31 December 2007

new year, new start

So I've been busy crafting and baking over the holidays, but for some reason I have this huge problem transferring pictures from my camera so you can see them. So you'll get pictures soon of the over-one-thousand-cookies I baked for friends and coworkers near and far. But until then, since it is the last day of 2007, I shall write a list of new year's resolutions, since I have a jillion this year. Apparently my free-and-easy three b.s. resolutions last year didn't cut it for me, so I've got to be more serious about this.

1) don't overdraft. my bank must love me since i spent an absurd amount of money on overdraft fees last year. yes, i actually went through my bank records and added it up. no, i'm not going to share it. it's frightening and obscene. i'm going to avoid that this year and have extra money for:

2) weekend trips to at least LA and NY. i've been promising tatum for years that i'm going to come out to NY but so far have failed miserably. it's been a while since i've been there, and it's a good excuse to get in an H&M trip before we get one here in Seattle. also, i had so much fun hanging out with michela and brian and their beautiful friends last summer that i miss them terribly. i'd also like to spend more time in SF because i have beautiful friends there too.

3) i'd like to fit comfortably into a size 8, and like the way i look. i fit a smidgen snugly into an 8 these days and don't like the way it looks, so it's just a little extra effort at the gym i already signed up for to stay fit and trim. plus monica and i are going to do all the fun runs in the city, so if i have a goal like running to keep me motivated that will be great. i'd like to run one 5k all the way through without stopping.

4) last year one of my resolutions was to buy a new art/architecture book every paycheck but unfortunately i was too broke. i hope to resurrect this idea this year, especially since i got new bookshelves and actually have the real estate to house fancy books.

5) i'd like to pay off my debts - a small one to my visa, and a slightly larger one to my parents, which i've been adding to since i was seventeen or so. it's only a few thousand dollars but i know i'll feel better when i pay it off. also once i actually have little or no debt i'll feel better about planning much needed vacations.

6) get to work earlier. especially in the last few months i've been getting in later and later - usually between 9 and 930. i feel really bad getting in that late, and i don't like staying late to make it up, so if i spent less time hitting the snooze button and slacking off in the mornings i can get to work earlier and leave earlier and have more productive time in my day. i started putting my alarm clock across the room so i actually have to get UP to turn it off. good start. it worked today because i got in at 8.08. too bad no one is here to notice...

7) finish quilting projects so i feel good about starting new ones. this is a continuing problem. ]

8) actually get a cookbook together. this is a project i've been thinking about for a few months but didn't have enough time to actually do it this christmas, but hopefully having a year to do it will be enough.

a lot of these resolutions flow together - going to the gym will help me sleep better so i can get up earlier; also if i am a little sleeker i'll feel better in my clothes and not have to change outfits twelve times before i rush out the door, so i get to work at a reasonable hour. not overdrafting gives me extra money for paying off debts, going on trips, and buying books. getting to work earlier means i can leave earlier and have more time for finishing projects and make my cookbook - and makes me look like i work even harder than i already do, giving me more leverage for a raise in october which will help pay off debts! these are more lifestyle decisions - where i can redirect energy from timewasters and things that aren't important to things that ARE important, making my life more fun and successful. good stuff.

plus i want a red ipod nano, a black/silver tivoli model two, and a new car stereo. and an engine flush and full tune-up for my poor car. sigh. and a new smart car. as long as i'm dreaming...

love,
mcnabbs

12 December 2007

coasters.

so I was up until 1 am last night baking a red velvet cake for my project architect. umm. just realized I got zero pictures. good job, abby. at least it was delicious and I have the precious memories.

ANYWAY. I got up at 6.30 to frost it and get to work at a quasi-reasonable hour (still didn't make it until 915), and was sleepy all afternoon so I didn't get much done, but Monica and Kate and I did work out a quilt block exchange which I'm SUPER excited about. and we talked about sewing and stuff, but I ended up not calling Monica because I worked late to make up for all the work I didn't do at what should have been naptime, and then by the time I finished dinner it was 9 pm and of course that's too late. but I was amped up about sewing so I couldn't go to bed until I made something, so I whipped out some wee quilted coasters in teal mini Hawaiian prints. it's a pretty cute set of 4, I think it would be a good Christmas gift for someone lucky, so I think I'll put it up on etsy for kicks. sets of 4 run about $10 which sounds good to me. it's funny how you can look stuff up on there, and some things are all almost exactly the same price, except a few grandmas who are totally underselling themselves and some egotistical thirtysomethings who have way overpriced their "art". hello, a quilted coaster is a craft, like a third grader might do, or a grandma, only classier. don't try to sell it as an art piece, Dali. yeah, you have amy butler fabrics. so does everyone else. notice how SHE is the one making the big bucks because SHE is the one with actual creative vision.


...ahem. I digress.


the point of this story is to tell you that I'm such an idiot that I'm up past midnight again, just because I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad to make something. I have serious sleep issues. ugh.


anyway, here's a crappy phone-camera picture of the coasters because they're kinda cute but I can't be bothered to go dig out the camera and the cable and blah blah blah. Here. I'm going to bed.


good night.

love, mcnabbs

p.s. mine are better than everyone else's because I at least made a little effort to make the corners square. most everyone else left their corners all lumpy. losers.