Milk and Cookies...for grownups.

Last night was craft night at mi casa.  Tara came over and scrapbooked while Mandy and I did some embroidery.  We also enjoyed some cookies and kahlua and cremes (yum) and caught Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill...because we're still in high school.

Not a lot is going on here...Exam number one is Thursday!  Insomnia has set in and decided to take over for the rest of the semester, so I've spent this up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-time updating myself on this year's house and senate races that are going to be pretty close, and honestly, it's a wonderful distraction.  And yes, I'm totally comfortable with my level of lameness.

Oh, and Malak needs to come home...like yesterday.  Tara and Eric have court date number 4 on Friday, so please be thinking about them!

Labor of love.

So apparently this has turned into a craft blog.  Unintentionally, of course... Never fear, in about a month, you'll think you're visiting a So You Think You Can Dance? fan site.  Or you might all just stop reading before then if I don't come up with better material!

On to my new discovery for the week:  Embroidery is not as relaxing or fun when I'm doing it for someone else!  This little cutie playing croquet is one of four gals I'm stitching onto some tea towels as a little gift for a dear friend.  When I'm doing something for myself, I see mistakes as adding to the character of the thing (see the elf's gimpy doll) but for someone else? I undo and redo everything that looks wonky.  And just so you know, her boots are dark brown (they look black, and that would have clashed like woah).

Anyway, 3 more weeks until school's out for summer!  My stress level is back to the norm thanks to Sabbath days...which means I am back to a regular workout schedule too (yay!).  I am, however, sooo tired of Panic! At the Disco and my other workout standbys.  So some recommendations please?  I have got to download something new ASAP!

My new book for the week (more like week-and-a-half) is Good News About Injustice, and it is incredibly good.  I'm sure that will be a blog post all it's own, but I thought I'd let you know in case you want to read it (or borrow my copy!).

** The patterns for this gal and the elves are from Wee Wonderfuls.  I love everything this woman does, you should check it out!  Another good website for patterns is Sublime Stitching **

Art, and some other things.

Tonight I went to a Wishing Well art show.  Wishing Well is an organization that uses art to b0th fundraise and raise awareness about the water crisis in Africa.  With the money they raise, they build sustainable wells for communities that desperately need them.  So I went to check it out and came home with these prints for my apartment:

Oh, and I don't watch American Idol at all, but I did see Idol Gives Back last night.  I won't go into the issues I had with it (there were a few), but I will say that there were a few segments that I loved.  Bono's, of course, was one of my favorites...probably because I'm in love with him.  The other part that I thought was great was Annie Lennox's trip to Africa and her performance of "Many Rivers" a song I love.  Here it is: 

At the beginning, they had some of the So You Think You Can Dance? dancers perform, and since that show is one of the best things about summer...I thought it was a stroke of brilliance.  And during one of the video montages, they used a song that I hadn't heard, but really liked...It was "Ain't No Reason" by Brett Dennen, who it turns out is fantastic.  And if you already knew about him, shame on you for not telling me!  It's a sad day when I get a music recommendation from American Idol.  

And Eric and Tara didn't make it through court yesterday, which would have legally made them Malak's parents. Their new court date is April 17...if you could pray for it, that'd be great.

Mental Health Day

I used to laugh a little that some employers give their employees "Mental Health Days" since it seems that taking one would mean you are telling your boss that you are having mental health problems, but I think I get it now.

I have been running on empty for days trying to study and work on several assignments, and I think I've hit my limit. 

So, I'm taking a mental health day.  I need a full night's sleep, a workout (it's been over a week!), and perhaps even to do something fun (gasp!).  I have found when I take a weekly Sabbath from school and other obligations that I'm a better person all around, which is I think why that rhythm is supposed to be built into our lives. 

So tomorrow, there will be a glorious day where I don't feel obligated to answer the phone, reply to e-mails, or even look at a single textbook.  I want to rest, exercise, and maybe even catch a movie...I just need to recharge my batteries. 

I'm not sure why I'm posting about this except to say that I have re-recognized the importance of Sabbath rest, and I think if you get in the habit of taking one, you will too.

A finished project.

There are only four weeks of class left in the school semester (yeah!!).  This means there are lots of papers, tests, and assignments all due in a relatively short period of time.  Normally I channel this stress into baking, but since I don't want to weigh 500 lbs. by the time finals end, I am choosing to work on a couple of embroidery projects instead.  So here is a Christmas elf I just finished...I realize that it's April, I just don't care!

She also has a little elf boyfriend that I will be making sometime soon.. (as high as my stress level is right now, he'll probably be done by in a couple of days!)

Her doll has a gimpy leg and lopsided ears, but let's just agree that it gives it character, no?

Since this and studying for my neuro exam are the only things I've been doing, I really have nothing else to share.  I promise my next post will not have a picture of a craft!