A little extra something...

Yesterday I got to volunteer at a really neat organization. It’s a Christian organization that I had heard of before when I lived in Florida. The name of the org is Feed My Starving Children. They pack bags of food for malnourished children. The packs contain 400g of a cup of rice, cup of soy, a scoop of veggies, and a scoop of vitamins in powder form. One of the departments in our company arranged for us to go out there and do a 2 hour shift. It was fantastic, we packed 105 boxes. It felt great to go out there and take some time away from my work day and  volunteer. Most importantly we did something that will help someone else. Sometimes we get so caught up in our routines, our busy lives that we forget that there are people out there that need help in all sorts of way. I had such a positive experience that I plan to sign up  again. I am thinking of organizing another little group of co-workers to go for an evening shift?

“ Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.”

                   -Proverbs 22:9

Tulle centerpieces & Dr. Seuss.

Okay, let’s start by saying that most of the times I post, I am posting from my phone. Seeing that I was a half-minded idiot last night with the post I wanted to share I decided I’d type it out on the computer and save save save. Now the only thing that bothers me is that to some extent this post is going to lose the originality it had from last night.

Last night I began working on the centerpieces. Anytime I make anything with tulle I just love it. Tulle is just that kind of fabric that’s inexpensive and you can make so many things with it and the end results are usually very feminine. I am not sure what exactly will become of these, I don’t know if I am going to mix these “Truffula trees” (I love Dr. Seuss and these puff wands remind me of the Truffula trees in The Lorax) with flowers in a mason jar or if  I will do topiaries in pretty planters (the shower is outdoors so it would fit well too). Either way the possibilities are endless and I have until tonight to decide because I need to be done with these by Friday evening. I will not, I repeat, I will not procrastinate and still be working on these Saturday night. Well that, and I have quite a busy schedule from now until Sunday, so I have to make magic work and add some extra hours in the day to get all that needs to get done accomplished.

Now, a little tidbit about me. I love Dr. Seuss, in fact S' 1st birthday was a huge Cat in the Hat rendezvous. I am so tempted to have Z's birthday be Seuss related this year because Target has a huge section on Seuss items in their dollar section. I saw totes, pencils, tin buckets, tin boxes, stickers, and just a ton of goodies. We actually have a collection of the Dr. Seuss books, I'd say we probably need about 15 more to have all 46. They are my prized possessions from all the other books they have. In fact, they are not allowed on their regular bookshelves because Z is still not very good at handling books. My body just cringes at the thought of my Dr. Seuss books not being in pristine condition. Therefore, only mama can bring those down to read. 

Anyway, wish me luck...and to top it off I have banjo class tomorrow. Eeek!!!! I have to practice a ton tonight.  

-A.

"UNLESS, someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. No it's not." -The Lorax

Gahhhh!!!!

F#@& $h!t f%#&...When you write an entire post and you are almost ready to publish it and forget to save. Can someone provide me with a banana so I can shoot myself? - ugh, sorry Just needed to get that off my chest.

Moving along with projects...

A couple of weeks ago I posted about making some tote bags for the bridesmaids in my friend's wedding. WelI, I got around to making one. I was quite pleased with the result and so was my dear friend. I have 6 more to get through. My goal is to do 2 a week that way I don't end up having to make all of them at once and be stressed out the week before the wedding.

Another thing I'm working on is a banner and some center pieces for her bridal shower this Sunday. Here is a sneak peek of that banner. I absolutely love when my visions come together so well.

Thanks for looking!

-A.

Banjo week 4

Week 4 was much better than last week.  Jonas wasn't there and instead we had a sub named Matt. We learned how to play "Groundhog" 2 finger style.  Much to my surprise, this style feels more natural. Matt is the kind of teacher that likes to hear everyone play individually and of course I blanked out a bit. I've realized that my way of coping in those type of situations is to turn it into some funny disastrous dorky moment. I know that at some point I was flushed red...my stage fright is bad. Thank goodness my dream of banjo playing only goes as far as performances in my living room with my dog or my girls as an audience. I'm starting to think about the possibility of signing up for the next level class, though I think I am doing it more for the discipline it forces me to have. There are a plethora of things I wish I could do, get done, yet there is always something in the way. It's sad because many of the things I want to do get put on standby until further notice and most of them never happen. So I wonder if it's  lack of discipline to follow through or if  I'm  really caught up in so many other things that keep me from doing said things? Going to banjo class gives me a sense of using my brain for other things versus following my typical routine. Furthermore, it pushes me to hold myself accountable (ie. Last week I spent the entire week miserable for not having practiced). I have been good with my scheduled daily practice and I am beginning to feel connected to the instrument...if I choose to follow through with more classes I might look into buying my very own banjo. The last thing I'd like to talk about is my frustration with this. I am the kind of person who wants and enjoys  instant gratification and this is one of those things where I can't have that with. Only through perserverance will I be able to play songs almost flawlessly. So in the mean time I have to keep reminding myself that Rome wasn't built in a day and my skills at banjoing will only improve the more I keep at it. 

-A.

Banjo- Week3

So week 3 of Banjo was a challenge, mainly because it was my fault. I had a hard time in class playing along with everyone. I was focused on trying to do three things, read the music, hit the right notes and strum clawhammer style...EEEK! I struggled, I struggled so bad. I was truly upset with myself and even though I know that Jonas is super supportive and positive about our attempts at this instrument I know that as an instructor he could tell who was playing and who wasn’t. Last week was just a super busy week for me and I really didn’t have the time to dedicate to practice as I normally do. I typically spend about an hour a day on the banjo and last week I gave it a whole hour and a half. It was awful. I know that normally we are our own worst critics, but man I felt really crappy in class and didn’t enjoy it as much as I normally do. So I have learned the lesson that in order for me to continue being so excited about class I really need to learn my material and practice! I have a third tune to learn this week in addition to "Groundhog"-the tune from last week. I have double the amount of work. I was very diligent and as soon as I got home I practiced my little heart out for more than two hours and I memorized the music to "Groundhog." I can play the melody pretty well, now I need to practice it clawhammer style. I also have to start working on “Boil them cabbage down”- the 3^rd song. This is one is a bit more challenging…but thankfully clawhammer style is over for us and we are moving onto a different style this Thursday. I have a couple of videos of me playing some of the songs I learned that I need to put up.

-A.

Trial tote...

This evening I decided to try out a tutorial for a 20 minute tote bag. The simplicity of it is fantastic. I had an easy time putting it together and even tweaked it a bit. The downside to this tutorial, is that it's single layered, thus a little flimsy. I think if a heavier fabric is used instead of cotton/polyester this tote would be pretty awesome. However, I'm  going to add some interface at the bottom since I did miter the corners and a little interface covered in fabric would make it a little sturdier. The size of this tote is 16X14 and the handles are 22 inches long. This tote is a perfect size for carrying those extra pair of shoes to work, be used as a lunch bag, or when going somewhere where you just need to carry a couple of things.

Now I can't wait to get started on those bridesmaids totes! Here is a sneak peek of the fabric I'll be using for those.

And because usually when I get in crafting mode my space turns into a disaster, here is a picture of my crafting closet organized! 

 

New crafting project on the way!

Happy Monday!

This weekend I was on bridesmaid duty and thus I now have a fabulous project coming up. Cindy, the bride and I spent some time at JoAnn's this weekend buying fabric. We are going to make tote bags for all the bridesmaids to carry their stuff on the day of the wedding. I am super thrilled to get this project going. We came up with some great ideas to make the tote bags a little extra special. Hopefully some time this week I will make my trial tote bag and have the final approval from Cindy. With the weekend having been a little more busy than usual I did not get any banjo practice in. So today I am going to definitely put whatever aside and dedicate sometime to my baby.

Banjo- week 2

Alright, so week 2 of banjo class was pretty awesome.  Jonas had us all play Happy Birthday together. No solos, I suppose only he could figure out who played it correctly and who didn’t. He also introduced the clawhammer style of playing. So far so good, it’s an interesting way to play banjo because it requires you to keep your right hand curled like a claw and you only strum downwards and pick the 5^th string with your thumb on your way up.  In addition to that, only the thumb and middle or index fingers are usually used to play this style. Our new tune to practice is “Groundhog” clawhammer style. 

I am trying my absolute hardest to dedicate at least 1 hour everyday to practice. Perhaps someone may say that’s not enough, but when you are a mom of 2, wife, pet owner, and full time employee  an hour of leisure time means something else just doesn’t get done. Anyway, I am doing this for fun, distraction, and maybe a way to teach my children that you should try lots of things in life. It’s never too late to learn something new. What I truly enjoy about this endeavor is how gratifying it is. You learn something, practice it, and bam then you are doing it. Last week I had no clue how to even attempt to play this instrument. Whenever Jonas shows us something new I look at it and it feels so overwhelming and oh my gosh I am trying to process so much info, can I even do that? Yet, once the info processes in my head it translates so well on the frets and strings. So I guess my lesson here for today is, learning new things are hard, some harder than others. However, if your heart is in it with a little determination things click and you can do amazing things. I haven’t found so much joy in an activity like I have with this banjo adventure in a long time. So friends, I encourage you to try something new, something unexpected you might just find it is exactly what you need to spice up none other than YOU!

-A.

New doings

I have 3 blogs  that I haven't updated in about a year or more, do I really want to try this again? Alright, maybe just maybe this time will work....well in my latest endeavor I have decided to take up the banjo. I love how loud it  can get, the sound, and well why not give a shot. I have never taken real music lessons so this is most definitely a first for me. I'm in a 7 week class at the Old Town School of Folk Music and I hope to have an enriching experience  if nothing else at all (in case I don't end up being the next Bela Fleck). I had my first class last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our class consists of 10 pretty diverse people. I love that the age range in there is from 17ish? (Can't tell how old the youngsters are these days) to about 50's. The instructor had us go around and tell our why the banjo story. I loved that I heard from "I've been wanting to play for the last 30 years" to "my mom bought it on eBay and signed me up for it". Someone else bought one randomly because they were attracted to the look of it. Another guy said his musician friend was moving and the banjo didn't cut the keep box so he took it off her hands. For me, the original attraction started with the band Mumford & Sons. I just loved how its sound just overpowered everything else in their songs. Well I'll admit I didn't say that for my story.  It felt a little cheesy, so I chose to leave those particular details out. For homework, the awesome Jonas Friddle told us to practice some basic chords and attempt the happy birthday song.  I have learned it and now I have taken it upon myself to learn some other kid's songs. Heck why not amuse my children.

My banjo is a Gold Tone CC-100. It has a resonator that can be taken off to make it an open back so it's pretty nifty. Since I don't know how far my endeavor will take me I chose to rent this baby for the duration of my class at the Old Town music store.