It's Not in the Blood

Officially the month of being a vegetarian is over! Some would be relieved, thrilled, gnawing on a giant beef stick right now...and strangely enough a month ago I would have predicted myself to fall in that 'some'. While we are moving on to the next month and the next challenge, I am still processing the month of January, and while I am processing I have yet to eat meat.

So I know you all are reading fervently right now wondering when oh when am I going to spill the beans. So here goes...(da da dum) we are going to be craftsy, artsy people for a month- like the I'm going to sew pointless stuff, paint, make messes.... While that may sound anticlimactic, if any of you know me- you will know this is going to be way more difficult than it seems. You see I come from a long line of women that do not sew or craft. My grandmother didn't sew or craft- the only crafty thing we did was making chain links out of boxes of ribbon and then taping them all around the house. My mother definitely does not sew or craft- my father is the one that sews the buttons on when needed. Legit we have a pile of clothing for him to mend. And I definitely do not sew or craft.

Now I thought at one point in early high school, "How cool would it be if I could make my own clothes?" (I actually said those exact words) So what would a 14 year old need? A sewing machine of course- and it topped my Christmas list. My mother said hell no - we don't sew, but my dad (the supportive one of the bunch) went out and bought me a sewing machine. I decided that before I can bust into making jeans, coats, and purses - I should try something easy. Placemats (no offense roomie- I do love our hand sewn placemats) should be easy enough, right? Well one horrible horrible placemat later I decide well maybe mom was right. This fact was confirmed when I came home from school a week later to find my dad sewing on my machine making a boat cover.

So here I am 8 years later, going to my parents house to reclaim the infamous sewing machine ready to whip out something beautiful. (I'll be sure to post pictures for amusement). I will first state the one stipulation JMo, Lady L, and I have on this month- we must work on our craft or crafts for at least 5 hours a week. I personally am going to try for an hour a day (because I know I will fail at least 2 out of the week) and without deadlines, I will sit on my bum.

Another drumroll please- to start with I am going to cross stitch (I swear I am 22 not 72). I was expressing to my friend (who just had a beautiful baby boy) that I had started a cross stitch 5 years ago for my pregnant friend and never finished (and I think the 5 year old is a bit old for a Precious Moments cross stitch). So she told me to finish it for little Joshua, and that is what I will begin with (easing in lightly). I started this cross stitch when I used to work selling Catholic school uniforms (I am so cool) and we had approximately .5 customers a day. So we sat in the back, ate, watched seasons of 24, and cross stitched. And yes the place closed down after my one summer there. So hopefully I will have a pic of my wonderful cross stitch (finally completed) soon.