January 2/10 complete!

Hello Blog! I felt like giving you a little love today.

A couple posts ago, I posted two fabrics I'd ordered from CatyLouQuilts. Well, I made two new makeup bags from the fabrics a couple days ago and finally had a chance to photograph and list them in my shop! Here are the photos:





(As always, click photos for more info!)

I really love the "Quilt Pirates" fabric, it's so fun! The button eyes, stitched nose and mouth and scissor "crossbones"! The aqua color is pretty, too.

I'm off to try to make 3/10 now.

<3 Always,
--Taina

Blue Skies

Today is a new day...

(Click photo for item info.)

I woke up at 7:36am today. My phone rang 6 mins later. My phone only rings that early in the morning if a) there's an emergency or b) My cousin Andy is calling.

Andy is in the Army National Guard. He's like a brother to me. We grew up down the hall from each other and he's only a year and a half younger than I am. He's in a tent in North Carolina right now, awaiting deployment to Afghanistan. He's already been to Iraq.

Talking to him this morning made me want to do something handmade and spectacular. I was thinking maybe "Afghans for Afghans" or items who's entire sale price went to Doctors Without Borders. That's when I remembered...



Doctors Without Borders actually had to pull their medical personnel out of Afghanistan after 5 aid workers were killed there. I don't know if they have returned to the country since then. I will have to do some research.

I used to have penpals who were deployed troops, one of whom was in Afghanistan. He decided to do something for the country upon his return and started Operation Dreamseed. I think it could be fun to donate money to his organization, which gives school supplies to Afghani children.

So while I am worrying about my cousin being safe at war, I will keep myself busy by sending him care packages, donating some money to Operation Dreamseed and knitting something for Afghans For Afghans. Sounds like a plan.

In other news? The sun is out, the rain has gone, and today is a new day. I've already sold a makeup bag! (Sarah, I hope you adore the makeup bag as much as I adore you!) So I'm off to make two more. One for my cousin's wife and another to list.

<3 Always,
--Taina

A change in plans?

It's 9:35pm, Wednesday night. I am listing my 16th of 20 items on Etsy. I'm absolutely exhausted. I really was hoping to make 4 more items tonight but I think I am only going to sew until 11pm and then finally go to bed at a decent hour.




(click photos for listing info.)

Work (the FT job) has been taking a ton out of me, as have health worries. A few weeks ago, I was terribly sick and went to the doctor for what ended up being a really nasty sinus infection. My Dr. is excellent and checks everything every time I see him. He checked my breathing and said he'd detected "a bit of emphysema."

I had a 102.6 fever that day, had been waiting 4 hours for a walk-in time due to a computer glitch and was too exhausted and sick to ask him what exactly he meant. I know what Emphysema is, I watched my grandmother die of it. She smoked all of her life. I smoked for less than a year in when I was 16 and maybe a handful of cigarettes my first year of college. I have not smoked since then. I will be 27 in less than a month. Emphysema means that your body inhales oxygen but does not exhale all of the carbon dioxide it produces. It's scary.

I want to go back to Capoeira class, but noticed I was having trouble breathing after the first hour of my last 2 1/2 hour class. I'd been diagnosed with allergy induced asthma by my previous physician. I mentioned that to my current physician and he said they are definitely not the same thing. I have an appt. w/ my current doc in a little more than 2 weeks, so I hope to get more info then.

I've been super exhausted lately. I'm making sure I get my B vitamins daily and I've noticed a bit more energy, but I wonder how much of it has to do with whatever is going on with my lungs. Anyway, my body is telling me to go to bed. I'm going to push for another hour and 15 mins and then pass out.


(click photo for listing info.)

<3 Always,
--Taina

cold day...

Sundays are especially hard for me to work at my FT job. It's been pretty dead, European tourist season has come to a halt, and because of the recession here in the states, we have fewer visitors than usual.

Sundays are also hard for me to go to work because a) the trains are all sorts of wonky on weekends with trackwork and b) So many people are off on Sundays. Cold Sundays are especially hard to get out of bed and go to work, even though I love what I do and all of my coworkers.

Today was a cold Sunday, but I was still pretty productive. I did four loads of laundry this morning and once I finally got photoshop to recognize my camera was plugged into a USB port, it was time for me to head to work. At work, I went through the low sales report and priced a ton of kids books at 50% off. It was good, but after the project was done, veeeerrryyyyy sllllloooowwww.

I just got home and now I am finally listing item number 9 for January!


(Click the photo for more info/pics.)

Somehow, every item I make out of this fabric, I happen to cut bird heads/bodies for one side and bird bodies/butts for the other. I like to consider it front and back. lol. I actually have this fabric in a few different color schemes, I should pull it out and cut it. It's such fun, peaceful fabric. =)

I'm preheating the oven to heat up my left over baked ziti from last night, then I will plop down in front of my sewing machine and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and sew my little heart out.

I will list item #10 before bed.

<3 Always!
Taina