Introducing - Anna's Nest!
Welcome to the new website! Change your bookmarks and RSS feeds, everyone! We have a cool new site with a cool new name!
I decided it needed a proper introduction. The post I wrote late last night, although surprisingly coherent, considering that I was extremely tired and rather loopy when I wrote it (unless normal people also find hilarious typos such as “developement” and “esty”…no?), was far too short to convey the monumental fantasticness of the occasion.
Now you can see a little bit of what I was talking about here and here when I made vague allusions a “surprise” of some kind.
ALSO! I have an Etsy Shop ! So far there are only a few things in my shop, but there is much more to come!!! And the few items there make up for their few-ness by their AWESOMENESS!
I’m relying on you faithful readers (yup, you, you and…YOU!) to give me feedback – the good, bad and ugly – about the re-design, and especially the shop – I need to know what you want and need! Any takers?
AND! Tell your friends and family! I am making a conscious effort to keep costs down in the shop, so that buying a gift for a friend, or just a special little something for yourself is a fun (not a stressful) experience. Spread the word!
LASTLY! Thank you all for your faithful readership! I really love writing for you, and am so glad you keep reading what I write! So, thanks!
OH, AND ONE MORE THING! Stay tuned, because later this week I will pick some items from the new shop for my VERY FIRST GIVE-AWAY!!! Yes, I am very excited. And then I promise to stop yelling in caps. Soon. Soon I will stop yelling.
Let Me Help You With That
Bridget is now at the stage in her development where she “unpacks” everything. This is, I hear, a very important stage, but which one isn’t? Anyhow, she’s totally into un-ordering things. If something is on a shelf, off it comes. In a drawer? What good is it doing in there, where no one can see it? “Here, Mom, I’ll give you a hand airing those out.” Folded in a neat pile? “Neatness is abhorrent to me! Eliminate it at once!” Actually, she doesn’t say that. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know what “abhorrent” means, and if she were to say it, it would be so totally cute the whole world would have to pause to catch it’s breath.) ANYHOW. It goes without saying that this has not done wonders for my already shaky housekeeping.
My only encouragement is that I’ve read that after she learns the “unpacking” skill, at around age 2, she begins to learn the “packing” skill, which…waaaait a second. Age TWO?!! So I have over a year of unpacking left. Weeeelll…Okay. I think I can manage that.
…
Yeah, but really, who am I kidding? This is just the beginning of an long and illustrious life of cleaning up after my daughter. Wish me luck!
VOTE!
She didn’t really, of course. I don’t think she’s really been keeping abreast of the issues. But she really likes mommy’s sticker.
Brian and I stayed up late last night filling out our mail-in ballots. We felt so responsible! I really felt like I was prepared, and knew for what I was voting (unlike other years where I got to the voting booth and tried my best to make sense of it all, but came away feeling like I really didn’t). Also, rather than just voting based on what party the candidates have aligned themselves with (this doesn’t seem like a very good judge anymore), I got to see what they really think about things that I care about and make my decision based upon that.
One thing that really made the difference is our newspaper printed a section that listed the ballot issues (with the legal language, as well as a “plainspeak” interpretation), what opponents and supporters of amendments, etc. had to say (some were pretty lame), and what candidates running for election said in response to various questions. There’s an online version of this most helpful of tools, which even has a function where you can check the box online next to the candidate you like, and print out a “sample ballot” to take to the polls with you, if you like. (That link is for a Colorado resource. If you don’t live in Colorado, do a search for “voter guide”. I think most states have something similar.)
This might be a “duh!” moment for everyone else, but for me it was definitely “aha!” So I’m sharing. Maybe this will help someone else!
In summary: VOTE! Your country is depending on you.
Seasonal Confessions
First mistake: I bought a big bag of Halloween candy at Costco. “To be prepared,” I told myself. “Who knows if I’ll go to Costco again in between now and then,” I reasoned.
Mmmhmm. You go ahead and tell yourself that, Anna. (That was my imaginary sidekick.)
Second mistake: I opened it. What else was I to do? It said “Chocolate” on the bag. You can’t expect me to resist that. And I had to make sure they weren’t stale. You understand. They weren’t, just in case you were wondering.
Third mistake: Well, this one is kind of ongoing.
Hopefully there will be some candy left for the kids on Halloween.
Happy Birthday to Me!
Happy Birthday to me!
Yesterday I turned a year older! One more year of craftiness under my belt! Woo hoo!
I had a great birthday, just in case you were wondering. AND I have a birthday surprise for you all! It’s actually not quite ready yet, but SOON! Soon, soon, soon. Maybe even this week! So, stay tuned, folks!
So Neglected!
You poor things! I am such a neglectful blogger – leaving you stranded for almost a whole month! Inexcusable, really. I do have one, though. An excuse, that is. I’ve been in another state doing an Extreme Home Makeover in preparation for my sister’s wedding!
How about that? I was out of town and I didn’t even tell you! More neglect!
I have been also been busy NOT neglecting this little gal:
Also, I did give you a nice long tutorial to keep you busy while I was gone. You should have lined curtains spilling out of your cupboards by now. Yes? No?! Well, I say you should get to work! I don’t write these tutorials just to remind myself later on how I did something. Well, maybe I do. But hopefully they help you out, too.
Hopefully I’ll get right back into the blogging zone! I have tons of fun projects swirling around in this head of mine – now to bring some of them into reality!
Ow.
Brian and I have taken the One Hundred Push-ups challenge. This is a training program aimed at helping you achieve a goal of 100 consecutive push-ups in 6 weeks. I’m on day 2, and OUCH. You shouldn’t mess with muscles. They remember, and they are not the forgiving type. When I did my allotted push-ups for the day today, they burned like crazy, and almost decided to stop working part way through! But I’m going to do this, because I am a big wimp!
See, before you start the training you do this test where you see how many good form push-ups you can get through. Humbling though it is, I will admit it. I couldn’t even get through one. I did do one. Actually, I did 3 (5 if you don’t count resting for about a minute). But they were all very bad form. VERY bad form. Think of bad form, and then think worse than that. That was me, but probably even worse. I was a writhing, wobbly mess, straining to get up off the floor in any way possible, who cares if it’s in the rules.
Then I changed to “Girl” push-ups (also called knee push-ups), and I did much better. So I’m doing those. I don’t really feel bad about settling for the easier route, because, for one, they’re called “Girl Push-ups” for a reason. Girls just don’t have the same upper-body strength. Secondly, just over six months ago, I pushed a baby out. So, ya know, having done that, I’m not going to worry about a silly form of push-up. I’m secure in my upper body weakness.
The important part is that I improve, right?
April Flowers Bring...
Is post-posting allowed? You know, posting after the fact? This would have been the post on May 1, had I been so inclined that day.
Yes, May 1 it was snowing. Not the wet drippy stuff that you’d expect out of a May snow, either. This stuff was light and fluffy (although it didn’t stick around, and I don’t think it ever stuck to the roads).
This week so far the weather has been really nice though, so hopefully this spring is finally deciding to buckle down and be spring.
