Five-Minute Friday: Choose

From Lisa-Jo Baker, the Gypsy Mama: "On Fridays around these parts we like to write. Not for comments or traffic or anyone else's agenda. But for fun, for practice, for joy at the sound of syllables, sentences and paragraphs all strung together by the voice of the speaker. We love to just write without worrying if it's just right or not. For five minutes flat."

GO

Choose. It's a word that's been haunting me for weeks and months now. I have so many directions that I could potentially go with my life in the next few months: go to Honduras, move out, get a real job that actually pays something, buy a horse (just kidding on the last one...maybe)--the possibilities are, while not endless, numerous. 

And paralyzing.

For fear of not 'choosing the right thing' I've been sitting back, waiting, working 6 hours a day 6 days a week, occasionally making things to occupy my restless hands, avoiding making any solid decisions because I'm afraid that by choosing one item out of many that would cancel out the remaining options. That it would cement my course and make it impossible to re-orient myself should I decide to do something else.

Other people have told me 'you don't have to worry about being stuck'. Or that I can 'always change my mind'. But how is one to learn fidelity if one is always changing their mind?

STOP

(Wow. I kinda stink at this sort of thing. XD)

I'm Making a Comeback....

...with Etsy!

I've had an Etsy shop since 2010, and sold a few things here and there. It was never enough to really make a lot of money, but it kept some of my hobbies afloat and was a fun way to dabble in feeling like I had my own business. Sometime in 2012, though, I lost momentum and allowed my shop to lie empty.

Fast-forward to last year, and I discovered an interest in bookbinding. My first project was kinda mediocre (I mean, it was pretty, and I still use it, but I had no idea what the heck I was doing):

And last summer I made a couple of journals for girls at the ranch. These were softcover, leather, filled with cardstock (something of an annoyance, in retrospect, but nice paper can't be found everywhere), and awoke a desire to actually make something NICE.

So since coming home from the ranch I've made 10 journals and 8 scrappy scarves--which may not sound like much, but they're both somewhat time-consuming projects tucked around working in the day--and am going to start putting them slowly on Etsy. 

I'm kind of excited to be re-opening Etsy, but I'm also depending a lot on Facebook, word of mouth, and the ranch this summer for selling. But if you want to go see my shop, please do!  The shop is a little sparse at the time of this post, but I'll have more stuff up over the weekend and upcoming week.

I also have a page on Facebook where I post upcoming projects, made-to-order projects, and other little personal tid-bits one won't encounter on Etsy. I actually prefer my Facebook page because I can get a little more personal.

One of the reasons I hadn't posted to my Etsy for such a long time was because of my online stalker--he knew of my Etsy, and I knew that he was probably watching it. Obviously that was weirding me out and unacceptable. But I've gotten to the point now where I'm not going to let the possibility of a creeper situation arising freak me out, because I know that if he REALLY wants to find me, he can. 

Last summer was an especially scary example, where he actually called the office at the ranch and asked for me. In the ensuing brouhaha I was issued a radio, told not to go anywhere by myself EVER, and given contact people for dealing out beatdowns should the guy try to come to the ranch. It was terrifying and epic at the same time.

But back to Etsy: I'm not particularly concerned about him seeing my items. And before anyone gets worried: yes, I take precautions and don't post personal stuff where un-okay people can see them. That's been my policy for years, and it's not going to change. If he decides to creep on a public shop, that's his problem. All I can do is maintain a professional shop and try to make some money.

But back to the page/shop...go check 'em out! I love visitors!

May 2014

Guess where I'm going to be in May? 

*happy sigh* I can't wait to go back. I'm just saying.

I've gotten on as a wrangler this year, and I'm super excited: mostly because it means that I'll be at the barn ALL THE TIME and I won't have to leave to clean cabins. AAAAHHHH.

 It also means that I'll get to wear spurs. I have only worn spurs like....twice. And both times were this year while riding the blind mare. But this week I invested in a pair of spurs (they were supposed to arrive today, and I suspect that they're still in the mailbox because we forgot to get the mail. *facepalm*) and as soon as they get here I'm going to find excuses to wear them EVERYWHERE. I might even find places to ride with them! 

But anyway...May is proving to be a packed month because I'm going to drive out to Colorado, but before that I'm taking pictures for my brother's wedding, visiting my aunt in Arkansas, visiting friends in Texas, and driving all over the West before actually ending up in Colorado. So that ought to be interesting. And I also signed up for a Color Vibe 5K in Fort Collins at the end of May, which should also be interesting because I've never ran in a race before.

No...wait....I have, actually. There's a race here in town called the Strawberry Strut that occurs every June. There's a 1-mile and a 5-mile race, and when I was 8 or so my older brother and I decided to run the 1-mile. BIG MISTAKE. I don't remember much, except towards the end I was panting so hard that I was making a weird, coughing, 'HUUUHH' sound in my chest. I can only replicate the noise if I breathe REALLY hard, and when I do people scream at me to stop because it sounds so awful. 

But anyway. The 5K should be better because I've actually been running a bit (started last year and have been running almost every day at the gym--today I walked/ran 1.5 miles! Exciting times!) and have a Couch-to-5K plan that I'm kinda working on (in between sprint sessions). If nothing else, I hope that spending a couple of weeks at 9200 feet and then plunging down to 5000 feet will give me a false sense of endurance. XD

And after that....I have no idea what's going to happen. I've been tossing around ideas for moving to Colorado, trying to get an actual business off the ground, possibly going on a mission trip out of the country (which is WAY up in the air right now)...to put it succinctly, life is exciting and I have no idea what I'm doing. That's what makes it an adventure, right?

Un Monstre a Paris

Can I geek out for a few moments? Yes? Thank you.

So there's this movie that I heard about a few years ago, and desperately wanted to see: A Monster in Paris. It had a Phantom of the Opera feel to it according to the previews, and since I was in the depths of a PotO obsession at the time of course I wanted to see it. Unfortunately the film was only available in France at the time, and after being unable to find it online I forgot about it.

Earlier this week I found it on Netflix, freaked out, and have since seen it 4 times (3 times in English, once in French) because I CAN'T GET OVER IT.

First, look at this picture. It's one of the most common images of the film that I've found on Google:

That kinda sums up the feel of the film...light and airy and dreamy and delightful and all those other evocative synonyms. For the animation alone (it's kind of like Pixar in its early days) I could watch it over and over. 

But wait! There's more! The music has proven itself to be a thorough earworm. Just try to listen to this without getting it stuck in your head:

GUYS. Please forgive the all-caps, but I CAN'T GET OVER THE MUSIC. GAAAAHH.

And this one! (The visuals are confusing if you haven't seen the film in context, so just listen to the music)

The English songs are just as good, but I fell in love with the French versions first. :3

The thing is, it has a Phantom-esque feel to it, but just a touch. The rest is mad scientists, adorable characters (THEY'RE ALL SO CUTE DANGIT), a fun/silly storyline, catchy music, and gorgeous animation, all wrapped up in a leisurely stroll through the CGI streets of Paris. What's not to love?

....I haven't felt this way about music/a movie since the first time I saw Phantom or heard Les Mis. I simply cannot get over it, and I don't know why. Just....you should just go and see it. Now. It's on Netflix and Youtube in its entirety. 

I NEED SOMEONE TO GEEK OUT WITH. GAAAAAHH.

::Engagement Shoot: Gabriel and Abigail::

Or Gabi and Abi, as they are affectionately known.

Gabi is my brother-in-law (that is, he's my sister-in-law's brother, so I guess we're kinda related? We say we are, and that's what counts XD), and he's officially getting married on the 22th...

(On a side note: WOW. Where did that time go? O.o)

...to the lovely Abi Morse. They asked me to take their engagement pictures while I was down in Florida last November, and of COURSE I pounced on the opportunity. Thus, the following is their official engagement photo shoot. I've been waiting for MONTHS to get this up.... :3 *rubs hands together*

Oh yes, everything's after the jump!

November in Florida

So as I mentioned last month, I spent all of November in Florida. Since I haven't done a single post concerning that yet, I think we are far overdue for something more than a little recap, yes? Yes. So let's do this thing!

 

As I may have mentioned before, my brother and I drove down to Florida on November 4^th. It took roughly 24 hours and 3 (4?) tanks of gas to make it, but make it we did and I had an absolute blast helping take care of my nephews and seeing them for the first time in 7 months.

I taught Wade to say that his name is Bilbo Baggins, and Ben was starting to say 'Baggins' when I left, so I consider my work there complete. XD

Wade loves his bear and horse...when I arrived the first thing he showed me was that horse. I sent it to Ben from Colorado (obviously Wade commandeered it instead), and I'm not sure if Wade made the connection that it was from me, but it would be pretty awesome if he did. :D

Also, Ben is freaking ADORABLE. I mean...they both are, but look at that face!

STAHP IT.

Oh yes, and Ben loves his thumb too. It's what keeps him sane when he's about to lose all composure. (Immediately beforehand he had been wailing about something...but the magic thumb cures all emotional injuries!)

Wade may or may not be slightly camera-shy...he likes for me to take pictures of his things, but not of himself. XD

 I did get lucky here though!

I took LOTS of video of the boys, and may or may not turn it into a full-fledged video in the near future. It's in Adobe Premiere waiting for editing...so we'll see about that. 

Even though they can't reach the sink very well they try hard. And usually they end up grabbing a cupful of water and slinging it across the sink...but they're adorable and I don't care. 

Wade also loves his monkey backpack (or 'munkee papack', as he calls it).

He got a haircut too!

And he smiles on command. 

This was after a super-long day with no naps...Isaac brought him in, laid him on the floor, and Wade INSTANTLY fell asleep. I kinda want to get this printed and frame it.

Over Thanksgiving I took family pictures for everyone, which involved going to the Acevedo's house and wandering around in a nearby nature preserve whilst looking for the perfect photo ops. I also took did an engagement shoot for Gabi and Abi (Lydiana's brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law) the following day, but that's for a future post.

There's Ben going all gangstah on us...

Contrary to what it may seem, they don't mind being carried like sacks of potatoes. XD

Wade and his Tio Obi!

Wade thought that Tio Obi needed a hat too.

And Ben looooooves his thumb.

EMILY! I hadn't seen her since last March at the wedding, so we were long overdue for a visit. ^-^

And she's PREGGERS! It's kind of a strange feeling, to be honest...I mean, we grew up together, and she's younger than me, and...and...yeah. Just a little weird. XD

Planking?

Wade: "Climb?"

Next post: engagement pictures for Gabi and Abi. They turned out AWESOME. :D