it?

I'm heading to Lowes later - I need to get some boards cut for my next big project! I love being artsy and creative - its the best stress reliever, and I love making something that others love. I'm always working on a little something for somebody, but I can think of a few recent, "special" creations that were so fun, and satisfying - to myself, and to the individuals I created them for. Some of my fave projects:

Wedding Coloring Books - for my supervisor's wedding, June 2008. I drew coloring pages based off of family photos, family pets, and details of the wedding - there were pages for the dogs, the kids, the bride, the groom, and even the individual cheesecakes! The kid's table was fabulous - I remember checking it out at one point during the reception, and each kid was hard at work, coloring a different page. SUCCESS!

Baby Shower Invitations - for Todd's aunt Michele, who was getting ready to have her 3rd baby - she asked for something a little more modern and stylish than the typical invite. I took her baby's name into consideration ("Paisley") and designed a terrific set of invites. I printed them on a good quality cardstock at the local office supply store and purchased envelopes there as well - around $40-$50.00 for 50 personalized shower invites & thank you cards - beat THAT, TinyPrints! (ok... so I'm not a professional graphic designer at TinyPrints. It was my first attempt at invitations - and believe me, I was sweating bullets!

Christmas Ornaments - I truly loved/enjoyed all of the ornaments i designed for Christmas 2009 - the WV Seasonal designs, the personalized snowmen i created for friends at work, and all of the customized ornaments I painted for Addison Visitor's Center customers who wanted a little something special.

It's kind of hard to do anything about creative urges when I'm sitting at a desk 40 hours per week. I swear, I am two different people: the artsy hippie and the working gal with big career goals (whatever those are... I have 40-some.) I want to be BOTH (I don't think I can pull off wearing tie-dye @work, though.)

Wow, what a completely random post - definitely no beginning, no middle, and no end. And I still have a few random things for today!

I'm really loving Pearl Jam's song, "Just Breathe" - i've heard it on the radio so many times!

I'm meeting Mom for breakfast in Elkview on Sunday morning - I have a gift for her!

And, finally:

TGIF!

Have a super weekend, everyone! I'll be hard at work, on my "projects"... and also, trying to finish up "The Elegance of the Hedgehog", which is actually turning into a really great book!