Love Birds?

Last night, January 31st, I made my 19th and 20th items for January. I wasn't able to list them in January, since I only use sunlight for my photos and it was about 11pm when I finished the zipper pouches.

I also made item #1 for February! hooray!

February is my birth month. I will be 27 years old on Feb. 24th. This is a birthday I am pretty nervous about.

My mom had me when she was 28. Never say never, but I am not planning on having kids in the next two years. I want to be financially stable with a very nice sized nest egg and I want to be happy with where I am both career-wise and physically before thinking seriously about children. I love where I work but it's definitely not what I want to do forever. And by physically? I mean both my place in this world and also my immediate surroundings.

I have been working for two years to create a home (weird! I always call it an apartment!) that I am truly happy and at peace in. It's getting there, slowly. Maybe by the end of this year. A lot of the changes I'd like to make in my apartment are aesthetic. I found a TV cabinet that I fell in love with at Ikea a few months ago. I've never liked the idea of having the television be the center of a room. I grew up without a TV (see my profile.), and I won't be giving mine up unless it goes on the fritz, but would like it to be less obvious. I also would like to build custom radiator covers that I can put decorative items on. I have to replace my curtains in my bedroom and livingroom, too. I have already purchased the replacements, it's a simple job for a rainy day.

The big stuff? Completely organizing my closets and dresser. I need my tool closet to be better organized. A few magnetic strips would help in keeping screwdrivers and hammers easily accessible, label-marked bins for everything else. I probably should add another shelf to the closet, as well. My bedroom closet is used not only for clothes but for supplies like extra USB cables, printer paper and things like that. I'd like to clear out the clutter and designate a space for each item. I think Spring cleaning will be in order in March. I'd like to donate a ton of stuff I don't need anymore, and freecycle the items the Salvation Army won't take.

My etsy stuff is the most organized in my apartment. My fabric is in three plastic bins with lids, including one for lining fabric and interfacing. I purchased little stacking clear plastic boxes for thread, bias tape, safety eyes, cloth labels, scissors, measuring tapes, pencils, chalk and more. Best etsy investment! I also have a bin for packing and shipping materials and another for receipts for supplies/shipping. I love that I know where everything is the minute I need it. If I could do that with my entire apartment, I'd feel GREAT!

February also brings Valentine's Day. I'm not a huge V-day person, although one year my mom took me and my best friend to see the Vagina Monologues. My favorite thing to do for Valentine's Day is volunteer at Planned Parenthood. We get together and make care packages for prostitutes.

What's in a care package for a prostitute? Any good Valentine starts with chocolate kisses. Then there's the wallet-sized card with resources for drug and alcohol dependency resources, STD testing, counseling, domestic violence hotline, cancer screening, and much more, all free. It's pretty much a pink card that tells a street worker that there is someone out there who cares. There are also condoms in each little V-day Packet. We assemble hundreds of them, the conference room is filled with usually somewhere between 20 and 50 volunteers. We eat candy and talk and put our love into the packets, carefully sealing each one with a red ribbon. On Valentine's Day, the packages are taken onto a PPNYC trailer and everytime an "at risk" individual is spotted, they are handed one of the packets. I try to volunteer for this every year but have not been contacted this year and wonder if the program has stopped.

I titled this blog "Love Birds?" because a) the last two items I listed on Etsy were bird pouches in different colors and b) it fits in with my dating life (or lack thereof.)



I've been dating this one guy on and off for a year and a half. It's super casual, very open, we're allowed to date other people, we see each other once every month or two on average. We're friends who knew each other in H.S. Occasionally I ask myself what I am doing because I worry it's a crutch for not having to go out and actually be in a relationship. I do it because it feels right for right now and I love not having the pressure some of my past relationships had. I'm a busy person, I like being as active as possible, which doesn't allow me time for a fulltime boyfriend, so this is a nice mix. I also love how open we are with each other. We set down ground rules and they work very nicely, mostly because there is some really great trust between us.

A few months ago, I decided to join Match.com and see what it was about. So far I went on one date with a guy who turned out to be super boring, there was no connection at all. I also was e-mailing back and forth with another guy who turned out to be a little weird, he wanted to meet me before I even knew his last name or had his number. I got a bad feeling and stopped returning his e-mails. A week from today, I have a date with a new guy. We've been e-mailing back and forth for about a month, he seems nice, I have his full name and phone number. I have yet to speak to him on the phone. I told him the truth, I had a sewing goal to try to make, and wouldn't be able to talk until it was done. We will be going to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, which I'm excited about as it's an old stomping ground of mine.

As always, you can click the photos for the listing info on each item. Today is a rainy day, but I am going to try my best taking decent photos for my latest three items.

<3 Always,
--Taina