The Art of Racing in the Rain

Last year a little quiz thing circulated Facebook stating that according to the BBC, out of 100 "classic" books, most people had only read 6. It has been my goal since then to read every book on that list. So far I have read The Great Gatsby and The Lovely Bones, but I recently decided to take a detour from my BBC list and read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

I was warned. This book was going to make me cry, and that it did.

I usually don't read books about animals, because I know they are going to die, and for some reason an animal dying almost always has to be more sad than a person dying. I was intrigued with the concept of the dog narrator, and I enjoyed the quirkiness of dogdom, but midway through it began to feel a little tedious to read. You know the dog is going to die, it is not really a spoiler, the first chapter sort of starts Pulp Fiction-style near the end. But as I got to the end it pulled nicely together and left me overall feeling like it was worth my time and money.

I recommend this book to anyone who can handle the emotional story of a dog and his master, and the story of their lives together and the beautiful wisdom and the pictures it paints of a dog and his family. I will honestly always look at my doggies differently now.

Understanding why things happen for a reason....

Why is it so hard to understand the way and the will of God.

I must say that when fate brought me to Bridge Street 2 weekends ago for a fun night out with friends, only to discover that a fantastic job opportunity was right there, it seemed like a billboard from God. I have stepped away from my BFA and design for almost 4 years now with only some freelance and some creativity sporatically interspersed over that time period. I have walked away and sacrificed it for time to spend with my family. But here I was with 2 people affirming my BFA, how amazing did that feel?! It felt like it was meant to be, it really did, and I was terrified.

When this job at Anthropologie basically fell into my lap, I really thought that was my cue to move onto something new.

The resume, the call, the interview, it all went so well. I guess I am just trying to figure out what I was supposed to get from it all, since I obviously did not get the job.

What am I supposed to learn from this experience.

I think the first thing I am thankful for is that I am not working in Huntsville. I am greatful for the fact that I do not have to commute 3 hours a day, that I do not have to wake up at 4:00 am to get there, and I do not have to be so far away and rely on others to care for my most precious gift.

I think it also reminded me that I am a creative and artistic person, and I can throw it all together still on a whim. I do still have a solid skill set, and it is just on the backburner now while more pressing things are in my life like raising my son and supporting my husband into medical school.

So where does it leave me? Who knows. Still searching I guess. Still searching for what I am supposed to do in the meantime. How am I supposed to help contribute to our little family while life is crazy and chaotic? God will provide a way and a means. Who am I to question what, where, and how. All I can do is discover, review and file away what I have learned and keep pressing forward.

Billy Pilgrim tried hard to care.

This might be my favorite line out of a book ever. In my pursuit to read literature outside of the Twilight Saga I am reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5. It's not really that great so far. I am trying hard to read it and get to the part that is going to make this book "great" - since I assume it must be this famous for a reason. I read that line on page 73 and thought about how true to life that statement actually is.

I like to think I am a naturally caring person, but I think I have to try "hard to care," because it would be so easy to slip into complete selfishness and only worry about matters that pertain to me.

So I am trying hard to care about this book. Concentrating on the words as I follow this journey through time. My dad told me for every book you read you become that much smarter - so alas I am trying hard to care.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Everyone is doing it, really - it's great. Yeah. Twilight is like the gateway drug of the series. You read it, it is a little rough, but you enjoy the experience. You come down to the end, and you are left wanting more. Need another fix - enter New Moon, even better.

And so on and so forth until you finish Breaking Dawn and you are left thinking "where did all the time go?" "what have I been doing with my life" and things of that sort. You ravage your book shelves for something that can compare to the perfect mix of romance, sci-fi and suspense, but nothing is good enough. You say you are going to move on with you life, give up this "kid stuff" and you head to your local library.

But nothing fills the void. You need a fix. Breaking Dawn stares at you like a lonely friend needing some attention. You think of the good times you had together, and you reach for the book. You think to yourself, this is stupid, I have already read this, but the addiction grabs hold and you find yourself re-reading the entire series.

Yes. Help me. The first step is admitting you have a problem. I always thought I am not one of those pathetic 13-year-old girls who are obsessed with Twilight, but am I? Perhaps. I need to find something else to read!!

Homeschooling and Unschooling

So for some reason my current obsession lately is reading everything I can on homeschooling. Oliver is only 3.5, and I know I have some time to work out the kinks, but if I don't have like 3 things to obsess over on any given day, than I might actually have some time to relax.

Anyways, this venture has been frustrating because I cannot seem to find the right combination of information that I am looking for. I really love the idea of homeschooling, but I hate the idea of trying to recreate the classroom at home. I enjoy reading blurps from the Homeschool Channel, but when everyone submitted photos of their "school room" I found myself browsing in disbelief. I mean chalk boards, child's desks, and a mom's "teacher" desk? I am sure I am bound to offend someone here, but really? If you wanted that sort of set up maybe you should have gone into teaching? No wonder homeschooling has such a bad connotation with the "norm." Looking at these photos makes me feel sorry for these kids. I would rather be at school with my friends than sitting in my basement while my mom played teacher.

Okay, that was probably a little rough. I completely understand that there is more to homeschooling than that. I have many friends that homeschool and may like this idea, and if it works for your family than I think that is fantastic, but I know it would not work so much for mine.

So back to the beginning, I have been researching this concept of "unschooling," though the term is pretty lame, "natural learning" or "organic learning" seems to be a much friendlier sounding way of learning. It sounds great to embark on a child-led learning adventure, but what worries me is the ability to "let go" and try to not lead. I feel like I need some sort of book, some sort of focused time during the day where we will sit down and learn something. The more I sit back and relax and spend time with Oliver the more I realize that we actually "unschool" often.

Tonight we brought Jason dinner at UNA, so we decided to stroll around campus and take in the scenery. We splashed around in 2 fountains, hoped to see the lions, and found a mummified ciccada-looking bug (yes - I know perfect research opportunity!) Ollie immediately wanted to take it home and mount it next to his other bugs. I know that I am going to have to muster up some guts because this kid is going to be an bug enthusiast. My point is that just in that 30 minutes we were at UNA, so many vibrant learning opportunities presented themselves. I guess that is just what I envision, Oliver and I (and Jason when he's not at school) adventuring through life and this place we live, learning about everything we find. I just hope I can let go and let him lead. I hope I can keep it exciting, and I hope I can find a perfect balance.

Finished the skirts!

So I finished the little skirts for my niece Hannah. They were super simple and I think went over great. Now that I am a little more comfortable with the pattern I am able to get a little creative! I had one great idea I did not get a chance to finish because I left early. Will try to upload pics soon!

Location : Address not available

My First Clothing Item

I cannot claim it as a design, because it is not mine. I came across this.....

lazy days skirt free pattern

....and decided to give it a try. Since I have a son, I decided I would make this for myself, so I basically "doubled" it. I must say, it was very easy, came out pretty cute and I am going to make more. I just bought some patterns today for some cute and easy tops. It is my goal to be able to design my own patters, I figure an $80,000 college degree in Interior Design should get me somewhere in making clothes!

Anyways, I will post some pics of the final product. Do no judge me on my fabric! Since this was a first go around I used some simple cotton I had in my stash, but now that I know I can do this, I am on the hunt for some cute and funky fabric, the this great blue and green fabric I picked up last week on sale - the blue ribbon will be the hem. I think I will use the rest of these hearts and flowers to make some of these simple skirts for my nieces!

Forgive the bathroom background, it is my only full-length mirror! The skirt does fall nicely.

Props to oliver + S , I love their site, design and feel. Very cool! They also have some more free patterns for cute vintage-like little ones clothing items.

I am such a slacker.

I really want to keep up a blog, like really. I want to hone my writing skills. There are so many creative endeavors that I want to do, but I cannot find enough time in the day to even do my dishes. That and I type like 500 lines a day for work, lol....so the computer sometimes is the last place I want to be.

I started this blog when my son was 4 months old. He is now over 3. WOW does time fly. Ironically, sleep was something of a luxury then, and 3 years later it still is.


So in a lightning-fast up-to-date story. I have moved from Chicago to Alabama. I am working from home as a medical languange specialist. Nothing too exciting but it pays the bills. I have many creative processes on my mind lately.

I just received a beautiful new sewing machine that I am going to need to post a picture of. It has inspired me to want to create. I was working on quilts here and there before, and thought I could harness my need to be creative through that, but I am now thinking broader - clothes! Luckily I do not have a daughter, which means I get to be my prime guinea pig. Yes. I want to try and design some clothes.

I also really want to start writing again. I was a poet at one point in my young life, I even met Ray Bradbury after winning an Honorable Mention in a contest. I am such a dud lately, I can barely write an email. So this is my new practice place. Sorry if it will bore you but I can use the practice. I would love to come up with something creating, but Jason thinks I should write a book about his journey.

Jason, as you may know, has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for over 5 years now. This has changed our life in so many ways. We are now more health concious then we ever were and we hope to pass this on to Ollie. Also, Jason is attempting to work his way into medical school and become a doctor. What a feat that will be! So, as if I have some gift of forsight, I so aptly named this blog appropriately. Once after my infant, and now through the long, long sleepless road of the wife of a hopeful med student.

Okay well enough for now.